ON> Small Angel Shuttle
Chi adjusted her clothes, she was slowly getting used to living in this male body, but it still felt a bit ackward. "How far are we from the refueling station Iseki?" She ran her hand over the crew cut, it actually felt kinda cool to play with the short hair.
It had been several hours since the escape of the two nekos from the angel's attack frigate, and both of the two were now in disguise. Iseki was curled up in a ball on the floor of the shuttle, taking a break from piloting. She now had fake hair, a surprisingly well-made wig spun from fibers of the blanket she was wearing as a cloak. her hair was a tasty-smelling grape purple, and her ears were out of sight.
"It should only be a few minutes...." Iseki rocked on her bottom, foward and back, her thin body tightly curled up. "My name is Taii Hisô Iseki." she repeated for no apparent reason. "Taii Hisô Iseki. Gee Dee Thirty-Seven."
Chi offered the other Neko a soft, reassuring smile. She had a handsome face and there was a comforting warmth in her now blue eyes, but it wasn't going to make Iseki feel any better after all it was a man who had done this to her. "We'll get back home Iseki. I promise you that I won't let anyone get you again. I owe you one for getting me off the Angel Ship."
"Hiie...sooo. Eeee Say Ki " she repeated slowly, as if trying to associate her name with herself, as if she wasn't entirely sure who she was. "My name is Taii Hisô Iseki. Ship pilot. GD-37." Looking up at Chi's male visage. Males... Iseki put her hands in her crotch and held herself as if she was nursing some great lingering pain there. "Yes...angel ship. We are off the angel ship."
Chi sighed bit as she redirected her eyes back at the space ahead of her. Damn Jehenniel for doing this to the both of them. She hoped that she would be able to help Iseki onc she got out of this body. "We're going to get ourselves on a neutral ship and try to find our way to the GSS Yui GD-30. We're going to need a pilot on the Yui soon since our pilot just got a promotion." She tried to give the girl some reassurance of what was going to happen, but Chi said it more to give herself hope that'd this plan would work. "May the Emperor show us the way home."
"You said..." the neko looked blankly at Chi "...Home?" Her eyes were wet and the trails of tears reflected the dim interior lights. "Dead."
Chi frowned a bit, this was going to be rough. "Do you remember Geshrintall at all Hisô Iseki?" She set the controls for auto-pilot and slowly got up from the pilot's seat and very cautiously made her way over to Iseki, stopping out of arm's reach of her as Chi knelt down beside her. "It'll be all right now Taii Hisô Iseki, no one is going to hurt you, you're no longer alone."
"No Taisho. I was born on GD-37 and lived all my life on it until it was destroyed." Iseki sobbed, never having seen Geshrintall.
"Do you still remember the GD-37 and all the people who you loved?" She gently soothed, moving just a little bit closer to Iseki, not wanting to freak the girl out. "If you still remember them, they aren't really destroyed.. they are still alive in you." Chi offered the soft reassuring smile again.
"No, Taisho. You are a liar." Iseki said with a hint of resentment in her voice. "I cannot be with them anymore. They are gone forever." The underweight, malnourished neko made no effort to scoot away, though.
"Hisô Iseki.. there is an old saying that says that you are only truly dead when you are no longer remembered. But so long as someone can remember your name, you are still alive. Do you want to forget the GD 37?" Chi's voice was soft, patient and loving, she knew how Iseki felt but there had to be some hope in Iseki's heart that her ship wasn't truly dead and forgotten. If Iseki truly felt that way, then the ship and crew were truly dead. Chi wanted to hug the Neko, but she didn't want to scare the girl by making contact.
Iseki's fragile-looking fingers groped at Chiharu's pants button. "I'll do it, alright!" she glared at Chi, tugging her zipper open. Poor Iseki was trying to appease Chi in the only way she knew how. Moving her forehead to rest on Chi's waist, she said "I don't know. It seems so long ago."
Chi pulled Iseki up and away from her pants. "No Iseki, no Iseki! That's not what I want from you." Chi was shocked by the girl's actions and she lovingly hugged the Neko. "You don't have to ever do that to anyone ever again unless you really want to."
"But...I thought that's how one makes men happy?" Iseki said confusedly, "They would be angry and beat me if I didn't."
"No one is going to beat you here." Chi continued to hold the girl, gently rubbing her back. "Not all men are like that Iseki. I'm not like that, no matter what I may look like." Chi wanted to cry but, she couldn't cry, she had to try to comfort Iseki that she wasn't going to hurt her.
"If it makes you happy, I want to, Taisho. I don't want you to be angry and beat me. You don't like it? I am sorry for displeasing you!!" Iseki quickly said, her face resting against Chi's chest. "I will be a good girl. A good little girl for you, just like I should be."
"I will never beat you Iseki. Shhh.. it's ok, you are a good girl." Chi continued to hug the poor little Neko, gently rubbing her back, Jehenniel did a number on her. "What would make me happy is for you to be happy Iseki. But first we have to escape before the Angels come after us again. We're almost to the refueling station and we'll have to stay close together.. I can only protect you if you are with me ok?" Chi continued to speak softly to Iseki, she felt more like a mother now than she ever had in her life. "You'll be ok, not one will hurt you without getting through me first. I will protect you with my life, Aijou-chan." (beloved daughter)
"Yes, Chi-sama. I will stay with you, but I will not let you die before I do. You are valuable. I am just a plaything." Iseki responded, "But how can I be a good girl when you don't even want to..." she pointed at Chi, below the belt. "I am unworthy...?"
