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Worlds Away (runawayninja x Candira)

runawayninja

runawayninja

Supernova
Joined
Apr 29, 2010
It was done. The Bydo Fleet's Core Ship had erupted in a mass of explosions. The AI Core, the center of control for the fleet, was gone and the Core Ship was just a lumbering dead hulk in space now. As it had been hoped, the rest of the Bydo Fleet was shutting down, their technological components powering down, their organic ones ceasing to function. He had done it. It was over now. No more war, no more fighting for survival, it had come down to a single advanced fighter that had incorporated a Bydo Egg as part of it's weapons and power which had given it strange new powers. It was even strong enough to survive the explosion that the Core Ship had burst into.

But the explosion had also damaged the critical components of the ship, the Earth-made ones. Now, without power, without any means of propulsion, it was hurtling through empty space. Cast free from the nightmare that was the inside of the Bydo Core Ship, the ship was now doomed to a slow death of floating through space. And it's pilot, perhaps a worse fate. Slowly, he pulled out a holographic display and cycled through to an Amazon Jungle waterfall, one of his favorite sights. And that's when a crackling sound caught his attention. The battery-powered alert system flashed red and made a terrible buzzing sound as he looked up and saw a horrifying sight. The main viewing window, which included a visual targeting and identifying system, was cracking. The cracks were spreading like thin little fingers or spider legs across the transparent metal.

"Oh my God...this is it..."

That's all he could get out before the glass-like metal shattered and the blessedly brief explosive decompression shot him full of pain. It felt like his eyes would explode. His ears screamed with pain as blood started to float free from them, his eardrums ruptured completely from the sudden change of air pressure. His lungs, mouth, and throat were shocked with utter agony and the taste of coppery blood rose in his mouth. Then came the chill of deep space. It was a cold that struck to his soul. He dared only open his eyes briefly to view raw, empty space for a moment before he prayed for it to be over, his blood starting to boil as nitrogen gathered in bubbles. He was sure it would be over soon. A person only stayed conscious twelve agonizing seconds and then it would be all over.
 
It had been a long, hard struggle to free themselves, but the Q'tarl people had managed to escape the Bydo during the final battle. Their ship free, the Q'tarl were now orbiting the wreckage of the final battle. Among the emancipated prisoners of war, there was one with the foresight to know that the human pilot from earth would have been in danger and need of help. So it was that the grateful people searched for their savior, scanning the ship and hurrying toward it. But it seemed they were too late. The pilot had already been expelled into space.

Before he could die, however, he was teleported safely on board the ship. Waiting for him was a Young Q'tarl woman--Cora. She stood there with a full medical kit, her feline ears perked, tail still. Her red hair was pulled back behind her, her blue eyes, widening as the man appeared before her. The medic quickly came to his side, catching him before he could fall and then gently bringing him to the floor with her. She wore a black space suite that was almost like a second skin, ensuring ease of movement. It was perfect for her physiology--at least her captors had gotten that much right.

But now she held her savior in her arms. "Rest now, human. You're safe with us. I'll begin treating your injuries shortly." And so she gently lay him on the floor, supporting his head with a small pillow from the medical pack. She pulled a scanner out and held it over his body, waiting for the images of his biological features to show before her.
 
The human's physiology was quite different to be sure, but the basic functioning of his body was probably apparent. Still, he had suffered a huge amount of trauma from decompression and exposure. Luckily he hadn't been hit by any micrometeorites and it didn't seem like he had been exposed to cosmic radiation. but there were metal fragments along his form, secondary explosions from either the Bydo or his own ship had embedded small metal fragments in his flesh. A warning registered on the scan. There were pieces of Bydo DNA embedded in his flesh as well. That was likely to be a problem. There was no telling what that could do. Like the rest of the Bydo organic components, it seemed to be dormant, inactive. It was from the smashed Bydo Egg that was powering his craft.

There was a decision to be made now. To flush him back into space, kill him, or to simply treat him and observe what happens. The Bydo couldn't be allowed to reform into a cohesive force, but did that mean killing him, the person that risked all to bring them down?

