The Cold Wind (Ch 21 - 25)
#12 of The Cold Wind 1
Chapter Twenty-One
"I was a junior medic stationed at some military training facility on some awful planet that I have difficulty even remembering the name of anymore. There was an accident; a troop transport had crashed on take-off into another coming in to land, killing most of the unfortunate warriors on both transports. Hrrr... most of those who were not killed outright died from their injuries over the next few hours. Being a junior medic I was given responsibility for looking after one of the more severely injured warriors who was not expected to survive." He smiled bitterly at the memory. The senior medics hadn't trusted him enough to attempt to heal the more likely survivors. Shaking off the memory, he continued. "He was the strangest looking Vanguard I had ever seen. His tusks and fangs were the largest I had ever seen before, giving him a slightly grotesque appearance. However he was still attractive to my eyes for all that. Most of the other Vanguard refused to look any further than his teeth which was a pity." Pausing in his recollections, Two-Talon picked up a water canister and took a swig before glancing at Hunts-In-Grass. The warrior looked at him intently and snapped his jaws shut softly. Taking the silent cue, the medic continued. "He was a real mess. One of the landing-struts had smashed through the armored hull-plating and crushed him against a bulkhead. When I reached him he was still conscious, however he was very quiet, confused, frightened and obviously in an immense amount of pain. I will never forget the look he gave me though; one of complete and utter trust. It was also one of complete resignation. He refused to let go of my hand. I believe he must have realized that the senior medics had given him up for dead. "It took some time for the engineers to cut the landing-strut free so he could be moved. I cannot imagine the amount of pain he felt when I removed him from the wreck, however he never made a sound the whole way. It took me many hours to stop all the bleeding and to heal the internal damage. Hrrr, even I had doubts about his survival, that he would ever make it. However he did survive. Throughout the whole experience he still refused to let go of my hand the entire time. "I discovered afterward that Tusker was a loner. He did not have any friends at the training facility, so he took to staying by my side as often as he could. He took quite a bit of flak from the other warriors. They thought he was a freak because of his over-sized teeth. However that was part of the charm for me, hrrr. Despite the amount of time we spent together, he never really said much. He was the strong, silent type." Two-Talon swung his head slightly, looking down at the warrior who stared back up at him encouragingly. "You are still interested in hearing this story, hrrr?" Hunts-In-Grass remained silent, merely snapping his jaw shut quietly in agreement. "Very well. Over time, I realized that I was becoming increasingly attracted to him. I missed him when he was not around. It turned out he felt the same way about me, however I did not realize this until several months later. I was preparing to sleep after a long duty shift, when he came to visit me in my quarters late at night. There was the usual inconsequential discussion to begin with, then he went silent after a while. I was just about asleep by this time and it was then that he got to his feet, approached and licked my face - yes, like that, hrrr," Two-Talon sighed, lost in the memory. "He departed immediately without saying a word, leaving me lying there, stunned." At this point, Two-Talon laughed softly and looked down at Hunts-In-Grass again. "He avoided me for several days after that. I believe he was afraid of how I would react. When I finally managed to locate him, he refused to meet my eyes. We both had some leave approaching, so I asked him to accompany me on a rank-beast hunting trip back on my home colony world. The change of scene would do us both good and besides, I now had ulterior motives. The hunt was successful, despite the fact we never ended up catching any rank-beasts. However, that was inconsequential as I had finally caught the beast I had been hunting. "Anyway, that is all history. Hrrr, several weeks ago my time, we were both selected to go on an exploration trip to reconnoiter a new alien species that had been discovered. Initially, it was supposed to be nothing more than a recon trip. To study them and return with whatever information we were able to gather as to whether or not these aliens were a threat. Unfortunately the colony Elders in their wisdom," and he fairly much spat the word out, "decided to change the mission parameters. They wanted samples. By this stage I had just about enough of the whole rank-shit traditional Vanguard way of life, anyway." "Hrrr? You sound like one of us," Hunts-In-Grass commented, his voice soft while he studied Two-Talon's face carefully. "Like a New Home Vanguard." Two-Talon gave him the Vanguard equivalent of a shrug and continued. "Not that there is anything remaining of the New Home Vanguard now," he sighed while thinking about the devastation in orbit above the planet. "Tusker was still loyal to the military and traditional Vanguard lifestyle, however. He and I never really saw eye to eye about that. Things became complicated very quickly and I am responsible for making him have to choose between me and millennia of Vanguard traditions, society... and his pack-leader's orders." He stopped and sighed deeply, squeezing his eyes shut as the recent emotional wounds were ripped open afresh. Opening his eyes again he stared blankly at the table in front of him. "It was a decision that cost my bond-mate his life. It was a decision that I forced him to make and so I must bear responsibility for that." Looking up he locked eyes with the warrior, pleading for understanding. "That... that is why pursuing something further with you is difficult." Hunts-In-Grass felt awful by the time the medic stopped speaking. He'd had no intention of hurting Two-Talon and seeing the medic in such a miserable state was breaking his hearts. Never having been in love or in any kind of intense relationship before he had only a vague idea what it was like to lose someone so close. He had lost a lot of friends in the recent attack but nobody particularly close to him. He had been selfish in pressing the medic for nothing more than sex when there was obviously a lot more involved and he suddenly felt horribly ashamed. Licking Two-Talon's face he attempted to offer a bit of comfort in the only way he knew how and was surprised when the medic threw all four of his arms around him and drew him into a tight embrace. He was not so surprised, however, when Two-Talon began to cry uncontrollably on his shoulder, his massive body shaking. Two-Talon had successfully managed to hold off the worst of the emotions since the funeral pyre back on the human's home-world, but now the floodgates had opened and his pent up feelings were not to be denied. Vanguard were generally loathe to show any form of weakness to others and usually kept their emotions tightly controlled, so Hunts-In-Grass found himself unsure about how to deal with the devastated medic who was falling to pieces in his arms. Life could be ironic sometimes; it was not so long ago that he had been rescued. And now here he was playing the role of rescuer...
Chapter Twenty-Two
"Hang on, bro. You mean to tell me that you actually know how to use that thing?"
"Kinda. Two-Talon showed me some of the basic functions of it so I could update the language database for him. I managed to figure out some other stuff by myself."
Tainui frowned as he leaned back against the rear cockpit bulkhead and folded his arms across his chest. He wasn't completely convinced, but the lizard didn't appear to be too concerned about letting them muck about with things. "What are you doing, anyway? I thought we were supposed to be updating the language database?"
"I don't really care about that. It will automatically update itself the more it hears us talk, anyway. I'm more interested in that planet." He squinted through the viewport toward the bright point of light that was the world in question. "It was supposed to be our destination and I'm a little curious why we haven't gone there, yet."
"Curious? Nah, you're just a nosy little bugger is what you are," Tainui sniggered as he walked up and laid his chin on Andrej's shoulder, looking down at what he was doing. "I reckon the lizard has his reasons. Probably something to do with all those broken spaceship bits and that attack that almost took us out." Self-consciously rubbing at some of the artificial skin covering one of his wounds while he spoke, he shrugged.
