World's Apart

Chapter II: Precious Cargo

Author's Note: I didn't expect this story to be for everyone. I'll continue one more chapter and see if I get any more reviews. It's a Cadley people, a CADLEY! You should be eating this up! :-P!

Imperial Master House watched with amazement as she took out target after target, no matter how small it was. It also didn't seem to matter what weapon she was using either, 42 knew her stuff. She had been able to shoot holes in the center of things about as small as a 21st century dime, while it was moving. House guessed she had a lot of time to practice seeing as how there wasn't much else for someone like her to do around the compound.

"So you want to be an assassin huh?" House asked as Cuddy was setting down her latest weapon of choice, a small crossbow. "How's your hand-to-hand?"

"Solid." She replied with confidence. Cuddy had gotten used to sparring with some of the other girls and when she had gotten too good the male instructors started sparring with her. She was the equivalent of a black belt in just about any form of arts that could be thrown her way. Five years of nothing but practice could bring someone to that state.

"A small girl like you, I don't think--" He cut himself off and came at her quickly. She wasn't expecting this and before she could even realize that she was about to take out an imperial master, she had him on the floor with the heel of her boot to his neck, ready to pierce. She looked down at him menacingly and then realized what she had just done and quickly removed her foot.

"Oh Gods I'm so sorry." She said backing up and putting a hand to her throat, "You aren't...I mean...you came at me and I--"

"Very good." House laughed and reached up for her hand. She took it and helped him to his feet. Maybe it was unfair because he had a bad leg, but he had challenged her and she had accepted that challenge. He had met her at the range with one guard and that guard was busy smoking in the corner as he read over the newsfeeds on his personal screen. He didn't even blink when Cuddy had taken House out. "Do you know how to pilot?"

"Before I came here I was an accomplished starship operator. I used to be a courier." She replied and then blushed. How she had ended up on this man's list to become part of his harem she didn't know, but what was done was done and secretly her whole life she had wanted to be an assassin or a bounty hunter. If she worked for him instead of against him then she would be way more protected.

"Well I think I have a ship I can lease out to you for your first assignment." House said and then held out his hand for her to shake, "You're hired." Hearing these words, Cuddy could barely contain her excitement. She had never wanted something so bad in her entire life and here it was coming true. He already seemed to have an assignment in mind for her and she was not going to disappoint. "Come, lets look at ships, alright?"

"Yes sir!" She almost squealed but then told herself to pull back. This was the beginning of a new life.

* * *

By 1300 hours the next day, Cameron and Hadley were well on their way to andromeda. It would take a few days, but Hadley was convinced that the payoff would be bigger than any bounty she had ever taken in before. It was around bed time but Hadley had decided to stay up to set up a new course in the cockpit. When she was sure that her new companion, the woman she knew as Alexandra, Karma, was asleep, she removed her armor.

Underneath was what you would find on any normal human, except for the huge angel wings concealed by her back plate. No, Hadley was not a bird nor could she fly (any more) but she had wings. She was from a species called "Ornithumans", literally meaning "Bird People". She had been outcast at age fourteen when she refused to choose a mate. Soon she found herself on the streets of mars with no one to turn to, and no one made it easy on her knowing that she was one of the "chosen" species.

It was complicated. Ornithumans were just regular humans who had mutated with bird characteristics. They had wings, hollow bones, and their own language consisting of complicated chirps that a human couldn't duplicate without a voice synthesizer, and even then it was choppy at best. She barely remembered how to speak that language though, being away from your species for almost 15 years had that kind of effect.

By the time she was twenty, she had become a minor thief and swindler on the streets of mars. She lived in a broken down hovel in the center of the great city and was friends with no one. She took great care to hide her wings and protect her fragile bones. One of the first things she invested in was good body armor.

One night, under orders of Imperial Master House, she was taken to the palace to become number 13 in a harem of 99 women. How she had been chosen was still a mystery to her. She had been happy being number 13 in the palace until the sex started. Every twenty nights she would be forced into sex with the imperial master himself. He wasn't a bad looking man, nor was he overly mean, but that didn't mean she wanted to have sex with him.

