Shipwrecked

[Kikora]

For months, the simple merchant ship Psallo had been allowed to travel in peace, under the protection of local laws and security surrounding the small planetary system. They ran simple trade, mostly shipping exotic foods or plants from one section to another, without fear of retaliation.

The attack, then, came as a shock. They were shipping a particularly rare mineral across the border of two small systems when the larger ship attacked. Their vessel wasn't equipped to fight off the attack, and within an hour of the first fire, their ship was boarded, and the mineral stolen. They left Psallo drifting in space, their engines down, and life support failing. Frantically the crew struggled to keep as many alive as possible, to wait until rescue.

They shut down power on one deck, then another, trying to rush as many survivors as possible to decks they could hold power in... But slowly the levels were lost, and the struggle to save lives was failing. Reserve power failed, and the two who managed to make it to sickbay huddled behind the shield of the young white witch, Teyha, in her desperate attempt to extend their existence.

"There's a ship approaching." Kaura whispered, her eyes locked onto one of the few working peices of equipment in the room.

Teyha moved to kneel next to the Elf, her eyes locked onto the shield, their last bit of defense. "How long?" She asked quietly, unable to make heads or tails of the complex gibberish that ran across the screen.

"A few minutes... If they don't pass right by us." Kaura whispered back.

"How can we attract their notice?" Teyha asked softly, and Kaura just shook her head. With little to no power... They just had to wait and hope.

 

[Remec]

The void was called that for a reason. Most of it was empty, parsecs becoming light years becoming distances for which there really weren't common-use words for all filled with exactly nothing. It was one of the things Newell Freeport liked about it, actually. Made his latest career venture something of a challenge, since anyone could go to where things were and find stuff, but to go where nothing was the norm and bring back things with value...that was something he was beginning to really like.

Like now

He clicked on the comm. "Attention: We have a drifting vessel to our starboard side. Should be in detail scanning range momentarily. Preliminary scans say it's probably a merchant. Frank, you up for a walkabout?"

A deep rumbly voice replied from the speakers. "Yeah...I'll prep the Bird. Get those details up ASAP, I want to know what I might be dealing with. And who."

A few minutes later, Science Officer Aldarras' face appeared on a vidscreen in the hanger. "Mr Anderson? I have your detail." His image was replaced with a readout and schematic, but his voice continued on. "Merchant vessel, Psallo,. overdue with a shipment of minerals and supplies. It appears to have been attacked, boarded, looted, and the life support systems disabled."

"That's rough," Anderson said. "Should be a good salvage, though. We might be able to bring most of the ship back for the owners."

"Owner-operated," replied Aldarras as he reappeared. "We can try and bring back the whole thing and have it appraised for refitting and selling or broken to components and sold for parts. Although, I am getting an anomalous reading."

Ugh Frank hated anything anomalous. "Such as?"

"There's a shield up within the ship. Mystical. Could be crewmembers or passengers alive, they may have prior claim to salvage under the Andean doctrine."

"I guess I'll find out. Launching Bird now."

*********​

A short time passed while The Dryad set up a position to watch over the wreckage of the Psallo and Frank Anderson manuevered the Bird onto the mechant ship's hull and activated the magnoclamps. He cycled the 'lock and slipped silently from his scout ship and entered the larger vessel through a breach.

As he walked, he had his helm monitor record what he saw and heard on spectrums both above and below his regular senses and gave Aldarras word to contact him if anything appeared on the readout back aboard the Dryad.

Once he made it to sickbay, he found what Aldarras had termed as an anomaly. "Found it. Looks to be two inside. Really faint readings. 'Port us over directly, I'll come back for the Bird later. Over"

"Ten-four. 'Porting to Sickbay, Over and out."

The air around them sparkled and Frank and the shielded Psallo survivors appeared on the Dryad. "Now, how to get them out?"
-----

 

[Kikora]

"The ship is slowing!" Kaura exclaimed, examining the computer screen with wide eyes. It was almost too much for the Elf to believe, she had expected the vessel to pass. Space was littered with empty, destroyed vessels left to drift through the void. Often times it was difficult to tell how long a ship had been abandoned.

