Smugglers Cove (Love2write and Silence)

Killian spent his first day taking care of business and then he returned to the ship only long enough to lock up what he didn't need for the night. He'd had a few too many folks take more than what the agreed amount was. This wasn't such an unfamiliar place to him or Mike. There was a spot that was Killian's favorite and he had a favorite girl too.

Slipping into one of the darker alley ways he knocked at a door. When the woman answered he smiled at her. "You still work?"

The woman opened the door. "So you're back in town." Setting out a cup of tea she returned to the kitchen for another cup. The two of them sat and talked for a while about work and the port. "Business is good. I've got my regulars and my occasional favorites." Meeting the man's gaze she laughed. "You always get that look on your face as if you're the only man. For the night maybe. Depends on whether you want to buy me for the whole night or just a few hours." While she always found it funny he thought of himself as the only one it wasn't surprising. Her favorite guys all got the same look on their faces every time.

Walking over to his chair she sat on his lap and leaned in till he winced. "What is it?" Then she noticed the shoulder. "Hmmm... How long ago you do that?" Gently peeling the shirt to the side she peered at the bandages.

"A little over a week ago." It was about then that Killian remembered he'd forgot his last dose of antibiotics. It was probably going to be fine. "Doesn't stop other parts of me from working though."

Chuckling the woman got off his lap and gave him a tug toward the bedroom. "So what's it gonna be Kill? All night or just a few hours?"

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The nice thing about having all night was that he could sleep in the morning. She never got up early and she usually made a small cup of coffee. He remembered that from when they were younger. It was still the same sour smelling day old beverage. Sitting up in the bed he peered over the edge at the pile of clothes and plucked his out of it. She came in and playfully helped him button his shirt up before sitting on the bed with him to drink the coffee. "You still fly that crappy old ship?"

"Yeah same one." Killian chuckled. Mostly it was quiet from there on out. Neither of them knew what to say anymore. Eventually he finished the cup and set it on the night stand. Pulling her toward himself he gave her a gentle kiss. "I'll be back."

"Always a question of when smuggler." Ending the last word in a teasing tone she watched him walk out the door.

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Seemed that the other two were sufficiently rested as well. Killian sat outside the ship with them. Kids milled around but, they knew better than to approach smugglers. Eventually a whole mob of children came down the street with Star in the middle. Some of them dispersed as soon as they saw the men. Rising to his feet Killian looked to her and then the kids that stayed. "What's this?"
 
"I made some new friends." Star chuckles lightly pulling the crown off her head. The remaining children held her arms tightly, as if afraid to let her go. "Street kids...no families. I gave them all my creds and now they're calling me Momma Star." She smiles sadly at the little ones, stroking their heads. She kneels down in their midst. "I have to go now. Be safe...look out for each other...alright?" She says, poking their bellies and ruffling their hair. "I'll come visit again one day."

They immediately began protesting. "Don't go, Momma Star." "Please stay!" "We love you!" With much effort she pulls away and hurries into the ship, tears in her eyes. The kids wait hopefully until they're shooed away, even still they glance over their shoulders...hoping...but she didn't reemerge.

Star had gone straight to her quarters. It took everything within her not to break down. She sat on the edge of her bed, breathing deeply to try and compose herself. She hated that she had to leave all those children on their own...on the street. The money wouldn't last. Too many would be pulled into the gangs or sold off...and she couldn't do a damn thing to help them. Smugglers and gang members were supposed to be selfish and tough, she reminds herself. But her heart refused to listen.
 
Killian waited till they were safely on their way to the next location before he started his rounds. Star was nowhere to be seen since she had to leave the kids. He didn't get how she could take something like this so hard. It was just the way things were done. Pushing her door open he groaned. Somehow it seemed to be impossible to remember to knock. "Hey you decent?" Putting his back to her he waited for a response.

