Just Another Bounty
This story is done as part of a trade with Vintage Rose, who is copyright herself. This story contains adult material, so shield your eyes children.
Just Another Bounty
By Draylen Coyote
"This is too easy..." Vintage thought to herself as she slowly lifted the cover off the dummy storage tank and stepped out. Glancing around, she surveyed her surroundings. It was the cargo hold, the air filled with the low hum of operating engines, a few beeps from various pieces of equipment, and a slight chemical scent. The lighting was at lower levels, probably to conserve power in this part of the ship. The tixen pulled her gear from the fake storage tank and pulled out a small hand scanner, giving the hold a quick sweep. It detected no automatic defenses, no booby traps, and no security scanners. Grinning tightly, she removed the rest of her gear.
Vintage Rose was a bounty hunter by trade, hunting down those wanted by another, often some government or crime organization, it didn't really matter to her, as long as she got paid in the end. This particular bounty wasn't really that interesting, nor valuable, but things had been a bit slow lately and the fact that he'd been in the same spaceport she'd been passing through when the bounty came in made this an easy mark. Apparently, this smuggler, a coyote named Draylen Tarx, had been ducking past the customs authorities for years, and they'd finally decided they weren't going to catch him on their own. Only a few days later, his picture with a big 10000 under it appeared on the bounty hunter channels. She'd done a small background check, and Tarx wasn't terribly different from most of the spacers that populated the starlanes; cocky and full of himself. At the moment, the smuggler was running legal, and after a little computer hacking, she'd determined he was moving some tanks of deuterium coolant to a remote mining outpost, and was due to depart within a few hours.
After a little tinkering with one tank, here she was. For the first few hours of the flight on Tarx's freighter, she'd remained hidden. She doubted he would inspect his cargo, these spacers rarely cared much about their cargo except for how much they were being paid for it, especially something as mundane as common coolant. Apparently she wasn't the only one taking low-end jobs to make ends meet...
Vintage picked her way through the dim light of the hold, pulling out her weapon of choice, an old style revolver pistol. Most hunters had chosen to forsake projectile weapons in favor of newer laser and energy weapons, but this particular pistol had been a gift from a friend, and had yet to let her down. She scoped the hold for anything unusual, but aside from the pressure tanks, a few crates of parts and supplies, some random tools and what looked to be a couple empty soda containers, the hold was vacant. From what she could see, the doorway to the engine room was farther aft, it was possible that he was in there, she knew more than a few pilots who spent a majority of their flights down in the engine pits, nursing their sensitive, and often temperamental, drives. But her ears detected nothing other than machinery, all of which seemed to be running at normal pitch. Apparently Tarx kept his engines well tuned, at least for now, and wasn't nursmaiding them.
However, as she approached the hatchway to the forward part of the ship, she was almost forced to eat her own words. She heard someone climbing down the ladder into the hold and immediately ducked behind a coolant tank. Tarx came down the ladder, his somewhat raggy tail swaying behind him. He was carrying a small data pad and humming to himself as he walked to one side of the hold and popped open a junction box. Vintage smiled to herself, his back was to her and she could spring and grab him in an instant. Slowly, she crept along the tank, staying low and getting ready to spring, when she noticed two things. The first was when Tarx turned slightly to examine a small piece of circuitry. His hip turned and she could easily see the holstered pistol on his belt, not one foot from his gun hand. The second thing was a small label on the pressure tank, right at eye level in front of her. It indicated how explosive and how flammable the contents of the tank were. Mentally cursing, Vintage settled back behind the tank. She had every confidence she could grab Tarx before he could react, but right now she didn't want to take the risk of being wrong. One stray shot, from either of them, and this entire ship was likely going to be dust, and she didn't plan on punching out this early. She'd get Tarx, but clearly the hold wasn't the place for the ambush. She settled back and watched.
Tarx continued to busy himself with the junction box, swapping out a few parts, humming all the while. She found herself staring at him, he wasn't a bad looking guy, a bit gritty, but he had a slightly roguish look to him that made up for it. She curled her lips to a half smile as she watched him from concealment, at another time, she would've considered him dating material, he seemed pleasant enough and wasn't bad looking. "And he has a pretty nice butt..." she found herself thinking. Quickly she shook her head. "Stop that. He's a target, and you treat him that way. Don't get distracted, he'd likely kill you in a second if he knew what you were planning." She settled back to wait. Tarx kept busy for a few more minutes before closing the breaker box, dusting his paws together. "Blasted thing, if this relay burns out again, I'm going to have words with Tash. The thing's a damn piece of junk." He said to himself, looking at his data pad and tapping a few keys before heading back towards the ladder. "God I hate these runs, dirt pay for a long trip. I need some time off..." he scratched the back of his head and yawned, before disappearing back up the ladder shaft. Vintage smiled and shook her head. "Oh, you'll get plenty of time off, though it'll be at a penal colony somewhere..." She thought evilly, settling back. She decided to give him a bit more time to settle back to his piloting.
Vintage waited a full five minutes before she came out of hiding, sneaking to the ladder and flashing a gun barrel up it to make sure it was clear. Then, using catlike stealth, she climbed the ladder, stopping just below the opening onto the deck, listening. There was no sound from the adjacent room, and she peeked over the rim of the ladder shaft. The room was a small living area, with a small kitchenette and seating area, a hallway led aft towards what she guessed would be a cabin or refresher, and another led forward, presumably to the cockpit area. Slowly, she crept up out of the ladder shaft, sidling along the wall towards the fore hallway. Peering around, she could see the cockpit ahead, a wide cockpit window and a large pilot's chair. What made her smile wryly was the fact that she could see two pointed gray ears over the top of the chair. She pulled her weapon to the ready, if she was going to nab him, now was as good a time as any.
She caught a glimpse of one of Tarx's arms tapping some keys on the control board, but from the way they were moving, he had the autopilot engaged. On one earlier job, she'd tried to ambush the target in a similar fashion, and when he'd struggled the vessel had gone into a steep dive and she'd come within a few hair lengths of being a piece of the hull of a passing super transport. From then on, she always made sure that dropping in on the target wouldn't jeopardize her own life.