Teyha moved to see the screen clearly, her young face reflecting the same incredulous look that her friend's had. "Will they be able to read our life signs behind my shield?" She questioned, mostly to herself.

Kaura shook her head slightly. "Not unless they move closer, but your magic would show as an anomaly, it might make them send..." Her lips twitched slightly up into a relieved smile, "They're sending a smaller vessel."

"Boarding vessel?" Teyha questioned, only to be given a blank look by the Elven woman. She smiled awkwardly back and shrugged. "No way to tell?"

"Well, they are boarding, but we can't be sure of their intentions." Kaura told her. "Their ship has attached to the hull..." Teyha leaned in closer, staring at the screen, and Kaura put a hand on the younger woman's shoulder, patting her absently to try to calm the witches nerves. If she became too nervous she might drop their shield by mistake, and lose what bit of livable conditions they maintained. "Someone is on their way." Kaura told her, and stood, moving as close to the sickbay door as she could without touching the shimmering shield holding in their air.

Moments later a lone human appeared before the door, and Teyha jumped to her feet, rushing to the edge of the shield. 'Ten-four. Porting to Sickbay, over and out.' The man said, speaking through a headset to his ship.

The air shimmered briefly, as everything they saw disappeared in a burst of light... To be replaced by a new sickbay, the same human standing outside Teyha's shield, questioning how to drop the shield she wove. "I will release it." Teyha said, her voice slightly hoarse from emotion. The shield that obscured them from view vanished, and Teyha gasped, releasing her source of magic. Without the rush of power she stumbled forward and collapsed to her knees, exhaustion hitting her in a rush. Kaura rushed to catch her, looping an arm under hers to keep her from crumbling completely.

"She had been maintaining that shield for hours." She explained. "It takes a good bit of energy."

 

[Remec]

Frank was just about to call Aldarras to Sickbay when a voice from within the glow answered his idle musing. "I will release it," said the voice and there was suddenly no light field filling up the space between him and the two figures.

First impression was of slender, dark, shapely females but it was overwhelmed by the instinctive reaction of Anderson's reflexes as the one who had apparently spoken fell forward. He was on his own knees in a flash, placing his body before hers and putting his hands up to catch on her shoulders and help her friend in keeping her from hitting the deck.

"I see," he said in answer to the second one's words. "Yeah, I'd be hard pressed to maintain something like that for hours. Is she a mage or a psi?"

"I believe," came Aldarras' deep even monotone from the doorway behind Anderson, "that the young lady bears mystical abilities similar to my own, but sufficiently different that she most likely does things in an entirely different way than I do." He entered the room and acknowledged Kaura's presence with a nod.

"I am Science Officer Aldarras. This gentleman is Mr Frank Anderson, currently serving as ship's captain. There are two others aboard who will be introduced should it be necessary. Are you the only survivors on your vessel? I could detect no other life signs."

Aldarras motioned to Anderson to give Kaura a hand in lifting Tehya onto one of the beds in the bay. "We will let your friend rest. Do you think she would object to a vitamin shot?"
-----

 

[Kikora]

Kaura was thankful for the man for helping her support her weary friend. Teyha panted softly, her soft grey eyes closing when it became apparent she wasn't going to hit the floor. If it weren't for the fact that she was so incredibly exhausted, she would never have allowed the man to grasp her shoulders, or let her body lean against his for support. As it was, she couldn't summon the energy to care, and her head slumped forward, resting lightly on the human's shoulder.

The addition of the second Elf had Kaura back on her feet in the blink of an eye, her hand still supporting the young witch as she bowed deeply to the man who was likely her elder.

The gesture complete, her hands moved under the girl's shoulder, and lifted, helping move her to the sickbay bed easily enough. "Similar, but very different, I would think if your powers bear resemblance to mine." She told the other elf, Aldarras, in an even tone, raising her eyes to meet his. "This is Teyha Lockra, she prefers the distinction 'white witch', as the archaic term suits her tastes. She was our doctor's second, medical officer." Teyha groaned softly at the mention of her name, but was soon enough asleep on the sick bay table, her breathing slowed to short pants. "I am Kaura Vertae, charged with maintaining the various plant life and creatures we transported now and again. As far as I am aware, we are the only survivors."

