Champ read a few reports over before speaking to Stinger, "There's been reports of another ranger appearing in a few different systems. All say the color of their suit is a light blue. Do we want to check into this, aibou?"
Stinger frowned. "Another savior? We probably should check it out while it's quiet."
"I'll set a course to their last sighted location."
Stinger nodded as he went back to his reports.
"A new ranger?" Hammy sounded excited. "I hope we can be friends with them."
"As long as they aren't as loud as Lucky, they'll be okyu," Balance answered.
Tetsuya remained quiet, his own status making him nervous.
"What do you think?" Hammy smiled at him and Naga.
"Another new friend to practice emotions with," Naga answered.
Tetsuya just nodded, then excused himself from the bridge.
A few hours later, Champ announced their arrival. "There's heavy amounts of Jark Matter troops on this planet. We'll have to be careful."
Stinger nodded, then addressed the team. "I don't think I have to tell you to be careful. But don't do anything to endanger yourselves any more than necessary." He deliberately looked at Tet, who sheepishly nodded.
The rest saluted and headed to the voyager bay.
Upon arrival on the planet, they noticed troops gathered, listening to a malistrate. Soon, a turquoise ranger appeared, quickly taking out a bunch of the indavers.
Stinger nodded appreciatively at their quickness, then nodded at the team. "Let's help."
Tetsuya quickly morphed, his black suit encasing him. He charged forward, his sai flashing.
The others morphed, joining into the fray.
The turquoise ranger kept taking out indavers until they noticed the other rangers. It was then they started heading back the way they'd come, trying to avoid the others.
Stinger noticed the retreat and began to follow. "We just want to talk."
"About?"
"How you got your kyutama? Why are you fighting alone?"
"I found it on Eshana. And I'm better off on my own."
Stinger chuckled. "I've heard that before. Are you sure you won't join us? Do you need medical attention? Food, maybe?"
"I'm a medic, so no on the medical attention," she answered. "I.."
The group had just finished taking out the indavers and were coming over toward her and Stinger.
"I gotta go," she said, turning away from them.
At a nod from Stinger, Tetsuya and Champ each took an arm.
"Not so fast." Stinger smirked. "I want to see who I'm talking to."
"You've seen plenty," she answered.
"I'll decide that." He demorphed, as did the others. He raised an eyebrow at the turquoise ranger. "If you would please demorph."
She let out a small curse, and did as she was asked, looking down at the ground.
Hammy stared at her for a moment, "Andaka! What do you think you're doing?!"
Stinger looked at Hammy. "You know her?"
"She is my sister. And she's supposed to be at home."
Andaka continued to look at the ground, staying quiet.
"Your sister?!" Tetsuya erupted into laughter. "Oh boy, there's two of them."
Hammy rolled her eyes before stepping closer to Andaka, "What are you even doing here? "
"Fighting Jark Matter."
"That's our job, not yours."
Stinger waved a hand. "She has a kyutama, so it is her job now. Though I think if she wants to stay alone, we should honor her wishes." He looked at Andaka. "Though by looking at you, you could use some food. Would you accept a meal before leaving?"
Andaka nodded slowly.
"Daka, where's Ave? Or mom and dad? They'd never let you out fighting like this."
Andaka backed up and shook her head.
"Hammy!" Stinger's voice was sharp. "Later."
Hammy sighed and nodded. "Come on, Daka."
The younger girl followed silently.
Stinger called his voyager, heading for the Orion. When he landed, he waited in the bay, counting voyagers as they landed. When Raptor landed, he whispered instructions to her.
Andaka looked around at how big the ship was, eyes filled with amazement.
Stinger chuckled as he moved to her side. "Follow me." He grinned as Raptor locked a hand around Tetsuya's arm and began dragging him out of the bay.
Andaka did as instructed, casting her eyes down when she noticed Hammy staring at her. When they were into the hallway and noticed Hammy wasn't following, she looked back up.
"Don't worry, it's just us. Come on, the kitchen is right down here." He opened the door for her. "Any food allergies?"
She shook her head.
"Okyu." The scorpion began preparing food, throwing ingredients together in a pan and stirring before putting a lid on it and looking up at her. "So, you're Hammy's sister. She hasn't said much about her family. Honestly, I thought she was an orphan."
"Yeah, she's my older sister.. we had an older brother and parents too.."
"Had? I'm guessing that's why you're so skittish around her. If you want, I'll keep her away until you've left."
"She deserves to know what happened.. I just.. don't know if I can tell her."
"It's alright. Just take it slow." He finished cooking, handing her a full plate. "Eat first, talk after."
She nodded, sitting at the table and starting to eat in silence.
He sighed, then sat down with a drink. He winced as the motion jarred his broken ribs.
She noticed his wince, "Like I said, I am a medic. Do you want me to heal you?"
"Don't put yourself out. Just eat your meal. I'll deal with my injuries later." He closed his eyes as one hand went to his side and came back stained with blood. He began to feel dizzy, but tried not to show it, his hand shaking as he lifted his glass.
Andaka rolled her eyes, standing up and going to his side, holding her hands out. Blue light began pouring into Stinger as she focused.
He gave her a startled look at the sudden warmth suffusing his body. Then his eyes rolled up and he began to fall back.
She caught him and laid him on the bench before continuing to heal him. When she was done, she finished eating and washed the dishes. She then went back to check on him.
"What happened?" He looked at her dazedly.
"You passed out." She answered. "You're all healed up now though."
"Oh." He blinked sleepily. "Tired.. But can't sleep. Have to be Commander."
"It's alright. You still need to rest after being injured. Why don't I help you to your room? I'm sure I can figure my way around after that."
He nodded slowly. "It's down the hall, last door on the right." He pushed himself up, scowling at the lack of strength in his legs.
She wrapped an arm around him and helped him walk slowly.
"Sorry about this. I should have gone to the infirmary." He kept his eyes on the floor as they walked.
"You're alright."
He raised his head, cocking an eyebrow at her. "You're nice. But I really shouldn't have left it to you. You're a guest here."
"I'm used to helping. I worked as a medic for a year at the village hospital."
"Still..I'm sorry. You're not staying and shouldn't have had to do this." He gave a yawn.
They got to his door, "Again, it's alright. Just get some rest. Guess I'm going to go try to get the courage to talk to Hammy."
"Talk to Balance if you need liquid courage. He's the gold idiot." Stinger gave her a small smile as he opened his door.
"Thanks."
The Sasori ranger stumbled to his bed, collapsing on his stomach with his feet sticking out. The blankets were bunched at the end of the bed, evidence of the ranger's slightly messy nature.
She smiled before heading to find her sister.
An hour later, she was leaving Hammy's room, wiping at the tears streaking her face. She found her way to the bay and climbed into her voyager, crying herself to sleep.
When Stinger awoke, he went looking for Hammy.
She was sitting in the kitchen, sniffling over a cup of hot cocoa.
"You okay?" He sat down beside her. "Guess your sister found you."
