The Starchaser orbited earth. The low hum of the ship was lost in the vacuum of space, its drifting quite silent. Ana stepped onto the bridge where the rest were sitting. Her stomach had been mostly fixed, though the radiation was still a problem. She wore a wetsuit, the stomsch portion cut away to let her wound breathe and air out. On it was a twisted burning mark, going deep. Ana spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Bad news. The medical bay says I am restricted from joining any future combat for the forseeable future. As much as this upsets me, I must give time for my wounds and sickness to heal. In the meantime, I will work the medical bay as head nurse, as I already know enough about medical care. Second thing. In my place, our new friend will be taking up the position. He's already proven himself knowledgable and a good asset to us. He will lead you guys on future missions as well as work in the communications room. That is all. Any questions?"

Ana looked around the room for any sign of questions on their faces, hoping there were none.

Valerius was holding a nurse uniform as Ana asked around about questions. Where did he get this? Well actually, it was one of the older uniforms for the medical bay, he had these ones ordered for the female nurses to boost morale as he said. The crew even then looked at him strangely but the male members didn't seem to mind.

"We have a uniform for women who work in the medical bay", he said. Handing the uniform over to Ana. He could barely hold back a smile. Once she had changed into it, it turned out to be a short-cut dress with headband like a traditional nurse from many many decades ago usually seen in adult films of older hospitals in certain countries. Simply put, it was sexy.

"Hmhm, you look good in it, if I do say so myself", he looked a little proud of himself here.

Anastasia sighed. She wanted to kill the captain, but she had no influence. He was the captain and everyone listened to him and only him. She would have to take the hit to her pride in strides, not letting it faze her. The crew sat around. She looked directly at Kidd.

"You. Follow me to my office. Now."

She lead Kidd to her new office. It smelled like a hospital, clean and nothing dirty or lying around. She fell down into her seat, propping her legs up onto the desk. This new outfit was straining her thighs and was quite bothersome. Maybe later she'd make a petition to change it. In front of her was Kidd, still standing. She spoke up first.

"Listen. Why are you still here? You don't need to be. We can take you back to whatever planet you live on. You don't have to be here. You don't have to stay with us. We have enough engineers and we can get by fine. Why not go back to your home. I'm sure whoever you have left is worried sick about you."

After their battle with the monstrous spider and the situation afterwords, the atmosphere was quite heavy to say the least. Ana's reaction resembled one of those characters he read about that wanted to wipe everyone from existence and Jericho looked like one of those characters that goes on shooting rampages and/or goes around with panties on his head acting like some kind of hero. It was in the comics he read so it had to hold some merit. Hmm.

Few hours later they were back in space and Ana re-emerged on the main deck where everyone was gathered with news. She didn't exactly look fully recovered but it seems it was enough to get her fact on her feet at least. Ana announced that she was to step down from action for awhile so she can heal, which was expected, but then announced that she'd be working as Head Nurse. Which seems like it would benefit the humans quite well so it was good news for them, also she was to be replaced by their new 'friend'. This new 'friend' being one that helped them in the previous battle.

Almost, as if expecting it, Valerius already had a uniform in hand for her to wear. The uniform looked like those he has seen in old human videos detailing some of their mating rituals. It also seems to be a hobby or business for some humans. The others seem to know of it, maybe Ana is into it as well? Maybe, Maybe not. He won't ask. Probably for the best. As Ana lead Kidd to her new office, Alastair went and prepared refreshments for the crew. Given what he knows, humans prefer refreshment of sorts after situations like those. After spending some time getting the drinks and snacks ready, he put them on the tray and went about handing them to the crew.

After going through most of the crew, there was only Kidd and Ana left. With that, he made way to Ana's office, knocking lightly before letting himself in. Kidd looked like he was about to say something but stopped once he noticed Alastair's presence. Despite seemingly interrupted their conversation and having let himself, Alastair paid it no mind as he offered them their refreshments before something caught his eye. Bending down, he took a closer look. "Red...."

Getting Kidd's attention, "The color red seems to be popular among human females, hmm? Although... I've in some books i've read said that the majority of those who wear red undergarments tend to be sluts..." he read that 'sluts who wear red' tend to be quite popular amongst human male partners, given that Ana is wearing red, she looks to be quite popular. Turning to Kidd he finished, "....Is it tru-" he stopped when he noticed a change in the atmosphere around Ana. How strange. Maybe it wasn't?

