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_ Captive _

For Dax / Orion

Tech moved fast in this system. Clients accepting DNA scans of their targets remotely sure helped reduce the legwork that came with bounty hunting. In fact, it allowed Orion to kill two birds with one stone; he needn't travel all the way to Rizou to collect the credits owed to him, and he needn't worry about finding lunch any longer...

Things weren't settled on this latest hunt, however. He'd roundly disposed of seven members of the Redclaws, a band of space pirates he'd been tasked with hunting down. As for the eighth... that was looking like a special case.

With the auto-nav set and his ship navigating its way to his next destination, Orion hopped from his pilot's chair, padding casually back towards his living quarters.

Standing little more than four feet tall, Orion's ship, 'Ol' Reliable', never failed to remind him of his smaller than average stature. His custom-built chair aside, from the controls to the fixtures, everything else aboard had been built with someone taller in mind. It conspired to make his life and his work that much more challenging, if not irritating at times, but the brown-furred raccoon always found a way to rise above it. In fact, on this occasion, his thick, ringed tail swayed hard in tandem with his musing over how he could wind down on the journey ahead. A glint in his eye and a shallow, creeping smile came with ideas on how he could include the latest victim of his trusty shrink ray in those plans. Why get down on his stature when he could laud a good few hundred comparative feet on height over someone instead?

The door to his quarters slid open, revealing his most personal space. His bed and the floor surrounding it sat littered with clothes, joined by a few books and old magazines. Across the room meanwhile, his workbench stood full of tools and spare parts, scattered around the homemade pistol he'd been busy working on. Opposite the door, framing it all, a large window allowed a look out into the cold darkness of deep space.

"I think you've had yerself enough time alone here," Orion crowed, eyes fixed upon the waist pouch he'd left on his bed. "Can't have ya getting too comfy."

He started forward, smile growing ever more crooked. While most of his targets did what they could to put up a short-lived fight, Orion was no stranger to those that saw fit to grow a sudden acquiescence upon getting zapped down to size. The throwing up of paws, the begging for mercy: he'd seen it all before and then some. But, on this occasion... it was different. All the praying he'd heard, all of the pleading, Orion would object to calling them heartstrings, but it'd tugged at something hard enough for the raccoon to approach things differently...

"Get out here." He took his pouch in the paw of his self-made cybernetic left arm, tugging it open with the other before shaking out its contents. A bundle of white bounced free, barrelling a short way across the bed. "Just because I didn't put you the same place as the rest of your crew, that don't mean I'm through with you yet."

Silent, a snow-furred bear lied in a awkward heap, staring up to see Orion's smile shift to resemble a scowl. The silence ended there.

"Please, please!" The bear struggled up onto his knees. "I promise! Like I told ya." He made it up to his feet... to stand a full three inches. "I'll go, I'll disappear--"

"Pipe down," Orion stormed, dropping the pouch within a hair's breadth of his captive. Arms folded, his tail swung and flicked away. "Nothing you say is gonna sway me."

The cocky swagger with which the raccoon rounded the bed was a far cry from back down on the surface. Broad and bulky, looming almost double Orion's height, the bear clearly served as the grunt of the crew. At least he did, before he and the rest of them had been suitably cut down to size.

"What are you gonna do with me?"

Orion stopped to leave himself backed by the endless space beyond the window. His captive cowered lower yet. "Why spoil the surprise?"

For a good twenty minutes, Orion made a point of pottering about his bedroom. A quick fiddle with his pistol project here, a short shift of his dirty laundry there, he let the tension build and hang heavy in the air. To say he got a kick out of this would be an understatement. Besides, noone in their right mind would leave any space for sympathy when it came to space pirates. The types that'd sell their own grandmother twice over just to get that coin. Most occasions, he'd have likely dragged this out for twice as long, leaving him to really stew in his own thoughts. Hell, if he'd have really been in a mood, Orion might've just cut things short and shoved him someplace even more... imposing. But again, just like before, something struck different, sending pity, remorse even, through the bounty hunting raccoon's thoughts.

"So what, you're just gonna sit there?" Orion asked from his workbench. "No screaming? No promises of violence once you 'get back to full size'?"

