FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 21

[Barnabus: Humm... you know I never really pictured myself in this sort of situation before. Then again what sort of guy would? Standing in the middle of a room kissing another man after they saved my worthless ass from almost getting forced into sex. The whole thing kinda reminds me of that little white lie I told in the strip joint a few weeks ago. Some hard boiled hero sneaking his way through the enemy infested stronghold so that he could dashingly rescue some poor sap who got himself in a perilous situation. Although I gotta say when I had spun that tall tale I hadn't exactly been picturing myself in the role of the "dame in distress" waiting to be rescued or a big galoot like Miktes being the dashing hero.

Oh, man oh man, if word about this ever gets back to the guys down at the Jack center or one of my bars I'll never be able to live t down. Not to mention all the flack I know Rana, Alfred, and Moah are going to give me for this. Barnabus Comet rescued from the clutches of-- hey, Wait a second... the guys! With all this stuff going on I almost forgot about them! I can't be standing here necking with this kid while they could still be in danger! I... I got to tell him... t-tell him to stop so that we can get... back... to..., um action, yeah action!]

Eyes snapping open as he was kissed senseless Barnabus let his eyes travel over Miktes' green shoulder and over to the still burning remains that were once the bedroom's silk sheeted bed. As much as he was enjoying the sporadic display of overwhelming affection being shown to him he knew that there were more pressing matters at hand. Like keeping the ship from setting off an alarm because the fire got out of control.

Using a great deal of willpower the dazed Jack gently pressed his hands on the bare green chest of his overly rambunctious alien companion and futilely tried to push him away. All his efforts seemed to get him however was an increased vigor from the man holding him, Miktes giving a playful growl that was mixed with a sultry purr as he moved on from his mouth to his unprotected neck. The action of the warrior's tongue languidly dragging across his stubble covered flesh making Barnabus pant out as the sensation went straight down to his hardening cock.

Surrendering to what was happening to him for a moment, the trapped human allowed his Verdomian savior to continue with his amorous display all thoughts of fire and escape temporarily leaving his addled mind. Thankfully for both of them Barnabus was able to stitch together enough of his self-control to give himself a metal slap before he fully succumbed to Miktes' probing tongue. He couldn't let this escalate and further! No matter how much of him was beginning to start to want to. Ekkar's men would most likely be coming around a moment wondering what had happened to their so "beloved" leader.

Taking a deep breath Barnabus decided to try and dislodge himself again talking as he pushed Miktes away with all his might. "C-Come on, Come on k-kid. You got to stop it." He said in a near whimper. "Not that I don't appreciate everything you just did." He was quick to add. "I mean, some bruiser busting into the room, decking my ex, and then making out with me over his unconscious body is how a lot of my sex dreams start." Barnabus had to shake his head at that thought, trying desperately to stop rambling and get back on focus. "A-Any way, you gotta let me go now come on."

In his aroused state Miktes seemed to fail to even register the older man's words, continuing on with what he was doing without so much as a moment of hesitation. All that was going through the young warrior's fever lust fogged mind was that he had his mate back within his grasp and he was never going to let him go. He was going to rut with his mate and make sure that his own scent replaced the stink of the other male who had tried to breed with him.

Unfortunately for Miktes though, Barnabus had no idea what was going on in the alien's mind. All he knew was that he was being ignored and that didn't settle right with him. Well... if persuasion wasn't going to get the overly horny man off of him then Barnabus might as well resort to using force. Reaching up with his free hand the middle aged man took hold of the redhead's left nipple and pinched it lightly between his index finger and thumb. 'Sorry about this kid.' He thought just before he gave the sensitive nub a rough twist and shouted, "MIKTES GET OFF!"

The jolt of pain and the sound of his name being shouted at him seemed to do the trick this time. Miktes giving a sharp snort as his red eyes instantly refocused and he instantly came back to his senses. Backing away a few steps, the dazed Verdomian shook his head and then stared down at the panting and red faced man that had been trapped between his arms. "Barnabus?" He said as if confused. Then his eyes brightening he grinned. "Hey, it is you! I found you!!"

"Yeah... you did." Barnabus confirmed, speaking to the Verdomian as if he were a child. "And then some." Before the younger man could ask what he meant but the words "and then some", the older man pushed his way rudely past him and made his way over to the flaming bed. Picking up the expensive wine Ekkar had tried to ply him with; Barnabus dumped the contents of the bottle on the flames extinguishing them with a puff of smoke.

Danger now narrowly averted, Barnabus let out a long sigh of relief and looked down at the label on the wine bottle. He recognized the label as one the dragon often got them on their past dates. The price hard six numbers in it if he remembered correctly. "Well that's one way to enjoy a drink." He smirked as the smoke rose.

"What the hell's going on here?" Miktes' voice grumped from behind. Frowning at his mate the warrior joined the other man next to the bed glaring down at the scorch mark. After having come all the way through the strange flying house to rescue the human, Barnabus was being awfully rude to just ignore him and pinch his teat. If he wasn't his mate the irate alien would have slugged him right then and there for his ungrateful behavior.

Grumbling himself at being shouted at, Barnabus spun on his heels and faced the Verdomian. "What's going on is you almost letting the whole ship go up in flames cause you decided to get all randy on me." He said with a huff. "Or don't you remember all that just happening?"

Growling, Miktes opened his mouth as if to start arguing but before he spoke he stopped himself and his anger devolved into a pout as if thinking over the question. "Actually... I really don't remember anything." He admitted hesitantly, brows furrowed in confusion. "I mean, I remember looking for you, kicking some ass, and then busting down a door... then..."

The alien's eyes lit up with rage, his bulbous nose snorting as his whole being began to seethe with anger. "Yeah, that's right! I saw that Ekkar guy in here all over you!" Miktes said growing angry again. "He was buck ass naked and holding you down against the wall! Where is he!? I'm going to fucking kill him for touching you!!"

Barnabus took a step back at the rage about to bubble to the surface, it looked like the younger man was about to go off the deep end again. Before he could though, the Jack reached out quickly and placed his hand on the other man's green shoulder plugging the volcano before it erupted. "Calm down Mickey." He said softly, almost cooing. "There's no need to get all riled up cause of me. He didn't get any sugar if you know what I mean."

Miktes didn't know what this "getting any sugar meant." but didn't like the sound of it. If anything he deserved all this sugar. "Are you kidding? I'm your dominate it's my job to protect my sub-" When Barnabus frowned as the word he was about to use he quickly corrected himself. "Y-You're my friend and he was trying to... trying to."

"Yeah he was but I kneed him in the groin before he could." Barnabus explained proudly. "Of course it doesn't hold a candle to what you did." Stepping out of kissing range the middle aged man pointed down to the still out cold Ekkar. "As soon as you came in here you sort of went all caveman on this big heels ass and sent him down with a single punch."

Following his mate's hand and seeing what he had done Miktes gave a smirk himself. After all the scaled creature had done to them in the last couple of hours, let alone weeks. It was with great joy that he inspected his presumed handiwork.

"Heh, I really slugged him?" He asked Barnabus. When the human nodded the Verdomian gave an all-out grin. "Well good I'm glad I did It." Walking over to the unconscious naked man he gave him a kick for good measure, Ekkar groaning in his sleep as he rolled over onto his back. "What did I do after I punched his ugly mug?"

