So people actually like this? Huh. Guess I'll continue, then.
Swt China: So glad you like it! Yes, Blackfire IS a cool character to write about. Since she only appeared in one episode and immediately got hauled off to jail, you can have a vengeful Blackfire, a repentant Blackfire, a strong Blackfire, an emotionally dependent Blackfire... many choices.
Omegan Empress: Thank you! Good suggestion, but I have something a little different in mind for Blackfire... I'll keep your suggestion in mind, though.
GreyFox-JenniferFoxe: ^_^; I know it was short, I just needed some time to work on it. O.O I'm not giving my plot bunny to anyone with an evil grin!
Plot Bunny: Grrr...
Me: _ Ow. On second thought...
Plot Bunny: Meep! *goes and hides*
Anyways, thanks for reviewing. Here's the next chapter...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Installation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Blackfire leaned against the wall, looking bored. This was a weekly occurence, as the Centaurians were experimenting with a new form of 'rehabilitation' - namely, sticking all the prisoners in a big room for four hours every week. It was their belief that 'contact with other entities will make the prisoners realize the depth of their own transgressions and lead to the prisoner being a better person when he/she/it is released.'
Blackfire snorted. Yeah, right.
She looked over at the others. There were several other aliens here, with humanoids being the exception, not the rule. A four-legged Nimh beast, with a collar that prevented it from mauling others, roved around growling. Two blob-like Protns were wrestling in a corner. Others were talking, roaming around, or looking as bored as herself. The few conversations she could hear were all related to weapons, escape strategies, and previous offenses.
Blackfire smirked. Looked like their little 'plan' was backfiring.
She stretched and sat down, ready to meditate, since there was nothing else to do. She had almost gotten her concentration when the door banged open.
Everyone stopped, looking surprised. The time wasn't up yet. Why were they opening the door?
Two guards came in with a prisoner held between them. "PRISONER DARIEN REFARA OF ALTAIR PRIME," they stated in a monotone, then threw the man down on the floor and left.
He sat up, rubbing an elbow and grinning ruefully. "Well, I guess I can't expect a royal welcome."
Blackfire checked him out in spite of herself. He was reasonably good-looking, with premature silver hair, light green eyes, and light brown skin, the color of what Earthlings called 'hot chocolate'. The man was wearing a gray t-shirt and the Altair version of 'blue jeans', which were a non-descript khaki color and made of something like canvas.
Since nobody appeared to be interested in the newcomer, he shrugged and started walking around. He appeared to be heading in her direction.
~No, no, no,~ Blackfire pleaded silently, but it was no use. The man - Darien, she reminded herself - sat down next to her, grinning amiably. "Hi. Who are you?"
She sighed, dropped her concentration, and glared at Darien. "I WAS about to meditate. Who are you?"
He grimaced. "Oops. Sorry. I'll go bother someone else." He got up and moved off into the crowd.
Blackfire had second thoughts and called after him. "Wait!"
He stopped, turning around. "What? Don't tell me I did something else wrong."
"No, it's just that I might as well talk to you." She shrugged. "There's nothing else to do in this hellhole."
Darien retraced his steps and sat down beside her. "I assume you don't think very much of this place?"
She snorted. "Of course not. The people who run this place are idiots. They actually believe we can be 'rehabilitated' and let out into the world as 'safe, law-abiding citzens'." She grimaced. "How stupid can you get?"
Darien grinned. "Well, it doesn't sound much different from any other jail I've heard about."
Blackfire pounced on the expression. "You mean this is your first time?"
"Yup." He leaned against the wall, eyes closed.
She began to feel curious about the newcomer. "What did you do?"
He opened one eye to look at her. "Do you really want to know?"
"Yes."
"Then tell me what you did first."
Blackfire began her tale of adventure and crime, encouraged by Darien, who was listening avidly to every word. Before either expected it, the guards called out, "INTERACTION TIME IS OVER. ALL PRISONERS WILL NOW BE ESCORTED BACK TO THEIR CELLS."
Darien smiled ruefully at her. "I guess the rest of your story will have to wait until next week. Hope I didn't bother you too much."
Blackfire smiled. "Are you kidding? You might not be much, but talking to you certainly helps pass the time."
He smiled back at her as the two guards that were assigned to him took him to his cell.
Her two guards also led her away. She sighed and resigned herself to another boring week.
It wasn't till she was back in her cell that she realized...
Darien had never told her what he had done.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few hours later, she was startled from her sleep by the sound of her cell door being thrown open. In a scene exactly like the one in the interaction chamber, two guards came in, holding Darien between them. "PRISONER DARIEN REFARA OF ALTAIR PRIME WILL BE YOUR NEW CELLMATE," they announced, then threw Darien on the floor and left.
He sat up, wincing. "I hope I won't have to get used to the throwing down all the time," he said, then looked up and spotted Blackfire. He brightened. "Hey, you're the girl from that room!"
Amused, she swung down from the top bunk. "So why'd they stick you with me?"
He smiled regretfully. "My previous cellmate decided that I was the right type to eat. The guards barely got him off me." He regarded her with mock fear. "You won't eat me, will you?"
She laughed. Almost eaten or not, this man had a gift for making friends. "No, I won't. I still have to finish my story, remember?"
"Oh yes, that's right," he said, sitting down on the bottom bunk. Then he looked up at her expectantly. "What's your name? I never asked you in that room."
"Blackfire."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'll just leave you guys there. Gives you something to look forward to, doesn't it?
