"The Adventures of Captain Morgan" Or "Damn That Mossfoot"

[Paradox]

Once they reached the steps, Bee grabbed my arm. "Joe says you used to go skinny dipping in a pond nearby! Can we go please? It's hot out, and we've been working in the sun all morning! Will you show us?

I looked at Pa. So he had known about that, all this time. Ya, of course he had. He was looking at me and grinning. "Don't look at me son, I'm too old to be goin' skinny dippin', And I still got some work to do, supervising the drones and such. But there ain't no reason you can't take the girls over there."

"But I... I mean..." I stuttered.

"TERRA! Come on! Morgan's taking us skinny dipping at the pond!" Spitfire threw open the back door and ran into the house.

"Pa..." I started.

"Oh go on boy! Show the girls your old swimmin' hole. I'm sure Terra would like to see where it is, and go for a swim too!". He slapped me on the shoulder, and went into the house, heading for his "office". Seconds later, Spitfire burst out of the backdoor with a slightly disheveled Terra in tow. She latched onto me with her other hand, and proceeded to pull both of us down the path into the jungle.

Once we came in within sight of the swimming hole, Spitfire broke into a run. Shedding boots, tool-belt, shorts, and top, without even breaking stride. Then, with a running jump and girlish squeal, she hit the water with a splash. Terra laughed, and with a decidedly evil smirk aimed at me, took off her sandals, and pulled her sun dress off over her head. With an exaggerated swing to her hips, she walked naked to the waters edge, and gracefully dove in.

Which left me standing on the little beach, fully clothed, and my mouth catching flies.

"Come on Morgan! Stop being so stuffy! Come swimming with us!" Called Bee, sending a spray of water at me.

"Yes Morgan get out of those clothes, and come swimming. Unless of course, you're waiting for Bee and I to come help you undress?" Threatened Terra. Spitfire giggled and start climbing out of the water.

"Uhh.. No. Fine! Fine. I'm coming already!." Oh what the hell! I stripped and blushed, while the girls laughed and giggled. Then I took a running dive over their heads, into the water. Before coming up for air, I grabbed one ankle each and yanked down, dunking them both under the water at the same time. From that point on, it was a free-for-all of dunking, tickling, and splashing. The girls would gang up and try to dunk me, then Terra and I would chase Spitfire, then it was Spitfire and I after Terra. I showed them the path up the rocks to the top of a small cliff, and we took turns diving and jumping into the pond. After a few hours, we dragged ourselves out of the water, onto the sandy beach where we sat and lay in the sun, and let the warm breeze dry us off. Bee told us stories about life on the station. I told a few, about growing up here on the farm, in the middle of a jungle. And Terra, about her childhood, spent doing many of the same things I had done.

"You see..?" asked Terra.

"See what?" I replied.

"All three of us are sitting here, talking, laughing, and completely naked. And you had forgotten all about it.

I immediately felt the blush shooting up my neck to my face. "I umm... I..." Both girls rolled in the sand with laughter. I grinned. Then, before they knew what I was up to, I stood up and grabbed them, tossing each one over a shoulder, I walked to the waters edge, and threw them in. This of course, brought on another round of dunking, squealing, and splashing.

Until finally, "I'm getting hungry!" said Bee.

Terra and I both laughed. Then we helped one another rinse off the sand, got dressed, and headed back the the house.

That night, after dinner, I sat at the table and watched Pa and Terra cleaning up together. They had their routine down, and exchanged a never ending stream of banter and teasing. It was a somewhat bittersweet moment. After the dishes had been done and put away, Terra said she needed to head back to her place and finish some paperwork. Bee had found an old, derelict, hover-trac in one of the barns. She was currently as happy as could be, covered in dirt and grease, and hip deep in engine parts, trying to get it to run again.

Pa sat down at the table with a sigh. "That's one hell of a little girl you found there son."

I grinned. "Ya, she's pretty amazing at that Pa. And that's one hell of a woman you got there Pa!"

"Uhh.. Son, I uh..." Now Pa was blushing and fidgeting.

"Oh hush Pa, it's okay.

"But son, I never meant t..."

"Pa! I said hush now, and listen to me. Terra and me, we had us a long talk last night, and what it comes down to is this here. I'm gonna be heading back out into space. That's where my life is now. Terra's life is here, with her farm, and you! Now I love you Pa, and I love Terra too. So it's only fittin' that you two get together. She loves you Pa. Watchin' you two putter around here tonight showed me that! And you love her too, don't you even try to deny it! You follow her around like a moon eyed calf.

