The Price of Infamy Pt. 02

Obeying his order, Kyla and the man took a sharp right turn into another corridor and stopped to see what the captain was about to do. Fatima disregarded the laser bolts passing him and stood in the middle of the corridor, aiming carefully in the direction they had come from. "Stupid macho!" Kyla muttered, obviously criticising his bravado. She had no idea that with only one good eye, Fatima's dimensional perception was screwed so he couldn't shoot from around the corner. He pulled the trigger three times rapidly and jumped for cover. The next moment, shards of metal and icicles of frozen oxygen shot through the corridor. He didn't want to think what happened to the attackers who were in the middle of it when the tanks exploded. If the shockwave hadn't broken every bone in their bodies then the rapidly expanding and freezing gas chunks must have pierced their bodies, killing most and severely wounding the rest.

"Let's move," he said, getting up. "We'll join Danny on our way. See if we can help anyone leave this coffin," Fatima added bitterly. Ever since he could remember, the base was more of a home to him than the Eridanian Royal Palace he had been born in. And after his father's death, whenThe Sneezing Kraken became his, he felt that his life as a royalty was done with. He was a pirate now and only Old Maison insisted on reminding him of his status and heritage.

The comm crackled and erupted with a cacophony of cries and blaring alarms; Fatima could almost see the red lights blinking in his head. "Captain! Come in, captain!" the first mate's voice was barely audible over the noise and static.

"What is it? We're coming back!" Fatima answered.

"Captain... under attack... en ship in the... shadow... couldn't detect h..."

"Depart,Kraken, escape! We cannot afford to lose you!" he shouted frantically while running, fear and panic rising in him more and more.

"...n't read you... evacuate!... try to buy you... ime..." the communication ended with an explosion that sent even more static into the channel, forcing him to shut it off. Without realising it, he had stopped, his left hand pressed to the helmet where the communicator was. As he raised his head, he saw the questioning looks on his companions' faces.

"TheKraken..." he rasped.

"We don't have time for this!" Kyla snapped irritably and stomped her foot. "Let's go!"

Reluctantly his legs moved and soon they were once again running to the exit.

*

Kyla's legs burned by the time they hit the front of the base, almost colliding with the other half of the crew. Bodies pushed and shuffled, squeezing past each other and finally bursting through the front and into the open. Panting, Kyla looked over at Danny who was bent at the hip, his hands braced on his knees as he tried to catch a decent breath.

"God damn, those bastards..." he huffed.

A couple of shouts from the others made her look up. A large alien ship hovered over the base. Fatima in particular looked stunned as the blasts of enemy fire countered theKraken'sattempts to buy more time to escape.

"No!" She heard him rasp out, his voice gruff and holding a hint of panic. "Abort! Damn it!" The sheer mass of the alien's ship doubled that of theKraken. Fatima slapped his helmet, trying to get the comm to work. "Do you read!? This is a direct order from the captain. ABORT!!!"

Another round of fire lit up space, sending sparks and one large explosion to the side of theKraken. Kyla moved them, pushing the other's toward the shuttle. "Go...get out of here!"

Danny gave her a brisk salute and again her stomach sank. She wanted to curse Fatima for this, but knew it would serve no purpose. Waving him on, she grabbed Fatima by the arm and tugged with all she had. He stumbled and looked down at her. "Lets go Captain. I don't want to face any more of those rabid carnivores!"

Finally reality began to register in his eye as he blinked away the shock and moved. Together they ran to the one man pod, sliding their bodies inside. "Buckle up!" She ordered, sealing the pod and powering up the engine. "Time to fly!"

*

With Kyla taking their pod through the pre-flight procedure, Fatima switched one of the monitors to display the battle overhead and winced, realising that his ship was losing the fight.The Sneezing Kraken was a light cruiser so she had more manoeuvrability than firepower, even with her impressive array of hi-tec weaponry. The alien ship, on the other hand, was a huge, hulking destroyer, slow and bulky but powerful and resistant, its port laser batteries mercilessly showering theKraken's remaining shields with fire. Fatima opened a comm channel, "Meet on Zin, in the city of Rralara within a week. Those who don't make it will be left behind." A wave of confirmations and acknowledgments followed so he switched the communicator off and cringed, seeing another line of explosions along his ship's sleek lines.

