(Hello, Dear Readers! I must apologize to those who were expecting an update for one of my other stories last month. My previous laptop was very old and had gotten to the point where it would freeze up on me after taking about half an hour to fully boot up. I needed a new one, so I held off writing until I could get it. Well, I've got a brand-spankin' new laptop (which I fondly call 'David Bowie 2.0') and I'm ready to get some writing done!

When last we left off with Lydia, Yondu promised to train her for two months so she could join his ground team – which earns more pay – and now those two months are up. Let's see how she does, shall we?)

(Side Note: Please forgive any confusion caused by my writing when it gets to the bank scene where Lydia is having to come up with a way to pull herself up by rope. I'm not very familiar with climbing gear and aerial silk acrobatics to properly describe the process she uses. I tried looking up the process online but there was soooo much information to sift through that I eventually had to give up if I wanted to get this chapter posted before the end of October. I hope it doesn't come across as too ignorant.)

[Songs used, mentioned, and suggested for Chapter 10]

~ "Only the Strong Survive" by Elvis Presley (the music Lydia is listening to at the start of the chapter)

~ "Only You" by Yaz {also known as Yazoo}

~ "Hooked on a Feeling" by Blue Swede

~ "She's One of the Boys" by Nick Gilder (listen during the flight to A'askavariia)

~ "Cat People (Putting Out the Fire)" by David Bowie (play this when Lydia is being lowered into the bank)

~ "One Way Or Another" by Blondie (play when Peter's chasing the orloni)

~ "Go All the Way" by the Raspberries (play when Lydia is climbing the rope back to the roof)

~ "Love Bites" by Def Leppard

~ "Women" by Def Leppard (play when Yondu announces they're going to Contraxia)

Chapter Ten

Watch Out, Love Bites…

Two Months Later

Terran Date: May 9, 1989

I want it to be made clear that not once in our "friendly negotiations" about the terms of me looking after Peter, did Yondu ever indicate that I was to be responsible for the kid's moral compass. I'm just putting that out there for you. It never came up; got it? Good. Then you'll understand why I found it funny when a scowling Yondu came marching into my work space, holding Peter by the collar of his jacket so high in the air that his small feet were dangling off the floor. Yondu's muscles strike again!

"Ain't 'chu supposed to be watchin' this kid?" Yondu growled.

Now that I had agreed to. I remember it very distinctly. I also remember him telling me to finish patching up a faulty water locator device by the end of the day cycle.

"There you go again; telling me last minute that I'm supposed to split myself in two," I sighed in mock frustration. Yondu let out an unamused grunt and readjusted his grip on Peter when he started struggling. "What'd he do this time?" I asked, turning from my work and lowering the volume of my music box so I could hear them clearly.

"Caught him tryin' ta steal one of my trinkets," Yondu explained and withdrew the neon orange-haired troll from his jacket pocket. The one he'd bought at back on Knowhere.

"I was bored!" Peter whined, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting. "It's not like you play with it anyway."

I pretended to wipe some sweat from my upper lip to hide my smile.

The scowl on Yondu's face deepened. "You broke the Code, boy! Ravager's don't steal from each other."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Peter muttered.

Yondu gave me a look and held the kid out at arm's length towards me as if to say, "Deal with him."

I cleared my throat as I picked up a wrench and turned back to my work. "Look, kid, if you're gonna be a thief, you gotta learn how to not get caught."

Peter quirked a smug eyebrow. "Like you did?"

Yondu howled with laughter. As I listened to him hyuck it up behind me, I slowly turned my head just enough to eye Peter from over my shoulder. "Touché, kid. Touché."

Yondu set Peter down and wiped away some tears. "Boy, there may be some hope for you yet."

"Yeah?" Peter asked, eagerly.

"Suuure." Yondu's face went from mirthful to stern in less than a blink. "Just so long as I don't catch ya stealin' from me or the crew ever again. Cause if ya do, I'll let the crew eat 'cha. Got it?"

Peter's face paled and he quickly nodded.

"Now git on outta here!" Yondu barked and swatted at the kid's head.

Peter scurried out of the room and I waited until I could no longer hear the echoes of his footsteps before I stood from my crouched position. With a dry chuckle, I grabbed a dirty rag and rubbed some grease stains from my hands. "And just how long do you think you'll be able to get away with using that phony threat against him?" I asked.

Yondu craned his neck to look at me. "And just what makes you so sure it's phony?"

"Yondu," I scoffed, "I've done more stuff to warrant being eaten than that kid has and here I am, still standing." Folding my arms, I stood with my hips cocked to one side as I met his gaze with confidence. "Fess up, captain. You're all talk; no bite."

From the way he lifted an eyebrow at me and the sly curl of his lips, I knew I was in trouble. Abort! Abort!

Leisurely, he looked me up and down. "Is that right?" he asked slowly, his voice all rasp. Sharp teeth glinted in the light.

I gulped. "I could be wrong," I backtracked.

He snorted and leaned on the front of my work table. "I originally came down here to tell you you'll be joining me and the ground team for a bank heist on A'askavariia."

I went completely still, hardly daring to hope I'd heard him right. "Really?" I asked.

He nodded and occupied himself with scratching his fingernail at the flaking paint of the table. "You've shown a lot of improvement over the months and I'm gonna start ya off small for now."

How a bank heist could be considered 'small', I wasn't about to ask.

"If ya do good on this job, I'll consider continuing yer trainin'."

I held the dirty rag in my hands with a death grip. "Thank you," I said softly.

Yondu shrugged. "I ain't much on bein' a man of my word, darlin', but I don't back out of a promise I make to my crew."

"When do we start?"

"We'll be gathering in about four hours to discuss strategy in the tactical room. You remember how to get there?"

"Yes."

He gave me a long stare.

"…No," I admitted.

Yondu blew trapped air out through his nostrils and shook his head. "I'll send Halvi down to get ya when it's time."

He turned to go and I started forward, grasping the sleeve of his jacket. He went rigid and whipped his head around so quickly I was briefly concerned that his neck might snap. I instantly let go of his sleeve and took a step back, hands held up for him to see. His posture eased a bit and a hint of regret flashed in his eyes before he quickly covered it up.

I pushed aside my curiosity at his reaction and said, "I really appreciate this, Captain." His crimson eyes trailed from my hands to my face. He nodded once and left the room. I hurried to the door and watched him leave. He never looked back. It was like he couldn't get away fast enough. The question I'd been pondering more and more frequently reared its head once again. What the druux had happened to him?

Later, Halvi and I entered the tactical room to find Yondu's ground team already huddled together around a table with a holographic blueprint of a building hovering over it. The front seemed to be one floor, but towards the back it rose to be over seventy stories tall. "What are those the blueprints to?" I asked.

"None of yer business," Horuz responded in a clipped tone.

"It's her business now," Yondu spoke up from the middle of the group. "She's joining us on this one." This was met with a few sputters of disbelief from the crew as Horuz began to object. Yondu narrowed his eyes. "You questionin' my decision, Horuz?" I would have been cowering if that particular glare had been aimed at me. Fortunately, Horuz knew not to continue arguing and clamped his mouth shut. Yondu stepped away from the group and sauntered towards me. "Those're the blueprints to the Bank of A'askavariia."

I promptly spluttered and barked, "Why?" As in, why was a bank that tall? Back on my home planet, the banks usually had one floor – two at the most. But this – this was overkill!

"It's where all the rich folks keep their money," Yondu explained. "Anybody who's anybody on A'askavariia banks there, even some from off-planet."

"What makes this one so special?"

"Zero-gravity safes."

"…Come again?"

"Most banks keep their clients' money all in one vault on the floor, right? Well, this bank keeps their clients' money in individual safes that hover in the air. That's why the building's so tall."

