Ships14
Disclaimer: The Magogs say the lawyers tasted like chicken.
Author's notes: Since I am still in computer hell for some reason, thanks again to Cherubino for posting for me. Fearless, still love where you're going with your fic! To everyone who has kindly left me reviews, thank you! Especially JM, who is quick to give me feedback each chapter, I appreciate the time taken to post your thoughts.
Tyr almost walked into Regina she stopped so abruptly. She was staring at one of the men trying to drag himself away from the area. This little cluster of males was familiar. He recognized some of them from the bar fight.
The redhead stalked slowly toward the man trying to get away. She drew even with him and stepped on his neck. "Well, well, well. What have we here?"
"Looks like a rodent trying to crawl back into his hole." Tyr said as he watched her. She reminded him of a cat toying with a mouse.
Regina stuck her foot under his chest and rolled him over, lance at the ready in case he was armed. He flopped over, blood still trickling from his nose and ears from the concussion grenade. He was too disoriented to present more than a token resistance. "But a vermin with a familiar face. This is the Sabran who propositioned me in the bar."
"I think this is going a little far to be injured pride." Dylan pointed out as he moved around the Boadicca crew to join them. Half the assault party had begun to cull weapons from the fallen while the rest continued to scan the area for any more hostile movement.
"I concur. I am beginning to think the assault at the bar was not random chance. They must have targeted me specifically." Regina looked down at her captive thoughtfully. He was to out of it to give her any answers right now.
"But why you? Callisto was present, she should have been their primary target." Tyr pointed out. The first officer would have been on his list, but he would have taken Captain Varrus out first.
"If they were trying to take over the ship, then yes. What if it was a personal contract? Do you have any enemies Regina?" Dylan asked.
"Who are still among the living?" Regina shrugged.
"Yes, or those who would profit greatly from your demise." Tyr responded.
"Could be either, although I cannot think of more than a handful of names. To be honest, those I can think of wouldn't have favored such an obvious assault. Well, we'll know soon enough. Alyxandra, take our guest to sickbay. We wouldn't want him to die before we find out what we need to know." Regina said with a cold little smile.
Alyxandra searched him, taking away anything that could be used as a weapon, and his communications device. Then she stepped back and gestured sharply. Two crewmembers picked him up and carried him back to the ship.
The rest of the crew had dragged the bodies together in the center of the loading area. There was a smaller, more neatly laid out row of injured. They were receiving basic field care. The corpses were being stripped of weapons and hardware, their pockets rifled.
"What are they doing?" Dylan asked as he turned and saw the process.
"First we check for survivors, then we remove all obvious weapons and devices. Once that has been accomplished, we search them for information. Most people in this line of work have some kind of identifier, since their unit takes care of any bequests and burial specifications. Somehow I don't think the local port authorities will take the trouble. They'll probably just look for credit chips and sell the bodies to a research lab or something. It also may turn up something on their employer." Regina replied, not bothering to mention that the free weapons and communication hardware they were pulling off the bodies would offset the expenses of replacing the concussion grenades and the danger pay for everyone who came out to fight. Charlemagne had called Dylan 'an idealist with teeth' and she had great respect for her uncle's judgments of people. It might not offend him to find out they were going to turn a profit from this, but she rather doubted the likelihood of that.
Dylan thought it looked uncomfortably like looting the dead, but he understood. It was a bad idea to leave weapons lying around for your enemies to recover. At least she was willing to spend time recovering and identifying the fallen, instead of leaving it to the apparently worthless port authorities. "I can see why you wouldn't care to wait for the port authorities. They are either inept or corrupt to have not responded to such an obvious firefight."
"My guess is that they are both." Tyr said as he continued to watch for the three he had spotted earlier. They had not been close enough to get caught up in the grenade blasts, so they were still at large.
Dylan noticed that Tyr's attention was devoted to the shadowy area just beyond them. He respected the Nietzschean's survival instincts, and found himself casting a watchful eye toward the perimeter as well. "What is it Tyr?"
"It could be the tardy arrival of the authorities, but I suspect otherwise." Tyr stared into the darkness as if will alone would cause it to illuminate.
"Well, let's find out." Regina said as she raised her hand and signaled. The two guards nearest her pulled in to follow her as she began to walk toward the berthed ship on the left.
Tyr exchanged a glance with Dylan, and in silent accord they muscled their way between the guards to directly flank Regina. With their longer strides, they actually outpaced her enough to be slightly ahead of her when they reached the neighboring vessel.