Andrej turned slightly and regarded him from the corner of one eye, somewhat impressed. Although he pretended to be a little 'simple', Tainui was actually a lot smarter and observant than he liked to let on. It was behavior that he found strangely appealing - but he said nothing, preferring to let him go on believing his little secret was safe. Stifling a small grin, he continued to fiddle with the controls.
"Yeah, you might be right at that. Ah, here we go," he muttered triumphantly as a telescopic heads-up display of the planet flashed up onto the viewport.
The planet was a little larger than the Earth, but had none of the beauty. Instead of swirling white clouds over a blue, green and brown surface, this planet was a blighted, nightmarish vision of hell. Continent-spanning ranges of volcanoes spewed plumes of dust and gases high into the stratosphere and the lights barely visible through the choking atmosphere on the night side of the planet were not that of cities; they were massive fields of lava covering thousands of square kilometers.
"That's the steamy tropical paradise the lizard had such a hard-on for?" Laughing, Tainui wrapped his arms around Andrej and nuzzled at his neck. "Location, location, location, right?" "It's not funny, Tai," Andrej gave him a reproachful look. "He's flown himself - and us - light-years to get here. Seeing this and only finding one single survivor...? Can you even imagine what that would feel like for a moment?" Suitably chastised, Tainui sobered up fairly quickly; for better or worse, their immediate future prospects appeared to be tied with that of the large alien for the time being. "Well, if you put it like that... So, are there any Vanguard running around down there?" "Uh, if I read this thing right," he said, fiddling with another control, "the only living thing on that planet is...pond-scum. And I'd probably add even that to the endangered species list. According to some of these sensor readings, there's never been anything else alive on that planet. Definitely no sign of any Vanguard cities." Pond-scum? Tainui was about to laugh again when he realized Andrej was being quite serious. He pondered the implications for a few moments. "So, what does that mean for us? For them?" he half nodded his head in the direction of the mess area where the two Vanguard were still deep in discussion. "Does this mean we're going home?" Wincing guiltily at the hopeful tone in the Maori's voice, Andrej attempted to inject some casual nonchalance into his voice. He shrugged. "I'm not sure. I guess we'll find out when those two are done talking." They silently watched the ugly, blistered planet slowly rotate on the viewport for several minutes before Tainui spoke up. "Okay, so now I'm getting nosy. What happened to us on that wrecked ship, anyway?" "Uh, I thought you said you didn't want to know -" "I changed my mind." "If you're sure...?" When Tainui gave him the look Andrej sighed, acquiescing. "Alright. Most of this is based on what Two-Talon told me after the event, so -" "Yeah, yeah, bro. I know, 'take it with a grain of salt'. I get it," Tainui interrupted him, releasing him from his arms and taking a step back. Watching the blighted planet and having been reminded of their situation, he was beginning to feel a little agitated again, all traces of his previous good humor having evaporated. "The wreck was attacked by some other ship. He didn't make it very clear who they were, but I get the distinct impression he was quite upset by it -" "Well, duh!" When Andrej gave him a wounded look, Tainui's expression softened slightly and he gave him an apologetic nod. Leaning against the control console Andrej shoved his hands in his pockets and tried to remember what Two-Talon had tried to convey to him about events. "Pretty much all he said after he rescued us was that this was definitely the place he'd been told about and that someone had got here before we did and royally trashed the joint. Lucky for us it appears they only left the one ship to clean up and it didn't see the shuttle." He drummed his fingers on the console for several moments, deep in thought as he stared at the heads-up display. "What I don't get is why, if these Vanguard are so advanced, would they bother trying to set up a colony on such a shitty planet? Must be better places to call home." He shrugged. "So you've brought us all this bloody way for nothing? Just fucking Wonderful," Tainui rolled his eyes and snorted. Andrej just blinked, startled for a few moments. "I've brought...what?" He turned his head and studied him through narrowed eyes. "Where the hell did that comment come from? Is everything alright?" "Just peachy." "Then what's your problem!?" Andrej took a step forward and confronted him, throwing up his hands in exasperation. "I just don't get you, Tai. One minute you're all happy-happy, the next you're making snarky comments then snapping my fucking head off. What gives, man?"
Defensively, "It's called perspective, bro. We almost got killed out there because of that lizard. Now we're in the middle of nowhere, with some toxic bloody planet that nobody can live on and the bloody lizard is having some sort of mid-life crisis! Just how should I be feeling about all this then, huh?"
Andrej frowned. "You knew this could be dangerous."
"Yeah and I'm beginning to regret it -"
Furious, Andrej rounded on him, interrupting him in midsentence. "You didn't have to fucking come along, you know! Nobody forced you to do this. Jesus H. Christ, Tai, you want to talk about fucking perspective? Look...no, just forget it, alright? Forget it and fuck off home with your goddamn tail between your legs if you're so unhappy here with me." He stormed from the cockpit, leaving the Maori staring after him feeling rather startled with the vehemence of his response..
"Huh, that went well," Tainui muttered resentfully, turning to stare out at the blighted planet revolving below them..
He hadn't meant for it to turn into a screaming match. He hadn't even intended to even bring the subject up but his mouth ran away on him and some of the things that spilled out had obviously pushed Andrej too far. Damn the boy for dragging them along on this trip into the wild black yonder. And damn the stupid alien lizard for asking them to join it in the first place!
While walking back to the hibernation couches he was a little surprised at the strength of Andrej's reaction. In the few short weeks he'd been with him, he had never seen him lose his temper, or get upset like that before. Tainui shook his head in wonderment. The boy certainly had some fire in him when he was provoked and it was a little unsettling to be the target of that fire.
"Well it's not like I can get out and fucking walk!" he yelled out, but the distant sound of the engineering section hatch slamming closed told him that Andrej probably hadn't heard his fascetious remark. "Au, stink."
Throwing himself onto one of the couches, he glared at the empty hatchway and settled into a first-class sulk.
* * *
Andrej leaned back against the closed hatch, pale and shaking. "That fucking bastard," he whispered, wrapping his arms around himself and feeling faintly sick.
How did that situation degenerate so damned quickly? What's gotten into him? Shaking his head, he took a few deep breaths and looked around. For all their time on board the shuttle, he had never been in the engineering section before, but it was the only place on board that was as faraway from Tainui as he could get without leaving the ship.
Three large, white spheres took up most of the space in the room, each firmly anchored to both the deck and the ceiling and surrounded by small control consoles festooned with holographic status indicators floating above their surfaces.
Feeling no calmer but needing some distraction, he walked toward the nearest sphere hoping to find something to take his mind off the fight. As he got closer to the sphere, he noticed a deep hum emminating from it. Only one of the holographic symbols on the console in front of it looked familiar to him; the 'fuel' indicator was a steady yellow, indicating a low power state. He had no idea what sort of fuel the engines used (if they even used conventional fuel), or how they worked, because Two-Talon had never explained the workings of them to him. He suspected the Vanguard medic had little or no idea himself.
Glancing over at the other two spheres he saw that the same low fuel indicator was flashing on their consoles. Two-Talon was pretty observant, he figured. Even if he didn't know much about the engines, he probably knew enough to recognize there was a problem. The weird harmonics from each of the three engines humming away made his head throb pleasantly. Curious, he reached toward the closest sphere and touched it gently with his hand.