Swt China: So glad you like it! Yes, Blackfire IS a cool character to write about. Since she only appeared in one episode and immediately got hauled off to jail, you can have a vengeful Blackfire, a repentant Blackfire, a strong Blackfire, an emotionally dependent Blackfire... many choices.
Omegan Empress: Thank you! Good suggestion, but I have something a little different in mind for Blackfire... I'll keep your suggestion in mind, though.
GreyFox-JenniferFoxe: ^_^; I know it was short, I just needed some time to work on it. O.O I'm not giving my plot bunny to anyone with an evil grin!
Plot Bunny: Grrr...
Me: _ Ow. On second thought...
Plot Bunny: Meep! *goes and hides*
Anyways, thanks for reviewing. Here's the next chapter...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Installation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Blackfire leaned against the wall, looking bored. This was a weekly occurence, as the Centaurians were experimenting with a new form of 'rehabilitation' - namely, sticking all the prisoners in a big room for four hours every week. It was their belief that 'contact with other entities will make the prisoners realize the depth of their own transgressions and lead to the prisoner being a better person when he/she/it is released.'
Blackfire snorted. Yeah, right.
She looked over at the others. There were several other aliens here, with humanoids being the exception, not the rule. A four-legged Nimh beast, with a collar that prevented it from mauling others, roved around growling. Two blob-like Protns were wrestling in a corner. Others were talking, roaming around, or looking as bored as herself. The few conversations she could hear were all related to weapons, escape strategies, and previous offenses.
Blackfire smirked. Looked like their little 'plan' was backfiring.
She stretched and sat down, ready to meditate, since there was nothing else to do. She had almost gotten her concentration when the door banged open.
Everyone stopped, looking surprised. The time wasn't up yet. Why were they opening the door?
Two guards came in with a prisoner held between them. "PRISONER DARIEN REFARA OF ALTAIR PRIME," they stated in a monotone, then threw the man down on the floor and left.
He sat up, rubbing an elbow and grinning ruefully. "Well, I guess I can't expect a royal welcome."
Blackfire checked him out in spite of herself. He was reasonably good-looking, with premature silver hair, light green eyes, and light brown skin, the color of what Earthlings called 'hot chocolate'. The man was wearing a gray t-shirt and the Altair version of 'blue jeans', which were a non-descript khaki color and made of something like canvas.
Since nobody appeared to be interested in the newcomer, he shrugged and started walking around. He appeared to be heading in her direction.
~No, no, no,~ Blackfire pleaded silently, but it was no use. The man - Darien, she reminded herself - sat down next to her, grinning amiably. "Hi. Who are you?"
She sighed, dropped her concentration, and glared at Darien. "I WAS about to meditate. Who are you?"
He grimaced. "Oops. Sorry. I'll go bother someone else." He got up and moved off into the crowd.
Blackfire had second thoughts and called after him. "Wait!"
He stopped, turning around. "What? Don't tell me I did something else wrong."
"No, it's just that I might as well talk to you." She shrugged. "There's nothing else to do in this hellhole."
Darien retraced his steps and sat down beside her. "I assume you don't think very much of this place?"
She snorted. "Of course not. The people who run this place are idiots. They actually believe we can be 'rehabilitated' and let out into the world as 'safe, law-abiding citzens'." She grimaced. "How stupid can you get?"
Darien grinned. "Well, it doesn't sound much different from any other jail I've heard about."
Blackfire pounced on the expression. "You mean this is your first time?"
"Yup." He leaned against the wall, eyes closed.
She began to feel curious about the newcomer. "What did you do?"
He opened one eye to look at her. "Do you really want to know?"
"Yes."
"Then tell me what you did first."
Blackfire began her tale of adventure and crime, encouraged by Darien, who was listening avidly to every word. Before either expected it, the guards called out, "INTERACTION TIME IS OVER. ALL PRISONERS WILL NOW BE ESCORTED BACK TO THEIR CELLS."
Darien smiled ruefully at her. "I guess the rest of your story will have to wait until next week. Hope I didn't bother you too much."
Blackfire smiled. "Are you kidding? You might not be much, but talking to you certainly helps pass the time."
He smiled back at her as the two guards that were assigned to him took him to his cell.
Her two guards also led her away. She sighed and resigned herself to another boring week.
It wasn't till she was back in her cell that she realized...
Darien had never told her what he had done.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few hours later, she was startled from her sleep by the sound of her cell door being thrown open. In a scene exactly like the one in the interaction chamber, two guards came in, holding Darien between them. "PRISONER DARIEN REFARA OF ALTAIR PRIME WILL BE YOUR NEW CELLMATE," they announced, then threw Darien on the floor and left.
He sat up, wincing. "I hope I won't have to get used to the throwing down all the time," he said, then looked up and spotted Blackfire. He brightened. "Hey, you're the girl from that room!"
Amused, she swung down from the top bunk. "So why'd they stick you with me?"
He smiled regretfully. "My previous cellmate decided that I was the right type to eat. The guards barely got him off me." He regarded her with mock fear. "You won't eat me, will you?"
She laughed. Almost eaten or not, this man had a gift for making friends. "No, I won't. I still have to finish my story, remember?"
"Oh yes, that's right," he said, sitting down on the bottom bunk. Then he looked up at her expectantly. "What's your name? I never asked you in that room."
"Blackfire."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'll just leave you guys there. Gives you something to look forward to, doesn't it?