Last chapter…
"Fire all."
"TURLES! ARE YOU NUTS!?" Usagi screamed just as a huge explosion from behind them rocked the entire spacecraft.
"I mated with you, didn't I?" He asked calmly, shooting her an excited piratey grin. "Hang on, sweetheart, you're about to see just why The Darling isn't the fastest craft in the quadrant. My darling!?"
"Yes, Captain?"
"Reload," he purred, keeping an eye on the ship behind him and the smoking trails from one of its engines. "I want to ground her as quickly as possible, so aim for his engines and his transmission." Turles jumped a little and Usagi more than a little when the high-pitched whistle of returning fire was heard and The Darling shuddered under the impact. "Brace yourself, beautiful, we'll be fine, but he hit my landing gear. It's going to be bumpy when we land."
Flipping switches to compensate for the change in airflow without his landing gear, Turles was the definition of calm as he continued to give the computer orders, and once he was only five-thousand feet above the ground he began to maneuver, dodge, and return fire skillfully. "Darling, I want reloads at the ready, and then I want you to immediately fire all once more."
"Yes, Captain."
"Usagi, you ok?" He could hear her cuff beeping, and he frowned deeply, glancing over to find her blood pressure dangerously high. "Relax, Rabbit. I want you to take some deep breaths for me and calm down, alright? Look at me. I'm totally calm, right?" With her eyes squinted and her knuckles white, Usagi gripped her chair and nodded. "Sweetheart, if I'm calm, there is nothing to worry about. Start worrying if you see me panic," he instructed. "And hang on, because I'm going to have to go vertical," he warned tersely.
"Just hurry up!" She yelled at him in what was becoming complete and total panic. Usagi didn't hear much else except for crashing, shuddering and explosions while she hung onto her armrests for dear life and screamed her head off like a little kid on his first rollercoaster. Turles was flipping them, climbing vertically, barrel-rolling—firing the entire time while they took some fire in return. But not nearly as much fire as The Golden took from The Darling's missile launchers.
No wonder the damned thing was so slow! Turles had enough fucking ammunition on The Darling to blow Vegeta-sai to Hell and back! And they were picking up speed as Turles commanded the computer to continue firing, staggering the shots so that it was practically a constant barrage of missiles as the ship reloaded itself and fired the next shot simultaneously.
Usagi finally snapped out of it when she heard Turles yell her name, nearly screaming it at her in what sounded like a hint of actual panic. "What!?" She whimpered loudly, eyes still squeezed shut.
"Help me out, damn it!" He growled at her, trying not to get nasty with her due to her condition and her state of terror. "The radio; damn it woman!"
It was then that she actually listened and heard a transmission coming through. "This is the Kanassan Airguard. Land immediately and surrender your hostage, or we will be forced to open fire and ground you."
Usagi's eyes went wide at that. "But I'm not a hostage!"
"NO SHIT! Tell them that! Obviously that little shit put out a mayday and made it look like I stole you from him! Get on the fucking horn, Usa! Before they put us down!"
With a surge of courage, Usagi ignored the rocking and rolling of the ship and snagged the mic from the dash. "I'M NOT A HOSTAGE, DAMN IT! This is Princess Serenity of the Moon Kingdom, and Captain Turles is in the employ of my brother to bring me safely to Vegeta-sai! Disengage at once! Or take out the ship firing upon us!"
"Prince Endymion says that you might say something like that under duress, Highness. How can we be sure that you're telling the truth?" A voice responded.
"Call my fucking BROTHER if you don't believe me!" She shouted furiously. "And I swear by the gods that if you fire upon us, this planet will know the wrath of King and Prince Vegeta! Do you understand me!?"
There was a long pause—presumably the pilots of the Airguard were discussing the threat of a Saiyan retaliation amongst themselves—but the man's voice eventually came back on the radio just as Turles was firing all for the third time on The Golden, spiraling towards the ground in an attempt to shake him. "Both ships will land immediately and all passengers and pilots will surrender themselves for questioning and a search so that we can sort this out. Disregarding this order will result in being forcibly grounded."
"Understood," Usagi replied calmly. "Turles, take us down?"
"It'll have to be on water," he ground through his teeth, not too happy with being searched. He had a good bit of illegal goods in the hold and he knew he'd have to answer for those.
"I'll handle it," Usagi whispered to him before getting back on the radio. "Please guide us to a suitable water landing, gentlemen. Since the asshole behind us decided to take out my escort's landing gear."
