Savin' Me

[Jiang Winters]

Kusuyk felt like a ninja. She had watched as the towering metal walked past her. The Kushiban had hidden herself in a small tuck of the ship. But, curiosity was quite the killer to her.
Kusuyk noted she was feeling tired and worn down, but didn't really want to fall asleep in what was likely hostile territory.

She heard the pilot say something about taking off in five minutes and Kusuyk wasn't too happy with that. She only had five minutes to explore now, and she really wanted to see under the helm of the one who'd entered the ship.

Now or never.

Kusuyk hopped quickly toward her target, stopping close behind where the towering metal was seated. The .5 meter tall Kushiban gawked at the enormous rifle that was in front of her.
One blast from that with her guard down and there wouldn't even be any remains, just bunny goo. She took this moment to reflect on her life. Her only regret; not biting the kid she had stayed with last night and being so young to die.

She looked over to her right and saw a man, he looked real enough to her, but not like anything else on this ship. He had a blaster pointed at her and Kusuyk's ears fell quickly down to her sides. She wasn't sure if this guy was another illusion or if he was real. There was no way for her to tell. A wicked grin crawled onto his face and she felt her fur stand on end.

"SAVE ME!" Kusuyk screamed and jumped onto the unexpected Kushari, who was likely very upset with the fact there was a kushiban's butt on her helmet and screaming for a hero. "Don't let him shoot me!" Kusuyk was practically delirious. She knew how to fight, but she didn't like the looks of a mutated human with a blaster pointed at her and might by fake.

"If that is a hallucination. I'm so dead." she thought, getting a bit teary eyed.

To say that Rook was surprised would be an understatement of epic proportions. She was shocked, flabbergasted, stunned, taken aback, rendered breathless, awestruck, bamboozled, and flat-out dumbfounded by the rapidness and raw force of the unexpected attack, which saw perhaps ten pounds of fluffy bunny wabbit pounce onto her helmet.

She scowled as the rabbit wailed something about being shot. The Kushari's hands balled into tight fists; so tight that her claws would've cut right through her gloves, if it weren't for the ceramic cap built into the fingertips to prevent such an accident. The feline didn't speak, rather, she reached up and seized the Kushiban by her flanks and pried the hopping mad creature off of her helmet.

Rook held the half-meter ball of fluff at arm's length and cocked her head to one side. After deciding that the bunny posed no threat - more specifically, no threat that couldn't be quickly ended with a good hard stomp - she brought it in a bit closer and lowered her head to give herself a better view of the Kushiban.

"Who are you?" she demanded harshly, "and why are you in this ship, screaming like a gorramed lunatic?"

 

[Ash]

"Anyone but him! Anyone but him!" Kusuyk screamed loudly, her feet and arms flailing wildly and endlessly. She could almost feel hot tears through her fur.

The metal monster kept her at a distance and by her ears. Kusuyk felt a lot of pain in this for some reason. The Kushiban swung herself quickly onto the metal creature's arm and held desperately. "Please. You can eat me for all I care. Just not him!" she wanted her father back.

Kusuyk looked back at where the man with the blaster was. He was gone. Nowhere. An illusion. "I-I am Kusuyk." she muttered quietly, "I am s- ah, forget it. Listen, I am a Kushiban with nothin' to live for. I'm good at what I do. My imaginary friends don't even play with me anymore or they scare me. If you're going to kill me, go for it. I guess I'll just fight you to the death." Kusuyk stated simply, hoping to not die.

 

[Jiang Winters]

Rook snorted. It was obvious now that this particular Kushiban, Kusuyk, was just a tinge on the delusional side. Imaginary friends, hah! The mere thought made the Ranger roll her eyes. Once the rabbit clung to her arm, she moved her free glove beneath the creature to provide it a seat to sit on.

She nearly laughed when the Kushiban suggested fighting her to the death. What did the rabbit expect to do - gnaw her to death? The soldier was barely able to hold her tongue and calmly reply, "I'll pass." She didn't bother introducing herself; unlike the Kushiban, she wore her name in plain sight. The word 'Rook' was plainly stenciled across the top of her chest plate, in Kushari Basic Text, and...

Oh, right. Kushari Basic, not Aurubesh. That might pose a problem.

