Author's Note:
Well, hey, lookit—here we are again! And I have a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT to make: I AM FINALLY ON DEVIANTART. Just Google "aleineskyfire deviantART," and cliiick! Please, do check me out! I've been waiting years for this! (Right now, it's just Sherlock Holmes, but WAIT - there will be BLoSC VERY SOON.)
Another big announcement: I believe that this story might actually have only a few chapters left—quite possible no more than ten. This is partly because there is only so much that I, with my limited experience, can write about The Academy. Expect to see significant time-jumps in the future. I'll probably end up doing some smaller, filler fics for certain time periods that just don't fall into the overall plot of Breakaway, such as Summer 3009, Summer 3010, and a collection of pieces on the various cadets and their dynamics that really wouldn't fit into the overall plot.
To my reviewers:
Historian1912: Ooo, glad you loved it! You're a military nut? I never would have guessed! ;D (I was teasing, btw. =P) Hey, I am always open to suggestions. Always, always. Ooo, that AU fic sounds deliciously dark. Go for it—I'd love to see it! There aren't enough deliberate AUs in this fandom. As for your Star Wars fic, I thought I got back with you on the issue of my feedback… I guess I didn't, but I could've sworn I did. Sorry about that. Okay, here's the deal: I've really been tremendously busy lately, and my future review will take a fair bit of time to type. For the moment, I'll just say that the writing was good—you've really improved since that draft you sent me once—and leave it at that. The constructive crit will take a while to give. Thanks for the tip about Netflix, but… not only did I already know that, but Netflix just isn't an option right now. Thanks anyway. *hugs*
Queen S of Randomness 016: Hey, long time, no see! Thank you!
Ranger Nova: Hey, high-five on your instinct! Aw, I'm so glad you're enjoying this fic so much! *feels warm and fuzzy inside* Erin as Kirk would not have occurred to me just weeks ago, but the more I write it, the more it does fit. I misplaced the apostrophe in T'ealc's name? *blushes* Sorry about that - I know better! Even though I've seen only a couple of Stargate SG-1 episodes, I love that show. And I like T'ealc, very much so. Ha-ha, you were thinking "Kobayashi Maru" - SCORE! =D I'm glad you like the chemistry between Erin and Ricki - I love Ricki a lot. There will indeed be a little bit of Beer in this chapter - subtle and understated, but Beer nonetheless! It's high time to return to my old shipping roots full stop! SQUEEE... Hurrah for Sherlock Holmes! That's awesome! Can't wait to see you pop up on my SH fics! =) And now that you've read the Canon, you MUST watch the Granada TV series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Jeremy Brett. You MUST. You can watch most episodes on YouTube if you look, but let me know if you need help, because I'll be glad to!
Disclaimer: BLoSC, Star Trek, The Lord of the Rings, Sherlock, Sting, Jeremy Brett, and Benedict Cumberbatch ain't mine (much as I wish Jere… never mind). Zomega, Erin Frame, Windy Terrik, Ice Ellemore, and Ricki Sunflare most definitely are. Sherlock Holmes resides in the public domain, bless him.
==Chapter XII==
Truths to Face
A thousand years, a thousand more,
A thousand times a million doors to eternity
I may have lived a thousand lives, a thousand times
An endless turning stairway climbs
To a tower of souls
If it takes another thousand years, a thousand wars,
The towers rise to numberless floors in space
I could shed another million tears, a million breaths,
A million names but only one truth to face
—"Thousand Years," Sting
Buzz Lightyear scanned the top page of dorm-team 76's progress report and smiled briefly.
"Your kid-sister's been doin' good," Commander Nebula commented. "Her and her team."
The evenness of Buzz's voice belied the burst of warmth within. "I see that." A photo slipped out from the pages; he picked it up and studied it. It was a shot from the training deck, Erin and her dorm-mate Rikaena Sunflare standing back-to-back, arms poised to shoot. But they were glancing over their shoulders at each other with the kind of grin that hinted at something secret they shared.
