What Goes Around
by AstroGirl
Crichton had locked them into Scorpius's cell. Sikozu regarded this as both ungrateful, given all they had done for him on Katratzi, and foolish, since he knew perfectly well that Scorpius could bypass the room's security any time he chose.
Scorpius, at least, did not seem especially bothered. The crippling blow they'd dealt to the Scarrans appeared to have put him into an excellent mood, though she might flatter herself that the night they'd spent together afterward might have something to do with it, as well.
She was idly considering attempting to coax him into a reprise of those activities when the Banik appeared at the door, thoroughly breaking the mood.
He peered at them through the bars for a long moment, his eye filled with malevolence, until at last Scorpius rose from the bed and approached him. "Hello, Stark."
"It's decided." Stark's voice was somehow simultaneously soft and hard. "Crichton's going to put you off the ship. Out the airlock. I argued for doing it without a suit."
Scorpius remained silent, but Sikozu's temper flared. Baniks were widely known to be naturally limited in mental capacity, but they were at least supposed to have enough presence of mind to recognize and respect their intellectual betters. How dare this one speak to Scorpius like that? "Listen, you pathetic slave, you have no idea--" No idea what they had done for his people, she was going to say. Wasn't a blow against the Scarrans a blow for all the species they'd oppressed, Baniks included, however crude and backward they might be?
But Stark cut her off. "Slave? Slave? I'm no slave! Never again a slave. But you! My people had to be captured and forced to work at gunpoint. Baniks are bought and sold, but the Kalish sold themselves. Collaborators! Worse than slaves!"
That hurt like an unexpected blow, and she stepped forward to... She wasn't sure to do what, not really, especially with the bars between them, but the fog of anger in her mind made her feel capable of anything. But Scorpius held up a hand, and, trembling, she obeyed his unspoken command. He was right, of course. Violence was unlikely to improve their situation, and this gibbering fool was hardly worth the effort of talking to.
"What is it you want with me, Stark?" Scorpius's voice was quiet and calm.
They stared at each other for several microts, Scorpius standing utterly still and Stark regarding him with a look in his single eye that made Sikozu think of a diseased predator: crazed but cunning.
It was Stark who broke the silence. "They said you knew the bioloid wasn't me, because I would never torture you. Is that true? Is that right?"
"Yes," replied Scorpius, neutral and even.
"Don't be so sure," said Stark darkly.
"Enough of this." Scorpius suddenly looked weary. "You haven't the stomach for revenge, Stark, and you possess no capacity to hurt me with words. There is nothing for you here. We will be gone soon enough."
Stark snarled and rattled against the bars like a frustrated animal. Then he turned, and in a fluttering of brown cloth, he was gone.
Scorpius sat back down on the bed. Sikozu sat next to him, her lip curling with annoyance. "What a truly... unpleasant... person."
Scorpius turned to look at her, his gaze suddenly, briefly piercing before drifting away to focus on nothing in the room. "Stark has reason to hate me."
Her mouth twisted into a small, bitter smile. "As Crichton does? Despite the fact that you have helped him so many times."
"Yes. Very much like that." His voice was casual, almost light, but beneath it was something that might have been a warning. "I tortured him. In the Aurora Chair. For two cycles." He shrugged a little. "It was nothing personal, of course. I needed information he possessed. But I suppose that he sees it... somewhat differently."
Sikozu grew quiet, troubled by a sudden flash of empathy, then smiled, though the expression was a little forced. "Well, I am sure you had reasons. If he possessed information that could be used against the Scarrans, the location of Katratzi--"
Scorpius cut her off, one hand resting on her leg, gripping almost too hard. "You do not need to justify my own actions to me!" The grip eased off, became something more like a caress. "Believe me, I am quite comfortable with them. But I do find it necessary to remind you, Sikozu, of exactly what kind of person I am."
The forced smile became a little wider and melted into something more genuine. "Ruthless, you mean? I'd prefer to say... 'focused.' Willing to do what needs to be done, without letting emotion get in the way. I respect that." She ran a fingertip down his chest, tracing the contours of the cooling suit. "It's one of the things that I find attractive about you."
He moved his hand atop hers, stroked it for a moment, then grasped it firmly to hold it still. "I am pleased to hear it."
She touched his lips playfully with her free hand and grinned. "Besides, I think it is something we have in common. I can be focused and ruthless, too, you know."
"Oh, yes," he said quietly. "Oh, yes, believe me. I do know."
She didn't understand why his voice sent a cold chill down her back, so she kissed him, and embraced him, and tried to forget what was obviously an irrational feeling.
It was neither the first mistake she'd made with Scorpius, nor the last.