There was little in the known universe that could elicit such euphoria as the roar of a drive or the rumble of a well-tuned engine in the heart of a racer, especially one with such love for the sport as Lixistruzsias. Too long… it had been far too long since the No Safety Measures growled and purred and grumbled and – oh did she purr. The parts they'd snagged from the Last Stop Staryard, though few and small, had made a world of a difference in the sleek ship's performance.

Lix sighed in relief as she straddled the motor bike style pilot's seat, her claws caressing the controls with nearly as much care and sensuous need as if her Human were in her clutches. The sticks weren't nearly as bulky as the Gerthtrude's ungainly control sphere, no, these were sleek and compact. Perfect for the breakneck maneuvers and eye watering turns she would demand of her craft.

It felt like returning to an old friend, one who wrapped her in a warm hug and enveloped her in lovi-

"Come on, work for me ya greasy fat deposit! Fuckin' actin' like ya momma was a space heater, fuckin' rusted- ahhhh there we go!" Jack's harsh voice, tinny from implants and surgical repair, tore Lix from her reverie as the man blasted his displeasure over some system or another through the comms panel. Currently the sweaty and overworked mechanic was sequestered in the control room of his garage, remotely activating and deactivating various bits and bobs as his scaly lady observed readouts to report back.

That is… if he would ever let her get a word in edge wise.

"Oh, you wrinkly neck shit-wad, lookin' like a used tissue paper. Got a head shaped like a peanut- I don't rightly give two flyin' rat's asses if there's non-company parts installed!" Finally, as if the stars were tired of the man's griping, the alarms and warranty void warnings vanished one by one under a series of overrides. Lix grinned, toothy and predatory, as her readouts began to sink cooler and cooler and cooler, even as the No Safety Measures idled hard. It was like the sleek racer was running on liquid ice, her lines as cool as the void she flew through. Well… perhaps not that cold, but still. She'd never been able to get this kind of performance out of the old girl on her own… "An' with the repaired fuel lines an' cleaned up manifolds, ya fuel gonna be runnin' niiiice. I've got clean readin's down here. No Safety Measures be cleared to race!"

Music to Lix's ears… With a sigh that let slip so much weight off her shoulders, the Kux'lar leaned until she could rest a scaly cheek on the control panel, her tail gently undulating as happy tears threatened to build behind her eyelids. Maybe it would have seemed dramatic to someone else, but this was her ship. She was a racer, and not just any racer, a 'Roid Racer. The No Safety Measures was as much a part of her as her tail and teeth. Jack had improved an intrinsic part of her. Of course, she couldn't be seen as uncool, she had a reputation to uphold. With a happy trill, Lix flicked levers and switches until the smooth, dulcet tones of her vessel's engine bay began to gradually die down. This was special, something she'd remember until her scales were gray, and she wanted to dedicate the moment to memory as she slung her leg off the pilot's seat to slowly walk the compact hall to the airlock. Claws gently ran along the hull as she let her paw linger with every step, as if she was tracing Jack's chest as he slept beneath her.

Said Human was waiting for her on the Stripped Bolt's garage floor, for once not floating in zero-g, to catch the raptor as she dropped from the open airlock. Arms wrapped around his neck in an inescapable hold, her rear legs hiked over one of his mechanical arms as the other cupped her thin shoulders. It was perfect… the perfect place to gently press her muzzle to his neck and nibble and inhale his scent.

He smelt of oil and sweat and hard work. He smelt like Jack.

"I guess ya like it?"

"Jack I…" Words failed her. No one had ever put this much care into the No Safety before. It made her heart swell and her lungs clench. Instincts swirled in her head like a whirlpool as all thought left the Kux'lar, her maw opening to… well… To Jack it sounded like a klaxon alarm mixed with an oscillating whistle. Only about loud enough to blow his eardrums out of his head. So loud and sudden was Lix's strange 'song', the trilling notes bouncing off the garage walls like pinballs in a tilting machine, that he nearly dropped her.

"What the fuc- ow! What in the stars was that racket?"

"Hey! That's a mating song, you ass!"

"It sounds like a hull breach!"