"You are not a plaything." Her voice was forceful for a moment before it returned it the soft tone it had been before. "It's not that you are unworthy or bad, Iseki-chan, I will not take advantange of you. And it's the last thing I want from you." She hugged Iseki again before standing up and rezipping her pants. "Iseki, you are not a plaything to me, you are Taii Hisô Iseki, Pilot of the GD 37. The sole survivor of that ship who has to live on for the memory of those who have been lost to the passage of war and time." Chi smiled at Iseki again and gently knelt down again, gently lifting Iseki's face up and softly kissing her on the forehead.
"My name is Taii Hisô Iseki." Iseki repeated. "GD-37...Thank you for your kiss, Chiharu-sama. I will try to be worth it. But I am a mere....space station!" Iseki pointed to the window ahead, eyes widening. The shuttle was about to hit a giant orbital base!
"Ack!" Chi ran back to the pilot's chair, deactivating the suto-pilot and trying to steer the damn thing to avoid an impact. "Well, at least we know we're here." Despite herself Chi smiled again.
Iseki tried to get to her seat but Chi was closer and sat there first. The G-forces that the shuttle experienced as Chi pulled back threw her against the floor and rear of the shuttle. "Ooomph!" she let out. The shuttle barely messed the armor station, gliding over what appeared to be a communications array of some sort. There was some chatter coming over the radio in Seraphim.
Chi winced a bit and tried to ignore the radio. And tried to steer the ship towards what might be an available landing dock.. this would be nice if she spoke Seraphim. She inwardly cursed for never learning the language and wished Aya were here to help.
The woman on the radio began fractically shouting in seraphim, and then made what sounded like a warning. Iseki crawled up into the other seat. "She says we are too close and says identify ourselves."
"you know Seraphim." Chi smiled again, what luck! She send Iseki and quick telepathic message just in case the Seraph heard her somehow. ~Please apologise for us and give her a false id. Anything that might sound good, remember I'm a human male and you are a human female and we're not GSA.~
"I am...transport shuttle...from cargo ship, coming for to obtain food" Iseki replied to the traffic controller in fractured seraphim. "Let dock, please." She looked to Chi with eyes of both hope and fear.
Chi smiled at Iseki, that'd work, whatever it was that Iseki said. She kept an eye out for anything that they might crash into, like say the station or another ship.
After a few seconds, the starfighter that had been tailing them broke away and a reply came. Iseki hugged Chi and excitedly told her "She said bay S113! We can go on the station!"
Chi grinned a bit and let out a sigh of relief as she quickly returned Iseki's hug. "Great, let's get docked then!" She steered the ship towards the bay marked S113.
As the angel starfighter passed them, Iseki a sinking feeling. "What if they notice I said Nepleslian frieghter but this is an angel shuttle? Why was the fighter following us? Do you think they will have seraphs waiting for us inside??" she asked, sounding almost panicked.
Chi shrugged, "Well, we did almost crash into the station. We'll just get aboard the station and try to keep a low profile Iseki. Remember, they're not looking for 2 humans. If worse comes to worse.. we're going to fight our way out of this."
The shuttle, thankfully entered the small shuttlebay uneventfully, and there was no welcome party, armed or otherwise.
Chi parked the shuttle as best she could before she deactivated all the systems aboard, now the question was to destroy the shuttle or not. She thought better of it as she stood up again. "Ok, Iseki let's find ourselves a new ride."
"Yokai!" Iseki hopped up and opened the rear door.
Chi readjusted her pants again before she followed Iseki out the door. She looked from side to side again, just checking for any sign of a possible incident.
Iseki spotted an old painted sign that read "To civilian area." or something to that nature. "I think we should go this way." she said to Chi, pointing down a hallway. The interior of the station was a dingy gray version of the architerure found in the angel ship. It was very dusty, like the walls were covered in space soot.
"Ok, we'll go that way. Stay close Iseki." Chi walked down the indicated hallway, trying to keep close to Iseki. She figured that people were less likely to mess with Iseki as long as they saw a man very close to her.
They went through a series of doors, until finally arriving in a central section. There were scattered groups of humans, angels, and various aliens here, going about their business. To the left was what appeared to be an electronics parts shop, and to the right, a bakery.
Chi looked around the station in wonderment, protectively taking Iseki's hand when she sw the angels walking about. She quietly spoke to Iseki, "Ok, now the hard part.. finding ourselves a ride.."
The crowd had a large variety of species and cultures. A neko in a one-piece swimsuit even walked by the two, with a pair of angels flanking her, as if they were her personal hoodlums. Stopping behind Chi and Iseki, the trio turned around and the neko took Iseki's soulder in hand, making the recently-freed neko jump a bit in alarm. "Eeep!"
Chi pulled Iseki close to her now as she spun about to face the Neko and the pair of angels. "Excuse me Miss, but keep your hands off her." Her voice was forceful and protective now, the softness gone. She straightened up as she eyed the angel wearily, because damn it, she promised to protect Iseki. The neko would be just a big a problem but she wasn't sure what the Neko's alligences were.
"You're new here." the mystery neko grinned, digging her hand and finger into Iseki, underneath her makeshift dress, not seeming to listen. "You'd better watch yourself, human." the neko warned Chi. "How much is this girl? She's got a beautiful face. It reminds me of home."
"This girl is NOT for sale, Geshrin." Chi kept Iseki close as she backed away from the Neko, her eyes narrowing.
Iseki cried out in shock as the unknown neko violated her for no apparent reason, and then in pain as Chi pulled her away. "Who are you calling Geshin?" the neko said, pulling out some sort of machine pistol and shoving it against Chi's lower lip.
The two angels, also armed, moved in on either side of Chi, Keeping their wings spread to conceal what was going on from passerbys
"So you're not a Neko from Geshrintall?" Chi inwardly laughed, it figured as much that it would be a Neko to make her life hell. Chi quickly assessed the situation, 3 armed combatants, against her and Iseki, and both were unarmed at the moment. "Nice bodyguards." She finally decided to take a look at the Neko's eyes, maybe that would let her know what was going on.