One night, early into her stay there, she had fought him and outright refused to copulate. He broke her left wing and left it to heal on it's own. Because she couldn't see any doctors that specialized in her species her wing healed but made it useless for flying, not that she had done much of that anyway since she was a kid. She resented Imperial Master House for damaging her in such a way that if she ever did want to return to her family she would be rejected.

She made it a point to escape his clutches, working as a bounty hunter for him until she had paid off her fee and was free. Now she would never have to see the bastard again, and for that she was happy. "Intruder in guest galley!" The computer suddenly barked at her. She jumped and then had to remind herself that the computer voice couldn't hurt her.

"On screen." She said slowly even though she would bet all of her credits that the "intruder" was this Alexandra Karma person. On the screen she saw Alexandra in the small guest kitchen getting a cup of tea. She smiled slightly and said, "Computer, recognize this body mass as guest Alexandra Karma."

"Complete." The computer chirped back. Hadley closed the screen that was sort of spying on Alexandra and pressed the intercom button to the guest galley. She would have used the pop up screen but she didn't want Karma to see her wings, she hated how people reacted when they found out she was an Ornithuman.

"Couldn't sleep?" She asked, the next sound she heard was a loud gasp and then the clearing of the throat.

"No, sorry." Karma responded.

"You can use the main galley if you want. This ship is home for now." Hadley informed her nicely. If she had meant to keep this woman prisoner she would have put her in the holding cell and provided her with water and meager rations. As it was, this girl was just trying to hitch a ride and since the pay off would be massive, there was no way she was going to treat Karma as a slave.

"Thank you Miss. Remy." Karma replied, "You can't sleep either?"

"Actually, I am dead tired, but I wanted to take a different course to andromeda so I am re-plotting. Is something on your mind? Did you want to talk?" Hadley asked, noting the way that the girl had just called her Miss. Remy. No one had ever called her that unless they were trying to talk down to her, but she didn't think this young woman was actively trying to sound better than her, she was just bred that way.

"Just a little nervous is all. I don't know what I am going to do once I get to andromeda." Karma replied. Hadley silently pulled up the screen once again so she could watch what Karma was doing. She was sitting at the small table sipping her tea and eating what looked like a chocolate chip cookie.

"I'm sure you'll do fine, a smart girl like you can--"

"Look at me, do you think I'm street savvy?" Karma asked, "Be honest." At that point Hadley wanted to be honest but she also didn't want to offend her meal ticket. Besides she was starting to feel something for the woman, something like love, something she hadn't felt in a very long time. She knew the chances of ever running into Karma again after she dropped her off was one in a million, but she didn't like to think of this girl as wandering around hungry for food and desperate for shelter.

"Meet me in the main galley, I'll join you." Hadley said and then closed the communication. She grabbed her torso armor, folded up her wings, and pulled it on. She doubted that she need to protect herself that much from this woman, she just didn't want her wings to be known. She left the cockpit and sealed off the door with the master code. She was done plotting the course for the night anyway.

When she came into the main galley, Karma was sitting there, still holding her cup of steaming tea. Hadley quickly went over to the food synthesizer and ordered up a Vermillion tea cake, for two, and got a cup of Saroccan tea for herself. She brought both over to the table and set it them down, before taking a seat.

"Look, Karma, I like you so when we get to andromeda don't worry about payment, okay?" Hadley said, cutting off a piece of cake. Karma looked at her like she had lost her damn mind. Hadley didn't want to take no payment for this trip, in fact she was hoping that Karma would insist on at least half payment, but just knowing the girl had enriched her life more than she could have ever imagined.

"I couldn't do that. I can't imagine how much it costs to run a starship all the way out to andromeda." Karma replied and nervously took a piece of the red cake set out before them. Hadley could have launched into expenses because it seemed this girl had no idea how the world worked, but she didn't.

