Chapter 38 – Happy Birthday Captain Morgan!

We filled our hold with computer parts and decided to head for Ususor, two days away. Spitfire was Captain. Her first mass-lock was five pirates, two were marked as fugitives. She glanced at me, I smiled and said, “You've got this babe. Make sure they never hurt anyone else, ever again.” She gave me a small smile and a quick nod. No sooner had the comms channel announced their demand for our cargo, than Spitfire opened the front mil. Two pirate ships were gone, before she red lined it.

“Incoming missile, Captain.” Aria informed her. Spitfire looped Aria over on her back.

“Lock it, Aria!” ordered Spitfire.

“That's my girl!” I thought.

A quick flash of the rear mil.. Poof, went the missile.

Lasers were splashing against our shields now. “Target the next one Aria!” Two more pirates were turned to dust before the rear laser overheated. The last pirate decided to make a run for it. Spitfire never hesitated. She pulled Aria around once again, and vaporized him.

Her count was now seven, and by the time we made the station, she added four more. Our new shield booster had made a big difference, I noted. We sold the computer parts, but had no luck with contracts. I picked up a partial load of furs, and Spitfire filled the rest with wines and liquor. While we waited, we had Aria refuelled, and looked at the star-charts for our next destination. Gerete was the closest rich tech, system, and it was only four hours away. So, we had Aria aim for that next.

As we entered the system, we were greeted by a couple of Galcop Vipers. Always nice to see when you exit witchspace. Spitfire headed us towards the station. We were mass-locked, by yet another group of Galcop Vipers. We sent them a howdy over the comm channel. A short time later, we entered an asteroid field.  Spitfire threaded us through, yelling “Ride 'em cowboy!” as she threw Aria first to one side, then the other.

“I'm going to ride you, if you scratch the paint job on this ship!” I said, trying hard not to smile at her antics.

“Oooh! Promise baby? Because that sure sounds like fun to me!” She gave me her most wicked, sensuous grin.

“Not if you smear us all over one of these rocks I won't!” I exclaimed, as she purposely skimmed within meters of one.

We were almost within the station's patrol zone, and were starting to relaxing, when five more blips hit the scanner. We had never been attacked this close to the station aegis before, and it took us both by surprise. Laser fire was already splashing on our shields before Spitfire was able to lock onto her first target. She rolled Aria around, and hit the fuel injectors, to try and get out of their range. At the same time, she opened up the rear laser and cooked him.

“Incoming missile, Captain” announced Aria.

“Lock it, Aria!” shouted Spitfire, and the missile went poof.

Another burst of the rear laser heated up another ship, but didn't destroy it. Spitfire turned to face them again. The front laser finished the job, as once again we began to be hammered with laser fire. These boys had been target practising. Spitfire turned again to try for distance, but before she got turned around, Aria announced two more missiles.

“ECM!” I yelled. Spitfire slapped the button. One of the missiles went poof, the other didn't. She wrenched Aria into a spin, with the injectors wide open. We watched the missile fall behind amid the flashing laser beams. She kept on the injectors, until she could finally lock the missile and blast it. She quickly targeted the next ship and red-lined the laser into him, destroying him as well. Two left. Both of our front and rear lasers were still pretty hot. The last two pirates had caught up to us, and were slapping Arias ass. Spitfire hit the injectors again to buy us time and distance. Then she looped around, locked onto one of the baddies and fired off a missile. As soon as it was away, she locked onto the second ship, and took him out with the front laser. The last ship had broken off, and was intent on outrunning Spitfire's missile. Spitfire followed, waiting for the front laser to cool off enough to finish him off if the missile didn't do it first. We saw the flash, but the ship was still going. Spitfire lined up, and finished the job.

We both looked at each other at the exact same moment, and let out the breaths we had been holding. Spitfire leaned over the arm of the couch, clenched her fingers in my hair, and pulled my head down to her. She kissed me hard, almost desperately, leaving us both breathless. With a lust filled look, she returned to her controls, and took us the rest of the way to the station. The adrenalin rush, combined with her need to confirm herself, to verify that she was still alive and safe, made for one very “affectionate” Spitfire! Aria had barely settled onto her landing pads, before her boots were flying, and she was peeling off her nano-suit. Even Nipper, was smart enough to jump off the couch and get out of the way, as she threw herself on top of me. It was one thing to pick off pirates when they are far away, and you have all the time in the world. But the blood flows, and the adrenalin pumps, when the pirates are in your face. A loud and sweaty hour later found her once again in convulsive bliss. I carried her, on my own wobbly legs, to our shower. I sat on the floor, and cradled her in my lap, as I gently bathed her. It was a much more calm and relaxed Spitfire that emerged from the shower a while later. We sold our cargo and refuelled. I found a passenger contract. It didn't pay particularly well, but we needed to work on our reputation. I also didn't like this area of the galaxy. Too many hostiles around here.

Mr. Reangeit Orbitston was a quiet and somewhat shy avian type. He needed to be on Riredi within fourteen days and two hours. We didn't ask why. Spitfire had put her “Captain” outfit back on, and was showing him to his quarters. Aria plotted a course that should get us there in about twelve days.