Yelping with surprise, he yanked his hand back and examined it carefully. When it had got within a couple of centimeters of the surface of the sphere, it had felt like someone had grabbed him and pulled his hand fairly hard against the surface. Backing away slightly he chastized himself for getting spooked.
Andrej made a circuit of the room before returning to the first sphere. On the back of it was what appeared to be an armored port-hole that looked into the interior of the sphere. Carefully placing his hands on either side of this, he still jumped when the weird force gently grabbed at them despite the fact that he was fully expecting it this time. Peering into the port-hole, he observed what appeared to be a swirling blood-red mist that ebbed and flowed in a wierdly organic manner around a brighter central point. It reminded him of one of those novelty-shop plasma-lamps and he discovered that it was strangely hypnotic.
* * *
"Forgive me."
"For what, hrrr?" Hunts-In-Grass regarded the medic curiously.
"I...I have been selfish. You have lost more than family and friends," Two-Talon looked up and met his eyes, realizing that his own loss paled into insignificance compared to that of what had befallen the warrior.
"Hrrr, about that..."
"You have lost your entire home world and everything you knew -"
Hunts-In-Grass leaned forward and placed a hand against the end of Two-Talon's muzzle to stop him speaking. "Please! There is something you are required to know." He lowered his hand, got up from the table and paced around the small mess area, pausing every now and then to look back at the now confused medic. "This is not the New Home planetary system. This system is little more than a New Home orbital military outpost. A decoy."
Two-Talon merely stared at him, stunned into silence by the bombshell news. But the bracelet! It had pointed specifically to this system, he was certain of it...
"I understand your confusion," Hunts-In-Grass rumbled, not unkindly as he stopped pacing and approached him, laying a pair of his hands on Two-Talon's shoulder. "New Home's real location is information that has been well guarded for many generations."
"Why the deception, hrrr?"
"I believe it is my turn to relate a story to you. When our Revered Ancestors first broke away from the increasingly rigid society that Original Home had become, they arrived here. As you are aware, the planet - its designation is 'Outpost' - is incapable of sustaining life. In their wisdom, our Ancestors constructed an orbital military base here that was to serve two purposes."
At this point, Hunts-In-Grass paused and a look of grief briefly overcame him. Seeing this, Two-Talon reached out and laid a couple of hands on top of the warrior's on his shoulder. The warrior gave him a brief smile and purred his appreciation of the gesture.
"Firstly, any genuine refugees would be given the correct New Home co-ordinates after being thoroughly vetted by the Outpost forces. Secondly, the force would act as a deterrent to any Original Home forces that managed to locate their way here. Hrrr, unfortunately, we did not expect such a powerful enemy contingent." His tone now shifted to one of subtle pride. "However, it was a costly attack for them. We made certain of that."
"That seems reasonable. However, there is a reason you did not inform me of this earlier, hrrr?" He was unable to prevent a wounded note from creeping into his voice.
Hunts-In-Grass gave him the Vanguard equivalent of a shrug. "There was a requirement for me to be certain you were not attempting to deceive me," he said simply.
"May I inquire regarding the reason you decided to trust me, hrrr? What assurance do you have that I am not acting as an agent of the Original Home forces in order to obtain the real co-ordinates?"
The warrior hunkered down beside him and laid his hands on the medic's knees, looking up into his eyes. "Do not take what I am about to say in a negative manner, hrrr. You are not that accomplished an actor. You fail to conceal your emotions particularly well."
Two-Talon snorted; he wasn't certain whether to be offended or amused. "Is it safe to make the assumption that you are willing to guide us to New Home, now, hrrr?"
"Us?"
"Correct. Yourself, myself and the two humans," Two-Talon rumbled, his eyes narrowing minutely at the doubtful tone in the warrior's voice.
"You are correct in your assumption. However, I am unsure whether New Home would be a particularly safe or hospitable world for the humans. Are the humans owned by you or are they merely acting in a servile capacity of their own volition, hrrr?"
"The humans are here of their own free will. They are not property. Slavery is not a depth that even Original Home nor any of the other colony worlds has sunk to. Not yet, anyway. Slavery is a barbaric concept," Two-Talon snapped his jaw shut with finality.
"If that is true then perhaps it would be more equitable to give them the choice as to whether they accompany us or not, hrrr?"
Considering this for several moments, Two-Talon was torn. The humans had voluntarily joined him at the start of this adventure and he was growing increasingly fond of them. However, with recent, violent events, perhaps it was only fair to present them with the opportunity to return to their home world, if they so desired it. To his surprise he found himself feeling uncomfortable at the possibility that they could choose that option...
"I appear to be becoming sentimental in my advancing age," he rumbled softly, bemused.
"Hrrr?"
"It is nothing. I concede there is wisdom in what you say. We should consult with them. Come," he got to his feet and indicated for Hunts-In-Grass to follow before leading the way from the mess.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Tainui looked up when the two aliens lumbered into the hibernation chamber, looking around as if lost. When they began rumbling and growling at him, he sat up and swung his legs onto the floor. He held his head in his hands and stared at them balefully from between his spread fingers.
"I can't understand a fucking word you're saying. Turn your bloody translation things on," he growled, freeing a hand and tapping his earlobe.
Two-Talon cocked his head to one side then snapped his jaw shut with a loud «crack!» while he reached up and reactivated the translation disk. Hunts-In-Grass quickly followed suit.
"Quite right little-one, that sensible suggestion. Your bond-mate location, hrrr? This one understood you would both locate cockpit. However, not present that location. Attending his bodily functions in cleaning room, hrrr?"
"How the hell should I know? I'm not his bloody keeper," Tainui closed his eyes and visualized both lizards buggering off and leaving him alone. When he opened his eyes both of them were still there, staring at him in obvious puzzlement, much to his annoyance. "What?" he snapped.
"You emotionally distressed," Hunts-In-Grass stated flatly.
"That's where you're wrong, mate. I'm actually sitting here just oozing joy-juice at the prospect of having a lengthy and stimulating conversation with your fine selves." His mood darkened even further when he realized the barbed sarcasm was sailing straight over their uncomprehending horned heads. With a sigh of resignation, he pointed in the general direction of the engineering section. "He's in there, somewhere."
"This one retrieves other human," Hunts-In-Grass rumbled, turning to Two-Talon. "Hrrr, this one senses there occurred conflict between bond-mates -" ignoring the undoubtedly offensive gestures and filthy looks the human was giving him, he carried on unperturbed. "- however, should disarm tension first."
Two-Talon snapped his jaw shut in agreement, secretly rather impressed with him. For all his youth, he appeared to be quite observant and understanding of some of the subtleties when it came to the feelings of others. Even, it seemed, when those others weren't even Vanguard. He watched the warrior lumber from the hibernation chamber, his tail swaying sinuously behind him and closed the hatch after him, with a slight smile on his face. 'Maybe one day...' shaking his head, he dismissed the thought. Too soon. Much, much too soon.
The Tainui human, meanwhile, had jumped up and was walking toward the hatch. It didn't take an expert in exopsychology to realize that he was eager to be anywhere but here when his bond-mate returned. Two-Talon moved swiftly, blocking the hatchway.
Tainui came to a halt and stared up at him with an expression of what he took to be annoyance on his face. "Move your carcass, lizard."
