This is dedicated to MJ! She gave me the characters/prompts of Murphy and Raven on the Eligius ship. I had a lot of fun writing this, so thank you for the inspiration!
Enjoy xxx
I'd Rescue You
"Murphy, I swear, if you don't stop tapping your finger..." Raven looked darkly over from where she sat staring at the computer screen, making eye contact with her sole companion. He paused mid-tap, his mouth twitching into a smile.
"Or what, Reyes? What will you do?" he teased. Raven narrowed her eyes one last time before turning back to the notes on the computer.
"Can you please just find something to entertain yourself? Quietly," she added. "I need to figure this out." Murphy frowned. He considered saying something snappy, but decided against it. She had a lot of pressure on her shoulders recently - with getting everyone down to Earth, changing the commands for the prisoners in cryosleep, and now trying to find a way to get them back to the ground. She never planned on returning to the planet – not if it meant saving her friends. But, things changed. It was no longer just her life that she had to consider; Murphy now relied on her to get back home. She felt responsible for his choice to stay with her – no matter how many times he disagreed – and was working towards getting them both home. He wasn't too sure how much she had slept since they arrived on Eligius.
"Alright," he relented. She didn't have it easy - the least he could do was not make it worse.
"Thank you." She sighed and rested her forehead in her hands once again, begging her mind to absorb and figure out the information in front of her. She had never seen any technology like they had on this ship before, and it was proving difficult to find a way back down to Earth.
She heard Murphy leave the room, leaving her to her thoughts. As she read and re-read the notes left by the captain, she couldn't help but let her mind wander. She wondered if her friends had managed to get to the ground safely. She didn't lack faith in Emori's abilities, but even she had to admit that the landing was tricky. She wondered if they had managed to rescue that woman that Eligius had captured. Raven knew that Bellamy would never let anyone be harmed, so she was sure that she would be rescued by now.
Raven had mere minutes of complete silence before she heard Murphy's scream from across the ship. Her heart rate accelerated and she jumped up from her chair. She wasn't sure what was happening – all she knew was he was in trouble. She glanced around the room, looking for something to defend herself with. All she could see was Murphy's half eaten pack of crackers. Forget it, I'll do it myself.
"Murphy?" Her voice was rising in panic. He couldn't be hurt – he couldn't be. They were the only ones on this ship!
Unless…
Her head spun. Unless a prisoner had woken up. She did everything right. She changed the code. The passengers couldn't have been woken up remotely from Earth.
Oh no. Did she do it wrong? She knew that one wrong letter could disrupt the entire code. Did she make a mistake?
She pushed all of her thoughts to the side, instead decided to completely focus on finding and rescuing Murphy.
"Murphy!" she called again, more forceful this time. She could hear footsteps coming from the hallway to the right of the control room. That is the direction she took off in.
As she ran, she recalled what Echo taught her. Most of the moves were second nature now, but it couldn't hurt to review. If he was in trouble, he would be relying on her to rescue him. She trained for this. She tried to calm her racing heart.
The footsteps were getting closer. She could hear a faint rattle too. What happened?
It was too late to think; she could hear the other person just around the corner she stood at.
Raven balled her fist up, swung it back, and let it fly as soon as she rounded the corner. The heel of her hand connected against the side of someone's upper arm, making them drop what they were carrying. A large box fell onto the floor, the contents inside rattling around. The two of them let out startled screams when they saw each other.
"What are you doing, Raven!?" Murphy took a step backwards, his hand coming in front of him to block any more of her swings. When he seen the panicked look in her eyes, his expression softened. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" He stepped forward, grasping her shoulders gently. His eyes scanned her face for any injury.
"I– I heard your scream." She shook her head, as if she was trying to clear it of water. "What happened? Are you okay?" She returned his question. They stared at each other for a brief moment of concern before Murphy's face broke into a grin.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were worried about me," he teased. Raven frowned.
"Of course I am worried about you! What in the wo-" Her exclamation was cut short when he pulled her in for a hug. She was stunned into silence. It wasn't often that Murphy showed his soft side, and it was even less often that he expressed his feelings with hugs.
She didn't waste any time, and instantly returned the embrace. Her arms wrapped around his middle, her hands pressing firmly against his back. Her heart was still racing and her hands shook from adrenaline. He held her firmly, his hands collapsed behind her. Neither of them moved from the hug for a long moment.
"You have a good swing," Murphy broke the silence that settled over them. She could hear the smile in his voice.
"Sorry," she said, still not pulling away from the hug. She needed to know that he was okay – that he wasn't in trouble. "I didn't know it was you. I thought something had happened." They were both silent for a moment before they released each other. Still, Raven kept a hand on his elbow, almost as if she needed to feel him to know he was okay.
"We're the only two on this whole ship, Reyes," he replied. His eyes widened with realization. "You thought it was another prisoner woken up from cryosleep?"
"Of course I did! You screamed!" Raven pulled away, anger and annoyance washing over her. Why would he yell like he did if he wasn't in trouble? "Why were you screaming?" She crossed her arms and a frown settled on her face. If she didn't know any better, she would almost say that he looked sheepish. She knew Murphy though, and she wasn't sure if he was capable of being sheepish.
"I found something." He bent over and picked up the box he had dropped on the floor when Raven hit him. He lifted the flap and showed her. "I thought it might be fun. A way to kill time?" All of the anger dissipated from Raven when she saw the contents of the box.
Inside the box, a video game from before the first Praimfaya sat, along with the control system. Other than wires being tangled together, it looked to be in good condition.
"Wow. What...?"
"Oh don't play like that! You're the smartest person I know. I'm sure you recognize an electronic game?" A smile lifted her lips.
"They're referred to as video games, actually." Instead of biting back a comment like she expected him to, he smiled bigger. Of course, she thought, she just proved his point.
"So you do know what it is," he replied cheekily. Before she could reply, he continued speaking. "I found it in a room down there. The captains room." He gestured in the direction that he came from. "I guess Good Ol' Captain has a knack for gaming - it's filled!" Raven was too stunned to reply. She hadn't played video games before - she was taught what they were while on the Ark, and she heard rumors that some of the wealthier families had their own systems, but she had never seen one with her own eyes before.
"Does it work?" Raven questioned, excitement filling her. She completely forgot about the worry and the anger that she had felt only moments before. Murphy pulled out the console and turned it over a few times.
"We'll have to see. I did just drop it, after all." He glanced at Raven out of the corner of his eyes. It was her turn to look sheepish. He slipped the system back in the box. They stared at each other for a brief moment. "Uh… Thanks. For coming after me." Raven shifted on her feet. "If I was in any danger, I know I would be able to count on you to bail me out."
"Of course. We're a team. I know you'd do the exact same thing for me too." Another beat of silence passed. "Well, a break wouldn't hurt. Especially since I'm totally going to crush you." He laughed, a wicked smile plastering itself on his face.
"In your dreams, Reyes."
A little silly, I will admit. But SO much fun to write! I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing.
Don't forget to leave a review!
Paw
