Stranger in a Strange Land

I Remember You

2010-01-04T23:05:00.000-08:00

An eternity passed as she stared at the cold grey slab of metal before her. It was sturdy, the table in front of her; plain and functional. Four non-descript straight legs and the cold steel grey top. Nothing unusual the eye could see but the mind filled in the blanks. In the mind the table became a river raging through thoughts and memories, carrying them into one melting pool of time.

They were hers… of that she was certain. Nothing so vivid could belong to anyone else, or be pulled from the depths of imagination. Fighting to survive under the most impossible of situations, finding hope where the was none. Hours spent haunting the sky chasing phantoms as they tore holes through her reality.

She remembered with vivid clarity when they first took her, the hospital on Caprica where they carved her open and twisted her mind. Months later on New Caprica where her spirit was more captive than her body in the dollhouse of a prison he'd built to break her down. And he had.

Every tear, every heartbreak she wasn't allowed to feel because she was too strong, had to be the leader, had to hold up the image… They all raced past in the flow of the stream, tainted by crimson droplets that fell from an accidental yet unattended split lip.

The child she never knew she wanted, not hers, torn from her arms along with what was left of her soul. Drowning the sorrow and trying to patch the pieces of what was left with the bitter burn of sweet alcohol. Hitting that place of absolute nothingness and starting to rebuild the facade that would mask the depths of despair to everyone around once more.

The revelation, resolution; letting all the madness boil over and drift away until she could accept the fate that wasn't to be hers after all… Coming home.

Over and over each detail danced across the tabletop that flowed across the tabletop before her, drifting on a stream only she could see as his voice echoed in her ears and in her mind. He'd always known, always understood when no one else could even grasp. She understood why know… it was all in the stream, He was her, she was him, their experiences shared like two halves of the same spirit.

The artificial hiss of hydraulics forcing open the metallic hatch wasn't enough to draw her out of the stream, to make her look up, nor were the approaching footsteps, steady yet favored… the injury not yet healed. Even the folder dropping tot he table before her with an audible slap on the water's surface didn't bring her head up.

A heartbeat, maybe two longer her eyes lingered on the the thick metal cuffs that bound her wrists, the chain that looped secure through matching cuffs on her ankles. It was time to begin again. With a smile that was calm, almost pleased she began to lift her head, taking in first the hands that rested on the table. Hands she knew as well as her own, hands that had guided hers through a long, haggard path to find her destiny, touched her in ways only her soul could grasp, leaving her body crying, aching for more.

Beyond the hands she could see the the cuffs of the uniform jacket. So familiar yet so foreign now… had she once worn one just like it?

Finally she gifted herself with looking up into eyes of steel blue, tired eyes on a rugged, handsome face.. Every detail was as she remembered, and the glimmer of shock in his eyes said he remembered too, though it was still buried deep. Her smile quirked at the tousled short blonde hair even the military couldn't hope to tame… Even the impatience in his face mirrored what was once her own.

The impatient tapping of the pen on the folder came to an abrupt halt, when she finally spoke. Just three simple words would start everything that had already begun again, maybe this time they would get it right…

"I remember you…"

(untitled) - Start of another crossover

2010-01-04T23:02:00.000-08:00

((Another victim of writer's block, would still like to see where this one goes one day))

"Galactica, Starbuck," The pilot spoke though the microphone inside her headset. "I'm picking up an abnormal reading bearing 127,39 karom 4, request permission for closer scan." the CAP had been the standard very dull routine that it had become since the truce. She'd been one of the few to argue it was still necessary as many had just fallen into a sense of security surrounding the whole thing. Her main reason had been it kept her flying.

"Copy Starbuck, we're not picking up anything from this range, permission to take a closer look granted." Came back the crackled reply.

"Copy that Galactica, Starbuck out." It was obvious they were humoring her, nothing of any significance had been turned up the last five times she'd thought she saw something. Likely they hadn't even looked.

Shrugging the thought off she angled off fro the fleet to go investigate the faint blip on her dradis, setting a direct heading. As she approached, the blip remained weak but constant. "Galactica, Starbuck, looks to be a glitch in the dradis system. There's nothing here..." There was nothing but static on the comm, though she was sure she'd not moved out of comm range... likely a short in the helmet system, again.

She moved just a little further out, to see if the signal changed, intending on turning back when the small craft was seemingly jerked from the spot it had been, lurching sideways through what felt like an extended FTL jump.

The viper jerked to a stop, throwing her against the canopy, descending her into blackness as she lost consciousness from the impact.

She didn't have time to determine how much time had passed when the radiological alarms on the console kicked in full force. The display indicated a massive radioactive concentration just ahead, and she looked up to see the most grotesque ship she had ever come across.

Nothing she had ever seen could even come close, cylon or human. It was big, battered, looked like it had been patched together from a dozen other ships. That was the pleasant part, what wasn't so pleasant was the fact it was reading as a giant mass of radioactivity, and had what looked like scorched skeletons strapped along its hull like trophies.

Before the shock of seeing it passed and she cold bank away, a thin harpoon on a chain shattered through the canopy, impaling her shoulder and pinning her to the seat. Had she been sitting straight it would have gone straight through her chest. "Son of a frakkin bitch!:" She hissed out, taking hold of the flight stick. Arming the two heat seekers the viper carried, she released them at the ship. No way in hell was something like that going to take her without a fight.

The explosion tore the ship into a hundred pieces, sending the viper end over end. The tear in her flight suit would burn up the oxygen in her reserve pack in a matter of minutes, she might be able to buy a few more if she could path the canopy with something and get its life support online.

Resigned to the fact it would likely do little good, she flicked on the distress beacon and closed her eyes, floating among the rubble of the other ship.

Wings Across the Sky - Chapter 4/4 - Unfinished

2010-01-04T22:59:00.000-08:00

“Just tell me what you want from Inara.” If Mal had known how far his voice would carry from the quiet bridge through the mostly silent ship, he wouldn’t have said a single word to the Companion when she stepped into the bridge. He was on watch, like he was most nights. Sleep wasn’t his friend anymore. Too many bad dreams mingled with worse memories.

“I just want to know how long this layover is going to be Mal. I have an appointment on Persephone, and for once I’d like to not be late.” Her lips were painted the same swollen berry red that they’d been the first time he’d seen her when she’d come to rent his shuttle.

“We’ll be there in plenty of time. Ath, will be able to get his jollies right on schedule. We’re in good shape and makin’ good time. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with Serenity for a change.” When she’d left him, them, he’d missed her every single day and night, but now he was wishing that she’d never agreed to stay on board. He had made her a whore this time. It wasn’t the Guild that he could blame.

“It’s not what’s wrong with Serenity that has me concerned Mal. I’m worried about you.”

“Well don’t be. Let’s make a deal,” his voice went cold as his eye turned to ice. “You don’t want me walkin’ into your shuttle unannounced, how ‘bout you stop comin’ on my bridge whenever you feel like bein’ a nag.”

“Fine!” Inara took a step back, and Mal fought the urge to say he was sorry. He shoved the concern back under the anger. Her feet made barely a sound as she raced back to her shuttle. “I won’t bother you any longer Captain Reynolds.”

“Good!” He picked up his coffee cup and took a long drink before he realized how cold and nasty it had gotten. With a frown he stomped on down through to the kitchen to get a refill.

“You need to stop doing that sir,” Zoë said from behind the counter where she was getting her own cup of what passed for coffee on Serenity.

“Please Zoë; I’ve already gotten into one fight tonight. Don’t want to get into one with you too.” He passed her his old blue cup and watched her fill it instead of making eye contact. He felt like a heel for the way he’d treated Inara.

“Why don’t you tell her the truth Mal.” That caught his attention. Zoë never used his name unless she meant for him to listen. “I lost Wash in a blink of my eyes. We thought we were safe, and then he was dead. She’s left you once. Why can’t you admit that you love her?”

“It wouldn’t do me any good if I did. I ain’t good enough for her Zoë, and I never will be. Any chance we had died when she went back to work.”

“But she did it to help us.”

“That’s what makes it worse, don’t you see?” Mal scrubbed at his face. “When she did it for her callin’, she was a companion. She does it now to make sure we’re never as desperate for money as we were when she was gone. I’ve made her a whore Zoë. I’ve ruined Inara, like I’ve ruined everything else I’ve ever loved.”

“You didn’t ruin Serenity Sir,” Zoë said as she reached over and squeezed his hand. “And you didn’t ruin me or River or Kaylee. Notice I only mention those of us you do love. You’ve got no responsibility when it comes to how fucked up Jayne is. He came that way.”

An alarm went off before Mal could say another word; he dropped his cup in the sink and raced back through the ship to the bridge. The ship rocked as a low powered shot hit them. Checking the scanners, Mal sent out a long string of curses as he answered the wave that was chiming in.

“Serenity, this is Alliance Captain Milton of the Starship Destiny. Prepare to be boarded and your cargo seized.”

((Hoping one day will find the thread to finish this one))

Wings Across the Sky - Chapter 3/4 - Unfinished

2010-01-04T22:58:00.002-08:00

The room she'd beens shown to was small by most standards, but it was far more space than she was used to. Life in the fleet had been pretty much living in one another's back pockets, and on Lilac it had been worse. Not enough shelter or supplies to go around meant overcrowding and general misery.

She'd not even hesitated once Zoe had left her, grabbing a relatively clean change of clothes she'd kept packed in the bottom of her duffle since landing on that desolate rock. She filled the small washbasin, stripped off her dust encrusted shirt and proceeded to wash away what she could of the dirt that clung to her skin. Never did she think she would be so appreciative of freshly recycled water.

The engines of the ship firing up made the deck plates tremble, the water in the sink rippling rapidly. A sigh of relief met the sound as she closed her eyes. She was finally going to be free of here.

Changed and feeling considerably cleaner, she eventually made her way to the lower common area near the passenger berths. Up several winding metal staircases she eventually found the common dining room, which was painted an abnormally cheerful yellow. What caught her eye most was when she looked up, the stars now visible through the high windows.

She'd been sure to stay back out of the way, just letting herself get lost in the view as they left the atmosphere completely, leaving the dustball behind.

***

After two days on board, she was wishin like hell she had forever to stay, but with each passing day they got closer to Persephone where she'd be parting ways with the crew. It wasn't as though she'd made close friends with them, but they were for the most part pleasant with her.

The Captain, he kept to himself, she mostly only saw him at mealtime. He was deeply troubled by something. He spoke little and hung around even less. What was more telling were the looks the crew would exchange among themselves when he'd leave. There was definitely something going on that had him troubled.

In her mind she'd dubbed Kaylee the ambassador of cheerfulness. She was pretty sure nothing could bring that girl down. And at times it was infectious…. She'd seen it in action at the dinner-table, The girl could even make Captain Reynolds smile.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to see Kaylee was sweet on the ship's doctor, Simon. Somon seemed to manage his time well between his sweetheart and his younger sister River, who was nothing but an enigma to Kara.

Zoe was one Kara understood, in fact she was much a mirror image of herself. Career military, fiercely loyal to her captain, and recently widowed… They'd traded stories the night before over a bottle of weak whiskey. It was badly watered down but neither acknowledged. It made it easier to talk, pretending it was the whiskey doing the talking. All things considered, it was a good thing the whiskey had been watered down to nothing but flavor, otherwise they would both have very large painful heads today.

However, the bonding with the first mate may never had happened had it not been for Jayne.

It turned out Janye was the epitome if big dumb muscle. It hadn't mattered in the least how often she'd told him she wasn't the least bit interested in his gun collection, he still insisted. He would just not let it go. Sure as she was he really did have quite a collection, no way in hell was she going down into his bunk to see it.

Add that to the constant harassment he dished out upon the other women on the ship… She was pretty sure she'd seen Captain Reynolds throw him a warning glare or two over dinner the night before. He was pretty much everything she disliked in a man.

That made it pretty easy when he'd finally cornered her. He towered over her by a good foot in height, and he'd definitely had a drink or two, it was all you could smell on him. Likely thought it would give him the courage to push her just a little. She'd never worried he would push to far, he was dumb, not a creep. She just needed to give him a lesson that was on his level. A lesson that wound up with him kissing carpet, his wrist making friendly with his shoulder blades and a rather heavy boot holding his head still.

She'd let him up right away and he got up, looking a little wounded as he stated simply. "Gorramit woman, coulda just said no…" What followed was the first time Kara had seen Zoe smile. She'd later find out it was because that moment made her think of her late husband, as he was always amused when Jayne got put in his place by a woman.

That left just one other person on the crew for her to really meet. Inara. She'd seen the woman several times, though usually it was after Inara had been talking to the Captain, which always seemed to put her in a foul mood and she'd disappear for hours. Kaylee had once tried to explain that Inara was a companion and the Captain didn't much like it, though kara hadn't bothered to ask what exactly a companion was. The name pretty much put some ideas in her head as to what it entailed.

It was late, everyone had long since retired to their bunks, so she did the same. As she lay on her bunk she could hear the faint creak and groan of the metal hull. The low hum of the engines as the small ship coasted through space.

Tomorrow would be a long day. They had a stop to make, so she'd been told, ships business… Which, just being a passenger didn't concern her at all. So why the hell did the thought bother her so much?

Wings Across the Sky - Chapter 2/4 - Unfinished

2010-01-04T22:58:00.001-08:00

When the call had come in about the job, an actual mostly legal job, Mal had been happy about catching the Wave. But the happy lasted only as long as it took for Zoe to tell him where the job was. A dry swallow ate the name Lilac, and he shoved it down into his gut with all the rest of his guilt and regrets.

“Captain?” Kaylee rocked on the toes of her boots beside him, a bright smile on her face. They both watched as the ramp lowered onto the dust bowl moon that was all the Reavers had left behind. “You all right?”

“Ain’t nothin’ wrong with me,” he said as he tugged on his gloves. “Make sure we’re ready to go soon as they get their cargo. Don’t want to spend anymore time here as we have to.”

“Don’t worry. Jayne an’ I’ll handle it. Where are you goin’?” her dark eyes filled with concern as Mal started walking down the ramp.

“Need to see a man ‘bout a mule,” was Mal’s bitter reply. The sun was brilliant, and not for the first time he wished that he wore a hat to shade his eyes. Serenity had landed near the new settlement where the Colonial refugees had made their home, but it wasn’t too terribly far from the old settlement where he and a trio of his crew were the last people to walk out on their own.

Even through the thick patina of dust and grime, he could still see the battle scars from the Reaver weapons on the walls of the surviving buildings. Here and there were the brown stains of the blood of the fallen. The Alliance had done a shiny job of hiding what had happened, but Malcolm Reynolds knew better he’d been there.

He stopped in front of the bar where he’d shot a man who’d been begging him for help. He’d called it a kindness to justify what he’d done, but that kindness was churning in his belly like a snake made out of broken glass.

“I’m sorry,” he said as the wind tore the words from his lips, drying the tear that slid down from one blue eye. “Should’ve taken the chance. Won’t forget what I done to you. I ain’t never goin’ to leave another soul behind that wants away from this or anyplace long as I can get to the Black.”

Reaching into his pocket, he drew out a pair of silver coins. Hunkering down on his heels, Mal scooped out a few inches of dusty soil and buried the twin coins. “They used to put coins on the eyes of the dead. This is the best I can do for you and yours.”

By the time he walked back to Serenity, he was more than ready to leave. Then she came asking for passage. It was almost as if he’d been the one who could read the future and not the little Albatross. He looked at the coins he’d been given by Kara Thrace, wasn’t nearly enough to get her off of any normal piss hole planet. He’d have tried to up the ante, see what else he could get from her.

But not on Lilac. Any amount of change was good enough on Lilac.

###
The cargo bay was empty when he prepped Serenity to break atmo. It’d be a good long time before the colonists had anything to trade to the outside world. For now all they had was money. Mal hoped that the seeds they’d brought would help them make something out of the place.

“There are worse planets,” Jayne said as he stomped onto the bridge. “Least there ain’t no more Reavers.”

“There are still Reavers, Jayne,” Mal answered as he started flipping switches along Wash’s station. It would always be Wash’s station, no matter how long Mal was filling in as pilot. Even if he hired a new one, they’d be told to use the co-pilot’s. ‘They just ain’t all covered in skin and piercings. Some of ‘em just work for the Feds is all. Our passenger all settled? I want off of this piece of shit now.”

“Think so. Zoe’s doin’ the tour.” The big mercenary rubbed at the back of his neck and shrugged. “She’s pretty.”

“Zoe?” Mal’s thought he heard Wash’s voice scream in his head that Jayne was NEVER to say that he thought Zoe was pretty. But then again, it might have been his own voice. “Yeah, Jayne Zoe’s pretty, but don’t tell her that. She’ll get a big head.”

“No, not Zoe Mal. The passenger. She’s pretty.”

“Didn’t notice,” Mal said with not a small amount of relief. The last thing he wanted was to watch Jayne get some kind of insane crush on Zoe. She was still hurt. She tried to hide it, but Mal knew her better than he knew himself. “All I noticed was her money was good.”

Wasn’t really all he’d noticed. But he didn’t really want to warn Jayne that Kara Thrace looked like she could kick the shit out of him just as easily as Zoe could. Where would the fun be in that?

“I’ll tell ‘em we’re leavin’ then.”

“You do that,” Mal said as he sat down in Wash’s seat. He waited until the sound of Jayne’s boots stopped echoing down the passageway, and started up Serenity’s engines. With his eyes closed, he listened to the rough thrum of the engine turning, and waited until he heard the sweet sound of her settling in. That was when it was time for lift off, not before. The take off was smooth as one of Inara’s silk dresses. “Well now, seems I’m gettin’ pretty good at this.”

“Thankfully,” Inara said as they broke into the Black. The stars in the sky nearly as bright as the sparkling jewels she’d woven into her hair. “But you do need to work on the landings. I still need to replace one of my tea sets.”

“I’m sure y’all make enough to replace it Inara.” He glanced back at her. She was dressed for work. A job he’d hoped she wouldn’t go back to, but it was the only way she knew. At least she was out there with them, and not at the temple teaching new girls. But with them, was never going to be the same as with him, and he knew it. “Picked up a passenger. Why don’t you go say hello?”

Wings Across the Sky - Chapter 1/4 - Unfinished

2010-01-04T22:56:00.000-08:00

((Another I started working on with a friend, unfortunately bad writer's block stalled it indefinitely, and I have since lost touch with the friend, who knows if it will ever be finished))

The dust whipped around, biting at any exposed skin, stinging eyes and making breathing difficult. The cloud was so thick one could barely see the metallic bulk responsible for it settle to the ground. Nine months on this desolate rock and this was only the second transport ship to bring supplies. The first had been two days after they'd arrived. Basic food supplies, crop seeds, theoretically enough to get them settled. Not everyone was thrilled with the idea of farming, but they were alive. If you could call this dust ball living, it made New Caprica look downright inviting, and all things considered, that was not saying much at all.

What was worst was what they took. Most of the ships had been barely flight worthy, and coming into the atmosphere had done nothing to help that, so they'd become permanent fixtures on the ground, serving as homes and shelters against the unforgiving climate. The ships that had still been air worthy had been taken, apparently to be returned sometime later, but Galactica and the crew that had remained on board hadn't been seen or heard from since.

Zarek had assumed leadership. It was frakked up all to hell but he did look out for the people, and he sure the hell couldn't do worse than Baltar had. Hell had he been in charge at the time the Alliance encountered them maybe they would have found a better rock to dump them on. One that hadn't already been wiped out before. A scouting party had found the abandoned settlement the same afternoon the transport had dropped off supplies. The signs of struggle were evident but not a trace of who had been there before remained. Orders had been to scavenge everything they could and keep quiet. They'd established their own settlement several miles from where the other had been. Those who knew of the ghost town decided it best not to mention, things were dire enough without a panicked population.

They'd had no contact from the Alliance since. No supplies, no word… hell who knew if they were even still out there. The few thousand that remained went about setting up a new life, though sickness had claimed so many over the winder that had passed. Now there were less than twenty five thousand, and I was beginning to look like they'd just been left out here to die.

Then things had changed, word came about the transport arriving and there was a spark of hope among the colonials once again. Kara wasn't really sure how Zarek had managed it, but there was now a transport touching down with much needed medical supplies, food, and whatever else they were able to scrounge together. What was on the transport, she really wasn't interested, what she was looking for was a way out.

As the transaction took place, money and goods changing hands, she hung back, just observing the crew. Her hand settled over her pocket, a pouch of coins tucked inside. Coins she'd scavenged from those burned out buildings on that first scouting trip so many months ago. Most they'd turned over to the government, but Kara had tucked away a portion of whatever she found for herself. She'd been planning even then to find a way to buy passage away from here, away from everything. She just hadn't expected it to be so long in coming.
The dust had settled, and the supplies were being hauled back towards the settlement when she approached the ship. The man she assumed was Captain was looking out over the filed towards the old settlement, his expression almost haunted. He turned to Kara as she approached, eyebrow slightly raised in curiosity, though it would have been hard for a trained soldier to miss the slight flinch in his hand, prepared to go for his gun should he need to.. He was obviously used to things going bad.

"You take on passengers? I can pay…" She called out as she approached. At the mention of money his posture shifted, far more welcoming than before, some of the defensive stance gone.

"Depends, where you're intent on traveling to, we don't tend to go into toe core none to often."

"Suits me fine, just want off this rock, get somewhere I can find work." She pulled one of the small bag of coins from her pocket, tossing it to him." To be honest I've no idea how far that will get me, but we haven't got much here…"

His expression stayed mostly neutral, he'd have made a good gambler, as he looked at the contents of the bag. "Well, if you don't mind making a few little stops along the way, we can get you to persephone inside of a fortnight."

"Suits me fine…" She smiled a little, the prospect of getting off the rock finally making her feel a little bit lighter.

"In that case. I"m Malcom Reynolds, your captain, welcome aboard Serenity." he said with a lazy smile extending his hand which she took in a firm handshake.

"Kara Thrace… and you have no idea just how happy I am to meet you." Her eyes lit up with a smirk and for a moment it felt like she had already lifted off.