He slipped to and from consciousness, his mind reeling from the incredible amount of pain he was in. It was bordering on the point that if it went on, he'd simply want to die, or go back to sleep. He groaned out softly, the only thing he could manage while awake, his mouth and throat felt like fire. Blood was everywhere on him, to the point where it seemed like his skin was simply expelling it.
 
He needed to be stabilized as quickly as possible. Rather than waste time walking, she had them teleported to the infirmary where there were two other medics to help take care of him. The Bydo DNA was definitely a surprise. Though Q'tarl were practically immune to the Bydo, humans were also on board the ship. Struck by a solution that would help him and those on board the ship, Cora instructed the team to rid him of the metal shrapnel as she prepared a counter-measure to the DNA. One of the staff mercifully administered anesthesia to the man who was in and out of consciousness at this point.

Once he was out, they set to work. It took them a good three hours to get him stabilized and remove all of the shrapnel, not to mention to stop the bleeding. Finally, Cora looked over the man as she performed the final procedure. "Please forgive me for not obtaining your permission first...but it will help you, I swear."

So it was that she spliced his dna with that of the Q'tarl, effectively containing the Bydo DNA. Of course, it also changed his appearance and gave him the ability to heal much faster, plus an added boost to his strength...Cora only hoped that he wouldn't hate what he'd become...Exposure to the Bydo was too dangerous for a human to go without treatments. He would be in pain when he woke, but he would be alive, and he would be safe. So once the operations were complete, she moved him to a bedroom in the transport ship, staying by his side. Her ears drooped softly, wishing she could have done something more for him...but now, only time would tell if things would be alright for him.
 
Longstride, R. That's what the tag on his flight suit had said. He slept for several hours, his body in a state of strain to rework itself after the extensive gene therapy. His cells working to incorporate the changes and his organs altering the way they worked to accommodate the new instructions. It was stressful, but eventually he came to, his eyes slowly opening and straining to focus with their increased ability to make use of light and process information. At first he winced. Even the low light was too bright for him, but his eyes adjusted and refocused to allow less of it in. He grabbed his ears, pained at the constant hammering. He could hear the engines roar, micrometeorites banging against the hull, and the constant footsteps, but they too adjusted.

Slowly, he started to realize he was nowhere familiar. He looked around, and then his eyes found her. "Where am I...?" He still hadn't remembered what had happened that made him go unconscious.
 
She had been keeping track of his vitals, carefully watching him. Honestly, it felt like an eternity until he'd opened his eyes. When he did, relief washed over her. Sighing softly, she smiled as his eyes focused on her. The least she could do was comfort him. So the pretty cat-girl leaned over him a bit, pleased to see that he was recovering and adjusting nicely. "Thank goodness you're awake. My name is Cora, and you're safe now. You're aboard a recently liberated Q'tarl ship: Jurai. It's thanks to your efforts that we were all freed. When the cockpit tore open, we managed to save you from the void. It was no easy task, but we treated your wounds."

She stood up and walked to a counter, pouring him a glass of water from a carafe. "I'm sure you'll be thirsty. Here," she said, sitting next to him, offering the glass. "I've much to tell you, Mr. Longstride. But for the moment, please rest. You've been through quite a bit, and your body has been strained to its limits."
 
For a moment, her voice was unbearably loud, so much so that he winced and clutched at his ears, trying to cut the sound off. But quite quickly his ears adjusted to the sound and it normalized. But he let her speak until she was finished and when offered the water, he gulped it down until his stomach hurt from the sudden cold. Gasping for air, he looked at her. "I need to know..." Everything else, such as why he was here, why he felt so strange, and what was wrong with his senses, it could wait. This he had to know. "The Bydo...did it work? Is Earth safe...?"
 
She took the glass from him as he finished it off and set it aside for the time being. He was in for a world of pain and shock...but at least he could take solace in his victory. As he asked if he'd done it, Cora smiled and took his hand. "You saved us, from what we can tell. The technological side of them isn't functioning, and the biological components seem to be dead. Thank you," she said, bowing her head in respect.
 