"Jark Matter killed my family.." Hammy said quietly. "Andy.." she sighed, "Andy was there and saw everything. She tried to save them but couldn't. I know she blames herself. I don't know what's worse, knowing my family is gone or not being able to help the one family member I have left."
Stinger winced at her words, memories threatening to break through his defenses. "I'm sorry."
"I tried to help Andy and talk more last night but she ran out of my room crying.."
"Damn. Hope she didn't crash her voyager."
"Her voyager hasn't left the bay yet. I saw her sleeping in there earlier. I just didn't know what to say when I woke her, so I let her sleep."
Stinger nodded. "She insisted on healing my injuries yesterday as well. Tried to stop her, but she's stubborner than you."
Hammy gave a small chuckle, "Yeah, she is. I know she was working at the hospital and learning to heal when I left. Apparently she's been out fighting Jark Matter for the last couple years though."
"She'd be a real asset in the infirmary, but I doubt she'll stay. She's more jumpy than I was." Stinger sighed as he stretched. "I don't even have any residual pain."
"I think part of her jumpiness was because of not wanting to tell me. She might be a bit better now if she doesn't fly off when she wakes." Hammy sighed, "If I asked her to stay, she'd think it's just because I want to watch over her. Which is probably partially true.."
"I could ask her. I mean, if you want me to." Stinger watched her quietly. "I could say it's just because she could help Raptor if we get into a bad fight."
Hammy nodded. "It'd be good for her. I think I might take a break and go home for a bit. She won't have to worry about me watching over her that way too."
"You sure?"
"I miss it, and should probably go check on the house if it's been empty a while."
"Alright. Be careful and don't be afraid to call if you need help." Stinger hugged her.
"Thank you. And call if you need me too."
He grinned. "You should probably pack while I go lasso us a new teammate."
Hammy chuckled before heading to her room.
Stinger went to the bay, entering slowly so as not to scare Andaka. "Can we talk?"
Her head popped up out of the voyager, wiping at her eyes. He could tell she hadn't slept well just by the bags under her eyes. "What's up?"
"How would you like a bed?"
She shrugged, "I've been sleeping in here for a couple years. I'm used to it."
He winced at her words. "No offense, but you look awful. I've slept in mine too and I know how uncomfortable it is. And what I meant, is how would you feel about staying? Raptor isn't here all the time and if we get into a bad fight, you could really help. It's completely your choice."
She looked thoughtful before nodding, "Alright. For a little bit, anyway."
He nodded before adding. "Hammy's leaving."
She frowned, "Why?"
"She says she misses home. She's been talking about becoming a teacher ever since we defeated Armage. I think she sees this as her chance." Stinger leaned against Andaka's voyager.
She nodded slowly, "She has always wanted to be a teacher.."
He straightened, looking at her. "You don't have to stay. And you can leave at any time. You're not a prisoner."
"Alright. Not sure how I'll be working with others though."
Stinger laughed out loud. "Sweetheart, we are all loners here. We sometimes barely tolerate each other because we all used to work alone. Or in Balance and Naga's case, together."
Andy took a deep breath, "Okay." She climbed out of the voyager, holding a small bag, "Where should I stay? I can bunk in Hammy's room if needed, we're used to sharing a room."
"Wouldn't you prefer your own? There are rooms available."
"As long as I'm not causing problems.. my own might be nice."
"No problem at all." He turned his back on her, muttering "Only to my libido" under his breath. He shook his head, raising his voice again. "Follow me."
She did as instructed, following slowly.
Soon, they were standing in front of a door. "Most of these are empty because the others are gone. Balance and Naga share a room around the corner. Tet and I have rooms around the corner as well."
She nodded quietly.
"It should be far enough away that you won't be disturbed by us."
"Alright. Thank you."
"You're welcome. You can have whatever you want in the kitchen. We don't have a cook anymore, so hopefully you aren't like Tet and can actually cook without setting anything on fire."
She chuckled, "Yeah, I can cook with no fires."
He looked at her quietly for several minutes.
She raised an eyebrow, "Something wrong?"
"Sorry. I was just enjoying your smile. You should do it more." He blushed and began to apologize. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I'll leave you alone now."
She blushed slightly, "It's alright. Thank you."
He mumbled a reply, then turned and ran, disappearing around the corner.
Andy entered her room, putting her bag on the floor before sitting down. She stared out the window for a few minutes before leaving to explore the ship. Around lunchtime, she made her way to the kitchen and began cooking.
The door opened to admit one of the rangers who had held her arms on the planet. He froze when he saw her, beginning to back out the door.
"Hey. I'm Andy."
"Tet. I'll go. Sorry if I disturbed you."
"Don't you want some food?"
"I don't want to take your meal. I'll be fine with one of these." He stepped over to the counter, grabbing a protein bar.
"I kind of cooked too much.." she admitted. "I'm used to cooking for orphanages or soup kitchens, so I made a decent sized batch without thinking.."
"If you're sure.."
She filled a bowl and held it out to him before making her own.
"Thank you." He took it, sitting down at one of the tables. He winced, adjusting his posture before starting to eat.
"Are you okay?"
"Just forgot about my stitches for a minute. I'll be okay in a minute." He pulled out a small bottle and swallowed a pill.
"It'll be easier if I just heal you," she answered, setting her bowl down before going to his side, holding her hands up and focusing.
"Don't want to cause any hassle." He shook his head and she was struck by his resemblance to Stinger.
"Well I just got asked to stay to help work in the infirmary, so it's kind of my job to help the injured," she smiled before asking, "Are you related to Stinger? You look a lot like him."
"We're cousins. His dad was my uncle."
Andy glanced at him a moment, "You don't have a tail though?"
"My mom's not Scorpius. I do however have poison claws, though they usually only come out if I'm fighting unmorphed."
"Nice," she smiled. "How are you feeling now?" She pulled her hands away.
He looked at her in amazement. "I feel like I wasn't injured...You are quite the medic."
She moved to sit across from him and started eating. "Guess that's why they want me to stay."
"You know you don't have to. We're all here of our own free will."
"I know." She was quiet a moment, "I've been on my own for a while now, maybe being around other people will be good. If not, I'll head out and keep doing my own thing."
He nodded. "You sound like me."
She gave him a small smile before continuing to eat.
Alarms suddenly began to blare through the ship.
"Jark Matter ships on our tail." Stinger's voice was strained.
Tet dropped his spoon and headed for the door.
"What can I do to help?" Andy asked quickly.
"Go see Raptor in the infirmary." He answered without stopping, disappearing just as the Orion rocked violently.
Andy headed to the infirmary and found Raptor. "What do you want me to do?"
"Be prepared. We may get alot of injuries, especially if we get hit more and something blows up on the ship."
Andy nodded and looked around the infirmary to get an idea of what supplies they had.
The ship rocked again and Raptor's hands clenched as she muttered what sounded like a prayer under her breath.
Andy took a deep breath, "Should we be helping fight too?"