With a nod he turned, motioning her to follow him up the ramp and into the belly of the transport. "Zoe will show you to the passenger quarters, generally cargo bay is off limits to everyone but crew, so best you take whatever you need with you." He nodded towards a beautiful, dark skinned woman. "Mealtime's round about two hors from now, you might well go get settled" he said before moving off once more.

Kara followed Zoe through into the passenger bunks, listening as she set out the ships rules, gave her a general indication of where things were, then disappeared once Kara'd been shown her room.

Overall, the crew seemed to be a sad lot, yet there was a closeness between them. Something she could relate to well… you had to be able to count on the people you flew with… your life could depend on it. And thought he ship itself may have seemed old, and they were complete strangers to her, there was a familiarity she could relate to and she felt she'd secured herself a relatively safe journey into the unknown.

A lot of old work

2010-01-04T22:50:00.001-08:00

There were a LOT of old stories I worked on, rather than re-post them here I will link to the journal they are on. These were written in tandem with a friend at the time, probably my most prolific writing period. Feel free to browse the list and read at your leisure.

The Journal is no longer being maintained, but it will remain up i have been told.

Muse Topics 4

2010-01-04T22:44:00.000-08:00

If you could wish for one thing, and be assured of getting it, what would you wish for?

If I could wish for something and be assured of getting it, what would it be? For one day I wish I could know what was going on inside my best friend’s head. I would give anything to really know what he’s thinking when he gives me that lopsided grin. The grin he seems to reserve only for me… I’ve seen him grin at other people, but it’s not the same grin. This one has a special quality. Sometimes I like to think its affection… I wish I knew.

I wish I knew what it was that made his eyes light up just that way. He’s got the most incredible eyes… though many only see the icy blue businesslike gaze, there is another. A warm, soothing look, where the icy blue gives way to a tropical azure that could entrance even the coldest of hearts to gaze into their depths for hours if he would let them. But that look is fleeting. I only catch it on occasion when I turn around quickly. Within seconds the steel blue is back. What is he thinking then? I wish I knew…

I wish I knew where I stood… What does he really think of me? Am I really just a pilot to him? He’s more than just the CAG to me. Am I just his best friend? Gods I know I’m that but could I be more? Would he let me? I think I know how I feel about him, but how does he feel about me?

I wish I knew.

What do you think of when you hear the word - Fear?

Fear.

Now there is a word I am all too sick and tired of hearing, of seeing… I see it in the eyes of the nuggets when the klaxons sound the first time after they get their wings. The ones whose eyes I see it in… They're the ones I won't see make it back, maybe not this time, but the next.

With what we do, fear is instant death.

You have to go out there every time and look those metal motherfrakkers right in their glowing red eye and not flinch. If you flinch you're dead, your wingman is dead… the raider gets through. There is a saying that we live by… "You're already dead but you just don' know it." You live by that and you don't fear dying. You live every frakkin moment to the fullest. Seize every second and make the most of it cause one day, you're gonna be off your game and you're gonna be frakked right up the exhaust pipe.

Its true what they say, the only thing to fear, is fear itself. I don't fear dying, I don't fear injury. I don't fear reproach or punishment. The only thing I fear… is that one day I will look into that glowing red orb and be afraid.

Tell a story about the dumbest thing you've ever done.

I still sit here and think of just where the evening started to go wrong… I think it was about the time I decided to prove that I could clean up real good… in the hopes of rendering him speechless. There I was, me, the biggest tomboy in the 12 colonies, dolled up in a dress and heels, hair done, the works…. Well it worked. Lee was speechless alright, managed the corniest of compliments… Gods he was adorable… Awestruck even… Moments later we were on the dancefloor, dancing, laughing, and enjoying one another's company…

The next thing I know Gaius cuts in and Lee is gone… Gaius is smooth and free with the compliments, and with the ambrosia… Too free… Ambrosia and I are old friends. My partner in crime as it were. I'm not sure at what point, but somewhere along the line I wound up back in his room for yet one more glass of that fine liquor. I think I left my better judgment back at the dance…

Flirting turns to touching… and Gods it's been too long so I surrender… Even though I he was the farthest one from my mind… a fact which later became painfully evident for both of us…

I barely dress enough to e decent and retreat to the safety of my bunk… wishing like hell the bulkhead would just open up and swallow me whole… Gods how could I let that happen… Only ambrosia knows.

Which is your favorite Sin and why?

I would have to say at this point in my life, Wrath is the sin I embrace the most. In all honesty, it fuels the urge just to get out of bed in the morning. It is my wingman in combat and my friend in solitude.

Why Wrath? Well I figure I've earned the right… as has every other person still living… the cylons took everything from us. Our homes, our families, our future… All gone in a few short hours. Now we live on the run, teachers, doctors, lawyers, farmers, children… forced to become nomads in space, having to fight every day for the barest of necessities.

There is no room left for greed, save from a few who choose to profit off of humanity's misfortune. Lust is an escape... but still a luxury that time rarely allows for indulgence in. even pride has been stripped away bit by bit. How can one be a glutton when there are barely enough rations to go around… Envy? Maybe some envy those who don't have to put their lives on the line every day… Sloth… there's just not enough time for that either. All that is left to feel is wrath.

And every time I launch out into combat I make damned sure every raider feels it.

Muse Topics 3

2010-01-04T22:40:00.000-08:00

When did you realize things were just "not going to be okay."

Reading the question, she chuckles… have things ever been ok? She tries to sort through the events of her life to find a time that would apply to… she’s never had a time, other than Zak, where things seemed even remotely ok. But that was her life.

Ok was a relative state of mind… The cylons attacked, destroying everything she knew to be home, and yet there was something that was left that helped her believe everything would still be alright. She had been involved in the destruction of the Olympic Carrier, 1300 souls possibly still on board. Yet her faith held. Water was short and there were hostage situations, and yet she could still see a silver lining.

Even crash landing on a planet after confessing your sins to the only father she’d known in years didn’t bring her down. She continued to fight, continued to frak up… She took the wrong man to her bed, took a punch from the right one, found out the president was dying and the commander had lied to her… and still she pressed on.

It was standing battered and bruised in the ruins of a museum, having fought for her life with a cylon that the world came crashing down around her. She found her friend, Helo… but over his shoulder there stood another, Boomer… Sharon…. She had seen her only hours before on the Galactica… one word summed it all up… Cylon. She reached for Helo’s gun and trained it on the woman. He deflected her arm and it was the next words she heard that destroyed the fragile grip she held on herself… the cylon was pregnant… Her scream echoed through the ruins as she sank down. Finally broken, and she knew, nothing would be the same again.

Careful What You Wish For

I know most people wish I that was more responsible… more by the book. They wish I would tow the line and act the disciplined soldier I was trained to be. You know the type… the good girl who never talks back, keeps her boots polished, would never dream of getting in the face of a superior.

Instead they got me; warts and all. I’m insubordinate. If I don’t like you I will tell you, right to your face. I don’t give a frak if you’re my superior or not. I’ve even been known to use my fists to prove my point. I speak my mind, whether my opinion is wanted or not.

I’ve been branded a troublemaker, a rogue… I live outside the box. Now, consider if I took away the things that people found too brash, too abrasive... crawled back into the box like a good little soldier. What would happen? Who could they count on to haul their asses out of the fire when it came down to the wire? Who would take the chances, push the envelope?

Be careful what you wish for, you really wouldn’t want me to be anyone else.

Kara Thrace
Battlestar Galactica
196 words

Talk about a time you overcame serious self-doubt.

Self doubt has always been a part of my existence… the first seeds planted when I was a child. My mother always believed I wouldn’t amount to anything, that I was useless… For years I believed her. I let her crush me down, keep me under her control.

When I was sixteen that all began to change; I began to see myself as an individual; separate from her. Her opinion was just that… hers. She had tried for so long to push me to the career she had chosen for me. The military. Of course she wanted to make me a marine. That’s what she was… and that way she would always be my superior. I refused.

Instead I started learning to play Pyramid. It was a rough sport, but I was good at it. Damn good in fact. The more I played, the more I separated from her opinion of me. I had a scholarship to the academy; I was being scouted to play professional… I was going places. I was somebody. Then it happened.

My newfound world was shattered when I busted up my knee on the court. Everything I had worked for was gone, and there she was again, with the ‘I told you so’s.’ Weeks later doctors would confirm the worst. I would never play again. While I would regain the strength in my knee, I would never have the mobility to keep up on the court. I was devastated. I started to think maybe she was right, maybe I wasn’t cut out for anything other than the career she chose… I took the tests the doctors brought me, half hearted most of the time. Aptitude test, entrance exams… they all tried to help me.

What surprised me the most was when I received the call… Flight school. I couldn’t believe it. Me? A Pilot? I wasn’t sure if I should… Mom didn’t think I could do it… I wasn’t sure I could either…

Looking back I’m glad I pushed the doubt aside and accepted.

Kara Thrace
Battlestar Galactica
339 words

What is the worst thing that has ever been done TO you?

For someone looking in, it might be hard to pick which of the things that has happened to me over the course of my life has been the worst. I grew up in a broken home, child to an alcoholic mother who saw me as the source of all her troubles. After all life had been good before I was born.

I’ve endured endless hours of dark closets, not knowing when I would eat again; my only companion the spiders that spun their webs in the spaces beneath the stairs. When the closet ceased to scare me, the real abuse started. I was late coming home from school… she whipped my wrists until they bled; reminding me I should wear a watch. She broke each one of my fingers when i played a prank… I could go on… but none of these amounts to what was done to me on Caprica.

What did they do? That’s what makes it the worst. All I know is that they cut me open… I don’t know if they took something out or put something in… I saw what they had done to the other women… what they were trying to do… was that what they had planned for me? To turn me into a living incubator for half human machines..?

It still haunts me at night… Its been six weeks and the waiting continues… Under normal circumstances I would be even more worried… but these are not normal circumstances, anything could cause me to be this late… malnutrition being at the top of the list, right next to stress… both of which are dealt out here in abundance. I’m going to try once again tonight not to think about it…. Maybe tomorrow…

Muse Topics 2

2010-01-04T22:38:00.000-08:00

What is the best present you have ever given someone else?

I met someone… someone pretty incredible. He was nothing like Lee though, but he was filled with indomitable spirit, fighting in a hopeless situation… Despite being outgunned and out experienced. He never gave up. None of them did.

They took me in once they were sure I was safe. I became one of their own. We grew close over the days spent there… we had a lot in common and our friendship came easily. We both knew that there may be no tomorrow, that at any moment things could go bad and we would all parish in that irradiated wasteland that once was our home. So we found happiness where we could, taking comfort in the little things, a game of pyramid, a gentle touch, a teasing kiss… but there were no strings attached… neither one expected anything more beyond the moment.

He came for me when I was captured. With the others I found my way back to the relative safety of the resistance camp. We both knew I had a mission to complete… and he had kept the arrow safe all this time. I had to finish what I had started… despite the thousands here that still needed help. I had to go home, to the fleet, to the Galactica, to Lee.

Moments before I left, I took one of my dog tags and pressed it into his hand. In that simple moment, I gave more than I could have imagined… In the darkest of nights that had fallen on our former home, I gave him the one thing that could sustain him, keep him fighting….

I gave him hope.

Kara Thrace
Battlestar Galactica
272 words

Who do you miss the most?

I suppose for most people this would be a pretty straight forward question with a quick and simple answer. Family… a friend… a lover… But then I’m not most people and I don’t do simple and straightforward.

Now if I did, my answer would be something like my father. He left us when I was only about six or seven, but he was still the glue that held the world together and I was his baby girl. I never understood why he left, and I still to this day miss him. Or it could be my fiancé who was killed only a few weeks before we were to have been married. He died in a horrific crash… it was my fault, he wasn’t ready but I put him in that plane anyway because he wanted it so much and because I felt… well that’s not important now, and another topic entirely.

Ironically, with billions of people dead the person I miss the most is sleeping across the bunkroom; not 30 feet away from where I sit writing this… How can you miss someone who’s not gone? It’s really quite simple. War changes people, changes relationships, changes dynamics… and being a royal screw-up just helps to motivate those changes even further.

We barely talk anymore… when we do it’s as CAG and lead pilot… no time for friends anymore. I miss his laugh, the way blue eyes sparkle with mischief. He doesn’t laugh much anymore. He works too hard, runs himself too thin. Don’t get me wrong he’s damn good at his job, but he’s wearing himself out. I miss being able to just kick back and relax with him, when silence didn’t seem awkward and talking didn’t seem forced. I miss the shoulder to cry on, because he’s the only one who’s ever seen me really cry; there’s no time for tears anymore.

I managed to frak it all up royally… the how and why is another matter entirely. I’ve tried to do things for the right reasons… but they always come out wrong. I misinterpreted reserve for rejection… control for a cold shoulder… I’ve done some stupid things… damaged what we had… I only hope that someday we can rebuild… I guess my answer isn’t that far from the simple… he is my family, my friend… and I love him like no other…

And finally in answer to our question, who do I miss most? That’s easy… Lee Adama.

Talk about a time you realized that someone close to you was not the person you thought you knew.

Why is it when you’re at your lowest point, life decides it needs to give you one last swift kick to the gut? Things couldn’t have been much worse… there I was, on a radiation contaminated planet, having jumped thousands of lightyears from the fleet. Lee and I were not on speaking terms, beyond what we needed to do to do our jobs, my good friend of seven years just tried to kill herself; but put a bullet through her cheek instead. I get here and pretty much get my ass handed to me by a blonde cylon; only reason I beat her is because I no longer cared if I survived the fight, so long as she didn’t either. A 25 foot drop later and I’m still alive, she’s not.

For a moment things seemed to be looking up. Strong hands had lifted me from where I fell, turning me to look in the eyes of a friend I thought lost forever. He helped me up, steadied me against the wall… gods it was so good to see him again… then, there was movement over his shoulder.

Seven years I’ve know Sharon Valerii, before she even went through flight school. We’d been through a lot together… I thought I knew everything about her… boy was I wrong. There, standing on the ledge above was Sharon… only it wasn’t Sharon, my Sharon was in sickbay with a hole in her face…I know, I saw her just before I jumped here… but there she was. Flight suit and all… her arm was in a sling, her shoulder injured… but she was there, and there was no mark on her face. That’s when I realized… Sharon was a cylon… oh gods… a frakkin cylon…

I remember grabbing for Helo’s gun… my first instinct to shoot it there on the spot… then he said it… that thing was pregnant…. And my world shattered.

Several Muse Topics

2010-01-04T22:32:00.000-08:00

What is your greatest strength?

My greatest strength lies in faith. It is behind everything I do, every hour of every day. My mother taught me young that faith was important. She went to great lengths to instill this in me. She insisted every day that I learn to pray. And so I did. Every day I prayed, and I had faith that one day I would be free… I was nearly sixteen when they took me away; prayers answered.

I still pray, but my prayers are less formal than they once were. I still take out the idols of my patron goddesses, Artemis and Aphrodite, setting them carefully on the velvet cloth in a silent moment. However most of my prayers are hurried whispers as my viper is loaded into the tubes and launched into combat against an enemy that outnumbers and outguns us. I let faith take it from there.

I have faith in the knuckledraggers on Chief Tyrol’s crew. I know all the repairs will be done. I have faith that those repairs will hold through just one more fight. I have faith that my shots will hit their intended target, faith that we’ll al make it back in one piece.

I have faith that we’ll manage to find water and food when we need it, that as a race we will survive, that I will one day see a sunrise again. I have faith that one day… We will find Earth.

Kara Thrace
Battlestar Galactica
240 words

Color me Blue

How is it possible to love and hate a color at the same time? I always loved the blue of the sky when I would lie in the grass and watch the clouds as a little girl. I guess it only made sense that I would one day become a pilot and live in the depths of that deep blue… but there are other shades of blue, darker shades.

Those shades are the ones I hate. The blue that borders on black, which rings the outside of the bruises forming on your cheek when you’ve spoken out of turn. Or even darker, when a bone breaks, turning your hands near black, swollen and unusable… those are the shades of blue that colored my childhood.

As I’ve grown though. I’ve learned to appreciate the lighter shades of blue. The duty uniform I wear; the military is the only place I’ve ever really felt wanted or needed. The blue steel of a Mark VII Viper; my ticket to freedom… However, the best shade of blue there is belongs to the eyes that smile at me from across the bunkroom…

Blue eyes that stare right into my soul, tearing down carefully built walls. Touching me in ways even a lover’s hands cannot compete with, stealing my heart with every glance. Hard yet gentle at the same time… and always present. I’ve heard it said that clothes make the man… but not in this case. Blue eyes make Lee Adama.

Kara Thrace
Battlestar Galactica
246 Words

When in your life did you feel the most alone?

Alone is a feeling I have known all too well; though lately loneliness and I have gotten re-acquainted. Spending several days on a near barren planet that once was inhabited by billions of people is a lonely feeling, that is true… it doesn’t even begin to compare to true loneliness.

I first thought I felt it when I told Lee about passing Zak through basic flight… then set out on a potential suicide mission to gain intel on just what was waiting for us beyond that cloud, then weeks later, when had to make that same confession to Zaks’ father. It tore me up inside. The hurt in his eyes… I felt I had lost the only father I ever knew…

Weeks later, I would find out what it truly meant to be lonely. I found out that the man I trusted as a father had lied to all of us… he had no idea where we were going… Lee was angry with me for yet another one of my many screw ups… I tried to apologize… tried to make things right…
That’s when I learned what it truly felt like to be alone. I said I was sorry… and he just walked away.

Kara Thrace
Battlestar Galactica
204 Words

Have you ever betrayed someone's confidence? Has anyone ever betrayed you? Write a ficlet on the theme of betrayal.

Betrayal… The utter devastation of the fragile trust between us all. It can be carefully planned, intentional secrets withheld through a misguided belief that it is for the greater good. Or it may be a harsh word spoken in the heat of an argument. Either way the knife cuts as deep.

Betrayer or betrayed? I am both.

I unknowingly betrayed my best friend when I left the Colonial Day celebrations on the arm of another. Honestly I had no indications that he saw me as more than a friend… that on some level he saw me as his girl…

Ironically I had always wanted that to be the case, but too much had happened over the years. There was as much friction as there was fire between us. If I am honest with myself, I know I have loved him a long time… years… I wanted so desperately for it to be his arms that held me, his breath hot against my neck, his flesh searing against mine… wanted so much that I betrayed my heart, letting another take me, the betrayal complete when Lee’s name slipped from my lips…

Only a few hours later he would confront me on my betrayal; airing the hurt and pain he felt ( Your just a pilot, I’m just a CAG) in front of a deck full of grunts and knuckledraggers. His words stung ( a pilot who can’t keep her pants on) but I knew he was hurting. I myself would not understand just how much betrayal hurt until later.

Commander Adama has no idea where Earth is. He never did. He made it up; in order to give people hope.

Her words were still ringing in my ears as I caught up with him on the catwalk overlooking the hangar deck. A few casual words were exchanged before I couldn’t hold it in any longer.

Can I ask you a question Boss...? I know he wouldn’t lie to me directly… he just wouldn’t…

Sure

How much longer til we reach Earth? There… its asked…

Its hard to say… It wasn’t a direct answer…. But it was a start…

Got a guess?

You know I don’t like to guess… Come ON… I know you know, just tell me you know… I could feel the sickening feeling rising. He wouldn’t look me in the eye…

We getting closer? This is me… come on, you know you can tell me anything… I’m giving you an out.

I’m sure we are… he stepped back from the railing… Good luck on the jump test tomorrow… With those last words he turned and walked away, never having looked me in the eye since I asked the first question, never seeing my heart, my faith in him shattered… He lied. He lied to the fleet…. He really didn’t know… he lied… he lied to me….

The man I held as close as my own father didn’t trust me with the truth. So he lied and I finally understood just how deep the cut of betrayal is felt.

Kara Thrace
Battlestar Galactica
511 words

The Ring

2010-01-04T22:31:00.002-08:00

Another drabble I wrote just after seeing first episogde of season 1... I had a desperate need to explain why she didn't have the rin on in the mini but did once we saw her in season 1.

A ring…. A simple silver band… something so small for the significance it carries. It was to have been his, but the Lords saw fit to punish my lack of judgment by taking him from me… I still vividly recall the day of the funeral.

As I stood in front of my locker, fastening the final clasp on the sash of my dress uniform, there sat the box on the shelf. It was exactly where it had been since I bought it three months before… but now it seemed to stare right at me. As if my hands were acting of their own will I reached for the box, taking the ring from its velvet cage, placing it securely on my left thumb… a reminder that he should have been at my side.

There it remained throughout the day, and throughout the next several weeks… until the day I set foot on the Galactica for the first time. That day the ring returned to its velvet box on the shelf in my locker, where it sat for two years. Until today…

Why today? 24 hours ago everything was as it should be… The Galactica was to be decommissioned… we were all hanging in limbo, waiting for out next postings… I was returning to Picon… the final flight with my squadron was only hours away… a flight I missed due to getting into a little disagreement with the XO. We never saw it coming… after 40 years we were thrown into the midst of a war, forced to fight in vipers that were classed as museum pieces. And I had my first real taste of combat.

None of us could have been prepared for this… but we were here… My hands were still shaking from the adrenaline of landing two linked vipers, thus saving the life of one of my best friends… it was the least I could do… after all… I killed his brother. I reach for the velvet box one more time, taking the ring and slipping it on again, to remind me not only of what I had lost… but of all that was still left to live for.

Activation

2010-01-04T22:31:00.001-08:00

This little drabble i wrote for a challenge WAY back just after the mini aired. It was a callenge issued to step into the mind of any character at a critical point... this is what happened.

With a nervous laugh, I get to my feet. I am now locked in a dark corridor with a total stranger… and from the look of his uniform, a powerful stranger. Adama… that’s what he said his name was…

Why is that name so familiar… I keep my distance from his type, we could not have met before. Being an arms dealer tends to make one suspicious of anyone in uniform… it’s a hazard of the job.

My ears are still ringing from the sounds of the explosion as I steady myself against the wall… “Do you know who you are” I hear the voice break through… but it is not his voice... he is talking to someone outside. There is no one in here but us… Of course I know who I am, I think to myself, what an absurd question. “Are you sure…” the voice echoes again.

