Beastly Bonds
Chapter VI
WARNING: This chapter contains questions and references to homosexuality. If you are in any way upset or unnerved by this, don't read it. If you are and you still read this and you flame me, that's just you being stupid and asking for trouble. So please, take heed.
To the reviewers of this story: I drew a creature from Chronicles of Riddick and it took me two nights. The URL is at the bottom. If you don't want to review my story, you can certainly comment on that, instead.
And FINALLY! The story:
Note: THOUGHTS are in ITALICS
As the door hissed shut, the air lock going into place, they all felt one step closer to freedom. Without words they moved, immediately readying themselves for takeoff. Kyra had already taken place in the captain's chair, which she noted was lined with leather. Smirking as she checked the power cels, the computer systems and ship controls, she wondered what Riddick would think of leather on a captain's chair.
Damn, don't get ahead of yourself. Let's get off this hell planet first.
Neunzhen had seemingly taken up permanent residence at her side and he rested his head on the edge of the control panel. Gently rubbing her thumb down his nose, Kyra looked to her right to see Litman sitting down in the co-pilots chair.
"You can fly?" She asked, seeing Tipner strap himself in behind them.
"You can bet your rack on it, sweety." He replied, receiving nothing short of a smack on the head with one of her shivs. "Damn, that's going to leave a bump! Scar even!"
"I suppose my thoughts that you had learned not to insult Kyra's womanhood by now are complete delusions." Tipner commented from behind, replied with a contented growl from Kyra.
"Jeez, my bad. HEY! Krent! You alright back there?" Litman changed the subject, seeing how Krent had disappeared with Meth's unconscious body for some time. He appeared in seconds, looking satisfied. "Kid strapped in?"
Krent nodded.
"Good. Gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts." Kyra said, starting to flip the switches for takeoff. The hum of the ship grew louder, but wasn't unpleasant to the ear. "Make sure all luggage is stowed away. It can either be placed below the seat in front of you or above in the overhead bins. If you need assistance with this, please contact a flight attendant now." She continued, earning a smirk from Krent, who had seated himself behind her.
"Man…what I would give for some sexy flight attendant…" Litman muttered, beginning to set a course to the nearest shipping lanes.
"This is your captain speaking. We're clear for takeoff. Alright, you sonovabitches, it's time to do this shit." She laughed aloud as she pulled the final lever. They sped across the runway and she began to pull back on the controls. The nose lifted into the air and soon the body of the ship followed. Clearing the mountain tops, she glanced to the left to see that the sunrise was maybe four minutes away, at tops. Grinning as they penetrated the atmosphere, she almost yelled in pure delight when they smoothed out and the auto-controls went into work. Un-strapping herself she launched out of the chair and grabbed Tipner by his hands.
A sort of excited dance ensued, where Kyra was moved between Tipner, Litman and Krent, joyful shouting and yelling all the while. Finally exhausted, she slipped to the floor where Neunzhen, apparently just as happy, licked her cheek. Sighing and smiling at the same time, she watched as Tipner stretched out his back, Krent went to check on Meth and Litman search out the alcohol.
"We've done it, Tipner. You're not gonna die in that godforsaken shit prison." She murmured, a tired tone masked her voice. With a grunt she pushed herself from the floor and took her place in the captain's chair.
"We have, indeed. We're going to have to change our names and ID's, but I think that can wait. Kyra, you've realized what we just did, don't you?" He asked seriously, gesturing the general space around him.
Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and her green eyes darkened with thought.
"…stating the obvious? We just escaped from prison."
"No…we, together, well, mostly you, we just broke out of a triple-max security slam." He emphasized the last term, making Kyra grin with more happiness.
"Second to do it after Riddick." She added, seeing Litman waltz back in, vodka bottle in hand. She knew it had been sealed when he had first found it and now it was close to a fourth empty. "Litman, I can't have drunk pilots, give that to Tipner."
"Now…sweetie…'m not drunk…jusssst a tad…" he swayed for a moment and looked questioningly up into the metal ceiling, as if it would provide the word he was looking for.
"Tipsy?" Tipner offered. He jumped at Litman's reply.
