“Um, guys? Are we leaving or what? Mung Central is being a tad waspish. I tried pretending I only spoke Spanish, but now I have some puta translator jabbering away in my ear and I can’t understand a word of it.”
Donnie pinched the bridge of her nose before looking to Davie.
“Those Iowa boys aren’t going to start anything within range of the station, but it seems we can’t stay docked much longer. Get back up to the cockpit and get us out of here.”
The pilot nodded and brushed past her in the crowded room on her way to the hatch.
Afterwards the captain looked between Bryan and Maria.
“Outerlight is the real deal, they wouldn’t associate with pirates. Best theory I got right now? Someone involved in the project broke their NDA before you just did and hung you and the others out to dry when whatever backroom deal they made blew up in their face.”
“But all I was working on was a sweet corn hybrid with a shorter gestation period! Nothing worth killing over, or, or selling to criminals!”
Maria turned and stormed after Davie, ducking through the hatch into the passageway and turning to go into the common room.
Bryan’s pleading expression followed her, then settled on the floor.
“I’ll go and make sure she’s okay.” Bunny said quietly before scampering away as well.
With all the tension, her tail remained puffed up and her ears were still flat to her head.
Eva pursed her lips as she considered their forlorn passenger.
“What’s the play Skipper? Drop him with Outerlight and let them sort it out?”
“And admit that we know about one of their classified projects?” Kyle shook his head; “I like my nards attached thanks.”
“Stow it beardy, the women are talking.” Eva said while still watching Bryan.
Most men would do what she asked, but Kyle wasn’t most men.
“You don’t want my opinion? Stop making stupid suggestions.”
Now Eva looked at him.
“Don’t test me. I have no problem hitting a girl.”
Kyle held his arms out to either side and smirked.
“Take a swing small-fry, your sister has.”
That got her attention.
“Oh you mother-”
But Donnie had finally heard enough.
“Both of you shut up or it’ll be me doing the swinging!” She snapped, staring them down before relaying further orders; “Davie will be making another jump as soon as we’re clear of the station. You both have jobs, go do them.”
A familiar series of clunks marked the Pixie’s docking clamps retracting, the noise punctuating the captain’s words as her crew moved to follow their orders.
Alone in the airlock save for Bryan and her first mate, Donnie looked him up and down, her brow furrowed as she puzzled over the problem that he posed.
After several seconds where she watched him, Billy watched her, and he watched the floor, she finally made a decision.
“You two get your asses to medical.”
“I’m not hurt.” Bryan said miserably, still talking to his feet.
She ignored him though, turning to Billy.
“Give him a complete workup. The more I think of this the less sense it makes.”
“You think he’s carrying something and doesn’t know it.” Billy nodded as she picked up on the captain’s intentions; “I’ll get going on a dermal scan.”
“Be thorough, if the project was classified, any tech they’re using would be cutting edge.”
The doctor nodded and put a comforting hand on the kid’s slumped shoulder.
“Come on Bryan. Maria will calm down, for now you and me have a mystery to solve.”
He nodded numbly and allowed her to lead him away.
__________
Aboard the Iowa Clan’s flagship cruiser, the Howling Dragon, a pair of Junkers had just finished dragging the last of their fallen comrades off of the station and into the airlock where they laid them at the feet of the wide-eyed navigator, Dwight.
“Commodore ain’t gunna be happy.” He lamented.
“I’m none too pleased myself.” One of the Junkers replied sourly; “They was clan.”
Rufus Fairchild stormed into the airlock then, stopping face to face with Dwight; his view of the bodies blocked by the other man.
“What is it? Did Derrick an’ the boys bring me my cargo?”
The dour-faced drag-queen waited as the nervous man turned and gestured helplessly at the dead Junkers.
“No sir. They... uh, shit, you can see.” He mumbled as his hand fell back to his side.
The commodore’s ruby lips parted in an ‘oh’ as he took in the grizzly sight of the dead men.
After a moment he slowly dropped to his knees beside the remains of the tattooed Derrick.
“Oh my baby, look what they done to you.”
Other members of the crew came down then to see what all the fuss was about, taking in the sight of their leader cradling his first mate’s head in his lap.
After several moments Rufus sniffled and spoke in a thick voice.
“Derrick has been by my side since well before I took office. He always had my back, always.” He reached out with one ruby-nailed hand and patted one of the other corpses on the shoulder; “And these others... they was clan too. They was good boys.”
He looked up and the crew did their best to hide their revulsion at all of the freshly smeared makeup on the tearful man’s face.
After a long moment of silence Rufus stood, Derrick’s bald head hitting the deck with a faint thump that made Dwight wince.
“First they stole my cargo, then they done killed my baby boys.” The commodore’s face was red with rage as hot tears washed more mascara into his beard, his teeth grinding together as he spoke through them; “I do believe I have lost my composure.”
Another long silence reigned as the crew waited with bated breath to see what the drag-queen intended to do about it.
It was interrupted shortly after though by the patter of approaching feet as a member of the bridge crew came sprinting towards the airlock.