Turles sagged against the dash as he downed The Darling in the capital city, at the main docking sight, which also happened to be a very large lake. "Dear gods, I haven't been in a dogfight like that in years. I need a drink," he concluded. "Fuck your brother's orders not to drink with you aboard, I am getting fucking wasted tonight."
"Hell, I'd have a few with you if it weren't for the baby," Usagi admitted shakily.
"How's your BP?" Turles asked suddenly, turning his head from where he had it buried in the console to check her cuff. "Good," he sighed.
"Please disembark at once," a guard ordered over the radio.
"If you would give us a moment," Usagi asked sweetly, "I am not dressed appropriately to exit the ship. I was woken quite rudely when Endymion fired upon us."
"That's not the story he's telling, Highness. I suggest you get out here now," the guard advised.
"Of course it's not," Usagi snorted. "Tell me, are his eyes turning brown? Because I assure you he's full of shit. Now… I will be returning to my quarters to put on something besides a transparent nightgown, and then I will gladly join you on the dock. Unless you'd like me to tell Geta how the Kanassan Airguard forced me outside and ogled my tits."
"Damn, baby. You are sexy as fuck when you get all haughty and vicious," Turles purred. "Think they'd wait long enough for us to have a quickie?"
"What's a quickie?" Usagi asked curiously, fluffing her hair in thought.
"Aaaaand, she's back," Turles chuckled. "Go get dressed, little rabbit. I don't mind them seeing me half-naked."
"No, help me really quick, I'm still a little shaky," she admitted. "And you should get something on to cover the bite mark," she added as they made their way into her quarters. "Tell me," she asked as she found an appropriate dress that she could wear without her corset, "were we nearly out of ammo?"
"Hell no. I could have fired all another dozen times before I would have started to worry, but I've never had to fire that much before. Usually my load's lightened so much by then that I can make an easy getaway," he snickered, finding a semi-clean muscle shirt on her floor and yanking it over his head.
"So that's why this ship is so slow. All the ammunition."
"I've made quite a name for myself that way, you know. Blow everyone and everything to Hell and back, then get the fuck out before reinforcements arrive. Any ship I'm jacking knows that I'm the most heavily armed pirate ship in the quadrant," he explained proudly. When Usagi giggled and shook her head, he nipped at her mark through the dress. "Those who fire and run away, live to steal another day."
"Ah. Your motto?" She asked as he escorted her below towards the hatch, pulling a pen from her subspace and waving it at the stacks of cargo lashed down securely.
"Yes, my mate. It is. Not today, though. I'm actually making a clean run for once. Mostly, anyway." Turles opened the hatch then, and immediately growled and stepped in front of Usagi when the Kanassan guards leveled blasters at them both. "You get your sights off the princess, or things are going to get very fucking messy," he warned.
A very disheveled Endymion stepped out from behind the guards and smirked at Turles smugly. "You can drop the defensive act now, pirate. We all know damn well who she's engaged to. You stole her from me, and I want her returned immediately."
"Like hell!" Usagi shouted, shoving past her mate, daring the guards with a single glare to fire on her as she stomped forward. A single crack was heard, and Turles and the guards all leapt forward to stop Endymion when he lunged at the princess, a bright red handprint on his cheek. "You asshole!" She shouted, the crescent on her forehead burning brightly in her anger. "You stole me and you know it! Geta contracted Turles to get me off the moon and bring me to where I'd be safe from you!"
"She's lying!" The prince shouted right back, trying like hell to escape the grasp of the guards. He broke free after some earnest struggling, and the very moment he darted forward and reached for Usagi, he was pinned to the ground in a flash of golden light with a snarling, teeth-baring Saiyan holding him by the throat.
"Touch her and I will crush your windpipe," Turles growled softly. "She's mine, you understand me?"
Usagi facepalmed and let out a little rush of air, sputtering the moment Turles uttered those words and the guards and Endymion all turned their eyes to her expectantly. She'd been about to comment on Turles's sudden, unexpected transformation to Super Saiyan, but noooo, he'd just felt the urge to reveal their pairbonding to the entire fucking planet. And Vegeta, once word got out. And it would. "Goddamnit, Turles," she muttered, sounding just like her brother.
Under all the stares, Usagi sighed in surrender and bared her mating mark, cringing at the sound of muttering among the crowd of guards. "I'd much prefer to inform my brother of my choice of a mate on my own, thank you," she stated firmly. "I don't think he'd be very pleased to hear it from third parties."
