Chapter Seventeen
Kagome could feel Miroku's stare at the side of her head. Hell, with the intensity he was using, she was surprised her hair hadn't caught fire. Instead of acknowledging him, Kagome kept her gaze on the frazzled Wallace.
Due to her appearance and the way she commanded those around her, it was clear that Wallace had been awake since the wee hours. Or perhaps she had never gone to bed, Kagome mused, watching as she sent another tech scurrying off with wires and two separate monitoring screens.
"She sure is amazing when riled up, huh?" A soft voice to her left had Kagome looking over to another female tech. She rose from the crouch she had been in while inspecting Kagome's pod, keeping her eyes on Wallace. "You can almost believe she really is the head of the link techs."
Kagome let out a small laugh and nodded her head. "Yeah, huh?" She turned fully to the tech and extended her hand. "Kagome Higurashi."
The tech grinned and grasped her hand. "Mei Tanemura. I'll be the one monitoring you and Soryu while your linked."
"Ah! To be in the care of such lovely hands! I am, indeed, a very lucky man!" Miroku interrupted, grasping a hold of Mei's hands and bringing them up as if to inspect them, shooting her a heavy-lidded look in the process.
Mei blushed furiously and yanked her hands back, crossing them over her chest and glaring at the psychic. "Yeah, we've been warned about you, Mr. Hormone." She said accusingly, but the blush on her cheeks remained. Miroku smiled serenely, as if not understanding where she was coming from. His eyes, however, were focused on the tech's well-endowed chest.
"My dear, I have no idea-!" It was when his smile turned into a smirk that Mei caught where his eyes were and she swung her hand, catching him across the cheek with a sharp crack.
"Pervert!" Mei shouted and stormed from the room. Kagome sighed and placed a hand at her temple. Really, the guy never learned. She thought in exasperation as she turned to glance at him. She stiffened slightly to see him staring back, his eyes hard and serious.
"Now that we're alone, you're going to answer some of my questions, Kagome." Miroku nearly whispered turning to face her fully. Kagome shot a wild look around the room and realized they were the only ones in the pod room. Where the hell had Wallace gone? A thought struck her and she turned an incredulous stare towards the other psychic.
"Did…did you just hit on Mei to chase her out of the room?!"
Miroku waved a hand as if it didn't matter, his expression never changing. He took a step forward and Kagome took one back, running into the pod behind her. Miroku took that last step and set his hands on either side of her, effectively caging her against the machine. Kagome gulped, feeling nervous at the intense way he was studying her.
"Where you forced into this?" His question was just as serious as his face, his voice low and soft. Kagome blinked, still unnerved by how close he was.
"Uh…yeah…do you not remember walking forward and caging me to the pod?" Kagome weakly tried for levity and let out a small chuckle. Miroku scowled and leaned further down so she was forced to look him in the eye.
"I'm serious, Kagome. Where you coerced into becoming a battle-link for the assassin?" Kagome frowned back, her eyebrows drawing down at the accusatory tone the normally docile psychic was using.
"No, Miroku. I wasn't 'coerced' into anything. This was my own decision to make!" She let out a breath as he backed up and gave her back her space. "What the hell does it matter to you, anyway?!"
Miroku took in a breath of air himself, not really relieved, but not as tense as he had been. "You're my…friend, Kagome. Of course I care!" He bit out in agitation. "I just think this was a really stupid decision on your part."
Before Kagome could open her mouth for a rebuttal, the door opened and Wallace came bustling in, a suspiciously bright smile stretching her lips. "Alright, love-birds!" She sang out, her voice overly cheerful. "That's all I can allow for your 'personal' time."
Both Kagome and Miroku turned to stare at her blankly. Wallace let out a small giggle and winked at Miroku. "You fast worker, you."
Kagome snorted to herself and opened her pod, shooting daggers from her eyes at the other psychic. Miroku met those daggers with an icy wall of his own, sticking to his words. Both got into their pods and checked over their electrodes. Now wasn't the time for this discussion, but both swore internally that they'd talk it over later.
A chime sounded from the back of the room and Wallace let out an excited squeal. "Show time, boys and girls!" She crowed as the pod tops dropped into place and Kagome was reclined into a more comfortable position. The stasis gel filled the pod quickly, and Kagome thought it felt just a little colder than usual. Then again, maybe she was just that angry.