She slowly came up behind the chair. Tarx was humming to himself, she wondered why he didn't just buy a player, but that wasn't her problem. Three steps, two steps, one... As she made the final step, the deck made the slightest noise and Tarx started to turn, but he was far too late. She brought up her pistol and jammed it into his neck from behind, snaking her arm around the chair. "Move and you're dead." She said coldly. "Reach across with your left paw and drop your gun on the floor, and no funny business. There's a larger reward for you alive, but if you make too much trouble, I'm willing to settle for the smaller amount." Tarx wordlessly complied, the muscles in his neck tightening, and a few seconds later there was a clunk as his pistol dropped onto the deck. "Good." She said, reaching down and scooping up his weapon, and tucking it under her belt. She took a few steps back, her aim not wavering. "Now get up and keep your paws where I can see them." She backed down the corridor, motioning with the tip of her weapon. Tarx kept his eyes on her the whole time, they were such a piercing blue that it enamored her.
"Might I at least ask why I'm being held at gunpoint on my own ship?" He asked dryly, walking past her into the living area.
"You can ask, doesn't mean I'll tell you." She said cutely. "Up against the wall. Now." She said, giving his rear a light kick. He complied, placing his paws on the bulkhead as she kneeled behind him, running her paws up and down each of his legs, frisking him. All she found was a badly concealed boot knife, which she set aside, before pulling each and every item from his belt; even a socket wrench could be deadly when used correctly. She frisked her paws along his arms and back, smirking a bit as he muttered. "Not as bad as Aurilian security..." The rest of the search came up dry and she stepped back, gesturing towards the seating area. Tarx scowled and sat, clearly not liking being ordered around on his own ship.
Vintage stood before him, keeping the gun leveled at his chest. "The Customs Union is very upset with you." She said flatly. "They want you taken into custody, I suspect to make an example of you to your spacer friends who might still consider customs evasion tactically sound, but that really isn't my concern."
Tarx glared at her. "Forgive me if I take it personally." He said, crossing his arms. "The Union and I have never quite seen eye to eye, so I don't expect them to deal fairly with me."
Vintage shrugged. "You don't need to explain your actions or reasons to me, I really don't care. The Union is paying me to bring you in, so that's what I'm doing. And don't bother trying to claim you're innocent or whatever, if there's a bounty on your head, that's all that matters."
Tarx rolled his eyes. "Funny, a lot of members of your profession seem to think that way. So now what? Going to bound and gag me? Knock me out? Stuff me in a closet?"
Vintage looked around. "I'm taking you to El-Aris III to hand you over, even on a slow ship, flank speed to that planet should only be three days, and I doubt this is a slow ship if you've been able to outwit the Union so many times. I doubt I would be able to keep you unconscious for that long, so I think locking you up should work for awhile." She gestured him up. "Come on, I think your cabin will be sufficient." She led him back down the other hallway and pushed the door open. The cabin was a bit of a mess, with a good deal of clothes scattered around along with some food wrappers. There were a couple of posters on his walls of very scantily clad females.
He jerked his head at one arctic vixen facing away from the camera giving the photographer a full view of her rear. "Friend of yours?" He asked dryly.
"Funny. Inside, unless you'd like me to stow you in the refresher for the rest of the trip." She gave him a hard shove through the door and stood in the doorway, her gun still leveled at him. "I suggest you enjoy the time you have left, I suspect the next accommodations you receive will be roughly the dimensions nine by twelve, if you're lucky." She paused. "And don't even think of trying to break back out, I'll have the door monitored and all you'll meet is a gun barrel and a tixen in a bad mood. You'd do well to remember that."
Tarx sneered at her. "I'll keep that in mind."
"Good. Enjoy your flight." Without another word, she closed the door and engaged the lock. After making sure it was secure, she made a quick run back down to the cargo hold to retrieve her supplies, and set a small magnetized device on each corner of the door. A laser grid appeared a moment later. Vintage smiled, if he so much as leaned on the door, she was going to know about it. She waited outside the cabin door for a few moments, half expecting him to try something. She wished for a second that she had some kind of miniaturized video surveillance equipment, and made a mental note to try and acquire some in the near future. After about ten minutes, and no sound near the door, she turned and headed back to the cockpit.
Getting control was a simple matter, she'd been fast enough that Tarx hadn't had the chance to lock anything down, so the vessel had cruised on automatic pilot for the length of their little confrontation, and it was easy to simply disengage the automatic systems. She settled into the command chair, adjusted the headrest, and acquainted herself with the controls. Tarx's ship, the Diamond Dragon, was on the outside a fairly stock light freighter, but one look at the control boards told Vintage that he'd modified it far beyond the original specs. The only piece of the control board that seemed to be original was a section of the environmental regulation controls, and even that was suspect. She smiled as she grabbed the control stick and readjusted course. She didn't have a ship of her own, and for the time being thought about trying to finagle Tarx's ship in as part of his capture reward, but figured the likelihood of her employers going for that was minimal. Oh well.
She tapped a few keys, transmitting a signal to the guild confirming she had custody and was on her way to deliver her quarry. It was doubtful she'd have any trouble, but stranger things had happened and firming things up with the administration might help avert any complications.
After that, there really wasn't much to do except wait. Vintage propped both feet up on the control board and looked down as her stomach growled, apparently stowing away in a storage tank was hungry work now that she had time to notice it. Tarx probably had something stashed away in his pantry, but the way some bachelors tended to eat turned her away; the thought of finding a month old sandwich or something along those lines prompted her to grab a ration bar from her pack. She chewed it in silence, it tasted like boot leather, but at least it was edible.
She watched stars flick past for awhile longer, yawning once. She was apparently also more tired than she'd previously realized. This was risky, if she napped, there was a greater chance of Tarx getting loose while her attention was compromised, but if he got loose anyway, her fatigue could slow her down. She opted for a compromise and set an alarm for an hour, making sure to attach the receiver for her security set-up in her left ear; if Tarx fiddled with the door, the receiver would wake her up quickly. Settling back into the pilot's chair, she folded her arms and closed her eyes, intending to take a quick nap.
Vintage didn't know how long she'd been asleep, but a few a microsecond after her eyes fluttered open, she knew something was amiss. The first thing she felt was a light brush against her throat, and in a second, she shot her fingers between whatever it was and her throat, catching it in her palm. "A leather strap, he was going to try and garrote me in my sleep..." she thought, tightening her grip and yanking forward. The strap flipped past, and she knew he'd realized that his plan had failed. As she went for her pistol, she felt one of his arms come down over her shoulder, his fingers scrambling down to her beltline. Snarling, she was going to point out that this was a really bad time to try and cop a feel, but she knew in a second what he was doing. "He's not going for a casual grope, he's going for his weapon... crap, why didn't I hide that thing?" She thought quickly. Her free paw lashed out and tried to get hold of his wrist, her claws slicing his flesh, a few trickles of blood staining his fur, but he jerked his arm back, taking his gun with it.
