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Chapter 14

An annoyed and slightly irritated growl reverberated off of the walls in the captain's quarters. It's origin, an incredibly bored looking Miktes firstborn of Hestry Clan. "By the strangers I'm sick of this crap." He mumbled to himself angrily. "Three stinking days of doing jack shit." Turning over onto his back on top of his disobedient mate's bed the red head frowned and crossed his arms over his chest as he glared up at the intricate patterns of the ceiling tiles above him.

{Miktes: Oh, how I hate just lying around doing nothing. I almost hate it as much as I dislike being told what to do what to do all the time. Something which I might add is starting to happen a lot more often the more I stay on my mate's damned flying house. Humph, speaking of that little bastard. You won't believe what he did to me the day after I so shamefully gave into my stinking mating lust. I was sleeping nice and quietly in the room where they store all their stuff when he barged in without asking my permission and barked at me to get up. You'd figure with what I did for him the previous night that he'd at least be grateful, you know cause I suckled on his dick. But, no... instead he just grumbles at me to go back to his room and stay in there for the rest of our trip to wherever we are going. Of course I fought him; no hairy little jerk is going to tell this warrior what to do. But that's when he started to act even stranger then before. Instead of yelling back at me like he always did he just left the room and came back with that huge hairy pet who talks funny. Who after giving me a confused look was ordered by me submissive to carry me over his shoulder to my mate's cruddy little room. It had been humiliating slung over that beast's shoulder and then thrown back into my mate's bed chambers, but I really didn't fight it much. I was too confused about the way my mate was acting. For some reason and I know this is weird, but for some reason it sort of bothered me when my human didn't fight back when I disobeyed him. And then there was the way he kept avoiding eye contact with me. It bothered me real bad and for the life of me I can't get why it does. Maybe... maybe I've just grown used to the way that uppity little pain in the ass acts or something. Anyway all I know is that I need to figure out why he's doing what he doing and do it fast. I don't like feeling this way.}

Sitting up from the bed suddenly, Miktes peered over to the closed bedroom door with a scowl. Why the heck should he have to stay in this small little room all the time? He was an active virile Verdomian male after all not some house submissive! A man like him needed to be free dammit and hell with anyone who tried to keep him locked up. Especially that insufferable human who owned this flying house.

"I ain't gonna stay in this dammed room one moment longer!" Miktes announced to the bedroom walls as he rolled off of the bed and to his feet. "Time for a little bit of exploring." Padding over to the door the sulky man held his palm up against the flat surface, hoping that for once he had not been locked inside. At first it looked like his fears were true, but then with a loud creaking sound the metal barrier split in half and disappeared into the walls.

'I wonder how this dammed thing works.' Miktes wondered, stepping into the doorway. Letting his curiosity getting the better of him the young warrior bent over and inspected the strange slot the metal door had slid into. 'Must be some more of that magic stuff they use or some-oomph!'

Before Miktes could finish his musings on how the door seemed to work, said barrier came to life again. The large and thick pane of metal sliding out of its slot and right into the unsuspecting man's green tusked face with a sickening crack that crushed his nose. "Son-of-a!" Miktes cursed as he stumbled backwards into the hallway a small yowl of pain and anger following as he fell against the opposite wall.

Rubbing the forming bruise now on his face the Verdomian growled at the closed bedroom door across from him. 'Who the hell is that stupid thing to make me look dumb?!' He wondered.

Well, if some door thought it could beat him he'd teach it a lesson. A lesson that his two fists would be happy to teach as they smashed it into pieces! Ready to fight Miktes let out a low growl and went to attack, however before the Verdomian warrior could get his righteous revenge upon the inanimate object he suddenly found himself falling head over heels as the wall behind him split open and he collapsed backwards into a room behind it. After landing on his back with a heavy sounding thud, Miktes embarrassingly found himself staring up at another ceiling. The rest of his face growing red to match the new long bruised strip which ran down its center.

"What the fuck is up with this place today." He asked no one. "Where the hell am I now?" Taking a quick sniff of the air as he sat up, Miktes quickly deduced that he was in that room where he had tried to tug himself earlier that week. The one that mean woman had chased him out of with a rolled up stack of paper.

He really didn't understand why she was so angry at him for using the room. Even if these were her sleeping chambers like she had so rudely shouted at him. The room still belonged to his mate, which in turn meant it belonged to him as the dominate. Maybe he should just play with himself in there right then just to spite the bossy human. But even as that thought came to mind an image of being struck by that rolled up paper snuffed it out. That woman had a good arm on her and even thought he was stronger, Miktes really didn't want to incur her wrath again by tugging himself again.

Of course, he reasoned, there was no other reason why he couldn't have a little look around. Especially since she would never know it was him who had done the deed. Plus maybe there was something in there he could take to teach her a lesson about hitting him over the head. Getting off of the floor, Miktes began to explore Rana's bedroom with his usual grace of movement. Meaning that he accidentally knocked over a few things as he clumsily ransacked through the room as he looked under her bed, in a cloths filled closet, and lastly the top of a large dresser.

Opening a small bock which was located on top of the piece of furniture, Miktes was pleased to see a treasure trove of small metal trinkets inside. He looked at a few of the pieces with growing interest; it seemed that these humans really had an eye for nice jewelry. There was one piece that specifically caught the aliens red eyes. A pair of golden wings attached to a blue and green circle that had strange writing underneath it.

This might be the perfect thing Miktes could use to get back at the mean woman. In the end thought the plotting man decided not to steal it after all. Mostly because as he glanced around the top of the dresser he caught sight of an image of a very young looking Rana being hugged from behind by an older man and woman both wearing some sort of strange uniform, the broach from the box proudly displayed on the woman's chest on display.