"This isn't going to be an ambush. No surprise attacks, no getting the jump on the enemy." Butch announced to those sitting at the table, looking from one grim face to another. "The enemy is as much aware of us as we are of them. The battleship Randal will buffer the enemies exterior attack when we swoop in range to send the lot of you on board the first ship. We won't have a large window of opportunity, so no fucking around."
Inuyasha muttered something under his breath and got an elbow from Sango.
"The maps on your armbands have been fitted with an energy detector. It's capable of picking up the disruption signal cast out by Taisho's target. However, it isn't as accurate as we need it to be."
"The hell does that mean?" Kouga asked gruffly, eyebrows lowered.
"It means you can still fall into range of the damn energy net if you aren't paying attention." Butch snapped back, placing his hands on his hips and looking as if he'd beat the snot out of the next person to interrupt. "Not like the lot of you won't be busy. While Taisho gets into the inner circle, the enemy will turn their attention on the lot of you. This won't be anything like you've faced before."
His eyes met each pair staring back at him, willing them to treat this as seriously as it was. "They won't be hiding, half-dead, waiting to be finished off. They will come at you in droves, making your simulations seem like a walk in the park. Do not hesitate to take out anything that comes at you. Do not forget to monitor the condition of your psychic either." His mouth twists slightly in distaste.
"The minute any of you feels the strain in your link, pull back and take care of it. Too many soldiers ignore their link and end up losing it in the middle of the battle. Needless to say, they don't return. Same goes for you, psychics. You feel the strain, you speak up. No one likes a martyr, and we certainly don't applaud a sense of misdirected heroism. We need you as effective as possible, and that means alive."
Seeing the nod from each soldier, Butch turned back to the holo-projector in the center of the table. "Now to keep the enemy from firing on their own ship while you're on it, four separate battleships are being sent in as distraction. How long they'll be able to hold out is a gamble." Butch looked to Taisho, who nodded grimly. "So this requires as much speed as you can manage. We don't need any fancy sword moves. Get in, kill the fucker, and get out." He smirked at the narrowing of the assassin's eyes.
"Once you've killed the first, the lot of you get your asses back to the drop point. While it would be in our best interests to kill 'em all, we got bigger fish to fry. Taking out the three disrupters and getting that energy barrier down is priority."
"What happens once we get the last of our objectives?" Kagura asked, studying the positions of their target ships in the enemy fleet.
"I'd like to say: 'Go wild and kill 'em all!', but I can't."
Inuyasha looked up sharply, his mouth already opening to complain, and strangely enough; so did Sango and Ayame. Butch held his hands up, his glare more than enough to keep the three quiet. "It's a pod issue. The fleet has all hands on deck; that includes the psychics. There aren't enough pods for the full scale attack we have planned."
"Well, why the hell not?!" Inuyasha almost shouted, glaring right back at the pilot. Butch let out a sigh and looked down at the table, bracing his hands against the ledge.
"We haven't had the resources to replace the Cassiopeia." He spoke softly and Inuyasha visibly flinched. The Cassiopeia had been a far western port. The Baasratu had managed to take it down. No one moved, remembering, in their own way, what they'd heard about the attack.
"So, the plan is to get in, kill the main bastard, and get the hell out." Kouga broke the silence, sitting forward and looking at the planet set behind the Baasratu fleet. "Then, what? Come back here?"
Butch nodded, going back to his wide stance and crossing his arms. "Yeah. We're to pull back out of the way and remain on standby at the rear of the force."
Inuyasha snorted and leaned back in his chair. "Keh. Once a clean-up crew, always a clean-up crew." He mumbled out and Kagura rolled her eyes, elbowing him at the same time Sango did.
There was still a half-hour before the mission started, and Sesshomaru could tell his partner was freaking out. Though she hadn't said anything; it was in the way she fluttered her energy about, the small mumbles he couldn't quite make out, and the tidal wave of nerves she was barely keeping to herself.
'Higurashi.'
Kagome stopped going through her mental checklist for the hundredth time and turned her attention to her slightly amused partner.
'Are you scared?' His question same out sounding snide, and Kagome wasn't exactly sure if he meant it to or not. She decided to answer him seriously.