Barnabus scratched the back of his neck. 'Man... he really doesn't remember anything, does he?' He mused at the alien's apparent cluelessness. 'That's a good thing I guess. Don't know how the heck I'd respond to that whole owning each other speech.'

An inpatient huff coming out of Miktes' mouth alerted Barnabus that he hadn't answered the question posed to him yet. Looking back up to the alien he hastily finished his retelling of what had just happened, making sure to specifically leave out what had been said during the whole event. "Well, after you knocked Ekkar's block off, which I repeat was really, really great. You sort of started acting strange, tackled me to the wall, and crashed our lips together sort of violent like." Barnabus had to stop for a second at the memory of the kiss and the flutter it caused in his large belly. "You didn't even get off of me after I told you too."

Miktes' eyes widened at that last part. He didn't recall any of that, especially not the attacking or kissing parts. "I... I attacked you?" He asked. "I pushed you up against the wall like that blue man did?"

"Attack might be a little too gentle for what you did kid. You near slammed me right through it." Barnabus said smirking. It certainly had been a surprise to the older man to be kissed so passionately like that. "Now that we got that over with how about we-"

"-I'm sorry." Miktes interrupted. Looking down at the floor the red head frowned to himself because of the shame he felt coursing through his being as Barnabus gave him a puzzled look.

{Miktes: I can't believe that I almost forced my mate into rutting with me like that. Even if I wasn't in control of what I was doing I can't think of anything more shameful then that. If... if I was back in the village everyone would chase me outta town because of this. And you know... I wouldn't blame them. I'm a tough guy who likes to bust heads and make fun of others but I ain't the kind of guy who hurts submissives. How can I ever look anyone, let alone Barnabus in the eyes after doing this?}

"Mickey will you knock it off you big chump." Barnabus' voice came, cutting though the other man's self-pity. When Miktes didn't raise his eyes to meet his, the middle aged man grabbed the alien by the chin and made him. "What you just did wasn't anything like what Ekkar understand. He wanted to just hold me down and screw my brains out. You were actually kind of gentle once you had me pinned."

Miktes didn't look too convinced by the older man's words. "Yeah but-"

"-But nothing." Barnabus sighed. Realizing that he needed to prove to the alien that he wasn't upset the Jack moved forward and gave him a quick peck on his green lips. "It's not a big deal, ok?" He said pulling away again. "You just got caught up in the moment. And honestly, you deserved it after the rescue you just pulled off and truth be told I liked it a little."

That seemed to finally do the trick, Miktes' frown morphing into a smug grin. If his mate was actually kissing him for once then that meant he had been forgiven. It was both relieving and annoying at the same time. Why was Barnabus forgiving him making him feel so happy? Maybe... maybe another kiss would help him understand this feeling. Giving Barnabus a sly look, the warrior lurched forward and grabbed the human by the back of the head, drawing his submissive into yet another scorching kiss. This one with equal fever and passion as the ones before much to Barnabus' surprise.

Barnabus however didn't seem to feel like continuing their amorous after battle activity apparently because after a few moments he pushed him away again. "Whoa, whoa stop right in your tracks there sheik." The Jack said with a small pant. "I don't think now's the time to be doing any of that sort of stuff."

Miktes didn't seem to like the idea of being made to stop but grumpily nodded to the suggestion. There would be time to do things with Barnabus later. Reclaim what was rightfully given to him by the Strangers. "Fine I'll stop, but what are we gonna do now?" He asked. "All I had planned was saving you."

Barnabus shook his head chuckling. It was sort of scary how alike him and Miktes could be sometimes. Rushing into danger with little to no plan and then expecting to come up with something afterwards was something that he had done a million times. "Ok then, leave the rest to me Mick." Stepping over the sleeping Ekkar the middle aged man went over to the Fidraon's discarded pile of clothes. "First thing first: We're going to steal back that relic of yours."

Searching through the clothing he quickly found what he had been looking for, Ekkar's P.A.D.. With that little device in hands they'd be able to find out where the relic was being kept. And maybe, just maybe they'd also find some evidence that would help them prove what Ekkar and Clayworth wanted to do with the ancient statue.

Watching as his mate rifled through their captor's clothing, Miktes tilted his head to the side a little confused. "We're really going to get it back." He asked referring to the relic. He had assumed with all that was happening that they'd just abandoned the old rock.

"Of course we are." Barnabus confirmed with a small smile over his shoulder. "I made a promise to you that we'd return it to your people. I might have been a really selfish guy before but I'm going to try my best to correct that and keep that promise to you."

"T-Thanks." Miktes answered scratching his nose awkwardly. Looking over to Ekkar again to hide the creeping blush rising in his green cheeks from his mate, the warrior snarled quietly at him and gave the scaled man another light kick. "Hey, what are we gonna do about this lump?" He growled. "I hit him real good but he's going to wake up eventually. ...Unfortunately."

Looking up momentarily from his inspection of the files on the device in his hands, Barnabus gave Ekkar a quick scornful look. "Your right, we got to do something about him." After scratching his bearded chin for a few moments the Jack quickly came up with a suitable plan for revenge. "You didn't happen to knock out the pair of guards outside this room when you came up here did you?"

"That I do remember." Miktes said grinning evilly. He would never forget the way the two men had panicked when he came charging down the hallway at them. "Made both of them scream like little girls when I slammed their skulls together before I knocked them out."

Barnabus shared in the younger man's evil look. "Well, since you so masterfully sent them both off to dream land how about you go and relieve them of their handcuffs. I have a feeling they won't be needing them anytime soon so why not use them to incapacitate our big blue friend here."

"You mean those bracelets they used to tie us up?" When Barnabus nodded the ever put upon Verdomian gave a huff and sulkily did as he was told, quickly going outside of the smelly and dead flowered decorated room to where he left the guards. After a few moments of searching Miktes found what he had been sent to retrieve. The alien ripping the two pairs of strange bindings off of the two men's belts before he turned back around and padded back into Ekkar's bedroom.

Stepping inside he had expected to see Barnabus standing there in the middle of the room waiting for him. But instead all he found was an empty space where the human had been standing. Instantly growing worried at the sudden departure of the other man, Miktes dropped the handcuffed he had been carrying and ran into the middle of the chamber his head whipping from side to side as he searched for Barnabus.

'What happened!?' He asked himself going into a blind panic. Did someone sneak into the room when he had left and kidnapped his submissive! If they did they he'd do more then punch this guy, he'd rip them apart! Inhaling deeply Miktes then shouted out as loudly as he could, "BARNABUS WHERE ARE YOU!", in hopes of his mate calling out to him.

Miraculously Miktes got what he wanted. Although instead of a cry for help he got a very angry sounding. "Cripes, keep it down will you!" Rushing out of a nearby door, a frowning Barnabus scowled lightly at the younger man. "You trying to tell the entire ship where we are kid?"

Completely ignoring Barnabus' annoyance at his yelling Miktes stepped up to him and glared down at him. "Where the heck did you go?" He demanded to know. "I thought something had just happened to you!!"

"I was just taking a quick leak in the bathroom which I tend to do every so often." Barnabus responded with a sniff. "Why are you getting so worked up me not telling you where I went?"