It could have been a snapshot of longtime partners.
"What is it?"
Buzz wordlessly handed Nebula the photo and leaned back in his seat. "Sir, what do we know about Cadet Sunflare?"
The Commander smirked. "Aside from her questioning you at the stadium?" At Buzz's solemn look, the smirk faded. "What is it, son?"
Buzz kneaded his temples and shook his head, long-lost banter and laughter echoing in his memories. "It's nothing, sir, really."
Nebula gave him a searching look, and Buzz knew he'd already lost this round. "You're thinkin' about Warp."
Sighing, Buzz conceded the battle. "Is it that obvious?"
Nebula folded his hands on his desk and leaned forward. "Son, I've seen you develop some pretty brotherly—even fatherly—feelings for a girl you felt responsible for. Now she's going and making new friendships outside your immediate sphere of influence, in the Academy, and it don't take a genius to make the connection to you 'n' Warp."
Buzz winced.
Nebula sighed. "From what I've seen, Cadet Sunflare's a doggone decent kid. Wunderkind, actually—have you seen her academic records? She'll probably end up being the smartest Ranger we've ever had, and our only Ph.D."
"Ph.D.? Are you serious?"
The Commander snorted his amusement. "Hard to believe, I know. But that's what she wants to work towards eventually, I guess." He leaned back in his chair again. "Son, you're just going to have to trust to your sis's good judgment. She's a smart cookie, and, if she and Ricki Sunflare have hit it off, good for them. Erin prob'ly needs a close friend right about now. She's pushing herself to meet your records."
"She's doing pretty darn well," Buzz admitted, looking over the file again.
"You bet. More'n that, there's talk floatin' around the Academy about Erin and Ricki."
Buzz looked up, brow furrowed in curiosity. "What kind of talk?"
Nebula smirked again. "Apparently, it started with their dorm-team and the team they do sims with, Team 95. They're building their own… I don't know what to call it—mythology, maybe? for themselves off of Star Trek."
Buzz frowned incredulously. "You're kidding."
"Nope. Erin's being billed as Captain Kirk, and Ricki's Mr. Spock. Windy Terrik plays Dr. McCoy to them to make up the trio, and the rest kind of fill in roles as needed."
Buzz laughed. "That's roleplaying, sir."
Nebula shrugged. "Whatever it is, it's building morale in the cadets. Other teams are doing it, too, although Star Wars themed-teams seem to be more common than Star Trek ones."
Buzz leaned back in his chair. "Huh."
"For all that, though, Teams 76 and 95 are getting to be very popular. Erin and Ricki make such a 'dynamic duo,' the other cadets can't help but see it and admire it."
Buzz shook his head in wonder, his mind wandering back to the past summer…
Her feet hit the ground, the impact knocking the breath out of her and nearly sending her to her knees. Struggling to draw air into oxygen-starved lungs, she somehow managed to straighten up and continue running.
On the infinitesimally thin edge of consciousness, her brain compared this experience to Luke Skywalker's Jedi training under Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back. But that was on the edge of consciousness, and the rest of her brain was basically shut down to allow her to operate on pure instinct.
Her lungs burned. Her muscles screamed.
She pressed on, her entire being focused on that one point of red in the distance—the start/finish marker.
A large log lay in her path. She gave it no more consideration than her body received. Her hands shot out seemingly of their own accord as her trembling legs tensed like spring coils. Hands pressed down on the log, the weight of the body abruptly thrown onto them. Legs swung through the air over the head, arced down. Feet touched terra firma once more.
She kept on running.
Every inch of her exhausted body screamed for her to stop, but she was almost past the point of caring. Almost. But the red marker burned its image into her brain, beckoning to her. She had… had to finish… had to reach that marker.
Ten yards away. Nine. Eight. Seven.
