Fic: Walk It Off 8
rating: pg-13
setting: post fractures
note: Thanks to can for all her help.
The large room sat at peace again while events continued to grow steadily worse outside. Broken consoles sparked every microt or so and sent an eerie glow over the crumbling walls. The once mighty ship was falling to pieces around the last surviving members of it's crew.
Sitting in the position she had left him in, Jezik sighed to himself and made another feeble attempt to stand. Both his legs were covered in sticky warm blood from where Aeryn Sun had shot him. He hadn't really expected her to do it. Then again, the revelation he'd given her was pretty big.
The peacekeeper had been briefed about that.
The sound of something crashing to the floor was followed immediately by loud cursing. A figure rose from the debris and looked around. "Is anyone there?"
He recognized Carr's voice and spoke a silent thanks. Jezik had been hit far too closely by this mission to let it pass him by now.
"I'm over here."
Carr turned excitedly towards the sound and raised his pulse rifle. The light at its end switched on and bathed his superior's face in harsh white light.
"Point that frelling thing somewhere else!" Jezik lifted his hand to block the glare. "Come help me."
The soldier nodded and scurried over. "I thought for sure you were dead, sir."
Jezik looked up at the man in annoyance. "Not yet."
Carr lifted him up and they were both soon leaning against one of the last remaining consoles that worked. Jezik reached into the pocket on the front of his uniform and pulled out a small vial. 'For emergencies only.' He smiled as the issue orders came back.
He placed it in his mouth and immediately felt a jolt. Newfound energy coursed through his tired body. Jezik turned to his subordinate. "Open a secure channel. I believe it's time."
"How do I do that, sir?" Carr stared vacantly forward. "I don't have technical training."
Jezik raised his hands in exasperation. "Frell, I'll do it myself!" He pressed a series of buttons and static was suddenly pouring out from a small speaker. Typing in the appropriate code, the squad commander waited for the line to clear.
"Cutting it a little short don't you think?"
The voice on the other end sounded angry but not any more than Jezik had known him to be. He nodded his head. "I've been indisposed."
Keller's reply held not one bit of sympathy to it. "I'm surprised she didn't kill you."
A thin smile spread across Jezik's lips. "Speaking of killing, how are you feeling?"
Inside the rudimentary pilot's den, Keller narrowed his eyes. The memory of what he had done floated back to him. It wasn't sadness or remorse. He was just surprised at how little effect at all it had caused. "Better than expected. The captain was not difficult."
"I'm sure he wasn't." Jezik shook his head. 'Frelling techs.'
"I'm almost done here. Begin bringing the weapons systems, if you have any, back online." Keller was moving as quickly as possible. There was no knowing how large his window would be.
Jezik motioned for Carr to start whatever preparations he could. "Any difficulty on Talyn?"
This time it was Keller's turn to smile. "None at all. I even have an assistant."
The higher ranked peacekeeper was intrigued. "Who?"
Keller shoved the small console he'd been working with back into place. "The Nebari."
Chiana prepared herself as Aeryn moved to push her even harder. Collecting all her strength, she threw her own fist forward and send it careening into the other woman's face.
The punch was unexpected and landed exactly where it was intended. Aeryn, way past shock, fell back and raised a hand to her throbbing cheek. "You hit me!."
Chiana nodded as she raised both her fists in front of her. "You pushed me!"
The ex-peacekeeper backed up slightly and tensed. She had no time to be playing games with this girl right now. There were more important matters to attend to. 'There always are.' Aeryn shook the thought away.
"You will not do that again. Just get out of the way."
Chiana didn't doubt for a second that the older woman would get past her eventually. It was just about delaying that fact as much as possible. She smiled in a way that annoyed Aeryn so much and shook her head. "No way."
Without another word, Aeryn shot forward and threw the Nebari to the side. She turned her head in silence to watch as Chiana slid down the corridor and came to rest against the opposite wall. "I told you."
"Aeryn! Please, just listen to me. We can'-." Chiana stopped talking when she saw the look on Aeryn's face. It wasn't going to work.
Her hands began to tremble with anger. How could that tralk have the nerve to tell her what was right for Talyn. "Shut up!"
Aeryn stepped forward and kicked the door in front of her in with a sharp kick. It wasn't locked and slid open easily. She pulled her pulse rifle out and aimed it at the man standing ahead of her.
Keller looked up in surprise as the door opened. He breathed a sigh of relief that the call had ended moments before. "Aeryn, wha-?"