It is not just a voice... but a chorus of voices… calling to something deep within.
Memories begin to flood in… memories I could never have experienced… things I could not know. The voices... they subside… I begin to understand… I must get out of here… the storm… I am no longer the man I once thought myself to be. I am so much more.

Humanity is inferior. I must get off this station. It is interfering with my signal… Adama can get me out… then he can be disposed of…

He asks if there is another way out…

I simply reply with a smile “Yeah…”

Secrets - Muse Topic

2010-01-04T22:29:00.000-08:00

What is the one thing about yourself that you don't want anyone to ever know?

Worthless…

Useless…

A mistake…

An accident…

Those are the words that paint my childhood. My mother never wanted me. And she made sure that I knew it. Ironically it would have been better had I been a boy. I know it sounds almost sexist to think that, but in this case it was the truth. I remember at an early age… when we used to go on outings… my mother would dress me in boys clothes… she kept my hair cropped short and never called me by the name my father had given me. Instead she referred to me by my middle name, which was so generic no one questioned. Until I was six everyone thought I was a boy… and she was happy. Then I started school and I was suddenly forced to be a little girl… The called my by my first name, sent me to the girls washroom… and I questioned her… That’s when it started.

My Mother never wanted a daughter.

Girls are so clumsy… she used to tell me. And so many times she was right, falls down the stairs that left bumps and bruises for weeks, accidentally bumping the piano hard enough that the cover crashed down on my fingers… running into a door, breaking my nose for the third time… Even the doctors suspected how clumsy I was, but before I could say anything we would move away and it would start all over… new doctors, new hospitals and a clumsy little girl.

Mom always wanted a son.

Maybe she would be proud of me now; I ended up in the military just as she wanted for her son… I can out fly anyone in the fleet; no-one can beat me on the firing range… I drink, smoke cigars and bullshit with the best. I run with the big dogs, take your money at the card table and break hearts and bodies in the bedroom… My theory in life is to kick ass and ask questions later.

Everything I know I learned from her… She made me into a prodigal son to be proud of. Except she made one mistake…

I am a woman, and proud of it.

I will not let the past rear its ugly head again… I can’t afford to dwell on what once was. I need to be strong now more than ever and to allow myself to luxuriate in self pity would leave me weak. I can’t be weak; it would jeopardize the remnants of my civilization. Too many people count in me to be strong. So the past will stay where it belongs… Dead and buried.

Kara Thrace
Battlestar Galactica
468 words

Sleepless Night - Definitely Adult

2010-01-04T22:26:00.000-08:00

Written for a friend, she gave the topic, I wrote

It was just past 0200 and she still couldn’t sleep. The rhythmic footfalls on the deck were doing nothing to ease the restless energy that was keeping her awake. She had hoped going for a run would be enough to be able to achieve even a restless sleep; after all it had worked many times before in the past weeks. This time, however, it wasn't nightmares that were keeping her awake. It was anticipation.

After over a year out of the cockpit, tomorrow she was back in the cockpit. Mid day CAP… It had been far too long, much longer than she would have liked. So damned much had happened. Most of which she would rather forget. Feelings, emotions she shouldn’t have had… still shouldn’t have. She shook her head. This was not going to help her present sleepless situation, and if she didn't sleep soon, Cottle wouldn’t give her the clearance come morning.

Kara needed to do something, and she needed to do it now. Maybe, just maybe a trip down to the flight deck would help. She'd spent many nights down there in the past, if it had worked before why not this time? She asked herself, knowing that the true answer was she was just too wound up to wait till morning. Altering her route she pushed on towards the hanger deck, jogging along the high causeway, the vipers lined up in their bays below. Her eyes lit up as she approached bay 14 on Deck C… There, right where it should be, in her preferred spot, looking sleek and strong. Her viper… She couldn’t see the name plate, but she could see the tail number.

Twenty three steps, one turn and down a half flight of stairs and she was standing just off the shoulder of its wing, halfway to the deck. The feral grin on her face was evident even to her as she took in the nameplate, every detail as it should be. It looked as though it had been just recently done, prepared just for her return. She should have known though, the chief had said he would look out for her… and making her bird stand out like it was new off the line was just his way of doing it. She stepped over the rail, one foot briefly touching the wing as she climbed into the cockpit.

Sinking down into the seat of the Mark VII felt… Gods it was hard to even put a description on it. The foam of the seat had just the right give, designed to protect back and neck from the effects of a high G launch, it had a tendency to sink just a little when not in the air, the soft leather cupping the body like a gentle embrace.

She closed her eyes and ran her hand over the console, remembering, knowing what each button was for, as well as just how hard you needed to push each one, and when… Her hand ghosted over the controls, seeking out the startup sequence, not pressing but just hovering. She could almost feel the vibrations as she recalled the feel of the Dual Voram engines coming to life, the high Voram kicking in seconds later. The intense power at her fingertips… Her hand instinctively shifted to the flight stick, closing around the perfectly formed base, fingers relaxed against the controls.

In her mind she ran over dogfight after dogfight, the feel of pushing this magnificent creature to its limits… every shake and pull brought on by high G maneuvers… her first thought was that it was better than sex… followed by her body responding with a very clear 'Yeah could use some of that too…' A smirk played across her lips. It wouldn’t be the first time… and just maybe it would wind her down enough to let her sleep. A glance around told her this end of the deck was empty… third shift was working at the far end on rebuilding another viper…. Closing her eyes she sunk back into the chair, the hand not on the controls coming up to brush over her breast, lightly squeezing, her thumb brushing over the nipple, already hard from the slight chill in the air. She let her fingers trace light circles around the nipple, brushing across every so often, drawing out the sensation… just like the controls of the viper, she knew all the right places, the right sequence… she relinquished her hold on the flight stick and brought her other hand up to her other breast, mirroring the actions. Slow, light touches, over and over… hands gently squeezing….mmmm yes… that was definitely the startup sequence…. She could feel the heat coiling in her, thighs aching, begging for contact… not yet...

Hands sliding down ver her stomach, she fond the hem of her shirt, slipping one hand beneath, sliding further up, pushing her bra up over the top of her breast, half exposing her to anyone who might have been passing on the catwalk overhead. She didn't care… all that mattered was that her thumb and forefinger found the nipple, pinching lightly.

Her breath was already rapid, heavy, punctuated by soft whimpers as she let herself get lost in the sensation… She'd never done anything halfway… pleasuring herself was no exception… she always drew it out to its fullest.

The hand at the hem of her shirt slipped lower, brushing over her thigh, teasing, taunting, the ache becoming near unbearable as it shifted between slightly parted thighs, brushing back and forth over the fabric of her shorts that kept eager fingers from pushing into her. Instead she continued to stroke over the material, lightly squeezing the mound of flesh, palm pushing hard against her clothed crotch, building the tension higher and higher until she could feel the damp head through the fabric. Definitely time…

She brought the hand up as her other pushed the other side of her bra up, fully exposing her chest as she turned attentions to the other breast. Finding the waistband of her running shorts she slipped her hand beneath, fingers seeking out the heat like missiles, rocketing straight to her core. She shifted, sinking lower to let her knees fall open, two fingers locking on, sinking in… the fleshy pad at the base of her thumb settling against her clit, each movement brushing it just enough…

Hips bucked lightly against her hand, breathing hard…. The sound of metal banging on metal down the deck masking the throaty moans, body sweat slick and trembling, she pushed on. Just a little more… the ache turning to a pulse… a burn… threatening to sear her alive from the inside out. She could almost see spots behind her eyes, a sensation so close to G-LOC… and she broke, biting back a scream, so intense she bit into her lip, breaking the skin.

She was still a moment, chest heaving to catch her breath as she straightened her clothes. It was a few moments before she could move. She knew she needed to get up and go now, sleep already threatening to carry her away. It took every effort she cold muster to haul herself up out of the cockpit and make her way back up the stairs to the catwalk. Continuing to the nearest hatch she glanced back, just able to see the nose of her bird before disappearing through the hatch. Maybe it wasn't so crazy for her to love a machine after all…

Shattered Glass - Muse Topic

2010-01-04T22:23:00.000-08:00

For a time i was a member of a writing group that had you adopt a character and write on specific topics... here are some of he results.

Character Name: Kara Thrace
Origin: Battlestar Galactica
Prompt: August 2006 prompt: Picture 1 (Broken glass)
Word Count: 460
Rating: PG

Shattered glass is everywhere… every turn every corner. I know instinctively its not really there… not here on this desolate rock. But, back home on its namesake… the last memories I have of the once beautiful cities are blocks and blocks of shattered glass…

Very little else was disturbed. It was eerie. Great cities now ghost towns. No people in sight, no birds, no bodies… just the sound of shattered glass crunching beneath your feet with every step.

It’s a strange irony that the image of shattered glass fits us so well now. We're a shattered people, torn and divided. Scattered across this strange new world… Not long ago we were united, searching for a common goal. Then we settled, lost focus, lost the drive. That’s when they came back and broke us once more. Scattering pieces of a once vast civilization to the winds…

Now we can't even look at one another… some have chosen to throw in the towel, to give their lives over to servitude. Others have taken to the hills and fight with every fiber of their being. Then there are those of us who are caught in between… neither collaborator no resistance… just prisoners.

Each day is going through the motions, just existing. Wondering if this will be the day my death warrant is signed, if today is the day I will tell him no and he will listen. Or will I kill him again? Its become a morbid ritual. At least once I week I kill him now… I don't even have to think about it anymore; yesterday it was with a butter knife at the dinner table. I know he can't die, not really. They just download him into a new body and he comes back again. He doesn’t even mention it, just carries on with trying to convince me this is where I belong, that he loves me… despite the fact he's died at my hands at least five or six times now.

Its almost become a way to cope, my only protest…

I look in the mirror…the glass is intact, but the woman it reflects is shattered. I don't know who I am anymore. He's breaking me down piece by piece… his love is so strong… so unconditional. I don't know how to deal with that. Instinctively I know he's a machine, but then again, he's more human than some people I've called a friend. More human than other's I've loved… Has he succeeded? Do I hate him so much because he's made me love him?

Outside the window the legions of centurions march along the street below. I don't hear the grinding of gears or the clamor of the metal… all I can hear is the crunching of shattered glass.

Two Poems

2010-01-04T22:16:00.000-08:00

Skin Deep

Beauty is skin deep
Hear it over and over
But it’s a lie
Does anyone really care what’s under the surface
Does anyone look?

Nobody wants to take the time
Nobody really cares
Nobody tries to understand the ones who aren’t beautiful
They just don’t exist

Theo only see what I see
The monster in the mirror
Abomination
Unacceptable
Just not good enough

If they did look inside
They would see I feel
I hurt
I cry
I am still human.

Erosion

Everyone’s rock
Holding up he weight of the world
Shouldering tears and triumph
Promise and pain
Frustration

Strong as stone
Worn by time.
Tears and pain etch away at my surface
Like a waterfall eats the rock
Chipping away
Until the stone crumbles
And nothing is left

Stranger in a Strange Land - Chapter 11 FF/BSG Fic

2010-01-04T22:13:00.000-08:00

Reluctantly, he let his hand slip away from her waist. She was going to tell him what he'd feared; that his touch was unwelcome now they were partners rather than just friends, that they had to keep a line between them now they were working together. He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to see hers as she told him. He forced himself to keep thinking of the only upside; they could at least still be friends. There was too much between them - too much shared - for them to stop being that, surely?

She looked away at first, afraid he may not want to hear what she had to say. Words weren't her strong point, but he hat to know.. she had to know where they stood... She took a careful breath, staying in his embrace.

"I fell in love with a friend once. Turns out he had fallen for me too, but we never told one another. There was too much between us back then, things that over time became less and less relevant but we still let it hang between us. We focused everything on our friendship... each of us trying only once to take it beyond that point... but we always hit the same walls. In time we both moved on, found other people to love... and in doing that drove a rift between us that was uncrossable. "

He listened to her draw breath, ready to start talking ... felt his heart sinking when he opened his eyes only to see her turn her head away, avoiding his gaze. He fought the urge to turn away himself, knowing that he might never get to hold her this close again when she turned him away.

He listened to her talk, the words making her move slightly against him, telling her of her friend ... her love ... that she'd let pass by, that had drifted away. He could understand that; he knew just from the way he felt when he looked at her that he'd be risking everything to tell her he wanted more than friendship, that it would destroy him if he'd said anything and she'd said no.

Then she turned back to him, hazel-green eyes open, everything about her bare in them. And she said it. He knew that she was braver than sin ... but she actually said it. He couldn't keep a slight tremble out of his arms as he looked at her, too stunned ... too happy ... to even think of breathing. He smiled, softly at first, then wider. Wonder evident in his voice, he spoke softly. "Darlin' .... Kara, don't you see? I'm already yours. You found me, dyin' in some ratpit from too much booze and too much death... and you saved me. You made me whole again ... you fly like an angel, fight like the devil, and touch me like you're made out of pure fire. Fallin' for you? I fell for you hard that night we shared a bathtub and more; I've been walkin' round here like a bison on eggshells, tryin' to avoid driving you away by askin' too much..."

She took a nervous breath, turning her face to look at him; watching his face... knowing he was likely thinking the worst. "The biggest mistake I made was never really telling him how i felt, because i was afraid to take a chance, that it would ruin what we had if we tried for something more... I won't make that mistake again." Her voice wavered a little and she took a calming breath before continuing. "I think I'm falling in love with you Mal Reynolds... And I don't want to stop falling."

She had to fight back the urge to cry... his words touching her, dispelling the fear she had held that he would push her away, that she would have to live with him day after day knowing he wasn't interested... but instead he stole her breath when he spoke.

No words could have described the way she felt at that moment... even if she could have spoken them. So she did the only thing she knew felt right. She brought her hands to cup his face, pulling him in to a long, emotion packed kiss that left her trembling in its wake.

When she kissed him, it was as if she were pouring everything she was, everything she felt into it... and he found himself responding in kind, unable to even think, let alone try and speak. His arms moved up from her waist, wrapping around her, trapping her arms between them as he held her close.

The breadth of emotion she was throwing at him left him literally breathless, unable to do anything but gaze into her eyes when she broke the kiss off, everything else about who they were and where they were lost to him.

It took a moment for her to catch her breath, a playful smile spreading across her face, eyes locked onto his. "You love me? You really love me?" She asked in an almost singsong voice. "There's no take backs you know.."

It was childish in a way, true. but she needed to hear him say it... that would make it real...

He wasn't one to ever back down - unless he needed to. "Take backs? Why would I want a take back?" He leaned against her, tipping her head back a little so that their noses touched, his mouth almost on top of hers. "I love you, Kara Thrace."

The playful grin that had been on her face was replaced with a smile that lit up her eyes. Just hearing him say it, so confidently.... it soothed away old aching memories and wrapped her in a comfortable blanket of warm feelings. "I love you too, Malcom Reynolds..." She whispered softly before closing the distance between them, her lips brushing his once more.

He loved that playful grin of hers. Every time he saw it, it warmed him through, shining like a beacon in the dark ... but it wasn't anything like that slow, glorious smile that replaced it. And she loved him. Him, Malcolm Reynolds. That was the last thing he thought of as he felt her lips move to brush against his, soft and open. He knew one thing for certain; he was never going to get tired of kissing her.

She sighed softly against his mouth, savouring the kiss as he pressed her back against the wall. They had come so far in so little time together. Everything just felt right with him...

For weeks, he'd been on tenterhooks around her, not knowing whether their first hectic, passionate days together had been just a once off, a reaction to stress and too much trauma ... or maybe something more. Now, with his arms around her, lips moving softly against his... everything meant more. Each kiss felt like the first, shaking him down to his boot soles.

She groaned softly, kissing him long and slow. Lords but she'd missed this... they had backed off of one another when they'd fallen into getting Serenity ready to fly... but it had been painful. She'd ached every moment wanting to touch him again. But she didn't want to drive him away. She'd done that far too many times already. She needed this. needed him... the rest of the 'verse be damned.

He'd been scared of pushing her away; with no-one else in the 'verse left who gave a damn, she'd become the only solid thing left, the person he could count on. They'd worked together on the Serenity, talked the days away, inches from touching but always a little held back; he'd thought she was keeping her distance, but truth was, they'd both paused, unsure of where the other was. Well, he knew where he was, where he wanted to be; right here with her. When the kiss finally broke, he moved to keep one hand on her cheek, softly brushing her skin with his thumb as he stared at her for a second, smiling softly; then he bent to kiss her again, tasting those soft, red lips again.

She pulled back from the kiss slowly, swallowing hard. "How about... we forget lunch..." She brought her hand to his cheek and kissed him again, a little deeper, hungrier.

He watched her swallow... she looked so tender, so ... vulnerable. The kiss did more than shake him to his boots; it made his blood turn to fire. He felt the folded cuff of his shirt slide a little more towards his elbow as he stroked her cheek again, and when the kiss finally ended... he sighed softly, and said the first thing came to mind. "I think... I forgot everything else in the verse but you first instant you kissed me... and I want to do a whole lot more than kiss you..."

"Then what are you waiting for..." She said, her voice low, gravelly with emotion. "its been to damned long..."

He didn't hesitate; jaw set, he started moving quickly towards his quarters, one hand catching hers to tow her along with him. "I thought... you might not want to be more than friends. Didn't want to drive you away. Now... wu de ma, I ain't never lettin' you go."

She gripped his hand following him. "Damned right you're not..." She grinned as they reached his quarters. She took hold of the ladder and climbed down, dropping the last few rungs as she jumped down.

He dropped straight down, feet slowing his impact; he couldn't be bothered to wait long enough to climb safely. His knees bent as he hit the deck, but he used the momentum, turning to catch her in his arms, mouth moving to seek hers out hungrily, the intensity of his kiss a sharp contrast to the gentle touch of his arms.

She groaned, pressing into him, returning the kiss hungrily, aching for him, Gods they'd wasted so much time dancing around already... she had been a little scared of the intensity of her feelings for him at first, but when they had both pulled back... that had scared her even more... She needed this. Needed him... her hands found their way to his shirt, fisting into the fabric as she kissed him long and hard.

He kept his arms around her, too intent to shake, much though he felt like he was trembling inside. every taste of her, every touch had seemed like drinking paradise in human form. She was soft through the fabric of her shift, soft and warm. He'd told himself he could do without her touch if she just wanted friendship and no more; he'd been lying like Bester in heat. He couldn't do without her any more than he could do without air.

He tugged her shirt up out of the britches she wore, pulling her braces down so that the shirt hung lose around her hips. He kept kissing her, not bothering with undoing her buttons; instead, he simply gathered two large handfuls of her shirt and started lifting it in one piece, up towards her shoulders.

She pulled back, lifting her arms so he could pull the shirt off before her hands went back to his shirt, tugging at the last buttons before shoving it off his shoulders, fingers tracing down newly exposed skin as her mouth south his once more.

He let the shirt flutter to the ground unnoticed, his mouth moving down to kiss softly along the line of her jaw and down along the side of her neck, nuzzling softly as his hands moved slowly, fingertips tracing along her shoulders and down her back.

"Gods... I've missed you..." she whispered, burying her face into his neck, letting her hands roam over shoulders, gently gripping biceps before moving to his back, down to his waist.

He could feel her hands exploring him gently, same way he was hers... none of the frenzied urgency of their first time. He traced over the skin of her back, feeling the muscles shift underneath as she moved; he ghosted his hands around her hips, tracing the line of her pants before moving up over her stomach, his lips only leaving her neck once ... to whisper "Wanted you so much..."

She moved to slip a hand beneath his chin, lifting his mouth to hers once more. "You've got me..." She breathed against his lips before kissing him slow and sensual.

Her mouth was hot and hungry against his, and he couldn't help but respond in kind; one of his hands moved up to her hair, keeping her mouth pressed tight against his as he walked her backwards towards the bunk, following her down onto it when the bunk hit the back of her knees.

The weight of him over her wrapped her in a warmth she couldn't even begin to compare. Her hands ghosted down his back settling over his hips as her fingertips traced along the waistband of his trousers, barely dipping below as her mouth moved to his neck, trailing down to the hollow of his throat.

When she started to move down towards his neck he moved his mouth up, kissing the tip of her nose, then slowly along the line of her forehead and across her temple towards her ear, where he paused to gently nibble gently on her earlobe. Not wanting to take his eyes off her, he moves his hands slowly down to bring her knee up so that he could start tugging her boot free, lips never leaving her body.

She slipped her foot from her boot, chuckling a little when she heard it hit ground a short distance away. She brought her bootless foot to hook over his leg, pressing her hips to his with slow, deliberate movements.

He moaned softly as she pulled him close, stroking herself against him with slow, even movements that sent the blood singing through his ears. He paused for a second, trying to breathe, then moved his hips slowly against hers, pressing down against her through the fabric of their remaining clothes, his mouth moving to let him nip softly at the nape of her neck.

The feel of him rubbing against her sent a jolt of delicious heat surging through her, her heart racing as she responded back with a slow, erotic grind of her hips. She managed to work her other foot free of its boot using the side of the bed, before wrapping her other foot over his leg.

She was wrapped around him, legs and arms pulling him tight. He had to stop to rub his feet together, working his boots to drop away; one, he heard clatter to the deck; the other shot off somewhere, landing with the sound of breaking glass... but whatever that was, it wasn't important. He reached up and titled her chin back, letting him kiss his way down from the point of her chin to the notch at the base of her throat as his hips started to move again, spiralling inside the circle her legs created, rubbing deliciously against her.

"Gods Mal..." she gasped, her body arcing beneath his, pressing against him. She shifted her weight, rolling him so she was sitting astride him, hands on his shoulders as she ground her hips against him, bucking and grinding slowly as she nipped at his lip.

Oh, he liked that. He found himself grinning faintly, same way he did when he could feel that winning hand come through; lord, but she was sweeter than any victory in battle, any hooch he'd ever tasted. Seeing as she'd put him so perfectly in place, he had to oblige; he let his hips move automatically, slowly rolling and grinding up against her as he ghosted his hands up to tug her bra free, letting her fill his hands with the soft gentle warmth of her breasts, palms and fingers slowly moving.