She slipped, righted herself. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two…
She felt herself simply… dropping… Her right hand stretched out, touched the white line as her left hand came down to guard her head from concussion. She did it. It was done. She closed her eyes and pressed her flushed cheek against her scarcely cooler hand. Victory. If she could have wept, she would have, but no tears would come.
Then she heard the voice. The voice she both loved and despised. "That was good, cadet. On your feet, now."
Lifting one's head ought to be a simple action. People do it all the time. She found that she could not lift hers, even with the Latin blood in her fueling a formidable glare. "No," she rasped instead, still working on filling her lungs with much-needed oxygen.
"On your feet, cadet," the voice returned evenly. "That's an order."
For one moment, a black and frighteningly real hatred suffused her. How dare he… Couldn't he see she couldn't do it? In that moment, the hatred was enough to lift her head, lock eyes with him, let him see how she regarded him.
Then the moment passed, and her head dropped, spinning, leaving her barely conscious. "I can't," she whispered simply. No emotion, just a simple statement of fact. She could not believe that she had any strength left even to push herself up into a sitting position, let alone to return all her weight to her two feet.
She heard a sigh above her head, saw white knees touch the dirt beside her, felt a gloveless hand on her shoulder, big and warm and gentle. "Erin, I told you that this wouldn't be easy, and you said you understood that. You had to know that it would mean going through times like this.
"You already know that getting up and going on can be the hardest thing you'll ever have to do. You remember your first few weeks here. You remember how hard they were on you. Sometimes, being a hero just means that… that when your brain thinks you can't take any more, when your body says you can't, you push yourself back up, and you keep going. It can make a difference, Erin. It can make all the difference in the galaxy.
"You are a Space Ranger, Erin Frame. The fire that's going to hold you on to keep going is what makes you a Ranger. Now get up and show it to the universe."
The hand came down to rest, open and inviting, beside her own. Her gaze trailed up the white-clad arm to the face she had come to know and love so well. It creased into a smile, a smile that told her more than his words ever could.
Though she trembled all over, she reached up for his hand, closed hers slowly around it…
…and stood.
"Buzz?"
Buzz's mind snapped back to the present. "Ah, sorry, sir." He grinned sheepishly. "I was just remembering something."
The Commander grunted. "Yeah, well, do it on your own time, huh? We really need to get through these evaluations before Monday."
Buzz nodded and picked the Team 76 file back up. "Yes, sir."
"I miss her."
"Erin?"
Mira nodded mournfully. "I got along just fine on my own for a year, but now that I'm alone again, the apartment feels too empty." She frowned, feeling silly. "D'you know what I mean?"
Buzz smiled sadly. "I do." He gave her a brotherly pat on the shoulder. "Buck up, Ranger Nova. In a couple of years, she'll be out there with us. Not to mention, there's always the holidays and summer vacation."
"Yeah," Mira sighed. It wasn't enough. "Craters, I can't wait."
Buzz gave her a rueful grin. "Me, too." He moved off for 42, Booster and XR joining him.
She watched them a moment before following. Vidphone calls every weekend weren't enough—in the few months they'd lived together, she and Erin had gotten to be like sisters. She'd gotten used to having another person around the apartment, and she'd enjoyed it. She and Erin were a lot alike, and she'd never had that with another girl before.
She missed Buzz coming by, too. Before Erin had moved in, he'd never come to her apartment, and he hadn't been there since Erin moved back out. She missed that. She'd enjoyed his visits.
She still missed Romac, still hoped to see him again someday, still hoped that maybe he'd quit bounty hunting, but… She couldn't deny that she had enjoyed dancing with Buzz at that dinner party, as weird as it had seemed at the outset. She remembered feeling safe, relaxed, warm, content… She'd never felt that way before with anyone—not even Romac.
Sometimes, she wondered. She wondered if Buzz ever thought about it. She wondered if it meant anything to him, or if his little performance had been purely emotion-of-the-moment.
Mira hoped it meant something. With all her heart, she hoped.