Rook decided against giving her name anyways and nodded towards the seat beside her. "Take a seat and strap in."

If the Kushiban had nothing to live for, then she might as well come with Rook back to the fleet. Maybe the eggheads would have some use for her, or maybe she had some useful knowledge - Rook didn't know, Rook didn't care. Her job was to shoot things, not to understand them.

 

[Ash]

"Who are you?" Kusuyk blurted, a little louder then she intended. Her whole goal was that. "Thanks." she whispered, noticing the creature was fur and not metal. Comfy.

Kusuyk crawled up onto the creatures person and snuggled her head against the creatures inflicts hand. She attempted consciousness, but it was probably not going to last. Kusuyk flicked her tail once and did her best to listen.

 

[Jiang Winters]

"..." Rook tensed as Kusuyk decided to curl up against her. That wasn't exactly what she'd had in mind, but the Kushari was too worn out to bother explaining her desires. She'd just spent a good little while talking to a diplomat - she'd said more in the last half-hour than she'd said in the last month.

The feline gently laid a gloved hand atop the Kushiban's body to ensure that the Kushiban didn't go flying off in the event that the Meadowlark dropship ran into turbulence. Once certain that she wasn't going anywhere, Rook decided to answer Kusuyk's question.

"Rook," she stated. "Just call me Rook."

The dropship's engines started up at that particular moment. The craft lurched into the sky, then shot off, heading towards the stars above. Rook's tail curled tighter around herself within her armor - she never liked riding in Meadowlarks. They were smooth rides once airborne, but actually getting airborne was a bumpy experience.

 

[Ash]

"Okay, Rook." Kusuyk mumbled, her fur changing almost black as the ship began to take off. Kusuyk tensed up and clung onto Rook's paw.

"I hate this part." the Kushiban groaned, she knew she could suck it up, didn't change how much she disliked it though. A hallucination of a rave dancer caught Kusuyk's sight and she used this as her outlet to get past the start up of the ship and initial take off.

Kusuyk watched the Twi'lek rave dancer spin in circles and move around gracefully, causing the darkened mood sensitive fur to slowly return to it's White hue. Kusuyk kept her small fingers grasped as well as she could on Rook, but it wasn't proving easy for her.

"You're not going to take me to your leader and eat me, are you? Though, you're pretty massive in height. Hard to imagine someone bigger... Other then a rancor. They're creatures of what has to be ugly breeding." Kusuyk normally kept to herself, but what did this critter care anymore?

 

[Jiang Winters]

"I'm small," Rook stated nonchalantly. It wasn't entirely true - she was fairly average for her species, but compared to men like her commanding officer, Captain Tamirik Sajuuk-Sjet, she was absolutely tiny. He towered nearly a full foot over her, and weighed hundreds of pounds more, all of it muscle. She felt so very, very tiny compared to him.

"And no, we won't eat you," she added in. Did the rabbit think the Kushari savages? Eating a sentient being was immoral and illegal, not to mention disgusting and uncivilized.

Once the ship was spaceborne, everything became weightless. The Meadowlark was not equipped with an artificial gravity generator; were it not for her seat restraints, Rook would have drifted up off her seat. Stretching out did sound good though, and so the female unbuckled her restraint and let herself float up into the center of the ship's troop bay. She 'stood' and stretched out as she lazily floated, only to realize that she was still holding onto Kusuyk.

She made a gentle pushing motion in the direction of one of the canvas web seats, figuring that the sudden movement would dislodge Kusuyk and would send the bunny slowly drifting into the not-so-distant seat, which would be all too easy for her little rabbit paws to dig into and hold on to.

 

[Ash]

"You're small?" Kusuyk stared in amazement as she kept attempting to cling onto the chair Rook had pushed her toward. "That has to be a joke! I am glad you're not going to eat me though." Kusuyk finally gained grip on the seat and held on for dear life.
"It's not that I think you are bad. Just, some might say, 'Mmmm! Fluffy bunny sounds great today!' and I don't know who those people are and are not, ya' see?" Kusuyk kept one hand clutched tightly to the seat, letting the rest of herself float. It was a new feeling she'd never had before. Kusuyk let out a small giggle to the new experience and slowly letting her remaining paw off the seat.