As much as Miktes wanted his revenge on the dark haired human he just couldn't take something that was obviously important to her. He might be petty most of the time but the warrior wasn't that cruel. Closing the box Miktes turned his attention over to a group of glass bottles which sat across from the treasure chest. Picking one up and twisting the top off of one of them, he took a whiff of its contents. Instantly Miktes found himself retching as a flowery scent wafted up from the glass rim. The scent reminding the Verdomian of the bath he had been forced to endure back on the day he had gotten mated to his human submissive. Becoming angry at the thought of his petulant mate again, Miktes tossed the open bottle of perfume over his shoulder and moved on to the three drawers which lined the front of the dresser. He'd surly find something interesting in there he reasoned

Unfortunately the first two Miktes opened and turned upside down weren't anything more interesting then what he had found on top. Just some kind of odd frilly clothing with fluttered down onto the floor in a pile. Picking one of the soft and thin garments up, Miktes stretched it from side to side trying to figure out what it was. "Weird." He muttered thoughtfully as it ripped. The Verdomian had never seen the dark haired woman wearing any of these things before. Maybe they were for some sort of special occasion. They'd have to be with how light they were.

Growing bored quickly when he couldn't comprehend what they were, Miktes pulled out the final drawer and turned it over. It was this third one which produced something new. A strange stack of papers held together by a pair of animal hide covers. 'Why would anyone keep something like this around?' Opening it Miktes found nothing but a bunch of strange squiggles and odd drawings. He recognized it as the human's strange style of writing. It was just too bad that he couldn't read any of it.

'Well standing here ain't going to answer anything.' He thought to himself. 'Maybe I can find one of the other servants to tell me what it means. ...Doesn't that nervous blond human who reads all the time live in the room next door?'

Going to search for the youngest member of his mate's crew, the Verdomian warrior left Rana's destroyed room and headed over to the next indent of the wall where he presumed the thin boy lived. After opening it and peering inside Miktes gave an annoyed huff at not finding the man he had been looking for. Instead all he found was a bunch of pictures of skeletons and humans without skin lining the walls and several more stacks of the same thing he was carrying in his four fingered hands. Shrugging, Miktes decided that he would ask the human later and tossed the item he had into the room, a crash coming from where it landed against a lamp.

Deciding that he was finished with exploring the top story of his submissive's flying house Miktes went over to the stairwell which led to the first floor and quietly padded down it. He knew that the other occupants of the house would most likely be roaming about this floor and he really didn't feel like having to deal with the bossy human's at the moment. Fortunately for the sneaky man he found the coast clear and happily strutted his way down the rest of the stairs with a smug smile on his face.

"They must be in the star room or something." Miktes said to himself as he hopped down from the last step. It was at that moment that the green alien's large belly choose to make its hunger known, a loud grumbling echoing through the small hallway. "Guess I should see if I can find something to eat."

Looking around the room Miktes caught sight of something which he knew would easily solve his current predicament. A square shaped hole on the wall which had a pane of glass above it with blinking lights. The warrior had witnessed earlier that week as his mate had pressed at the lights a few times, then told the house's disembodied voice to make him dinner. The tasty looking meal instantly provided for him with no fuss or waiting.

Miktes bet he could easily do the same thing. After all if his puny little submissive could work the dumb thing he shouldn't have any problems doing the same. Miktes was the "smarterer" one of the two of them after all. Going over to the device Miktes jabbed at the flashing spots on the glass with his meaty index finger, each press accompanied with a harsh buzzing sound and a bright red "X". As he imagined the meal he was in the process of getting Miktes licked his chops and drooled. All he had to do now was tell it what he wanted. Clearing his throat and looking up the eager warrior stated in his gruff and rude sounding voice. "Hey, voice! Make me some of those hamed-burgers things now!"

"Unable to comply partner!" The flying house replied back. "Ya'll didn't impute the right code there I reckon."

Miktes let out a deep growl and glared at the food hole in front of him. Again he wasn't being listened to and this time it was some damned funny sounding voice! "I said make me something to EAT!!" He repeated with a dangerous edge. "So go on and get to it. I command you!"

"Unable to comply, partner!" The voice insisted a second time. This response sounding slightly annoyed in some way.

Growing angry from not being obeyed, Miktes childishly stomped his foot a few times and placed his hands on his hips. "I. SAID. I. WANT. FOOD!"

There was a series of loud buzzing sounds and a few clicks from around the infuriated warrior. "...Unable. To. Comply. Part-ner! Now get!"

That was the final straw for the irate warrior, with a roar Miktes raised his fist and slammed it into the glass panel as hard as he could, a sea of sparks shooting out from it as the glass cracked and splintered under his hand. 'That'll teach this dammed thing not to give me what I want.' He said triumphantly as he withdrew his curt up and bruised hand from the smoking debris that was once the food dispenser. The only problem Miktes saw with his little outburst was that there was no way he was going to feed himself now.

Pouting at that thought of going hungry, Miktes suddenly caught a whiff of a tasty aroma which was filtering in from an open door at the end of the hallway. 'Hum... looks like someone on this thing got something to eat.' Following the smell blindly he made his way out of the hallway and through the common room to the door that led to the white room where the thin human had given him those annoying pricks to his sensitive bottom. 'Must be that scrawny one.' He said to himself as he peeked inside.

Sure enough there was the blond human, idly munching on a triangle piece food as he read from one of those paper stacks, like the ones up in his room. Watching as the human took another bite of the food in his hand Miktes couldn't help but lick his lips, his belly giving another rumble as the aroma reached his bulbous nose again. It sure did look good whatever it was he was eating.

Hearing the growling from across the room, Alfred looked up from his book and over to the doorway. When he saw that he had a guest he gave a sound of surprise and hopped to his feet, instantly growing nervous at the thought of being alone with the growling and grumpy Verdomian. "H-Hello Mister Miktes." The doctor said shakily. "W-What are y-you doing here?"

Ignoring the anxiousness in the other man's voice Miktes left the doorway and walked into the sickbay, his eyes never once leaving the piece of food in the human's hand. "I escaped." He simply said. "Yer master forgot to lock the door today."

Alfred got a funny look on his face hearing that. "Oh, boy. Barnabus isn't going to be happy you're wandering around the ship unsupervised." He chuckled awkwardly. Growing a little bit brave Alfred hesitantly walked over to the older man. "I-Is there.... anything I could help you with?" He asked.

