Thanks so much for the follows and the reviews. I hope you all continue to enjoy this story.
Thanks again to ultraluckycatnd for her taking this epic tale on and being the beta to my crazy mind. You're awesome, my friend.
Chapter 4 - A Journey starts with a single step.
Regina took the woman's hand and shook it. Looking deep into her eyes, she searched for the reason she had been unable to mentally reach her to tell her they were friends. The woman before her was definitely an enigma. "I am sorry we're late. Zelena is deathly ill, so she searched for me and sent me to help you."
Emma looked at the stately figure before her. Her aura was certainly powerful, tinged in regal purple and glowing in a way that only an Eminent One's aura would glow. She recognized her immediately for what she was. Her full lips and powerful dark eyes were offset by her obsidian hair that curled at her shoulders. All in all, she was a beautiful, exotic woman with a gleam in her eyes that spoke of power with a hint of playfulness. Zelena had that same twinkle. For a moment, Emma lowered her head, her heart mourning to hear her friend was ill, but something moved along the fringes of her own perception. Zelena? Before she could speak, the man at her feet made a noise. A groan.
"Aye, marvelous. Everyone just ignore me! I'm only lying here in pain and freezing my bloody arse off," Killian coughed out.
Emma crouched down next to the man she had tossed and almost killed. "You okay? They still in your throat?" she smirked, unable to keep the amusement from her voice.
Killian's blue eyes narrowed and he reached for his gun again.
"Whoa there, partner. Let me look at you," Graham quickly said, interceding before Killian decided to shoot the young woman. Graham tsked at him as he got closer. "Killian, no shooting the client."
Killian growled low in his throat and lay back.
Their client sat down on the ground next to him, her body beginning to shake, and Killian finally registered her wet hair. Looking at her critically, he noticed the perfect whiteness of her skin had a bluish tinge to it. "You were in the water as well?" At Killian's question, Regina immediately turned to look at the woman and watched as she nodded.
So, he wasn't just a stupid enforcer with a blaster, Emma thought as she struggled to stopped the shiver that threatened to run through her. The man had some brains, and probably even used them from time to time when his body wasn't trying to combat the pain of a crushed set of male genitalia. She studied him, appreciating his muscular build. She had never heard him move up behind her. Actually, she missed him telegraphing his intent or presence. That hadn't happened in a long time. He had ink black hair and a day or two's worth of stubble, but it was the striking depths of his incredibly blue eyes that held her attention. He looked all rugged and strong, but his features had a continuity about them; a belonging. There was a faint scar below his right eye and his lips were full, soft, and totally kissable. When his tongue came out to poke at his lips, very aware of her regard, she felt responsiveness run down her body. Men weren't supposed to look like tough angels.
He squirmed under her gaze and then cursed his reaction. "Hey, I said..."
"Yes." Emma was shocked at her husky-sounding voice. Clearing her throat, she spoke more firmly. "Yes, I was in the water. All the lower decks are flooded." Without her helmet to close the unit of her thermal suit, she was starting to adapt to the surrounding cold. Her body temperature was dropping fast.
Graham looked at the woman and frowned. Quickly giving Killian a neural block in his lower spine to deaden the pain in his groin, Graham turned his sensors on Emma. "Your core body temperature is dropping fast," he gasped with concern. "How long were you in the water?"
Killian frowned as her small body began to shiver and shake at an alarming rate.
"Too long. It took me three trips to find what I was looking for and I still missed one."
Loudly, Will stumbled into the room, Robin following him with a curious expression on his face. Giving Killian an amused look, Will dropped a load of manuscripts at the woman's feet. They were all in protective casings.
"Those are mine!" she growled out through chattering teeth, a trembling hand reaching out to grasp the case closest to her.
Will smiled at her. Whoooa, pretty. Nope. Actually, breathtakingly beautiful. "Calm down, lass. Actually everything here is yours."
Emma looked at the man in irritation. He had touched her property! Steeling herself and swallowing her natural instinct to beat him upside the head, she tried to quell the rising coldness of her body and the internal shakes. Fuck. Her systems were starting to shut down.