'Yes. Our first freaking mission in this new…job…and it's huge!' Kagome finally burst. 'The first major resource-find in…I don't know how long! And, it's our job to make sure the enemy barrier is taken down so we can get to it!' She paused, examining her partner's sedate energy flow with envy. 'How are you not even perturbed in the slightest?'
Sesshomaru closed his eyes and examined the bond between Higurashi and himself. During the training with Kitakawa, he had taken note of the difference between the two. The difference the link felt between him and some other psychic, and the link between him and Higurashi. A small smirk flitted over his face as he sent a surge of assurance through their link to her, feeling satisfaction when she let out a small gasp.
'Because we will succeed.' He answered her simply, his eyes opening as she let out a small laugh.
A chime at the front of the transport room caught everyone's attention. Brandon leaned into the room from the doorway, an excited flush rising in his cheeks. "Butch says it's about to get rough. The battle has already started, and the way to the drop point is-"
His words cut off as they were suddenly jostled sharply to the left. Brandon picked himself off the floor where he had fallen, rubbing his head. "Gah. Captain Taisho! In the transport! We gotta do this on the fly!"
Sesshomaru stood swiftly and made his way to the door, gripping the hand-rail when the ship rocked violently a second time. Brandon used his momentum from the jolt to push himself back into the monitor room, heading for the controls.
Kagome let out a shaky sigh as Brandon started up the machine. The feel of Taisho's energy wrapping around hers had her calming down. Whispering a quiet "Thank you" she wrapped herself tightly around her partner and tried not to think about the unsettling feeling transporting always gave her.
The overall feeling of the ship, once they had landed, had the small hairs along Sesshomaru's arms standing at attention. They were in a hall, and Sesshomaru made quick work of double checking his gear while waiting for instruction from his partner.
'Our target is a way's off.' Kagome murmured absently, tracing her energy down the living walls as far as she could, being careful not to touch on the enemy as she went. 'They haven't noticed our presence yet, but the minute you move, they will. Take the left and further down, two enemies in the immediate vicinity, five off a separate room.'
And like that, he was off, rounding the corner and dodging the first of the Baasratu in the way. Kagome picked up on their awareness and watched in curiosity as a silent alarm was projected to each Baasratu in a wave. At every enemy they encountered, a new ripple seemed to grow. An idea struck her, and with the amount of speed her partner had to work with… 'Taisho. We can keep ahead of their awareness.'
Sesshomaru kept his speed up, listening as his partner explained her plan while directing him down the corridors. A vicious smirk stretched his lips from beneath his helmet and he put a bit more energy to his legs. There were still two more ships, after all.
Inuyasha watched as Sesshomaru disappeared in the transporter and turned his gaze to the monitor on the wall. A rough outline of the inside of the enemy's ship popped up and the rest of the team stood to get a better look. After what looked to be a short second, the blue dot, meant to be the assassin, shot off like a rocket, zipping down the corridor and rounding a corner. In his wake, red dots began to manifest, indicating the number of enemies.
Kagura let out a low whistle, watching as the blue dot moved and aggregated the red. "Damn. Taisho's got some speed."
"Isn't the way the enemy appearing strange?" Sango asked out loud keeping her eyes on the spread of red seeping onto the tracker like drops…or ripples…
"The tracker can only pick up the enemy energy when they get agitated." Brandon answered from the doorway, hanging onto the sides to keep from falling over at every jolt. "No doubt seeing Captain Taisho just shoot past them was a surprise." The boy sounded like he was bragging and Kouga let out a snort.
'Aw, c'mon bro. You know Taisho's due the praise. You see how fast he's clearing the halls?'
'Hmph. It's not like he's taking out the enemy along the way.' Kouga sniffed, unwilling to give him an inch. Hakaku mentally rolled his eyes and focused on Kouga's fists. Or more importantly, on the capped metal he used as a weapon. 'Still think you should take a saber in as well.' He muttered quietly and Kouga scoffed.
'Nah. Got enough aggression to take it out on these assholes.'
Hakaku let out a huff of his own. 'Fine, but take one for the next ship. I would like to survive this.' Kouga grunted in reply, straightening when Brandon called to them from the transport room.
"Alright guys! It's time! Get your asses in here!"
Inuyasha laughed, stumbling into the room first as the ship rocked to the right. "Keep your language clean, junior! Cursing doesn't suit you!"