"No doubt several of the team are already in their voyagers to help destroy the ships attacking us. You can be of more help here when casualties arrive."
"Don't you hate waiting?"
The android nodded. "Yes. But I'm also used to it, being here as long as I have."
Andy nodded, pacing the floor.
Finally, the ship stopped rocking and all went quiet. Naga's voice came through Raptor's blaster.
"Be ready for the injured. They are in bad shape."
Raptor sighed, waiting for the rangers to arrive.
Naga and Balance brought in Tet while Champ carried Stinger. Both men had multiple visible injuries. Andy went to check them over, tackling the worst injuries first. Tet bled from a gash on his head and had multiple broken ribs. Stinger had a few broken bones and what appeared to be burns over his arms.
Andy spent a while healing Tet before moving on to Stinger. When she was done, she sat down in a chair to rest.
"You were a big help." Raptor told her after getting the men settled into beds.
Andy nodded quietly as she watched the two men. After a few minutes, she slipped out of the room.
Raptor sighed, then turned away.
Andy cleaned up the kitchen then wandered the ship until she found a training room. She began throwing kunai into targets.
Champ came in quietly. "Aibou didn't stress you out, did he?"
She looked back for a second before shaking her head, "No one stressed me out."
"So you always throw things for the fun of it. I'll remember that."
"I used to do this daily as training. But I've been fighting almost daily so no time or need to keep up the training."
"Hate to tell you this, but you won't need to train here either."
"At least I might have time to now," she sighed. "All I've been doing the last two years is fighting or searching for food. Now I don't have to look for the fights or search for food, so I need to do something with my time."
The bull nodded. "When you're not healing or fighting with us, that is. My money is more healing than fighting."
Andy sighed, "I should be used to healing from my time at the hospital, but fighting for so long, I'm not. I'd rather be out there in the action."
"Sounds like Aibou and his idiot cousin." Champ snorted.
Andy chuckled softly as she pulled the kunais from the wall.
The bull shook his head. "Aibou had finally calmed down, then Tet showed up and took over where he left off. If I had blood pressure, it would be in orbit."
"I'm sure they aren't that bad."
"Should I list all the times Tet has gotten us in trouble? Or regale you with Aibou's antics?"
Andy gave a small smile, "That might be fun to hear."
"Which one? And fun is not associated with any of those stories."
"Do you guys do anything fun around here?
"Raptor has her fics. Balance and Naga have their treasure hunting. I wrestle occasionally. Aibou and Tet..not really."
Andy nodded, "And I'm sure Hammy is still obsessed with that ridiculous singer and probably spent her free time gushing over him?"
"Doesn't help that she met him." Champ snorted.
Andy rolled her eyes, "Of course."
"We ended up saving him from Jark Matter. He supported our fight after that."
"Well that's good at least."
"Aside from the never ending album playing."
Andy chuckled, "Yeah, she's been obsessed with him forever. Unfortunately I have all his songs memorized because of that."
"Our utmost sympathies." Stinger entered the room.
Andy gave a small laugh before turning back to continue throwing her kunai.
Stinger watched quietly before looking over at Champ. "I'm fine, so stop staring at me."
The bull snorted, then headed for the door. "I'll leave you two alone now."
Stinger rolled his eyes before sitting on the floor.
Once Andy had thrown them all again, she went about collecting them. She glanced over at him a moment before asking, "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine, thanks to you."
Andy nodded, "Good." She freed the last kunai from the wall.
"Just to let you know, Tet is in the brig."
Andy raised an eyebrow, "Why?"
"Because if he hadn't charged into the attack, neither of us would have gotten hurt. I swear, if he wasn't family, I would have dumped his ass back at headquarters."
"Well at least we beat them, right?"
"For now. They are getting bolder, attacking us first for once." He sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"Well, I'm sure we'll finish them off eventually."
"I thought they were. We destroyed Armage and for two years it was peaceful. Then suddenly Jark were back to their old tricks."
"It might have been peaceful where you guys were but it wasn't all over."
He winced. "Sorry. I guess we were spoiled being by Earth."
Andy shrugged, "There were a lot of places that didn't get the memo that Armage was gone."
Stinger nodded quietly. "We're still close to your planet, if you'd rather go home."
"Other than Hammy there's nothing for me there anymore." Andy answered. "Though there's not much anywhere else for me either. Fighting Jark Matter has been my only goal since they killed my family."
"You should be healing, not fighting. And I'm sure Hammy would like to spend time with you."
"Healing others I'm good at, myself on the other hand.." she sighed and shook her head before looking down, "Would you guys rather I go back with Hammy? I don't want to be a problem."
Stinger looked at her. "I just want you to know what you're getting into. Raptor says you were a real help, so I have no issue with you staying if you really want to."
"You know, on my planet, the medics often are out fighting too, and help afterward or during battle. It was a bit weird just waiting for the fight to end."
"We'll have planet side battles too. Probably sooner than later." He stopped, staring at her face with a tender, almost loving expression.
She raised an eyebrow for a moment before giving him a small smile, "Well, for now I kind of enjoy not having to search for food or sleep in a voyager, so I think I'll stick around a bit."
"Just don't get hurt. Or killed. I wouldn't be able to take it." He clapped a hand over his mouth in embarrassment, backing toward the door. "I-I didn't mean it like that!"
Andy chuckled softly, "Alright."
He closed his eyes as his back hit the wall. "I'm such an idiot."
Andy just stared at him with a soft smile.
After a moment, he cracked open one eye to look at her. "Don't hit me."
"Why would I hit you?" She asked gently.
His attention was drawn to her lips suddenly, and he idly wondered what it would be like to kiss them. He dragged his eyes up to hers with difficulty. "Sorry. What did you say?"
"I asked why would I hit you?" She had a soft smile on her face, so different from the girl who just wanted to fight.
His mouth was suddenly dry and were those butterflies he felt in his stomach? "I think I'm.."
She went over and put a hand on his arm, "Are you okay?"
He looked into her eyes, then was suddenly kissing her softly.
She was surprised but kissed back, feeling a rush of emotion.
When they parted, he took a deep breath. "Sorry. Not sure what came over me just now."
She was smiling again, "It's alright. Nothing to apologize about."
"I think I'm attracted to you.."
Andy was unsure what to say so she just pulled him in for another kiss.
He was startled, but was soon kissing her back with restrained ferocity.
After parting Andy looked at him for a moment before asking, "So.. what does this mean? Are we a thing?"
"Entirely up to you. If I'm going too fast, just slap me. Or if you don't want to, we can just call this a weird thank you and forget it happened."
"Why don't we have dinner together and get to know each other a bit more?"
He grinned. "I'd like that."
"I can cook something," she offered.
"Alright. Do you want some help or are you one of those who threatens to kill if anyone intrudes?"
Andy chuckled, "If you want to help, you can."
"Thank the gods you aren't like your sister."
Andy smiled, "We're really pretty different for having shared a room most of our lives."