"EXACTLY! NOW! What we goin' to call thisss shhhip?" He stumbled into the copilots chair, almost stepping on Neunzhen's tail, who gave him a warning snarl. Kyra smirked and leaned forward and easily removed the bottle from his hands. She wasn't fond of hard alcohol or the stuff in general. Hand her something with taurine and she was happy, that's all she wanted.
"Good question, Litman. Here, take these. Here's some water." She opened his palm with her hands and placed two pills into it that she had taken from one of her many pockets. He looked stupidly at them and gave her an asking stare as she opened the water.
"Kyra…are you…drugging me?" He asked, blinking his eyes rapidly as he reached out for the water.
"Now why would I do that?" She asked, meaning it to be rhetorical.
"Well…if the sex is that rough…" he mumbled, after swallowing the pills. Her eyes widened and she gave him a very sharp kick in the shins, making his eyes snap open. She waited for him to say something but his eyes drooped again and in seconds his snores filled the cockpit.
"Dare I ask what those were?" Tipner questioned, grinning.
"Same shit we gave Meth. Knocked him right out, I'm sure Litman will thank me when he gets over his hangover. He really doesn't hold his alcohol well, does he?"
"No…no he doesn't…well, it was a good question, Krya. We should get working on those ID's soon, shipping lanes can't be far off." He added, not offended when she spun her chair around and checked the stats for how long it would take for them to get to the shipping lanes.
"A long five weeks. That is if we take the possibly longest way to get there. I think we'll need it, don't you?" She asked, swinging her chair around halfway through her sentence.
Tipner nodded as he stood and walked forward to Kyra, making Neunzhen look up and let out a small, almost inaudible growl. He pushed his long white hair out of the way as he looked directly at her green eyes with his one brown one. It was just as cold as hers could be, judging and contemplating.
"Are you still going to be Kyra?" He asked quietly, not jumping as Litman let out a snort next to them, but soon quieted again. Kyra looked hard into his eyes, believing that the blind one was just as powerful as the other.
I'm Kyra…was Jack. But the entire time I've been Jack, haven't I? I was Jack to Riddick and I was Jack when Riddick trained me for those few weeks…when I fight…am I Jack or Kyra? Just who the hell am I right now, anyway?
"I…I'm not sure, Tipner." She was at loss for words.
"Take your time, I'm taking this one to a more proper place to sleep. Will you be taking the captain's quarters?" He asked, seeing how she had turned her chair back and had begun to stare out the window, deep into black space. In the reflection of the glass he saw her nod and to him that was enough.
Grabbing the neck of Litman's shirt, he yanked him out of the chair and dragged him down the hall with surprising strength. She heard a door open farther down the left hallway, a body being thrown on a bed and the door closing again. Tipner's footsteps went farther done and another door opened and closed.
Ah…the ship. Designed very well, Kyra thought. The cockpit in the front, two hallways leading behind it, cargo hold easily accessible by both sides. The one to the left, technically my right when I'm facing the window, is where the 'crew' sleeps. Two rooms with large beds, two with two single beds, easily fitting a six-man crew, even more considering the space there is in each room. The kitchen is the last door, ending the hallway instead of a wall. In the kitchen there is a hidden tile that can be pulled up and leads directly into the cargo hold. The kitchen has another door leading to the end of the right hallway. Right hallway holds the captain's quarters, extremely spacious quarters at that. Another room valuable cargo that also serves as a planning room for the captain and the first and second mate, who would live in the two spacious rooms in the left hallway. The other room is the med bay, which can also be accessed from the left hallway. Surprisingly well equipped considering the main room back in Crematoria. Both hallways led up the cockpit, which was spacious in itself. The captain's chair in the middle, a co-pilots chair to the right of the captain and to the left is the gunner's chair, who has second control of all the defense systems on the ship.
Well you've certainly done a good job of avoiding the subject at hand.
Kyra snorted.
More then one subject. Identity crisis, Riddick…both of those could take quite a while. I mean, really, who am I? Kyra was in Crematoria, when there was no Riddick to watch her, no Riddick to run to. Well do I need someone to run to now? Do I need to be the weak Jack that would fight until she felt too threatened? Jack never felt too threatened, but by that time Riddick would show up and save the day… That settles it. I'm Jack.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the strong footsteps of Krent. Turning her chair, she saw the tall man slowly walk in and look around for a place to sit. She gestured to the gunner's chair, where she had mentally decided he would sit from now on. He almost collapsed into the chair and as he faced her, she saw how tired he looked.
