The Junker

Chapter Two

"Uugh..."

You carefully roll to the edge of the oversized bunk, hair a mess, eyes barely open. You always hated sleeping on spaceships; for some reason it was near IMPOSSIBLE for you to wake up easily. At least most of the stations you'd visited had an artificial daylight cycle. Though, granted, this wasn't a human ship, anyway.

Your life had been kind of boring until the other day, when a routine derelict fetch mission had you almost left for dead. Lucky for you, a knight in scales and spacesuit was there to rescue you. The strange encounter was one you'd remember for the rest of your life, and not just because he saved you, but because he clearly loved you. Joyfully, the feeling was mutual.

You stood carefully, never quite balanced when it came to waking up, no matter where. As you rubbed your eyes, wandering toward the door, your toe banged into the small black box from the derelict ship. Cursing loudly and hopping on one foot, you slip on a datapad on the floor-

-and are caught inches from the deck by a pair of strong, scaly arms.

"Iksa los mikos, mes ilo," Ki'Lio says as he lifts you up to his chest. You look up to see his bio-luminescent patterns flaring brightly, his grin lighting up the small cabin. "You have got to be more careful," he adds, and you stick your tongue out at him. 

He copies you, his forked tongue pitch black. Your stubbed toe throbs painfully and you wince, very noticeably. Ki'Lio's eyes discharge sparks as he fixes you with a sharp glance.

"Hang on a moment; I'll get the medkit," he says as he totes you out of the room. 

You sigh in defeat without putting up a fight; even though you were perfectly able to do things on your own two feet, this great hulking croc-dragon seemed to love carrying you around. You look up at his strong features, and smile softly.

Well, at least the view was always good.

A short while later, your toe is fixed, he's on the bridge, and you're getting dressed. It was an entertainingly mis-matched outfit that consisted of a pair of well-fitted spacesuit under-leggings and one of Ki'Lio's over-sized shirts. It was way too big for you, but the material it was made of stretched to fit Ki'Lio perfectly when he had opportunity to wear it. As it so happened, he was a simple guy who didn't wear a shirt on his spaceship unless necessary, which suited you just fine.

The craft was a single-man operation, and as such was more like a flying apartment for him. His cabin was a mess of research datapads and old mission logs, slightly outnumbered by the assortment of memorabilia bric-a-brac that lined the available shelving. 

However, he did keep all the command areas neat and tidy, which was a relief. You knew all too well that a single ill-timed distraction could sometimes be costly.

You wander out to the flight deck, two mugs of coffee-like substance in your hand. Ki'Lio glances up from the holo-display and smiles, his eyes discharging a single large spark.

"Why thank you, mes ilo," he says, and you hand him his cup. 

You turn to look out the viewscreen at the stars. It still amazed you how beautiful it all was, even after the many years you'd been in space. You smile and turn back to see his eyes on you, his glowing patterns low.

"What?" You suddenly feel self-conscious, and touch your face.

"Dores ta na, mes ilo," he says, his voice soft and awed. You blush, knowing that phrase from the first conversation you'd ever had. He'd been saying it fairly often, and it always reminded you of that first kiss, and the circumstances surrounding it.

"I'm still mad at you for putting me on the way you did," you say with mock outrage, and he chuckles quietly. "Why didn't you just talk to me if you knew what I was saying in the first place?"