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Beau is back in the suit and everything since his freedom from the metal confines of the armor has been a dream. He feels utter panic and claustrophobia inside the body-shaped cage. What’s worse are the feelings of rage and violence welling up inside him. His training, his upbringing, his captivity all recapitulate in a rising bile of horrible feelings that could lead him to kill the beautiful man lying in front of him.
Jordan is unconscious and Beau has raised his blade, ready to puncture the naked neck, bore in front of him, helpless and resigned. Beau lunges with the blade, his training and his anger winning over his desperate cries to stop himself. He feels the blade just touching Jordan’s neck when he’s shocked out of sleep by someone grabbing him and shaking him forcefully.
“BEAU!” Jordan shouts. “It’s just a dream!”
Beau feels tear streaks on his cheeks as the dark world of his nightmare fades and reality floods over him like a cool blanket. “Oh God,” Beau chokes.
“Shh shhh,” Jordan comforts holding Beau against his chest, one arm wrapped around Beau’s body, the other holding the back of Beau’s head. “You’re okay... You’re okay, Beau.”
“I... I...” Beau tries.
“You’re okay. I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Beau,” Jordan promises. Beau is shocked into silence by Jordan’s sincerity.
There’s a shift in the air, the tension changes and Beau’s grip loosens slightly. Jordan presses his hand harder into the blonde’s back and Beau turns to look up.
“I should... go...” Jordan manages before Beau lunges at the taller man, hands grabbing and groping at his clothes. Jordan loses any of the self-control that he’d managed in suggesting he leave. He bends down and covers Beau, pressing his mouth into the younger man’s. It feels so good, like coming home. The feeling of finishing the kiss they’d had before.
Beau whimpers, exhaustion from the sleepless night mixing with the adrenaline of the kiss pushes and pulls his mind as he feels Jordan’s tongue invading his mouth. Nightmare forgotten, Beau bucks against the bigger man, pressing his already half-hard bulge into Jordan. Beau is wearing gym shorts and a shirt, same as Jordan, so his arousal is easily evident – as is Jordan’s. Beau breaks the kiss to gaze down at their writhing bodies. The sight of tented shorts pressing against each other makes Beau’s eyes go half-lidded with pleasure before he desperately grabs at Jordan’s shorts.
Jordan doesn’t hesitate. With Beau’s advance on his shorts, he feels he has the all clear to pull them down. Beau grabs at Jordan’s hard cock causing the man to groan, his eyes shutting with pleasure.
“Jordan,” Beau whispers for no other reason than to feel the name on his lips as he grips a bit harder and pumps the hard dick.
Jordan groans louder before palming his hand on Beau’s bulge and rubbing. Beau continues to jerk Jordan as he presses their mouths together again and continues the needy kiss.
“Beau... I...” Jordan warns.
“Do it,” Beau breathes. With his permission Jordan releases his white-hot pleasure, groaning even louder, his mess covering Beau’s hand, gym-short clad bulge, and Jordan’s own hand. Beau smirks as he continues to jerk Jordan, causing the man to writhe in post-bliss sensitivity, moaning at the teasing milking.
“Please,” Jordan manages between hiccupping breaths and moans. Beau smiles more but releases Jordan’s cock. Jordan breathes with relief, happy to allow himself to start recovering from the attention on his dick. He presses his face into Beau’s neck, sucking and biting small tests that make Beau contort with desire.
Jordan begins to place soft kisses down Beau’s torso, following a light trail of blonde hair to the waistband of Beau’s gym shorts. He wraps his fingers around the blue, athletic material and eases the shorts down. The slow speed causes the elastic band to press Beau’s dick down until the last moment the long member holds out before springing up to attention. Jordan is in awe at the sight. He places a few more kisses, leading up the shaft to the tip of Beau’s dick.
“Fuck,” Beau groans. “Just suck it.” Jordan smiles. It seems it’s his turn to be torturous and teasing. However the sight of Beau’s cock is too much for Jordan to hold back and almost immediately he wraps his lips around the tip and bobs down. Beau sighs with relieved pleasure as he nearly bucks into Jordan’s warm, wet mouth.
Beau places a hand on the back of Jordan’s head, tentative and soft. Jordan takes an impressive amount of Beau’s cock, in a desperate attempt to prove he can take whatever force Beau wants.
Beau takes the hint while his breath hitches with Jordan engulfing his cock. Jordan pulls back and continues the bobbing motion with Beau’s hand pressing harder, guiding Jordan’s head to do exactly what he wants. Beau tests Jordan’s ability, slowly pushing and guiding his head down further on his cock until Jordan’s substantial nose is pressing against Beau’s blonde thatch.
Beau gasps at the sensation and from shock that Jordan manages it before Jordan has to pull back and breathe for a moment. Before long Jordan attack Beau’s dick again and soon Beau is on the edge. “Jordan!” He warns. Jordan keeps hungrily sucking and Beau loses control, bucking with his orgasm. He releases his load into Jordan’s mouth. Jordan sucks down the most he can handle, a bit of Beau’s seed leaks from the side of his mouth.
Jordan pulls back, beaming with a wide smile. He wipes at his mouth and places a small, soft kiss on Beau’s lips.
Jordan pulls back, his smile faded and the two men stare at each other, the silence longer than is comfortable.
“Are you okay?” Jordan asks warily, slowly pulling his shorts up.
“Yeah,” Beau quickly soothes. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Jordan stares a bit longer before taking the hint. Their moment seems to have faded and Beau obviously wants to be alone. Beau pulls up his shorts, wiping the mess on his sheets.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Jordan tries as he awkwardly stands and readjusts his shirt.
“Yeah,” Beau replies, not stopping Jordan.
Jordan walks to the door and turns back for a moment. To his utter horror he sees a man standing a few feet from Beau. He had to have silently teleported in somehow because he’s standing right where Jordan had been looking previously.
“BEAU!” Jordan shouts just as Beau turns to follow Jordan’s line of sight. The man, shrouded in darkness, wears a long black robe with a hood that covers his head and shadows his face.
Just as Jordan begins to run towards, the man, the mysterious figure calmly raises an arm, pointing an open palm at Jordan. A ring of blue electricity appears at his shoulder before zapping down the length of his arm in jittery bolts of electricity before firing from his palm in a burst of energy that sends Jordan flying through the doors to Beau’s bedchambers. Sparks shoot out of the mechanical doors which lay in ruin, surrounding Jordan’s body as he writhes in pain on the ground, barely able to push himself up.
“Jordan!” Beau shouts, jumping up to help his lover. Beau ducks down beside the man. “Jordan,” he manages. “You’re okay!”
Jordan barely makes a sound before the same electricity wraps around Beau’s waist and yanks him away from the Marine’s body. “No,” Jordan coughs in barely a whisper.
“JORDAN!” Beau screams before both he and the intruder disappear in a silent and dark teleportation. It’s like nothing Jordan’s ever seen.
“BEAU!” He screams once more at the empty room before blacking out.