A low, sensual moan escaped her and she ground down against him harder, feeling his need for her even through the layers of clothing... gods but she felt so damned good, the way he touched... just right... and gods yes‚Ä¶ right there... She leaned forward slightly, sweat damp hair tumbling over her face as she continued to work her hips against his, trembling with each movement now, so frakkin' close...

He moved his head up to kiss her softly, her hair thick around their faces as he arched his back; the kiss tasted of her, hot and smoky-sweet, but the movement pulled him away from her, and he couldn't live with that. He sank back against the bed, pressing up against her as she rocked against him, his breath coming in short, sharp gasps. He swept his palms slowly along the underside of her breasts, then ghosted his thumbs across her nipples, lightly at first, then more heavily, slowly rolling and teasing them.

"Oh... oh gods...'' she gasped, her body quivering as she pressed against him, trying to keep the rhythm steady as she shattered, waves of raw pleasure coursing over her as she gripped his shoulders.

He watched her as she broke, hands moving to sweep around to her back, pulling her down against him. He cradled her in his arms as she shuddered, his arms shaking from the surge of pleasure she'd sent through him. Her bare skin was felt like hot electricity against his chest, his lips seeking hers out automatically.

"Love you..."' she gasped, nuzzling his neck, hands trailing over his chest. Gently she rolled her finger around one nipple, her mouth finding his neck, biting lightly, then suckling the reddened skin.

He moved his hand up, catching and twirling a lock of her hair between thumb and forefinger before stroking gently along the line of her ear. "I love you, too... more'n this ship, even..." he whispered, then hissed softly as she bit his neck. Even that sent a ripple through him, emanating out from her sharp white teeth. He moved to grasp her hips, lifting them up a little from him so that he could slip one hand between them, starting to work at the fastenings on her britches.

She braced her hands against his shoulders, forcing herself upwards, sitting back up to give him access to her pants even as she began to work on his, slowly unfastening them

For some reason, he couldn't help chuckling softly as their hands worked in tandem. "Always did love a woman who looked good in a pair of britches... and I ain't never seen one look as good as you." He grinned at her, eyes shining as he tugged her up by her waistband, slipping her pants over her hips slowly.

She grinned, rolling off of him as she kicked the pants off, flinging them away with a kick, resulting in another crash against the floor.

He bucked his hips up off the bed, pulling his pants and shorts off together in a few jerked motions, kicking his legs until they fell against the deck. "Good thing I wasn't wearing a fightin' iron..." he muttered before rolling onto his side, slipping an arm around her. "And now the only thing protectin' your virtue is some feminine undergarments..." he muttered, bending his head to nip at the base of her throat, stinging the skin a flushing red.

She groaned, arching against him as his mouth found her neck once more. "I.. I think you can take care of that... can't you?" She asked, slow and teasing, her hand guiding his to her hip.

He let his hand rest on her hip for a few seconds, fingers slowly stroking. "It might take me a few moments... I might get all distracted..." he murmured against her neck, his hand slipping under the elastic of her panties, running down along the notch of her hip to slip completely inside that last piece of clothing, his fingers slowly stroking along her core.

A low moan escaped her, hips pressing onto his hand as he touched her, already slick and hot, aching for his touch. "Gods...." she gasped, breathless.

He ran his fingers slowly back and forth along her, feeling them glide over her skin already slick for him. "You have any idea how good you feel?" he whispered, having to pull his mouth back from her neck so that he could get back some smidgen of control. He leant his forehead against hers, his arm moving around her shoulders to keep her close. He kept moving his fingers slowly along her until her eyes flickered open. He stared into those perfect hazel-green eyes of hers, and slipped a finger gently inside her, stroking softly.

Her fingers instantly dug into his shoulders, her hips pushing against his hand. "Oh... Oh gods Mal..." She groaned, small tremors already working through her as she ground against his hand, her breath short and ragged.

"Maybe ... maybe we should let you ... keep those feminine undergarments, and just... do this a lot." He couldn't help the wide, feral grin on his face at the sight of her, mouth open and eyes shut as she groaned. He kept moving his hand gently, finally slipping a second finger in too work with the first; the feeling of her clamping around his fingers... dear lord in heaven.

She gasped, pressing her hips down onto his hand, hips writhing against him, "gods Mal... Want you..." her breath hitched as her body trembled, tightening around his fingers.

He slipped his fingers out of her slowly. He had to go slowly; if he didn't, then he'd lose more than just the power of thought. He ran his fingers back to the elastic again, slowly working her panties down her legs until he could drop them onto the floor; that done, he shifted, moving to lie against her as his arms moved around her again. He kissed his way slowly back up her jaw then paused, trembling. He looked at her for a second, eyes soft and open, then without saying a word started to slowly slip into her as he kissed her softly again, breath sighing out of him.

She met his eyes, holding his gaze as he pressed into her, the sensation making her skin tingle. She fought the urge to close her eyes, instead she watched, arching against him as he sunk into her, filling her, more than just physically, emotionally.... gods but she needed him....

She rose up around him like a healing balm, until he felt as if his entire being had been enfolded in soft warmth. She was so utterly perfect... felt so utterly perfect... and her eyes were enough to swallow him whole, leave him floating in perfect bliss. "Love you..." he whispered... the only words he seemed to be capable of.

Her response was a breathless, feather-soft brush of her lip over his, fingers tangling in his hair as she moved with him, arching and grinding her hips to his, savouring each movement.

The feather-light kisses seemed perfect for the moment... he started matching her soft, open mouthed kisses with his own, moving himself slowly against her, every movement letting them arch together, move together, grind together.

She wrapped her legs over his, fingers gripping hold of his shoulders again as she strained against him, so damned close to breaking....she gasped sharply, her voice sinking into a low, sensual moan.

He shivered as she gasped sharply in his ear; he could feel himself racing towards the edge with every movement, and the way she strained up against him, moved with him and against him... he felt his head come to rest next to hers, gasping sharply as he started to shake. "Kara..." he whispered...

"Gods‚Ä¶ love you..." She moaned, breaking over the edge, a wash of raw pleasure coursing over her, fingers digging into his shoulders, her face buried against his neck to muffle the screams that escaped her.

He shuddered hard against her, losing all sense of rhythm as he broke, growling out a deep moan of satisfied pleasure, his arms pulling her up tight against him. He heard her say she loved him again... but it was seconds before he had the breath to answer her, his vision drawn down to red-flecked darkness for a few seconds. "Love you ... too. Love you ... so much..." He found himself rocking her gently in his arms, her legs still wrapped tightly around him.

She looked up at him, her hand brushing over his cheek. "So where do we go from here, Captain?" She gave him a soft, sly smile, content to just rest in his arms for now...

Stranger in a Strange Land - Chapter 10 FF/BSG Fic

2010-01-04T22:12:00.000-08:00

Four days. Just four days after Mal kicked bester off Serenity and hired Kaylee they were in the air... Serenity was actually in the air. Kara was in her element' for now. She knew deep down they needed another pilot, she and Mal were partners, and they worked together. Which meant that there was no one around to have Serenity ready if things didn't go so well.

It wasn't as though they intended to get into scrapes and tight spots, but they were known to happen... and things like that had a habit of following her around. For the moment, however she was content to be flying again.

Kara'd lifted Serenity off the ground gentle as a bird ... one that didn't make those vigorous flapping motions and flap into things on takeoff, too. He'd got them a decent contract, shipping agri supplies out to New Horizons. Of course, that's what the paperwork called the planet, now trying to be all respectable like now it was supposed to be on the alliance flick, but the man hiring him had been happily calling the place "Crotch." No pretensions ... much more his sort of place. Of course, there was under alliance control and under alliance control; the agri supplies would be useful, but the black market template constructor stashed inside one of their bulkheads, that'd get them a pretty penny more.

Still, they were up. Flying. Flying free, in fact; he'd spent a fair amount of time up on the bridge, staring out the window. He'd seen more worlds than he'd liked during the war, all of them in a bad way, but he'd never had the chance to just sit and watch. Of course, Kara was off busy a lot of the time too; Kaylee knew more about engines and technical stuff than Mal cared to think about, and Kara was helping her out. He'd been banished from the engine room after trying to help .... how did he know that bit didn't like being prodded with a screwdriver?

Still, she was up on the bridge now, as they were getting near some gravitational eddy they'd need to move the ship round, and he had a fancy to watch her work. So, he'd done a little work in the kitchen, then set off for the bridge, clutching two steaming mugs, a third waiting in the galley for Kaylee whenever she was ready. Of course, he'd had to trade in a few belongings to get it... but he had a feeling that as his crew was two thirds female, having enough of the best powdered hot drinking chocolate he could find aboard to last three months would help keep things running happy.

The hatch to the bridge was open, so he stepped carefully over the raised step. "Hey there, darlin'. Thought you could do with this, seein' as you're going to be doin' the hard work for a while..."

She looked over and couldn't hide the broad smile that spread across her face. With all the work they'd been doing on Serenity, they'd hardly had but a minute to spend in one another's company. And what little time they did manage usually found one of them sound asleep before they could even talk. She took the offered mug, her smile growing wider. "Gods this is just what I need..." She took a sip, groaning a little.

She had to keep her attention on the controls, despite her making it look effortless. "We've got a large gravity well a few hundred clicks ahead... not an uncommon anomaly... but they can be tricky." She gave him a reassuring smile. "They can also be very handy... how'd you like to get to Crotch a day early and on half the fuel?" her smile widened into a feral grin, eyes sparkling.

Dear lords, but whenever she groaned... He sat down quickly in the co-pilot seat, trying to avoid spilling hot chocolate down himself in the process. "I thought you could do with a drop. Got to look after my gi... " He tried to cover, frantically. "Crew, after all..."

"So those old nav charts we paid out for are already makin' themselves useful? Or..." He gave her a quirky half-grin. "Or is that the intrepid Starbuck talking of usin' her secret pilot knowledge to bounce us well ahead and confound everyone with her derring-do?" He didn't have much idea what derring-do was, but it was in one of those old talking films and sounded like something she'd do.

So, a day early and half the fuel... that'd be a nice bit of extra cash to throw in the pot, and it'd get them a good reputation. He sipped from his mug, and grinned. "Saving us time and money... not bad. Not to bad at all, darlin'."

"Well... then I suggest you finish up that mug and strap in. I'll show you a little trick." She drank a good portion of her own mug before reaching for the comm. "Buckle yourself in somewhere Kaylee... it might get a touch bumpy in the next few minutes." She finished her mug and set it down on the floor.

He polished off his chocolate in fairly short order, watching her work as much as he did the view out of the window. He wedged his empty mug against a convenient control, and asked "So will this little trick be as impressive as the last?"

He strapped himself in, and couldn't help saying "So when you say bumpy ... you mean..."

"I think you'll be fairly impressed..." She gave him a saucy wink. "And by bumpy I mean hang on tight. Going to use a little trick I learned at the academy, with small craft its used as an emergency measure, can shake them right apart. Big ships like battlestars, doesn't work, their mass is just too great, but Serenity, she's just the right size." She commented as she maneuvered Serenity so that they were heading straight into the gravity well, picking up speed.

He chuckled at her wink... and then realized what she was saying. "Ta ma de..." He shifted his feet under the console and braced against the support struts as the gravity well started to seize hold of the ship.

"Kara, this is our nice new ship here... you break it and kill me, I'm going to be a mite upset..." Well, this was going to be interesting ... and just how sure was she of the ships mass. He drew a breath in, and waited for the ride to get bumpy. Well ... bumpier.

She kept focused as they neared the edge, reversing the thrusters just enough to hold position, letting Serenity swing around the center of the well, shaking, but holding up well. After the ship began to swing around faster, she adjsuted the thrusters, spinning round and punching out, the small ship rocketing back out into space, cruising at nearly three times the speed they had been going previously, with thrusters cut. She looked over ad Mal and gave him a wink. "There ya go..." She couldn't help an amused chuckle at the expression on his face.

He was awful glad that he didn't suffer from motion sickness, the way the ship had bounced and juddered around on the way into the well... and back out again. Even so, he couldn't help feeling that his eyes were about to fall out of the front of his head.

"That's some real fancy flying' .... Are you going to be doing that a lot?" Her grin was infectious, and he couldn't help grinning back. "After all, you already make my life excitin' even when you aren't playin' with the vast and immutable forces of nature..."

"Only if you want me to... and we're not carrying something thats likely to make a mess..." She laughed, setting the ship on autopilot as it rode out the momentum of the slingshot. "Likely won't need to draw on the engines for a good half a day.

"That's good ... it'll give Kaylee more timr to shake 'em down, make sure she knows what makes this old girl tick." He dropped on hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. "You're one hell of a pilot, Kara. There anythin' you aren't good at?"

"Lots of things... but... nothing that matters really..." She gave him a smile, a hint of sadness in her eyes for a brief moment. "What say we enjoy the rest of the day... cook up something to eat and just be lazy a couple hours..."

He saw a flicker in her eyes, a quick look that reminded him of things he'd rather forget. "That sounds mighty fine to me, Kara." He wasn't quite sure what to do ... but if you can't do somethin' right, to something right now. Or somesuch. He tugged her up out of the chair easily, one arm going around her waist. "A little celebration sounds like just the thing."

She laughed as he tugged her up and swept her into an almost embrace. She took the liberty of pushing her limit and leaning in to plant a kiss on his cheek as they walked to the galley. "So... you gonna teach me how to cook?"

"Well now, that depends..." He shot her a quick grin, unable to help himself after that electric touch to his cheek. "What're you gonna teach me?" He bent and kissed her lightly on the forehead, steering them around the junction of the corridor towards the Galley

The easy banter and gentle affection was warm and comforting, familiar.. yet not. Thing had rarely ever come this easy... "What do you want me to teach you." She couldn't hide the almost seductive purr in her voice.

Lord, but he loved that voice, that throaty almost-purr. "What I'd like..." He had top stop himself short. Friends, remember? "Why don't you let me think on that one a while?"

"Alright... but don't make me wait too long..."

He stopped, one hand on the hatch trigger to the galley, his other arm snugged around that perfect waist. He kept her moving a little ahead of him, but didn't trigger the hatch straight away, instead just looking at her.

She turned to look at him, inquisitive eyes trying to read his expression. Lords but he was handsome... not to mention fun loving, kind hearted... and damned sexy... she had to fight the thoughts of the few times they had been together back when they first met up... before they had bought serenity... they had both pulled back then... but the feel of his hands on her still haunted her and made her ache and gods she had to stop thinking about it or he would know exactly what she was thinking...
"I don't like you lookin' sad, darlin'..." He was practically whispering, Kara tucked against him as the galley hatch turned the end of the corridor into a quiet alcove. She was so damned beautiful. "Angel like you shouldn't never have to look sad..." He couldn't help himself. She could push away if she wanted. He leaned his head forward to rest against hers, forehead to forehead; then, he dropped his head a little further and kissed her softly, keeping his touch gentle.

Her hands came up against his shoulders, hesitating a moment before slipping around his neck. She kissed him back, slow and gentle, her heart racing but her actions were tender.

He felt her hands slip around his neck, the touch achingly familiar from before, when they'd been together back on that dismal little world. He let go ofthe hatch control and let his hand instead float across to her, a finger stroking first through the hair of her temple and then down along the line of her ear, the kiss achingly sweet.

She let out a soft, contented sigh, letting herself sink into the kiss, savoring, each light brush of his lips over hers leaving her wanting more, the gentle caress of his hands making her want to scream at him to take her... If she could only admit to herself that she actually felt something more then friendship for him she just might have...

His hand ghosted down, stroking the side of her neck softly before moving down along the line of her back, touch just heavy enough to be felt through her clothes, his breath coming in short, soft noises as he let the kiss linger.

She tried to fight the emotion surging within her... tried to fight the fears of past relationships gone wrong... of losing someone she let get too close... She had fallen for her best friend and it ended up devastating their relationship... not because they gave in to that new level... but because they both fought it, tooth and nail, trying to hand on to something good, just in case better didn't work out... she couldn't go through that again... she couldn't take losing another friend. She pulled away slowly, her forehead pressed to his as she fought to get her breathing under control. "Mal... There... there's something I need to tell you..."

Stranger in a Strange Land - Chapter 9 FF/BSG Fic

2010-01-04T22:10:00.002-08:00

They'd hired a full-time mechanic and engineer, a guy named Bester. Pale-haired and tanned, he had a reputation as a genius mechanic; Mal wasn't so keen on him wandering around all shirtless and tanned in front of Kara, but it wasn't something he could stop without looking like he was jealous and possessive with no good cause to be.

He'd put his foot down as best he could with Kara, though; no more repair work that involved hitting anything with hammers, wrenches, pry bars or her head ... at least until her finger had healed up some. Course, no-one could tell Kara what to do when she had her mind set against it, but he'd managed to at least point her in the direction of the systems wiring, rather than the hard components themselves. Running wires and switching circuit boards didn't usually involve hitting things with hammers... although he kept off the bridge for a while, just in case.

He'd managed to secure them plenty of rations that looked to be decent quality and fresh food whilst they were in dock. It felt strange, having Bester aboard; where before there'd been a comfortably easy feeling, almost cozy come mealtimes when it'd just been two of them, now he seemed to be on edge. Of course, it didn't help none that Bester obviously thought Kara was worth considerably more than a once over. Still, she was her own woman; she wanted to take him up on his not-so-silent offer; that was her prerogative, not his.

He'd scrounged a remarkable amount of furniture, most of it old but still good; couches and chairs dotted one corner of the cavernous main bay, and a rugged little all terrain vehicle of the MULE pattern now hung from securing chains in that same bay. Next to what had once been the main med bay was a small room that seemed pretty fine for somewhere to sit, seeing as it could be compartmentalized, so he'd added a couple of leather couches and some odds and ends there, plus other bits for the crew quarters, empty or not.

Soon, they'd be ready to launch. That meant he should really be finding some sort of work for them.

It had taken her hours to get the wiring straightened out. There were more hacks and patches on the wiring than she'd ever seen on all of the G's old Mark II's put together. Theoretically, all she needed to do was to fire her up and things should run smooth. She was more than anxious to get the ship powered up and running, get her off the generators. She walked over to the console and started through the ignition sequence... and nothing. Time to track down where the next short was. Taking out the meter she started at the conduit to the bridge console itself... dead as a doornail, which meant that frakwit hadn't managed to get the engines online. She tossed down the meter and headed towards the engine room. "Bester! You better have a frakkin good reason why I've still got no engines online. You promised me they would be online YESTERDAY!" her temper was already flaring and she hadn't actually laid eyes on the supposedly genius mechanic yet.

Bester stood next to the engine shirt off to display his tattoos and coveralls belted around his waist. "What's with the bad karma? The engines'll be fixed when they're ready to be fixed. They ain't ready yet, they're just building up. Can't rush these things ... like a lot of other stuff..." He gave her a long, appraising look from toe to crown, and seemed to preen a little, pulling a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of the waistband of his coveralls.

With eyes blazing angrily she snatched the cigarettes from his hand. "I want those engines fixed now. Actually I want them fixed yesterday. And I don't want to hear that it can't be done..."
Apollo: "Oh, it can be done... just need parts, which I've gotta go to town for. Maybe pick up a few other supplies as well..." He looked at his cigarettes, not even phased by her. "Stealings bad karma, you know?"

She waved them beneath his nose. "Consider these... insurance. You get them back when I get power to the bridge... you understand that?" angrily she knocked on his head for emphasis. She was more than a little riled up, bordering on the adrenaline high she used to get from combat...

"Don't be like that ... surely you don't need to try and ride me so hard, pretty lady. Well... at least, unless that's what you're into..." He gave her a broad grin, all easy confidence, and cocked his head at an angle probably designed to be charming or whimsical.

She was pretty sure her eyes would roll right out of her head, he didn't' honestly think that would work on her, did he? "Save the charm grease monkey, you're not my type, just get my frakkin engines fixed" Gods what she wouldn't do to have Cally or the chief around, the Serenity would have been in the air weeks ago...

He looked a little deflated at that, but shrugged and went back to the engines anyway, idly turning the main drive unit and poking various bits of it with a long-bladed screwdriver. "It ain't no big thing. We'll be off the ground before you know it, all alone in space..."

"Now that is what I'm looking forward to... space... after all, that's what this ship was built for..." she grated out as she turned to leave the engine room.

He grunted, already too busy poking at the engines to pay any attention to what she was saying, one hand scratching reflectively at the back of his head.

She stuck the cigarettes into the jacket of her pocked and stalked out, heading back towards the bridge.

Mal had been planning to be up on the bridge for the launch, but the hwoon dahn mule had come loose, and he'd been forced to lash it back into place. He'd come bustling up the passageway, all keen and eager ... only to see Kara walking away from the engine room, looking all hot and bothered. That made him stop and stand as still as he could so that he wouldn't be noticed.

She was so pissed off she didn't even pay any attention to her surroundings. Gods damned idiot... she was beginning to wonder if he knew an engine from a bottle of tanning lotion... her mood was completely ruined. She found herself heading back to her quarters for a shower.... she needed to clear her head before she started ripping pieces off of the would be mechanic.

He stood in the corridor like a gorram idiot for a few minutes, before heading down and around the corner towards his quarters. He'd done everything he could to make this place perfect ... and he'd managed it, by bringing Bester aboard. Now, Kara had what she wanted ... and it wasn't him. He shouldn't feel like this of course, because they were just friends.

Two hours later she was back on the bridge, checking the power relay once more, she fought the urge to scream in frustration. Still no power‚Ä¶ "Frakkin idiot..." she muttered before calling out to Mal who was working in the galley. "Mal! Go find out why I've still go no frakkin power up here.... this is really startin to piss me off.

He couldn't make out what it was that he'd just heard, but it sounded like Kara calling out. Great. Now she was going at it with Bester in the middle of the day, loud enough to reach him even here in the galley. He should just ignore it; accept that she was moving on. After all, he kept telling himself that they'd made no promises, regardless of whatever her looks meant. That was the sensible thing to do. He wasn't feeling particularly sensible ... so instead, he took himself of to engineering. He didn't have to put up with Bester around - him, he could throw off the ship.