"I lived on a Ki-D1 destroyer. We never even got close to Geshrintall. What's it to you, asshole. Why don't you and stop pimping here, because I own all the girls on this block, mister geshrin tough guy."
The neko's eyes were solid blue, and her hair was regular solid green. Probably an older model NH-7.
"This girl is NOT for sale. She is my damn sister and I'm trying to get her back home relatively unmolested." Chi narrowed her eyes, she had to run into a damn pimp of all things. But the girl was a spacey, with apparently no loyalities to the GSA. "Besides, she's already got an owner, Mistress Taisho Kitsurugi Yui." Chi let the name slide, knowing Yui would forgive her at some point. Chi still held Iseki close to her, hoping that Yui's name would ring some bells in this Neko's mind.
"Yui's girls dress in gray kimonos." the neko pimp scathingly shot back, bashing Chi's credibility. "Why are you so afraid to admit she's your hump pillow? Get off my street before my girls..." she pointed to the two female angels on either side of her "...have to help you."
"Not a problem." Chi simply took Iseki and moved quickly down the street, getting the hell away from the Neko and her Angels. Thank the Emperor, she just got pissed. She'd have to make a note to talk to Yui whenever she got home to figure out if that was true. Now to find a way off this damn station.
Iseki quietly looked down, her purple hair hanging in her eyes. "It's my fault. I should have found a way to make the dress look better." she apologized.
"It's not you're fault Iseki, we didn't think we'd encounter a Neko. Are you ok?" Chi quietly spoke as she tried to figure out where she might find a damn transport off this station back to the Yui. Her eyes darted about the station looking for anyone that gave off the vibe: transport, she still kept Iseki close to her.
A scruffy-looking man in a leather jacket bumped into Iseki as he made his way into a nearby building, stepping into a sleazy-looking bar. The jacket had a number of patches sewn into it, including some that appeared to be squadron logos and military symbols. Iseki whispered, "That man grabbed my bum." to Chi, pointing the man out as he went into the building.
Chi's lower lip twitched, well hell.. scruffy looking man, military things on his jacket and a sleazy bar.. All the wrong signs for Iseki's safety and all the right ones for a ride off this place. "From the looks of it Iseki, we're going to have a chat with that man.." Chi followed the man into the bar, still keeping Iseki as close to her as she could. "This might get a bit messy Iseki.."
"Yes, mistress." Iseki nodded, pressing herself against Chi's side as the two entered the crowded bar. It was smoky inside, with the air carrying a few burning herbs and incense. At a table in the corner, the guy in the jacket was sitting down on the booth seats, pouring a tall glass of some sort of teal-colored beverage.
Chi pushed her way towards the man in the jacket, pulling Iseki along with her. "Hey mister, I wanna talk to you!" She made a mental note to hemosynth Iseki some pants at some point..
"Huh?" the man looked at Chi in surprise, fumbling under the table for something in his carrybag. "Who are you and what do you want?" he demanded in a gravelly voice. He looked about 40 or 50 years old.
Chi took a seat across from the man, letting Iseki sit near the wall. "Are you a pilot by any chance, sir?" Chi kept one arm around Iseki and the other on the table in front of her. "Please, don't do that." She soothed, as she dropped her voice so that only Iseki and the old man could hear, "I don't mean you any harm, I just need to know how the hell I can get off this station."
"Well, I suppose you could call me that." the man said, eyeing the pair with suspicion.
Chi smiled warily, knowing the man most likely had his gun pointed at her gut with his finger on the trigger this very moment. "From your jacket I take it you're a former military man?" She raised her voice again, trying to make it sound a bit more friendly than covert.
"Yeah, I was engineer on an ASF-57. Ship got decommisioned, so I took it with me when I went into retirement. Not authorized, but whatever. I've restored her to pretty good condition." the man said, running his wrinkled, calloused hands on his week-old bearded chin.
Chi smiled, again, he was an ally of the GSA... well.. sort of? "How does she run? I've only heard stories about how only the best can pilot the ASF-57s."
"Aww, shucks, kiddo." the man smiled to Chi. "She runs like a champ. Real something to be proud of." It brought a tear to the gray-haired man's eye. Iseki watched intently from the side, letting Chi do the talking, shivering violently for some reason...
"Is there anyway you could.. "Chi smiled again, trying to remember how long it has been since she flew an ASF-57 Dn Minicruiser.. and then she noticed Iseki was shivering. "Hey, are you ok Sweetie? What's wrong?"
"I feel sick." Iseki said quietly. She certainly didn't look so well, either. The old engineer put the back of his hand on her forehead for a moment and then said, "She's too hot." Iseki murmured, "I am not....feeling well." again. "There are so many."''
"Sir, is there anyplace safe to have her lie down at? We're stuck between a rock and a hard place.." Chi hugged Iseki worriedly, understanding why she was panicking, "You'll be ok Sweetie, I promise... we'll find someplace for you to lie down?" Chi looked pleadingly towards the old pilot for help.
"Uh..." the older guy scratched his head. He himself was homeless. "Well, my ship, I guess."
"Thank you so much sir!" Chi gently swept Iseki up into her arms after shaking the man's hand in gratitude, "I don't know what we would've done..." Chi looked down at Iseki, "We're going to get you a place to lie down.. you'll be all right..."
The man got up from the table and led them out of the bar and through a twisting maze of streets and corridors, finally coming to an armored airlock door. He then enter a code on the control panel and stepped inside of the airlock as it opened, gesturing for them to follow.
Chi silently carried Iseki as she followed the man into the airlock, in some strange way, this was all working out. She was glad that something out there had taken pity on them. "Thank you, thank you so much, sir."