“Commander Malkin,” Sid greets cordially from his desk.
“Sir,” Geno ducks a bit seemingly surprised by Sid’s official tone.
“What is it?” Sid asks while turning back to the schematics projected on his desk. They’ve been flying towards a sector of the universe where they’ll be safer from Icarus Fleet and its allies, hoping they’ll find allies of their own.
“It has been a week,” Geno leaves the suggestion hanging between them. “You not say your plan.” Sid holds a resolute look, staring at Geno with the hopes of discouraging further discussion, before he breaks and sighs a heavy, exhausted sigh.
“I don’t know what I’m doing. I have no plan,” Sid admits. Geno hides his shock with a shrug.
“Is okay. Wing it.”
“Wing it? Peoples lives are at stake!” Sid shouts slamming his fist into the desk as he jumps up from his chair – a week of stress and worry exploding in a single moment. “They all trusted me and I have nothing to give back to them! We’ll be caught, court martialed, and I’ll be executed.”
Geno scoffs. “Is no. No one execute Sidney Crosby.” Geno takes a few steps to close the space between them. “But... we are in Gamma Sector.”
Sid looks into Geno’s eyes. Sid’s are wide with worry and understanding. They’d ventured to the Gamma Sector in hopes of finding allies and avoiding unexpected run-ins with Icarus Fleet. The flipside to the predicament is that the Gamma Sector is home to the Rogue Empire.
The Rogue Empire: an empire born out of an Icarus Fleet Battleship that defected over one hundred years ago. They settled on a planet, started a colony, allied with Icarus-opposed forces, and grew into a full-fledged empire that is currently at war with Icarus Fleet and her allies in the Auron System over a disagreement in colonization policies.
“We’re not them,” Sid quells. “We’re not the Rogue Empire.”
“I know,” Geno soothes. “We all do. Is just...” Geno lets his words fall unsaid and chooses to places a reassuring hand on Sid’s shoulder. Sid shakes a bit in a subtle shutter at the contact. Geno sees the piercing gaze of Sid’s warm, inviting eyes and something inside him flips and tumbles.
The air of the room constricts and both men know that something has changed. In the two month’s since their placement together as commanding officers of the USS Nelson (now Battleship Nelson) they’ve grown from mutual despise to fond friendship. Now, with the shifting tides pushing forward Sid wonders if they’ve progressed even further.
Geno takes the lead and slowly tips his head towards the captain, eyes watching for confirmation. Sid, though worried, seems on board and the two men tip closer until...
“CAPTAIN! CAPTAIN!”
Sid launches back from the near kiss, “Yes Dr. Dupuis?” His communicator crackles with noise.
“Master Sergeant Staal was found unconscious outside of Bennett’s chambers. Serious damage and signs of a struggle. And Beau is...” Dr. Dupuis’s voice stutters a bit. “Gone.”
“I’ll be right there,” Sid says running out of his room leaving a stunned Geno. Geno shakes his head hard before jogging after the captain to help.
“We got there just in time,” Dr. Dupuis explains. “He’s going to be fine. He should be waking in a bit.”
“What happened?” Sid asks. Before Dupuis can answer, Jordan’s eyes flutter open and he groans.
“Jordan?” Dr. Dupuis puts on his doctor’s voice. “How are you feeling?”
“Fuck,” he groans before realization flashes across his expression. “BEAU!” He attempts to push himself up but falls back on the bed exasperated.
“What happened Master Sergeant?” Sid questions.
“Was a guy, with a... robe,” Jordan seems to be searching his memory. “He took Beau. It was impossible.”
“Who was he?” Sid presses.
“It was a...” Jordan can’t seem to believe his own memories. “A Magi.”
“That is impossible,” Dr. Dupuis whispers harshly. Though Jordan fell back asleep and they’re in another room, he still doesn’t want to risk his patient hearing him. “They’re a myth.”
“Agreed,” Sid imitates Dupuis’s whisper. “But we can’t discount the fact that someone took Beau off this ship without an engineer catching him.”
“Same thing happen with assassin,” Geno adds, his own personal experience with the assassin that broke his spine had also snuck on to the ship without being caught.
“Yes,” Sid falters. “But that was after the battle on the outskirts of Nagao. He took advantage of our lowered security and damages to our defenses. We’re at full strength right now.”
“I don’t want to be the one to suggest this, but since neither of you have said it...” Dupuis takes a deep breath. “What if Beau did this?”
“No,” Sid growls. “We trust him.”
Sid looks to Geno who’s silent and staring as if his faith in the young man has faltered. Geno’s hand lightly skims across his back, his metallic replacement spine jutting out as a reminder of Beau’s heroics.
“He saved your life!” Sid gives up on the whisper. “How can you doubt him?”
“Is just...” before Geno can finish his thought, the ship shakes violently.
“BATTLE STATIONS! BATTLE STATIONS!” Orpik’s voice calls out over the ship’s intercom. “The ship is under attack!”
Beau’s eyes take a moment to adjust to the bright, sterile room he’s in. The cold metal floor is uninviting to his bare feet. A distant sound just barely catches his senses and he looks around. In the far corner of the room is a small boy, tucked up and crying into his arms.
Beau stands slowly, turning back to the only naked wall of the room. He uselessly tries to search for a door, just confirming his fears. Yet again he finds himself trapped in a cell. He pads over to the small boy and crouches beside him.
“Hey,” he says softly.
The boy freezes, but doesn’t come out of his fetal position.
“Hey,” Beau tries again. “Don’t cry.”
The boy shivers a bit as Beau softly touches his back. The kid is small and scared.
“What’s your name?” Beau tries. The boy doesn’t answer but he does raise his head out of his arms slowly.
Cautiously he turns and sits in the corner with his back against the cold wall. He’s wear white scrubs, identical to the ones Beau has been dressed in. There’s something terrifyingly familiar to this situation. He uses the boy as his anchor to keep him from totally freaking out.
“You’re a brave kid,” Beau soothes. “How long have you been here?”
“Thirty-four days, six hours, and twenty three minutes,” the kid says calculated.
“How long have I been in the room?”
“Fourteen hours,” he says quietly.
Beau looks around again, desperate for anything to allow him to escape. The room seems like it’s been built around them, no entrance and no exit. Familiarity rises like bile in Beau’s throat.
“Have you seen anybody?”
The boy nods and points to the empty wall. “He comes in there. Gives me food. Comes back to take it later.”
Beau nods. “Good.”
“You’re older than the rest,” the boy says touching Beau tentatively though he seems to be opening up more now.
“The rest?”
“The other boys they’ve put in here,” he clarifies. “There was one here thirteen days ago. And another twenty-four days ago. They’re usually gone after two days,” the boy’s mathematic mind seems to have a strong memory. “But they’re all younger than me. You’re older.”
“How old are you?” Beau ignores the falling, sick feeling in his stomach.
“Twelve,” the kid states proudly.
“I’m Beau,” Beau smiles warmly.
“My name’s Cameron.”