She poked her head out from the bridge, having not heard a response, "gods it figures.... why, twice in one frakkin day, do I have to go deal with that idiot." This time she made sure she kept the wire cutters in hand as she made her way to engineering

No sooner had he opened the hatch to the engineering compartment than he heard them; by the sounds of it , the two of them were going at it right between the main engine drive cylinders.

She made her way through the galley, taking a look around... she could have sworn Mal had been here just a minute ago, and the half cut up vegetables spoke even louder to that effect, but where the frak had he gone? She shrugged, a little confused, and started on her path to the engineering compartment.

"Alright Bester, you can drag your scrawny ass off my boat - I aint' havin' you aboard her..." He started to bellow as he set out into engineering, only to splutter into embarrassed silence as he discovered that the woman braced between both cylinders and hanging on to him for dear life wasn't Kara - not unless her hair had gotten a mite longer than he remembered.

Kara walked into engineering just a few moments after Mal, commenting over his shoulder. "Well... that explains why I still have no power on the bridge...

"That's not you ... you're not..." He did a double take. "Bester, who the hell is that gorram prairie harpy you brought on board my ship??"

Stranger in a Strange Land - Chapter 8 FF/BSG Fic

2010-01-04T22:10:00.001-08:00

The Serenity was taking shape more and more each passing day. Kara, oddly enough, turned out to have more than a basic grasp of shipboard engineering, and a very thorough grasp of what it took to keep salvage operators honest. Mal had a strict policy on bloodstained clothing; so long as it wasn't his blood, he didn't ask. He'd made himself useful, looming behind Kara as needed for the first couple of days, and the workers had got the idea they were a unit pretty damn quick.

Unfortunately, that left him with a mite less too do since they'd gotten that idea. So Mal had been forced to improvise. Kara weren't doing much more than sleeping, eating and working, which meant he had free run of the ship, outside the areas she was working on. Well, Kara was building him a ship... And given that she was building the ship, he felt he ought to do his part to at least make it a little homier. Point of fact, he was feeling positively domestic as he wandered up to the bridge ... right up to the point where he heard cussing and swearing in terms he'd never even heard before.

"Gods damned motherfrakking sonofabitch." Kara slipped out from beneath the console, dusty, dirty and smudged with grease, rubbing her knuckles. The sensor relay should have been a simple refit, but so far it had cost her several hours, one faulty relay, scraped knuckles and she was pretty sure she just broke her little finger.

He strode up on the short flight of stairs to the bridge with a deliberately cheerful expression. "Why darlin', you're sounding just a mite out of sorts." Springing onto the bridge, he tried to keep a smile off his face as he took in the sight of her, dirty, smeared, smudged, bruised, tangled, and all together too fine-looking for words.

"Frakkin relay... thing was jammed in so tight it wouldn't budge so I had to give up on the friendly persuasion." She carefully cradled her injured hand in the palm of the other, very carefully, yet discretely probing along the finger to see if it was indeed broken.

He made a show of looking around the bridge, even going so far as to poke his head under the console. "Well, I don't see a great big hammer lyin' around anywhere ... so what'd you hit it with?" Knowing her, sheer force of personality...

"The wrench..." She commented casually. "Though I did slip once..."

"And decided to hit your finger instead of our expensive mechanical components? See, that's why I'm glad you're the engineer and I'm just the pretty face, I ain't up to makin' difficult decisions like that." He smiled, and gestured towards her injured finger. "If you've broken that, it'll make it harder for you to eat the delicious meal I just cooked up for us ... assumin' you don't want to put off eatin' in favour of beating some more of the ship..."

"You cooked dinner? I'm impressed. Given that I‚Äôve not eaten since I started on the relay... it sounds pretty good right about now."

"Well, everyone has a skill..." Well, to say he'd cooked dinner was an exaggeration. In fact, he was probably having about as easy a time with the food heating unit and the pre-packed meals as she was with the sensor relays. That didn't matter, though; he was more interested in seeing what she thought of the changes he'd made down in the galley.

She smiled, nearly chuckling thinking how many times she'd used that exact same line. "Come on, lets get us some food then... that relay’s not going anywhere and I don't have to worry about it getting cold."

"See, that's what I love about you, you're not choosy when it comes to eatin'". He spoke over his shoulder as he headed back down the stairs to the main corridor ... and tried hard not to kick himself for his slip. Last thing he wanted was Kara feeling pressured when they were about to head off into space. Just friends, he reminded himself. That's all; just friends.

She lightly bit her lip to stop the smile that threatened to split her face in two. Just hearing him say that; even if it wasn’t in the context she wanted to hear it... made her heart race. She wouldn’t jeopardize things with him by telling him how she felt. She would far rather take the casual, comfortable relationship they had now rather than go spouting off her feelings for him and driving him away. A mistake she'd made too often in the past. She followed him into the galley, eyes going wide as they stepped inside. "Gods, someone's been busy."

"Hi honey, you're home... I made dinner!" He made a mock bow, fluttering his eyelashes and gesturing towards the meal he'd laid out, on the new table he'd acquired from Lofty, surrounded by some eight-odd new chairs. Rough and ready, it belonged in a farmhouse rather than a starship, but it felt right to him. Of course, that's assuming that she actually didn't mind him going around buying such things out of their communal funds; well, her funds, really, she being the one who won the game in the first place. And she'd not tried the food yet...

Well, so much for stifling the smile. "It looks incredible. Like a real home..." She bit her lip a little, she remembered a friend of hers when she was just a kid. They'd had a big table just like this one... and Kara could still imagine the wonder of the whole family eatin together... she just got her meals on a TV tray in the corner of the room... they didn’t even have a kitchen table. Now staring at the wooden beauty, she finally felt like she had a home.

"Well, I'd sit you at the head of the table, but I don't want you gettin' no ideas about who the man in this family is..." He gave her a huge grin. She'd called it a home. Not a ship, not a boat ... a home. He walked over to the nearest chair at the top end of the long edge of the table, and hiked it out for her to sit on. Before she could give him an evil look, he had to add "Only because I don't want that finger of yours gettin' any worse before you fix my ship, of course..."

She smirked a little, giving him a wink. "OUR ship..." she corrected teasingly as she brushed past him, taking the offered chair. once seated she pulled out a roll of electrical tape from her tool belt and tore off a couple of strips, using them to bind her now purple and slightly swollen baby finger to the one next to it, effectively immobilizing it for the time being.

He busied himself some in the galley, hiking out various bowls to serve up in, before giving her a considering look, and filling another with hot water. He started ferrying them back and forth from the galley stove to the table, right up until she made to reach for one, at which point he slapped her lightly on her good hand. "Now now - no eatin' til you wash your hands." He gave her his best imitation of a prim look, fighting the urge to grin.

"Yes dad” she teased, getting up to go over to the small sink, nudging the tap on, which spluttered to life slowly. "Better add check plumbing to the to do list..." s he called over her shoulder as she washed, very careful of her damaged hand. She grabbed a towel and dried her hands, walking back over to the table. Free of the dozen layers of dirt, grease and general grunge, she could get a good look at her hand, which was several mottled shades of purple.

As soon as he got a good look at her hand, he stopped serving and instead took hold of her hand gently at the wrist, bringing it up to where he could see. "That looks broken to me - we'd better get you to see the station sawbones. I don't want you off work, given you're the one who claims to understand how this ship works." He realised he was keeping hold of her wrist longer than he needed to, and let go; she'd got funny about the idea of seeing a doctor before, and if it came down to it ... he'd need both hands to block her swing at him, as she had a fearsome hook when riled up.

"It'll heal, not much a doc can do I haven't already done." She tried to make it seem as light as possible. but truth was her hand was hurting like hell... not so much from the break, she'd done that before, but it felt like her knuckle might just be dislocated as well.

"Kara..." he fought to keep the irritation out of his voice. Damn, but she could be stubborn. "That knuckle looks like it's dislocated to me, and it's gonna hurt like hell to fix. We've got enough foldin' money that we can afford to get a sawbones to do it..."

She looked up, locking eyes with him, prepared to fight tooth and nail on the matter, but the genuine concern in his eyes made her falter. "You know I don't like doctors..."

"The alternative is I try and fix it myself, and it's been a while since I had to do that... and we're not on a battlefield. I've heard you talk about flyin', remember ... do you really want to risk your hands?" He'd do it if he had too, but the idea of causing her that much hurt ... well, it didn't sit right with him.

"Alright... but you have to come with me... I know its crazy but I'll just feel better if you're there..."

"That's a given. Ain't lettin' you out of my sight." He started to pack the food away; that could wait. Main thing was getting her fit and whole again.

She just nodded, fighting the nauseated feeling... She wasn’t sure if it was from the pain in her hand, or from the thought of going to see a doctor about it. Lords she'd known Doc Cottle back on the G for years and she STILL had trouble going to see him... never mind a complete stranger...

"Kara?" He managed to move up next to her again without her noticing. She must be seriously distracted, and given the way she'd ignored broken ribs, it wasn't pain likely to be doing it. He took her hand carefully in his again, avoiding her injured finger. "Would you rather the two of us tried to fix it here?"

She nodded. "Yeah.... I would... ‚” She looked at him, eyes almost pleading.

"OK darlin', you ever had a dislocated finger before?" He moved her down to the far end of the table, gently pushing her down into one of the chairs. If she didn't want the doctor that badly, then he'd do his best. One of the things they'd agreed on was not to answer any questions they didn't want too; she didn't want to talk about doctors, he wouldn't ask.

She nodded "A couple of times..." Well more than a couple... but she wasn't ready to talk about that, nor about the questions that would come if a doctor x-rayed her hands...

"OK. First things first ... if you're finger is goin' blue anywhere, or if any part of it's numb, we're goin' to the Doc. No arguments, ok?" He moved into the galley, collecting some odds and ends that'd be useful for a splint and bandage.

"Alright..." She set her hand up on the table, carefully unwrapping the tape she’d used to steady the injured finger.

Setting everything out on the table, he took her injured hand in both of his. "This is goin' to hurt, Kara. I don't have anything to give you for it, unless you want some cheap booze..." He kept his finger gentle as it probed at her finger and knuckle. No sign of it going blue, at least...

She drew in a sharp breath, steeling her expression. "I'll be ok... just do it..."

He made sure that she was in front of him, and moved her finger so that it was slightly flexed, trying to ignore her hiss of pain. He moved one hand so that it was holding the tip of her finer, and the other he rested below the base of her finger. Then, in a sharp motion, he drew the finger forward as if trying to pull it into a straight line, other hand pushing the joint back into place.

"FRAK!" She yelped, but kept her hand steady. Ok, now she was pretty sure she was going to be sick..... But thankfully the pain passed quickly. She could feel the sweat trailing down the back of her neck, her heart still racing. "How's it look?"

He ran his fingers over her injured one slowly. There didn't seem to be any fluid swelling the joint, so maybe the blood vessels were ok. "Not too bad, considerin' ... how's it feel? Any numbness?"

"Right about now... I only wish, hurts like a sonofabitch

"Well, it don't look to bad at all. It swells up or starts changin', you're going to see the doc, though." He improvised up a padded bandage, and taped her little finger to the finger next to it.

"Thank you...‚Äù she said softly. It was a think you for not only understanding her, but for not forcing her to the doc as well

He nodded, not trusting himself to answer with her looking at him like that, all vulnerable. Kara didn't do vulnerable; she was pretty much the strongest woman he'd met ... maybe even more than Zo√´. "Don't thank me ... until you've tried the food. I ain't exactly no gourmet chef, you know."

"Anything beats dried ration packs... and my cooking‚Äù she added... she was ahorrible cook, mostly from lack of trying, living i the military one didnt have muc opportunity to cook more than instant noodles once in a while

"Well, come try some. It should still be mostly hot... the bits that are supposed to be." He made a point of holding her chair out again, but when she went for the eating irons, he batted her hands away. "Nope. Not having you strain that finger none." Picking up his own, he offered her a forkful of food from one of the still steaming bowls. "Besides... I want to make sure it's safe to eat first, and I ain't got no pigeons to try it on..."

She gave him an almost flirty smile. "Talk about service... careful I might get used to being waited on..." She teased.

He grinned back at her. "Well, only so long as you go on breaking bones and suchlike."

She bit her lip a little. "Don't get used to it..."

"You still haven't tried the food yet... I'm gettin' worried..." Lords, but she looked pretty when she bit her lower lip like that. Even more so, because it was so obviously natural.

She leaned in and snagged the forkful "Mmm gods, that’s pretty good...

He helped himself to a forkful, and loaded up another for her. Not too bad. Not great, but not too bad. Of course, he really shouldn't tease her with the next forkful...

Stranger in a Strange Land - Chapter 7 FF/BSG Fic

2010-01-04T22:09:00.001-08:00

Mal listened to the salesman burbling on about the single-chamber rocket ship he was trying to sell. Oh, it looked pretty ... it just didn't feel right. An older ship was what they'd agreed on; a ship with space, with room to breathe ... with character. This wasn't it.

She looked the rocket over once, wrinkling her nose. She ignored the sales man and began to wander around the shipyard. There were ships of all shapes and sizes.

He watched Kara moving round the yard, poking around freely whilst he distracted the large, cigar-smoking seller. He didn't realise that he was idly moving, keeping her in sight, until the seller started going on about how a ship like this would last him a lifetime if properly looked after.

She looked from ship to ship, nothing catching her eye, until she spotted one off by itself. She hadn't seen one like it in years; even then they were few and far between. She shook her head. It couldn't be; it must just be similar. The ships she was familiar with were colonial design. But... gods she was damned close.

Kara was standing on a section of hull plating, one leg raised up to lean on, looking at a ship with a completely rapt expression. Looking across to where she was staring ... well, he could see a ship. An old ship ... bluff, squat, and yet somehow ... organic looking. Like a ship that had evolved through careful tending, rather than just being hammered together.

She slowly walked over, taking in every detail of the ship, lords... she was old, but you could tell from looking at her that someone had loved her once... she was lonely though...

A firefly. A gorram firefly, and in one piece by the looks of her. He walked over, ignoring the seller, moving quickly through the field of scrap and debris to stand next to Kara.

"She's beautiful Mal... I haven‚Äôt seen one like her since I was a kid..."

"A firefly. Old, old ships... built to last. Built to fly..." Just like you, he had to fight the urge to say. They'd made no promises, kept everything carefully casual. He kept slamming down that part of him that started thoughts beginning with 'but maybe when we're alone in space...'

"Born to fly... I can relate to that..." She gave him a brilliant smile and an almost appraising look. Lords but she wanted to just reach out and take his hand... but that was a line she wasn‚Äôt willing to cross... casual frakking was one thing, but holding hands... that was a little too close for comfort...

He still didn't understand her. He knew she was keeping him sane ... every time he started to fall back into old habits, start dwelling on the Valley, she found him and pulled him out again. He knew that when they were together, there was always a current between them ... one that often resulted in them naked and gasping away at each other. He didn't know if that was all it was... and didn't want to risk losing something so good. "We should buy her. I don't care what he wants; that ship says home, to me."

"I agree... she's perfect... needs a little TLC, but she's frakkin perfect

"Let's go argue with the head honcho, buy us a ship." That was safer ground. Keep things on that amiable, partner-like basis.

She nodded, reaching over and giving him a playful jab in the shoulder. "best plan I've heard all day..." well other than the plan that had them waking up before the suns rose, warm, naked in one another's arms.... she shook her head a little to clear her thoughts, thinking of that now was not going to get them a ship bought.

He grinned at her as she jabbed at him, putting a hand playfully over his heart as if she'd mortally wounded him with her blow. Then, he reached out to hook one arm around her waist, tugging her off the sheet of scrap bulkhead before setting her back down on the ground. "Well, I'm a big fan of plans..."

She instinctively put her arms around his neck as he tugged her down, a gentle smile briefly settling on her lips before she pulled back. "Then... lets go buy us a ship...."

He grinned, having seen Kara go to work on a number of merchants the last few weeks. He wasn't the only one she could render speechless... "He don't stand a chance, I'm thinkin'."

She grinned, sauntering over to the fat man with the cigar, chatting him up like she was as interested in him as she was in the ship. Half an hour later, they had a sweet deal, a ship, money in their pockets, and Kara even managed to get the cigar.

"How can you stand to smoke that? It smells worse than he did." Mal started tugging on the rusted hatch that led into their new ship.

She laughed "I've had worse..." She was bouncing on the balls of her feet while he pulled the hatch open. If the cigar smelled bad, the smell from inside the ship could only be described as gods awful. But it was theirs.... Gods did it ever feel odd thinking of it as "theirs"? Well it was, but not in the sense her mind automatically wandered to. Gods what was she doing thinking like that... ‚ÄúNeeds a little work..."

He backed away from the hatch a little, letting the fumes dissipate, before walking inside. This was their new ship ... and didn't that open a can of worms. Two drifters, one spaceship. "I think something may have been livin' in here, a while." Just like they would be, soon...

She looked around, stepping carefully. "Several something‚Äôs... by the look of it... He's gonna have her hauled to a dock for us, so we can get her ready to fly again...

He moved around the main cargo space, poking around in corners quietly. Interesting... someone'd already put in little smugglers holes in several places he'd thought to look. This was definitely a ship with a past. "Kara, I think this here ship's had a bit of a naughty past... just like us."

She gave him a grin. "If she's got a past, then she needs a future, and I think we're the two to give it to her...

Looking up at the metal walkways running round the hold, he had to wonder how many sets of feet had stomped their way up and down this old girl. "Think she'll take to us? Lady like this is like to be a mite choosy."

"I think we'll get on just fine... let‚Äôs go take us a look at the bridge..."

"We're going to need an engineer, whatever else happens. We're going to need work, too..." He pulled himself quickly up the first set of stairs, idly wondering how she could somehow fill an empty cargo hold all on her own.

She followed him up the stairs, not even trying to hide the fact she was enjoying her view. "We can do this; hell you and I can do this, you know why?"

He paused at the top of the flight, turning round to grab her hands and pull her up the last couple of steps. "Because we ... are just so damned pretty."

"Too damned pretty for words..."

"Especially you." He ducked forward and kissed her quickly, lips brushing softly along hers, before turning and walking up in what he guessed was the most likely set of stairs for the bridge.

"Sweet talker...‚Äù she smiled, following him, without realizing she brought her fingertips up to brush over her lips in a soft smile. Lords it was the little things like that.... Damn Kara, get a grip....

He found himself in what looked like a galley, and a pretty well cared for one. The hatches at both ends were sealed, and it looked as if the previous owners had mothballed the place pretty well. "We put a table in here, a few chairs ... we got ourselves a mess hall..."

"Now we just need someone who can cook..."

"You mean you can't? Damn, darlin' ... you'll just have to fly this boat and help me shoot the bad guys instead then." He grinned broadly at her; this entire ship echoed the word home over and over, and it was like he was walking through his own personal present.

"Now, that I can do..."

Hmm... Sounds to me like we may have to have a discussion about who's gonna be captain on this boat..." He shot her a cocky grin, and strode over to open the far hatch.

She smirked at him, giving him a playful wink "I look forward to it..." She stepped past him and started down the corridor that led up to the bridge. "Gods she's beautiful."

Opening a few of the hatches to reveal what looked like a good six or eight sets of quarters, he found himself hurrying up to the nose of the ship as Kara called out. He walked in through the almost circular hatch ... and stopped dead.

She heard him come in and turned to smile at him. "Isn‚Äôt she beautiful?"

Looking straight at her, he spoke without thinking. "Yes, she is...‚Äù then he coloured slightly, and turned to look out the window. "Two decent sized consoles..." He moved to duck his head underneath the nearest one. "Don't look to badly chewed up, neither."

She blushed instantly, turning to follow him, kneeling down. "Shouldn't take much to get the controls operational...

"We're going to need to get a lot of work done to get her space worthy... but damn me if she don't feel like a scrapper." He turned to find her kneeling next to him, eyes shadowed under the darkness of the console. "Think you can fly something with no weapons?"

"I can fly anything with wings..." she grinned "And a few things without..."

"Mmmm." He really should stop just staring at her. There was work needed doing, and crossing that friends with benefits line could spoil what they had before this ship had even got off the ground. "I want to name the ship."

She grinned at him. "Have something in mind?

"I do ... although I'm not sure as you'd much like it."

"Try me..."

He'd spent a lot of time thinking about this ... too much blood had passed without being honoured. "The Serenity."

She took a chance and took his hand. "I think its perfect..." Many nights they'd lain awake, holding each other for comfort as they bared the demons of their pasts.

Her hand holding his, he could remember all the nights they'd held each other long past midnight, talking out the things that haunted him. She knew more of him than anyone did; more than that, she always gave him what he seemed to need. She understood when he woke up sweating in the dark, death behind his eyes; she held him when he couldn't breathe, loved him when he needed to feel alive. This was going to be their home now ... and when it was up in the air, and they were free of the earth ... well, maybe he could do something about making that a permanent arrangement.

Without thinking she slipped her arm around his waist and turned to stare out the main view window. The much larger ship that would transport them to their mooring hovered overhead. "Looks like our ride is here..."

He levered himself up from under the console, keeping her arm around him. "Good job we closed the main cargo hatch, then. Even better that you talked that cigar-chomping tub of guts down enough that we could afford a basic refit. All's we need is a crew and a job, and we're shiny."

"I like the sounds of that..." She leaned against him "Now. Where would we go about finding those?

Stranger in a Strange Land - Chapter 6 FF/BSG Fic

2010-01-04T22:04:00.002-08:00

It was some time later when she woke, somewhat disoriented, having been quite sure she fell asleep on Mal's chest. The bed was quite empty now, however and she slowly sat up, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders. "Mal?"

He heard her call out, and walked back into the room from the bathroom, the open door letting a cloud of steam out. "You're awake, eh darlin'? Good to see you up again." He smiled easily, eyes moving over her slowly. "I've been runnin' us a couple of baths... figured we could use them to get cleaned up a little."

A soft smile crossed her face as she slowly got up, letting the blanket fall to the floor as she lazily sauntered towards the bathroom.

