2: I'm Hiding
Martinex, first mate and crew member of the Ogord faction, made use of the PA system on the Ravager mothership and called down to the lowermost deck. "Hey maintenance." He started off after pressing down on the button within the speaker's handle, "is Udonta down there?"
The feedback whine is abrupt and sharp; Martinex jerks his head back in reaction to the sudden unpleasant sound, followed by a rustling before a gruff voice finally speaks into the PA on the opposite side. The racket of machinery (most likely a drill) whirring was a constant presence in background noise.
"WHAT?" was the shouted response. Martinex sighed, speaking very clear and directly into the speaker after finally pressing the button. "Udonta, Yondu. I'm looking for him. Is he down there?"
"Who is this, Martinex? He hiding from you?" The snide comment was followed up with laughter.
"Can you just see if he's down there?" His tone close to exasperated.
"Sunnova bitch callin' down here like we ain't got nothin' better ta do-"
Martinex rolled his eyes at the underhanded statement. Whoever had picked up the PA must not have realized they were feeding back - or maybe they did and they just didn't care.
"HEY -anyayou guys seen Udonta?" Some level of shouting that Martinex couldn't quite make out but it lasted no more than a few seconds before the answer came back. "No one's seen 'im."
"Did you check his M-ship?" Martinex pressed, irritation growing.
"No."
"Can you?"
"Are you not on the same goddamn ship as us?" The other guys echoed this sentiment, an encouraging 'yeah!' in the background . "Come down here and check for yourself, I ain't your errand boy."
"Well get Zed to check then."
"I must not be comin in clear. I said FUCK OFF." A clatter, then cut: the sound of maintenance wrestling the PA system back into its holder.
"Assholes." Martinex seethed under his breath. Ever since Charlie-27 became captain of his own faction the guys in maintenance had pretty much established their own pseudo-society among themselves. They worked hard on a consistent basis; their work was also by-in-large thankless, hence the attitude with dealing with the first mate.
He didn't mind going down to the lowermost deck to check for himself, that wasn't an issue; it's just he had already ran all around this ship looking for Yondu and he was getting pretty irritated. Martinex had approached Yondu yesterday morning about the food storage and the need to make a run. Yondu agreed he'd go with, but today was nowhere to be seen.
Mainframe and Krugarr hadn't seen him... nor had the rest of the crew. He wasn't answering his communicator, either. It wasn't atypical for Yondu to keep to himself, but it was out of character to sign up for a job and dodge following through.
"Where the hell is he..." Martinex muttered to himself.
Aleta exited the pantry adjoined to the kitchen and held a stance of reprimand. The slick black jumpsuit she wore shined slightly in the florescent light as she wisped a strand of fallen hair before her eye with a breath; giving the Arcturan captain opposite of her a look, one that conveyed well her admonishment.
"You have hardly anything up here." Hand on her hip, face set – an irritated tone to her voice. "Who have you been keeping in charge of this since I've been gone?"
The Ogord faction's leader leaned against the counter. "I mean, no one specifically," he said with a shrug. "It's been delegated. I told them to rotate it." As he bites into a piece of fruit he'd been holding he continues, garbling his words a bit in talking with his mouth full. "Maybe Tullk or Yondu made the last run? I don't know, babe."
"Stakar you've got too many people for this." Her tone was a blend of lecture and audaciousness.
"I know!" As he agrees Stakar tosses the core of the fruit into the waste chute. "I keep bugging Krugarr about getting his crew together so I can get him the hell off my ship."
It was admittedly an excuse, but it was accurate; Krugarr was dragging his metaphorical feet when it came to the preferment of captain. Stakar had already gone through this twice with Aleta and Charlie-27; from his perspective, he was ready to 'graduate' the reptilian sorcerer, having met two-thirds of the self-defined criteria for what it meant to a Ravager captain.
To be captain of your own faction several things had to be true:
The part that mattered most... personal readiness. Those closest to him embodied this: stick to the code, live for more than just yourself, and be committed to Stakar's vison - expanding the Ravagers. Be willing to pass forward the lessons of what it meant to be a captain to crew members so they too could start their own faction, and keep this thing going.
