Bounty on Jeraxi-9 (Reserved)

Bendi felt no remorse for her lying and trickery. Squatting down, she clasped a transportation cuff on his wrist from a pack Par carried. She did the same thing to her own wrist then beamed them back to her waiting ship. His cuff was programmed to go to one place, a cell with no actual doors. She reached through the bars and reclaimed the cuff and turned his face so that it was not pressed to the cold metal. She wasn't cruel.

After an hour passed he jerked awake, peering around his new accomidations with a groggy turn of his head. His mouth felt dry and his body rubbery but he forced himself to sit up anyway. "How rude..." He muttered as he systematically did a check on his body. All parts accounted for, no pain in any place beyond where he'd been stuck by the needle but that was to be expected. It was only then that he finally turned his gaze outside of the cage.

She was returning with a jug of water and a bowl with a dehydrated meal packet in it when he woke up. The coat, boots, and leggings had been shed once aboard the ship. Now she wore the bronze leotard that was close to the color of her skin. She squatted down, legs apart, to inspect her prisoner.

“Thirst? Hungry?” She asked him, not yet sliding through the supplies.

"I am." With a faint smile Ast glanced from the bowl and jug to her face. Briefly he couldn't help but take a peek at her outfit and the body that lay beneath the bronze leotard. He doubted that the position wasn't done on accident so he gave her another once over then focused on her face. "I must admit. That was cleverly done. My capture. Usually it's all brute force and a show of arms. Not many try for subtlety."

The flattery was lost on her. She set the bowl and the jug down and slid then through the slit at the bottom of the bars swiftly. She didn't like his roaming eyes.

“I like things to be clean. No need to break all those glass beakers and what not. Had I caught you on the outside, probably would have snatched you up without the theatrics.” She knelt then, tail swishing.

Taking the bowl and jug I placed them carefully in the corner. Settling cross legged he focused on her. "Clean got it. I can accomidate that. I'd offer a trade, cleanliness for some reading material or a tablet to play with. But you kind of hold all the cards here don't you. No doors on this cage, no way out except between the bars and that slot and even if I were to starve myself I simply am too bony to fit." It wasn't flattery he spoke of but facts. "If you had snatched me up without the theatrics it wouldn't nearly be so interesting. Less data to absorb. Such as what I now have of your family."

Bendi squinted at him. What data? She had used the name of her only companion, and a fake one for her father, coincidentally the name of the man who paid her previous bounty. “Observing me will do you no good.” She answered with a shrug of her glistening shoulders. Let him think what he wanted, it was inconsequential to her.

She got to her feet, her bare feet, and looked down at him. “Don't starve yourself.” She commanded in response to his earlier comment. “I doubt I have many books that would interest you, science isn't my thing. But I will bring you something.” She wasn't cruel after all, and boredom was a wicked thing.

"Observing you will do me much good." He countered with a smile. "Information is everything after all. But I would enjoy any book you have to share. Will get kind of boring to be locked alone in a cell." He glanced at his food and water for a moment, deciding he'd eat after she went off.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked down on him and her tail swished side to side but she made no more comment to his words.

“I will bring you some form of entertainment later along with dinner.” She informed him then left through the hallway away from the cell. There was no door to isolate him from the sounds of the ship, but should he start to holler, as some of her captives did, there were sound shields that would come down outside of the bars to block it.

That evening she returned with another meal ad a package, this time with Par trailing behind her. In the feline's mouth was the handle to the basket with books and a device for music. She did not always give such things to the prisoners, some of them were nasty and inclined to ruin whatever she provided.

By the time she had returned he was laying on his back staring at the bars of the cage above. In his head he and his A.I. were hard at work. He'd eaten his food, and had drank most of the jug. His empty bowl lay just out the slot she'd slid the food and jug into in the first place. "Welcome back." He called cheerfully without a glance her way.

Bendesha was pleased to see that he had not made a mess, though she did not think he was the sort who would. There had been times when she had to stun a prisoner so that she could go into the cell and clean up food splatters on the wall, or on occasion worse matter.

The scientist was polite, and she appreciated that. “I brought you dinner.” She told him, squatting down to slide the supplies into the cell and remove the dishes. Par mover behind her to inspect the new tenant.