His face heating up when he realized how he was acting, Miktes quickly skulked away and picked up the handcuffs he had dropped, holing them up for Barnabus to take as he avoided eye contact. "Here, I got your damn bracelets."

Barnabus raised a bushy eyebrow and hesitantly took the restraints, wondering why the alien was acting stranger then before all of a sudden. Was he still worried about their kiss? Looking him in the eyes it suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks. Miktes was all flustered and riled up because he had thought that he had gotten captured or hurt. If it wasn't so endearing Barnabus might have just burst out in laughter. To think big bad "Miktes of Hestry Clan" one of the most selfish men Barnabus had ever met, besides himself, would get all worried about him. Who would have thought?

'I'm glad that after this is all over that you're going back home kid.' Barnabus said to himself. Though that thought wasn't at all comforting for some reason. 'If you keep doing stuff like this I might just fall for you.'

Getting back to the unconscious man at his feet, Barnabus pushed aside thoughts of Miktes' concern and twirled one of the handcuffs on his fingers as he approached Ekkar. Watching as his mate began to enact his plan Miktes thought over what had just happened again. His mind dazed by the way he had just acted.

{Miktes: Why the hell did I just overreact like that? It wasn't like he was gone for long. But... just the mere thought that something had happened to Barnabus just made me go crazy and I hate to admit it but it really scared me too. Right now my heart feels like it's about to beat out of my chest it's going so hard. Whatever it is I really need to stop it. I'm starting to act so un-dominate like around this human that it's starting to get on my nerves! But strange thing is another part of me is starting to not give a shit about that first part.}

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

Grunting as she tossed the last unconscious guard onto the pile of his comrades, a tired looking Rana dusted off her hands and gazed down at her and Moah's handiwork. It had been tough going getting this far. Her, Moah, and Alfred trying their best to sneak their way through the large starship and to the shuttle/cargo bay unseen and unheard. It had been good going for the first few hallways but after one wrong turn they found themselves confronted a few times by the odd hapless guard who was in the wrong place at the right time. Luckily Rana was more than able to handle one man at a time. The pilot putting her combat training to good use as she took them out with little trouble.

Of course that little trouble increased tenfold when they had entered the shuttle bay, several more guards sitting inside the room having a poker night which they instantly abandoned once they realized who they were. The trio barely had time to react before they opened fire and they had to react to the attack, Both Rana and surprisingly Moah springing into action as they valiantly fought against the other Jacks and took them out after a brief struggle. They were just lucky that they hadn't called for backup because of the surprise they had caused.

Leaving the small pile of men and women, Rana padded back across the shuttle bay and towards her friends. Looking up at the impressive vehicles the dark haired woman pressed her hand against the hull of one. They were real beauties. Sleek, well made, and most importantly fast enough to give them a chance of escape. In fact with engines like the ones attached to the shuttles they'd be able to get to the planet they had been traveling to in one, two days tops. That is if that's what she really wanted to do. She might have agreed to forgive her harebrained captain for what he had done. But she still hadn't decided if she was still going to keep going along with heading out and retrieving the final artifact by themselves.

"H-Hey... Miss Rana?" Alfred's worried voice asked from her left.

Turning away from her vehicular worship and thoughts about what to do next, Rana gazed over to the frazzled doctor. "Yeah, Alfred what is it?"

"I was just wondering..." Alfred absently wrung his hands together as he stood there. "...Do you think Mister Miktes was able to rescue the Captain by now? And do you think they're on their way here?"

"I don't know Alfred." Rana answered honestly. Miktes was a wild cannon if there ever was one and him actually finding Barnabus was a gamble. The Middle Eastern woman regretted actually sending the poor guy off like she had. She should have gone with him. Looking over to Alfred the pilot gave him a worried look. "If they' aren't here in the next five minutes I'll go out and look for them, ok?"

"I'll go with you too Miss Rana." Alfred agreed with a shiver. "I-I was just hoping that Mister Miktes can stay safe in the meantime. Who knows what sort of things could happen to a man as rash as him."

Hearing his concerns Rana raised an eyebrow and gave the blond a funny look. "You're really starting to like him aren't you?" She asked him. They had time to kill till the last two members of their group arrived so why not talk a little. "You usually only worry about the crew this much."

"Well... y-yes I suppose I am starting to like him." Alfred admitted a little red-faced. "I was rather terrified of him at first but I think he just acts mean and grumpy to prove that he's strong. Sort of like how you do it from time to time."

"You think I can be mean and grumpy sometimes? " Rana asked wryly.

Realizing what he had unintentionally said, Alfred gave a startled yelp and waved his hands around wildly "I-I misspoke!" He said panicked. "What I meant to say was-"

"-Calm down Porter." Rana snickered. Why was it always so much fun to watch the youngest member of their crew sputter and get all flustered? "I hate to say it but the big green brute is starting to grow on me a little too." The dark haired woman admitted herself. "Especially now that him and me got an understanding."

Alfred laughed gently himself. "I... um, ah yeah I noticed." He said scratching the back of his neck. Miktes had come to his office one night complaining of a sore on his arm which Rana had apparently caused.

"Docuto!" Moah's gruff voice cheered from across the room.

Hearing the excitement in Moah's voice, Rana and Alfred peered over to the mechanic and watched as the hairy man ambled over to a nearby computer console attached to the wall. Not wasting any time the alien then dug his clawed hands into the metal and effortlessly ripped it open revealing the circuitry underneath.

There were a few moments of happy humming as Moah proceeded to get down to whatever he was doing. The bear man pulling out the mass of wires in front of him and rearranging them in strange new configurations. About to ask what he was up to Alfred took a step towards the older man, but before he could the Girunjh suddenly let out a loud yelp and keeled over backwards onto the floor his stubby legs up in the air and his brown fur giving off small streams of smoke as he chuckled to himself.

Growing concerned as Moah rolled his large body into a seated position and start fiddling with the console again like nothing had just happened, Rana walked up behind the singed and still smoking man. "Um... Moah do you really think you should be messing around with the ship?" She said voicing her concerns. "I don't think me and Alfred would be able to drag you into the shuttle if you went and electrocuted yourself... for the fifth time this year. Plus what if you set off an alarm or something by damaging the ship?"

Responding with a huff, Moah looked up from what he was doing for a moment at Rana and haughtily mumbled several words in his strange native tongue. Then as if that was all there was to say about her concerns he then gave a toothy grin and then returned to his task undaunted.

With a scratch to her head, Rana turned to Alfred hoping for a translation which he thankfully gave her with an equally puzzled expression. "Um, Moah said: Don't bother me while I'm working because I know what I'm doing missy." The doctor informed her. "Or at least I think that's what he said. I'm not too keen on the pronunciation of that last word."

"I guess I'll just have to take your word for it." The pilot said with a shrug as she went back towards the shuttles. "Come one Alfred let's get this shuttle up and running, huh?" Walking up to the vehicle Rana pressed a small button on the side of the ship, a section of it opening up and creating a small ramp which led inside. "I got the feeling that if Miktes did rescue Barnabus that we're going to have to make a quick escape."