"But I'm an old man son, She don.."

"Now don't you try to sell me none of that "old man" hooey! I know better. There ain't a man in this district, young or old, that you couldn't whup if you was a mind to! Now you take this here," I handed him a cred-chip I had been carrying. "Aria and Spitfire and me done real good on our way here, and that there chip has five hundred credits on it..."

"Five hundred! But boy..."

"What did I tell you Pa? Don't make me wrastle you right here in this kitchen. Terra don't give a wooden hoot, how old you are. But if it's really a concern of yours, then I want you to take that cred-chip, and go get one of them there, rejuv-treatments they advertise on the vidscreen. They say they can give a person thirty to forty years of their life back! 'Course, I don't know if Terra could keep up with you then..."

Pa's eyes was turning red, and his voice was a little shaky. "I don't know what to say son."

"You say, you'll take care of her for as long as you two can stand each other."

Pa's big ol' paw reached out and took my hand in a steel firm grip. "I will son. I do love her, and I will take care of her as long as she will let me."

"I know Pa. Ain't nobody else in the universe I could depend on more!"

We sat there, quiet like, for a few minutes. Then I said. "Now Pa, I got another favor I need to ask you."

"Anything you want son, you just name it."

"Don't be so quick now. This here might be a powerful big favor to ask."

"That don't matter none boy. If it's within my power to give it to you, I will."

"Well, it's like this. Something you said earlier today, when you an Bee come back from fixin' the drone?"

"Ya, go on son."

"Well, you said something about Bee coming to live here with you... And well, for the past two days, she's been so happy, and she adores you and all..."

"Are you asking me to take her in son?

"Well, it's just that, it's almighty dangerous out there Pa, and she's had such a rough life so far, and this would be the perfect place for her. And I know you'd take care of her and all..."

"Son, son... Time for you to listen to your old Pa now. Tomorrow, you ask her if she would like to stay here. If she says yes, then I would consider it a high honor, and a great privilege, to have her live with me. However," Pa smiled as he looked me hard in the eye. "She's gonna say no. Least ways, not unless you stay here too. She loves you son, Terra and I both seen it plain as day. Now I ain't sayin' what kind of love it is, maybe it's the same kinda love she had for her Pa, maybe it's the same kinda love you have for Terra, maybe it's somethin' different altogether. But no matter what kind it is boy, it's there. And she ain't gonna be separated from you. Not voluntarily any how." Pa stood up and stretched his back. I stood too, and he pulled me into a hug. My back popped again. Then he held me out at arms length. "I love you son, and I just ain't got the words to say, how proud I am of you." Just then, the back door squeaked open, and in came, what I can only assume, was Bee. She was so covered in grease and grime, it was hard to tell.

"I think I can get that grav-trac running again, but I'm going to need a new gyro-transducer, and a couple of plasma couplings. Oh, and a new set of spark plugs... I'm going to take a shower and go to bed.

Pa laughed. "Well, we will have to look into that tomorrow! You go on now and get cleaned up." He yawned, patted me on the back and tousled Bee's hair and said, "Goodnight son, goodnight Miss Bee. I will see ya'all in the morning." And he headed off to bed, with Bee close on his heels.

I made up the couch and turned out the light.

[Ranthe]

Awwwww....

I'm loving this story - keep it up!

[Neelix]

Awwwww....

I'm loving this story - keep it up!

Seconded!

As you can see from my last chapter, I am currently far away from space battles and little if any references to Oolite at all, so it was a concern. Especially since I foresee at least a couple more chapters like that before my crew gets back to the black.

To my mind it's really not an issue... it's not as if you are removing the characters from the Ooniverse, you're just showing off a part of it that we don't normally get to see. I'm actually really enjoying the planet-side stuff. It's nice to get a different perspective on Lave.

I think Bart Howard (and Frank Sinatra) put it best:

Fly me to the moon
And let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like on
Jupiter and Mars

- Neelix

[Paradox]

Awwwww....

I'm loving this story - keep it up!

Thank you Ranthe! This has been a blast to write! And thanks for the comment. These are what keep me motivated!

[Paradox]

Awwwww....

I'm loving this story - keep it up!

Seconded!

Moar coming soon!

