Sholan Alliance - AU Bk. 02 Ch. 02

He turned to Vangie and spoke in English. "Follow the course they are going to send and once we get to the planet I will take over. I have to land both vessels and that isn't easy." Billy turned back to the Captain. "I am turning my bridge over to Vangie and he will follow your instructions. I am going to take a break since I am going to have to take the two ships down since they are in tow."

Billy stood and walked out of the bridge and to his stateroom and collapsed on the bed. The headaches and body aches were getting worse. The meds were not helping and it was almost like he could feel Satasha in the back of his mind. Even imagining her presence helped somewhat and before he realized it he had fallen asleep again.

~~~

Back on the barque things were going reasonably well for the most part. The women who had been rescued had showered daily and been fed well. They were slowly regaining their strength and their physical wounds were starting to heal as well. Their mental wounds were a totally different matter at the moment. Any time a male came even relatively close who wasn't one of the warriors that saved them they tended to huddle in a corner.

One of the four warriors or the three women had to be there at any time someone else was in the room. With Crystal it had to be either Sally or Kingie that was with her. The others were okay but she would still cower till they left. Kingie ended up sleeping in the room next to her bed so she could even vaguely sleep. One morning he woke to find her curled in his arms and sleeping soundly.

To say he almost freaked out was an understatement. He had been tired enough after getting the women fed and in bed that he had fallen into a deep sleep. He hadn't really expected Crystal to get out of bed and curl up in his arms. Kingie had to admit that she looked more relaxed than she had the night before. "Oh hell what do I do now?"

He lay there till Sally walked in and when she couldn't help but grin at him he growled quietly. "I did nothing and knew not that she was here till I woke up."

Sally came over and settled down. "I know better than to think you might have tried taken advantage of her. You are a good male Kingie." She reached over and gently stroked Crystal's face. "Hey love you need to wake up. Kingie needs the bathroom and breakfast will be here shortly." She kept up the gentle stroking till the girl started to wake up and then moved back from her.

She yawned and stretched and snuggled a bit closer. "No wanna wake." It was rather obvious she was still extremely exhausted and really didn't want to move.

Sally moved a bit closer to her. "Come here love and I will sit with you till Kingie gets back." She gently pulled her to her side and stroked her hair. Kingie came out a few minutes later and headed for the door since it just buzzed. When he opened it the smell of some more thick broth wafted into the room. Sally sniffed. "Oh man that smells good. I am starving."

Kingie picked Crystal up and carried over to the table and settled her down. "Eat Crystal. Let your strength come back to you." He settled down next to her and held the bowl for her so she could eat without making a mess.

She gave him a tiny smile and started eating. Crystal was being slow when it came to eating since it had upset her stomach slightly last night. As she was eating Sally was helping the older ladies over to the table. She gave them a shy smile as well. "Morning."

One lady grinned but took a bite and sort of waved her spoon at her. For now she was concentrating on the food. She was working very hard not to scarf it down but it was damn hard. About the only thing that could be heard from her was chewing and mmm's.

Sally and Kingie settled down to a regular meal and made sure that the others didn't over eat. Once they were done the women were leaning back and looked fairly content. "Time for another shower I think." Angel said and stretched. "And then a nap I think."

Kingie looked at Crystal and the others. "If you feel up to it you can shower on your own or Sally can help you. If you need more help I will get the other two to help you." He started collecting the dishes and put them on the tray to be taken away. When he turned back Crystal was trying to get to him.

When he moved forward to catch her she clutched at him. She looked up at him and then buried her head in his chest. "Please don't leave me. It is stupid but right now I only trust you." She started sobbing as she was speaking. "I can't do it by myself. I can barely be in the dark without screaming."

Kingie wrapped his arms around her and looked at Sally with a sort of terrified expression. He had no idea what to do about or with Crystal. He was a warrior and when in battle the injured were sent behind the lines. If it was a civilian they were treated and he never saw them again.

*Warrior this is the tutor and listen closely. I am not sure why but she has focused on you as the one who can still her nightmares. She knows that you will hold her while she screams and remembers. Give that to her warrior. Give her the space she needs to really start healing. As you told her treat her as if she was your little sister. If you have questions come to me son and I will answer as best I can.*