"This one desires conversation with bond-mate, yourself," Two-Talon snapped his jaw shut softly, not in the least impressed at the human's weak attempt at bluster.
"I'm so not in the mood for this right now, bro - hey!"
Two-Talon picked up the squirming human with his rear pair of arms and lumbered over to the couch before he unceremoniously dumped him back onto it. The human looked up at him with what he took to be a slightly fearful expression on his face and he couldn't help but grumble some of his irritation out loud. He had enough on his plate without the two humans squabbling with each other like misbehaving spawnlings. "What happened, hrrr?" Tainui hung his head and avoided his gaze. "Nothing," he muttered, sullenly. Hunkering down onto his haunches beside him, Two-Talon folded his talons back and reached out a forward hand and gently grasped his chin, forcing the human to look back at him. He held his face for a few moments before releasing him again. "You distressed. Explain this one reason." Regarding the Vanguard warily, Tainui rubbed at his face where he had been grasped. He figured what the hell, if the stupid lizard insisted... "When you first asked us to join you, I was kinda reluctant. The only reason I came along was because I was worried about Andrej, y'know? I really like him but I don't think he quite realized what he was getting into." Now that he had begun talking it was difficult to stop. Two-Talon remained silent, listening to him talk without interruption. "In the first couple of weeks after leaving Earth and before we used these freezer-beds, it seemed like fun. Like some exotic holiday with the man of my dreams or something. But then we arrived here," Tainui waved his arms around for a moment or two, before he lowered them back into his lap and stared despondently at them. "Was a bit sobering, seeing all that busted up shit around that crappy planet. And if I didn't know you any better, I could have sworn you were scared when you saw it too, bro. And when you're supposed to be the big, strong one looking after us, how do you think that made me feel?" He pointed an accusing finger at the medic. "I mean, if you can't protect us, how the hell am I supposed to protect him?" Two-Talon regarded him for a moment or two before responding. So, this was at the core of it all, then; his overriding desire to protect his bond-mate. He felt rather touched; it was a very Vanguard-like thing to do, which impressed him. Carefully keeping his expression neutral, he closed his eyes briefly then fixed them on the human. "This one mentioned risks -" "Oooooooh, that's right! So you did. Spelled them out in black and white, you did. Explained all the fine print, you did. Silly me." Blinking, Two-Talon regarded him curiously, not understanding many of the terms he used, but understanding enough of what he actually meant. Stifling a smile, he also realized that the human required someone to lash out at - "And you can wipe that fucking smug grin off your face as well, lizard. I have a bloody good feeling I know what you're thinking right now," Tainui snarled, "and the annoying thing is you're probably right." He buried his head in his hands and several moments later his shoulders heaved. "Hrrr, this one understands," he rumbled and reached out a forward hand, gently laying it on the human's shoulder while his tail thrashed around behind him as with a will of its own. Tainui raised his head and stared back at him through tear streaked eyes. "Do you really?" He asked disbelievingly while he reached up and grabbed the hand on his shoulder. Twining his fingers around that of the medic's he brought it down and held it tightly in front of him, sandwiching it between both of his own hands. "I...I'm scared, Two-Talon. I almost died on that wreck and will probably carry the physical scars for the rest of my life. Andrej almost died as well and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it..." "You correct. You unable prevent events. Therefore you unnecessary distressed events you unable control, hrrr?" he rumbled in a manner that he hoped the human found comforting. "However, you lash out bond-mate. Hurting you, your bond-mate. Unproductive, harmful." "I know," Tainui hung his head in shame, but kept a tight grip on Two-Talon's hand. Getting to his feet, he swiveled around and sat on the couch beside the human. He wrapped his tail around Tainui's waist and across his thighs, encouraging him to lean against him, which he did. Two-Talon's brief study of the humans when they were first brought aboard the Victorious-Hunting a few (relative) weeks ago indicated that both he and the Andrej human were still fairly young. If his estimates were right, the Tainui human was roughly equivalent to his own age. He lightly rested the bottom of his jaw on the human's head while he considered what to say next. His keen sense of smell picked up many different scents from the alien, most of them were unfamiliar, but not unpleasant. Strange little creatures, these humans, but there were also many similarities, despite the differences in their respective biologics. He found the whole situation rather ironic that they had both ended up in similar situations, feeling responsible for the safety and well-being of someone else. At least the Tainui human still had his bond-mate; the damage done to their relationship by this falling-out likely was not irreparable. Squeezing his eyes shut briefly, he fought off a wave of melancholy and loneliness at his own recent loss. It still hurt so much... And strangely enough, having Hunts-In-Grass present made it even worse. Knowing he was there, available and willing... The warrior had made it abundantly clear he wouldn't be averse to a more physical relationship. However, Two-Talon wasn't certain it was for the right reasons; because he had saved the warrior's life he didn't want the warrior feeling obligated to him for that reason alone. "This one strong for you, little-one," Two-Talon rumbled. "You strong for this one, correct, hrrr?" The Tainui human just needed to know that someone was there for him when he required them, as he was there for the Andrej human in turn. 'Indeed, Tainui, I have your back. However, you are also required to observe _ me _, in case I attempt to do something stupid...' When he felt the human squeeze his hand tighter, he knew they had an understanding. So they both sat there, waiting for Hunts-In-Grass to return with Andrej, each lost in his own thoughts.