"What about theKraken?" Kyla said as she slowly eased the pod off the landing pad and accelerated, making a dive along the base's wall, taking them away from the enemy firing range.

"They have their own procedures. If they make it one piece they will retreat to Epsilon Pegasi for repairs and wait for everyone to reach her there," Fatima answered, feeling more and more weary. He released the seals of his helmet and took it off.

"But that's two systems away!" Kyla protested. "How are we supposed to get there in this ramshackle bucket of bolts?!"

"That's why I said to meet on Zin. We'll be taking an intergalactic shuttle from there."

"Why Zin? It's a smuggling den. Finding a pilot willing to transport you so far will cost a fortune!"

"I have my ways, Banana."

"Oh, don't call me that!" she grumbled and elbowed him in the chest.

"Stop wiggling or we'll have two disasters on hand."

"Eh? Why two?" She asked, springing the trap.

"One, you'll crash us into one of those asteroids and we'll be dancing void waltz till the end of time. Two, your cute little ass is dangerously close to my strategic parts. If you think you can give me a boner and get away with it then you're in for a surprise," Fatima chuckled and embraced Kyla from behind, pulling her to rest against him.

"Let go, you pig!" she squirmed, trying hard to keep them on steady course.

"Oh come on, don't be like... Holy crap!" he exclaimed suddenly, seeing theKraken blink out in white lines.

"What? What?" Kyla inquired, suddenly forgetting his arms holding her and trying to see what was on the monitor.

"When I find out which bastard made the jump in the asteroid field I'll have his guts! At least they're safe," he breathed a sigh of relief.

"They whooped your ass hard, didn't they?"

"Yeah, I'm wondering about one thing, though."

"Oh, do tell," Kyla said sarcastically.

"Why the weapon platforms didn't fire upon the enemy? If they were sabotaged they should have attacked us and yet they remained silent. It's strange."

"You and your problems..."

"Well then," Fatima started and his hand sneaked to Kyla's shoulder to pull on the zipper of her suit, "now that we are away from danger how about we get to know each other a little better, hmm?"

*

Kyla hissed and slapped at Fatima's attempt to undo her zipper, making him laugh. "Pay attention to the flight, Banana. Would want to crash, now would we?"

"If you don't let go, I'll send us flying into an asteroid on purpose!" She swore, trying to wiggle away and keep the ship on course as well.

Fatima didn't believe her, knowing full well the girl had balls, but they weren't brassy enough to do something that stupid. "What's the harm in a little play, hmmm? Release a little stress."

Kyla pulled away, jerking her shoulders as his fingers snapped the safety tabs of her helmet and pulled it off. Green, silky hair spilled out down her back and over her shoulders and instantly his hands were in it with a pleased sigh. With surprising gentleness, he ran the strands through his fingers, enjoying the texture and marveling at the odd color her had created earlier. Kyla felt her scalp tingle and muscles suddenly relax. She remembered days when Danny used to do that to her and send her to sleep after rough days of training. Only she hated him for making her feel this way. Gritting her teeth, she fought the sudden need to lean back and enjoy the feel of each strand being sifted through and her scalp gently massaged.

Tips of his fingers brushed along the backs of her ears and down her neck, drawing an involuntary shiver down her spine. She gasped and he chuckled deeply, leaning up and pushing her hair to the side to plant a kiss against her bare skin. She gasped and jerked away as if burned, sending another swift elbow back into his middle.

He let out a grunt and coughed. "Kinky...but not quite the roughness I enjoy...why so hostile?"

"I don't want you to touching me! Zip my suit back up properly too!" She grit out angrily.

"Why? You were purring just a second ago...maybe little Kyla isn't so immune to the big bad pirate, hmmm?" He teased, his voice husky and smooth, prepared to receive another blow this time as he reached for her zipper, but instead of pulling it up, he pulled it further down, baring smooth arm skin.

"FATIMA!" She yelled, only to be hushed, his body shifting against hers as his fingers trailed over her bare skin. "OH! You arrogant jerk! I swear, if you don't stop, I'm going to...what are you...are you listening to me...you...Fatima...stop!" Her last words squeaked out as his lips brushed up against her neck and trailed to her bare shoulder, inhaling her sent and moaning softly in appreciation. The sound and his touch were surprisingly nice...making her stomach dip and quiver as his one arm snuck around and pulled her closer. She wiggled, trying to get away, but he wasn't letting go. Instead his warm mouth and tongue trailed wet kisses down her bare arm and back up again.