He caught her midway to the bathroom, pulling her in close to him, to where he could kiss her again. "No regrets, Kara?" He couldn't help but ask; if she was going to decide they shouldn't be friends after this, after he spiraled so far out of control, he wanted to be prepared.

She brought a hand to his cheek, returning the kis soundly. "No regrets..."

He smiled, and let his hands run gently down her back again. "Well, the baths are hot ... which means they'll stay hot for a while..."

"You have something in mind?" A teasing smile crossing her features as her own hands stroked over his hips*

He moved his hands lower, pressing her to him a little, letting her get the picture clearly. "Well, I do ... assuming it wouldn't be an awful inconvenience, of course..."

She grinned, lightly licking her lips. "Now.. I think that is a mighty fine idea... no inconvenience at all...

He bent forward a little, tongue tracing the same path along her lips he'd seen her just mark. "Oh, I was hopin' you'd say that..."

She let her hand linger on his hip as she kissed him passionately. Lords but it felt so damned good to just let go, no expectations... no complications

Most women would've torn his damn head off by now, just for suggesting anything so ... casual. Not Kara, though; she was free a spirit as he'd ever seen, and Lord God Almighty, did she taste and feel good against him. Whatever act of fate had brought them together in that rat-pit, Mal was glad for. He started gently stroking the skin of her back and rear, trying to tease a little sensation out of already well-teased flesh.

She groaned softly, moving forward, pressing him back against the doorframe, her mouth teasing his.

He felt himself filling out, the press of her warm body against his an almost physical shock in the cool air of the room. He worked with her as she tried to tease him, but when she broke the kiss off finally, he tipped her head back so that his lips could graze along underneath her chin, mightily pleased that they were so close to the same height.

A soft whimper escaped her as he diverted his attention to her throat, her heart thundering in her chest as she moulded against him again, her arm slipping around his waist to hold him against her

He moved her around, slipping her around himself until she was the one backed up against the wall next to the door, mouth busy on her neck. Slowly, he ran his hands up and down her sides, and then swept them across her chest to start gently stroking at the sensitive skin of her breasts, starting with the underside that he began teasing with his fingertips.

A low, throaty moan escaped her lips as she gripped his shoulders, leaning in to nip at his shoulder.

He kept his hands moving slowly on her, fingers stroking and rolling her flesh softly, until he noticed that the perfect pink tips to her breasts were a little redder than last time. Worried that he might be making her a little sore, he bent down to gently suckle them instead, closing the soft, damp warmth of his mouth over them in turn. Well, mostly because he was concerned...

She groaned, bracing her back against the wall, gripping his shoulders. "Good lords..."

He was tempted sorely to nip at her with his teeth again, but instead he resorted to simply teasing her with his tongue, exploring her over and over again, first moving slowly and then faster as he felt her stiffening under his ministrations.

"Gods... Mal..." She groaned, trembling. "So damned good..."

He was already in a half crouch, letting his hands and mouth torment that soft, full flesh of hers; it was no trouble at all for him to drop a little further, suddenly bringing his mouth down in range of her core, soft blonde down rising up to greet him as he leaned forward to kiss her as intimately as he knew how.

Her breath hitched as she leaned back, eyes rolling slightly before closing. She gripped his shoulder with one hand, the other bracing herself against the wall as he teased her.

He took is time as he explored her with his mouth for the first time, softly licking and teasing every silken fold for what felt like hours until finally he had to press forward, sucking her a little into his mouth so that he could dart his tongue hungrily inside her.

"Ohh... gods..." she hissed slightly, fighting the urge to buck against him, her legs trembling.

Gods, but she tasted wonderful, clean and spicy. He wasn't sure if he was kissing her or lapping against her, he was so hungry to follow the taste of her back as far as he could, his lips suckling against her as his tongue moved.

Carefully she slipped one leg over his shoulder, back pressed to the wall, her breath quick and ragged as she let her fingers tangle in his hair. Gently she rocked her hips forward, the surge of pleasure tearing through her, punctuated with a loud, unrestrained moan.

He shifted a little as her leg moved onto his shoulder, adjusting to the weight and then relishing the feeling of support it gave him, the way she moved inside as he leaned forward. He moved with her as her hips bucked, still teasing and lapping away, but carefully avoiding that most sensitive part of her; he resolved that he wanted to feel her break against him, but slowly, not rushed sharply off the edge.

The sweet tension building in her was near unbearable, intense heat radiating from her very core, coiling around her like a snake poised to strike, building and ebbing until she screamed, so close to the edge... she couldn't stop the tremors that arced through her.

Continuing to move slowly, gently, riding with her as she moved but refusing to break off and go for the quick finish. Every extra motion he could make would hopefully only add to her enjoying it, and he'd decided that more than anything else, that was what he wanted, his hands now firmly grasping against her hips so that they could follow her every twitch.

She pressed both hands back against the wall to steady herself as the pleasure ripped through her, tearing out a series of screaming gasps as she broke completely, surrendering all control and just letting the moment take hold

He kept moving slowly as she shuddered, every gasp sending a shudder of pleasure through him, coaxing him to make yet another soft move to try and prolong the feeling for her just as long as he could.

She reached forward and gripped his shoulders, pushing him back slightly as her legs gave out, muscles still noticeably quivering.

He moved up quickly as her legs buckled, catching her in his arms, holding her close. He used his shoulders on the way up to move her arms around his neck and just held her, pressed close against the wall, lips softly kissing and nuzzling at her neck. "Nice, darlin'?" He asked quietly.

"Frakkin incredible..." she managed to gasp out, still trembling as he held her.

He kept her close, flush with a warm pride that she could sound so happy about something he could do for her. "If you like... I could do that again after our bath, but over on the bed, so you don't have to worry none about standin' up all the time..."

She responded by leaning in and giving him a long, intensely passionate kiss, her fingers tangling in his hair.

God, but she kissed like somethin' fallen from heaven. He leaned into it, every twitch of her fingers on his scalp feeling like a benediction. "My god, darlin' how can you be this good?"

She silenced him as her mouth descended on his once more, nipping and suckling at his lip.

He smiled as she kissed him, before starting to chase her mouth with his again, turning into a game. After a long, deliciously teasing period, he realised that it wasn't going to be enough for him. "Kara... would I hurt you any if I moved inside you again?"

She gave him a predatory grin. "I thought you'd never ask..." she purred in his ear.

He chuckled a little, a low, breathy chuckle, and pushed her back against the wall a little more firmly. "Well, I hate to presume..." He bent to kiss her again, moving his legs between hers.

She met his kiss with one of unbridled intensity, suckling his lip as she shifted against him, moving her leg to rest over his hip, supporting her weight. She let her fingertips tangle in his hair, one hand gripping his shoulder. "Gods I want you...' She breathed against his mouth.

He moved in time with her, one hand moving down to support her weight as he slowly slipped inside her, marveling again at how she fit him far better than any glove ever could. "I want you to... god save me, but I want you over and over."

"Thank the gods I'm not the only one..." She gasped, nipping at his lip as he pushed into her, pushing her back against the wall. Her eyes rolled slightly as he began to rock her rhythmically, each thrust drawing a gasping moan from her lips.

Despite their having made love twice already today, she was still achingly, breathtakingly tight around him, warm, wet samite flesh gripping him and stealing anything resembling thought away. He let her set the pace, moving as her body demanded, his breath a serious of low gasps as she drove him ever higher.

"Gods... oh... gods Mal..." She cried, tremors of pleasure rocking through her as she gripped his shoulders hard, tightening around him as stars danced behind her eyes and her breath was taken away.

He couldn't find he energy to move any harder or faster; everything was focused on her, on making one more movement as he gasped his release desperately inside her, forehead resting against the cool surface of the wall as his shoulders flexed under her hands.

It took a moment to catch her breath. "We umm... should go enjoy our baths.... while the water's still warm...

He kept her arms around him, savoring the feel of her leaning against him. "Well, when I say baths ... there's only one. A big one, mind ... but only the one. Do you mind sharin', Kara?"

A soft smile lit her eyes. "I can't think of anything that sounds better than that right now...

"Only problem is..." He dropped his voice, keeping it low and conspiratorial. "I ain't sure I can walk that far."

She laughed a little her own voice just as low "Honestly... me neither..."

He chuckled again, eyes dancing. "Well... as that's partly my fault, why don't you lean on me, and we'll stagger there arm in arm... or at least fall on the floor together?"

"I can do that..." She slipped her arm around his waist, holding him close as they walked the short distance to the tub

Pausing at the side of the tub, he slowly lifted one leg over the rim, feeling much older than he should. He settled both legs under the water, and then caught her before she could move to the other side of the tub. "Sorry - but there ain't enough room unless you don't mind sittin' up against me..." and with that, he tugged her towards him, pulling her over the side of the bath to where she splashed into the water, her back resting up against his chest.

She laughed as she hit the water, finding herself immediately pulled up against his chest. She smiled and lay back, resting her head against his shoulder, just enjoying the comfortable closeness they shared.

He kept her cuddled protectively against him, her weight reassuring and soft against him in the warmth of the bath. He'd be getting more honest washing done, if he didn't keep stopping to just hold her close and kiss her, something he found oddly fascinating.

She laid against him, just savoring the gentle comfort, the insatiable need to be in contact with him... each stolen kiss tasted sweeter and sweeter... and for once she just let herself be happy without worrying about a thing.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this comfortable. The horrors of war, only a couple of months behind him, seemed quietly distant to him, as he slowly used a bar of softly fragrant soap and a washcloth to gently wash every part of her he could reach.

She turned to lay against him, stomach to stomach as he lathered the soap over her back

He carried on washing her softly, stopping frequently to steal soft kisses from her as she looked up at him, her hazel green eyes soft and glowing in the steamy room light.

She gazed up at him, her heart skipping a beat as she took in the deep blue depths. Lords but he was handsome...

He found that he'd stopped moving both cloth and soap, instead just cradling her in his arms gently, chest to chest in the warm water, smiling softly at her as he let himself get lost in the liquid pools of her eyes.

His eyes took her breath away; it took all she could to slowly pull away from his gaze, resting her head against his chest.

He felt oddly sad as she looked away from him, so he covered by sticking a large, comfy sponge under the back of his neck, and scrabbled around on the floor for what he knew he had around here somewhere...

She lazily traced circles over his chest, just enjoying the quiet comfort of his company

He lifted up the two cigars he'd glommed earlier, together with a battered lighter, and wordlessly offered her one.

Her face lit with a smile as she took the offered cigar, leaning in to let him light it for her.

He sparked the lighter up, lighting hers first, then his own; the lighter went casually back down on the floor, whilst he proceeded to breath a large, fragrant cloud of smoke up across the room before grinning down at her.

She smiled up at him, eyes sparkling. "Any idea what kind of ship you want?"

He clamped the cigar between his teeth, grinning a tight-lipped smile around it. "Something rugged, strong and reliable. Maybe pretty too - provided it's not prettier than I am."

"Nothin's prettier than you baby" She blushed the moment the words were out if her mouth. "Except maybe me...." she added on in hopes of covering

Oh, he liked this woman. Sexy, smart and sassy - trouble all rolled up in one delectable package. "Really?" He muttered. "Well, if you're so all-fired pretty, there's only one thing to be done..."

"And what's that?' She grinned, blowing a smoke ring at him.

He leaned down, smoke curling faintly from his nostrils, and started to whisper in her ear with all sorts of suggestions - including some he'd only heard stories about.

She'd been in the military a long time and yet some of the things he whispered to her... she could feel the blush tinting her skin from head to toe
Apollo: He leaned back with a profoundly smug expression. "Then... you do them over again. Especially the one that needs Zero-G and a cargo net..."

She grinned "That sounds very interesting... is that even possible?

"Can't say as I've tried it - but we'll have our own ship soon, neh?" He blew an elaborate smoke ring, and then grinned down at her. "As for the rest..."

"Lords I can't wait.... once we get our ship no more nosy landlords lurking around

"Ain't that the truth. Ship'll mean freedom - go where we want, work for who we want. Although..." He puffed away at the cigar for a few seconds, then grinned at her. "Don't think you're going to distract me too much with thoughts of our ship - first thing I'm gonna do when we get dry is drag you to the bed and repeat that little thing I did at the wall - for about five or six hours."

She gave him a grin. "Promise?"

"Damn straight. If nothing else, I'll need the time for some parts of me to remember how to be upstandin' again..." he chuckled, and reached down to tickle her ribs lightly. "And I love listenin' to you moan, I really do."

She pulled herself up slightly nipping at his lip before moving to kiss his throat.

He let out a long, low sigh as she started kissing him, sounding eminently satisfied. "Or, I can just lie here an' let you carry on doin that, of course..."

She growled softly, suckling gently at his throat, nipping and teasing the flesh.

He couldn't resist; he stuck his cigar back in his mouth, clamped a hold of it with his teeth, and slipped his hand under the warm water of the bath ... headed straight for a very sweet spot

Stranger in a Strange Land - Chapter 5 FF/BSG Fic

2010-01-04T22:04:00.001-08:00

Kara sauntered into the small room they had rented two nights before, dropping a worn leather satchel on the bed by his feet. "Brought you a surprise."

"Is it angst? Please tell me it's not angst. It took me two damn days to get rid of that last law officer you brought after us... and I don't think he believed me when I said I was a preacher in disguise..." He looked suspiciously at the satchel, as if expecting it to explode, then looked around at the room. "Maybe there's a bathtub I can hide in, or somesuch..."

She laughed, shaking her head. 'Found a card game goin on cross town... seems the fella's round here had no clue a gal like me could possibly play."

He looked down at the satchel, one eyebrow raised in surprise. "I take it you learned them a serious lesson, real quick..."

She gave him a wink. "not too quick... let them think I was just a pretty face for a while, til they started betting big... then took the whole lot to the cleaners... go on , take a look..."

"I'll be happy if it's enough for dinner," he muttered. He reached out and teased the satchel open, then almost dropped it in surprise. "Wuh de ma! Who'd you fleece darlin', the governor?"

"A few fancy suited fellas... their wives were none too happy bout them playin cards with yours truly and dragged them on home before anyone could reclaim their winnings

Oh, now, that was mighty sweet... a classic shark's move. He told her as much, big grin on his face as he tried to work out how much she might've taken them for. "You got their shirts tucked somewhereabouts on you as well, perhaps?"

She reached into her pockets, pulling out a few choice pieces of jewelry and a gold watch. "No, But I did get a bit of the pretty...." She gave him a wink and sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Well I'll be a buffalo's uncle. How much do you think you took them for, all told?" He moved to sit on the edge of his bed, staring across the gap at her.

"Damned if i know... but its plenty... maybe enough..." She gave him a hopeful yet triumphant grin. She couldn't take her eyes off him. Ever since that one kiss... Lords but he could get under her skin without even trying

She was practically shining as she spoke, and looked oddly like she was looking for ... reassurance? Appoval, maybe? He made a show of opening the satchel more, counting up what was there roughly, before closing it again with a look of wonder on his face. "Darlin' ... you could buy an old ship with this. Maybe even a small new one..."

She flashed him an enormous grin "Well I figure older is the way to go... gotta leave us something to live on til we get more comin in..."

"I just ... I don't have the words, Kara." She was handing him more money that he'd ever seen before. All he'd done was go round lookin' mean and gettin' small jobs... and she'd won them a damn ship. All she need to do was wrap a bow round it ...

"Then don't say anything... " She took a chance and got up, walking over to sit beside him. She hesitated only a moment before leaning in, catching his face in her hands before capturing his mouth with hers.

He felt the tired old springs of the bed shift and then she was kissing him, hands on his face, mouth working gently yet more than a little hungrily against his. The satchel went on the floor immediately, rolls of notes shifting slightly as he twisted to get both arms around her, the kiss broadening, become more insistent as he leaned into it.

Her bold move was rewarded when he returned the kiss. Lords but she had wanted to do that for days... no teasing, no taunting this time. They'd practically lived in each other's pockets since the day they met in that raging bar fight, but other than the one kiss that first day, they'd been nothing more than partners...

She tasted just like he imagined, that first time he thought of her as more than just another spacer. Her mouth had that faint trace of smoke, a little like burned ambrosia; she didn't shy away none either, fought him back through the kiss as hungrily as he went after her. He could help growling a little at the way she moved against him, and he sucked her lower lip into his mouth where he could start to tease it with his tongue and nibble softly.

She gasped, letting one hand slip behind his head to tangle in his hair, pushing the kiss further, her tongue brushing over his as she shifted to push him back onto the bed, moving with him as the old bed groaned in protest.

He let her push them both down onto the bed, his feet still flat against the floor. She kept her mouth locked to his, and it was the most damned erotic thing he'd ever felt. He moved one hand firmly behind her head, burying it in her hair as his other hand moved to the small of her back, pushing her down against him.

She shifted again, each knee pressing into the mattress on either side of his legs. A low groan escaped her throat as he pressed his hand against her back, pulling her flush against his body as the kiss lingered.

He realized that there was no way he was going to be able to do subtle. For the first time since the war ended, he was feeling alive, purposeful ... and she could've stopped a cruiser in it's tracks with a single glance. He started nipping at her lip more seriously, before pulling back to bury his mouth at the hollow of her throat, lavishing attention on her creamy-white skin. Even as he did so, his hand dropped from the back of her head so that both his hands could seize her hips in tandem, starting to move against her as if they weren't separated by both sets of clothing.

She tilted her head back, baring her neck to him as she ground her hips against his, shivers pulsing through her very core. Gods it had been so long... and it felt so damn good... so right...

He followed the line of her throat as she moved, first kissing, then nuzzling, then pillaging her throat, hips moving ever more insistently against her as he grabbed her flesh hard with both hands firmly, loving the feel of her pressing down on him.

A shudder ran through her, a moan of pleasure escaping her lips as she pressed against him. Good gods... he was driving her mad. With trembling hands she began to tug his shirt free of his pants, sliding her hand beneath to rest on his side.

Keeping hold of her with both hands he rolled, grinding himself against her as he did so, pining her beneath him. He pushed his body up on his elbows, mouth refusing to leave her neck as his hands started to work feverishly on the bindings of her flightsuit.

She wrapped her legs over his hips, surging against him, hands working on the buttons of his shirt until she had it open, running hands over bared flesh

Pinned tight inside her legs he flexed his stiff, forcing her down into the mattress as he worked against her, his hands practically tearing her suit open in the quest for more of her to touch, to taste.

She groaned, shoving his shirt over his shoulders, hands chasing the horizon of new skin over his shoulders and back. She ground her hips up against him

He wrenched her flightsuit down over her shoulders, pulling at it until it was down around her waist, then dragged her tees and bra up, groaning at the sight of her before plunging down to work his mouth feverishly across her exposed body.

Once free of the sleeves of her flight suit her fingers found his hair, tangling her fingers within the dark strands. "Gods Mal... "she gasped breathlessly

His hands swept inside her flightsuit, stroking and gripping at her as he pulled his mouth away from her body, face moving up next to hers. When he opened his eyes they felt like they were burning their way out of his head as he kissed her hungrily. "Kara ... want you..."

"want... you... to..." she gasped between feverish kisses.

He surged back off the bed at her words, pulling her up so that he could start to tug her flightsuit down from her waist and under her hips, feeling ready to explode out of his skin. "Now", he muttered over and over.

Her hands dropped to his belt, unbuckling it before starting to work on the button of his pants, her mouth finding his neck. "gods yes... now...

He worked with her hands, dragging his clothes and hers off as fast as he could before sweeping her up and back onto the bed. coming down with his mouth over hers, tongue working frantically in his mouth as he moved a hand between her thighs, working her as quickly and as hard as he dared.

She devoured him in the intensity of the returned kiss, bucking her hips against his hand, her breath hitching as she savored the building wave of tension.

She was fighting back against him as they moved together, pushing him higher until he could barely think. He moved one and then both legs between hers, moving his hands round under her back to pull him towards her as he entered her, need driving him faster and harder than he wanted to be, lost in the feeling of her.

She arched and groaned, shattering beneath him, completely absorbed in the moment, in the warmth of skin on skin, the way he filled her perfectly... she let herself surrender to him as they kissed.

He found himself driving into her, hungrily and hard, his mouth pulling back from hers feeling almost bruised as he muttered "not dead" before plunging back, chasing after her tongue like he was chasing after life itself, hands too firmly locked in her flesh to even think of moving.

She kissed him back with the same intensity until the need to breathe became an issue, his attentions pushing her to her limits. As she broke beneath him she let out a low but loud scream of pleasure, her body quivering...
His groan was a savage, primal thing as he erupted inside her, every part of him straining forward as his hands forced her tight against him, unable to think even of breathing as lights thundered and flashed behind his eyelids.

She held him close, still shaking. "Good gods..." she managed with a shaky breath.

He collapsed against her, lost in a whirl of warmth and shuddering pleasure. It wasn't until minutes later, when the haze had started to lift from his mind that he realized what he'd done - and to Kara. He felt the last embers of pleasure vanish in a torrent of shame, and found he couldn't bring his head up, couldn't meet her eyes. "I'm so sorry, darlin'..." he whispered. "Should've ... shouldn't have done that, not been so rough ... I'm sorry"

She slipped her hand beneath his chin, lifting his face so she could kiss him. "Don't.... don't ever apologize... that was incredible..."

He felt her lips moving on his, which felt bruised and tender. When he opened his eyes, they met hers, beautiful hazel green staring at him. He couldn't leave it alone ... he wanted to just start stroking her, holding her, telling her how wonderful she was, but all he could think of was the animal need that had driven him. "I used you... you're my friend, only friend I got left in this fang pi universe, and I used you..."

"Mal... get one thing straight.... If I didn't want it as much as you did, it wouldn't have happened..."

He couldn't help sounding a little lost and surprised as he asked "you wanted me too? You weren't just ... goin' along?"

"Who kissed who first...?" She asked with a flirty wink.

He gaped at her a little, then brought his mouth down to softly kiss her, one hand prying itself free to move up and gently stroke at her breast. "But who kissed who last?"

She groaned softly, eyes rolling back, her tongue snaking over her lip. "That has yet to be seen..."

