Author's note:

Thank you all for the support you have shown with the first installment of 'The Kineticist'. As I posted in the comments on the previous chapter, I welcome any and all feedback on my work. If you feel there is something major you would like to discuss, be it stylistic choice or artistic vision, please feel free to message me directly. I read all comments and I would like to reply to them individually, but that doesn't seem to be the case unless I'm missing something.

I will be trying to keep a consistent publication schedule, as it stands hopefully every 7-10 days (4-7 days of writing, 3 for pending publication). If anything changes on my end, I will be communicating through the most recent chapter's comment section.

_________________________________________

Kara settled back in her chair, her fingers drumming erratically into her desk. She kept her face schooled into an impassive mask as Dessorosa's dark eyes bored into her from halfway across the system.

"So, to sum up this whole escapade, you succeeded in capturing the Imperial ship," Dessorosa started lamely.

"Correct," Kara replied tightly.

"But the entire crew is dead," He continued, his voice even and unhurried.

She nodded. She hated these drawn out impromptu debriefs. It was one thing to be lectured, another to have the whole event combed over in excruciatingly fine detail. It was like nails on a chalkboard for Kara, and Dessorosa knew that all too well. Maybe this was his way of putting a damper on her willful behavior.

"But not by your team," He folded his bridged fingers, pressing his thumbs against the bridge of his nose. His eyes closed as he took a deep breath before continuing, "You freed an Imperial slave, who just happens to be a Kineticist, and you let him rampage through the ship."

"I told you—" Kara began to protest before Dessorosa's raised his hand to stop her.

"Not only did he repaint the interior of the ship, but also destroyed six shuttles, wrecked the entire portside hydraulics, and fried the entire internal electrical system," His voice was strained, the irritation seeping through the mask.

"The electrical system was already fried before we got there," She replied hotly.

"Well, that just wipes away the rest! The ship was already fried, so fuck it right?" Dessorosa exploded. "Why the fuck didn't you stop him from eviscerating up my new ship?!"

Kara's fingers froze mid-beat, her temper flaring dangerously, "I did! What in God's name was I supposed to do? He wrecked a warship! I'm a pretty decent Kineticist in my own right, but he was in a whole new league. I had Mercy pull up the schematics for the ship, he didn't just fry the systems, he was the system."

The call went quiet as Dessororsa sat back in his chair. While his face was in shadow, Kara knew him well enough to see the working of his jaw as he struggled with this new piece of information. Minutes passed in strained silence before he collected himself, "Whatever you do keep the ship secured and the Kineticist under control. It looks as if the Imperium has changed the rules of the game, this could have ended badly."

"What are you going to do?" Kara asked quietly, her body sitting rigidly on the edge of her seat.

"I need to report this to the brass. This just got way too hot for our hands. How long until you return to Elysium?" Dessorosa's face looked drawn. His chaotic beard did little to hid the deep lines etched into his face, or the dark circles weighing down his eyes. He didn't like involving Coalition brass nearly as much as she, but he was right. This new development now concerned the Coalition as a whole, not just a single system.

"We'll be back in a month. The Imperial Kineticist is in surgery now, hopefully we can get something out of him before we arrive," Kara's fingers resumed their endless battering of her work surface; she wanted to go check in on the golden eyed man. There was something lurking deep beneath the surface that had kept calling to her.

"I'll contact you if anything develops on our end. Report to me immediately once you arrive. We'll figure out what to do with your guest once you arrive," Dessorosa fixed her with a pointed stare that brokered no arguments before closing out the call.

Kara forced her fingers to still, fresh waves of agitation rolling over her. Ever since the golden eyed man had clashed with her hours before, her heart hadn't stopped hammering inside her chest. She chalked it up to fear, to the vast powers at his command, but there was something more. Her whole being vibrated as their wills met, wild instinct lashing out before a much more profound set of emotions that seemed to be lurking just behind that wall.

The buzz of the intercom on her desk drew her from her thoughts, "Kara, is everything alright?"

"Yes. Come in, Mercy," Kara smiled as the meadow skinned Komodous slipped quietly through the door as it slid open.

"How pissed was Dessorosa?" Mercy inquired, moving to perch on the edge of her desk.

Kara sat back and let out an exhausted sigh, "Pissed. He is pushing this up the chain. Our guest appears to be making ripples, and we aren't even back home yet."

Mercy rested a slender four digit hand on her thigh, "Things are changing. I can feel it."

Kara couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding, "Is that good or bad?"

The Komodous spun Kara in her chair, the deceptively strong hands moved to massage the stiff muscles around Kara's neck. She leaned in close to her ear, a long forked tongue gently caressing the sensitive curvature as she breathed, "Change is change. Good and bad are subjective to the individual. Embrace it before you are trampled as it passes."