Torn between rage and something entirely new to her, Kyla tried pulling away, even as her body responded to his kisses and strength, she wasn't about to let go and loose control like the easy little bird brained women he was so fond of.

*

"You know, once you get used to the colour, green skin can be sexy too," Fatima muttered behind Kyla, his breath tickling the short hairs on the back of her neck, making her squirm. He slowly kissed his way towards her left shoulder, his fingers lightly following the trail his lips were leaving and sneaking under her suit, trying to pull it lower. His left hand pulled the zipper even lower and sneaked under the tight fabric, touching the sensitive skin of her side and belly. She jerked and shivered when he tickled her lightly.

"Stop it! You're distracting me!" Kyla breathed, her voice a mixture of annoyance and surprise. Fatima wouldn't listen though and continued his ministrations to her neck while his hands encircled her, opening the halves of the suit further and freeing her breasts from the tight confines. Slowly his fingers inched upwards. She was protesting and squirming but with each passing moment her protests were becoming weaker.

Kyla's close presence, her warmth and scent and defiant nature had their effect on him as well and he was starting to feel a very uncomfortable erection. He moved his hips trying to accommodate for the small amount of space down there in hope of relieving some of the pressure when he felt warm fingers squeezing his thigh, sending a jolt of sudden pleasure through his body.She's getting into it, he thought and smiled to himself, nibbling on the skin at the base of Kyla's neck.

"Say, Banana, shouldn't you be keeping both your hands on the controls?" he mumbled, licking his way up her neck when the hand on his leg moved up. "Not that I mind, you know..."

"What are you talking about?!" Kyla asked, trying to turn her head to look at him. Suddenly they were face to face, less than an inch separating their noses. Her breath tickled his cheek. Looking past her, now green too, eyes he noticed that she was indeed keeping both her hands on the console.

"You sure you haven't grown another arm while I wasn't looking?" he whispered, still feeling the pulsating squeeze on his thigh.

Kyla blinked at him and turned back to the monitors slowly. "You're crazy," she said.

"If I'm crazy then who the hell is squeezing my leg right now?" Fatima said, suddenly realising that something was wrong. The fingers of the hand touching him were exceptionally long and soft.

"Oh damn!" Kyla suddenly cried when she looked down at his thigh, forgetting she was on the verge of being half-naked. "What is this?!"

"What?" he questioned and tried looking over her shoulder but she suddenly started moving left as if trying to keep away from his right leg. The small cockpit allowed little movement so for a second they fought to find a good position and when he was finally able to look he was made speechless.

On his thigh nestled a small, octopus-like creature that wrapped its long, fluffy tentacles around his leg. It was covered in long, violet fur and was watching him and Kyla with big, white, completely unblinking eyes. "What the hell..." Fatima started but at the same time the creature decided to act. It detached itself from his leg and lunged at Kyla's face with a shrill KREEE.

"Eeek!" she cried and shielded her face with her hands, making the craft sway to the left suddenly.

"Steady, Bana...!" Fatima started but then Kyla jerked and smashed the back of her head against his face. The next moment red lights exploded and he wasn't sure whether some alarm turned on or it was just his vision blurring after the impact.

Kyla was screaming and flailing around fighting with the violet invader so he blindly reached past her and grabbed the controls, steadying their flight.

*

First rule taught: Never trust any fuzzy cute creatures in space. The strange violet fur ball was a vicious little devil. The poisonous sting of it's tentacles on her bare skin made her scream and thrash as it wrapped itself around her arm, trying to get access to her face.

"Get off! Get off!!!" She screeched in rage and fear, undeterred by the head butt she administered to Fatima as she frantically worked to get the creature off of her.

Behind her, Fatima was trying to reach the controls as the craft tilted dangerously, moving off course. Frustrated, she flailled, jacking her arm out and away from her face to bash the furry octopus-like creature into the cockpit window. "Get the fuck off!!!" She yelled, panting as the thing squeaked and gurgled, tightening it's hold and staring at her before it's face suddenly split open, revealing razor sharp teeth.