My birthday was in two.

Thinking about that made me feel a bit homesick, so before we left, Spitfire and I made a quick vid, and sent it off to Pa and Terra. Then Spitfire took us out, and squirted us into witchspace. Once we were under-way, we met with Mr. “Orbit”, as Spitfire called him. Spitfire made sure he was familiar with all our rules and had synchronized his datapad's clock to Aria's. She showed him the 'fresher for his clothes, where the medkits were located and such. I just sat and watched. Currently, her nano-suit looked as if it were made of the deepest black velvet. Completely opaque to the point of almost absorbing light. Stars, galaxies, nebula, planets and gas clouds, all floated across the curves of her body. Even Mr. Orbit seemed entranced. She was pointing out the coffee machine, and as he leaned forward to examine the device, she gave me a sly, over the shoulder wink. In the blink of an eye, her suit became completely transparent! Only a faint, iridescent sheen on her skin, hinted that she was wearing anything at all. In the next blink, just as Mr. Orbit began to turn around, she was once again clothed in her own personal universe. I'm sure he must have wondered, what I was always smiling about. We shared our evening meal with him, but I got the impression he was uncomfortable around other people. So after we finished, we retreated to the bridge and left him to his own devices.

I sat on the command couch with Spitfire sitting across my lap. To my delight, she had found a software upgrade that made her nano-suit interactive! She was currently covered with small, semi-opaque, iridescent bubbles. Each one I poked with my finger, would “pop” allowing me to see what was underneath! The bubbles would reappear after a second or two, forcing me to pop them over and over again. Of course, poking her with my finger tickled, causing her to laugh and giggle. Which made the game even more fun. Another one I enjoyed, was “finger painting” mode. It allowed me to write and draw pictures all over her body.  We also had fun, just sitting there, thinking up new modes to program in later on.

She took Nipper for his walk to the cargo bay. She had found a large square of syntheti-grass, about six feet on a side. She also acquired a scooper-bot, like the one from the park. This one however, was programmed to wait until Nipper had left the grass before darting out to tidy up. She explained that an internal furnace would then incinerate the waste, and turn it into ash. She only had to empty the ash about once a week. When she returned, she took my hands, and pulled me up off the couch. Then she led me to our bed.

I heard her get out of bed the next morning, and assumed she was taking Nipper for his morning “walk”. I went back to sleep. Some time later, I was awakened as she entered the room singing the birthday song. I opened my eyes to see her standing beside the bed, holding a lap-table full of dishes. She was wearing a teeny tiny white apron, tied around her waist, and not a thread more. “What's going on?” I asked, still not quite awake.

“It's your birthday baby! I made you breakfast in bed!” I was starting to come around now. And sat up to lean against the top of the bed. She set the lap-table on the bed in front of me. Waffles, eggs, toast, bacon, coffee, and juice. All my favorites. She made enough for both of us, and we sat side by side, and shared the table. Once we finished, she set the little table on the desk, and returned to stand at the foot of the bed.

“But how did you know it was my birthday Spitfire?” I asked.

“It's on your license silly! Plus Aria has it on file too, you know!” She paused. “By the way, if Mr. Orbit should say anything, just explain that I was making you a special breakfast.” she said.

“Why would Mr. Orbit say anything?” I asked.

“Um... I kinda forgot about him, while I was cooking breakfast in the common room. He's so quiet, that I didn't see him sitting in the corner of the room until I was finished..?” she said, and blushed all the way down to her breasts.

I was bein' a little slow this morning. She directed my attention to her hips, and the teeny tiny apron, struggling to conceal her little love triangle. Then she turned around, and wiggled her completely exposed bottom. “That's all you were wearing, the whole time you were cooking.” I said, as comprehension finally took hold. She put the tip of her forefinger between her teeth and nodded. I began to laugh, long and hard. Spitfire laughed too, relieved that I wasn't upset. “He should feel lucky we don't charge him extra for the entertainment!”

Spitfire tossed the covers off of me. She climbed onto the foot of the bed, and began to crawl her way up my body. She kissed me deeply, then lay on my chest. Looking me deep in the eyes, she said, “Morgan Black. In the months I have known you, you have rescued me time and time again, on so many levels. I can never begin to thank you, let alone repay you.”

“Oh Bee honey, You don't nee...”I started.

“Shut up Morgan, and listen to me, please?” She sat up, straddling my stomach. She was dead serious now. I shut up and nodded for her to continue. “You rescued me from a lonely, miserable life, on that space station. You rescued me from those three men, who were going to rape me, and then probably would have killed me to keep me quiet.” I had never really thought of that. “You have given me a home, a life, and a family. You literally gave me half of everything you own.” She indicated the ship around us. Tears were starting to roll down her cheeks. And her little voice quavered, but she continued on. “You've given me more, than I could have ever dreamed of having. And I, haven't given you anything!” I opened my mouth to protest, but she gave me a warning look that clamped my jaws shut hard.