Finally stepping in he took on look at her face and shook his head. "You don't do those kids any favors by giving them money. Make them dependent on begging instead of figuring out how to make it." Killian sighed after a long moment of silence. "Just don't get too attached alright? We'll be headed back here in a few days and we'll spend another night." In a way he couldn't understand how she felt so touchy about this when she had been part of the Hell's Angels. Personally he never found it to be such a terrible thing. It was part of life.

This not helping the kids had nothing to do with being tough or having a reputation. It was just a fact. He couldn't help them all and if he started then he would be in a heap of trouble. Not to mention he couldn't possibly begin to solve the problems. "Look if you spend some time talking with the folks from the area you'll learn its just the way the it is. Kids always try to sucker somebody soft into giving them everything instead of leaning to get stuff for themselves."
 
"Yeah?" Star says sarcastically, looking up at him. "And how do you expect a 6 year old to earn a living huh? Those kids shouldn't have to be worrying about where they're going to get their next meal...they should be able to play freely with no worries about being sold into slavery or something else equally as horrible. Just because its a part of life doesn't mean I shouldn't be upset about it."

She sighs and looks down at the bed, clenching and clenching her fist. "Don't worry though. I'm not going to ask you go give any of your precious money away. In the grand scheme of things..it doesn't do much good." She states sarcastically. Then she fingers the crown that they'd given her and smiles sadly. "Maybe I am soft...but yesterday, I was able to make 20 hungry kids happy. And I'd do it all over again."
 
"If that's how you feel!" Almost yelling he stormed out of her room. Mike was standing in the hallway and he glowered at the younger man. It wasn't often that Killian got the stink eye from him. "She was giving money to all those kids. They won't learn how to do anything for themselves if they think that a smile and sweet words will get them what they need. Its not how this works."

Mike took a breath. "Well not everyone feels that way. Besides we both know you were one ornery kid. Just because you survived that kind of living doesn't mean every kid will."

A snort sounded. "I didn't learn by getting free hand outs. Learned by stealing from the smugglers." The captain pushed past the engineer to go sit in the bay and think about the next run. Mike turned and followed after the captain. He knew they would likely get to do a little planning for the next trip. Part of the older man was softening having the girl around. If a kid was to sneak aboard he wondered what the captain would do about it. Could be risky and it would have to be a kid with some serious guts, but they might make it as a cabin boy or a gopher.
 
For the next day or so, tensions are high between Killian and Star. She didn't tease him, much less speak to him unless absolutely necessary. She still cooked and cleaned, doing the chores assigned to her as she tried to get back into the groove of being a smuggler. It wasn't easy to forget their precious faces and sad pleas though. And a part of her couldn't help but feel like she'd abandoned them.

It was late in the evening a few days later when Mike walked into the engine room to find Star sitting on his workbench. She was staring out the window at the stars as they passed. When she heard him come in, she turned her head. "Why's Killian like that? So...cold about the kids....I mean." She asks him.
 
Being in the middle of space was about the same as being in the middle of the ocean. Everyone went stir crazy. The ship was on autopilot and Adam locked himself in the room to watch the nothingness pass by. Then Killian paced the ship like a rabid dog. He couldn't seem to find anything to do and he was itching for something. Mike wandered between the kitchen, his own room, and the engine room.

Stepping into the engine room he saw the girl sitting on his bench. "What is you're doing here." Grouching at her he watched for some kind of reaction. Of course she seemed to have already figured out that beneath all his grouch he was the soft hearted one in the group. "Oooh that..." Taking a deep breath he sat down next to her. "Can't say that I know all the ins and outs. Killian's reputation didn't build overnight you know. It started on that planet. Started with the orphans. He was one of many as you saw. Grew up hard. He learned to make a living by stealing from smugglers. That's what happened to his leg. Used to climb up those pallets to steal from the top. When the crate tipped it busted his leg up and the smugglers threw him out. Left the boy for dead. Leg never healed right but, he learned from the mistake and revised his version of theft. Killed a fellow orphan that same year when the boy stole from him."