Growling, Vintage would not let it end there, and whipped the pilot's chair around, using the rotational leverage to fling him back. She could see clearly now, Tarx stumble back, grasping his weapon loosely. Narrowing her eyes, she lunged forward, pulling her pistol, only to get a boot in the gut as Tarx fell down onto his rear, and apparently had enough sense to interrupt her charge. She slammed down onto her own behind, her neck jamming against the base of the pilot's chair, but she had enough clarity to bring her gun up and aim it at the coyote, only to see that he'd had a similar notion, and right now both weapons lay leveled at each other, both their fingers resting firmly on their respective triggers.
Silence dominated the cockpit area for a few moments, before Vintage finally spoke. "Drop it." She said, her tone icy.
"No." Said Tarx in an equally frosty tone.
"Drop it or you get a bullet to the face."
"I think not, unless you want to bet you're life that you're faster, and that that antique you're holding won't jam up."
"It never has before."
"First time for everything."
Vintage hissed between her teeth; they were at a stalemate and both of them knew it. If either of them even twitched a finger, then it was a race to see who hit the trigger first, and that was a race she didn't want to bank on. She was a crack shot, no doubts there, but the way Tarx was holding his weapon, level and unwavering, told her that he was no rookie either, few spacers ever were.
The stony silence reigned a few moments more before Tarx opened his mouth. "So now what?" He asked dryly.
"You stop fooling around and put that thing down before I get impatient."
Tarx gave her a smile that had no humor in it. "I was thinking deal, but if you want to fight it out, I'm game."
Vintage was quiet a few seconds. "What kind of deal did you have in mind?" If she could distract him long enough...
"I dump you at the next port and you forget you ever saw me."
Now it was Vintage's turn to smile. "I'm afraid that won't do. For one thing, I don't get paid, and for another I've already informed my employers that I have you in custody, and showing up empty handed would damage my credibility."
"Oh that just breaks my heart." He said sarcastically. "So what do you want then? We both sit here until one of us passes out from sheer exhaustion?"
She smiled cutely. "Sounds like fun to me, but you could make it easy on yourself."
"Or you could."
"Right."
They both sat, unmoving for awhile, eyes locked firmly together, looking for the faintest hint of a challenge, both weapons at the ready. The silence was broken by a single continuous beeping from the control board. "Better check that." She said calmly.
"Why don't you do it?"
"It's your ship. You'd be able to interpret it better."
"Maybe I already know what it is."
"Then it can't be serious because you're not blinking."
"Maybe it is, like a coolant leak or something, and I don't care if I die, because it'll get you too."
"You're that ready to die?"
"Are you?"
She'd been expecting that question and had prepared a retort in this game of verbal ping-pong, but her mind analyzed it for a split second longer than she'd intended. "This is stupid, he isn't even worth that much, and risking my neck over him is even more stupid." She thought. "He isn't even a bad guy, the guild just wants a trophy to salve their egos and they happened to choose him."
She sighed. "You mentioned a deal. The first one was unacceptable, amend it and we'll talk."
Tarx kept his face impassive. "I don't negotiate at gunpoint."
"The moment I put this down I'm dead."
"I have a sense of honor. You put it down, and I'll do the same."
Vintage watched him in stony silence for a few seconds before very reluctantly lowering the muzzle of her weapon to the deck, and watched with mild surprise as he did the same. The both of them holstered their sidearms and Tarx got up to his feet, offering a paw to help her up. She glowered and got up herself, looking him in the eye. "Now talk." She said coldly.
He held up a finger and inched past her to the control board, reaching down and punching a blinking red button twice, after which it remained dark. He turned and pointed back down towards the central area of the ship. Vintage walked as he motioned, keeping one eye on him, and predictably enough he did the same to her as he came to the small dining area and sat down. "I find negotiations go much smoother if one keeps all paws where I can see them." He remarked, folding his paws together on the table.
She scrunched up her face and sat, setting both paws on the table. "Satisfied? Or do you want to strip search me first?"
"You're fine. Now, I'm assuming you want compensation. How much and where?"
Very to the point... "The posted reward for you is ten thousand, and I only took this job out of convenience. I figure eight will be enough to cover the lost time and the minor hit my reputation will take. As for where, I want credits, on the table, right now."
He regarded her incredulously. "Your ego, I'm sorry, reputation, is surprisingly expensive. I'll give you six and transport to the nearest port."
She shook her head. "Eight, nothing less."
"I can't put eight on the table right now."
"How very convenient for you. My price stands."
Tarx sighed and rolled his eyes. "I can give you six now, then electronically transfer another two when I get this cargo to Deltanis. It's what I've got."
She drummed her fingers on the tabletop in thought. "Done, but try to cheat me and I will come after you, and it won't be for some two bit bounty this time, it'll be personal. Understand?"
He held up both paws. "Crystal clear." He got up slowly and moved to a small locker on one side of the room, tapping a small keypad and opening it. The contents of the locker weren't visible from her angle, but after he shut the locker he returned to the table and dropped a stack of credit chips on the table. "Six thousand, not the largest price I've paid for my freedom, but it's a dent. I trust you're satisfied?" He said dryly.
She casually counted the stack and shoved the chips into a pocket. "Quite. So, where are we going?" She quipped, folding her arms over her chest.
"I'll take you as far as Bel Halla, it's a mining colony about two days from here. Small, but on enough transit lanes that you should be able to get passage most anywhere."
"It'll do. I assume you want to hold onto this?" She held out her pistol, butt first, to him.
He took it casually and popped open the magazine, tapping the bullets into his palm, examining them for a moment, before tossing the weapon back to her. "Keep it."
"I have more of those you know."
"Yeah, well, I figure with as long as it takes to reload those damn things I'll be on you before you get a shot."
"Cute, even though you're wrong."
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't make me test the theory."
She regarded him cautiously. "I said we had a deal, and I'll honor it."