* * *
Hunts-In-Grass pressed a hand against the pressure switch for the engineering section hatch and peered around after pushing it open as the lock disengaged. He saw the Andrej human leaning against one of the singularity generators, staring inside it through a visual inspection port. Sealing the hatch behind him, he lumbered toward him, noticing the various alarms on the control console in front of the generator. Peering over the human's shoulder at the view through the inspection port, he huffed gently, making the human jump away with a startled cry. "Huh what...?! Oh, geeze, it's only you. Man, you scared the shit out of me! Don't do that!" Andrej shook his head in annoyance as the Vanguard gave him a puzzled look. "You not observe this one approach, hrrr?" He turned his attention back to the inspection port at the hypnotically swirling light inside. "Attractive, correct?" Andrej blinked and grimaced, realizing just how dried out his eyes had become from staring at the mesmerizing light without blinking for so long. He leaned back against the bulkhead and rubbed at his eyes, then dropped his hands and nodded. "Yeah, it's a rather cool effect. What exactly is it, anyway?" He took a few steps forward until he was back standing beside the Vanguard who briefly turned to look at him when he approached. "Depleted singularity. Other generators similar state, hrrr?" "If you mean are those other white spheres in the same state as this one? I think so, if I read those 'fuel' alarms right." He paused and narrowed his eyes, thinking quickly. "Hang on, you said 'singularity'? Do you mean as in like a black hole?" Hunts-In-Grass gave him the Vanguard equivalent of a shrug and shuffled around to the control console, studying the readouts and bringing up the various holographic status displays. He looked up again briefly when Andrej followed him around and stood beside him, watching as he deftly moved his talons across the smooth, glassy surface of the console. "This one unfamiliar term 'black hole'. Gravitational singularity containment generator. Vessel power source. One generator propulsion. One generator power, vessel gravity. One redundant emergency. Hrrr, this one pretend engineer," he huffed with amusement, ignoring the fact that the human didn't get the joke. His amusement was short-lived, however. It quickly turned to concern and he growled when he looked at the display showing the status of all three generators; they were all in a mostly depleted state, including the redundant backup generator. They had perhaps another couple of months worth of power before they were rendered useless. Stepping away from the generator he swiftly considered their options. There was a concealed emergency supply depot on the outskirts of the Outpost system that likely had either spares, or the facilities to construct new generators. The only problem with that was that neither he, nor Two-Talon were engineers. All Vanguard were taught basic physical, chemical and biological scientific principles about how the universe worked, as well as simple maintenance techniques for most types of technology they possessed. It was only those who aspired to the engineering castes that were taught about technology in much greater detail. If necessary, most engineers would be able to construct something like a singularity generator from scratch, if given access to the right materials and tools. And although the depot was probably equipped with both of these things, without the knowledge necessary to deploy them... "You engineer, hrrr?" Hunts-In-Grass swung his head around and stared at Andrej before snorting bitterly. "Irrelevant question. Ignore." "Sorry, man. I can barely fix a meal, let alone these...singularity generators. So I guess from that question, you're not an engineer either, then?" It didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that Two-Talon was some sort of doctor type of Vanguard. From what he had gleaned from his extremely limited observations, Vanguard appeared to be organized into various classes, but he wasn't sure if that held true for their entire race, or just the small section of it he had seen so far. Hunts-In-Grass didn't appear to be a doctor like Two-Talon and his question indicated that he wasn't an engineer, so he was a... "Correct. This one warrior." Ah. Andrej smiled. "Anyway, we must stop meeting like this. What brings you in here, anyway? Just wanting to look at the pretty lights, or are you checking up on me?" Hunts-In-Grass swung his head toward the hatch and back again at him. "Two-Talon requests you. Requires you, your bond-mate's response proposition." "Hmm. Well, firstly, Tai isn't my 'bond-mate'. And secondly, I don't think that's such a great idea, right now," he crossed his arms and did his best to look unimpressed, still smarting from the earlier 'discussion' with his erstwhile lover. The warrior narrowed his eyes slightly. "Disagreement bond-mates, hrrr?" Andrej rolled his eyes and then glowered at him from under lowered eyebrows. "Didn't you listen to what I said? He's not my...ah, forget it. Yes, we had a disagreement as you so politically correctly call it. And no, I'm not going back if he's there as well." "Hrrr? Your bond-mate unable relocate elsewhere. No location for relocation," Hunts-In-Grass stated the obvious, confused. "He can always go wait outside," Andrej sneered. "Not viable option...hrrr! This one understands," the warrior huffed, amused at the joke when he finally got it. He snapped his jaws together. "Disagreement reason, hrrr?" "You want a reason? Because he's an asshole, that's why." Hunts-In-Grass hunkered down onto his haunches, not taking his eyes off him. "Elaborate." "Alright, if you really want to know. I thought things were good between us. He's sexy, smart - in his own way - and caring. Well, at least I thought he was." Andrej sighed and sat on the deck beside the warrior, making himself more comfortable. "I was having a closer look at that planet and was wondering why we had come here. I mean it's obviously unsuitable for living on, unless you guys have some sort of hidden base there, or something?" The warrior's expression didn't change in response to the question, giving nothing away. "Okay, I get it. You don't want to say anything. You obviously don't trust me, which is fair enough, I guess. It's not like I trust you much either, for the record. Anyhoo, Tai got all pissy and ended up saying it was my fault we were here and that he almost died." "Your reaction indication possible agreement however, hrrr?" Hunts-In-Grass studied him with his enigmatic black eyes, the clipped electronic translation providing no indication of where his true thoughts lay. "No!" Andrej exclaimed indignantly. Indignation that swiftly faded under the Vanguard's relentless gaze. "That's not...it wasn't what...oh, for fuck's sake. Alright. Alright!" He glared at the warrior. "He wouldn't have come if I hadn't. But it's not my fault! I didn't force him to come!" "Bond-mate's reason accompany Two-Talon, hrrr?" Andrej jumped to his feet and started pacing around, pausing occasionally to pout at him. "Me," he eventually muttered in a sullen tone. "Why, hrrr?" Hunts-In-Grass swung his head to follow the pacing human. "I don't know!" "You certain, hrrr?" Spinning around Andrej glared at him, just itching to slap what he was certain was a knowing grin off the Vanguard's face. The only reason he didn't was because he was afraid the warrior would eat his face or something worse. "Because he likes me. Are you happy now, you smug bastard? Christ, why am I even letting you interrogate me like this? Tai's right, I'm nothing but a crazy white boy." He resumed his pacing, but eventually slowed to a stop, his face falling when the self-realization hit. "Shit. It is my fault, isn't it?" Hunts-In-Grass merely blinked at him and remained silent. "Oh god, what have I done?!" He collapsed in a heap on the deck beside the warrior and groaned. "I've been treating this like some great adventure, assuming he felt the same way. After he recovered I never thought to talk to him about how he really felt about the whole thing. It's not every day you get blown up, dumped into space and nearly die. Did he mention anything to you or Two-Talon about it?" Andrej stared searchingly at him. "Your bond-mate distressed, correct," he admitted. "Damn him and his stupid pride. I just wish he was a little less fucking stoic and wasn't so afraid of talking to me about this sorta stuff." He frowned, considering. "Still, he didn't have to be such a bastard about it. I guess it's time we sat down and 'talked about our feelings' C'mon, Dr. Freud, let's go," Andrej eased himself to his feet, marched over to the hatch and waited impatiently for Hunts-In-Grass to follow.
Chapter Twenty-Four
When Hunts-In-Grass returned to the hibernation chamber with a subdued looking Andrej in tow, there was an audible «beep!» from both his and Two-Talon's translation disks when they got to within a couple of metres of each other. "Database update and synchronization in progress. Please wait..." the artificial voice whispered into their respective ears, shortly followed by another «beep!». The two Vanguard exchanged a quick glance. Obviously the devices had reached a point where they had absorbed enough new material from the recent conversations to trigger the upgrade. Two-Talon gave Hunts-In-Grass a slight smile then got up, moving away from the hibernation couch where Tainui was sitting. He motioned for Andrej to join his bond-mate on the couch, which he reluctantly did. The two humans warily eyed each other up for a few moments then looked back at him expectantly. "This one discussed with Hunts-In-Grass. New Home original destination. However, this location only outpost. Now Original Home forces know existence here, this location no longer safe. We manage evade for present, however future uncertain, dangerous. This one offers you choice: You returned your home-world where you safer. This one continues alone -" Hunts-In-Grass hissed softly at this point and turned to look at him with an unreadable expression on his face. "Then this one continues," Two-Talon repeated, closing his eyes briefly before continuing. "Otherwise you remain, continue with us. Choice extended freely, this one will abide your decision. Your choice, hrrr?"
Andrej turned his head and looked at Tainui, who steadfastly refused to look at him in return, keeping his gaze pointed firmly at the deck. He put a hand on his knee, frowning slightly as the Maori flinched at the touch. Reluctantly, he pulled his hand away again and sighed, looking back up at the medic.