“It’s one Rogue Empire Battleship flanked by two smaller destroyers!” Orpik shouts as Sid stumbles on the bridge.
“Evasive maneuvers! Fire plasma cannons!” Sid commands.
“Firing plasma cannons!” Kunitz repeats.
Iginla is dodging the fire with extraordinary skill. His mouth hints at a smile, despite the onslaught of firepower from the three ships.
“Serious damage to left destroyer,” Kunitz cheers.
“They’re contacting us sir!” Neal interrupts. The firing stops, all four ships settling in an unnerving calm.
“Viewscreen,” Sid orders.
“Captain Crosby,” an accented baritone sneers.
“Yes,” Sid stands proudly. “And you are?”
“Really?” The foe quirks an eyebrow. “These are the captains they churn out at your Icarus Fleet?”
Orpik sneers, obviously recognizing the man.
“I am Captain Claude Giroux of the Rogue Empire Battleship Piston,” he informs. “You are in the Gamma Sector, uninvited... and you’ve stolen something of ours.”
“What?” Sid scoffs.
“An energy surge on your ship flared on our sensors, identical to one we experienced a month ago which resulted in the loss of some precious cargo of ours.”
Sid looks around at his men. “We lost a man. Vanished. I take it your cargo was a person?”
Giroux pauses at that, not expecting that answer.
“It seems we have the same problem,” Sid continues.
Giroux sneers angrily, “What says I believe you?”
“A robe?” Sid attempts. Realization evident on Giroux’s face encourages Sid to continue. “A witness saw a robed man kidnap one of our crew members.”
“As did ours,” Giroux’s words are clipped and annoyed.
“What do you say we join together to solve this?” Sid attempts.
“Sid?” Geno whispers in disbelief.
Giroux spits, “We do not associate with Icarus Fleet!”
“Well that’s good, because this ship is not a part of Icarus Fleet,” Sid swallows. “We defected over a week ago.”
“Oh?” Giroux seems amused. “Did you now? Intending on joining our wonderful empire?”
“Definitely not,” Sid replies immediately. “But we would humor a momentary stay until we can find our missing persons.”
Giroux seems positively disgusted by the suggestion, but Sid can already tell he’s accepted it. Likely due to whomever Giroux keeps looking at just off screen. “Just until we find them.”
“Then we will leave your sector and everything will go back to normal,” though Sid wonders if Giroux will give them the chance to leave the sector.
Sid, Geno, Letang, and Kunitz are greeted coldly by two crewmembers of the Battleship Piston. They’re led to the War Room where they meet Captain Giroux, his first officer Kimmo Timonen, and their communications officer... Maxime Talbot.
“Talbot?” Sid breathes in disbelief.
“Hello Sid,” Talbot replies. He shows no emotion or remorse and Sid feels sick.
“You... you’re a part of the Rogue Empire,” Sid feels his stomach leap with betrayal. They’d been friends during training, though admittedly they’d lost touch after their graduation from the academy.
“Let’s cut this reunion short,” Giroux sneers. “We’ve got work to do.”
Sid feels Geno tense behind him. Sid looks past Giroux and sees what Geno had undoubtedly seen. Standing in the dark, against the wall is a short man – the same man who’d broken Geno’s spine a month ago. He standing and staring at the newcomers with a sadistic, wide smile.
“Oh yes,” Giroux smiles. “You’ve met Gerbe, haven’t you?”
Geno growls but Sid sticks an arm out, stopping any forward progress on Geno’s part. “Let’s get through this.”
“Get your hands off of me!” Beau screams as he struggles against the tight grip of two robed men. They force him to walk towards a large table with a single spine laid out, needles at the ready to grasp at his insides.
Beau stares in horror as he feels himself losing his battle against the robed men. He struggles hard, screaming in anguish. “NO! NOT AGAIN! PLEASE GOD NO!”
The men pay no attention, if they hear him they don’t react. They just hold him at the foot of the table.
“No,” Beau whimpers once before on of the robed men sends a pulse of electricity into Beau’s body, causing him to be momentarily paralyzed. The table rises and tips to a vertical position, aligning the mechanical spine with Beau’s back. “Please don’t do this.”
The needles shoot out and stab into Beau’s back and he screams and gargles with pain as the needles wrap around his spine. The suit begins to extract from the spine and encase Beau’s body. He feels like a live person being mummified, the horror of dying increased by the thought of loneliness trapped in a world with no one.
The suit has fully formed around him, the mask shooting up out of the collar and encasing his head, three long tendrils slowly seeping out of the helmet.
“Nice acquisition Slava,” a third robed man says without emotion as he walks into the lab.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Now,” he continues without acknowledgment. “Put him through Phase 3. Let’s take this outer shell, and make it permanent...”
“You believe it’s the Magi too?” Sid exclaims in disbelief. How could Giroux be so ignorant.
“We’ve exhausted ever last possibility.”
“Just a minute ago you believed it was us!” Sid counters.
Giroux laughs. “No, I truly didn’t think you capable. I just enjoyed the excuse to wipe your ship out.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
“Because of my better half. You owe him your life by the way,” Giroux adds. Another man steps into the room. He’s taller with dark hair.
“Brière,” he says holding a hand out. Sid takes it. “It’s my son who’s been taken.”
“How old is your son?” Letang quickly interrupts.
“Twelve, why?” Brière answers.
“When Beau was first taken,” Letang starts. He’s talking now to Sid rather than any of Giroux’s men. “He was around that age, a bit younger I think. It seems they want young kids to train.”
“But Bettman took Beau,” Sid clarifies.
“We only know that he killed Beau’s family,” Letang corrects. “There’s nothing to suggest that he carried out everything. I think that he’s in on it, but he’s not all of it. And he’s certainly not the leader.”
“Why certainly?” Giroux challenges.
“If what is said about the Magi is even remotely true,” Letang clarifies, talking to the whole room now. “Then they’re more powerful than anything in the known universe. If Bettman had that power, he’d have no doubt have used it. He wouldn’t have needed a gun to shoot Morrow.”
“We’re assuming you didn’t find anything on Nagao?” Giroux says, his tone sounding more annoyed than anything.
“What do you mean?” Sid raises an eyebrow.
“Nagao, when you attacked our ships? I’m assuming you’d followed the same trail we did,” Giroux says.
Sid has to think for a minute before realizing the confusion. “We were there because you attacked an Icarus Fleet vessel. We weren’t on any trail.”
“But I thought you said you weren’t with the fleet,” Giroux says, the room is filled with annoyance at the delineating topic.
“It’s a recent development...”
“So no one checked Nagao?” Brière says angrily, trying to steer the focus of the discussion back.
“No,” Sid says. “Not us.”
Cameron feels exposed outside of the cell. Thirty-five days had made it feel at least remotely comfortable. Now the robed man that feeds him is prodding him down a hallway.
He’s led into a large chamber with a single robed man standing in the center.
“Hello Cameron,” the man says. His voice is deep and void of any emotion, which makes it sound more inhuman than if it’d been an alien tongue.