"Then I'll give you some money to start out with. Half of whatever you would have paid me. Okay?" Hadley replied. No, there was no way this woman was street savvy. She seemed timid and ready to crawl out of her own skin at any moment. Hadley would have to make it her duty to help Karma, no matter where she came from or where she was going.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." Hadley replied happily, a very bird like chirp escaping her lips as she did. She quickly covered her mouth and turned away, she hated how when she got excited or happy her Ornithuman traits came out. It especially happened during sex. The last time she had sex, with this beautiful cat woman from Omega 8, her partner had said they were sexy as well as heavenly. She didn't buy it, and hadn't heard from the cat woman since.

She felt a blush rising on her cheeks, but took in a deep breath and fought it back, turning back to Karma who just seemed confused. "Sorry." She said even though she knew she shouldn't have to apologize, "Finish when you are ready and try to get some sleep okay? We'll be there in a few days."

"Thank you Miss. Remy." Karma said softly.

"It's Hadley." She reassured her guest, "Have a goodnight."

"You too." Karma said with a smile. Hadley got up and headed towards her sleeping quarters at the far end of the ship. If she had to assess the situation she would say that she was definitely in the girl's head...now maybe she could turn that into more.

* * *

Cuddy was well on her way to her first target. Her first mission was a recovery mission where she had been instructed to kill anyone who got in her way. She could do that, as she was aching to pull the trigger or snap someone's neck for real. The ship he had given her was nice, it had a rather large galley, a nice bedroom, and a large holding cell in the back of the ship for prisoners. It was small, but she didn't need a huge ship to go out and recover property that was still rightfully the Imperial Master's.

Her target? Hadley Remy, or as he referred to her, 13. Cuddy didn't know why the man wanted this girl back in his harem so bad, but she wasn't going to question his orders. It wasn't that hard tracking Thirteen down, but catching up to her was a problem. The ship Cuddy was currently in was not souped up, not ready for racing. It was your basic ship, much like the ones she used to make deliveries in.

Thirteen was last spotted on Earth, leaving with an unknown female of undetermined species. Cuddy's (and House's) sources said that the ship was almost within Jupiter's atmosphere. Being that Cuddy had just left from Mars, she was closer to Jupiter than to Earth. Normally there were procedures, and if she was going to kill Thirteen, then she would have taken her time. Sidled up to her slowly and taken her down quietly.

This was a recovery mission, though, so all she really had to do was intimidate and capture. She plotted a course to Jupiter and then headed towards the galley. The computer would notify her of any turbulence or change in course no matter where she was in the ship. Cuddy had decided that it was time for celebratory drink to kick off her new life.

* * *

Hadley was curled up in her bed with her wings wrapped around her, completely asleep. She had been so tired that even when they hit a small area of space junk, she didn't recognize the bumps. Cameron, however, did and was getting overly nervous. She was pacing the ship back and fourth debating on whether or not she should try to break into the cockpit and run a diagnostics test. She barely knew how to fly a ship, but she could do basic things in case of emergencies.

The ship seemed to be slowing down, and that was bothering her. The gentle hum of the engine had become a slight groaning. A pilot was supposed to be in tune with her ship, how had Hadley not woken up and she had? Maybe it was because she so badly wanted to get to andromeda and it seemed the Gods were toying with her.

Cameron found herself outside of the incredibly beautiful Hadley's room. She had never been so struck by anyone's beauty before, male or female. Every time the woman spoke to her she felt this spark in her body that she couldn't explain. Maybe it was arousal, but Cameron hadn't really ever experienced true arousal only because her life was so damn sheltered. All she knew was that feeling wasn't there when Prince Chase talked to her. After another moment of pacing, she tried the door. Surprisingly it opened.

"I am so sorry to barge in but there's something wrong with the ship." Cameron said, the first thing she noticed was the wings that Hadley was wrapped in. She decided right then and there not to say anything about the wings, as beautiful as they were. She had heard about Ornithumans and seen pictures, but never imagined something as stunning.

