She turned her head back and kissed him passionately. One of his hands crept to her breasts and massaged them. She held his shaft and stroked it smoothly, enjoying its redness under the hot water. The feel of it aroused her and she felt like she needed some time on her knees. She kissed him on the neck and moved down slowly. By the time she got to his shaft he seemed like he was about to burst. He’d received a few abdominal bruises in the battle and she rested her hands on them tenderly.
The hot water was comforting and revitalizing at her back as she went about her work. She allowed him to climax with a series of gasps. She loved the feel of him as his whole body went rigid and tense, then slowly sagged.
She embraced Vinnie tiredly and let him continue his shower. She dried herself quickly and pulled on a simple white robe. She’d remembered that the renki was wounded and possibly needed medical attention.
She knocked on his door and opened it when she got no response. The big alien was sitting on the edge of a bed covered in blood. Gronko was welding his wound together with some kind of brutal first aid kit. The smell was horrible. Gronko himself was taking swigs from a bottle of blue liquid.
“Get the fuck out,” he said. “I’ll talk later.”
Charley hurried from the room. As she reached the doorway an object lurched from under the alien’s bed. It was FIGJAM, rushing to escape with Charley.
“I was offline under the bed,” he said irritably. “Fuckin’ warthog took my room.”
“It’s OK, FJ,” Charley said. “You can stay with me and Vinnie.”
“Only if you get nekkid whenever I look at you,” FIGJAM replied.
“We’ll see what we can arrange,” Charley said, strangely happy to see FIGJAM again. The Surprise was a little crowded now, and the anti-social PalBot would have to get used to sharing her.
Happy and relaxed, Charley fixed a citron chai, sat in the nav chair and watched the stars slide by.
The Surprise made Pankar with minimal trouble. In fact, the silence of this section of space worried Charley a little. The Silent Runners had lost their regional leader back on Mina IV, so wouldn’t they be hot on their tail? Instead, the Surprise cruised into Pankar space and was hailed by port authorities. Vinnie docked the ship at a private node and made arrangements to see a local trader. Charley went to check on Vanessa - she was exhausted and seemed content to catch up on sleep for now. She offered her diplomatic services but Charley knew she needed more time.
Gronko did make an appearance in the galley, complaining about the stopover.
“We’re sourcing some mining gear,” Vinnie explained. “You need to be patient, renki.”
The big warthog bristled at the idea but somehow refrained from throttling Vinnie.
“I don’t like this silence,” growled the alien.
“I don’t either,” Vinnie agreed. “But while we’re here we may as well improve the ship.”
“Your affairs are no concern of mine,” the alien said, disappearing into his room.
“The sooner we’re rid of him the better,” Vinnie muttered. “First I’d like to find out why he was paid to kill Fallon.”
“Good luck with that,” said Charley.
“Let’s go, space babe,” Vinnie said once they had permission to open their top hatch. Charley grinned as she followed Vinnie into a transit tunnel. She kind of liked that name. Definitely a lot better than ‘scrench’ or ‘waste’ as she was called back in the arid wastes of Abeyas. She walked with Vinnie along a polished corridor and into a busy foyer. Traders of all descriptions were busy haggling and purchasing goods. The great thing about this level of trading was that all these people were serious business owners. That cut out a lot of riff raff that ran small, dubious operations that all too often resorted to crime. A bipedal droid appeared before the pair and waved two red panels in a certain direction. It took Charley a moment to realize it was ushering them to the trader they had booked earlier. They followed the droid down several corridors lined with warehouses smelling like grease and circuitry. The droid rolled into a clean, spartan office that overlooked a huge warehouse floor. Huge machine parts towered to the ceiling, the vast majority of them related to mining in some way.
“Good evening,” said a woman dressed in the colorful sashes of the Okital system. “I was happy to make your acquaintance earlier today.”