"What the?" Tyr stopped and flung his arms out, halting their progression. He breathed in deeply, as if questing for a scent. He threw his head back and began laughing.
Regina looked at him oddly, but over the scorched metal and flesh she too could smell the faintest hint of two different types of perfume. One was a mix of musk and vanilla, the other was mint and sage, with a touch of citrus. She had to assume he knew the wearers; it was an odd mix of scents, surely unique.
"Beka, how unlike you to miss a good firefight." Tyr called as his laughter began to wind down.
"Yeah well, you know, so many things to see and do while in port. I got a little sidetracked. Besides, it doesn't look like you needed our help. Everything seems to be under control here." Beka said nonchalantly as she moved out from behind the crates that had sheltered her.
"Our help?" Dylan asked as his eyebrows arched in surprise.
"Hiya Dylan. Lovely night isn't it? Perfect for taking a little stroll to clear the old noggin." Harper said as he came out as well.
Trance didn't say anything, just gave a little wave and a sheepish grin as she followed Harper out into the light.
Dylan rubbed his free hand over his eyes, and then holstered his lance. "What are the three of you doing here? Never mind, I don't want to know. Tyr, if there are no more surprises, perhaps we could return to the Maru? We still have a little security matter of our own to discuss."
"By definition, if I knew of anything more, it would not be a surprise." Tyr gave him a disdainful look. "Before we return to the Maru, I would take a moment to speak with Regina."
"Fine Tyr, but keep it short," Dylan replied as he walked over to the rest of his crew. Beka was doing an excellent job of hiding any guilt she was feeling over following him. Trance and Harper were not. Their expressions told him clearly that they had followed him from the bar, and that it was not coincidence that had brought them here.
"My thanks for the loan of your lance." Regina said with a grin as she powered down the lance. She extended it to him, hoping he would let their unspoken communication from the battle remain that way.
"I had every confidence in your ability to handle it properly. Any time you have need of it again, I would be well pleased to lend it in your service." Tyr leaned in and murmured his response in her ear. Innuendo turned the fairly innocuous sentence into a blatant invitation.
With his voice blowing warm across her ear, it was hard to remember that she had cleanup detail and several prisoners to oversee. All she wanted was to take him up on his offer now, while her blood still burned from the combination of his nearness and the battle. "For the moment we both have obligations to attend. Perhaps once our duties have been dispatched you could return? Or I could come to you? I suspect I will be forgiven the brawling incident in light of these new developments. I should be off punishment detail even as we speak."
"Whomever is free first should contact the other." Tyr replied. He was pleased that she was not denying their silent agreement, but disappointed that duty had to come first. He pulled a small communication button from his belt and handed it to her.
"Whisker link, very nice." Regina said in appreciation. The small devices were used for military actions, and were prohibitively expensive for civilian use. They used the narrowest band possible for communication, and all messages were encrypted and decoded automatically by the device.
"Hey Tyr, your moment is up." Dylan called. He knew he was riding him harder than was warranted, but he couldn't help letting the past color his present sometimes. After all, the betrayal of the Commonwealth had not been three hundred years ago to him. In many ways, Tyr took the brunt of his well-earned distrust of the species as a whole.
Regina reached out and grabbed Tyr as he began to turn to respond to Dylan. She jerked him back around to face her. Surprised and pleased by her boldness, Tyr let himself be pulled. She looked deep into his eyes, anger having turned them dark amber. Dylan was a fool to try and assert control in this moment. All of Tyr's instincts would be to prove he was superior. She sank her hands into his long hair and pulled his head down for a kiss.
Tyr purred into her mouth. He knew she had done it to distract him from Dylan, but all that did was prove to him that she already had at least a basic understanding of his nature. His arms circled her waist, pulling her into him. One hand slid up her back to cradle her neck, tilting her head back enough to grant him full access to her mouth. The other stayed anchored at the base of her spine. He thoroughly tasted her, and then let his tongue mimic what he planned to do once they were alone. He thrust in and out, the message blatant. She whimpered into his mouth, a soft sound of hunger that he devoured. He pulled back reluctantly; knowing to go any further was to risk not being able to stop. He ran his thumb over a high cheekbone and down across her kiss-swollen mouth. "Time cannot pass swiftly enough until we are together."
"Then I had best get to work." Regina replied shakily. Never had a kiss affected her so strongly. She stepped back from him with reluctance. She waited until he was lost to her view before turning back to the task at hand. For a moment she resented the work ahead of her, then she cleared her mind. If she were to allow herself to be distracted, it would take twice as long. That was unacceptable, considering Tyr would be waiting.