Considering Warp's escalating rap sheet—weapons smuggling via Keno Kentrix and theft of the Matter Transport Ray included—one would think that he had not changed any more than his former partner. But soft brown eyes and three little words, "I forgive you," haunted him throughout that summer and now the fall. When he was being fully honest with himself, he had to admit that he had already changed, just a little.
Erin did not email again after giving him her forgiveness, and he respected her decision. But something in him ached a little. He hadn't known 'til now that it was possible to miss something he'd barely had in the first place.
Warp sank into his desk chair with a sigh. Life couldn't let him be for one little bit, could it? Following Keno Kentrix's arrest, it hadn't taken long for others to step in and sweep up the pieces of his organization before Star Command could do so. And it had come as no surprise that Zomega was the one who truly made out like a bandit, stepping in and taking over Kentrix's invaluable network of contacts.
The woman alternated among jobs, including bodyguard, smuggler, and bounty hunter, but her primary and favorite job dealt in data. In other words, she was an information broker, the best in the business.
Zurg had not been happy about Zomega's takeover—in fact, had been so not happy that he even scribbled "UnHappy" in a memo. But he couldn't control Zomega any more than Warp could, a fact which made him UnHappier.
"Craters, Aunt Z," Warp muttered, kicking a file drawer shut, "you sure know how to make our lives difficult." He slumped in his seat and let his mind wander…
He lay on the gym floor, focusing on his breathing. In-out, in-out, in-out…
If his Academy classmates thought their physical training was tough, they had no idea. His training under Zurg made the paramilitary Star Command Academy look like daycare. Okay, so it wasn't really that bad, but it was bad enough.
He pressed his cheek against the cool metal floor, eyes drifting closed.
He liked Buzz well enough, but honestly, the other boy just really got on his nerves sometimes. Just as well, of course, since Warp couldn't let himself get too close to anyone. That would complicate life too much.
The others were okay. Rocket annoyed him the most—even more than Buzz. Ty, at least, was an all right guy, despite his seemingly endless string of bad luck. Janet wasn't the only girl in the class, but she was absolutely the prettiest—therefore, the object of every self-respecting male cadet's admiration. Thus far, the blonde had rejected every single date she'd been offered, and she'd gotten offers from all the guys.
Oh, well. Warp would convince her to go out with him eventually. One thing they enjoyed together was verbal sparring—did it every chance they got, kinda like Han Solo and Princess Leia. Drove the others crazy.
Despite all the rules and regs, Star Command wasn't such a terrible place. Warp might have been interested had he not had other affiliations. But he did, so the point was moot. Right?
Footsteps echoed suddenly in the gym, and he scrambled to his feet… Only to meet the knowing grin of one of Planet Z's most interesting inhabitants, Zomega. "Lying down on the job, kid?" she teased, planting her hands on her hips.
"Nah," he said easily, relaxing. "Making sure that the floor stayed at the right temperature."
"The right temperature?" she echoed, lifting one elegant eyebrow.
"Best I could come up with on short notice," he shrugged.
"Gotta do better than that, hotshot."
"I'll work on it. Say, Aunt Z, what brings you here?"
She gave him a glare at the nickname he'd bestowed upon her. "I'm here to practice my katas. Care to join me?"
"Nope." Warp ambled over to one side of the gym and gathered his things together in his duffel. "Gotta get back to campus."
Zomega nodded, hanging up her dark grey jacket on one of the racks. Warp tried hard not gawk at her, but it was tough. Despite the fact that the woman was old enough to be his mother, she looked not much older than he himself was—and her black-and-violet bodysuit showcased a terrific figure. Her eyes caught his, and he blushed and looked away, embarrassed to be caught staring. She shook her head, dusty violet hair swishing from side to side. "Don't even think about it, kid."
"I wasn't!"
"Uh-huh," she said, unconvinced. "Better get going."
"Okay, okay…" But he didn't move. He wasn't looking in her direction, anymore—he just… didn't move.