He chuckled. "She threatened to pin my tail to a trophy wall once. Unattached."
"Ouch."
"I steered clear of the kitchen after that when it was her turn to cook."
Andy smiled then looked at the time, "Are you hungry now? We could head to the kitchen?"
He gave a soft smile. "Anything you say."
She grabbed the rest of her kunai and stashed them in her pockets before heading out of the room and holding the door for him. When they got to the kitchen she started pulling out ingredients from the fridge. She set a couple veggies on the counter, "If you want to help, you can cut those."
He bowed his head. "Your wish, my command." He started chopping.
She focused on getting the rest of the meal together and put it on a pan, then threw the veggies in when he was done. As she let it simmer, she looked over at him, "So, tell me more about you. I don't know a whole lot."
"What do you want to know?"
"Anything. What was your home like? What do you enjoy doing? Do you have any secret talents?" She chuckled, "Whatever you think of, I want to know."
"Desert planet. I sing." He answered with a shrug.
"There has to be more to you than that. And I'd like to hear you sing sometime."
He blushed slightly at that. "I'm not that interesting."
"You seem pretty interesting to me," she smiled before stirring the food. When it was done, she plated it up and handed him one.
He took it with a quiet "thank you", his eyes averted.
She sat down with her own plate and started eating as she watched him.
He took a deep breath, finally raising his eyes. "How did you get your kyutama?"
"I was on the planet Eshana. I learned some more healing techniques there. They had the kyutama but it started glowing when I got near it so they said it was meant to be mine and gave it to me."
He nodded as he ate. "Much nicer than the usual stories."
"How did you get yours?"
"It appeared after my planet was wiped out."
Andy winced, "Sorry."
"It's fine. Happened a long time ago."
"Still, it must have been hard."
"It was. Got harder when I met the insane dragon."
Andy raised an eyebrow.
"Our Commander. He recruited me to go undercover in Jark Matter before the team came together."
Andy nodded, "Was going undercover weird?"
"A little. But it helped me search for someone I need to find without questions being asked."
She nodded again, taking a bite of her food.
"To answer your second question, I don't have fun. I try to keep this team together and do reports."
She smirked, "We'll have to change that."
"Good luck." He finished his food. "This was nice, but duty calls."
She nodded and finished her food, taking their plates and starting to wash the dishes.
He sat watching her for a moment, then sighed and stood before heading for the door and disappearing.
She sighed, finishing cleaning up before heading to her room.
Stinger sat at his desk, papers scattered around him. His eyes were locked on the desk, but unseeing the reports. His mind replayed the dinner, alarm causing his stomach to churn. Why had he kissed her? Why had he told her about his past? What was wrong with him?
Andy stared at the ceiling, thinking about her time with Stinger. She had thought he was cute, but hadn't thought much of it until he kissed her. She felt so comfortable with him, and there was definitely a spark there. But was that enough? And he said he was attracted to her.. was it just her looks or would he like her personality too? She sighed, turning to look out the window at the stars.
Stinger finally shook his head, pushing the reports away. He contacted Champ, told him to let Tet out and that he was going to bed. He stood and headed for his room, lying on his bed. He tossed and turned until his eyes finally closed.
There was a knock on Andy's door.
Andy answered it, looking out into the hall.
Champ looked agitated, smoke coming from his nose. "I need your help."
"What's wrong?"
"Aibou..he's having one of his nightmares. I don't want to disturb Raptor while she's charging."
"What do you need me to do? A sedative? Or try to wake him?"
"It's too difficult to wake him. A sedative would be good, but I don't know if you'll be able to get close.."
"I'm a ninja, I have speed and sneakiness. I'm sure I can help."
"Then meet me outside his door?"
"Ok. I'll go prepare the sedative." A few minutes later, she arrived outside Stinger's room.
"ANIKI! WHY?" The scream was choked with tears and Champ sighed heavily.
"Dammit Aibou. Why this one again?" The bull pushed the door override, then pushed Andy aside as the door opened and Stinger's tail came hurtling past them.
Andy pulled out a kunai to help block any attacks before heading into the room.
Stinger was against his closed bathroom door, his tail retracting at a fast speed. His eyes were wide and unfocused, his breathing rapid. "Why kill them?" His voice was raw from screaming.
Andy looked at him sadly, wishing to help him. She started toward him slowly.
He tensed, his tail rising toward her.
She prepared to block, continuing to move slowly.
The stinger shot out, whizzing past her and burying itself in the wall as Stinger slid to the floor.
Andy went to him quickly, injecting the sedative. She checked his vitals before lifting him and placing him gently in the bed. She wrapped a blanket around him before going back into the hall.
"He alright?"
"Yeah."
The bull nodded. "Thank you for helping. I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing."
"Wasn't doing much," Andy admitted. "Let me know if you need anything else."
The bull nodded again before heading down the hall and disappearing.
Andy went to her room and tried to sleep, but after waking up to her own nightmares, she headed back to the training room.
"Heard my cousin went wild on you." Tet remarked as he pulled his sais from a target.
"His nightmare? Yeah, it was fine though."
"Sorry you had to see it."
She shook her head, "It's alright. I understand how bad nightmares can be."
"Yeah. Doubt you've ever attacked anyone during one, though."
"Never anyone around to attack."
His eyebrow raised, but he didn't say anything.
She pulled her kunais out and began throwing them at a target.
"He hadn't had one in awhile. Wonder what set him off?" Tet threw his sais in quick succession at his target.
Andy sighed, "Probably me. We were talking, he mentioned about his planet being wiped out. Figure his nightmare was related."
"Maybe. Maybe not. He's never really gotten over it. My idiot ass getting hurt may have stirred stuff up too."
Andy threw more kunai in silence.
He went to the target, then sighed. "I'll leave now. Pretty sure you wanted to be alone."
"It's fine. You were here first." She answered. "And I just didn't know what else to do but come here. I already spent hours staring at the stars."
He nodded. "I'm done. I just needed to tire myself out. You don't need to deal with a case of Antares your first night aboard."
She raised an eyebrow but shrugged before pulling her kunai from the wall.
"Believe me. You'll feel worse. Especially since you won't be able to save me if it happens." Tet began heading for the door.
Andy just shot him a confused look.
He paused, then explained. "A clan technique that poisons us. It's fatal, no antidote."
"There has to be a way to make an antidote," Andy looked thoughtful.
"Someone would have to test it. Problem is, if it doesn't work, there aren't any retries."
Andy nodded.
"Good night." The half Scorpius ranger left the training room.
Andy went back to throwing kunai, eventually moving on to practicing a few of her jutsus. She lost track of time, not realizing it was morning already.
The door opened, Champ entering. "There you are."
"What's up?"
"Did you sleep at all?"
"Maybe a couple hours."
"Moo. You're as bad as the baka cousins. By the way, Aibou is hiding from everyone."
"Why?"
"He's embarrassed and angry at himself. Nothing new. Just wanted to let you know so you wouldn't be worried if you don't see him."