"Oh just-" Fangs closed on flesh as a nip silenced the man, his throat closing in a restrained chuckled. "Shuddup and let me sing to you…" Slowly, and much more quietly, Lix began once more. Her already melodic voice was no longer loud enough to wake the dead, but just enough to carry across the garage. Projecting in a way Jack didn't know she could, the Kux'lar let her song warble and bounce pleasantly through the air, creating a gentle blanket that filled his ears and lulled away his worries.

Now this was a mating song…

It was one that pulled his eyelids shut so gently that he didn't even try to fight it, letting his boots wander to a nearby crate to pop a squat. Lix happily curled up in her Human's lap, her tail curling to wrap around his back as she laid her head in the crook of his neck. The sensation of alloy cables in his throat absently prodded at the back of her mind but were quickly dashed. She didn't care… didn't care that Jack was probably more machine than most men…

It was his fool, dumb, dense heart that she loved…

Besides, if his looks were in the equation then she could do better than a guy who appeared to have dove headfirst into a rock grinder.

"I love you." Lix paused her song to enjoy watching the blush quickly zip across the man's face, his eyes quickly blinking in surprise. It was her new favorite pass time, flustering her mate. The man was always so cocky, so sure, so… in control. Lix relished how easily affection and sincere words of warmth so quickly put the mechanic on a back foot. Maybe it was partly revenge but who was around to care? It made her feel good, and he never told her to stop.

"L-Love ya too." He grumbled through grit teeth, frustrated at how easily she got under his skin.

"We'll work on it, lover boy."

The duo would have stayed that way for the better part of the cycle, simply enjoying each other's warmth, if it weren't for an interruption that was becoming more and more common in their lives: the arrival of Skrunkles. The little Hux came skidding into the garage from… somewhere… somewhere that wasn't the front door, Jack noted, his little chest heaving with the effort of a long sprint.

"Luh- hoo- Locks doors! Turns offs lights! Be quiet!" Lix growled at the little rat for getting in the way of cuddle time but didn't stop Jack as he relayed the worried commands to his garage AI. The singular entrance locked with a clunk as the overhead lights died, replaced with dull red running lights that all station habs were required to have. Relieved, Mo'Ona ducked between Jack's boots to shiver and gaze out at the distant entrance hidden behind the hull of the garage itself.

"What," Jack began, glaring down at his new passenger. "Ya get caught swiping a purse?"

"Worse… much worses…" Mo'Ona… well… never let it be said that he wasn't scared of his own shadow, but this was a different shiver to what Jack was used to. This was like prey already caught and begging for mercy. "There's someones coming to the doors!"

"What? What are you babblin' about?" Jack hissed, irritation coloring his tone as the little bastard continued to dance around the subject.

"A lawyer! Froms dat uh… whats they called… the company the Keelhaulers came froms…"

"Arington?" Lix provided, tilting her head as Mo'Ona nodded fiercely. "What could they want? A… statement or somethi-"

"Fuck." Jack rose, taking Lix and Mo'Ona both with him. With a heave, he tossed his amore the short distance up to her airlock. Yelping in both indignation and surprise, the racer clung to the rounded edge for just a moment before pulling herself inside. "Get out into the flinger queue, we're leavin' early!"

"Yes yes, we needs to be not here! Lawyers can't serve papers to peoples nots heres!" Skrunkles crawled his way up Jack's back to perch between the man's shoulders, using his tail to swipe up the few bugs that crawled on his sleeveless shirt and return them to his own fur.

"Jack? Jack! What the fuck?" Lix decided her day was turning to garbage. What had started out great with her ship getting fixed and snuggles with her Human was rapidly deteriorating into chaos and by the stars she wasn't going to let Jack keep her in the dark again. "Gimme a uh, sit rep!"

"If'n Arington sent a lawyer it can't be for anything good. Prolly wanted to sue those fuckers what mutinied on 'em, or maybe let their enforcement teams at 'em for experience and to prove to investors that they ain't just sittin' around." Still carrying his rodent parasite, Jack slipped back into the control room to lock down his garage, a pressure warning blaring across the many screens that littered the room. Outside, Lix felt the thump of control arms grab her ship and begin the arduous task of maneuvering the sleek ship into the singular airlock dock the Stripped Bolt had. "I ain't gonna let 'em use me as a scapegoat instead. Even if they wanna use my shop as leverage they gotta get through proper channels and Koorka Station ain't got proper channels. Aight, Skrunks, stay on my back. Ya get too far an' I got active turrets that'll put more holes in ya than my relationship record, I gotta add ya to the shop's friend list." Mo'Ona, wisely, stayed put until the man nodded.