Disclaimer: The Magogs say the lawyers tasted like chicken.
Author's notes: Since I am still in computer hell for some reason, thanks again to Cherubino for posting for me. Fearless, still love where you're going with your fic! To everyone who has kindly left me reviews, thank you! Especially JM, who is quick to give me feedback each chapter, I appreciate the time taken to post your thoughts.
Tyr almost walked into Regina she stopped so abruptly. She was staring at one of the men trying to drag himself away from the area. This little cluster of males was familiar. He recognized some of them from the bar fight.
The redhead stalked slowly toward the man trying to get away. She drew even with him and stepped on his neck. "Well, well, well. What have we here?"
"Looks like a rodent trying to crawl back into his hole." Tyr said as he watched her. She reminded him of a cat toying with a mouse.
Regina stuck her foot under his chest and rolled him over, lance at the ready in case he was armed. He flopped over, blood still trickling from his nose and ears from the concussion grenade. He was too disoriented to present more than a token resistance. "But a vermin with a familiar face. This is the Sabran who propositioned me in the bar."
"I think this is going a little far to be injured pride." Dylan pointed out as he moved around the Boadicca crew to join them. Half the assault party had begun to cull weapons from the fallen while the rest continued to scan the area for any more hostile movement.
"I concur. I am beginning to think the assault at the bar was not random chance. They must have targeted me specifically." Regina looked down at her captive thoughtfully. He was to out of it to give her any answers right now.
"But why you? Callisto was present, she should have been their primary target." Tyr pointed out. The first officer would have been on his list, but he would have taken Captain Varrus out first.
"If they were trying to take over the ship, then yes. What if it was a personal contract? Do you have any enemies Regina?" Dylan asked.
"Who are still among the living?" Regina shrugged.
"Yes, or those who would profit greatly from your demise." Tyr responded.
"Could be either, although I cannot think of more than a handful of names. To be honest, those I can think of wouldn't have favored such an obvious assault. Well, we'll know soon enough. Alyxandra, take our guest to sickbay. We wouldn't want him to die before we find out what we need to know." Regina said with a cold little smile.
Alyxandra searched him, taking away anything that could be used as a weapon, and his communications device. Then she stepped back and gestured sharply. Two crewmembers picked him up and carried him back to the ship.
The rest of the crew had dragged the bodies together in the center of the loading area. There was a smaller, more neatly laid out row of injured. They were receiving basic field care. The corpses were being stripped of weapons and hardware, their pockets rifled.
"What are they doing?" Dylan asked as he turned and saw the process.
"First we check for survivors, then we remove all obvious weapons and devices. Once that has been accomplished, we search them for information. Most people in this line of work have some kind of identifier, since their unit takes care of any bequests and burial specifications. Somehow I don't think the local port authorities will take the trouble. They'll probably just look for credit chips and sell the bodies to a research lab or something. It also may turn up something on their employer." Regina replied, not bothering to mention that the free weapons and communication hardware they were pulling off the bodies would offset the expenses of replacing the concussion grenades and the danger pay for everyone who came out to fight. Charlemagne had called Dylan 'an idealist with teeth' and she had great respect for her uncle's judgments of people. It might not offend him to find out they were going to turn a profit from this, but she rather doubted the likelihood of that.
Dylan thought it looked uncomfortably like looting the dead, but he understood. It was a bad idea to leave weapons lying around for your enemies to recover. At least she was willing to spend time recovering and identifying the fallen, instead of leaving it to the apparently worthless port authorities. "I can see why you wouldn't care to wait for the port authorities. They are either inept or corrupt to have not responded to such an obvious firefight."
"My guess is that they are both." Tyr said as he continued to watch for the three he had spotted earlier. They had not been close enough to get caught up in the grenade blasts, so they were still at large.
Dylan noticed that Tyr's attention was devoted to the shadowy area just beyond them. He respected the Nietzschean's survival instincts, and found himself casting a watchful eye toward the perimeter as well. "What is it Tyr?"
"It could be the tardy arrival of the authorities, but I suspect otherwise." Tyr stared into the darkness as if will alone would cause it to illuminate.
"Well, let's find out." Regina said as she raised her hand and signaled. The two guards nearest her pulled in to follow her as she began to walk toward the berthed ship on the left.
Tyr exchanged a glance with Dylan, and in silent accord they muscled their way between the guards to directly flank Regina. With their longer strides, they actually outpaced her enough to be slightly ahead of her when they reached the neighboring vessel.
