Reach for the Stars! by ForgettableFox

Reach for the Stars!

A/N: Hello Readers! This is the second oneshot in an anothology series I am doing for a Trope Bingo! There will be a series of 12 oneshots, but I'll only post the Sess/Kag stories here on Dokuga! If you'd like to read the rest, you can find them on AO3 under my name - ForgettableFox! 

Let’s see how well I do writing a pirate space western!!

Here we go!

ENJOY!

Tropes: Space Western/Space Pirates/Lovable Rogue

&-------&

Flashing red lights. The sound of an alarm. The intercom kept going off. God, it was too early for this.

“Captain! You’re needed on the bridge!”

“For the love of all things holy, five more minutes…”

“Right fucking now! We have a situation!”

“Uggghhhh, alright, alright – I’m coming.”

 Groggily, Kagome sat on her bed, bare feet touching the chrome floor. The flashing red light, signaling to the crew that there was an emergency, acted as a needle to her retinas and she shouted, “Shippo, turn off the strobes, will ya?”

“No problem, Captain!” came the voice of the ships artificial intelligence, whom Kagome lovingly called ‘Shippo’.

The flashing lights stopped their pestering and her standard vitamin D producing bulbs turned on in its stead. Rubbing a hand down her face, she quickly pulled on the red pants and white blouse she had been wearing earlier. She donned her black duster and matching boots, before strapping her gun belt onto her hips. The Captain doublechecked that her blasters were in working order, before grabbing her laser-cutlass and affixing that to her hip as well. She gave herself a courtesy once over then marched out of her quarters, the door wheezing closed behind her.

“Shippo, what’s the status of the ship?” She strode through the corridors, making her way towards the bridge and, she assumed, the rest of her crew.

“All seems to be in order! Shields are at one-hundred percent, engines are at capacity, and hyper-drive is fully operational,” chirped the ship merrily.

 “Then why the heck did Miroku wake me!”

“Because – there’s a situation!” came Miroku’s voice over the intercom.

Kagome gave him the bird as she walked past a camera; he was obviously watching her as she travelled through the ship, and it served him right for waking her at this ungodly hour.

For all intents and purposes, the spaceship Tricky Kitsune was a farrier vessel, and its crew considered themselves appropriators. They were hired by whomever, to appropriate whatever – and they did so whether the recipient of said ‘whatever’ was forthcoming or not; with blasters and orbital autocannons if necessary.

And while the compact crew of three may not have seemed like much; they were a force to be reckoned with, and many a larger spacecraft attempted to steer clear of the happy appropriators. The exuberant crew was always friendly, and were just as likely to play cards with you as they were to steal your cargo; they did it all with broad grins, positive personalities, and sly hands.

No valuables were safe.

All threats were followed through.

And they always got their pay day.

Their lithe ship wasn’t particularly large, nor was it decked in heavy chromium plating or the latest tech, but that's what made the deceit all the more wonderful in the Captain’s eyes. No one expected a small farrier vessel to house a bomblet generator or incinerator-class plasma railrun. And by time the opposing spaceship realized that – no, the Tricky Kitsune wasn’t going to leave their vicinity and – yes, they were going to board their vessel….well – by that time their goods were already being stolen by pirates – ahem – appropriators, and a hasty getaway was well in order.

The door to the bridge glided open and Kagome took in the scene with experienced cerulean eyes.

Miroku, her pilot, was at the helm; black hair tied into a low ponytail at the nape of his neck and violet eyes alight with glee. He wore black trousers and shirt with a purple vest; his own blaster long-gun was attached to the wall at his right – well within easy reach in case shit really hit the fan here on the ship.

Sango, her business partner and resident badass, sat in her plush chair, feet thrown up on the navigaton console. She wore skintight black plasma armor with pink accents. Her armor went from her knee-high pink booted feet across the expanse of her body, and finished at her throat. Twin pistols rested on either hip and sniper rifle was leaned across her shoulder. She too looked ecstatic as she twirled her long tresses into a messy bun atop her head.

Everyone and everything was good and accounted for…so why the fuck had they woken her up so early.

Kagome glared as Miroku threw her leather cattleman hat at her face. She deftly caught it and placed it on her head with a flourish; fingers running across the wide brim as she adjusted it.

“So, what was so urgent that you needed to wake me up, in the middle of the freaking night, and drag my sorry ass up to the bridge?”

Miroku’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head when he said, “Take a look at the navigation screen!”

Warily, Kagome made her way to the panel, knocking Sango’s boots to the floor as she neared.

“Hey!”

“Hey, nothing – no boots allowed on the dashboard! Were you raised in a barn?”

“Well, yeah.”