I gawked at the blueprints for a moment. "Rich people…they can't do anything simple, can they?"

Yondu snorted a laugh. "Nah, sugar. The more money they got – the fancier they want to be."

I approached the table and now that I was closer, I could see the tiny squares that represented the floating safes. "Sooo…how do we pull this off?"

Yondu gave a nod to Kraglin and the younger man began to punch in some codes. Another holographic image joined the blueprints, a laser drill ship whose model looked awfully familiar.

"Is that a Tivan Group laser drill ship?" I asked, incredulous.

"Sure is," Kraglin answered with a grin. "Swiped it when we were on Knowhere."

"How did you manage to steal that from the Tivan Group?"

"We're Ravagers," Kraglin explained, his tone all but saying, "Duh!"

The Tivan Group were the ones who set up the mining on Knowhere and their leader was Taneleer Tivan. Most people knew him as The Collector due to him being the keeper of a questionable museum he built on Knowhere that contains the largest collection of interstellar fauna, relics and species in the galaxy. I never met him, but the stories I heard about him didn't exactly leave me with the impression that it was a regrettable missed opportunity.

Kraglin maneuvered the holo-ship towards the holo-bank. "We use the laser drill to fly over the bank and drill a hole in the roof big enough to fit a person and a safe through. The safes are about 28" x 21" x 23" and each have a unique vector code as well as a combination code."

"The combinations are easy to crack," Horuz said. "It's the vector codes that have me puzzled."

"What are vector codes?" I whispered to Halvi, hoping no one would overhear my ignorance.

"Vector codes are what keeps the safes in their assigned areas so they won't bump into another safe. They're considered to be very high-ranking security because of how detailed the code sequencing is programed. Practically unhackable."

"Ah. Got it."

"The vector codes won't be a problem," Yondu assured the team. "We got a cipher breaker sequence."

"Ooooh," a few crewmen voiced.

"Unless you have one of those," Halvi added. I opened my mouth to ask but he didn't wait for my question. "A cipher breaker sequence is something that is tailor made to crack a specific set of codes. If the captain says we have one, then he most likely has someone on the inside loop of the bank's security system programming team."

"Hmmm. Clever."

"What about the part of the roof that we drill out? It'll fall and set off the alarms," someone – I think it was Yarov – asked.

Kraglin held up a flat disc for all to see. "All we gotta do is attach this to the portion we drill off and it'll hover in place until we push it off to the side."

I couldn't help but grin. Whenever I thought there'd be a catch in the plan, Yondu or Kraglin would provide an answer that smoothed it out. I knew some of the Ravagers on board weren't the brightest on their own, but when they worked as a unit, it was actually really impressive what they came up with.

Kraglin went on. "We'll lower someone through the roof –"

"They mean you, Rixh," someone teased. Rixh sighed with resignation and nodded.

"Yeah, it'll have to be Rixh," Kraglin confirmed. "He's the only one among us who's got the most experience with any gigs involving ropes and harnesses."

"Why can't they use an aero-rig?" I quietly asked Halvi.

"We would, but the ones we have are –"

"Let me guess, missing some crucial parts that we'll need to get the next time we dock?"

Halvi nodded. I sighed and rolled my eyes. I really hoped Yondu would bring the Eclector to dock really soon. With the Tailor being out of order, the aero-rigs being on the fritz, and a number of other things that we were running out of spare parts for – things were getting kinda dicey. I refocused on what Kraglin was saying, "The cipher breaker is installed on a tech-cuff. That way Rixh'll be able to use both his hands to handle the safes and less likely to drop the cipher breaker."

"Learned our lesson the last time," Horuz grumbled. Rixh shot him a dirty glare. The beginnings of a snort escaped me and I muffled it, but Rixh still heard it. He scowled in my direction and then turned to Yondu.

"Captain, it sounds to me like we got this covered. Why do we need the extra help?" he jerked a thumb over his shoulder at me. Horuz and a few others grunted their agreement.

"She's got hands, don't she?" Yondu growled. "Then she can help." His hand went to the right side of his coat and swept it back to reveal his holstered Yakka arrow. "And if I hear anybody else complain about her bein' on this team, I'll put this thing through yer eye! Got it!"

"Yes sir!"

"That's what I like to hear!"

Our eyes happened to meet and I mouthed a 'thank you' to him without being obvious about it. His jaw twitched a bit but finally the bare hint of a nod was sent my way. I smiled and settled in for the long hours of strategizing ahead of us.

Terran Date: May 12, 1988

I awoke with a tingle of excitement, knowing that it was the day of the bank heist. It was also the day before my birthday, but I hadn't really celebrated that in years. Not since Mom stopped registering any of the days that went by. How old would I be tomorrow? Nineteen? Yeah, that was right.

I hopped out of bed and flinched at the hairy monstrosity reflected at me in the mirror. It was going to take forever to brush those tangles out. I sighed and clicked on my music box, opting for speakers instead of wearing the headphones.

"Looking from a window above,
It's like a story of love,
Can you hear me?
Came back only yesterday
I'm moving farther away,
Want you near me…"

I swayed in time to the music as I valiantly braved the hairy red beast that had taken residence on my head. I'd started singing along to it when I heard a familiar knock on my door. "Come on in, Peter," I called.

The kid entered and cast a wrinkle-nosed frown at my music box. "Why are you listening to that for the gajillionth time?" He flopped onto the bed. "You've got sooo many other tapes of music."

"Because it's my favorite song," I answered, looking at his reflection in the mirror.

He cast another doubtful look at my music box. "Why?"

"I don't know. It just…"

"All I needed was the love you gave
All I needed for another day
And all I ever knew
Only you…"

"I can't explain it, kid. I just happened to come across it and it just stuck to me like a cantorloxy."

"A what?"

"A really, really sticky creature on my planet that Halvi will agree with me when I say they're a royal pain."

"Oh."

"You've got a favorite song, right?"

Peter grinned. "'Hooked on a Feeling' by Blue Swede."

"Never heard of it."

Peter immediately reached for my music box on the nightstand and switched it off. He unplugged the headphones from his Walkman and fast-forward the tape for a few seconds, then stopped. He looked at me and smiled. "Prepare to be amazed," he said dramatically.

"Ooga-chaka ooga-ooga
Ooga-chaka ooga-ooga…"

I arched a questioning eyebrow at him as I continued brushing my hair. What the sprek was this?

"I can't stop this feeling
Deep inside of me,
Girl, you just don't realize
What you do to me,

When you hold me
In your arms so tight,
You let me know
Everything's alright,

Iii-iii'm hooked on a feeling,
I'm high on believing
That you're in love with me…"

By the time I finished arranging my hair into its customary braid, I found myself moving in time to the song's catchy beat. "Squig man, you've got to let me copy that into my music trove."

Peter grinned. "Told you you'd like it."

"All the good love
When we're all alone,
Keep it up, girl,
Yeah, you turn me on,

Iii-iii'm hooked on a feeling,
I'm high on believing
That you're in love with me…"

Oh yeah, that chorus was going to be stuck in my head all day.

When the song was finished, Peter and I made our way to mess hall and I caught some glances aimed in my direction. With our trays in hand, we headed for a table that Halvi, Yarov, Tullk, Oblo, and Aerin were sitting at.

"Uuuh, Lydia?"

"Yeah, Peter?"

"Why are Rixh and Horuz glaring at you?"

"They're always glaring at me."

"Yeah, but this time they're glaring a bit meaner."

I glanced at them. Yep. The kid was right.

"They ain't too keen on havin' her join the ground team, Pete," Kraglin said from behind us. Luckily, I managed to rein in my flinch.

"Yondu's ability to make no sound when he walks must be rubbing off on you," I said with a tight smile. Kraglin smiled sheepishly.

