Chapter Twelve
Nov. 13th, 2004 09:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
maderrI still don't know how great this is, but Rykaine assures me my attempts at writing action aren't completely horrid and I tend to trust her words.
Chapter Twelve
Planet 1185911 (Kreska), solo city
Cyan waited as calmly as he could. For three days now he'd been waiting here, at a small inn on the outskirts of Solo. A handful of contacts and wandering all over the city had led him here…and now he was waiting.
And not thinking.
He cursed beneath his breath
Not thinking about it.
And to think he'd almost asked Einn not to disappear forever…it would have been a dumb thing to do. What the hell sort of life could a Rehab Guard have with a pirate? None. But he'd almost asked anyway.
Stupid. Not thinking about it.
How? How he could someone like Einn be working for Jade? It made him shake, both in rage and fear. Einn had seemed…so much better than that. He still was having a hard time believing it.
"It's not what you think!"
There'd been so many moments in those few short days where it'd been easy to forget Einn was a pirate. So easy.
Well, he'd known it was a bad idea even as he'd let Einn make him forget. Served him right if he was paying for it now, especially as he was feeling far more upset about it than he should. They'd really only been together a little more than a week, there was no reason he should be this upset. And if he ever saw the bastard again he was going to beat him.
Cyan shifted impatiently in his chair, fighting the urge to get up and just start breaking things.
Soft footsteps broke his reverie, and grateful for the interruption he looked up to see who else was in the empty dining room.
"Sean."
"Cyan," Sean smiled at him, happy but hesitant. "What brings you all the way to Kreska?" Behind him stood a familiar-looking Draconis with gold-green scales and a solemn expression. He reluctantly slid a protective arm from around Sean's shoulders as he stepped toward Cyan.
In one quick, smooth motion Cyan rose from his seat, stepped around the table, and sent Sean reeling back from a blow to the jaw. "Son of a bitch! It's all your fault!" He held out a hand to help Sean up.
"What's my fault?" Sean rubbed his jaw, which was going to be bruised even with his healing magics. It was only Cyan's skill at throwing a punch and the healing that prevented its being broken.
"Everything," Cyan answered, his misery finally showing on his face.
"…Why are you here? What's wrong?"
Cyan continued just to stare, then seemed to shake himself. "Right. Are you okay?"
"I'll survive," Sean grinned. "It's good to see you again, whatever the circumstances. I expected worse from you, honestly."
"I don't have the energy." Cyan shook his head, "But never mind. I'm not certain how safe this is for you. Did they relay that part of the message?"
"Yeah, we got it." Sean sat down at the table, motioning the other two to do the same. "But everything should be secure, baring something particularly unusual or bizarre on the part of this potential threat. Which you didn't name."
"Because I don't fucking feel like it. Suffice to say you may not want to stay too long."
Sean frowned, but hearing the pain in Cyan's voice, let the matter drop. "So what brings you all the way here?"
Cyan hesitated. "It's your mom," he said finally. "There's no easy way to say this. She's sick - sick enough that she probably isn't going to recover."
"I…I see…" Sean paled. He leaned into the Draconis, who had immediately moved to half-embrace him.
It hurt to watch them, somehow. "It looks like you're doing well for yourself," he said quietly, voice a bit rough.
"Yeah…life isn't easy but it's not bad…I'm sorry I just left like that."
"S'okay," Cyan said. "I understand why you did." He looked at the Draconis, "Your name is Mendel, right?"
"Yes. It is nice to finally meet Sean's best friend, though I wish the circumstances were happier."
"You and me both." He turned back to Sean, "I don't know what to tell you. I told her I'd come find you and try to see that you went to see her. But I know and I think she knew that it would be nearly impossible."
"We will go," Mendel said. "One way or another. Arrangements can be made, we will manage."
Sean blinked at his lover, "Mendel…"
The Draconis stroked his cheek, "What are we supposed to say? No? You would go crazy. So we'll manage." He stood, "But I think perhaps, if the danger is real, we should leave now." He shot Cyan an apologetic look, "I am sorry to have to rush…"
"Don't be," Cyan said bitterly. "It's my damn fault you might be in danger."
