"Do you need me to take care of the baby tonight?" Killian asked.
She glanced up at him. "No, that's ok. I got her. You've done enough." She pats his arm. "I'm sorry...I know I've been super short with you all evening. Its not you...promise. Sasha kind pissed me off."
Killian winced when she patted the cast though it was very lightly and he figured she had noticed after about the second pat. "What did she do?" He couldn't think of anything that the woman did that could have made Star so mad.
"Well, first she had the gall to compare how she raised you to how I am going to raise Claire...then she got off on another topic." Star's voice faded out and she glared to the side. Everything within her didn't want to tell him. But he was her husband now, and she would've been pissed off if Killian had kept something like this from her as well. She looked back at him. "Sasha said something about the bippens kidnapping the Chippequoti in droves and sending them to the masters. She wants us to help, but she was being super manipulative about it. She's playing some sort of game, Killian and I REFUSE to let you or me be that damned woman's pawn."
Adjusting how he was laying in the bed Killian scooted a bit closer to Star. He usually liked to be in close proximity with her. "Hmmm...I wouldn't say she did a bad job raising me." For the most part he couldn't have blamed her for running from the man and Killian knew he couldn't have actually protected her. At least now he knew that. Far as he was concerned Sasha did him favor by leaving. "The Bippens are what?!" Sitting up in the bed he could feel himself growing more angry by the second. "I never did like those little blobs. Sick minded bastards." Muttering under his breath he finally pulled himself together and reluctantly settled into the bed again. "Where are they keeping them?"
Star sighed. "She didn't say. But its bound to be somewhere dangerous." She put a hand on his chest. "Listen, Killian. Hearing about what they were doing upset me too, but Sasha...she's playing a whole 'nother game. She wants you to free the Chips so we can use them as soldiers against the masters. No doubt she has other things up her sleeve as well." She clutched his shirt, her forehead wrinkling in worry. "I don't want you getting hurt or killed in whatever game Sasha is playing. So you'd better check and double check everything before you go after them, lest you end up as a pawn in her war too."
"Of course its somewhere dangerous." Killian moved a hand up to meet the one resting on his chest. "You know as well as I do that the Chippequoti wouldn't fight for her. They might fight for me and then its all out of her hands soon as I get them out."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." She looked up at him. "According to the Sasha, the Chippequoti have been through some pretty horrible things...including being isolated from one another and having their voiceboxes removed. They may very well want nothing more than war. And Killian, they won't have the boundaries we do. They will commit mass murder on a massive scale just to get to the masters. You know they would."
Clenching his jaw he refused to look at Star for the time. "How do you know that? Maybe if they could see reason or logic they would be more willing to scale back."
"If I wasn't there when you were making plans against the masters...would anyone have been able to convince you to scale back?" She asks seriously. "The only reason you did was because you loved and respected me. These Chippequoti don't have that. If anything...the ones they love and care for have been tortured and killed. I can't imagine any sort of reasoning stopping them. Especially if you rescued a whole group."
Gradually he moved her hand off his chest. "I don't care if you think they can't be handled. Sitting here and letting them be treated like that isn't acceptable. They will respect me. Chippequoti aren't void of love either and I don't think you understand that."
"That was not the point I was making. I know full well they are capable of love...if anything they probably love their mates more deeply than any human could. That's exactly why they'd want war and on a massive scale. I can imagine what it would be like to lose you permanently, and the amount of anger I would have towards the people who did it. Hell, if I were them...I might want it too. I'm not saying we don't rescue them...I'm saying we be careful, check and double check all the options, all the scenarios. Cause if we don't, thousands of innocent people could be killed."
Killian settled down a little bit when Star finally admitted that not all the Chippequoti were bad. At least she could see something and she wasn't 100% against getting them out. "Well whose to say that there won't still be the ones that they care about to be left? Would have never thought that we would have had another chance."
Star shrugs. "Maybe you're right. I really hope you are. But we should have a plan for if things go south. What will we do if they don't listen and start a mass massacre?"
"Then we hope it's in the right place that they start the massacre. Besides where could it be better than where we release them. Direct access to the nobles prisons and the link to their wealth. Maybe even a way to get to the nobles themselves." Killian was almost pleased with the idea.
"Maybe." Star sighed lightly as she lay back. She still didn't like it at all. The situation in its entirety was dangerous and risky. Add to that Sasha was in the background with her own motives, while the Chippequoti would have motives of their own no matter what Killian said to them. Up till now this war had been mostly defensive. The moment those Chippequoti were loosed, the war would erupt and everything would become far more dangerous and violent than it already had been.