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

Miktes quickly learned that he had something new to add to his list of things he disliked as he and Barnabus slowly made their way through the ship and that thing was having to sneak around. It had only taken a matter of minutes for him to come to this conclusion, the activity topping his loathing of having to sit in a flowery bath or being stuck in a small room doing nothing. Sneaking was a slow and tedious affair which one had to remain completely and utterly quiet to do. Something which he had never been any good at.

It had come to the point where the warrior was so very tempted to just say the hell with this silliness and go about his regular way of finding something. Rampaging with little care to what or who was in his way. The only thing that kept him quiet was the fact that every time he tried to bring up this course of action he found himself snapped at by a certain hairy little annoyance who was grating on his last nerve.

Speaking of his mate, Miktes stood in the center of the hallway they had been traveling in glaring at the back of the human's head as he cautiously poked his head around a corner. Barnabus had been doing this at ever bend in their path, checking to make sure that they hadn't been spotted by their captors before they found the artifact. When he apparently found that there was no one down the connecting passage the Jack waved over his shoulder for Miktes to follow him as he sidled around the corner with his back press against the wall.

Rolling his eyes at the way Barnabus was acting; Miktes gave an irritated snort and padded after the older man in a sulky and childish manner. "I still don't see why we gotta do it like this." The Verdomian complained in a low voice as they started to walk. "If anyone sees us then I'll just break their bones."

Spinning on a dime, Barnabus slapped over the other man's tusked mouth and shushed him. "Mickey!" He hissed through gritted teeth. "I know you could just as easily strong arm your way but we can't do that here. This part of the ship has more security then Ekkar's wing or the brig did."

Removing his mate's hand Miktes scowled back at the human. "What makes you think that there's more guards around here then where that dragon's room was?" He asked. Shouldn't the leader of these people have his best men surrounding him?

"After two years of going out with Ekkar I know how the heel works." Barnabus explained in a whisper. "Especially when it comes to his bedroom. He makes doubly sure that no one ever finds out what he does in his private life. The only reason those two from before were standing in front of his door was because he didn't want me escaping."

With the reminder of his submissive in that creature's sleeping chambers, Miktes snarled. "I still can't believe what he tried back there!" He mumbled. To think that that lizard actually tried to take his mate to bed! It enraged him to no end. "I swear if I ever catch him trying to fuck you again... I'll rip him in half."

Barnabus grimaced at the violent sounding threat. Leave it to Miktes to choose the crudest sounding words to convey what he was really trying to say. That if Ekkar ever tried anything on Barnabus again he'd protect him. Again the bearded man was reminded that he had to be careful about getting too attached. The way Miktes was treating what happened was causing that unwanted fluttering again in his belly.

After shaking his head at the thought of what this feeling might be, Barnabus came to a sudden stop and turned to his companion. "Look kid, I'm no pushover who is seduced with a few pretty words. You know that from experience." Ignoring Miktes' huff the dark haired man continued. "That relationship was a mistake from the get go. I was way too young, stupid, and horny for my own good and I fell for a player."

After looking around another corner, the older man chuckled to himself. "You know you actually remind me of myself a little when I was your age." He said to Miktes with a sly smirk. "Only you're a little more... greener then I was both literally and figuratively."

"Hey, I ain't young or too horny." Miktes groused in complaint. "I'm a grown ass warrior and your dominate may I remind you, so show some respect please." When Barnabus looked as if he were about to burst out in laughter at what he had just said the redhead quickly went over what he just said in his head and blushed when he realized what he'd forgot to mention. "I ain't stupid either!" He quickly added.

"Yet it took you ten seconds to realize that you forgot to mention that." Barnabus joked back playfully. Snickering lightly at the sour face the younger man made in response to his teasing, Barnabus shook his head and continued down the hallway. Miktes following him after a few moments of glaring and a small growl.

Falling into a comfortable silence the rest of the way the two carefully made their way towards the Flaring Surge's storage vault, the two ducking and dodging guards as they traveled though the nearly abandoned hallways in that part of the ship. For Barnabus all this wandering through dimly lit passageways reminded him a great deal of the infiltration him and Rana had done at the Verdomian sacred temple a few weeks ago.

The only differences between now and then was that one: there was no cloaking device to hide then as they traversed through enemy territory making things all the more harder. And two: instead of the excitement of playing the part of a space hero by stealing from a group of primitives on an unexplored planet all that went through the middle aged man's mind was what had happened between him and his companion a short time ago.

[Barnabus: I wonder if Miktes really meant what he said back there. You know, when he said that I belonged to him and he belongs to me. Yeah I know he was sort of out when he said it, but still... those words had to come from somewhere. And I'm not going to lie I sort of got this weird feeling in my chest when he said it too. Almost like I was scared out of my mind and happier then I had ever been before at the same time. I don't know maybe this has to do with that darn fever lust me and him are going through because of this biological bone we have. If so then I'm sure glad Alfred is working on a way to end it. This fire in my veins from our accidental mating is really starting to wear thin I tell you. I'm acting all weird whenever I'm around the kid and I haven't been this horny since I was an

overly horny eighteen year old sneaking out of the barracks at night to visit my superior officer boyfriend at the time. Not to say that I haven't had a... interesting sex since then mind you. I mean, picking up a guy, doing unspeakable and pleasurable things to each other, and then leaving after the deed with a grin on my face and teeth imprints on his hind quarters was a regular Saturday night for me before all this. But this is different. I'm losing control of myself every time me and Mickey touch, kiss, or have sex. I've always been in control of myself during my past trysts. Always mindful not to enjoy it too much so that I don't become attached to a guy and fall into something that I really don't want to fall into. But I know if I ain't careful that this young buck is going to get under my skin in the worst of ways. At least I think it's a "worst way". ]

Voices up ahead of them drew Barnabus out of his thoughts and back to the present. Peering down the hall in front of them he was pleased to see an inconspicuous doorway which had the words "Vault room" above it in bright red letters. Looking back to Miktes, Barnabus grinned and motioned towards the door. "I think this is our stop Mickey." He announced happily. "Your statue should be right in the next room."

"Bout time we found it." Was Miktes' gruff response. Not wanting to waste any more time the green skinned alien tried to push past his companion, but quickly found himself unable to when a hand slapped across his chest for the second time that day. "What now." He asked with a whine.

"What now?" Barnabus mimicked in a growling voice. "We're trying to be careful here remember? We don't need whoever might be in there calling the entire ship down on our heads."

Miktes huffed and folded his arms over his barrel chest. "Fine then how're do you suggest we do this thing then?" He asked nodding over to the door.

That was a good question. Thinking, Barnabus scratched his bearded chin. "Hum... we're going to have to be subtle about this I think." He said after a few moments, the smiling he looked over to Miktes with a twinkle in his eye. "Leave it all up to me kiddo, I got myself an idea."

Inside of the Flaring Surge's storage vault a pair of bored looking guards stood in the center of the room quietly talking to one another as they waited for the end of their shift to come around. One of them, a young man with light brown hair gave a sigh and looked over to his friend. "I'm telling you Jackson, that Vensarian girl who works in the gift shop on the eighth floor has a thing for me." He told him. "She even smiled at me this morning when I came in for my coffee."

The second guard, Jackson rolled his eyes at his crewmates boasting. "And I keep telling you Harvey that it's a bad idea to even consider asking the tentacle girl out right now." The other man told his friend. "You know the captain has his eye on you and if he finds out you were dating someone before he got a crack at you, you'd lose your job."