When the casing dropped from her weakening grip, Graham made another sound of distress. She was sinking fast. They needed to warm her up. This was more than hypothermia. "I need to get her back to the Jolly and then to the Enchanted. Her temperature is dropping fast. Warm saline bath and heaters. I don't get this. It's not hypothermia."
Emma ignored Graham and looked at Regina. "I need that last manuscript. It's essential. This job is a search for three missing gems of immeasurable importance, then one last task to neutralize the imbalance of power and restore the natural order. I need that manuscript."
"Love, you're not getting it," Killian said sharply with a quick shake of his head.
She turned to look at him. "I..."
He cut her off. "No one! Not one of my men is risking their life in that freezing water, and definitely not with those creatures."
Emma turned back to Regina. "Everything else on this ship is yours as payment. There are thirty-seven unflooded cargo holds, each with treasures unimaginable, all packed and waiting to be taken." Her speech was stunted as her body shook with the cold, but she managed a weak smile when Will made a squeak of delight.
Killian scowled as he took out his com link. "Command."
"Go, Killian. What's the situation?" David's voice was quick and to the point.
"We've found our newest client and the area is secure. Send down as many recovery teams as possible. We need a warming unit from Sickbay and a full size bed. Have them bring it down and install it in the back compartment of my runabout." Killian looked at Graham who nodded. That should work. "Tell them to be careful of the cross chop coming in. They'll be riding an ice storm all the way and lifters freeze on the drop, so coat them in liquid heat before starting."
"They're on their way," David acknowledged and Killian could hear him giving orders.
"What's the field look like?" Killian asked, his gaze flicking up to Regina. He had a suspicion if anything was approaching, Regina would know, but it didn't hurt to double check.
David's voice came back. "The system is clear, so we still have time. Let's clear the salvage and chalk up some distance from this dead system."
"Agreed." Killian turned off the com and tucked it back in his pocket before turning to Graham who was tending to their new client. Her body was shaking so much he could almost feel the shivers from where he was lying. She was next to him, gasping for breath, as her skin turned even bluer.
"They're bringing a warming bed," Killian said, looking at her with concern.
"She's dropping too fast. I don't get it!" Graham muttered as he continued to monitor her, giving her a shot of adrenaline to speed up her metabolism, thereby generating more heat.
Regina was looking at Emma's manuscripts, frowning. Will took off to organize the crews into starting the recovery process, leaving Robin, who was still unsure about his position within this group, behind.
"I need that last manuscript," Emma said through chattering teeth.
"I said no!" Killian shot back. They sat facing each other, both refusing to back down. Emma flicked her eyes down and looked at the oxygen supply of her environmental converter around her neck. She just barely had enough. Looking at him again, she shrugged. Grabbing his face, she leaned in and stared him in the eye. "I have a feeling you're going to be a handful."
She was suddenly up on her feet, and Killian didn't register she was stepping out of her protective suit until she stood there in a flimsy white thermal body stocking that clung to her body. In a flash, she picked up her weapon, fit the breathing apparatus into her mouth, ran, and dived into the cold water.
"Son-of-a-bitch!" Killian struggled to his feet, combating the nerve block Graham had given him which was making his legs feel like rubber, prickling with tiny nerve endings. He quickly removed his bulkier outer clothing as Graham injected him with adrenaline to speed up his body's metabolism. Regina quickly attached a ripcord to Killian's body as he hurried to follow their disappearing client.
"Killian!" He turned back to Graham just as Graham tossed him his forgotten weapon. Killian adjusted his own breathing apparatus, and dived in after her.
The lower decks were strangely dark, but iridescent from some unknown source. Going through the only possible access port from Engineering, he came out in the corridor of a lower deck. With no idea where she had gone, he kept watch for large moving objects. It took him almost a full deck of storage rooms to find her. She was in the second to last room, struggling to remove another protected manuscript that was jammed.
Sensing the movement of water, she suddenly turned, aiming her weapon at him until she realized it was him and not a sea creature. He moved her aside and struggled to remove the bloody manuscript. Looking at her, he was shocked at how blue she appeared.
Suddenly her body stiffened and her arm came up. Killian finally got the manuscript free in time to turn and see her shooting at a huge sea creature approaching them fast through the water. Taking his weapon, both of them shot at it until it was dead, but with the fallen creature came a flurry of activity as its blood called to other predators. They couldn't leave the way they had come.