As you can see from my last chapter, I am currently far away from space battles and little if any references to Oolite at all, so it was a concern. Especially since I foresee at least a couple more chapters like that before my crew gets back to the black.

To my mind it's really not an issue... it's not as if you are removing the characters from the Ooniverse, you're just showing off a part of it that we don't normally get to see. I'm actually really enjoying the planet-side stuff. It's nice to get a different perspective on Lave.

I think Bart Howard (and Frank Sinatra) put it best:

Fly me to the moon
And let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like on
Jupiter and Mars

- Neelix

This whole story has turned out completely different, than what I thought I was going to be writing. No big plots, no saving the galaxy, very little action (I am going to work on that!). I seem to have found my niche in the human element.

Thanks for pointing out that quote. It does seem to take on special significance when seen in this context! Very fitting, thanks!

[spud42]

WOW, i go away for a week and come back to 5 pages.

I can only give you my perspective on this but i am enjoying the story very much. Life isnt a soap opera where "things" happen to everyone almost every day.
In a real life there are long periods of nothing more happening that daily routine of life.

Even though i have read and enjoyed many books sometimes the constant moving from crisis to crisis seems unreal. This doesnt happen to most people in their lives.

Reading about Morgan,Spitfire ,Aria as their relationships develop is refreshing. Its still in the Ooniverse, not every book/story has to be an action story. This story gives us an insight to what happens between the trades and the dogfights.

i wonder what the AO version would be like... lol

[Paradox]

WOW, i go away for a week and come back to 5 pages.

LOL! That will teach you to leave! };]

I can only give you my perspective on this but i am enjoying the story very much. Life isnt a soap opera where "things" happen to everyone almost every day.
In a real life there are long periods of nothing more happening that daily routine of life.

Even though i have read and enjoyed many books sometimes the constant moving from crisis to crisis seems unreal. This doesnt happen to most people in their lives.

Reading about Morgan,Spitfire ,Aria as their relationships develop is refreshing. Its still in the Ooniverse, not every book/story has to be an action story. This story gives us an insight to what happens between the trades and the dogfights.

Yep, I am finding myself much more into the people aspect of the story

i wonder what the AO version would be like... lol

Me TOO! As I have said before, I really like writing the "tease".

But I have been thinking about that "fine line" lately, and wondering if there isn't another boundary there. Is there just tease and then "smut". Can there be explicit sex without it being porn? And how to define explicit... Perhaps one of these days, I will take a peek over that oh-so-thin wall, and tell you what I see. };]

BTW, I just Googled (don't worry, I will clean it up...), and found out there is such a thing as Sci-Fi Romance! };] Now I am going to come clean here. I have read and really liked, a few "Paranormal Romance" books. (Ya, I am a very straight 52 year old alpha male! But...read The Hollows series by Kim Harrison, and do yourself a favor!). But I had no idea that Sci-Fi romance was actually an official genre.

Thanks for reading spud42! Once again, it's your interest, and comments, no matter how brief, that keep me going! }:]

[Paradox]

Another quick interlude.};]

I like the "breakables" line of OXPs. I have them all. I think it adds a great layer of "reality" to the game. But to offset them, I also downloaded the Repairbots OXP.. This is where I was able to write in Spitfire's character. Yes, she is actually a bunch of nanobots! };]

(I REALLY REALLY REALLY would like to be able to hire crew in the game!)

Aria is a modified version of the BGS OXP. I have used Ivona's text-to-speech engine and the Amy voice, to make my own customs sounds. If you would like to actually hear, and play with Aria, go HERE, and choose English, British, Amy. as the voice, and hit play. Or you can type in your own text. One of these days, when I get the time (ya right!), I will try to put together an "Aria Voice Pack" that you can put in your BGS install. If there is interest of course.

And, I doubt I have to tell you where the D.T.T. Snake Charmer: Aria to the Stars comes from! };]

That's it for now. I just wanted to give a tiny peek behind the scenes (or I prefer, "under the skirts" };]), of my story.

[Cmdr Wyvern]

Sure you can throw in skirmishes with pirates, but to be "ingame real", once you've put some iron on your ass and you've learned a keen aim with those mil lasers, shootouts with a pack of 4 to 5 space scum tends to last less than a minute.

[Paradox]

The next day, Pa and Bee were thick as thieves, scrounging broken machinery for salvageable parts. I worked a bit for Pa in his office, programming drones. I watched the monitors for a while, to make sure number twelve was leaving the girrafalopes alone. It was. I hit the Galnet and looked for any contracts we might pick up.