The last thing she wanted was her family stuck in the middle of it...but that was exactly where they were. "I hate this..." She admits quietly. "I hate that our family seems to constantly be stuck in the middle of one war or another...and we're forced into situations we can't ignore." She swipes away a frustrated tear. "I can't lose you Killian...but this whole situation is just going to make that 40% more likely, if not more."
She looks at him confused. "What? No...I don't mean lose you mentally...I mean physically. This whole situation...it just puts you in that much more danger of being killed."
"Oh..." Killian laid back in the bed and sighed. "Well I think of it this way. I'm just as likely get put out here at home as I am in a ship, or making a raid."
"That is not comforting. And I think its far less likely here at home now that you've dealt with Clay's men."
"How do I know that one of these times there won't be a mole somewhere?" Rolling to his side again he gently rested a hand on her. "I can't die till its my time anyway. Obviously with the poison it wasn't time so I'll just do what I have to till I drop."
"Again...not very comforting." Star shakes her head, and snuggles close enough to rest her head on Killian's chest, holding him close. "I know you have to do this...doesn't mean I'm not going to be worried sick every time you step out that door. Knowing you're taking every precaution possible, like some of that fancy new gear and shields...that will help make it a little easier."
"Fine then," Killian rubbed her back a little. "I'll let you do the gear searching so you feel comfortable with me wearing it." He figured she wouldn't be happy unless she was the one to pick out what he wore on raids.
"I already have the gear in mind." She smirked.
"Huh....How did I have a feeling that you would." He could have rolled his eyes and yet it was a little funny at the same time. "She left you a number for contact and I put it in the breadbox."
Star groaned in annoyance. "Why would I ever want to call her?"
"To find out where they are keeping the Chippequoti and to do your research. I know you won't trust me cause I'd go no matter what."
She sighed. "Great, so I get to be in charge of helping you run into a dangerous situation...again. At least I'll get to help you navigate the best possible route and battle plan."
"Exactly." Killian couldn't help some of the excitement in his voice. "We'll get to do what needed to be done a long time ago. You make a great partner in crime."
She groaned again. "And just when I thought we were finally settling down a little."
"We will!" Star was sometimes so strange and he didn't understand her.
************************************************************
The sky was finally mostly clear of the ash, and the sun (though dulled by the ash in the atmosphere) was showing once again. Everything was still covered in a thick layer of ash and people wandered out of their homes, masks still covering their faces as they worked to sweep the garden clear of the ash in order to set up the greenhouses and begin planting again. Star was inside on her data pad diligently researching everything she could with the information given to her by Sasha. She'd been overly curt with the woman on the phone but she hadn't seemed to care, which just made Star more annoyed.
According to Sasha, the Chippequoti that hadn't already been sold as or put in the games were being kept on a desert planet strictly used for mining beneath ground. Above the ground, the sun was near lethal during the day causing for minimal planet and animal life. Thus the majority of the operation was underground where the Chippequoti worked, slept and ate in secluded dark environments. There was a moderate amount of guards in each section of the mine with hundreds of other sorts of slaves scattered about. The best way Star could see to get in quietly was the transport ships that carted away the crystals once every two months. It was heavily guarded but if Killian and the crew could take it over before it reached the planet, they'd have a much better chance of getting in and using stealth fighting to work their way through the mines with minimal resistance.
Star jotted down a few notes then looked up as the sound of ship landing reverberated through the house.
In the distance a familiar ship landed in the shipping yard. On its side the name “Comet.” So Timo had decided to come after all. "Killian...Timo is here." She says somewhat shocked. After the two had left things last time, she hadn't exactly been expecting to see the boy again.
The ramp lowered and 20 or so refugees, men, women and children shuffled out of the ship, looking shell shocked. They stared in awe at their new home, and at the ash that covered the ground like snow. Timo approached Killian as he and the other colonists met the new group. “You told me to bring any refugees, so I did. Most everyone here has some sort of experience building and managing a colony. There’s eight more people on the ship. Five of them are severely wounded, the other two are nurses and one is a doctor. I’ve also brought some supplies to help supplement your own with the new influx of refugees until you’re able to get more of your own.”
Timo looked to the side, and looked like he was about to eat a lemon. “I’m uh...I’m sorry for the way I spoke with you last we met. You’re right that I still don’t know much about my place in this world...but...I think I’ve found it by doing this. I’d like to become your supply ship...if you’ll let me. Like, legitimate supplies. Tell me what you need, give me the credits and I’ll make sure to get it and more if possible.”