Kara shivered at the delicate tongue's ministrations, an involuntary groan escaping from between her lips. The tension eased from her shoulders as Mercy's expert fingers kneaded her flesh. Her fingers moved up Kara's neck, stroking the delicate angles of her face and throat. Soft lips trailed cool relief down her sensitive skin reverently, before fitting smoothly into her own.

"How can you be so blasé about this?" Kara murmured when their lips parted.

"Your duty is to run the ship and watch out for its crew, mine is to watch out for you," Mercy smiled warmly.

"And the ship," Kara reminded her, reaching up to cup the Komodous' face in her hands.

"Yes, and the ship," Mercy agreed distractedly, as her hands drifted lower to running over the grey strike suit that still encapsulated Kara's body. Her dexterous fingers deftly undoing the fastenings down the center seam before slipping under to explore the heated skin beneath.

Warmth blossomed between Kara's thighs, dewy wetness soaking into the suit as her thighs ground together. She moaned into Mercy's lips as her sensitive breasts were teased and toyed with. Kara pulled Mercy astride her in a smooth and practiced motion, pulling her head forward to crush her lips back against her own. With her free hand she desperately pulled open the rest of the constricting fabric to grant unhindered access to the questing fingers. Her hips twitched as Mercy pinched her sensitive pink peaks, sending jolts of pleasure ricocheting between her head and thighs.

Kara's tongue darted out to taste soft reptilian lips, the surprisingly soft skin tasting of blackberries and the warm gusting winds of spring. The scent of Mercy's own arousal reached her nose, the spicy musk flooding her mind. Their tongues dueled against each other, soft mewling noises emanated from Mercy's throat as Kara's teeth sank into the leathery scale-like flesh of her neck.

Kara's own hands found new hunting grounds on the Komodous' fleshy mounds, the taut skin coalescing into dark brown nipples that grew stiff under her thorough attentions. The mammalian reptile squirmed as the wetness from her own sex skated across the hard planes of Kara's stomach. Taking one of Mercy's nipples in her mouth, her tongue languidly licking over the stiffened skin, she let one hand drift down to stroke inquisitively against the slick lips of her lover.

"Please, Mistress," Mercy whispered, her hips grinding insistently onto her fingers.

Kara slowly pressed her index finger deep into Mercy's core, the tight walls undulating around the invading digit, trying to suck it deeper into its heat. The Komodous' hips jerked as Kara's finger found the delightful bundle of nerves that elicited a breathy cry of passion. She flexed her finger over the nodule, pressing and stroking relentlessly against Mercy's channel as it constricted and convulsed around her dancing finger.

"Mistress, don't s-stop," Mercy groaned into her ear, her body beginning to tremble as she rapidly rose to a thunderous release. Kara felt Mercy's fleshy tail dig energetically against her own arousal, rubbing the fabric over her heated lips.

"You clever girl," Kara giggled, her teeth nipping lightly at a one of those delicious brown delicacies. She spread her thighs to give more access to the nimble appendage as it snaked under her suit and began to grind itself on her swollen lips.

Kara eased in another finger into the girls quivering flesh, her thumb tracing tantalizing circles around her rigid nub, and was rewarded by a scream of pleasure that tore out of Mercy's chest. She went limp under the vigorous attentions of Kara's fingers and tongue. She began to convulse, her eyes rolling as determined digits pushed the insensate girl to new heights.

"Mist—" Mercy gasped, clutching at the blonde sending electricity through her thrashing body. Her tail writhing against her heat, spreading wildfire through Kara's body, "Can't--"

Mercy gripped Kara's wrists, desperately trying to pull her hands away from her overstimulated sex, but struggled as new waves of painfully sharp pleasure tore through her.

Mercy desperately gulped for air, "Please!"

Kara slowed her fingers, but didn't stop. She smiled sweetly up at the trembling girl that clung to her, "You can't what, Mercy?"

"I can't—" Mercy convulsed violently once more, splashing Kara's toned stomach in hot juices. "Please, no more. I can't cum anymore!" She pleaded.

"Alright, put that tongue and tail of yours to work. I'm positively aching!" Kara helped the girl down to her knees, before rising and stripping off the soaked fabric that hung around her hips.

Mercy's eyes were glazed as she flicked her tongue across the soaked lips of Kara's sex, a small intake of breath the prefect invitation. Mercy spread Kara's thighs wide, forcing her to sit on the edge of her chair. A devilish tongue teased her clitoris while a thicker, fleshy appendage pushed into her slippery depths.

Kara squeezed her eyes closed, the muscles of her core roiling as her lover speared her straight to the core, stretching to accommodate the writhing tail. Mercy's ravenous consumption of her nectar, coupled with the satisfying fullness between her hips rocketed her towards her own intense climax. Her fingers clawed at the arms of her chair as she bucked against her lover's face, fire and lightning ripping her apart as she coated that jubilant woman with her approval.

