Amazon Airship Pirates Pt. 03

"I am sorry," Charles said.

"I am the one who must apologise!" his father replied. "This was none of your fault. You were a pawn in an unpleasant game, and I could not even tell you. But fortunately, I was able to learn your itinerary..."

"And you passed it to the Captain," Moira guessed. "It's a good thing that she's the finest aerial navigator in the East. That rescue should have been an impossible task."

"I had faith in her," said the older Dartington. "She sent me a message that she was going to make the rescue just before she set out, and I took the next opportunity to make my exit, by a route Moira had mentioned to me for emergencies."

"Risky," said Sui Pai. "We'd missed the ship, Charles would have been in bigger danger with you gone. Company men - not nice when they're desperate. The Captain must've reckoned she'd get you out a little bit later. So she kept plans secret even once we'd got Charles."

"I had faith in her success," Charles's father said firmly, "and it was the best chance I had to flee."

"Which explains why you turned up here so early," said Moira, "even before the Captain came back."

"Yes, well, I apologise for being a little precipitate," Charles's father said.

"All well in the end," Sui Pai said. "Sorry I's fucking your son when you come in."

Moira snorted with laughter at that, and both Dartington men found themselves smiling, even as they carefully avoided each other's gaze.

"That was unexpected," Charles's father admitted. "Though perhaps I should have guessed. You pirates are notorious libertines, and Charles is a young man, and a healthy one, I hope."

"Lib-ber-tines..." Moira tested the unfamiliar word. "Is that no compliment? Because you had no complaints in times past."

"And none now," the older man said. "I am no hypocrite, and I think that some honest fornication among people who've earned the right to take their pleasures where they find them is better than the whore-houses and cruelties of the Company cities."

"But..." Charles said, "had I known that you were Moira's lover... Well, is this wrong somehow? Moira is no longer a whore."

"Moira is a fine young woman," his father replied in a neutral tone. Their gazes met, but each saw that the other was uncertain.

"Oh lor'," said Moira, "I hate this. Not the first time men have threatened to fight over me, though it's the first time wi' father and son."

"We will not fight," said the older Dartington firmly.

"Of course not. You'll just use poisoned glances an' sharp words." Moira sneered. "An' it's sheer foolishness, 'cause I've made it clear to both of you at different times that I'll not belong to either of you."

"Ha, yeah," said Sui Pai. "Two nice cocks, but both just spice on cunny."

"That's the way of it," Moira said. Then, with a sudden decisive gesture, she rose to her feet, stepped over to Sui Pai, put her arms round the other woman, and kissed her hard on the lips. Charles saw that Sui Pai was reaching around to grasp Moira's buttocks through her petticoat, and squeezing them gently but firmly. He realised that he was blushing yet again.

The women broke apart, giving each other easy, loving smiles as they did so. Then Moira looked at the two men. "Never forget that," she said, "I like the pair of you, but neither of you is my love."

Charles looked at his father, who looked wryly back at him. "Well..." the older Dartington said, uncertainly.

"I think that I for one have learned my lesson," said his son. "Come, father. We have other concerns than our love for a pirate amazon, after all."

8. A Pirate's Welcome

The father and son spent a few moments awkwardly exchanging minor news of their respective lives, before Moira told them that the entire pirate community would be fascinated by news of Oswald Dartington's arrival in their midst, slipped aboard one of the steamships that secretly served them as supply craft. And so, they ventured out - and were promptly surrounded by as respectful a crowd of pirates as Charles could ever have imagined.

Oswald was guided directly to the airship yards, where he spent hours in technical discussion of the machines he saw there. Charles followed, and found that he knew just enough of the subject to recognise that his father's reputation was well merited. Then, after a little while, Emma Elphinstone appeared, in the company of a burly male pirate in the rough garb of a sailor-mechanic. She stepped up to Charles, more tentatively than that morning.

"Charles," she said, "could you, perhaps, introduce me to your father?"

Charles could not restrain a smile. "Formal introductions do not seem to be the way of things here," he pointed out, "but as you wish." They found a moment when Oswald Dartington was being allowed to draw breath, and approached him.

"Father," said Charles, "may I introduce Miss Emma Elphinstone? She was a passenger on the same steamship as myself. She has decided to... To join with this organisation."

His father looked startled. "Emma Elphinstone?" he asked, his mind clearly working.