Zomega noticed. "Something on your mind?"
"Huh? Oh, uh… different stuff. You know, Academy, and here, and Buzz…"
Something indecipherable flashed across the half-Zetan's face, gone before Warp could figure it out. "Mm," she said noncommittally, beginning to perform stretches.
Sighing, Warp flopped back down on the floor near her. "Do you ever feel… I dunno, overdrawn?"
"Sometimes." She gave him a sympathetic look—well, as sympathetic as she could, with one normal violet eye and one huge red cybernetic replacement. "I bet you do, huh?"
"Yeah." He leaned forward into a perfect moping position.
"It'll get better," she told him. "You learn to cope, you know?"
"I guess."
"No 'guess'—I'm right." She winked at him.
His expression didn't brighten.
She sighed and moved over to enfold him in a hug from behind. It didn't feel all that awkward—Warp was 6'1" and stocky, but Zomega was a full three inches taller. "I wish Zurg wouldn't put you through this," she murmured. "You're too young to be a spy."
"I can handle it," he murmured back, twisting around to return the hug. "I'm just tired, is all."
Twenty years later, he was still tired.
"He's so cute."
"Shh, watch!"
"But he is!"
"Ice!"
Windy snickered at Erin's distress. "Erin, chill pill."
Erin growled, not deigning to remove her gaze from the video screen. Ricki laughed softly. "Lay off, Win."
"But she gets so uptight about—"
"It's called 'being a fangirl,' something I'm sure you wouldn't know anything about."
"Why, you green-blooded hob—"
Erin lost it. "WINDY BERTHA TERRIK!"
Windy sunk down her seat. "Sheesh."
Erin moaned despairingly. So what if she'd watched these episodes several times before? The show was an obsession. Nobody likes people messing with their obsessions.
"Craters, and he has to be, what, old enough to be the father of any of us?" Ice whispered, her turquoise eyes still glued to the screen. More specifically, to Mr. Tall, Dark, And Handsome moving with feline grace across the screen.
Erin was about ready to cry. "Yes," she groaned. "Ice, please. I'm begging you. BE QUIET!"
After that, Erin really did get her peace and quiet, and she was able to enjoy the rest of Jeremy Brett's performance as Sherlock Holmes without any interruptions. As the credits rolled, she leaned back in her chair with a contented sigh. "Golly, he was so cute. Even when he got older and heavier, he was still good-lookin'."
"Yeah," Ricki sighed. "He was sure one of the best Sherlocks ever."
"You said it."
"I think I'm in love," Ice said wonderingly.
Erin and Ricki shared a laugh. "You and about a billion women since this show was first released," Erin grinned. "I know it was practically love at first sight for me."
Ricki's violet eyes were glazed-over. "Mm, yeeesss, my preciousss…"
"Oy vey," Windy muttered. "Sherlockians."
"Never say that at a Sherlockian convention, Win," Erin grinned. "'Specially not the Gillette to Brett. Shee-veesh, you'd get clobbered with calabash pipes to kingdom come."
Ricki snickered. "The idea is not without merit."
Windy glared at her. "Green. Blooded. Hob. Goblin."
"Aww, now that's just cruel," Erin crooned, nearly ready to double over giggling.
"If Ricki's a green-blooded hobgoblin, what does that make me?" was Ice's innocent and entirely serious query.
"Um, you can be a blue-blooded hobgoblin," Erin suggested.
"Whoever heard of a blue-blooded hobgoblin?" Windy wanted to know.
"Okay, okay, split the difference—blue-blooded space elf."
Ricki groaned and cast herself back on her cot. "Ai-yi-yi." She folded her hands over her stomach and stared up at the ceiling. "Erin?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't suppose you want to watch Sherlock Holmes in the 21st century."
Erin grinned. "You mean that Benedict Cumberbatch guy you keep trying to get me to watch?"
"Yup."
