Starlight Gleaming Ch. 21 Pt. 05

In the low, growly voice, I answered, "Only if you ask for them. Sisi has the Tickle Monster's word of honor."

I thought we were done, but she did one better.

"That means Mina, too!"

Still in character, I said, "All right. Sisi beat Tickle Monster fair and square. Tickle Monster promise to leave Sisi and Mina alone. Will just have to find other delicious necks to nibble on."

With that resolved, the girls settled next to me and I read the easier book for Mina to follow along. It was a repeat of one we'd read a week ago, but Mina didn't seem to mind. Then we began a new, longer story for Sisi and the other listeners.

When we finished, Sisi gave her evening report to Janetta, and my lover surprised me. She told my daughter, "Good job, Sisi! That Tickle Monster has had his way for far too long. You faced that marauding monster like a true warrior princess." Then she gave Sisi a salute and my daughter, without batting an eye, saluted back!

Zinja scooped her up, and together with Ixma and Mina, went upstairs to get ready for bed.

Calia waved me over, so I obliged. She told me, "Master, the lieutenant needs help getting back down the stairs."

"Ah. I'll take care of it." I gave her a gentle kiss, then whispered, "Thank you for saving her."

Calia whispered back, "She has been alone a long time, and was terrified this morning."

Besides Terra and Salvia, there were half a dozen troopers helping with kitchen clean up, some washing dishes and others drying. A couple more carried diaper bags out to the garage and I think that's when I noticed a second set had been added; the first washer was already running. Probably a good thing, with the need so high.

Ja-See opened the door to the basement shelter and I carefully lifted her up, turned, and carried her downstairs. At Calia's bed, I set her down, and shyly, she gave my hand a squeeze as she quietly murmured her thanks.

"You are most welcome, Ja-See," I told her, giving her a smile. "Rest and get better."

Several women with toddlers came downstairs, and went past the partial bedroom set aside for Calia. Some dressed for bed or queued up to use the latrine, and I went back upstairs.

By the time of my return, Wit and Nariya had retired with their son to their room. I noticed Janetta and Izel chatting together as they stepped onto the top landing and turned left, going toward the master bedroom.

I stopped in to help tuck the girls into bed. Calia, who must have been thoroughly worn out, was already asleep. Each of my daughters received a hug and a kiss, and Ixma asked for several more after the first set. I picked her up and carried her over to one of the chairs and sat down carefully. She adjusted to sit more comfortably and we enjoyed some extended sharing of affection. After several minutes, she was disappointed when I carried her back to bed and tucked her in, but both of us had been starting to doze. Another kiss to the sleeping Calia, and I quietly departed and entered my bedroom.

After undressing, I climbed over Izel and got under the covers. As I lay on my back, I tugged Janetta into the crook of my arm, and then did the same to Izel. I knew I wouldn't stay there as I rarely slept on my back, but having them so close felt so blasted good! I'm pretty sure I got goodnight kisses from both of them, but my memory was rather fuzzy at that point.

* * * * *

The following day was much the same as the day before. Crowded chaos with my family at breakfast, a lot of catching up to do with work, a few meetings with staff, including one trip to C&C with the Commandant and others of his staff.

Corporal Cooma went home to have lunch with her son, Bejo, while Haytam, who sadly had lost her son before her return, stayed on site and ate lunch in my office with me and my new admin, Sergeant Janko. Both of them took some persuasion beforehand. I never understood the mixed message about dining between officers and enlisted. On one hand, as an officer, you were encouraged to eat separately from the enlisted, yet on the other hand, it was okay at the platoon level to eat with your men. From the beginning, I sometimes had Hanami take her lunch with me, and as often and whenever time allowed, Sergeant Chita and her admin ate with me as well.

Unbeknownst to them, there had been enough losses to field trooper personnel that I had submitted for grade promotions for several of the veteran troopers, especially those who had been stuck for more than a couple of years at corporal. There was normally a written test before being promoted to sergeant, but an officer could make such promotions during an emergency, as when I had promoted Stimmi upon assuming command of the 602. While High Guard was still recovering, I thought it best to let normal procedures take place; Doyya had signed off on the promotion list without comment.