"Yes," Emma said. "And yes, my father is Robert Elphinstone, of the Company."

"I have met him, of course," Oswald Dartington said. "But you... Now..."

"Have joined his enemies, yes," Emma said. "As have you. I came here by chance, but this chance caused me to review my circumstances, and I came to a conclusion."

"A conclusion?"

"Yes." Emma smiled sweetly. "My conclusion was, to Hell with my father and his plans for me." She smiled again. "But excuse me. I am most honoured to meet you, and I hope that we may talk again eventually, but I can see that you have many calls on your time at present."

And with that, she dropped a gracious curtsey and stepped away.

Oswald Dartington drew a deep breath. "An exceptional young lady," he observed.

"Yes," said Charles, unsure what more to add. But then, more of the local mechanics approached with more questions for his father.

Later, the visit became an impromptu lecture on the latest developments in mechanical technology, and Charles discovered that a combination of technical interest and filial pride kept his attention on his father's words. In due course, some thoughtful soul pointed out that Oswald Dartington had been speaking for hours and had likely not eaten for much of the day, and that the time for dinner was nigh. And so the impromptu lecture became an impromptu party in the refectory, with bowls of richly flavoured and exotic chicken stew passed round. "Lots of spices," Moira observed to Charles in passing. "Spices are still a good trade for the Company, and we lift our share."

He stared into his bowl and decided not to concern himself with the ethics of dining on stolen property.

He was listening to a pair of sailors swapping increasingly unlikely tall tales of the sea when he heard his name spoken in a familiar voice. Emma Elphinstone had appeared by his side again, and now she smiled at him. "You must be very pleased," she said.

"Why?" Charles asked.

"You've regained your father," Emma said, "and he turns out to be a great hero here."

"Yes," Charles agreed quietly. "But this has all been very unexpected. I have much to consider, you understand."

"I do understand," Emma said, "but to we pirates, he is a hero, and his coming is a marvel." She smiled pensively. "And for you, he is a father you can talk to. Many folk here lack that, do remember."

And with that, she departed, leaving Charles to think.

At length, as the tropical night drew in, Oswald Dartington declared that he needed to rest. It seemed clear to Charles that his father was less exhausted than overwhelmed to find himself the centre of so much attention. He himself decided to take the excuse also to retire; while the airship pirates looked set to continue carousing for hours yet, he was unaccustomed to such celebrations, and unsure of his place here.

He discovered that he was still to sleep in the same room - at which he had no complaint, it was comfortable enough - but now, he was handed the door key. His father was given the adjacent room, and they bade each other goodnight with familial affection. Once in his bedroom, Charles turned off the main electric lamp, leaving only a small side-lamp on, relaxing his eyes as he washed himself and changed into a nightshirt. His mind was still in some turmoil over the events of the day, but despite his world having been turned upside-down, he found that he was happy.

There was a tap at the outer door, and when Charles opened it to see who was there, it was pushed open, politely but firmly, as Moira and Sui Pai entered.

"What..." Charles began, but Moira instantly silenced him with a finger to her lips. Then she stepped forward and whispered in his ear.

"There are flimsy walls here and air vents. It is as bad as on the airship," she said.

"I would have thought that you would be welcoming my father's return tonight," Charles whispered back.

Moira gave a feline smile in the half-light. "Not tonight. Now be quiet and listen." The two women gently took him by the arms and took him back to bed. Moira raised her head as if expecting to hear something, then shrugged and told Charles to lie down. He saw no reason to disobey, and the two women lay beside him.

A moment later, Charles heard the sound of a door opening and closing; it was evident that, if he lay quiet, he could indeed hear almost any noise in his father's room. Next he heard his father's voice, in a tone of surprise. "Miss Elphinstone?"

"Mr. Dartington." Emma's voice was level. "I have a favour to request."

"If I can help you..." Charles's father began, and Sui Pai stifled a giggle.

"I am not being subtle, Mr Dartington," Charles heard Emma say. "I wish you to do me an honour."

"She's wearing nought but a cloak," Moira whispered to Charles.

"Miss Elphinstone," his father protested. "even here, this seems... inappropriate. I am of an age with your father..."

"I have disavowed my family," Charles heard Emma say. "So that would hardly matter. And this seems to me very appropriate, for both of us. Today, we have both joined these pirates; should we not mark this in the pirate way?"