The door behind them shut and then the one in front of them opened after a few seconds, revealing a narrow two-foot-wide catwalk ran out to the top of the docked DN Minicruiser. On either side of the catwalk, there was a thirty-foot drop to the bottom of the bay, an air containment forcefield. The man walked confidently across the small bridge and opened the roof panel to the center section of the ship, sliding into the pilot's pit. There wasn't a lot of room on the ship. In fact, the man had to open a metal grating behind his seat in order to open the shaft to the small cargo area.
"PowerSystemOnline DefensiveSystemsReady DefensiveWeaponsReady ComputerSystemReady PropulsionSystemsReady HeavyWeaponsSystemsCharging ALL SYSTEMS READY" the computer speed-talked as the ship booted up. There was a sound of charging systems and running engines and ventilation. The spherical reactor, visible through an opening behind the shaft to the cargo area, began to glow and hum. "You girls can either lay on the main deck, up top in the loft, or you could sit in the cargo area."
Chi smiled softly, "Thank you Mister. How'd you guess I was really a woman?" She carried Iseki into the cargo area and gently set her down on the floor. "Iseki, how are you holding up?"
"Huh?" the man seemed taken aback at first, then realized he'd said girls instead of guys. "It was a mistake. You're a woman??"
Iseki moaned, "Uunnh. I feel so horrible inside. I've never seen so many men before. It makes me sick."'
Chi laughed a bit, too late now. "Oops. Anyways, how do you feel about the Angels and the GSA?" She looked down at Iseki again, "But you're ok right? No one tried to beat you.. except that one pimp lady.. but we got you away from her right?"
"I try not to take sides." The man frowned, looking down at Chi and Iseki in the dark cargo area from the loft section above. "I can't say I like either."
"No sides is better than nothing right now. We're just running out of time. I don't know how long it'll take the Angels to realise that we've come to this station. I'm sorry to have involved you but we're really in a rock and a hard place. Is there any chance we could get a ride back to my ship, the GSS Yui?" Chi's features slowly changed back to her normal form, although her clothes didn't change any. She smiled as her body became familiar again. "I am Taisho Ketsurui Chiharu, commanding officer of the GSS Yui and fleet commander of the GSA 2nd fleet. And this is Taii Hiso Iseki." Chi offered Iseki a soft smile again, "This man won't hurt you Iseki. He's not a bad man like Jehenniel."
The man looked at them in disgust, angry that they had tricked him with their disguises, trying to take advantage of him for a ride. He had spent a long time trying to get away from the GSA and the wars and the politics, and now these two girls wanted to try and drag him right back into it. "Get off my ship." he growled. "Now."
"We just need to get as far away from here and then you can just drop us off wherever and then, we'll be out of your life forever." Chi looked down at Iseki. "Please sir, the only reason why this girl is this sick is because for the past few months she's been held captive aboard and angel ship and been repeatedly violated by the captain of the ship. She can't be around men for too long or else she just shuts her mind down. I won't have even asked you if you hadn't grabbed Iseki's butt on your way into that bar."
"Look, you damn mass-produced weapon. Your war and your Star Army aren't my concern anymore. You expect me to risk my life and my ship to ferry you back to your ship? Hell no! Especially not without anything in return." the man scowled.
"What would you like then Sir? We could arrange to give you something in return. The War doesn't have to be your concern, nor does the GSA but, as far as the Angels know, we are still on that shuttle in the S113 bay. And if anyone say you leading us back here, you are already involved. And the Angels may retalliate no matter how much deeper you get involved. You don't even need to take us as far as the Yui, you could just ditch us in another sector of space in an escape pod or something, and from there we could just try to hail the Yui for a pick up!" She looked down at Iseki, hoping she was going to be okay now before she looked back up at the pilot.
"Sir," Iseki bravely addressed the reluctant pilot, "I will do whatever you want if you will help Chiharu. You can keep me as your own."
kirageshadow: Chi's eyes widened at the Taii, "Iseki.." She just didn't know what to say, to Iseki. How can you tell someone to not offer their life up for you?
"Anything?" the man asked, blinking in surprise. "You mean you're making yourself my slave?" He rubbed his chin and considered, looking from Chi to Iseki. "Wow...That would ceratinly make the trip worthwhile." He considered using her as an assistant for working on the ship. "Okay, deal. Where do you want to go?""
Chi frowned at this.. it was Iseki's right to do so. "I can give you the last known coordinates we had for the GSS Yui. Our ship had just finished repairs when I was captured." Chi hugged Iseki quietly speaking telepathically into the girl's mind, ~I wish you hadn't done that for me but thank you. I think he'll be nice to you.~ Chi said the coordinates aloud as she remembered them. This was a start of getting back home, again it didn't go as she had planned..
"Alright. But how am I supposed to find the ship? The Yui-class is one of those newfangled stealth types, isn't it? I think I read about it in a magazine." The aged veteran asked. Meanwhile Iseki could only cry pitifully into Chiharu's bosom. She only hoped Chi would be happier than she was.
Chi hugged Iseki to her and rubbed the girl's back. ~I'm sorry that's I'm not happier Iseki, you're a good girl and I like you alot.~ She kissed the girl's forehead again, before addressing the pilot again, "Luck, but I think if we can try to hail the Yui, we might be able to get it's location from there."
"Okay." the man said, and then closed the metal grating above them, and the roof panel, leaving the two nekos alone in the dark cargo hold (which was about the same size as a small shuttle interior). Strapping himself in, he then manuevered the ship out of the docking bay and into space, headed in the direction of the GSS Yui.