Harvey grimaced at the thought of their captain wanting him sexually. "Do I really have to do that?" He asked hopefully. "It's not like I'm actually... you know into that sort of thing."

"We all had to do it at some time." Jackson sighed. "Just let him nail you once then take the big ass bonus he gives to keep you quiet and use it to take your girl out on the town."

The electronic whirl of the vault room door sliding open broke the pair out of their conversation and alerted them to the presence of a guest. Looking away from each other the two men were surprised to see the man which their crew had been hunting for the last few days standing there looking back at them. "Heya boys!" Barnabus sing-songed loudly. "I was in the neighborhood and I wondering if you've seen a full moon before."

Both Jackson and Harvey blinked at the older man in confusion and to one another. "Full moon?" They asked.

"OH, so you haven't seen one then? Well let's correct that right now shall we?" Giving the two the widest grin he had ever mustered Barnabus spun around on his heels, unbuckled his pants with amazing speed and then gave both guards a splendid view of his hairy bare ass which he proceed to shake from side to side while humming Dean Martin's "that's amore" in an exaggerated manner.

It took the two other men precisely five seconds to get over their shock at being mooned before they were able to regain their senses, anger quickly replacing their surprise. Seething the duo raised their weapons ready to fire. "GET HIM!" Jackson shouted at the top of his lungs.

His plan having the desired result, Barnabus gave a comical yelp and quickly yanked up his cargo pants as he hustled back into the hallway with the two right on his tail. Reentering the room the heavyset man rushed past Miktes and hid behind the taller man's back. "Ok I got their attention your turn."

"Wait, what!?" Miktes asked his eyes growing wide as two human's skidded out into the hallway in front of them. "What am I supposed to do!?"

"Beat the tar out of them chowder head!" Barnabus explained. "Go get'um boy!"

Miktes didn't know if he liked the idea of being ordered around like some pet, but when the two men charged at them he found himself obeying his mate's command if only for the thrill he got when he saw the two men gasp as he barreled down on them. Letting out a savage roar, Miktes charged towards the men and before they could react grabbed them both by their faces and slammed them down hard head over heels onto the hard metal floor with twin thuds and groans as they lost their senses.

A low whistled coming from Barnabus followed in the silence that followed Miktes short fight, the alien looking over his shoulder to its source as he watched the human approach him from behind with an impressed look on his bearded face. "Man kid..." Barnabus said chuckling. "It's a shame you can't stay. With skills like that you'd make one hell of an enforcer."

Standing up from his couching position between the two men on either side of him Miktes gave his mate a smug look. Pleased that he had actually managed to impress the older man. "You keep using that word "enforcer" what is it?"

"It's the guy who knocks heads on a Jack team, security and things like that." Barnabus answered as he leaned down and disarmed the guards of their multitools. These made his collection a solid four after the ones he took from the two outside of Ekkar's room. "Usually a big guy like you who knows how to handle himself in a fight."

Miktes mulled over the idea of acting as an enforcer for a few moments. It sounded like the perfect kind of job for him. However as soon as this thought came into him mind the Verdomian quickly dismissed it. He shouldn't be thinking about what he might do in Barnabus strange worlds of magic, flying houses, and bizarre creatures. After all once they retrieved this last relic he was going to be sent home without so much as a second thought. Doomed to live out the rest of his days not knowing what happened to the people he had become friends with during his adventure.

Forgetting about the strange notion of taking on the job of an enforcer and his banishment back to his world Miktes glared down at the two guards he had just disabled. "What was the point of showing them your ass by the way?" He asked, frowning. "I could have taken them without letting them see that."

Barnabus raised an eyebrow at the pout which was gracing the alien's tusked mouth. "The point..." He began as he yanked up and buckled his pants properly. "...Was that I distracted them enough that they forgot all about calling for backup like they were trained to do."

The explanation didn't seem to convince Miktes that that was all to the obscene diversion. "And they had to see your ass for that?"

Barnabus chuckled at the other man and went over to him, patting the green man on the cheek gently before he walked past him and into the vault room. "Don't worry, if you're so jealous they got to take a peek then I'll just make sure to give you a real good viewing in private later." He said over his shoulder. "That way you won't feel left out."

"I wasn't jealous!" Miktes huffed following after him. "I just don't like the idea of you showing it off to others. It's mine to look at. At least for now."

"Whatever you say kid." Barnabus snickered. Stepping into the vault room the chuckling man instantly lost all amusement and nearly gave a frustrated groan as he looked around. The walls of the large two story room he had found himself in were covered with hundreds and hundreds of small drawers. If there was one thing that one could admired about Ekkar, once you got over the general sleaze, it was that the Fidraon certainly knew how to build impressive looking and incredible frustrating rooms. "This is going to take forever." Barnabus complained walking deeper into the maze.

"Your right." Miktes agreed from behind him. Looking around at the treasure room the alien scowled. "Well, let's get started. We'll ransack until we find it."

Barnabus considered the idea for a moment and quickly dismissed it. There were no doubt alarms and booby traps aplenty in this room and no matter what Miktes said he couldn't be patient enough to actually be careful. "Actually kid how about I go and look myself." The Jack suggested. "You can wait outside and keep guard."

"You don't want me to help you?" Miktes asked looking a little hurt. "Why."

"It isn't that kid; I just need someone to watch my back is all." Barnabus said sparing the other man from the truth. Holding out one of the multitools he had taken from Ekkar's men he motioned for the Verdomian to take it. "You think you can handle on of these for a bit?" Barnabus knew it probably wasn't a good idea to give a primitive such an advance piece of tech but he had no choice.

Gingerly taking the weapon out of the human's hand, Miktes examined it for a few moments before looking at him suspiciously. "You... really trust me to watch you back?" He wondered dubiously. No one had ever trusted him enough to actually ask him to do such a thing.

"Why wouldn't I?" Barnabus asked walking over to one of the drawers and beginning his search. "You've shown yourself to be the sort of guy I can trust. What with rescuing me and all."

Hearing that Barnabus trusted him caused a strange warm feeling to spread across Miktes' chest. It was almost like what the human had just said made him feel proud. Of course he couldn't let the bearded man let on that that's how he felt. So being his usual self Miktes gave a snort and looked away. "Ok, I'll stand guard for ya." Looking over the weapon in his hand again he then asked. "How do I use this?"

"See the button on the side?" Barnabus explained absently. "Just point it at who you want gone and press the button." When Miktes went to push the fire button like instructed the older man stopped what he was doing and grabbed him by the arm quickly. "Only fire it if you see someone." He explained slowly. "You fire that off and the whole ship will know what's going on."

Miktes gave his mate a serious look and nodded. "Alright I'll only do it if someone shows up."

"Good. I'll see you in a few minutes kid, keep safe." Giving his friend a pat on his bottom, Barnabus watched at the younger man blushed and sulkily padded out of the room leaving him to his own devices. Now alone, he got to the matter at hand and began his search in earnest. Shutting the first drawer he had opened and moving onto the next, hoping that he would find the relic soon.

Unfortunately all that was inside the second metal drawer was a stack of peculiar green papers with portraits of old men on them and the next three weren't any better. One had some oddity preserved in liquid in a glass jar, another had an odd wand like device with blinking lights that almost liked like a screwdriver, and a third had nothing at all.

