(Six)
The two X-men took their time cleaning up and felt much better after a nice hot shower. They wandered out to the Main Room and saw another door that led to a good sized galley. It was a generous room with a long metal table with fixed benches where Fallen could easily sit all twelve of her passengers and herself. A clear glass jar mounted on the table contained a generous supply of hand rolled cigarettes. There was a large bowl of fruit, mostly some kind of oranges.
One whole wall consisted of storage cabinets and shelves that appeared to be well stocked with bottles and boxes of food. A counter top ran the length of one wall. It held a double sided sink and rack filled with a large supply of whiskey bottles. Another rack close by held a row of dark colored ones. It seemed Fallen liked to keep a good supply of liquor around. There was a large double door refrigerator as well. On one of the walls was a large representation of Fallen's X mark. It was an X in a box with a word printed on each side of the square - Honor. Loyalty. Courage. Sacrifice. But best of all this kitchen and galley had a good sized stove where a large stew pot was bubbling merrily. The smell was wonderful and inviting and Logan felt his stomach growl in anticipation.
Soft music was playing on unseen overhead speakers. Logan was startled to recognize it as Born on the Bayou from Creedence Clearwater Revival. Where did Fallen get Earth music from? he wondered to himself, but didn't bother to ask.
Seth and Kimble were in their usual chairs in the cockpit room on a viewing screen. Seth had a headset on and was listening to something, his eyes closed in concentration. Kimble was excitedly jabbering away about something funny, laughing merrily. Fallen sat at the table, listening to him halfheartedly with a smile as she smoked one of the hand rolled cigarettes. Her eyes were half closed and she looked sleepy.
Logan sniffed quietly at her and realized she wasn't merely sleepy, she was stoned. She looked up at them lazily as they entered and spoke, "Feel better?"
"Do you?" Logan quipped. He had no patience for drug use.
She looked at him sharply and locked eyes with him, unafraid. "What I do on my ship is my business, X-man. I'm not about to take any shit from you, legend or not. You don't like it, you can go back to the pens!" she snapped.
"Reoww! Ffft! Ffft!" Kimble joked from the screen, imitating a cat fight. "Chill, baby. Don' let the furball gits a rise outta ya."
Logan sneered up at him, showing his teeth. He wondered if this guy ever left that stupid room. Where were they anyways? The Control room was nowhere in sight and the only scents on board were Fallen and Maylee's. Logan was about to respond to Kimble's dig when Henry touched his arm and shook his head in warning. Forget it. They sat down at the table to eat.
Fallen was quick to assume her duties as host. She got up and went to one of the cupboards. She took out two large serving bowls and served Logan and Henry generously from the stew pot. She gave them some bread as well. She went to the small refrigerator, grabbed two bottles of beer and set them out. The X-men were starved and ate quietly. The stew was very good although Logan noted there was no meat in it. He didn't mind, he was happy just to fill his belly.
Fallen leaned against the counter away from them and smoked. She watched Seth as he worked with a gentle smile. He seemed to be trying to listen in on someone else's transmission. He tapped the head set and typed away rapidly at a keyboard.
"Anything?" Fallen asked.
Seth squinted and shook his head. "I can't make it out. The Dognan know the pens were broken into and that it was us, but they don't know where we went. They sent out an All Alert. They know the alphas are gone. Fence is fixed... There was a big brawl on the way out..." He cocked his head as he listened and shivered. "Frishnan's angry. His favorite, Theba, got sliced."
"One of the Angels?"
"Yeah."
Fallen looked at Logan.
He shook his head. "Kane's men."
"Poor Frishnan. Gonna have ta find someone else ta place his bets on. Prob'ly lost a bundle on that fight, too," Kimble teased. "Poor baby."
"How can you find that funny?" Logan grumbled.
"Kimble finds everything funny. It's why I keep him around," Fallen said quickly before Kimble could respond.
"Clan'll shut the pens down soon enough," Kimble said after a pause. He looked at Fallen closely and a meaningful look passed between them.
Fallen reached behind her and grabbed a whiskey bottle. She opened the seal with a claw and poured herself a good sized drink. She tossed it back like it was water. "Anything else?"
"No. It's pretty quiet now. I'll try again later."
"Looks like we gots us a breather. Could use the break," Kimble said, rubbing his eyes like he was tired. He leaned back in his chair and put his furry feet up on the console again.
"What is it you guys do exactly?" Logan asked, curious about these new people he found himself with.