"Holy shit," Kara gasped, her body shuddering in the aftershock of her heavenly release. A soft wet popping sound made her core twitch once more as Mercy slowly withdrew her talented tail from between her legs, "That was intense!"

"It was deeply satisfying as always, Mistress," Mercy smiled, her tongue darting forward to lick her own sweet residue off Kara's stomach.

Kara looked down at her little love lizard, a content smile playing across her lips. Once Mercy had finished her tongue bath, she dragged Kara into the bathroom for a proper shower. They took turns washing each other, the hot water washing away the days tension from their bodies. Mercy's cooler skin was always a delightful contrast that allowed her to melt against her lover, content to stand under the shower head until the bite of frigid water chased them out.

They both kept a set of spare clothes in the bathroom closet, as their usual meetings tended to end in much of the same way. Kara tied her hair in a loose ponytail as she threw on a black crop top and baggy combat fatigues that hung low on her hips. She had stolen them from Celtic a few years back and the black and green material had to be belted to stay on her hips and folded back on itself to be secured in her boots.

Mercy looked at her with appraising eyes as she pulled on her own light gray body suit, her anatomy not quite suited for human clothing. Her face and torso were very similar to humans, but instead of hair, Mercy had thin semi-translucent frills that cascaded from her head in a continuous wave of amethyst and sapphire ridges down her back to the base of her tail. The top of her head was dominated by two smooth horns, a slightly darker meadow green than her skin that began at the crest of her head and flowed backwards in a smooth shallow arc before flaring out behind her delicate pointed ears.

The Komodous also didn't usually wear pants or any sort, mainly due to her reptilian haunches. Much like the prehistorical carnivorous lizards that inhabited Earth hundreds of millions of years in the past, Mercy's legs were heavily muscled and supported by switch back knee structures that ended with her weight balanced on three wide toes terminating in three inch talons, a forth larger talon supported on the inside of the foot.

Kara met Mercy's stare with a sparkling smile, moving to help the Komodous adjust her attire, "Thank you. I really needed this," Kara wrapped her arms tightly around the woman.

"I am here for you always, until the eternal suns vanish from the sky and the darkness comes to return us to whence we came," Mercy said softly, leaning in to kiss Kara's cheek.

Kara breathed in Mercy's scent, filling her lungs with the unique and comforting fragrance. They had been together for six years, ever since their fathers had brought them both to a trade summit between the nomadic Komodous and the Coalition. They had taken to each other almost instantaneously, much to their father's delight. They hadn't planned on their daughters to become so amorous.

"Shall we go check on our resident meat heads in the med bay?" Mercy intertwined their fingers. Kara smiled and nodded as they departed Kara's office with a lightness of foot indicative of their new found sense of ease.

The doors to the med bay hissed open to reveal the banged up duo of Hunter and Buck. They both had their heads bandaged, and Hunter had his arm in a sling. They both brightened once they saw Kara, grinning with knowing smiles as they keenly observed the slight flush of her skin..

"Cap'n, good to see you!" Hunter grinned.

"You are a sight for sore eyes," Buck didn't try to hide his roaming gaze.

Kara cocked an eyebrow as she flicked Buck hard on the nose, "You seem to be no worse for wear."

"Oi! I'm injured here," Buck protested, rubbing his nose gingerly.

Kara was about to respond when their resident doctor, Nico, stepped out of the decontamination chamber. She stripped of her surgical gown and pulled a bandana from her hair, letting her chestnut locks tumble down around her shoulders. Her keen gaze swept over the two injured boots, then gave a pointed look at Kara, "It's always a pleasure to see you Captain. I would hate to have to remind you that assaulting the medically infirmed is frowned upon by Coalition regulations."

"Just testing his reflexes, I just couldn't find your little hammer thing," Kara said innocuously.

"Right, how could I have missed that? Buck why didn't you remind the Captain that the 'little hammer thing' is in the top drawer on the left next to the medical cabinet?" Nico rolled her eyes.

"The what in the where?" Buck's look of confusion brought out giggles from the three women.

"It's a good thing higher brain functions aren't your strong suit," Nico gave him a somber look.

"His concussion might actually be a god send," Kara eyed him speculatively; "He might actually become smarter than the average bear!"

"Hey! I'm plenty smart," Buck grumbled.

"I know dear," Nico pinched his cheek affectionately. "You're just too fun to tease."

Kara smiled at the tender look between the doctor and the marine, a sense of pride that her crew was not only a well-oiled machine, but also as extremely tightknit unit. Almost all Coalition military had a strict policy against internal fraternization in crews, for good reason too. Love and friendships got in the way of making the hard decisions when the time came. It was one of the main reasons she and Mercy had become private sector.