"What the?" Tyr stopped and flung his arms out, halting their progression. He breathed in deeply, as if questing for a scent. He threw his head back and began laughing.
Regina looked at him oddly, but over the scorched metal and flesh she too could smell the faintest hint of two different types of perfume. One was a mix of musk and vanilla, the other was mint and sage, with a touch of citrus. She had to assume he knew the wearers; it was an odd mix of scents, surely unique.
"Beka, how unlike you to miss a good firefight." Tyr called as his laughter began to wind down.
"Yeah well, you know, so many things to see and do while in port. I got a little sidetracked. Besides, it doesn't look like you needed our help. Everything seems to be under control here." Beka said nonchalantly as she moved out from behind the crates that had sheltered her.
"Our help?" Dylan asked as his eyebrows arched in surprise.
"Hiya Dylan. Lovely night isn't it? Perfect for taking a little stroll to clear the old noggin." Harper said as he came out as well.
Trance didn't say anything, just gave a little wave and a sheepish grin as she followed Harper out into the light.
Dylan rubbed his free hand over his eyes, and then holstered his lance. "What are the three of you doing here? Never mind, I don't want to know. Tyr, if there are no more surprises, perhaps we could return to the Maru? We still have a little security matter of our own to discuss."
"By definition, if I knew of anything more, it would not be a surprise." Tyr gave him a disdainful look. "Before we return to the Maru, I would take a moment to speak with Regina."
"Fine Tyr, but keep it short," Dylan replied as he walked over to the rest of his crew. Beka was doing an excellent job of hiding any guilt she was feeling over following him. Trance and Harper were not. Their expressions told him clearly that they had followed him from the bar, and that it was not coincidence that had brought them here.
"My thanks for the loan of your lance." Regina said with a grin as she powered down the lance. She extended it to him, hoping he would let their unspoken communication from the battle remain that way.
"I had every confidence in your ability to handle it properly. Any time you have need of it again, I would be well pleased to lend it in your service." Tyr leaned in and murmured his response in her ear. Innuendo turned the fairly innocuous sentence into a blatant invitation.
With his voice blowing warm across her ear, it was hard to remember that she had cleanup detail and several prisoners to oversee. All she wanted was to take him up on his offer now, while her blood still burned from the combination of his nearness and the battle. "For the moment we both have obligations to attend. Perhaps once our duties have been dispatched you could return? Or I could come to you? I suspect I will be forgiven the brawling incident in light of these new developments. I should be off punishment detail even as we speak."
"Whomever is free first should contact the other." Tyr replied. He was pleased that she was not denying their silent agreement, but disappointed that duty had to come first. He pulled a small communication button from his belt and handed it to her.
"Whisker link, very nice." Regina said in appreciation. The small devices were used for military actions, and were prohibitively expensive for civilian use. They used the narrowest band possible for communication, and all messages were encrypted and decoded automatically by the device.
"Hey Tyr, your moment is up." Dylan called. He knew he was riding him harder than was warranted, but he couldn't help letting the past color his present sometimes. After all, the betrayal of the Commonwealth had not been three hundred years ago to him. In many ways, Tyr took the brunt of his well-earned distrust of the species as a whole.
Regina reached out and grabbed Tyr as he began to turn to respond to Dylan. She jerked him back around to face her. Surprised and pleased by her boldness, Tyr let himself be pulled. She looked deep into his eyes, anger having turned them dark amber. Dylan was a fool to try and assert control in this moment. All of Tyr's instincts would be to prove he was superior. She sank her hands into his long hair and pulled his head down for a kiss.
Tyr purred into her mouth. He knew she had done it to distract him from Dylan, but all that did was prove to him that she already had at least a basic understanding of his nature. His arms circled her waist, pulling her into him. One hand slid up her back to cradle her neck, tilting her head back enough to grant him full access to her mouth. The other stayed anchored at the base of her spine. He thoroughly tasted her, and then let his tongue mimic what he planned to do once they were alone. He thrust in and out, the message blatant. She whimpered into his mouth, a soft sound of hunger that he devoured. He pulled back reluctantly; knowing to go any further was to risk not being able to stop. He ran his thumb over a high cheekbone and down across her kiss-swollen mouth. "Time cannot pass swiftly enough until we are together."
"Then I had best get to work." Regina replied shakily. Never had a kiss affected her so strongly. She stepped back from him with reluctance. She waited until he was lost to her view before turning back to the task at hand. For a moment she resented the work ahead of her, then she cleared her mind. If she were to allow herself to be distracted, it would take twice as long. That was unacceptable, considering Tyr would be waiting.
