Don't really got another choice, do I? To the mad doctor's place it is!

" I guess that's the only choice I got, yeah?", you say to Kate after pondering your options for a few moments, patting Chloe on the head gently to urge her to sit up so you can put your boxers back to rights and swing your legs down to the floor so you're sitting on the couch rather than lying down on it, "Guess I'll go see this geneticist. She got a name?"

"Yeah, it's Lenore. Doctor Lenore Jamison.", Kate says as she goes over to the table to pick up her handheld digital console, typing in a few things on the holo-display that is projected from it when she picks it up.

"She's human?", you ask curiously as the name is a Terran one and you had been expecting an alien scientist instead, if you were honest.

"Uh...mostly.", Kate replies and you glance over at her with an arched brow.

"What the fuck does that mean?", you say as you stand up from the couch and stretch, starting to move about to retrieve your clothing and gear.

"Well, she's a bio-engineer. You think she ain't gonna mod the shit outta herself to start with?", Kate replies and you give a rueful shake of your head.

"Wow. This chick is soundin' more and more reliable the more you say.", you remark sarcastically as you find slip on your flight suit and zip it up to the middle of your chest.

"Look, I never said she wasn't...quirky. She's a scientist who fuckin' likes to fuck with DNA to see what happens. It'd be weirder if she wasn't a little fucked up, right?", Kate retorts defensively, obviously not liking you questioning her judgement or taste in contacts, "Look, what I said stands. She's trustworthy and loyal so long as you keep her interest. That's all there is to it. So be your most interestin', asshole, okay?"

You finish buckling your belt and making sure your gear and weaponry is in place before slipping your synth-leather jacket onto your shoulders and looking over at Kate again. "Hey, c'mon. When ain't I interestin', sweetheart?"

Kate just sighs as she finishes whatever she'd been doing on her palm-held computer. As soon as she's finished, you hear a chime from your own hand held and look to it, seeing that Kate had just sent over pertinent info about this Dr. Jamison, including coordinates to her place. Which made you arch a brow all over again as you looked over at Kate with an incredulous expression.

"You gotta be shittin' me. This is the Dusk Quadrant. There's nothin' but space junk and haunted husks of ships out there.", you say and Kate shrugs.

"What can I say? The Doc likes her privacy.", she replies.

"...this crazy chick is on the run, ain't she?", you say tersely.

"Does it matter?"

"...not really. Still gotta go to her. Ain't got a choice.", you sigh, now doubly worried about things as you're now heading into a quadrant that's well-known to be a rather dark and seedy side of the galaxy to meet with a fugitive geneticist with who knows how many mods fucking up her personal DNA blueprint, "But if I end up with three dicks and a tentacle growin' outta my chest, I'm gonna be pissed."

"No, you're not. You'd fuckin' love that.", Kate replies with a snort.

"...yeah, you're right, I would.", you relent with a lopsided grin as you look to Chloe, "Now find somethin' I can put on the green nudist here that she might not strip off instantly so I can head out, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah.", Kate says as she walks to the couch, starting to move past you to get to Chloe but pausing as you grip her wrist and pull her close to press your lips to hers firmly to give her a deep, but all too brief kiss.

When your lips part, you smile and give her a wink. "And Kate? Thanks. For everythin', yeah?"

She tries not to look flushed and flustered by your sudden action, but she only partly succeeds as she turns from you with crimson coloring her cheeks. "W-whatever, Halloway. Not like you gave me much of a choice, right? You fuckin' pushy bastard.", she said and then gently took Chloe's hand and urged the Chlorophyte to follow her into the hallway that would lead to her bedroom so she could find something to wear for the plant girl.

You only grin to yourself, knowing Kate was never one for such shows of emotion or intimacy. She was the fuck 'em hard and fast and kick 'em out in the morning sorta girl. You could respect that, thinking that way most times yourself. But Kate had been a friend and a lover many times in the past so it wasn't inaccurate to say you cared about her. Not in a shack up and start a family sort of way (which you'd probably never feel for anybody if you had anything to say about it), but in a way that was about as close to that as you were likely to get. A deep affection, you suppose you would have to call it and, as well as you knew her, you figured she felt the same way about you, even if she would never show it.

You pushed aside such soft emotions as you finished dressing and headed out of Kate's cabin to head to your ship. You opened up the cargo ramp and moved into the ship to put the engine into standby so you could be ready to go as soon as Chloe was good to go. You plugged in the coordinates to the geneticist's place into your nav-computer and then headed back down into the cargo bay. By that time, Chloe and Kate were already heading into the ship and you paused to look the petite Chlorophyte over for a moment.

What she had been given to wear was little more than a simple, flowing sundress of pure white. It was long on Chloe, the billowy skirt falling down to her calves as it swished about her legs when she walked, but it looked good. It was a nice look on the innocent (in demeanor anyway) plant girl and she seemed to like it as she would pluck at her own skirt and swish the material this way and that as Kate led her into the cargo bay by the hand.

"Wow, lookin' good, Chloe. Very nice.", you say and then look to Kate with a quirked brow, "That's yours? Y'know, don't think I can imagine you wearin' a sundress...though I think I'd like to see it sometime. Especially since, with the differences in your and Chloe's size, that skirt would barely be at your knees and the dress would be tight in all the right places."

"The fuck you'll ever see me in a dress, Halloway.", Kate quipped with a smirk, "That's for special occasions, not for you, asshole."

"Oh like you don't want me to flip up your skirt and fuck you from behind one of these days...", you retort and, despite herself, her cheeks flush with arousal at the thought before she shakes it off.

"Fuck you, Halloway.", she says and then turns to Chloe, "All right, sweetie. You take care of yourself, okay? And don't let that asshole there get too comfortable gettin' his rocks off with you. Make him work for it sometimes, okay?"

"Okaaaay~!", Chloe cheers out, though both you and Kate can tell she doesn't fully understand what Kate meant by her words, and then she suddenly jumps at Kate and wraps her arms about her in a tight hug, "Goodbye, Kate! I had fun! I hope I see you again soon!"

Despite herself, Kate smiles in a warm way for Chloe and gives her a pat on the back as she returns the hug. "Sure, sweetie. We'll see each other again as long as you stick with that asshole there.", she replies.

"You know, if I didn't know you loved me so much, I'd get my feelings hurt from your harsh words, Kate.", you say as Kate and Chloe part and Kate gives you a mock glare.

"I love you like a suckin' gunshot wound in my chest, Halloway.", Kate says as she turns to head out, pausing at the ramp to look over her shoulder at you and add, "But you take care of yourself too, Derrick. The universe would be pretty fuckin' borin' if you weren't around dickin' around in it."

"I love you too, darlin'.", you say to her with mock-sweetness and she gives a scoffing sound before exiting the ship.

You then turn to Chloe and give her a smile. "All right, sweetheart, go on and strap in. We're headin' out right now."

"Yes, master!", Chloe replies cheerily and skips off in the direction of the cockpit as you close the ramp behind Kate.

You look out in that direction wistfully for a moment, smiling warmly now that you know Kate can't see you, and then nod to yourself. "You take care of yourself too, you cranky bitch.", you murmur with affection before heading off to the cockpit yourself to get the ship launched and heading for your destination.