"Back at it, eh?" Richard called up from his seat as he watched the atmosphere slowly dissipate into the black of space. Kikata hummed in agreement, nodding her head slowly as her golden eyes darted between the endless expanse of stars. Her mind was still caught up with what Prila had said that night. Every time she thought back on it she would find herself buried in her mind, much like she was now. Was it fate that pushed her away from Runo? That same fate which pushed her off Teralist in order to meet Prila? Her eyes narrowed as she thought of all the unforeseen turns her life had taken all during the course of a few months. She felt like her life was accelerating. If she really was just floating along by some unseen hands push than that hand had given her a very powerful shove. She could feel the next impact coming, she knew it was coming.
"Kikata?" Richard asked, staring up at the neko whose narrow eyes remained transfixed outside of the window. He glanced over her shoulder to see what she was looking at but there was only empty space.
Kikata shook her head and shifted her gaze down to Richard with a smile, "Sorry, I was thinking."
"Yeah you looked pretty zoned out, everything okay? That kick still got you a little woozy?"
Kikata laughed, gently rubbing the black and blue mark on her cheek, "No, it is a bit sore still though." She lowered her hand next to him, feeling the small familiar patch of warmth against her palm as he sat down. She gently carried her body up and over her chair and down the short ladder. She slumped down at the table and let Richard go with a sigh, "I feel like a little girl again having to return to school after vacation."
"I know what you mean." Richard chuckled. He eyed her for a moment, "Though I will admit this is still a nice alternative to working back with the science camps."
She smiled, "Yes? I will also admit that working with a partner has been fun. I'm not sure how I would have done if I had been going by myself all these weeks." She leaned her head down on her palm as she started reflecting once again. She and Richard had done so much in a rather short period of time, more than many could hope to accomplish in a lifetime back home. Her eyes flickered onto him once again, "Tell me...how anxious are you for the Earth bound transport ship?"
Richard recoiled a bit from the question, "Um." He started, still at a loss for words, "Well...tell you the truth I haven't much thought about it recently. He looked towards her and shrugged, "I get homesick at times. But who doesn't? Really the only thing that I am looking forward to is being able to function in a place thats my size."
"I see. I couldn't begin to imagine what its like to be so small."
"Yeah. Sometimes you start to feel a little...hmm...inadequate? Getting carried around all the time that is."
Kikata grimaced, remembering how she used to take quite a bit of pleasure getting to handle the tiny, cute human. "You don't take offense do you?" She asked slowly.
Richard shook his head, "No, not really."
Kikata smiled, "Well, at least your spirits are good." She glanced around the ship, huffing a stream of air through her lips, "Cards?"
~ ~ ~ ~
Richard and Kikata locked eyes as a familiar ringing pierced through the ship. On instinct Kikata lowered her hand, allowing a few seconds for Richard to climb on before making her way to the cockpit.
Richard jumped into his seat, watching as his display mimicked Kikata's. "What do we got?" He called over his shoulder.
"Something new." Kikata replied, her eyes scanning over the coordinates. "The signal is coming from another terraformed planet."
"Alright, what's new?"
"This isn't coming from a research outpost or a base. This is a civilian signal." Kikata prepared the ship, leaning herself back against her seat before activating the jump.
~ ~ ~ ~
Kikata couldn't shake a nervous feeling welling in her chest as they slowed to a near stop. The signal was coming from a terraformed moon orbiting a massive red gas planet. The moon was small, mainly serving as a midway station for traders or travelers.
Their ship lowered through the artificial atmosphere, an urban landscape appearing below them. The planet was still in the early stages of terraforming, the ground was devoid of vegetation so all of the breathable air had to be artificially pumped into the atmosphere.
Suddenly a crackling voice broke through the radio, "Hello?" It called almost as if in a whisper.
Kikata blinked, "Who is there? What is the situation?"
"Oh good. Ya' speak English." The voice had an almost southern accent to it.
"Yes, I do." Kikata said, scanning her hud for the source of the radio signal. "I have your signal we are approaching now. Once again, what is the situation?"
"Well. Some god damn space monkeys came in and blew up the whole damn place! That's what happened!"