 

[Jiang Winters]

Rook watched as the rabbit began to allow herself to float, rambling all the while. Were she not such an antisocial jerkface, she would've admitted that the Kushiban's antics were adorable beyond belief. As it was, she merely watched and shook her head.

She didn't bother responding; the Meadowlark came into contact with the Serenity. A mere glance towards the cockpit door would allow Kusuyk to see the Corvette's glistening blue hull and her fighter escorts. Sleek and elegant, the Serenity suited her name well, and appeared at a glance to be a ship of peace and exploration. Little would the Kushiban know that the warship concealed its weaponry very, very well.

The Meadowlark slid in alongside the Serenity's hull and docked, right next to the blast door concealing one of her quick-fire railgun turrets. The rear door of the Meadowlark hissed and popped, then lowered, allowing them to walk right into the boarding tube that had mated with the dropship.

A single Kushari Marine, wearing armor identical to Rook's, was waiting at the hatch. His helmet was clipped to his hip, revealing the distinctive lion-like features of a baseline Kushari. His 'mane', which only grew in on the head much like hair, was cropped short and his features were light and expressive. Bright blue eyes sparkled with youthful life and adventure, but were contrasted with facial scars, including one especially nasty one across his right eye.

"Lieutenant," he said warmly, a nod of his head and a smile accompanying his words. "The Admiral's waiting for you," the Marine stated as he stepped into the craft, instantly adjusting to the lack of artificial gravity within the Meadowlark.

His size became obvious as he drew closer, The feline stood at an impressive 7'2" and seemed almost TOO muscular and powerful in build for his armor. A Guardsman pump-action shotgun sat in a holster on his back, with a M88 pistol slapped on his thigh-plate.

He gestured towards the Kushiban. "...Seriously, a bunny? Rabbit soup night or something?" he queried, razor-sharp ivory fangs glistening for a split-second as he grinned.

"No," Rook stated. "She's sentient. Kusuyk's her name. Look after her. I'll be back in fifteen."

The female departed the dropship with a kick, righted herself, and landed on her feet in the gravity of the boarding tube. The Marine, whose armor had 'MOHATU' stamped on it, scratched the back of his head curiously. "...Sentient, huh? Erf, well... If you can understand me, then I'm sorry, I guess. Here, hop on my armor and I'll take you into the ship. You'll want to ride, gravity in there's going to be a LOT heavier than what you're used to."

 

[Ash]

Kusuyk's eyes were wide and she was more or less terrified. "Rook." the small critter whined, not sure of this much larger male who had suggested eating her. Kusuyk was probably overly wary of the other and kept watch on Rook. Kusuyk naturally looked adorable and so she just puffed up her eyes a bit and made herself look much weaker and more venerable then she actually was, hoping that she would have to stay with mister eats-bunnies-alot. . .
The massive size of everything was intimidating to Kusuyk, she was small and hallucinates frequently. The ships were just. . . Surreal to her. Had she not been trying to pout-face Rook in to not leaving her, the Kushiban would likely have been gawking more.

 

[Jiang Winters]

Mohatu pulled himself in a bit closer to Kusuyk's seat and 'knelt' beside it, using magnetic panels in the soles of his boots and in his kneepads to hold himself to the floor. "S'alright Kusu, she'll be back soon. Rook's got to talk to Sajuuk, and outsiders aren't allowed onto the bridge of the ship. Rules are rules, and she's something of a stickler at times."

He pried off his gauntlets as he spoke and stuffed them into his helmet. The fabric jammed up along the inside of the helmet when he let them go, keeping the gloves inside the helm despite the lack of gravity inside the Meadowlark. He held out his hands, covered in short and velvety golden-brown fur and capped with leathery pinkish pads on his fingertips and palm, as if to show that he meant no harm. "Look, I'm sorry if I freaked you out, I just... Erm, I've never seen a talking rabbit before, to be brutally honest. I'm still not totally sure whether or not you're real or if I'm dreaming," he joked. "And hey, at least now you know what Rook looks like under all that armor! Like a big ol' kitty-cat."

 

[Ash]

Kusuyk looked at him, his paw, back to him and his paw again. "You think you may be dreaming. My life revolves around hallucinations." Kusuyk laughed a bit nervously. She slowly moved one paw toward the cats, she poked at his pad twice before placing her front left paw on his, then her right front paw.