Charley checked her wrist pad - it was indeed evening in this sector. She couldn’t keep up with the constant change in time zones. It was messing with her notion of a good night’s sleep. She wondered if she’d ever have one again.
“I chose you because you have a reputation for efficiency,” said Vinnie firmly. “I’m afraid I’m about to put that to the test.”
“What are your needs?” asked the trader, unperturbed.
“Our target is an asteroid,” Vinnie said, trying to sound like an experienced miner. “We need to outfit the vessel docked at 367B.”
The trader consulted her wrist pad for a moment. She looked at Vinnie with a patronizing smile. “There’s not much you can do with a fighter like that,” she said. “A standard mining rig would pull your chassis apart.”
Charley’s heart sank. Would they need another ship? They had no money for that.
“I see,” Vinnie said. “What if I was to make a down payment on a small mining vessel?”
With that, he produced the coral stone necklace he’d taken from Fallon’s villa on Mina IV.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not a jeweler,” said the trader with a trace of contempt.
“Precisely why you stand to make a little profit from that,” Vinnie said. “As you say, neither of us much idea on how much that is worth.”
The trader shook her head slowly. “Even if I was to nominate a price, there’s no way it could secure you a mining vessel. I’m sorry.”
Vin clutched the necklace tightly. Charley could tell he was growing frustrated.
“We have a cargo hold,” Charley suggested hesitantly. “It isn’t much, but it might hold some tech.”
Vinnie looked at Charley and seemed to gain inspiration from her suggestion. “Like I said, our target is an asteroid,” he said. “What do you have in the way of mining vehicles?”
“We have a new range of bobcats,” she said thoughtfully. “Three of our smallest units could fit into that hold. If it’s empty.”
“Bobcats,” Vinnie repeated. “What are the specs?”
“Basic drill, processor, collector tray,” came the reply. “They aren’t large enough for life support. You’ll need air suits.”
Vinnie nodded.
“Also, we’ll need to upgrade the tires to include mag hold tech,” said the trader. “That way you won’t drift away from the asteroid in zero gravity.”
“Sounds good,” Vinnie enthused. “Does the necklace cover it?”
The trader ran some calculations on her wrist pad. “You know what, I think we can work with that exchange.”
Vinnie clasped hands with the trader. “How long till delivery?”
“Give me seven hours.”
“Done.”
Charley spent the next hour wandering the trade floor in the center of Pankar hub. She was still getting used to being a true galactic citizen, able to come and go as she pleased. She marveled at the number of languages she heard and the various aliens she passed. There were probably ten species of alien throughout the known galaxy, and none of them were as powerful as humans. They were all on peaceful terms, however, and played their part in the functioning of the new, wild galactic order.
Charley could’ve immersed herself in the trade hub for several hours, but sleep tugged at the edges of her mind and she realized she hadn’t gone to bed for quite a while.
Just as she was about to seek out the dock that held the Surprise she heard a familiar voice behind her.
“Buy an old man a drink?”
Charley spun on her heels. It was Harry Teks! She ran to him and embraced him as tightly as she’d ever held anyone. She was also co
nfused - shouldn’t Harry be dead?
The old man held her at arm’s length and looked into her eyes.
“It’s good to see you, girl,” he said warmly. “It took me a while to find you.”
Before Charley could answer, Harry took her to a kiosk by the trading hub and ordered them both a steaming hot mug of jenka.
“You should be dead,” Charley said quietly, almost tearing up at the memory.
“That’s probably true,” Harry said, his eyes glittering mischievously. “But old, leathery pirates are notoriously hard to break in two.”
“What happened? Everyone said the Silent Runners got you.”
“The first assassin I killed outright,” Harry said. “The second one I chased through the window. It was a close thing, but I eventually cornered him. As you say, everyone thought I was dead, so I used that to my advantage. I went underground. Located my loot cache which had records of multiple identities. I followed your trail to Mina IV and then to here. Now that I’ve found you I’ll revert to my real name.”
Charley looked at Harry in wonder, not daring to believe all this was true.