"I never lose, darlin'... even with death." He pressed his lips against hers, tongue sneaking out to softly massage at her lips as his hand started to stroke a little more firmly, calloused palm pressed down against her soft pink nipple.

She groaned against his mouth, arching her back slightly, shockwaves of desire firing with each caress.

"Never lose," he whispered against her mouth, his other hand slipping underneath her to start gently kneading and stroking at her from behind, tongue fluttering gently against her lips.

She teasingly sucked his tongue into her mouth, nipping at his lip, hands roaming over his hip and side,

He felt himself start to harden again, still locked inside her from last time, nothing below their ribs having moved until he lifted his torso up to look down her body, seeing the odd bruise is hand had left on her skin. With a pained expression, he bent down to start gently kissing at the finger marks, as if trying to take any hurt away

She gasped, thrown for a moment at the sudden shift to gentleness.... Lords but the soft touch made her ache, in more ways than one... She gently caressed his cheek, biting her lip.

He kept moving slowly, tenderly, wanting to make up for all the sudden harshness of before, wanting to gently explore all of her. He worked his lips along her neck and shoulders, softly stroking and nuzzling at her, watching he skin almost seem to glow in the dim light of the room.

She buried her face in his neck, returning the gentle nuzzling, the soft tracing of hands over flesh.

He felt his skin coming alive under her touch, knots so old he'd long since forgotten them starting to ease a little; he spent several long minutes just nuzzling at her neck as she did his, fingers softly tracing all the old scars that marked her out as a soldier like him, one finger softly tracing the letters of her tattoo on her arm.

She slowly began to kiss up his neck, trailing soft kisses along his jaw before capturing his mouth in a soul-searing kiss that she felt all the way to her toes.

He didn't know what she was doing, how she was doing it, but suddenly he was trembling, shaking in her arms, kiss locking them together closer than anything else could, arms wrapped tight around each other.

She could feel his heard pounding in his chest where his skin was pressed to hers, she shifted, wrapping her legs over his.

He felt her legs move again to wrap round him, felt that thundering start to hammer in his veins again, and deliberately pulled himself back a little. He brought his face around close to hers again, his eyes dark as he looked into hers. "Kara ... I don't want to hurt you none ... but I want you again ... need you again. Tell me now, you want me to stop."

"Stop and I may have to kill you..." She growled in a low, husky voice.

He smirked, then grinned as her voice rippled up through him. "Now, that'd be something to see..." he remarked, as his hands moved down to cup her behind, tilting her hips towards him, "You couldn't kill me though ..." He started to move slowly inside her again. "I'm just too all-fired pretty for that..."

"You're damn right on that..." She licked her lips, kissing him again as she shifted beneath him, rocking and grinding her hips against his.

He spent a while playing with her, teasing at her tongue with his own, darting and hunting as he rocked against her, his lips slowly circling as he moved.

She used all of her weight to shift them, knocking him onto his back as the bed heaved and shook with a loud creak. She braced her hands against his shoulders, continuing to grind her hips against his.

He felt the bed warping a little under him as she forced him onto his back. When she started to grind against him again, he heard the headboard of the bed starting to rhythmically bang against the plaster and lathe wall that separated room from corridor, the low noise a counterpoint to the way he found himself gasping. He brought his hands up her arms and then along her shoulders, softly stroking against her until his hands finally reached her small, perfect breasts, cupping and teasing them as she moved, his eyes locked on hers.

She gasped, arching back, hips grinding and thrusting against his, a fine sheen of sweat glistening against her skin, making her glow in the dim light. Her rhythm began to falter as she neared her climax, body trembling.

He'd almost stopped moving, lost as he watched her move and arch against him, lost in the play of muscles moving under her skin as she seemed to keep him in constant motion, drawing him ever upwards. As she started to move out of sync, he found himself getting a little self control back ... celebrated it by moving one hand down to that soft, damp thatch of hair pressed against him, thumb rolling and stroking until he found that stiff little nub to tease.

She fell forward, bracing herself on shaking arms against his shoulders, a low, throaty moan tearing through her as she broke over the edge,

He caught her shoulders as she slumped forward, her head dropping towards him until he caught her mouth with his, holding her up as he kissed her urgently. He felt his hips buck upwards as she broke against him and he was away as well, surging into her with a sensation that was part-pain, part pleasure and all hers as the effects of a second time so soon after the first ripped through him.

She kissed him near desperately, still gasping to catch her breath, eventually pulling back and collapsing with her head against his shoulder.

He held her as she curled against him, head a reassuring, warm presence against his shoulder as his chest labored, pulling air back into his system. He felt warm and wet all over, the sweat from both of them drying gently on his skin as he brought a hand up to stroke softly at her hair. When he spoke, it was with pure wonderment. "Ain't never managed two so close together before... how did you manage to do that to me?"

"Hells if I know... but... Gods... that was incredible..." She closed her eyes and let herself rest.

He kept stroking her hair as he felt her slowing against him, eyes wide open and watching the ceiling for a long time, breath soft on his chest.

She drifted into a contented sleep, curled against him, not so much sated as exhausted.

He couldn't sleep, so he settled for lying still, staring down at her face as she relaxed; he paused to run a gentle touch along her cheek, scouting out the contours of her face as she slept, marveling that she could be so soft and so strong at the same time.

Stranger in a Strange Land - Chapter 4 FF/BSG Fic

2010-01-04T22:02:00.000-08:00

"Dressed? Yeah, probably a good idea..." He looked at her evenly, eyes a little more lively, and reached down to pull a gun and holster out from under his pillow, strapping it to his thigh before he'd even bothered looking for his clothes. "Never feel quite dressed without it," he commented.

She raised an eyebrow, licking her lip lightly. "Gotta admit... that's an interesting look... could get a little chilly though...

"Well..." He leaned forward with a faintly expectant look, just close enough to intrude on her personal space the littlest bit ... and then grinned. "That's because you're standin' between me and the rest of my duds, there."

She rose to the challenge, stepping even closer, eyes mischievous and a saucy grin firmly in place. "Am I now?"

He still had her tag clutched in his hand, pressing itself deeply enough into the palm of his hand that he was sure it would score his flesh for all to see. Who the hell was this woman? She'd moved into his life like a thunderbolt; strong as Zoe, but obviously wilder. He wasn't going to back down, though; he'd done too much of that lately. He stepped forward, eyes shadowed and intense. "Yes, you are, Kara Thrace. Course, I'm not real bright ... might be I'm missin' something."

"You might be..." She whispered, licking her lip "Tell me... what is it you see and maybe I can help..."

"I see..." He leaned forward just a mite closer, bringing those hazel-green eyes into sharp relief. "I see a woman standin' perilously close to another bathtub..."

She leaned closer, noses practically touching "Do it and I'll kick your ass..." She said in a sugary sweet tone, followed by a near sensual whisper "you smell good..."

He chuckled softly, tiling his head a little to one side, moving their noses a little out of alignment. "I smell like an old barn on fire ... full of smoke and stale booze. That dunkin' shake something lose, Kara?"

"Smells damned good to me..." she whispered, her breath caressing his lips as she held her position.

"Maybe because you smell the same?" He countered, hands moving down to hitch at his hips. Oh, he liked this woman. Not an ounce of give in her...

"Could be... or maybe I just like old stogies and cheap whiskey" She gave him a slight wink, her heart thundering in her chest. There was nothing like a good game of cat and mouse to get a gal worked up.

He leaned back a little to grin that faint lopsided grin of his, then looked all serious. "Why, Miss Thrace, I do believe you're playin' with me." He leaned forward a little on the balls of his feet, bringing his hips a little closer to her. "I might start to think you had an ulterior motive..."

"An ulterior motive?" She feigned a truly innocent look "Why Sir I have no idea what you're talking about..."

"Well, that is a gorram shame... because I was so lookin' forward to seeing how you tried to get revenge on me, but seein' as you're all sweet and innocent like ... I'll just have to settle for my clothes." He started to move slowly around her, eyes not leaving hers as he made sure that he didn't come anywhere near the other bath.

She gave him a playful wink, drawing her tongue over her lip. "Revenge is a dish best served cold... and I don't see anything in this room that I would describe as cold... save maybe the bath water"

"Well..." he drawled the word out slowly, "I think everything in this room is plenty hot enough already ... particularly after that cloud of steam that appeared when you were doin' your impression of a fish just before..."

"Are you sayin you think I'm Hot, Mr. Reynolds?" she teased.

"Why, Miss Thrace ..." He leaned forward again, moving them back nose to nose as if teasing again... right up to the point where he moved one hand fast as a viper up to the back of her head, pulling her towards his mouth to kiss her hungrily.

She groaned, returning the kiss just as hungrily; her arm slipping around his neck and fingers tangling into his hair.

He kept the kiss going, sucking on her lower lip a little, not breaking it for several long, endless seconds. Then, he stepped back quickly, ducking past the bathtub. "Good thing you don't have an ulterior motive, Kara ... else that might constitute me bein' teasin'..."

She was caught off guard, leaning back against the doorframe, still trying to catch her breath. It took only a moment before she recovered, running her tongue over her lip. "I may have to protest unfair tactics..."

He pulled the shirt on over his head, not bothering to undo the buttons as he put it on, before moving the braces of his britches up to his shoulders. "Tactics, Kara? Why, were we fightin' a war perhaps, or playin' a game? I thought you didn't have any ulterior motives there..."

She grinned at him. "Now I never exactly said that... but my motives are mine to know...

He hooked his coat up with his foot, pulling it up from mid thigh and over his shoulders in an easy, practiced motion. "See? Typical woman."

She whistled appreciatively. “Style and grace... I may have to revise my motives..."

He shrugged the coat on a little more comfortably, then grinned. "Don't you go changin' on my account ... I reckon you're pretty damn fine just as you are."

"You think so?" She gave him a wink and a very flirty smile before reaching for the door handle. "Ready for the next big adventure?"

"More of an adventure than bathin'? Better hope that some higher power's on our side, I'm not sure I can stand the pressure..." He kept his face calm and deadly serious, right up to the point he quirked both eyebrows up at once.

She wrinkled her nose in a genuine laugh before opening the door. "The world is ours Mal... think its ready for the likes of us?"

"I think that depends entirely on how big a gun it's packin." He waited until her back was turned, and slipped the tag into his pocket. He'd be keepin' hold of that, yessir.

Stranger in a Strange Land - Chapter 3 FF/BSG Fic

2010-01-04T22:01:00.000-08:00

He sat in the bathtub until he heard her drift off to sleep, the levered himself out as quietly as he could, moving to stand behind the screen just in case she was a light sleeper. He moved the screen towards the other bed and threw a towel across it, sprawling out to let himself air-dry, a luxury he'd not had in five years of warfare. Lying back, he kept the cigar going as long as he could, too comfortable to move.

She yawned, slowly stretching as she woke, the older bed creaking as her weight shifted.

He was drifting quietly, the alcohol he'd drunk adding what felt like a pink tinge, the cigar long smoked. He felt the tension of weeks easing a little; he resented that a mite, but couldn't summon the energy to fight it. Sleep was enticingly close, and it had been a long time since he'd slept normally...

She slowly got up, readjusting the towel before venturing over to pick up a bottle of wine, the smell of a fine cigar drifting on the air. "Frakkin hell... there better be another one of those...

He found himself dozing, making odd, quiet little snores, the room smelling familiar and warm. That had been the first food he'd kept down in several days, and it was a reassuring, soporific mass inside him.

Kara turned, moving back towards the bed, the brat in her tempted to peek around the screen. She settled for sitting on her bed, tossing ice cubes over the screen.

The first ice cube that landed on him seemed like a distraction. The second landed somewhere much more sensitive, and brought him up bellowing from the bed like a trapped bull. "Hwoon dahn!" he roared, convinced for a second he was under attack by something.

She laughed raucously. "Thought you were watchin the door" She teased.

He was about to go storming through the gorram screen at her until he realized he'd fallen asleep not wearing his pants... which was how she'd managed to get him in the first place. Snatching the towel off the bed, he wrapped it tightly around his waist, giving her an evil look as he stalked towards the remains of the dinner. "Just for that, I'm taking the other cigar and leaving you the spinach."

"Like hell..." she made for the tray where the cigar rested, resorting to yanking the towel loose to buy time as they both closed in on the prize.

"Wuh de tyen ah", Mal couldn't help but gasp as Kara dropped the towel, all thoughts of the cigar forgotten until she'd seized both the prize and her towel back. "Damn it woman, you cheated!"

She gave him a wink, sticking the cigar in her mouth "All's fair in wine and cigars"

"Really? Well, we'll just see about that, missy..." He stalked back to the dinner plates, expression intent. It had been a long time, and the room was warm... that meant that the ice buckets the liquor had arrived in were half liquid, half ice... and still cold.

It only took a second for her to register that he was going for the pail full of iced water. "Oh... y... you wouldn't." she backed up, eyes sparkling with mischief.

She let out a shriek of laughter and turned to put as much distance between herself and the oncoming onslaught of icewater that the small room would allow. For the first time in more months than she cared to admit, she was actually just living in the moment and enjoying it. Her biggest concern being what she could use as retaliation. "Gotta catch me first!" She gave him a playful wink and made her way to the far side of the screen.

Well, Mal wasn't feelin' exactly subtle after the ice cube onslaught, so he worked his way slowly around the screen, keeping a careful eye on her as she moved to keep it between them. Of course, if she'd not been watching him so closely... she'd have noticed when the bath was directly behind her. He stepped quickly forward, causing her to trip backwards into the bath ... and then promptly dumped the ice water in on top of her.

Chuckling like the devil, he couldn't help commenting as she thrashed around "Now, you can keep that cigar... I think you'll need it to warm up a mite." He felt better than he had in weeks... or at least, until she worked out how to get revenge on him, he mused.

She hit the water with a shriek that only intensified as the frigid water doused her head. How she managed to keep the cigar in her hand mostly dry she didn't know... it was a skill she wasn't about to question.

A dozen possible retaliations raced in her mind as she moved to get up, first eyeing the as yet uneaten dessert, eyed the pepper shaker and had a momentary flashback to an academy prank, then moved to stand up.

However she was so preoccupied it didn't occur to her that the tuck knot in the towel would not withstand the extra weight of the water as she did so.

Mal suddenly found he was getting an eyeful of extremely wet and naked blonde womanhood as the towel collapsed, and found himself going bright red. "Mother of god", he muttered turning around quickly to try and avoid gaping like a teenager. For months, he'd shared trenches and foxholes with women with no problems at all, but there was definitely somethin' more womanly about the woman behind him.

It was at that point that Kara came to decide that a flustered Malcom Reynolds was quite an adorable sight. Lords but that was way too easy of a way to get him back for the icy deluge. She stepped out of the tub, picking up another towel and securing it around her once more.

She slowly sauntered over, stretching out on her bed, striking a match against the floor to light her cigar. Let him wonder just what she may plan for retaliation. Sometimes the anticipation was worse than the actual execution.

Well, if she was goin' to be wanderin' round like, best he make sure that he kept himself out of temptations way. After all, he'd only known her a few hours, and it wouldn't take much for her to get the wrong idea.

Feeling more than a little embarrassed, he stalked over to where his laundered clothes had been piled up, snatched up enough to cover him to the waist and righted the screen so that he could at least dress that far before sprawling back on his bed. "You ought to get those bruises checked, case you've got a cracked rib or somesuch." That was better... focus on injuries, on being the responsible sergeant.

Of course, the bruises were on her ribs, which were... with a muttered groan, he stuck both hands behind his head and started running through the field manual on stripping and cleaning your average rifle inside his head.

She smiled to herself, getting up and walking over to where her clothes were neatly folded, bringing them back over towards the bed, deciding to forego further torment she moved behind the screen to pull on her unders and one shirt, leaving the rest folded by the bed while she lay back and enjoyed the cigar.

"Know there's at least one cracked, though that was from last week..." She looked at her hands. "Think I got a chunk of one of those idiot's teeth in my knuckle though."

He chuckled a little, stretching to feel the bedsprings moving under his back. "See, that's the problem with punching people in the mouth. Go for the nose next time, or the eyebrow. Puts them down for the count, hurts like hell, and much less chance of you needin' to go see a dentist afterwards. Or you can just shoot 'em, that works too."

That rib could be a problem, if'n she was goin' to keep scrapping with people. "How'd you bust the rib? Said you'd been here three weeks. You been out pickin' fights for fun, or somesuch?"

"I've actually managed to mostly avoid fights, been workin odd jobs. Cracked the rib when my little bird decided to crash into the surface of this rock."

"Well, if your rib's been cracked three weeks, not much you can do but let if finish healing. You may want to avoid helpin' out any more strangers, though. Only get's you in trouble." He pushed off from the floor with his feet, moving himself further up the bed.

The room smelled a little close; warm, still a little steamy from the two baths, and filled with the soft smells of the cigar he'd smoked, the cigar she was currently smoking judging by the column of smoke wafting up to the ceiling, the food and the faint smell of damp wool. Seemed a little like home, what he could remember it. First time in a while he'd thought of that; he'd not thought of much recently, besides where he could get his next drink, push away the faces of those dead in the Valley. Especially Zoe ... woman'd followed him everywhere, finally dying next to him in the last gorram attack on the valley, cut down by a skiff that wasn't even piloted by a human being.

He found his mood starting to darken, and forced himself to back away. He went back to watching the trail of smoke from the other side of the room, curling up softly.

"What're you plannin' on doing? You can't stay on Ariel forever. Plenty of rim worlds are looking for new colonists, new workers and suchlike. Worlds that ain't barely been touched by the Alliance." He found himself thinking of that cocky grin, she'd given him. He'd be willin' to bet that she'd taste like a cigar now, all rich and smoky, soft and warm. Definitely better than thinking of the Valley... and probably better for him than the booze, at least until he imploded again.

She got up from where she had been stretched out, walking around the screen to sit on the edge of his bed. "Honestly, I really don't know. Blackbird will never fly again and I was born to fly... If I had the money I would just buy a ship and just fly..." She blew a plume of smoke up into the air, then turned to look at him, really looking him over with an appraciative gaze.

He heard her walk around the room, and half expected a bowl of warm dessert to land on him from on high, but instead she came and sat on his bed, legs looking bare under her shirt from what he could see.

Just fly? There was a nice image to think of. He was planet-bound himself, a ground-pounder through and through... but he could see the appeal in being able to just get up and fly, leave everythin' behind; pain, enemies ... the Alliance.

She was giving him a definite look. What sort of look, he wasn't too sure of, but it made him a little nervous. He covered by reaching out to snag the cigar from between her fingers, thumb tapping against the end that wasn't glowing before putting it to his mouth and drawing in a mouthful of smoke that he let out in a long, steady stream of smoke before offering the cigar back to her.

"Flyin' sounds pretty good. Better than sittin' round, waiting for the Alliance to come along and give us all regulations up the pigu, turning us all into little ordered machines in their world. If you've gotta have a dream... you could do a lot worse."

She took the cigar and took a long draw, blowing out smoke rings. "We could go fly together... leave the ground behind. Its the one thing they can't frak up... no matter what anyone does, cant take the sky"

He looked up at her, the cigar moving back and forth from her lips as she drew on it, the red tip glowing almost as much as her expression when she spoke of flying. "Just take off... Both of us just vanish into the black?"

He rubbed his hands slowly against the back of his head, the fingers knitted together. "Where would we get the money for a ship? I ain't got nothin' but what's left in that wallet I lifted."

It was a nice dream though. Find a small ship ... not a shuttle, a ship. Something a little roomy... maybe get a small crew, find some work. There was always plenty of work out on the rim, planets too remote for much traffic. He smiled, a little sadly. A nice dream ... just not a possible one.

Her eyes had a far off dreamy look to them, dreamy yet determined. "We'll think of something... I have a feeling together we could be unstoppable..."

He snorted a little. "Unstoppable? Darlin', you may be a knockout, but I'm pretty much wo cao. Ain't no good for nuthin' but drinkin' and dyin'... and I ain't even managed the dyin' yet. He closed his eyes, welcoming the images of fire and loss that swept in behind his eyelids. They tasted like ashes and vinegar, reminded him how little he was worth.

"We're not that different Mal... Been said there's no one so free as one who has nothing to lose. It's true. Dogfight after dogfight you go out, watchin the kid you pinned wings on just last week get split in two by a raider, a nuke take out a vet thats been flying for years. War is one hell of a bitch to be married to... But you and I... someone out there thinks we deserve a second chance." She snagged the bottle from beside the bed, drinking down a healthy swallow, coughing a little as the alcohol stung the back of her throat. "I've always lived dangerous... should have been dead a dozen times over by now. Asked myself why I survived and they didn't time and time again... never did figure out why. Then realized one day that you have to keep goin on, keep making the most if for no other reason than to honor those who didn't get that chance. They fought and died cause they believed... fought to give everyone else a chance..." her voice was starting to waver, the emotion seeping through before she took a final draw off the stogie and set it in the tin ashtray, chasing the smoke with another healthy swallow of whiskey.

"We're alive Mal.. we just gotta remember how to live..."

"Someone out there?" His laugh was harsh, bitter. "Ain't no room for God in the foxholes ... he don't exist no more. It's all just dumb luck .. or someone tryin' to screw you over again."

He wanted to just stop where he was, just deflate like a character on one of those kid's 'toons, but he couldn't even work up the effort for that. "Loads of kids deserved to be alive... kids with bright, burnin' futures. People of worth. And yet they all bit it one way or t'other, out in the dirt and the go se and the blood. And here I am, still here. What's so great about living, darlin'? Ain't nothin' but a world of hurt out there, and I'm done with it."

"You really think that little of the ones who fought beside you? They gave their life cause they believed in what they were fighting for, and I think at one time you did too... Only difference is you managed to dodge just one more bullet... You give up now.. its just a dishonor to their memory. Me... I'm gonna live... cause each day I do its one more kid that didn't die in vain." She tossed back another drink and slowly got up, walking to where the rest of her clothes were folded on the chair, pulling them on.