Kidd stared skeptically at the nurse uniform that Ana was wearing and commented on it while he was with the rest of the crew. "Ya sure that's supposed to be a human uniform for the medical unit...? Looks to me like a formal uniform for a hooker or somethin'." Just as he ended his statement in a quiet mumble, the Russian woman grabbed the Furlyne's attention to demand him to follow her to her office. Uh oh, what did she want? Did she hear the hooker part? Whatever the reason, he half heartedly accepted her order and walked a little behind the lady while turning his gaze to the side with an indifferent expression.

Upon arriving at the medical station office, his eyes averted away from hers even as she bluntly spoke of her concern. There was a long awkward silence from the male brunette as he debated whether or not he should be truthful or get away with some made up excuse to make things easier. That thought was interrupted when another being entered the office, it was Alastair, the butler with a tray of tea cups and snacks. Kidd's interest piqued, mostly because the tea he had earlier with the milk suited his taste very much so he didn't mind drinking another. But it was then when the dark blob being pointed out something about red.

"What'cha goin' on about, Alastair? That nurse garment ain't got any--" A flash of red caught his eyes. His cheeks tinted into a faint blush of red, immediately turning his eyes away and raising one of his hand up to the side of his head to block any perripheral vision of what he now cannot unsee. "O-OI, HA-HAVE SOME DECENCY AND LOWER YOUR CROSSED LEGS, WI-WILL YA?!" Now feeling the heavy aura of killing intent, he decided that he should help a fellow crewmate out and let him escape before any violence ensues. "Ooookay, maybe it ain't a good idea to stay here any longer, fella. We appreciate the stuff, I'll be takin' one'a these, thanks Alastair." A cup of tea was picked up from the tray as the butler was lead back to the door to let himself out before Kidd returned to Ana's desk.

Feeling awkward from what had just happened, he figured answering her previous question seriously might not be so appropriate at this time. So instead, the Furlyne went for the straight but short version of the truth. After taking a sip from whatever beverage was in the cup, he parted his lips to answer, his free arm folded on his chest. "Like you, I ain't got no family or a place I can call home. 'cept we Furlynes ain't going extinct, of course. So I figured stickin' around here woulda been worth my time plus I've gotta pay my debt I owe."

Anastasia sighed. She wasn't getting through to him and it worried her. She kept her legs up and began to address the problems.

"First of all i'm not moving my legs. This position is far too comfortable. Second, I don't think you understand. This isn't about some fun little adventure. This is a life and death situation. Tomorrow you could end up dying on the ground in a pool of blood. I don't care that you owe some shitty debt. That isn't a thing anymore. What is important is your life. You're a young kid with no terrible crimes. All of us on this ship at some point. Xar is a war criminal. Valerius is a former pirate. Jericho is a bounty hunter. And me? I have far too much innocent blood on my hands. So please. Listen to me when I say to consider leaving. I can set you up a new life in relaxation. I can get you a quiet life. Please. Listen to me. I don't want to see another innocent kid's blood spilled. The guilt would be too much for me. I don't want to see your face in a mask of death. Just please. You're just a child compared to us. I don't want to see another dead child.

Tears welled up in Ana's eyes, but she blinked them back before anyone could see. Maybe this time the cat would listen to her and take her advice.

Seeing as the nurse outfitted woman was nowhere near giving up her 'comfortable' position, the feline boy clicked his tongue and continued avoiding his eyes toward the cyborg speaking. Taking sips from the tea brewed by the butler, Kidd listened, all the while thinking about how weirdly concerned the supposed 'strict, cold female human' sounded in her lecture. Did she actually care at all? Or did she just want him off their ship? Kidd couldn't exactly tell from her tone alone, but taking a glance at her expression with her current 'position' was not an option. He didn't desire to sign his death wish this early or in this kind of situation at all.

The boy stayed silent after her piece and took a final sip before responding back, "Ya know, I never took you for the softie type. With all that tough chick get up, couldn't see that comin' from a mile away." He snickered at his own comment for a short moment before continuing. "But ya know what you couldn't have known? I used ta be called Prisoner #0715 and for a good reason. I was accused as a murderer of this one Furlyne, ya see, an innocent, by stander who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time." There was a deafening silence for a moment as the Furlyne's gaze fell onto the floor. The image of the bloodied dagger in his hand flashed, an unpleasant reminder of the incident. He may not have been the actual killer, but the guilt remained nevertheless.