"Thanks. Do you know where he's hiding? Figure he'd need to eat, even if I just drop a plate outside the door."
"In his room. Doubtful he'll eat though."
Andy shrugged, "Doesn't hurt to try if I'm already cooking for myself, right?"
The bull chuckled. "Good luck."
Andy gave him a small smile before going to the kitchen and making breakfast. She filled a plate and took it to Stinger's door, setting it on a tray outside his room. She knocked softly before starting back down the hall.
The door cracked open. "Andy?"
She turned back, "Hey. I brought you some food. That way you could keep hiding if you wanted but still get something to eat."
"I'm sorry you saw me like that."
"It's alright. Everyone has nightmares."
He snorted, bending to pick up the plate. "Would you like.." He shook his head, beginning to reclose the door.
Andy sighed, "Have fun, I guess. I'll bring lunch by later."
"Stay with me, please?"
"Are you sure? I don't want to bother you if you want to be alone."
He nodded. "I don't want to be. Just figured you had better things to do and didn't want to see me."
"Why wouldn't I want to see you?"
"I almost stung you?"
Andy rolled her eyes, "No big deal."
His eyes went wide. "Are you kidding? Your sister hit me when it happened to her."
"I'm not her."
Stinger let out a choked laugh. "I'm quickly discovering that."
Andy gave a small smile.
"I mean it though. If you have something better to do, you don't have to stick around." He dropped his eyes to the plate. "Thanks for the food."
"I don't have anything better to do. I spent most of the night in the training room, so I should probably stay out of there for a few hours at least." She chuckled.
"I should let you sleep then."
"I'm fine. I got a couple hours."
"You should take better care of yourself." He put the plate down, stepping over the tray to cup her cheek tenderly.
"Between being used to not sleeping much in the voyager and nightmares, a couple hours is doing good."
"I'd ask something, but it might be too forward." A hint of a smile tugged at his lips.
Andy raised an eyebrow, "Ask away."
"I'm still pretty tired. Just woke up because whatever you gave me wore off. Maybe we could sleep together?" He quickly added "Purely platonic. Separate sides of the bed or I'll sleep on the floor."
Andy looked thoughtful before nodding, "Separate sides sound good."
He fought another smile, opening the door to admit her. He looked at the bed for a moment, then pulled a blanket off and began to fold his jacket into a makeshift pillow on the floor.
"If you don't want to share the bed, I can take the floor. This is your room, afterall."
He shook his head. "Forgot how small the beds are. And secondly, a gentleman never lets a lady sleep on the floor if at all possible. I'm used to sleeping on the ground."
"The beds are kind of small. But if I lay on my side, I won't take up much room."
His face went slightly red. "If you insist."
Andy gave him a small smile before sitting on the bed.
He put the blanket back on the bed, debating on removing his shirt or not. He decided against it, quickly wrapping himself in the blanket, careful not to touch Andy in any way.
Andy laid down on her side at the edge of the bed, trying to make sure he had as much room as possible.
Stinger fought the urge to wrap his arms and tail around her. He must have been out of his mind if he thought he could sleep this close to her..
Andy closed her eyes, half wishing she could cuddle against him. She let out a small sigh before trying to get to sleep.
"Something wrong?" His voice broke the silence.
She shook her head, "No. I'm fine."
The room went quiet again, then he quickly sat up.
She opened her eyes, "Are you okay? If this is too weird, I can leave.."
"What is it about you? Why does not holding you make my heart ache?" His eyes glittered in the low light.
She was quiet as she answered, "You can hold me, if you want to."
"I don't want to force anything." He ran a hand through his hair.
"You aren't."
"You sure?" He watched her face.
She nodded and moved a bit closer to him.
His arms wrapped around her, his breath exhaling in a rush.
She cuddled into him, "You're so comfy."
He chuckled in her ear as he got situated. "So are you. It's like my arms remember this somehow.."
She gave him a small smile before closing her eyes again.
His eyes closed as well, sleep dragging him under soon after.
Her breathing evened out as she fell asleep too.
She woke slowly, remembering where she was. She was still in Stinger's arms and she felt something around her leg which she guessed was his tail.
His eyes blinked open and he suddenly reddened, jumping out of the bed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry!"
"For what?" She asked in confusion.
"My tail. That shouldn't have happened."
"It's alright," Andy gave him a soft smile.
His eyes softened before he gave a hard swallow. "Gods, I feel like putty right now."
Andy chuckled before motioning to the bed, "You going to at least sit back down?"
"That smile…" He weakly collapsed on the end of the bed. "You know that's a dangerous weapon, right?"
She laughed in response.
He looked at her, his eyes completely starstruck.
She sat up and moved to him, kissing him softly.
He growled low in his throat, wrapping his hands in her hair as he deepened the kiss.
She had one hand wrapped in his hair while her other rested gently on his chest.
Finally, he drew back. "You feel so right. This feels so right. How can it be?"
She smiled, "You feel right too."
He chuckled. "Wish we could stay like this."
She looked at him softly, her voice light, "Why can't we?"
"Because I have to go run herd on this team of crazies. And we are still sadly at war."
"Right.. for a moment I forgot about all of that."
"Me too."
Andy glanced at the time, "I think that's the longest I've slept in months.."
He grinned. "Good to know I helped."
She looked down nervously for a moment, "Would you want to date?"
"I warn you, I'm not a catch."
She chuckled, "Neither am I."
He snorted, then kissed her again softly. "Lunch date? If nothing happens."
"Sure," she smiled.
"Wish me luck. I expect to get hit by Tet." He wryly chuckled.
"Well, if you do, I'll heal you up."
He laughed, rising from the bed and heading for the door. "Have fun."
She got up and followed him, "Any chance the ship has a library?"
"Deck 4."
"Thanks. I'll probably be there if you need me."
"Okyu." He headed down the hall, gave a little wave and disappeared.
Andy stood there for a moment before taking a deep breath and heading toward deck 4.
Stinger stepped onto the bridge to a smirk from Tet.
"Sleep well, cousin?"
"Shut up Tet. Or I'll put you back in the brig and forget the code." Stinger sat down in his chair.
Tet did as asked, but kept the grin. "No sign of the ships that attacked us."
Stinger nodded in relief. "Any reports of attacks anywhere?"
"Not so far. What are the chances they slept in?"
"Betting slim to none. Keep scanning comms."
Andy looked around the large library in amazement. Her village library was nothing compared to this. She went around and glanced at some books, grabbing a couple and sitting down in a chair, curling up and beginning to read, losing track of the time.
As the day went on, Stinger got more and more anxious. He finally turned command over to Champ, deciding to get a cup of coffee to calm his nerves. He headed for the kitchen, his mind wandering to Andy. He had no idea what it was about her, but he felt safe in her arms. He shook his head, grabbing his cup and filling it. He sat down and tried to relax.
Andy was brought out of the story she was reading when her stomach rumbled. She took the book with her, reading as she walked down the hall. She finally entered the kitchen, still engrossed in her book.