Mike reached up and rubbed the back of his head. "I met him about 10 years ago. He claims to have bought this ship. I guess you might say he did. Stole it from a group of smugglers. Shot the man left to guard it and made his run. Bought it with blood and plenty of ingenuity. There's very little difference to him how he obtains his goal. All of us here are thieves or murderers and we had to show we could earn our keep. Nothing here is free. Weakness is not an option." The older man smirked. "You are a different kind of person. Still you're not weak. It is very puzzling to the captain I'm sure."

Now that he'd said enough he just shut his mouth and stared at the machine as it rumbled. "Now then isn't that the prettiest piece of work you ever saw? All those gears made to fit perfectly together."
 
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Star nods silently as Mike spoke and she slowly began to understand Killian a little better. She looks over at the gears when Mike points them out. "Yeah...just like a crew. All us gears gotta fit together for us to work properly." She sighs. "I'm trying Mike. But it feels like, every time I make some headway...something else happens that make him mad at me or distrust me or whatever else. Honestly, if I weren't so dependent on this crew for my survival, I might've jumped ship by now." She shakes her head. "You've known him forever...what do I do? I can't not be myself..."
 
The lady wanted information that he had no answer for. Mike glanced at her. "I don't know. You just be yourself. Seems to me you're shaking his cage and he isn't sure if he likes it yet or not."

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Killian made the last stop fast. His shoulder was getting to be strong enough he could move it some though he still had the arm in a sling most of the time. They finished loading the cargo to sell back on the planet again. One more night with his hoar and he figured he would feel back to normal. This whole thing of having a woman on board his ship was making things feel strange. Never in his life had he thought he would have a female on his ship. Still she fit a purpose and he could justify keeping her.

As the night drew near he waited near the doors to make the trade with the buyer and then he took himself to the bank to transfer the agreed amount to the seller. The rest of the money took straight back to the ship and locked it away. They all still had some money left over from the last run. Everyone except Star so he gave her the cut she had coming from this run. "I'm going out tonight." Adjusting the strap for his shoulder he started down the ramp of the boat. It was odd that Mike wasn't already out of the ship but, that was his own business.
 
Star remained inside, unable to go out and face the kids again, knowing she'd just have to leave them. Not to mention Killian would probably yell at her if he found out she'd given everything away again. Her staying seemed like the best play for everyone.
...
Next Day

Timo stood hidden in the crowd. He watched with keen eyes how people bought things and where they put their credits on their person. He'd then pick a mark and lift their wallets or credit pouches. There was always the risk of getting caught and beaten...but there wasn't many other choices. His eyes found a particularly rich looking mark stepping out of a brothel. He kisses one of the women on the cheek, slips her some credits and tucks away his wallet in his pocket with his good arm. The other was held up in a sling which made him an even more appealing mark.

Timo trails him as he leaves the alleyway and enters the crowd. There were plenty of people bumping against him that he wouldn't notice one more bump. He gets close as he dared, reaches in the man's pocket and snatches the wallet. The man turns. He'd noticed. Timo catches his eyes for one second, then he sprints away, weaving through the crowd as fast as possible, ignoring the man's yells for him to stop.

He ducked into the alleyway and is just about to make through the hole in the wall when something snatches his collar, keeping him from attaining freedom.
 
There wasn't much left in Killian's wallet after his night with the prostitute. He knew better than to carry more than a few credits greater than what was needed for the night. As he stepped out of the house he gave her a kiss and adjusted his sling one more time. The shoulder was hurting since he had chosen to get a little handsy. "I'll be back."

The woman smiled at him. "You always are." As he left she shook her head and stepped inside again. He was perhaps the one smuggler she had thought about running away with one time. It was a long time ago though.