“That’s right,” Harry said. “I want to join the Pirate’s Guild if you’ll have me. I was wasting away at the Academy. You’ve inspired me to find my passion again. Be a pirate to the end.”
Charley almost laughed with joy. Having Harry on the Guild was just what they needed right now. A wise old head to guide them through difficult decisions.
“Are you kidding?” she said. “You’re the leader.”
“Oh no,” came the reply. “This pirate is happy to play a support role. My most active days are over.”
He fixed her a cheeky grin.
“Mostly.”
11
Charley turned away with a smile, feeling a little embarrassed.
“But what about Vinnie? He thinks he lost a father. You gotta go see him.”
“I will,” Harry promised. He held her by the hand lightly. “But first I thought we could … make up for lost time.”
Charley smiled again, but her first impulse was to pull away.
“I don’t know, Harry,” she said. “Things are more complicated now.”
Harry sat back in his chair with a thoughtful expression. “It’s Vinnie, isn’t it? My boy has found a way into your heart.”
“I don’t know about that,” Charley insisted. “You Teks men are infuriating. I feel drawn to both of you.”
Teks had that familiar, predatory look in his eyes. “Then maybe you need to more evidence before you decide one way or another.”
Charley couldn’t help but smile. “Are you trying to get me into bed, Harry Teks?”
“Of course, sweetheart, I’ve thought about nothing else since our moment at the Academy.”
Something in Charley’s body seemed to cave in. These Teks men were going to ruin her life, she was sure of it, but she knew there was no way she could refuse Harry right now. She wanted to have him that way again. It felt right. The primitive connection between them was too strong to ignore.
“Lead the way, old man,” Charley said coyly. “We can rejoin the ship later on.”
Harry booked a comfortable room for eight hours. Pankar’s hire cubes were located near the top of the facility and afforded a nice view of the system.
Charley sat on the edge of the bed and slowly unhooked her utility belt. Harry smiled at the heavy clunk of her sword as it clattered to the ground.
“There’s my little pirate,” he said with genuine affection. He slowly unbuttoned his shirt and unhooked his belt. Charley pulled his leather trousers down and rubbed the bulging manhood under his briefs. Slowly she drew them down to his ankles. He stood to attention, completely engorged. Their tongues met and rolled together. The older man’s hands cupped Charley’s breasts through the material of her jumpsuit. Before long he had to delve deeper. He unzipped her, but slowly.
Next he was pulling at her tight, clinging pants. She’d long given up on the idea of underwear - she liked the feel of her jumpsuit against her naked skin.
Harry pulled the jumpsuit down to Charley’s ankles and she stepped out of it. She wanted him inside her. She pushed him back on the bed and straddled him, arching her back so her breasts sat perfectly. He cupped them with his hands as he maneuvered himself inside her. He felt incredibly warm and hard. She slid up and down him. Harry threw his head back, unable to look at her any longer. He pulsed up and down in perfect time to her own thrusts. Charley’s breath quickened and she knew she was about to explode.
She gripped the hard flesh at Harry’s chest and kneaded it savagely as her body was overcome with a wave of ecstasy. Harry returned his gaze to her body and thrust hard once, twice, three times, his whole frame stiffening with climax. Charley gasped as she came at exactly the same time as Harry. She loved it when that happened.
Harry laid a lazy hand on her breast and sighed.
“I think we fit well together, Charley,” he said dryly.
She had to giggle. It was true.