"We raid the pens, harass the Dognan," Kimble explained. "We stays out on the sidelines pretty much. Valentin's army does most of the work of drivin' them Dognan guys back. They've been really busy lately. Think the Clan is workin' on some kinda big project. My guess is Cerebus is gonna go fer the big push soon. All or nuthin'. Prob'ly drag us into it just fer kicks."
"Don't you want to get involved?" Henry wanted to know.
"Ain't much inta suicide, thanks," Kimble quipped sarcastically.
Fallen was quick to explain Kimble's reaction. "The Clan army isn't as organized as they could be. They have a lot of resources, but there's too much competition among the Generals. They seem to be more interested in who's going to get the Honor Sword than winning anything for the people."
"Honor Sword?"
Fallen arched her back and stroked her long tattoo. "This. The Honor Mark of the Hopelessly Reckless."
"Ya shouldn't joke about it likes that," Kimble said, oddly serious. "Ya earned evra inch of that Mark."
She looked up at him. "I didn't earn it, we did."
"How did you earn it?" Henry asked.
"Lotsa reasons. Raidin' the pens, mostly," Kimble answered for her. " 'Course, it coulda been that time Fallen saved Cerebus' life," he teased with a laugh. "Ol' Cerebus got his ass stuck in the city and we hadta come bails him out cuz Vally chickened out."
"Valentin didn't chicken out, he wanted Cerebus' throne. Figured the Dognan would save him the trouble of having to kill Cerebus himself," Fallen retorted.
"Yeah, well Fallen got him outta that little mess."
"I couldn't have done it without you," she said, looking up at Kimble with a loving smile. "You showed me the way out. Helped me fly through one of the worst firefights I've ever seen."
"Nobody flies like you, baby doll. I ain't gots nuthin' ta do with it," Kimble said with sincere modesty, not wanting to take the credit.
"You're wrong. Nobody flies like me and you together." Her look and tone of voice finalized the matter. "That's why you're my Second and always will be."
Kimble shrugged. "Anaways..." he continued, returning to Henry's question. "...we take alla the shit jobs nobody wants. Make it back alive. Cerebus wants alphas fer his cause, we gits 'em for him. No sane white pilot would come out here. If the Dognan catch Fallen, she's toast. Good thing she's so good with the stick."
"The stick?"
" 'S slang fer the way pilots fly the ship. Fallen's the best pilot around — no matter what she sez 'bout me. No one kin catch us," Kimble said, proud. "She built this ship and evrathin' in it. Nuthin' else like it around."
"Quiet now," Fallen cautioned. It wasn't the praise, it was her secrets. "They don't need to hear you prattle on." She stood straight and poured another drink. "Where's Kane?"
Seth flipped a switch on his panel, waited. "Still in the fourth. You want to speak to him?"
"No. I'm going to have a bath and crash." She looked at Henry and Logan. "Help yourself to whatever you want in the cupboards," she said and left with the bottle.
"I'll go with you," Seth offered and left the cockpit room through the back door.
Logan stared at Kimble up on the screen, not really watching his brother leave. It was this one he was really interested in. Kimble seemed to know it. He leaned back in his chair comfortably and stared back, grinning arrogantly. He behaved like Wolverine didn't intimidate him at all. Must be some kind of punk, Logan thought. Can't wait to meet him in person and size him up for real.
"You said you and Fallen earned the Mark together. Where's yours?" Logan challenged. He'd picked up on the fact that Seth and Kimble were the only males he'd seen with a shirt since they left the pens. He didn't know why, but it bugged him.
Kimble didn't answer but slowly pulled down the collar of his shirt until the handle of the tattooed sword was visible. It seemed he was just as Marked as his captain. His smile changed to one more sly and he cocked his head waiting for Wolverine's response.
"Why cover it up?" Logan continued to probe. He had the idea something wasn't quite right about this stranger. He was bored and comfortable now with his belly full, so he figured he would try and ferret it out. Nothing like a good game to pass the time. He could see Kimble was up for it.
"Chilly down here," Kimble replied with a mock shiver. He was obviously lying and didn't care. He continued to stare at Logan and grin, he clearly knew it was pissing Logan off.
Beast sat watching the two of them with a resigned shake of his head. He sighed impatiently and scolded, "You two enjoy your pissing contest. I'm going to sit with Remy." He stood up and put his dishes in the sink. He waved to Kimble and left.
Kimble returned Beast's wave, but his eyes never left Logan's face. "Ya always thanks people who save yer life this way, or did we win the lottery?" he challenged in return. His eyes were hard.