She glanced down at the pale girl on the table, and nodded briefly. "She would not object. Please, do what you can."

 

[Remec]

Aldarras nodded and moved past Anderson to rummage through several drawers and cabinets against the far wall. He then brought a small tray to the stand near the bed and rolled it closer to where Teyha lie. In the tray were a couple of small vials which he decanted into a larger container and then slipped the mix into the feeding chamber of a large hypo-unit.

He turned to Kaura and said, "This will help her regain both energy and vitality faster than sleep or even elven trance, but it works best when given intramuscularly. I will need to bare your friend's thigh in order to inject it properly. Would you give me a hand in that?"

Aldarras cut a glance to Frank who was already backing out of the room. "Don't even say it," he told the elf, "Much as I'd appreciate seeing such shapely thighs unclothed, I know better. I'll be on the bridge coordinating with Newell on the priorities of the salvage and rescue operation."

He brushed back his somewhat shaggy sandy brown hair and flashed a smile to Kaura. His hazel-green eyes sparkled a bit in the yellowed light of the sickbay and he gave her a slight dip of his head. "Perhaps you can give us a hand with that when you've gotten your friend squared away?"

Even with Anderson leaving, Aldarras stepped up and drew a long curtain from a hidden panel in the wall out and around the bed where Teyha was. He then gave Kaura a questioning look.
-----

 

[Kikora]

Kaura didn't move from Teyha's side as Alsarras rummaged through the cabinets, plucking down several carefully selected vials. He mixed them together with the trained eye of a scientist, and poured the mixture into a a hypo-unit to inject her with. Kaura smiled slightly in amusement, musing to herself that it was fortunate the girl was unconscious, as the large needle would likely frighten her. It was a well known joke on their ship how she would avoid receiving shots.

His request made her raise an eyebrow. If there was one thing the petite witch hated more than needles, it was the very thought of being unclothed in front of others. Even with the human male leaving the room, she would be quite uncomfortable indeed.

From inside her boot Kaura fished out a small blade, and grasped the baggy fabric, raising it slightly away from the girl's leg to cut a straight four inch line down the front. She pulled it slightly apart. "I do hope that this will work." She told Aldarras with a slight smile. "Teyha would not be pleased if I allowed a man to see her with her clothing undone."

 

[Remec]

When Kaura had first taken out the knife, Aldarras had raised an eyebrow. Unless he had mistaken how Teyha's outfit was put together, it did not seem likely that it would need to be cut from her body. Then he saw what she was up and smiled.

The Dryad's Science Officer drew himself upright and regarded Kaura. Both of the women were beautiful, albeit in slightly different ways, but both were also rather dark the witch was strangely appealing to him as Aldarras did not often find himself drawn to humans; and the Elf struck him as, in the words of his council, a bit earthbound.

He was tall and his hair cascaded down his back in a long braid of gold with hints of flaxen and straw mixed into it, small ringlets dangled in a couple places around the border of his face and accentuated the elliptical shape of it. His eyes were equally bright, being blue to the point of having almost no colour at all--like ice made from the purest of waters, or blue diamond.

"That would be why I sent the man out of the room," Aldarras said. "If you feel Teyha would rather you damage what is, at present, her only clothing instead of simply rolling it down far enough to get this injection in the right place, then this will work quite well."

He then reached two fingers into the slit Kaura had made and spread the fabric just far enough to let him insert the hypounit inside and make certain that its tip rested against the right part of Teyha's bare thigh. It made the usual hiss as he squeezed its trigger, and the exhausted elf maiden's body flinched at the needle's sudden, if brief, intrusion.

"That should be that," he told Kaura. "Now we just let her rest. How is she about waking in a strange place? Should we activate the beds restraints?"
-----

 

[Kikora]

Kaura was grateful the other Elf simply allowed her to cut the hole in the clothing. He drew up straight to watch her, his bright blue eyes examining her and her friend in great detail before he spoke. His words might have struck a human as rude, but Kaura simply shook her head, accustomed to the bluntness of her kind.