He nodded. "Good. Make yourself at home I suppose, I need to get this tub back on track, given our little detour." He pivoted on his feet and moved back to the cockpit and out of view. Vintage had to hand it to him, despite his exterior; he trusted her to live up to her end of the bargain. She was still tempted to try and grab him, but something in her told those temptations to take a hike; there weren't nearly enough trusting individuals in the universe, and she didn't want to have another good apple turned bad on her record. As Tarx disappeared, she turned and began to explore around the living area of his ship.
Tarx was up in the cockpit for another couple of hours, which meant Vintage was left largely alone. The first thing she did was retrieve her monitoring equipment, looking for how in blazes he'd managed to disable it from inside his cabin. The devices were still in good order and showed no signs of being tampered with. She pulled the door open and looked over his cabin with mild disdain. He had to have a secret door or hatch in here somewhere, and it irked her that she had missed it. A thorough search of the room revealed nothing out of the ordinary; no devices powerful enough to simply cut a hole in the wall existed. The walls were solid bulkheads and the floor was standard decking, and even the most skillfully camouflaged exit would be visible. Growling to herself in frustration, she left his cabin and returned to the living area, sorting through her gear. She hadn't packed much in the way of a diversion to occupy her time, aside from a few data cards worth of reading material she'd already been through, and a small holographic projector. Her eyes fell on the small cabinet of data cards near the table and she wasted no time in rifling through Tarx's library.
It was pretty much a typical single male's assortment, a row of cheesy porn flicks, a couple of action holos, a sprinkling of other records and so forth. His written library wasn't much either, mainly technical reports on repairs and jury rigs he'd made, a few rants about his employers and partners, some flight magazines, a few very old reference materials, and a stack of various documents, apparently his 'other' pile. Sighing, she moved back to the holos and picked out a title she didn't find too idiotic or trashy and popped it in. As the projector was warming up, she screwed up her courage and checked the fridge, the thought of going another two days on ration bars sounded less appealing. Fortunately, Tarx wasn't a total slob and the fridge had a decent assortment of food, though a good deal of it was junk food. Finding the necessary components, she managed to make a half-decent sandwich and settled back to half watch the movie.
Tarx came back into the living area at the holo's climax, where the hero pulled the love interest into a flashy hover car and blasted away as the building behind exploded. He watched with mild interest for a moment before digging a package of chips from a cabinet and munching on them. "Sorry for the lack of accommodations, I don't get company often." He said in a tone that suggested he wasn't that sorry at all.
"I'll survive." She said dryly, taking another bite of her sandwich. "I trust we're back on course?"
"Pretty much back to where it was before you changed it."
She didn't turn to look at him. "I admit, Tarx, that you have my curiosity aroused."
"Oh really?"
"I want to know how you got out of your room."
Tarx half smiled, obviously quite pleased with himself. "Driving you nuts is it?"
She scowled. "I don't leaving questions unanswered."
He shrugged. "Fine, I'll show you."
Vintage cocked her head. "That simple? I figured you'd want to keep an ace in your sleeve if I tried to lock you up again."
"Wouldn't matter much. You already knew I had a means of getting free of that room, so if you tried to secure me again, you wouldn't use my cabin and any escape route would be useless." He paused. "And I figure if you were going to try and grab me again you'd have done it already. Coming or not?" He headed back towards his cabin.
He had a couple of good points and Vintage got up from her seat and followed him. He opened his cabin door and stepped in, moving to a small section of counter on one side of the room, under which was a small refrigeration unit. He opened it, revealing rows of shelves stocked with basically the same assortment of food in the larger fridge. However, he reached to the back and lifted a single aged bottle of tonic. There was a click and the entire shelf slid back about three feet, revealing a hatch built into the floor. Tarx grabbed a corner of the hatch and lifted. "Small shaft leads down into the back of the engine compartment out a dummy coolant tank. Had it installed awhile back, just in case somebody tried to lock me in my own room."
Vintage crossed her arms curtly. "Very cute Tarx. I have to hand it to you, you're slightly more clever than most fringe scum I cross paths with."
"Thanks, I think." He said, adjusting the tonic bottle again and causing the shelf to slide back to its normal position and getting back to his feet. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go explain to my contact why I'm going to be late." He turned and left the room, closing the door behind her and headed back to the cockpit without another word, chewing his sandwich as he walked, leaving Vintage alone once again.
Tarx was in the cockpit for another few hours, leaving Vintage to her own devices. She spent most of her time reading through her datacards once more, and investigating more than one of Tarx's. When the coyote finally did come back from the cockpit, he walked right past like there was no one else on the ship. He headed straight to his cabin and disappeared inside for a few moments before she caught a glimpse of him crossing the hall into the refresher. There was the sound of running water and he came back out, toothbrush in mouth, a little bit of foam in the fur around his lips. He wasn't wearing a shirt at that time, and his work pants had been replaced by some lightweight shorts. Vintage kept her datapad in paw but flicked a glance up at his form. He hadn't been bad looking before, and while he wasn't overly ripped, he was trim enough to be handsome. As he came out to the main living area, she put her gaze back to her reading. "And where will I be sleeping this night, oh fearless leader?" Vintage asked dryly, not looking up.
Tarx looked over, pulling the toothbrush from his mouth and spitting in the sink. "Wherever you want, with the exception of my quarters." He said curtly. "I've locked down the nav system, so you won't be able to commandeer my ship while I get some shut eye, and while I don't completely distrust you, I'll be locking my door." She glared at him as he sifted through his stack of magazines and pulled one out, taking it back to his room with him. She couldn't resist the opportunity to flick a glance at his rear as he walked away. She perked an eyebrow; he really did have a nice butt.
His door remained open, which told her he wasn't bedding down just yet, probably engrossed in his reading, and Vintage walked past, just out of curiosity. He was lying on his bed, his magazine over his face. "I hope you don't want me to tell you a bedtime story." He said dryly, not looking up, though one ear did swivel towards her.
"Hardly." She said, leaning against his doorframe. "Just seeing what you were up to."
"It's called reading. I hope there isn't a bounty on my head for that too." He turned a page, ignoring her for a few moments before closing his magazine and setting it aside. "Forgive me for asking, but I have a question." He said, turning towards her and folding his arms behind his head.
"If you're going to ask me why I do what I do, save it, I don't want to justify myself to you."
He smiled. "Nothing so deep. To be frank, what are you?"