"Geehee… now Skrunkles can comes and goes as pleases!" With a self-satisfied huff, the little rat leaped to the ground to take a running start at the wall. Revulsion twisted in Jack's gut as the Hux crawled up the bulkhead like a roach, his tiny body twisting and turning to slip between a set of power conduits that ran deep into a bolted receptacle in the wall. Of course, any sane person would ardently ignore the pops and crackles that cracked from his bones like gunshots. "Sees yous in orbit! Gonna go gets the Spitfire! Ohhhh, so exciteds!" The last thing to vanish was Mo'Ona's whip like tail, a nearly pin head sized bug leaping cling to its mobile home before he… slurped into the wall.

"Fuckin' dish rag critter… Lix, I'll buy y'all time. Ain't no way that lawyer gonna play fair so we need to get gone."

"Buy us time how, exactly?" Lix wasn't one for his schemes and games, not after all the crap he'd pulled prior to their trip to the Last Stop Staryard. No, it was time to tighten the leash. "Details."

"Just talking, scaly lady! Prooomise!" The sleazy tone he adopted didn't help his matters, he could practically feel Lix's glare through the bulkheads. "I'll hit 'em with my patented asshole attitude an' roguish charms. A real double whammy."

"Like that'll work…" Had the Kux'lar rolled her eyes any harder, she'd have needed to replace them with implants. "You have thirty minutes and you better be in the Gerthtrude. No compromises and no Jack games, you hear me?"

"Worked on you."

"Yeah, well- I mean… r-right. Keep me updated, monkey!"

Saluting to no one, Jack exited his control room only moments before the comms implant in his ear alerted him to a guest at his front door. Sure enough, a quick glance at the camera feed revealed a sharply dressed… well… Jack had no idea actually. A quick scan and net search returned with a species name that simply read Wistar.

"Tripedal, thin body structure, curved back, wiry arms, huh… face looks almost avian… native to the planet Wis… funny lookin' dude." Jack eyed the five-foot creature on his camera feed warily. It looked… like a three-legged bird with no feathers and mottled gray skin, only instead of a beak his guest sported a long-curved muzzle, almost like a pseudo-trunk.

The… Wistar apparently, perked when Jack opened his door, the beady eyes set deep into his angular face narrowing when the infamous mechanic stepped out to firmly shut the door behind himself. Crossing his arms, Jack simply… stared. His unwanted guest bore a fitted suit around his torso and strange three-legged pants that ended quite abruptly in sharp legs that boasted two wicked claws each. Behind him, a long tail undulated as if underwater. His voice, too, sounded distant and… moist, was the best guess Jack could place at the moment.

"Mister Geoffery, glad to make your acquaintance. I am S'Vark K'Tula." A bony, four fingered hand stretched out in offering, the Wistar's lower eyelids raising in a mouthless smile. Did… did he have a mouth hidden behind that tiny trunk? "I represent Arington Shipping Co. and I would very much enjoy a moment of your time."

"I don't like lawyers, uh… Kutla."

"K'Tula, and most don't, I assure you." The ignored hand rose to wave away Jack's dismissal, K'Tula chuckling deep in his gullet. It was as if a clogged pipe was gurgling an air pocket. "Now, if your reputation is anything to go by, wasting your time would be bad for my health. Shall we continue this conversation inside or out here in the hall?" Jack's eyes were drawn to that undulating tail once more, the handle of a sealed briefcase wrapped tightly near the center point. Though K'Tula's words were honey and smooth, Jack knew better. This was as good a fight as if he had gone down to the Vents to duke it out with a drugged-up psycho.

"The smoke up my ass treatment ai'n't good for ya health either. Ya can tell me why ya here." No mercy, no leeway, no cooperation. Jack's tone was as cold as ice and sharp as a knife. Tiny whirrs and nearly imperceptible twitches in his mechanical eyes wrinkled the skin at the edges of his eyelids, his mouth tightening into a line…

"You know, sir, that scanning someone without consent is agai-"

"Ya be on Koorka… friend…" The easy smile stayed plastered to K'Tula's face even under the mechanic's glare, nor did he lean away when Jack uncrossed his arms. "An' I'm sure ya know my track record with corporate requests."