She fired a single shot that caught him directly in the chest. Aeryn wanted no explanation for what was going on. The Sebacean turned and headed back out the door. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him crumple to the ground.
Chiana watched in silent horror as the woman stepped back out into the corridor. She'd heard the gunshot but could scarcely believe it. "You just shot him!?"
Aeryn turned her attention to the voice for only a moment. "I have more important things to worry about." She turned to walk away as the girl whispered something about frelling peacekeepers.
Chiana wasn't done. She watched Aeryn walk away as the anger continued to build. After all this, still nothing had changed.
"This whole Velorek thing came along at just the right time didn't it? Something else to help you forget. So you could shoot him. So you could ignore John, ignore me."
The words reached her ears and froze every movement in her body. At that moment, Aeryn knew once again what rage felt like. She turned around slowly.
"You don't know what you're talking about."
Chiana forced herself to sit up. She might not be able to stand just yet but at least she'd look dignified. "Frell you! We've known each other for two cycles. I know what you think of me. That I'm a tralk."
Aeryn was finding it difficult to breath all of a sudden. With all the dren piling up against her, this just had to come up now didn't it? "I, I-."
The Nebari cut her off. "You know, I saw something about Talyn. Even came to see Crais before going after you." She shook her head. "Someone's going to die on this ship. I can feel it."
The ex-peacekeeper narrowed her eyes at this new piece of information. She wasn't sure how much she believed Chiana's abilities were real but they had been right before. "Who?"
Chiana smiled. "I don't know! Frell, it could be me." Her voice calmed now.
"But I still came."
Disbelief turned to realization as Aeryn watched the younger woman. The anger was gone now. She took a step in her direction. "I don't think you're a tralk."
Chiana kept her eyes glued to the floor as she nodded. "Yeah you do." Even as she finished speaking, something terrible appeared before her. Not a flash though. This was much worse.
"Aeryn!"
It was too late. The fist came down against the back of Aeryn's neck and sent her forward. The ex-peacekeeper slammed into Chiana and pinned her to the ground.
Standing by the doorway, Keller now looked every bit the peacekeeper he had been bred to be. There was no more softness. He smiled at Chiana.
"I appreciate the help."
As she watched helplessly, he took off down the corridor to who knew where. Chiana struggled against Aeryn's weight but couldn't move. "Aeryn, get up."
It took her a moment to realize that Aeryn wasn't breathing.
John ran his tired hands through the damp mess of hair that sat atop his head. He glanced up at the man standing across from him and didn't like what he saw. "Listen, Crais."
The ex-captain looked up from the console he was not working on and sighed. "What is it Crichton?"
The human smiled. "You sound like you've heard this before."
Bialar couldn't help a small grin from forming. "Indeed I have. In much more difficult circumstances as well. He paused for a moment. "I hope you are a bit more restrained than your counterpart was."
John frowned at the thought. "We're exactly the same." The next thought brought a good smile to his face. He needed it. "If he beat the crap out of you, chances are I could go off at any second." John put on his best Jack Nicholson face.
Crais was not amused. Before he could respond, Talyn interrupted with an alert.
"What is it?" John had also lost his sense of humor for the moment.
"One of Talyn's hangar doors has opened. The marauder is leaving." Crais motioned towards the forward portal.
The marauder that Aeryn and the others had brought onboard was now flying through space again. It seemed to be headed in the direction of the Vigilante.
"Only the tech could escape undetected." Crais fumed as he realized that his fears were correct. "Talyn, prepare to fire!"
John ran up and grabbed the other man's shoulder. "Wait, stop! He might not be alone." He pulled his comm out of a pant pocket and brought it close to his mouth.
"Aeryn, Chiana, you there?" There was no answer. "Come on!"
Crais kept his eye on the escaping ship. "Crichton, if it reaches the Vigilante....."
"Shut up! Just give me a second." John tried them again.
Both men growled as the marauder disappeared into the larger ship's hangar. Safely inside, it would be well protected. Only a sustained attack that Talyn could not provide would fully destroy the Vigilante.
"It's too late." Bialar slammed his fist down in defeat.
"Yeah, I can see that." John shook his head in annoyance. "We couldn't risk-."
Suddenly the comm in his hand burst to life. A faint voice that sounded like Chiana's began to break through the noise. It grew quickly stronger.
"Hey! Crichton, Crais! I need help!" The fear was evident in her voice. "Aeryn's not breathing."
