Ando
Chapter 25
Blaze sucked in a startled breath as his body hit the water. He was not prepared for the cold waters of Ando. He'd felt the sleeting rains and harsh snowstorms, but never the sting of the seas.
It was colder than anything he'd felt and his muscles cramped in protest.
He had his bodysuit on under his fishergear, otherwise all would have been completely lost. Thanks to the high tech material of the undersuit, he could last a few minutes. But, it was very little and definitely not enough.
The harsh conditions reminded him of the endless training exercises sims from his cadet days. It had he'd gone through on as a cadet. It had progressed to real-out scenarios where they were forced to endure the waters of Kamino. The visibility was always poor and they were tossed in with armor and weapons. He came close to using up all the air in his suit more than once and even cracked a seal during a regrettable mishap. Viper had hauled him out, only semi-conscious, and having swallowed what felt like liters of the sea. He only remembered his vod yelling at him to stay awake, and pounding on his back. Viper demanded he vomit everything back out again and Blaze promptly complied. After that point, he hated the water training exercises. Viper always teased him it was because with a name like 'Blaze,' he was the stellar opposite of the deep seas.
So, what the fek was he doing now diving into a frozen ocean?
Visibility was even worse than shabla' Kamino. How was he supposed to find this woman?
He wasn't even sure why he'd done it. He'd launched himself off the deck without thinking. It was the type of thing you were only supposed to do for another brother.
He was an di'kut. He deserved to drown.
"Blaze!"
"Jade!" he shouted out, only to swallow a mouthful of water for his trouble. He coughed and sputtered, suddenly reminded of Viper yelling at him and knew that water was going to come back up again later.
'Next time, keep your mouth closed, shinie,' Viper had teased him, pounding the rest of the water out of him. He would've been dead if his vod hadn't risked his own neck to save him. Shab. How many times had Viper done just that? Until this final time, when his vod went too far and gave up everything for him.
Fek you, Viper. Why did you do it?
He suddenly hated him. Hated Viper for doing it. For leaving him all alone. Swimming all alone in the middle of this shabla' ocean reminded him of how vast the universe was and how insignificant he was and how alone he was in all of it. Viper was all he had left of his unit and the only thing he had to cling to when he'd been sent to Kamino and his vod had up and left him.
Viper. I can't do this. I can't go on without you.
A sudden urge to give up and let his flame go out hit him. It would be so easy to let the icy waters claim him. A few more swallows of water and he could finish what the seas of Kamino had started. He could sink to the bottom and be done with it all. No more fighting. No more war.
"Blaze!"
Jade's voice called out to him again and everything suddenly snapped back into focus. He kept his mouth shut, but adrenaline flooded his body and he cut through the water toward the sound of her voice.
She was going under, struggling against her heavy, sodden coat. Blaze cut through the water. It was not the same as swimming with an aquapack but with several more powerful strokes, he crested over the final wave and reached her side.
He immediately started tugging at her coat. "You have to get out of this," he shouted, treading water beside her.
She resisted his efforts. "No," pushing him away slightly.
He stared at her like she'd gone mad. Had he forfeitted his life to try and save a suicidal woman?
"There's an emergency transponder on my comlink. It activates when it hits the water. It's in my pocket. I can't get it out, though. My hands are too cold."
Blaze nodded and reached his hands around the woman trying to find the pockets of the coat. The shaba thing was billowing all over in the water and his hands were already stiff with cold, as well.
"Where the shab are the pockets?" he yelled.
"Down by my hips," she shouted.
Of course they are.
Blaze struggled again to find the transponder, knowing he had to get the coat off the woman before it dragged her down. "Wrap your arms around me," he growled. She immediately complied, thankfully smart enough not to grab him in a panicked strangehold. Her touch was surprisingly light and gentle considering the gravity of the situation. But, he was still keenly aware of her legs coming to anchor around his hips. That hadn't been part of the plan. If it weren't for the freezing waters, his body would already be reacting to her presence. He was no hero. Having a beautiful woman entwine herself around his -
"Got it," he declared, pulling the transponder out of her pocket. He looked down at her face. She hadn't let go of him. Her face was nestled in his shoulder and her eyes was closed. Fek it all. She was exhausted. "Jade," he growled, struggling to hold them both afloat in this very awkward position, "we need to get this coat off you before we both drown." He pried her off, and shook her back awake.
With a sleepy protest, she came back awake.
"Stay with me!" he demanded. He looked around for the ship. It was nowhere in sight.
How long did it take to turn a ship around of that size? Was the boat even on it's way back?
A huge splatter of water hit him in the face. He stared up at the sky.
Gah. No. Jade had warned him storms could suddenly crop up in different areas of the ocean without warning at this time of year. She called them 'deep sea squalls' since they tended to be localized and didn't hit land.
The skies were angry and grey and the sun was no longer visible. The wind had picked up considerably and the waves were getting bigger.
They were in fekkin' trouble.
Viper's voice came to him. Calm and collected as always.
'Break it down in steps. Make the complicated- simple.'
"I've got your comm," Blaze ordered, his voice brokering no argument, "lose your coat."
Jade tried to slide out of her heavy sodden coat but her limbs were weakened and nearly stiff with cold. It was all she could to keep herself afloat. Blade reached forward and yanked the deadly article away from her body. He pulled her close to him, and watched the dark heavy piece of clothing immediately sink down into the depths. She was still heavy. Too heavy.
"Your boots," he said, feeling the thick leather against his legs. "Take them off."
She shook her slowly in protest, her eyes barely open. "Can't." Puffs of frost were coming off her breath. The temperature was dropping fast. Her lips were turning blue. Her arms were still wrapped around his neck, clinging to him like a lifeline.
Blaze reached down with his feet, clad only in the protective material of his bodyglove since he'd ditched his boots onboard the ship. He used his toes as substitute hands and tugged the boots off her legs, while using his arms to keep them afloat.
"Blaze," she murmured, her lips turning into his scarred neck. "Can't…"
He wasn't sure what it was she couldn't do anymore, but it didn't sound good.
"Jade! Stay with me," he grumbled. Viper would never let him give up. "Come on, shinie! You can't quit now!"
"What's a shinie?" she muttered in confusion, he could feel her icy eyelashes fluttering against his neck and it tickled the ridged bands of scar tissue.
"You," he grumbled. "You're too young. Don't know enough to not get your shebs knocked into the sea."
She laughed, although her voice was weak and trembling from cold. "You're the newbie on the boat. I was supposed to be training you."
"Then, how is it you're the one who fell in?" Blaze protested. He didn't care what they talked about. He just needed to keep her talking so she didn't fall asleep. He had no idea if they had any hope of rescue, but if he knew if she fell asleep now that she would never wake up again.
"I wasn't paying attention," Jade admitted, "I was too busy watching you."
"Why would you be-"
Her laughter, somewhat hysterical caught him by surprise. His body stiffened up and he felt the old hurt and anger. She was making fun of him. She was mocking him because of his scars. Her lips suddenly pressed down on his, catching him completely off-guard. He was so shocked, he almost stopped holding them afloat and they both nearly went under.
"What the fek was that all about?" he protested.
She laughed again, although there wasn't much strength behind the sound and he knew she didn't have much time left. "I didn't want to die without telling you." She buried her face in his neck and sighed.
"Die without telling me what? Jade?" But, she didn't move and her head didn't lift from where it was buried in his shoulder. He called her name again but she remained frozen and unmoving against him.
His leg cramped again. He fought against the pain, but he knew it was a losing battle. His body wasn't going to be able to keep this up much longer. Soon his body would give out and they would both drown.
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