"Somethin' ain't right about you, boy. Somethin' ain't right about all of this. Why are you hidin' from the Clan if you're a part of it?"
"Not evrathin' here is what it seems. Ya wants ta git home, you'd best be careful." Kimble flipped a switch and his corner of the viewing screen winked out, leaving Logan on his own in the empty galley.
(break)
Beast walked into the barracks to check in on Remy. Maylee had stretched out on the next bed over from the sleeping thief and had fallen asleep. She looked so tiny and small curled up there and he couldn't help but cover her up with a blanket. She smiled up at him, not really awake, and rolled over, wiggling to get more comfortable.
He sat next to Gambit on his bunk and looked him over. Whatever Maylee had done, it was the correct thing, he felt the coolness of Remy's cheeks and was satisfied. He startled a little when Gambit opened his eyes and smiled up at him. So strange, the red on black. At least he seemed well enough.
"Didn' know you cared, mon ami," Gambit teased in a raspy voice.
"Welcome back," Henry said, smiling. He saw a cup of water next to the bed and held it to Remy's lips so he could drink. "How do you feel?"
"Wasted.. What did I miss?"
"You've been unconscious since last night. We were liberated this morning by some people called the Clan. They broke us out of the pen and brought us to this ship. We've made some interesting new friends." He pointed to Maylee. "That's your doctor."
Gambit glanced over at the sleeping young girl. "Dey start young 'ere, eh? Can't wait to meet de rest of de girls."
"They're white, have wings and can fly."
"Cool. Where do I get one?"
"The Captain of this ship is a pilot. Do you recall that strange, white bird like woman on the Dognan ship that delivered us to the pen?"
"Vaguely. Gambit wasn't t'inkin' too straight mos' of de time we been 'ere."
"Well, she's one of those and her name is Fallen. It seems the Clan is some kind of resistance group made of those white slaves and their children. They want to drive the Dognan out and take over this world. They liberated us from the pen because they like alphas to join them and make them stronger because of our powers," Henry explained, keeping his voice low enough not to disturb the child sleeping in the next bed.
"Dey want us to fight wit dem?" Remy asked nervously. He could hold his own, sure, but he wasn't interested in becoming a resistance fighter. He was a sneak and a thief, not a soldier.
"So far no one has asked us to do anything. I hope we can work something out to get us back home. Kane is a warrior who helped to free us. He said it is possible for a pilot to return us home. He didn't say how or if they would voluntarily."
"You ask dis Fallen?"
"Not yet. There's been some tension..."
"Bien sur," Remy said with a soft snicker. "What Wolvie boy done now?"
Henry laughed. "He's suspicious about the people here."
"E's suspicious 'bout everyone. What's so special 'bout dese people?"
"He's not saying. He's keeping it to himself as always."
"E's paranoid."
"Yeah well, my paranoia's saved yer ass more'n once," Logan drawled from the doorway. His eyes glanced to Maylee, but he could tell by her breathing she was out cold.
Gambit shifted to get a better look at his ornery teammate. "Dey got us out, took care of me. We should wait 'fore we be startin' any fights, n'cest ce pas?"
"Good advice," Beast agreed. He looked at Logan. "While we do rely on you for your instincts, I don't think it's a good idea to alienate these people. Kane said a pilot could get us home. Fallen is a pilot. Perhaps she will help us."
"When? In between gettin' high or gettin' shot down? She's a fuckin' junkie. Somethin's up with that Kimble guy, too. This place gives me the creeps. Can't smell those two pilot guys anywhere."
"Let's wait before we snap to any hasty judgments we'll regret later," Henry advised. "The people here seem harmless enough."
"What seems ta be, an' what is aren't always the same thing," Logan cautioned. "I just wanna get us outta here and back in one piece."
"Den we all on de same page, homme," Remy replied, rubbing his eyes. He felt much better and hoped he would be well enough to move around soon. He wanted to see what all the fuss was about. He felt a little left out, but was happy to be fixed up and cared for.
"You should get some more rest," Beast said motherly and pulled the blankets up a little higher on his chest.
"Mebbe we all should. Gambit ain't de only one who look a little ragged."
Henry sighed and nodded. It was true. With his belly now full and his concerns about Remy alleviated, he could feel the weariness creeping in. He hadn't slept worth anything in the pen. He took the bed across from Remy and lay down, smiling as he saw Logan lay down on the bunk next to him without closing his eyes. He watches over us like a hawk, he thought not unkindly. As much as it pains me to see him so paranoid, I am glad for his presence. He closed his eyes and was out like a light.