He pulled her a bit closer and held her. "Then that is what I will do Kitling. As of now you are one of my little sisters." Kingie leaned back a bit and smiled at her. "Mind you that means I might occasionally tickle you and when you are better chase you around and tug on your braid." He lightly tapped her nose as he grinned at her.

She actually giggled a bit before leaning into his warmth. "I know I am asking a great deal Kingie but..." Crystal settled for closing her eyes and relaxing against him. "Thank you and I think I would like a shower as well. Would you do my hair and back?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "I think I am seeing the future now... Kingie do this, Kingie do that, Kingie..." Just for good measure he scooped her up and sighed sadly just for good measure and tried to look pathetic. All that got him was some snickers from the others. It was what he was intending and he smiled gently at them.

Savanna grinned slightly. "Well Kingie once you are done... I am going to ask Crystal if I can borrow you to wash my hair."

He grumbled at her. "Sorry but I am younger than you are. " Kingie would let them wonder just how old he was. It would be good for them. After they walked into the shower area she pointed to the bathroom.

Once Kingie had set her down she went in and closed the door. A few minutes later she came out and he was already undressed and had the water running and warmed up. It was the shower closest to the bathroom. "Come in, the water is warm."

She blushed slightly and gave him a good look and then frowned. "Um, if you don't mind a personal question but you said you were male but..." Crystal looked away when she said that.

Kingie looked startled and then grinned. "You wouldn't have known but our genitals are kept internally till stimulated." He held a hand out and waited for her to strip down and then gently pulled her into the shower and faced her away from him. "Just relax as I work on your hair." It was still a mess but was better than the day before.

Towards the end Marcella walked in and froze. "I am not going to shower with him in here. She can bring her bed toy in with but I will not shower while he is in here." Her face showed rage and anger at the sight of Kingie working on her lower legs.

He stood up and snarled at her. "I am not a bed toy and you have no cause to speak to Crystal that way. If you can't deal with my helping her to bathe that is your problem. We will be done shortly." He could feel Crystal start to tremble as he stood. "Calmly little one she won't hurt you." He rested his hands on her shoulders and lightly massaged them.

Marcella snarled back as Z'Marl sort of shrink back from the human female. "I see you have broken him to your commands. How typical." Her expression showed derision as she spoke. "Little slut just can't wait to..." That was as far as she get.

Kingie was suddenly next to her and his hand was around her throat. His teeth were bared and he was growling. "If you ever speak to her or any of the women like that again I will have you taken to the brig. You will then have your own room and shower to use." He shoved her out of the shower area.

He yowled out a command and the warrior outside the door hurried in. "You will remain in the room. If this female causes any problems inform me." Kingie stalked back into the shower area and over to Crystal. "You did not deserve that little one and she will not bother you again." He started working on her legs again.

Eventually they were done and once she was dried off. Kingie wrapped a thick toweling robe around her and picked her up. "You said you might want a nap. I will curl up with you and protect you Crystal." He was still angry with that other woman. She had struck a nerve and he was going to keep an eye on her since something was being played false.

The other two had come in while he had been finishing her up and Angel had lightly touched his shoulder. "Good for you Kingie and I don't like her either. Take care of our little girl." She turned and stripped down and started getting cleaned up.

Crystal leaned into him and closed her eyes and some tears slowly trickled out. What Marcella had said had really hurt and felt like a dagger had plunged into her heart. Who would ever want her now? Who would love her and someday when she was ready take someone to bed. She had been dirtied and soiled and everyone would know that.

Kingie could smell her distress and tears. There were other odors coming from her but he couldn't identify what they might signify. He just wasn't familiar enough with human scents to be able to identify them. "It will eventually be okay Crystal. It is going to take time to recover and no it won't ever completely go away but you will grow past it." He settled down on the bed and carefully lay down and curled around her. "She will never bother you again."

He started purring quietly in her ear and tried to project comfort and sleepiness. When Savanna came over and settled down on the pillow he had used the night before and started stroking her hair. "We will keep that bitch from you. You will be as safe and protected as we can make you." The other two women were going to be watching as well. She didn't realize it but they were starting to gather around her even more now than on the pirate ship.