"Promise you won't eat me?" Kusuyk looked at him with her large beady eyes. Retreating her front paws back onto the chair.

She really hoped that this guy wouldn't eat her, sure she'd rather be stew then be killed mercilessly by a smuggler or raider. Doesn't mean she wouldn't prefer to be alive.

 

[Jiang Winters]

He smiled, closed his eyes, and nodded once. "Mhm!"

The Kushari smiled at Kusuyk and 'stood' up, still relying on his bewtz' magnetic panels to keep himself on the deck. He kept his hands held out for the Kushiban, while his tail - which he hadn't tucked inside his armor, as most Kushari did - danced behind him, lazily swishing from side to side with the black tuft at the tip fluttering in the air. "So c'mon," the blue-eyed Marine said, "Hop on and let's go. We'll get you settled in and maybe I can answer any questions you have."

 

[Ash]

Kusuyk smiled, "Beware though. I am armed with both cuteness and a lightsaber." she placed her right paw then her left on his before climbing up his arm and nuzzling herself around his neck, flicking her tail quickly a few times while she made herself comfortable.

She thought over his words and her fur suddenly stood on end; "What do you mean, "settled in"?" her fur had almost instantly started changing darker.

I knew it. He's going to eat me! I am really emotional today. . . Kusuyk didn't have very large, or sharp claws, but she had her paws clinging onto the cat with all her scarce strength in comparison to the Kushari.

 

[Jiang Winters]

"You know, settled in. Get you a place to bunk for the night, find you something to eat. Salads, maybe. I dunno what you like," he replied with an idle shrug. The feline sensed that she was still unnerved by him, so he gently nuzzled his cheek against her to try to keep her calm.

He turned and departed the dropship with a lazy hop. Once he entered the Serenity's gravity field, his feet fell to the deck and he landed with a heavy 'THUD' as some four hundred and ninety pounds of Kushari hit the metal plating. Considering that the Serenity's gravity generators were set to be relatively close to their homeworld, at 1.75G's, he had no doubt that the gravity felt almost crushing to a being that looked to be from a light-gravity world.

"And welcome aboard the Serenity, Kusuyk. Flagship of D.S.E.G., most advanced corvette in the entirety of the Kushari Fleet."

The halls were tall and wide to accommodate the massive frames of the Kushari, with recessed hand and foot holds provided in the walls and ceiling for combat situations in which gravity might be disabled. The floor was a brightly polished black, while the walls were gunmetal gray with blue grating running between the floor and the base of the wall, forming a slight ramp up the wall that was perhaps three inches in height. Emergency lighting and primary ventilation was concealed behind the grate. The ceiling was gray as well, with yellow-slashed black lines running in two parrellel strips down its length to help give a sense of direction in zero gravity. White lighting strips ran between the black lines, providing illumination, while holographic signs dotted the walls and the ceiling to provide directions and information on the ship's status.

Its ambient temperature was at a cozy 80 degrees Fahrenheit - Kushari ships ran a bit hot, much like their homeworld. In fact, 80 was considered a little chilly, but was chosen to accommodate Human crew members.

He hooked a right and headed past the starboard gunnery station for the QF Railgun, and took a crew lift down towards the residential deck, in the center of the ship. All along the way, he passed a dozen crew members - all of them Kushari, and all wearing Navy flight suits. "Don't worry 'bout any of us, Kusuyk; most of these guys are city slickers. The only reason I was thinking about rabbit soup is because I'm a mine kid. I grew up in a desert mining down with a lot of hares in the sand dunes around us, so I'm used to hunting and... Er, yeah. Anyways, point is most of these guys are used to food coming in a neatly sealed box from a factory back on the homeworld."

 

[Ash]

"Interesting. This place is huge." Kusuyk accepted the cats nudge and her fur changed back to a soft white. "Sorry for being so skidish. Just, being fuzzy and cute, the kids see me and are excited to take me home. And, having nothing to start with and looking like a domestic pet, I get fed and a warm place to stay for a night or two... that kid last night ripped me open new fears last night though. I've never been shaken and thrown around so much. . ." She kept a close observation on all the troops who passed by them, observing them up and down.

