Smugglers Cove (Love2write and Silence)

"Ow..." Almost whimpering he laid back. His shoulder was bruised from the brass knuckles and he hand felt like it was going to crush what wasn't already feeling broken. It was actually lucky that he hadn't broken his arms or any bones at all. Worst he had was a little crack in one fist. Again it was something easy enough to fix in about a week. Some of those scans would do it. He winced again when she touched the bruise under his eye. "Alright we'll wait a little bit."

Killian grimaced. "I wonder if we can find some way to get intelligence on which smuggler planets are controlled by the different factions. If I'm the first to make a decent list I could make some good money. After this I'm gonna start a quick charter of the planets and the war. I'll sell to the other smugglers in the rebellion." Gradually the grimace turned to a grin and he was already trying to plan the next round. "So what do you think of a little exploring?"

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

Andy moved from the engine room to just outside the medical bay. Peering inside she shook her head. That woman was absolutely smitten with their captain. Personally Andy had taken a great dislike for the man since he tried to strip her that one time. However, she would give him credit for the fact that he had pretty well left her alone to do her job ever since. Still didn't get any new clothes but, she was sharing what she could with Star.

Catching the doctor outside the door she nodded toward the two in there. "Why's she like him? I always thought you would have been the more likely candidate. Except your lack of charm."
 
"Exploring? Where?" Star questions. "You mean like actually get off this ship for a bit?" Her eyes lit up with the idea. She'd been cooped up for what seemed like forever in this metal can. Getting out and about, even if only for a little bit and even if it was for a job, there was no way she'd say no to that.
***
Kato glances down at her with that stoic mask on his face. He shrugs and looks back at the two, a sad look in his eyes. Not quite understanding it himself. "More history, I suppose. Perhaps he is simply her type. He is...complicated and fierce and dangerous. I am simple and quiet and safe." He sighs lightly and turns away from them, returning his full attention to Andy. "How are you adjusting? Are you well? Do you require anything?"
 
Seemed that exploring got the lady's attention. That was more like it. He loved to see her smile like that. "Oh I think exploring the system. Like I said run a map of the war. Find out where it's safe for rebellion smugglers to trade. When we make the drop we'll be at the border. Perfect time to take our chances on the way back and see what we can find. Star I would take you out on the next run but, the planet is being fought over right now by both the alliance and rebellion. Its a bad place to be." Sitting up again, this time he was determined. "I need help. Remember those boxes I kept from the first job. If they're weapons I'm going to get them mounted to the ship. We're gonna need it. You might make a good gunman."

Groaning loudly he put his feet over the edge of the bed and spotted the other two talking outside the doorway. "Why don't you two..." Stopping there he noticed the look from Star. "You're turning me into a pansy. I can't even cuss at them." A smirk split his lip again and he sucked on it so he wouldn't have to stop for the moment. At least he was moving again even if it was slow.

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

Andy shrugged at the doctor's comment. "Oh well. Not everyone wants to be with the boring guy. I'm not trying to say your boring. You could use a little spice in your life. Someone like me might think of someone like you. At least you aren't a lecherous toad." Busting out laughing she staggered off toward the kitchen calling over her shoulder, "I'm fine!" It was too priceless to see the look on Kato's face. Even if he dead panned it. Perhaps it was the fact that she used the term lecherous toad. It was one of her favorites after all.
 
Kato blinked at her comment. His mouth opening slightly then closing. She began laughing at him and sauntered away, leaving him to wonder if she was just messing with him or if she was being serious.

Star took Killian's hand as they walked down to the cargo bay to look through the boxes. She leaned heavily on her cane "Not sure I how feel about non-automated weapons. Seems a bit old-fashioned." She notes, opening one of the boxes. "Dang...these are alot of weapons. I hate the Alliance as much as the next guy, but I can't believe we're gonna have start using these against fellow smugglers."
 