No answer. Nothing more than a squeak of a sniffle. He glanced back over his shoulder, then turned fully to face his bed. Legs crossed, head hanging, the tiny bear hadn't moved from where he'd come tumbling to a halt.

"You've not even questioned my parentage yet," he added, offering a scoff of laughter. "You ain't like any other pirate I've caught before."

Finally. Movement. A small white face lifted to peer up at him. "I'm _not_like any other pirate you've caught before."

Intriguing. Orion leaned back against his bench, stroking his chin, rolling those words over. This truly was uncharted territory. "What's your name?"

The bear's ears pricked up, posture gaining a whole tenth of an inch. "What?"

"Your name?" Orion started a slow walk back towards his bed. "Figure I should know it if we're gonna have such an in depth conversation as this."

His head cocked. "Daris."

"Daris." He put on a calm smile, towering over the bed and the bear alike. "Well, Daris, to answer your earlier question, I'm taking you to Dalmir." A sharper shift of Daris' head asked him to add, "I know a guy there. Plenty'll pay a premium for the likes of you."

"Pay?"

"Are you for real?" Orion's turn to send out a sideways look. "Micros go for good credits on the black market. Especially ones as built as you."

Daris' jaw dropped. "You're gonna sell me?"

"Better that than what happened to the rest of your crew, am I right?"

"No, you can't!" The previously hulking white bear leapt up onto his tiny feet, rushing several inches across Orion's bed towards him. "I ain't property. I'm... a person."

"Don't gimme that." A flick of a finger caught Daris under the chin. Strong enough to knock the guy back down to the bedsheets with a thump. "How many women and kids have your crew sold on until now?"

"That ain't me! Not after what I've seen." Daris grumbled, holding his head and rubbing where the fingertip connected. "I've never done anything like that."

"Sure you haven't." Orion snorted, blasting a fur-ruffling gust downwards. "That's what they all say when put to task over all the heinous shit they've got themselves into."

"Listen, please!" The bear reached out. "You've got me wrong."

"No, I've got you, right?" Orion backed off, heading for the door. "Don't try jumping." He dipped his muzzle towards the floor. "At your height, that drop'll shatter your ankles nicely."

With the smuggest of smirks, Orion closed the door, leaving his hostage to stew alone.

Kicking back in his seat, navigation system counting down the distance to Dalmir, Orion took some time to be at ease and properly mull things over. With how much he could expect to get paid for Daris, maybe he could shop around for something that'd pack some real firepower into the pistol he was working on. Failing that, Ol' Reliable could definitely use bright new paint job.

As fun as it was to think on how and what to spend some theoretical credits on, Orion couldn't get away from the noisy, uncomfortable thoughts threatening to overwhelm him. Thoughts of pity. Thoughts of doubt. Thoughts of shame, even.

He tried what he could to drown them out, focusing hard on flash ideas surrounding new gear, but each time, without fail, the tail-twitching ringing came back twice as loud.

"Snap outta it," he muttered to himself, stroking over his tail, trying to soothe it, and by extension, himself. "He's not the first pirate to blabber on about innocence."

Orion was right. He knew that well. But then, why couldn't he stop thinking about Daris back in his room? Sitting there, small and alone. Helpless.

A bubbling anxiety started to rise up from his centre, spilling out in all directions. It flooded into his head. Into his thoughts. Ideas of weaponry, of paint jobs and gear were long gone. On reflection, just as Orion had told him out loud, Daris really wasn't like any other pirate he'd caught before...

"Not after what I've seen," Daris returned to repeat, defiant on his bed top prison.

Orion's eyes widened, bright and purple. Damn. He really wasn't like any other pirate he'd caught before.

The door to his quarters opened. Daris remained atop the bed, facing Orion, but with head hanging with great weight towards his lap. There was nothing but silence to be heard, save for the whirrs and whines of the ship around them.

"Glad to see your ankles are still intact." Orion leaned against the doorframe, arms folded and smile wide. The twitch of his tail betrayed him. "Listen. I think we gotta talk."

Daris rose from his stupor. "Huh?"

"What are you, hard of hearing?"

"You really think it's hard to hear you at this size?"

"Good point." He pushed himself forwards, away from the door and closer to the bed. "I'm gonna need you to answer some questions."

Daris recoiled, eyes transfixed on his captor's every movement. The anxiety pouring from his demeanor outmatched even Orion's.