"Can you give the two of us a bit of time? I think there are a few things we've got to work through first."
Snapping his jaw shut softly, Two-Talon acknowledged the request. "Indeed. Require time for location new singularity generators anyway. Requires return planet, search wreckage -"
Hunts-In-Grass deactivated his translation disk and interrupted him. "That will not be necessary."
Following the warrior's lead, Two-Talon deactivated his own disk and turned to face him. "This vessel's singularity generators are virtually depleted after our journey to this system. I was hoping there may be one or more salvagable from the wreckage around Outpost. Unless you happen to have a spare vessel sequestered in some secret location nearby, hrrr?"
"Sarcasm does not become you, medic. However, as it happens, we have an emergency supply depot located on the outskirts of this planetary system. There are no spare vessels at that location. However, there should be spare generators there, or the means to recharge this vessel's existing units. Although we lack the services of an engineer, perhaps between the two of us -"
"Four of us," Two-Talon hissed, interrupting.
The warrior sighed, frowning slightly at his optomistic presumption. "Very well. Between the four of us, we can replenish this vessel's flight and power capabilities. I am certain the proceedures for recharging or replacement of the generators are well documented. Engineers can be very...obsessive about such things."
"That is excellent news." He indicated the general direction of the cockpit. "The controls are yours, my friend. I will relay this information to the humans immediately. This situation will provide them with ample opportunity to attend to their relationship and come to the sensible decision to stay the course with us."
After Two-Talon turned away and reactivated his translation disk, Hunts-In-Grass' frown deepened and he lumbered off toward the cockpit, grinding his jaw together in annoyance. The medic was much too attached to those silly little aliens and spent far too much time involved with and thinking about them, he lamented. Time that would be better spent with him, instead. He would have to see what he could do to influence their decision in the following days...
"What's that all about?" Andrej turned to Tainui, who responded with a sullen grunt.
"Dunno."
Sighing, Andrej realized this was going to be hard work.
* * *
Hunts-In-Grass powered down the shuttle's sub-light engine with a relieved sigh when the sensors registered that they were now only several thousand kilometers away from the concealed supply depot. The singularity generator status holograms had gone from a steady yellow caution state to a flashing blue critical status several minutes ago. They now contained only just enough power to keep the vessel's systems running for a few days.
He snapped his jaw shut softly, the medic was extremely lucky to have made it to Outpost at all. Although cargo shuttles like this one were capable of short interstellar trips of up to two or three light years at near-FTL velocities, trips of that length were more economically done by vessels equipped with sub-space breach drives. It had not been designed for the five year trip Two-Talon had subjected it to in getting here.
Firing up the conventional maneuvering thrusters, he made some small adjustments to their flight-path and stepped away from the controls, closing his eyes in contentment. They were only an hour or so away from the depot, which appeared to be nothing more than a heavily cratered asteroid hanging in space near the fringes of the Outpost planetary system. He had already transmitted a low-power signal that deactivated the depot's auto-defense mechanisms so they wouldn't be shot down when they approached.
Leaning back against the console, he stretched his arms and yawned widely, before snapping his jaw shut with a resounding «crack!». The four of them had spent most of the past few days of the trip in the engineering section when they weren't sleeping. He and Two-Talon had been studying the generator maintenance documentation, while the humans chattered away together, partially disassembling various controls, access panels and mounting points in preparation for the replacement of the generators.
There had only been one serious altercation between the two humans during this time. The Andrej human had launched himself at the other, punching, kicking and screaming incoherently after a discussion had apparently become a little heated. A startled Two-Talon had had to prise them apart, holding them high in the air in opposite arms while they ranted and raved at each other like feral spawnlings. Hunts-In-Grass had merely given the medic the Vanguard equivalent of a shrug and a look as if to say, 'Your aliens, you sort it out!'. To their credit, however, their small, dextrous fingers made short work of getting at various difficult to reach places where even a Vanguard engineer would have struggled. So they weren't completely useless. Hunts-In-Grass still wasn't completely certain what the medic saw in them, but he kept his word and continued to remain polite toward them.
Although the supply depot wasn't particularly large, it was still supposed to have enough material to restock a battleship and he was looking forward to a change in diet. He'd had enough dried Rank-beast meat to last him several lifetimes. Grinning widely at the thought of fresh food, he went hunting for Two-Talon.
* * *
Tainui looked up when the hatch opened and Hunts-In-Grass came lumbering into the room. He was developing an epic headache from having had to concentrate on some stupid optical wiring diagram for so long.
"Resupply depot arrival imminent. Two-Talon's location, hrrr?"
"Rear cargo hold, last I saw," he grunted at the warrior, groaning with the effort of getting to his feet. When the warrior turned back toward the hatch he called out, "Hey wait a sec, bro."
Hunts-In-Grass turned to him expectantly and waited until he walked over. "You require this one, hrrr?"
"Nah, actually just wanted to say thanks for the other day. I dunno what you said to Andrej, but whatever it was seems to have helped," he leaned against the other side of the door with his arms crossed, staring up at the warrior.
There had been a few interesting moments since that first argument, but for the most part it appeared that things between them both were on the mend. Andrej's initial accusation that he was emotionally stunted had hurt him to the quick and he'd fought back with a few unpleasant observations of his own which soon escalated out of all proportion. They were able to laugh about the resulting fight now, but at the time there was murder in the boys eyes and despite his being physically larger and stronger, Tainui had actually felt a slight stab of fear course through him.
Andrej was definitely a young man to underestimate at your peril.
"Hrrr, you both young, much learning remains."
Hunts-In-Grass was about to depart when he realized that this was an excellent opportunity. Slapping a rear hand against the hatch mechanism to lock it down, he drew the human back into the room with another hand clamped firmly, but gently on his shoulder. He hunkered down in front of the human and brought his snout closer to his face.
"Important you realize New Home journey permanent. You, bond-mate cannot ever return human homeworld. You understand what this one communicates you, hrrr?"
Tainui stared back into the four featureless black eyes that were boring into his and swallowed nervously. "Yeah, I...I do."
"New Home possibly dangerous for you. Impossible to provide guarantees for long-term survival."
"Two-Talon has told us it won't be easy -"
"Hrrr, Two-Talon likes you, likes your bond-mate," Hunts-In-Grass interrupted with an ingratiating purr, half closing his eyes. "He desires company both you, bond-mate, correct."
Raising an eyebrow suspiciously, Tainui tried to figure out the warrior's angle. This completely out of character 'quiet little chat' was ringing alarm bells with him. "Yeah, he seems to like us both. What's your point, bro?"
This time the half-closed eyes were due to Hunts-In-Grass narrowing them in annoyance rather than to project a relaxed impression. 'Subtle catches the __New Home_ ophidian'_, he reminded himself. He snapped his jaw shut softly before continuing.
"This one suspects medic neglected explain hazards adequately for you, bond-mate. Other Vanguard less, hrrr...sympathetic, toward aliens possibly."
"'Less sympathetic'...are you saying that the other Vanguard on New Home might try and kill us or something?" Tainui instinctively took a step back away from the warrior.