Sighing as he continued, Barnabus began to wonder if he should have told Miktes to wait outside after all. The alien might have set off an alarm but he was sure that the task would have gone faster. 'If only I had something that had all the listings for this junk.' He bemoaned to himself. It was then that Barnabus suddenly remembered the P.A.D. he had stolen from Ekkar. "Heh, I really got to have my memory checked sometime."

Pulling out the pilfered device Barnabus brought up the schematics for the vault and quickly found the location of the statue. "Row... thirty-two-B." He read out loud as he headed for the spot. Pulling out the specified drawer the bearded man smiled as the relic rolled out into view. "There you are ya little pain in the butt!"

Reaching out for the statue the thieving man went to wrap his fingers around its rocky surface. But before he could he found himself standing in pitch blackness as the lights snapped off with an ominous click. "What the heck just happened?" Barnabus wondered. As soon as those words left his mouth he unfortunately got his answer. Because just as suddenly as the room went dark it lit up again. Only instead of the normal lighting the area he found himself in was bathed in an ominous red glow which was quickly followed by the sounds of what seemed to be a hundred different alarms going off.

"Crap, crap, crap!" Barnabus said wildly looking around. "This damn thing must have had some sort of security on it or something." Moving fast, the middle aged man snatched up the Verdomian artifact and galloped out of the room at high speed.

Leaping back out into the hall, Barnabus quickly turned to Miktes about to instruct the younger man that they had to leave in a hurry. But... when he did he quickly learned that it hadn't been his search that had caused the alarms to go off. There Miktes was standing there in the middle of the hallway looking straight up at a scorch mark on the ceiling, his mouth handing open and his eyes wide as he dumbly gaped.

Realizing instantly what had happened; Barnabus pinched the bridge of his nose and walked over to the other man. "You were playing with the gun weren't you?" He accused the alien with a huff.

Miktes didn't answer for several moments, the bells and alarms around them the only sounds around them. Finally after looking down at his feet embarrassed the warrior nodded. "Yeah... a little."

"MIKTES! What did I tell you!?"

"It wasn't my fault!" Miktes defended holding up both his hands. "It, it, it just came to life on its own. Stupid gun"

'Why the heck did I give the cave alien a gun?' Barnabus thought face palming. Brushing off the scolding he would be giving the younger man later about gun safety, the Jack reached forwards and grabbed Miktes by his green four fingered hand, pulling the still stunned alien down the hall with him as he broke off into a full on run. "Come on Mickey we got ourselves a rendezvous with the guys."

"Randy-what!?" Miktes asked trying to right himself as he was roughly yanked.

"Never mind, just come on!"

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

"You know, I thought all this escaping was going to be a whole lot harder Miss Rana." Alfred said with a yawn as he leaned back in the co-pilot's seat. Peering over to Rana who was still busy running the start-up to the ship the svelte man smiled. "All we had to do was fight a few guards and do a little bit of sneaking."

"You mean me and Moah had to fight a few guards." Rana pointed out flatly. "If I remember correctly you took a flying leap behind the first crate the second the fighting started."

"Um... well, y-yes I suppose it did, didn't I?" Alfred said blushing. "B-But the only reason I did so was because I knew you guys had it handled. Besides you know I can't fight worth a hill of beans."

Rana chuckled at the weak sound excuse the blond gave for his slight cowardice. "I know that doc." She said with a chuckle. "I was only yanking your leg a little is all. It wasn't like I was being my usual mean and grumpy self.

"You're never going to let me forget I said that are you?" Alfred said staring down at his lap bashfully.

Rana turned to Alfred about to inform him that no she was never going to let him forget, after all good teasing material was had to come by when it came to him. Be before she could the entire room went dark for a few moments then lit back up with a horrible crimson glow which was soon followed by alarms that seemed to come from every direction.

"Miss Najjar!" Alfred asked from the pilot's right descending into a panic. Trying to hide the Doctor hopped out of his chair and hid himself behind his chair. "W-What's going on!?"

Doubling her efforts to get the shuttle up and running, Rana answered the nervous young man's question absently. "Looks like we've been found out Alfred." She said as she flicked on switches and bushed buttons. "It was bound to happen sooner or later. Let's just hope that that them going off means Miktes rescued Barnabus and that they're both coming this way."

As if on cue the shuttle bay doors slid open at that exact moment, the sound making both Rana and Alfred raise their eyes towards the entryway with hope. For a few agonizing moments it appeared as if the doors of the entryway had opened on their own accord nothing accompanying their movement. Then with twin shouts and a rain of laser fire following them both Barnabus and Miktes careened into the room, both heavy set men out of breath and panting from their exertion but otherwise unharmed as the dodged laser shots.

When one of the laser beams nearly grazed Miktes pointed ear, the savage man let out a frustrated growl and stomped his feet spinning back the way they had come. "Son of a bitch! Those bastards nearly just burned my ear off!" He roared. "That's it! I'm busting some heads."

Grabbing the younger man by his tail before he could go off charging into battle, Barnabus yanked him back causing the Verdomian to fall backwards onto his ass. "Not now Mickey." He snapped down at the alien. Rushing over to the other side of the door where the lock controls were, the bearded man slammed his fist down on the close button and then smashed it for good measure once the door had slid shut. They really didn't need the distraction of avoiding weapons fire on top of all the alarms blaring around them.

"I still say we should have stayed and fought them." Miktes complained for the tenth time as he watched his mate. "We both got these weapons now so it's not like they have an advantage."

"There's only two of us kiddo." Barnabus reminded him grimly. Holding out his hand he helped the warrior to his feet. "And to be truthful all you've managed to hit since I gave you that weapon is the ceiling or the ground. So I don't think we can rely on your marksmanship skills."

"Hey I'll have you know that I'm actually starting getting the hang of this dam light beam thing!" To prove his point Miktes took the multitools he had been given out of his belt and held it up in the air. Unfortunately his little display of his skill only ended up with him dropping it, the weapon discharging and its laser shot striking the side of a nearby crate which exploded in a flurry of sparks and smoke. "Oops."

"Yeah kid: oops." Barnabus sighed looking at the mess. "Come on we gotta find the others before..." stopping midway through his sentence, Barnabus caught sight of both Rana and Alfred who had gotten out of the shuttle and begun to approach them in the time of his and Miktes' conversation.

A relieved expression crossing over his face, the older man began to jog towards the two happy to see that they were both alright. However with each step he took the memories of what had happened an hour ago in the brig replayed in his mind. Their rightful anger at what he had put them through, Rana's quitting, and his own shame. He didn't have the right to approach them like they were still his friends. He had let them down so much in the last couple of weeks.

Stopping a few feet away from the duo, Barnabus stood there awkwardly unsure of his place among them anymore. Eventually though he did muster up the courage to speak, albeit with a nervous scratch of his neck and an unsure voice. "Heya... everyone glad to, um, see that you're all got out of your cell. I-Is everyone alright?"

Rana gave her captain a hard look after he spoke. "Yeah we're fine." She responded shortly. Nodding over to Moah she continued. "Moah was able to build some sort of device that freed us."

