Disclaimer: I don't own Iria (though I wouldn't mind it….) and I'm not making any money off this. (If I was, do you think you'd see this disclaimer?) The only thing I own here is this story and Shiv. She's mine, do you hear me? Mine! *laughs nervously* Okay…on with the show…..
Rating: PG-13 - language, violence
Ghosts of the Past
Part 3: Cover Fire
The trio stood in the alley, watching Ship speed off into the dark.
"Are you sure sending her off was a good idea?", Fujikuro asked.
"Mhm," Shiv replied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Maybe, for a minute, they'll think we've left. And we only need a minute to do what we have to do and get out." She turned to go, then paused. "You two coming or not?"
Iria nodded. "We're coming."
They headed down the alley.
"Well, here we are, but where are they?", Shiv mused, looking around the corner. "I don't like this."
"What's not to like if we aren't getting shot at?", Fujikuro demanded.
Shiv glared at him. "Plenty. If we aren't getting shot at, they could be right behind us, right in front of us or….RIGHT ABOVE US!!!"
She ran out of the alley and turned sharply right, Iria and Fujikuro close behind, as blaster fire tore up the concrete where they'd stood. They kept running until they reached a loading station. Crouching down behind a wall of crates and other shipping containers, they prepared to return fire.
Suddenly, Iria frowned. "This may sound like a stupid time to think of it, but I'm starving. I was planning on eating something at the ball, but as that idea went out the window…." She sighed.
Shiv smiled. "No need to starve, kid." Reaching into her coat, she pulled out several packets of emergency rations.
Iria let out a cry of delight and snatched two, tearing them open with her teeth. Shiv opened her two and offered the last one to Fujikuro. "Want one, Fuji? I've got more. They're not half bad if you shoot 'em before you eat 'em."
Iria raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
Shiv nodded. "When your starving and desperate, you come up with stuff like this. Watch and learn." Peeling the last of the wrapper off, she tossed the ration into the air, fired one shot, and caught the still smoking ration with her left hand. She ripped a bite off and swallowed quickly. "You gotta watch the levels, though. Otherwise you end up with a briquette."
Iria's mouth quirked in a grin. "I'll be damned. Let me try."
After taking a tentative bite, she swallowed hungrily and took another. "This is really good stuff! Makes 'em taste a hell of a lot better, anyway."
Shiv turned again to Fujikuro. "You sure you don't want any, Fuji?"
Fujikuro made a face. "You two are nuts for eating that stuff."
"We eat what we eat!", the pair shouted back.
"Start shooting!", Shiv yelped, as the first wave of fire came from somewhere in the dark.
"This really sucks," Shiv mutter, shoving a new cartridge into her blaster pistol. "We can't stay like this forever. That's it. I'm callin' Ship." Pushing up her sleeve, she tapped several buttons on the wristband and prepared to give instructions to Daine, when the loud crackle of static came from the tiny speaker.
She swore, slapped the wristband, tried again, and swore again. "They're using a jammer. Lousy bastards. I can't send a signal to Ship from here. The only way I can get her to come is if I sneak out of the covered zone, but then you're short one shooter. And you two can't hold them off alone."
She sighed, then stiffened. "You," she growled. "You, out there. I know you're there. Come over her where I can see you or I'll fill you with so many holes, I'll be able to see through you."
There was a wry chuckle from the shadows just beyond their barricade. "You don't miss much, do you? Don't mind if I crouch, I hope. I have no desire to be filled with holes by them or you."
Someone crawled forward out of the darkness. Shiv readied her blaster, then gasped. "You….."
The stranger grinned. "Yes, me. Although I usually go by Akira."
It was the young man from the ball.
"What are you doing here?", she demanded, not lowering her blaster one iota.
"Seems while your friends were shooting at you, they blew up my ship in the process." Akira shrugged. "Didn't like the thing all that much, but I didn't wanna see it go like that. Figure I might as well help you out and pay the bastards back for my ship. You don't mind an extra blaster, do you?"
She smiled. "Not really. Just so long as it ain't pointed at me."
He smiled back. "I think I can handle that."
Shiv turned to Iria and Fujikuro. "You two keep an eye on him. I think he's okay, but you never know. Hang onto this for me." She pressed a small disk with a blinking red light into Iria's palm.
"What's this?", she asked, turning it over and over.
"Tracer," Shiv explained. "That way, I can send the creeper to you and you can get your asses out of here. You three hold down the fort. I'll be back soon. I promise."
"You think she's okay?", Akira shouted, tossing a grenade as far as he could in the direction of the shooters.
Fujikuro looked over at the young man. "Why wouldn't she be?"
Akira shrugged. "I don't know, just asking. All I'm gonna say is I thought she'd be back by now."
Iria frowned and leveled her rifle. "I'm worried, too. Someone should go and see if they can find her. But….then I don't know if we can hold them off…" Her frown deepened and she continued to fire.
Akira sighed. "I don't know what they're thinking………This isn't right…..isn't what we agreed…"
"What did you say?", Fujikuro asked, glancing over sharply.