Seeing an access junction in the corner of the bay, Killian passed her the manuscript before ripping its cover from the wall. Pushing her inside, he quickly followed. Keeping an eye on her body, he rushed through the smaller, tighter passages, swimming as quickly as he could with the limited leg room. He noticed her using her free hand to pull her body along with the sides of the ship. Tucking his weapon into his waistband, he followed her lead, catching up to her quickly.
They came out in another flooded corridor which was teeming with underwater creatures. Luckily, most were ignoring them. Killian pulled himself from the access port, but when he tried to follow her, he couldn't. Turning, he saw the cord that Regina had tied to him had become tangled down the maze they had just swam through, keeping him bound. Emma must have sensed he wasn't following, and she turned to see him trying to untie the cord with his frozen fingers. Swimming to his side, their eyes made contact before she looked down. The water had tightened the knot, and both of them were too cold and too numb to really feel or operate their fingers. Killian snapped his head up, and Emma saw fear move across his face. Turning, she saw a large sea creature bearing down on them. She reached for her weapon, only to find it was gone. She had dropped it in the access corridor to free a hand to pull herself along, while holding the manuscript tightly with the other.
Killian was still trying to free himself but he couldn't move, truly anchored by the rope. Emma grabbed the weapon from his waistband, turned, and fired repeatedly. The blood would bring others, the smaller fish and creatures were already feeding on the downed animal. She spun back and shoved her manuscript in his hand, handing him the weapon to keep an eye out for others.
Sinking lower in the water, she struggled with the tight knot that held them captive there. She couldn't leave him behind, not even for her cause. She could feel the movement in the water, the increase in activity and him firing over her head, and she could feel panic start to set in. There was a touch to her head and she looked up. He gestured for her to leave him. She shook her head no. He motioned to the corridor filling with more of the same creatures, and gestured for her to leave again.
Again she refused. In what was fast becoming a watery grave, their eyes fought a fierce battle, wild blue fighting with sea green, both refusing to stand down until finally, in a gesture of sheer annoyance, she took his gun from him and aimed it at his lower body. He closed his eyes as she blasted through the safety cord, releasing him.
Taking the manuscript from him she returned his gun. Taking his hand, she swam for another corridor, pulling him after her. He kept his eyes trained behind them, shooting the creatures following them. As they died, the crowd behind them slowed as they stopped to feed on the dead bodies. Killian and Emma moved through the corridors as fast as they could, until he noticed she was faltering.
Looking at the environmental unit on her neck, he saw the red indicator blinking empty. She was out of oxygen. When she started to panic, he pulled her to him, putting his mouth over hers, and he breathed oxygen into her lungs. After a short time of buddy-breathing, he looked at her and she nodded that she could go on. They progressed slowly, moving upwards through the flooded deck, searching for oxygen and freedom from the water. It was slow going, what with killing creatures that had large mouths and lots of teeth, plus having to stop and breathe for her. Finally, he found a set of doors semi-open with a strange gleam to the top water.
Daylight!
Pulling her with him, he broke for the surface. He dragged her out of the water, and they both lay on the deck just clear of the water, panting for breath. The cold and nitrogen in the air burning somewhat, but it was better that having no air at all. Oh, damn! They were in the burned out Bridge from earlier in the day! Killian cursed under his breath. He had sealed the doors from the other side, and the crushing winds and ice were hurling into the room, dropping the temperature even more. With their wet bodies and almost no real clothing on, both were shivering to death.
It was her gasping breath that reminded him of the high nitrogen mix in the atmosphere. Her environmental unit was still empty. Gathering her close, he joined their mouths, breathing oxygen into her body. She was losing ground fast; her skin was so much colder than his. Taking his gun, he shot at the closed doors with no effect. It could withstand a full cannon laser blast. They were dying and he knew it.
Emma reached for his hand. Putting her hand over his, she turned his arm away from the closed doors to the open rip in the Bridge that was allowing the elements in. Putting her finger with his on the triggering mechanism, she made him shoot through the hole to the outside.