I was feeling antsy.

I went out and tried to help Bee and Pa for a bit, but I felt like a third wheel, with those two talking about stabilizer field plates, and hydraulic coupling units and such. Terra had gone into town for supplies as, thanks to Spitfire, we had 'bout cleaned out Pa's kitchen! I wandered around the farm for a while. Pa had done a good job with the credits I had sent him, and the farm was looking, and running real good. So good in fact, there wasn't really anything for me to do.

"Aria? Everything still okay up there?"

Affirmative Captain. Nothing new to report.

"Okay Aria, thanks."

"Captain?"

"Yes Aria?"

"Knock Knock, Captain."

Oh no... "Who's there?"

"Ye old lady, Captain."

"Ye old lady who?" I asked, with mounting dread.

"I was uninformed that you could yodel, Captain."

ARGH! "Did Bee teach you that one Aria?"

"No Captain, I analyzed the jokes that Bee has been teaching me, as well as others I have been researching on the Galnet. I was then able to deduce the similarities between a commonly portrayed "yodel", and the phrase "ye old lady who."

"So in other words, you made that one up yourself?"

"Affirmative Captain."

"Well, in that case Aria, it wasn't bad at all!"

"Thank you Captain."

I shook my head and laughed, as I headed back for the house.

After dinner, Pa asked everyone to come out to the barn. We all pushed the old grav-trac out through the big double doors into the yard. Pa handed the keys to Bee and said, "You done all the work on it kiddo, you ought to be the one to start 'er up the first time. Bee looked at me and then Terra, then smiling at my Pa, she took the keys, clambered up into the old tractor seat. She pushed a few levers, and turned a few knobs, then turned the key. There was high pitched whining noise, then flames shot out from under the engine panels! Bee quickly made some adjustments on the control panel, and with one last belch of flame and smoke, the engine quieted down to a low pitched rumble and hum. The old tractor lifted a few inched off the ground and hovered there. Pa signaled for her to take it for a ride around the yard. Bee, with a grin from ear to ear, drove the tractor around the yard a few times, then brought it to a stop and shut it down.

"That there tractor, ain't run in thirty some odd years!" He said admiringly, as he lifted Bee back down to the ground. "There's one last thing to do!" He went into the barn, and came out a few seconds later, with a can of red paint and a brush. Then, on both sides of the tractors engine panels, he painted "Spitfire" in big bold letters. When he was done, Bee wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tight.

Back inside, we sat in the living room and talked. Bee and Terra played cards on the floor. Terra taught Bee how to play several different versions of poker. I gave Terra a glare when strip poker was mentioned, but that just made them both laugh at me. Bee finally got tired and Pa said he was going to walk Terra home.

Once Bee was in bed, I made up mine on the couch and turned off the lights. It took Pa an awfully long time to come home... "G'night Pa." I said as he tried to sneak past me in the dark.

"Oh... uh... g'night son."

I grinned.

At breakfast the next morning, I decided it was time to leave. And time to do the thing I had been dreading, more than anything else I had ever done. Bee had gone outside to explore, or more likely, something to fix, and I told Pa and Terra my plans. They were sure sad I was going, but they understood. For me, home was now on board Aria.

And it was time to go home.

I went outside and called for Bee. "Whats up?" She asked, as she came running from the barn.

"Come walk with me a bit, there's somethin' I want to talk to you about." I said.

"Sure!" And she slipped her hand into mine as we walked down the path.

There was an old log beside the path, warn smooth by the backsides of peoples britches. I sat down and Bee sat beside me. Bee was watching my face carefully. She could tell something was on my mind. "What wrong Morgan?" She finally asked.

"Well Bee, it ain't that anything is wrong exactly, but I want to ask you something.

"Okay..."

"You like it here on the farm don't you? And you been happy here, these past few days, ain't ya?"

"Oh yes Morgan! All of this, is just... well, it's just perfect! Your dad is one of the greatest people ever, and so's Terra! And your dad let's me fix things, and work with him, just like my dad used to!"

My throat was on fire, and feelin' awfully tight. "Um.. ahem.. Ya, well, what I wanted to ask you was, umm, well, how would you like to stay here, and umm, live with my Pa on the farm?

