Starlight Gleaming Ch. 06

I nodded.

"Good. Use it. I'll have another one sent to you so that we can communicate as well. Later on, I'll get you a new computer with the encryption keys built in. Keep the keys secure. I'll put in new orders for you when we get back."

"New orders?" I protested. "I'm at High Guard. I don't want to go anywhere else."

He turned the electric vehicle around and began driving back to Tikun War base. The wind from driving was a relief from the thick, humid heat. Heat I can do, but humidity too? Plain awful.

"Relax, Kandikan. It's not permanent. You can stay with Tlacotli. It's for six weeks advanced training. At Sparanztlo."

Sparanztlo? The training base for Imperial Security? "Fuck! Make that Seven Hells and double fuck."

The Senior Sergeant laughed. "I knew you'd enjoy hearing that. The official reason is that you are being questioned further on your flight's attack by the Greys." Then he looked serious. "Look, you really don't have a choice, Kandikan. You've come to the attention of some who would like to see you have an accident. A permanent one that might include people around you. I'm not sure even your parents would be safe, and your father is really important to us. Don't resist this. Once you are done with the training, some additional doors will open for you. And it will make it harder for those who mean you ill to strike out at you. You think High Guard is in danger. I agree. You will be part of remedying this situation."

"Seven Hells," I repeated. "All three hot, all three cold, and the one in between them all."

Itznacoco laughed all the way back to the base.

Once inside the base again, I asked him, "Why the trip outside? That wasn't necessary for what you told me."

He grinned. "Actually, it probably was. I'm watched, too, Kandikan. A decent sound scope can pick up conversation at up to five hundred feet. Not everyone who works in Imperial Security has the Emperor's interests at heart. Unfortunately, some put lesser masters above the Empire. They will puzzle for days, maybe weeks trying to figure out what we were about."

Terrific, I thought sarcastically. High Guard was rife with corruption and apparently Imperial Security was too. Shit, shit, shit.

Itznacoco drove me back to the hangar where my duffle bag was stored. "Say, Kandikan. Zoubat had a stunner registered to him. You don't happen to still have it by any chance?"

I nodded.

"Get rid of it. The serial number on the processor is registered to him. I'll get you another." I fished it out of my pocket and tossed it to him. He looked incredulous as he stuffed it into his own pocket. "Gods of North and South! That's done at least. You have a side arm of your own? No? Get one. Something with stopping power. A smaller one for backup would also be good. Good luck, Kandikan. Safe flight, safe return."

My head snapped up at the phrase. Air Controllers used it when aircraft left the field. I'd never heard him use it before. I nodded, oddly pleased. Both of us, at least on the surface, were supposed to be Air Service. "If it's not too presumptuous, my best to your wife, Sergeant."

His dark eyes clouded, a mixture of sadness and pain. "She's gone six years, Kandikan. No way you would have known that, of course. After she lost our child, she tried for another. I didn't know and shortly afterward, I was away on a special assignment. She hadn't healed quite right after the beating Zoubat gave her. Something went wrong and she bled out before anyone found her. Her name was Nic'te. She wanted to give me a son so badly. She was one of a kind."

"I'm sorry," was all I could think of. But I meant it.

The Senior Sergeant shook his head. "Don't be. Had I tried anything against Zoubat, it would have cost my sister and her family as well as myself. Because of you, my wife's spirit can now enter the Land of the Dead." He looked at his watch. "You'd better get a move on, Kandikan. The next transport heading east leaves in ten minutes. It's a three hour wait for the next one." With that, he drove off.

I grabbed my duffle and ran out to the hangar where the transport, another Condor, was powering up and closing up its rear door. Running full out, I yelled as I closed the distance, managing to hop onto the ramp just as the hydraulics were lifting up.

The flight engineer gave me a black look for having to pause the lock down. He ordered me to find a seat and buckle in while he finished securing the door. I found one and slipping on the head gear and pulling out my flight jacket from my duffle bag, I settled in for the long ride back to High Guard. I had much to think about, so naturally my tired brain promptly dozed off.

* * * * *

I woke up as we touched down at High Guard War base. My neck was stiff but I started moving it and it began loosening up.

I presented my orders to the Security officer, and because I already had quarters, ignored the Quartermaster Sergeant. Because of the three hour flight and the two hour time difference, it was already after Eighth Hour in the evening when I arrived. I wanted my vehicle, a hot meal, a shower, and then I wanted to see Janetta.

