"Are you all right, my lord?"
Six frowned in confusion as she realized she was lying on her back. She remembered the explosion knocking her backwards before collapsing the tunnel, but everything else was hazy. The voice addressing her was deep and husky; before she'd thought Quinn was the only man she knew that could make "my lord" sound like an endearment. She opened her eyes, squinting at the face in front of her. In the dim glow of the cave walls she recognized the scarred face of Pierce, kneeling beside her. His brow was knitted with concern as he ran his hands over her scalp, his fingers threading through her thick black hair, then over her limbs. Just searching for injuries, Six told herself, as he reached under her to assist her to a sitting position.
"Too much baradium in those charges," he said gruffly, "Didn't expect them to react like that. Damn good explosion though." He grinned at the last part of his statement. Six shook her head, trying to clear it but also hiding a smile at his enthusiasm over demolition.
"A bit much for my liking," she said, "Need to get away faster next time."
It hadn't escaped her that Pierce's hand remained on her back. His grin had faded somewhat, becoming more intense as he focused on her face as best as he could in the near darkness. Even though her solid red eyes usually burned to the point of glowing, Six knew it was probably difficult to make out the refined features of her blue toned face.
"Glad to see you're in one piece, my lord," his voice got husky again, "Didn't mean to put you in harm's way." He stood, reaching for her hand and then pulling her up with him. She'd noticed Pierce's way of touching her was professional and reassuring, but he seemed reluctant to stop. He also had that way of calling her 'my lord' like it meant something more than a title, similar to an Imperial Captain she knew.
Six sighed internally, wondering, not for the first time, how wise it was having two such strong male personalities on her ship, especially since Pierce had started showing signs of being interested in her. She was curious if it was a genuine attraction, or if he was using her to get on Quinn's nerves. It seemed like Pierce made his advances more noticeable when the Captain was in the vicinity. Maybe she wasn't the only one who thought it was humorous to work Quinn into a fit of silent indignation, Six thought with a grin. But there were moments when she caught Pierce watching her with a dangerous intensity, like he was marking her as a target. Either way, she was going to have to nip it in the bud soon. Lately, she'd begun to feel like a choice piece of nerf meat thrown between two Kath hounds, and it was wearing thin.
Part of her admitted after Quinn's cool demeanor, Pierce's raw maleness had a certain appeal. The Lieutenant was a giant of a man, towering over both herself and Quinn, with broad shoulders and a swagger in his walk. Recently she'd found herself wondering about the texture of the scars on his cheek, and if his beard would feel rough on her skin. It hadn't helped that Quinn requested to stay on the ship as opposed to going to Hoth, the one planet in this galaxy that was as close to a home as she could remember. But she'd also seen Quinn's eyes flash when she'd said Pierce would accompany her, as opposed to Jaesa. She'd tried justifying her decision by telling herself that he was the newest member to her crew, she needed to see what he was capable of. Now she wondered if she'd done it to lash back at Quinn or just to have some time with Pierce by her side. This was one of those rare times where even she wasn't sure what her motivation was.
"We should get moving," Six kept her voice as cool as the cave they were currently using to test munitions, "That explosion might have made the walls less stable."
The charges going off had knocked out the lights they'd set up, and she had no clue what had happened to the light she'd had clipped to her belt. They were now forced to rely on the cave's natural bio-luminescence, which was only one step better than total darkness. Luckily, Six thought, better than human night vision was an advantage of being Chiss, she could navigate around the debris on the ground with ease. Pierce didn't seem to be faring as well; she'd heard him swear more than once as his boots caught on the rocks. Six realized if she didn't take action, he'd trip up and get injured with his heavy footedness. She just wasn't sure if her next maneuver would open any doors that would be better left shut.
"Allow me, Lieutenant," she maintained a brisk tone, as she unerringly reached for his left hand. He started at her touch, but didn't resist as Six peeled off the glove and placed his hand on her shoulder. "You'll need to be aware of my location if I'm to guide us out of here, and I know you can't feel much through those gloves. Now, step lightly and follow me. Can't have you knocking over every rock formation on the way out of here."
She hoped interjecting a note of levity would help defuse any awkwardness of the situation. But her pulse jumped as Pierce's large hand shifted and his fingertips stroked the side of her neck, before curling under the collar of her coat. He's just trying to keep his hand from freezing, Six told herself, but she wasn't so sure. She felt him tug slightly, as if gauging her proximity to him.
"Noted, my lord. Lead the way." Pierce's deep voice sounded right next to her ear, and she swore she could hear his usual smirk in his words.
Six started moving towards where she remembered the entrance was, keeping her steps steady, but swift. Having grown up exploring these caves she was attuned to their structure, and her instincts were telling her remaining for much longer would be dangerous. The low rumble in the walls let her know there had been some collapses, even if they hadn't occurred in the area she and Pierce were in. It'd seemed like good idea testing the munitions underground, the large cavern she remembered from her childhood offered enough space for the blast without drawing the attention of the roaming Republic forces or the local wildlife. She hadn't been prepared for someone adding a little extra oomph to the charges. Now it fell to her to lead them out of there before they were trapped.
"You seem very familiar with this cave, my lord," Pierce's usual rumble was quieter than normal, but close to her ear again. For his part, he was stepping as lightly as he could in his heavy cold weather armor, following her steady movement with ease. Six was surprised that such a large man could move so quietly, until she reminded herself that he was in Black Ops for all those years. Moving quietly was probably essential to his survival, and that of his men.
"One of the many I explored when I was younger, grew up at Dorn, remember?" Six admitted, referring to the fact that she'd lived at the base when her Chiss father was stationed there, "But exploration didn't usually involve blowing things up." she added dryly. She caught the chuckle from Pierce and he squeezed her shoulder.
"The idea was sound, my lord," he said, "The environment was controlled, no chance of enemy interference. It was the damn charges that backfired." His voice lowered to almost a growl. "When I get my hands on who tampered with them..." His hand gripped her shoulder almost painfully. Six reached up and tapped his hand to remind him where it laid and he let out a sound of surprise. "Sorry, my lord," he sounded chagrined, "Just seen too many good men fall because of misuse of munitions, always seemed a waste."
"I agree, Lieutenant, it is a waste," Six had seen more than one soldier sent to the infirmary, or the morgue, due to foolish acts around the volatile supplies that were stored at the base. "But, I'm sure whoever did it was just looking to shortcut some demolition work." Still not smart, but better than purposeful sabotage. Forcing herself to concentrate on their situation again, Six paused at a fork in their path; she was sure they should have started seeing daylight by now. She moved more urgently down the path, following familiar landmarks, and then let out a loud groan as she came to a sudden stop.