Kagome snorted. “Of course you were….Holy shit, you can’t be serious.”

Miroku and Sango smiled with unrestrained delight.

“It’s the Bakusaiga…We - we found it.”

“See! I told you that you needed to be up here!” Miroku clapped her on the shoulder. “And here you doubted my sources!”

The two women shared a flat look. Miroku’s ‘sources’ only seemed to pan out one out of a hundred times. The other ninety-nine occurrences typically involved rapid fire gun shots, explosions, and a well-timed getaway. But today, Kagome couldn’t fault him at all, because they had been searching for the Bakusaiga and its rare cargo for weeks now.

You see, the Bakusaiga was a heavy-war cruiser piloted by a race of aliens called Inudaiyoukai. The Inudaiyoukai were nearly supernatural in their own right, and were an attractive mixture of human and canine. They boasted extraordinary speed, agility, and senses – and some even had adorable dog ears atop their heads – although, no one lived long enough to tell them so. Because while other races had found some semblance of peace within the galaxy, the Inudaiyoukai had done nothing but travel from planet to planet, warmongering and hoarding precious resources.

They were relentless.

Allegedly, the cause of their power was a tiny jewel which they held onto with power-hungry fists clenched tight, The Shikon no Tama. Rumor had it, that whoever possessed the jewel had the ability to have all their wishes granted. And while Kagome had rolled her eyes at the tale, she couldn’t stop herself from daydreaming of how different their lives would be if all their wishes could come true...The Trickey Kitsune would have bigger blasters and sturdier shields, that’s for damn sure.

And that itsy bitsy jewel, that wish-granting jewel, was what she and her crew had been hired to appropriate.

“Have they spotted us yet?” asked Kagome, concern lacing her voice.

“Would be chatting so casually if they had?” said Sango.

A sheepish grin, “Good point.”

Miroku returned to his seat and began flipping switches and pressing buttons on his control dash. “I activated the Quantum Stealth Barrier as soon as they blipped on my radar. Lowering heat signature frequencies – now and – we are officially in stealth mode, ladies.” He gave Sango a wink and she rolled her eyes.

“Shippo, how long do have until they realize we’re not a piece of space debris on their radar?”

“Approximately fifteen minutes until I pop on their radar, but if drop the engines to half power, we can up that number to forty-two!” crowed the A.I. and Kagome could practically see in her mind’s eye the grin which accompanied the happy tone.

“Let’s go with option B, Shippo! Alright team – no different than usual. We attach ourselves to their cargo bulkhead and Sango and I slip inside. Hopefully those blueprints and guard rotation schedule your contact gave us are accurate – or else we are gonna have a rough go of it. Miroku, I need you to be ready to detach and book it as soon as we’re back. I have a feeling they’re not gonna make it easy.”

The pilot gave a lopsided salute. “You got it, Boss.”

“Sango, you ready?”

“Just a second.”

With familiar fingers, Sango opened a panel beneath the dashboard; from there, she removed a litany of weapons, each more deadly than the last. A laser knife was put into each boot. A third pistol joined the two already on her hip, this one attached to her holster’s belt buckle.  A bandelier of plasma grenades was slung across her shoulders.

“You’ve been keeping fucking grenades on the bridge?! Sango! We have an armory for that!”

“It’s for emergencies!”

Her trusty sniper rifle with extended scope and heavy-duty armor piercing rounds was strapped to her back. She reached behind another panel on the other side of the bridge, and pulled out a second bandelier – this one full of smoke grenades and flash bombs, two sets of throwing knives, a pulse laser wrist cannon, and a protein bar. The last she monched happily as the others gaped at her weapon laden body. With skintight armor and enough armaments to incapacitate a small army, she looked like a deadly vixen.

Sango shrugged unaware of why they were staring. “What? I was hungry. Never a good idea to pilfer on an empty stomach.”

“Have enough weapons?”

“You won’t be complaining when we’re attacked by aliens and I’m the only thing standing between you and being expelled from an air lock.”

“I have never been more turned on in my life,” said Miroku, reaching twitching fingers for her backside.

The sound of a wrist cannon charging cut through the air and MIroku paled as his hands found his pockets instead.

“If you two are done flirting, I’d like to get going,” said the Captain, strapping a laser-cutlass beneath her gun holster and rolling the map Miroku provided into her pocket. “Miroku, dock us to the Bakusaiga!”

“Aye, aye, Captain!”

~ooOoo~

“Captain Inuyasha, what’s that on the radar?”

“Just looks like a piece of space debris, ain’t nothin’ to worry about, Lord Sesshomaru.”

Cold citrine eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Hn.”