He nodded slowly and took a sigh of relief as he laid back in the bed he had been laying in. "My body aches everywhere...but it hurts less now." He looked at her with curious, if guarded eyes, wondering what his fate was to be. "So...why am I here? And who are you? I thought I'd be on my way home if I weren't dead...am I a prisoner now?"
 
"My name is Cora and I'm a medic on this ship. I was captured a few years ago by the Bydo and you recently freed me--along with the rest of the crew of this ship."

frowned, her feline ears drooping a bit as he asked about himself. "You're not our prisoner. You can leave us at any time...but it's not safe for you to go back to Earth." She sighed softly and looked down at him, still gently holding his hand. "As I said, we're the ones who saved you from space...you were pumped full of shrapnel from the fight and shards of glass from when the cockpit broke open. Frankly it was a miracle we were able to remove them all..." She sighed softly and let go of his hand, leaning back in her chair.

"When your ship was damaged, you were exposed to the Bydo egg's contaminants. Even if your attack had succeeded, leaving you at the mercy of its DNA was not an option. And so...since the Q'tarl have a high resistance to the Bydo genes, I spliced your DNA with ours to give you a fighting chance." She bowed her head now, waiting for him to yell at her. "Your body has undergone transformations because of it, and so that is why your senses are so different, and why you're in pain...I hope you can forgive my actions. I only did it to protect you, but I understand if you cannot..."
 
He looked at himself and slowly ran his hand along his skin, feeling the tactile sense come to life in his mind. He could feel the fine hairs on his arm and for a moment, he was almost sure he could feel more. Almost like he could detect the individual hairs, glands, and groups of skin. He slowly looked at her. "May I see a mirror...? I want to see myself..."
 
Cora watched as he examined himself through new eyes--almost literally. It would be a great shock to him when he finally saw himself. She nodded and took a deep breath as she stood up. "It may come as something of a shock when you see yourself. Please try not to strain yourself." She took a mirror from the cabinet and held it up for him.
 
His eyes slowly wandered over his new form. He looked mostly the same, if a little more athletic, but...he slowly reached up and felt a pair of cat ears that were sitting atop his head. A pale golden color of ears that twitched instinctively as he felt them. He also noticed that in addition to being very sensitive, touching them the right way felt very nice. And then a tail. It was slowly swishing, little curves moving down it's length. He looked at it for a long moment before trying to command it to move as he wished and it simply wouldn't. Neither would his new ears. "I can't control them...will I be able to eventually?"

He wasn't sure how to react to all this. His memories drifted back several years to an event that shaped part of Earth's military. He slowly ran his hands up and down his arms as he tried to adjust to his new senses. "So...am I going to become a Bydo?"
 
Cora watched him, anxious to know his reaction. It appeared he was still in a state of shock. Exploring the changes was a good sign, however. It showed he was more curious than distressed--at least for the moment. Relieved that he didn't seem angry, she let him hold the mirror and sat back down on her chair. His question about the ears and tail made her smile. "Well, you should have some control, but mostly your ears and tail simply react to their conditions. It takes a great deal of mental discipline and training to fully control them. It's very rare that you'll find those who can. For this reason, many Q'tarl bind their tails when in the company of other races."

When he asked if he would become a Bydo, she sighed. "Well, I cannot say for certain whether or not the DNA will overcome yours, but the likelihood of that happening has decreased substantially thanks to the actions we've taken. I believe that with more gene therapy we could isolate the Bydo DNA and prevent it from altering you further. However without more detailed data or more advanced equipment, I cannot be sure that I can completely erase the threat. I'm afraid, sir, that in your current state you are a danger to other humans."

Unable to meet his eyes, she looked away, ears drooping. There was hope that someday the threat would be eradicated...but as it stood, he could not go home.
 
He looked away from the sight of his own reflection and he sat down on the bed, sighing softly. "I was prepared to die, before. I was prepared to do this, knowing I'd likely never see home again. But to survive and not see home...that is something else." He looked at the floor, running his hands through his hair, forgetting about the ears until he touched them. "I...I'm not sure how to feel. But if it comes down to me becoming a Bydo, I'd rather die."