"Hey sweetheart."
Andy looked up in surprise, "You'd think with my skills I'd have known you were here, but when I start reading I tend to lose track of everything.." She chuckled. "Want some lunch?"
He gave her a small smile. "Not sure my stomach can handle any."
"What's wrong?" she sat down across from him and set her book aside.
"Too quiet. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop." He sighed and stared into his cup.
"I have quite a few sources who keep me updated on Jark movements, if you would rather go attacking first."
He narrowed his eyes. "Might be nice to get in the first punch for a change."
Andy shrugged, "That's how I operate. Though they never really tried coming after me in the first place."
"Lucky you."
"One of the perks of working alone and moving around so much," she admitted. "How do you not get restless staying on the ship so much?"
"Who says I don't? I've just learned it's better to have a team for backup. Or at least my Aibou. I learned my lesson years ago. It took me almost dying to do it, but I learned."
Andy nodded slowly. "Guess I haven't yet. Though this is the first time not working on my own."
"You will." He took her hand. "Believe me, I remember the feeling. Ask Champ or Balance sometime how I introduced myself."
She squeezed his hand lightly, "I haven't really opened up to anyone like this in years. You make it easy to talk to you."
He snorted. "Both my Aibou and my cousin would disagree with you."
"Well, I find it easy to talk to you," she gave him a small smile.
He gave her a smile that dimpled his cheeks. "You're biased."
She shrugged, "I've known you less than a week, I can't be that biased."
"Wanna bet? Kotaro was here for three days before he started calling me Aniki."
"That's cute," she smirked.
"I didn't think so. He was all of ten and I was so not interested."
"You sound like you'd be grumpy and unfriendly, but you aren't like that around me."
"I've had a few years practice, sweetheart. I was the epitome of grumpy and unfriendly."
"I feel almost the opposite. I used to be nice and friendly to everyone, but being on my own so long has made me more guarded."
"I was never mr friendly, but I was nicer before my brother…" He cut the statement off, shaking his head. "Let's just say I went to a bad place and it took Kotaro and Champ to drag me out. Even then, it was kicking and screaming."
She gave him a small smile in response.
"Listen to me. You don't want to hear this." He headed for the coffee machine again.
"I want to hear everything about you," she answered softly.
He shook his head. "No, you don't. Why don't you eat something, then you can find me some Jark jerks to practice my spear on?"
"Alright," she sighed and stood, heading to the fridge and grabbing something small to eat.
He had another cup of coffee as he watched her eat.
She pulled out a small device from her pocket and started scrolling through intel.
He forced himself not to tap his foot, taking a deep breath.
She finished eating before looking back up from the device, "Where are we right now, anyway?"
He consulted his blaster. "Calidus is a half hour away."
She pulled up a map and pinpointed the other planets, "Alright. There's a heavy amount of troops gathering on Mareydon. It's not too far from here."
Stinger nodded, crossing to her side and kissing her quickly before disappearing out the door.
She sighed, cleaning up her plate before taking the book to her room.
Stinger informed the others of his plan, then left the bridge. He headed for Andy's room, stopping in front of her door. He lifted his hand to knock, then paused. Would this be a good idea?
Her door opened and she slightly jumped in surprise at his presence.
"Sorry." He rubbed his neck nervously, fidgeting.
"What's up?"
"We're getting ready to hit Jark. I was going to ask if you wanted to come along."
She nodded, "Of course I do."
He took a deep breath. "Alright. Be ready to go in twenty."
She nodded again, reaching into her room to grab her blaster. "Ready. Are we meeting in the bay?"
"Yeah."
"I'll let you go get ready then," she answered before kissing his cheek and heading down the hall.
He smiled to himself before returning to the bridge to update Shou.
Twenty minutes later, they were gathered in the bay.
"Hit hard and fast. See how many we can put down before they retaliate. Pull out if it gets too hairy. Don't want to have to break in new recruits yet."
Andy gave a nod.
The others did the same, then climbed into their voyagers and launched.
Stinger went to her side. "Be careful, okay?"
"You too."
He gave her a smile, then climbed into Sasori voyager and launched.
She climbed into the Iruka voyager and headed toward the planet. When she landed, she glimpsed the troops and morphed, starting to throw kunai into them.
Stinger was slashing with his spear furiously, his tail stinging indavers almost as fast.
Andy rushed forward, shooting at a group of indavers as she pulled kunai from the dead ones. She slashed at a few before noticing a building in the distance. She began moving toward it as she took down more of the troops.
Stinger looked up, noticing her movement. He stung several indavers following her before catching up. "What's going on?"
"There's a building over there," Andy pointed. "Was going to see if there was anything important in there we could use or blow up."
He snickered. "Let's go then."
She nodded and started back toward the building.
He followed, his eyes scanning for troops as they went.
When she got to the building, she peeked into the window, "There's more troops inside and it looks like they are building weapons."
"Let's go ruin their day." Stinger gave her a nod.
Andy headed into the building, beginning to shoot at the indavers.
Stinger did the same, then paused as he saw a hallway. He split off from Andy, finding himself in a cellblock. Only one was occupied, an unconscious male inside with the marks of severe beatings. He shot the lock, entering and checking him over.
Andy continued to take out indavers. She jumped back, avoiding an attack and suddenly realizing there were too many indavers for her to take out herself. She looked around and wondered where Stinger went as she narrowly avoided another attack. She used a jutsu to shoot flame out at them, pushing them away so she could back up and get space between them.
A malistrate appeared at the other end of the building, noticing the commotion.
A hand suddenly jerked her backwards.
She quickly looked back to see who the hand belonged to.
"Hold your fire, sweetheart. Let me deal with the malistrate while you heal him." Stinger showed the man to her before readying his spear.
Andy sighed, moving to kneel by the man. She held her hands out and began to heal him. She occasionally threw kunai at indavers who approached, trying to keep them back from her patient.
Stinger attacked, his spear being batted aside repeatedly. He growled, moving in closer to attack again. Suddenly he felt a burning sensation in his hands. Looking down, he recoiled at the sight of a red fluid coating both his gloves and spear.
The malistrate laughed as the scorpion dropped the weapon. "That will do you no good. My poison is already in your bloodstream. All I have to do is wait, then I can kill that pretty little girl too."
Stinger tried to call a warning, but his throat closed up and he fell, struggling for air as fire seemed to explode all over his body. He began to crawl toward the cell where Andy was, but lost consciousness halfway, demorphing.
Andy finished healing the man, standing back up and looking out of the cell. She froze when she noticed Stinger on the ground. She quickly called the team, "We need backup in the building. Stinger's down."
Champ acknowledged as the malistrate smiled at her. "You should worry about yourself, little girl."
Andy growled, preparing to attack. She began by throwing kunai at him in quick succession.
He batted them aside, then ran at her. Red liquid beaded on his claws and his smile got bigger. "Time to join him in death."