"Oh wow Morgan! Are you serious? Oh my gosh that would be soo totally cool!" Her eyes sparkled with excitement. "But where are we all going to live? Because I'm pretty sure your dad is going to marry Terra you know, and then we gotta figure out how to bring Aria down too. We could use her on the farm Morgan, and..."

"Whoa there Spitfire. Slow down a second. What I meant was, would YOU like to live here with Pa. And probably Terra too. But Aria and I... Well, we gotta head back out there into space. That's where we belong right now.

Spitfire had gone perfectly still. Those pale grey eyes had gone huge as they looked into mine. She didn't speak, didn't blink, didn't move.

"It's just that, it's dangerous out there Bee, and I'm scared that someday... Well, someday I'll make a mistake. Now that's a chance I can take with my own life, but if anything happened to you Bee, I just can't handle the thought!"

Spitfire just watched me. Her eyes never blinked or wavered from mine. Then I saw the tremors. It was like every muscle in her tiny body was suddenly tensed to the breaking point.

"Bee?"

A faint whisper left her lips. So soft, I could barely hear it. "Please don't leave me Morgan... Please don't leave me!

"Bee, I..."

The dam burst. Great big tears, began flowing down her cheeks, her entire body began to shake, almost like spasms. Yet her eyes, never left mine. The whisper grew louder. "Morgan? Please! Don't leave me! Please don't leave me too!"

'Please don't leave me too!' Those were the words, that damn near tore my heart right out of my chest! And then I understood. First her Pa had died and left her, then her Ma had deserted her. And now, I was talking about doing the same thing. I felt so low, I could have walked under a snakes belly, with a top hat on, and never tickle a scale!

I held my arms out to her, and that was all it took. She launched herself onto me, wrapping her little arms around my neck, and her fingers grasping at me, like I was a rope, thrown to a drownin' man. And the whole time she was sobbing, "Please Morgan don't leave me! Please, Please! I'll do anything, please don't leave me! Please Morgan! Please!

Dam number two let go, as I started crying along with her. "Oh Bee, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean that you had to stay here, I just wanted to know if maybe you wanted to. You just seem so happy here with my Pa and the farm and all..."

"No Morgan please! I want to go with you. I don't want to stay here without you! Please take me with you!" Her muffled voice sounding almost hysterical, as she sobbed into my chest

"Shh. Shh. Shh. There, there, now, it's okay. You can go with me. I promise, I will never leave you, not ever! I promise Bee! I promise." It was the better part of an hour, before I was able to calm her down, and convince her, that I wasn't going to make her stay behind. Both our eyes were red, and my shirt was a soggy mess...Again. How did I always manage to get into these situations anyway? She gripped my hand tight as we made our way back to the house.

It was later than I had planned when we got back, so I decided to wait until the following morning to leave. Besides, Bee and I were both wrung out, and I figured she needed a good nights rest. She was quiet and subdued for the rest of the day, and only reluctantly, would she leave my side. Pa and Terra both looked heartbroken when they watched her. She helped Pa wash dishes that night, and Terra took me into the living room. Bees eyes followed me the whole way.

"She will be okay, once you two are back on Aria."Terra said.

"I hope so Terra, I scared her pretty bad. I just didn't even think about how she would see it." Through the doorway, I could see Bee standing beside my Pa, drying the dishes he handed her. He was trying to make conversion, but every chance she had, she would look over her shoulder to make sure I was still there.

"She'll bounce back Morgan. I told you about being patient with her. This was a good example of that damage I was talking about."

Pa and Bee came out of the kitchen, and Bee immediately curled up on the couch against my side. We talked for a bit, and when I glanced down at Bee, she was sound asleep. Her fingers gripping my shirt.

I picked her up, and carried her into my old room. I took off her tool belt and boots and tucked her in, but when I stood to leave, she woke up grabbing for my arm. "Don't leave me Morgan! Don't..."

"Okay, okay, I'm here, I'm not going to go anywhere if you don't want me too. I motioned for her to scoot over in the bed, and then I kicked off my boots and laid down beside her. She snuggled into my side, her fingers once again wrapped in my shirt. We both fell asleep.

When I woke and opened my eyes, I found myself looking into two large pale grey ones, looking back at me. Our foreheads were only inches apart on the pillow. "I'm sorry." Said Bee.

"Sorry? Sorry for what Bee? Hell, I'm the one who's sorry! I should'a know'd
better than to talk about leaving you!