She paused, not expecting that one. "I'm a tixen. Half tiger, half fox. Satisfied?"
He shrugged. "Sure. Just curious, I don't see many half breeds."
"I'm unique." She said curtly. Vintage kept silent for a moment more before opening her mouth once more. "In turn, I get a question to you."
He smiled again. "If you're going to ask me why I do what I do, save it, I don't feel like justifying myself either." He said, mimicking her.
She scrunched up her face. "Ha ha ha. Actually, I wanted to ask why you males have to plaster half naked females on your walls all the time." She said, pointing around his room.
He followed her finger and shrugged. "Don't get much companionship on the longer trips, gotta have something pretty to look at just to keep a guy sane."
"Or something to keep your mind busy when you've got a paw down your pants." She retorted. "Have to keep your male egos intact."
He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "We aren't the only ones with egos, you know, or desires for that matter. You girls are just better at hiding it."
She smirked. "What makes you think we hide anything? Maybe we just don't let our libidos direct our brains."
Tarx smiled widely at that one. "Oh, I know you hide things. Like, for instance, the fact that I'm so damn irresistible you can barely stand it."
Vintage's smile melted off her face in the blink of an eye. "Oh really. Well, sorry to deflate your ego, but I think you're just another piece of fringe scum that I would sooner scrape off my boot then have personal contact with." She said curtly.
Tarx's smile didn't fade in the slightest. "Funny talk for someone who seems to think certain parts of me are worth peeking at." He said, slapping a paw on his rear.
Vintage's blood drained from her face. "You give yourself way too much credit." She said, her voice wavering very slightly.
He pointed out the door across the hall. "You see, my bathroom mirror is positioned so that I can see the area behind me pretty well, and if I'm not mistaken, I distinctly saw your head, and those pretty little eyes of yours following the goods the whole way down the hall." He said. "You can deny it all you want, but I know what I saw."
Vintage rolled her eyes, but mentally she knew she'd been caught, though she wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of being right. "In your dreams void brain." She said. "And for your information, I've seen better asses on mannequins."
He chuckled at that one, but set his magazine aside and got up, walking, no, sauntering towards her. "For a bounty hunter, you sure don't lie very well." He said, nonchalantly examining his fingertips. "Call me presumptuous, but I think it's taking all your will to not look me over right now." He folded his arms across his chest. "But maybe I'll just sate your curiosity right now."
Before Vintage could open her mouth to ask him what the hell that meant, he grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her towards him, planting a firm kiss right on the end of her muzzle, complete with a bit of tongue and a good taste of his essence. Her first reaction was to bite off that bit of tongue and then take his face off, but she realized she was actually enjoying it. As soon as he released, she took a step back. She tapped her chin a few times, then rammed a fist into his gut, causing him to clutch his belly and almost double over. She stepped forward, lowering her muzzle to his eye level and smiling cutely as he gasped a bit. "That was for being presumptuous." She grabbed him by the collar and yanked him forward, matching his kiss with one of her own, pushing her tongue into his mouth deeply before letting go. "And that was for being right." His eyes snapped back open in surprise as she let go, almost in shock. She didn't give him long to recover, and pulled him to his full height again, giving him a quick peck on the cheek as his mind was apparently struggling to work this whole thing out. It had been awhile since Vintage had had a male companion, and those old tendrils of desire began to work their way out of the woodwork. She took a step back and traced a finger under his chin, smiling sweetly. "How's that for hidden desires?"
He blinked hard, recovering from the punch to the chest, but a wry little half smile appeared on his muzzle. "So that's how it is huh?" He said, his own scent starting to thicken in the air. "Why should I help you with what you want?"
"Because, from what I can smell, you want it too."
He scrunched up his face, mentally cursing his own body. "Fine, I offer a counter deal. I show you a good time, you forget about that two thousand you still want."
She laughed at that one. "It would have to be a really good time to be worth that much buddy boy. How about I be the judge of how much a good time is worth?"
"I would seem to win either way. I have fun, it's only a matter of having to pay for it or not."
"I think not. It's my good time, not yours. That means you do what I want, when I want. Got it?"
He mulled it over in his mind. "Deal."
Vintage smiled. "Good. Now kiss me again." She said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him back to her, this time both of their tongues meeting halfway and exploring each other. He placed his paws flat on her back, murring in his throat as he kissed her. She loved his taste, musky and a bit spicy at the same time, and she savored it, pulling him close, his bare chest rubbing her red halter top. She finally let go of him and smiled. "You're good with that tongue of yours." She complimented.
"I'm flattered."
"And I'll have more use for it later." She said, licking his cheek. "Now, lay down, over there on your bunk." She said, pointing. He wordlessly moved over and lay down on his back. Vintage followed after and sat on the edge beside him, her paws rubbing over his chest, squeezing at his flesh. He folded his arms behind his head and smiled. "I thought you were doing this for your own benefit."
"I am. Feeling up a fresh virile male is a turn on for me. Since I don't see one around, you'll have to do." She said firmly rubbing at his belly. She moved her fingers up and down his chest, her claws gracing his skin now and again, making him emit a contented growl. She gave him a light slap on the belly. "Over. You were right about my views on your posterior, and now I'd like to get a closer look at it." He obliged and rolled over, his tail cocked at an angle to one side, just over the waistline of his shorts. Vintage curled her fingers over it and pulled down hard, yanking his shorts down his legs, revealing his furred behind. It was just as nice as before, but much closer at this point. She grasped each side firmly and gave it a squeeze, his tail flicking in response. She dug her fingertips firmly into his flesh, feeling up his fur and skin, rubbing her palms. The coyote was making a long contented sigh, just as she lifted one paw and gave one side of his rear a sharp slap, causing him to emit a yelp and jump slightly, which in turn made her smile. She kept rubbing for a few moments more, enjoying the feel of his flesh, one paw moving up and grasping his tail by the roots, tugging gently and rubbing over its length before letting go. She pulled his shorts the rest of the way off and set them aside before motioning him over again, stepping back herself. Smiling cutely, she undid the catches on her halter top, pulling it up over her head and laying it aside. She wore a pink bra over her ample bust, her cleavage well visible as she tugged off her boots as well. She climbed onto his bunk and straddled his chest, letting her crotch rest just over his navel, her palms resting on each of his shoulders. He smiled. "Well, seeing as I'm already undressed for the occasion, won't you join me?" He asked slyly, reaching up towards her shoulders, and the clasp for her bra. She slapped one of his incoming paws. "In good time. I think you can wait for a bit." She said, reaching down and grabbed his muzzle, pulling it up to hers and kissing him deeply, never quite getting enough of his scent. The coyote obviously wasn't quite ready for that, as he scrambled a bit on the rebound, though he was a decent kisser. As she kissed him, one of her paws fell onto his chest, rubbing up and down it, stopping here and there to stroke at a certain section. She found one of his nipples and teased at it, stroking with a finger, giving it a little pinch. He squirmed a bit, a feeling she relished, so she kept doing it, even as he whimpered in pleasure into the kiss. She released him from it and smile. "Awww, what's the matter? Big bad yote doesn't like his nipples pinched?" She said with a chuckle. Without giving him time to answer she turned around, dancing her tail across his face as she examined his crotch. He had a well formed sheath, and she reached down, grasping onto his furred balls, rolling them in her palm, teasing each one. He whimpered even more at that, until she gave his furred sack a good squeeze, making him tense up. "Let's not forget who's in charge here, hmmm?" She said coyly.