Cameron holds his tongue, choosing resolute silence.
“You are a smart child,” the man continues. “Smarter than most. We believe you will make a perfect addition to our ranks.”
Cameron wants to retort, but he can’t think of anything to say. Before he can form an argument, a door on the far side of the room opens and a second robed man strides in. He lifts his hood off and reveals the shimmering blonde hair of Cameron’s most recent cellmate.
“Beau!” Cameron cheers thankfully.
But Beau doesn’t move, he doesn’t show any emotion. He just stands and stares at Cameron as if he’s an object. That’s when Cameron notices it – Beau’s eyes... they’re all wrong.
Back on his own ship, Sid makes a line for his newest crewmember.
“Sutter!”
“Yes Captain?” Sutter is quick to rise, he’s adorning the USS Nelson black and gold, making him seem even more included in his new family.
“I need Potash,” Sid says, hoping that Sutter has a solution.
Sutter nods. “I think I can find him.”
“Good,” Sid replies. I will teleport you to the USS Saariaho. From there take their transport ship. We need him ASAP.”
“Yes sir,” Sutter says saluting shortly before jogging off.
“You need a man to go planetside on Nagao?” A new voice says behind Sid.
“Jordan!” Sid pulls back in shock. “You’re up?”
“Yes sir,” Jordan waves off Sid’s concern. “Please, you have to send me to Nagao.”
Sid wants to chastise whoever is spreading their information so quickly, but he knows how ships work. Like a small town – one person knows something, everyone knows it.
Sid thinks hard. Jordan’s abilities and training make him the best choice for the mission, but he’s worried about Jordan’s conflicting interest, Beau. Sid shakes off the thought of Jordan jeopardizing the mission with his feelings and nods curtly. “You and one of Giroux’s men will transport planetside on Nagao and explore. We’ve located a large facility in the north that we believe could house something dealing with the Magi.”
“Thank you sir!” Jordan says running to the transport room. He gets there in time to see Sutter blink away with a clap and a flash.
“Transporting you planetside,” Pauline Martin says blandly.
“Thanks Martin,” Jordan nods, checking his equipment one last time.
The room disappears and Jordan finds himself standing in a dense rainforest. He’s on Nagao.
“Are you the Marine?” A voice says from behind him. A far too familiar voice. Jordan turns slowly. Recognition flashes across Tylia Ennis’s face the moment she sees Jordan. “Oh,” she sighs seductively, her tone dripping with malice. “This is too perfect.”
“Why is he here?” Geno says throwing a thumb back at Gerbe who’s standing on the bridge, smiling creepily.
“He’s aiding in the investigation,” Sid explains over Geno’s grumbling.
“You mean he spy,” Geno corrects.
Sid ignores his Chief Officer’s outburst and turns to the doors opening. Letang runs in, red in the face from an apparent sprint to the War Room.
“Captain!” Letang manages breathless. “I figured it out! The missing piece!”
“What’s that Lieutenant?”
“The outpost!”
Geno and Sid stand silently, staring at the winded officer waiting for him to continue his explanation. Letang looks between them, “it was a mining outpost!”
“Yes...” Geno drawls.
“What were they mining?” Gerbe interrupts, obviously annoyed by how long the conversation was taking.
“Ore!” Letang cries. “Star Ore!”
“And?” Sid presses but Gerbe seems to understand.
“Their abilities,” Gerbe breathes. “They’re using the ore to power their ‘magical’ powers.”
“Exactly!” Letang nearly jumps up and down. “Star Ore is what most planets use for space travel, specifically hyper-drive. BUT some planets use it as a source for power.”
“Electrical power?” Sid asks.
“Yes,” Letang nods furiously. “It’s not too popular because it can be hard to harness and sometimes will result in catastrophic accidents, but with the right conductors and the correct amount of Ore, someone could probably harness the electrical capabilities easily.”
“Magnitogorsk!” Geno breathes.
Letang looks at Geno, one eyebrow cocked before realization floods his expression. “Holy... shit...”
Geno punches the wall, bellowing, “It was them!”
“The Marines kept you?” Tylia scoffs as the two navigate through the dense rainforest, following coordinates provided before teleporting planetside.
Jordan grunts, hoping she’ll choose a more professional approach.
“They don’t know!” She realizes. “How’d you get around that?”
Jordan rolls his eyes and tries to ignore her slithering voice, but her elation can’t seem to be discouraged. “Probably that hunk of a brother.”
Jordan lunges at her, his hand wrapping around her neck and pushing her against a large tree trunk.
“So it was the brother,” she manages to say through the choking. Her sly expression never fading.
Jordan grips hard, relishing in the feeling of holding her life in his hands. The possibility of finally getting back at her after all these years pulsating in his chest. But realization hits him hard and he releases her.
“No hard feelings, right?” She says rubbing her neck. Her voice is raspy and light. “We got to have some fun fucks, then we went our separate ways.
“You betrayed Icarus Fleet and helped kill forty refugees.”
“Like I said,” she smirks. “Separate ways.”
Jordan ignores her as they reach the clearing they’d charted from planet scans. A huge, gray compound stands in the center of the clearing, from the two sides Jordan and Tylia can see, there’s no entryway or door.
“I’ll check the other side,” Tylia says.
“Wait,” Jordan hisses in a harsh whisper. He pulls her down into the cover of the forest just as a small transport ship begins its decent into the clearing. It lands unceremoniously on the grass with a bit of a thump. Obviously not the best pilot flying. The door opens and the man that steps out makes Jordan gasp.
“Is that...” Tylia squints hard, “Bettman?”
Jordan nods silently.
“As in the admiral of your entire fleet? What kind of operation are you guys running over there on Earth?”
“Just shut up,” Jordan whispers at Bettman walks up to the edge of the building and retrieves something from his tunic. He presses his blaster into the side of the wall, it opens for a brief moment and he steps in.
“How did he do that?” Tylia gasps.
“Bettman.”
“Your majesty,” Bettman bows.
The robed man in the center, flanked by two men, gestures for Bettman to rise. “You’ve done well for us.”
Bettman hides his smile. The warmth in his chest swells. He will become a Magi, his dream from the start.
“An electrical charge?” Jordan postulates. “That’s what the Magi used on me and Beau.”
Tylia shrugs pulling the power cell from her blaster and ripping off the safety guard. Live wires his and spark. She presses it into the wall at about the same place Bettman had entered. Sure enough the wall opens. Tylia chuckles, “here goes nothing.”
“Sid!”
“Dan!” Sid exclaims as he embraces the older man, relief evident that they’ve both managed to reunite. “I’m so sorry for all of this. I’m the reason for all your trouble.”
Dan scoffs. “What are you talking about? I’m finally having some fun! So the Magi?”
“It looks to be that way,” Sid still feels ridiculous talking about them. They might as well be trying to find Santa Claus.
