Lix was not one for distrust, not for her close friends at least. The Kux'lar was simply an individual with an innate faith in her entrenched confidants, willing to bank on her convictions and stand by her decisions. Yet one could only ignore so many red flags, especially when presented by someone you were quickly coming to care about.
The decision to breach Jack's trust was a hard one, but one Lix made more as a captain than a friend as she slowly extricated herself from the Human's embrace and warmth, and slowly padded out into the garage proper on her quiet paws. Silence drifted throughout the Stripped Bolt like a mist, perpetuated by a heady atmosphere of guilt that hung on Lix's heart like a lead weight. Betrayal sung in her head as if parroted by a band, teasing and tormenting her as she used the station's open network to search for medical facilities on the outer ring.
More than one popped out at her, private practices all, of course, but only a single office held the name Liliana anywhere in its credentials; the disturbingly named Flatlined Urgent Care, all the way on the far side of the outer ring. Of course, it helpfully had the contact information for ease of use, numbers the nervous pilot was already punching into her internal comms unit implanted directly into her tympanum. Her tail lashed to and fro, a reflection of the tumultuous state of her rapidly beating heart as the line buzzed several times before some unknown voice picked up the call with a far too cheery tone.
"Hello, this is Flatline Urgent, how can we save you today?"
"Gnah… I uh, was hoping Doctor Liliana was in?" Lix found her legs moving of their own accord, the Kux'lar tracing an aimless, wandering path throughout the garage that took her beneath her still disassembled racer. A longing warble left her throat that was returned with an unsure sigh from the far end of the line, whoever had the misfortune of answering her call sounding just a tad more tired than the raptor lady herself.
"She is unfortunately occupied at the moment; may I take a message?"
"Oh… Um, tell her it's Mad Jack's 'Roid Racer friend looking for some information?"
"Hmmm…" Lix didn't like the sound of that. Hums and haws were never good, they always meant people knew something you didn't or were simply planning something mean. "That changes things, one sec."
So, wait she did. Her pacing only increased in speed as her paws beat and ever faster track around the garage, nearly jogging upon the steel deck as anxiety chased her tail and nipped at her rapidly beating heart. This felt wrong, like going behind a friend's back. No, she was going behind a friend's back… Questions, however, were beginning to pile up and Lix needed answers.
"Liliana speaking, with whom do I have the pleasure?"
"Gnah!" Had Lix been holding a comms unit, she'd have dropped it. "Um, h-hello. I'm Lixistruzsias, I'm uh… Jack's friend?"
"Ah, the Kux'lar racer. To what do I owe the pleasure? Has Jack been fibbing and actually need more painkillers?" Liliana's voice was a melodious affair, like a bell on a crisp autumn morning, not too dissimilar from the raptor's own. That was a can of worms Lix was currently unwilling to open, more than ready to let some dogs lie very much sleeping. "I just had… gnah, questions."
"I figured I might get a call or visit. Before we get started though, why aren't you asking him these questions?" The woman's tone was genuine, devoid of judgement or ridicule, carrying only curiosity. It brought Lix to a stop, her head tilting one way… then the other… then back again as she continued her quick aimless pacing. Why wasn't she asking Jack these questions to his face? The answer came to her right away, no need for introspection.
She was scared.
"I'm afraid of his answers…"
"Hm, all the better reason to get them from him then." Shuffling filled the line as Liliana seemingly lounged in a chair, papers sliding over top one another as the Human got comfortable. "Look, we don't even know each other. Tell me about yourself."
"Oh, um w-well… I was born on the Kux'lar moon, Daddy raised me, got me hooked on racing… um, I got a job testing accelerator pedals for terrestrial vehicles and raced carts on the weekends… saved up… won the No Safety Measures in a raffle… started racing and Daddy made me promise to try out for the league this cycle and… and that's about it for me…" Lix coughed, unused to talking at such length about herself. It felt odd, and a pang of remorse filled her at the length of time that had passed without hearing her father's voice.
She made a mental note to call him soon.
"Had a racer's dream all your life, huh? So how did you meet Jackie?"
"Jackie?"
"Mhm." A spark of jealousy flared before dying. It was obvious that this Liliana had known Jack for far longer than Lix… if anything had been between the Humans… it was long since embers.
"Well, I guess I was doing too good. Not that I like flashing my own fangs."