"But of course, Arington does its homework after all. We're simply looking for a mutual business solution to lost profits."

"Lost… profits?" A complete lack of care drew his face into a frown.

"Why yes, we stood to gain much by confiscating our stolen property and taking appropriate action against delinquent employees. Unfortunately, said employees and property are now dead and stolen, respectively. All we're trying to reasonably ask is a little assistance in return for… well…" Air swished as the Wistar swiveled his tail around to fiddle with his briefcase, popping open the several locks to pull free a datapad. "In return for pardon and erasure of the following pending charges; conspiracy against a council aligned corporation, destruction of corporate property, grand larceny, organizing and abetting criminal elem-"

"By the stars," Jack interrupted, breathing deeply through his nose. "I'm gonna add murder of a corporate official if ya keep garglin' in my ear. So," With speed the Wistar had trouble following, Jack set his hand comfortably on the creature's covered shoulder. "Ya feckless lil' taint booger. Relay my sincerest fuck you's to Arington."

"Feckless… taint… booger." K'Tula didn't seem bothered in the slightest that his thin frame, and most likely fragile life, was currently within grabbing distance of a man with mechanical arms. "Annnnnd done. You are sure this is what you want?"

"Look, cutlery... I ain't above killin' the messenger."

"Of course! Your reputation proceeds you. In fact, I'm quite positive your reply is precisely what my employer wished to hear! Thank you for your time, and remember, Arington Shipping Co. is here for all your shipping needs! We'll be in touch."

Nothing more needed to be said. The lawyer nodded, brushed off his shoulder after he was released… and then left. Jack, however, knew better. The moment he stepped back into the Stripped Bolt his feet were on the move. He hadn't remembered the last time he'd donned his EVA suit so quickly. It took the man less than ten minutes to lock down his beloved garage and take to the very same airlock that Lix had used to leave. Only once he was outside in the familiar weightless grasp of the void was he confident enough to ping Lix.

"Time ta go, scaly lady. We'll be gettin' swarmed by corporate kill teams in less than an hour if'n we stay." He chanced one last look at the distant sleek arrow that was the No Safety Measures as he floated towards the Gerthtrude. It was good to see the light of stars reflect off her hull again.

"Well…" Lix bit her lip, careful to not let one of her many sharp fangs pierce the scales… "I guess we were leaving anyway! Meet you soon lover boy, I wanna slide my ship niiiice and snug inside ya." Lix chuckled at the groan that flittered across the comms, flicking the screen away as she straddled the No Safety's pilot seat proper. The leave was sudden, too sudden, but it was probably for the best. She could get another bowl of noodles when she came back with a race under her suit! Yes, victory noodles would be perfect. The spiraling floating vessel righted itself as its pilot took her time flicking switches and breathing in the rumble of drive bells, angling her nose towards the Gerthtrude while she waited.

It felt good to be back in the saddle again.

However, the time for mindlessly enjoying the scenery was long since passed. All the fighting and adventure and intrigue had to have an end eventually.

"So Jack, you know anything about this planet we're headed to?" Lix eyed the Gerthtrude, fat and stalwart, parked just next to the Stripped Bolt's exit against the station's outer hull. "I've never been planet side…" A tiny black dot crawled across the hauler's hull, Jack on his way to the airlock…

"Uh… planet be called Yulpa, or the sexy nickname science folk used, Alpha-Zulu-Romeo Seven-Seven-Two-Eight-Three. I ain't know anything about it."

"Well," Lix mused as she waited for her Human to make the quick jaunt to his ship's bridge. "Big ol' thing. A rocky planet fourth from her star, tons and tons of rings. Explains why she's the next race venue… dense forests and big oceans… dangerous wildlife… oh, choking fog. How quaint." Her smile, genuine and pleased, gazed at her utility panel that bore the visage of Yulpa and its many massive continents covered in greenery only broken by large swaths of deep blue oceans.

"Sounds like a campin' trip! Ready for ya to dock by the way."

"You like it when my ship gets all stuffed inside yours, don't you?"

"I like my girl full, wall to wall and bulging. Oh, an' my ship too."

"Wha- oh that's nasty, Jack." Though her snickers still made it across the channel as the No Safety Measures slid comfortably into the Gerthtrude's cargo bay. It felt right, it felt… good… Jack's ship was a second home to her, a place to feel safe. Not because she was hidden within, but because the vessel had proven itself a beast unfit to be trifled with.