"Teyha can fix her clothing using magic." Kaura explained, pulling apart the rip to assist the officer in administrating the drug. She tucked a stand of brown hair behind her her absently, to keep it from falling in her face. Her usual intricate braid had come apart in the chaos, and her hair now fell in free waves around her shoulder and down her back. "But her pride is not so easily mended, I am afraid."

She lightly brushed at Teyha's messy black locks as well, pushing them out of her eyes with the very tips of her fingers before she set her attention back of what the officer was doing. He parted the cloth further, and pressed the hypo-unit flush to her skin. With a press of the button he injected the vitamins straight into her system, and the little witch jerked briefly before settling back peacefully.

"I believe she would be far more disturbed to wake up restrained than to wake up in an unfamiliar environment." Kaura pointed out. "With her magic it would be very unwise to cause her to panic." She stepped away from the bedside, and turned to face Aldarras fully, bowing deeply at the waist. "I had not thanked you properly for your aid." Kaura told him softly, slowly rising completely. "And of course, should you need anything, Teyha and myself offer our services."

 

[Remec]

Aldarras watched Kaura's bow with interest. It was always an interesting thing to run across others of his kind shipside. As insular as their culture tended to be, he had found surprising similarities from planet to planet. It was enough to make him question whether Elves might have been among the first starfarers after all, rather than merely firstborn on most of the worlds they originated upon.

He looked over the sleeping Teyha, as well, wondering what sorts of skills and Talents someone who called themselves a white witch might bring to the operation of the Dryad. His lips curled in a rather interesting manner as Kaura had spoken.

His time around such humans as Frank and Newell was apparently rubbing off on him as he not only had a thought that was more like what either of them would have come up with, but Aldarras found himself vocalizing it like Anderson might have done. "We will discuss thanks and payment later, I am sure. As for needing services from you, well, we'll speak on that as well, although a few things come to mind."
-----

 

[Kikora]

If Aldarras had been suggesting anything inappropriate in his statement, it went well over the head of the relatively young Kaura. She smiled brightly at him for a moment, her expression melting warm and inviting. She always considered meeting a fellow elf among the stars a rare treat, and enjoyed the opportunity to witness their similarities and differences. The slight variance in appearance, his hair a light gold, eyes a startling blue... While her own was soft brown, a snowy white steam at the very crown of her head, and dark emerald eyes. His voice low and monotonous, while her own danced and played lightly, often filled with a soft humor or subtle joy.

She pulled back the screen, and motioned for the man to follow her, away from the motionless witch. "Even with the injection she will sleep for a few hours." Kaura murmured, mostly to herself. "We should allow her some quiet while she gains back her energy, do you agree?"

She extended a hand, holding it palm up elegantly, as if asking for his hand in a dance. "Would you be kind enough to allow me a brief tour of your ship?" She asked, beaming brightly once more, her green eyes sparkling with delight. "Perhaps a shower, to wash the soot of our ship away?"

 

[Remec]

"I believe that can be arranged," Aldarras said. "The shower, I mean. Newell is running a check on your vessel to see what we need to secure and safeguard our salvage claims. Now that we have your names, we will be adding you into the search to make sure you are who and what you claim to be."

He tried to give Kaura a bit of a reasssuring smile. "Safety first, after all."

Aldarras moved to the a door on the far side of the room. It was not the door Frank had exited from. "If you will come with me, there is a place through here where you can wait for your friend and refresh yourself."

He opened the door and stepped through, then turned to wait for Kaura.
-----

 

[Kikora]

Kaura nodded briefly, taking no offense to the identity checks. There were too mant who took advantage of the charity of others, and used tragedy to bolster their own rank in the universe. "That would be wise." She told him with yet another brief smile. "If you would like I could offer my knowledge on what we were transporting. I believe the pirates stole most of the ore before they fled, but there was other cargo." It might seem callous to some that she was so quick to allow these men to strip her old home, steal all that was valuable to them... But there was no point in allowing her comrades to have died for no cause. Adrift in space with all their valuable treasures, useless to all.