"Of course."
"I got an unofficial bounty on me, and I jumped to the closest station to me when I found out."
"Ah, Koorka Station, and Jackie has the most readily available shop on the outer ring 'cause Saaf would have logged your docking bay. And the ooze would have sold your location for a Roark, lucky you."
"Really? I was docked there first, actually. I couldn't afford long term storage at docking bay twenty-seven so I got a single cycle ticket at general storage. I had hours to find somewhere to lay low and the Stripped Bolt was the closest place."
"So you used Jack to hide." Once again, Lix couldn't detect any judgement. If Liliana thought less of her for running and hiding, the good doctor didn't show it.
"Gn-eah. He made me pay for it, but he drooled over my ship. Literally, he drooled over it."
"Hm hm hm, yes, that's Jack."
"Gnah, look, respectfully," Lix stamped her paws in frustration. Liliana was, if Jack was to be believed, one of the big names on Koorka just like him. "I really don't feel like getting sucked into twenty questions. My Human is tossing all sorts of red flags and I'm worried about him. You're not only a doctor but someone who knows him and isn't a psycho and isn't Marty."
Liliana laughed, full and hearty, both at the Kux'lar's frustration and her lack of faith in Marty's ability to help. Koorka, it seemed, would continue to underestimate the humble master of noodles.
"Your Human, you say?"
"Lix Human!" The raptor lashed at the air with a killing claw, possessive and heated. "That… not, gnah… that's not treading your old stomping ground, is it?"
"Who? Me and Jackie? Oh, by the stars no." Relief flooded Lix's tazed heart as Liliana spluttered over the line. "That stupid man is like a brother to me, a black sheep of the family kind of brother. We tried though, broke up in seven days."
"You kept count."
"I did. They were… an adequate seven days. Now then, these red flags." The click of a pen nearly made Lix jump, her tail lashing as her quick pace turned into a jog. She'd passed under her precious No Safety Measures five times now. In her wake, the worried reptile left stark white claw marks in the Stripped Bolt's metal decking, her nostrils flaring with a distinct lack of care. It would buff out, surely.
"Well, everyone calling him Mad Jack for starters. He won't tell me anything about it. I haven't asked though…" Stamp stamp stamp went the raptor's paws as her circuit fell into a sort of circle, passing under her precious ship each time. "Then there's all these weapons he has, and chemical grenades? Who just has those?"
"Mhm… I'm listening. He makes them by the way, he learned a lot during the old days on this station."
"And every time we get into a fight, he seems to know what he's doing. Like… how do I say this… way more than some gangster or street thug, like a corporate enforcer or planetary defense corps or something." Faster she went, seven times now. "When a trash pilot with trashier ship tried to cash in on a bounty someone put on me, he just… took command like he'd done it a thousand times… and yesterday down in the Vents he was like pew pew pew like some action holo actor!"
"Mhm… go on."
"And some of the stuff he says is just weird. Like how he ran with some old crew, which I assume he means you guys." Lix paused, not in her near sprint around the garage but to listen to Liliana's measured breathing. As usual, the woman didn't hint at even the slightest bit of emotional tells. "And trying to get anything about before Koorka Station out of him is like trying to wring water from a Meelk block." A heavy sigh left the Kux'lar as she passed under the No Safety for the eleventh time. "…Ugh… Super wheat and vat grown meat…"
"Add a little water and then some heat…"
"It's Meelk!" That brought a wag to the otherwise morose reptile's tail, her rear waggling in time just a bit. "I feel like he's keeping so much so close to his chest and I just worry… and I know, I know… I haven't asked him because I'm a hatchling coward but… and he takes painkillers and stuff and there's this box I'm not allowed to see in his quarters which is fine! Privacy is important but I worry, you know?" Finally, Lix found her pace slowing after her sixteenth pass under the disassembled ship, a slight huff to her voice echoed by Liliana's chuckle.
"I'm not going to answer any of those questions. You know better than anyone you need to ask him."
"I… yeah, I know…"
"So go ask."
"Ngh… I'm not your patient." Lix growled into the comms, her hackles rising as the fellow female gave her orders. Her Kux'larian instincts flaring hot and quick.
"You called me, so yeah, you are. You're lucky I'm not charging a mental health consultation fee." That… was true… "And you're deflecting because you don't want to have a hard conversation. If he gets uppity just call him Geoffery."