Barnabus followed his former second's motion and was happy to see Moah sitting with his back to them working on some computer thing. "That's good."

"Yeah it is." Rana agreed. "After we got out we came straight here while Miktes volunteered to get you." looking past Barnabus the dark haired woman saw that the alien was scowling at here. Obviously still angry about the argument she had had with his mate.

"Yeah the kid really saved my butt back there." Barnabus confirmed thumbing over to the warrior. "He busted into Ekkar's room and decked him what good." For several moments Jack captain and second in command looked at one another not sure what to say both of them clearly remembering everything that had been said between them. It was only when Barnabus couldn't stand it anymore that he spoke again. "Look Rana, I'm really sorry about what I've done to your guys. I know I can't say anything to make you all come back to my crew, but I just want to say that I'm sorry and that I-"

Before Barnabus could finish his apology he found himself drawn into a crushing hug as Rana lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him. Shocked and more than a little confused the captain looked around the room to see if anyone else knew what was happening. All he found though was Alfred smiling fondly at them and Miktes scowling a little, seemingly torn between jealousy that someone was touching his submissive and a show of respect to the moment between the two friends.

Finally after a good few minutes Barnabus was able to gather himself enough to gently push the younger woman off of him so that he could look at her. "Wait... w-what's going on?" He asked looking down at the top of Rana's head. "Y-You're not mad at me anymore?"

"Oh I'm still pissed." Rana's muffled voice came as she pressed herself against the older man's chest. "I'm pissed that you've dragged us across nearly six systems, gotten us arrested, and acted so casual about it. But, I'm more relieved to have you back with us idiot." Releasing her friend, Rana smiled up at him for a second then with a frown suddenly appearing across her face she raised her fist and punched him hard in the chest. "And I swear if you ever do anything like this again I'll kick your ass right out an airlock, got it?"

"Ok, Ok I promise I won't do it again." Barnabus said with a whine as he rubbed the forming sore spot on his chest. "Man did you really have to hit me that hard?"

"It's the only way to get things through that hard as rock head as yours Comet." Rana replied fondly.

Barnabus shared in on her amusement. "So... We're alight now?"

"We're getting there Comet."

A cough coming from the pair's right interrupted their heartfelt conversation and brought them back to what was happening around them. The alarms still buzzing and Alfred, Moah, and Miktes all watching them. Stepping up to them Alfred was the one to speak. "Um guys, not that I'm not happy about all this but..." Stretching out his hand the doctor pointed back towards the door Miktes and Barnabus had entered from. Following, both Jacks were upset to see the start of a glowing orange circle appearing on the metal pane as whoever was on the other side began to use a blow torch to open it.

Realizing that Ekkar's men were trying to cut their way through the broken door Barnabus quickly got back into his captain' s mindset and began issuing orders. "Rana?" He asked turning to the woman. "Were you able to get one of these fancy-smacy ships up and running?"

"Yeah, Ekkar's security on these things is a joke." The Pilot confirmed. Walking over to starcraft she patted the hull. "Only reason we were still here was because we were waiting for our captain."

Hearing her call him captain caused warmth to spread throughout Barnabus chest. He would forever be grateful that they were all giving him a second chance and he would make sure to never betray that trust again. "Good work girl." He said starting for the shuttle. "Then if we're ready let's all pile into the boat and blow this popsicle stand. Alfred, Mickey, Mo-."

"Naoggho Barnabus!" The Girunjh shouted from his spot across the room. "Te guppo ji genja zuno jinoo fi win zupoo fu jini wok."

Recognizing the first word as "no" Barnabus came to a stop and looked over to the large man. Did he seriously want to delay their escape with all the alarms and Ekkar's men about to break down the door? "What's the problem Moah?" He asked going over to the mechanic. "We're in the homestretch here."

Moah gave his smaller friend a flippant wave of his hand and continued what he was doing. "Trust Moah." He mumbled in broken English. "Only need. Bit. Longer."

Barnabus was tempted to pull the alien away from his task but realized that if he wanted to stay then it must be for a good reason. "Ok but please hurry up will you?" Remembering the P.A.D. in his pocket Barnabus took it out and handed it to the other man. "Hey, while you're doing whatever you're doing you think you could use this?"

Moah's eyes sparkled with excitement when he saw what Barnabus was handing to him. It was just what he was looking for. Snatching it out from the human's hands the hairy creature ripped it open and began to connect wires from the device to the computer console in front of him. After a few moments he gave a cheer and looked over to his friends. "Geto fi notto bota jutto noba funo hatta shuttle."

"Alfred?" Barnabus asked wanting a translation.

"He said start the other shuttle up because we'll need it too." Alfred explained just as puzzled as they all were.

Barnabus raised an eyebrow at the strange request. The five of them could easily fit into one ship and there wouldn't be the danger of Ekkar tracking their engines with one. "Are you sure we need both Moah." He asked.

When the mechanic glanced up from his project momentary to snort derisively at him, Barnabus decided not to question his oldest friend any longer. Moah's habit of asking and doing strange things was well known to every member of their crew and while the way he acted confused them at times the Girunjh always had a reason for doing these thing.

The sound of the blowtorch Ekkar's men were using growing louder Barnabus snapped out of his thoughts and turned around to the source. The bright red circle their break in attempt was making was just about finished. "Ok, everyone let's get ready to hold down the fort while Moah finishes whatever he's doing." padding over to Miktes, Barnabus wretched the multitool he had given the Verdomian out of his hands and tossed it over to Alfred of all people who had to fumble to catch it. "Alfred you and me are going to hold them off."

"M-M-M-M-ME!?" The blond stuttered.

Barnabus nodded. "Yeah doc you." He grinned. "I know you don't have much experience at it but you did have to take basic weapons to pass the Jack exam so I know you can at least keep them at bay." After waiting for Alfred to salute him unsurely the older man turned to Rana next giving her an order next. "Ok now that that's settled, Najjar I need you to get that second ship ready. I think we're going to need to get out of here fast."

"Alright captain." Rana said with a mock salute of her own before she raced over to the second ship and entered it.

"Ok now all we need to do is..." Looking over to Miktes as he spoke, Barnabus blinked in surprise as the alien glared back at him. "What?"

"Why'd you take the weapon back?" The younger man huffed. "I could have used it to help you shoot those bastards out there."

"You mean like when you dropped it or when you set off the alarms?" Barnabus asked with a raised eyebrow. When Miktes huffed and folded his arms over his chest in his usual display of annoyance he rolled his eyes. "Look, kid you're not any good at using a laser get over it. Trust me, you more than make up for it with those fists. But if you really wanna help then how about you stack up some of these boxes so that we have some cov-"

Before Barnabus could finish his sentence all hell broke loose in the small shuttle bay. The door which led inside bursting open as Ekkar's men finished breaking into the room and started firing at them almost blindly with their weapons. "Hit the floor!" Barnabus shouted as he ducked behind the nearest crate, pulling an equally surprised Miktes down with him as the first volley sailed over their heads.

"Wanna rethink taking the gun away from me?" Miktes growled as chaos broke out above them and sparks flew.