"Space monkeys?" Kikata asked.
"You know, goons with guns! Henchmen!"
"I'm sorry don't follow-"
"I'll talk to him." Richard cut in. "What did they look like? Are they still here?"
"What is a goon?" Kikata muttered to herself.
"I don't know. They came in with three black ships, all wore black uniforms, some of em' had these weird head things on their heads."
"Well we are dropping by your location now." Kikata said lowering towards a smoky pillar just outside of the city limits. "Your ship as been damaged?"
"Near blown in half I reckon."
The ship bounced lightly as it set down on the brown, rocky landscape. Kikata took Richard in hand before practically jumping from the seat to the floor.
"No time to armor up, let's gather whoever is here and get back into ship."
"Sounds like a plan." Richard said as they approached the lowering ramp.
The ship outside was old looking, dark gray in color. It was about half the size of Kikata's ship, a very clear black wound on the underbelly, wires and smoke spewing out of the gaping hole. Kikata knelt down by the loading bay door and set Richard down.
"Go on in." She insisted, "And be quick."
~ ~ ~ ~
"Hello?" Richard called out. The inside of the vessel was a mess. Boxes lay strewn everywhere, the lights were constantly flickering on and off. The ship was clearly a cargo carrier, on the inside it was left wide open to support a heavy load.
"Hey!" A familiar voice called out. Two figures suddenly stepped out from behind a pile of wooden crates. The two men were almost complete oposites. The man on the right was built like a truck, his shoulders broad and his arms practically rippling. A thick and manly blonde mustache ran between his lips and continued up into his sideburns. His hair was long and unkempt, tied into a pony tail behind his head. He appeared to be aged into his forties, his skin rough and worn.
The second man was scrawny. He had a mop of medium length brown hair that sat atop his head and hung down nearly over his eyes. His facial hair was hardly as grandiose as his companion, a mere thin tuft clinging to his chin.
Though most striking of all to Richard was that they were human. It had been well over a month since he had last stood face to face with someone and been able to look them straight in the eye.
"Is there anyone else?" Richard asked, his eyes darting between the two men.
"No sir." The larger man responded, he seemed rather unshaken compared to his scrawny friend. "The name is Crab, this is my first mate Will." He said, patting the younger man on the back with apparently a painful amount of force. Will flinched as he was struck by the wide and rough hand of Crab.
"Richard Bromwell," Richard responded, holding out his hand.
Crab took his hand in a forceful shake, "Good to meet ya'. So, let's get out of this hunk of trash before it blows up on us eh?"
Richard nodded, escorting the two men back towards the exit. The slipped out the door to where Kikata was waiting for them, her head turned back towards the city nervously as she waited.
"Holy cow would you look at that mountain of a babe?" Crab whispered to his companion as he wrapped his arm around the young mans shoulder. Will simply nodded quietly.
"Oh good." Kikata said as she turned to see the three men approaching her, "There is still some action going on in the city from what I can hear." She lowered both hands before them, glancing over her shoulder once more.
"Sorry ma'am but Crab don't hitch no rides." He said, starting to walk past the outstretched hands.
Richard chuckled, climbing up onto her palms and looking up to see Kikata staring down at him with an arched brow.
"Well, I can hardly understand you through that dialect but I certainly wont be waiting around for your tiny legs to carry you to the ship."
Crab halted in his step, glancing towards her hands as Richard and Will both waited for him, "Well. You put it that way." He grumbled. He walked back over to her waiting hands and hopped up. "Feisty one too eh." He whispered. Will simply rolled his eyes.
~ ~ ~ ~
"This is one damn fancy ship you got yourself here Rich." Crab commented. They had been set on the table while Kikata went to the cockpit to call in to alert the other Guards to the situation.
"Thanks. But I'm just staying here part time."
Crab nodded, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he looked around, "Sure is a neko ship if I ever seen one. Got not a single sharp edge on anythin'! Not even on a table!" He laughed, "You think they make their designs so babies' dont smack their damn heads on the shit?" He laughed some more.