"'Nyways, I ain't that much of a goody two shoes ya thought I might have been. But that's not the point, I'm stayin' no matter what ya say. I appreciate the concerns, lady, but I've made up ma mind. Livin' in a plain ole boring, safe life's not too bad but ya know, space 'venturing with you folks sounds way better. Ya ain't the boss of me so that's that." He slammed his open palm on her desk to emphasize his point, but what he forgot was the view of the unmentionable by doing so. The shocked, stunned face lasted for a few seconds before he swung his head away from the view and retreated out of the nurse office, since he had made his point clear.

Anastasia sighed. She didn't want to see him die on this journey. She'd have to keep a close eye on and protect him. He still had a full life ahead. She'd need to make sure that continued.

She had to give it to him though. He reminded her of herself when she was younger, before she joined the military and the program. A stubborn ass who didn't listen to anyone. Her mouth opened and she let out a way too loud laugh, hoping no one heard her. That wasn't good for her image.

Anastasia sighed and looked at her small amount of paperwork. Maybe one day Kidd would understand. The horrors of having to gun down an innocent city and raze it still burned in her mind. She shook it out and continued on her work. Lots of paperwork to do, so little time.



Patches let out a hearty laugh as the two were talking in Anastasia's office. He quickly stopped it and took on a serious face. He spoke out in a commanding voice.

"Noe listen up all of ye. I am the new commander round here, so ye better listen. I will be tougher than my predecessor, and.... and... and..." Patches burst out laughing, trying to not fall on the ground. He grabbed a table, his sides hurting. "Oh me oh my. I can't fucking do it friends. I can't fucking do it."

Patches turned to Jericho and Val."Oi
What a right stuck up cunt she is, am I right? Her heart seems to be in the right place, but christ is she uptight way too much for her own good. She needs some good unwinding is what she needs am I right? Maybe we should grab a drink sometime and teach her how to relax eh? Hahahaha."

Jericho threw his hands up and backed away shaking his head, having no intention of chasing tail that might end up making him dickless. "She can be as uptight as she wants, so long as she ain't splittin' my ball sack open or just tearing 'em off. You want to rejoin the dead? Be my guest, but I like being A) alive, and B) a guy, so no thanks." Having said his piece, he headed off down the hall before deciding to stop off and check on their ever so intimidating cyborg maiden of doom. Knocking on her office door, noting that Kidd had headed down towards the engineering area, he opened it slowly. "Alright, so I want to know the full extent of the damage. Because I'm not sure our new friend has the same...motivations that you do for the job."

He waited until she said he could come in to enter, but he also wasn't sure how she was sitting and didn't want to risk seeing more than he needed to. He was positive his...gaze, back in Moscow was going to get him at least lectured.

These were strange words to see from something that looked like a sci-fi horror movie fodder monster. He was funny though. He's had stranger comrades and clients too, so all Val was doing really was laughing too. With Jericho's response came Val's comment.

"Come on man, this guy's hysterical. You really should open your horizons, maybe make a comedy movie with this guy", before a retort could be made, Jericho had already left. He got Ana's concern for Kidd though. He too has seen many good men and women die for duty, glory, or out of their own good will. Unfortunately, good will alone is easy to take advantage of and break...

"Hm... I really thought a Rush Hour tribute would've been possible... Oh well. So you're Patches? What can you do?", he said, leaning back into his chair. There wasn't much going on right now, just mostly transit between locations. This guy was going to be part of the crew, he had a gut feeling this guy wouldn't leave quietly either, even if no one can hear your scream in space. Besides, he seemed nice.

Patches inched closer and closer to Val's ears. He got quite close, his miniature mandibles clicking and clacking. He opened his mouth. Emerging from his mouth was the parasite turned symbiote. It too opened it's mouth. t
The voice that came from spoke a slightly higher tone than patches.

"To be honest mate, I don't fucking know."Patches fell back, laughing his head off, almost quite literally. "Sorry friend. I quite had to do that. The idea came to me from an ancient movie and I wanted to see how fun it would be. Seems it was quite fun. Anyhow, enough fucking around. I really don't fucking know though. My super cool powers are a mystery it seems. More super fun adventure for us though huh? Discovery is always the funnest adventure,
."