"Hey. It's okay." The raccoon stopped, raising his paws. "I just wanna know more about ya."

The small bear let out a big sigh, tension escaping visibly from every corner of his body.

"What you said to me earlier seemed to stick," Orion continued. "You don't seem to be like the others."

"Other pirates?"

"Yeah."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you, dammit!" Daris' outrage vanished as fast as it appeared. Still, he seemed to be forgetting his size. "Y-Yeah... You're right."

Orion made up the rest of the gap to the bed, giving Daris the most natural smile since departing the planet he'd snatched him from. "So tell me about it."

The white bear pushed himself up onto his feet, not once letting his gaze fall away from the raccoon above. "What d'ya wanna know?"

"You ain't gonna make this easy for me, are ya?" Orion grunted, yanking at his shirt, grabbing at his flailing tail. As for Daris, he looked as nonplussed as ever. "How did ya get involved with the Redclaws?"

The silence returned with full force. With the door to Orion's quarters closed, not even the ship's inner workings could offer up background noise. Daris placed his hands together, eyes hidden away for the first time. Orion waited there, giving him a moment. Then another. He didn't have the patience to offer up a third.

"C'mon." Orion took a cautious step to his left, keeping his movements slow and steady as he prepared to take a seat between Daris and the headboard. "No tricks. No threats."

The bear's small paws parted. He sat back down, crossing his legs and placing his palms to his knees. "I'm from Kalan. Heard of it?"

"Uh. Kalan... I guess that's a planet?"

"Okay, you've not heard of it." He gave his captor a smile. The first. "Yeah, it's a planet."

"Alright." Orion scratched at his neck. "So what happened on Kalan?"

"A war. A big one." Daris hacked out a soft, miniature cough. "Four years ago."

Consciously or not, the raccoon inched himself closer. "You were there?"

"Yeah." His captive didn't seem to mind. "I was a teenager at the time. Ended up in a similar position as I'm in now. Less the shrinking part." A laugh followed, shrill and uneasy. Orion decided against joining in. "My family were killed, while I was caged up and sold into slave labour." Down went his head. A sigh and a sniffle sent his captor's ears splaying out atop his skull. "I haven't seen home since... If it's even still there."

Orion nodded. "That's how you got into the pirate life. You were bought... really, actually, bought into it."

"Exactly."

"Damn it. See?" He shifted and bounced, forcing Daris to join him. "I knew it. My gut knew it. You weren't like the others."

"I_did_ tell you--"

"Sorry, but the word of a pirate don't mean a damn." Orion shrugged, grinning. "Most pirates anyway."

"Understandable." Daris settled himself against the shifting of the mattress. "I still remember what the captain said the first night after he'd bought me. 'Not noone this side of the quadrant gonna mess with a seven foot wall of death!'"

"Wow... wall of death, huh?" Orion rubbed over a temple. "That's a hell of a name to live up to."

"And then some." Daris let out a loud snort. "'Wall of death'... By the gods, I was just a farmer." He peered downwards, turning his palms towards the ceiling. Chuckling, he added, "And now I'm not even seven foot."

Captor and captive shared a laugh together, forgetting the circumstances just for a moment. For Orion, as easy, as fun even as the conversation had become, his anxiety had built layers and layers upon itself. The question over how to proceed loomed large. Continue on to Dalmir? Stop and turn back? What else?

Daris beamed upwards. He'd been shrunken, captured, threatened with being sold and worse, but still he didn't mind the raccoon's company... Damn. Just what had he been through up until now?

That was it. Anxiety and uncertainty aside, Orion had made his decision. He stood from the bed, not looking back until he'd reached his workbench, and his shrink ray waiting atop it.

"What are you doing?" Daris went stiff, watching Orion with jaw hanging half open.

"Listen." The raccoon reached for his sidearm pistol, keeping a grip of it in its holster. "Don't do anything stupid. Okay?"

Daris blinked, still dumbstruck. "I... I won't move."

"It's not often I do this..." Orion adjusted the setting of his ray gun, lifting it to aim squarely at the white bear frozen on his bed.

"Hey, wait--!" Daris shifted to stand, a half second before the trigger pull. Out went the laser, afflicting its target with near instant effects.

A pounding thud rattled around the room, followed by a loud, bassy, "Ouch!"