“Commodore! That ship done rabbited but I got a feller on the horn by the name of Dee-Marco. He’s talking too proper for me to unnerstand all of it, but it sounds like he has some idea where... they... is going.”
He finished with much less enthusiasm than he started as he took in the gravity of the situation in the airlock.
Rufus lunged towards him, yanking a broad-bladed knife from the back of his dress and putting it to his throat as he slammed him into the wall.
Though he dressed the part of a lady, the commodore came by his position honestly.
That is to say, a lot of pretenders to his dress had been readily gutted by that knife so there wasn’t a Junker in the clan who didn’t fear it.
With the feel of the razor’s edge of the cutter at his jugular, the messenger did his very best to hold perfectly still as the garishly painted man opened his mouth and took a full four seconds to articulate three words:
“Where. Are. They?”
Chapter 28:
Secrets Sting
Bunny caught up to Maria in her bunk, watching as the marine tore off her jacket and tossed it aside in agitation, her naked breasts wobbling as she sat down on her bed heavily, her face in her hands.
The K’or-Macka was quick to sit beside her as she began to vent her spleen.
“He lied to us, he lied to me!”
The cat-girl rested her head against the blonde’s shoulder, one hand rubbing her back as she tried to placate her.
“I know.”
“He could have gotten us all killed!”
Bunny let out a quiet and involuntary yowl in her throat, her tail swishing on the bed behind her.
“I don’t think he meant any harm by it though.” She ventured, but Maria wasn’t having it.
“It doesn’t matter what he meant, he left us in the dark and people are dead because of it.”
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Deciding that maybe her friend wasn’t ready for her voice of reason just yet, Bunny just sat with her and listened, waiting for her to calm down some.
Several minutes later, she tried again.
“I don’t really understand everything that is going on but... before he came to us, Bryan made a contract right? Which is like a promise?”
“I guess.” Maria grumbled as she tilted her head down to rest on Bunny’s, the K’or-Macka’s ears tickling her cheek.
It was impossible not to return the affections of a cuddlesome cat, no matter what troubles one faced.
Bunny’s arm squeezed her waist as she reasoned things out.
“He promised them he wouldn’t say anything, and he didn’t, even when those mean Junker guys were beating him up. Even when DeeDee was being scary and yelling he tried not to say anything.”
The image of Bryan, bound and floating in the Junker cargo-hold flashed into Maria’s mind, giving her pause.
“Where are you taking me with this Bunny?” She finally asked.
Snuggling against her tighter, the cat-girl turned her face to give her naked shoulder a tender kiss.
“Someone who keeps their promises is a good thing Mare-bear. I just think that maybe you shouldn’t give up on him over just this one mistake.”
“It was kind of a big mistake.” She responded drily; “He was an idiot.”
The K’or-Macka was pouting now.
“I’m not super smart either, I know that. But that’s only because I’m so high up among the stars, far from the shores of Macka and surrounded by new and strange things all the time.”
Maria’s smile fell away, a look of concern taking its place.
“Bunny, none of us think you aren’t smart!”
The feline alien waved her hand in the air and shook her head impatiently.
“That’s not the point! Bryan is like me! When I first left my home! Everything was new and strange and different, and there is so much I still don’t understand.”
“That’s- you’re from a completely different civilization!” Maria sputtered.
“Uh huh, but you like young guys like him?”
“You know I do, what does that have to do with-”
“I don’t know much, but I know men. And young ones like him aren’t super smart. He was like me because he was all safe and happy doing his botany, but then he was kidnapped and tortured and stuff, and now he’s on a ship with a bunch of scary marines and a suuuper attractive Bunny.”
Maria snorted at the cat’s phrasing, but then pursed her lips thoughtfully.
“You got a bit off topic towards the end, but I take your meaning. You think I should cut him some slack.”
“Um, maybe? Is slack a bad thing?”
“No it’s not a bad thing, it’s-”
“But why would you cut it for him?” Her eyes widened in apparent understanding and she smiled; “Oh! Is it about food? Like how I always cut the crusts off of my hubby’s sandwiches?”
Maria laughed suddenly, sitting up straight as she did.
“Don’t ever change Bunny.”
Though confused at first, the K’or-Macka joined in the laughter before shaking her head even more vigorously than before.
“Impossible! We change every day, we grow and shift into new selves just as the oceans of my homeworld shift the islands rising out of them, reshaping their shores with every wave. It’s part of life.”
Maria’s mouth fell open slightly at the unexpected wisdom coming from the frivolous Bunny, but she wasn’t finished.
“Bryan will change; the pain that he has been through is changing him, just as the pain of this secret he kept is changing you. So now for your choice: do you swim to shore and leave him to float out of your life, or will you cut up his slacks and weather this wave with him?”
Maria groaned into her hands, hiding her face.
“I’m way too sober for philosopher-Bunny.”
The K’or-Macka rubbed her back again, but all traces of mirth were gone from her face.
“He loves you. Young and stupid as the puppies I have heard about, but still love. Whatever you decide, don’t forget that.”