"Why are they unhappy with that?" Peter asked.

"Well, Horuz thinks I'm a waste of space," I casually explained. "And Rixh is just jealous because the captain chose me to be the one the team lowers through the safe."

Kraglin took over for me. "That used to be Rixh's job, on account of him bein' real skinny; but this past year he's put on a few pounds. Every minute counts for a job like this and his weight gain added on to the time it took to lift him up by rope when we were practicing the other day."

If Peter thought the look Rixh was giving me now was dirty, then he should have seen the one Rixh shot me after Yondu suggested I be the one lowered by rope. When it turned out that the change saved us ten minutes, Yondu wasted no time in assigning me the job. Rixh had yet to speak a single word to me since.

"Can I come?" Peter suddenly asked as we sat at the table.

"Absolutely not!" Kraglin and I answered in unison.

Peter pouted, "You guys never let me have any fun."

"I let you practice shooting your stun-gun on orloni in the cargo hold," I said in defense.

"Not the same," Peter mumbled, picking at his food. Suddenly a blue index finger flicked his ear in passing and the owner settled into the empty seat next to Peter.

"Yer food's already dead, so stop pokin' it an' eat it," Yondu grunted.

Peter rubbed his stinging ear and tossed a glare at the captain but one lift of Yondu's eyebrow was all it took to convince Peter that it was a losing battle. The kid picked up his fork and took a big bite. A hint of a grimace began to creep onto Peter's face until he caught Yondu looking at him and schooled his features. Yondu gave a grunt of approval and shoveled food into his own mouth.

Everyone ate in relative silence. That usually was the case when the Ravagers were hours away from a big heist. If anyone did venture to talk, it was to go over the plans. Yondu had already hashed over the final preparations with Kraglin before breakfast, so there wasn't much to discuss. He felt his attention being drawn to Brosh sitting across the table from him. Anyone else watching her would have thought she was completely confident about the job ahead of her, but he knew better. Experience had taught him what to look for. It had been drilled mercilessly into him to spot a person's weakness. So, the slight trembling of her hands didn't go unnoticed. Nor did her fiddling with the blue pendant around her neck. They were subtle giveaways, but she was doing a fair job hiding her nerves.

"Are you guys going to wear masks?" Peter asked. Lydia gave him a baffled smile.

"What are you talking about?"

"Back on Earth, bank robbers wear masks to hide their identities from the police."

Yondu smirked. "Boy, we're Ravagers. We don't hide who we are. Besides, the Nova Corps are so familiar with this handsome mug," he gestured at his face, "that they'd be down-right disappointed if I took to wearing a mask."

Peter gave him a skeptical look. Yondu paused in the middle of lifting his drink. "What is it, boy?" Peter did nothing to hide his doubtful stare, even going so far as to exaggerate it. Yondu set down his cup. "You don't think I'm handsome, Quill?"

Peter shrugged and screwed up his nose. "Mmmmh…" Yondu straightened up. "I mean, I'm sure somewhere in the galaxy you'd be considered handsome…"

Unnoticed by Yondu and Peter, Lydia shifted her gaze elsewhere and quietly sipped her drink. "You sayin' I'm ugly, boy?" Yondu turned in his seat to address the crowded mess hall. "Who here thinks I'm ugly!"

A chorus of disagreements followed.

"You're the pinnacle of manliness, captain!"

"Your chin is a work of art!"

"The handsomest man!"

"Woman swoon at the sight of you!"

As the praises wound down, Yondu swiveled back around and gave Peter a smug grin, baring those crooked, sharp teeth. "What do you have to say to that?"

"Well of course they're going to say those things," the kid said in a tone that one would use for idiots. "You've got a magic arrow that can kill people." Yondu "humphed" in reluctant agreement. Peter suddenly turned to Lydia. "Lydia, do you think Yondu's handsome?"

I accidently inhaled my drink instead of swallowing it and erupted into a coughing fit. Beating at my chest until I could breath again, I fixed my watery eyes on Peter. "Why do you ask me?"

"Because you're the one person on this ship who isn't afraid to give him a piece of your mind."

I blinked at the kid. Curse. His. Adorable. Self.

I was hyperaware of every eye at the table being focused on me. I cleared my throat and placed my hands on the tabletop, keeping my gaze fixed on them. Do not engage eye contact with him; I repeat, do NOT engage in eye contact with him! I glanced up. His red eyes locked with mine and he smirked, making my heart skip a beat. Glom it, Lydia! I immediately returned my attention to my hands and tried to remember how to form words. They started with consonants, right?

"Well, u-u-um, Peter, uh…" I heard someone stifle a snicker and I swore to reap revenge on them in the near future. "The concept of attractiveness varies across different cultures –"

"I'm not asking about different cultures; I'm asking if you think he's handsome."

On point this kid.

I felt my face flushing and braced myself. "I suppose…that…if I were to be asked if he were attractive or ugly, then…I would say that Captain Yondu is…" I sensed people leaning in closer to catch my words. "…A very…" Sexy "fine looking man." Fine is good. Fine is a safe word. Can't go too wrong with 'fine'. I lifted my eyes from my hands and plastered a strained smile on my face. See, I can give an answer that in no way exposes that I think that blue borga is my kind of man. Because 'fine' is neutral. Fine is – Yondu gave me a sly smirk and a wink that turned my insides to jelly. I looked away. Fine is nowhere near where I'm at right now!

I cleared my throat. "Um, Peter, shouldn't you be helping Colvin with cleaning the shafts after breakfast?"

"Do I have to?" Peter whined.

"Yer the smallest and the skinniest on the ship, so yes," Yondu answered.

"Lydia's skinny," Peter pointed out.

Yondu's eyes glanced over me and muttered around the rim of his cup, "Not in some places." I pretended not to have heard him.

"Mnnng," the kid pouted. He stood from his seat and I hastily rose to join him.

"Meet us in the hangar in thirty minutes, darlin'," Yondu called. Maybe I was just imagining the teasing lilt in his voice.

"These vents are like a labyrinth, boy, so you gotta make sure you mark each turn you've taken. Understand?" Colvin handed Peter a white colored stick with an oily texture. "Arrows work best to indicate which direction you went."

Peter nodded glumly. He'd been dreading this moment since two days ago when Lydia and Colvin had come to an agreement that Colvin would look after Peter while she went off-ship on the condition that the kid would assist him with cleaning the ventilation systems.

Lydia nudge him from behind with her knee. Pay attention, the gesture clearly said. Peter sighed and nodded. "Arrows work best, got it."

"I really appreciate this, Colvin," Lydia said, placing her hands atop Peter's shoulders. Out of habit, Peter leaned against her with a lazy slump. She gave his left shoulder a friendly squeeze.

"It's no problem. I've been meaning to fix those drones that clean the vents too small for me for weeks."

"Then why haven't you?" Peter grumped.

Colvin fixed his amethyst-colored eyes on him. "Found out yesterday we're out of the part I need to finish the job."

Lydia sighed. "Yeah, that's been happening a lot lately."

"Captain assured me we'll dock right after this gig so we can restock on supplies. Besides…" He leaned in and lowered his voice. "Some of the guys have been getting' a bit restless. Kinda edgy, if you know what I mean."

Peter felt Lydia stiffen and he looked up at her. Even though he was seeing her from an odd angle, he could still detect the traces of unease on her face.

"Keep on yer toes, Brosh," Colvin added.

Lydia nodded once. "Thanks."

"Do I have to stay here?" Peter asked once more.

Lydia let out a breathless laugh, as if relieved he'd spoken. She turned him around to face her and knelt to his eye-level. "I was told to keep you safe, kid. And taking you along with me on a bank job is far from safe."

"I could stay on the ship," he insisted.

"Yeah, you could. This one."