~ooOoo~

“Wow, I can’t believe Miroku’s intel was good for a change. This has been almost too – ”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” said Kagome, eyes glued to the map. “Looks like we just need to turn left up ahead, and then another right, and we’ll be golden!”

The two women crept through the ship’s passageways as quietly as two pirates, bolstered down with weapons and avoiding guards, could manage. They slid against walls, lurched into doorways, and peeked around corners – all to find that that the path to the Shikon no Tama was suspiciously clear. Their destination was a massive double-door outlined in strange glyphs. As they neared, it glided open with a hydraulic hiss.

Drawing their pistols, the two pirates prepared to enter.

“On my count,” whispered the Captain. “One – Two – Three!”

They ran into the room, guns drawn, duster flapping, eyes searching for any enemies who might stand in the way of their treasure.

Only to be met by a stately room that looked more forest manor than spaceship.

The flooring was made of actual hardwood, a rarity for a spaceship – which had Kagome contemplating the number of boards she could pry loose before they were caught – and the furnishings were lavish and comfortable looking. Everything was in earthen tones, moss green, harvest gold, and birch white, and the women couldn’t help the shocked awe as they traversed around the room. Twitching fingers touched every surface, testing to see what was held down by bolts and what could be easily thieved.

They explored the area. A gorgeous bathroom with massive sunken tub. A dining area with hand-carved wooden table and chairs. A master suite with luxurious silk and furs. A study lined with books and scrolls and relics that made the pirates’ mouth water. Oh – if only they had more time!

“Is that made of beryllium?!”

“Put it in your pocket, quick!”

It wasn’t until they were standing outside the only door that wouldn’t open, an average chrome affair down a side hall, that the situation got a bit worrisome.

The sound of dual pistols charging had them both whirling to the entranceway, guns drawn and at the ready.

“Well, well, well – looks like we have a couple of stowaways on my ship.”

The alien wore a necklace made of bead and bone, a fiery red silk shirt with long billowing sleeves, and tight-fitting black trousers. Long silver bangs framed his face while the rest of his gorgeous mane was tied into a thick ponytail. Two adorable dog ears were nestled at the crown of his head and they flicked to track the pirates as they shifted anxiously. Warm amber colored eyes, elongated fangs, and deadly looking claws completed his ensemble. And the women nearly swooned when he gave them a fang-filled half-smirk as they assessed him, and he vice versa.

He had a pistol in either hand, a blaster casing for each woman.

“Drop your weapons and reach for the stars!” yelled Kagome. “You’re outmatched!” She nodded to the four guns trained on the newcomer.

His smile grew. “Feh, it ain’t me you gotta worry about.”

There was a flash of movement, and before Sango could shout for Kagome to duck, the Captain found herself locked in a tight embrace. Her back was to her assailant’s chest, one arm banded around her waist, the other was held aloft – large, callused hand around her throat. She felt something soft and fluffy press against her neck and side, but she had no idea what it could be.

Kagome kept one gun trained on the alien in the doorway, the other pointed up to her captor’s face. Sango had a gun aimed at each assailant. While the red-clad alien trained both of his guns on Sango. The Inudaiyoukai behind Kagome tightened his hold around her neck – and if it weren’t for the precarious position they found themselves in, she may have been turned on.

Stalemate.

‘Precarious’ was referring to the guns and the aliens, not the compromising position of a strong male wrapped around her – that, she was completely alright with under better circumstances. She swallowed thickly and felt the hand shift with the action. Two magenta stripes snaked around his wrist and Kagome found herself curious to see where they led.

The male cleared his throat. “Human, the scent of your arousal is – distracting,” he said with purr.

“You can smell that?”

“Ew, you’re turned on by him?” Sango scrunched her face.

“I haven’t seen his face yet, something we’d go for?”

Sango’s brow furrowed. “Meh, if you’re into stoic Greek God of Old, with chiseled jaw, and flare for the exotic – then hard maybe.”

‘Sango’s not into that? What is wrong with her?’

Kagome tightened her grip on her guns, she was definitely into that. Claws prickled into her skin and she wondered how tough it would be to convince him to tighten his hold just a wee bit.

“Tell me, why are you on my ship?” whispered the male into her ear; his rich baritone made Kagome shiver and go weak in the knees – she immediately wanted to surrender to him in all ways.

She resisted the temptation with herculean effort and instead, posed her own question.

“Aren’t you worried that I’m going to shoot you in the face? I’m a lovable scamp and a terrible shot. The odds of my finger slipping are disgustingly high,” she said cheerfully to mask her discomfort.

“It’s true,” said Sango sadly. “I, on the other hand, am an amazing shot.”