"But do you truly desire me? The pirate way surely demands that."

"Mr. Dartington," Emma said, "I find the idea of fornicating... Of fucking you quite thrilling. Earlier today, I entered this society by having a pirate enter me. I have spent much of the time since then talking with engineers and mechanics. Do you know, you are the most admired man on this island? Your reputation stands among pirates as among civilised engineers. And it seems that you are not only clever, but brave and honourable - and yet, you wear it lightly, and have a certain charm. It would be my honour and my pleasure to welcome you to the pirate band, in the way that I was welcomed."

There was a pause and the faintest of rustling sounds, and Charles found himself imagining the pirate cloak slipping to the floor, leaving Emma Elphinstone naked in the tropical moonlight.

"Miss Elphinstone," he heard his father say, "if this is truly your desire..."

"My true desire," said Emma Elphinstone, "is that you address me as Emma, confound it. Oswald."

There was a pause, and then a nervous masculine laugh. "Very well, Emma. Please come here," Charles heard his father say then.

"Men can never resist such a sight," Moira whispered to Charles.

"Emma has been told that before," Charles whispered back. "But should we be listening?"

Moira and Sui Pai giggled quietly. "People here have to get used to this," Moira said.

"Thin walls on ships," Sui Pai added.

There was more rustling and muttering from the next room, and it was clear that Emma was inducing Oswald to remove his nightshirt. "I doubt that you wish to see..." the listeners heard him begin.

"Oswald, please," Emma replied. "I have seen just one man naked, so consider me curious. And I find you desirable when clothed, so..."

"Very well." There was a pause, long enough for a nightshirt to be removed, and then an "Oh, my..." from Emma.

"I hope that I suffice..." Oswald began.

"You have nothing to fear," Emma replied, "save perhaps my novice clumsiness."

After another moment, there was a loud but not unhappy masculine gasp.

"It is wonderful to hold," Emma said.

"You ... hold ... it very well," Oswald replied. "I only hope that it is adequate for you in every way."

"It is certainly comparable with my one previous experience to date," Emma said. "Now... Oh, your hand... Yes, please, do caress me there... Oh, my! My! Yes, touch me! Touch me more!"

There were a few moments of feminine heavy breathing. "My..." gasped Emma, "My cunny! Oh, please, do not stop..."

Her words collapsed into ever heavier breathing, and then came a loud feminine sigh. Then, after a brief pause, Emma said, almost too quietly for Charles to hear, "You are very... deft with your fingers, Mr. Dar... Oswald."

"I try to understand a lady's desires," Oswald replied. "Especially one so deft herself. Now, though, forgive me if I wish to... Oh, you have appropriate protection, then? Oh, thank you."

"We gave her a half-dozen condoms," Sui Pai whispered to Charles.

After a little more rustling from the next room, Emma gave a murmur of "Please!" and then a soft feminine moan, and Charles realised that his father had evidently penetrated her. "Please, Oswald," Charles then heard Emma say, "I would like... I want you to kiss my titties. Please, kiss them." Charles found himself trying to guess how the couple had placed themselves, but concluded from Emma's murmurs of pleasure that, whatever the arrangement was, it permitted his father to do something that she liked.

Having been distracted by his eavesdropping, Charles only now suddenly became aware that Moira and Sui Pai were pressing against him. "She has a good idea about what to kiss," Moira whispered. Charles decided that this was indeed an inspiring idea, and was pleased to find that the neckline of Moira's dress was loose and gaping, and she was naked underneath. Loosening the dress further, he drew it open and gained access to one of her breasts. He shifted on the bed to bring his mouth into contact with her nipple, and kissed it, and then caressed it with his tongue, marvelling at the subtle textures which he found. Moira made a small approving noise. Behind him, a rustling suggested that Sui Pai was undressing, and then he felt her naked body pressed full length against his back.

A soft repetitive creaking of bedsprings ensued from the next room, soon emphasised by gasping from both the participants. The masculine gasps were louder, and gradually rose to the level of moans, or cries.

"Is my father unwell?" Charles asked, still quietly but urgently.

"Don't worry," Sui Pai grinned. "Take more than a lately-virgin like her t'fuck a man like him to death. He strong enough."