Intimate relationships between officers and subordinates led to deadly lapses of judgement when things turned sour. In Kara's experience, while those things turned out to be true, the bonds between her crew became an exception. Friends fought harder to protect friends, Lovers defying normal limitations to save and protect each other. Families protect each other no matter the cost, and those values truly transferred over into the crew of The Cerberus. When things inevitably turn south, as they have an extreme tendency to do, everyone trusted Kara to make the right choice. It was a weight that rested heavily on her shoulders, just as it did for the rest of her officers.

Mercy squeezed her hand gently, "It's a wonderful thing we have here."

Kara's stomach grew warm as she watched her crew, but her eyes drifted towards the surgical suite, "Embrace change, huh?"

Nico caught Kara's ponderous stare, her expression turning serious, "Captain, if I may have a moment in private?"

Kara nodded, following after the doctor into the decontamination chamber. The doors sealed behind them, the light on the door turning red. She pulled a small respirator from the wall and secured it over her face, once secure the chamber filled with a thick opaque gas the left a slight tingling sensation over her skin. The light on the opposite door flashed green once the process was completed.

She followed Nico into the suite and the pair stopped beside the table in the center of the room. The Golden Eyed man lay still, his breathing smooth and rhythmic. Several IV's were attached to him, flooding his system with revitalizing fluids containing vitamins and Medi-cell compounds. She noticed two emptied blood bags in the biomaterials waste basket, reinforcing just how much blood he had lost in his struggle.

"As you can see he is stable now, but is extremely weak," Nico walked over to her console next to the table tapped out a few commands, before nodding in satisfaction. "I had to give him two separate blood transfusions and we are keeping him sedated currently. From Buck and Hunter's report, it seemed to be prudent."

"Did you get an update on that machine he was hooked into?" Kara had received an initial report from Mercy and her team, outlining the warship and its tech repository. Most of it had been heavily encrypted and they were still working on it, but they had managed to dig something up about something called a 'Kinetic Driver'.

"Yes, I received an update from the team Mercy put on it. This 'Kinetic Driver' is a nasty piece of work. You can get the technobabble from them, but it seems like the power source is definitely a human Kineticist," Nico pulled up a holographic rendition of the design, highlighting the spokes of the gyroscopic looking machine, "The 'Power Source' as it is dictated, is suspended in this engine, and is heavily medicated. The drugs used stimulate the mind to dangerous levels while causing extreme dissociation in the subject."

Nico signed at Kara's blank expression, "They trap the Kineticist inside their own mind. They keep the body just healthy enough to keep the brain alive while they continuously inject it with stimulants and anti-inflammatories to maximize energy outputs and reduce cerebral strain."
Kara stared at the Golden Eyed man in shocked horror, "It all makes sense now, why he was so powerful and semi-deranged when I ran into him."

Nico shook her head, "No. As far as we know, there is no way to artificially increase a Kineticist's natural power. It can be controlled and focused using special materials, like resonance crystals, but no one has been able to amplify it yet. This man is naturally as potent as you all have described."

Kara rubbed a hand over her face, "Awesome. Now we have to figure out what to do with Mr. Powerhouse when he wakes up. How long will it take him to recover?"

Nico looked over at the man's readouts, "I'm going to keep him sedated until the worst of his recovery is over. Once his body is strong enough from him to be able to eat unassisted, I can bring him out of it. My estimates are at about two weeks."

"Notify me the moment he is awake," Kara said firmly. As relaxed as she was minutes before, her anxiety had ratcheted up with the new clarifications. The unknown power of the new Imperial technology was cause for concern, but the thought of sacrificing people was almost enough to turn her stomach. A pang of sympathy twisted in her gut at the sight of the comatose man. Knowing what he had endured for four whole years, her mind shied away from the thought.

The darkness was different this time. The insidious humming was gone along with the gluttonous hunger that always threatened to devour him. The darkness surrounding him was calm and peaceful, blissful sleep had finally come to him after so long.

As Kyle floated serenely amidst the empty space, ghostly phantasms flickered past. Flashing strobes with their dull pulsing glow, wheezing sirens coughed their call to arms. Shadowy figures gently pulled him forward, then suddenly floating away. Other figures glided towards him, then fell back.

A beautiful woman with blond hair and piercing stormy eyes strutted towards him. She raised her hands surrounded in storm clouds, a duo of thunderclaps echoed around the empty space as two brilliant bolts of lightning leapt towards him.

The searing bolts met an unseen barrier, tendrils of electrical energy licking across the surface. The woman lowered her hands as she flipped backwards in a graceful billowing of red and black before she surged forwards. Waves of power sang out from her as the distance closed, crashing once more against his stalwart defense.

The ferocious assault ended abruptly, the woman standing straight. With twinkling eyes and a dazzling smile, she bowed low before disappearing into the nothingness.