"NO! NO NO NO!" Adrenaline sent her into another frenzy. Forgetting about Fatima's attempt at flying, she flung her arm back down, knocking the captain's hands away and shoving him back to squeeze a booted foot up. Pinned back by her body weight, all he could do was pull his own leg up as she tried to scrap the alien off her arm like a barnacle. It whine and made strange little high pitched sounds as Kyla whimpered and gasped in pain. Grabbing her by the hips, he pulled her up onto his lap fully and leaned them both forward, using his own foot to help her. Several tentacles ripped away, oozing a white goo everywhere before the stubborn parasite gave way only to be stomped to death by Kyla's boots.

Trembling and breathless, she slumped back against Fatima's chest, her arm on fire and bleeding. Fatima was trying to grab a hold of the controls again as he fished for something to stop the bleeding, but both his actions were too slow as he attention focused away from the scene before him. Kyla cursed and turned into him, flinging him back against the seat and shielding him with her body.

The first hit to the ship jerked them hard, knocking the breaths out of both passengers before the second sent them into a dizzying out of control spin.

*

"Whoaaaa shiiiiiit!" Fatima gasped as the ship started suddenly spinning out of control. Alarms were ringing left and right, informing them that subsequent systems were malfunctioning and switching off. Fumbling for a first-aid kit he hoped that at least the life-support wouldn't die on them. "Hang in there," he hissed partially to the ship and partially to Kyla who was now limply lying against him, cradling her mutilated arm to her body. Only now did he taste blood and reactively his fingers reached to his face to find a split lip and his nose broken. In the mayhem that had played he barely had time to register his own injury.

Fatima breathed a relieved sigh when his fingers reached the first-aid box under the pilot's seat and for a moment he fought to keep it from sliding away in the carousel of the spinning pod. It move into his hand, pinning it to a gun compartment and painfully crushing his fingers in the process but he managed to retain his grip on the box and lifted it to put it on his leg. "Still with me, Banana? Shut up already!" he cried and kicked at the console in front. The alarms stopped but the cockpit lights also died leaving only the controls' lights and the stars outside to light the small interior. Surprisingly the flight evened out as well but the constant throbbing of engines started slowing down. Soon they would be adrift without the means to manoeuvre the ship.

Kyla whined and turned a little. Even green as she was there was a paleness to her features now and Fatima was afraid she could be in shock. He move her so she was sitting sideways in his lap. "This will sting a little," he mumbled as he fished a dermospray canister from the box and applied the film of healing balm directly to her wound. She groaned, hissed and then cursed, writhing in his embrace. A sickly smell of burned flesh filled the cockpit as the most seriously damaged tissues were consumed by the chemical. "Right," Fatima muttered, licking blood from his lips and taking out a thin, silvery syringe. "I hope you aren't allergic to nanos," he said and stuck the needle in the middle of the mutilated flesh and injecting half the contents of the syringe into Kyla's arm. She was still for a second and then her body went rigid and bent backwards, her hands clutching his forearm tightly, nails burying into his skin. A long gurgle escaped from her mouth and then she was limp again, unconscious from the terrible pain of reconstructing flesh. Carefully he pulled a protective sleeve around the healing area and tightened it.

"Right then," Fatima said and gritting his teeth he felt his swelling nose. It hurt like hell and tears swirled in his eyes when he straightened it unprofessionally. Sticking the nano-needle into his upper lip just below his nose he prayed for enough time to take it out before the convulsions start. Pain erupted in his face and with the last effort of will he threw the syringe to the floor, contracting all his muscles to remain in place.

He had no idea how much time had passed before he was able to think straight again. His whole face throbbed numbly and felt nausea approaching but gulping saliva a few times calmed his stomach down a little. Kyla was still unconscious or asleep so he decided to try to regain some control of their craft with the limited reach that he had and soon found that the ship had suffered serious damage from that crash. They were doomed to drift until they reached the gravity well of some heavenly body. He hoped it wouldn't be a star.

Kyla wasn't sure how much time had passed, only that her body felt on fire. Groaning, her eyes fluttered open, staring up into the brilliant green eye of Fatima. "Welcome back." He murmured, one of his hands gently caressing the new skin of her bare arm. It was surprisingly soothing, but also unnerving as the front of her suit still gaped open, giving him an eye full of her full, firm breasts.