Miktes continued to stare down at the food. "Well you can start by giving me that stuff you jamming down your throat." He said gruffly. "Smells kind of good... real good."

"My pizza?" Alfred held up his half eaten meal, watching as Miktes follows his movements in the same way a begging dog would watch a treat. "Um... o-ok you can have some of it I suppose." He said with a small smile. "But, I'm not sure you'll like it. It's topped with sardines, anchovies, and pickle slices."

Barely paying attention to what the human had told him Miktes snatched the food out of the human's hands and stuffed it into his mouth, the alien giving a hum of pleasure as he chewed and the new taste crossed over his sensitive taste buds. "Dam this is good." He muttered around the mouthful. "You got anymore?"

"Yeah... I have two more slices over there I was hoping to save for later." Alfred said flourishing over to his desk. "But, if you really want you-" Before the younger man could finish his sentence, Miktes pushed his way past him and padded his way over to his desk and took a seat in his office chair. Giving a happy sounding grunt the thickset alien began to devour the remains of his lunch with about as much manners as one would find in a pig pen.

"Wow..." Alfred said in awe as he made his way over to the eating Verdomian. He didn't know whether or not he should be worried that Miktes wasn't always chewing his food as he ate. His concern over that soon ended however when he saw the state the other man's left hand was in. "MISTER MIKTES!" Alfred said in alarm. His doctor senses kicking in the young man rushed over to the seated Verdomian and took a closer look at the damage.

Stopping halfway through chewing Miktes glared up at the human bothering him. "What!?" He snapped. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

Apparently Alfred didn't seem to care if he was busy or not, because before the warrior knew what was happening he found his hand being pulled away from his food and painfully manhandled at by the blond headed human next to him.

"My goodness, what on earth did you do to your hand Mister Miktes?" Alfred said as he poked and prodded the injuries. Seeing that there weren't any broken bones, the doctor reached over to the top drawer of his desk and pulled it out a sterile patch of cloth, a bottle of antibiotic, and some bandages. "Never mind you can tell me later." He hummed. "First we have to get this cleaned and fixed up, aye?"

Continuing to eat the food in front of him with his free hand, Miktes raised an eyebrow at the way the other man was acting. "You ain't got to fuss over me like that." He mumbled. "It's just a bunch of small cuts and stuff." The way the thin human was acting reminded the red head of his mother in a way. Velloy was always one to overreact when he had the littlest scratch. Especially when he was still a snot nosed youngling barely out of his swaddling clothes.

"Yes but it could get infected." Alfred quickly pointed out as he got to work. Frowning, Alfred began to clean the wound, carefully picking out a few pieces of glass before he poured a small amount of the antibiotic he had taken out onto a washcloth. "Ok, now this is going to sting a little. So please don't growl at me when I do it." He said with imploring eyes.

"I think I can handle some pain human." Miktes said as he continued to eat. He was an adult man for the stranger's sakes, not to mention a trained warrior. Of course the Miktes' bravado instantly shriveled and blew away as soon Alfred had begun to gently scrub at the injury on his hand. The sting of the liquid on the terrycloth making the strong Verdomian hiss in pain and whimper as it made contact. "I thought you said it was only a little sting." He pouted.

"I did." Alfred chuckled lightly. "No one would let me use this stuff if I told them how much it really hurt."

Miktes didn't appreciate the levity the other man was showing and growled quietly as Alfred continued whatever he was doing with his palm. "Why are you doing this?" He asked after a few moments. He really didn't understand why the human was taking time out of his day to bandage his small wound.

Alfred gave a shrug as he finished with the washcloth and moved onto wrapping a bandage around his companion's hand. "Why wouldn't I do it?" He responded simply. "You were hurt and as the ship's doctor I was able to fix it." There was a thoughtful look from the younger man. "And... I have to say I really don't like seeing people hurt. Especially someone who's had such a hard time like you have the last couple of days. It can't be easy to find yourself in a strange new world like mine."

"You people are really weird." Miktes concluded. Stuffing the last of the "pizza" into his tusked mouth the Verdomian fully turned around in his seat to give the other man better access. "Don't tie it too tight." he ordered gruffly.

"Don't worry I won't" Alfred laughed. "I know I might be young but I do know a thing or two about this sort of thing."

"Cause you're a healer right?"

"Yeah... cause I'm a healer." Alfred nodded. "I haven't been one for too long though. I had just finished my schooling a few years ago when I joined Captain Barnabus' crew."

At the mention of his mate, Miktes gave a snort. "So, you've know that bastard for a while?"

"For three years Mister Miktes." Alfred gave a fond chuckled and looked over to a picture on the wall, Miktes following his line of sight as he did. The picture was of Barnabus, Rana, and Moah standing triumphantly over a group of badly dressed men in odd clothing. "Ever since he came to my rescue when I was getting mugged by a gang of hooligans one night."

That was surprising to hear for Miktes. He had assumed from the way his cowardly mate had run from those "police officers" back on his floating island that he was unable to fight. Save for when he had cheated the first time the two of them had met. In fact the red head was still especially bitter about how the human had bested him. Speaking up again Miktes next asked. "You telling me the truth 'bout him fighting off those guys or are you just trying to make my submissive look good?"

"No, I'm not lying. I don't think I could think of something as thrilling as what happened that night!" Finishing with the bandaging the medic began to put all his medical supplies back into his desk. "The Captain came running into the fray and single-handily took out three of them at once and then before the others could react Rana and Moah took them out. I was so thankful that I elected to become their ships doctor as thanks."

"Hum..." Miktes said with a scratch of his chin. "How did he learn how to fight so good?"

Alfred seemed to think over the question for several moments before he answered. "Well... from what Rana has told me the Captain learned the basics of fighting in the military. He was the top of his class during his training. But, he fights a lot better than your average soldier. So I suppose that he learned his "special moves" from when he was a part of Ekkar's Jack crew."