Smart. She was smart. His men and the recovery teams were setting up full recovery perimeters and loading the artifacts and treasures off the Olympus. They would see the energy blast fired from his weapon. She was almost unconscious, dying. He gathered her close and breathed into her mouth again, trying to keep her warm with his own cold body. Fuck this. Regina! Regina, pick up that bloody mental phone of yours and get your arse to the fucking Bridge!
He kept cursing Regina out in his head while breathing for the both of them and shooting through the open side of the ship. Her body was so small compared to his - and way too cold. He could feel unconsciousness threatening him as the pull of darkness increased and his breathing labored against the cold. If he stopped, then she died. Regina. Killian stopped and tried something he'd never done before. David...
…
Graham and Regina pulled on the safety cord. It wouldn't move. They've been down too long. Graham checked his sensors on his hand unit, and medical scanner. Too much movement below, but he could still read two humanoid life signs.
Robin came up to them. "Should we go after them?"
Regina shook her head no. "We do not know where they went. With all the sea life down there..."
"I'll follow the line," Will butted in, concerned for his friend, his family.
"Sir! Topside says they're picking up energy readings off the port side. They're coming from a hole in the hull of this ship." Regina, Robin, and Will looked at the young crewman and then at each other. Regina grabbed the manuscripts and shoved them in her pack, then gathered up Emma's clothing as Graham grabbed Killian's.
"It has to be them." Will rushed from the room, as Regina paused. She tilted her head slightly, as if hearing something from far away. Regina.
The com system came alive. "This is David, where is Killian? I can barely feel him. Regina, dammit, respond!"
"David, it's Will. Killian is missing."
"We're picking up huge energy blasting from the portside hull," David said rechecking the science sensors himself.
Regina came alive and rushed from the room down the corridor. "The Bridge. They came up in the Bridge."
Will followed, with Robin and Graham trailing after him. "Then why didn't he join us? One of those bloody sea creatures must have taken a bite out of his arse."
Regina just shook her head. "He can't. He sealed the Bridge from the other side."
They made it down the side corridor to the main one from which they had entered the ship. Grabbing the safety ropes tossed along the forty-five-degree angled corridor, they used the ropes to keep themselves from sliding further into the bowels of the ship. Crossing to the other side corridor that led to the Bridge, they ran, using the walls to keep them steady.
Will and Robin worked fast to release the frozen lock while Graham scanned the other side with his medical scanner.
"Hurry, Will. One's not breathing and their life signs are almost gone."
Regina tried to open a time-space corridor to the other side so they could walk through, but she couldn't. She didn't have enough control, and the last one she opened seemed to just appear at her will.
Will just swore and sped up. The doors were finally freed and he and Robin pried them apart. They rushed in to find Killian leaning over Emma, his body covering hers, kissing her.
"We rushed in here just to watch Killian mack on the girl?" Will said with disgust.
Killian lifted his head at the sound of Will's voice. "Graham...oxygen. She ran out awhile ago."
Graham rushed to their sides, as Killian rolled off Emma's body and lay gasping, trying to breathe for himself for a change. Will and Robin came to him and helped him back into his clothes. Putting hands under his arms, they dragged him out of the Bridge into the more sheltered corridor. Killian's whole body was shaking. He couldn't feel his hands or feet; actually, he couldn't feel his entire body. He was numb.
Regina helped Graham with Emma as Will began to rub Killian's arms and legs to get the circulation going again.
"Just because ya already kissed her, don't be thinking she's yours," Will commented, his eyes scanning Killian with concern.
Killian looked at him and his eyes darkened. Will just swore under his breath. Damn, already? Something told him that his friend was going to be lacking humor in regards to this woman.
Will looked up as Regina and Graham came through the doors carrying Emma. They laid her down next to Killian who turned and looked at her, concerned. They had put her back in her heated environmental suit, and Graham put a new environmental unit on her neck. She was breathing again, but still unconscious and blue.
Graham worked on her furiously, talking to himself the entire time, as Regina went back to reseal the doors. He found the temperature control on the suit and turned it up. She must have used it before the other three times she went into the water to stabilize her body temperature. Graham began packing small heating packs into her suit to increase her temperature.
"I don't understand why her body isn't compensating for the cold and increasing the shivering effect with a push in metabolism. The adrenaline I gave her isn't even touching her, except to speed up her heart. I can't give her anymore."