Hunts-In-Grass gave him the Vanguard equivalent of a shrug and stood up, preparing to depart. He lumbered over to the hatch and slapped the activator. "This one only desires your safety, bond-mate's safety. You, bond-mate experience Vanguard hospitality previously, correct, hrrr?" With that, he departed, closing the hatch behind him.
Tainui just stood there, staring blankly at the bulkhead as memories of their abduction from Andrej's trailer back on Earth replayed through his mind.
Vanguard hospitality... Yes, both he and Andrej were intimately familiar with it.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Replacing all three of the shuttle's singularity generators took less time than any of them expected. After a couple of days of research and some nearly disasterous experimentation, they finally managed to figure out how the massive banks of machinery that created the tame singularities worked. The old generators were safely jettisoned into space where they harmlessly imploded, well away from the supply depot when their depleted singularities expired.
The only complication came when they realized the new generators - designed for fast-attack frigates - were somewhat larger than the previous ones and wouldn't fit through the external hatch. In the end, it was Tainui of all people who came up with the solution.
"This space ship of yours is a cargo carrier, yeah?" he asked while kicking at the hull with one booted foot.
"Hrrr, correct. However, what relevance -" Hunts-In-Grass began before being cut off.
"Bung 'em in the boot or trunk, whatever you space-lizards call it on this crate. Simple! It's not like they're bloody rocket engines and have to be in one particular spot, right?" he spread his hands and looked from one Vanguard to the other for confirmation.
After explaining that he in fact meant the cargo hold, the two Vanguard looked at each other for several moments before pouring over the datapads full of technical information. Andrej walked over to him and poked him in the ribs gently before wrapping an arm around his waist and squeezing him tightly.
"We'll make a Vanguard engineer out of you yet."
Tainui just rolled his eyes and poked his tongue out at the two lizards as they muttered at each other, poking away at their datapads.
"Someone's gotta be the brains behind this operation, bro. You're a lucky guy, y'know that?"
Curiously, "Oh? Why's that, then?"
"Well, not only are you dating the sexiest guy in this part of the Galaxy, you're dating the smartest as well. Looks, muscles and brains, what more could you ask for?" he asked, preening himself with a shit-eating grin plastered all over his face.
"Hmm, that's not really fair, Tai."
Tainui turned his head and looked at him. "Why?"
"'Coz you're the only man in this part of the Galaxy." Andrej said, shaking his head, but with a sparkle in his eye. "It's not exactly like I've got a lot of choice, is it?"
"Oh, I dunno. You could always shack up with ol' Two-Talon there. He's a fine specimen of, uh, lizardhood. Or something. Sure he'd make a good wife. Husband. Whatever," he joked. "And just think of the hideous little ass-babies you could make together."
"Have you seen the size of his junk? That thing would break me in half!" The smile on his face faded ever so slightly. "Joking aside, I don't think Hunts would be all that happy with that."
"Hmm, let's take a walk while those two figure out the details, eh?"
Tainui led him away from the shuttle after casting a quick glance over his shoulder, but both Vanguard were preoccupied with their computations. They wandered back into the maze of corridors that made up the interior of the asteroid until they came to the empty crew quarters. Leading Andrej into the crew mess area, he pulled up a couple of empty packing crates to the tall, Vanguard-sized table. After sitting down, he turned to Andrej.
"I take it Hunts has also had a bit of a 'friendly chat' with you on the side recently, as well?"
"Actually, yes. But how...oh. Right. So, what's going on?" Andrej rested his elbows on the table, looking at him curiously.
Tainui shrugged. "I dunno, no clue." He hesitated a moment before continuing, a slight blush darkening his face slightly. "Was kinda hoping you might have some insight. You're better with this sorta stuff than I am."
"I-what-now?"
"Don't look so surprised, bro. For a few years now I've learned to trust my instincts about people. After I got burned by Carlos, I looked at people a lot closer and tried to figure out what their story is. I know we've had our moments recently," Tainui gave him an apologetic smile before continuing, "but you're the first one that hasn't set the alarm bells ringing, y'know? Anyway, back on Earth I saw that way you are with other people. You have... what's that word," frustrated, he snapped his fingers a few times trying to think. "Sympathy? No..."
"Empathy?" Andrej suggested.
"Yeah, that's the one. You probably don't even know you're doing it half the time, just seems to come so naturally for you."
Andrej reached out and snagged one of Tainui's hands in his own and squeezed it, grinning shyly at him. "You say the most wonderful things sometimes, Tai. My empathic spidey-sense is tingling right now and telling me something important."
"Hmm? What's that, then?"
"That some sexy Maori guy not a million kilometers from here is going to be shagged rotten when we go to bed tonight."
Tainui burst out laughing, pumping his fist in the air. "Score! I think your spidey-sense might be right." After a few moments he sobered up again. "So, back to business. Whaddya reckon is up with Hunts, then? He's trying his best to talk us out of going with them to this New Home place. Said some pretty freaky shit that almost sounded like a threat. Does he hate us that much? I mean, we're the ones that saved his ungrateful scaly ass back on the wreck."
Reclaiming his hand from Tainui's now sweaty grip Andrej folded his arms and rested his chin on top of them, staring at the table with a furrowed brow. "No...I don't think he hates us, that's not the impression I get. When he came to talk to me a few days ago after the fight, he actually seemed almost concerned for us. Helped me see some home-truths, much to my surprise."
"Okay, so that leaves what. That he is actually genuinely concerned for our well-being and that Two-Talon is blind to the potential danger? Nah, bro. I don't buy that, aye." Tainui leaned back, raising his arms and lacing his fingers together behind his head.
Andrej looked at him from the corner of his eyes before returning his attention to the scuffed metal table-top. "I think it might be something much simpler." He sat up and turned to face him. "Hunts is quite young, right? We might have been the ones that discovered him, but it's Two-Talon that actually saved his life. I could be wrong, but I wonder if there might be a bit of hero-worship going on with him and Two-Talon and that he is actually jealous of us."
Tainui jerked his head back in surprise and blinked at him. "Why would he be jealous? It's not like I want to fuck Two-Talon - he might bite my dick off and I'm quite attached to it, thank you muchly. So, unless you've given him ideas that you want to get into Mr. Lizard's shorts...?"
Giggling Andrej got up and approached him, then carefully sat himself down on his lap. "Hell no, Tai! Massive alien dick, breaking me in half remember?" He wriggled around a bit. "Yours is large enough to make me walk funny as it is, thanks. No, it's probably not a sexual jealousy thing. I just think he'd be happier if we weren't around, taking up so much of Two-Talon's time and attention."
Tainui smirked as he slipped his hands up inside Andrej's t-shirt, rubbing his hands over his tight stomach and pecs, squeezing his nipples playfully. Tilting his head forward he began to nibble on Andrej's neck and earlobe.
"Makes sense," he said between nibbles. "So what do we do about it?"
"Oh god... Um, he'll get - Oh! Over it. Fuck it, we don't have to wait until tonight do we, Tai?" Andrej swung around until he was facing him. He felt one of the roaming hands tracing its way down his back and into the waistband of his jeans and arched his back slightly to give it more access.
Biting gently around Andrej's Adam's apple and down toward his chest, Tainui stiffened his finger and slowly sank it inside the boy, eliciting a slight jerk and a moan. "Nope, wouldn't dream of it, bro." He stopped biting while Andrej swiftly removed his t-shirt and let him continue his nibbling against bare flesh. "And Hunts will just have to get over himself."