The door creaked and Jericho entered like a scared child. Ana sighed. She wasn't that scary. Oh well. Whatever they thought of her was fine. Her legs stayed propped up as she invited him into the room. Comfortability over decency.

She spoke with a comforting tone, a change from her normal voice.

Listen Jericho. I understand your concerns, but i've already tested him and he has aced all his tests. He is a marksman with guns and he is more than capable of close quarters combat. Despite his mental state he can make great decisions from what i've seen. Besides, he saved all of our lives. We have thanks to him for that. On the note of my health, I won't be able to join you guys for any non necessary combat soon. They'll drop me on my ass fast if I try. I'm out. If I get hit again in the gut that'll fuck me over for good. As for radiation, it's all over in my body. The doctors say i'm lucky my organs haven't shut down yet. I say it's my Russian blood. Can't keep us down. Lastly, as for back in Russia, do not worry about it. You did what you had to, even if it was uncomfortable. Now come, sit down. You can hide in here for the time being while we orbit, unless you wan't to go comfort Val and his obssession with you eh?"

"If it's all the same to you, I think I'll stay away from mister Valerius lest I end up shooting him in the face. The actor jokes aren't funny anymore." Entering and averting his eyes from her propped up position, he takes a seat in a corner out of the way and pulls out one of his pistols, reloading the spent ammo and then emptying it and taking the weapon apart to clean it up. As he worked, he looked over at Ana every now and then, trying to gauge just how out of it she was.

It was easy to say that she'd taken the worst of it during the fight with the giant spider. And even if she was Russian, there was a whole hell of a lot that she might show if she thought no one was paying attention.

Anastasia sighed. She saw the man sit in a corner, pull out his gun and start cleaning it. She may have loved fighting, but she didn't want others weapons in her office. She spoke up.

"Mr. Jericho. If you would please, try not to brandish weapons in here. If they see so much as a knife they'll have my ass. Please be careful with that. It'll be a pain trying to explain it. And of co..."

The ship creaked and shuttered, as if hit by debris. That was odd however. They were in a safe space in orbit. Nothing should have hit them. The only thing that could've caused that was... Shit.

She quickly broke her own request to Jericho not to have any weapons in the office. She reached under her desk, grabbing the rather large weapon. It was folded in three. She snapped it together, the entire gun reaching about the size of herself. She sighed again. Now she looked like quite the hypocrite. She spoke up.

"Mr Jericho. Follow me. We're going down to investigate the engine bay. Cover my back. I don't want a hole in my back and my gut. Keep an eye out. We may have a good fight kn our hands."

She booted up her radio to Valerius. "Captain. Take Patches and investigate the front of the ship. Please check the comms and navigation systems. I fear we aren't alone anymore in this orbit. Me and Jericho are going to check the engine. Ana out."

They treaded down the hallway. The engine roome quickly came upon them. She nodded to Jericho. She gave the signal to breach when ready. Her gun was locked, loaded and ready to roll.

Jericho had followed Ana as she asked, but he intended to keep her out of any direct combat as much as possible, since he'd rather deal with her than have to adjust to dealing with their spider possessed friend. That still didn't sit will with him, that big baddy back in Russia bringing the dead back to life. Focus, moral issues that animals don't consider can be thought on later. Drawing both pistols versus the one he'd carried down the hall as they moved, he braced himself against the wall and counted to three before sliding the door open and moving inside. And of course, he found himself staring down a group of about ten pirates. "Not my day."

While the pirates were still recovering from having someone find them so quickly, he fired off three quick shots as he dove for cover, the shots taking down three of the ten before they scrambled for cover as well. "We got boarders, Ana! Pirates by the look of things."

"Yello... Mhm. Mhm. Front of ship. Got it", Valerius jumped up out of his chair and picked his sabers up, strapping them to their usual spot on his belt. He turned to Patches who was making himself comfortable in the corner.

"Hey Patchy, you wanna see the front of the ship?", he called over.

"DO I?!", was his response as he jumped up off his position and began crawling along the walls to the room exit, dropping down and ready to go. The two walked down to the front with jolly conversation. They didn't seem to really notice the pirates until they got to the front. They realized the view from the viewing deck was marred by a pretty big ship with edgy decoration...