At the Storage Yard by the runway, I entered the Security Station. The corporal saluted. "Can I help you, sir?"

"I want my HueCac. I left it here four days ago."

He glanced at my name, then scanned through the logbook. Then he swallowed. "It's been commandeered, Sir."

"What?" I pulled the logbook over and scanned it. Checked out by Senior Lieutenant Zinochtli. I fumed. I wouldn't let him fuck Ixma, and now he's going out of his way to be a pain in my ass? I took a breath. "Make a copy of that page, Corporal."

"Sir?"

I pointed to the pip on my collar. "Officer. You're enlisted. I said, make a copy of that page. That's my proof that the vehicle is no longer in my possession."

"I can't. It's not allowed, sir."

I narrowed my eyes. "Fine. Step outside."

"Sir, I --"

"Lieutenant Kandikan?"

I turned to see Second Sergeant Zinja standing there, a grease smudge on her nose and a toolkit on her belt. She must have just come from Janetta's hangar. "Sergeant. Corporal, I said step outside."

"That's not allowed either, sir--"

Smash!

We both whipped around. Zinja stood in the corner, wrench in hand, and the office security camera lay on the floor in pieces. She raised the wrench again in the corporal's direction. "You were telling my Lieutenant?"

I turned back to the corporal.

"Fine," he muttered, scooting by and slamming the door to the small office.

I grinned at Zinja as I grabbed the logbook and went to the copier. "What brings you here? Not that I'm not delighted to see you, Second Sergeant."

She gave me an odd look. "I got a call from Security at Tikun War base. Said you'd be getting in about now. Sorry I'm late." She secured the wrench onto her belt. Then she went to the recorder and removed the storage disk, slipping it into her breast pocket. Wiped the controls down with her greasy rag.

Itznacoco. I shook my head, collected the copy, and put the logbook back onto the desk. I exited, followed by Zinja. "All yours," I told the corporal.

"What about the camera?" he yelled.

"What camera?" I yelled back.

Zinja flashed me a grin, got into the driver's seat, flipped the ignition, and the HueCac hummed to life. I tossed my duffle in the back and climbed into the passenger side. The wheels crunched in gravel as we turned around, and then we were off, the whine of rubber on asphalt overwhelming the sound of the electric engine.

"She needs to see you, sir," Zinja said. We were covering ground at a pretty good clip, faster than the speed limit. "She's a right mess, she is."

"Did she send for me?"

"No, sir. Just after you left, her commander ordered her for a physical, and she failed it. Diagnosis of exhaustion. She has another exam in three days. If there's no improvement, they are going to transfer her out."

"Is her commander fucking her?"

She glanced at me. "No. Captain Tanosca has actually made it clear to the other pilots she is under his protection. By all accounts, he loves his wife and is an honorable warrior. Please, will you see her?"

"Have you eaten dinner, Sergeant?"

"Uh, yes, sir."

"I haven't. I want a hot meal and a hot shower and clean clothes. Then I will go see Janetta."

Zinja drove me to my quarters first. I showered and changed while she waited for me in my stuffy little ten by twelve room. Fortunately, at the moment, I had no roommate. Then we went to the base cafeteria, and I went to the enlisted section so Zinja could sit with me. As a sergeant, she wasn't allowed in the officer's section. While it was frowned on, officers could and sometimes did eat in the enlisted area with their command.

I knew I was hungry, yet I can't recall what it was I ate. I do recall having three cups of cahault. I glanced at my watch. Just an hour since my return to High Guard War base. Zinja nursed a beer.

During the meal, I showed her the photocopy. "Zinochtli. That name is important," I told her. "He tried to fuck Ixma before I left, but I wouldn't let him. He took my vehicle, which means he's made it personal. Watch your daughter, Sergeant. Keep her close. I'll do what I can to get you a picture of him. Chanotl, too. He hangs around Zinochtli."

She pursed her lips, then finished her beer in two swallows. "Yes, sir."

"Okay," I said, standing up. "Let's go see Janetta."

We bussed our table, and got into the HueCac. Outside, it was nearing dusk, and the lights blinked on. As she backed up and turned us around, I asked her, "What will you do if she decides she doesn't want me?"

"Then I will kick my Lieutenant's ass, sir. She wants you. She just won't admit it."

"And if she still refuses?"

She sighed unhappily. "The Air Service will break us up. I'd rather not think about that until it comes to it, if you don't mind, sir."

"You said your family were Free Farmers?"