"Oh they're not completely manual. I've got one or two that will fire automatically and then this thing." Awkwardly working his way over to a larger box he pulled it open. "I think it might be the freeze or blackout gun. There was more than what they said when I made the last run. Could be a saving grace." Killian grinned a little bigger. "Might make charting out the areas a little bit easier too." Taking a seat on one of the other boxes he winced. "Been a long time since I got beat up like this." He'd forgot how it felt and the reminder wasn't pleasant.

"Now I'm going to need to mount this one someplace where it's not easily seen." Killian began shoving some of the boxes with one hand and then stood up to shove a few more. By mid afternoon he was starting into coughing fits from all the work. "I'll slow down when I'm done."

Mike picked one of the boxes up. "I'll move it all, you start setting the one up in the navigational center." It was the best place for the stun gun. They were getting ready for more than basic smuggling. It was probably best with the war going on. "How long till we dock again?"

Killian looked at the screen. "We have about 12 hours. Not much time to get these things up."
 
Star stared at the gun. "I remember there was a blackout a while back when we stuck in the middle of an alliance fight. One of the resistance fighters knocked out all the ships in the area. You think this thing can do that too?" She gawks.

She did what she could to help him with the work. Most of the boxes were still to heavy for her to lift or move, so it wasn't much. And then Killian started coughing again. "Killian." She put a hand on his back, worried. "You need to slow down."
"I'll slow down when I'm done."
"What if you hurt yourself further?" She protests. He didn't seem to care. When he put his mind to something, he got it done. Mike came through and began helping, suggesting they put one on the navigational center. "Should I get Andy? I'm not very good at things like this. By the way, has anyone seen Timo?"

They all looked at each other realizing no one had seen the boy since Killian had been brought back on board.
***
Timo didn't care very much about exploring ever inch of the ship. Comet on the other hand, seemed to insist on it, more often than not getting herself stuck in places she couldn't get out of on her own, leaving Timo to rescue her again and again. He wished she'd just learn already to avoid the tight places. Today she'd gotten herself stuck in a place that even Timo was having difficulty finding. Killian had just loaded all the boxes into the cargo bay and was headed out to buy supplies. He could hear the cat mewling, just beyond the wall on the far side of the cargo bay.

"How'd you get stuck back there?" Timo demanded, searching every inch of the wall for a door something of that sort. He finds a vent up top and stacks some boxes to climb up a reach. Using a screwdriver, he pried open the vent and dropped the casing to the floor, climbing inside. There were two tunnels connected to this vent. One leading left to the rest of the ship, and one leading right to where the cat was crying. He army crawled to the right, barley small enough to fit. Upon reaching this vent he could see another room and his cat wandering around the room looking for a way to escape. He turned around and gave the Vent several heavy kicks. The metal flew out into the room, scaring Comet half-to-death.

Timo scooted out backwards and dropped from the vent, unable to see what was under him. Which was unfortunate. He landed on a box of scraps which gave way under him and twisting his ankle badly. He cried as he hit the floor, holding his ankle. Comet streaked past, completely panicked and running around like the devil had her tail. "Stupid cat." He grumbled, pushing up onto the one foot that didn't hurt. He looked up at the vent realizing it was up much higher than he'd realized....and there were no boxes to stack in here to get back up. Not that he'd have been able to climb at the moment.

Timo turned to search the rest of the room. There were no doors or windows. Only a small light fixture on a workbench at the front of the long skinny room which had turned on when he'd dropped in. A hidden room! This was fun. He looked down at the box of scraps he'd destroyed. They were all electronic pieces for computers and the like. There were two other small boxes with similar parts right next to them. On the left wall was a bookcase that reached from the floor to the ceiling and took up almost the whole wall. It was covered in what he could only imagine were various mechanical experiments. Some looked like tiny robots. Others were different styles of weapons. Some looked like flying contraptions while others he had no idea what they could possibly be used for.