JP

GSA no Taisho Ketsurui Chiharu
Commanding Officer, GSS Yui (GD-30)

&

GSA no Taii Hisô Iseki
Starship Pilot, GD-37 [Destroyed]
Chi adjusted her clothes, she was slowly getting used to living in this male body, but it still felt a bit ackward. "How far are we from the refueling station Iseki?" She ran her hand over the crew cut, it actually felt kinda cool to play with the short hair.
It had been several hours since the escape of the two nekos from the angel's attack frigate, and both of the two were now in disguise. Iseki was curled up in a ball on the floor of the shuttle, taking a break from piloting. She now had fake hair, a surprisingly well-made wig spun from fibers of the blanket she was wearing as a cloak. her hair was a tasty-smelling grape purple, and her ears were out of sight.
"It should only be a few minutes...." Iseki rocked on her bottom, foward and back, her thin body tightly curled up. "My name is Taii Hisô Iseki." she repeated for no apparent reason. "Taii Hisô Iseki. Gee Dee Thirty-Seven."
Chi offered the other Neko a soft, reassuring smile. She had a handsome face and there was a comforting warmth in her now blue eyes, but it wasn't going to make Iseki feel any better after all it was a man who had done this to her. "We'll get back home Iseki. I promise you that I won't let anyone get you again. I owe you one for getting me off the Angel Ship."
"Hiie...sooo. Eeee Say Ki " she repeated slowly, as if trying to associate her name with herself, as if she wasn't entirely sure who she was. "My name is Taii Hisô Iseki. Ship pilot. GD-37." Looking up at Chi's male visage. Males... Iseki put her hands in her crotch and held herself as if she was nursing some great lingering pain there. "Yes...angel ship. We are off the angel ship."
Chi sighed bit as she redirected her eyes back at the space ahead of her. Damn Jehenniel for doing this to the both of them. She hoped that she would be able to help Iseki onc she got out of this body. "We're going to get ourselves on a neutral ship and try to find our way to the GSS Yui GD-30. We're going to need a pilot on the Yui soon since our pilot just got a promotion." She tried to give the girl some reassurance of what was going to happen, but Chi said it more to give herself hope that'd this plan would work. "May the Emperor show us the way home."
"You said..." the neko looked blankly at Chi "...Home?" Her eyes were wet and the trails of tears reflected the dim interior lights. "Dead."
Chi frowned a bit, this was going to be rough. "Do you remember Geshrintall at all Hisô Iseki?" She set the controls for auto-pilot and slowly got up from the pilot's seat and very cautiously made her way over to Iseki, stopping out of arm's reach of her as Chi knelt down beside her. "It'll be all right now Taii Hisô Iseki, no one is going to hurt you, you're no longer alone."
"No Taisho. I was born on GD-37 and lived all my life on it until it was destroyed." Iseki sobbed, never having seen Geshrintall.
"Do you still remember the GD-37 and all the people who you loved?" She gently soothed, moving just a little bit closer to Iseki, not wanting to freak the girl out. "If you still remember them, they aren't really destroyed.. they are still alive in you." Chi offered the soft reassuring smile again.
"No, Taisho. You are a liar." Iseki said with a hint of resentment in her voice. "I cannot be with them anymore. They are gone forever." The underweight, malnourished neko made no effort to scoot away, though.
"Hisô Iseki.. there is an old saying that says that you are only truly dead when you are no longer remembered. But so long as someone can remember your name, you are still alive. Do you want to forget the GD 37?" Chi's voice was soft, patient and loving, she knew how Iseki felt but there had to be some hope in Iseki's heart that her ship wasn't truly dead and forgotten. If Iseki truly felt that way, then the ship and crew were truly dead. Chi wanted to hug the Neko, but she didn't want to scare the girl by making contact.
Iseki's fragile-looking fingers groped at Chiharu's pants button. "I'll do it, alright!" she glared at Chi, tugging her zipper open. Poor Iseki was trying to appease Chi in the only way she knew how. Moving her forehead to rest on Chi's waist, she said "I don't know. It seems so long ago."
Chi pulled Iseki up and away from her pants. "No Iseki, no Iseki! That's not what I want from you." Chi was shocked by the girl's actions and she lovingly hugged the Neko. "You don't have to ever do that to anyone ever again unless you really want to."
"But...I thought that's how one makes men happy?" Iseki said confusedly, "They would be angry and beat me if I didn't."
"No one is going to beat you here." Chi continued to hold the girl, gently rubbing her back. "Not all men are like that Iseki. I'm not like that, no matter what I may look like." Chi wanted to cry but, she couldn't cry, she had to try to comfort Iseki that she wasn't going to hurt her.
"If it makes you happy, I want to, Taisho. I don't want you to be angry and beat me. You don't like it? I am sorry for displeasing you!!" Iseki quickly said, her face resting against Chi's chest. "I will be a good girl. A good little girl for you, just like I should be."
"I will never beat you Iseki. Shhh.. it's ok, you are a good girl." Chi continued to hug the poor little Neko, gently rubbing her back, Jehenniel did a number on her. "What would make me happy is for you to be happy Iseki. But first we have to escape before the Angels come after us again. We're almost to the refueling station and we'll have to stay close together.. I can only protect you if you are with me ok?" Chi continued to speak softly to Iseki, she felt more like a mother now than she ever had in her life. "You'll be ok, not one will hurt you without getting through me first. I will protect you with my life, Aijou-chan." (beloved daughter)
"Yes, Chi-sama. I will stay with you, but I will not let you die before I do. You are valuable. I am just a plaything." Iseki responded, "But how can I be a good girl when you don't even want to..." she pointed at Chi, below the belt. "I am unworthy...?"