"Geoffery?"
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
"That's his first name. Tata now, I've lots of paperwork to melt my brain over."
The click that sounded in Lix's ear brought a wince to her scaly face, a flash of anger making the lizard snarl at the empty air.
"Bitch hung up on me!"
"Yeah, Lily does that."
"Gnah! Ha! Ahhh! Shit!" Jack ducked as a killing claw slashed through the air where his flesh and metal neck used to be, bouncing back on his toes with a grin that was halfway between shit eating and smug. Lix snarled, barked, and paced as she threatened the mechanic with her claws. "You friggin rusty dicked deck muncher! Ramp licker! I'll pounce on your skull!"
"Kinky on every count. You get the answers you wanted out of my ex?" The fire died from the Kux'lar like embers doused with foamy water.
"I… no, yes… I mean… it was just to get advice, but I didn't… she didn't…"
"Lix, chill." Jack raised his hands, placating as he shushed the nervous pilot. "I get it, I'm an asshole an' a secretive one at that."
"I didn't say that."
"Nope. I did. Now, let's get a move on, I wanna get down t-"
"No." Lix found her paw moving before conscious thought had caught up with her, the heart acting before the brain. Claws closed on steel, stopping Jack in his tracks as he turned to pin his captain with a curious stare.
"Hm? Yeah?"
"W-We… gotta talk."
"Hooh boy… that ai'n't never good."
"Jack, please…" A sigh left the man as he relented, moving over to pull two rolling toolboxes to act as makeshift stools. His seemed comfortable enough but Lix found her tail had trouble finding a place to stay. Nonetheless, she powered on, settling on the cold metal box as she twiddled her claws. "There's a lot I wanna talk about. First is… I get you don't wanna talk about your past but is there anything that could potentially bite us about all this? The pinger, the Last Stop… your old crew… As your captain I gotta think about the races and us as a crew." Her slit eyes bore into the man's mechanical orbs, so very nearly organic that she would have had trouble telling they were implants if the mechanic hadn't shown her already.
Pops, deep and sudden, left the mechanic's neck as he twisted his head about, taking a heavy breath that filled his lungs with a determination for a conversation he simply didn't want to have. Jack blinked, settling his elbows on his knees as he leaned to stare at the floor. Several false starts, each one accentuated by a soundless stutter, followed the sharp click of his teeth closing back together accentuated his unease. A dozen years passed behind the Human's eyes, each one harder and bloodier than the last, full of loss and failure and life lessons that he seemingly refused to listen to. There was a weight there, on his shoulders, that Lix hadn't noticed before… Hidden by a fine sheet of comical relief and a quick wit designed to distract and direct the eye elsewhere.
Underneath that crooked smile and seemingly endless positivity, even corrupted as it was by violence and a dangerous boredom, Jack was tired. The man was exhausted by some unknown thing beyond Lix's view that she desperately wanted to see and yet… it wasn't her place to ask. Or… was it? Once again, her claws found their way around his hand… both of them.
"Jack, we're both adults here… you're my Human. Am I your Kux'lar?"
Finally, Jack's eyes found their way up into the captain's own piercing gaze, this time not looking away, and this time… he didn't ignore the obvious.
"Ah…. aw shit." Gently, almost reluctantly, he pulled the raptor from her toolbox perch and into his chest, wrapping his arms around her. "Ya fuckin' corruptin' me."
"And you're giving me an ulcer. What's with the painkillers? Why do you keep everything so close to the chest? How do you know about this super-secret salvage yard and a way inside? Is that where you got the supply for this mysterious turf war in Koorka Station's outer rings no one but you and your old crew talk about?" Jack put a finger on her lips, chuckling with a tired mirth.
"Squeeze my secrets out one at a time, love." With mechanical strength, and a dissatisfied whine, Jack placed the raptor back on her toolbox. "More importantly, ya sure ya wanna be with a guy like me? Just ask Lily, I ai'n't good relati-"
"Yes, now shut up. I mean, don't shut up, give me all your secrets. But shut up about… us. You're my Human."
"Alllllright then."
"Good. Gnah." Jack simply shook his head.
