By this point, the princess was indeed inside the ship, panting and watching out the window of the cockpit as the two bounty hunters fought momentarily on the street.
She winced as Lana was hit in the head, knowing that was going to leave a large lump later on. She would have felt bad had she not been trying to kill her a second ago.
She looked to Kai when he entered, noting the graze on his arm. It wasn’t deep, but would probably still need treating.
Kai stumbled into the cockpit and threw himself into the pilot's seat, powering up the ship. The engine hummed as it started up. "You owe me a thank you," he said breathlessly, glancing at Astra. "See how brutal other hunters are?"
He still didn't have a plan, other than get the hell alway from Lana, but at least he was safe within his ship. He took a deep breath as the ship rumbled to life, starting to lift off and leave this planet behind.
Astra leaned against the side of the ship, keeping her gaze focused on the window and on her home, the streets and the building slowly disappearing as they rose higher off the ground, “And you owe me a name, sir,” She replied, looking over at him only when everything from her city was completely gone, “I can’t thank a man if I do not know what he calls himself now, can I?”
"My apologies," he said, feeling the tension and the adrenaline ease from his shoulders. He decided as usual to avoid using his full name, since his last name wasn't exactly obscure. "I'm Kai. Some call me Skip, 'cause I was named after my grandfather, so take your choice."
“Well, thank you, Kai, for not killing me straight away and saving my life in a time span of fifteen minutes,” Astra offered a small smile, “Where exactly are we headed?” She asked after a moment, turning her gaze from him to the window.
Kai smiled slightly at the name she'd chosen. His nickname held a few bad memories, so really he preferred his real name. He tapped a finger against his GPS. "Unfortunately, I still need to turn you over to my employer. But first, I need fuel. I was planning on refueling back on your planet there, but I was also planning on you being dead. I guess we'll just head to the closest planet, fuel up, and head to my employer on Zuka."
Astra sighed softly, sinking down to the floor and crossing her legs beneath her, “How thrilling,” She mumbled, resting her hands in her lap. Right, she was still going to die eventually, how could she forget, “Suppose it’s a small mercy you haven’t killed me yet. Guess I should be grateful for that too, huh?”
"I mean, yeah," he said with a laugh, navigating them through the planet's atmosphere and into open space. He switched the controls to autopilot, leaning back with his feet on the dash and admiring the stars. "Hate to break it to you, but the probability of you living is quite low no matter how you spin it. I'm the only one who'll at least let you see a little of the universe first before it all goes dark."
“How charming, I bet you get all the women swooning over you with that type of talk,” She rested her head back against the side of the ship. She let her eyes close, steadying her breathing, “At least you’re more merciful then that other bounty hunter… probably best you got to me first.”
He smirked at that, glancing over at her before returning his attention to the cosmos. "Mm, I'm much more merciful than the others. Better looking, too. Most bounty hunters are ugly sons of bitches, so you're welcome for that too." He realized that his arm was still bleeding and sat up straight, twisting to see the wound. It wasn't deep but it was bleeding pretty heavily. Annoying, but nothing he couldn't handle.
She cracked an eye open with a small smile, shaking her head softly, "Probably more egoistical, as well." She paused for a moment, watching Kai access the wound, "Where do you keep your medical supplies? I'll patch it up for you as an extended thank you." She stood, dusting herself off.
He made a face, shaking his head. "Don't worry about that. I'll patch it up myself. It's not too bad." He stood and headed into the back of the ship, "You're welcome to follow of course, the ship's pretty small and all my weapons are locked away, so I'm not too concerned." He located his bottle of whiskey. "Want a drink?"
Astra crossed her arms over her chest, leaning into her hip as she raised a brow, "For one, you're still bleeding, at least let me put a bandage round it. And two, I'm not much of a drinker, so I'll pass on that offer." She'd never found alcohol very tasteful, opting more for juices and sweet drinks then liquor.