He moved to a door on the other side of the room, opening and stepping through, obviously expecting Kaura to follow. She glanced briefly at her friend before following, her hands folded neatly before her.

 

[Remec]

Aldarras stepped further into the space beyond the door to let Kaura enter. Inside, she found a comfortable looking, if small, stateroom. There was no bed or obvious hiding place for a stowed bunk or cot, but there was several places for seating--two at small work desks, six around a table made from the sort of material one might find in a countertop, and several more in the form of some chairs and two small loveseats.

The Science Officer pointed to two doors along the wall to Kaura's left. "The convalescent quarters will suffice since we would not want to leave you in rooms too far apart from one another with your friend so exhausted," he told her. "This one here," he said as he turned and gestured to another door on the right wall, "leads to a bathroom and showering area."

"Feel free to help yourself to either." The older elf moved to go by Kaura, and she could not help but notice the way his eyes flickered up and down her form as he was doing so. He stopped by the door and looked back at her, "If there is anything you need, the intercoms are by the light switches near the main entrance to each suite of rooms."

"Before I go, is there anything else I might do for you?"
-----

 

[Kikora]

Kaura followed the older Elf into the stateroom, looking around at the comfortable space with a smile. It was small, easily half the size of the room on her old shuttle, but from the way Aldarras spoke this would not be a permanent stay either way. He pointed out the various necessities of the room, the toilet and shower area, and of course communication devices before turning to brush past her.

His eyes darted up and down her form for a moment, but Kaura brushed it immediately off, hardly paying enough mind to remember the action.

She reached for a chair to take a seat for a few minutes, and winced at a sharp and painful pull in her shoulder. She withdrew her hand, and rolled her shoulder for a moment, remembering that she had struck it during the attack. Adreneline was a strange magic, she mused, that she hadn't even felt any pain until after the sander had passed. "Actually, Aldarras." She said quietly. "Perhaps it would be wise to check for injuries before a shower. There seem to be a few I cannot account for."

 

[Remec]

"Certainly. I must apologize for not having had you both scanned properlu for such things." He looked her over once more and his association with the other men on the Dryad rose up in his thoughts.

Hmm...been a long time since I've 'checked' someone for injuries. This may be interesting.

"Shall I get the scanner now? Or, it might be easier if we made a visual and tactile surveillance of any problem areas and bring the scanner in if we deem it necessary."

Aldarras stepped a little closer to Kaura. His height seemed to have grown as he looked down on her. Quietly, he told her, "Go ahead and get undressed, then. Would you like some assistance?"
-----

 

[Kikora]

"Not at all, the more pressing problem was Teyha's recovery, it is easy to overlook other, minor, details." Kaura responded, already removing her outer coat. "Teyha will insist on doing her own delving, it is how she is. It had taken our doctors months to have her undress for a scan."

She smiled slightly as she set her folded coat on one of the chairs, and looked up in surprise as the sudden closeness of the other elf. Her eyes widened briefly as he looked down at her, and she had to wonder if he was that much taller than she was before? "I believe using the scanner would be wise." She told him. "There are some injuries that are hard to place based on sight and touch alone.

With that she shed her shirt, neatly folding it and laying it on top of the coat. "I believe I can undress alone, Mr Aldarras." She said, and pulled off her boots setting them aside before she slid off her pants, and underwear, standing nude before him without any hesitation in the act. "I believe the most serious injury is to my left shoulder." She told him, placing her fingers lightly on the bruised area. They trailed down towards her breast, lightly kneading, and ended a good ways in to her bosom. "The pain ends there, which is about where I was struck."

 

[Remec]

Aldarras nodded. He reached a hand out to touch Kaura's shoulder where she had indicated and noted any outward sign of pain or discomfort. "I can see a bit of discolouration to the skin right along the path you show," he said as his fingers traced their way along the trail of her injury.

The Science Officer's hand slid its palm along the curve of Kaura's breast and ended at the place where she'd said the pain stopped. "You were struck here, but the pain continues from this point back to your shoulder?" he asked. "Interesting."