“Magi,” Dan begins speaking to the room as whole. Geno and Letang listen intently, though Gerbe looks as though he’s not impressed. “Are a race of super-humans who think they are gods.”
“Should be easy to beat then?” Letang laughs without a trace of humor.
“Hardly,” Dan answers as if he hadn’t picked up on the sarcasm. “They begin training children, taking them from their home planets, regardless of where. They look for specific traits... intelligence, strength, speed, etc. They spend nearly a decade in a suit of armor that is fused to their spinal chord. While in the suit they are trained to lose their identity and follow only the Head Magi.”
Geno instinctively touches his spine and Gerbe smirks in the dark corner.
“Once the initial phase is complete, the magi decide whether or not the trainee is worthy to become a full-fledged Magi. If they are deemed worthy, their bones are surgically bonded with a Star Ore skeletal structure. Small dots on each of their fingertips and at their shoulders act as electrical conduits to aid in their electrical attack power. They also use the Star Ore for a teleportation technique no other race can seem to recreate...”
“How do you know this?” Geno asks in shock. Dan obviously knows far more than he’d previously ever let on.
Dan sighs before lifting his shirt. A series of small dots are scarred down his back. “I was one of those children.”
Sid exhales in disbelief.
“What?!” Letang shouts.
“I’m the only person I’ve ever known to escape the Magi after being deemed unworthy for conversion.”
“You don’t sound too disappointed,” Letang smirks.
“Even after ten years in the armor I never lost who I was. They decided to kill me instead. But that’s another story for another day.”
“So,” Sid interrupts. “We can’t kill them?”
Dan smiles wide. “Oh I didn’t say that...”
“You’re going to get us both killed,” Tylia sneers as Jordan trips on the small ledge their carefully maneuvering around.
Jordan is about to argue back but Tylia’s hand over his mouth halts him immediately. Below them Bettman is met by a robed man.
“Did it work?” Bettman asks.
“Yes,” the man nods. “Better than expected. You will be rewarded highly for this.”
Bettman flashes a seedy grin. “Thank you, sire!”
“Everything is on track,” the robed man continues. “It will all happen soon.”
“I’m very happy to hear that.”
“Beau,” Jordan gasps as two other robed men enter. One, without his hood, makes it painfully obvious who it is. No one has that hair.
“Keep it together, Staal,” Tylia warns.
Her warning falls on deaf ears as Jordan jumps from the ledge and leaps for the one bargaining chip he feels he can risk. His muscled arm wraps around Bettman’s neck before anyone can react and in a flash the room stills in a stalemate, Jordan’s blaster aimed at Bettman’s temple.
“Impressive,” the leader of the three robed men smirks. “Slava, perhaps you should’ve stolen this specimen rather than Beau.” Even at the mention of his name, Beau’s face doesn’t change in the slightest. It remains emotionless, staring cold and calculated at the situation in front of them.
The other robed man, Slava apparently, nods and chuckles. Bettman jerks in Jordan’s grasp, but he’s holding him too tight to allow any real escape. “You don’t know who you’re messing with, Marine,” Bettman spits. “They will kill you before you can even think of killing me.”
“You see,” the leader smears, the languid pace of his elocution more unsettling than anything else. “You are under the assumption that we even want this vermin.”
“What?!” Bettman shouts and struggles again.
“You’ve served your purpose,” the leader says before shooting a beam of blue electricity into Bettman’s body. Jordan releases the man just in time. Bettman’s body convulses under the extreme electrocution, the acrid scent of burning flesh filling the chamber. His lifeless body collapses to the ground in a smoldering pile of scalded skin.
“One of the only times they’re weak is when they’re showing interest in something, a new member perhaps. They analyze young candidates so intently, the outside world does kind of vanish, it’s the perfect time for a sneak attack,” Dan explains. “Really any sort of distraction can work. They are a very focused race.”
“I am serious about your worth,” the leader continues. “You could do great things.”
Slava has turned a curious eye on Jordan too. Beau on the other hand is keeping his cold eyes trained on the ground, as if he’s afraid of what might happen if he focuses on Jordan too hard. Jordan sees that as a win. A sign that not all is lost.
The leader grins. Dual pairs of eyes staring hungrily begin to make Jordan feel uncomfortable, but he stands his ground, defiant for the sake of Beau. “Never.”
“Anze,” Slava hisses. “We can enslave him. Force him to become one of us.”
Beau looks up for a moment, the slightest hint of recognition before it disappears in a façade of placated blankness.
“Beau,” Jordan urges. “Snap out of it.”
“He’s become one of us,” Anze growls. “There is no coming back. He’s better for it.”
“Stronger,” Slava adds.
“Faster,” Anze continues.
“Smarter,” Slava says as a figure flashes behind them followed by a sudden emission of a Rogue Empire blaster. Slava’s head burst in a spray of red, sprinkling a shocked Anze and Beau.
“Not smart enough,” Tylia sneers turning her blaster on Anze who vanishes into silent darkness. Tylia reacts by turning her blaster on Beau.
“NO!” Jordan shouts, leaping at Tylia and pushing the blaster off target, the emission harmless blasting the wall. Beau stares, shocked at the heroic measure Jordan displayed. “Beau...”
Just as the name escapes Jordan’s lips Beau follows Anze, disappearing in a silent darkness.
“Oh for fucks sake!” Tylia rolls her eyes. “What is it with you and falling for bad, bad people?”
“And another time you can kill them?” Brière asks stepping into the room. He had obviously been listening intently, his son’s wellbeing lingering in his mind unwaveringly.
“Well...” Dan sighs. “It’s a myth...”
“I don’t care,” Brière interrupts. “What is it?”
“It’s said there’s a Refinery. It harvests the Star Ore so they can use it without risk of killing themselves. Again, it’s a myth, even in my time with them I never heard anyone mention it.”
“Where?” Brière continues, ignoring Dan’s skepticism, a rare occurrence for the man.
“I imagine in the compound on Nagao.”
“So...” Brooks drawls, breaking an uncomfortable silence.
“Yes?” Talbot responds without taking his eyes off the Battleship Piston’s communication panel. The two were assigned to keep an eye on the progress of their advance team on Nagao.
“You defected?” Brooks insinuates.
Talbot sighs loudly before pointedly not answering.
“What happened?” Brooks continues to press. “What was so bad you felt you had to leave Icarus Fleet?”
Talbot looks up from the panel, staring at Brook’s with a look of humorless exasperation.
“I...” Brooks continued before an alarm on the panel interrupted the moment.
“Holy shit!” Talbot said reading the information pouring out on the screen in front of him.
“Is it Jordan?” Brooks said leaping up from his chair.
“This is something else,” Talbot shook his head. “There’s an Icarus Fleet ship coming!”
“SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT!!!!” Neal curses as he dodges various members of the USS Nelson making his way to the Captain. “Captain Crosby!” Neal shouts bursting through the door, breathless.
“Lt. Neal! What is it?”
Neal looks around the room, various foreign faces making him nervous.
“Just say it,” Sid scoffs.