When it was clear they were ready, well...the next logical step for a captain would be to acquire a vessel and crew.
Stakar already had the resources pooled up for Krugarr to get his own ship; where the Lem was lacking was in assembling his crew. The Arcturan captain stressed to his companions simplicity - if you had a first mate and one other guy willing to follow, you had a crew. This was what made the situation with Krugarr particularly frustrating... Krugarr had yet to formulate his squad - he didn't try to engage others routinely as is, and despite Stakar's encouragement (or nagging, depending on your point of view) that had yet to change.
It wasn't even that guys weren't willing to join him! There were several Ogord crew members that were truly fascinated by the presence of the sorcerer and his magic; they had essentially become a hype group/fan club for the Lem whenever a trick was performed, shouting and exclaiming with excitement as if it was the first time every time.
Krugarr was just being a pain in the ass in Stakar's eyes; overcrowded barracks made things harder to manage. After tossing the core of the fruit eaten the Ravager turned his attention to the sleek vision in front of him – his sultry vixen and fellow captain, Aleta of the Starhawk faction.
"Clearly I should get someone on it."
Despite his agreement she wasn't quite ready to let it go.
"My ship is consistently stocked." She said with arrogance. He returned without hesitation.
"Well I'm sure it's a lot easier when you only have three crew members."
Aleta's mouth fell to a gape. "You said the size of the crew did not matter!"
She at this point had moved in completely on his personal space; pressing her body against his, a contradiction to the audacity in her tone. Stakar couldn't help but grin - his response wasn't even conscious yet the reaction made it seem worth it. He slips his arms around her waist at her reminding him of his own words.
"It doesn't." The captain says softly. "I'm just saying."
With that, pulling her in for a kiss; given Aleta had been on a string of jobs a few clusters away this was the first time seeing her in almost a week. He had really missed her... even if they were arguing, he didn't care. He was just happy to have her around.
From the first moment he saw her Stakar had fallen in love with Aleta. Sexy badass that she was... Her taste intoxicating, the feel of her tight body underneath the suit... he didn't want to let her go when she broke away, once again to add to the argument.
"When I ran the kitchen on this ship inventory was always up to date. Your excuse of a larger crew is invalid."
There was a strong chance she had been thinking about that during their kiss. Stakar yielded, hoping to appease his beautiful companion so that she would – god willing – just shut the fuck up so he could get back to loving her.
"Okay baby you're right. I'll get someone on it."
Oh if only it were that easy.
"Don't do it for me!" Aleta affirmed with seriousness still. "You're responsible for the well-being of your crew. You're the captain."
His own words again thrown back at him. It would be easy to find the abatement an annoyance but dammit if Stakar didn't love it: Aleta was a perfect example of what a Ravager captain should be. Self-sufficient, resourceful, and best of all she remembered what he had said, all the lessons he tried to establish.
"Goddamn do I love you." He mused.
A gloved hand cradled the back of her head and pulled her in for another kiss. Stakar didn't need her to say it back - he knew she loved him. He knew it as much as he knew she didn't like to say it, so he would leave no dead air in saying it himself. Aleta was everything he'd ever wanted… to Stakar, the perfect woman.
As he pulls away from the kiss he keeps her face close, hands still in her shoulder-length black hair. The look on her face was one he knew all too well; that look of intrigue and playfulness. The dangerous twinkle in her eye. That look that told him she'd follow him to the ends of the universe but not blindly; loyal and yet wise. She was his right hand, his other half. She was his everything.
"Marry me."
Aleta's face scrunched up slightly; her response along the same vein as it always was. "Ehhh…"
By no means a new routine. Aleta didn't look at things the same as her Arcturan lover: to her marriage was a ridiculous, pointless institution that did nothing more than shackle the woman to a life Aleta would never be suited to live. She was a Ravager - not a homemaker - and a captain at that. She did not seek a maternal lifestyle either; she took care of the people around her, and felt the fulfillment in that accordingly.