Peter's hopeful smile fell. "When can I come along?"

Lydia took the writing utensil from Peter's fingers and turned to the nearest wall. "When you'rrrrre…" She eyed the surface for a moment then made a line about six feet off the floor, "this tall."

Peter hurried over and pressed his back to the wall, craning his neck to see how much of a distance there was between the top of his head and the line. He stood on tiptoe and grunted with effort. Colvin chuckled. "Trust me, boy, you've got a long way to go."

Peter was a bit distracted hopping as high as he could to reach the mark. "Mom said I was growing like a weed." Something inside his chest squeezed at the words. His feet thudded back on the floor and he didn't try jumping again.

Lydia noticed his change of behavior and stepped forward. She removed her necklace and knelt in front of him. "Hey, you see this necklace?" He peered at it through his unruly hair. "This is really, really, important to me and I don't want to risk taking it on the job. Think you could look after if for me?" Peter nodded and she placed it around his neck. "There. Now I know it'll be safe." Peter gave her a sheepish grin and she hugged him close. "I'll see you in a few hours, okay?"

Peter's hug tightened. "…Okay."

"Come on, boy," Colvin interrupted. He used a metal pole with a hook on the end to pull a ladder from the vent shaft over their heads. "Up you get."

Peter took a deep breath and pulled away. "You better come back," he told Lydia sternly. She cupped his cheek and smiled with as much conviction as she could muster.

"Yondu said it wasn't very dangerous."

"Then I'll kick his butt for lying if you don't come back."

Lydia ruffled his hair and stood to her feet. Peter watched her leave and then looked down at the blue stone on the necklace. The long chain made the pendant hang low on his chest. He tucked it beneath his shirt.

"Ya ready, Quill?" Colvin asked. Peter groaned and dragged his feet towards the ladder.

"Remind me again how we're supposed to slip this big boy past the city's security check points?" Lydia asked Kraglin.

He grinned and pointed at a holo-screen that glowed with strings of code. "We got us a code that can make us technically invisible to the check points. It won't register our presence."

"How'd you come across all these code breaking things?"

"Ravager clans are like a family. We may be thieves, but we're more likely to share with someone in the family."

"Ravagers? Sharing?" I repeated doubtfully.

"I said 'likely'," Kraglin reminded me. "Anyways, the clans share contacts with each other. It's part of the code."

"I really want to see this code you guys always mention."

"The Tootooloy Clan has numerous bank contacts. Yondu sent word which bank we were eyeing and they got us in touch with the right guy. He sent us that along with some blueprints and some tech scramblers."

"That's pretty glom sneaky. I'm a bit impressed."

Kraglin snorted a laugh. "This is easy. You should see us on a real job."

"Then I take back my feeling of being impressed and will put it on hold until there's actually something to wow me with."

He and I snickered. It reminded me how close in age we seemed. I studied his features, trying to gage his age but came up with the same guesstimate. Early twenties.

"Kraglin, how old are you?"

"Twenty-one."

"Ha! I was right! We are close in age."

"Really? How old are you?"

"I'll be nineteen tomorrow."

"No kiddin'? I was younger than that when I joined Yondu's crew."

Said captain was listening in on their conversation while piloting the laser drill ship through the A'askavariian atmosphere. Hearing his first mate speak so easily with Lydia made him feel a bit tense, but he was too interested in what they were saying to pay much mind. A jolt of shock passed through him when he heard Lydia's age. He'd known she was young, but damn! She was barely a young woman! Images of her thigh displaying shorts flashed through his mind. Oh, she was a woman alright…albeit a fairly fresh one.

Kraglin and Lydia shared another laugh. Yondu's grip tightened on the controls. Stay focused. The last thing you need is to be distracted.

The moment we cleared the clouds, I hurried to the nearest window and gawked at the cityscape below us. I know it made me look like a complete newbie, but considering how limited my travel scope was, can you really blame me?

"Brosh," Yondu called. "Get up here."

I pried myself away from the window and made my way to the front. "Captain?"

"That's our target." He pointed at a gigantic square block of a building that screamed money. I took a deep breath to steady my nerves. This was it. It wasn't some holographic blueprint anymore. This was the real deal.

Yondu subtly glanced around at his crew, then faced forward and lowered his voice. "How you doin', Brosh?"

I kept my gaze forward as well. "Okay. I'm about to commit my first act of crime. No biggie."

"It ain't yer first, so you're technically already a criminal."

I frowned in confusion then belatedly remembered the botched theft attempt that landed me here in the first place. I cringed, prepared to hear another scathing remark from Yondu, but got a teasing, crooked smirk instead. I gave a relieved sigh. Maybe we were finally starting to move forward?

"Bored, bored, bored, booooored," Peter grumbled as he traipsed along the Eclector's south side vents. He wore his headphones around his neck, the Walkman's volume turned up so that he could hear the music but listen out for Colvin's voice if he called. He paused and took his cleaning tools to a particularly hardened clump of dirt, breaking it up into smaller chunks and then using the travel-sized vacuum-like instrument to suction it into the trash pack he wore on his back.

He knew he wouldn't like vent cleaning duty, but now that he was doing it he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he hated it.

"How's it going, Quill?" Colvin's voice asked over the comm-link.

Peter sighed. "I'm dying of boredom."

"Then that means you're doing the job right. Keep it up, kid."

Finished with the pile of dirt, Peter moved on, marking whatever turns he came across. What kind of adventure was this? Here he was, in the middle of the freakin' galaxy, sailing with space pirates, and what was he doing! Cleaning dirt!

He came across another pile of clutter and stopped to repeat the same boring procedure for the zillionth time. I bet Lydia's having at least a little bit of fun. As he waited for the vacuum to suck up the remains, Peter absent-mindedly took off Lydia's necklace and began to swing it so that the chain wrapped around his index finger. When the entire necklace covered his digit, he reversed the process and then repeated the whole thing. Just as the vacuum sucked up the last piece of trash, the necklace slipped out of Peter's fingers and flew away from him. It hit the metal floor and slid to a stop several feet away.

Peter rolled his eyes and adjusted his pack before taking a step towards it, only to pause when a skittering noise caught his attention. He clicked the stop button on his Walkman and listened. The skittering came again, low to the ground, close to where Lydia's necklace had landed at a junction. Peter took a couple of tentative steps closer. "C-Colvin?"

With a high-pitched squeal, an orloni scampered into view and froze at the sight of Peter. He laughed with relief. "It's just one of you ugly, dudes."

The orloni's hairless head twitched towards Lydia's necklace and stared at it. The smile on Peter's face dropped. "Mmh-hmm. Nope. Don't do it." The orloni moved one step closer. "Nooo." Its buckteeth clacked as it chittered. "Doooon't," Peter warned. The orloni made deliberate eye contact with him then swiped the necklace with it skinny, T-rex-like arms and dashed back the way it came. Peter let out a stream of obscenities he'd heard Yondu use and ran after it.

The clock was ticking the moment the laser drill began to cut away at the bank's roof. There could be no wasted time. Sooner or later someone would notice a ship hovering over the Bank of A'askavariia and alert the Nova Corps. I had already donned my harness and the cords or rope were secured where they needed to be. Kraglin went over the tech-cuff with me again as we waited for the drill to finish.

"We're in," Horuz announced. He and the others hauled the circle of roof out of the way and I was ushered forward by Yondu. His hand gripped my forearm painfully until I was standing at the very edge. His jaw twitched as he looked down at the distance between us and the floor.

"I got this," I assured him. I'd been practicing with the harness non-stop. I knew it almost as well as my gadget, which was currently strapped to my left thigh. I lowered myself to sit on the edge of the hole and waited for the signal from Halvi. Yondu turned on his heel and went to observe Halvi make the final safety test. At Halvi's nod, I took a deep breath … then dropped through the hole.