As for Ground Security, the fifteen sublieutenants being loaned to the 1267 were adjusting smoothly and only in a few platoons where the ranking NCOs had also perished were things being more difficult, as the still somewhat green officers didn't have the experienced and necessary support to lean on. I scheduled separate meetings with my Watch Commanders to discuss the issue, and see about some temporary re-assignments and possible in-house promotions to pick up the slack within the regiment. Indeed, toward the end of the following week, there was to be a list of individuals for each shift of personnel receiving promotions and citations for both during and after the Atlantean attack, and unsurprisingly, some of the support personnel had also stood out.

It was difficult to pry myself from home after dinner as I loathed cutting into my girls their reading time. So, when I could, I went into work two hours earlier to make some headway in the emails and reports that needed to be processed and signed off on.

On the home-front, whenever I asked about Cholan, Janetta assured me she was fine. Privately, up in our bedroom - and yes, Izel was in attendance - I was informed on the afternoon of the fourth day since Janetta had told me not to interfere, they had performed their first live start-up of Janetta's AT-7 Lightning on the edge of the airfield; the avionics had all shown optimal power readouts for all systems, and there had been building excitement among the bystanders while Janetta powered up the engines. Janetta and Zinja had performed safety checks and everything had looked fine. Zinja admitted there had been some tension, too. At Cholan's insistence, the diagnostic cables were still attached to the diagnostic computer during that first power-up test.

Ten seconds after Janetta started the jet engines, the power for the shield generator kicked on, and seemed to be working perfectly. Zinja described it as a shimmering bubble that engulfed the fighter aircraft. Elation and cheers erupted from a lot of the onlookers, including from Roshan and most of the research team.

However, within the first few minutes of the engines idling on the tarmac, Cholan had ordered an emergency shut-down by yelling, "Shut it down, now!" and "Get out, get out!"

While Janetta had quickly shut down the engines and evacuated the cockpit, according to Zinja, her officer had also been a little hot because everything looked fine on the various gauges and sensors, and she was anxious to take her aircraft into the air.

"The upgrade board, it's running too hot," Cholan had insisted. "Until I figure out why, that plane needs to remain grounded!"

Lord Roshan, who was also on site, then asked Janetta for her assessment as the pilot, and from his questions and attitude, Zinja said it appeared like he was ready to override Cholan's caution and force the testing forward. At that point, Zinja had been forced to step in and, as Janetta described it, rather vigorously defended Cholan's action; the ground crew chief even had to bring up the LRAT burnout episode, where Janetta had had to land her damaged aircraft with one side of her hydraulic system unresponsive and mere minutes away from complete power loss. Grudgingly, Janetta had then backed Cholan, supporting Cholan's desire to figure out what was causing the new circuit-board to overheat.

It was also during this time that Ja-See was finally recovered enough to return to duty, and it happened to be the same day as the aborted engine test.

The following evening, the apparent problem had been solved - and oddly, Zinja noted that when her captain asked what had been the issue, Roshan brushed it aside; from my pilot and the rest of her ground crew, their exuberant glee was writ large all throughout dinner. Indeed, immediately after dinner, Janetta insisted I go upstairs so she could "share some exciting news."

Once the bedroom door was closed, she exclaimed, "The damn thing works! We have shields!" and threw herself at me, kissing me great ardor.

Momentary surprise was discarded with this amazing woman heatedly molding her body against mine, her hands rubbing my cock while hungrily kissing me. Then she pushed me away, her eyes dilated.

"On the bed, Ranji. I need you but I need to drive."

Without ado, she removed her boots, then unbuckled and pushed her trousers and panties at the same time. When she caught me enthralled in watching her, she growled out, "Fine!"

Striding to me, she undid my holster, tossing it onto the bed, then undid my belt, yanking down underwear and trousers to my mid-thighs. "Come on, Kandikan, up onto the bed! I need you inside me. Are you going to help a girl out?"

Before I could even move, she climbed onto my lap, her hand stroking my swelling cock.

"That's it, get hard for me," she murmured, then looked between us as she held my shaft upright and sat onto me. Once I felt her wet lips envelope me, she groaned and began rising and falling, pressing deeper with each descent. Feeling her puffy folds touch my base and wetly kiss my ball sac, I sighed in pleasure. Janetta began to grind and rotate as her eyes closed and bliss filled her face.

"I love you, Janetta Tlacotli."

Her eyes snapped open and she stared at me, her mouth falling open as she ground harder against me. "Oh, gods, Ranji! Oh gods, I'm going to come... all over... your cock!"