'Why does that name sound familiar?' Miktes wondered to himself. It only took a few seconds of sorting through all the odd names he had heard since he had left his home to realize that Ekkar was the name of that annoying blue lizard which had got in their way when they were escaping from the island. The warrior could still remember the scent of fear and anger which had come off of his mate when the creature had touched him. Wanting more information on this Ekkar, Miktes posed another question. "Who's this Ekkar guy you just talked 'bout?" He began. "He someone important?"

Alfred visually stiffened at his verbal slip, talking about the Fidraon around the Wild Comet was strictly forbidden. Not because Barnabus had ordered it, but because no member in the crew wanted to upset their captain by bringing up that horrible man. Alfred himself had only learned about what had happened a short time ago and he could see why Barnabus never wanted to speak to Ekkar again. Responding to what had been asked Alfred quickly turned away. "It's nothing Mister Miktes." He said with a sigh. "Just some bad blood."

For some reason Miktes wasn't happy by the way the shorter man had just blown him off. Wanting to be answered properly, the alien stood up from his seat and spun the human back around. "Tell me what you mean by bad blood?" He said in a commanding tone.

Alfred gave the Verdomian a worried expression. He really didn't like being confronted like this; it wreaked havoc on his nerves. But as he stood there under the harsh gaze of the other man he broke. "What I meant is that the Captain doesn't like Ekkar ever since they broke up."

The human phrase only caused further confusion in the green skinned man. "What's broke up?"

"You know..." Alfred motioned with his hands for Miktes to finish, but when he didn't the doctor gave a sigh and scratched an imaginary itch on the back of his neck. He just knew Rana and Moah were going to be upset with him. "It means Mister Miktes that the Captain and Ekkar were lovers once and now they aren't."

Being given the definition of the words "Breaking up." caused a tight ball to form in the center of Miktes' large gut. The idea of his submissive being touched by that creature both angering him and sickening him at the same time. The only odd thing about it was that Miktes didn't understand why he felt that way. It wasn't like this Ekkar was a rival to him. Barnabus was his property now after all and he himself, like any other Verdomian dominate, had numerous lovers in his past.

Miktes was about to ask another question about his unruly mate, when said man's voice rang out from above them. "Heya Alfred!" Barnabus said over the ships communications system. "Have you seen that pain in the ass orc of ours anywhere? I looked up in my room but he wasn't there."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PAIN IN THE ASS?" Snarling at being called a pain in the ass Miktes stomped his way to the center of the room and looked around. Barnabus had to be hiding somewhere in the room.

"I take it from that little tantrum that he's in the sickbay with you, huh?" Barnabus said with a tired sigh over the intercom.

"Yes sir Captain!" Alfred said with a salute. "He just came in here a few minutes ago."

"You just couldn't stay put could you?" Barnabus asked speaking to Miktes. "All I wanted you to do was to stay in my room until we got to Loma Prime and you couldn't even do that."

"I told you..." Miktes peered around the examining table trying to find his mate. "I told you I don't take orders from you!"

"Sorry kiddo didn't catch that last bit." Barnabus replied with a huff. "Anyway, I just wanted to tell you two that we're about two hours away from our destination so we should start getting ready to disembark. And that means you better get dressed in your disguise Mickey."

At the thought of putting on that heavy clothing again Miktes cringed. He had almost suffocated putting them on back at the island. Giving a loud huff the warrior placed his arms over his chest and stuck his nose up in the air. "I ain't wearing anything but what I got on right now!" He announced haughtily. "And if you try and make me put it on I'll rip them off when we're out and prance around bare assed for everyone to see!!"

In the ships cockpit both Barnabus and Ran shared a wide-eyed look between them, the female Jack snickering into her hand as Barnabus' face grew red as he imaged the Verdomian walking around the beach in the nude. Realizing how he looked the bearded man snapped out of his imaginings and glared at the speaker before him. "Look Mr. Green I don't care what you want, you have to wear those clothes!" He shouted into the intercom. "If you don't then someone will see what your some undocumented alien race and tell the authorities! Come on we've already gone over this a million times, so don't fight me on this."

"I'll fight you as dam long as I please." Miktes shot back. "'Sides who cares if someone sees me now? Your people already know I'm not from your world." Lifting his nose into the air the grumpy man sat down onto the floor and crossed his arms over his chest. He wouldn't budge on bit on this subject.

"Yeah that's true." Barnabus began trying to sound patient, the vein on his forehead throbbing as he contained the anger which was building. "But, I really don't want to take the chance-"

"-Captain?" Alfred interrupted before the two could truly start fighting. "I don't think him wearing what he has right now would be so bad?" Walking over to the other man in the room with him the medic looked the alien up and down. "What' Mister Miktes is wearing is actually prefect for a beach. You know because it's shorts and all."

There was a long pause as Barnabus thought over what the younger man had said. True Loma Prime was a resort planet so he was completely correct. But there was still Miktes' pointy green ears and row of bright orange hair tuffs. Anyone who looked at the surly alien would be able to tell that he wasn't an average species of the I.U.G..

Eventually coming to a compromise Barnabus gave a sigh of defeat and hit the intercom button again. "Ok, he doesn't have to wear the jeans and hoodie." Hearing that he had won, a large grin crossed Miktes' green face. However before he could revel in his small victory his mate quickly added. "But... he does have to wear a hat. That's the only way I'll let him out."

Narrowing his eyes Miktes frowned and opened his mouth to rebuke his mate's command. Before he could say what he was thinking however, Alfred grabbed his arm making his stop. "Um, Mister Miktes could you please just agree to that one part. I really don't want the Captain to be upset." He begged. "Please, you know as thanks for bandaging up you hand."

Miktes glared at the short human then to his hand. He did own the boy something for what he had done for him. "Fine." Miktes said with an annoyed growl. "I'll wear this hat thing. But I ain't putting on anything else got it!"

"Fine, fine I got it." Barnabus said humoring the other man. "Just get back to my bedroom so that I can give it to you before we land."