"You can rest, I've got this covered. And Meth." She quickly added, tapping in the code for the live video feed of the med bay, where the resting form of Meth was seen in the hologram. "I'm going to need a rested crew. Get some sleep."
"Not that easy…" he mumbled, looking away.
She bit her lip as she saw the flashes of interaction between him and the younger man, maybe even boy, in her mind. His feelings were torn for Meth, that much she knew.
"Krent, you know that your sexual preferences don't bother me." She put out, hoping that she wasn't going to receive a horrible reaction.
"I…it's not like that…I mean-"
"You don't know. That's fine, like I said, get some rest. I don't want you to be worrying about this."
"You accept it…but Tipner, Litman…Meth?" He said the last name with a sort of shamed fear, which hurt her more than any wound she had ever received.
"Tipner is very level-headed, if you need someone else to talk to about this…another male, that is, it's him. Litman…he's a bit rash at times-"
Krent snorted at this.
"But he would figure it out eventually. I can't say anything about Meth. I'm sorry, but I just don't know the kid. I just picked him up two weeks ago from being eaten and talked to him maybe five times. Ask Tipner when you've rested. And please, do go to sleep, don't stay up thinking about this." She replied, wondering if every captain had to go through this with their crew.
It hurt her more when he didn't reply but just stood up and began to walk away. Standing as well, she quickly reached him and grabbed one of his arms. As he turned to face her, she realized how tall he was. He overshadowed her completely, but he was a kind giant if anything. Swallowing, she fought down her fears of human touch, something that had scarred her and haunted her since childhood. Letting go of his arm she slowly moved closer before she slipped her arms around his waist and pulled him into a hug. As she felt long muscled arms wrap around her as well, she buried her face into his lower chest and squeezed him tighter.
A hug…when was the last time you were truly held like this?
This thought stood out in her mind as she felt him lean down and rest his head against the top of hers. She looked up as he turned his head and kissed her forehead, in a very brother-like and caring manner.
As quietly as they came together, they moved apart and Krent continued his way down the hallway. Hearing his door close she suddenly wanted to cry. So many things had hurt her in the past, but none more than simple human touch. Every time she had craved for it she had been abused and beaten in the process, so she forced herself to break the addiction and stow away the need. Slowly moving back to her seat, she slid into it and propping her right elbow on the arm of the chair, held her head in it while she let her left hand dangle over the front of the other arm. Slowly the feeling overcame her, but it wasn't cruel and rapid, like the monsters on T2. It was a gentle tightening of her throat and silent shedding of tears, slowly appearing in from her eyes, speeding down her cheeks and slowing again, before they dripped off onto her clothes.
She looked up when she felt the scaly head of Neunzhen nudge the palm of her hand. Her fingers traced the smooth ears of the hellhound as the tears dried and she was able to breath again. She had cried once in Crematoria and never again. For years she had gone without the salty tears and now she felt free again, in mind and spirit. She mused that Neunzhen did as well, no longer abused by the guards.
She had no idea how many hours she passed, sitting, thinking and above all, simply wishing. She was a very strong spirited woman, but would someone stronger come after her? Questions like these rained on her small party in her head. She had been thinking about different fun things to do now that they were free. Her first thought was to lay low for at least two or three months. Find a secluded planet, somewhere with a beach, like Helion Prime. That was her next train of thought. When they had been written off as dead or gone forever, she would rise again and visit Imam, ask him of Riddick's whereabouts and go from there.
A sudden movement in the med bay hologram attracted her attention and she saw that Meth was waking up. Tapping in the com code for Krent's room, she waited until she heard his tired voice reply.
"Meth's waking up, you want to rest and I can see him?"
"No," his voice was alert once more and she could hear him move around. "Thanks."