Brandon flushed in embarrassment and scowled back. "I'll tell Kaede that any wounds you receive deserve immediate attention." He threatened and Inuyasha's face went pale.
Inside, Inuyasha felt a jolt come from Kikyo and he turned his attention to her. 'What's wrong?' He asked in concern as he was jostled by Kagura as the ship rocked to the left.
'Kaede…is on the ship? My Kaede?'
Inuyasha froze in confusion as the machine powered up and the transport came to life. Before he could say anything, he instinctively tensed up as they were beamed to the drop point. Taking quick stock of themselves, they immediately became aware of the way the ship felt. A slight hiss came from behind Inuyasha, and he spun around his saber already slicing through a Baasratu before he really registered it was there. Another was leaping at Sango, who had her own saber on its way to match.
'We'll talk about this later.' Inuyasha told her quietly even as Kouga's voice came through the mic in his helmet.
"Stick together and head in one direction. We can't be separated." Though his words were supposed to be sobering, the tone he used was too enthusiastic as he punched into the side of a Baasratu face, spraying the side of his helmet with green turning orange blood.
'Right. To your left, Inuyasha.' Kikyo answered, shaking off her shock. She hadn't known her little sister had transferred to her partner's ship, and she had quite a few questions.
'Calm down, Sango-love. Let the enemy come to you.' Miroku tried to soothe, but his irritation was riding high on the surface today. 'You're wasting energy pointlessly.' He pointed out, getting his emotions under control. Sango huffed as she pushed one of the Baasratu enemies off of her saber and met another with an upward strike, avoiding the red-tipped claws coming for her shoulder.
'Nice to see your head back in the game, Soryu.' She sniped back, beheading the enemy and turning to take out one aiming for Ayame's back.
Miroku winced internally, realizing he had been thinking about the confrontation with Kagome since he had linked with Sango. 'And don't tell me what I'm doing wrong. Give me direction, partner.' Sango continued, her emphasis on the word partner leaving no mystery behind how she was feeling.
Directing his energy up her arms, he worked at the knots accumulated at her shoulders. The shudder that went through her frame filling him with male pride. 'Two to your left and closing down the hall.' He murmured, sending a brief flick up her neck, nearly smirking when she let out a hiss.
'I take it back. I liked it better when you were distracted.' Sango snarled to him even as she turned to face the threat. Miroku really did smirk at that and allowed his energy to caress her behind. 'That's my girl.'
Sango stabbed into the last of the two, fantasizing it was a certain psychic and mentally wishing he could pick up on her imaging. 'Pervert!'
'Woo! Yeah! Whip that thang!' Ginta hooted in her head and Ayame fought the urge to grin, his enthusiasm catching. She jerked back on her whip, the metal hooks laced into the end, filled with psychic energy, tearing through tissue as the Baasratu spun to the side, losing its head in the process. Her left hand brought up a saber to deflect a close combat attack, slightly relieved when Kagura took it down with her own saber.
"Need some help?" Kagura purred to her over the mic and Ayame laughed, riding high on adrenaline and her own partner's elation. The sudden silence caught their attention as they looked around to realize the first wave had ended.
Kouga looked down to his map and pointed down the left corridor. "There is another group coming from that way, let's move to intercept them. Dancing over these bodies will be kind of ridiculous."
Rolling shoulders back and getting pumped up for the next round, they followed their leader farther down the eerie corridor.
'Your creepy silent today, Naraku.' Kagura wheedled, pretending not to care what his reason was, though really, it was unnerving. His chuckle reached her ears and she was annoyed when it caused the fine hairs on her neck to stand at attention.
'Perhaps you should pay more attention to the enemy in front of you…?' He purred, still chortling darkly.
'Instead of the one inside, you mean?' She shot back, using her own dark imitation. A pressure of energy around her neck gave Kagura the impression he was trying to choke her.
'Careful, little puppet. That almost seemed to insinuate something.' The pressure was gone and Kagura snorted in derision. Making a mental note to file for a different partner, though knowing she'd never go through with it, Kagura rolled her eyes.
'Whatever, Hadani. As long as you do your job.' The only answer she got was another dark laugh.