"He forced you! I know he did!" The prince of the Earth shouted indignantly. "Usa, you can't be fucking serious! He's making you lie or something, right?"
"I don't lie well, Endymion. You know that," Usagi sighed. "And Turles didn't force me into anything. We're fully mated. Get over it."
A single brave—or extremely stupid—guard stepped forward and slowly, carefully reached for Turles's shirt, his hands held out in a gesture of peace. That and a word from Usagi were the only two things that kept the Saiyan from ripping off the guard's hand, and he let him pull his shirt to the side to bare his own mark. "She wouldn't have returned the mark if she'd been forced," the guard said knowingly.
An older guard stepped forward and regarded the scene before him seriously for a moment before turning to the princess. "Highness, we apologize for the misunderstanding. What would you have us do with Prince Endymion?"
Let me have him, r'sha, Turles growled through the bond.
"No, Turles," Usagi sighed. "You know I can't do that… as much as I'd like to," she added wryly. "No… please put his ship in impound, and have a military escort return him to his father. And explain to King Aeolian exactly what happened and that his heir is banned from returning to my kingdom; it would be greatly appreciated." Kneeling next to Turles, she caressed his face gently and kissed his cheek. "You can let him go, r'sha… he won't hurt me with you right here," she whispered gently.
"He better not," Turles replied with a dangerous little snarl, letting go of the prince's throat and absorbing the ki blast that he didn't even remember forming in his hand. "Get him out of here before I crush his royal balls," he ordered the guards.
Endymion was either cowardly enough or smart enough to not move towards the princess, but he always had to have the last word. "I never took you for a whore, Usagi. Now I know why—" A crack was heard as Turles simply broke his jaw, followed by a ki blast through the chest of one of the prince's personal guards when he stepped forward with his sword in hand.
"Anyone else want to comment on my mate's honor?" Turles asked softly.
"Damn it, we can't send him back like that," Usagi sighed. "Hold still if you know what's good for you, Endymion." She healed his jaw quickly, shooting Turles a warning glance when he growled at her, and quickly retreated when she was done.
"You killed Yamcha, you stupid monkey asshole!" Endymion yelled.
"Someone please get him out of here before Turles breaks more than his jaw!?" Usagi shouted at the guards, who quickly moved forward and seized him. "Take his bodyguards too, please," she added after a moment.
"And find a doctor for my mate," Turles chimed in commandingly. "I want her examined to make sure she wasn't hurt during the dogfight." His scouter rang then, and he cringed at the sight of Vegeta when he put it on. "Yes, Highness?"
"I heard that there was an aerial battle," Vegeta said quickly, clearly trying not to let his deep worry show. Then he blinked and stared at Turles for a long moment. "Goddamnit, Turles! Another one of you fuckers from the House of Bardock went Super Saiyan!? Gods, it's like a Super Saiyan bargain sale!"
"I got pissed when Endymion tried to strike Usagi," he answered flatly; at any other time he would have been gloating, but his beast had a pretty tight rein on everything at that very moment. "She's fine. I've already ordered the Kanassan Airguard to find her a doctor to look her over. The little prick is being taken back with an escort and will be returned to his father."
"Good to hear. Both of you are uninjured?"
"Yes, Highness, thank you. But The Darling is going to need new landing gear and some more ammo; I fired all three times and a constant barrage of missiles while I was trying to shake him. I estimate we'll be stuck here at least a week while the necessary repairs are made."
"Damn it," Vegeta sighed. "Fine. Make sure you call Ami regarding Usagi's health, and then myself once she's been examined," he ordered.
"Yes, Highness." He hung up then and scooped his mate into his arms, carrying her back inside the ship before anyone could comment further on their status as a pairbond.
Feeling how deeply his beast was in control, Usagi didn't protest the action, and drew him into her arms the moment he laid her down in his bed. "Calm down, love," she whispered, "I'm just fine, and I'm sure that the baby is, too. Can you sense his ki yet?"
Turles nodded slightly after a moment of searching and visibly sagged in relief when he found it strong and bright; a lot stronger than it should have been for its short time in the womb, too. "Damn Fruit of Might's going to make him a strong little warrior," he mused. "The computer said that that's why he's growing a little faster than normal, by the way."