Andy noticed the liquid and jumped back to try to avoid the claws. She fell back, tripping over a downed indaver. He sliced at her and she let out a cry of pain as she unmorphed. She struggled to push herself up, using the fire jutsu to consume him in flame.
Pain was beginning to fill her as she made her way to Stinger's side. She quickly checked his pulse and panicked when she couldn't find one. She tried CPR for a few moments, hoping to get his heart pumping again. She pushed energy into him in another attempt to save him. After a minute, she let go, tears streaking her face. The pain was becoming unbearable as she cried. "Please... You don't deserve to die..." After a minute, light shone from her kyutama, covering Stinger in light.
Champ arrived at that moment, taken aback as Stinger suddenly arched his back and inhaled sharply. He noticed the other man stumble out of the hallway, but ignored him to race to Andy's side. "Are you alright?'
"The malistrate had poison..." Andy choked out. "But Stinger's alive, so it's okay.." She was on her knees, swaying to the side.
"Moo, hang in there." The bull called for his voyager as he scooped Andy into his arms, then set course for the Orion. "Raptor, we'll need an antidote made as fast as you can check Andy's blood."
Raptor acknowledged quickly, then Champ was alerting Naga and Balance to bring both Stinger and the unknown man back with them when they returned. As they also acknowledged, Champ looked down at Andy's pale face and prayed.
Andy woke slowly, confusion on her face when she realized she was in the infirmary.
Champ sat beside her, his eyes dim as he conserved power. As if sensing her wakefulness, they brightened and he asked "How do you feel?"
"Alright. I thought I was dead.."
"You came very close. But Raptor was able to synthesize an antidote rather quickly."
"Where's Stinger? Is he okay?"
Champ sighed. "He's alive, apparently thanks to your kyutama. Okay is another matter." He looked over at the other bed. "The poison was neutralized, but it caused quite a bit of damage."
Andy pushed herself up, going over to Stinger and holding her hands out. They began glowing and light poured into Stinger as Andy checked him over and began trying to heal him.
"Moo, you should be resting."
Andy ignored his words, continuing to heal Stinger. After twenty minutes, she grew dizzy and swayed, grasping the bed for support.
"Andy! Get back in bed this instant!" Raptor barked as she entered the main infirmary.
Andy sighed, making her way to the bed and sitting down.
Champ snorted, then asked "Who is the man I found with you?"
Andy shook her head, "He was pretty beat up and I healed him, but I don't know who he is."
"He's being insistent on leaving. Says he doesn't need any help to kill Jark Matter."
"If he doesn't want to stay, why make him?"
"Because he's going to get himself killed." Tet leaned in the doorway. "Plus he has a kyutama."
Andy nodded, "So what's your plan to keep him here?"
"Right now he's in the brig. I'm not sure how to convince him to stay. I don't have the silver tongue Stinger has."
"I'll go talk to him. Not sure I'll be much help though."
"You understand being on your own, from what Aibou has said." Champ watched her quietly. "Not sure you can get down there on your own though."
"I'm still new to the whole working with people thing. Not sure I can make someone else want to stay but I'll try." She pushed herself back up and slowly made her way to the door.
"Let me help you." Tet wrapped an arm around her waist as she approached him.
Andy sighed but nodded, moving out into the hallway.
Tet slowly brought her to the brig door. "Code to the cells is a285. I'll leave you alone."
"Thank you," she said quietly.
"Least I can do since you kept Stinger from dying." He walked down the hall and disappeared.
Andy entered, finding where the man was being held and sitting outside the cell quietly.
"Let me out! You've got no reason to hold me." His blue eyes were blazing, his voice angry.
"I know. Unfortunately I'm not in charge of letting people out," she looked at him.
"So who is? And why are you here then?"
"Our commander. He's out right now due to poison." She looked down, "Just wanted to make sure you were okay. Physically, at least. I was the one who healed up your injuries."
"Thanks for that. So the one with the tail is the head of this group?"
"I mean, there are people higher than him, but day to day stuff, he's in charge."
"Who are you guys anyway?"
"The Kyurangers. I mean, I don't really feel like I'm part of the group yet since I'm new here but.." she trailed off. "I hear you have a kyutama which makes you one of us. Not that you have to stay or listen to Stinger though."
His face went deadly still, his eyes becoming cold. "You're the so called saviors?" The word was mocking.
She looked down at the ground, "Well, they did take out Armage, so they're doing something decent at least."
"Tell that to my planet."
"What happened?"
"Jark Matter wiped us out, is what happened. And even though we called, not one of them came to help!" He pulled out his kyutama and threw it across the cell. "Bastards, all of them."
"They aren't the gods! They can't be everywhere at once. Can you?"
He stared at her, his eyes sad. "Why didn't they help us? I heard Armage was killed years ago."
"They've been trying to help people since then too." Andy sighed. "Look, I don't know why they weren't there, other than they were probably helping another planet out. Like I said, I'm new here. But I am sorry I didn't make it to your planet to help out. I moved around a lot, helping different planets the best I could, but again, I can't be everywhere either.."
He sighed, slumping to the cot. "You were on your own too?"
"My planet still stands but Jark killed my family, except my sister, one of the original Kyurangers. She was off with them and with no reason to stay, I left and started fighting Jark Matter. I've been fighting alone the last two years, until about a week ago when they found me. They aren't making me stay, but I figured a bed and free food would be nice for a little while, even if it means playing nice with others."
He gave her a wry chuckle. "Never been one of my strong suits either. They really don't mind that you aren't totally committed to the team thing?"
"As Stinger told me, they all used to be loners. Stinger probably was the worst of them from what I hear. But he says he learned working together has benefits. I haven't particularly figured that lesson out myself, but I trust him."
The man frowned, then sighed. "You mentioned free food?"
Andy gave him a small smile, "I'll go cook you something." She pushed herself up, leaning against the cell for a moment.
"You were hurt, weren't you?"
"Oh just some slashes and poison.. Not enough to stop me."
"I shouldn't bother you. I can wait."
"It's alright. I'll be back in a bit. Might take me a little longer than usual but I'm sure I can make something decent."
"If you're sure." His eyes watched her closely.
She turned away to start out of the brig but then turned back, "I'm Andy, by the way."
"Kiba."
Andy smiled before leaving and heading to the kitchen. Like she thought, she was moving slower than usual, but she put together something and carried a tray back down to the brig.
He was standing with his back to her, flapping a pair of powder blue wings repetitively in the air.
"Those are pretty," she said quietly as she slid the tray into the cell.
He jumped, whirling as the wings vanished. "Didn't hear you come in. And thanks." He sat down after picking up the tray. "Any idea when I can get out of here?"
"I tried to heal Stinger, so he's doing a bit better. If Raptor isn't in there, I'll work on healing him again so hopefully he'll be awake soon." She then smirked, "And I'm a ninja, I tend to be quiet when moving around."
"I'll keep that in mind." He began to eat, his eyes going wide. "You really made this?"
"Yeah.. is it okay?"