"Just be easy on the goods." He grumbled. Vintage placed her other paw on his sheath and rubbed up and down, firming her grip on occasion, nodding in satisfaction as she felt him growing within it, even to the point where she saw a bit of pink flesh showing from his opening. That was her cue to let go. "That'll do for now. Now, let's let you work on me for awhile." With that, she got up off of him and reached back, undoing the clasp on her bra and releasing it, tossing it on the deck behind her. Draylen was eying her cleavage like a predator would evaluate prey, a feeling she didn't mind too much. She hooked her thumbs into her panties and with a sharp yank, he was no longer the only nude one in the room. She motioned him up and he complied. With the bed now empty, she laid down on it, on her back, beckoning him forward. He winked and approached. "How does madam wish to be served?" He asked coyly.
"Start at the feet, and we'll go from there." He knelt down beside the bunk, taking one of her feet in his grip, kneading it in his palms, one on her heel, and one on the pads of her foot. Vintage tipped her head up, he was better at this than she would've given him credit for. Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the feeling of him massaging her foot. Then she felt him pause, and was ready to ask him what the holdup was, and then she felt something knew, a warm wet feeling wrapping around one of her toes. He was suckling on her toe like it was candy, nibbling gently from toe to toe, nipping here and there, each little touch of a tooth making her flinch. He moved his mouth down along the side of her foot, ending with a small kiss to her heel. He then placed both paws on her leg, rubbing one n each side, one coming to rest flat behind her knee, stroking through the fur at the sensitive nerves. The other was a bit more firm, getting through the fur to caress her muscles. She made a low sigh of pleasure, which he interpreted as a good thing and kept going. He completely skipped her crotch, which she hadn't expected, placing a paw on each side of her abdomen, giving a firm squeeze and a separate stroke with each finger. It tickled, but it felt good at the same time, and Vintage found herself arching her back into such treatment, unintentionally emphasizing her bust. He kept the rhythmic compression and release going for a time, before moving up and concentrating a bit on some of the things that made her female. He didn't go for blind groping, but instead lay a paw on her right breast, and placed the other underneath, cupping the base of the other. He fondled both, not yet paying any particular attention to her nipples as she had with him, just kneading her flesh in a relaxing manner. Vintage closed her eyes once more, finding the massage to soften any resolve she had, just lying there and enjoying being pampered.
Her eyes snapped open as she felt that warm wet feeling again, only now it was teasing at her nipple. His tongue tip was prodding at her left nipple, poking at the sensitive nub, tracing around it, even coiling about it and giving a warm squeeze. Vintage wasn't able to contain her low moan from the feeling and gripped the bunk covers tightly. One of his other paws drifted in from somewhere and pinched the unoccupied nipple gently, tracing at it. He finally took his claw tip and stroked the very center, causing her to almost squeal. His mouth kept working too, gradually tightening on the nipple, his tongue still dancing around it, but his teeth nipping at it like he was a newborn pup. She giggled at the sensation, so light and whimsical, yet so erotic at the same time. His mouth was gradually tightening further, until he had a solid seal on her flesh and was giving her all the suction he could, the stir of which made her want to moan again. He released her nipple and reached the paw up, resting it on her right shoulder, massaging against the muscle beneath, turning his eyes up towards hers, and smiling just as he released her nipple, lifting his head up and giving her a light kiss on the lips. "Best hold onto something, the ride is going to get bumpy from here." He said as he pulled away. She prepared to ask him exactly what that was supposed to mean, but as she opened her mouth, she felt his tongue.
Draylen had placed his head at her crotch and given one good lick, his tongue splayed as wide as it would go, covering a good deal of her silky furred mound. He wasn't trying to part her open, just sample her for now, licking around her crotch, over the sensitive skin in a fashion that was making her cringe. She made a sharp inhalation of breath as he did it again, and then again, coating her pubic fur with a good licking several time over. After a few minutes, he looked up at her. "Does madam wish me to proceed?" He asked calmly.
Vintage hissed between her teeth. "She does."