Regina came back to join them. "I think it is her nature to take on the surrounding temperature."
Graham looked up confused. "What do you mean?"
"The manuscripts she was so intent on retrieving. They were Gaian."
The three men looked at Regina in shock. That was impossible! Gaianosis was the first planet that the Dark One destroyed before the war started. That world and its entire star system had been pulverized and sucked into a negative energy sinkfield - a black hole. The Dark One had turned his newest deadly weapon on their sun and blew a hole in its middle. The collapse of the giant star into itself was so great in mass that its gravitational field wouldn't let even light escape. It took out countless surrounding star systems as the gravitational pull of the black hole overwhelmed the stable orbits of nearby systems. It was the mass destruction that began the war - that and the Dark One raiding worlds for genetic materials for his cloning project.
Even the Dark One had been surprised at the power and destruction of his new weapon. The loss of genetic material and the loss of the Gaian homeworld was a terrible lesson. Gaianosis had been an anomaly. The inhabitants were evolved far beyond their surrounding worlds.
They were capable of space travel long before the others, but as a race they tended to avoid traveling in space by conventional methods. They were fabled to travel great distances in a wink of time. A cold-blooded race, their internal bodies did not self-regulate their body temperatures, but rather took on the temperature of the surrounding environment. The coldness of space was almost too much for them to withstand.
"Poikilothermic?" Graham scanned the surrounding temperatures and then her body. "Gaian. No one knows their physiology. They weren't very forthcoming about themselves with other races."
Regina nodded. They were a once-silent race, keeping all matters about themselves hidden from outsiders. But their silence ended there. They helped all those who needed help. Their loss to the known universe was mourned and the outrage brought on by their destruction brought the rest of the universe to the brink of war that lasted almost ten years.
It appeared that their newest client was the last surviving member of a now extinct race. She and she alone held all their collective knowledge and history. She also was the last surviving genetic representative, and thereby priceless to the Dark One. Regina felt a strange common fellowship with the woman.
"We need to get both her and Killian to the runabout and put them in the warming bed. She's been cold for too long," Regina ordered.
"I'm fine." They looked down to see that Emma had regained consciousness. "Where are my manuscripts?"
"I have them." Emma looked at Regina, her gaze critical as though she was searching for something, then simply nodded. They were safe with her.
Killian looked over her face and body. She was still blue and shivering, but at least she was breathing. "You're not okay, love. Regina, get us out of here before she decides to take us for another swim."
Her eyes narrowed at his tone before she turned and ignored him. Graham, Regina, Robin, and Will helped the two to the end of the corridor and into the larger one. Killian looked up the forty-five degree sloping incline and groaned. He wasn't getting paid enough for this shit.
Graham looked at the woman. She was still shivering. They had lost the helmet to her environmental suit, so he couldn't close it.
"I don't know that it's a good idea to take her outside. Her suit is open and her body will adapt to the outside temperature. I'm not sure her body and heart can take more stress. It's been pushed to the limit already."
"She is sitting right here, thank you. I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't talk about me in the third person." Emma leaned against the wall, looking up the incline. She could make it if they'd just let her get her breath back. Her lungs felt like they had exploded in her chest. They burned with every inhale and exhale, and she was still coughing up water.
Killian took out his com. "Report. What is the status of the recovery teams?" Killian waited for his main recovery officer to come back with a report.
"Commander, we set up a protective field and installed heaters. The protective areas are already warmer. Twenty-three of the thirty-seven storage bays have been emptied. Apollo is already on a turnaround trip, and the other two ships are loaded and ready to take off."
Killian did a quick calculation. The Apollo was their largest recovery ship and commanded the most storage space, but even she couldn't hold fourteen more storage bays.
"Send the other two ships to the Enchanted. I want them unloaded and back as soon as possible. Is the Tyche up and working?"
"No, Sir. She is still in dry dock for refitting of blown power couplings. Her aft shields took damage on the last job." Raiders and pirates only attacked the smaller recovery ships that Enchanted housed in her immense landing bays. No pirate would take on the full battleship with her armor and weapons, so the smaller recovery vessels were their best bet.