"It's amazing! And I'm not just saying that because I can't remember the last time I ate, either."
"My mom taught me how to cook, then I picked up more tricks when I would travel, helping out at soup kitchens or orphanages."
He nodded, trying to eat slowly.
Andy smiled, "I guess I'll go check on Stinger, that way he can get you out of here sooner."
"Will you come back?"
"Do you want me to?"
"It's nice to have someone to talk to."
"Alright. Well, I might wear myself out healing, but if I'm still conscious, I'll come back down."
"Don't force yourself on my account." He slid the now empty tray back to her. "Thanks for the food."
"You're welcome." She grinned before taking the tray and heading out of the brig. She took the tray to the kitchen then went to the infirmary, glancing in to see if Raptor was there.
The room was empty aside from Stinger, who appeared to be still unconscious.
Andy went to his side and began healing him again, trying to make sure the damage from the poison was gone. She worked for a while before feeling dizzy again. She moved a chair over and sat beside Stinger, watching him quietly.
"Get me out of here." The scorpion's voice was tired but strong.
"Out of the infirmary?" She raised an eyebrow.
He opened his eyes and began to nod, then stopped and looked at her critically. "You look like you should be in bed beside me."
"I have one over there. I've been ignoring it."
His lips quirked up slightly. "Why, may I ask? And what the hell happened anyway?"
"Well, I've healed you a few times, and I've been down in the brig talking to our guest. They locked him up so he wouldn't just leave like he wanted to."
"Why is that? We aren't jailers. And you didn't answer my question. What the hell happened to me?"
"Tet said Kiba will get himself killed. Also he has a kyutama? I don't know, but I told Kiba you were in charge of letting people out." She gave him a small smile before looking down. "I don't entirely know what happened.. it.." she shook her head.
Stinger sat up slowly. "My cousin would know all about getting himself killed." He frowned, cupping her cheek. "Please tell me what happened, sweetheart."
"You were down so I tried to take out the malistrate. He got me but I ended up destroying him. By the time I got to you..." she looked away with tears in her eyes, "You.. you were dead.. I tried saving you with my healing and CPR, but it wasn't working.. Finally, my kyutama started glowing and light surrounded you and you were alive again."
He took a deep breath. "Wow.. wonder how many more chances I have? Are you alright?"
She wiped at her eyes and nodded, "I'm fine, don't worry about me."
"Not ever going to happen, sweetheart. Now, Kiba, is it? You get any information out of him? Like what the hell he was doing beaten almost to death?"
"His planet was destroyed by Jark. He doesn't like the Kyurangers because they didn't save his planet. He has really pretty wings.." She shrugged. "That's about it."
"He doesn't like us, but he has a kyutama? Guess the universe has a bigger sense of humor than I thought."
"He seems pretty nice once he calms down."
"You could say the same thing about me. Wait, he has wings? What color?"
"Light blue?"
Stinger froze."Shit. The universe hates me."
"What?"
"He's Kularan. Warrior class."
"Okay? And?"
"Kulara sent out a distress call three years ago while we were on Earth. Shou said there was no way to get there in time, and afterward.. I kinda forgot about it."
Andy nodded slowly.
"The Warrior class has a death pledge against those who wrong them. He'll kill me if he can."
"Why don't you talk to him? Maybe if he sees you aren't bad he won't."
"If he doesn't, he will have broken his oath and would have to destroy himself instead." Stinger sighed. "Take me to him."
Andy slowly stood then helped him off the bed.
Stinger winced slightly, then made his face impassive. "I want you to leave after we get to the brig."
"Why?"
"Because you'll try to stop him."
"And you don't want me to?"
"He has a right to his revenge. Don't let the others stop him from leaving either."
Andy nodded slowly, taking a deep breath.
He watched her, then shook his head. "On second thought, I'll go see him alone."
Andy let him go, "Are you sure?"
He shook his head. "I don't want to, but he deserves closure…"
"There has to be some other way," Andy answered.
"I don't know of one." He sighed heavily.
"Why don't I go with you? We can try talking to him?"
"Alright. But if it doesn't work.."
"Let's just try, okay?" She put an arm around him and started toward the brig.
Kiba looked up as they entered. "No offense Andy, but should you have brought him down here? He looks like he'll fall over if you let him go."
Andy shrugged, "He wanted to come down here."
Stinger stepped over to the keypad, typing in the code to release the force field. Then he kneeled, causing Kiba to narrow his eyes.
"I submit to your death pledge. I will not fight, nor run. Accept my surrender for your revenge."
Kiba looked startled, his eyes straying to Andy.
Andy just kinda shrugged, "He thinks you want to kill him because the Kyurangers didn't save your planet."
"Why him though?"
She shrugged again. "Probably since he's the current commander."
"But he wasn't the commander when it happened." Kiba knelt to meet Stinger's eyes. "You are not to blame, Commander. You are absolved of any fault. You are quite honorable and brave."
Stinger shook his head. "I'm actually frozen in fear right now. But I knew of your oath and you deserve closure. So I chose to try to give it to you."
"There's ways of closure other than killing people, you know," Andy spoke.
"We aren't refined, like you women. We tend to kill and break things." Kiba said wryly.
Andy rolled her eyes in response.
"Um, sweetheart?"
"Hmm?"
"I wasn't kidding about being frozen. Help me up?"
Andy chuckled softly and wrapped an arm around him, pulling him up to his feet.
He gave her a thankful look, then swayed. "Woah. Stop the room.."
"Let's get you back to the infirmary so you can rest more."
"Prefer my room, but I can't really argue at the moment."
"Alright, your room is fine." She began to lead him out.
Kiba stood in the deactivated cell, looking hesitant.
"Come on. I can show you a room if you want to stay a bit or if you really want to leave, I'm not stopping you," Andy said back to him.
"I think I'd like to stay for awhile, if you don't mind."
Andy smiled, "Sounds good. Let me get him to his room then I'll assign you one." Andy held Stinger up though her own exhaustion was getting to her. She could rest once everyone else was settled.
"Let me help. Just lead the way." Kiba wrapped his arm around the scorpion's waist and walking beside her.
Andy led him to Stinger's room, opening the door to admit them. "Let's get him to the bed, that way he doesn't collapse on the floor."
Kiba nodded, laying the now unconscious man on the bed and covering him with a blanket. "He still looks bad."
Andy nodded, "I'll let Raptor know where he is so she can keep an eye on him while I get some rest."
Kiba nodded, heading back into the hall. "Maybe I should go back to the brig until you're better."
"It's fine. We aren't going too far." She picked up Stinger's tablet and double checked the room list before leaving and closing the door. She started down another hallway, unlocking a door and opening it. "Here. Better than the brig, right?"
He chuckled. "Yeah. Thanks for everything, even though I caused trouble."
"You're fine, don't worry about it," she smiled. "My room is just down the hall if you need me."
He nodded, then entered and shut the door.
Andy went to her room, contacted Raptor, then collapsed on her bed, falling asleep in seconds.