"Then turn over." Vintage did as he asked, and was somewhat startled as she felt her lower half being lifted up. Draylen placed her legs on each side of his head draping her tail right over the middle, between his ears. While she pondered the unusual position, she snapped her eyes open as she felt his tongue once more. This one wasn't pussyfooting around, and the tip of his tongue slid between her outer folds, down the middle of her mound, grazing at the sensitive flesh beneath. He made one complete cycle, ending at her clit, to which he gave several little licks in quick succession. Vintage clamped her eyes shut and gritted her teeth at the treatment, letting out a moan through her clenched jaws, her grip on the bunk covers tightening under his oral treatment. Draylen apparently took notice of this and took it as a positive, seeing as he kept right on doing it. He leaned his entire body back so her angle onto the bed wasn't as extreme, a good deal of her weight resting on her bust. He moved back to sliding his tongue back and forth between her folds, but each whisk of his tongue had more force behind it, and he was gradually moving closer to penetrating her with it. She felt his tip move past her inner folds, and subsequently jerked at the increased stimulation, her face tightening up, her eyes squeezing shut. Her heart was beating much faster now, thumping in her chest. He seemed to slow for now, content to just stroke between her inner folds and then smooth, moist flesh within. Vintage momentarily craned her head around, and noted with amused interest that Draylen had an erection like a rock... her scent and the pure act of pleasuring a female was obviously turning him on. Vintage smiled to herself and reached back, stroking the very tip of Draylen's erection with a single finger a few times. He jumped slightly, the fluid motions of his tongue interrupted momentarily. Suddenly it was Vintage's turn to jump as his tongue slid back, seeming to disappear for a moment, then spearing forward and burying itself in her up to the base. Vintage moaned loudly... she'd been wet before, but by this point, she was positively dripping. She could feel the intensity rising in her sex as he explored deeper. She'd been right before, he was talented with that tongue, as now, every couple breaths she took was accompanied by a moan. He was twisting his tongue from side to side, jostling his muzzle from side to side, before settling it squarely over her spread slit, his chin resting just above her clit, the tiny furs there occasionally giving it a light caress. She wasn't sure if he was meaning to do this or not, but it was definitely a welcome feeling. She squirmed a little in his grasp, her sex clasping at his tongue, but he had mobility on her, and trying to pin it down was not possible. He was jerking it back and forth in little thrusts, each one making her shiver, until he was doing it so fast she couldn't differentiate one from another, and simply vented her pleasured frustration in one long moan. He immediately slowed, and simply pushed his tongue forward, seemingly searching for the right spot... she knew he'd found it a moment later as her body gave an agonized lurch in his grip, her senses flooded with pure pleasure. He'd found her G-spot alright, and was working it with the tip of his tongue like there was no tomorrow. Vintage squirmed more intently, almost like she wanted to get out of his grip, but she knew if she was successful, the wonderful treatment would stop. Draylen was going faster now, his tongue seemingly everywhere and nowhere at the same time, his nose pressed firmly against her dripping folds. Vintage breathed hard, she was very close and Draylen, if he was aware of it, didn't take that as a sign to slow down. He pushed his nose harder, suddenly jerking his tongue back and forth across the sensitive little spot, each time getting a pleasured exclamation from Vintage.
Finally, his tongue paused, right where it was, its warmth on her G-spot. She wondered what he was waiting for, but a second later, she got her answer. He wrapped his lips over her sex, including her clit, a spike of pleasure going through her as her sensitized clit felt his mouth on it. At the same time, his tongue circled on her clit, as if buffing a shiny surface, and he breathed his hot breath over her slit. All put together, it was more than Vintage's senses could take. Letting out a long, loud cry of pleasure, she let herself go, and was flooded with one of the most intense orgasms she'd ever experienced. Her body writhed in pleasure as her nerves were all set afire, the pleasure she'd experienced at her crotch spreading through her body. Through her climax, she felt as though she was floating, dimly aware of the stroking motions of Draylen's tongue, but they were slower and more subdued. Breathing hard, her body gave a few more twitches as her orgasm left its traces behind, before she lay limply on the bed, panting. She felt Draylen remove his tongue, and subsequently as he eased her down onto the bed. She turned onto her side and smiled at him. "You know... I've needed something like that for awhile." She said.
He nodded. "I could tell. You were tense." He said, as if it was a stated fact.
She looked up at him. His muzzle was coated with a liberal layer of her juices, though he certainly didn't appear to mind, as he licked his chops a time or two. "But I think I want to cut that tongue out and keep it for other times when I need it." She said playfully, reaching out and stroking his nose. She sat up, leaking a few more drops of her juice onto his bunk.
Draylen smiled back. "I don't think it quite works as well when it's detached." He said coyly, wiping a finger along his muzzle and licking it off. She smiled and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him in for a kiss, tasting herself in his mouth. She broke it a moment later and nuzzled his cheek. "It appears I was wrong about you in more ways than one." She said, smirking and giving his cheek a little lick.
He raised an eyebrow. "Well, you could say I'm a man of many talents. Oh, and I'd like to point out that you taste good." He said, adding the last bit in quickly.
"I'm glad you approve, it all came straight from the source." She said. "But you know, as much as I liked your tongue, I think I need something else to fill a... need." She tapped a finger against her chin in mock concentration. "Something firm, not too big, nice and warm too..." As she spoke, she nonchalantly reached out and grasped her paw lightly around his malehood, absently stroking it. "...something that would leave me feeling nice and full, and of course, something that's just fun to squeeze..." She tightened her grip momentarily, mentally smiling as he jumped a bit. "Well now, what have we here?" She said, as if she realized just now what she had a hold of. "Why, I think this will do nicely." She finished, releasing her grip on his member and leaning in more closely to examine it. She closed her eyes and took a deep sniff, enjoying his aroma. It was a musky male scent, but with a spicy hint to it. He was well formed, not as big as some of the males she'd crossed paths with, but at the moment it looked very enticing, especially with the clear bead of pre he'd secreted. She reached out a finger and dabbed it off, watching the little strand of the viscous fluid pull along after her finger, which she promptly licked off. Vintage came back up, resting her paws on Draylen's shoulders and giving him a little kiss. "Lie down on your back." She said calmly, and he settled down on his bunk, his erection looking like a crotch mounted flagpole. She moved and straddled his legs, edging along until her sex resided right over is member, which seemed as ready to go as ever.
However, he was a wry but quizzical look on his face. "Something wrong?" she asked mildly.
"Well, I thought this was all about your pleasure, not mine." He said. At least he was honest.
Vintage smiled and reached down, stroking a paw along the bridge of his muzzle. "Well, before, you controlled my pleasure. Now I get to control yours, and that's almost as big a turn on. I do find it odd though; most males wouldn't be asking questions at this point."
He shrugged. "Most males weren't bedding someone who'd had a gun to their heads a few hours previously."
