The Neko's Tail - 2. The Ship

“Elias… Elias…”

The neko groaned, his eyes opening. The first thing he saw were stars, twinkling, calling to him. Blearily the neko reached up, trying to catch a shooting star. The sound of waves crashing on a beach distracted him from his quest, and he sniffed the air, smelling salt and fish. He was… at the ocean?

“Elias.”

Elias stiffened at his name. That was the voice from his dream, the sound of a mouth full of rocks… and then the strange voice speaking his own language after.

“Come on, you should sit up.”

Strong hands grabbed his shoulders, helping the neko up, and Elias stared at the tiger warily. The voice was real. Was the rest of it too? Had he just fallen from… from the sky?

“I am sorry, I was trying to wait for the right time to show you,” Artemis grimaced.

They were gone from the building he had seen the tiger in. There was a strong breeze blowing around them, filling them both with a slight chill. Elias realized the shirt he wore was riding up over his midsection, and he yanked it back down, covering himself.

“I am… not from your world,” Artemis said uncomfortably. “I come from far away, a place where people can fly like birds. We know how to reach the stars.”

Elias’ ears flattened. This man was a wizard, a magic user. The neko had known a man like that once, a man who took pleasure in using his spells to hold Elias down while he fucked him.

The neko’s fist closed around a handful of sand. He would die before he let another mage have their way with him.

Almost as if he read Elias’ mind, Artemis held up his hands.

“I am not going to hurt you,” the tiger promised. “If you tell me you want me to let you rejoin this world, I will let you go. But I would like to show you the… You can still return at any time; just give me the word and I will bring you back.”

The tiger held out a hand to Elias, and the neko struck.

His arm whipped forward, releasing the sand into Artemis’ eyes, and he darted past the tiger, scurrying towards several large boulders.

Darting around a rock, Elias gasped. A strange building stood behind the boulder, black as the night surrounding him. It stood on four spindly legs, a ramp lowered to give access to its belly. The thing was massive, bigger than the inn in Astara, and torches burned all around it, lighting the area near the ramp, but giving off no smoke.

“We can visit other worlds, see the light of stars you have never seen before.”

Elias whirled around, stooping to grab a rock. Artemis stood back, rubbing sand out of his fur.

“You were a slave on this planet. You will never be a slave again if you come with me. I will make sure of it.”

Elias’ eyes narrowed.

“You know I am a slave?”

Artemis shook his head.

“No. You were a slave. Your freedom was purchased by that man in Astara. It is illegal for people to take slaves from a less... advanced world. You will never be owned by another person if you come with me.”

The tiger took another step forward, and Elias stepped back. His foot struck a strange material and the neko fell backwards. A pair of arms caught him before he could hit the ground and set him back upright.

“Careful,” Artemis whispered, his arms wrapped around the neko protectively.

Elias squirmed free from the tiger and Artemis glanced down, his own ears conveying a sense of shame.

“I am sorry,” the tiger said quietly.

The neko walked toward the starship, touching it nervously. It was metal, and warm to the touch, despite the coolness of the night air.

He was scared of the mage. The man could take him whenever he wanted. But maybe Elias could use him. It wasn’t the first time he had done it.

Forcing himself to speak, the neko met the tiger’s eyes, trying to sound confident.

“If I go with you, I want you to do something for me.”

“If I am able to, then you have my word it will be done,” Artemis said.

Elias took a deep breath, knowing he was selling himself again, and this time he could never go back.

“Te Hara pei Arudan. Destroy it.”

Artemis smiled slightly as Elias demanded he help him. The neko had some confidence hidden away in his quiet self.

The smile vanished abruptly as he heard what the neko wanted.

“Elias, this is an exploration ship. I only have a single weapon on the hull and a small personal weapon. I cannot attack a fortress on my own.”

Elias wilted, his confident act evaporating. Artemis sighed as he thought. This would break several laws if he did it. But no one would find out, right? And Elias wanted it, but the neko didn’t know what it was he was asking.

“Do you know where this Hall of Blood is?” he questioned.

“The elf said something about Ceos.”

The tiger sighed. It was something to go on at least.

“Very well. We will go back onto the ship and I will begin searching for this place. It may take some time, but I promise I will help your friends take it.”

