Starlight Gleaming Ch. 22

Hanging her head, she said, "Don't verbally criticize one of the partners."

"And why not?" he prompted.

"Because it will likely cause them to band together against you."

Despite my back giving me shooting pains, I struggled not to laugh. I knew Fay was trying, she was just green yet.

Alto gave Fay a pat on her shoulder. "Good. Go wait by the cruiser. If Motor Pool arrives to collect the HueCac, take off the tire-lock for them."

"Yes, Sarge." And she departed.

"The brakes really are bad?" Janetta looked at me. "How did you know?"

"I didn't," I answered her. "But you ran over the broken post. Even if there wasn't a visible leak, I would have had the vehicle in the shop and examined by a mechanic. Yes, the nano-hardened bumper and grill weren't damaged, but the underside isn't as protected. Am I going to have to restrain you or are you finally going to listen to reason, Captain Tlacotli?"

Janetta winced, lowering her face while keeping her eyes fixed on me. "I'll listen."

"Out-fucking-standing," I said.

I saw Corporal Warrigan, Janetta's new e-man approach us. She, too, looked exhausted. "Sir, Sergeant Zinja's in the latrine and says she's having trouble getting to her feet."

Janetta started to move, but I grabbed her hand. "I'll get her. You get your gear and hers, Captain Tlacotli, and then you get your butt into the back seat of the cruiser. Alto? Show the captain where we're parked."

"She's my crew chief, Kandikan! She's my responsibility!"

"You just told me you were going to listen and be reasonable! Look at you, Janetta. You're a fucking mess! You go with Sergeant Alto! Warrigan, after you show me where the latrine is, get Zinja's kit and anything else that's hers and bring it to the security cruiser outside. After that, you and the rest of your crew are off duty until next week. Since you just ate, go home, get a hot shower, and get some rack time."

"Yes, sir," she answered tiredly, pausing a half-second to see if Janetta countermanded me. When she didn't, the corporal added, "Follow me, sir."

As the hangar was designed to shelter and service a Condor, the hangar was necessarily huge; to accommodate the crew, the unisex latrine had five stalls and three sinks in the washing area.

I entered the latrine and called out, "Zinja? Where are you?"

"Commander Kandikan? Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Rescuing you. I've already had to argue with your officer. I know all about last night. I'm here to take you and her to the hospital to get checked out. Your officer already tried to fight me on this. If I have to argue with you as well, I will be very disappointed in my farm girl."

"I won't argue, sir." While reassured, Zinja sounded like she was in pain, which worried me.

The second stall was occupied, but I leaned over to see the feet. By the hairy legs of the occupant, it was plain it wasn't Zinja. I found her in the last stall. Using my belt knife, I lifted the privacy latch and carefully opened the door.

Zinja's face had several ugly bruises, and like Janetta, she had Nu-skin patches from her hairline down to her chin on the left side of her face. With her coveralls and panties at her ankles, almost as disturbing were the scabbed over knees and bruises on the outside of both legs, from thighs down to her calves. The left side, where she'd initially landed, was definitely worse. Her left elbow was swollen and had a couple patches wrapped around the joint. Probably for the analgesic.

She saw my reaction. Her lower lip trembled and her eyes began to fill. She hastily wiped away any budding tears.

"Do I look that bad?"

I looked at her grimly. "You won against the stop sign, but I'd say it wasn't an easy victory. What seems to be the current problem, Zinja?"

"Every time I lean forward to stand, my back spasms. My left arm's weak, too. And... and now my legs are going to sleep."

"Do you need to wipe at all?"

"You're an officer!" Zinja exclaimed, then sighed. "By the gods, you don't care. If I needed my ass wiped, you'd do it for me, wouldn't you."

"You even have to ask that, Zinja?" I replied.

She swallowed and shook her head. "No, sir. I finished and flushed. Just having trouble getting to my feet."

"All right," I said, lifting up her panties and coveralls to her knees. "I'm going to lean down and put you over my shoulder. I'll try not to jostle you. It'll be a bit tight, but if I squat down and slowly back out through the stall's doorway, I think we can make our escape without any fatalities. Think we can manage that?"

She gave me a wry grin. "Yes, sir."