Usagi blinked, then slowly nodded. "Makes sense… I don't know why I hadn't thought of that. Mmm… our strong little prince," she chuckled, stroking a hand absently over her stomach. She saw Turles blanch and quirked a brow. "You ok?"
"Usa…" Turles swallowed and shook his head a little. "I don't think it'd be much of a surprise to anyone we know, but… I'm not really cut out to be a king."
She giggled at that and shook her head before leaning up to press her mouth to his. "We're a matriarchal society, Turles. I'm the one that does the ruling. You would basically… oh, I don't know. You'd do what Geta does now for Father." Usagi sighed and sent him a wave of love through the bond when he frowned deeply and she felt his self-consciousness over it all. "Anything you want to learn how to do, Turles, I'll teach you. Ok? It's honestly not that hard. And," she added quickly, "if you don't want to be a king… I'll think of something." She sighed as she felt how troubled he suddenly was, and prayed to the gods that he wasn't thinking of taking off on her the moment he dropped her off with Geta.
"No, Rabbit," Turles assured her softly, absently stroking the back of his hand over the tiny, bright ki in her womb. "It's just that being mated and being a father are both big enough responsibilities as it is… and I wasn't quite ready for either, woman. But now… I'm going to be a king, too."
Usagi sat up and shushed him when he growled at her for moving as she ran her fingers comfortingly through his hair and his tail. "One thing at a time, Turles." There was a buzzer just then on the com, and Turles made her lie back down before going down to the hatch to answer it.
"Hotaru!?" Usagi asked in surprise when she stepped into the room.
The princess of Saturn beamed and immediately rushed to the bed to hug the moon princess. "Ami called and asked for me since she knew I was on Kanassa." A questioning look from both Usagi and Turles made her huff and roll her eyes. "I'm sort of trying to outrun a certain Saiyan dumbass," she explained. "Your nephew, to be specific. Damn man simply can't take no for an answer."
"Heh… I didn't realize Gohan was so persistent," Turles snickered. "Well… you'd best be careful, because his Uncle Raditz taught him a thing or three about women, and he's awfully fast, too. Outrunning him is going to be quite the task."
"You don't say? Well… I must be better at hide and seek than I thought, since I've been outrunning his nerdy ass for over three weeks." She grinned as she focused on Usagi's body with her healing powers and slowly shook her head. "Besides… I shouldn't be the one you're worried about, Turles… since it's your cock on the chopping block the moment Vegeta finds out about this little bundle of joy."
"Don't remind me," he sighed. "Are Usagi and the brat alright, at least?"
Hotaru nodded. "Yup, both of them are perfectly healthy. I'd say that the baby's due in about… oh, four months, maybe a little less, judging on growth. Saiyan pregnancies only run six months, right?" She nodded when Turles confirmed that, and she pointed to Usagi scouter. "Go ahead and call Ami, then. I can sense Gohan getting closer and I'd like to avoid him at all costs."
With that, she was gone in a flash of purple light, and Usagi giggled as she donned her scouter. "Heya, Ami, Hota says that the—what's wrong?" She asked slowly, immediately frowning.
"We um… we have a bit of a problem, Usa… it's… HEY! Damn it, Vegeta, that's MINE!"
Turles clearly read the "oh fuck me running" expression on Usagi's face and felt like throwing up the moment he heard Vegeta screaming at his sister in Saiyan, Lunarian, Common and several other languages, and the pirate wished to the gods that his ship was up and running so they could take off. "We are so screwed, aren't we, Rabbit?"
Usagi nodded slightly, wide-eyed as her brother continued to curse colorfully without even repeating himself a single time. He knows… I don't know how much you understood of all of that, but… someone squealed.
I see if I can't get some black market landing gear and have us ready to leave in two or three days.
"I can see that glaze in your eyes, Usagi! I know you're talking to him! Don't you dare fucking ignore me, do you hear me, girl!?"
Usagi licked her lips and took a deep, calming breath when she heard her blood pressure cuff begin to beep. "Geta… you're stressing me out. Call me back when you're calm." Click. She looked up at her mate and sighed heavily. "You'd better hurry, r'sha… he's sending Raditz to come get me in the fastest ship he can find… Nappa's coming with him to take you prisoner, under Father's orders," she added fearfully.
"Over my dead body," Turles growled softly.
Sooooo… I was going to make this longer, but certain people were saying, "WHERE'S THE UPDATE, DAMN IT!?" So here it is, lol. Sorry, but I've been squirreling on a few things…