My hands gripped her butt cheeks and squeezed.

She started to say something, but her pussy started convulsing around my length and she shivered. I pulled her down and hugged her tight, pressing my tongue into her mouth and stealing her breath.

A few moments later, she broke the kiss, heaving for air. Then she lifted up to look at where we were joined, then sat back down. She shook her head, vastly amused. "What am I going to do with you, Kandikan?"

"Keep on loving me," I told her.

"You're probably not very close, are you."

"Oh, that's so easy to fix. You stay right where you are and hang on."

"What--?"

I sat up, and keeping my grip on her, stood up. Then I moved one arm and she lifted her leg, then repeated the same motion with the other leg. Splayed open while in my arms, the weight of her body forced her pussy fully onto my hard cock. Her eyes widened at the new angle.

"Oh, gods, you're so deep in me, Ranji," she breathed. "I love you so much and this feels so amazing and so right."

Her body fully held up by the strength of my hands, I gripped her butt cheeks firmly. I lifted her hips away, then pulled her back, impaling her hot, dripping center anew.

Giving me a look of intense lust, she said, "Oh, fuck, Ranji, in this position, I have to just take whatever you decide to do to me."

Her eyelids fluttered as I worked with slow, full thrusts into her sheath. The desire to possess the entirety of her filled me, and I soon sped up my penetration of her. In no time at all, she was bouncing hard onto my hips, her juices spattering and coating my thighs. Janetta tensed as I hammered into her gaping cavity, my balls slapping wetly against the sensitive area between her pussy and ass.

"Oh, fuck!" Her fingers dug into my arms. "Ranji! Oh gods!"

Wonderfully sensations filled my cock and I quickly neared release. As she had ridden me to her to her own bliss, so I was in complete control of her at that moment. I growled out, "Take it, Janetta!"

After the first hot spurt into her hot inner sanctum, I arrested the bouncing and ground her sex against my groin as I mindfully emptied myself into her quivering cavity.

She moaned, rocking her hips up and down. As the last of my pulses fired off, she whimpered out, "Yes!" and I felt her pussy clamp and release around my cock again.

For several long moments while she clung to me, I stood there, holding her up as we savored our connection. She surprised me with a gentle kiss. "Excellent sortie, Kandikan. Two direct hits and payload successfully delivered right on target. Total annihilation."

I chuckled and kissed her back.

Zinja quietly entered the bedroom. Straightening up, she said, "Oh, I see you're otherwise engaged."

Janetta turned her head to look at her lover and mechanic. "Can you get a towel and lay it on the edge of the bed?"

Amused, Zinja answered, "Right away, Captain."

With a double layer of towels in place, I laid Janetta down and pulled out with a wet schlurk.

As Janetta expected, almost immediately, semen gushed out. She looked up at Zinja, who licked her lips as she watched her officer's gaping sex closing up and expelling more semen. "Are you going to just watch?"

With a wistful sigh, Zinja said, "Much as I'd love to clean you up, Captain, the girls are waiting for the Commander to read to them, and I should sit with Sisi."

Hiking up my trousers to my mid-thighs, I went to wash myself off in the bathroom. A little soap and warm water, and I secured my trousers. Lathering up and rinsing out the washcloth, I brought it to Janetta, and Zinja intercepted it, asserting that it was easier for her to see what needed cleaning. My pilot snorted, yet lay back and let her work.

I paused at the bedroom door and asked, "Janetta, if you had a successful test today, why didn't Cholan come home with you?"

"She thinks they have enough parts to figure out the energy weapons and install a working set."

"All right," I answered. "Please, keep me informed on how she's doing."

"I miss her, too, Kandikan," Janetta replied. "The Empire needs this. I need this."

There was nothing else to say that we hadn't already argued over, so I left, closing the door behind me.

Back downstairs, I fended a few questions from the very curious Sisi, then redirected her by reading the simpler story for Mina. Once that book was read, I proceeded with the longer story for Sisi. Partway through that, Janetta and Zinja came down and took their usual seats.

Interestingly, Izel and Calia sat at my feet with many others fanned out on the floor behind them. My wife remained awake, but Calia began to doze as she leaned against Izel. My wife seemed rather pleased by the turn of events, and directed one of her servants to get her a blanket and let Calia lay her head in her lap.