Sesshomaru skid around a corner, his saber long since stained a deep orange from the blood of those he couldn't avoid. The feel of the enemy's mental attack was different than the simulations, but no worse. He could block it just fine, but the way it felt was strange. More grating, he supposed. Like if you pinched cotton and rubbed it between your fingers; allowing the feeling of that to build until it became excruciating agony.
'It's just ahead.'
Higurashi's whispered statement brought his attention to the fore and he rounded the last corner. It was standing in the corridor, calmly facing their direction as if patiently waiting. Its head lifted slightly and its lips pulled back from its long teeth.
"So you come…"
Both Sesshomaru and Kagome paused to hear the hissing rasp, forming words, coming from the emaciated looking Baasratu. Seeing their hesitancy, the Baasratu let out a choking laugh. "I see. You are not used to this yet." It lifted its head and the swaths of material covering it seemed to flutter. "But your other half…has a strange energy."
Sesshomaru tensed sharply and went in for the attack. The Baasratu never moved from its position, allowing Sesshomaru's saber to pierce through its chest. Grabbing ahold of Sesshomaru's arm, the Baasratu let out another garbled laugh. "Such a young race. And you know nothing."
Sesshomaru jerked his arm free, sending an arc of gore through the air and splattering the wall. The Baasratu continued to laugh as it sank to its knees and finally slumped to the ground. The disappearance of the mental attack confirming it to be dead.
'W-what…what the hell…?' Higurashi croaked in his head and Sesshomaru's eye narrowed. Turning from the body, he began the run back to the drop point.
'Not our place to think on this.' He murmured, navigating the hall and taking down anything in their way. 'Yet.' He amended at the sardonic feeling he was getting from his psychic. Kagome let out a breath and turned back to concentrate on where they were going. Her thoughts kept going back to the Baasratu. During the brief interlude, it had seemed to be reaching for her with its own energy…as if coaxing her…
A shudder ran through her; Sesshomaru picked up on it and sent reassurance back.
The second and third ship went down in much the same fashion as the first, sans the strange talking Baasratu and cryptic messages. By the end of the second ship, they were definitely feeling the burn, and at the end of the third, the lot of them just wanted to sleep. Sesshomaru felt as if his head was physically split open due to the incessant mental barrage he had been under for over seven hours.
Kagome was in likewise agreement. As the left the transport room for the last time and Taisho sat heavily on the bench in the remodeled locker room, Kagome felt the pull from the other side of the link, telling her it was time to go.
'Great job today, partner.' She mumbled in exhaustion, but sent the same kind of warmth she found herself sending him lately. 'Link ya later.'
She grinned at the noncommittal grunt he answered her cheer with then gasped at the warmth he sent back to her, causing butterflies to erupt in her stomach.
'Later, Higurashi.'
It was as he was taking out his earpiece, after the link with Higurashi had closed, that the ruckus in the room was brought to his attention. Though completely tired, sore, and mildly wounded in several places, the whole team was babbling to each other about the mission in loud obnoxious tones. He blinked slowly, slightly startled that he hadn't heard them before.
Was he so in tuned and focused on Higurashi that he had drowned out his surroundings…? His brows lowered slightly as he bent to begin removing his boots, his eyes staring blankly before him. If this was what he thought this was, then he was in bigger trouble then he had previously thought.
His thoughts derailed as a body slammed into his right side, Inuyasha having been shoved by a rowdy Kouga. All commotion ceased as the silver haired captain slowly turned a frigid stare on the crumpled form of his younger half-brother. The ice hardened in his gaze as it rose to meet with Kouga's.
"If you have the energy to fool around in the locker room, then perhaps you should visit the training room before showering."
His voice was flat and sharp, making many of them gulp and look to the side. Turning back to his locker, Sesshomaru removed the rest of his gear and headed for the shower himself. Kouga avoided looking at the assassin in the eyes, but kept his shoulders back and his spine straight as he passed.
"Don't piss yourself, Wolfe." Inuyasha snickered, still lounging on the floor where he had landed. "I know your dreading another beat down from the ice-pop."
Kouga growled out and kicked Inuyasha's wounded shoulder as he passed him to get to his locker. "And I just know you can't wait to be patched up by Dr. Kaede." His snapped, mentally calling it his win, when Inuyasha's face paled dramatically.