I plummeted for what felt like forever but was probably only two seconds. I came to a lurching stop and clutched the rope to keep me from flopping around. My descent resumed at a much slower pace, lowering me to the vaults closest to the mid-point of the building. We didn't intend on trying to nab every safe. "Besides," Yondu had informed me, "the vaults closest to the bottom belong to those the high-class consider upper-low class. The higher yer vault, the richer they are." The moment I spotted the vault with the number I was assigned to start with, I told the crew through my comm-link to stop lowering me and set to work.

"Get back here!" Peter hollered, firing his stun-gun at the orloni. The critter zig and zagged out of harms way, still clutching Lydia's necklace in its tiny hands. He had to get that necklace back! Lydia was gonna kill him! Actually, she might kill the orloni first, then him.

Peter cheered when he saw the orloni had run into a dead end. It furtively looked around then faced Peter who stood gloatingly with his hands on his hips. "Hand over the necklace, rat!"

It chittered and backed against the wall.

"Fine. I warned you." He moved towards the space rodent.

The orloni darted forward and dashed between his feet. Peter whirled around threw himself after it, the creatures tail slipping through his fingers. "No, no, no, no!"

I finished entering the cipher sequence breaker into my twentieth safe and watched as it broke away from its vector and ascended to the hole in the roof where the Ravagers waited to grab it and stow it on the ship. This was turning out to be easier than I thought it would be. No wonder Yondu had brought me along for this gig. I bet even Peter could pull this off in a year or two.

A high whistle caught my attention and a red blur whizzed past me. I turned in it's direction. Yondu's arrow zipped back around and came to a stop beside me. It spun in place and stopped, pointing upward. I frowned, perplexed, and directed my attention to the hole in the roof. Yondu stood as close to the edge as he could, waving his arms, gesturing for me to ascend. I cocked my head to the side. Why wasn't he talking to me through the comm link? Unless…

I whipped my head around to search the wall closest to me. Sure enough, the tell-tale knob of a comm link scrambler blinked its purple light back at me. "…Oh sprek."

Lydia looked back up and signaled. Yondu smacked Kraglin's arm without taking his gaze off her. "Tell Halvi to pull her back up." Kraglin dashed away to comply. The yakka arrow returned to Yondu's holster and he knelt on one knee at the hole's edge to watch Lydia's ascension.

He'd known something was up when he'd made a snarky remark directed to Lydia through their comm link and she hadn't responded with so much as a scoff. He'd repeated it and waited but still nothing. He checked his comms and found nothing amiss. "Did ya'll catch what I said?" he'd asked his crew, still using the comms. They all replied the affirmative…except for Lydia.

Immediately, he got Kraglin to do a sweep of the bank's security, see if anything had been triggered and got bad news. The bank had installed new motion sensors along the mid-levels and communication scramblers two days ago. The Ravager's inside man had been let go under suspicion of illegal activities and had been unable to get in touch with the Clans until just an hour ago. The Tootooloy Clan messaged Yondu as soon as they could but with the communication scramblers inside the building having a slight effect on their signal, the warning hadn't come instantly.

Yondu found himself holding his breath as Lydia began to rise. Their time slot had been severely cut down and the mechanics responsible for lifting her back to the roof had never moved so slow. He'd promised her momma he'd keep her safe. Hell, over the weeks of her training he found himself making that promise to himself. Despite Lydia proving she was capable of defending and taking care of herself, there was something about her that niggled at that protective instinct inside of him. He chalked it up to the fact that next to Peter, she was the youngest in his crew and she was female, but a tiny voice said, "That ain't all there is to it."

"Come on, girl," he hissed beneath his breath.

That was when the hoist machine broke.

The fluttering feeling you get in your stomach when you fall from a great height can excite some people. NOT ME! One moment I was being lifted back to the roof, the next, I was plummeting to my death! And during those terrifying seven seconds of hurtling to the ground, my only thought was, Peter's gonna kick Yondu's tookum for this. Before my thoughts could expand to more existential things, my decent came to jolting stop. I was still very far away from the ground floor, but the distance between me and the roof was worrisome. Very faintly I could make out Yondu's raspy voice shouting my last name. My arms felt as stable as jelly, but I managed a weak wave to signal I was alright, although I wasn't exactly sure he could have seen it from so far away.

As I dangled there, running through every possible worst-case scenario that entered my brain, I realized I should probably focus on finding a way back up to the roof instead. With my thoughts redirected, I examined my surroundings and the harness gear.

"You tryin' ta get her killed, Halvi!" Yondu shouted, ready to spit fire. Halvi finished tying off the rope and faced him. "What happened?!"

"The pin snapped, captain."

"How'd it snap? You gave the all-clear that this gear was in fine condition!"

Halvi's brow wrinkled in confusion. "I'm afraid that isn't true, captain. I never inspected this equipment."

"Kraglin told me you gave him the all-clear."

"That ain't exactly what I said, cap'n. I told you Chet came to me with word from Halvi that he'd checked the gear and said it was safe to use."

"….."

All eyes turned to Chet; a red-skinned creature with small horns that formed a mohawk on his head. He seemed to shrink under the collective gaze of the men and began to tremble as Yondu approached him with the slow walk of a man out for blood.

"Did you check the equipment, Mr. Chet?" Yondu growled.

Fat droplets of sweat dripped down Chet's face. "I – um – I might have –"

"Did you or did you not?"

"I did! I just – well, see, I had forgotten to check it yesterday and by the time I remembered we were just minutes away from leaving and I might not have looked very closely at it and –"

Yondu whistled and the yakka arrow tore through Chet's throat in a spray of blood. Chet's face was frozen in shock as his body slumped to the ground. Yondu stepped over the body and peered down into the hole. "Get her back up here," he said calmly. When he heard no movement happening, he whirled around and bared his teeth at his crew. "NOW!" The men scrambled to obey.

"Here, orloniii! Here, boooy!" Peter whistled a couple of times – the sound not as clear and sharp as Yondu's but he was working on it – and rounded the corner with his stun gun held in front of him and ready to fire at the first squeak he heard. That rodent was toast!

"Come out, come out, wherever you aaare!"

He barely managed to catch the muffled skittering of tiny claws coming from the vents to his left. He dashed in its direction and froze in the middle of another junction. Where had the little rat gone? Another sound gave away it's location and he ran after it. The rat was gnawing on the blue pendant, it's back turned to Peter.

Peter slowly put one foot in front of the other until he was close enough to fire without a chance of missing. He lined the shot and the tip of his tongue poked out as he concentrated. Three, two, one…fire! He pulled the trigger and would have missed if the orloni hadn't turned around and practically moved into the blast. The force flung the tiny body back several feet and it dropped Lydia's necklace.

"Yes!" Peter cheered. He ran forward and snatched up the necklace, closing his small fist tightly over it as if another creature might try to take it from him. He shoved it into his jacket pocket and zipped it shut with finality. He turned on his heel and looked up. The smile fell from his face.

He had no idea where he was.

I took calming breaths to steady my nerves and psych myself up to do what I knew was my only option. Unclip myself from the harness and climb up the rope to the roof that was over eighty feet above me. Yes, Yondu had helped me improve my upper body strength but not to that extent! I kept picturing my arms giving out and plummeting to my death. But I had an idea. My father used to tell me stories of shows called circuses back on Terra. He loved going to them as a boy and his favorite act in the show were people called aerial silk performers. They could carry out intricate choreography without harnesses, just long bolts of silk and maybe a metal hoop. I didn't have a hoop or bolts of silk, but I had rope and my spear. Agility and experience with rope on the other hand….