"No, I'm sorry for acting like such a baby yesterday. I don't know why I acted like that, I just couldn't help it, I was so scared.

"Of course you were scared, and I understand why now. And it sure as hell ain't nothing for you to be sorry about! Do you think you can forgive me, for scaring you like that?

"There's nothing to forgive." She said. "You just wanted me to be happy and safe, even if it meant that you would be lonely."

"Well, yes Bee. It broke my heart, to think I might have to leave without you, you're more than just crew Bee, you're family now too.

"I'm family?" She asked.

"You bet! You, me, Pa and Terra, and even Aria! I love you all!

Bee smiled, slid her head closer, and rubbed her nose against mine. "I love you too Morgan."

I grinned at her. "Come on, let's get packed, and go home.

[Paradox]

Sure you can throw in skirmishes with pirates, but to be "ingame real", once you've put some iron on your ass and you've learned a keen aim with those mil lasers, shootouts with a pack of 4 to 5 space scum tends to last less than a minute.

Being as I have to fly via keyboard, and 52 year old eyes/reflexes, I also use the Sniperlock OXP, to steady these old fingers. So ya, battles in my game don't last too long, which may also help to explain, why I have a hard time writing battle scenes. };]

[Paradox]

An hour later, we was standin' on the porch, duffel bags at our feet. Terra pulled my head down, wrapped her arms around my neck, and gave me a kiss to remember! Pa and I both shuffled our feet a bit after that, but then he grabbed me and cracked my back again (and maybe a rib or two!). While Terra and Bee hugged, and said their goodbyes. Then Pa looked at Bee, and Bee looked at Pa. Tears began leakin' out of both of 'em, and next thing you know, they was clinging to each other and bawling. Which of course, made Terra and I join in.

"Now you listen here little lady. I ain't gonna sugar coat this none. You and I both know, it's dangerous out there in space. If anything should ever happen to Morgan, I want you to know, that this here, is your home too. You get a hold of me or Terra, and we will move planets and space stations to bring you back here. You understand me?" The three of them were now locked in a group hug, but I could see Bee's head nodding yes. "Alright then, That bein' said, please try to keep him from doing anything bone headed enough to make that necessary." Bee managed to sob, laugh, and nod, all at the same time. The three of them loosened their huddle a bit, and Pa pulled something out of his pocket. He took Bee's hand, and placed the object in it's center, then folded her fingers over it. With his other hand, he held up one finger and said, "Now, don't you make no fuss about that. You earned that and more, pure and simple. You spend some of it however you want, but you keep some of it for emergencies too. Now promise me."

Bee looked into his eyes solemnly, and managed to whisper, "I promise."

"Okay then." Pa stepped away, and quickly wiped his cheeks. "Now you two take care of each other. Stay safe, and come back as soon as you can now, hear?"

"Yes sir." Bee and I said in unison. With one last, quick round, of hugs and kisses, we climbed into the port shuttle-drone, and we were on our way back to the space port. from there we grabbed a shuttle for the station, and then we were home.

It felt good to settle into my seat on the command couch once again!

Aria was warming up and she and Bee were doing a systems check in the cargo bay. I checked the computer to see if any contracts had opened up, but there was nothing that we could accept. Prices here on Lave were lousy as well.

"How about, we head to Reorte, it's poor agri. planet, might be able to get a good deal on furs or liquor and maybe a passenger if we are lucky." I said, as Bee came onto the bridge.

"Sounds good to me Captain!" Was her reply, as she flopped into her spot, next to me, on the couch.

I smiled. Once back aboard Aria, she had indeed, bounced back to her usual self.

I got clearance to leave, and back to the black we went. At Reorte, we arrived in-system with no other ships on the scanner. I hit the go-go juice and aimed Aria's nose toward the station. A couple mass-locks later...

"D.T.T. Snake Charmer: Aria to the Stars. You know the drill folks. Drop your cargo, and beat it, or else!" Five red lollipops at the edge of our scanner. Why don't they ever learn? Aria locked on to the Fer-De-Lance: Vlads Blade. I looked at Spitfire, her big eyes were bright with excitement. I winked.

Spitfire mashed her comm button. "Fer-De-Lance: Vlads Blade, this is Aria to the Stars. At this time, we would like to kindly decline your offer, and instead, we request that you... KISS OUR ASS! You pirate dirtbags!" She said.

I drained the front mil., the Fer-De-Lance disappeared.