"Nothing….I'll go. If I don't find her in five minutes, I'll come back. I promise."
Iria moaned. "If you ask me, there are way too many people making promises tonight."
Akira raced down the length of the loading dock. "She's gotta be here somewhere…." Suddenly, his feet slid in something slippery and he dropped to the ground. Taking the hand he'd used to steady himself from the ground, he could tell in the dim light it was covered with blood. Leaping to his feet, he followed the trail.
A minute or so later, he knelt down beside a shadowy form in the darkness. "Fancy meeting you here," she chuckled, firing a few shots into the dark.
"Would you mind telling be whose blood I've been following?", he demanded, panting for breath.
She turned slightly to face him, the collar of her coat flapping open just enough that he could see the dark stain on her upper chest.
"You should be dead," he whispered.
"Got that right. Only I'm so doped up on painkiller patches, I don't know if I'm hittin' a shooter or a street light." She smiled, but he knew it was forced.
"You're coming with me," he said, and moved to wrap his arms around her, but she stopped him.
"No," she protested. "You shoot. I've gotta call Ship now, or I can't call her at all!" Her gaze pleaded with him. "Please," she whispered. "It's our only way out of here."
He didn't say anything, just took up a place at the crate behind which they hid and began firing. She smiled, though he didn't see it.
"Daine!", she yelled into the wristband. "Emergency, code red! Send Ship and creeper to tracer location. Usual cover fire pattern, just make it snappy. Oh! Call Bob. Tell him….." She paused and winced. "Tell him to get the med equipment ready. We're gonna need it….."
She moaned and curled tightly around herself. Akira stopped firing and wrapped his arms around her. She looked up at him and smiled. "You're not him…but I'm glad you came…." With a final moan, she passed out.
Iria reached for another grenade. "They should be back. Something's wrong."
Fujikuro continued firing. "They'll be back," he said. Iria studied him in the half-light, noting the thin lines that marred his face. Worry lines. She turned and looked off into the darkness, the direction Shiv had gone; the direction Akira had gone. How many more people would go into the darkness this night?
Movement caught her eye and she squinted. It…it was Akira. And he was carrying something…
*******
Everyone, I am soooooooooooooooooooo sorry!! My laptop has been on the fritz and I've been in a creativity slump, not to mention my new semester's worth of classes. Save me from the evils of trig!!!! And so, in order to attain for my sin of not updating, I'm posting THREE CHAPTERS AT ONCE!!! Cross your fingers people, I may have time to put up even more tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who's been following this story; I thrive on support.
Keep reading!
(PS: Next chapter, one of my best bud Mara-chan's fav scenes in the story so far!!)
~Kat-chan~
Rating: PG-13 - language, violence
Ghosts of the Past
Part 3: Cover Fire
The trio stood in the alley, watching Ship speed off into the dark.
"Are you sure sending her off was a good idea?", Fujikuro asked.
"Mhm," Shiv replied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Maybe, for a minute, they'll think we've left. And we only need a minute to do what we have to do and get out." She turned to go, then paused. "You two coming or not?"
Iria nodded. "We're coming."
They headed down the alley.
"Well, here we are, but where are they?", Shiv mused, looking around the corner. "I don't like this."
"What's not to like if we aren't getting shot at?", Fujikuro demanded.
Shiv glared at him. "Plenty. If we aren't getting shot at, they could be right behind us, right in front of us or….RIGHT ABOVE US!!!"
She ran out of the alley and turned sharply right, Iria and Fujikuro close behind, as blaster fire tore up the concrete where they'd stood. They kept running until they reached a loading station. Crouching down behind a wall of crates and other shipping containers, they prepared to return fire.
Suddenly, Iria frowned. "This may sound like a stupid time to think of it, but I'm starving. I was planning on eating something at the ball, but as that idea went out the window…." She sighed.
Shiv smiled. "No need to starve, kid." Reaching into her coat, she pulled out several packets of emergency rations.
Iria let out a cry of delight and snatched two, tearing them open with her teeth. Shiv opened her two and offered the last one to Fujikuro. "Want one, Fuji? I've got more. They're not half bad if you shoot 'em before you eat 'em."
Iria raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
Shiv nodded. "When your starving and desperate, you come up with stuff like this. Watch and learn." Peeling the last of the wrapper off, she tossed the ration into the air, fired one shot, and caught the still smoking ration with her left hand. She ripped a bite off and swallowed quickly. "You gotta watch the levels, though. Otherwise you end up with a briquette."
Iria's mouth quirked in a grin. "I'll be damned. Let me try."
After taking a tentative bite, she swallowed hungrily and took another. "This is really good stuff! Makes 'em taste a hell of a lot better, anyway."
Shiv turned again to Fujikuro. "You sure you don't want any, Fuji?"
Fujikuro made a face. "You two are nuts for eating that stuff."
"We eat what we eat!", the pair shouted back.
"Start shooting!", Shiv yelped, as the first wave of fire came from somewhere in the dark.