"About two decades ago, when I was a child, Earth was threatened by another Bydo fleet. We had been at war with the Bydo for nearly a century. We had already developed the RA Project which produced fighters like mine, able to use Bydo organics to create superpowered fighters. By now, three were being staged in a former metropolis, destroyed by a Bydo attack. The original RA Arrowhead, and the Beta, Gamma, and Delta Prototypes. Each was very powerful. But all four were destroyed when a mysterious fighter appeared and destroyed them. It looked like an RA Project that hadn't been seen before, and it was covered in Bydo growth...and then it disappeared. It was determined that it was a corrupted RA fighter...from the future."
 
Cora finally managed to look at him again when he spoke, surprised at what had happened. "As it stands, we are prepared to honor those wishes of yours. If we cannot save you, we will kill you if that is what you wish. In the meantime, your mission is complete. You should take heart in knowing that what you did has saved a great many people." She found it difficult to believe that he was handling all of this so calmly. Not to mention his adjusting to his new appearance. At least he was at an advantage in terms of strength, speed, and healing capabilities. Was it really so bad? Perhaps it was when it was done without your permission...

As he told her about the RA incident, she frowned, concentrating and analyzing the information as he went along. "Hmm...space-time anomalies of that sort are very rare. But it wouldn't be a conclusion they made lightly. It's possible that the fighter was from the future, but it's also possible that it could have been someone else. And that it could have been for the purpose of protecting the future.

"You're lucky that the exposure was only to you. If the ship hits the an atmosphere, the problem will burn up upon entry. However, if something were to happen to the RA fighters while they were still on earth a catastrophe could have occurred." The redhead shrugged and watched him, wondering if he'd been thinking that it was him. Now that he'd survived, it was a perfectly logical jump for him to make, if not fully substantiated.

"Of course, there's no way of knowing without more definitive data, but I like to be optimistic."
 
He looked at her and nodded slowly. "I suppose so. No use worrying about things at the moment...my name is Rafe, by the way. I really do thank you for saving me...forgive me if I seem ungrateful or cautious...I'm just unsure of what to make of all this right now. I spent my whole adult life training and participating in the Bydo Wars and now...I...don't know what to do. I don't know what will become of me. I've...never been more unsure of things. I suppose talking about the Bydo is all I know how to do, it's the safest thing I can do." His downcast eyes reflected uncertainty and a weakening mask of his emotions.

"I think I need to rest...please, let me be alone for now..."
 
Relieved that he was at least temporarily at peace with his situation, her ears perked up just a little. She smiled at him as he told her he was grateful and apologized a bit. She shook her head. "Not at all. It's only natural that you would have those feelings. You needn't worry about upsetting me. I owe you my freedom, Rafe." Cora smiled at him and stood up as he asked her to leave. "Please do. We have a good day before we reach our destination. I'll leave you to rest. If you need anything, please use the com unit to call someone. You shouldn't be wandering about for a bit. I'll stop by with some food later if I don't hear from you."

With that she bowed gracefully to him and left the room. She found her temporary quarters and then began to research the room for something to wear other than her black skin suit. She managed to find a white pair of pants and a blue shirt that fit her nicely, so she wore those, keeping the suit in the closet. That finished, she headed to the mess hall herself. It was time for some food.
 
The young man curled up on the bed and started to weep softly, which soon turned into uncontrollable bawling. It took up the last of his strength and he fell into a deep sleep for many hours, but he was awakened by Cora's entry into his room and the smell of hot food, something his senses and his stomach told him he needed very badly right now. He slowly sat up, still sore, and regarded her with a weak smile. "Thank you...what is it?" Then he looked up and then right at her, his face full of confusion. "It just occurred to me...how do we speak the same language?"
 
Cora returned to him a few hours later, a tray laden with food and drink. If he didn't eat all of it, she wouldn't be terribly surprised, considering he was used to eating much less than a Q'tarl. But he'd certainly need the nourishment after all he'd been through. She could tell that he wasn't happy, but there was nothing she could really do at the moment aside from simply understanding and letting it lie. So it was that she took a seat next to his bed and set the tray down on a nearby table.