"Oh shit. I forgot about that crazy bitch." Inuyasha muttering rising from the floor and covering the bleeding wound. "I almost miss Jakotsu…"
Kouga shuttered and pretended he never heard his name. Sango turned a raised brow to a snickering Ayame and Kagura. "What's Inuyasha's beef with Dr. Kaede?"
Ayame clutched her bruised ribs as her cackle shook her shoulders. Kagura, stifling her own laugh, brought her uninjured arm around Sango's shoulder. "Let me tell you the story of Inuyasha's Flabby Ass."
Ayame lost it, clutching her aching body and crying from a mixture of hilarity and pain. Above the laughter, came Inuyasha's indignant roar: "Oi! It's not flabby!"
Sesshomaru placed his hand on the bio-scanner outside the door to the cockpit, waiting for permitted access. It was granted and the door opened, allowing him to step inside and meet the absent glance shot to him from Butch.
"Good job out there, Taisho. We managed to take down our objectives faster than the other two teams." Butch's voice was deep and his chest puffed with pride. His eyes, however remained glued to the monitor projecting the battlefield in front of the resource planet.
Sesshomaru stepped up beside him, analyzing the destruction in front of him. "We lose anyone?" He asked quietly after the ships, taking note of the floating debris littering the site. Butch sighed and ran a hand through his shaggy salt-and-pepper mane.
"Yeah, Titania went down an hour ago. Most of the crew got out in time, but she was a big bird to lose." Butch paused and swiped a hand over his screen, bringing up an enlarged picture of the fractured barrier visibly failing. "The last team finally took out the remaining ship, and Armageddon has finished powering up. You're just in time for the fireworks."
Sesshomaru crossed his arms and leaned against the wall in the back, keeping his eyes trained on the footage in front of him. The large warship, aptly named the Armageddon, was front and center of their fleet. Fitted with the only energy cannons in the western fleet, it was sparingly used. This would be the first time Sesshomaru had actually heard of it being used, let alone seeing it in action.
A faint flicker of light danced in front of the ship, and Sesshomaru thought he was imagining it, until an array of blinding blue beams shot out in different directions, colliding with the center of the enemy fleet. Nothing seemed to happen for a split second, and then several ships, more importantly each of the large enemy warships, seemed to fracture and then explode.
A grim satisfaction coiled through the room as both pilot and assassin silently watched the ships continue to break apart and explode. Many of the enemy's smaller ships had already turned to flee the battle, and Sesshomaru took note of the two second largest warships from the west moving in to take out the rest.
"Seems we won't be needed after all." Butch broke the silence, turning to give a half-smirk to the stoic captain. "You should go get some shut-eye. You look dead on your feet."
Closing his eyes and giving a small nod in acknowledgement, Sesshomaru turned from the battle and headed out the door. The pilot was right, he felt drained to the marrow of his bones. Their first mission in their new designation had been the biggest mission in over twenty years. He allowed pride in himself and his team to infuse him with the energy he needed to get back to his room and collapse on his bed.
The last thing he thought about before allowing himself to drop off, was the feelings his partner always seemed to invoke in him. For sure, he was in deep.
Kagome stood under the hot spray from the shower head, and luxuriated in the liquid warmth that pour over her shaky limbs. Okay, so she was taking her time in the shower in a bid to avoid having to run into Miroku. So sue her.
Truly, with the crazy and somewhat scary mission she had just embarked on, she had completely forgotten about Miroku accosting her before they had linked. Climbing out of her pod, still holding close the butterflies she had gotten from the strange, caress-like wave she had received from Taisho, her good feelings had crashed when she had sighted Miroku's piercing gaze. Though interrupted by a flurry of bodies helping them out of their pods and directing others in, Miroku had always returned his stare to her.
She had hightailed it into the female locker room as fast as her weakened limbs would allow her. Earning her confused and concerned looks from Mei, who had been the one helping her out of the pod. Though not questioning the rushing psychic, Mei had tightened her grip on her and sped up the pace a bit.
"Don't know why we're running, but from the look on Soryu's face, I wouldn't want to be around that either." Mei muttered, stumbling slightly with Kagome when her knee went out on her.
Kagome giggled nervously when they straightened and urged the tech faster. "Hehe. Yeah." She paused as they reached the doors to the showers. "No clue what his problem is." She muttered a little darkly and Mei shot her another concerned glance.