"This really sucks," Shiv mutter, shoving a new cartridge into her blaster pistol. "We can't stay like this forever. That's it. I'm callin' Ship." Pushing up her sleeve, she tapped several buttons on the wristband and prepared to give instructions to Daine, when the loud crackle of static came from the tiny speaker.
She swore, slapped the wristband, tried again, and swore again. "They're using a jammer. Lousy bastards. I can't send a signal to Ship from here. The only way I can get her to come is if I sneak out of the covered zone, but then you're short one shooter. And you two can't hold them off alone."
She sighed, then stiffened. "You," she growled. "You, out there. I know you're there. Come over her where I can see you or I'll fill you with so many holes, I'll be able to see through you."
There was a wry chuckle from the shadows just beyond their barricade. "You don't miss much, do you? Don't mind if I crouch, I hope. I have no desire to be filled with holes by them or you."
Someone crawled forward out of the darkness. Shiv readied her blaster, then gasped. "You….."
The stranger grinned. "Yes, me. Although I usually go by Akira."
It was the young man from the ball.
"What are you doing here?", she demanded, not lowering her blaster one iota.
"Seems while your friends were shooting at you, they blew up my ship in the process." Akira shrugged. "Didn't like the thing all that much, but I didn't wanna see it go like that. Figure I might as well help you out and pay the bastards back for my ship. You don't mind an extra blaster, do you?"
She smiled. "Not really. Just so long as it ain't pointed at me."
He smiled back. "I think I can handle that."
Shiv turned to Iria and Fujikuro. "You two keep an eye on him. I think he's okay, but you never know. Hang onto this for me." She pressed a small disk with a blinking red light into Iria's palm.
"What's this?", she asked, turning it over and over.
"Tracer," Shiv explained. "That way, I can send the creeper to you and you can get your asses out of here. You three hold down the fort. I'll be back soon. I promise."
"You think she's okay?", Akira shouted, tossing a grenade as far as he could in the direction of the shooters.
Fujikuro looked over at the young man. "Why wouldn't she be?"
Akira shrugged. "I don't know, just asking. All I'm gonna say is I thought she'd be back by now."
Iria frowned and leveled her rifle. "I'm worried, too. Someone should go and see if they can find her. But….then I don't know if we can hold them off…" Her frown deepened and she continued to fire.
Akira sighed. "I don't know what they're thinking………This isn't right…..isn't what we agreed…"
"What did you say?", Fujikuro asked, glancing over sharply.
"Nothing….I'll go. If I don't find her in five minutes, I'll come back. I promise."
Iria moaned. "If you ask me, there are way too many people making promises tonight."
Akira raced down the length of the loading dock. "She's gotta be here somewhere…." Suddenly, his feet slid in something slippery and he dropped to the ground. Taking the hand he'd used to steady himself from the ground, he could tell in the dim light it was covered with blood. Leaping to his feet, he followed the trail.
A minute or so later, he knelt down beside a shadowy form in the darkness. "Fancy meeting you here," she chuckled, firing a few shots into the dark.
"Would you mind telling be whose blood I've been following?", he demanded, panting for breath.
She turned slightly to face him, the collar of her coat flapping open just enough that he could see the dark stain on her upper chest.
"You should be dead," he whispered.
"Got that right. Only I'm so doped up on painkiller patches, I don't know if I'm hittin' a shooter or a street light." She smiled, but he knew it was forced.
"You're coming with me," he said, and moved to wrap his arms around her, but she stopped him.
"No," she protested. "You shoot. I've gotta call Ship now, or I can't call her at all!" Her gaze pleaded with him. "Please," she whispered. "It's our only way out of here."
He didn't say anything, just took up a place at the crate behind which they hid and began firing. She smiled, though he didn't see it.
"Daine!", she yelled into the wristband. "Emergency, code red! Send Ship and creeper to tracer location. Usual cover fire pattern, just make it snappy. Oh! Call Bob. Tell him….." She paused and winced. "Tell him to get the med equipment ready. We're gonna need it….."
She moaned and curled tightly around herself. Akira stopped firing and wrapped his arms around her. She looked up at him and smiled. "You're not him…but I'm glad you came…." With a final moan, she passed out.
Iria reached for another grenade. "They should be back. Something's wrong."
Fujikuro continued firing. "They'll be back," he said. Iria studied him in the half-light, noting the thin lines that marred his face. Worry lines. She turned and looked off into the darkness, the direction Shiv had gone; the direction Akira had gone. How many more people would go into the darkness this night?
Movement caught her eye and she squinted. It…it was Akira. And he was carrying something…
*******
Everyone, I am soooooooooooooooooooo sorry!! My laptop has been on the fritz and I've been in a creativity slump, not to mention my new semester's worth of classes. Save me from the evils of trig!!!! And so, in order to attain for my sin of not updating, I'm posting THREE CHAPTERS AT ONCE!!! Cross your fingers people, I may have time to put up even more tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who's been following this story; I thrive on support.
Keep reading!
(PS: Next chapter, one of my best bud Mara-chan's fav scenes in the story so far!!)
~Kat-chan~