"Indeed it is," a voice said from the door.
The three companions whipped around.
"Val," Cyan hissed. "What in the hell are you doing here?"
Val grinned, his bald head gleaming the overhead light. "The crew let me out before you even landed."
"What? Einn--" Cyan couldn't continue.
Sean frowned, "What do you want?"
"Shouldn't that be rather obvious, mutant?" Val's heavy leather boots clomped across the hardwood floor of the dining room, and he recklessly shoved tables and chairs out of his path as he stalked toward them.
"Get away from us," Sean hissed, stepping forward.
Val looked amused, "What are you going to do? Use magics against me?"
"If that's necessary."
"Sean - just go!" Cyan moved to stand beside him, stunner in hand - and set to kill. "Get out of here - can't you just teleport or something?"
"We won't leave you!"
"I'm not the one they want!"
Mendel's voice was full of worry as he spoke, "Sean…"
"What is it?" Sean braced himself as Val drew close.
"Our magics…I can't use them…"
"What are you talking about?" Sean frowned, still not taking his eyes off Val.
Val started to laugh, stopping far enough away that no one could attack him without giving him a chance to defend. "Put the stunner down, Rehab. You can't hurt me with that."
"Oh?" Cyan asked.
"Go ahead and try."
"With pleasure," Cyan fired.
The energy jolt didn't even make Val jump. "Oh, shit." Cyan's voice was a whisper.
"Something isn't right…" Mendel said, drawing closer to the other two.
"Heh. The Lord Alexander has sent along his personal servant to assist me in the capture of the convict Mendel Ekard and his mutant mate."
"…Personal servant?" Sean asked.
"Behind you." Val looked lazy and smug. "It really was too easy for him to keep an eye on you, Rehab."
With a hiss the three whipped around, toward the door at the back that led to the kitchen.
"What in the hell is that?" Sean asked.
The figure was completely black - skin, eyes save for the white around his pupils, hair, nails. He - she? - was short, and stocky. Its build was similar to that of Cyan - short but powerful. It was dressed much like Val, but somber where the human was flashy. It bared its startlingly white teeth at them in something like a hungry grin.
"Tha-that's impossible," Mendel said. "They were wiped out."
"What is it?" Sean asked again. "Is that what's keeping us from using our magics? And why the stunner didn't work?"
"Yeah," Cyan answered in a gloomy voice. "That's a Temperast."
"But they're extinct!"
"Clearly not," Cyan shifted forward. "Take care of Val, Sean. I'll take of that thing. And whatever you do - don't go near it. Neither of you."
"Okay," without further word Sean launched himself at Val, easily ducking the blast from his stunner before surging up from below to break his nose. But Val was no slouch in hand-to-hand himself, and the two were rapidly engaged.
Cyan felt vaguely sick, and not all of it from the thing he was about to fight.
Though that was most of it. He'd met one before, not long after being promoted to 1st Class. And it had been something he'd never been allowed to share with anyone. There was a long scar trailing up the back of his right lower leg, a run-in with the claws that this Temperast had yet to display. But Cyan wasn't fooled.
Of course, this would be easier with more than one person - it had taken him and two 0 Class Guards to stop the last one, which had been put down not long after arriving on Rehab under greatest secrecy. They were impossible to kill if there were magics-capable for him to feed on. The first one had died as much from starvation as it had from the beating.
Magics were what they fed on; mistakenly created by a race for some lost purpose, they had turned out to be the worst thing to happen to any magics-capable race. Annihilating them had been a nightmare for the people involved. It had finally been done - but a few survived.
Cyan dodged away from the thing's abrupt attack, just missing the claws that left deep marks in the wooden bar top. He caught the thing's wrist as it swung around to get him with a back swing, twisting the arm behind him and sending him to the ground. But the Temperast fought free before he could pin it.
Non-magics were there worst threat; because they could do nothing to impede them, beyond channeling the magic they absorbed to block such things as Stunners - probably why Val couldn't be hit.
He blocked another swing - just barely - and went reeling back, tripping over the edge of a chair and tumbling to the ground. "Fuck!" Cyan braced himself for the attack he wouldn't be able to dodge -
And instead saw a chair crash down hard on the thing's back, crumpling it momentarily to the ground.