The sound of footsteps echoed off the metal walls and made its way into the command room. Jezik lifted his rifle and looked towards the source. He smiled when it came into view.
"Did you get it?"
Keller stepped out of the shadows and patted his uniform pocket lightly. A similarly wicked smile spread across his lips. His plan had worked. "I got it."
The retrieval squad leader nodded triumphantly. Finally something had gone the way it was supposed to. They had the coordinates.
"How far?"
The peacekeeper tech/special ops man walked over to the nearest working control center and typed in a few commands. His expression grew only brighter. "A matter of solar days at most."
Jezik motioned to Carr. "Send the message. We need to be picked up as soon as possible."
Keller looked over at the two soldiers. "What are the arrangements?"
"Captain Hallek is waiting just outside sensor range. He knows what to do."
The cargo ship sat floating in space with a minimal amount of crew on board. It had been fortified over the cycles to be more than just a transportation vehicle. Its hull masked room after room, corridor after corridor of peacekeeper technology. At the moment, however, it was a bit more obvious than usual.
A grappling station was situated between the cargo ship and the immense command carrier floating above it. The larger ship floated slightly above with a substantially more expansive crew.
Lt. Braca was part of it. He walked quickly down the empty corridor towards the sound of voices up ahead. Slipping his ID card through the slot, he entered into the small room where his superior waited.
The small metal table had been set up specifically for this occasion. Scorpius sat with a hand just barely touching his leather-covered chin. He was smiling.
Across from the half-breed sat Hallek. The captain's face and chest were covered in dripping blood and small bits of displaced matter. He was dead. Surrounding his cold body was a group of faceless soldiers with pulse rifles aimed.
"Sir?" Braca felt bile rise in his throat as he took in the scene.
Scorpius looked up at him. "Quite unfortunate Lieutenant." He nodded towards the body.
"I neglected to inform the good captain that his retirement had already been arranged."
He stood up and began walking out into the hall. As Scorpius passed his subordinate, he spoke again. "Inform High Command that we will be more than happy to take on his responsibilities."
Braca watched the monstrosity as it strolled away down the corridor. He turned once more to look at Hallek's remains and shook his head.
"Yes sir."
Neuroscpr
rating: pg-13
setting: post fractures
note: Thanks to can for all her help.
The large room sat at peace again while events continued to grow steadily worse outside. Broken consoles sparked every microt or so and sent an eerie glow over the crumbling walls. The once mighty ship was falling to pieces around the last surviving members of it's crew.
Sitting in the position she had left him in, Jezik sighed to himself and made another feeble attempt to stand. Both his legs were covered in sticky warm blood from where Aeryn Sun had shot him. He hadn't really expected her to do it. Then again, the revelation he'd given her was pretty big.
The peacekeeper had been briefed about that.
The sound of something crashing to the floor was followed immediately by loud cursing. A figure rose from the debris and looked around. "Is anyone there?"
He recognized Carr's voice and spoke a silent thanks. Jezik had been hit far too closely by this mission to let it pass him by now.
"I'm over here."
Carr turned excitedly towards the sound and raised his pulse rifle. The light at its end switched on and bathed his superior's face in harsh white light.
"Point that frelling thing somewhere else!" Jezik lifted his hand to block the glare. "Come help me."
The soldier nodded and scurried over. "I thought for sure you were dead, sir."
Jezik looked up at the man in annoyance. "Not yet."
Carr lifted him up and they were both soon leaning against one of the last remaining consoles that worked. Jezik reached into the pocket on the front of his uniform and pulled out a small vial. 'For emergencies only.' He smiled as the issue orders came back.
He placed it in his mouth and immediately felt a jolt. Newfound energy coursed through his tired body. Jezik turned to his subordinate. "Open a secure channel. I believe it's time."
"How do I do that, sir?" Carr stared vacantly forward. "I don't have technical training."
Jezik raised his hands in exasperation. "Frell, I'll do it myself!" He pressed a series of buttons and static was suddenly pouring out from a small speaker. Typing in the appropriate code, the squad commander waited for the line to clear.
"Cutting it a little short don't you think?"
The voice on the other end sounded angry but not any more than Jezik had known him to be. He nodded his head. "I've been indisposed."
Keller's reply held not one bit of sympathy to it. "I'm surprised she didn't kill you."
A thin smile spread across Jezik's lips. "Speaking of killing, how are you feeling?"