She smiled. "Point taken. Now stop asking questions and let me screw your brains out." With that, she lowered her body downwards until her sex rested on his tip. She paused at this point, gyrating her hips a bit, teasing at his tip, and enjoying watching him squirm in anticipation, as she'd done before. She gradually slowed, settling into a tightening spiral, until she was once again centered over his member, and without pausing, let herself drop. She fully mounted him in a single swift motion, his member plunging into her well slickened depths. Both of them gave a simultaneous moan, and he had his eyes clamped shut. Vintage paused. God, it felt good, he had her filled enough to be firm, but wasn't so big as to stretch anything, and she squeezed her vaginal muscles around him, testing how he felt within her. Rippling her muscled, she massaged at his shaft, giving it a good coating of her juices as he lifted his head, his tongue hanging to one side. His chest was rising and falling in a labored rhythm, the fact that she could control him like this was a major turn on for Vintage. "If this is what I get from just mounting him, he's going to go nuts when I take him for all he's got..." She thought, smiling deviously. Placing her paws on his chest, rubbing with her fingertips, Vintage lifted herself, slipping along his length, giving the head of his member a good squeeze as she got to the appropriate height, before plopping back down, letting him fill her fully once more, releasing a low moan as he slipped through her. Vintage began to bounce herself up and down along his length, slowly for now, steadily keeping a good grip on him. She felt his paws come to rest on each side of her abdomen, clutching her in a firm but gentle grip. He was having the ride of his life from the expression on his face, and from the way she could feel the occasional spasm go down his buried length. Vintage kept up her pace, but leaned down until her breasts rested on his chest, most of her weight on him. She grabbed his head and pulled his muzzle to hers, kissing him deeply and passionately, still pushing her hips up and down over his pulsating member. She moaned into his mouth on one particularly hard thrust, amused to see him do the same thing, their voices interweaving in the fury of passion. He gripped her as well, his arms interweaving across her back, his eyes clamped shut, his teeth gritted. Vintage pulled back from the kiss, looking down at his face as he managed to open his eyes as she slowed her thrusting. She looked into those eyes, their bright color, smiling. He smiled back, reaching up, in the midst of it all, to lovingly stroke and hold her cheek. She nuzzled at his paw, kicking her speed up a bit, and was subsequently rewarded with a feeing of warmth in her depths; he was releasing pre, which meant he wasn't far from his climax. She grinned, showing teeth, and clenched her sex around his member, now intent on screwing his brains out, and making it as intense for both of them as she could. Vintage slammed down in hard, long strokes, as tight as she could make herself. It was getting harder and harder to concentrate, the problem with her current tactic was that it afforded her maximum contact with him, and she was feeling her sex almost shivering as she approached climax herself. Moaning hard, her grip on his shoulders tightened, and she was thankful she could keep her claws away from his flesh, otherwise by now the coyote would be well perforated. He was trying to take it like a male, his jaw locked and an expression of intense concentration on his face, but Vintage wasn't concerned, he'd crack during climax.
Vintage set her jaw. She was very close now; a thin trail of her juices resting on Draylen's groin, but neither of them cared. She clamped down harder, increasing friction, closer and closer until her eyes snapped open. Draylen gave a long howl of ecstasy and Vintage felt a substantial warmth as he climaxed, his canine seed spilling into her, providing an inner fire, as well as additional lubricant. However, it was enough, as Vintage felt herself let go a moment after he did. Releasing a loud bark, followed by a moan, Vintage climaxed as well, her passage clenching tightly around Draylen and not letting go as she rode her second climax, even more intense than the first one. Still grinding her hips in hard thrusts, her tail flicking behind her like a chained beast, she rode him as she rode her climax, intent on squeezing every last drop of intensity from both of them. Draylen's stone mask crumbled as he degenerated into a moaning, primal beast as Vintage forced him to use all his stamina to stay with her, the strain of his orgasm clearly draining at him. Vintage kept riding at him until she felt his flow into her sex slowing, about the same time as the intensity of her own orgasm wound down. Vintage collapsed onto Draylen's chest, feeling temporarily weakened from the intensity of her orgasm. He held her, still buried in her sex, laying her cheek against his. They both lay there, in silence, except for the labored breathing from both of them. Finally, he spoke, still looking up at the ceiling. "Well... I hope that was worth 2000 credits..." he said, a coy tone in his voice.
Vintage turned, propping up her chin with a paw. "I think that would qualify Tarx." She said, smiling, and rubbing his nose with a finger. "Probably for more than that."
"Enough for me to get my other 6000 back?"
"Let's not go nuts."
He smiled and held her close, nibbling at her ear. "Alright, I suppose you're worth it." He said, turning them both to one side and glancing down. "At some point we are going to have to separate, otherwise we're going to end up glued together." He said.
"It can wait. I'll admit, I like the full feeling." She said. "I wouldn't mind staying like this for a bit."
"I think I can manage." He said, kissing her on the cheek.
Vintage lay there for a few moments. "Mind if I just sleep here?" She asked.
"I was going to invite you to anyway." After a few more minutes, Vintage finally felt him softening within her and pulled her hips forward, releasing him, not to mention a good deal of both their juices. She reached down and dabbed a pair of fingers across her crotch, dampening them both and licking one off. "Not bad." She commented. "A bit more spice than I usually take, but otherwise..." she held out the other finger and he slurped it once, nodding in agreement. "Not bad at all." He smiles.
Vintage pulled him down beside her, wrapping her arms about him and snuggling against his fur. He did the same to her. "I still think you're fringe scum." She said, not opening her eyes.
"And I still think you're a freeloader, but not an especially bad one." He murmured back.
Smiling to herself, Vintage closed her eyes and enjoyed his warmth, feeling his gentle breathing, and gradually dozed off.
"You're sure about this?" Asked Draylen, standing in the open hatchway. "I could probably give you a ride to a more populated transit hub."
Vintage shook her head. "Nah. This was the deal, I'll stick to it. Besides, I don't fit in as well at most major centers." She said, slinging her pack over her shoulder. "The Union will probably still have a price on your head, despite what I tell them."
"I'm used to it. There's always somebody out to get me, I'll just lay low til it blows over."
Vintage crossed her arms. "In a weird way I'm going to miss you Tarx."
He smiled. "In a weird way I'm going to miss my 6000 credits, oh and you too." He chuckled.
Vintage walked back up the ramp and patted his cheek. "Goodbye Dray. Don't disappear too well; I might want to be able to find you again sometime."
"Try around Canis Prime, I hang around there a lot." He said. "But I have to get running, I'm already late."
Vintage smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Good luck Tarx, I may have to come after you again if the price on your head goes up." He scrunched up his face and closed the hatchway. As Vintage stepped off the boarding ramp, Draylen's ship lifted off and pivoted, the coyote appearing in the cockpit window and giving a jaunty wave before he headed off for deep space.
"You may be a piece of fringe scum who's too full of himself for his own good... but you're a half decent guy..." She said to no one, watching the sky for a moment before turning and making her way deeper into the spaceport.