"Whatever." Miktes sulked. After nodding to Alfred for the small amount of help he had given him the annoyed Verdomian walked out of the room, his tail whipping side to side anxiously as he disappeared into the other room.

Watching as his patient left the sickbay Alfred shook his head and chuckled quietly to himself. Things certainly were a little livelier around the ship with him aboard. It was just a shame that after all this mess with the relic that Miktes would be sent back home. Alfred knew that given time he might actually start to like the grumpy alien.

***************

The stale and slightly pungent air of the inner sanctum was a welcome relief to Ragno Warg-C34 as he made his way down the long corridor which would lead him to chambers where the elders often convened. Passing through the black and twisted metal walls of his people's capital building he grinned as others of his kind passed him by, some of them dressed in elaborate armor like him while others we dressed in simple clothing befitting that of a servant. Glaring at each of them Ragno was pleased to see them either shy away from him in intimidation or downright avoid him in fear and loathing.

Oh, how Ragno had missed these kinds of reactions, missed being in a place where he was treated as one of his station should be treated. As a god. He had spent far too much time in I.U.G. space, their soft and disgusting tendency for bright environments, cherry greetings, and lush greenery making him sick as he spent week after week among their worthless numbers. But now here he was back among his own and given time the stench which clung to his body from his trip would hopefully dissipate, replaced by the sweet scents of decay and iron ore which wafted through the air of his lovely homeworld.

Coming to a full stop before a pair of large door with his clutch's emblem emblazoned upon it. The proud Warg general quickly straitened his armor and then stood at attention, stiff and unmoving as he waited to be called upon. His wait only lasted a few moments luckily, a smaller male Warg dressed in humble clothing approaching him with a bow.

"Warg-C34, Ragno?" The servant asked in a timid voice. When his shy question got a nod in response the servant gave a relieved sigh. It was commonly known that calling some generals by someone else's name could result in death. Stepping aside the servant flourished to the doors. "Y-you have been cleared for entrance into the elders chambers my lord."

Ragno gave a clicking sound telling the servant that he was done with him, the other man making a frightened sounding whimper as he scurried off to who knows where. There were times when the general wished that they didn't need such scum like the smaller members of their clutch scurrying underfoot. They were unsuitable for combat or leadership and were never chosen for the breeding programs which insured the strength of their kind. It would be kinder to do away with them when they were hatchlings then it was to allow them infect the population the way they did with their weakness.

Putting those thoughts aside the large purple alien walked forward, cape bellowing behind him and pushed open the doors to the elder's chambers with a sweep of his thick muscled arm and stepped inside the elder's chambers. The room on the other side was much like the rest of the stronghold save for two differences. One: instead of the dim artificial lighting which illuminated the rest of the capital building there were thousands of candles lining the walls, each of them giving off an eerie blue flame and two: instead the common riffraff that milled around the capital, this room held the entirety of his clutch's elders and several other generals. All of them eyeing him with distaste as he entered the room and made his way over to the large table which they were seated at.

Taking his seat Ragno made sure to avert his eyes as to not offend them. Making direct eye contact with any of the elders could spell the end of those foolish enough to do so and as much as Ragno disliked everyone in front of him he was no a fool. Even in their old age the leaders of his family group were a strong and vicious bunch. There were even stories of how they literally tore apart those who displeased them. And it was that thought which was in the forefront of Ragno's mind as he bowed in his seat until his forehead touched the tabletop and spoke. "Warg of clutch forty-five reporting back from his away mission to the I.U.G. colony." He announced with as much ceremony and pomp as he could muster. "I give my greetings to you my fathers and brothers."

"The elders welcome home their wayward son, Ragno Warg of clutch forty-five." A Warg elder said from his seat at the head of the table. Looking up Ragno narrowed his eyes at the man who had just spoken to him. The man seated across from him was by far the largest of the elders present. His obsidian black armor and a mane of tendrils much grander than any other in the room. "What have you to report about your mission?"

Answering his masters question Ragno pressed a few buttons in front of him with his clawed finger. The room dimming, a holographic depiction of the Verdomian artifact appeared over the meeting table. "I'm afraid Lord Jugulo that I was unable to acquire the artifact that I was sent to get." Ragno said grimly. "It was stolen before I could get my talons on it."

There was a growl from the largest of the elders as well as murmuring from all the other Wargs in the room as they discussed the failure. It wasn't until Jugulo raised both his hands for them to stop that the room grew silent again. "So Ragno you have failed us then?" He asked with a sneer. "You know what happens to failures son."

"It was not I who failed you your graciousness." Ragno was quick to say, his eyes growing worried as his master raised an eyebrow to his statement. "It was that pompous human Clayworth's fault! He allowed the Verdomian statue slip through our fingers by placing too much trust in the security forces of his colony that let out relic get stolen by a crew of human Jacks."

"I find that hard to believe." Snarling the leader of the gathering of savage aliens stood up and walked over to the windows which lined the far wall of the meeting room. "The Clayworth's have always come through for us when we ask something ever since the family helped our forces during the final days of the war." Jugulo peered over his shoulder. "Perhaps it was something you did that allowed the relic to be taken?"

"It was not I sir." Ragno replied through gritted teeth. True it might have complicated things when he had had his fun, killing that fat professor, but still Clayworth should have planned for every contingency. Especially if he was as great as the elders believed him to be. "Laird Clayworth is to blame for the failure of our plan." Ragno continued. "It was stupid and it was foolhardy to put our trust into such a-"

"ARE YOU SAYING THAT I AM A FOOL?" With a roar which caused the ears of everyone in the room to ring lord Jugulo stormed his way back over to the table and slammed his fist down with such force that it cracked under his strength. "How dare you claim to know better than I whelp!" He seethed. "I am your leader, your master and you shall show me respect or you will be my dinner!"

Ragno gulped at the rage and fierceness radiating off of the older man. He had let his true feeling show and said something he shouldn't have. Lowering his head until it was pressed against the table he made a series of clicking sounds in the back of his throat, the Warg equivalent of a submissive whimper. "My humblest apologies my lord." The general said carefully. "I... I was just upset over my own failure and misspoke."