"Hey, you're the one who begged for my Tower of Power. My Monument of Magnificence, my-"

"No. No." Lix growled, waiting until the atmospheric klaxon alarms within the cargo bay ceased their wailing. "Another word about your monkey stick and I'm going to bite your eyes."

"Kinky. Now get up here, my lap is cold." Lix bit back her giggle, taking her sweet time to disembark into the Gerthtrude's bowels. The scent of metal and oils filled her nose, her thin chest expanding as the familiar scent welcomed her once more. While speed was her true desire, there was something quaint about the Gerthrude… Eventually though, her paws began pulling her towards the small lift at the head of the bay… towards her Human. Jack sat with one leg propped on the other when she arrived in the bridge, quickly sliding between the wall and his pilot's chair to settle into his lap.

"Nibble nibble nibble." Fangs gently scraped at the man's exposed neck as Lix curled in his lap, uncaring of the stars and long lines of ships outside flying away from Koorka Station. "Nibble nibble num."

"Would you quit?"

"Make me… num num nibble." Jack could feel an entire section of his neck turning raw. Thankfully the warm moisture of a tongue soothed the hickey slowly forming on his skin. "Now fly me to my next race, man slave."

"I'll fly us into a star."

"Burning up together isn't how I envisioned our new relationship ending."

"And how do ya see it?" Jack reached down to tug on the Kux'lar's tail, earning a sultry purr instead of an annoyed yipe, as he maneuvered the Gerthrtude into the flinger queue.

"I'm a retired champion… I take you home to meet dad… we get a nice house and make lots of eggs… I teach 'em to race and you be an amazing daddy…" Crimson painted across Jack's face as he swallowed thickly.

"Don't think I can put bread in ya oven…"

"There's a surgery- ah… well, we can… hash that out later if… it comes to that." A slight tension fell between the two kept at bay only by Lix's swiping tongue and periodically nipping fangs.

"A… surgery?" Metal groaned as Jack squeezed his ship's control sphere.

"Hm… I… if we ever do want a kid I… think adoption would be a much less invasive option… it's not a small surgery…"

"Right… yeah, right, adoption…" Clearing his throat, Jack shook the thoughts from his head. "Anyway, that's… that be a long way off. Let's just enjoy each other for now."

"Yes," Lix turned her gaze out the Gerthtrude's cockpit, the tight confines of the control area making for a perfect snuggle den. Twisting, he pressed her back into Jack's chest and watched as the long line of ships idled forward bit by bit. "For now, you and me."

"Skrunks is in the line ahead of us, by the by."

"Think we can really trust him?" Wiggling, Lix settled in for the long haul, her Human's warmth seeping into her back.

"I think so. Lil' guy is desperate to 'ave a crew." A grunt was his only reply. Either way, it didn't really matter to him. Mo'Ona would either continue to stay loyal and hardworking, as it appeared he'd do, or he'd betray them and… well… Jack had made jerky out of worse things than a Hux. The memory of the cold void, of feeling Skrunkles little paws grasp at his suit when they'd been knocked off the laser suite now installed below the No Safety Measure's nose, suggested the former. The rat was learning what it was like to have friends.

Soon, it was the Gerthtrude's turn to launch through the flinger, the space around them darkening as they moved multiple thousands of light years away in but a few inches.

And into chaos.

The distant leviathan hulk of the Racer's Heart hung over the telltale accompaniment of a thousand vessels, her stalwart retinue already having set up a veritable metropolis of space stations and interstellar hotels where fans of all races and from all walks of life could congregate for the first race of the current league. If Lix had thought the final preliminary had been big… Several dignitary ships and even a council transport hung nearby, full to bursting of the galaxy's elite and most wealthy. It was rumored that the most expensive and far-reaching deals were made here, at the races, and judging by the names…

The Accountant, a massive whale of a ship that held many investors of the Whisper Box, the galaxy's premier bank and only controller of Roarks… Vibrant Star, a roaming mega resort that housed only the best entertainers, and more besides. Jack didn't give two waves of Lix's tail about them. No, his attention was pulled to the massive fleet of council frigates and carriers. Clouds of off-white vessels loitered like gnats near each group of habited stations and high-end clients, each one carving a route through space as they patrolled for disruption.