And with that, she threw her two pistols in the air; they spun as they ascended and Kagome watched as the Inudaiyoukai in the entranceway followed their spin, and felt the male behind her lift his chin in observation as well. While they were distracted, Sango’s already charged plasma wrist cannon, shot out three times in quick succession, and the blasts rang loud within the confinements of the corridor. The first two hit the pistols aimed at her and the third hit the red-clad alien square in the chest, knocking him backward with a grunt, before he hit the ground like a sack of space rocks. Unconscious.

Sango caught the guns in midair and aimed them at the final foe with a haughty smirk.

The alien was unimpressed. “Pathetic.” 

Kagome couldn’t believe her eyes. The hand around her throat disappeared and from it, a whip made of light materialized. It snaked out to catch both of Sango’s wrists and yanked, causing her to drop her guns to the floor. They skittered across the wood, bouncing off the walls far out of her reach. Then, in what Kagome could only call an act of ‘magic’, because there was no better way to describe it, acid green balls of energy manifested and orbited around her friend. There was an detonation, and the corridor became a chaotic blitz of green light and sound and fumes.

“Sango!” Kagome lurched forward and the arm around her dropped away. The Inudaiyoukai snarled as he retreated – senses frazzled. Kagome moved as quickly as she could to her friend.

“Sango!” She coughed as she ran her hands over the pirate’s prone form, guns holstered. Her ears rang and tiny stars did a chaotic dance in her line of sight.

“Arrrrggggg.”

“Are you ok?” There was no blood as far as the Captain could tell, but the explosion had been massive. Her friend couldn’t have come out of it unscathed.

Sango blinked up at Kagome owlishly. “He...he missed.”

“How the fuck did he miss?! I saw the explosion!”

“I activated my flash bombs and smoke grenades with my elbows.” She grinned up woozily. “Now hurry and get me up before he comes back.”

The Captain helped her friend up on shaky legs and the two turned to the unopenable door.

“Plasma Grenades?”

“Yup.”

Sango set up the remaining explosives beside the door, picked up her dusty pistols, and rushed back to Kagome who was hogtying the unconscious alien with a rope she kept inside her duster. Once the task was complete, the Captain removed her cattleman’s hat and tucked it under her arm so it wouldn’t blow away in the blast. Sango lined the grenades up in the sights of sniper rifle and BOOM! - the door blew off its hinges in a crumpled mass. Kagome’s duster billowed in the wind and as she reaffixed her hat with a grin.

Kagome drew her cutlass and swished it through the air with aplomb. “Onward!”

“Aye, aye, Captain!” cheered Sango.

The two pirates marched down the hall, side stepping the debris, and peeked into the newly opened room.

It – wasn't what they expected.

Where they had assumed it would be a highly guarded treasure trove of rare artifacts, gold, and the sacred jewel...

It was a hospital ward dedicated to a lone occupant – a young female Inudaiyoukai.

Equipment and monitors beeped and whirled throughout the space and she looked as if she were asleep. The two pirates cautiously crept toward the bed, sheathing their weapons as they neared. The female had a blue crescent moon on her forehead beneath disheveled bangs; adorable brown puppy ears affixed atop a head covered in unruly mahogany hair. A tiny fang peeked out from between rosy lips. She looked nearly angelic as she slept, her breathing deep and even.

“What do you think is wrong with her?” whispered Sango.

“I dunno...but it looks serious if all these machines are anything to go by.”

Sango pulled the map out of Kagome’s pocket and unfurled it. “The jewel should be right here. It’s clearly marked ‘The Treasure Room.’ Where else would they keep it? Fucking Miroku, I swear to God if he fucked this up for us –”

“You’ve found what you’ve been searching for,” said a steely voice from the blasted doorway.

Guns were redrawn and aimed at the intruder. He was unperturbed by their aggression and joined them on the opposite side of the bed. His voice – he was the Inudaiyoukai who had Kagome in his clutches, and she peered at him from beneath her broad-brimmed hat. He was handsome, in an Aristocratic Assassin sort of way. Cold citrine eyes, thin lips, pale skin. He had two identical magenta stripes which slashed across each cheek that matched those she had seen on his wrist, and a blue crescent moon anointed his forehead – much the same as the sleeping girls’. His hair was long and silver and on his right shoulder was a fluffy white pelt that trailed into a tail behind him.

‘Ah, so that’s what was so soft,’ thought the Captain.

“I don’t understand,” said Sango, warily pointing her sniper rifle at the alien.

He tipped his head toward the sleeping female. “My daughter, my jewel - Rin. Also known as The Shikon no Tama to our people. She was granted the title because she is the only one of our kind with the power of omniscience. But this ability comes with a terrible price – an illness which destroys her body from the inside out.”