"You are not a plaything." Her voice was forceful for a moment before it returned it the soft tone it had been before. "It's not that you are unworthy or bad, Iseki-chan, I will not take advantange of you. And it's the last thing I want from you." She hugged Iseki again before standing up and rezipping her pants. "Iseki, you are not a plaything to me, you are Taii Hisô Iseki, Pilot of the GD 37. The sole survivor of that ship who has to live on for the memory of those who have been lost to the passage of war and time." Chi smiled at Iseki again and gently knelt down again, gently lifting Iseki's face up and softly kissing her on the forehead.
"My name is Taii Hisô Iseki." Iseki repeated. "GD-37...Thank you for your kiss, Chiharu-sama. I will try to be worth it. But I am a mere....space station!" Iseki pointed to the window ahead, eyes widening. The shuttle was about to hit a giant orbital base!
"Ack!" Chi ran back to the pilot's chair, deactivating the suto-pilot and trying to steer the damn thing to avoid an impact. "Well, at least we know we're here." Despite herself Chi smiled again.
Iseki tried to get to her seat but Chi was closer and sat there first. The G-forces that the shuttle experienced as Chi pulled back threw her against the floor and rear of the shuttle. "Ooomph!" she let out. The shuttle barely messed the armor station, gliding over what appeared to be a communications array of some sort. There was some chatter coming over the radio in Seraphim.
Chi winced a bit and tried to ignore the radio. And tried to steer the ship towards what might be an available landing dock.. this would be nice if she spoke Seraphim. She inwardly cursed for never learning the language and wished Aya were here to help.
The woman on the radio began fractically shouting in seraphim, and then made what sounded like a warning. Iseki crawled up into the other seat. "She says we are too close and says identify ourselves."
"you know Seraphim." Chi smiled again, what luck! She send Iseki and quick telepathic message just in case the Seraph heard her somehow. ~Please apologise for us and give her a false id. Anything that might sound good, remember I'm a human male and you are a human female and we're not GSA.~
"I am...transport shuttle...from cargo ship, coming for to obtain food" Iseki replied to the traffic controller in fractured seraphim. "Let dock, please." She looked to Chi with eyes of both hope and fear.
Chi smiled at Iseki, that'd work, whatever it was that Iseki said. She kept an eye out for anything that they might crash into, like say the station or another ship.
After a few seconds, the starfighter that had been tailing them broke away and a reply came. Iseki hugged Chi and excitedly told her "She said bay S113! We can go on the station!"
Chi grinned a bit and let out a sigh of relief as she quickly returned Iseki's hug. "Great, let's get docked then!" She steered the ship towards the bay marked S113.
As the angel starfighter passed them, Iseki a sinking feeling. "What if they notice I said Nepleslian frieghter but this is an angel shuttle? Why was the fighter following us? Do you think they will have seraphs waiting for us inside??" she asked, sounding almost panicked.
Chi shrugged, "Well, we did almost crash into the station. We'll just get aboard the station and try to keep a low profile Iseki. Remember, they're not looking for 2 humans. If worse comes to worse.. we're going to fight our way out of this."
The shuttle, thankfully entered the small shuttlebay uneventfully, and there was no welcome party, armed or otherwise.
Chi parked the shuttle as best she could before she deactivated all the systems aboard, now the question was to destroy the shuttle or not. She thought better of it as she stood up again. "Ok, Iseki let's find ourselves a new ride."
"Yokai!" Iseki hopped up and opened the rear door.
Chi readjusted her pants again before she followed Iseki out the door. She looked from side to side again, just checking for any sign of a possible incident.
Iseki spotted an old painted sign that read "To civilian area." or something to that nature. "I think we should go this way." she said to Chi, pointing down a hallway. The interior of the station was a dingy gray version of the architerure found in the angel ship. It was very dusty, like the walls were covered in space soot.
"Ok, we'll go that way. Stay close Iseki." Chi walked down the indicated hallway, trying to keep close to Iseki. She figured that people were less likely to mess with Iseki as long as they saw a man very close to her.
They went through a series of doors, until finally arriving in a central section. There were scattered groups of humans, angels, and various aliens here, going about their business. To the left was what appeared to be an electronics parts shop, and to the right, a bakery.
Chi looked around the station in wonderment, protectively taking Iseki's hand when she sw the angels walking about. She quietly spoke to Iseki, "Ok, now the hard part.. finding ourselves a ride.."
The crowd had a large variety of species and cultures. A neko in a one-piece swimsuit even walked by the two, with a pair of angels flanking her, as if they were her personal hoodlums. Stopping behind Chi and Iseki, the trio turned around and the neko took Iseki's soulder in hand, making the recently-freed neko jump a bit in alarm. "Eeep!"
Chi pulled Iseki close to her now as she spun about to face the Neko and the pair of angels. "Excuse me Miss, but keep your hands off her." Her voice was forceful and protective now, the softness gone. She straightened up as she eyed the angel wearily, because damn it, she promised to protect Iseki. The neko would be just a big a problem but she wasn't sure what the Neko's alligences were.
"You're new here." the mystery neko grinned, digging her hand and finger into Iseki, underneath her makeshift dress, not seeming to listen. "You'd better watch yourself, human." the neko warned Chi. "How much is this girl? She's got a beautiful face. It reminds me of home."
"This girl is NOT for sale, Geshrin." Chi kept Iseki close as she backed away from the Neko, her eyes narrowing.
Iseki cried out in shock as the unknown neko violated her for no apparent reason, and then in pain as Chi pulled her away. "Who are you calling Geshin?" the neko said, pulling out some sort of machine pistol and shoving it against Chi's lower lip.
The two angels, also armed, moved in on either side of Chi, Keeping their wings spread to conceal what was going on from passerbys
"So you're not a Neko from Geshrintall?" Chi inwardly laughed, it figured as much that it would be a Neko to make her life hell. Chi quickly assessed the situation, 3 armed combatants, against her and Iseki, and both were unarmed at the moment. "Nice bodyguards." She finally decided to take a look at the Neko's eyes, maybe that would let her know what was going on.