On his right was a coffin-sized crate on top of three smaller boxes with symbols for the alliance on them. He limped over to the top crate and pried it open with screw driver. The lid popped up and he shreaked, leaping back on his good leg. He'd seen a person! A dismembered person! Only...upon closer observation, this dismembered person had wires spilling out of his arms. He takes a deep breath calming himself and limping. closer again. An android, but what sort? Did the person who once owned this secret own build him/it? Whatever it was, it was cool. Killian would love to see it. Only question was...how did he get out to tell them. There were no doors. The only plausible way in seemed to be the vent. He limped along the wall looking for any sort of hidden switch. There was none. His hand however seemed to touch an invisible biometric keypad and it flashed red upon him brushing against it. He groaned and began banging on the wall. "Hello! Can anyone hear me!? Hello!? Help! I'm stuck!"

The next four hours were spent this way. Alternating between resting his voice and arms and banging on the wall for help. Did no one miss him yet? How long had he been gone? Even comet had abandoned him. He was cold and hungry and had been forced to use the trashcan for a toilet and it stank. His ankle hurt and his fists were bruised from trying to get someone's attention. He leaned against the stupid hidden door, falling asleep from sheer exhaustion. Some time later, he heard voices beyond the wall. One booming and one female. Killian? Star? A third seemed to join in. Mike? Were they looking for him? Had they figured out he was here!? He banged on the wall with renewed effort. "Killian! Star! Help!"
 
Mike was about to suggest that the woman assist Killian just to be sure that he didn't overdo it. He had a feeling that after this run even if they were exploring the captain would be sleeping more than usual. It was always the man's first thought and number one treatment, sleep. The two men turned slightly when Star mentioned the boy. "No, I haven't seen him." Shrugging the engineer turned toward Killian. "You see him?"

"Why would I have?" Killian didn't think see why Mike would ask. Already his mind began to wander off to worst case scenario. "I'm gonna stall the ship. Until we know if he's on board or not I don't want to go any further." If the boy got off on the last planet they would have to go back. He wasn't about to leave the kid out there with whoever took control of the planet. The other two started to search and Killian limped his way to the navigation area and stalled the ship. He took a small pad with a monitoring system on it so he could keep track of what was happening and if he needed to race back to start the ship speeding ahead again.

It didn't seem that they had found any sign of the boy yet. "I'll check my cabin." Killian started toward his room. Since it was the last place that wasn't all locked up Star followed him into the room. A faint yelling sounded and he called back. "Timo?" This was the first that they'd heard from the boy. Frowning he followed the sound until he reached his wardrobe. The one that was bolted to the wall and he'd never bothered to move. "The hell..." Opening the door the sound became a little louder though it was insane that he should hear the boy here. "There's nothing back there. It's a blank space and I have some smuggling holes on the walls out there. Couldn't hear anything out there though." Reaching into the back of the closet he felt a wall.

Then his hand hit something sharp. Cursing loudly he pulled his hand back out and licked the blood off. "This isn't my day." Since the main injury was to the side of his hand he stuck it in his mouth and continued to suck on it while he threw all his clothes out to see what was back there. In the far back there was a pad. It was a basic biometric reader. "I've never seen that before." It was odd that he hadn't noticed it. Then again when he started to take over the ship all those years ago it had been a blur.

Plugging the pad into the biometric reader Killian started with the process of reprogramming it. "Need it to open if I touch it." Grumbling under his breath he continued typing in codes until it said it was ready to proceed. Placing his hand on the reader he removed it and then replaced his hand again. This time the back of the closet swung open.

Dust scraped and piled up behind the door, but the shelves inside were filled with little toys and things that might be useful. The man couldn't help his curiosity. Killian almost passed the boy and forgot about his bleeding hand momentarily. "What is all this stuff?" A grin started to play on his face. Then he noticed the bent vent cover laying on the floor. "Timo what were you doing kicking the vents? Do you know how dangerous that is? Some of the vent covers have a special covering that prevent gasses and things from killing the crew. You could have...." Once more the captain was distracted by something else. A giant open box. Walking over to it he peered inside. There was a body and it was obviously an older prototype of a soldier. A program rejected due to the instability of the creation. "Star come 'ere." Beckoning with his hand he pointed into the box. "How long has it been since you've seen one of these?"
 