He motioned toward the ship, watching Elias take a fortifying breath. The neko stepped onto the ramp and Artemis followed him on board. Hitting a panel on the wall, Artemis made sure the ramp was closed before turning to the neko.

“Do you want to watch me take off?” he asked.

Elias shrugged.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’m sure there will be other departures and landings. Flying off a planet is easier than landing on one, but both are pretty fun. If you don’t want to join me in the cockpit, you should head to the cabin. We’ll be in orbit in twenty minutes.”

The tiger walked down the hall, his feet padding softly through the ship. This was his home and he loved it. But it was old when he bought the ship. Now that he had the neko on board, he needed to look into using some of the money granted to him by the IEFL to upgrade to a slightly larger, newer vessel. He’d look into it during his next port visit, provided Elias went with him.

Sitting back in his chair, Artemis began hauling in the hose Elias had tripped over. He hadn’t completely filled the water tanks, but there was enough. The benefit of refiltering water was never running out.

Artemis spotted Elias standing in the doorway of the cockpit as he went through his checklist of supplies. Smiling at the neko, the tiger motioned towards the engine switch.

“Would you press that button please?” he requested.

Elias shuffled towards the button, staring at the object suspiciously.

“Go on, it won’t bite,” Artemis chuckled.

The neko touched the switch and yanked his hand back.

“No, you have to push it,” Artemis explained.

He walked over to the neko and took his hand gently. Pressing Elias’ finger into the button, he smiled as the engines whirred to life. With a coughing roar, the ship started, and Elias squeaked, retreating back to the doorway.

Completing his checks, Artemis sat back down. The ship lifted into the air a moment later and the tiger pushed up the throttle. Soon they were roaring into the sky, Elias’ eyes as wide as dinner plates.

The neko sat in the bathtub, water falling into his lap like so much warm rain. Everything on the ship seemed like it was out to get him. Even this tub of falling water felt ominous.

Artemis had asked him to take a… a shower and Elias had to comply. He had been sitting under the rain for ten minutes now, unsure of when he would be allowed out. The neko’s ears were folded down to keep the liquid out of them and his tail twitched in annoyance. It was bad enough to be stuck in a bathtub, but having water cascading on him from above was just too much.

The door hissed open, revealing Artemis standing on the other side, his hand poised to knock.

“Oh. You did not lock the door.”

Elias shrugged, water tumbling off his shoulders.

“Are you finished? We need to conserve some water. It takes a couple of hours to...” the tiger said.

Elias nearly tripped in his haste to get out of the tub. A startled Artemis handed him a towel, turning away to give the neko some privacy.

“Get dressed, I want to show you something,” the tiger said, walking down the hall.

Elias dried his hair and slipped the purple shirt over his slender frame once more. Following Artemis, he stopped outside the sleeping quarters, the tiger bending over the bed.

There was a tiny click and the wall around the bed vanished, revealing the darkness of space around them. The neko stepped into the room, mesmerized by the view.

“I like sleeping with the stars in sight,” Artemis said. “I know it is strange that the captain of a starship wants to be reminded he is in the vastness of space, but I find it comforting.”

“There’s so many of them…”

“Yes, it is easier to see the stars when you are off planet. There are a few of these switches around the ship that can make the walls…”

The tiger took a step back.

“You should get some sleep; it has been a long day. Tomorrow we will start looking for your hall.”

Artemis sighed wearily, reflecting that it was better not knowing something was out there.

He and Elias had been scanning the planet for three days now. On the one hand, Elias seemed to be more comfortable with the ship now, no longer quite so terrified by the flushing of the toilet. On the other hand, Artemis was going crazy trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Normally he would enjoy a mission like this, a good challenge for him and his ship. But there was no profit from this unless he counted Elias, and doing so made him feel like the neko was his property. No, Elias was no profit.

There was a quiet beep and Elias jumped at the sound. Artemis smirked slightly as he hit a button to see what his computer had picked up.

“-cut them off at Ceos, but if we wait we’ll have the help of the fortress. Both can be weakened, we can kill the upstart and take the fortress ourselves. If twenty bandits have held off the king’s army for over a year, ten werewolves should have no trouble at all.”

“Do you know that voice?” Artemis asked.

Elias shook his head no.

“Well, we found someone who can lead us to Ceos,” Artemis sighed. “It’s a start.”