Working carefully, I leaned forward, she moved her right arm up and braced her right armpit around my neck; the left arm with its swollen joint she didn't even try to move. I slowly lifted, one hand on her coveralls and the other firmly on her butt cheek. I slowly stepped backward as she watched our clearance. Once outside the stall, I straightened up, and she slipped down my front, but before her feet hit the floor, I scooped her up, cradling her in my arms.

"Are you going to put me down?" she asked. "Sir, my bare ass is hanging out. I'd rather not show everyone my goods."

I grinned at her. "Totally understandable. Do you think you can stand? At least enough to put on your panties? Might as well leave off the coveralls because the ER staff will just make you take them off anyway."

"We're really going to the hospital?"

"Farm Girl, you were in a HueCac that came to a sudden stop while you tried to keep on going. You bounced at least twenty feet and hit the ground hard. You are a mass of bruises, scrapes, and whatnot. Janetta didn't bounce as far, but she took a tumble, too. I love you both. When I saw the accident on film, I nearly had a heart attack, and what really hurt my feelings is that I had to learn about it hours after the fact. Hours. For my own peace of mind, you and Janetta are going to be examined by medical professionals and that is not open for debate. Am I clear?"

"As crystal, sir," responded contritely.

She was able to stand and hike up her panties. Without the coveralls, the only clothing she had on was her panties and sports bra. I noted that she wore one of my neckerchiefs to keep her hair bound. Seeing the line of bruises on her back, I wasn't surprised she was in pain. I threw the coveralls and her boots tied together over my shoulder, then scooped her up in a princess-carry again. I backed out through the latrine's moveable two-way door, mindful of her feet and head when exiting.

Some of the enlisted began to cheer when they saw me carrying Zinja in her underwear. her right side against me to avoid jostling her injuries. The onlookers noticed bruises and scabs and either quieted or murmured in astonishment.

Outside the hangar, Alto opened the rear door of the cruiser for me. I set Zinja down as gently as I could, made sure her feet and hands were inside, then closed the door. Janetta sat in the middle. Alto took her footwear and coveralls and stored them in the boot. I walked around and got in beside Janetta. Alto slid into the front passenger seat.

"Corporal Fay," I said, "lights, no siren. Take us to Empress Chaya Hospital."

"Yes, sir."

While Fay drove, Alto updated Dispatch as to our new location.

Seeing the many bruises on Zinja's nearly naked body made Janetta inhale sharply. She reached over and took the older woman's right hand. "Gods, I'm sorry, Zinja."

"I was driving, sir."

"That's not the point," Janetta told her. "You should have said how much you were hurting."

"You needed me."

"I will always need you," Janetta told her. "I'm never letting you go, Zinja."

At the hospital, we parked and I carried Zinja again. Janetta kept glancing at Zinja's battered body, looking guilty. And, because there were others ahead of us, we got wheelchairs for both - I insisted - and we settled in to wait.

When the admissions clerk was finally ready, I explained both women had been in a vehicle accident the previous evening, and I wanted full biometric exams to make sure there was no internal bleeding. I stressed the fact that head injuries were involved and one was a pilot. If their scabs bled at all, they could also use some fresh bandages.

The wait was about three hours. As it neared the dinner hour, I called home and spoke to Izel. I quickly explained the situation, and she said she loved us and that they would save hot meals for us. That gave me a smile, and I told her I loved her, too.

After I hung up, Janetta quietly asked, "Are you still angry?"

"Janetta, I'm not going to feel better until you've both been checked out and have been cleared to go home."

"Ranji, I just—"

"Save it. We'll talk later. I understand better than you think I do about why you pushed yourself and your crew. The problem is you pushed until you were both exhausted, and to make matters worse, you didn't let me know about it. The only thing that's keeping me from yelling at you both is it's obvious that you're both so sleep-deprived that I don't think you truly comprehend what you've done."

As I suspected, within a short time, both women were out, snoring fitfully.

Two hours later, the scans revealed that aside from a few scrapes and multiple bruises, Janetta was cleared, she just needed rest, and plenty of it. She'd been lucky.

Zinja's back spasm turned out to be more than just severe bruising. When she'd landed on her arm, she'd badly sprained her elbow. She'd also torqued her shoulder, partially tearing her rotator-cuff muscle. It would take months of healing and severe restriction of movement in order for it to fully heal. Or, I could pay for her to get nanotech treatment, which I did. A last-minute cancellation had an opening early tomorrow morning at the Nanotech Center. The soft tissue would take an hour to fix.