“Seems that way,” she agreed. She thought of Vinnie, and of what he might say if he found out about her history with his father Harry. Technically, she wasn’t cheating at all, since monogamy wasn’t really practiced right throughout the galaxy. It certainly wasn’t practiced where Charley was from. She hadn’t had a great deal of lovers but women were usually free to see who they wanted from night to night without fear of judgement or reprimand. But, as always, there were human emotions to consider. Charley was fairly certain that Vinnie wouldn’t exactly be crazy about the idea of she and Harry. It was just human nature. But what could be done about it? Charley actually felt a deeper connection with Harry than she did with Vin. With the burly son, she felt intoxicated by the danger he represented. She liked his edginess. With Harry it was a lot different. Harry made her feel more like a glamorous woman somehow. It was an old-fashioned feeling but Charley really liked how she felt around Harry. Some of the older men really knew how to treat women. If Charley ever had to choose between the two she knew which way she’d go. And it wouldn’t be to the younger man. But hopefully it would never come to that. What Charley did in her private life was no one else’s business. She couldn’t see herself telling Vinnie about Harry and that’s how it would stay.
She rolled over with a contented smile, teasingly pushing her breasts together so Harry could nuzzle at them. He seemed to have a huge sexual appetite for a man of his age. She could only imagine the women he enjoyed when he was younger. The thought only made her more excited.
“Should we get back?” Harry said. “Your ship might be ready by now.”
“I suppose so,” Charley sighed, not wanting to leave. “Reality awaits.”
“By the way,” Harry said with a twinkle in his eye. “I read a Guildmasters’ report on how you scored the Surprise. Well done, Pirate Silverton.”
Charley reddened but felt a flush of pride. She’d actually taken the third step to becoming a pirate! The first had been the acquisition of her pirate weapons. The second had been the discovery of the Guild Hall on Galveston. Progress was definitely being made!
In a rush of excitement she straddled Harry again and coaxed the older man into going a second time. She couldn’t get enough of the silver-haired fox. He made her feel like she was taking on the galaxy all by herself. It was an addictive feeling and one she didn’t want to lose.
Back on the Surprise, Charley and Harry found Vin in the hull storing the mining bobcats. The units were slightly larger than Charley imagined. She examined the processing unit and pictured precious gemstones passing through there.
Vinnie looked up and smiled when he saw Charley. The grin faded when he saw who stood by her shoulder.
“It’s been a long time, son,” Harry said.
Vinnie scowled and finished clamping down the last mining bobcat and prowled from the cargo bay. Charley looked at Harry apologetically. The old man shrugged.
“He still blames me for his ex-wife,” he ex
plained. “I’m not sure if we’ll ever be on good terms.”
Charley nodded sadly. Vinnie hadn’t shown the slightest emotion at seeing his father alive. It looked as though she would be stuck in the middle in the immediate future. She resolved to get the men to talk, to break down the barriers that had kept them apart for so long. It would take time but they were both members of her crew, her family, and she cared. The next problem was accommodation. She doubted Harry would be able to share a room with Gronko so she knocked on Vanessa’s door. She answered wearing a slight neglige. Her body looked voluminous and ripe beneath it. She rubbed her eyes and had clearly been asleep.
“I think I’ll just sleep in the galley when I can,” Harry said with a bemused smile. Charley apologized to Vanessa and closed the door.
Harry chose a comfortable bench in the corner of the galley and was soon fast asleep. She wondered if that was a pirate trick born from long space journeys.
“I have authorization to launch,” Vinnie said irritably. He sure didn’t look happy that Harry had found Charley. She shrugged and assumed her position in the nav chair.
The trip to the asteroid passed without incident. Vinnie navigated from the coordinates he found on Fallon’s secret data cube. Charley passed the time playing battle mechs with Harry on the games table. The old man was a wonderful playing partner, affable and full of hilarious stories. Vinnie, on the other hand, became grumpy when he didn’t win.
A ping from the dashboard alerted the crew that the asteroid was approaching. Charley wandered over to the view screen to have a look. She magnified the view to 4000%. The object was large for an asteroid, riddled with caves and tunnels.
Gronko and Vanessa came out for a look as Vinnie soared towards their target. Charley and Vinnie left to change into their air suits. She made a mental note to buy their new crew members suits next time they were at a trading hub.
The Pirate Captain (The Space Pirate Chronicles Book 2) Page 6