"From what Wallace was going on about, it sounds like he got jealous. You get a boyfriend or something?"
Kagome had faulted comically and spun to face the tech. "What?!"
Mei had shrugged and reached out to help the gaping psychic to the bench. "Yeah Wallace said she overheard Soryu going on about something being a bad idea and the fact that he had you pinned to the linking pod…" She trailed off and shrugged, watching the interesting and various expressions crossing Kagome's face.
"Ugh. That's not what that was." Kagome managed to get out and Mei shrugged.
"Good luck getting your denial to stick. Wallace must have told like…thirty techs the same story today. Your prime gossip right now, chika."
Kagome groaned and slowly stripped off her suit, allowing the tech to look her over for bruising. "Oh god. That's all I need right now."
Which lead to her now procrastinating in the showers, just knowing that he'd be out there waiting. With a sigh of resignation, she straightened from her slump and turned off the shower. A fresh set of regulated sweats was on the bench when she came out, and Kagome sent a silent thank you to Mei. The doors to the locker room opened and, just as she had figured, Miroku was leaning on the wall opposite the door.
His gaze locked with hers and he raised an eyebrow. "I won't let you escape from this conversation this time, Kagome."
Kagome allowed her indignation to rise up for a moment then let it go in her exhaustion. "Yeah, yeah. Ok. Let's get treated at med-bay and then find somewhere with food and coffee. We can talk all you want then."
And the first question she was going to ask was: What in hell made him think that any of this was any of his business? The bullshit about it being because they were friends definitely didn't fly for her either. What exactly was going on with her friend?
"We're sorry for the delay, ladies and gentlemen. The shuttles have been stopped due to military operations. We thank you for your understanding and hope you bear with us as we try to get things going as soon as possible." The same message had been repeated for hours, and she found herself gritting her teeth the more it was repeated.
She was still a couple days from her goal, and her supply was running dangerously low. She had already gotten in contact with a dealer in the western fleet. Her shipment should arrive the same day as she herself would.
A loud noise to her right had her snapping her head up to see an overly large woman apologizing as she bent to pick up the luggage she had dropped. She turned her head from the woman, making a small hum of acknowledgement and hoping the woman would move on. To her chagrin, the woman settled in right next to her.
"Phew! Talk about a let-down!" The woman exclaimed in over exaggeration, fanning her damp face with some sort of fan.
She lifted her thumb to her lips and bit down on the ragged nail as a barrage of the woman's thoughts pierced her head.
'-don't know why I let Edgar talk me into these horrid vacations! Man ignored me the whole time! Hmph, next time, I'll max out his credit. See how he likes them apples!'
She mentally cursed when the woman turned her attention onto her.
'Poor girl shaking like a leaf! Must be scared of the military operations. Judging by her clothes I'd say she doesn't travel much.'
'-gonna be late! Dammit! I cannot afford to be late again! Gonna be fired!'
'I wonder if we're gonna have to sleep here tonight. That'd suck-'
'-should have just asked Ronda to record the damn thing. Now I'll never see-'
The barrage of mental trash, as she had started to call it, from those milling around her, had her hunching her shoulders and tearing into her thumb, desperate to take her mind off the echo's she was receiving from anyone around her.
"You ok, hun? You're shaking like a leaf! Are you nervous?"
Her head shot up with a snap once more, startled at a voice coming to her from outside her head. The woman's face, creased in polite concern, stiffened into something more along the lines of horror. "Oh…dear! Your nose is fairly gushing blood!"
Her loud voice carried and she was irritated to realize that everyone was now staring at her. Cupping a hand over her nose, ignoring the familiar feel of sticky warmth, she stood abruptly and headed for the sign indicating the bathroom.
The woman left behind giggled nervously as all eyes watching the hooded girl switched to staring at her. "She's nervous." She explained needlessly and everyone went back to doing what they were doing.
xXx
So, I cannot tell you guys how many times I just wanted to write: "So they went in, killed some things, blew shit up and captured the resource planet. Tadaa!" Yeah…
I really struggle when it comes to the action scenes in this story, always have. That's why I went and challenged myself to write this story the way I have. I hope I don't disappoint!
Thank you all very much for your support and your wonderful reviews!