"Oh! I hadn't expected you to actually do such a thing. Much nicer than the other hunters who have come for my head." He sat up quickly and settled with legs splayed out as he looked up at her from within the confines of his cage. His head tilted as he finally got a good look at Par, the dark lighting of Jeraxi 9 preventing him from seeing her before. "Ah and you brought a friend."

“Parvati.” Bendasha motioned to the feline who made a low sound in her chest watching the scientist with slatted eyes. Tail flicking, Bendi stood up. “Anything else that you wish for?” She asked him. “I make no promises of compliance.”

"Freedom? Safety? My backpack?". He ticked off on his fingers with a hopeful smile but not expecting to get anything.

Tail flicking slowly, she watched him with an unchanging expression of indifference. “You have safety. No harm will come to you within this cell unless you become obscene.” Par flopped to her side, curled around Bendasha. “Freedom is one thing I cannot offer you. But perhaps if you tell me what you desire to have within your backpack, and for what purpose, something could be arranged.” She sat back, folding her legs in a pretzel shape.

"Really? By my estimation if we continue on our present course we will be manuevering into an asteroid shower and that could cause harm to me, you, Par, and this ship. All bad things to be frank. However I trust your skills. I must. And from my backpack I would just ask you place the couple containers with blue tape around them someplace cold. I'd hate for medicine to spoil just because I was captured. Don't place the red taped vials in the cold though. That would be bad. Very, very bad." He offered as he observed the pair closely.

Bendasha shrugged. “Alright, I can do that.” She said but continued to watch him. “You might be pleased to know, I am not flying this ship, it is computer run. Any calculations you can do, it can do. There is no room for personal error.” She informed him, reaching out a hand to stroke Par behind her horns.

"Ah. A.I. wireless interfaced or simple hard wired computer? Or both?" He asked with an impressed nod. Slowly his gaze dropped to smile faintly at Par. "She really is a beauty. How'd you come to meet her?" Astarian asked while his A.I. clued in on the information Bendi gave.

Bendi turned her head toward par but watched her prisoner with a sideways glance. It was a mark of suspicion for her. She neglected to tell him more about the workings of her ship, it was hard wired, closed-circuit with a complicated security system. It had been the newest and the best of its category when she had stolen it, five years previously.

“We worked together.” She answered his question about Par simply. The giant cat laid her head on her knee and gave a soft purr from the rubbing.

"Ah must be nice to have a willing partner. I usually have one for a while and then they end up wanting to capitalize on the bounty by working with bounty hunters like yourself. I don't mind. Such is life, and I am used to it by now." Ast shrugged expressively.

It's a closed system Ast. I can't access anything remotely except for what is in your backpack. Perhaps if she plugged in your personal tablet I could access the system. And you can't craft anything to make it in. The ship is old enough the be outdated, but the security system is top notch still.

His attempt to win sympathy from Bendi was unsuccessful. “Sounds like you need to work on your relationship skills. A true friend is loyal, no matter the price on your head.” She shrugged and stood up. “I will do as you directed with the medicine.” She told him before walking from the hallway. Par stayed behind a while to watch him with the tip of her tail flicking.

"I am a scientist. A steady relationship is not something I felt was necessary to be studied." Once more he shrugged before looking to Par and smiling faintly. "Hello."

Par moved to a crouch, watching him much like she would if he was her prey. Not once ad Bendi ever let her have a prisoner to play with, but she still had hopes that one would make the girl angry enough to turn them over for a good mauling. She sniffed at the human, he was not likely to be the one. Too mild mannered.

A slow smirk spread across his face at the crouch and he cocked his head. His hand was offered close to the bars for the beastess to sniff at. "I wish I could offer you better company than being behind the bars. I know of a good tasting meat that your kind adores."

She stiffed him but did not move close enough for him to touch. After a few more minutes of observation, Par slinked off into the hallway to join her mistress.

The next day went much the same as the first. Bendi spent a few minutes each time she brought him a meal to speak with him. “You are awfully polite for someone in captivity. Usually my prisoners curse me out when I talk to them.” She told him when she brought him dinner.