"I lived on a Ki-D1 destroyer. We never even got close to Geshrintall. What's it to you, asshole. Why don't you and stop pimping here, because I own all the girls on this block, mister geshrin tough guy."
The neko's eyes were solid blue, and her hair was regular solid green. Probably an older model NH-7.
"This girl is NOT for sale. She is my damn sister and I'm trying to get her back home relatively unmolested." Chi narrowed her eyes, she had to run into a damn pimp of all things. But the girl was a spacey, with apparently no loyalities to the GSA. "Besides, she's already got an owner, Mistress Taisho Kitsurugi Yui." Chi let the name slide, knowing Yui would forgive her at some point. Chi still held Iseki close to her, hoping that Yui's name would ring some bells in this Neko's mind.
"Yui's girls dress in gray kimonos." the neko pimp scathingly shot back, bashing Chi's credibility. "Why are you so afraid to admit she's your hump pillow? Get off my street before my girls..." she pointed to the two female angels on either side of her "...have to help you."
"Not a problem." Chi simply took Iseki and moved quickly down the street, getting the hell away from the Neko and her Angels. Thank the Emperor, she just got pissed. She'd have to make a note to talk to Yui whenever she got home to figure out if that was true. Now to find a way off this damn station.
Iseki quietly looked down, her purple hair hanging in her eyes. "It's my fault. I should have found a way to make the dress look better." she apologized.
"It's not you're fault Iseki, we didn't think we'd encounter a Neko. Are you ok?" Chi quietly spoke as she tried to figure out where she might find a damn transport off this station back to the Yui. Her eyes darted about the station looking for anyone that gave off the vibe: transport, she still kept Iseki close to her.
A scruffy-looking man in a leather jacket bumped into Iseki as he made his way into a nearby building, stepping into a sleazy-looking bar. The jacket had a number of patches sewn into it, including some that appeared to be squadron logos and military symbols. Iseki whispered, "That man grabbed my bum." to Chi, pointing the man out as he went into the building.
Chi's lower lip twitched, well hell.. scruffy looking man, military things on his jacket and a sleazy bar.. All the wrong signs for Iseki's safety and all the right ones for a ride off this place. "From the looks of it Iseki, we're going to have a chat with that man.." Chi followed the man into the bar, still keeping Iseki as close to her as she could. "This might get a bit messy Iseki.."
"Yes, mistress." Iseki nodded, pressing herself against Chi's side as the two entered the crowded bar. It was smoky inside, with the air carrying a few burning herbs and incense. At a table in the corner, the guy in the jacket was sitting down on the booth seats, pouring a tall glass of some sort of teal-colored beverage.
Chi pushed her way towards the man in the jacket, pulling Iseki along with her. "Hey mister, I wanna talk to you!" She made a mental note to hemosynth Iseki some pants at some point..
"Huh?" the man looked at Chi in surprise, fumbling under the table for something in his carrybag. "Who are you and what do you want?" he demanded in a gravelly voice. He looked about 40 or 50 years old.
Chi took a seat across from the man, letting Iseki sit near the wall. "Are you a pilot by any chance, sir?" Chi kept one arm around Iseki and the other on the table in front of her. "Please, don't do that." She soothed, as she dropped her voice so that only Iseki and the old man could hear, "I don't mean you any harm, I just need to know how the hell I can get off this station."
"Well, I suppose you could call me that." the man said, eyeing the pair with suspicion.
Chi smiled warily, knowing the man most likely had his gun pointed at her gut with his finger on the trigger this very moment. "From your jacket I take it you're a former military man?" She raised her voice again, trying to make it sound a bit more friendly than covert.
"Yeah, I was engineer on an ASF-57. Ship got decommisioned, so I took it with me when I went into retirement. Not authorized, but whatever. I've restored her to pretty good condition." the man said, running his wrinkled, calloused hands on his week-old bearded chin.
Chi smiled, again, he was an ally of the GSA... well.. sort of? "How does she run? I've only heard stories about how only the best can pilot the ASF-57s."
"Aww, shucks, kiddo." the man smiled to Chi. "She runs like a champ. Real something to be proud of." It brought a tear to the gray-haired man's eye. Iseki watched intently from the side, letting Chi do the talking, shivering violently for some reason...
"Is there anyway you could.. "Chi smiled again, trying to remember how long it has been since she flew an ASF-57 Dn Minicruiser.. and then she noticed Iseki was shivering. "Hey, are you ok Sweetie? What's wrong?"
"I feel sick." Iseki said quietly. She certainly didn't look so well, either. The old engineer put the back of his hand on her forehead for a moment and then said, "She's too hot." Iseki murmured, "I am not....feeling well." again. "There are so many."''
"Sir, is there anyplace safe to have her lie down at? We're stuck between a rock and a hard place.." Chi hugged Iseki worriedly, understanding why she was panicking, "You'll be ok Sweetie, I promise... we'll find someplace for you to lie down?" Chi looked pleadingly towards the old pilot for help.
"Uh..." the older guy scratched his head. He himself was homeless. "Well, my ship, I guess."
"Thank you so much sir!" Chi gently swept Iseki up into her arms after shaking the man's hand in gratitude, "I don't know what we would've done..." Chi looked down at Iseki, "We're going to get you a place to lie down.. you'll be all right..."
The man got up from the table and led them out of the bar and through a twisting maze of streets and corridors, finally coming to an armored airlock door. He then enter a code on the control panel and stepped inside of the airlock as it opened, gesturing for them to follow.
Chi silently carried Iseki as she followed the man into the airlock, in some strange way, this was all working out. She was glad that something out there had taken pity on them. "Thank you, thank you so much, sir."