Later, after saying goodnight to girls and Calia was gently tucked into bed, Ixma was once more parked on my lap in the chair.

We had been enjoying some kisses and some light groping when I said, "Everything has been so crazy since the attack. I love you, Ixma, and I miss making love to you. You could come join me in the shower tomorrow morning if you'd like."

"I want to, in the worst way, Ranji, but I'm not on birth control right now."

I was surprised at that. "Why not? If you get pregnant before your exit completes, you'll get a dishonorable discharge. You won't be able to get into a college or university."

"I know that," she replied. "But there's this thing called a Protection Order, so if I get pregnant, it'll be because someone forced me. Besides, would you turn me out if I did get pregnant?"

"You know, or I should hope you should know that I would never do that to you, and not just because of Mina. I love you, Ixma. But you haven't answered my question. Why aren't you on birth control?"

"Because one day soon I want to have your baby, Ranji," she whispered. "I want you to fill me with your seed as many times as it takes to put that baby in me, and as often afterward. I think four is a good number, but if I like having your babies, we can talk about having more. But before that happens, there's something I've been thinking about, and it involves Mama."

"Go on."

"You've done so much for us and the other women of High Guard, Ranji. I'm so proud of you, and whenever I hear others talk about you, I almost want to shout, 'You're talking about my man and I love him!'"

Her words prompted a kiss from me.

After she engaged me in a short duel of tongues, she continued. "Being as she's my mama, she's older than me. My point is that she only has a few years left before she enters menopause and loses the ability to have children permanently. Mama loves you, Ranji, but I don't think things will ever be right enough for the captain to ever want to leave the Air Service, and as long as the captain stays in, Mama will insist she stays by her side. Sisi is my sister, but I also think Mama would love to have a child sired by you, a child that's part her and part you by blood, but circumstances won't that happen."

"I see," I replied. "And this has to do with you not being on birth control because...?"

"Well, Sisi is still really young, so having another child is less of a big deal. While Mama stays in the Air Service, I want to give her another child."

"How, exactly?"

"The doctors could harvest some of her eggs. I checked and it's not that expensive to do, it's under a thousand credits, and her fertilized egg could be planted in my womb."

"You want to be her surrogate. I see. Ixma, have you talked to your mama about this?"

"No," she admitted. "I thought I'd ask you first because you have to help make it happen. I mean, you have to provide the sperm and it's not like you can just put it in me and hose me down like you normally do. It has to be collected into a special container. If you object to doing this, especially after I get Mama convinced? That'll be really awkward. You're already a terrific daddy to Sisi and Mina, so I thought I'd approach you first."

I laughed. "You're a piece of work, Ixma. It's a good thing I love you, Little Mama."

She looked perplexed. "That's really vague, Ranji. I'm not sure if you are open to my plan or not."

"This will make you happy?"

"Oh, yes! I mean, I'm sure she'll resist at first, but with your support, I'm sure we can convince her."

"All right, tell me why you want to do this."

"You know the circumstances of my birth. The fact that I'm even here is because Mama chose to keep me. She could have given me away, but no, she gave me her House name, and struggled to make ends meet just to keep and raise me. I'm the result of cruelty and savagery that left Mama hospitalized through much of her pregnancy. Then there's Sisi, a great little sister, but there's no getting around that she's my sister because of what her birth father did to her brother and mama. Another child enters her life because of more pain, more misery that's been made right by Mama and you. Mama has said that she would have your baby, Ranji. I heard her say it. Mama deserves a baby that she wants because of love, not because of awful circumstances."

"Ixma, didn't it occur to you that you have it backwards?"

"What?"

"Your Mama kept you because she loved you as soon as she saw you. Yes, what happened was a terrible crime, but that has nothing to do with you. Your mama was raised in a big family, and she is the sole survivor. And you're right, she could have focused on the circumstances of your birth, but she chose not to. One of the first things she told me is that babies don't care about how they are born, only that they are and they need love and care. And it was for those reasons she chose to adopt Sisi, and for those same awesome reasons that I agreed to adopt both my daughters. Yes, I look forward to having more children, Ixma, and when you are ready for me to give you those children, I will happily do so. But Sisi and Mina are my girls. Full stop. It doesn't matter to me that I didn't sire them. They are my children, my girls. I love them, I will protect them, and I will help raise them like a good father should."