Inside the rudimentary pilot's den, Keller narrowed his eyes. The memory of what he had done floated back to him. It wasn't sadness or remorse. He was just surprised at how little effect at all it had caused. "Better than expected. The captain was not difficult."
"I'm sure he wasn't." Jezik shook his head. 'Frelling techs.'
"I'm almost done here. Begin bringing the weapons systems, if you have any, back online." Keller was moving as quickly as possible. There was no knowing how large his window would be.
Jezik motioned for Carr to start whatever preparations he could. "Any difficulty on Talyn?"
This time it was Keller's turn to smile. "None at all. I even have an assistant."
The higher ranked peacekeeper was intrigued. "Who?"
Keller shoved the small console he'd been working with back into place. "The Nebari."
Chiana prepared herself as Aeryn moved to push her even harder. Collecting all her strength, she threw her own fist forward and send it careening into the other woman's face.
The punch was unexpected and landed exactly where it was intended. Aeryn, way past shock, fell back and raised a hand to her throbbing cheek. "You hit me!."
Chiana nodded as she raised both her fists in front of her. "You pushed me!"
The ex-peacekeeper backed up slightly and tensed. She had no time to be playing games with this girl right now. There were more important matters to attend to. 'There always are.' Aeryn shook the thought away.
"You will not do that again. Just get out of the way."
Chiana didn't doubt for a second that the older woman would get past her eventually. It was just about delaying that fact as much as possible. She smiled in a way that annoyed Aeryn so much and shook her head. "No way."
Without another word, Aeryn shot forward and threw the Nebari to the side. She turned her head in silence to watch as Chiana slid down the corridor and came to rest against the opposite wall. "I told you."
"Aeryn! Please, just listen to me. We can'-." Chiana stopped talking when she saw the look on Aeryn's face. It wasn't going to work.
Her hands began to tremble with anger. How could that tralk have the nerve to tell her what was right for Talyn. "Shut up!"
Aeryn stepped forward and kicked the door in front of her in with a sharp kick. It wasn't locked and slid open easily. She pulled her pulse rifle out and aimed it at the man standing ahead of her.
Keller looked up in surprise as the door opened. He breathed a sigh of relief that the call had ended moments before. "Aeryn, wha-?"
She fired a single shot that caught him directly in the chest. Aeryn wanted no explanation for what was going on. The Sebacean turned and headed back out the door. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him crumple to the ground.
Chiana watched in silent horror as the woman stepped back out into the corridor. She'd heard the gunshot but could scarcely believe it. "You just shot him!?"
Aeryn turned her attention to the voice for only a moment. "I have more important things to worry about." She turned to walk away as the girl whispered something about frelling peacekeepers.
Chiana wasn't done. She watched Aeryn walk away as the anger continued to build. After all this, still nothing had changed.
"This whole Velorek thing came along at just the right time didn't it? Something else to help you forget. So you could shoot him. So you could ignore John, ignore me."
The words reached her ears and froze every movement in her body. At that moment, Aeryn knew once again what rage felt like. She turned around slowly.
"You don't know what you're talking about."
Chiana forced herself to sit up. She might not be able to stand just yet but at least she'd look dignified. "Frell you! We've known each other for two cycles. I know what you think of me. That I'm a tralk."
Aeryn was finding it difficult to breath all of a sudden. With all the dren piling up against her, this just had to come up now didn't it? "I, I-."
The Nebari cut her off. "You know, I saw something about Talyn. Even came to see Crais before going after you." She shook her head. "Someone's going to die on this ship. I can feel it."
The ex-peacekeeper narrowed her eyes at this new piece of information. She wasn't sure how much she believed Chiana's abilities were real but they had been right before. "Who?"
Chiana smiled. "I don't know! Frell, it could be me." Her voice calmed now.
"But I still came."
Disbelief turned to realization as Aeryn watched the younger woman. The anger was gone now. She took a step in her direction. "I don't think you're a tralk."
Chiana kept her eyes glued to the floor as she nodded. "Yeah you do." Even as she finished speaking, something terrible appeared before her. Not a flash though. This was much worse.
"Aeryn!"
It was too late. The fist came down against the back of Aeryn's neck and sent her forward. The ex-peacekeeper slammed into Chiana and pinned her to the ground.
Standing by the doorway, Keller now looked every bit the peacekeeper he had been bred to be. There was no more softness. He smiled at Chiana.
"I appreciate the help."