"Such horrible taste in decor... Hey Patch- Hm?", as he turned around he could hear the gnashing of flesh as Patch made grotesque work of a few pirates who were coming in from behind. Valerius looked on as he saw the door open, two pirates standing there.

"Alri-...", Patch turned his face towards the pirates with blood over his face.

"Hiya!", without a word, the two pirates closed the door as if they didn't see anything. Yep. Looks like everything was under control at the front...

"Shame, they seemed like such nice people..."

As he was getting kicked from the room, he was going to reply with the ole 'Was it something I've said?' line usually found in shows in comics after a character says something un-agreeable and what not, but missed his chance as he was removed from the room and didn't have time for a rebuttal. Well, with goal done, it was time for him to leave. Deciding to head back towards the kitchen, he made a move to go when he passed by Jericho.

Pausing for a moment, he glanced at him. It was there Alastair was reminded of those scenes in manga where the stories hero or heroine would wait for everyone to leave or wait until no one is around and then go to/meet up with their target of 'affection' in secret when alone. He didn't quite understand human intimacy or whatever, but if what he has seen in manga, it is likely Jericho has gone to meet with Ana to preform the 'Mating Ritual' ceremony. He was curious about it and wanted help understanding it, but decided against it.

Turning his head back around, Alastair proceeded to the kitchen and find himself something to do. Arriving at the kitchen, he started selecting random ingredients and started chopping them with a knife. What he was going to make was anyone's guess, but what the others kitchen didn't know, was that there was a character in one manga who did just that. Randomly taking whatever they could find and making something with it. Unfortunately, he didn't get to finish his future creation as it was interrupted by the sounds of screaming and bodies dropping to the ground.

Looking up, he could see a group of strange men attacking his comrades. The look of these strange group seemed to resembled something out of a comic he read. Given their rough looks and some similar traits, if they had a name it would be Bandits or better yet Pirates, Pirates would probably be more accurate. Space is littered with beings like them, after all. Just as another one of his comrades was about to fall victim to these men, he took the knife that was in his hand and threw it at the man going in for the killing blow, sending the knife straight in-between his eyes.

His action caught the other pirates off guard as they stopped and looked at him. Given the initial shock and surprise, it's safe to assume they haven't come across one like himself before. Though, that quickly became moot when they started looking like Ana. Angry....Huh? Becoming the new focus of their attacks, he rushed forward and targeted their weapons with his knives to give those who are still able to move to escape. Alastair, Getting in close, with his ever present smile, grabbed the nearest man's arm and pulled the pirate in front of him, treating the pirate as a human shield.

Such an action wasn't needed considering their attacks wouldn't killed a being such as himself, but he has seen this situation in manga quite often and has been wanting to try it. As the pirates attacks rained down on his meat shield, he re-called another thing he wanted to try. With a free arm, he grabbed the pirates head and, with some assistance from his lovely knife, ripped it right off, much to the horror of the other pirates. Straight from a panel of a manga, he flashed a chilling grin as he stuffed something in the heads mouth and tossed it at the pirates. Tick Tick.

Anastasia fell in behind Jericho as he breached the door. She threw her gun as hard as she could at one of the seven remaining pirates. It hurtled, shattering the skull of the pirate and sending him into the nearby wall, splattering the brains against the steel. She grabbed another one nearby, shattering his legs with her own so he couldn't escape. She let out a loud roar, and grabbed his lower mandible with her right hand and his upper skull with her right. She tugged as hard as she could, screaming while pulling it apart. It only took seconds before the audible creaks of the jaw became apparent. The pirate tried screaming, but he was too preoccupied with receiving a wider opening in his mouth. The snaps came quick, the jaw unhinging and hanging by only the skin of his head. The motors whirred in her mechanical arms and she pulled harder. Within milliseconds, the two parts of the jaw ripped apart, his mandible shattering against the floor and his upper half coming from his head and shattering against the wall, next to the already dead pirate.

Anastasia looked at the next one, and pointed him out, looking at the fear in his face. She grabbed him before he could run and shoved her hand down his throat. Grasping at what she could grab, she held tight and yanked upwards. Out came his stomach, along with a gratuitous amount of blood, all spraying upwards. She discarded the body and the unneeded organs, Looking around while Jericho finished off the rest remaining in the engine rooms. She called out.