"Once upon a time. The lands were sold to pay for my time in the hospital. The Air Service is my only home now, sir."

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes, sir. Why?"

"If things fall apart, get Ixma out of the Service. We both know she's too gentle to survive on her own, and it may be some time before I can get my own staff. However, my parents have a large estate near Tohingo. She'd be safe there."

Zinja stopped the vehicle and turned to me. "You'd do that? For her?"

"I marked her as my own, didn't I? You can stay in for your thirty and get your pension. In the meantime, she will be safe, cared for, learning more skills while she waits for you."

"You mean that, don't you. Of course you do. You've been taking care of all of us from the day you arrived here. Even before that, too, at Tikun. All right. I'll keep it in mind, Lieutenant. Thank you, sir." She started driving again.

A few minutes later, we arrived. I stepped into the cottage first, followed by Zinja. Sergeant Cholan, seated at the vid-comp, took off her headphones and grinned when she saw me. Corporal Ixma, in the kitchen, put her hands to her mouth, bounced up and down a couple times, then twirled around. It had been a week since I'd seen Ixma and about three since I'd seen Cholan.

"Greetings, Ladies. It's good to see you. If you'll pardon my rudeness, I have someone else to see first."

Ixma went to her mother, and the three of them watched me enter the hallway. I tapped on the door twice, and hearing no answer, entered the stuffy bedroom. She was lying on her belly on top of the sheets, naked.

"Go away, Zinja," Janetta muttered. "I told you I'm not hungry and I don't want to be bothered."

I stepped inside and closed the door.

Once, she had called me a pansy ass. And here she was, wallowing in pride and self pity. Worse, the women in the other room depended on her and her self-destruction threatened them with an uncertain future. I walked over to the side of her bed, and putting one hand to the small of her back, quickly delivered three hard smacks to her left butt cheek, and for good measure, three more to the other.

Janetta swore and struggled, and when I let her up, she blinked, her hand rubbing her backside. "Kandikan? What the fuck are you doing here? And why did you hit me?"

I flipped on the light and the fan. Janetta covered her eyes a moment, then snarled and jumped up.

I scowled. "You aren't hurt, pansy ass. And I got your attention, didn't I?"

The room was a sty. Dirty laundry on the floor. Janetta's thick black hair was a mass of tangles. She'd lost weight, and had huge bags under her eyes.

Janetta advanced, arms up and growling, ready to claw me. I grabbed her arms and held them. She leaned closer. "I don't need you. I don't need any man."

"On one level, that's true enough. You are a capable woman, able to do amazing things without a man -- when you aren't shut in your room feeling sorry for yourself. Every one has the choice to open their heart to love. And love creates its own needs."

"You fucked up my head, Kandikan! Fucked it up till I don't know right from left, day from night, or wise from stupid. What are you trying to do to me? Why are you here? To finish the job? Because--because all I want to do is die from the hurting." Tears spilled from her eyes as she gritted her teeth and pressed up against me, angry and defiant.

I pulled her wrists behind her back, drawing up her against my chest. "And there it is. It's easy to fuck and walk away and not look back. But when someone shows you some kindness, and cares about whether you enjoy yourself too, that's different. Your head says complication but your heart wants more of that kind of attention, and before you know it, your heart has decided for you. Love can make you vulnerable, Janetta, but it doesn't make you weak. I told you before, two together are stronger than one alone. For weeks you have faced the darkness and quailed in fear, afraid to admit your own feelings. You say you don't need me? Fine. Then the question is, warrior filled with pride, do you want me?"

She took a deep breath, held it, and with the exhale the fight went out of her. "Yes, Ranji," she said, lips trembling. "Gods help me, I want you so much. It hurts so bad."

Once I released her arms, they flew around my neck, pulling me down for a kiss full of hunger and aching need. I met her mouth and responded in kind.

When we broke for air, I pushed her back a bit. "Ground rules, Janetta. You physically injured me last time. I love you, but I won't put up with you hurting me like that. I won't be your punching bag. And I won't be baited into hurting you, either."

She looked ashamed. "I didn't mean it, Ranji. I slipped. I really didn't mean to hurt you."

"I need an apology, Janetta."

"I'm sorry I hurt you, Ranji." She put her hands on my chest. "Please hold me? Make love to me? I have missed you so much."

"I love you, Janetta." I caressed her face, and she nuzzled my palm. "Do you love me?"