"Ah, sure, why not. Tomorrow's Saturday, anyway, so we could even pull an all-nighter."
"An all-nighter with Sherlock Holmes." Windy made a face. "Count me out."
"You are no fun, Windy Terrik," Ricki said firmly.
"Sure I am! Gimme a Western or a sci-fi flick and just see how much fun I am."
"The rest of us are in a Sherlock Holmes mood; therefore, you're outnumbered," Ice pointed out reasonably.
"Meh." Windy stretched out on her cot and buried her head beneath her pillow.
The first, feature-length episode of Sherlock kept Erin enthralled from beginning to end. However, after the credits had finished, she begged off doing another episode in favor of doing some long-overdue emails. They'd been watching shows all night. Ricki agreed affably enough, and she and Ice took to 3-D backgammon while Windy read in bed.
Erin was finishing up an email to XR when a memory played itself before her mind's eye.
XR wheeled over to their group, bearing a camcorder pointed in Zurg's direction. "Hey, guys!"
"Camcorder, XR?" Buzz asked.
"Hey, this'll be worth a fortune when I go to the press," XR said defensively.
"A fortune?" Warp echoed, obviously interested. "Can I have a copy?"
"Sure!" XR grinned maliciously. "For a small fee, of course."
"Of course," Warp repeated dryly.
"Miniscule, you understand."
"Oh, surely."
"Can't give these things away for free, you know."
"Oh, I agree completely. Moments like these are priceless."
That had occurred during the fallout between herself and Warp. She wasn't angry anymore—she'd forgiven him and she'd meant it—but she still felt a little ache in her chest whenever she thought about him. Not because he had played with her heart, whether intentionally or not, but because he was the bad guy, the top dog in the criminal world, the man who'd betrayed her brother…
Because he was lost. He was so lost.
It hurt.
She thought about him often. She wasn't sure whether it was fangirlism, infatuation, or genuine, abiding affection, but he was often in her thoughts and in her prayers. She wondered if her prayers for him were ever making a difference in his life.
She hadn't emailed him since May. Sighing, she clicked the "New Message" button and stared at the blank page for a moment. Then she typed luv2sh00t into the "To" box.
Surely it couldn't hurt just to check up on him.
I still love you
I still want you
A thousand times the mysteries unfold themselves
Like galaxies in my head
On and on the mysteries unwind themselves
Eternities still unsaid
Till you love me
—Ibid.
Author's Note:
This actually turned out to be something of a two-part chapter (my first such, ever), because this one was just getting too long. (Chapter 8, or site chapter 9, worked out as a single, self-contained chapter only because a significant part of the word count was the songs—otherwise, that might have been split, too.) The reason this chapter turned out to be so long was because of some flashback material I added: one flashback from the original fic, Watermark, and the other from an unpublished Warp one-shot.
And, ha! less Star Trek this time. At least, not so much that you could choke on it, this chapter. The whole girls-watching-Sherlock-Holmes scene was fairly pointless—it was just to build characterization for the girls and build their dynamics. (For the record, at least hundreds of women have fallen in love with Jeremy Brett's portrayal of Sherlock Holmes since 1984, including yours truly.) The other show the girls watched is the BBC's modern-day adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch. Since the show was first released Summer 2010 and Erin came into the 31st century from Spring 2009, she would not have even known its existence unless she was doing some serious Sherlockian studying after her time-travel. Oh, and Gillette to Brett is a real Sherlockian convention.
By the way, I hope that the Beer fans reading this story enjoyed the little bit of shipping in the Mira scene. It was short, I know, but I don't want to do anything any more major than that Convenient Slow Dance just yet. In my personal canon timeline, Team Lightyear hasn't been together for a full year and a half yet, so I'm being careful with my timing and romantic development. It'll happen, but you'll have to be patient.
Next up, the conclusion to this chapter two-parter, which will be very Warp/Erin-centric. Stay tuned!
Please review!