"Kidd! Kidd are you here?"

She kept looking around for him.

Jericho was too busy exchanging fire with the remaining four pirates to really pay attention to the express details of what Ana was doing, and silently, from the amount of bone crunching sounds coming from over there, he was grateful. However, the four pirates lacked Jericho's common sense and looked towards the source of the sickening sounds, and that was the opening that Jericho needed. Rolling over his cover, he holsters both his pistols and draws his katana as he closes with the first pirate, the laser edge springing to life as it leaves the sheath to slice through the man from shoulder to hip, leaving the two halves smoking as they fall to the ground. He moves to close with the second one, but realizes that he won't make it before they guy recovers. So he draws one pistol and slides towards him, firing three shots. The first two hit the man's assault rifle as he brought it to bear, knocking it free of his grip. The third hit his right shoulder, stumbling him back as Jericho closed the rest of the distance.

Bringing the sword to his side, Jericho slices through the pirate's gut, cleaving him in two like his buddy before. The top half falls forward and the legs continue with a backwards fall. Two down, two to go. Another assault rifle and a shotgun force the bounty hunter back into cover. They likely weren't going to let him get close enough to use his sword again, so he sheathed it and drew the other pistol, trying to figure out how he was going to get at them. Then he remembered he packed smoke grenades on him.

"Poppin' smoke!" Pulling one free of it's place on his belt, he tossed it into the middle of the area between him and the pirates and, after a couple of seconds, a thick smoke cloud was released. The pirates, unable to see their enemy, eased their way out of cover as Jericho leapt on top of his then up on the ceiling. The one with the shotgun looked around frantically.

"Where'd he go, Bill? I can't see anything?" The one with the assault rifle, Bill, was looking and sounding just as frantic.

"I don't know, Jeb, I can't see anything either. Just keep yo-" Bill suddenly fell silent and Jeb turned towards where his voice had been coming from. But the smoke was keeping him from seeing much.

"B-Bill? You there? Please tell me you stopped talkin' cause you saw him." Jeb moved towards his companion, turning circles as he walked. At least, until he heard the sound of a laser edge activate behind him.

"You fellas picked the wrong ship to hit." As the pirate tried to turn and get a shot off, the bounty hunter rammed his katana's tip through the man's head and tore the edge out his face, letting the body slump as the smoke started to clear up. "All clear."

Once the engine room fell silent of anything but the 'not so panicking anymore' chatters of the other tied up engineers, a small compartment of one of the machinery in the room opened itself. Pop goes the feline boy from his hiding spot, checking if all the violent racket was over. A sharp screwdriver was tightly gripped in his trembling hands, a make-do trusty weapon of a technician. He waved his head around to check the prenises for any remaining pirates to find Ana and Jericho.

"Boy am I glad to see ya two, thought we were gonna be goners when those filthy pirates barged in like they owned the place! Serves them right but ack, the bloody mess, I can't get used ta them." The Furlyne covered his mouth with his hand to force in whatever might have gone up his throat before turning back to Ana, his gaze averting to the side as he spoke. "I guess I shoulda apologize for ma attitude back there. But I ain't changin' my mind about stayin', ya got that?

The pirates were cleared out of the back. Good. All that was left was to clear the corpses, but they could do that later. Ana shook her metal limbs, splattering the blood and viscera from her arms onto the ground, making a nice sloshing sound. She pointed at Kidd.

"Kidd. Follow me. Neither of us are in shape to do any fighting. Not anymore anyways. Jericho. Check the bottom cargo bay for any more pirates. Make sure our supplies are still good as well."

Ana tapped on her radio, connecting to Val.

"Val, are there anymore pirates on board at your end? If not, divert power from engines and power up weapons to blow them out of the sky. We can salvage whatever they drop after we blow it up. Understood? Good. I'm taking the engineers down to my office. I'll be up there shortly."



Anastasia finished putting the crew into her office. Kidd and the rest of the engineers. They were safe and the door was sealed. She picked up her legs to increase the pace with her gun slung around her back. She reached the front of the ship, addressing Val.

"Val. What's the status on the rest of the pirates? Have they all been killed? Have you powered down the engines and put power into the guns yet?"