I wonder what they think of me... Kusuyk closed in any gap between herself and the cats neck, not wanting to be hit by anything in the unlikely chance it happened. Or someone tried to snag her and eat her.

 

[Jiang Winters]

"I know what you mean," Mohatu laughed. "Human kids tend to think we Kushari are just big ol' stuffed animals. They don't think anything of yanking on our manes or tails - or our whiskers, if we don't keep them trimmed. They aren't very strong though, so they can't hurt us even if they want to... But for a lil' thing like you, I imagine the story is very, very different."

He felt her curl in closer to his neck. It wasn't for warmth - maybe Kusuyk didn't want to fall off? That was the most likely reason. He nuzzled her gently once again, then rounded a corner and walked into the barracks. He stopped at the door to his private quarters and slid it open - all Kushari had their own room aboard a warship, even if it wasn't very big. The room was tiny, barely big enough to contain his bed and a desk, and the drawers were built into the wall, but it was home for him. Posters of famous celebrities -some human, most Kushari- and pin-up girls were posted on the walls, while photos and letters from his sisters at home were taped to his drawers, and a high-end computer sat beneath the desk, two monitors perched atop the desk displaying a paused real-time tactics game.

Mohatu gently plucked her off of his shoulder and deposited her atop the olive green pillow on the head of his bunk. The walls were white, as opposed to the rest of the ship, though the blue wall grate, black floor, and gray ceiling remained. "Until I know how much of the ship you get to see, you're gonna have to camp out here. Rook's quarters are right across the hall from mine, so we'll just leave the door open and talk to her when she gets back."

 

[Ash]

"Oh that's fi-" Kusuyk let out long, but quiet yawn, "Fine by me." Kusuyk observed the room as she let herself sink into the pillow. It was a bit big for her as a bed even, but it was quite comfortable. "You never told me your name, mister. What is it?" Kusuyk tilted her head to the left, her ears flopping around like weights on her head. She flicked her tail at the sight of the pin-up girls. She'd always loved looking at pin-ups, the girls were always very pretty.

Kusuyk would never verbally admit it, but she always wished she was a human, or Twi'lek. Someone who people thought 'Oh my, she's pretty.' instead of 'B'aw! Look at that little fuzzball!', though Kusuyk lived happily as a little Kushiban. She probably wouldn't be Force sensitive had she been born another. All Kushiban were Force sensitive.

 

[Jiang Winters]

Mohatu set his helmet down in his desk's seat, then plopped down on the foot of the bed and sprawled out. The metal frame groaned for a moment under his impressive weight. Once he was cozy, with his feet and the tip of his tail dangling off the bed, the feline glanced over to her and perked one ear towards her.

"I guess I should tell you my name, huh? I'm Saeed Kamua Mohatu of Sjet. Originally from Kiithid Vamachiru of Elohim, but mother married into Kiithid Mohatu of Misrael. I was taken into Kith Sjet when I joined the military, as are all soldiers."

Sjet and Mohatu - simple, strong names, devoid of the sweetness or songlike qualities of the names Elohim or Misrael or Vamachiru. Though he loved being Mohatu-Sjet, he still preferred the way his native Kiths rolled off the tongue.

He grinned after giving her his name. "Our naming structure can get a little long. Don't worry though; my name's about as long as they get... Unless you're dealing with a Lord or Councilor of an ancient Kiithid, then things get confusing even for us Kushari!" he joked.

 

[Ash]

Kusuyk straightened her head a small bit but she marveled at the length of the names. "That's going to be hard to remember." Kusuyk giggled wholeheartedly, continuing to admire the pin-ups. "My name is just Kusuyk, well that's what the Togorian who raised me called me. Taught me everything." Kusuyk spoke proudly of her adoptive father. He really had given her the world and more for her leisure. Everything she could ever have wanted in life, he aided her in obtain it, or reaching her goal. Whatever it was.

"Lovely pin-ups!" Kusuyk burst a few moments after finishing up her little stroll on who she was. She really did love these pin-ups. She'd not seen one in years. Little children were not known for having pin-up girls covering their walls. "They're very pretty."

Kusuyk really had a torn heart between wanting to go to a club and sleeping. But, the only real option was sleep. It was doubtful she'd do well at a Kushari club. All of them having to be over six foot in height.