"Well, to start, the painkillers are for these." Actuators whirred as he flexed his arms, mechanical muscles and sleek plating moving with masterful precision. "The graft where the socket is fused to the bone hurts if I tax 'em. You can only enforce organics so much an' the shit starts to hurt somethin' fierce if I push 'em past what my actual bones can handle… so I dull it with a simple fast actin' painkiller. Non-addictive, so no worry about that. Lily made sure of it and she's the only supplier I go through."
"That so?" Lix sniffed the metal appendages one at a time. They smelled like… steel and some strange alloy she couldn't place. In fact… Lix found her eyes narrowing as she couldn't place the scent at all. Jack's arms held a new smell, and with a schnoz like a Kux'lar's, that was saying something. "What are they made out of? Smells funky."
"Titanium, osmium, a couple alloys, why?"
"Like I said… smells funky up close. I guess I haven't smelled a lot of cybernetics though. Where'd you get those."
"Now that's a secret you'll have to work for." Jack winked as Lix's tail lashed, the raptor pouting.
"Fine, be that way. Now, this pinger and the Last Stop. Am I gonna have to worry about all this biting us later?" Jack paused for a moment, crossing his arms with a grumble that fell off into a long sigh.
"If we get caught… yeah, probably. Any council patrol that sniffs us out is gonna have ta go. They won't be able to broadcast our location or what we look like, but we'll need to leave 'em space dust. If it gets back to central space that we were flyin' aroun' the Last Stop, we won't get corporate bounties we'll have a council authority bond slapped on us and we'll vanish in the middle of the night."
"Won't… won't salvage from the Last Stop on the No Safety Measures be proof enough that we were there?"
"Nah, we just say we bought it with Risks from a seller on some station somewhere. They'll send an agent to case the place for a while and that's about it. Happens every now and then if a successful run is made."
"And how often does that happen? Won't they ask for names?"
"I'd say once or twice a standard cycle, an' we tell 'em it was through a middleman, they know people do hush hush Last Stop deals. It's the stuff of legends for salvagers, did ya see Skrunkles face?" She had, the pure joy on Mo'Ona's fuzzy little muzzle had been infectious, bringing a guilty sort of endearment to Lix's own. That had been pure, childlike happiness radiating from the Hux. Whatever these stories were, that she had never heard, he'd apparently grown up kicking his little paws to them.
"Anything else ya wanna know about the Ballad of Mad Jack?"
"Oh, right… why do they call you that? Mad Jack?"
"Ahhhh shit, shoulda kept my mouth shut." Jack ran a hand along his scalp, metal fingers sliding along his short hair. "It's a nickname from the Koorka business. I used chemical warfare, ambush tactics, traps, all sorta nasty shit to open up conflict with the old blood and then followed up with blitz rushes. Effective… messy… started callin' me that on account o' the damage it left."
"I mean… I saw the grenades. Stuff was damn near psychological."
"And yet, once deployed, we jus' had to sit back behind cover."
"And Taran was left to clean up after you. I remember how amazing that open air market was down there and the little pickpocket bastard kids sticking their hands in my pockets." Lix paused to glare at the man, her hackles raised. "No more of that shit." It felt strange, to be ordering Jack so harshly, but if what she saw down in the Vents was just a taste of what Mad Jack was like then she'd do everything she could to keep him from sliding back into old, bad habits.
"Why does every woman in my life wind up doing…" Jack grimaced, waving in Lix's general direction with a sardonic huff. "That."
"If it's a pattern, maybe it's you." Still, she couldn't bring herself to be all harsh. Trilling, she forced herself into his lap and laid her muzzle along the crook of his neck, the top of her snout snug against the beating warmth of his throat.
"Oh… fuck off." His words were harsh, yet his tone as gentle as the arms that wrapped around her. "I guess you are my Kux'lar."
"That's so freaking cheesy."
"Fuck you! You're the one who is always 'my Human' this an' that an' shit!"
"I'm good at it, you sound like you're constipated." Nonetheless, Lix grabbed at the torch attached to the man's arm. "Look I know I'm no expert but I've seen you fight. Between your implants and that gun… this isn't efficient it's… sadistic. Go put that up and just use the concussive things." Not taking no for an answer, the reptile nudged the man with her noggin, forcing him to rise and step back towards his expansive wall of tools with her surprisingly powerful legs. A flash of anger, of indignation and incredulity, crawled across Jack's face as he held his ground despite how she stopped to hiss at him.