She cut the connection and vaguely listened to his movements on the ship. She hadn't heard a noise from Tipner or Litman's room and assumed both were sleeping. While it wouldn't be a bad idea to get some rest someone should be at the controls at all times. Cracking her jaw, she locked the controls and stood up, deciding to visit the kitchen then Tipner. Neunzhen was fast asleep beside her chair and she left him there.
Walking down her hallway, she suddenly realized she should also take a shower. That was completely novel to her, a private shower. That would come after Tipner. Placing her hand on the door's key pad, it scanned her hand and whooshed open. She had only keyed in the handprints of the 'crew' to their specific rooms and the med bay. She didn't get around to the kitchen yet and was almost glad for it.
It wasn't a fully stocked kitchen, but everything was completely sealed so it was fresh. She almost laughed at the old style fridge that was hiding in the corner, humming away on what was now a very low power level. Opening it she found a few drinks and quite a few cases of beer. Taking one of the drinks, she found it to be soda, something that was also rare. Raiding the cabinets and containers, she found a loaf of bread, which she ripped off half of it and began to eat. Walking through the kitchen she came to the door that ended the crew's hallway and it opened at her presence.
Tipner's door was the closest to the kitchen door so she barely had to walk a few feet. As she knocked on the door, she heard a shuffling movement inside before the door opened. An entirely different Tipner greeted her.
His white hair had been washed and was now brushed, pulled back and braided. It was long she knew, but she didn't realize a braid would reach the bottom of his shoulder blades. He had clipped his beard and moustache, giving him a slightly cleaner look. He had obviously raided the closet and was wearing something akin to a military uniform.
"Looking good, Tipner." She commented, walking into his room. His personal effects were already set up and he looked to be quite at home.
"Found the kitchen, I see." He replied, taking the offered piece of bread. Chewing on it he looked around his room and swallowed. "I suppose you came here for a reason?"
"Reasons, actually." She corrected, turning back to him and making direct eye contact. "Jack, Riddick, Krent and Meth…"
"Oh yes." He realized, sounding a bit wary. "Please, sit." He gestured to a metal chair that sat behind a sparse desk. Swinging it around, she threw one leg over it and faced Tipner, who had sat on his bed in a cross-legged position.
"I'm going to tell everyone else later, but I decided I'm Jack now, no longer Kyra." She started, earning an approving nod. "Riddick is going to wait. We should hide away for a bit and I'm going through various system charts and they're all far away. Maybe two or three months there and then we can go. I would like us to stay together as a crew for those months but then we can separate. I'm going to go back to Helion Prime and work from there."
"I'm surprised."
"What do you mean?"
"I thought you were going to go right after Riddick now, not do the sensible thing and wait." He replied, smirking at the same time. She chuckled in response.
"Well, got to keep the others safe too. Not from mercs mind you, just my recklessness. So. I told Krent he could talk to you. You alright with that?"
"Fine, I'm just worried for Litman."
"Same. It's not like I can side with either of them, as well. But I think I'll manage. Oh, can you take over the cockpit for a while? I need to wash up and maybe get some rest." She asked, standing and putting the chair back in its original spot.
"Of course, mon capitan." He said, rolling off the bed and saluting her. He followed her out the door and made his way to the cockpit, with Jack in tow. An anxious Neunzhen awaited her and almost threw her to the floor with his greeting. Tipner sat in the captain's chair while Jack wrestled Neunzhen off of her while playing with him at the same time.
Tipner thought that apart from Jack and maybe Riddick, no one else he knew would ever play fight with a hellhound. He watched them untangle themselves and go down the captain's hallway and he looked back to the charts Jack had left pulled up. She hadn't been kidding when she said far away.
Thanks to these reviewers:
Iridescent Twilight: Hope I kept up the good work. There will be eventual pairings…I think. It really depends how long I want the story to go on for, like if I'll stop it before they find Riddick (or will Riddick find them?) or keep going. I like this story a lot but I've had…erm…pressure to make a sequel to Keeping Faith.
NightmareWeaver: Grr, not fair. I really want that but it doesn't matter because I only have my ancient gaming systems here! I seethe with jealousy! Erm, any kind of caffeinated beverages? Do you drink SoBe?
VainFirechild-EverSoVain: Glad you like it. Thanks for reviewing.
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