One or two feeble beams flashed past our windows. "Skunk 'em Morgan!" Spitfire shouted, bouncing up and down and leaning forward in her seat against the restraining belt.

"What happened to "Captain"?" I asked in mock seriousness.

"Sorry Captain!" Said Spitfire, with an equally mock salute. "Now skunk those bastards!" I was going to have to talk to her about her language. Fortunately, she only did it during situations like this. Or when she smacked her thumb with her hammer... Or when she hit her head on the top of an access tunnel... Or when she... Okay, I would talk to her.

I pulled Aria's nose around on a heading directly away from the pirates, and hit the turbos. A Firefly evidently had fuel injectors as well, and began closing the distance behind us.

"Lock him Aria!" I said.

"Target, Firefly: S.S. Rebel, locked Captain." At least Aria still showed me some respect. I made the Firefly disappear.

"Incoming missile detected, Captain." Must have been a goodbye present from the Firefly.

"Get a lock on the missile Aria!" I didn't want to use the ECM unless I had to, it drained our power too quickly. It was another thing I needed to talk to Spitfire about.

"Missile locked, Captain." Poof!

The last three red dots were far behind me. I turned around. Another Firefly managed to score a few hits on my forward shield. They must have been having a sale on Fireflies somewhere.

"FireFly locked, Captain." Pretty sparks, then a ball of flame.

"Incoming missile detected, Captain" Why wasn't I surprised? I spun Aria around, and tapped the turbos, until she could get a lock on the missile, and I could vaporized it. Two red dots left. I still had a lot of laser left before I red-lined the rear mil., so I told Aria to target the next ship. A Cobra MKI. I'll give him credit, he was still chasing me... but not for long.

The last ship, was a D.T.T. Tomahawk. Sigh! I hated to destroy a work of art! I spun Aria around again, like two lovers on the dance floor. "Don't shoot! I give up!" Came the comms message. The Tomahawk had turned around, and was making a run for it.

"Is that what you're going to say to your next victim?" I asked out loud. More for Spitfire's sake than anything. I wanted her to understand why I did this. He had made a choice, and it was the wrong one. I lit the mil., and then there was one less D.T.T. ship in the 'verse. On the back of the holopic, on the arm of my seat, I made five more tiny marks. There were a total of 35 little marks there now.

By the time we reached the station, I had added 3 more.

We bought thirty five tons of liquor and wines. Then Bee pulled out the cred-chip my father had given her. I scanned it, and it showed ten credits! Why that old softy... "Can I buy some cargo?" She asked.

I was taken completely by surprise! "It's your money Bee, and I guess Pa was right, you earned it. We have room for three more containers. What do you want to buy?

She and Aria went over the station manifest, and she finally decided in two tons of food supplies at 2.4 credits each. "That's almost half your chip Bee. I think it's a good idea, investing it like that, so to speak. But are you sure that's what you want to do?"

She didn't look at all sure, but she nodded, and Aria made the order. She ran to the cargo bay to "supervise the loading". Gee, where was she when I bought the other thirty five containers! But I didn't say anything 'cause I knew this was a big deal for her.

"Captain, there is a passenger contract available." Said Aria. I looked at the details. A Miss Seis Titete was going to Velete (say that three times fast!), and needed to be there in less than twenty days and eight hours. It was a pretty long trip, but we would make over four thousand credits by the end of it! We invited her on-board to talk details. She was a cat-person. As in, she was covered in short, silky black fur, pointy ears, and a tail. She seemed pleasant enough, if a little skittish, but then again, ain't all cats? I went over the rules, and a deal was struck. Bee showed her to her quarters, and helped her with her luggage.

Aria had plotted a course, that should get us there in a little over fifteen days. That's not a whole lot of wiggle room, but I figured we could do it. And so, for the next fifteen days, we carried our passenger across the stars. We ate with her in the common room, and invited her up to the bridge when she wished, so she could see the stars first hand. I even found Bee teaching her how to play poker on a few occasions. We had a couple of scrapes during re-fueling stops, but nothing major. I was up to thirty eight marks now.