There were several tense minutes as Jugulo debated whether or not to go through with his threat, but in the end the Warg leader sniffed arrogantly at the younger Warg and took his seat again. "Fine, but know the only reason I allow you to continue to exist is because of your skills and the hassle of replacing your worthless hide." He said tensely. "But if you insult me again it will be the last time you do so."

"Thank you Lord Jugulo." Ragno said, ever careful to keep his disgust at having to cow down to the older male in check. "As always your generosity is more than a man of my ilk deserves."

"Yes it is isn't it?" Reclining in his seat Jugulo looked over the gathering of his generals, commanders, and other elders, his eyes telling them all not to bother him as he thought over the situation. Finally after what seemed like an eternity to all in attendance the brooding man spoke again, his voice calm and precise. "It seems we have reached an impasse." He began. "If the artifact is truly lost to us then we must give up on your scheme Ragno and shift focus back to our original idea of forming alliances with our neighbors on the opposite end of our territory."

There were several grumbles from everyone seated at the table. To a Warg having to become allies with other races was a stomach turning thought. They were the superior species in the galaxy and everything and everyone else was trash when compared to them.

It was only Ragno, who spoke up again about how everybody felt. "Lord Jugulo, please reconsider giving up on the plan with the relics. There may yet be another avenue we could take to acquire them."

Jugulo glared at the impudent general. "You try my patience my son!" He growled. "But fine, tell me and the elders about this other avenue that you feel is so important."

Ragno gave a fanged smile and stood up from his seat, hands behind his back as he stood at attention. "I purpose that we simply just go after the individuals who took the artifact from Clayworth! They are but a small crew and one of our battle cruisers filled with a few elites could easily disable their ship, kill them, and retrieve our artifact."

"And pray tell how would we explain sending a fully armed ship deep into I.U.G. space Ragno of clutch forty-five?" Jugulo asked with steel coldness.

"If anyone confronted us we would simply shot them out of space milord." Was Ragno's response. A Warg battle cruiser was known to be one of the most deadly spaceships known. "We are conquers after all! A small skirmish is nothing that we should shy away from."

There were several hums of agreement and nods from the other generals surrounding the smug man, each of them bolstering Ragno's confidence that his plan would be accepted. However all of these newfound allies quickly changed their opinions when the elders all growled for them to become silent. "While it is true that we Wargs do not flee from battle. Neither do we go blindly into the fray!" Jugulo commented slowly. "As we are now the I.U.G. would slaughter our forces if we provoked them. They are too many in number and we are too few. This was one of the reasons why we chased after the artifacts in the first place. Because of the legend attached to them that might lead us to gain the upper hand."

"But lord Jugulo!" Ragno tried desperately.

"SILENCE!" Jugulo snapped. "I have made my decision! We will find ourselves allies and together we will build a force that will rival the I.U.G. military and crush them under our power!"

Ragno glared at his master. Hate and rage pouring off of him as the older man sat there with his air of smugness and superiority. "I will respect you decision lord Jugulo." Ragno said standing up. "Now, if you would excuse me. I've made my report and have other things to do for the empire."

"Then begone Ragno Warg-C45 and know that your failure will be noted in your permanent files." Jugulo said with a dismissive wave.

"Yes sir." With a bow the Warg general turned on his clawed feet and walked out the room. Oh how Ragno wished he was strong enough to challenge his master and rip out the bastards throat. Jugulo was unfit for the position of clutch leader in his eyes. The old man too soft and afraid of their enemies to act as a true Warg master should act. Bloodthirsty and merciless. But as much as he wanted to become the clutch Alpha he knew that now was not the time to challenge him. His time would come later after he completed the plan which had just formed in his mind and he had the backing of the emperor.

Raising his arm Ragno flipped on the forearm communicator which every soldier of the empire wore and quickly connected himself with his personal squad of elite warriors. "Bekno Warg-C45 come in!" He barked.

There was a moment of static before whoever it was on the other end picked up the line. "Yes General Ragno, what is it that you wish sir."

"I want you to assemble a team of men loyal to me before the clutch elders." Ragno said with a hushed tone. "Then I want you to get my personal cruiser ready for battle and fill it with every conceivable weapon you can steal from the armory."

"W-Why do you want me to do such a thing sir!" Bekno said in a panicked voice. Stealing from the armory would be considered a capital offense. "Not that I-I'll disobey your master."

Ragno growled and ground his sharp fanged teeth together. "Just do it!" he commanded. "And be fast of it! I want to be back in the air before morning. We have ourselves a relic to retrieve."

***************

"So Rana what do you think?" Barnabus asked with a goofy grin. "Am I the height of Loma Prime fashion or what?"

Rana looked up from what she had been doing to glance over to Barnabus as he walked into the cargo bay. As she took in what he was wearing she had to quickly cover her mouth to keep herself from laughing out loud at the way he was dressed. She had never seen the other Jack look so ridicules in the entire time she had known him and with Barnabus Comet that phrase was saying something.

Gone was the bearded man's usual work clothing, his regular outfit replaced with what had to be the loudest Hawaiian shirt ever created, a pair of bright blue swimming trunks, and tacky foam flip flops. However all these things paled in comparison to the large and ratty looking straw hat which Barnabus had adorned atop his dark brown haired head.

Noticing his second in commands snickering Barnabus frowned. Looking down at himself, he checked himself over again. He thought he looked really good. Like one of the typical vacationers that they were trying to disguise themselves as. It was way better than her simple logo shirt and shorts. Walking over to her with a huff the older man gave her a smirk. "Am I really that bad?" He asked. "I mean yeah... it's a little over the top but you have to admit I really look-"

"-Stupid." Miktes interrupted the older man. Both Jack's turned around just as their alien passenger walked into the room, the hat he had agreed to wear sitting atop his head. "Hard to believe you complained 'bout what I'm wearing. At least I don't look like some crazy man."

