futures_of_ash | Werewolves are great crewmen!

Entry tags:

Werewolves are great crewmen!

Who: Rach and crew
When: Sometimes. IN SPACE.
What: It's an AU. IN SPACE.

She leaned her elbows on the low wall, ignoring the occasional catcall. The people behind the wall didn't matter, or the stands as long as the guards continued to not see her. Or the scalpers, because honestly, she would not handle being propositioned well right now. There'd been some rumors of Terrans that had made a splash in the ring...

Or so the fight drummers called out when she'd been walking past with the captain. "Terrans," he noted quietly to her.

"On it," she agreed, slipping away.

It seemed more accurate to say one Terran was making a splash, but viciously so none the less? Hmmm. ::They say you're contagious,:: she noted mentally when he was given a moment to rest. If he scanned the crowd he could see a red haired woman not at all concerned with leaning partially into the ring.

The usual round of security were wandering by, though one was snarling, watching a device in his hand, "Psy readings, I swear, but nothing to pinpoint, I swear if it's those damn white noise mice under the arena again..."

Rachel grinned, an expression more felt as she looked at him than anything else, ::go ahead and think at me hmmmm?:: As long as he had a mind to think with in that battle frenzy?

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::Steal a ship and do what? I don't know how to fly and I have no idea where we are::

The crowds in the arena started buzzing as the next fight was being announced.
This time he raised his head and sought out her eyes. He did what he could to keep himself guarded: for all he knew she could really be just another slaver.

::You'll take me out of here?::

::Yup, no strings, though I have to tell you our Cook is a grump at times, in an ex-military sergeant way, and most ships have some sort of emergency autopilot in case you can't fly.:: Because information was good?

::Were you caught alone? Does someone else need out as well?:: Mainly because heavier fighters tended to have 'insurance' to keep them in hand. Twisted bastards.

And yes, that girl was meeting his gaze easily, flame shimmering for a moment in her eyes.

A sudden flash in his mind of Nathaniel, face twisted in anguish as he looked back over his shoulder...Jason quickly blocked it out.

::He's gone. Sold::

He flinched back slightly, dropping his eyes to her face at that flicker in her eyes. He didn't know what she was, but his life with vampires taught him to be wary of direct eye contact.
And here...

::Ok. But can we do this quick?::

::...we can find him,:: she noted simply. They could, with someone who knew him.

Ah, quick...::yup, brace yourself!:: A word to the captain and then the lights on this floating asteroid arena were flickering out...then the gravity generators went too! ::What kind of restraints do they have for you?:: He wasn't shackled in the arena, but did he have a skin chip? Poison they had to give antidote to every day...?

Despite the warning to brace himself, he wasn't expected to suddenly start floating off the floor. He flailed an arm out and caught a finger into the fencing to hold himself steady. As carefully as he could, he called forth just a bit of his power, and his eyes reflected an inhuman green in the flickering darkness as they shifted. The one and only good thing about his ordeal in this shithole was that he came to a very good understanding of himself and his beast, or more appropriately that it wasn't some entity he was fighting. It was just a facet of himself. Once he accepted that, he found he was much stronger than he'd previously thought.

He was trying to remember what she'd asked before all hell broke loose. ::I'm not sure? Something at the back of my neck. Not sure what the trigger is but it makes it so I can't move::

And hurts like a motherfucker.

His wolfish eyes saw much better, but the cacophony of screaming and shouting guards were hard to block out. He grabbed the fencing with both hands, tearing it apart easily and slipping through the opening. He held on, feeling flailing figures bumping into him as they floated by helplessly and swiftly kicking them off if they grabbed on for anchorage.

The woman who'd been watching him was just walking, easily, toward him, a flicker of amusement on her face as she ducked some flailing, pissy patrons. There was a moment where some secondary lights kicked in, but a laugh and they died out again. The brief flashes as the grid fought was probably more disorienting than no light at all! ::This way, want your feet on the ground or are you good?::

Oh, eh, ::nasty that. Do you want our healer on hand before I go at something near nerves or no?:: Valid offer? He'd be fine either way (probably) but most weren't okay with teke surgery?

::GROUND!::

It was more a snarl of frustration, especially seeing flashes of this woman casually walking towards him. All he knew with any certainty was if this was his chance to escape, he was going no matter the consequences. Still, if whatever triggered in his neck took him out during the escape, then he'd be at the mercy of a new set of strangers.

