Space Bunnies!

Chapter 8: The Mission

Kai returned from the surface; after putting in his access code and such, he disarmed his ship's onboard security, allowing him to come onto the vessel through the docking port unbothered. Everything seemed to be turned off, which was good—because that meant his power modifications were working just fine. As he roamed the corridors, he was simultaneously assessing the conditions of the ship, as he'd always done before a mission...a pre-trip inspection, even a light one, was vital to optimal performance. It seemed like one was especially necessary today because after coming back from the bar, for some reason...things felt off...the ship appeared larger and more cumbersome than usual. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he was a mere hours away from leaving the safety of Devana to punch a hole through a literal storm in space. 

He was about a quarter of the way onto the ship when he realized that most of it had to be completely rerigged specifically for the mission. For example, did he have enough thrust to get the job done? How would he deal with navigation if he couldn't use the main computer at full power... he'd have to break out the old-fashioned star maps...so much to do. Maybe he could use extra crewmen after all—speaking of crew, "Bodi..?" Kai called out, his voice echoing down the hall.

Bodi stood just around the corner, already waiting for Kai as he rounded it. 

"Gah!" Kai shouted as he tripped over his heels and clumsily backed himself into the nearest wall with a metallic thud; he clutched his side, the location of the Omeocoon heart. "Boe? What the hell? You almost gave me a heart attack," Kai wheezed, hardly being able to catch his breath, "Why are you standing in the dark?"

Bodi backed Kai into the wall further, cornering him like a wild animal about to pounce on its prey; he towered over Kai and impatiently tapped his foot against the deck plating. He firmly crossed his arms and greeted his brother with a wrinkled muzzle. "You know I called you eleven times, right?" Bodi asked, unusually calm. "Eleven times!" Ah, the anger presented itself at the repetition of 'eleven.' Bodi took his brother by the wrist and started forcefully pulling him down the corridor.

Kai's expression hardened as he and Bodi took a brief trip down the passageway, "I was a little busy. Remember?"

Bodi led him straight to the canteen, where their 'house guest' was waiting, his feet propped up on another chair like a footstool.

Kai's eyelid involuntarily twitched in annoyance at the sight of Cuddles.

Cuddles had a wide smile on his face as if he were just a part of the crew. "Oh, hey there! You must be Kai. I've heard so much about you. I'm Cuddles."

Kai flashed a fake smile at 'Cuddles,' "Would you excuse us for a moment?" He didn't wait for a response. He grabbed Bodi by the forearm and pulled him out into the corridor. They took a little trip down to the cockpit, which from the canteen was nothing more than about 20 or 30 steps—small ship, but that buffer in between would ensure that their Panthorian friend wouldn't be able to use his bunnyish hearing to eavesdrop on their conversation. "Bodi, come on! I have a certain set of rules that you have to follow when you stay aboard the ship alone. No company is one of them unless I've changed it. Which I'm pretty sure I didn't." Kai started; his anger was there but choked to a whisper.

Bodi did not whisper back; his irritation was less restrained; he was yelling, "You think I invited him? He broke in, Kai-Kai! He's been here for hours—I didn't know what to do. I was scared, and you wouldn't pick up the comm. I was trying to get him off the ship, but he's ten times bigger than me—and when he wouldn't leave...I tried to help him sober up, but—"

"Why would a Panthorian be all the way out here? Hm?" Kai demanded. "Quit lying. You just wanted me off the ship so that you could invite someone ahead of time."