More images flared to life. Little black beetles flitted too and froe, buzzing angrily around Kyle's head. He instinctively swatted at them. Where his hands connected, trails of blood red flames trailed to the floor and settled into a pile of white ashes.

The void shuddered. Kyle looked around for the source of the disturbance. A massive shadow loomed in the distance, three pairs of glowing red eyes glared at him balefully. A low discordant growl snarled from the shadowy mass. As the creature prowled closer on four massive legs of darkness, it became distinct. Three massive heads towered above him, fangs as long as Kyle's arm gnashing against each other in the foaming maws.

Kyle stumbled back, his eyes wide as every instinct told him to run from the towering demonic dog. The paralyzing chill of fear warred against smoldering embers of defiance, locking him into place with indecision. He could smell the stench of death and decay pouring from the creatures snapping fangs, and the flames of defiance incinerated the icy hands of fear.

Kyle felt the blaze rage through him, enveloping him in a massive brilliant golden inferno. He thrust out his arms, blasting the monster with gouts of radiant fire. With a howl of pain the beast reared back, clawing impotently at its assailant.

What the fuck is going on?!

I don't know Cap'n! Something is yanking us out of subspace, the whole navigation system is frozen!

Mercy!

The engines are fully taxed, I've overridden the safeties but they're overheating. I've already sent a tech down to flood the cooling systems to try and buy us a little more time.

Cap'n, the Doc is requesting your presence immediately, she said it's urgent.

Oh, and the rest isn't?! My ship is being pulled apart; I don't have time for a check-up!

No, Ma'am, it's him.

With a silent command, the hungering flames coalesced into an ornate winged spear. The golden shaft of the weapon was alive with dancing flames, the blade of the spear honed with wrathful intent whilst guided by the glimmering white wings of determination.

Nico, what in the blood soaked pits of hell is going on!

Captain, he's burned through the sedatives. His higher consciousness is unresponsive but his subconscious is lighting up like a supernova.

Nico!

He's dreaming!

Snap him out of it then!

I can't. There is a kinetic barrier sealing him in. You're the only one strong enough to even attempt to get in.

Kyle leveled the spear directly at the creature's heart. His eyes locked with the beast's, and with a wordless battle cry he lunged forward. A flash of black and red intercepted him, the tip of his spear fighting to penetrate the interceding vortex of storm clouds. He leapt back, readying his weapon for a second strike.

The blonde woman with the stormy eyes smiled up at the beast, stroking the charred fur on its breast. She spoke softly to it, her voice sounding like a chorus of winds ranging from a gentle breeze to a roaring storm. The beast knelt, one large head nuzzling into her side while the other two spat and snarled at him.

Kyle watched in disbelief as the massive beast's shadowy form swirled and billowed outwards before collapsing in to form a much smaller three-headed dog that stood at hip level. The woman knelt down and lovingly rubbed all three heads, singing to it in a soothing voice. Once she was satisfied that her pet was now docile, she turned her gaze on him.

Her radiant smile from before was nowhere in sight. Her eyes flashed like lightning across blackened storm clouds, a promise to unleashing all of nature's fury upon her enemies. Her hands were no longer surrounded in a vortex of storm clouds as she raised a slender hand to point over his shoulder.

Kyle eyed her warily before turning his head to look in the proffered direction. There was nothing but void behind him, he glanced back to the woman who made an impatient gesture. A gale of hurricane winds lashed out across the void, a sound like taring fabric filled his ears as a black curtain fell. Kyle now stood restrained once more, his arms and legs locked into unfeeling metal.

He struggled and fought. He lashed out with his power with all the force he could muster, but to no avail. He could feel the machine sucking out his life force, feeding it to an endless number of metallic men that knelt before his prison. One raised a gruesome goblet made of steel and an upturned skull, filling it to the brim with his blood. The metallic man drank deeply, radiating a dark power the made Kyle feel sick. An endless line flowed by, each drinking from the occult goblet, each bathed in sinister shadow.

The void trembled once more as thundering footfalls raced towards him. Kyle looked up to see the massive demon-dog materialize from the blackness and pounce upon the unsuspecting queue. The arm length fangs tore through their metal flesh as if it were foil, its massive paws shredding through anything it could reach.

Roiling black clouds filled the void above them, white flashes of raging power arcing across its surface. The blonde haired woman held aloft by screaming winds opened her arms wide to greet the storm. Sizzling droplets of sapphire electricity rained down in a deluge of sparks. Bolts of lightning smashed into the infinite number of metallic creatures below, smiting them with lances of power that detonated upon impact with a violence that was befitting the will of a wrathful goddess.