"Boo, boring," he laughed, pouring himself a drink and taking a quick sip. He rummaged around in the cabinet, pushing past empty bottles and other trash, to locate his first aid kit. "Can I offer you water then? I think I have water somewhere around here."
She waved her hands in the air, letting out an exasperated sigh as she plonked herself down in Kai's seat, swinging her legs over the arm of the chair as she did so, "Yes, yes I know, so I've been told by many. I'm okay for now, but thanks for the offer, I'm not thirsty."
He shrugged. "Suit yourself." He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the side. It was probably ruined. Balancing himself on the edge of the counter, he dumped rubbing alcohol into his wound and winced. It was deeper than he thought. He wasn't sure if he could stitch with one hand, but he sure as hell wasn't going to ask Astra for help.
Astra peaked over the side of the chair, her long hair falling behind her as she watched him silently for a moment before she spoke up, "You sure you don't need any help? Wouldn't be the first wound I've stitch up," She smirked, resting her metal hand behind her head, "It's no trouble, really."
Kai clamped his lips together, glancing at her and then back at the wound. He felt a little strange accepting help from anyone, but especially his captive. Finally he sighed, letting his lips relax into a smile. "I mean, if you really want to, go for it. I won't complain." He took another long sip of his whiskey.
Astra simply smiled in return to his glare, hopping up out of the chair to close the small space between the of them, "You can't stitch up a wound with one hand, Kai," She grabbed a needle and thread, "And your good hand seemed to be taken with the alcohol."
He found himself smiling at that, even though he wasn't sure why. He shifted so that his injury was closer to her, his eyes glued on his drink. "Quite nice of you to help the person who is going to turn you over to your enemies. Unusual, but nice."
She shrugged, making sure the thread was secure before she started on her stitching, "What can I say, I guess it's just.. who I am. I like helping people." She mumbled, her voice trailing off slightly as she focused on not messing up the stitches.
"Your servants certainly think so," he replied in a low voice, thinking back to their excitement when they saw her down in the serving quarters. "Where I come from, the rich and the poor don't really get along. Is your kindess a you thing, or is it cultural?"
Astra was quiet for a moment, "Cultural. However I've been told I'm nicer then some of my people," She sighed, "There's always going to be people who don't see the good in the world, it's up to the others who do to help them out a little. A little bit of kindness can go a long way, you know."
"Kindess doesn't work every time," he pointed out with a sardonic smile. "I mean, you're quite nice, but I'm marching you off to be killed. Plus, kindness doesn't solve problems."
"Kindness solves more then you'd think," She mumbled, glancing at him for a moment before back to the wound, tying off the thread, "Just because you've basically signed my death certificate, doesn't mean I can't do something nice after you saved my life."
"I can't afford to see the world like that, although it sounds nice," he replied, angling his head so he could see her face. Her unusually bright, multicolored eyes were focused on her little act of kindness. He envied her innocence, even though he knew better than to accept her worldview. "Does your father think the same? Because someone clearly has a grievance with either you or him."
She sighed, placing the extra thread and needle back into the medical kit, “He used to, and sometimes he still does. But he’s become too focus on growing our political power and trying to protect our people that he doesn’t care how he does so,” Astra shrugged, “Probably why they’ve put a hit on my head. If he lost his last child then well, I don’t think my people would be around for much longer.”
Kai inspected the stitches, impressed by her handiwork, and let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. "Interesting. You're his only child, huh? Any idea why someone would want to destabilize his kingdom?"
“His only living child, yes,” She crossed her arms over her chest, “Well for one we’ve got power, money, influence, military. If someone was to over throne the kingdom then it’s one less influential power this side of the universe. Makes it easy for a rebellion if there was to be one.”
Kai grimaced, downing the last shot of his whiskey. He supposed it made sense. Rebellions were the natural order of things. "No amount of niceness will stop a rebellion if it's on its way," he pointed out with a dry laugh. "I hope for your father's sake that it's not."