Timo had never been so relieved to see Killian. "Finally! I know, I'm sorry about the vent. But comet got stuck and I was trying to save her and then the door wouldn't open...."
"Hey, hey, you're alright now." Star hugs him. "Go get some food and have Kato check out your ankle. " She pushed him towards the door and he limped off. Killian called her over and she approached the war droid cautiously. "Wow, the last time I saw one of things was when I first joined the hell' s angels. They were using them to clear out enemy gangs in the area. They were pretty violent though... what's one doing on this ship?"

She noticed some crates beneath the soldier and bent down. "Killian! Look at this! Alliance cargo! This is marked from near 20 years ago!"
 
"Yeah been a while since I've seen em to." Killian dug into the box underneath the drone. He wanted to see if it still had the switch on it or not. "Ooh it's still there." A grin came to his face. "What if I reprogram..." Looking up he noticed that Star was staring at the crates beneath. "Yeah I'd figure this has been here for a while." Bending down he peered at the crates. "Move over and I'll get this box off of them." Wincing he pushed the giant crate with the robot in it over the edge of the other boxes. "Ow." With a loud crash the crate with the robot dropped onto the floor. Grabbing his side again he looked at the tops of the crates. "Gonna need to use the pry bar." Walking over to the shelf he pulled a bar off of it and started to pry at the crate with one hand. Dust kicked up into their faces as the top of the wooden box came off. Inside the first one were several old style chips. Nothing that he would want to use. "Why don't you dig around and see if there is anything else in there we might want."
 
"Careful, don't hurt yourself more." She warns as he leverages the crate lid. She digs around inside. "Eh, some outdated computer chips and 1st gen-datapads...it might sell for a couple hundred credits..." Star moved to the next crate. "Oooh, Killian. Look at these." She pulls out a disk and presses a button. A 3'd navigational chart hovers over the disk. "Maps. At least a dozen. This one of the Corellian sector." She hands him another one, looking at the labels. "Some of these places I've never heard of. Sorren Nova, Crossreach. How valuable do you think these are?"
...
Timo limped up to Kato. "Kato, I think I broke my ankle." The boy whines taking a seat in one of the chairs.
Kato stands and moves over to him. "If you broke it, i doubt you'd be walking on it." He kneels before the boy, peeling off his shoe and examining it. "Its just a light sprain, Timo. Some ice and a wrap and you'll be better in a day."
Kato grabs some bandages and an icepack and gets to work on his foot. "What were you doing anyway? Were you skating with Andy again?"
"No...i was rescuing Comet. He got stuck in a secret room." Timo proceeds to tell the rest of the story in dramatic detail with Kato nodding from time to time and seeming impressed with his bravery.
"Well, you're all set. Just stay sitting for bit. You can play a game on this if you like." Kato hands him a tablet and let's the boy entertain himself while waiting for the swelling to go down.

Meanwhile he goes to investigate this secret room, find the entrance at Killian's closet. "Huh, secret compartment, eh?" Kato looks around. "Find anything interesting?"
 
The captain kept himself busy opening the other crates and then he heard Star get all excited. "What?" Moving over to where she was he hovered behind her shoulder and peered at the map. "Oh those aren't something we trade or sell. That's the kind of thing we use to get there. Trade outside of the sector and galaxy." In fact it was a very exciting prospect. Something that he wanted to try. It was tempting to leave right now. They still had a job to get done though. Edging a little closer behind her to see it better he accidently bumped into Star. "Oooo!" Reaching out with one hand he pulled her toward himself and got a little off balance. Landing on his duff with her on top he growled. "Well that was smooth." At least she didn't hit her head. It was resting on his chest and he'd only managed to make his butt hurt too.