Killian swore. That meant they only had Hermes and Ares available since both Tyche, one of their larger ships, and Metis, their newest, were still in dry dock for repairs.
"Do what you can." Killian closed the link at his officer's affirmation. "David?"
"Good to hear and feel you, brother."
"Aye, no big. Just took my weekly bath early." Killian ignored David's chuckle, a warmth rushing through him. "Do me a favor and light a fuse under the recovery team to unpack the Hermes and Ares and send them back. I don't like this ice planet."
"Will do. Stay dry and warm." David disconnected. David looked at his com officer and nodded for him to send the orders as he searched the scanning fields of the system, looking for raiders.
Killian looked at Emma again. She was still resting up against the wall, appearing to be asleep. Killian then turned taciturn eyes on Will.
"Dammit, Will! I thought you'd have all the ships ready for recovery!"
"Little shorthanded right now, Killian. I've got the normal crews keeping Enchanted operational, and all the landing and light craft mechanics working around the clock on full shifts." Will frowned at Killian, who seemed to be warming after his ordeal, but was still shaking. "You'll remember that half my crew is missing in action. We left them on Riodan on our last six days off."
Killian just grunted. Yeah, forgot about that. They had lost half their engineering and mechanical staff on their last six day shore leave. Will's boys had gotten into a little brou-ha-ha in a local cathouse and gaming establishment. The result was the shutdown of the house, with half those involved incarcerated for half a cycle. That had been over three months ago, and they couldn't pick up their missing crewmembers for another three months. Repairs and refitting had been slowed by working with only half staff.
"We've got to move her, Killian." Graham scanned Emma again. She was warmer, but her body kept trying to adapt to the cold ship.
Killian looked up the long inclined corridor, watching his men emptying and moving cargo out of the storage bays. They could move now, and the sooner the better.
"Okay, let me go first. You tie a support line to her, and help walk her up and out of the Olympus," Killian ordered.
"She can walk. Thank you." Emma opened her eyes and regarded the irritating man closely. "It's only a steep incline, not a mountain. And I've been here over three days climbing in and out of this ship. I'm cold and tired, but I'm not helpless." She stood up to make her point. "Regina must go first. She's carrying my manuscripts."
Killian stood up as well. "By all means, love!" He added extra emphasis on the word. "We'd not be wanting anything to happen to those." Killian's sarcastic tone took on a heavier angry sound to it. She was so irritating. He liked her better when she was unconscious. "Get going, Regina."
Regina turned and began to walk/climb, with Robin following close behind her.
Graham looked at his two patients and frowned. "Neither of you are in any shape to make the few meters walk to the ship." He looked at the woman's shaking form and frowned yet again. "The outside cold could be deadly to her."
Emma looked at the doctor. "I'm not going to your ship. I'm going to mine."
"The hell you are!" Killian practically shouted. Killian reached over and gestured for Graham and Will to start up the incline. "Get going. She'll be alright outside. Recovery has set up heating units inside the protective shield. It's warmer and not so stormy as when we set down."
Emma brows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean 'inside the protective shield and heaters'?"
Killian just shrugged. "On an inclement planet we set up a forcefield protection grid to shield our salvage and our ships in case pirates follow us in. Inside the grid we turn on outside heaters attached to our ships that warm the area within the forcefield. It sets up a mini environment, and allows our recovery teams to move faster and more efficiently without combating blinding ice and winds."
Emma actually cursed aloud, causing the three men to stare at her in real interest. "You can't be that stupid!"
"What?" Killian took offense.
"Do you have no concept of where we are? The Olympus went down in the iced ocean of Linius I. This isn't just a ship buried in the ground connecting with an underwater river. It's an..."
"Ocean!" Killian looked at Will sharply. The other man nodded. "Go!" Killian looked at Graham. "You, too."
Graham nodded and grabbed one of the safety lines and began following Will out of the ship, trusting Killian to see to Emma's safety. She took a cord as well and Killian was bringing up the rear, when suddenly the ground shook. The Olympus's decks shifted and moved, knocking their feet out from under them. Graham and Will above them lay on the deck holding onto their lines, and Emma, who was just above Killian, looked back in time to see Killian's hand slip from his line as it snapped. Another worker above had used the same line and the added weight snapped it from its mooring.