He removed his hand and tried to keep his eyes from noticeably looking elsewhere, but they did wander--and even linger--here and there about her naked form. "I will bring in the scanner for a more thorough exploration," he said. "Perhaps, when we have finished and you have showered and are refreshed, we could do a preliminary scan of Teyha through her clothes? If anything seems unusual, you could convince her to run the full scan later."
-----

 

[Kikora]

Kaura hardly flinched when the science officer moved his hand across her breast, feeling the tender bruise. "A support beam gave way." Kaura explained. "It struck me across the shoulder, and down to my bosom."

She gestured across the area once more while the science officer continued to search her for injury. His eyes danced over the rise of her breast, her creamy skin, pert breasts and pink nipples. They dipped to her taunt stomach, flat with just a hint of muscle, and the generous slope of her hips. His eyes settled for a moment on her bare womanhood, clean of hair and perfectly exposed to his eyes.

And yet, not once did Kaura think the encounter sexual. He was a science officer, medically trained, and she was his patient for now. Unlike Teyha she felt no need to tack on the complications of gender or race to the medical procedure. "I don't see why she would protest, if there is any serious damage it would be wise to identify it early." Kaura responded as Aldarras moved to retrieve the scanner. "And I do apologize for her willfulness. Teyha is a stubborn child, more often than not it only causes her more grief. But she will learn, eventually."

 

[Remec]

"Indeed," Aldarras said just before he stepped back into Sickbay's main chamber. His voice was muffled by the doorway between them for a moment, but Kaura could hear him continuing to speak. "She will find that willfulness will not sit well upon the Dryad. When she wakes, you will have to sound her out for us, and make certain she knows that the captain will not brook any shenanigans. Not from crew members, such as we have, or passengers, when we have them, and certainly not from salvage survivors, who's payment for being rescued is still to be decided."

He returned to the convalescent chamber with a small device upon a wheeled cart. "Now, we can clearly see where the beam struck you, which is good, but we will scan on the epidermal level anyways, just to be safe, and then progress through more internal layers of flesh, muscle, blood paths, and bone."

Aldarras moved back to Kaura's side and placed a hand at her shoulder and one on the opposite hip. "Let me know if there is any pain when I shift your arm, shoulder, and torso. Okay? Very well" He tilted her a bit into a position where her face and most of her body was turned as if heading obliquely away from the scanner, but her shoulder was turned more into its lenses and diagnostic tools--thus helping to isolate the injured area and make the scan more useful.

She seems to be taking all of the probing and prodding well. I wish I could say the same. The baser instincts of my fellow crewmen will bring me down to their level eventually, I'm afraid. I just hope Kaura is not observant enough to notice my unprofessional response to her nakedness.

 

[Kikora]

It would seem that on this ship Teyha's excessive modesty would serve her far more harm than good, Kaura told herself with a frown. She had every intention of warning Teyha to ignore her shyness but knew the young woman was painfully stubborn at times. "I am sure she will not cause too much trouble." Kaura responded softly as Aldarras returned with the cart.

Kaura didn't move as the older elf placed his hands on her, one of her shoulder and the other on her hip, carefully turning her into torso, and she followed his lead without a protest. "As far as I can tell I only have pain in my shoulder when it is pressed, or I try to raise it too far." She told him as he worked, "I don't feel anything more out of the ordinary."

She shifted only slightly, and flickered her eyes over to watch Aldarras for a moment. "If I might ask..." She said quietly. "The witch's modesty, would it serve to inconvenience this ship? It was a source of amusement in the Psallo, but never trouble. What duties might we have upon this ship that her quirks would be ill advised?"

 

[Remec]

Aldarras continued to process the information being taken by the scanner. He programmed it to take multiple images of all levels with varying angles for the recording lens, and to both save copies of the images and send them to the main computer on the bridge. That'll let me work from whatever station I am currently at.

He sighed slightly and looked at Kaura. "That is entirely up to Mr Anderson. As captain of this vessel, he is the one who determines what salvage we claim and what is ultimately done with it." He bent over the scanner to adjust something, and take his eyes off of Kaura's body for a few moments.