A smile cracked across Richards lips, the man had a sort of offensive charm to him. He could imagine himself having a few drinks with the man and causing some trouble back home. His eyes shifted towards Will, "Quiet one, aren't you?"
Will shrugged with a shallow, forced smile, "Guess so." His voice finally cracked. He flinched as another massive hand fell on his shoulder.
"Oh yeah. Will is most certainly, the uh, silent type!" Crab chuckled, "But the boys competent where it counts." Crab tuned back towards the Cockpit where Kikata's voice traveled down to them in the Neko language. "Paired with a neko hm? Ever climb that mountain there Rich?"
Richard huffed a single laugh, "No sir. That mountain over there is a no climb zone." He kept his voice rather quiet, "Until recently she was engaged, now it's kind of complicated."
"Complicated means your in my friend!" Crab chuckled, "Lord knows I wouldn't mind taken that ride." He nudged Will, "Eh? How bout skiin' down them slopes? Strap a rope to ya' waist en' do some cave diven!" He burst into another fit of laughter.
"Not to say I haven't climbed a similar mountain." Richard added with a wink, he felt an odd desire to impress the gruff man.
"Oh?" Crab questioned, a grin sneaking across his hairy lips, "Please tell."
"Yeah what's it like?" Will asked, a bit to the surprise of Richard and Crab.
"Patience now Will let the man tell his story. Me thinks the boy had his eye on his own Neko princess before all hell broke loose."
Richard chuckled, "Well let me tell you, you've gotta muster up the courage before entering that woman. But if she's nimble she'll make it more than-" A shadow loomed over the trio.
"What are we talking about?" Kikata asked, leaning over the table.
Richard tossed a glance towards the two men, "Guy stuff." He responded slowly.
"Oh. Well if you don't mind I'd like to get to the issue at hand?" She sat down into her chair, "So first things first. What happened? Why was your ship shot down?"
"A story you want?" Crab began, "Alright, so this is how it went down..."
~ ~ ~ ~
A few hours ago...
"God dammit Will get in the ship!" Crab screamed. The sound of thunderous gunfire echoed through the wide loading dock.
"Wait, we've gotta-"
"No boy we've got not time for waitin'!" He took hold of Wills collar and dragged him aboard. He slammed his palm on the ramp raising button and sprinted towards the cockpit. "Go strap in boy, I aint lookin' to make this exit anythin' but quick!"
Will reluctantly rushed to his own seat. He sat down against the old leather co-pilots seat and pulled the heavy nano-fiber restraining straps over his chest. His bony fingers gripped the arm rests as he watched Crab furiously get the ship ready for lift off.
"Alright. Here we go, come on old bird don't you stall on me now!" There was a tremendous roar as the old and dated engines ignited. The entire ship vibrated under the power. "There we go! that a girl!" His hand gripped the accelerator and within seconds the thrusters lifted the bulky ship into the air. The large, almost boxlike vessel rose from the loading dock and turned towards the sky. "Okay! Here we go unknown galaxy!" He pushed the accelerator to full blast, a move most pilots would look down upon as jumping this close to the ground without a predetermined course could have some very deadly consequences.
"Fuck." He muttered bluntly as the engines failed to push them into jump speeds. "Okay, old fashioned escape!" He roared, turning his ship forward and readied for a more gradual asent. Though their grand escape was interrupted by the sound of tearing metal and explosions. A fifty foot wide hole had suddenly been torn straight through the hull of the ship, decimating three out of four large engines. The two men screamed as they spiraled out of control. The cityscape passed below in a blur. Crab used all of his might and skill to use that one last engine to avoid crashing nose first into the rocky landscape below, instead they bottomed out in a violent crash, their cockpit instantly filling with impact foam.
~ ~ ~ ~
"So yup." Crab stated, folding his burly arms across one another.
Kikata and Richard shared a glance as he summed up the story.
"I...was actually wondering what happened before you were shot down. We sort of already surmised that."
"Oh." Crab said, rubbing his chin, "Well that will take a bit longer."
"We have time. We are waiting here unless fired upon for our reinforcements to get here."
Crab nodded, "Okay then, if you insist..."
Giantess World
Nova Force by Ginbug