~~~

Sally casually swapped rooms with Z'Marl and started keeping an eye on Marcella. She couldn't really explain it but she didn't trust her any further than she could throw her out of an airlock. Z'Marl was too nice of a person to deal with her. Sally had grown up under her father's tutelage and she didn't have any problem dealing with her.

From watching the other two women they didn't particularly care for her either but they didn't totally freeze her out. From what Satasha and Sally could see it was sort of a case of 'we made it through' feeling. There wasn't any sort of other emotional bond between the three such as seemed to be forming in the other room. The two women were settling in reasonably well and were working on getting to know Satasha and Sally.

Both of them had talked about what was going on in the other room and had grinned. "Poor Kingie, I think he is getting run ragged over there. I think they have all adopted him as an older brother or younger brother." Sally couldn't help but snicker when she said that. At the moment they were showering and Sally was working the shampoo into her fur on her back.

Satasha snickered back. "I have talked to Z'Marl and she was saying much the same. If she wasn't in there the poor boy would be worn to the bone." She thought it was good for the ladies that he was in there. Physically they were starting to recover though the emotional damage would take much longer. Both knew that but really had no idea of how long it would take them to recover. Each female would recover at their own rate. Some might never really recover totally and it was going to be hardest on them.

On the morning of the fourth day when they dropped out of hyper Kingie woke to find Crystal clutching his chest fur and light robe. She was shaking badly and sobbing in fear. His first thought was Marcella had somehow managed to get to her. His eyes narrowed and traveled the room but everyone else was asleep. He couldn't scent that female in the room what so ever so he knew it wasn't that.

Once he was satisfied that there wasn't any physical threat and that Crystal hadn't been threatened he gently touched her cheek. "Hey sweetie what is wrong? Bad nightmare?" He gently stroked her hair and didn't really think as he leaned down and lightly licked the tears from her face. "Tell me about it Crystal. Sometimes it helps to talk about it and I am here to listen."

She shook her head since she knew she would get rejected. She simply remained curled up holding his fur and robe. Crystal knew if she exposed her fears a warrior like Kingie he would laugh and call her silly. For the moment she wasn't really thinking. How he had cared for her as well as the other two didn't cross her mind. Not only that but the way he had defended her from Marcella didn't either. When he started lightly licking her face it tickled but that was it.

"Come on loverling tell me what has you in such a state. I will hold you till you are done crying if needed before we talk. I do want to know what has you so upset though." When she clenched his fur even more he had to wince since it did hurt but he wasn't going to say anything. Instead his low soft purr started as he tried to comfort her as best possible.

It took some time and he could hear the other ladies waking up. Since he was facing them he could tell that they were being very quiet. Kingie assumed it was to give him time to try and help Crystal and he twitched an ear at them.

She cried for a while longer before she was finally able to talk to him. "I am scared Kingie. I am so scared of reaching Earth." She knew her family would come and her mother would be upset. The trip she had gone on had been Crystal's idea and she had really pushed for it. Her mother would blame her for causing the family problems. Added to that was knowing that she was going to be rejected by everyone. She would be rejected because of what had happened to her. It wasn't her fault but she would still be rejected except for scum that was turned on by that sort of thing.

Kingie gave a slow nod. "I am not sure what you are scared of but a number of possibilities come to mind." Damn it she had a strong grasp. "Can you do me a favor and let go of the fur? You are sort of pulling it." When she did he urged her to wrap one of her arms around him and to hold on. "What has you so scared? Please tell me and I will listen as carefully as I can."