"Hah!" A loud voice from the door to sickbay drew both of the elves' attention. Standing framed in the doorway was a stout man of five feet in height, maybe less, wearing an orange and black machinist's jumpsuit and a toolbelt. He eyed Kaura with an open hunger and passed a hand through his thick. black-and-grey brindled beard. "Jus' lahk an elf ta be perfec'ly unclear even wid anodder elf."

He stepped into the room and Kaura could see a name tag sewn onto his jumpsuit that said "Stonehammer" and a faded shoulder patch that marked him as a miner in a star system she knew was populated and controlled by various Dwarven clans. His slate blue eyes traveled openly up and down the naked elf's form and he licked his lips.

"Wha' he's sayin' is dat you an' yer friend have been salvaged. Dis star system's salvage laws say we have claim to everything on the vessel in question. Equipment, cargo, debris...everything...right down to the clothes on...well, at the moment, on her back" he gestured back towards sickbay and Teyha.

"And dat ain't all," he went on, "if you an' her can't come up wid yer rescue fee, dis system says we can keep you 'til you work it off."
-----

 

[Kikora]

The scan was taking a good bit longer than Kaura had expected, but she stood perfectly still all the same, not wanting to more and give an inaccurate scan. Aldarras worked silently, adjusting setting on the scanner every now and then until she asked her question, and he gave an answer that only managed to leave her with more to ask.

She considered rewording her question when a sharp laugh drew her attention. She turned towards the door to see a short but broadly built man who openly mocked Elven directness. She frowned briefly as he gave her an odd look, his eyes glued on her body. He ran his fingers through his beard as he admired her, and Kaura wasn't sure why, but she felt the urge to take a step back, and hide her body behind the older elves.

At leas the explained in detail what was expected of them, compensation. "Whatever the tasks, I am sure young Teyha and I can earn our keep." She told him evenly, offering a slight smile and bow of her head. "Teyha is a trained physician, she would be more than qualified for many position upon this ship. And whatever the task I would work hard. I am not the kind to take such generosity without repaying it to the fullest extent."

 

[Remec]

The dwarf laughed loud and long. "Yeah, I saw her in the other room, there," he said. "I'm thinking I have a few positions for her. Oh yeah, quite a few." He let his wandering eye ogle Kaura once more. "Same for you, too, 'though I ain't as into Elves as a general rule." He glanced about and added in a harsh whisper. "I always end up breaking them," Stonehammer explained. "Not that I mean to, mind you, or that they're not still fun to play with when broken."

Aldarras cleared his throat.

"My dear, I will have to apologize for my shipmate, again," he said. He looked at his watch and then to the dwarf. "Not as soon as I might normally have, though. I think someone's shaping up a bit."

"Bah, bit yer tongue," the dwarf interjected. "I was just delayed by finding a sweet young thing all lying on a hospital bed in an empty sickbay."

Aldarras' eyes grew wide.

The dwarf grinned just as widely.
-----

 

[Kikora]

"Oh?" Kaura asked, curious what kinds of positions a medical officer could possibly have if not directly linked to their medical training. She smiled at the dwarf a minute more, and dipped her head slightly. The more the conversation moved forward though, the more confused the girl became, the sexual implications not seeming to occur to her at all. "I am sure Teyha and I will be able to work hard in any position your captain puts us." She said lightly. "And neither of us is quite so easily broken."

There was a stirring in the other room, and Kaura glanced over Stonehammer's shoulder to see the young Teyha finally appear in the doorway, just behind the dwarf. She looked a mess, worst than the Elf remembered leaving her. Her pants where half undone, and she was fastening them back with a puzzled look on her face, and her uniform top was halfway undone, held closed by what Kaura could only assume to be magic.

She glowered, her face darkening slightly when she saw the two men. "Which of you..." She growled, the back of her hand scrubbing her mouth. She woke to an odd flavor in her mouth, running down across her chin, and her clothes mostly undone. She didn't even need her magic to tell her what had happened. "Which of you vile..."

"Teyha!" Kaura snapped, "These men saved us, have some respect."

"But they!"

Kaura held up a hand to silence her, and gave the dwarf a serious look. "Now what did you to to make her so angry?"