The darkness at the bowels of the ship and end of the corridor was now approaching. It was the ocean's water as the Olympus slipped free of the ice that had held it for years and continued to sink into the ocean. As Killian scrambled for another safety line, Emma reached down with her free hand and grabbed his hand just as his body started to slide down the incline towards the icy waters. The added weight on her arm made her grunt in pain. The Olympus's deck was no longer at a forty-five-degree angle, but sixty and the deck was sinking rapidly into the water. Killian felt it sloshing at his feet.
"Let go of me!" Killian demanded. "The added weight will snap your line, and you can't climb one-handed while you're holding me."
"No!" Killian looked up into her eyes, stormy and fierce. Bloody hell! She was trouble - stubborn and determined. But so damn beautiful, and possibly the last thing he would see in his short life. He could think of worse last images.
Killian swore and tried to reach another line, but he was afraid to move too much. Her hold on him was tenuous and her hold on the cable even more so, and she looked like she would let go to grab him. Grabbing the bottom of her line, he pulled himself up enough to relieve the pressure on her hand and slowly climbed up and over her body as the ship shifted and sank even more. Looking up, Killian saw that both Will and Graham had cleared the corridor. As the ropes released in slack, they both slid downward.
Their legs were back in the water, and Killian thought about climbing up, but with their combined weight on the line he didn't want to chance it. The best bet was for him to release the rope and let her climb free, and then when she cleared the corridor use the rope to climb out himself.
"Don't even think about it!" He looked at her stormy eyes. How could she read him so completely? "You go, we both go."
"This is stupid! You can't take the cold water, but I can. We're not both going to make it, and you holding onto me means you can't climb."
"Then we climb together, and you can stop trying to sacrifice yourself for me. I don't know you. You don't know me. Stop being so damn honorable!"
Killian just snorted. Honorable! He had no intention of dying, and he had every intention of demanding payment from her in the future in some form or other.
"Love, this isn't me being honorable or altruistic. I expect to be fully compensated for the pain you've been in my ass."
Her eyes narrowed. "Whatever! If a reward is what you want, then reward is what you'll get. But you better start climbing because I'm not leaving you behind. And stop calling me love. I'm not your love." She snorted as he cussed, trying to find some purchase on the slick icy deck with which to pull himself up and over her. Pain in his ass? She thought she had established herself as a royal pain in another part of his anatomy as well.
They both slowly climbed as they heard Will and the others trying to get a handle on the rope from above to pull them up. They were clear of the water, and halfway up the steep slope, when they both paused to breathe. He had managed to get himself above her, but just barely. They laid side by side, panting. Her hands were so cold, she wasn't sure she could hold on much longer. To make matters even worse, her face was practically resting on his stomach.
"What's your name?"
Killian looked down at her, hearing the muffled sound of her voice against him. "What?"
"Your name. I want to know your name."
"Why?"
She made a sound of exasperation. "So I can say a prayer for you when you die?" She snorted. Big boorish boob. His parents probably didn't bother to name him, but just stuck to 'Hey you.'
"Killian. My name is Killian." He looked up and saw Will's head as he tossed a new line down to them. This one was more than likely on a winch so they could pull them up. "Why didn't you let me go? You don't know me. I tried to kill you a few times today. So why risk your life for a stranger?"
Emma looked up too and relief passed over her face as Killian reached out for the other line, and secured it to his body. As he dragged her with him, she put her arms around his neck and held on as the rope pulled them up.
She mouthed her answer into his neck where she lay against him, cold, and still breathing hard. "I've seen too much death...more than I can stand. I could happily live a thousand lifetimes to never see it again."
Killian looked down at her. God, she was so cold. Looking up as they inched forward, he hoped Will hurried. She needed to get warm again, soon.
He couldn't understand her. This sense of loyalty and honor extended to a stranger. In his world, they barely extended that much to known family members. Husbands and wives were, at times, barely able to tolerate each other enough to actually procreate. Killian never walked far for a stranger, but kept his friends and family safe, along with those he considered his responsibility. She didn't even know him, and this was the second time she had saved his life within a few hours of meeting him. She hadn't even known his name. Killian didn't allow himself to forget that she had almost gotten him killed a few times, too.