Kyle roared out his frustration as he struggled against his bonds. The greedy shackles sucked away his power just as quickly as he summoned it. His rage built in his chest as no matter how many disgusting metallic men were devoured or torn asunder by the demon-dog or vaporized by the vengeful storm goddess, still more came to drink from his blood. No matter how much rage was boiling inside of him, he couldn't find the strength to fight against his captors.

When his will was all but extinguished, the blonde haired storm goddess began to sing. Her voice of chorusing winds filled him with a surge of emotion. The flame of defiance was stoked by her coaxing winds, her lightning giving birth to hungering flames. Burning tears flowed from his eyes leaving trails of fire down his face as he added his own voice to hers. Her chorus of winds was harmonized with his soaring melody of balmy summer days under a blazing sun and searing passionate nights howling at the full moon.

The two songs became one as Kyle felt his strength surge from him in an unrelenting torrent, melting his bindings into a pool of molten slag. The winds took him up to his place amongst the clouds, next to the golden haired goddess with the lightning eyes and dazzling smile. She took his hand in hers, stroking his dark hair out his eyes, "My Golden Eyed man."

She pulled his face down to hers and their lips met with a spine tingling jolt and skin melting heat. Wind roared around them as golden flames licked over their skin, lightning arcing between their bodies as their songs rose to a climactic conclusion. The world was enveloped in a raging golden inferno, sapphire lightning bolts piercing the void and ripping through the once serene darkness. The demon-dog glided up to meet them as the woman pushed him down onto its back. He sank into the soft black fur as he closed his eyes, reveling in the sensational kiss he was sharing with this woman.

The soft black fur turned stiff and cold. The air around him was no longer filled with howling winds, but calm stale air. He could feel long slender fingers caressing his face coupled with the tingling sensation on his lips as he registered radiating warmth pressed into his own lips. He blinked to focus his eyes. A mane of golden hair cascaded down the side of a woman's tilted head, brushing against his neck and shoulders.

Kyle realized he half sitting half laying down, supporting his weight by pulling the woman down towards him. His heart hammered in his chest as their lips moved against each other, tantalizing strokes of her soft tongue sending jolts down his spine. He caught her bottom lip between his teeth, licking his own tongue over the captured flesh. Her eyes fluttered as a throaty groan sent fresh waves of heat through his body. His mind reached out to stroke through the waves over power rippling out from her, easily resonating with her. The song began to play again, swirling around his mind as their tongues danced.

A sharp intake of breath drew him back to reality. His eyes met with hers, a look of confusion matching his own. The confusion rapidly changed to one of wild desire as she kissed him hungrily, her hands holding him to her with surprising strength. Kyle responded in kind, his fingers tangling in her hair as he pulled her on top of him.

Kyle gripped her golden mane and pulled her head back to expose her slender neck and heaving chest. He kissed every inch of skin he could reach, his free hand pulling her hips to his as she pressed herself into him. Her tanned skin was flushed dark along the top of her chest as he followed the heated blood up her neck with ravenous bites and sensual licks along the offended areas. Her cries of pain and soothing sighs were highlighted by her nails raking across his back and neck, leaving sharp trails of pain in their wake.

Their song rose in crescendo to the cadence of their thundering hearts, the roaring of an all-consuming inferno filled his ears as the woman hooked her fingers under her tight top and hoisted it up. The garment was halfway up her body revealing the tantalizingly deep valley of her cleavage when a hissing sound froze the pair in their tracks.

Kyle whipped his head around to see a disheveled looking woman in a white lab coat, her chestnut hair a messy tangle atop her head. She was breathing heavily as she stumbled into the room. With a single look at him her face went pale. She glanced at the woman straddling him and taking in her provocative state, then his own flushed state of arousal.

"How are you feeling?" The doctor asked him cautiously.

Kyle looked at the blonde haired woman who was now rested back on his legs, her arms propping her up as she struggled to catch her breath. He took a few moments to settle himself before replying honestly, "I'm not sure."

The doctor moved slowly to her console, glancing at him nervously. He gave her a quick nod which seemed to put her at ease. The woman turned back to him after a few moments and said, "You were in a medically induced coma while your body recovered from your...extended stay with the Imperium."

Kyle looked at the small collection of tubes that were still connected to his body, cold fear gripped his stomach once again as he watched the steady dripping of clear fluid into the feeding bag that was sending its contents directly into his blood stream.

"You drugged me," The muscles in Kyle's neck twitched as he worked to control his fury.

"It was necessary to treat your wounds; I was going to wake you up once your body had recovered..." Her voice trailed off into a frightened whimper under his glare.

"Hey, Golden Eyes, what's your name?" The blonde haired woman asked, not moving from her resting position over his hips.

"Kyle," He moved to shift her off of him, but she rode him expertly. "And since you won't get off me, what is yours?"

The golden haired woman snorted derisively, "Oh, you don't want me getting off of you."

Kyle frowned at her, his power bubbling to the surface, "I'm not in the mood to ask twice."