It was a low noise, deep and grating, like sheets of metal grinding over top one another somewhere in the depths of the Kux'lar's throat.
"You sound like Liliana."
"Except I'm not leaving after seven days." A smoldering, oily glare built behind Jack's mechanical eyes, the inorganic orbs unable to hide the emotion bubbling up from his chest as the raptor stood her ground, her paws dancing upon the steel deck that her claws had defaced. "No, you don't get to try and intimidate someone who's trying to help you."
"How does bowin' up at me an' tellin' me what I can an' can't do in a scrap help me?" Jack spread his arms in challenge. Lix huffed, hot air blasting from her nostrils as she wrapped her arms around the man's midsection, her head on his chest.
"'Cause I freakin' care about you, dumbass. I don't want to see you slide back into this Mad Jack persona Liliana warned me about."
"That's jus' part o' who I am."
"It isn't. Or you wouldn't have gone to therapy about it with her."
"She-" Several tense moments passed as the man squeezed his eyes shut, biting his tongue as his teeth ground in an effort to banish the sudden old and harsh thoughts that crept up from the base of his spine. Like old uncared for pests he'd ignored… "That wasn't her business to talk about."
"She didn't talk about it, only let it slip that you had. Jack… I'm gonna say it again, I like you. Not to mention, I'm your captain. There's a responsibility to my ship and crew even if it's just you. Work with me here." Lix squeezed, as tight as she dared, which was as hard as she could, as the man simply sighed. Yet… he still wrapped his arms around her in turn.
"Fine. Fine, fuck it, fine. I'll put the torch up." Finally, he moved away to return the tool from whence it came.
"Thank you." The pit in her gut only slightly loosened as a miasma hovered over the man, following him as he removed his torch and loudly tossed it on a nearby work bench. "Jaaack… come on, don't be like that. I'm not trying to control you." Lix had the distinct feeling another hug wouldn't help… what would though? For once… she didn't think a light hand would work here. "Quit being a rusty screw ya overgrown toaster." Though a smile graced her lips, that pit in her empty stomach twisted in anxiety. That worry only increased tenfold as the tension in the Human's metal shoulders grew for a moment… then died.
Jack sighed, turned back to glare at the pilot… and only saw the same worried face he'd seen on Liliana… that same desperate hope to help him, to make him feel better. In the end, his bleeding heart, one that Lilly had cracked open for Lix to dig her fangs into, won out over his heated pride and ego. A part of him wanted to tell her off, to storm away and break things, to march down into the Vents and slide every Keelhauler on Koorka into a black plastic bag and find a pinger.
Be done with it.
And yet… those wet eyes staring at him held his boots fast. Stronger than the hold of any man, they pinned him in place as he warred a losing battle in his own mind. In the end, with an even heavier sigh, Jack did something that went against his very nature.
He gave up.
"Aw… don't look at me like that ya walkin' belt. Lookin' like a kicked puppy in the trash, pathetic really." The scowl turned into a grin as he reached over for the bandolier of grenades he'd removed after his call with his ex, tossing all but the black tapped concussion grenades. "I'll tie ya to a dolly and roll you down the corridor. Quit lookin' at me like that."
"What? Can't handle a gal that bites back?"
"I prefer a gal that bites ba-gah!" Jack flinched as fangs closed, none too gently, around his shin. Metal hands closed on air as Lix danced away, her rear shaking as her tail flicked and teased. Trills filled the raptor's throat as her eyes sparkled with faux innocence that masked her relief.
"Talk shit, get nipped. Ahhh hahaha!" Lix fled for her life as Jack turned on his heel, sprinting after the wily reptile that had dared threaten him with her fangs in his own home no less. "No no no no! I'm sorry I'm sorry!" Despite her pleading, interspersed by terrified giggling, Jack's pursuit didn't slow nor faulter. In fact, her begging seemed to spur the Human on faster, the Kux'lar having to prolong her freedom by tucking her tail away from his outreached limbs. "Jaaaack!"
"C'mere! You filthy little lizard. I'm gonna turn ya into a coin purse an' fill ya with dirty boxers!" Gone was his frustration and anger, replaced with a single-minded determination for revenge. Far too many times had the Kux'lar tasted his flesh without repercussion or payment. Payment mostly, if everyone was being honest.