Still better than this...

::Drag me out if you have to and we'll worry about the rest later!::

::Ground,:: she agreed, a flicker of warmth touching him and then his body was reacting exactly as if he had normal gravity. ::So you don't want me taking it out now,:: she nodded.

::Our medical has much better people skills anyway!:: To say the least. ::Follow me.:: Out of the fit pits and away from the bars toward one of the docking arms.

::Fair warning, if things get hairy I'm taking us out an airlock.::

He wasn't about to let her take time out of his escape to fiddle with some implant. His feet touched down and he stumbled slightly, then was moving surprisingly fast alongside her, his energy urging her faster.

He didn't know his way around: in the time since his abduction he'd been shown a glimpse outside the ship once, which was followed by a very traumatic introduction to the airlock to prove that there was no point in trying to escape.

::WHAT?!::

She leaned toward him a moment, more to adjust her stance than anything, then she was moving exactly as a hound would. Not a wolf, but certainly a predator, sometimes body language was more reassuring, especially when running, than anything else. Even though she was leading the way she wasn't pushing the 'stay behind me' so much as 'this is how a pack runs'.

Yup.

::I won't let us die if that happens, don't worry, Captain just almost strangled me when I did it without warning with him! Oh security got mag boots!:: Wasn't that cute?

What had he gotten himself involved with?

He growled low in his throat seeing security on their feet and coming after them. He couldn't pick out The Masters in this group, but he knew most of them. He'd seen the worst of all of them. He felt his power surge up and he welcomed it, coaxing just enough of it to teeth and claws.

Not all the way; not with a stranger

Then with a snarl and a blur of motion, the nearest guard let out a scream that quickly gurgled into wet, choking sounds. More screams followed.

She chuckled softly beside him, falling back to let him have at the guards; they'd wronged him, so it was his call. Her job was to watc his back through this annnd...

...oh that was a mousy little man with a button he was fumbling for. She didn't know if it was a panic button or one that would drop Jason, so she did the sensible thing and reached out to casually crush that guy's hand. Her new friend could tell her if the man should live or not! ::Blocked the reinforcement call,:: she noted easily.

There were the dull, thick sounds of impact and grunts of pain from the tangle of bodies that were Jason and the guards. He emerged moments later, his body slick with other peoples' blood. No one followed.
As he passed the mousy little man who cradled his hand, screaming, Jason casually grabbed him by the hair and tore his throat out with his teeth.

There was a moment that he let his head loll back blissfully as the blood trickled down both his chin and the back of his throat.

::Thanks. Let's move.::

Another time, he'd have just escaped. He'd have considered that these were lives being lived, just as his own.
They'd beaten that out of him, and he had no pity for them.

Unfortunately, in addition to the panic buttons, The Masters had also installed perimeter proximity switches. Jason, having never been this far in the ship, had no idea where they were, or even that they existed. Until he set one off.

He immediately stiffened with a strangled gasp, twitching as he fell to the floor. He couldn't think through the pain: it was simply agonal static.

Blood was always a good way to balance out some of the harm done to a person yes. She liked it herself in most cases, though she probably wouldn't have wasted teeth on the gimpy man in her hands. Ah well, he had better teeth than she did anyway!

Hell, things were almost cheerful until Jason dropped, then there was a deep, guttural growl and the slicing feel of shadows and blood as Rachel caught him and lifted him to her shoulder to tote out. ::I can handle the pain at least,:: she admitted, siphoning a lot of it away somehow.

She could not make his nerves function better without knowing him better though, so, they needed a better distraction!

Want to know what was terrifying in space? Fire. Fire was terrifying in space, and that arena way behind them had such lovely layers of sawdust and floating patrons...

...it let them wander almost leisurely to their berth and key in. Inside the ship smelled...clean, fresh, like herbs more than anything!

"Lady Rachel..."

"New guy," she smiled at the woman heading toward them. "Implant."

Khem's lips thinned in a healer's hatred for such things, "this way, hurry, it cannot be kind for him..."

"I'm on pain control," she sighed, laying the were down on a table in medical.