"Oh yeah..."
* * *
"Where did the humans go, hrrr?"
"Hrrr, does it matter? We can mount the generators in the rearward cargo hold. It will not be elegant, but it should suffice." Hunts-In-Grass stuffed his datapad into a skinsuit pocket and turned to one of the generators that was clamped magnetically to the docking ramp, attempting to conceal his annoyance. "We should get these mounted and depart from this system."
"Agreed. I will depart and activate the hold access doors. You are prepared, hrrr?"
Snapping his jaw shut, the warrior watched while Two-Talon tapped on his datapad, canceling the artificial gravity in the docking-bay before he disappeared inside the shuttle. Clinging to the side of one of the generators he deactivated the magnetic clamps and strained, pushing the generator up and away from the ramp. Although now completely weightless, the generators still had a mass of several thousand kilograms which meant a lot of inertia that had to be carefully managed.
Each of the generators had been festooned with compact, but powerful, compressed-air 'jet-packs', designed for moving heavy equipment around in the occasionally weightless environment of the docking bay. Normally the loading of equipment onto larger vessels was handled by specialized cargo-robots and other automated processes, but without any engineers around to operate the equipment properly, the small group was reduced to doing everything manually.
As he 'piloted' the generator up and over the top of the shuttle, he saw one of the rear cargo hold doors sliding open and aimed his ungainly ride toward it. After jockeying with the jet-packs for a few minutes to align the generator, they slowly sank toward the opening. Still several meters up he slowed the generator to an absolute crawl and lightly pushed off toward the shape of Two-Talon waiting below; it would require both of them to 'catch' and position it due to the generator's large inertia.
The medic had strapped on a pair of magnetic 'shoes' to his feet in order to stay anchored. He reached up with all four arms as the warrior drifted down, ready to catch him. They gently colided and the warrior's own mass managed to knock them both to the deck in a tangle of arms, legs and tails. The magnetic grip of the 'shoes' wasn't designed for that sort of load and failed, leaving him helpless.
Rebounding into the air, Hunts-In-Grass wrapped his well-muscled thighs around Two-Talon's waist, twined his tail around that of the medic's and gripped him tightly with all four of his arms. Snout to snout they stared at each other as they came to a wriggling halt a few metres above the deck, well out of reach of any hand-holds or way of getting back down.
"Greetings, medic," Hunts-In-Grass murmured happily.
Two-Talon glowered at him, then winced when a loud, metallic «clang!» reverberated around the cavernous docking bay from the generator impacting with the cargo hold deck below them.
Completely unapologetically, "Hrrr, whoops."
"I guess we are stuck here until the humans return, then," Two-Talon rumbled, feeling extremely awkward and uncomfortable, not to mention well aware of the deliberate nature of the 'accident'.
"How...unfortunate. I wish you would just forget about the Ancestor-cursed humans for a while! However I can suggest an activity for while we wait," the warrior purred while reaching for the fastenings of Two-Talon's skinsuit with one freed hand.
A pair of hands firmly clamped down on his, stopping him in his tracks and he looked up, disappointed, into the medics eyes. Eyes that were full of longing, pain and several other complicated emotions. Emotions that were belied by the growing bulge in the medic's skinsuit where his genital-pouch was located.
"Please...desist," Two-Talon pleaded with him. "This...this is not the right time. I cannot take advantage of you in this manner! Not like this...not like this," he whispered, torn and horrified at his body's instinctive betrayal, bloody tears starting to well up around his eyes.
"Release him, Two-Talon. He is gone," Hunts-In-Grass rumbled softly, seductively. "I am here. I desire you. You said I was not unattractive and I can feel your desire, also. Release Tusker and take me instead -"
With a roar, Two-Talon violently ripped himself free from the warrior, sending them both tumbling in opposite directions. He grabbed for the edge of the cargo hold hatch, his extended talons scraping across the metal and eventually catching. This brought his body slamming against the hull of the shuttle where he clung, panting loudly. By pure fluke Hunts-In-Grass had ended up on the opposite side of the gaping opening, staring back at him in wide-eyed surprise while he clung to the protruding edge of one of the shuttle's shield projectors. "How soon you forget, young warrior!" Two-Talon snarled at him. "Have you the brain-worms? It may be ancient history to you, but it is still fresh and raw in my mind." Relenting slightly he closed his eyes for a few seconds, before carrying on in a calmer voice. "I require time to heal. You do not lose the one you call your own and recover quickly. When the time comes, I also wish to be certain that you do this freely, not from some imagined obligation. Hrrr, if you are still willing at that time, anyway." The warrior clawed his way along the hull then launched himself toward the deck several metres below him inside the shuttle's hold. He came to rest beside the now motionless singularity generator that was floating several centimetres above the deck. Extending the talons on his feet slightly into the holes in the deck to maintain position, he stared up at the medic and snapped his jaws shut with some outward sign of irritation. However, the tinge of sadness in his voice gave away his true emotions. "Hrrr, very well. I will wait. While I do feel some obligation toward you for rescuing me, that is not my prime motivation." Warily, Two-Talon crawled over the edge of the open hatch and gently pushed off toward the deck below him, neatly swivelling in mid-air to land, feet first on the deck. A soft click from his 'shoes' indicated the magnets had locked down, holding him there. He took a few steps toward the warrior until they were standing snout to snout. "What exactly is your prime motivation, hrrr?" he asked softly. "You are the first one to look past my physical deformities and treat me like a normal Vanguard. Not something to be pitied, or mocked. I have a lot to offer, but so few are able to see past the scars." Two-Talon sighed deeply, placing his two forward arms on the warrior's shoulders. The warrior's broken tusk and facial scarring were actually not that serious and were fairly common to any Vanguard warrior who had seen action for long enough. Rarer on a youth of this age, for certain, but not as disfiguring as he appeared to believe. He was more concerned about what hidden emotional scars the warrior carried with him; these, most likely were the more serious injuries and the ones most likely still that remained unhealed. "You know I care little about your perceived 'deformities'. They are of no consequence, despite what others may say." He then chuckled softly, but it was a sound with very little humor in it. "Do we not make a miserable pair, hrrr?" "I fail to understand what you consider amusing, medic," he growled in response. "Us. You. Me. You are the walking wounded, as am I - only the wounds I carry are not externally visible. The observation was not supposed to be amusing, merely ironic," Two-Talon rumbled, hoping for a response which never came. Somewhat appeased, Hunts-In-Grass took a step backward instead, letting Two-Talon's arms fall to his sides, and turned to the floating singularity generator. Bracing himself, he strained, pulling the generator ever so slowly to the deck, activating the magnetic clamps when it touched down. He turned back to the medic and snapped his jaw shut loudly. "We should secure the other generators and depart from this place. The longer we remain, the more likely it is that the Original Home forces will discover our presence here." He released the decking with his talons and launched over to the internal cargo hold hatch leading further into the shuttle, gripping the edge and swinging around to face him again. "Indeed, I will wait. I feel strongly that you are worth waiting for. And I remain hopeful that you will feel the same way toward me, when that time comes and when you are ready to move on."