This file is a part of Elf Sternberg's Collected Works on ASSTR.  The
complete archive of Elf's work can be found on his website at:

http://www.drizzle.com/~elf

The author can be contacted at:

mailto:elf@drizzle.com

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                               Asking Denni

Journal Entry 180 / 00916

Noren, Urim 09, 00916

David turned over slowly in bed and looked down on the beautiful fem who
slept beside him. He had awakened up moments ago in a strange bedroom
and wondered how he had gotten here. Then, his mind had reoriented itself
and he had remembered.

It occurred to him suddenly, did Patricia know? This was her room as
well as Dennielle's. He wondered if she had come in here, found them
sleeping together, and backed out quietly. Looking at his watch, he
realized that it was her turn to pull a stint on the bridge, and she was
probably still up there. He eased himself out of bed; Denni began to stir,
but didn't wake. He smiled, replaced the covers as he had found them,
and made his way out. The corridors were dark, indicating a late shift,
but as he passed by the motion sensors lights came on quickly, giving
him a good view of the squarish, boxy halls inside the Asking.

"Captain on the Bridge," he said jokingly as the door to the bridge
opened and allowed him on. Pat turned from her chair, the one on the
right, and waved. "You're up early."

"Yeah," he sighed, grabbing a mug of coffee from the wall-mounted
dispensing station and then easing himself into the pilot's chair. "Pat,
how long have we known each other?"

"Almost two years, David. You picked me up as a junior engineer,
remember?"

"Think you're qualified to be senior engineer soon?" He smiled as he
said it, giving her a glance out of the corner of her eye. Her expression
was understandably surprised and pleased.

"Of course!" she said. "Well, I mean, that is, if you think I am. I mean,
if you have an opening for senior engineer and need one. I'm never going
to go anywhere big without your qualifications, David, you know that."

He nodded, sipping coffee thoughtfully. "I think there are three
possible futures. You're not to not mention this to the rest of the crew,
understood? Future one is that Dennielle leaves, and you move into the
senior engineering post for the Asking. I think you're ready, despite
my misgivings a month ago when we first hired her. Between you and me
we should be able to keep this old girl running." He tapped the arm of
the pilot's chair with his fist. He had first been tempted to stroke
the command console, but he remembered that Tasha never locked it out
for reasons that had finally become clear to David when the pirates had
attacked them three weeks ago. "Future two is Denni stays for a while
as chief engineer and you go on being my second of engineering and chief
of accounting, two jobs you seem to be handling very well." Pat nodded.
"Future three is Dennielle stays, becomes chief of accounting and second
in command. She's got all the qualifications, Pat, and... I think I'm
going to ask her to marry me."

Pat's eyes looked as if they were about to get pushed out from behind
with surprise. "David?"

"No, listen. I don't know what she'll say. But I really do believe in
love at first sight, Pat. I fell in love with the Asking that fast,"
he said, emphasizing his opinion by snapping his fingers. "And I think
I've fallen for Denni the same way. I want her, Pat, I really do." He
sighed. "I wish I understood it."

"What about her? What will she say?"

"Like I said, I don't know. All I know is that I plan on asking her and
seeing what her reply is going to be."

"It's a little early, David, to be making these kinds of decisions."

"Oh, who cares, Pat?" he asked, annoyed. "Remember that I'm the sort of
person who knows exactly what he wants and how to get it?"

"While being nice about it," Pat added, smiling. "David, you do what
you feel is necessary."

David nodded, sipping his coffee. Outside the window port, the star of
llerkin loomed large and inviting.

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Late into second shift, David found himself picking up his bedroom; her
realized what he was attempting to accomplish, debated the hopelessness
of the situation, and continued anyway. About halfway through folding his
"clean" laundry, he realized that he didn't even know where the vacuum
cleaner was onboard. He toggled the intercom. "Pat, Marder, do you know
where the vacuum is?"

"Uh, outside?" Marder offered, his voice sounding tinny through the
little speaker.

"Men," Patricia breathed. "It's in the maintenance closet between mine
and Chico's cabins, David. It might need a new filter bag."

"Thanks, Pat." He toggled the intercom off again and wandered down the
hallway, finding the space Pat had indicated and pulling the small
unit out of the closet. A thousand years hadn't altered the face of
housecleaning all that much, and David soon found himself listening to
the soft hiss of air as he vacuumed the carpeting clean.