"I'll have you know that I wore this exact same outfit the last two times I went to a beach." Barnabus huffed. "And on both occasions I was praised by someone for my wonderful taste."

Rana finally gave into her desire to laugh at the way he captain was dressed and doubled over as she shook from her amusement. "Then they were either lying to you so you'd sleep with them or they were color blind." She managed to get in between guffaws. "I think your shirt is now permanently etched into my mind."

"Hardy, har, har." Barnabus groused. Turning his back on both of the rooms other occupants the Jack captain got down to business. "Ok, so now that you've had your fun are you all ready to get going?" He asked. It was then that he realized that they were missing a few people. "Wait... where's Alfred and Moah?"

"Well Alfred's going to be staying in the ship taking inventory for us." Rana answered as she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "You know how badly that boy burns in direct sunlight."

Barnabus chuckled and grinned over to Miktes, who had a raised eyebrow at Rana's remark. "He got sunburned so badly one time we had to buy two tubs of aloe for him to bathe in." He explained. "He was so embarrassed when me and Moah walked into the sickbay and saw him sitting there in a tub of the stuff."

"I still don't know how he was able to get that red. He was only outside for a half an hour." Rana shook her head and walked over to the door which led to the ship's hallway. "And as for Moah I think he's still downstairs." Leaning out the door the Middle-Eastern woman took a deep breath and shouted out. "MOAH YOU READY YET!"

The sounds of heavy stomping came a few moments later the loud noise accompanied by an almost frantic sounding. "Doosha, doosha! Gex teppo Rana, gex teppo!"

Stepping to the side with a hop, Rana narrowly avoided being knocked to the ground as a very happy looking Moah made his way into the cargo bay. Like everyone else he was in disguise, although his clothing wasn't exactly something one would wear to blend into a crowd on a vacation planet. Moah had forgone his coveralls and was wearing a nice buttoned up shirt with matching black pants. His beard and fur atop his head which was usually messy was coifed and trimmed in a way that made the usually manic looking mechanic appear to be a refined gentleman.

"That's... that's some getup you got there Zash." Barnabus said as his vision ran up and down his Girunjh friend's form. He took a few sniffs of the air and noticed a peculiar scent coming off of the taller man. "Are you wearing cologne or something?"

"Yaggho." Moah said bashfully. "It... is... best brand!"

Rana quirked an eyebrow at the fact that their friend, a man who usually didn't bath for weeks was all dressed up and wearing expensive cologne. "Well... that's real nice Moah." She began gently. "But I don't think you should be looking so dressed up. We're trying to go unnoticed remember?"

Moah deflated at being told that what he was wearing was unacceptable. He had spent days looking for just the right clothing for their outing. "Fugui?" He asked Barnabus with a pout.

Though not clearly understanding what the other man had just said Barnabus nodded. "Yeah, really. I'm afraid that you'll just have to find something else to wear." He told the other man with a sympathetic look. "You know something summery like shorts and a sleeveless shirt."

Moah furrowed his brows and scratched his chin thinking, then suddenly the large man got his classic look of inspiration and said an excited, "Jutto nopla tenso futto!" and reached for the buttons keeping his well-made shirt closed. Sharing a confused look Barnabus, Rana, and Miktes watched as the mechanic unfastened all of the buttons and slipped the expensive looking garment off, revealing a stark white tank top underneath which went down far enough to cover half his large belly. Then without any mind to the company around him he then began to remove his pants, muttering to himself in frustration as he fumbled with the tiny buttons which kept the article of clothing up.

With growing horror as Moah continued to undress in front of them, Rana quickly rushed over to the undressing alien. "Wait, wait, wait don't take you pants off in front of-" Unfortunately for the panicking woman her pleas fell on death pointed ears, Moah devastating himself of his pants with one quick motion and leaving himself standing there in the drafty cargo bay in just a pair of tight fitting fundoshi-like underwear. Cringing at the sight of Moah's brown furred bottom Rana covered her eyes and gave a week sounding sigh.

"I swear what is it with you men and getting naked around me all the time." She asked no one in particular. "I mean it wouldn't be so bad if you were super models or something. But I'm really not attracted to pot bellies. The three men standing around the red faced woman all stared down at their bellies and gave huffs. She obviously didn't know true beauty when it was right in front of her.

"Come on Rana we're not that bad." Barnabus joked as he watched Moah pick up his discarded pants and walk across the cargo bay and over to one of the many shelves that lined the wall. To say the human was surprised by what he had caught sight of when the beastly man had removed his pants would be an understatement. It seemed these Girunjh were very well endowed.

If Moah had turned out to be gay like him, Barnabus would have gladly seen to his needs regardless of how strange the man was. After all he was up to any challenge and he had never had a lover as big as Moah. Of course now... all his sexual desire seemed to be tied up in a certain Verdomian's green body, much to his annoyance. It must have been something to do with the mating thing.

Pushing those lecherous thoughts to the back of his mind Barnabus walked in-between Rana and Moah. Sparing the still cringing woman from having to look at their mechanic's bare bear bottom. "Besides you've seen worst this week then a guy in his skivvies." The Jack captain nodded over to Miktes who scowled at the implication. "Remember when Mickey flashed his nasty green junk in your direction?"

Miktes scowled at the human for saying that his "junk" was nasty. From what he believed his genitals were perfectly fine. Nice, big, and from what his past lovers had said highly pleasing to have inside of them. Obviously his human mate didn't know what he was talking about. Walking over to Rana and giving her a haughty sniff the alien condescendingly said.

"Being nude isn't something any true male should be ashamed of woman." The red head glanced over to Moah who had just pulled out a pair of scissors from a box on the. "Besides I know for a fact that you own some skimpy clothing yourself. Saw them when I was looking through your stuff in you room earlier today."