It took her a force of will to release her grip but she did and wrapped an arm around him. She clung on for dear life and buried her face in his chest. Crystal could probably talk to him as long as she wasn't actually looking at him or anyone else. She tried to speak and had to swallow before she could. "I am scared that I am going to be rejected. It wasn't my fault what happened but everyone is going to know and reject me. I have been soiled and corrupted and nobody will ever want me again."

Z'Marl quietly moved over and settled down on a pillow and lightly touched her before resting her head against Crystal's back and started purring. She didn't say anything but simply purred as she tried to give as much comfort as she could.

Kingie looked at the top of her head and tucked a finger under her chin and urged her to look at him. "Look at me Crystal and listen to what I have to say. This goes for all of you in this room as well." The other two were sitting up and had Sally between them. All of them were having variations of this fear and they were carefully watching Kingie to see what he would do.

"Crystal you were forcibly raped and abused. I am sure you fought as much as you could and the same for the rest. The simple fact is that there were far more males than you could defend against. They were going to do what they wanted no matter what you tried to do to resist." Now she was looking at him and she was looking stricken. "The one fact you are forgetting is that you are alive and it is going to take time but you will get better. All of you will end up with some mental and emotional side effects and I won't lie about that."

He carefully sat up and wrapped his arms around her and held her close to his chest before he continued speaking. "For you, you are a minor and your images and information will not be given to the press or anyone else without you and your parents' permission." He knew that eventually it would be put out there because someone would spill the beans. Right now he was trying to calm her down.

When he forced her to look at him was how gentle his chocolate brown eyes looked. There was resolve and a hint of hardness to them as well. Crystal knew it wasn't for her but for the ones that had done this. She had seen him in the shower any number of times but for some reason the chocolate brown of his fur stuck out. There were highlights of a sort of creamy brown fur as well. As he wrapped his arms around her she did the same and sighed in contentment. Crystal was starting to calm down and in his arms felt very safe. There wasn't anything sexual to it which helped her a great deal.

"As far as I am concerned you are a very brave girl and if someone rejects you simply because, they are idiots. You are a little fighter and I know that you will fight what happened to you kicking and screaming." He was starting to purr again. "You remind me of my youngest sister. She is about twelve turns old and a little scrapper." He grinned lightly when he said that. "I am surprised she hasn't driven our parents to drinking. Don't ever challenge her by saying she can't do something." He couldn't help but smile even wider as he thought of some of the things she had done.

"You have not been defiled and corrupted. Again I will say this and keep saying it. You had no choice and couldn't fight that many men. Eventually you probably had to give in and let them do what they wanted. That is protecting yourself and doing your best to survive another day. Some might call that the weaklings way out but it isn't. It takes a very strong warrior to do what is needed to survive and get back home. In a warriors case it is usually in the hopes they have information that can help. In your case it was to get back to your family and friends."

When he talked about his youngest sister she couldn't help but give him a sort of grin. She sounded like a feisty girl. "I think I would like to meet her someday. She sounds like she has run you ragged as well." Crystal wrinkled her nose at him when she said that and then sighed and leaned back against him. "I will try to believe that but..." She simply sighed again and rested against him.

"One more thing and then it will be time for breakfast. "Has anyone in here rejected you? I know that Angle and Savanna were abused as well but they haven't refused to have anything to do with you have they? Z'Marl is leaning against you and trying to give you comfort and so has Sally and Satasha." He stroked her back. "I know they are females but have I rejected you? Have any of the warriors on this ship rejected you?"

The next bit was likely to startle most of the women and especially Crystal. "I know for a fact that most of the warriors that have dealt with most of you ladies respect you deeply. You went through L'Shoh's caves of ice but came through in the end." Just for good measure he had to tease her. "I think they are considering asking you to be their mascot as well."