As she watched helplessly, he took off down the corridor to who knew where. Chiana struggled against Aeryn's weight but couldn't move. "Aeryn, get up."
It took her a moment to realize that Aeryn wasn't breathing.
John ran his tired hands through the damp mess of hair that sat atop his head. He glanced up at the man standing across from him and didn't like what he saw. "Listen, Crais."
The ex-captain looked up from the console he was not working on and sighed. "What is it Crichton?"
The human smiled. "You sound like you've heard this before."
Bialar couldn't help a small grin from forming. "Indeed I have. In much more difficult circumstances as well. He paused for a moment. "I hope you are a bit more restrained than your counterpart was."
John frowned at the thought. "We're exactly the same." The next thought brought a good smile to his face. He needed it. "If he beat the crap out of you, chances are I could go off at any second." John put on his best Jack Nicholson face.
Crais was not amused. Before he could respond, Talyn interrupted with an alert.
"What is it?" John had also lost his sense of humor for the moment.
"One of Talyn's hangar doors has opened. The marauder is leaving." Crais motioned towards the forward portal.
The marauder that Aeryn and the others had brought onboard was now flying through space again. It seemed to be headed in the direction of the Vigilante.
"Only the tech could escape undetected." Crais fumed as he realized that his fears were correct. "Talyn, prepare to fire!"
John ran up and grabbed the other man's shoulder. "Wait, stop! He might not be alone." He pulled his comm out of a pant pocket and brought it close to his mouth.
"Aeryn, Chiana, you there?" There was no answer. "Come on!"
Crais kept his eye on the escaping ship. "Crichton, if it reaches the Vigilante....."
"Shut up! Just give me a second." John tried them again.
Both men growled as the marauder disappeared into the larger ship's hangar. Safely inside, it would be well protected. Only a sustained attack that Talyn could not provide would fully destroy the Vigilante.
"It's too late." Bialar slammed his fist down in defeat.
"Yeah, I can see that." John shook his head in annoyance. "We couldn't risk-."
Suddenly the comm in his hand burst to life. A faint voice that sounded like Chiana's began to break through the noise. It grew quickly stronger.
"Hey! Crichton, Crais! I need help!" The fear was evident in her voice. "Aeryn's not breathing."
The sound of footsteps echoed off the metal walls and made its way into the command room. Jezik lifted his rifle and looked towards the source. He smiled when it came into view.
"Did you get it?"
Keller stepped out of the shadows and patted his uniform pocket lightly. A similarly wicked smile spread across his lips. His plan had worked. "I got it."
The retrieval squad leader nodded triumphantly. Finally something had gone the way it was supposed to. They had the coordinates.
"How far?"
The peacekeeper tech/special ops man walked over to the nearest working control center and typed in a few commands. His expression grew only brighter. "A matter of solar days at most."
Jezik motioned to Carr. "Send the message. We need to be picked up as soon as possible."
Keller looked over at the two soldiers. "What are the arrangements?"
"Captain Hallek is waiting just outside sensor range. He knows what to do."
The cargo ship sat floating in space with a minimal amount of crew on board. It had been fortified over the cycles to be more than just a transportation vehicle. Its hull masked room after room, corridor after corridor of peacekeeper technology. At the moment, however, it was a bit more obvious than usual.
A grappling station was situated between the cargo ship and the immense command carrier floating above it. The larger ship floated slightly above with a substantially more expansive crew.
Lt. Braca was part of it. He walked quickly down the empty corridor towards the sound of voices up ahead. Slipping his ID card through the slot, he entered into the small room where his superior waited.
The small metal table had been set up specifically for this occasion. Scorpius sat with a hand just barely touching his leather-covered chin. He was smiling.
Across from the half-breed sat Hallek. The captain's face and chest were covered in dripping blood and small bits of displaced matter. He was dead. Surrounding his cold body was a group of faceless soldiers with pulse rifles aimed.
"Sir?" Braca felt bile rise in his throat as he took in the scene.
Scorpius looked up at him. "Quite unfortunate Lieutenant." He nodded towards the body.
"I neglected to inform the good captain that his retirement had already been arranged."
He stood up and began walking out into the hall. As Scorpius passed his subordinate, he spoke again. "Inform High Command that we will be more than happy to take on his responsibilities."
Braca watched the monstrosity as it strolled away down the corridor. He turned once more to look at Hallek's remains and shook his head.
"Yes sir."
Neuroscpr