When we got home, Janetta carried Zinja's coveralls while I carried my farm girl, her arm immobilized in a body-sling. Alto and Fay went off duty, and since they were off the next day, I told them both I expected to see them next week. Fay, afraid she was going to get replaced, profusely thanked me for not replacing her and they departed.

Once we were inside, while they let us sit down at the table, everyone gathered around to hear the news. There were a few exclamations of surprise, the most vocal one was from Ixma, but Mina and Sisi, still awake, wanted to get a hug from me and from Zinja before they went upstairs for bed. Sisi insisted on getting one from Janetta as well, and that nearly brought my fierce warrior to tears.

With my permission, Sowitwee used the link to First and Second Home and let people know why there was a substitution for the night's reading session. Amid worried looks, there were wishes for speedy recoveries, and they signed off.

Zinja and Janetta had been offered a prescription for a painkiller, but it was the same drug that had previously made them incoherent while failing to ease the pain. The doctor refused to change the med, saying it was the authorized drug for dealing with patient pain. Understandably, both declined to fill it, and I resolved to talk with someone in the morning about the matter.

After our meal, we headed upstairs. Izel already had the hot tub filling, and Janetta grabbed her last bottle of metl juice. While they soaked, they relaxed and became intoxicated, but in almost no time, the alcohol and heat overwhelmed them, and they were out cold.

While I retrieved them from the tub, Izel helped dry them, and we got them into bed.

Giving Izel a good long kiss and a hug, I went across the hall to shower some affection on Calia and Ixma, and if they were awake, my daughters as well.

Mina was dozing, but the other three were awake and welcomed the hugs, kisses, and snuggling. When they were starting to nod off, I returned to the master bedroom, and snuggling with Izel, went to sleep.

The next morning, around zero-five hundred, Izel collected some things for Zinja to wear and I helped her get dressed. As the weather was cooler, I made sure to bundle her up.

Downstairs, Calia surprised me first by being awake, and second, by saying she was going with us.

"Something wrong with Zinja I don't know about?" I asked as we quickly collected a food wrap of eggs, potatoes, veggies, and melted cheese with a savory sauce. Not sure what the sauce was, but it was pretty good.

Sergeants Haytam and Cooma were on the morning shift and drove us to the appointment at the Nanotech Center. Despite protests that they'd already had breakfast, Haytam and Cooma agreed to split one for later consumption.

I was surprised to see the doctor there, as the medical techs were capable of doing the work, yet there he was, awake and present. After she was sedated, Zinja submersed into one of the tanks, getting fixed by a few billion nanobots. Cooma stayed with Zinja, while Haytam stood guard outside the doctor's office.

After Zinja was done, she looked a hundred percent better after her treatment, and moved without a hint of any of her previous pain. Besides the major shoulder muscle repair and her injured elbow joint, all her bruises and abrasions vanished. I was elated, and Zinja herself seemed pretty pleased with the results.

Zinja insisted on dressing herself, savoring the experience, but afterward, she was surprised but accepted my hug and kisses.

I discussed the pain med issue for Janetta with Dr. Jehantli, and he wrote a different prescription for her.

"It's pretty strong, so watch her, and while she's taking it, no driving."

We headed home to have lunch. After that, having missed making love to Izel in the morning, I took my wife upstairs and we took our time making love.

Unsurprisingly, both Janetta and Zinja pretty much slept through the whole thing with nary a peep between them. They woke up for dinner, and were there for the evening's story time.

Later, after the girls were in bed and asleep, Calia and Ixma joined us in the bedroom and we had a family meeting. Janetta wasn't happy about it, no doubt assuming I would call her and Zinja out for hiding the fact of their accident, maybe yell at her a bit, and afterward, I would forgive her, we'd have make-up sex, and that would be it.

We had a long talk, and it turned out it was a good thing we did. Questions were put to both Janetta and Zinja, with some prodding by Calia. Janetta finally admitted to some jealousy with my making love to Izel every day, and used that to help justify to herself why she had kept pushing herself and her crew with their work at the airfield. Janetta apologized to Izel, and Izel in turn assured Janetta that she was not trying to displace Janetta in my life. Likewise, both Calia and Ixma let Janetta and Zinja know that their hiding the accident hadn't just hurt my feelings, but theirs as well.