I undid the catch holding my gadget to my thigh and pressed the button that made it spring into full size, minus the spear head. I lifted it a few inches above where my harness was secured to the rope and twisted it several times around the spear shaft and angled it to be horizontal. The rope was taut enough that it held the shaft snuggly but could slid upward if directed to. Leaning back until I was almost facedown, I wrapped my legs around the pole of my spear and righted myself so that my weight was supported by it. I tested it by bouncing a bit, but it held. My hand trembled as I reached down and freed myself from the harness.

What the hell was that girl doing! Yondu watched in utter disbelief as Lydia actually began to scale the rope using only her gadget and wrapping the rope about her arms and legs. She was too far down for him to see in detail how she was accomplishing it. From what he could make out, she was using her arms to haul herself up while using the movement to carry the spear along with her and provide a temporary perch to ease her arms, but only for the briefest of moments because he noted that if she stayed still too long, the spear shaft would start to slid back down.

"I'll be darned," Kraglin said in awe, echoing his thoughts with a slight difference in word choice. The rest of the men, minus Halvi who was still attempting to get the hoist working again, gathered around the hole and gaped at the sight.

As impressed as he was with Lydia's nerve, Yondu knew they were nearly out of time. The Nova Corps would have been alerted by now. Halvi wouldn't be able to fix the hoist in time and Lydia couldn't climb fast enough. Horuz apparently came to the same conclusion. "We're gonna have to leave her and take what we've got."

A blue hand clamped down on his throat and squeezed to the point that Horuz could barely breath. "What did you just say," Yondu hissed. His crimson eyes burned into the man. Horuz gasped for air. "Ravagers don't leave their own behind. You know that as well as I do. So don't ever suggest it again." He got nose to nose with him. "Got it?" Horuz nodded to the best of his ability. Yondu tossed him aside and glared at the rest of his crew. "Anybody else share the same feelings as Horuz here?" No one dared to respond. "Then get yer asses in gear and get that thing workin' again to haul her up!"

This was bad. This was very, very bad. He'd been so intent on catching the orloni that he'd taken no notice of where he'd been running or marked the turns like Colvin told him to do. As Peter wandered about the ship's ventilation system, he kept hoping to stumble across one of the arrows he'd made before chasing the orloni. How far had he strayed? He didn't want to call Colvin over the comms and admit he was lost; that would be too embarrassing. But he felt like he'd been walking forever…and he reeeeeeally needed to pee.

Sighing, Peter activated his comm. "Colviiin…"

"Yeah?"

"I'm kinda lost."

"Kinda lost?"

"Okay, fine. I'm as lost as it gets. And I gotta pee."

"Just find a spot on the wall and go."

"Yuck! That's gross!"

"We do it all the time."

"…Well that explains why some of the vents I pass smell like pee."

"Where are you at, kid?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't be calling you!"

"Fair point, but I meant your surroundings. Describe what the area around you looks like."

Peter's face was set in a deadpan expression as he reported, "Metal walls." He could almost picture Colvin facepalming himself.

When Colvin spoke again, Peter could clearly detect the restrained frustration in his tone. "Okaaay," he sighed, "Sit tight, kid, and I'll head back to the utility room."

"You're leaving me up here alone!"

"It's just for a moment, thirty minutes tops. I gotta grab the locator from there and enter the code for the tracer installed in your equipment."

"You couldn't have brought that with you before we got started?"

"I was foolishly hopeful that you might actually listen to my advice and not get lost."

"Wow. You've never been around kids, have you?"

Colvin didn't respond to that.

"Uuuuuh, cap'n?" Kraglin called uneasily.

"What?" Yondu turned to face his first mate and found the younger man pointing out into the distance. Yondu squinted, then swore. Six Nova Corps Star Blasters were heading their way. He hurried to the hole to gauge the distance Lydia had left to cover. Too much. Too damn much!

"Come on, Brosh!" he urged.

"Captain," Horuz began.

Yondu turned on him with such swiftness that it caught the entire crew off guard. A short, high pitched whistle had the yakka arrow barely an inch from Horuz's forehead. "You wanna join Chet?"

Suddenly, his face lost its ferocity and he stared at the arrow intensely. Another whistle followed and Horuz flung his hands up in an attempt to shield himself but nothing happened. The arrow was zooming away from him and diving into the hole in the roof.

"Brosh!" Yondu called. "Grab the arrow!"

"Why!"

"Just do it, woman!"

My arms were trembling uncontrollably. I was minutes away from losing the last of my strength and not even close to reaching the roof. I was so focused on not letting go of the rope that when Yondu's yakka arrow zipped by me and did an about turn, I ignored it.

"Brosh! Grab the arrow!"

I glanced at it then back at him – a small blue dot in the distance. "Why!" I shouted.

"Just do it, woman!"

I glared, remembered I was too far away for him to see it and appreciate the intensity of it, then switched my focused on the arrow. I doubled my grip on the rope with my right hand and reached for the arrow with my left. I missed once, twice and managed to nab it on my third try. I looked up at Yondu. "Now what!"

"Grab it with both hands!"

I was about to ask him how he expected me to hold the arrow with both hands and keep climbing when he added, "Do it! Ain't got time to argue! Hold on like your life depends on it!"

Turns out he wasn't joking. The moment I grasped it with both hands, the arrow sprekin' lifted me into the air! I let out a startled scream and shut my eyes in terror. I expected at any moment for my weight to overwhelm the yakka arrow and fail to lift me, but it remained constant in its ascent. Before long, I felt my feet touch something solid and cracked an eyelid open to find me standing on the roof among the crew. Yondu didn't waste a second, he grabbed me by the wrist and everyone began to haul tookum towards the ship.

I worried that we wouldn't be able to outfly the six Nova Corps Star Blasters on our tail, but when Yondu got behind the controls those worries went bye-bye. It was obvious that Yondu was an expert flyer and had plenty of experience shaking off Nova Corps flyers. He managed to send them on a wild goose chase (a Terran phrase my dad often used to describe situations like ours and yet he never got around to explaining what it really meant) while we got away and I finally began to breath easier when we left the planet's atmosphere and all around us were stars.

It was when I first caught sight of the Eclector when Kraglin and Slop (I swear that's his actual name! Maybe it translates into something more pleasant in his native language?) came back from the investigating the safes in the cargo hold and informed us that we'd gotten away with over sixty-five million units worth of loot. My jaw dropped.

"Think it's enough to celebrate over, captain?" Rixh asked hopefully. I could practically hear him mentally chanting, "Paaarty, paaarty, paaarty!"

"I suppose that'll be plenty enough," Yondu said.

Rixh let out a whoop and Kraglin got in touch with the crew onboard the Eclector to tell them the good news.

I whipped my head around to gawk at Yondu. How could he say that he 'supposed that'll be plenty enough'? He noticed my confusion and chuckled. "Darlin' with a ship that size," he gestured to the Eclector, "needin' fuel, the supplies we need to restock on, and the number of men onboard it to split the profits with, you think that sixty million is gonna last long?"

I shrugged and looked out the window. "I wouldn't know. I struggled to make at least 300 units last me and Mom for a month."

Yondu got really quiet for several long seconds before speaking again. "Knowhere's notorious for having outrageously high prices to begin with."

"Yep. And the pay there was sprek too."

I felt his eyes on me, but I didn't turn to look at him.

"Lydiaaaaaaaa!" Peter cried happily as he ran into the hangar and slammed headlong into me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I let out an 'oof'.

"Geez, kid, I wasn't gone that long," I chuckled, hugging him back. "How was vent cleaning duty?"

"Uuum, uneventful."

"The boy got lost," Colvin announced as he lumbered into the hangar to help the crew unload the vaults.

Peter frowned at him. "Traitor!"

I ruffled his hair. "Anything else happen today?"

"…Nope."