Killian pushed on Star a little bit to get her standing and then remained sitting when he heard someone starting to dig into his closet. Now the whole crew was going to want to come into his room with this cool secret cove. "Yeah we found a lot. I got some exploring to do when we get done making a chart of the war." With a groan he got himself up off the floor. "Lets keep those down here for now. We still got to mount those guns before we land on the planet.
 
Star gasped as she was knocked from behind and nearly fell forward into the wall. Killian's hand wrapped around her and pulled her back suddenly. She yelps as they go down. She laughs lightly as he grumbles about the sad rescue and turns her head to look up him. "At least you tried..." She giggles, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

Kato went red. They were cuddling...on the floor...in a secret room. God only knows what they would have been doing next had he not announced himself. Killian helps Star to her feet, holding her hand until she had her cane and body rightly balanced then got up himself after answering Kato's question about the find. "Mounting guns?" It was first Kato had heard about guns being mounted around the ship.
"Yeah, there are several in the cargo hold. A few extra we can use for ourselves. This war is going to get worse before it gets better." Star's forehead knit in concern. Killian had come very close to dying already. She grabs his hand, seeking reassurance that he wasn't going to be killed and leave her with a broken heart. At least, that's how Kato saw it.
If only she would choose him...she wouldn't have to worry so.
 
Killian gently closed his hand and gave Star's a slight squeeze. "Of course the war will get better. It'll be better when its done." He hadn't really been listening very carefully. That and getting worse was only in the opinion of some. "I'll have Kato help me with some of this stuff here. I'll meet you upstairs with Mike and Timo." Once the woman left the captain returned his gaze toward the doctor. "Just what is your problem. You keep lurking around whenever I'm with her. Its turning into an annoying habit." Though he hadn't noticed before it was beginning to be obvious.

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

Mike was already busy mounting the guns and setting them up. It was a good thing that they stalled the ship for a while. He didn't think they could have got it all done before they came under fire. However it wasn't good. The expression on Star's face. "What is it?" Pausing in his work he met the woman's gaze. Somehow he thought that she had been looking a little more worried lately. "Ah...." Nodding he returned to his work. "Well I don't know as if there is much I can do about that. Best thing is to talk to the person."
 
"Just what is your problem. You keep lurking around whenever I'm with her. Its turning into an annoying habit."
"I'm doing my job." Kato says with blank expression. "Like you said, it's my job to make sure she recovers, its your job to fly the ship. I'm making sure my patient is safe and being taken care of so you can do your job. I'm sorry if you have a problem with that."
****
Star looks up at Mike as he questions her. She shrugs. "I'm just concerned...about Killian. I don't want to see him get hurt...or killed."
"Well, I don't know as if there is much I can do about that. Best thing is to talk to the person."
"And say what? 'Stop smuggling before you kill yourself?'" Star shakes her head. "This is his life...I can't ask him to do that."
 
The words the doctor used were quite familiar. Killian stared down at the doctor and then started to laugh. "You're a sly bastard." No matter how obnoxious the statement was even the captain had to admit that it was funny and he couldn't say much about it. "Maybe you should try relaxing instead of watching me with her. When she's with me, she's safe. Probably safer than she would be with you in the event that anything happened." Happened to have been a long while since anyone had got the better of him in an argument. It proved he would have to watch out for the doctor.

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

Mike listened to her. "Hmm...I wouldn't say that's how to approach it. How much do you really know about him?" The engineer grinned. He already knew the answer. "Do you know what he likes besides you and food? Would you know the first place to look for him in a fight? What about his ambitions? Do you really think his only ambition is to loot, smuggle, and kill? Oh I think you two have a ways to go and don't ask me cause I don't know the answer to some of those questions myself." Now that he had most of the guns done he figured he could sit back and relax. "Better leave something for the captain or he'll be disappointed."

Eventually Killian emerged and he found most of the guns were mounted. A slightly disappointed expression came to his face. "You uh...Get it all done?"