At which exact moment, the masculine sounds from the next room were almost drowned out by a series of feminine cries of pleasure. Meanwhile, Charles had twisted round to speak with Sui Pai, and she took the opportunity to kiss him on the mouth. He found himself lying on his back, with Sui Pai insistently gathering his nightshirt up to reveal his legs, and then his groin, and then his belly. Meanwhile, Moira had sat up to remove her own clothes. Once she was done, both women set to caressing and fondling his cock. He found himself growing ever more excited as the noises from the next room abated.

And so he twisted over to face Moira and kiss her for a while, while Sui Pai gently massaged his shoulders. For a few moments, he enjoyed a series of gentle, careful kisses that were nonetheless laden with anticipation, but then she drew her head back and winked at him.

"You've unfinished business with Pai's cunny, boy," she whispered. Charles accepted the hint and rolled onto his other side, and found Sui Pai awaiting him. He kissed her too on the mouth, and her response was gently eager. He began to put his arms round her, but then felt Moira moving behind him. She was making herself useful, removing his nightshirt - and so he cooperated with that for a moment, until he too was naked as he lay facing Sui Pai. Then they embraced, face to face, pressing the full length of their bodies against each other.

Then Moira inserted her hand between them, groping for Charles's cock. "Careful, boy," she hissed to him. "Protection!"

Charles realised what she meant, and rolled away from Sui Pai. In an instant, working mostly by touch, Moira had fitted a sheath to his erect member. Meanwhile, Sui Pai had turned onto her back and spread her thighs, and Charles knelt between them. A moment's groping and guidance later, his cock was at her lower lips, and he plunged in.

"Ah," said Sui Pai, "is a nice cock, y'know. You - a nice boy."

Charles raised himself on his hands, looking down at Sui Pai's calm smile in the half light, and began slowly, carefully thrusting into her. Both of them began to breath increasingly deeply and audibly in time with his thrusts, and they soon found a pleasant shared rhythm.

The naked Moira, who had been watching all this, suddenly placed herself to kneel astride Sui Pai's head, and leant forward to kiss Charles's face teasingly as he raised himself to try and face her. The process was interrupted by a gasp from Moira, though, and Charles realised that Sui Pai had raised her head to kiss Moira's female parts. Raising himself further, he embraced Moira as he continued thrusting into Sui Pai. Moira rested her head on his shoulder as she sighed happily and repeatedly. It seemed that Sui Pai was skilled with her tongue, as one of those sighs turned into a groan of pleasure after a few moments, and then Moira disentangled herself from the other two and lay beside them, watching, as Charles slumped forward and concentrated on fucking Sui Pai.

But it was not very long before Sui Pai gave a short series of yelping cries, the last louder than the others, and Charles realised that she had reached her climax. At the same time, the raw pleasure of the moment overwhelmed him. "Oh," he cried, "your cunny - is beautiful! Your cunny!"

"Yes," cried Sui Pai in reply, "fuck it! Fuck, boy! Fuck!"

Charles reacted by thrusting vigorously for a few moments, holding himself up on his hands to look down on her as he did so. Then Sui Pai reached up with both hands and very gently pinched both his nipples with her fingernails. At the precise same moment, Moira slapped his buttocks with her open palm. Charles, who had been struggling to restrain himself, lost all control and gave a great moan of raw lust, collapsing onto Sui Pai as his hips shuddered in orgasm.

As Charles drew breath, the room fell silent for a moment, and suddenly the trio heard the unmistakeable sound of laughter, both masculine and feminine, from the next room. Charles realised that sounds from there had stopped some minutes since, and it was clear that his father and Emma had been listening just as they had earlier been listened to. For a moment, he was paralysed by confusion - but then Sui Pai and Moira burst out laughing, and he could not help but join them as he rolled away from them and went looking for a way to dispose of his condom.

9. Departures, Though Temporary

The next morning, Charles awoke slowly, only to once more discover himself to be alone in bed. Moira and Sui Pai were already up and partly dressed, and looked at him with amused smiles.

"Must you go so soon?" Charles asked.

"Yes," said Sui Pai.

"Our time of light duties is finished," Moira explained. "One o' the airships need a crew. But don't worry, laddie - it's a simple task of fetching. Not every mission means stormin' a fortified Company plundering-post wi' grenades and Gatling-carbines. We'll be back safe after a few days."