"Yes!" she cried, then quieter, "I love you, too, Ranji. Are we okay now?"

I put my hands on her shoulders. "You are a mess, Janetta."

Janetta got a sly look in her eyes. "I could order you, you know. I outrank you now."

It was good to see the spark in her eyes. However. "Try it, and you'll earn another spanking. I'll be honest with you Janetta. From the first time I saw you, I wanted you. After you jumped me in the cleaning closet, all I knew was I wanted a repeat in the worst way, and I even fantasized taking you even if you weren't willing. But after what happened to you and the others in the hangar? I knew I could never take you against your will. The reality is too shameful, too cowardly. When you give your body to me, it is pure joy. To hurt you in that manner would be ashes in my mouth, Janetta. Now if you want to roleplay later, I am willing to try a few things. But don't ever seriously try ordering me around. Are we clear?"

She nodded slowly, then more vigorously.

"Good," I grinned. "Grab your kit and hit the rain locker. If you hurry, I might scrub your back."

Her big black eyes lit up. "We've never done anything in water before." She rushed to her dresser, grabbed some things from a top drawer, fussing about for a clean towel. Janetta paused. "It's awful tight in there, you know. Think we'll fit?"

"It has before. The shower is small, too, but we'll be fine."

She rolled her eyes as she grinned with excitement, and arms full, she scurried to the shower without a stitch on.

I stepped out into the living room, and three faces looked at me expectantly. "She's going to take a shower--"

"Thank the gods!" Cholan said loudly.

"I heard that!" came Janetta's muffled voice from the bathroom.

Her sass was back and all three women beamed happily.

"Zinja? Please put together a large plate of cold food for her. Plenty of meat if you have it. A cold drink, non-alcoholic. Cholan and Ixma, I'm going to join her. Will you please police her room? Fresh sheets on the bed, collect her dirty clothes, and leave the door open to help air it out."

Zinja started preparing the plate. Cholan and Ixma followed me into the bedroom and set to work. I began undressing, hanging up my uniform on a spare hanger. When I got to my underwear, both of them were putting on a set of shiny black sheets onto the bed, but they stopped and watched as I put my hands on the waistband of my underwear. Clearing my throat, I decided to leave it on until I made it to the bathroom. I heard Cholan mutter, "Almost." Ignoring her, I went over to the bed and examined the sheets.

"Those look impressive." I stroked the fabric. "Are these actually silk?"

Ixma nodded. "You told me to get something special for everyone. Tonight seems the perfect night to give them to her. I hope she likes them."

"You did good, Corporal. You did really good."

Ixma flushed with the praise. Cholan brought in a scented candle and lit it. I left for the bathroom while they finished up.

Hearing the miserable, meager stream coming from the shower, I remembered my earlier mental note to do something about it. Later, I told myself. Dropping my underwear, I opened the curtain and slid inside the narrow cubicle.

Janetta immediately turned to me, touching my chest. "Ranji? Do I have to wait? It's been weeks. I know it's my fault, but I want to feel you inside me." Her hands moved down my belly and caressed my cock.

"You understand we aren't leaving until you are clean. Even if the hot water runs out." My shaft hardened under her touch. She caressed it more firmly, stroking the head and gently cupping my balls.

"I don't care if it runs out." She moved closer, standing on her toes, aiming me toward her swollen cleft.

I slipped a finger along her groove and felt the heat within, touched the slick juices leaking from her pussy, her labia engorged with arousal. Leaning down, I kissed her. Moving my hands to her butt, I lifted her up. Moaning into our kiss, Janetta used one hand to guide me in while her legs opened and wrapped around my waist. Pushing within her soft folds, she hugged me, humping to take me deeper.

"Oh, gods! Ohhhhh! Take me!"

Pressing her against the shower wall, I began working myself deeper within her slick heat. When my balls rested on her butt, she groaned, squeezing her legs tighter. Within a dozen strokes, she cried out, shivering and bucking on my shaft, her inner walls throbbing around me. I kissed her and waited for her to calm down.

She looked puzzled. "Why did you stop? I want to feel you come inside me, Ranji. I need to know we're okay."

I kissed her cheek, nuzzled her neck. Then I saw her eyes were struggling. With the release of orgasm, her body was finally succumbing to exhaustion. I pulled out and set her onto her feet.

"Time to wash, now."

Grabbing the shampoo, I squirted a generous amount into her thick black mass and set to lathering it up. Letting it set for a bit, I soaped up her back, butt, and legs.