A broad grin came to the engineer's face. "No. I saved the freeze gun for you and one or two others. Figured you knew where you wanted the last ones."

Trying to look annoyed the captain growled. "You're just too lazy to finish the job properly." Still he couldn't hide the smirk beginning to grow on his face. Picking up one box he limped into his navigation room. "Hey Mike, bring the rest in here when you have a chance. I'm gonna get the engines in full thrust again and we'll be there soon. Have the crew on standby. Anytime now we could end up in a skirmish."
 
Star considering Mike's words. It was true...she barely knew anything about him. Even the memories that she'd recovered gave her only the slightest glimpses. Perhaps it was time to do something about that. With Andy's help they made dinner for the crew. While they ate dinner she baked a small cake. After it was done she used Timo to distract Killian while she lay out a blanket across Killian's bed, put on soft music and put a fake candle on the end table. The cake sat in the middle of the blanket with two plates and forks...waiting for serving. She was wearing the red dress and had done her best to make her hair look pretty. Right on time Timo lead him to his room, grinning mischievously.

Star smiles brightly at his expression, and laughs lightly. "Well, don't just stand there. Come in."
 
It was slightly disappointing and relieving all at the same time that nothing had come up on the monitoring system by dinner time. Killian snuck into the kitchen a few moments late and started to shovel the food fast as he could. Since Star wasn't out eating with the rest of them he figured that she must have already had her meal. Almost choking on the last bite he forced it down with a swallow. It wasn't the taste it was the fact that he'd been eating too fast. Just as he rose from the table Timo ran over and about plowed into him. "Whoa whoa." Holding his hands out he caught the kid before he did anymore serious damage.

Whatever the kid wanted to talk about just turned into nonsensical ramblings and Killian wasn't sure what to do about it. "Well uh..." Trying to answer the question only brought up another 'why'. Frowning slightly he answered that question to till there was another question. Finally the boy was done and just as abruptly as he appeared he left.

Killian shook his head and started to walk toward his room. He was tired and sore. Chest was hurting still and though the treatments had helped with some of the immediate discomfort it would take another couple of days from the scanner to get his body feeling more like itself. Holding his side with one hand he pushed his bedroom door with the other. Momentarily he froze and then looked behind himself as if there was some sort of mistake. Apprehensively one side of his mouth lifted into a lopsided grin. "What's this about?" Slowly he stepped into the room and then closed the door behind himself. Peering about the room he didn't note anything was out of place. "Is that cake?" Chuckling a bit he meekly made his way to one side of the bed and sat down.
 
"Yeah, I made it...with a little bit of help from Andy. I wanted to make sure it tasted good." She cuts a large piece and offers it to him, then takes one herself.
"So, I was thinking...we don't actually know that much about eachother aside from the fact that we clearly have a romantic connection, so...I was wondering if it'd be ok to exchange questions and answers." She asks hopefully. "Nothing super personal, just things like what your dreams are, what you're hoping for in the future, what your favorite food is...stuff like that. I want to get to know you...before whatever this is between us," She gestures between the two of them. "Goes any further...you know? I'd like to know if it even can go further." There was a bright flush in her cheeks and she looked down at her knees, clutching and unclutching the red-dress nervously.
 
Somehow that feeling was creeping over his shoulder and taking hold of his heart. There was something big coming. Nearly cringing he waited for whatever the news was going to be. Instead she just served the cake and gave a small explanation. "Oh," he croaked the word and accepted the plate from her. Then it all came out. She wanted to ask questions. "What sort of questions?"

Killian frowned slightly. "Uh...People want to know that stuff when they court before..." Leaving it there he slouched slightly and thought for a moment. "O-Ok I guess." This was a very odd request. Nobody ever wanted to know this sort of thing before. "So whose asking the first question?"
 
"I can!" She smiles and takes a bite of cake. "Mmm, that's good. Ok, so...what is your long term goal? I assume you don't want to be a smuggler forever. Right?"
 
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