Upon Celestial Tiger: Chapter One

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A small, fast space yacht. The last owner named it Celestial Tiger.

Three small bedrooms (with bunks), one bathroom. Very small storage hold. combined dining/living area. Everyone's going to hate each other by the end of this road trip.

https://i.servimg.com/u/f11/19/46/08/46/small_10.jpg

"Helen says she will recover once the sugar is out of her system, it will take time." Sawna said as she moved to heal Tala though she had to start with getting the bullets out then healing the wounds.

"She will not be brain damaged by the sugar?" Tala asked. She held still for Sawna to work, forcing herself to not flinch too much at having the bullets extracted. Even for a giant minotaur warrior, this part of being treated was no fun. She grunted in pain and clenched her fists.

"No, no brain damage from what I saw when I looked at her." Sawna replied.

"Good. It would be a poor victory if the queen of star dragons could not rule." Tala swore in her native language as Sawna extracted a particularly painful bullet.

Sawna healed the wound and looked to Tala then to her back again, searching for any more wounds.

There were a couple more wounds, thankfully the bullets had just gone cleanly through on those, and they'd be easy to clean and heal. "You are a most useful medic," Tala informed Sawna.

Sawna chuckled at that and healed the last two then nodded "It does help to be able to heal with a thought."

Tala cuffed Sawna companionably on the shoulder. "I feel most improved now! On this day we have killed a keeper and rescued Starr, no small feat for such a small crew!"

Ethan came out of the room he'd barricaded himself in, wearing clean clothes and not limping as obviously, although he still looked pained. "We're still free, I'm impressed we aren't caught yet," he remarked.

Sawna chuckled and nodded then looked over to Ethan again. "We have a good crew and a fast ship. We didn't take on more than we knew we could handle. We did well and will continue to do our best."

Tala nodded. "Knowing your own limitations well is a great strength. The Family fell because of their hubris, and we won because we knew we couldn't fight them head on."

Ethan rolled his eyes and went to sit down. Tala and her enthusiasm still weirded him out.

Sawna nodded then chuckled "Even when some think we couldn't fight them at all. We proved those wrong."

"Apparently we're more dangerous than we look," Ethan said dryly. He tried to get more comfortable in his seat, and winced, then swore softly. "Next time I get hurt, remind me that I can turn off my sense of touch," he said. He shut it off, and sighed with relief. "Wish I'd thought of that when I was fixing myself up."

"It is new to you, you will get it in time" Sawna said, looking to Ethan then around the room again.

"Yeah, I guess." Ethan sighed.

Tala wandered to the cargo hold to get something to eat.

(Do we wanna head into Terran space so we can contact Vestia and stuff?)

(sure)

(go for it)

TIMESKIP - APRIL 20-ish

People from the Hold continued to track the Tiger, but they never caught up, they were only able to follow the ship's trail slowly.

The trip to the edge of Terran space was longer than the Tiger's crew would have liked, and by the time they reached a space station to resupply, they were dangerously low on clean water and fuel.

Thankfully the Terran station was friendly to non-citizens, and the Tiger would be permitted to dock without too many questions.

~~

Tala smelled rather pungent, since washing her fur properly took more water than they could afford to use.

This long voyage was driving Ethan a bit crazy, and he was back to avoiding everyone when he could. Killing a keeper had only helped his mood temporarily. He was looking forward to getting off the ship, even if he had to pretend to be property again.

Starr had recovered from the drunk state and the aftermath, but she still acted a bit 'off' and didn't talk much to the others. She also seemed to be upset about something, but wouldn't talk to anyone about it, trying to hide that.

Shane and the others would be glad to get off the Tiger for a bit of a walk around.

Luka, though used to being cooped up long term with people, wasn't used to being cooped up THIS CLOSE long term and was a little cranky.
She desperately wanted a decent shower first and foremost, when they got permission to dock she very nearly made a rather undignified girlish squeal of delight and relief.

She got them docked, left the paperwork to whoever was in charge and hurried away to get clean and AWAY from everyone for a bit. Ooo the air here was sweet after all that time with Tala's fur. So.. so sweet.

Swarm wasn't at all troubled by the confined space or length of the journey, they didn't really seem to need food or drink or if they did, negligable amounts.
But they were pleased to see somewhere new and scattered to explore.

Ethan was concerned about Starr, between the fact that she'd been captured for slavery, and her odd behavior, he was pretty sure something was bothering Starr from her time as a prisoner. He wasn't much good at being nice to people though, so he didn't say anything. Maybe he'd ask later.

He put on his badge and left the Tiger, tagging along with Rigel for appearance's sake.

~~
Tala went to a public shower to wash, after ordering a changing of the Tiger's water.

Sawna and Starr stayed on the ship, Starr because she didn't want to leave her bed and Sawna because she wanted to be there for the water changing and helping to clean the ship while the others were out and about.

The space station was pretty small, with more military protection than was normal in Terran stations. There were soldiers patrolling the halls in pairs, and a few small battle cruisers docked a distance away from the other ships. So near the edge of Terran space, there was need for more defense than usual. Border security and all that.

The station itself was equipped with the basic amenities: showers, a few shops and restaurants, a supply depot, a couple bars, and a police department. It was basically like a truckstop back on Terra, complete with the truckers, who were a bit smelly and very loud after weeks of travel in deep space.

~~
"Ugh, just like I remember these places being," Ethan said to Rigel. "No slave markets though, that's different."

~~
Tala had a long, hot shower, blow-dried her fur, and wandered out to have a look around the station. She wanted to find something good to smell.

Luka showered and got dressed, then went to find somewhere to buy a jacket to cover her shoulders. She really didn't want to have to deal with angry terrans and having her military tattoos on show was a great way to get involved in a brawl.
Bah.

Yeah, Luka's tattoos were definitely getting her a few suspicious looks. So far nobody seemed interested in actually hurting her, but the people who recognized the tattoos definitely weren't delighted to see a Satare out here.

The clothing store shopkeeper looked downright nervous to have a Satare in her shop, although she didn't try to kick Luka out.

Rigel stayed with Ethan as they wandered around and nodded "Yeah, space stations don't have much difference, though there's always some."

Shane and Helen also went to get showers after the long time without.

"It's weird. You feel like you've visited them all already," Ethan said. Someone stared at him and Rigel a moment too long, and he shot them an icy glare, before looking at Rigel again. "Have you tried talking to Starr?" He asked abruptly.

Rigel sighed and shrugged I tried, she's withdrawn." Rigel said then shook his head. It was sad. "Maybe she just needs to see her babies again? I don't know."