Hadley bolted up right, her wings fluttering as they folded behind her back. Without a word she bolted past Cameron and headed towards the cockpit. After a moment, Cameron followed her. She met Hadley at the piloting console, watching the poor girl's wings flitter about madly. Cameron couldn't even begin to imagine how uncomfortable it was to keep them folded away under armor. After moment of furious investigating, Hadley sat back in her chair and let out what seemed to be a sigh of relief.

"It's okay. Minor fuel leak. We'll have to stop on Jupiter. It should only take a day." Hadley said, her wings finally folding into what looked like a stress free position. Cameron was not stress free though. The longer she was in this territory she could be expedited and that was the last thing she wanted. She wasn't stupid. By now someone had noticed she was missing and it was only a matter of time before Hadley saw a newsfeed about her disappearance. Even with the blond hair, blue eyes, and scarred face, it was going to be obvious to anyone who she was when a computer modified picture showed all the options.

"Are you sure? We can't stop?" Cameron nearly pleaded. Hadley looked at her like she was weird. Obviously the woman had no idea who Cameron actually was and she wanted to keep it that way.

"What's wrong Karma? You seem..."

"It's, uh..." Cameron had to think fast, there had to be a good reason for her to be nervous. She searched her brain for all pop-culture reasons why someone would want to get to andromeda and fast. She didn't want to lie to Hadley any more either, she would rather just get everything out in the open. But if Hadley knew she was Earth's princess and she was harboring her, then she could be arrested, tortured, and killed. "I stole something of value and I'm sure there's a bounty on my head by now."

"What did you steal?" Hadley asked, seemingly surprised that this small girl could steal anything more than a toothpick from a fast food joint. Cameron looked at her, a little insulted. No, maybe she didn't have the ability to steal something off of the street, but she had stolen royal jewels and that was punishable by death in of itself.

"I'll show you, but don't freak out." Cameron said, "I'll be right back." With that she ducked out of the cockpit.

After she was gone, Remy noticed that Karma had said nothing about her wings. Usually, no matter what the situation, there were a thousand questions about her or a lot of fawning and praise. Either Karma had dealt with Ornithumans before or she just really didn't care what other people looked like. If the latter was the case, Remy couldn't be happier. The last thing she needed was to fall in love with another person who thought her wings were kinky.

When Karma returned she was holding a rather large velvet box with a gold clasp on it. "Well?" Remy asked, unimpressed. Karma took in a deep breath and opened the box revealing the diamond studded platinum necklace, worth more than the starship she was traveling in, including the person she was with. Remy looked at the jewels and then back to Karma, absolutely speechless.

"Where did you get that? It can't possibly be--"

"Authentic? It is. Take me to a pawn shop and I'll prove it." Karma said quickly.

"Honey if that's authentic you could buy a pawn shop. In fact you could probably purchase a small planet. This was how you were going to pay me?" Remy replied, absolutely shocked. If this was to be her payment, even half that, like she had offered, then she could retire. It was overwhelming to think that she had just instantly won the intergalactic lottery.

"Yeah, it's just money." Karma replied like she wasn't holding something worth more than both of their lives combined. "Are you still going to take me to andromeda?"

"With that, I'll take you any damn place you wanna go." Remy replied with a smile. Initially she had asked where Karma had gotten the necklace, but it was best not to bring that up again if she wanted to retain a friendship with her. It wasn't because of the money that she wanted to be friends, it was because of the fact that she really liked Karma. "But we have to stop on Jupiter. If you want to get to andromeda we have to get the ship fixed."

Karma swallowed hard, looking like she was going to be sick. Not knowing what else to do, Remy approached her and put an arm around her, the wing behind the same arm wrapping it's way around the girl's body protectively. "I am an accomplished bounty hunter. No one is going to get to you, understand?"

Cameron didn't know why, but in that moment she trusted Hadley more than anyone in the world. No one knowing that she was a princess would blink twice to give their life up for her, but Hadley had no idea what kind of precious cargo she was guarding and yet she was willing to battle it out and get her to her destination. Without much else to do, Cameron started to cry happy tears and pulled Hadley into a tight embrace. This was going to be the start of a wonderful friendship...maybe even more.