"Yeah I want to talk to you about what I found in my room earlier." Rana fumed. The Jack pilot still clearly remembered the state of complete disarray she how found her usually spick-and-span room after she had landed the Wild Comet. Her clothes all on the floor, her expensive bottle of perfume spilled, and her diary missing. It was plain as day to figure out who had ransacked her room. And that person was a certain alien stowaway who just couldn't understand the concept of personal space. "Why don't you come over here Miktes, so that I can give you a quick little lesson about going into my room?" She said with a frown. "And I'm going to make sure this time that you listen to what I have to say."

Miktes quickly checked to see if the angry human had the reviled rolled up stack of papers in her hand, and upon finding her unarmed he gave a smug grin and crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. "I'd like to see you try and teach me anything woman! I am a Verdomian warrior and I fear no one. Especially a puny human like you."

Rana clenched her teeth and stomped over to the surly Verdomian rage in his eyes, and her fist drawing back. "I'll show you whose puny jackass!"

Knowing what was about to happen and not having the heart to watch, Barnabus shifted his attention back over to Moah. The large man was completely oblivious to the fight going behind him and was absorbed in the process of using a pair of scissors to turn his fancy pair of pants into a haphazardly tailored pair of shorts. Shaking his head as the sound of Miktes cursing reached his ears Barnabus walked over to his mechanic and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You know you could have just gone back to your workshop and gotten those swim trunks of yours." He sighed.

Moah absently mumbled a few sentences as he finished his little project, clearly telling Barnabus that ruining his new pants didn't bother him in the slightest. Then with a happy sounding "Yaggho!" He stood back up and held his new shorts out for the bearded human to inspect.

Barnabus gave a sigh at being ignored and looked over the ruined pair of pants. Despite the fact the cuts weren't exactly straight he supposed that it would do. "Ok, ok that's fine I guess." He said. "Just put them back on will ya big guy? You're sort of mooning us all over here."

Moah gave a snickering and slightly embarrassed response and quickly redressed himself again much to the relief of everyone in the room. That problem now dealt with Barnabus peered over his shoulder to the room's other occupants, smirking as he saw as Miktes rubbed the forming bruise on the back of his head while Rana gave a smirk in return which told Barnabus that she had just enjoyed what she did.

"Ok, now that we're all dressed is everyone ready to head out now?" Barnabus asked with a clap of his hands. When he got a pair nods from his crew the bearded man went over to the back of the cargo bay and pressed the button to lower the bay doors. "I just hope that we won't have any problems when we're walking down the boardwalk."

Rana went over to join the other Jack and let out a small sigh. "I just want to get this whole mess over with a quickly as possible." She told him quietly. "I'm really nervous about being on the run like this."

"We all are Rana." Barnabus said back, frowning. "But this part at least should be real easy. All we got to do is take a nice stroll through paradise and talk to some little old lady."

"I'm not going till that woman is punished for hitting me!" Miktes but in with an angry shake of his fist. Growling the primitive alien stomped his way over to the pair and gave his submissive a harsh glare. "Go on, do it!"

Barnabus chuckled at the bitter look in the other man's eyes. "You know you sort of deserved getting your ass handed to you just now." He told him as the large doors finished lowering themselves and bright Loma Prime sunlight filtered into the dimly lit cargo bay. "Makes me sort of wish I could do the same thing for what you did to my bedroom. I'm going to have one hell of a dry cleaning bill for my sheets."

"Will you stop bringing up your damned bedding?" Miktes growled in irritation. "There's more important things going on. Like this bruise I got on the back of my head."

"Awe does the big baby want me to nuzzle it and make it better?" Barnabus asked in a teasing tone.

Miktes blushed at the thought of his mate actually doing what he had suggested. But as soon as he realized what he was doing the warrior growled and looked away. "I-I didn't ask you t-to do anything like that submissive." He sputtered. "All I want is for you to make your servant pay for what she did. And realize that I can go into her room whenever I want."

"Yeah... well I honestly don't think that's going to happen. But you're more than welcome to try and go in there again. I'm sure Rana will be more than happy to kick your ass back out." Barnabus pointed over to Rana, Miktes following his arm and taking a step back as the petite human woman passed by them, punching her hand and grinning evilly se she walked out of the ship and down the ramp leading outside.

Miktes quickly realized that maybe it was in his best interest to just drop the subject and move one. At least for now. That woman was just lucky that he didn't feel like using his full strength on her. Or at least that's what he kept telling himself as Moah brushed past him excitedly. "Stupid humans." Miktes muttered to himself much to Barnabus' amusement.

"Yeah, yeah stupid humans." Now alone with his alien stowaway Barnabus gave the brooding man a quick smile. Like he had said earlier, sure Miktes was a pain in the ass, but things were never boring with him around. However as soon as the Jack captain realized what he was doing he just as quickly went back to frowning.

[Barnabus: I really got to stop doing that sort of thing. I have to remember that I need to keep my distance and not get attached to the brat. Of course it's a little hard when everything that dimwitted Verdomian does is either funny as hell or just plain cute. No, no stop it Comet. He's a pest, a pain in the ass who's not even worth your time. Just keep telling yourself that and when he goes home you won't even think twice about dropping him off.]

Turning away from Miktes, Barnabus began to make his way down the ramp and out of the ship. "Hurry up Mickey." He called over his shoulder as detached as he could. "We need to hurry up before Rana and Moah get too far ahead of us and leave us behind."

Miktes went to open his mouth to tell his mate not to boss him around, but stopped before he uttered a single word. For some reason that quick smile directed towards him a few moments had caused a slight fluttering sensation in his belly and it confused the warrior to no end. What even puzzled him more however was how he was disappointed when it was covered up by the human's frown.

{Miktes: I gotta be going crazy or something. I told myself as I fell into step behind my fussy little mate. After all it ain't like no one's ever smiled at me before. Mama did it all the time and my father ever did it once or twice. Why should having my human smiling at me make me feel all weird and stuff? Maybe if he keeps doing I'll figure it out eventually. Of course it's not like I'm going to be going around trying to make him smile or anything. I'm the warrior dominate in this mating. If anyone should be trying to make the other happy it should be that disobedient submissive not someone like me.}