Aleta had never pictured herself getting married... so from the very first proposal, to each thereon, she rejected.
If there was one word to sum up Stakar, however - one word that encapsulated his entire being - it was 'relentless'. This was only the hundredth time he's asked, right? He still was going to make it count.
"We don't have to make a big deal about it…" He did his best to keep his voice strong in his moment of vulnerability. "No rings, no ceremony – as much as I'd love to see you in a dress." She scoffed at this. "Nothing would have to change." His voice particularly quiet yet earnest in saying that: his eyes met hers. "You'd still be captain of your faction. Fly your colors, go on your own just like you have been.
Just take my name." Holding her eye contact in concurrence with cradling her face in his palm, "Be my wife and be mine. Forever."
The captain would no doubt sound childish if not for his heartfelt sincerity. Perhaps it was the softness in his voice combined with the approach, but Aleta – she was hearing him.
A sly grin crept across her face at his proposal. "... Alright."
The look of pure wide-eyed surprise was for only a split second before the captain smiled at the woman he adored, stroking the hair fell before her eye out the way. She allowed her face and his to come together once more, for a loving kiss.
Martinex was gracious enough to rap a knock against the wall upon entering the kitchen area.
"Sorry to interrupt." He stated, moving beyond any acknowledgement of the display of affection.
"Either of you seen Yondu?"
An innocent enough question - when Stakar's eyes met Martinex's he caught on to something a bit more.
"Haven't seen him yet today, Martinex." The captain broke away from Aleta to stand next to her with his arm lingering slightly around her waist. Stakar made sure to give Martinex the attention due and right away, the direct answer. Aleta caught on to Stakar's change in demeanor and set her focus to Martinex as well. "Why what's up?"
Martinex quickly directed his gaze to the wall, avoiding eye contact as he spoke. "He's supposed to go with me on a supply run and we really need to go, the pantry's almost out."
Aleta tsked and nudged an elbow into Stakar. "At least someone on this ship has their priorities straight." She muttered under her breath.
Stakar gave her a playful shove away though not one that made her far; he turned his attention back to Martinex. "Last time I saw Yondu was yesterday."
"Yeah," Martinex says as he folds his arms, "Me too. I checked with Mainframe and Krugarr, none of the crew's seen him. Maintenance told me to 'fuck off and come check for myself' when I called down there to see if he had left, or was working on his ship."
His gaze still diverted he muttered, "He's not answering his comms."
When it came to the Pluvian first mate his personality was almost always stoic and dry; he lacked in social tact at times, and typically cared none about it. Not concerning himself with how he came off made Martinex seem short, to-the-point, and more often than not annoyed.
There were subtle variations to that level of expression, though. This was one of those times. Stakar was thrown off to hear and see it; the question was not asked with annoyance, but almost concern.
Stakar offered an optimistic alternative. "He mighta gone to see Rex. Things seem to be picking up between those two." With a grin he nudged Aleta slightly, to which she rolled her eyes.
A sigh from the exasperated Pluvian. "Well wherever he is his communicator shows he's offline."
Stakar's brow furrowed at the revelation. " That's not like him..."
"Martinex if you need someone to go on the run with you-" Aleta started, chiming in.
"It's not that I need him." Martinex came back quickly. "I can make the run myself, but he was supposed to help out. Regardless he shouldn't go offline from comms." Martinex looked to Stakar and they exchanged a knowing glance.
If someone's communicator was offline it meant one of two things: the device had been either destroyed or disabled.
"I'm going to head down to maintenance, see if his ship's here. I just wanted to see if you'd seen him."
"Well here: we'll go with you." Stakar looked to Aleta and gave a little head nod.
Yondu wasn't normally the type to ignore his comms for very long. Sure, he kept to himself more often than not - it was just part of his personality. But this left a feeling in the captain's gut, the way Martinex was acting about it, Stakar could tell it bothered him too. It just wasn't like Yondu to bail on responsibility. The fact that Stakar couldn't place seeing him... that no one could, going on two days, and he wasn't responding to comms? It didn't set right, not at all.