"This is what we found to be usable on the ship. It'll last us till we get to the larger ship anyway. We're calling it Q'tarl stew. It may not look like much, but it actually tastes really good. There's meat and veggies and spices. And there's sweetbread and white rice with butter...oh, and we managed to find some fruit strips, so those are there too. And I brought you water, since I wasn't sure what else you might like. I can get something more if you want." Well, at the very least, the portions were large. The smell was great, and the presentation wasn't bad, though it was a bit lacking in terms of the stew and dishes.

His question about language made her smile. "Well, Q'tarl are trained in many different languages since we're a trading people and work with many different allies. That said, it's impossible to speak every language fluently, so the ship is translating for us. What is your native tongue, Rafe? Perhaps I know it. I could teach you how to speak my language too."
 
Rafe seemed genuinely surprised. "That's an impressive and useful technology to have in your ship...language is quite a diverse thing on my world, but I mostly speak the American dialect of English. A few large language groups have come to dominate most politics and business affairs on my world, but generally small language groups are encouraged to flourish and stay alive." He looked at the food as though it were sent from heaven and he couldn't help himself. He started to dig into it and he almost seemed to lose some sort of control over himself as he gorged upon it. He was so famished that it more than made up for a sub-optimal taste. It could have been fungus and maggots and it would've tasted delicious. Still, this strange urge seemed to overtake him as he lost any pretense of manners or pacing in his gobbling of the food.
 
"The Q'tarl pride themselves on being master tradesmen. Innovations like this have been necessary and highly profitable." She smiled and thought over the American English he spoke of. It had been awhile since she'd spoken it, but she still knew it well enough to pick it up again without much trouble. Pleased that she could connect with him even without the ship's help, Cora sat back and nodded. "Language is a wonderful thing. I'm glad your people encourage the diversity."

She saw his eyes stray to the food and chuckled as he dove for it. The Q'tarl weren't a picky people, though they did appreciate fine dining--better than most with their advanced pallets. What they had now wasn't particularly tasty, but it was filling and nourishing. He must have been starving after all he'd been through. Now that he was eating, he was quite literally attacking the food. Amused, the medic just sat back and watched him, ready to go get him more if he really wanted it. They could stand to give him more if he needed it. After all, tomorrow they'd be rendezvousing with the main ship of Jurai's fleet.

"It's good to know you have an appetite. It's a sign that your body is adjusting well. How do you feel, by the way? I didn't get a chance to ask before. Are you in any pain?"
 
He sighed contently and sat back. "I don't think I've ever eaten like that...is that me just being hungry or do Q'tarl eat like that? I feel...ok...at least better compared to before. I'm still terribly sore and I imagine I'll be so for a while. I'm...still not sure how to feel inside about my situation, I'm just...rather lost and confused. I've never had so little control over my life."

He sighed again, a very different sigh this time. "So...what will happen to me? Assume I don't transform into a monster..."
 
Wishing she could do more than just answer his questions, Cora decided to do her best to help him through this. "I'm sorry, Rafe. I know it must be frustrating. I won't pretend to be able to understand, but I'm sure it's just awful...I'll do whatever I can to help you through it all. You'll probably be sore for a few days, but we have whirlpool baths in our medical bay that you can use to help with that. On the upside, your body will heal faster now. it's one of the reasons you need more food. Q'tarls have a higher metabolism because of our enhanced healing abilities and strength. You'll need a good deal more food now."

His question about what came next made her wonder what he thought would happen. "Well, that all depends on what you want to happen. Assuming you don't turn into a monster, what happens next is completely up to you. I hope you'll stay with us on the master ship for awhile, but we could arrange for you transport to a station or another planet.
 
"I'm not sure what I could do that wouldn't slow you down or require years of work. I've been trained to fly small fighter and interceptor-class craft. I don't know if you have any enemies now...I'm not sure if the Bydo are a threat anymore." He looked down, suddenly faced with a crisis of identity. "I've never been dead weight and I wouldn't want to be that." He looked at her, his eyes slowly wandering over her. He was looking for some sort of hope or permanence to grasp to. "So...what do you do? I mean...you must know a lot if you worked on me."
 
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