His room dusted and organized, he soon fell to the even more complicated
task of preparing dinner for two. Within ten minutes, he was soon lost
on the incredible complexities in the difference between roasting and
broiling, flipping back and forth between the glossary and the recipe.
Finally he gave up. "Pat, are you free?"

"I can be, David. There's not much to do down here."

"Good. Could you join me in my cabin? I need help with something."

"Can I ask what?"

"It's... difficult to explain. Just come up here."

"What is it, David?" Patricia asked as she walked through the door. She
looked into the kitchen, saw him frantically flipping through a screen,
and said "Oh."

"I need help. What's the difference between roasting and broiling?"

She laughed. "Okay, let me show you..."

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------

"I thought your room was a mess."

"It was," David replied, taking a sip of wine he really didn't feel
like drinking. "At least, it was until a few hours ago." David glanced
across the table at the femMephit he had invited in here. They had had
one night in bed together, and already he was sure he wanted to have her
for the rest of his life. These were not the feelings of a sane person,
but then David had never heard of anyone who referred to love as the
epitome of sanity.

Denni nodded, sipping from her glass as well. "So what's all this about?"

David leaned back in his chair, took another deep breath. "Denni, I'm
a rat who's always known what he wants and how to get it. And what
I always wanted was to be a commercial starship owner-operator." He
chuckled slightly. "Of course, when I was little I didn't know it was
called that.  I just wanted to be in space. I'm not enjoying this wine. I
don't drink wine."

Denni giggled. "Me neither."

"There's milk in the cooler." Denni rose and retrieved the glass pitcher
of what appeared to be milk (although it was probably as artificial as
everything else onboard) and poured two glasses, one for each of them.
"So."

David drank for a second. "Better. So... Denni, I don't know how to say
this, really, but I think I need a change in my life. I've been doing
this shipping thing for forty years now, I think I've got the score
figured out." He paused. "I want you."

Denni stopped, her glass still to her muzzle. She put it down, said
"What do you mean?"

"Denni, I don't know what you know of Terran customs, but... would you
marry me?"

"David?"

"I mean it."

"You hardly know me!"

"So? Don't you believe in love at first sight?"

"Yes, but not for..." She looked at him. "You felt it, too, huh?"

"What?"

She shook her head. "I don't know... When we were in your office and I
was giving you that rub, right before the fire, I felt something pass
between us, like a ghost or something. I guess..."

It was her turn to take that deep breath. "David, I accept."

"What?"

"I accept."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that," she said, snapping her fingers. David recognized the
gesture as exactly like the one he had given Patricia that morning,
and laughed gently. "What?"

"I said that about my ship the morning. I knew I wanted the Asking,
just like that." He snapped his fingers.

She smiled. "But yes, just like that. You didn't think I would accept,
did you?"

"Honestly?" David asked. "No, I didn't."

"So why did you ask?"

"I don't know," he said. "I told Patricia that I was going to, I guess
I had to go through with it once I'd announced it. So why did you accept?"

"Because I'm selfish." She grinned across the table at him. "I want the
stars; now that I know that I want the stars, I need a way of getting
there. You're the best way I can think of."

"That's it?"

She rose from her chair and walked around the table, kneeling down on the
floor beside his. "No, that's not 'it.' Because I do believe in love at
first sight. And I think it happened to us. But we don't have marriage
ceremonies on Pendor."

"So?" David asked. "We have them on Earth. My parents would probably
insist on it."

"But... " She let her voice trail off. "This is one of those 'for life'
things, isn't it?"

David nodded. "That's what marriage is supposed to be. So few people get
married nowadays. Contracts are for children and lovers are just to be
discarded when you get bored with them."

"I won't ever get bored with you," Denni said.

"I don't think I could ever get bored of you, either," David said. "I
love you, Dennielle."

"I love you, too, David." She stood up slowly. "Finished with dinner?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Good," Denni giggled. "Come with me, then." David stood, and she led him
into his bedroom, closing the door behind them. She pulled him close, and
David was again stunned by how tall she was, especially compared to him.
"I figured that after such a big meal we should work some of the excess
calories off. What do you think?"

