Chapter Seven-Communication

"He's calling again?" Raven's tone showed she was clearly annoyed. Cyborg hit the receive button on the dash.

"Yes Beast boy," He asked already certain he knew what this call was about. Same thing the last three calls were about.

"Dude, this guy is seriously scary. Haven't you caught up to them yet?"

"Man, you have gotta cool it for now."

"He keeps sneaking up behind me and getting too close. He keeps asking me weird questions like why I'm green. Plus the two guards are eating all our food. It's s not cool!"

"We're doing the best we can. I can't fly any faster here, okay?" Cyborg's tone was firm.

"Okay but if he asks me one more weird question I'm gonna lock myself in my room." With that said, the call was ended.

"What a baby," Raven rolled her eyes and leaned on her hand.

"You can't blame him. I'm sure you wouldn't be your normal calm self if you stayed behind."

"If it was me I'd make sure that doctor would be gone by the time you got back with Robin." Cyborg smirked at that. Starfire remained quiet, fidgeting in her seat and staring into the darkness outside the window. Space was usually something she enjoyed however on this trip she had too many other things on her mind.

"Star, you can't be this mopey. That's Raven's job." Cyborg glanced back at her. He had hoped his joke would at least get her to smile but she just sighed quietly.

"I do not wish to be the mopey. I am just worried."

"We're gonna find him, Star. Then we'll get back home and you two can go back to being awkward." He managed to get the corner of her mouth to pull up slightly.

"Or make the rest of us feel awkward," Raven added. Starfire was feeling cold again and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"The tracker is heading right for Rann just like we thought. Says we'll be coming up on it in several hours."

"Um, Raven...would you be able to maybe check on Robin? Are you able to reach him from here?" Raven sucked in a breath.

"I'll see what I can do." She closed her eyes and quietly said her typical spell. She knew it was a long shot but if they were close to the other ship it was possible to reach him.

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At some point, Robin had passed out ruining Blackfire's fun. Eventually she left him unconscious to contact her client. The connection was clear confirming they were getting close to the planet.

"Why are you calling," The woman on the other end asked in a low but demeaning tone. She wore a dark cloak that covered most of her face.

"Hey, I'm just checking in. Wanted to let you know I got that sample you asked for."

"I should have known you were this thick. I can't be seen speaking with you. I am sending you a map. It'll show you were the back entrance is when you get here. That's where you need to meet me. This needs to be kept quiet. No one can know I am doing business with you. Got it." The curt response caused Blackfire to sneer. There was no point arguing though.

"Yeah yeah. Don't get all the secrecy but whatever." With that the line went dead. Blackfire slouched in her seat. As much as she couldn't stand the attitude of the Rannian people, they were compensating her in a way that would make her comfortable for a long time. They had even provided her with the ship she was currently using. She was convinced they had more money then sense. When she was hired the request had been simple. She had been asked to get a male human of breeding age. There had been no other specifics given but she knew exactly who she was going to go after. Initially she didn't need to know any more details but now she couldn't help but be curious. From what she knew about the Rannians, while they were very advance in their technology, they had a superiority complex when it came to other species. Humans weren't particularly significant in the grand scheme of the universe so she didn't understand the need they would have for a human. Blackfire had been to several planets in her travels and knew of better species that would be of more use. Probably would have been easier to capture for her as well.

The other part that didn't make any sense to her was why they wanted a human specifically for breeding purposes. It was a well known fact that the entire Rannian race were sterile. As much as they looked down on other races, in the end they would all die out. This thought brought a small glimmer of joy to her heart. Maybe they thought there was a way to reproduce with humans. To her it was quite the odd loophole but no matter what the reason they wanted Robin, she really didn't need to know why. Really didn't matter to her anyway since it worked to her benefit in the long run. Once this job was done, she would have a new ship, be well compensated, Robin would no longer be her problem and her sister would be miserable. She couldn't help but smile at thought.

Pushing away from the console, she flew back to her cargo. Robin was still out and there was a good chance he would sleep the rest of the trip to Rann. Blackfire was somewhat disappointed but then she really wasn't allow to do too much to him anyway. If she showed up with him bloody and bruised it might effect the amount of her payment. Deciding it wasn't worth it, she left him.