Orion craned his neck to see Daris holding his head, rubbing where he'd collided with the ceiling. The huge bear overwhelmed everything, Orion's bed included as it sank beneath those massive paws suddenly spread across it.

"Hey!" Daris bellowed. "Hey, I'm back." He looked in all directions, bouncing with his excitement. "I'm normal again."

"Daris, hey, Daris." Orion waved his arms, trying to save his creaking, shaking bed from the weight being thrust upon it. "Calm it."

"Sorry." The seven-foot-plus bear leapt off the bed, issuing out a thunderous crash with his landing. Parts and tools rattled and rained from Orion's workbench, while books and magazines did the same from the shelves above the bed. The far smaller raccoon barely had a chance to brace against the impact before he'd found himself firmly trapped in a bone-crushing bearhug. "Thank you!"

"H... Hey!" Daris kept up the pressure, leaving Orion able only to kick his legs against the grinning bear's stomach. "Easy..." Another kick, harder, got his attention. "Put me down... Before ya crush the life from outta me."

"Ah." He obliged, effortlessly lowering the small raccoon to the floor. "Sorry. Again."

"Now the 'wall of death' thing's making a bit more sense." Orion rubbed at his cybernetic arm, checking for dents and dings. "These things don't grow on trees, y'know."

"Right, right." Daris backed away, flustered, big paws held with palms outwards. "I--Sorry."

The bed creaked and crackled again, struggling under the bear almost as wide as it now settling to take a seat. "So, uh... What about Dalmir?"

"Yeah..." Orion's ears flicked. "What about Dalmir..."

Ol' Reliable slowed its descent, touching down atop the dry grass and soil. Its engines eased into quiet. Followed by the opening of the hatch.

"Don't ever tell anyone that I did this," Orion called, jabbing a finger into Daris' stomach. "I gotta reputation to uphold, y'know." They stepped out into the sunshine, taking a few crunching steps across the wide open field. "Us bounty hunters can't be known for letting targets escape."

"I got it," Daris answered, smirking at the poking claw at his midsection. He looked out towards a town flanked by hills and farmland, settled against the backdrop of spires and skyscrapers belonging to a huge city on the horizon. A deep, contented sigh shook his whole body, forcing Orion into a backwards step as it caught him in the process.

"Jeez... I think I liked you better when you could fit in my pouch." He craned his neck way up to meet Daris. "This planet here is Ardyl. It's safe. Under Imperial protection." Out went a finger towards the town. "That there is Dorinel. Good people, if a little backwards... They always pay well, though."

"Kinda reminds me of home." Daris brightened enough to rival the sun overhead. "Thank you for this."

Orion nodded, shifting his finger towards the bear. "Remember. If I catch you in the act again, I won't be so forgiving."

"You don't have to worry about that." Daris snorted. "The pirate's life is not one I'm planning on going back to."

"Good..." Orion peered around to his ship, to his boots, then back up to his former captive. "I guess this is where we go our separate ways--"

"I can't thank you enough." A white wall suddenly overshadowed the short raccoon. Arms spread, hulking frame lowering, Daris moved to grab Orion in another hug. "For getting me out of there, for letting me--"

"Alright, alright." Orion stepped away, play motioning down to his holstered pistol. "I'm still getting over the last one."

Instead, the pair reached out for a firm pawshake... Turned out that that experience wasn't much less uncomfortable.

Ol' Reliable sat in Ardyl's orbit for a good hour, floating idly as its pilot did anything but. Was that the right thing to do, he asked himself. Was Daris for real? Were my instincts right? Would he in face revert to type, and be out there waiting for me with another pirate crew at a later date?

Orion searched his head, and his heart. He dwelled on every shared word, let anxiety and doubt pick them apart and piece them back together again. Those words, he decided, sounded genuine. As did the tone with which they travelled. The spine-breaking hug, traumatic as it was, and the warm, wide smile... they were the most believable of all.

"I got it right," Orion concluded, petting his tail still as he basked in a sensation he'd not be much accustomed to in recent times. A fulfilment that putting ten, twenty, a hundred contemptible space pirates to justice couldn't hope to equal.

"Okay." The raccoon jumped back into his custom pilot chair, firing up communications and readying himself for action. "Where's my next job at?"