Will's hand reached over and grabbed Emma from Killian's arms as both grabbed a hand from Graham, and Robin reached for Killian. Pulled to safety, Killian breathed for a few moments as the ship around them groaned and creaked, slowly moving downward. His legs were so bloody cold from where they had dangled in the water that he was stomping them for feeling. They were on a side corridor leading out, and walking on the wall now.
He turned and took Emma from Will's arms, lifting her up into his. Ignoring her protests, he and the others took off out of the Olympus.
"Shut up!" Killian looked at Will. "Will, the others?"
"Done. The Apollo was loaded with six more storage areas before they were forced to abandon the recovery. That was a total of twenty-nine." Killian nodded. That left eight lost. The trick to a successful recovery was learning not to be too greedy, and keeping their teams protected and safe at all times.
"The Jolly?"
"Jefferson has it ready to go, just waiting for us. The ice field has already cracked up to a thousand meters out. This whole section is going to go."
They hit the outside when Emma struggled out of Killian's arms. Killian lost his grip and cursed when she planted her feet on the ice and tried to turn away from him. He stopped her as she turned to run.
"What the hell is your problem? There is no more time for your protests and antics."
"My ship! I've got to get to my ship." She struggled to get free of him.
Killian grabbed both of her arms and shook her hard. "There is no time! It's twenty clicks out on a cracking ice field. It's too late. Let it go."
"The hell I will!" She stepped hard on his instep and pulled away. Giving a growl of anger, Killian nabbed one of her arms and pulled her back around. The last thing she saw was his fist before unconsciousness took her over.
Killian swept her up in his arms as she collapsed.
"Shit, Killian. Hitting a lady?" Will swore under his breath as Killian tossed her unconscious form into his arms.
"This she-devil ain't no lady. Put her in the warming bed and tell Jeff to take off." Killian turned in the direction Emma had been heading.
"Where are you going?"
Killian just kept cursing as he ran. "To get her damn ship! Now go!" Dammit, she was putting his life in danger again.
He could hear the ice cracking under his weight, and some areas were already puddling with water. They had thoroughly weakened the ice field with the onboard heaters. Reaching her ship, he actually admired its clean lines. A top class fighter in a design he had never seen. Scrambling up to the cockpit, he found the release hatch and pulled himself inside.
More cursing. It was a tight fit. No doubt designed with its real pilot in mind. Killian studied the control consoles as the hatch closed. The symbols were foreign to him, but searching the field he easily found the engines, which fired up immediately. The language was unreadable, but fighter crafts tended to be designed the same way, despite different builders. Moving the lever for the vertical lifters, he was shocked to see his after burners fire. Bloody hell! Okay, some things weren't universal.
Killian punched it. The afterburners further weakened the ice and as he lifted off, he felt the ice cave in behind him. Circling the recovery site, he watched Olympus slide away to her final watery grave. In another hundred years, this entire ocean would be nothing more than sheets of solid ice, and Olympus would remain there for all eternity.
…
Will entered the Jolly, Killian's runabout, carrying Emma. He followed Graham to the back compartment to lay her down in the heated warming bed. Watching Graham for a moment as he stripped her down again to her white bodystocking, he finally patted his friend on the shoulder.
"Is she going to be okay?"
Graham nodded. "I think so. Her heart took some stress, but once she's warm again everything should be okay." Graham looked at the woman, still unconscious. "I can't believe Killian hit her."
Will just shrugged. He was having a hard time with it as well. Killian was nothing but a lover of all females and generally treated them with respect. Hitting them weren't really part of his normal method of dealing with them. Will did remember the few times Killian felt like killing his wife ...but that was years ago now.
"I wasn't. Their fighting wasn't just vocal, but mental as well. I think he was angry at her, and it only increased given the hard-on he was sporting while trying to get to her vehicle."
Graham looked at Will sharply. "Aroused? By this slip of a girl?"
"Major woodage, and his mood was getting ugly."
Graham laughed at that. "Guess this is one lady we won't be competing over."
Will just rubbed his chin with a gleam in his eye. "Oh, I don't know about that." He turned to go to the forward compartment. "Call me if you need me. I'll be in the cockpit with Jefferson."
…