Killian clenched his jaw with every jostle. There was no way to protect his shoulder in the crowd. Then there was the distinct sensation of little fingers sliding into his pocket. Whipping around he knocked a man over next to him and caught sight of the kid. "Stop right there!" Naturally it wasn't going to work, but knew where the boy was headed. All these streets were familiar enough to him that he knew where the kid was going to be heading. Cutting back through an alley he took a short cut and caught the boy before he could scramble inside. "Give it up kid!" Throwing the boy against the wall he walked over and took the wallet from stunned fingers. A little bit of blood had started to trickle down the back of the boy's neck and his eyes watered.

The captain only growled and started back for the ship. His entire shoulder had started to throb and he swore it was bleeding. Taking a seat in the medical bay he pulled his shirt to the side and peeled a part of the bandaging back. It was just red and swollen. No blood, but it still hurt. Laying back on the bed he figured he could wait for the rest of the crew to arrive.
 
Killian woke to a pair of familiar voices.
"It looks infected." Star says, her cool fingers lightly touching the infected area.
"He probably forgot to take the antibiotics. Stubborn." Mike snorted. "You're going to have to remove those stitches and clean it out."
"Yeah...not while he's asleep. I don't want him to wake up in pain and kill me out of instinct." Star chuckles nervously.
 
A pair of voices started to talk and Killian hadn't the oomph to open his eyes just yet. He had been feeling extra tired the last few days and the shoulder was hurting especially bad. The cold fingers sent shivers into his spine. Goosebumps formed along his arm and chest. Opening his eyes he groaned. "Ugh...I wouldn't do that." Sitting up on the bed he peered over at the injury. With her poking at prodding it seemed that shoulder was leaking a sickly whitish yellow fluid. Didn't smell good either. It was certainly an infection.

He didn't get a chance to complain before Mike shoved a needle into his shoulder. "Just a little numbing agent for you captain." The man quickly set to work tearing the stitches out. This was something he knew was better done quick. As for the actual cleaning he figured that Star would be better at that part and he could prepare a little packet of disinfectant to rinse the wound after she squeezed the pus out of it.

Even if Killian couldn't feel the sharp pain there was a great deal of pressure in his shoulder and it only seemed to grow with each push and pinch. Growling he looked down at his shoulder and then turned his head away. It looked disgusting. Though it was only a few minutes it felt like forever and then Mike poured the packet into the wound. A good amount of fizzing started. Mike nodded to Star. "We'll have to just pack it with gauze and the powder for a few days before we sew it up. Otherwise we'll just sew the infection in." Looking at the captain he frowned. "That means no more running around. You'll have to milk it for a few days anyway." Soon as the fizzing stopped he handed a sterile wad of gauze to Star. "Just push it in. Its how you pack a wound. Keep shoving it in till there's a tail left to start pulling it out tonight. Probably do this about 2-3 times a day for 2 days and then see how it looks."
 
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"Ugh, you owe me for this one, Killian." Star says grimacing. "I nearly threw up...twice. I should've, right on you. Serves you right for not taking care of yourself." She packs the wound, though as gently as possible. "Oh, now's probably the best time to tell you...there were a couple compliance officers sniffing around the ship so we took off while you were sleeping." She adds, then helps Killian pull his shirt on again and place his arm back in the sling.

She takes a step back and crosses her arms. "Well? Aren't you going to say thankyou?"
 
A slight grin started. He didn't mind she joked about puking on him. "Oh well if you did I don't think you'd have been the only one puking in here." It was just a reaction he had. If somebody puked his stomach churned. They puke on him and he was bound to puke right back. Blood and guts were fine but not puke. "I took care of myself!" Sitting up he found her finger was pushing in at the same time and he caught his breath. "Aahaha...Oooh that hurt."

His gaze turned toward her as she described the situation they had been in. Somberly he nodded. "Aaa..." Almost like a warning he made sounds whenever she pulled on his arm awkwardly to try and get him somewhat clothed again. Killian was starting to wonder if it would be easier to go without a shirt at this rate. Once the arm was in the sling he slowly got off the bed. Star gave him a look and he just stared right back at her. "What?" Seemed she wanted thanks. "Huh...Thank you." Grumbling the word he rubbed the back of his head and started for his room.
 