Bee seemed to have nightmares every now and then. She would tiptoe into my room, and curl up next to me to sleep. I didn't mind, my bed was huge, and half the time, I felt lost in it all by myself anyways. Besides, sometimes it's just nice to have someone close by. Then, one night, I woke up for no apparent reason. I couldn't go back to sleep, so I found myself walking the ship, from cargo bay to bridge. I stopped by the crew quarters to check on Bee, and found her curled up in a tight little ball. She was actually shaking and crying in her sleep, with her thumb in her mouth. I suddenly wondered, just how often she has these nightmares? How many nights has she suffered like this, and NOT come to me? I sat on the edge of her bunk and began rubbing her back and stroking her hair. Talking to her soft and low. Less than a minute later, she began to relax, and fell into a normal sleep. Poor little Spitfire.

We dropped out of witchspace at Velete, with four days and eight hours to spare. Of course, we hadn't made it to the space station yet. And evidently, once again, someone wanted to make sure that we never did. Laser beams lit up the black.

"Evasive maneuvers!" I yelled! Oh ya...that's my job!

I began flinging Aria around in a panic. While at the same time, fumbling to find the key to the turbos. Our rear shield was dropping like a feather...on a 4G planet. "Target lock Aria, on ANYTHING! I switched the vidscreen over to the rear camera.

"Target locked Captain. Mamba: Full Refund." I mashed the button for the rear mil. Mamba gone. Refund denied! I managed to put some distance between the pirates/assassins/whatever-they-were's, and the pounding on Aria's posterior all but stopped. The fact that I could no longer see any yellow indicator for rear shields, says I was just in time. I swung Aria around.

"Lock on to that Gecko Aria." Ident. said the name of his ship was Stranger. Strange name for a cloud of dust! I noticed that Bee was being unusually quiet. When I had a chance to glance over at her, I saw that her eyes were big, and she was holding onto the arms of her seat. Tight. She was scared. And that was okay, because so was I.

Our last messenger from the welcome wagon, was a Cobra MKIII, named Beast of Power. "Incoming missile Captain. Incoming Missile Captain."

Crap, two of them. I still had juice for the front mil, but I turned tail and hit the turbo. "Target the closest missile Aria!"

"Target acquired Captain." One missile down.

"Now the second one Aria." That made two. I her swung around again.

I was evidently out of his laser range, as he wasn't firing. Either that, or he was overheated. "Lock onto him Aria."

"Target locked Captain." We were heading toward each other at full throttle. I waited. Suddenly, a beam of light hit our front shield. I lit the mil.

I made three more marks on the back of the holopic. I turned the ship towards the station, and hit the go-go juice. Just as the torus drive kicked in, we got mass-locked. Three Galcop Vipers heading our way, wouldn't you know... I hit the turbos until they were clear, and punched it for the station.

Aria's landing pads, had barely touched plascrete, before I was out of my seat, and headed for the passenger quarters. I hit the door over-ride, and found our passenger, Miss Titete, standing just on the other side. And she held a blaster, leveled at my belly button. "What the hell is going on here!" I yelled.

"I am sorry Captain Black. If there had been another way..."

"It's one thing to endanger my life, but you put Bee's life in danger as well!"

"I said I was sorry. I had no choice in this matter. There is a cred-chip on the table back there with your payment, plus bonus. Now, if you will move out of the doorway please. She motioned me back with the barrel of the blaster.

I backed into the hall, keeping my hands in plain sight, and back pedaled toward the cargo bay. Miss Titete followed me out. Her eyes carefully watching my every move. However, she should have been watching Spitfire, who happened to be in the hall behind her. With her hammer out.

THUNK!

I picked up the blaster, and then Miss Titete. I tucked the blaster into the back of my jeans, and carried Miss Titete back to the cargo ramp. There, I dumped her outside on the ground. Fact: Cat's don't always land on their feet. Especially when they are unconscious. Spitfire gave our former passenger's luggage the same treatment. I looked at Spitfire, and she looked at me. We both grinned. Then we went back into the ship and closed the cargo bay door. I guess I could have called station security, or the Galcops on her. But I doubted that would have actually accomplished anything. I did however, want to let her know, that I did not like being used! Not when it endangered people I care about. Hope she had a real bad headache!

[spud42]

Nice, keep them comming.... when they are ready.. lol no rush...

[Diziet Sma]

Dizzy, that would be beyond absolutely fantastic (as long as it is not putting you in an awkward situation!...?)!!

No problem at all.. (heck, we're both still plotting revenge on the SOB that tossed us out of the apartment.. )

[Paradox]

Nice, keep them comming.... when they are ready.. lol no rush...

Sure there is, I want to find out what happens next! }:]