Barnabus let out a deep sigh and smirked at the redhead. "You know what? I've changed my mind kiddo" He began. "But how about instead of firing on them with a laser you go medieval on their asses?" Seeing Miktes raised eyebrow ridge at the word "medieval" Barnabus sighed and pointed at Ekkar's men who were piling into the room. "Miktes... SMASH!" He didn't know why he had chosen that exact phrase but for some reason it felt like the right thing to say when siccing a big green guy on a group of men.

The grin that Miktes gave his mate when he was told to rampage could only be described as insane. With a growl the young warrior jumped out from behind their cover and barreled down on the men and women firing on him and his submissive. Grabbing the first frightened man he could reach by his arm, Miktes quickly spun on his heels dragging him with him and slammed the hapless enforcer into two of his friends. Releasing his victim and sending him flying into a crate, the orc then quickly moved onto the next, raising his fist and trying to punch this opponent squarely in his face.

However before the grinning alien could deliver his next attack he found himself being pulled back as two human's jumped onto his back and wrapped their arms around his thick neck. "Get the hell off of me ya bastards!" The Verdomian cried out enraged as he staggered backwards. "Get off or else I'm going to rip your arms off!"

Thankfully for Miktes he was quickly released, but not because of his threat, no. the enforcers trying to strangle him all fell limp to the floor unconscious as Barnabus and Alfred used his gun to deliver twin shots to their backs. Looking over to the human's in surprise Miktes smiled at them. The submissive sized humans might appear weak but they had a habit of always surprising him.

Watching from inside the second shuttle Rana shook her head at the male members of her crew and their alien pet. She had a feeling that despite the danger they were in they were all having fun. Barnabus and Miktes fighting off the enforcers, Moah working on his project, and even Alfred who had his eyes closed as he fired blindly into the crowd of men and women attacking them. She had to also admit that she was having fun too. The adrenalin coursing through her veins because of what was going on giving her a pleasant buzz. Maybe Barnabus was onto something with this space hero stuff.

The battle between Ekkar's forces and the crew of the Wild Comet seemed to drag on for several minutes. Miktes, Alfred, and Barnabus holding off the seemingly endless onslaught of other Jacks under Ekkar's employ while Rana started up the shuttle and Moah fiddled with the computer. But finally after Miktes was nearly beheaded by a well-aimed shot, the mechanic let out a cry of "Ox zandi!" And sprang to his feet to join Alfred and Barnabus behind the crates.

"You finally done big guy!" Barnabus shouted over to him. When the hairy man nodded the Jack captain breathed a sigh of relief. "Mickey get back over here we're ready to go!"

Stopping mid punch, Miktes peered over to his mate and nodded. He had had his fun now he could escape with a clear conscious. Dropping the man he had been holding by the scruff of his next, the green skinned man jogged back over to the others.

"How we gonna do this?" Rana asked over her shuttle's loud speaker.

"Rana, you take Moah and Alfred and take off in your shuttle while I get in the other one." Barnabus informed everyone.

"Barnabus that's crazy we can't let you take one of the shuttles all by yourself!" Rana shouted in surprised, Moah and Alfred agree with her with a nod.

"I'm not going to go it alone guys!" Barnabus told them. "I'm going to be taking Miktes with me. I'm sure he'll be more than enough company, right kid?" Glancing over to the Verdomian, the Jack gave him a quick smile which caused the alien to blush a little.

When Barnabus turned back to his crew though his grin faded, they were all looking at him in varying stages of smugness. "Please don't put too much into it guys." Barnabus huffed playfully. "I just want him close so that I can keep an eye on him." Choosing to ignore the shit eating grins that graced his friends faces at his lame excuse, Barnabus motioned for them to move and held up three fingers staring a silent countdown. 'One... Two... THREE, GO!!!'

Jumping into action the four men all sprang out from behind the crates and raced off towards their shuttles. Reaching their ship, Barnabus pulled Miktes into the large vehicle and quickly slipped behind the pilot's wheel. Watching out the front view window he waited as the rest of his crew entered their then charged up the weapons on the shuttle. They needed to clear the room so that they could take off. Taking hold of the controls the bearded man lit the turrets up and delivered a spread across the cargo bay sending Ekkar's men scuttling for cover.

"Fuck you don't play around do you?" Miktes said from his right as he watched his mate fire on their enemies. "Heh, makes me second think me calling you a coward before."

"You're lucky you're not out there kid." Barnabus joked. "I'd show you cowardice."

"Barnabus!" Rana's voice came over the communication panel, interrupting the two's banter. "We got ourselves a problem at two o'clock." Shifting his focus to where his second told him two, Barnabus let out a gasp. Outside of the ship a pair of enforcer's were in the process of setting up what he instantly recognized as one of the laser cannons Ekkar had bragged about in the Jack center. If one of those things hit them it'd blow a hole in there hull of their escape ships.

Thinking fast Barnabus aimed his weapons at the two men about to fire upon them, but before he could unload the canister he found the turrets disabled as several of the other Jacks outside fired on both shuttles weapons and destroyed them. This was it, their last line of defense was gone and they were sitting ducks. Closeting his eyes Barnabus held his breath and waited for the blast. But oddly the final blitz never came. Instead everything suddenly went quiet outside of the shuttle, the laser fire, the blaring alarms, even the sounds of the machinery within the shuttle bay.

Slowly opening his amber colored eyes Barnabus was greeted by the sight of the room around them dark save for the reserve lights which bathed spots of the room in a dim yellow light. "What the..." Looking over to the other shuttle the Jack Captain caught sight of a Moah illuminated by the lights within the vehicle. The Girunjh was holding up Ekkar's P.A.D. and grinning madly as he pointed towards it proudly. Laughing as he realized what had happened, Barnabus pressed the connect button on his shuttles intercom connecting him to the rest of his crew. "You disabled the ship didn't you?"

"Yes!" Moah's voice responded with a chuckle.

It all made sense now. That's why they needed two ships. With the Flaring surge dead in the water and both shuttles gone there was no way for Ekkar or his men to follow them. "Good work Moah." The Jack captain cheered. Looking over to the shuttle bay doors leading out into space he frowned for a moment. "Um... you do have a way to get out of here right?"

Moah answered the question with a few quick words and a snort. "He said: Stop doubting me fat man." Alfred translated. A quick sentence from Moah in the background caused the Doctor to hiss. "Oh, I mean he said: Stop doubting me hairy man. Sorry I get the words for fat and hairy confused sometimes."

"Yeah sure." Barnabus said believing the first sentence more than the correction. Moah didn't like being questioned a lot. Grinning at his friends Barnabus watched as Moah pressed a few onscreen prompts on the P.A.D. on in his clawed hands, the outer bay doors giving a creek and opening as the air within the room whooshed out slowly.

Seeing that they were about to be blown out into space, Ekkar's men quickly beat a hasty retreat. Moah momentarily giving power to the doors leading to the rest of the ship so that they could escape before they lost all oxygen. Once the inky blackness of space came back into view, Barnabus took hold of the pilot's wheel and slowly began to ease them off the ground.

"Everyone as soon as we're in space head towards the nearest hyperspace tunnel!" He ordered as they took off and flew free from the flaring surge. "We need to get as much space between us and Ekkar as possible."

The chorus of three "Yes sirs" Over the intercom was balm to Barnabus heart. His crew was safe, he was safe and more importantly their alien was safe. Now all that he needed to do was make sure they stayed that way.