“There’s a ship coming!” Neal wheezes. “Me and Talbot both read the ship’s approach on our monitors. The USS Saariaho confirmed it. It’s the USS Lachenmann!”
“Construction on the USS Lachenmann will be complete sometime in the next year,” Sid mentions absently. “I’m sure you’ll be in the consideration again.”
The memory strikes Malkin like a ton of bricks. He’d thought he was going to be in consideration to captain that ship. It was definitely not supposed to be ready so fast.
“They must’ve sped up production after we defected,” Sid clarifies.
“Who is Captain?” Malkin asks, if a bit selfishly.
“All I got from the USS Saariaho was ‘Taylor’,” Neal says. “Communication cut out just then.”
“Taylor Hall!” Sid and Dan say at the same moment.
Malkin and Neal return a confused look; meanwhile Brière and Gerbe look annoyed at the interruption.
“Hall,” Sid starts. “He’s a young upstart in Icarus Fleet, everyone said he’d go places.”
“Last I heard he’d been training for Jet Squadron,” Dan adds.
“Could be a tactical maneuver,” Sid replies. “I’m less likely to guess what Hall would do.”
Dan didn’t look convinced but Neal and Malkin seemed to buy the explanation. “What we do?” Malkin presses.
Sid presses his communicator, “Orpik! How long until the USS Lachenmann arrives?”
Orpik responds immediately, though in halted speech. “They’re already here.”
“It’s empty,” Jordan observes.
“Yeah, I fucking killed one of them,” Tylia gloats holstering her blaster. He tight, leather pants hugging her body as she walks into the head chamber of the compound with a sexy sway that’d captured Jordan’s attention so many years ago. “You staring Staal?”
Jordan clears his throat, reddening in the cheeks. “What is that?!”
Tylia follow’s Jordan’s amazed gaze. “Well shit.”
Before the two of them is a giant machine automatically being fed Star Ore. Tylia uses a small camera on her belt to document what they’re seeing. On the top of the machine a giant weapon sticks straight up.
“I wonder what that does?” Jordan says, still in awe.
“Yeah? I’d rather not find out,” Tylia chides in her sultry and alluring voice. “Let’s get the others down here and sort this shit out.”
“Staal to USS Nelson,” Jordan says into his communicator. Silence follows. “Staal to Nelson!” Jordan’s voice becomes more forceful. “Neal? James!”
Silence.
Tylia rolls her eyes. “What a shit show! Ennis to RE Battleship Piston, come in Talbot.”
Silence.
“You were saying?” Jordan bites back.
Tylia turns knowing eyes on her reluctant partner. “Guess we’re on our own for a bit,” she takes a few steps towards Jordan before placing a hand directly on his crotch and feeling for his member. “Some fun? For old times sake?”
Jordan smirks before stepping back. “You’re really not my type anymore.”
“Aww,” Tylia puts on a mask of hurt. “Not into women anymore?”
“Not into traitorous bitches,” Jordan chides.
“No, instead you prefer a guy that goes as bad as they come,” Tylia continues. “Honey, he’s become a Magi, at some point you’re going to have to accept that there’s no coming back from that. One of you is going to have to die.”
Sid stands on the bridge of the USS Nelson facing an enormous battleship, far better equipped than his own, surrounded by a squadron of jets. Nothing as far as communication had broken the silence between the two sides.
“Are you really going to fight them?” Orpik asks, having returned from the Rogue Empire battleship. His voice didn’t carry any malice or sarcasm, just a true question and a confirmation of allegiance.
“Along side Rogue Empire?” Malkin adds, his voice holding a bit more trepidation.
Sid looks at the crew present on the bridge. Each member of the ship is looking for his order.
“We will fight to defend ourselves if we have to,” Sid says. “Again, anyone who does not want to be a part of this battle is free to leave the bridge. No judgment will be passed.”
“Fuck ‘em!” Kunitz smirks.
“Weapons at full power,” Orpik adds as his own affirmation of allegiance.
“Shields up,” Neal nods before returning to his panel.
“Iginla?” Sid turns to his most necessary crewmember. No one can fly like Iginla.
Iginla smiles wide and suggestive before dramatically cracking his knuckles. “I was born for this.”
The final crewmember on the bridge, Malkin, steps up beside Sid. “I will be at your side. Always Sid.”
Sid didn’t have the time or energy to waste on analyzing the promise his commander had just made him. Whether it had any bearing on non-battle life or if he simply was speaking of the USS Nelson. The communicator beeping stripped him of the opportunity to worry on it any longer.
“It’s the Battleship Piston,” Neal clarifies.
“Bring them up!”
“Captain Crosby,” Giroux smiles. “I assume we’re keeping our truce to face this unfortunate speed bump in our plans?”
Sid takes one last look around the bridge before responding, “Only if they fire on us first. “Only in self...”
Sid’s words are cut short by a violent shake to the ship.
“The Lachenmann is firing!” Kunitz interrupts. “How should we respond, Captain?”
Sid nods to Giroux. “Return fire.”
“The ship can’t take much more, Captain!” Talbot shouts over the rattling and shaking. The battle had started quick and violently. The new Icarus Fleet ship was equipped with the most advance weaponry either Icarus or the Rogue Empire had ever produced. Add to that the precise jet squadron and it was clear the Piston and the Nelson had no chance to make it out of the battle.
“We’ll pull out,” Giroux spits. “This battle isn’t ours to fight.”
“Claude!” Brière roars.
Giroux turns to his husband, shocked at the outburst of emotion from the usually quiet man.
“You made a truce, a promise with that ship,” Brière presses. “You said you’d fight this battle alongside them. It’s time the Rogue Empire start honoring their allegiances, even if it is to the Nelson.”
Giroux maintained the shocked expression before turning to the bridge, calculating maneuvers. “Shields up, fire on the starboard of the Lachenmann!”
The firing ceases. The jet squadron returns to flank the USS Lachenmann while the USS Nelson and Battleship Piston float in almost total destruction, debris littering the space around them.
The USS Lachenmann had won this battle and yet the Piston had fought alongside the entire time.
Giroux’s defeated expression shown on the display. “We’ve lost.”
Sid nods silently. “Go,” Sid allows. “This was never your battle. We can cover you while you get your ship to the other side of Nagao. From there you can try to get away. The Lachenmann is here for us.”
Giroux nods before the screen goes black again. The Nelson doesn’t have to defend the fleeing Piston. Sid was right in his assumption that the Lachenmann was only concerned with the USS Nelson.
“Open communications with the Lachenmann,” Sid orders. Once he gets the go ahead he begins, “This is Captain Sidney Crosby of the USS Nelson contacting Captain Taylor Hall of the USS Lachenmann.”
The screen continues to stay dark but a voice breaks through the pregnant silence following Sid’s contact. It’s a sinister laugh, a woman’s voice... no a girl’s...
“Oh Sidney... Wrong Taylor...”
Tylia and Jordan look concerned at the news they’ve just been relayed. There was a battle above them. The Piston barely got out. No word on the Nelson.