Just as I was about to question him on his suspicious hesitancy, Peter unzipped his jacket pocket and held up my necklace. "Here ya go! Safe and sound!"

"Aw, thanks, Peter." I slipped it over my neck.

Peter's brow wrinkled as he observed the crew filing out of the laser drill ship. "Hey, weren't there nine of you?"

I thought about it and turned to survey the men's faces. Come to think of it, we did seem to be one man short. Where was Chet?

Yondu was the last to exit the ship and I jogged over to meet him. "Uh, Yondu, I think we're missing a guy –" I began, but he didn't let me finish.

"Ain't missin'. I know where he is."

"Aaand that would be?"

"Dead."

"…Oh." I blinked in surprise. "What happened?"

A muscle in his jaw twitched. "Killed 'im. He made a mistake that nearly got you killed and nearly made us all get caught." And with that, he doubled his pace and left me behind to stare at his retreating back. There were times I forgot that he was the Yondu Udonta that even the toughest of criminals on Knowhere dreaded running into. How could the man who just calmly admitted to killing a member of his crew be the same one who'd asked me to remodel a stun-gun for little Peter so he could be safe? The same one who was teaching me how to fight so I could better defend myself. I couldn't wrap my head around it.

"Hey, Lydia? Where's your gadget?" Peter asked.

I looked down at the empty holster at my thigh and belatedly remembered leaving it behind, twisted within the rope. Groaning, I slumped in disappointment. I'd spent countless hours and days working on that thing! Now it was gone. Yeah, I could make another one, but come oooon….

I threw an arm around Peter's shoulders as we began to walk out of the hangar. "Have I got a story to tell you," I told him.

"Heh, no kiddin'…"

Later on, after all the vaults had been opened, the loot divided between the crew and the rest set aside for fuel and supplies, a good percentage of the ship's crew had gathered in the mess hall to celebrate the haul. Somehow Kraglin managed to convince Yondu to let me hook up my music box to the sound system in the mess hall and 'Princes of the Universe' by Queen blasted throughout the vast room. Looking around, I could tell I wasn't the only one who enjoyed Terran music. I saw several men head banging along to the beat while Peter stood atop one of the tables and showed Oblo how to do something called 'playing air guitar'.

"Then what happened?" Aerin asked. He, Colvin, and Tullk had gathered around to hear about my first gig. I'd told the story so often already that my voice was starting to go hoarse.

"Ain't you got someone else to bother?" Yondu asked gruffly as he sat himself in the seat next to mine. He held a bottle in each hand. "Girl's been repeating herself for over two hours to all ya'll termites."

"Aaaw; but, captain, she was just getting to the good par –"

Yondu glared as he lifted the bottle to his lips. The men gulped, nodded, then left. I sighed with relief and slumped in my seat. "Thanks for that."

"Here." He held out a bottle to me. "Got ya somethin'. Figured you'd be thirsty with all the talkin' you've been doin'."

I looked at him curiously, but gratefully accepted the drink. "Again; thank you." I sipped at my drink which turned out to be a very light alcoholic beverage. "I noticed you took Peter away."

"Yeah, he wasn't very happy 'bout it. But the drinks are startin' to flow a bit more freely and he don't need to be in here." He sat next to me and I detected a sense of discomfort coming off of him. He kept his eyes trained on the bottle he held. I tipped my head at it. "What are you drinking, Prince Charming?"

The hint of a smile curled the corner of his mouth, but he still didn't meet my eyes. "Somethin' that would knock you off yer feet in a heartbeat," he commented and took a long swig.

"Are you calling me a lightweight, Captain Udonta?"

His crimson gaze looked me over, contemplating. "Without a doubt."

I scoffed, feeling slightly indignant. "Well, I beg to differ."

This time he did meet my eyes. "Is that right, darlin?" He swished the liquid contents of the bottle. "You think you can handle this stuff?"

I held out my hand, waiting.

He snorted. "Not a chance, princess."

I was getting a bit tired of the men on this ship underestimating me, so maybe that's why I did it. Normally I wouldn't have done something so stupid; but I'd just helped them pull off a bank heist and they were still doubting my capabilities! So yeah, I was a bit ticked. As he raised the bottle to his lips, I snatched it from his grasp and downed a good portion of it before the burning in my throat quickly became apparent. I pulled the bottle away and hacked uncontrollably. My eyes watered. I felt dizzy.

I squinted at the label, trying and failing to read it. "What is this stuff?" I coughed.

"Yirshma," Yondu answered, attempting to take the bottle back from me. I moved it out of reach and took another long pull on it. "Darlin', why don' ya give me that back, hm?"

I spluttered a giggle. This stuff had a kick to it. "Naaaah. Sss'aaaaaall good, cap."

I really, really, really wish I'd given him back the bottle.

"Knowhere suuuuuuuucked," a very drunk Lydia was telling Oblo. "It was jusssss – the worst!"

"No kidding?" an equally drunk Oblo commented.

"Oh yeah, it was – Knowpear – Knowcare – Know… What's it called? … Nofair! …. No, tha'sss not it…"

Kraglin slid into the seat next to Yondu and cringed. "Whoa. How many has she had?"

Yondu ran a hand over his face. "You wouldn't believe it."

"Ten?"

"Nope."

"Fifteen?" Kraglin asked, incredulous.

"Nuh-uh. Lower."

"…Four?"

"Lower."

"Three?"

"She ain't even finished the half-bottle of yirshma I was drinkin'."

"Yeesh. Wait, you gave her yirshma!"

"I ain't give it to her! She took it!"

Lydia slung her arms around the necks of Oblo and Yarov. "I jusss' wanna tell you guys…I am soooo grapeful to yousss for taking me from a shucky life on Nofair."

"It was nuthin'," Oblo gushed.

"Nooo," Lydia insisted. "No, it was not nothin'!"

Kraglin chuckled quietly. "Looks like she's a grateful drunk."

"Hmph." Yondu quietly sipped his yirshma as he kept watch over Lydia. After she had absconded with his bottle, he'd limited himself to only one so he could be on alert and observe her. There was no telling what could happen.

When it became apparent to Kraglin that Yondu wasn't paying attention to a word he was saying, he took the hint and slipped away. Yondu stood from the table and occupied a spot against the wall where he could better observe Lydia. Apparently, Drunk Lydia was a social butterfly and was making her rounds. Music was still playing; a slow beat punctuated by a drum beat. A tinny voice began to speak. "If you've got love in your sights, /Watch out…love bites…"

Some of the crew were at that point in drunkenness when men gather close, arms thrown about each other, swaying and singing along to whatever song is playing whether they know the lyrics or not. One such group consisted of Gef, Wretch, and Taserface.

"When you make love, do you look in your mirror?
Who do you think of?"

"Does he look like me?" Taserface wheezed into the face of Wretch. Wretch screwed up his face in disgust. "Oh geez, I hope not…"

Yondu snorted and returned his attention to Lydia, only to find she was making her way towards him. She wasn't staggering, but there was a hint of wobbling going on. She leaned a shoulder against the wall, mirroring his position, and smiled at him. "Yondu Udonta, for a man who frowns s-so often I'm surprised you developed laughter lines first."

Yondu cracked a tiny smile. "Guess I hired myself a crew member who makes me laugh at her sheer stupidity."

"Hired? Ish that what we're calling it now?"

"Sounds like yer slurring's eased up."

"I don't shlurr," she pouted, and Yondu's attention was drawn to her cupid's bow mouth.

"Hmph." He couldn't help but notice she'd inched a little closer to him. "Got a little bit tipsy, did we?"

Lydia held up her thumb and index finger, showing a tiny sliver of space in between them. "Just a liiiittle bit."

"Oh, only that much, huh?"