"Men..." Star rolled her eyes and shook her head.
She trotted back to her room and dropped onto her bed. A startled owe causes her to jump right back up. Was Adam under her bed!?!?! He wouldn't....
She drops to her knees and lifts the covers. Her mouth drops. "Hi Star."
"Timo! What....what are you doing here!?" She whispers harshly. "Get out from under there." She took the boys hand and pulled him out, then sat him on the bed.
"I followed the guy with the sling. I recognized him as part of the crew that you left with...and...well, I want to join your crew!" He sticks out his chest.

Star groans and facepalms. Every time things were just about to be ok...Killian was going to kill her.
"What's wrong?" Timo asks worriedly.
Star sighs. "The Captian...the guy you followed...he doesn't like kids on his ship."
"Oh. Well, I'm here now. It's too late to get rid of me." Timo nods confidently. Poor kid...the naivety.
"Wait here...don't touch anything." Star hurries out of her room, closing her door.
She avoids Killian and grabs Mike when he was alone. "Mike...I need your help." She led the old engineer back to her room. When he was inside she closed the door behind him.
Before he could ask "What the heck is going on..." The boy pops up from behind the other side of the bed. "Hi!" Timo says cheerily.
 
(I'll be back in about 20 minutes)

Mike couldn't imagine what the girl was finding so alarming. At first he thought that maybe Killian hit the deck with a heart attack or seizure. something that would be truly shocking. Instead it was far worse. The man's face almost melted right off. "Oh good lord." Staring at the child he noticed some crusted blood on the back of the boy's neck. "What is this?" Almost gently he reached for it. "First we'll get you cleaned up and then I'll have you start working with me. There's a few spots that I could use a younger lad to crawl around and get." That was the only thing he could think of to start with.
 
The boy winced as Mike touched the wound on his neck. "I tried to lift the Captain's wallet...but he caught me."
"He hit you!?" Star asks in a near fury.
"Threw me against the wall..." Timo looks down.
"Ooh, I shouldn't have been so nice with his wound. Next time, I'm hitting him." Her fingers curled into a fist. "After all his talk about kids working for their living...hypocrite."

She smiles in relief though as Mike promises to put him to work. She'd honestly been expecting a bit more kicking and yelling about the whole thing.
"Yeah! Thankyou! I promise I'll work extra hard! Promise!" Timo squeezes Mike with a tight hug.
"What are we going to do about Killian?" Star asks worriedly, grabbing a wet towel and kindly wiping the blood off of Timo's neck.
 
Mike would have put a hand over Star's mouth but it was short lived. The man already had an idea where the hitting story would go. He'd done his best to try and explain the captain and his strange way of doing things. It would take Star time to get used to it. Peeling the child off his legs Mike frowned at him. "You'd better come with me." Glancing up at Star he shrugged. "Its not what we're going to do. I think you ought to be the one to talk to him. Do it before he's back to himself." That was about all the more he was going to say.

Placing a hand on the boy's back he started to usher the boy back to the shower rooms. He knew that Killian wouldn't be there for a few and Adam wouldn't likely be in the room. He could at least get the boy clean and try to clean up the clothes a little bit then hang them on a rack in his room. While the clothing dried he wrapped the boy in a blanket and snuck a little food from the kitchen for him.
 
Star took a deep breath as she knocked on Killian's door. Better now than later...she hoped. "Hey, Captain...sorry to disturbed you we need to talk." She didn't sound the least bit sorry. If anything, there was a bite in her voice that hinted she was angry at him for something. "That boy you smacked around, the one who tried to take your wallet...well he's here and he's our new cabin boy." She said like it was a matter of fact, her tone daring him to challenge it.
 
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