Tylia holds out a hand, “I’m going up to the Piston. Come with me.”
Jordan stares back before shaking his head.
“You idiot!” Tylia scoffs. “For all we know they’ve destroyed the Nelson and killed everyone on board. If you don’t come back now you’ll be stranded here. The Magi WILL come back and they WILL kill you.”
Jordan stays resolutely silent.
“That or force you to join their ranks,” Tylia adds. When Jordan doesn’t respond Tylia scoffs again. “If you become a Magi I will kill you. I won’t hesitate.”
“You wouldn’t hesitate now,” Jordan jokes.
Tylia returns the most serious glare Jordan’s ever seen from her. “I wouldn’t kill you, Jordan. I love you.”
Then in a clap of white light she’s gone and Jordan stares at the empty space in shock.
To Jordan’s right movement shocks him out of his deep thoughts. Beau, in full Magi robes stands with murder in his gaze.
“BEAU NO!” Jordan says before electricity shoots from Beau’s hand and envelopes the young, blonde Marine.
“Our son,” Brière trains his eyes to the ships floor, trying to hide his tears.
“We will get him back,” Giroux says tightening his grip on the man he loves. “We will save him.”
Sid stands, mouth agape. “Taylor?” He manages as the laugh returns, the screen still blank.
“That’s right, Sidney,” she says between chuckles.
“Who is this?” Malkin says.
The screen lights up and a young teenage girl, smiling wide. No one on the bridge could miss the pendant on her chest marking her as Captain.
“What the fuck?” Kunitz blurts out. “She looks like she’s in high school.”
“Sid, who is she?” Malkin presses.
“She’s my... sister.”
“Please,” Jordan barely gasps as receives a brief respite from the electrical charge surging from Beau’s hands. “Please Beau.”
Beau furrows is brow before sending another wave of shocks into Jordan’s body, causing him to writhe and contort on the metallic floor. The electricity stops again and Jordan groans.
“Please,” he whispers, his words muffled by the spit and tears on his face. “Beau.”
Beau aims his hand once more, his face determined as if to say WHY WON’T YOU DIE?!
The charge rallies at his shoulder blade, powering up to be more intense than any Jordan had felt before. Understanding he had no more time left he rolled on his back and turned his gaze on his Beau. “I don’t blame you,” he manages. “I love you, Beau.”
“Do it,” Anze orders, having appeared on the other side of Jordan. “Kill him.”
Beau looks at Anze before returning to Jordan, preparing the final charge. It gathers at his hand, ready to be fired. He stares at the swirling energy, understanding the incredible power in his hand.
“I love you.”
Beau looks up at Anze who returns a shocked gaze. It’s at that moment Beau realizes Jordan hadn’t spoken. It was Beau.
Jordan rolls a bit on his back, a lazy and goofy grin plastered on his exhausted face. “Oh good,” he sighs. “You’re back.”
Beau, in a fit of rage, redirects the energy straight into the shocked Anze. Literally shocked.
Anze falls to the ground not unlike Bettman earlier.
“Great timing,” Jordan wheezes. “Kinda thought I was a goner.”
“Let my crew go,” Sid argues resolutely. “They were under my command.”
“Sidney,” Taylor shakes her head. “We have orders, no prisoners.”
“WHAT?!” Sid looses his cool. “You can’t kill Icarus Fleet men and women!”
“You’re not Icarus Fleet, brother,” Taylor retorts. “I have my orders.”
“Who’s?” Sid scoffs. “Bettman’s? He’s a lunatic and he betrayed Icarus Fleet.”
“Let’s not play who betrayed who, Sidney,” Taylor shrugs. “I think that’s pretty clear.”
The screen goes dark and Kunitz turns a wild gaze on Sid. “Who the fuck is this bitch? Captain, I know you said she’s your sister but she’s got a few real loose screws!”
Sid sighs. “That’s not my sister.”
“What?” Malkin and Orpik say at the same time.
“Something’s wrong. She...” Sid shakes his head. “I’ve never in my life heard Taylor call me Sidney. Not once.”
“Captain!” Neal interrupts. “They’re charging weapons. They’re going to fire on us!”
“Come here,” Jordan barely says as he pulls Beau down to him for a bone-crushing kiss.
“No I’m trying to tell you that the Nelson.... mmphf,” Beau’s words are silenced by Jordan’s punishing kiss. Beau had been trying to debrief Jordan on the situation above Nagao that Beau had overheard Anze discussing.
When Jordan finally allowed Beau up for air he’d momentarily forgotten the situation. Then quickly he filled Jordan in on the USS Lachenmann that had shown up and fired upon the Nelson.
“They need to see what I found out about Bettman,” Jordan winced. “Help me up!”
The Nelson shakes violently and Sid yells, “How many more of those can we take?”
“Just one sir!” Neal says, maintaining his cool.
“BRING IT FUCKERS!” Kunitz shouts at the black screen.
Geno reaches out and grabs Sid’s hand in the darkness of the bridge. All power is being diverted to the shields. Sid grasps the warm hand and locks his fingers with Geno’s and pulls him closer as they await the final charge from the Lachenmann.
Silence.
The ship holds, suspended in space, all power fed to the shields.
“They stop?” Malkin says righting himself and letting go of Sid’s hand.
“They smarted up and listened to me,” Kunitz says brushing her shoulder despite the fact that her hair is a complete mess, just like everyone else’s.
Then the screen lights, illuminating the room.
“My name is Commander Steven Stamkos with the Icarus Fleet USS Lachenmann,” the blonde man speaks with a quiet, reserved demeanor. “I am joined by the Icarus Fleet Jet Squadron Four under the command of Airmen Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle. We have received orders to cease fire on the USS Nelson provided you return the crew and ship to Icarus Fleet on Earth.”
Kunitz jumps up to make a loud, snide remark but Sid flashes her a stern look, quieting her for a moment.
“Bettman is dead and a traitor,” Stamkos continues, shocking the crewmembers of the Nelson. “We were relayed the intel by a IF Marine in the compound on Nagao.”
“Thank God, Jordan’s okay,” Kunitz sighs sitting back down in her chair.
“The USS Nelson will return to Icarus Fleet HQ for repairs and then be returned to your captaining Crosby.”
“What about my sister?” Sid replies sternly.
“She...” Stamkos seems to be looking for words to describe it. “She didn’t take our new orders well and tried to fire regardless. We ascertained that there was a problem and detained her in the brig. She’ll have a psych eval when we get back to HQ. To be honest Crosby, she’s a bit...”
“Determined?” Sid finished.
“That’s one way to put it,” Stamkos still didn’t show any emotion. “I think she’s been compromised. We had a bad feeling this whole time, we were just following orders.”
“Yeah,” Sid rolls his eyes. “Following orders...”
The Icarus Fleet emblem flies valiantly behind the stoic soldiers, brave men and women who despite the odds, managed to save the Fleet and maintain its position in the universe as a force for good.