The woman's eyes twinkled with laughter as she slowly rocked on his lap, "My name is Kara. You can also call me Captain if that fits your bill."

Kyle let out an involuntary groan, "You aren't making it easy to control myself."

"I would recommend cooling off in the shower, then I can put you back under so you can completely heal," The doctor offered.

"No," Kyle refused adamantly.

"Kyle, your body is still severely damaged on almost all levels, from skeletal to neurological. If you stay awake for the rest of the treatment, you will be in considerable agony as the stem cell replication and neuroplasty therapy take effect," The doctor pleaded, her fear of Kyle warring with her compassion for his pain.

"I. Said. No," Kyle growled, his agitation boiling over as the room began to tremble. "I will not be drugged, or sedated, or put into a damn coma!"

A few things happened in very quick succession. The doctor cowered back against her console, shaking violently. Kara's weight had vanished from his hips, and in a whirl of movement he was slammed onto his back. He found himself staring up at Kara. Her face was contorted with such fury that her eyes shone dangerously in the washed out light. There was a flash of gunmetal and unpleasant taste of iron as the long barrel of her revolver was shoved into his mouth.

"Listen up," Kara Snarled. "You might think you are a hot shit just because you have stupid amounts of power. You might think you're special because the Imperium wants you so badly. Reality check, you arrogant son of a bitch. I don't give two flying fucks who you think you are, you will bleed and die like anyone else when I put a .44 slug through your precious little brain at eighty percent of light speed."

Kyle was speechless as the foul mouthed Captain continued her tirade, "You think that just because I was about to take your skinny ass for a ride because of whatever the hell just happened, that I won't space your ass or send you packing straight across the Imperial border? You not only endangered Nico, but the whole of my crew by letting your emotions get the better of you and your power. You almost turned us all into dust, yourself included, because you were having a God damned nightmare!

"So do what the pretty doctor tells you, take the fucking shower, then go the fuck to sleep while we try to reverse the damage the Imperium did to you. A little God damned gratitude would be so refreshing right about now." Kara finally finished and was breathing heavily, the barrel of her gun still pressed uncomfortably into his mouth. She sighed and she forced herself too calm down.

When Kara took the revolver out of his mouth, Kyle rolled his tongue around his mouth to alleviate the bitter taste of the gun, "Look, Kara, I'm grateful for the help. I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused, so if it's all the same, you can just drop me off at the nearest inhabitable planet and ill disappear."

Kara's shared an unreadable look with the doctor, "Was he always this dense, or is that a side effects of the sedation?"

"It's quite likely he is suffering a temporary deficit of metal cognition due to the excessive use of sedations," Dr. Nico assessed, her trembling hadn't completely subsided but she had relaxed to a degree. Kyle could only see two options, either she had gotten over her fear of him, or she was much more confident in her captain's threat to put a bullet in his brain despite his best efforts. One thing was for sure though; he held a new found level of respect for both women.

"I am not suffering for a drug induced stupor," Kyle glared at the doctor. "Seriously, you can let me go as I am, I'll be fine."

Kara let out a low growl, "After all this? You're lucky I don't space your ass!"

"I thought you wanted to get rid—" Kyle began hotly.

Kara pushed him down onto his back again, lower her face so that she hovered an inch from her own. Stormy grey eyes bored into him as she said in an eerily calm voice, "Look, Kyle. You're cute in the half mummified kinda way, and something about you completely drives me up the wall. I can't let you go. As much as I would like to say they were for selfish reasons that you would thoroughly enjoy, you are just too powerful to run around unchecked."

"I refuse to be enslaved again. You people are no better than the Imperium!" Kyle snarled, struggling to push her off of him. Kara was deceptively heavy for a woman her size, he cursed his weakened state. He tried to summon his power but was quickly rebuked. Both a physical and mental hand slapped him hard across the face. His teeth rattled violently in his mouth.

"I suggest you watch what you say," Kara said coldly, "I'll let that slide once. I've marooned people on hostile planets for much, much less."

Kyle swallowed hard, "Right. My apologies, Captain."

Kara brightened considerably, "Glad to hear. Now, back to where I was before you jumped the gun. Save the stupid questions for the end, and then keep them to yourself. Clear?"

"Crystal," Kyle resigned himself to his fate. He wasn't going anywhere any time soon. This was probably a blessing in disguise. He didn't know much about the Coalition, and if he was going to make a run for it, or make a life for himself, he needed to know the lay of the land.

"As I said before, we can't let you run around unchecked," She glared down at him as if daring him to interrupt; he wisely chose not to accept that particular invitation. "All Kineticists are vetted by the civics department of any system capital. Lucky for you, we are heading to one now. Once you are vetted, your level of restriction will be given and you are free to go. The restrictions only apply when you are in public or military zones.
"Once all of that is finished, you'll be free to go wherever you want. The Coalition accepts Kineticists for who they are. People. The restrictions are only set in place to keep things from getting out of control."