David looked up at her and smiled. Without a word, he reached up and
slowly pulled down the zipper on her jumpsuit, letting her large,
fur-covered breasts tumble out into his hands. She giggled. "You like
those, don't you?"

"I admit, I do," he said, kissing one right above the nipple. "It's
not what makes me love you, though." His muzzle traced down the curve,
kissing the underside; at least there he didn't have to stand on the
tips of his toes. He slowly pushed her backwards, until the bed struck
her in the knees and she fell to the bed with a "Whoops!"

He pulled the zipper the rest of the way down, exposing the deep black
skunk's fur that covered her tummy. She helped, and together they
pulled the top half of the jumpsuit down until it was lying on the bed
behind her.

Dennielle smiled. "Your turn." She reached up and tugged at his zipper,
and in seconds she had his down about his ankles. His cock, already
erect, popped up. "I thought you didn't insist on salutes on this ship,"
she giggled.

He laughed and pushed her back to lie on the bed, crawling over her body
as he did so. "I don't." His muzzle pressed against hers, their tongues
touching and pressing. David's heart pounded in his chest; he felt so...
so lucky! So lucky to be here, to have her. His cock pressed against her
belly, and he felt her hands reach down to encircle it. His kisses roamed
wider, kissing her cheeks and the underside of her muzzle as he left a
trail down her body towards her full breasts. "You're so beautiful--
Don't argue!" he said, cutting off the "I'm not beautiful, I'm fat,"
line he had heard from her twice already.

She giggled. "Yes, SIR!" David laughed as he slid off the bed, grabbing
the bottoms of her jumpsuit and tugging. She pushed her hips up off the
bed and he slid her pants off, tossing them aside. The sight of her made
him take a deep breath and then let it out with a strong, satisfied sigh.
"You are beautiful."

She reached up with one hand for his wrist. He took her hand in one
of his and tumbled onto the bed with her. They rolled over until she
was on top of him, and he felt her bend her knees and pull them under
herself until she was kneeling above him. "I think you're the one who's
beautiful." She reached back and positioned his erection, settling down
on top of his cock until her buttocks met his hips.

He sighed and reached up to stroke her breasts. "I don't understand this."

"I don't either," she said, slowly stroking up and down on his erection.
He closed his eyes and felt her lips grabbing his cock, holding him deep
inside her body. "But I know what I want. You said you know what you want,
well I do too. You want me. I want you."

David nodded, pushing his hips up with every stroke. Their bodies met
in synch. He wanted her to go faster, but she only moved slowly, to her
own beat, in her own time. She never sped up, never slowed down. He felt
the walls of her cunt sliding past the head of his cock; his body began
trembling as his immanent climax never came any closer, never seemed
to come under control. He had always felt that he had some control even
over his orgasm, but instead he was left only to look into Denni's eyes
as she stared down at him, her muzzle hanging open, her tongue hanging
out as she caressed his cock with her insides, gripping his manhood. She
held his arms down at his sides as her body stroked slowly, agonizingly
slowly, over his erection.

"Denni..."

"I know," she smiled. "I can see it in your face." She sped up just a
little, and he felt his climax suddenly rise; his balls felt like they
were swelling, his cock became even harder, and suddenly he exploded
inside her, thrashing his legs and his head in bed, coming deep inside
her cunt. "Oh, Denni!" he moaned.

She smiled down at him. "There, was that worth it?"

"Oh, yes, that was worth it," he sighed. "Very much so. So, will you
marry me?"

She giggled. "Set course for Earth, hon, and I'll marry you tomorrow."

"First we have to go to Pendor. I have to get Aaden's permiss... Oh, crap.
I have to ask your father, don't I? Aaden Satpulov. That means I have
to get into Shardik Castle."

"It can be done," she smiled. "I'm family, remember?"

"I remember," he said. "Just took me a while." He reached up and toppled
her over onto the bed again, snuggling her close. "I'll talk to Tasha
tomorrow about plotting a course. We're over a month from Pendor right
now, and another week to Terra."

She nodded; he felt her muzzle move in the crook of his shoulder, her
breath blowing over his neckfur. He stroked her head slowly with his hand.
"I love you."

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The Journal Entries of Kennet R'yal Shardik, et. al., and Related Tales
are Copyright (c) 1989-2000 Elf Mathieu Sternberg. Distribution limited
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