“I could give you every credit I have, but even if I had a million credits, it wouldn't begin to ever be enough. I just don't have anything to give you that could ever compare, to everything you have given me.” She was sobbing now. Tears were falling on my chest and stomach, like warm rain. But she wasn't done yet. “The only thing that I can give you, Morgan Black, is me. I don't know how to say this. And I know, I am going to screw this up. But as far as I am concerned, Morgan Bartholomew Black, I belong to you. Heart, body and soul. I'm not asking you to marry me. As far as I am concerned, you can just slap a brand on my ass, if you want to. Either way, it doesn't make any difference. I am giving myself to you."

"I will stay with you forever, just like we are right now, bouncing around the galaxy. And I could never be happier. Or if someday, you decided that you wanted me to marry you, the answer is already yes." She gave a little sob-laugh. "Or, if you just want to chain me, naked in the cargo hold, and keep me as your little sex slave, the answer would still be yes. I just want to give myself to you forever. However you want me."

She sat on my stomach, shaking, and crying, waiting to see if I would understand. I didn't say anything right away. I'd like to think, at that moment, I grew up just a little. She was trying to tell me something very important to her. It was also just as important to her, that I understood exactly what, that something was. So I lay there, thinking, looking into her eyes. Neither one of us spoke. She didn't rush me, by saying “Well?” or anything. She knew I was trying to understand, and that I was working through what she had said, in my head.

I thought about everything that had happened to us, and between us, since I had met this little pixie. And in my memories, I saw a thousand moments in time. I saw her with a wrench in her hand, after whacking a bad man in the shin. I saw her sleeping in my arms. I saw her dancing in the moonlight. I saw her as she made love to me. And I saw her running naked through a field with a little puppy. I saw her eyes, as she looked at me, after killing a man. I saw all this, and a thousand more. Then, I tried to imagine what my life would have been like without her. That thought alone, nearly broke my heart. And then I thought about what the rest of my life would be like, if she wasn't there. And that thought, and pain, I could not bear.

I grabbed her arms, and pulled her down beside me. I propped my head up on my left arm, so I could look down into her little tear streaked face. She lay there, trembling, watching my eyes. “When we reach Riredi, in ten days, I'm going to ask you to marry me...” She started to shake her head and protest, but I put my finger against her lips and said, “Beatrice Ann Noughty. You've had your say. Now shut up and let me have mine.” I had never used her real name before, let alone revealed that I knew her middle name. Aria had found that, when she found out her birthday for me. It shocked her so bad, she just nodded and continued to watch me. “Now, you already said yes, but I'm going to give you the next ten days to change your mind. If you don't, then you and I are going to find the first courthouse we can, and we are getting married. If you want some formal type thing, we can do that later when Pa and Terra can be there.” She started to shake her head, but I gave her the same look, she had given me earlier. She stopped moving. “Now, before you start thinking that you pressured me into this, or start feeling guilty and all, you're gonna hear WHY I am saying this. You said you haven't given me anything, and that you didn't have anything TO give me. Well, Miss Bee Ann Noughty. You are plumb wrong on both accounts! And I can prove it.

I proceeded to describe to her, all those memories and images I had recalled just minutes ago. And I told her, in explicit detail, the thoughts and feelings that I experienced during each one. Some of them made her laugh. And some memories made her blush. Many of them made her cry. I held nothing back, no matter how personal or embarrassing it had been for me. I laid my soul at her feet. I talked for hours. At one point, we had to throw on clothes, and let poor Nipper out to his grass. We didn't talk. We simply walked, hand in hand, to the cargo bay and back. And when we returned to our bed, and resumed our exact same positions, I continued on, as if I had never been interrupted.

When I finally finished, I said, “Do you see now, Spitfire, just how much you HAVE given me? After I remembered all those things, and more, I thought about what my life would be like, if I didn't have you in it. And that thought scares the hell out of me. That's a future, I would rather die than face. And that, is the moment I knew, that I wanted you to be mine forever, and I wanted to be yours forever too. Now, even though I kinda like the idea of having my brand on your cute little ass, I think it would be a mite more legal and all, if we got us that official little piece of paper.

It always confounds me, how a girl can laugh and cry, all at the same time. My little sobbing Spitfire, reached her arms out to me, and pulled me down to her. We lay there, just holding each other, for a long time.

“Change your mind yet?” I asked, with a grin.

“Never.” she answered immediately. Then, “I'm sorry I spoiled your birthday.”

I gave her a mock glare. “How do you figure you spoiled it? You done promised to marry me, and that's a better gift, than I could ever dare ask for. And now it's time to unwrap the rest of my present.”

“The rest! How did yo...” She stopped. “What are you talking about?” she asked suspiciously.

“You said you were mine heart, body, and soul, right?” She nodded. “If you marry me, then that there, is the heart and soul part. But for right now, I want to unwrap the body part!” I grabbed her, and stripped off my old t-shirt she had thrown on earlier. She squealed and giggled and pretended to fight me. But then just as quick, she grabbed a hold of my jeans and helped me kick them off. I hoped the walls of our quarters were well insulated. Otherwise, Mr. Orbit was getting more than his share of entertainment today!