The two women’s eyes went wide with understanding.

‘The jewel was never a real object – it was this girl all along and she is all knowing – no wonder people thought she was magical.’

“I have been searching for a cure for her disease, but no planet has what I am looking for.”

“And what, pray tell, would that be?”

“Astatine.”

“That’s the rarest element in the universe.” Kagome's brows rose and her lip quirked. Sango elbowed her in the side.

Citrine eyes narrowed. “It is. But with it, we would be able to create the radiation therapy she would need to survive.”

“You’d have to be quick – once out of containment it only has an eight-hour half-life.”

“Indeed, my people are prepared to move forward as soon as the element is within our grasp.”

Kagome holstered her pistols. “Sounds like it would mean a lot to you to have it.”

“More than anything. She is my jewel – the most precious thing to me in all the universe.”

The Captain grinned, “How does a date sound?”

“Excuse me?”

“Kagome!!”

“A date – dinner, movie, what have you. With me. For astatine.”

“Kagome no – we worked so hard!” groaned Sango. “It’s supposed to be the biggest pay day we’ve had to date!”

Kagome ignored her business partner and kept her eyes glued to the alien before her. He considered her, eyes hungrily devouring her form as she smiled unselfconsciously at his perusal.

“I am Lord and Alpha of the Inudaiyoukai and have conquered dozens of planets to complete my quest. And you are asking me on a date?”

“For astatine – yup, you got it!”

He ran a clawed hand down his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. Then he threw his head back and laughed. It was a dark chuckle that did something wonderful to Kagome’s insides, the sound sultry and dangerous. And she decided, in that moment, that she wanted to put that sound on a recording so she could hear it whenever she needed a thrill.

“Consider it a deal, human.”

“Great!” She tapped on her wrist communicator and raised it to her mouth.

“Hi Captain Kagome! What can I do for you?”

“Hey Shippo, patch me through to Miroku – subset identifier code – R-1-3-K-1-K-1-7-5-U-N-3.”

“Identity confirmed! One sec!”

Kagome winked at the alien as she adjusted her hat and whispered for Sango to put away her gun. Her friend did so, albeit begrudgingly.

“Captain! Thank God! I was starting to worry! We have about five minutes until the Tricky Kitsune comes on their radar – I'm ready to go whenever you are.”

“Mmhmm, okay great. Here’s what I need you to do – I need you to open the doors to the cargo bay and -” She looked to the alien and asked, “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name?”

He smirked, “Sesshomaru - Lord Sesshomaru.”

“Oh, that’s lovely, very masculine –" She raised the comm back to her mouth, “Miroku - open the hatch for Lord Sesshomaru’s people, show them where the astatine is. Make sure they take the entire shipment – including the hidden cargo behind the delta panel.”

“But Captain!”

“That’s an order!”

Miroku’s heavy sigh came through the console as he said, “You got it, Boss.” The connection cut off.

Sango thumbed tears from her eyes, “All that money, gone, down the drain, so you can get laid!”

The Captain huffed, “There’s no prostitution going on here – no exchange of goods for services. We are giving this wonderful father what he’s been questing for so he stops warmongering against the universe! Really, if you think about it, we’re heroes!” She patted her friend endearingly on the shoulder. “And if he finds it in the goodness of his heart to sleep with me…Well, no complaints here!” She laughed.

There was a blur of motion and Kagome was whisked into Sesshomaru’s arms, he dipped her low. With long fingers, he tilted her hat back and raised her chin; and she watched with the utmost fascination as his lips slowly lowered to hers. The action was slow, deliberate, giving her enough time to retreat if she wanted to...

Her lips met his halfway.

There was an electric spark between them – a charged current of ionized particles that raised the fine hairs on the back of her neck. The kiss was forked lightening and stars collapsing and cosmic radiation all wrapped up into the single act of lips touching lips. They were binary stars, orbiting one another endlessly as they were caught in each other’s gravitational pull. His lips lingered against hers and a smattering of gooseflesh raised along her arms. It left her hungry for more.

And when he pulled back to murmur a grateful, “Thank you, Captain Kagome,” with heated eyes – she couldn’t do anything but grin foolishly and tip her hat in welcome.

~ooOoo~

A/N: This was so much fun to write! I had an absolute blast with this prompt and I hope you enjoyed it as well! Next prompt is:: Cyborg//Cyberpunk!!! More sci-fi! I am so stoked. This story is Inuyasha based so you can find it on AO3 if you're interested! It's written as a Detective Noir-style Crime Drama!

Thank you for reading!!!

<3FF