"We are a family," Calia declared. "We all share one amazing man, but we also depend on each other to make this family work smoothly. If you feel left out or ignored, you need to say something!"

"Yeah," Ixma chimed in. "Here I thought you were getting regular attention, and now I find out that you haven't gotten any at all. It's a good thing Ranji has been feeling better and making love to us more often. He shares your bed, for pity's sake! If you aren't getting laid, it's your own damn fault!"

Drawing Janetta into my lap, I assured her that she was still first in my heart, but that if she or Zinja ever tried to hide getting hurt from me or the rest of the family again, I would be both very angry and unhappy. I added that there was a difference between giving my lover the freedom to do what she wanted or needed to do and acting casually or irresponsibly with the feelings of others.

Contrite, both women apologized to everyone, not just to me. Janetta also said she was very sorry for having hit me and trying to get in a second hit afterward.

I loved each of them. Differently, to be sure, but love them I did. Getting hugs from five women at once felt amazing; hearing each of them profess their love for me made me feel on top of the world. I wondered how I'd ever gotten so lucky.

At that point, I chose to share the technical setbacks that we'd suffered. This generated the expected curses from Janetta, and the sympathetic noises from both Zinja and Ixma. Then I told her that while production of more circuit boards was on hiatus, that Tohingo Defense Research (TDR) was resuming limited production of upgraded and armed Lightnings, so things weren't completely bleak.

I pointedly asked Janetta, "Knowing what I've told you, is there such a need to keep pushing yourselves so hard?"

Shaking her head morosely, Janetta said, "No, gods curse their idiocy. With such men as these working for us, we have no need for more enemies!"

Her declaration was universally agreed upon, and there were more hugs and kisses all around. Again, I felt like the luckiest man in the world.

Calia murmured to me, "Master, it is our willingness to share you that enables each of us to have a portion of happiness. The alternative is that one is blissful while the others are miserable and bereft. We are also there for each other, even when you aren't. Together, we are stronger."

Izel smiled at Calia and winked at me. "Calia is young, yet she is very wise in matters of the heart."

As we four readied for bed, Janetta told me she wanted to make love, but also expressed her worry that she might fall asleep while I was pleasuring her. Almost as if to make her point, she yawned. Then yawned again.

Sometimes I think Janetta had such a hard time growing up that while she had no trouble facing challenges that would destroy lesser beings, that being told she was loved continued to shatter her. Sometimes she aggravated me, but I loved her even more intensely, and I would fight hard to keep her in my life.

Smiling to myself, I looked forward to rocking her world - and being rocked in return.

Grabbing plenty of towels and laying some of them out on the bed, my fierce warrior and I kissed and touched, using our hands and mouth to show appreciation and to incite a response in the other. Lavishing attention on her breasts till her nipples were turgid peaks, I guided her onto her back, and she opened her legs eagerly, urging me to impale her needy pussy. When she saw my head descend between her legs, she initially protested while I held her legs apart and worshiped at her leaking fountain. Her weak protests changed to sighs and small cries of appreciation. I flicked and sucked her tender folds, urging her hard button to show itself. Her pink entrance swelled and darkened as her arousal grew. With my mouth and fingers, I showed her again how much pleasure a well-loved pussy could feel. Humping back at me, her juices oozed and dripped out, and I did my best to drink down her tangy essence. Her movements grew faster as her grip on my head tightened.

Such sweet satisfaction hearing her call my name as she came! Love is making your lover feel exquisite sensations, focusing on their pleasure with the sole aim of hearing their cry of joy and knowing that you did that to them and for them.

Janetta's legs clamped around my face, her womanhood convulsing and dripping with more of her essence. I happily plundered every drop I could find.

I'm pretty sure she expected me to climb over her and shove my hard cock into her aching tunnel and begin pounding her into the mattress. However, I felt indulgent and rolled onto my back, tugging at her - an invitation that she eagerly accepted.

Grabbing my cock, she straddled my waist and aimed my fat knob at her slick entrance. As she descended, feeling me opening up more of her sheath, she groaned, her heavy-lidded eyes full of her need for me.

The dozing Zinja yelped in surprise as I tugged her close and brought her mouth to mine. My face was covered with Janetta's tangy juices, and when she realized that, she gave me a sloppy kiss, then busily set to licking Janetta's juices from my face.