"Never said it was the Gods you had to believe in... just have to believe in something, or someone." She tugged on her flight suit, fastening the holster around her waist to hold the suit at her hips, without pulling the top half on. She reached around and unfastened the chain from her neck, slipping off one of the tags before refastening it. She walked over to where he lay and pressed the tag into his palm. "you need someone to believe in you too... no idea why but I do... guess its an old soldier's sense or something frakked like that. I'm coming back, that tag means I will. You keep it safe for me, I'm gonna go do some scrounging..." With that she leaned in and just barely kissed him before turning and walking towards the door.

He sat up as she walked towards the door, hand moving onto his thigh as he looked down at the strange tag she'd given him. Hexagonal, with some sort of crest on it, and her name and number.

He reached down and picked the bottle up, swigging heavily before lowering it, resting it against his other thigh, both hands in sight. He heard her start on the door handle, and thought about the brief instant in which she touched him.

She still had faith, despite what she'd seen. He couldn't feel anything in him any longer like that; just gaping, open holes where bits of him had been.

"Kara Thrace." He called out softly, waiting for the sound of her opening the door to stop. "I never left a one of them behind whilst they were still alive. I don't leave my people alone in front of the enemy. If you're goin'..."

He clenched his hand over the tag, feeling the dull edges cut into his palm as he set the bottle on the floor. "If you're goin' out, I'm goin' with you."

She turned, smiling at him, a sparkle in her eye. "Good to know you got my back... and I'll have yours. We made a pretty good team back there, and I think we could both do a lot worse than teaming up together." She began to walk back towards him, lightly biting her lip as she did. She gave him a cocky smile. "You might want to get dressed before venturing out though... unless you have other things in mind...." She said with a playful wink.

Stranger in a Strange Land - Chapter 2 FF/BSG Fic

2010-01-04T21:36:00.000-08:00

Fleet? So, she was military then. Well, there were a lot who were after the Alliance war. Course, that meant she'd probably served on one side or t'other, and she didn't look like no Browncoat ... although she'd laid in to them Alliance thugs fair sweetly, back in the last place.

So, did he trust her? Hells, did it make any difference these days anyway. "Sounds like you've not had much luck. What was your Fleet? You don't look like no Alliance spacer, and you don't sound like no-one I ever heard." He tried to cover the appraising look he was giving her by starting in on the beer, which was better than you'd expect in this place.

"Colonial Fleet; or at least what's left of it. One battlestar, one gunship and sixty or so civilian vessels containing the last of our civilization" She downed some more beer, licking her lip as she set the jug down.

"Civilization? There a lot more than that of your folk originally?" She looked ... grubby. Wholesome, too... a lot like Zoe. Same tough look, same feral charm. He'd probably find her attractive, if he wasn't half dead. Now, she was more ... companionable. He reached out and topped up both glasses, and looked down at himself for the first time in a week, in clothes that'd stand up on their own for sure.

"Twelve colonies, 60 billion people, reduced to 45,000 on a handful of ships in a matter of hours

"Wuh de tyen ah! What happened? Star go nova?" The barman was giving the pair of them funny looks. Mal was used to that, but lookin' as he did... damn.

She shook her head. "Nope, nothing so nice... cylons mounted a surprise attack, took down our entire defense network with a virus. Last I saw the fleet they were locked in combat with two basestars and a pile of raiders. Frakkin jump drive misfired and I wound up here. Betting they thought the bird was lost in combat.... so there won't be anyone looking for me

"Cylons? I hope they never come anywhere near here. Sound as nasty as the Alliance... what was it, border war? Settlement conflict?" Another war victim, then. More broken people.

"They're machines... we built them, before I was even born... they were supposed to make life easier, do the dirty work no one else wanted to do... they got smart, started thinking for themselves, they rebelled and fought for independence... eventually it was granted and they took off. Didn't hear a word for 40 years... then one day they showed up and blew us out of the water. Smarter, faster... frak some of them even look like us..."

Independence. Same damn word again. He felt himself closing down and tried to cover by shifting back in his seat, sitting up straighter and drinking hard. "So these things could be round here, waitin' to do the same to us?"

"Doubt it, from what's left of my jump computer... we're not anywhere near the Cyrannus system. Nothing even registers in my star charts

"So at least we've got a state of grace for a while then. Hells, maybe them and the Alliance can get together, wipe themselves both out and leave honest folk free." The damn barman was watching them again. "Name's Reynolds. Malcolm Reynolds."

"Kara Thrace..." She picked up the jug of beer "And I'll drink to that... cant say I've heard anything about the Alliance since I've been here that I like

Drains his three-quarters full mug down quickly, and puts it on the table. "In case you'd not noticed, the barman here... that squirrelly looking feller by the bar ... he's been watchin' us since we came in. Look familiar?"

"Never seen him... you?"

"Not him exactly, but I know the type. He's a spotter, hunts out likely lookin' folk for the local gangs to pick up. This bein' such a nice place, it ain't like we can just shoot him and throw him out the back, though."

"So what do we do?" She asked, eyes, tracking the bartender.

"Well, we fight our way out, or hole up. You see the blue border on the sign outside?" He sloshed half the remaining beer into his glass, taking pains to look comfortably drunk.

She thought for a moment. "Yeah... didn't think much of it though... seen a lot of signs like that back on the colonies"

"Means this place is, amongst other things, a bathhouse. Uptown, you get just that... a bath. Down here, its baths, booze... obligin' company... all the comforts of home." He poured the last of the beer into her glass.

She raised an eyebrow.

"I'm thinking we grab a large room with a couple of big baths, and hole up. They'll bring up food and booze, I can get some sleep and you can shoot anyone as tries to bust in."

"Gods that sounds good right about now... Deal"

He nodded, and rose up from his seat, staggering a little. "Don't look to dangerous ... they might think you're a spotter or runner yourself." He ran a hand through his hair roughly, and started to amble towards the bar.

She nodded, her smile softening as she followed him to the bar.

"Barkeep!" He called out a little too loudly, looking all bright and cheerful. "Me and the missus fancy usin' one of your fine bath rooms... with separate baths, mind. We're decent folk."

She gave the barkeep a charming smile as they waited, all the while paying close attention to him and the others in the bar

The barman looked a little surprised at them, but started scratching around behind his desk. He started to fumble with a key when Mal hauled a stack of notes out of his purloined wallet, letting him get a good look as he dropped a few down on the bar. "A decent room, mind... nothin' sleazy or cold for my darlin' wife. And we'll need some laundry done... damn horse sports get you so all-fired muddy."

Kara had to stifle a chuckle at the sudden change in the bartender's attitude when his eyes lit on the money. Within seconds they had a key and a room number and were on their way.

The room was better than Mal expected ... looks like the barman was that kind of corrupt honest that meant he stayed bought. Centre of the room was, of course, two large bathtubs... but handily, with a screen to divide them. "Could be a lot worse... more comfy than a slit trench."

"Looks damn inviting..."

He moved the screen carefully in between the two baths, and slowly levered his boots off, waiting for the knock at the door that'd be the barman or his staff come to take their clothes away. "Make sure you tip big ... else they'll steal your clothes and anythin' in them."

"Not much in them to be honest..." She slipped behind the screen, peeling off the flight suit.

He carefully avoided looking - or listening - too closely, instead concentrating on peeling off his clothes, grimy with days of dirt. Finally, he managed to lower himself into his bath, trying to sound at least a little like he wasn't doing something unhealthy.

Kara peeled of the rest of her clothing, climbing into the warm, soapy water, not caring what sound she made as she did so. "Gods this feels good...."

He sank back against the back of the extended wooden tub, feet running out under the water, and sighed gustily. "Feels pretty damn good over here, too."

"Gods, its been months since I had a good soak... only showers on a battlestar..."

He grunted, starting to work himself over slowly with the soap. "Better than a helmet full of hot water in the field, I'll say that."

"So say we all..." She leaned back, just letting herself soak for a while before very carefully starting to clean various scrapes and bruises.

He soaped as much of himself up as he could reach easily; naturally, the hired help waited until he was covered in foam before arriving to take their clothes away for cleaning.

Kara kept carefully submerged beneath the soapy water, hiding the mottle of bruises as they collected hers. "This is quite the place...

He nodded at the short serving staff as they started to scatter food and liquor around, and then pretended to be ignorant when he tried to stop them moving the screen. "Gorram it!" He sank back beneath the water until it was up to his chin.

Kara chuckled, staying beneath the water herself. it was all she could do to keep from busting out into a full out laugh.

"Tu de ma. Sorry about this... they're pretendin' they don't speak honest English." He glanced sideways. "Although they did leave food."

"Don't worry bout it... spend the last 3 years living in a sardine can and sharin a bunkroom with 9 others..."

"Yeah, well I didn't." Sits up a little, to where he can hike a tray of food over to himself, reaching down the side of the tub to snag most of a chicken. "I'm hungry enough to eat your share, though."

She laughed. "Careful, I may have to wrestle you for it..."

He chuckled, snatched up a boiled egg still in the shell and tossed it over. "That should be plenty, I think..." He started chewing his way through the chicken, relaxing enough to sprawl back again.

She reached over and took hold of one leg of the chicken, giving it a yank, nearly losing her balance before sinking back into the water, prize in hand.

"Now that ain't fightin' fair..." He hunched protectively over the chicken, pretending to hide it behind his hands. "You'd steal a bird from a starvin' man? For shame."

"Only to feed a starvin woman" She countered back, taking a bite.

"Well..." He pretended to consider it. "In that case, I'll be stealin' half your mo shu pork straight back when I've done tryin' to eat this bird whole."

She winked at him. "Not if I get to it first..."

"Darlin', I'm a highly trained and independent soldier. That makes me a better thief than you'll ever meet..."

She laughed heartily. "How bout we call a truce, I'll even agree to split that fluffy looking desert

"Well, alright... provided it extends to the booze as well. I've got this rule about staying sober ... I don't." He dropped the remains of the chicken back onto a handy plate, and pushed his head under water to start lathering the rats nest that was his hair.

"Copy that..." she finished off the chicken leg and dropped it back to the plate, working on her own hair.

It took him three attempts to grind the dirt of two worlds out of his hair, his head feeling pounds lighter when he finally lifted it out of the water. "I think I brought half the gorram valley back here with me."

She smiled over at him. "You clean up pretty good..."

He snorted, head lying back against the side of the tub. "Wait til you really get to know me, then you'll see just how annoying I am ... assumin' I don't just get you killed first."

"Or I get you tossed in hack, have a knack for that myself‚"

"Hack? Doesn't sound like fun." The water was cooling a little, but still damned comfortable. He reached out blindly, searching around for a bottle.

Kara reached for a bottle at the same time, their hands brushing.

He gripped the bottle before he realized it was her hand up against it, at which point he let it go sharply, looking embarrassed. "Sorry, I ... oh, damn and blast..." The freed bottle fell over sideways, straight onto the dessert.

She grabbed for the bottle, managing to get it before the entire contents spilled. "Frak me..."

He looked down at the somewhat soggy remains of the pudding. "Well... at least most of it ended up in that bowl. I'm not sure I'd normally mix it with custard, though..."

"Better mixed than gone...." She grinned

He grinned easily. "Well, just makes it harder to share evenly. Been a long time since I had to drink my booze with a spoon..."

"I've honestly never tried..."

"You've obviously not had to boil shoe polish to get alcohol out of it." He picked up the dessert bowl, turning it around and trying to work out if there was anyway to pour out of it.

"Careful you're gonna wind up wearin it"

"but it's so pretty." He shrugged. Maybe he wasn't so thirsty after all. Carefully, he set the bowl back down. "At least I didn't knock the beer over as well."

She chuckled, slowly getting up out of the water, a soft film of bubbles sliding over her skin as she did. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself, snagging a piece of fruit from the basket.

He caught a glimpse of Kara rising up out of the tub, and quickly turned to look at something ... anything ... else. "It'll be a while before they bring our clothes back up dry ... there should be a pull down bed somewhere, if you want to get some sack time in. I can watch the door."

"Sounds like a damned good plan... give me 30 then it's your turn..." She looked around, finally finding the bed and tugging it down, sprawling across it. Thoroughly relaxed from her bath.

Stranger in a Strange Land - Chapter 1 FF/BSG Fic

2010-01-04T21:32:00.001-08:00

(Author's note: This was a joint effort on livejournal some years back. It is still one of my favorite pieces, and the source of the title for my blog. It is not canon for either series.)

He could feel the burn in his throat from a three day drunk and no food, but he didn't give a damn. Ordering yet another bottle of the shiong mao niao he'd been drinking, he gave the two toughs who'd been eyeing him a good long look at the service pistol he carried. He might be one of the few to walk out of the guai that was Serenity valley, but that didn't mean he had to much care about it.

She walked into the strange place, looking around. Charming, real charming... gods but they better have some decent alcohol around. She'd spent the past three weeks working from job to job, scraping together what she could. her bruises were mostly healed, too bad she couldn't say the same for the heap of metal that was once a ship. It was ironic really, the first blackbird had flown beautifully, without a hitch, the second... test flight was a dream... the moment she flew it into combat... she was gods knows where. And no one was coming looking. last she'd seen of the fleet they were prepping to jump out of a heavily one sided fight. they'd taken heavy losses and she would be counted among them.

He staggered to his feet, with the vague intention of going and using what passed for a mens room in this place - or more likely just the back wall, having actually seen the mens room. As soon as he did so, he saw more than one set of eyes turn to take in the tattered remains of his independent uniform, the brown coat. Swaying as he moved along the bar, he managed to come to a halt just in front of the leg someone had deliberately stuck out in front of him. "Je shr shuh muh lan dong shi?" He demanded, looking down into the florid face of some black-shirted figure sprawled out in his chair with some buddies. Someone was out huntin' for a fight? Suited him damn fine. Maybe another few days unconscious would take away the faces...

She made her way to the bar, bristling at the eyes that followed her. Lords were there any places around here where she wasn't instantly sought as a piece of meat. It didn't tale long for her to spot the potential fight brewing at the far end of the bar so she made her way over slowly. Things looked very one sided... and given she'd had about enough of this place she downed the two drinks she'd ordered quickly and closed in. Nothin made her day like evening up the odds a bit. Besides, it gave her a reason to hit something.

The ape in the suit could be an Alliance hireling ... hell's, he could be a gorram undertaker on holiday out slumming it, wouldn't make much difference anyway. Sprawling with your leg out was amateur hour ... as he found out, when Mal took advantage of the position to kick him between the legs hard enough to knock him and his chair over. Flipping the table into one of his friends... now that was just for meanness' sake. He saw their friends moving with the obvious intent of turning him into a smear on the bar floor. Well, let them try ... he was three months dead already, just still movin'.

When the fight broke out she was right in the thick of it. The old gorilla never saw the punch coming, especially not from her. Three weeks of frustration started to vent out through her fists, taking more than the occasional blow herself. Two frakkin years on the run and she winds up lost in combat because of a frakkin engine malfunction, no chance to even go out in a blaze of glory like they'd always talked about. Presumed dead, but still breathing, just with nothing left to live for, lost on a backwater world with no way of contacting home. Everything she'd found was sub-light... no one even knew what FTL was GODS what a frakkin mess she'd gotten into this time. She'd gone and gotten herself distracted, which resulted in her back impacting a table at a rather good speed, sending splinters of wood flying

Grinning savagely, he found he was almost enjoying himself. They weren't as drunk as he was, not by a long shot; he made up for that by not giving a damn when they hit him, and teaching them that anything could be a weapon. He barely registered the stranger pitching in, until she smacked down the hoe-tze he'd been aiming for. Didn't she know it's rude to interrupt a perfectly good fight? That didn't make him any happier when someone nailed her with a sucker punch, though; something he came to regret when, after apparently doubling up to gasp for breath, Mal laid him out with a loopy right that started somewhere round his boots. Got to make things fair, after all...

She got back to her feet, still winded but fighting like a wildcat when some of the guys started getting just a little too touchy feely rather than fighting. She laid out two before a third got hold of her by surprise, catching her in a hold that had her arms immobilized. That didn't' stop her feet from nailing a fourth in the nether regions so hard he would have to take his shirt off the next time he needed the head.

He saw the woman getting grabbed, goons havin' a hard time getting a hold on her fancy shiny suit. She landed a couple of seriously sweet blows before someone got a grapple hold Mal didn't much approve of. He settled that one by whipping a stone bottle of something off the table and into the back of his head in a single smooth motion, ramming his head backwards into the face of the man trying to grab him from behind. God, but he loved a good fight - nothing else seemed to get the blood workin', these days.

When the bottle broke and the goon released her, by way of falling unconscious, she gave the bottle wielder a nod of thanks, a quick look-over and a wink before returning to the thick of the fight. landing a few more decent blows before some very official looking people started filing through the front doors.

"Oh, tai-kong suo-yo duh shing-chiou doh sai-jin wuh dhu pee-goo. Some people just don't respect the sanctity of a good bar fight. We oughta hustle, less'n you got an urge to go play nice with some more alliance flunkies..." He started looking round for his hat, too drunk to remember he'd not been wearing one. His fists ached along with half the rest of him, but that was a damn sight better than feelin' nothing but numb.

"Hustlin sounds good right about now..." She started for the back exit, reaching over and grabbing hold of the sleeve of his coat to tug him along. "come on. they don't look none to happy..."

"Wha..?" He staggered after her, pulled along like a cargo barge being shoved by a tug. "But my gorram drink's back there... well, somewhere..."

"I'll buy you another, figure I owe you least a couple for some good saves."

"Hah. Ain't nothin' needed owing after you laid into them... hell, you might owe me for not letting me get my gorram head split open, put an end to this whole sorry show." He crashed through the side door to the bar, movin down the alley behind via a combination of momentum and frantic footwork as he tried to avoid falling over.

She looped his arm over her shoulder to help steady him as they both careened down the alleyway, taking refuge behind a large dumpster until the commotion died down on the street in front. Fortunate for them they had slipped out and the fight had raged in without them, and had since spilled into the street infront of the building.

He sat back against the wall, gasping for breath and going green alternately, until at last he had to wrench himself up from behind the dumpster to be noisily sick into it. At least eh commotion out on the street front covered the noise, although right now all he could hear was the little people banging around inside his head with sledgehammers

She leaned back against the wall, breathing heavily. She watched him carefully, making sure he wasn't in need of help, and didn't fall head first into the dumpster. She peeled off the top half of her flight suit, rolling up her shirt to check her ribs, which were now turning a rather nasty shade of deep purple. "Frak me..." She groaned, touching a badly bruised area very gently.

He finished bringing up the last few liquid meals he'd had, hawking to clear his throat a few times before pulling a battered flask out of his pocked and taking a nip from the lid, using it to rinse his mouth out. He turned back to the woman who'd helped him, his eyes flicking quickly to the intricate pattern of bruises revealed along her ribs. "You look like you could use a drop of this yourself," he offered, holding out the flask.

She nodded, taking hold of the flask and tossing back a fair mouthful. She swallowed hard, coughing a little at the burn that coursed down her throat. She passed the flask back. "hell of a right hook you got... that was some nice shot"

She carefully smoothed her tanks back into place, hiding the bruises for now.

He couldn't help chuckling a little. Ribs that looked like a new silk print, and she was talking punches? His kind of woman. "It's pure motivation ... and knowin' that the third most powerful force in the 'verse is stupidity. Man looks like he's goin' down, most assume he is down."

He looked back over his shoulder, listening to the whine of the local police skimmers hauling up outside the inn. "Unless you're wantin' to see one of the Alliance's more scenic jail cells, we ought to hustle on to somewhere else. Plenty of bars left I ain't been thrown out of yet..."

She laughed, getting to her feet. "Lead on... you probably know this place better than I do.. hell three weeks and I don't even know where the frak I am." She paused, looking over at him with a half drunken grin. "Where am I anyway?"

"You're in an alley with a man of dubious moral worth, if that helps." He pulled himself back up to his feet, looking down the alley. "Planet's named Ariel, and it's one of the by-the-grace-of-god new adoptee worlds of the Alliance, making our lives better every day." He practically spat the words out, contemptuously. He started to pat down his pockets, expression improving a little when he found what he thought he'd collected; the first gorilla's wallet.

"Well, lookee here... seems as if the Alliance is payin'. Ain't that awful sweet of them?"

Kara couldn't help but chuckle. "Dubious moral worth... I may have had similar said about me a time or two." She followed him down a twist and turn of alleyways, looking for the next bar. have to admit, Never heard of Ariel."

"Fine upstandin' woman like you? I find that a mite hard to believe." He could already taste that next beer, washing away the last of the rough spirit he'd been drinking. "You don't look like an independent or a rogue spacer."

They turned onto one of the many slum streets located beneath the shining cities of Ariel. "Ariel's a second tier colony, and capital of this particular festering part of the 'verse, accordin' to the Alliance. Now they're busy civilisin' it more. Nother ten years, folk won't be able to breathe here without Alliance permission."

He stopped outside a dive that looked much like any other, save for the blue edging to the sign. "Now, this is more like it." He set one hand to the door, before pausing. "If you're new here - and I find it also a mite hard to believe you can be here and not know what Ariel is ... then you won't know about the snatcher gangs. Stay close to people you trust ... else some group'll snatch a fine woman like you off the street, send you out as bonded property."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "They can frakkin try, I'd kill the bastards." She followed him into the bar, ordering a beer and venturing to a table in the back corner that was unoccupied.

A quick glance around reminded her of some of the seedier places she'd spent her shore leave over the years. The type of place where no one was interested in your business but you. The type of place that was almost comfortable. She eased down into the bench seat that curved round the back half of the table, wincing as her battered body screamed in protest.

She reached for the pitcher of beer she had brought with her to the table, not bothering with a glass she downed several healthy swallows before looking over at him. "I got separated from my fleet, they probably think I'm dead. Engine malfunctioned during a cylon attack and I wound up bouncing into the atmosphere of this lovely little place. Blackbird was never meant for atmospheric flight so she crumpled like a tin can. Guess most would say I'm lucky to have walked away. now, if you call being stranded on a planet that you've never heard of where no one has a frakkin clue what you're talking about and doesn't give a frakkin damn then yeah I guess I am lucky." She finished with several more long swallows of beer, the alcohol starting to numb the ache in her sides.