Maria sniffed, wiping away an unexpected tear before pulling Bunny into a hug that somehow ended with the smaller girl straddling her hips, her pert breasts smooshing into the blonde’s much larger bust.
“You know you’re a better friend than any of us deserve right?”
“Nope!” Bunny smiled wide and kissed her full on the mouth, catching her off guard before holding her cheeks in either hand and looking hopefully into her eyes; “Does this mean you will finally sit on my face?”
Maria groaned and lifted the cat out of her lap.
“Way to ruin the moment!”
“What! Hey!” Again Bunny’s tone shifted, now far more petulant as she followed her to her feet; “Come ooon, you’re so muscular! I want to see your special parts! Please?”
“No!”
Suddenly they felt the surge of slipspace around them, Davie having initiated a short jump in a bid to escape the Junkers’ no doubt violent intentions.
With the distraction of the jump, Bunny’s ardent nature was forgotten by the both of them.
“It’ll be okay Mary.” She said as she wrapped the pensive woman in a hug.
Now that they were standing, the much shorter girl’s face was buried in the blonde’s cleavage.
And just as before, Maria couldn’t help but return the loving embrace.
“I have my doubts about that, but thanks for the pep talk anyways kitten.”
She leaned her head down and kissed the cat on top of her head.
Bunny exhaled in a sigh and began to purr as she nuzzled deeper into Maria’s chest, the vibration causing the blonde’s nipples to harden involuntarily.
“Oh well. At least I got to see more of your boobies.”
Maria laughed weakly.
“Yeah right, start to motorboat me and see what happen-”
Not waiting on her to finish, Bunny drew back and sucked one of her nipples into her mouth, licking it with her rough tongue and causing a jolt of surprising pleasure to shoot between Maria’s thighs.
She was not amused.
“Grah! OFF Bunny!” With implacable force she pulled the cat away from her teat.
“What? You told me to start motor-boating you!”
Free of the horny alien, Maria rubbed at her wet nipple and shook her head in exasperation.
“I did not! And that sure as hell wasn’t motor-boating!”
Despite her words she had to hide a smile from the K’or-Macka as she threw on a bra and a clean shirt, glad of the distraction from her turbulent love-life.
Meanwhile Bunny was unrepentant as she licked her lips.
“Mmm, it was close enough.”
Sad that the muscular woman was no longer naked but glad that her mood had improved, Bunny skipped towards the door.
As she stood in the hatch she gave Maria one last winning smile.
“It’s going to be alright.” She promised again before disappearing with a flirt of her no longer poofy tail.
With her absence Maria’s mood darkened once more; she wished that she could believe her.
Because despite the cat’s talk, she still struggled with what she should do next. She knew that she had gotten carried away with Bryan, the fact that words like ‘love’ were being thrown around was evidence of that!
It wasn’t the first time a young man had become infatuated with her; truth be told the more selfish parts of her enjoyed it, savouring the unconditional puppy-love that Bunny mentioned, something only people Bryan’s age were capable of in Maria’s opinion.
What was different this time was how quickly she had grown to return his affections. She hadn’t forgotten her conversation with Eva after they destroyed the Junker frigate.
And now her lover was being hunted.
With a troubled sigh she flopped back down into her bunk, her arm coming up
over her eyes.
__________
The dermal scanning unit that Billy was using let off a faint buzz as she painstakingly went over every inch of Bryan’s skin.
Every. Inch.
It wasn’t the first time the doctor had seen him naked, so he wasn’t as embarrassed as he might otherwise have been, but he still wasn’t overly comfortable.
At least she wasn’t looking at him directly, her eyes glued to the monitor in her off-hand as she worked the sensor with the other.
“Stop fidgeting, this will take a while.”
“I’m sorry Doctor Wu.”
“It’s alright, just hold still.”
“No, I mean... for the other stuff.”
“What other stuff? You wanting to stay alive?”
“But-”
“We’ve all signed papers with the mega-corps, it’s impossible not to. And while you might have heard some unsettling rumours about what happens to people who violate their contracts, we know firsthand.”
“You do?”
She pinched his ear lobe and folded the flap of skin forwards to get the scanner behind it as she spoke.
“We were marines for the Dungeness Corporation, I’m sure you know that by now.”
“Yeah...” He said with a questioning note.
“It wasn’t often, but a few times we got involved with their black-ops teams.”
It took him a minute to catch her meaning, when he did his eyes widened.
“Oh.”
“Yeah. ‘Oh’. Scary people doing scary things. Usually in the dark. Donnie hated those assignments, but orders were orders.”
Not sure how to reply, he said nothing, instead standing in silence as she worked.
Forty five minutes of trying not to fidget later and Bryan was allowed to don his clothes again.
“Nothing.” Billy sighed; “Not so much as a skin tag. Are you sure nobody came near you with a big ass needle?”
She was sitting on her thighs on the floor, having just finished with his feet.
“Just the routine immunizations, I would have remembered anything special.”
Billy stood and wrapped the cord of the dermal scanner around the screen before stowing it in a cupboard.
Pixie Hazard Page 24