The cold sensation of Jack's hand nearly closing on her tail sent Lix into a hopping, skipping frenzy of playful terror.
"Ack! No no no no! No grab Lix tail!"
"I'm gonna bite you for once!"
"Gnaaaah!" Lix found herself right back where she was, running circles in Jack's shop, only this time the anxiety and worry was replaced with the hope that her Human would soon catch her. Fear still pooled in the back of her mind, uncertainty and mystery swirling about to mix into a frothing paste that threatened to coat her good mood in a thin veneer of melancholy. Still, it wouldn't do any good to continue to press Jack for answers. He knew more than he was willing to let on. At the very least, she would want a good, solid brief on the Last Stop Staryard, but she could at least wait until Mo'Ona arrived at Koorka so he could be included. There was no reason to make Jack recite his experiences twice, after all. "Lix gives, Lix gives!"
"You will when I catch your scaly ass!"
With a leap of faith, Lix launched herself over a series of rolling seats with built in tool racks and towards the garage entrance, only to warble in defeat as Jack used his shop's AI to lock the door in her face.
"No! Cheat! Gnahahahahaha!" Flailing claws and legs slashed at the air as Jack snatched the Kux'lar from behind, carrying her away from freedom where no Human could keep her from skittering about, nipping who she pleased, and singing corporate ditties without a care. This was unjust! This was against free-range reptile rights!
"You're damn right I'm cheatin'!" Jack carried the Kux'lar back to the dual toolbox stools, depositing the still flailing lizard on hers with a rough drop. "Now then, when is Skrunkles gettin' here?"
"Hehehee… ah… oh, he said around a cycle or two." Lix wrapped her tail around her haunches, the tip finding its way into her claws as she gave the man bedroom eyes… that went unanswered. Instead, the Human reached down and checked her new holster and pistol, ensuring both were secured.
"You want actual practice with that before we head down to the Vents again?"
"Nnngnahh… that would be smart…" Sad there would be no scale rubbing in her near future, Lix rose from her spot and followed Jack to the edge of the garage, her eyes following his gaze to a spot on the wall that appeared to be a makeshift dart board. Rough hands fell upon her thin shoulders, doing little to quell the fire in her belly the earlier chase had stoked, to guide her into position before releasing with a hearty smack to her rear.
"Ngggnnaaahhhh… keep that up and we won't get anything done."
"Later… maybe. Now then, this may seem counter intuitive but I just want ya to draw and aim." Lix nodded, looking down at her holster for a moment before spreading her paws. Quickly, Lix, snatched for the grip as if there were a group of ruffians bearing down her to cease her wonderious singing once and for all… and missing entirely, ending up only looking a fool as she fumbled. "Slow is smooth, scaly lady. Speed will come. Slow down a bit for me." Nodding, the Kux'lar took a breath and stopped trying to impress the man and reached down to tightly grip her flachette pistol. "Good, now slow draw up to your chest then push out." Lix nearly flinched as Jack stepped up next to her, drawing his own revolver to slowly demonstrate. The handle followed a slow path up from his waistline, belly, then to his chest where his offhand met the grip together with his primary. In synch, he slowly extended both arms until he looked like he was preparing to shoot his own wall.
Confident that Jack could not only shoot, but teach, Lix followed his movements as best her anatomy would allow. As before, it took a moment to figure out how to line the sight up with her differing skull shape, bringing to bear a single gleaming eye with which to aim. But aim she could…
"Good! Now, holster and do it again."
"Huh? You don't want me to shoot?"
"And destroy my takeout box dart board? Fuck that." Snickering, Lix did as she was told, judging the Human for his dietary choices all the while. Eventually, she felt his presence looming behind her, helping her shave off those precious seconds between draw and target acquisition. "The first shot is often the most important. Difference 'tween livin' for tomorrow an' endin' up in a gutter. It ai'n't just speed though. Gotta be able to know when to shoot, who to shoot, what to do after. When to draw and when to keep 'em holstered. It's all really quick and ya don't got a lot o' time ta make a decision. Here on Koorka, especially in the Vents, best bet is to pull the trigger."
"And have good friends." At that, Jack's guiding hands turned into a warm embrace, despite the cold touch of his cybernetics.
"Aye… and havin' good friends."