The door behind them shut and then the one in front of them opened after a few seconds, revealing a narrow two-foot-wide catwalk ran out to the top of the docked DN Minicruiser. On either side of the catwalk, there was a thirty-foot drop to the bottom of the bay, an air containment forcefield. The man walked confidently across the small bridge and opened the roof panel to the center section of the ship, sliding into the pilot's pit. There wasn't a lot of room on the ship. In fact, the man had to open a metal grating behind his seat in order to open the shaft to the small cargo area.
"PowerSystemOnline DefensiveSystemsReady DefensiveWeaponsReady ComputerSystemReady PropulsionSystemsReady HeavyWeaponsSystemsCharging ALL SYSTEMS READY" the computer speed-talked as the ship booted up. There was a sound of charging systems and running engines and ventilation. The spherical reactor, visible through an opening behind the shaft to the cargo area, began to glow and hum. "You girls can either lay on the main deck, up top in the loft, or you could sit in the cargo area."
Chi smiled softly, "Thank you Mister. How'd you guess I was really a woman?" She carried Iseki into the cargo area and gently set her down on the floor. "Iseki, how are you holding up?"
"Huh?" the man seemed taken aback at first, then realized he'd said girls instead of guys. "It was a mistake. You're a woman??"
Iseki moaned, "Uunnh. I feel so horrible inside. I've never seen so many men before. It makes me sick."'
Chi laughed a bit, too late now. "Oops. Anyways, how do you feel about the Angels and the GSA?" She looked down at Iseki again, "But you're ok right? No one tried to beat you.. except that one pimp lady.. but we got you away from her right?"
"I try not to take sides." The man frowned, looking down at Chi and Iseki in the dark cargo area from the loft section above. "I can't say I like either."
"No sides is better than nothing right now. We're just running out of time. I don't know how long it'll take the Angels to realise that we've come to this station. I'm sorry to have involved you but we're really in a rock and a hard place. Is there any chance we could get a ride back to my ship, the GSS Yui?" Chi's features slowly changed back to her normal form, although her clothes didn't change any. She smiled as her body became familiar again. "I am Taisho Ketsurui Chiharu, commanding officer of the GSS Yui and fleet commander of the GSA 2nd fleet. And this is Taii Hiso Iseki." Chi offered Iseki a soft smile again, "This man won't hurt you Iseki. He's not a bad man like Jehenniel."
The man looked at them in disgust, angry that they had tricked him with their disguises, trying to take advantage of him for a ride. He had spent a long time trying to get away from the GSA and the wars and the politics, and now these two girls wanted to try and drag him right back into it. "Get off my ship." he growled. "Now."
"We just need to get as far away from here and then you can just drop us off wherever and then, we'll be out of your life forever." Chi looked down at Iseki. "Please sir, the only reason why this girl is this sick is because for the past few months she's been held captive aboard and angel ship and been repeatedly violated by the captain of the ship. She can't be around men for too long or else she just shuts her mind down. I won't have even asked you if you hadn't grabbed Iseki's butt on your way into that bar."
"Look, you damn mass-produced weapon. Your war and your Star Army aren't my concern anymore. You expect me to risk my life and my ship to ferry you back to your ship? Hell no! Especially not without anything in return." the man scowled.
"What would you like then Sir? We could arrange to give you something in return. The War doesn't have to be your concern, nor does the GSA but, as far as the Angels know, we are still on that shuttle in the S113 bay. And if anyone say you leading us back here, you are already involved. And the Angels may retalliate no matter how much deeper you get involved. You don't even need to take us as far as the Yui, you could just ditch us in another sector of space in an escape pod or something, and from there we could just try to hail the Yui for a pick up!" She looked down at Iseki, hoping she was going to be okay now before she looked back up at the pilot.
"Sir," Iseki bravely addressed the reluctant pilot, "I will do whatever you want if you will help Chiharu. You can keep me as your own."
kirageshadow: Chi's eyes widened at the Taii, "Iseki.." She just didn't know what to say, to Iseki. How can you tell someone to not offer their life up for you?
"Anything?" the man asked, blinking in surprise. "You mean you're making yourself my slave?" He rubbed his chin and considered, looking from Chi to Iseki. "Wow...That would ceratinly make the trip worthwhile." He considered using her as an assistant for working on the ship. "Okay, deal. Where do you want to go?""
Chi frowned at this.. it was Iseki's right to do so. "I can give you the last known coordinates we had for the GSS Yui. Our ship had just finished repairs when I was captured." Chi hugged Iseki quietly speaking telepathically into the girl's mind, ~I wish you hadn't done that for me but thank you. I think he'll be nice to you.~ Chi said the coordinates aloud as she remembered them. This was a start of getting back home, again it didn't go as she had planned..
"Alright. But how am I supposed to find the ship? The Yui-class is one of those newfangled stealth types, isn't it? I think I read about it in a magazine." The aged veteran asked. Meanwhile Iseki could only cry pitifully into Chiharu's bosom. She only hoped Chi would be happier than she was.
Chi hugged Iseki to her and rubbed the girl's back. ~I'm sorry that's I'm not happier Iseki, you're a good girl and I like you alot.~ She kissed the girl's forehead again, before addressing the pilot again, "Luck, but I think if we can try to hail the Yui, we might be able to get it's location from there."
"Okay." the man said, and then closed the metal grating above them, and the roof panel, leaving the two nekos alone in the dark cargo hold (which was about the same size as a small shuttle interior). Strapping himself in, he then manuevered the ship out of the docking bay and into space, headed in the direction of the GSS Yui.
JP

GSA no Taisho Ketsurui Chiharu
Commanding Officer, GSS Yui (GD-30)

&

GSA no Taii Hisô Iseki
Starship Pilot, GD-37 [Destroyed]