"My thanks," she offered, her tool cool and supportive where Rachel's was hot, her ability seeking out..."these were monsters, Lady. They embedded it within his spine. It will be a moment, keep him steady."

"Of course," Rachel agreed, hand on Jason's chest.

There was a fine tremor that was the only motion that could break through his stiff, slightly arched frame. Even his teeth were clenched hard; his face strained under the mask of blood.

Whatever the red-haired woman was doing, he had snippets of thought through the static. Memories of nearly identical pain during the implantation coming in white hot flashes. He could hear distant echoes of the conversation around him, but couldn't make out enough to know what was happening.

"Would sleep be kinder?"

Rachel tilted her head, considering, "no. I think being knocked out would be a nightmare for him."

"Alright," Khem sighed, peering at the man's face worriedly, "this will hurt, immensely, for a short time lord, then shall ease, on my word." That said there was no point in delay, she had enough ability to keep any true damage from the nerve but pulling the damn thing was going to chip vertebrae in his neck and that would take some time more to cushion and heal...

Immobilizing pain was broken by whatever the hell was happening in his neck, and his mouth flew open in a ragged, seemingly endless series of screams.

His body tried to jerk against the attacker, but without conscious thought. Fresh blood started to pool under him as his clawed hands balled into even tighter fists.

"A moment, a moment..." was the soft litany as Khem worked, power and scalpel working with admirable speed. Likely it was still too long for him, but in the non pain filled crowd in there, well, it wasn't long at all. "CLEAR!" The chip was flung, actually, at the wall so Khem could slap fingers on his bleeding neck and pour even more power into healing those chipped bones and inflamed nerves.

"Step back, Khem."

"No, he's HURT!" And hurting, no healer could step back...

With the chip cleared, his body sagged immediately into bonelessness, twitching occasionally. Under her fingers, Khem might even feel wound already lessening from his own healing abilities. Bolstered with her own power, the repair could be actively observed.

However...

With that connection repaired in his spinal cord he jerked suddenly, claws lashing out with a strangled cry.

Khem was a healer, she was pouring strength into him in a cool, soothing wash every moment until Rachel literally pushed her away just ahead of that strike. "I suggest leaving for a bit Khem..."

"...I..." no. She would withdraw to the wall but leaving injured and scared was not her...ah, well, she was a smaller target as a cat carefully slipping under a desk yes.

That just left Rachel rocking on her heals and giving him a touch of space? "Hey."

The wild, unconnected swing coupled with the uncontrolled jerks as his body tried to cope with what was happening, he clambered to the floor and curled in on himself. His breathing was still ragged as he lay on the floor.

He rolled his eyes towards the voice, color already bleeding back to a human blue as he fought the pain to pull out of his partial shift. His gaze was clearly unfocused as he blinked around the room.

And then his eyes rolled back as he retched, a foul mixture of bile and other people's blood.

Yeah, she wished she hadn't expected that but stressed bodies reacted in very specific ways in Rachel's experience, thankfully she was just burning the ick to ash before Khem could move. "Do you need a meal after healing something like that?"

Khem poked her head out and nodded emphatically.

"Doc says you get protein. Can you stay here safely or should I wait?"

He was still breathing in ragged gasps and moving hurt. He tried to swallow despite the rancid taste in his mouth.

::Safe:: was all he could manage.

He closed his eyes, trying not to worry about the strangers in the room and concentrating on his breathing. He wasn't sure what was happening or where he was, but the blinding pain was gone, and the residual aches were barely noticeable in comparison.

She nodded, touching the top of his head gently for a moment before padding out of the room.

That let the cat ease forward and touch his forehead with her nose, checking for further damages. Finding just lingering aches she shifted back in a blur of mist, a shipsuit making the shift with her, and fingers on his shoulder, "I can aid with the rest if you allow."

He didn't open his eyes until the touch of that wet nose and blearily saw the cat at his forehead shift into human form. There was distrust in his eyes, but it eased ever so slightly in noticing she was a sort of shifter as well.

He swallowed again, beginning to tremble again. "'m healing it," he rasped. "How...can you..."

Even any injuries from the arena fights that evening were well on their way to being healed, but they'd taken a backseat to the more grievous injury when the chip was removed. He didn't even notice some of the stunner burns and bruises blossoming from his fight with the guards, but even they were milder than they should have been on anyone else.

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