Lydia giggled and pitched forward. Yondu immediately grabbed her and she fell against his chest. "Steady, sugar." Too close. She was way too close to him. He placed his hands on her hips and lightly moved her back a couple of steps. "Should have taken that bottle away from you when I had the chance," he muttered.

"You know it's my birthday tomorrow," she said out of the blue.

"Is that right?"

"Mm-hmm. Back on Threfy – Threshy – Threxia, if –" she hiccupped, "If it was your birthday, you were granted one birthday wish."

She was pressing up against him again. Why'd she have to feel so good? "Only one?"

"Mmh-hm."

"And could it be anything you wanted?"

Lydia tilted her head back and forth and shrugged. "Within r-reason."

"Figured." She had a smile that reached those green eyes of hers and he caught himself staring at them for a bit too long. "And what's yours?"

Lydia motioned for him to lean in. "Come 'ere." He hesitated at first but dipped his head close and angled his ear to catch her words. He felt her hand gently grasp him by the chin and turn his face towards her. Soft lips covered his own.

Yondu's mind went blank. He'd endured twenty years of torment as a Kree battle slave before becoming a Ravager. He carried that around with him every day in the form of scars both physical and mental. But the moment Lydia kissed him, he felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders. His skin buzzed from where she touched him.

"Oh yeah, I don't want to touch you too much baby
'Cause making love to you might drive me crazy…"

Lydia's thumb caressed his jawline as she leaned more into the kiss. His hands gripped her hips, pulling her closer. Just a little bit closer…

"I know you think that love is the way you make it
So I don't want to be there when you decide to break it, no…"

He felt her hands press against his chest and he pulled back to look at her. Her eyes were a bit unfocused. "Yondu…I don't feel so good." And just like that, she went limp in his arms. Of course, she would. The girl was drunk. He'd known that and still kissed her back. She probably wasn't even aware of what she was doing. Yondu's jaw clenched as he fought back a flash of anger directed at himself for falling for it again. It was his own fault this time. Not hers. He shifted her weight in his arms so that she leaned against him and that buzz beneath his skin started to turn into a frenzy.

"If you've got love in your sights
Watch out, love bites…"

He had to get her to her room; away from the crew and most importantly, away from him. A pillar of darkness passed them by on his way to exit the mess hall. "Halvi," Yondu barked.

"Captain?"

He could trust Halvi with Lydia in the state she was in. It occurred to him that he'd subconsciously been keeping track of the men who he could trust Lydia to be safe with. Yondu hoisted Lydia into his arms and carried her to Halvi. "Take her to her quarters and make sure the door gets locked. I done killed one crewman today, I ain't too keen on killin' more cause they're too drunk to use what limited smarts they got."

"Yes, sir," Halvi agreed as Yondu transferred the girl to him.

Yondu watched until they were out of sight. The moment they were gone, he marched to where the bottles of yirshma were kept and began to guzzle them down. After his third – fourth? – bottle, he wiped his mouth dry with the back of his hand and felt another kind of buzz beginning to take over. This one was familiar. It was the sensation he got after a successful heist and he had energy that needed to be spent. Preferably with some female companionship.

Shoving his way through the sea of bodies, he climbed atop a table and shouted for his men's attention. Blurry eyes attempted to focus on him. "Seein' as how it's been a long while and this gig still turned out to be a success, how's about we set our course to Contraxia. We'll be on planet for forty-eight hours to get supplies and a li'l bit a' lovin'? Huh!"

This was met with ecstatic whoops and cheers. "I love you, captain!" someone drunkenly declared.

"Shuddup!"

"I love him so much," the drunken voice added and dissolved into weeping.

"All men sober enough, get to yer stations!" Yondu ordered.

Unsteady feet scrambled to exit the mess hall and carry out his demands. Yondu steered himself to the bridge and plopped into the captain's chair. Images of a freckled red-head who's face seemed vaguely familiar toyed with his mind and he shook his head to clear it. Forty-eight hours. He had forty-eight hours to calm the buzz and try to get Lydia off his brain.

Contraxia, despite being an ice planet, was best known for its red-light districts. Each city had about a dozen of those establishments. It was also a favorite stop for many of the Ravager clans. But for those in the know, there was only one city on the whole planet that was the best; Tege. Yondu favored a certain bordello there called The Iron Lotus, which specialized in love bots, but for this trip, he was craving the warmth of flesh.

Kraglin was left in charge of the skeleton crew and the Eclector for the first twenty-four hours, then Yondu and a select few would trade places to give the others a chance to cut loose too. As the crew scattered to different destinations, Yondu headed for another brothel that he frequented and burst through the doors. "Ladies!" he cried, stumbling slightly due to the lingering effect of yirshma.

"Captain Udonta!" the madam cried out, flinging her arms wide and rushing to greet him. And why wouldn't she? A visit from the Udonta Clan always meant a lot of money for her business. Yondu chuckled and bent down to briefly embrace the woman. "How are you!"

"Anxious."

Madame took him by the elbow and led him further into the room, talking as they walked. "Well, I'm sure someone here can help you with that." She turned round and searched the faces she could make out in the dimly lit area. "Let's see. There's Corva, Loosh, oh – Pratila is working tonight, I believe she fancies you –"

Yondu shook his head. "Partila's a red-head, ain't she?"

Madame nodded. "Beautiful, flaming red hair –"

"No red-heads. And nobody with freckles either."

"Then I think you'll be happy with me," a sensual voice whispered in his ear. It took every effort in him not to turn around swinging. A milk-white hand snaked its way up his back, down his right shoulder, over his chest and stomach then stopped at his belt. The owner of the hand was tall, had curves in all the right places, breasts that looked liable to bust out of her corset, and long black hair. Pure black eyes gazed back at him.

Yondu looked her up and down. She smiled as if she enjoyed the attention. "Well?" she asked, her tone teasing. "Will I work for you?" Her fingers reached for the top string of her corset and pulled it loose enough that a generous portion of her cleavage was revealed.

"That'll do it," Yondu chuckled, the tip of his tongue running along his teeth.

A sinful smirk curled her red lips. "I thought it might. I go by Obsidia."

"Yondu."

"Yes, I know. I've heard about you from some of the ladies here. Favorable things, oddly enough. It got me curious."

"Well how about we satisfy that curiosity, hm?" He hooked his arm through hers and she led the way upstairs. They stopped in front of the second to last of the doors that lined the long hallway. Once inside, Yondu immediately flopped on the bed, propping himself up on the various pillows, and put his hands behind his head as he grinned at Obsidia.

Obsidia hung a string of beads on the outside knob as a sign the room was currently occupied before closing and locking the door. "Now, are you the rough, frisky, or get right down to business sort?"

"I can be a little bit of each, depending on my mood."

"And just what sort of a mood are you in tonight?"

He brought one of his hands out from behind his head and crooked a finger at her. "Why don't you come over here an' find out."

To her credit, she didn't hesitate when she did just that. She was supposed to get his mind off of her. Somehow that plan didn't work. They didn't look alike at all! And yet, he still called her 'Lydia' at the moment when any woman who wasn't being paid for her services would have either slapped or stabbed a man for calling her another woman's name. Obsidia merely blinked – temporarily thrown off – then said, "If that's what you want to call me then I won't object," and carried on.

It was supposed to have worked. Having sex with someone Lydia's complete opposite was supposed to have distracted him. But he'd known all along that it wouldn't work. She was buried too deep beneath his skin.

(Wow, that was a long chapter! I hope it was worth the wait. Sorry I wasn't able to get it posted in October. I really did try but I started to fall asleep at the computer and my fingers would keep typing so when I'd jolt awake I'd find gibberish typed up and have to start again. Please leave me a review and let me know your thoughts, any critics, ideas or suggestions, etc. I love to hear from you, Dear Readers! Until next time!)