Kara answered Kyle's unspoken question, "There was an incident before the regulations were passed where a powerful Kineticist broke into a military base through sheer force and stole a bomber. It was armed with neutrino warheads and wiped out an entire city before being shot down. Ten million people lost their lives because of one unstable man who was born with a powerful ability. Motive aside, the irrefutable truth is that power like that corrupts people. It doesn't matter how good or righteous you are."

Kyle listened carefully, studying the concern on her face, "You think I could become like that, a deranged mass murderer?"

Kara shook her head, "Kyle, you were strong enough to threaten our warp stabilization midflight while you were dreaming. You aren't stupid, think about it. I know you are all about your freedom and all that after your wrongful imprisonment, but now you are safe in a whole different part of the galaxy. You are completely free to be whoever you want; you just have to willingly suppress that which quite possibly makes you truly unique."

He visibly struggled with the idea. Why should he have to submit to comfort other people? They had no right to harness him like an animal because of how he was born. That was fundamentally wrong on so many levels.

On the other hand, Kara had an extremely valid point. According to them, he had almost ripped this ship from a secure folded packet of subspace with nothing more than the power of his mind. He never considered his power to be anything special, potent as it was. But then again, everyone in the Imperium he had known while he was on the run was either too scared to help him or too eager to turn him in for a bounty.

It all came down to trust. Who can he trust? It's an easy fact to state 'never trust an Imperial', and this whole place was completely new from the hell he had escaped from. Or rescued depending on how one would look at the situation. He had to admit that he found Kara extremely attractive, despite her rampant vortex of emotions and moods. There was an intense chemistry there, volatile and explosive. It was an odd feeling to be both excited and terrified in equal measures.

He couldn't sense any dishonesty from her, and despite her heavy handed temper she had still decided to help him out. Maybe he could find it in himself to trust her and allow himself to let his guard down even a small amount. There wasn't much of a choice in his current predicament. He was too weak to fight and he was in uncharted waters.

"I'll do it," Kyle muttered, unwilling to meet her piercing gaze.

"Good boy," Kara chirped, smoothly dismounting him. She looked down at her state of undress before shrugging as she sauntered off.

A massive wave of fatigue crashed over him. He struggled to push himself up into a sitting position. A strong, yet delicate hand steadied him. Kyle looked down at his ruined body, a mingling sense of disgust and fascination adding to his already confusion jumble of thoughts. He was appalled at how physically weak he was. He also wondered how he had looked in Kara's eyes. She had said he was 'kinda' cute. She had also shoved a modified revolver in his mouth and threatened to blow his brains out, or knocking that, space him. Why was he even having these thoughts?

"Doc, can I ask you a question?" Kyle asked hesitantly.

Nico studied him for a moment before nodding, "I'll answer whatever questions I can, but within reason as I'm sure you can accept."

Kyle looked back towards the door, "Is she always like that?

"Like what?" She helped him limp over to the small wash facilities at the rear of the suite.

The steaming water elicited an uncharacteristically sensual moan from Kyle as hot water washed over his withered flesh for the first time in over four years. He collected himself while he washed his skeletal frame thoroughly, "Bipolar. I don't know how to describe it. That girl is everywhere. It's difficult to believe she commands this ship."

He herd Nico laugh lightly, "Make no mistake Kyle, Kara is one of the most renowned private sector Captains in this half of Coalition space. She is very unique and it takes an adjustment period to get used to her, but no, she isn't Bipolar."

"How would you classify her then doc?" He leaned back against the shower stall, enjoying the rhythmic beating of the pressurized water massaging his skin.

"As a doctor, she is an outstanding example for a woman in her early to mid-twenties. She is extremely athletic without being disproportionate, mentally fit to serve her station, sexually active, and I believe she hasn't had so much as a cold in the entire time I've been the resident aboard," Nico tossed him a towel and a fresh gown.

"What about as a friend?" Kyle pressed.

Nico raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Let's just say you should be glad you only got as far as you did. She would have taken you for all you were worth, which might have been fatal in your condition, I might add. But you should also be kicking yourself because that girl is a hurricane wrapped in a summer breeze. She is very much like the weather, you can always try to predict her moods, but she somehow always ends up surprising you when you least expect it."

Kyle laid back down and patiently waited for the serene void to envelope him once more. As sleep rushed in to claim him, he smiled softly to himself, "A Hurricane wrapped in a summer breeze, huh?"

Nico didn't know how right she was. Through his decent back into nothingness, the crackling purr of his flames welcomed him into mindless sleep. Before the last of his awareness faded away, he felt the rumble of thunder across the empty expanse.