All paled in comparison to the mind shatteringly massive ball of green and blue that served as a cosmic backdrop to the League. Yulpa, in all her grandeur, hung poised like an ancient God, her gargantuan ring of asteroids buzzing with activity as the first track was set. A real track this time, Lix noticed, one that spanned the entire orbit of the planet. The sight took her breath away, her slit pupils growing as stars reflected in the shining sclera of her eyes. Clawed toes curled and dainty paws grasped at Jack's hand as the 'Roid Racer let her maw drop.

"It's gorgeous… oh my goodness Jack, look at it! I've never seen so much green- and the blue! So vibrant! T-Take us in, take us in! Racer check-in is planet side! Hooooly crap, I've never been on a planet's surface before!" Trapped as it was, the raptors tail could only wag against the man's belly, but her enthusiasm was plain to see. "That's an order!"

"Aye ma'am." Jack chuckled, routing a flight path well around the mulling space city for an approach to Yulpa's surface. The vibrating lizard in his lap chittered the entire time, her claws going to his comms panel.

"This is Captain Lixistruzsias to Yulpa interstellar flight control, how copy?" It took longer than expected for a reply.

"We hear you Captain, be sure to link your personal chronologicals to the planet, we don't use council time down here. Painting you a course for the planet's northern hemisphere. Be advised, it's unwise to wander outside designated areas. Yulpa is still wild, but we've carved out our own little paradise."

"Good copy, receiving now."

"You're in luck, middle of the day so you'll get to see her in all her glory. Just you racers down here so it'll be nice and quiet." Lix felt her tail wag harder against Jack's belly, the man twisting as the appendage untucked his shirt.

"Roger that, Gerthtrude en route, ETA…" A scoff of indignation left Jack as his mate bullied his head aside so she could see his control panel. "Three hours. We're skirting around that madness between the planet and flinger."

"Smart. We'll be here when you arrive." With a huff, Jack leaned his chin down to lock the Kux'lar's noggin back against his throat where it was nice and out of the way. It wasn't as if she minded, snuggling in for the long haul… only… there was something she'd been putting off, something that she should have done weeks ago. Worry, and not a small amount of embarrassment, roiled in the 'Roid Racer's chest as she reached for the comms panel once more.

"Someone else ya gotta call?"

"Mhm…"

…

…

…

Lix let her claws hover over the myriad buttons, hesitating as she felt Jack's eyes burn into the top of her head. The number she planned to call was ingrained in her memory like a brand… only, trepidation stayed her hand.

"You uh… know we can't get takeout up here… right?"

"Oh, hush up! Gimme… just gimme a sec."

"What's got your tail in a twist, scaly lady?" Jack asked, letting one hand fall from the controls to land on the small of her back. As if pressing a switch, a content rumble fell from the Kux'lar's throat, grateful for the touch. Even if it was the cold alloy of his implants.

"It's… who I'm calling, is all. I shoulda called him sooner…" Her voice fell to a whisper as she pulled her clawed feet in tighter, almost as if she were trying to see if she could vanish in her mate's lap. "Ugh, this is silly! I've called him a hundred times before…"

"Who?" Lix didn't answer him, biting her lip and swiping across the comms panel with a gasp instead, as if the act caused her physical pain.

"M-Maybe he's asleep and won't pick u-"

"Hello?" The voice was… older… yet not aged, at least not terribly. "Little scale? Oooh how have ya been? I didn't think I'd get a call, considering you're in the league now!"

"H-Hey, sorry I haven-"

"Nonsense! I bet ya busier than a Hux in a junk heap. I can't tell ya how proud I am!" Jack felt his stomach begin to drop. Had Lix really called… without prepping him? Without a warning? The voice continued on, uncaring of the poor pilot's continued attempts to get a word in. "I've got the holotube ready and waiting for the big race next cycle! Boss gave me every race day off, and the guys are coming over too! We'll be rootin' for ya! Even if I'll be worried the whole time, but hahaha that's my job!"

"T-That's great! Um, hey…" Lix hesitated, biting her lip. "I uh… got more news… pretty big stuff…"

"Really? What could be bigger than my baby girl achieving her dream?" With that, Lix smiled sheepishly up to Jack before pressing the vid call request. It was answered before he could leap from the captain's chair.

"Daddy… meet my mate… Jack."