“Captain Sidney Crosby,” Quenneville says in his gruff and commanding voice. “Commander Evgeni Malkin, Commander Brooks Orpik, and Lieutenant Commander Christina Kunitz...”
“Dear God! Christy, please,” Kunitz interrupts loudly, before having the sense to look at least a little embarrassed by the outburst. “Sir.” She adds belatedly.
Quenneville chuckles, “Lieutenant Commander Christy Kunitz. Each of you will be awarded the Icarus Fleet Meritorious Medal of Valor for your heroic actions during the last month. Icarus Fleet is forever indebted to you and your crew.”
The grand audience of cadets, Icarus Fleet personnel, and the crews of the USS Nelson and USS Lachenmann erupt in applause. Geno is the only one of the four who cracks a smile, and his smile is wide.
“Master Sergeant Jordan Staal,” Quenneville moves to the final Nelson crewmember. “You will be awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.” Quenneville’s words are drowned out by a huge outburst of cheers and woops from Marines and the audience as a whole. Jordan stares straight ahead as the blue and gold medal is pinned to his Marine Corps uniform.
“Lieutenant Commander Kunitz,” Quenneville surprises everyone, it was assumed Staal would be the finale to the medal ceremony. “In light of your position onboard the USS Nelson, and from the great amounts of valor and bravery, you will be promoted to the position of Commander.” The audience roars again.
“Nothing about the last few months has been by the book. Icarus Fleet awarded the position of Captain to the youngest ever Icarus Fleet member and in a month he stole a battleship, defected from Icarus Fleet, fired upon a brand new IF battleship...” the audience chuckles with Quenneville’s list, “he also saved lives, lead his men valiantly, helped end a traitor at the highest position in the fleet, and even managed to form a brief yet effective treaty with a high ranking Rogue Empire Battleship Captain. Nothing short of extraordinary. All because of one Captain chosen not by the book but because of true merit.
“So Icarus Fleet is going to be shaken up for a bit. With Bettman gone I am now Fleet Admiral,” the audience cheers and Quenneville silences them. “Also McLellan will be stepping down, the old man is ready for retirement,” laughter rings out and McLellan, in the audience smirks. “So we have promoted USS Saariaho Captain Joseffa Thornton to the position of Admiral Chief of Icarus Operations. That leaves one position open, Vice Admiral. It is my pleasure today to offer that position to Commander Brooks Orpik.”
Sid breaks a wide smile with Geno. They’d been in the know, though it was definitely a surprise to Orpik who’d already heard his wife had accepted her new position. Orpik stands shocked at the announcement. Sid hits him hard on the back, “Take it! You and Joseffa deserve it.”
Brooks turns to Sid and takes his hand in a hard, masculine shake. His eyes are welled with tears and the exhaustion that’d previously shown on his face seems to have evaporated in happiness, “It’s been a real pleasure, sir.”
Sid nods and pulls him in for a hug, despite the huge audience and television cameras. “Still think Icarus Fleet will fail with me as Captain, Orpik?”
“That’s VICE ADMIRAL Orpik,” Brooks laughs. “I mean you have already stolen a battleship!”
“I’m going to make your life a living hell,” Sid winks release their tight grasp.
“I have no doubt. Bring it on!”
There’s a man and a woman on the far reaches of space. They don’t see each other often so they cherish the moments.
“I have a question,” she starts.
“Yes?” He smirks.
“Magnitogorsk. It was the Magi,” she states.
“Yes,” he runs a hand along her arm. “I fail to hear a question in that.”
“I saw Magnitogorsk burn,” she said with a sad expression. “And then I saw Earth burn.”
“I know,” he whispers into her neck.
“Why didn’t Earth burn?”
“I didn’t want you to have to see it twice,” he says licking and tasting her skin in a sensual display of unending love.
“Why?”
“Because it’s happened,” he says with a grin. “Our replacements are here. Yours, mine, Brendan’s...”
She looks down at the simple hardwood floor. “What will happen to us? I can’t see that.”
“I don’t know,” he responds closing his eyes. “But maybe, just maybe we can actually be together?”
She nods silently, though not convinced. “I don’t like not seeing.”
He sighs, “It’s not that you don’t see, it’s that you get to see it once, just like the rest of us mortals.”
She smiles. “You’re hardly a mortal.”
“Neither are you, Manon.”
“Hey.”
Beau looks up from the gray, rubber mattress in the Sick Bay.
Jordan nervously rubs the blonde bristles on the back of his head. “How are you feeling?”
“Good,” Beau finally says. “Yeah, fine... good.”
Awkward.
It’s like a still cloud of tension hanging between the two of them. At least for Beau who’s looking at anyone but Jordan, the man he tried to kill.
Jordan on the other hand... He’s what you’d call clueless. He’s smiling wide and staring at Beau like he’s the only thing in the world that matters. He reaches out and grabs Beau’s hand, grasping it like he’ll never let go.
“I love you,” Jordan smiles wider, his eyes pleading for Beau to look at him.
Beau’s head shoots up, his gaze leaving the cold, metal floor and making contact with Jordan’s. “I tried to kill you.”
Jordan chuckles. “Yeah,” then without warning and completely out of left field, Jordan’s smile widens and he asks, “Marry me?”
“I think we should talk, yes?” Geno says as he steps into the Captain’s Quarters.
“I’ll just leave,” Fleury says ducking his head. Geno flushes red, having not seen the other man in Sid’s chambers.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Sid responds as the doors shut behind Fleury. “It was a momentary lapse in judgment.”
Geno is flashing a wide, cocky grin despite Sid trying to discount their brief display of affection when faced with certain peril.
“That’s it Geno,” Sid pressures.
“Is okay, Sid,” fucking Geno still has that smirk. “Is to take time.”
Sid opens his mouth to respond but the communicator crackles before Neal’s agitated voice comes in. “Distress call from the USS Glazunov! We’ve been ordered to fly out and aid immediately!”
Sid pats Geno on the shoulder, “We have a job to do!”
The two of them storm onto the bridge together, faced with a crew of ready and willing bodies, awaiting Sid’s command. A third body comes storming into the room, tripping as he enters and nearly face planting.
“Need to work on Space legs, Lieutenant,” Geno smirks.
Lieutenant Sutter blushes a dark red.
“If you really 3rd Officer,” Geno laughs.
“Good luck with that job buddy,” Kunitz pats him hard on the back. With Orpik’s promotion, Kunitz moved up to 2nd Officer and Sutter was called on to fill in. The USS Nelson seemed dedicated to the cause of doing things any way possible other than by the book.
Sid sits in the Captain’s Chair and nods. “Time to put these repairs to the test. Take us out Iginla!”
Iginla flashes that unnerving smile, “Yes sir!”
“Taylor?” The calm voice softly speaks. “Taylor.”
Taylor pulls on the jacket holding her arms around her body. She grinds her teeth before smiling wide.
“Taylor?” The psychiatrist tries once more.
“I’m going to kill them all.”
To be continued...