He blinked up at Einn. "What in the fuck are you doing? Get away from it."
Einn frowned, "What the hell is you--"
"NOW!" Cyan snarled, launching himself from the ground and shoving Einn hard, back away from the creature, before spinning around to confront it. "That's a Temperast, you dumbass. Get away before it decides to make you lunch!"
Faller kept Einn from protesting further, "Go get Val." He eyed Cyan in the moment before the creature attacked them, "What do we do?"
"Knock it out. Then kill it."
"How do we knock it out?"
"Beat it. They can't stand up long against brute strength without magics to feed on. And if he's shielding Val like I think he is, he's losing his stored magics fast. So as long as we keep him away from the others..."
"Right." Faller didn't wait for the thing to reach them, but launched himself at it, immediately joined by Cyan.
Mendel watched as they all fought, unfamiliar with hand-to-hand combat but ready to utilize his magics as soon as he was able.
They returned to him in a rush, as if they'd been held back. He turned to see that Cyan and Faller had knocked the Temperast out - it was crumbled on the floor, bleeding profusely from a wound on its head.
"Now, Mendel!" Cyan looked desperately at him.
Mendel obeyed, even as Sean protested.
Val sneered at the three left, "How annoying." He looked at Einn, "They didn't kill you like they were ordered to."
"Annoying for you, maybe. I'm rather happy about it."
"Well, this has been a disappointing day. You even took out the Temp, I'm impressed."
Cyan was furious. "What the fuck is going on?"
"You can ask your brother when you see him."
"I have no plans to see him."
"That's too bad, because you're my back up." And Val pressed the button on a switch no one had seen him pull from his pocket.
The blast, had it been much closer, would have killed Einn and Faller. But it had been planted far enough away that the blast merely sent them all diving to the ground for cover.
In the mess of heat and smoke, Val caught Cyan from behind and knocked him out. He dragged the unconscious soldier out, and keyed in the transport number for his ship even as Einn came staggering out of the burning building.
13 will be up once the betas approve (at least, the ones who aren't asleep approve XP)
Chapter Twelve
Planet 1185911 (Kreska), solo city
Cyan waited as calmly as he could. For three days now he'd been waiting here, at a small inn on the outskirts of Solo. A handful of contacts and wandering all over the city had led him here…and now he was waiting.
And not thinking.
He cursed beneath his breath
Not thinking about it.
And to think he'd almost asked Einn not to disappear forever…it would have been a dumb thing to do. What the hell sort of life could a Rehab Guard have with a pirate? None. But he'd almost asked anyway.
Stupid. Not thinking about it.
How? How he could someone like Einn be working for Jade? It made him shake, both in rage and fear. Einn had seemed…so much better than that. He still was having a hard time believing it.
"It's not what you think!"
There'd been so many moments in those few short days where it'd been easy to forget Einn was a pirate. So easy.
Well, he'd known it was a bad idea even as he'd let Einn make him forget. Served him right if he was paying for it now, especially as he was feeling far more upset about it than he should. They'd really only been together a little more than a week, there was no reason he should be this upset. And if he ever saw the bastard again he was going to beat him.
Cyan shifted impatiently in his chair, fighting the urge to get up and just start breaking things.
Soft footsteps broke his reverie, and grateful for the interruption he looked up to see who else was in the empty dining room.
"Sean."
"Cyan," Sean smiled at him, happy but hesitant. "What brings you all the way to Kreska?" Behind him stood a familiar-looking Draconis with gold-green scales and a solemn expression. He reluctantly slid a protective arm from around Sean's shoulders as he stepped toward Cyan.
In one quick, smooth motion Cyan rose from his seat, stepped around the table, and sent Sean reeling back from a blow to the jaw. "Son of a bitch! It's all your fault!" He held out a hand to help Sean up.
"What's my fault?" Sean rubbed his jaw, which was going to be bruised even with his healing magics. It was only Cyan's skill at throwing a punch and the healing that prevented its being broken.
"Everything," Cyan answered, his misery finally showing on his face.
"…Why are you here? What's wrong?"
Cyan continued just to stare, then seemed to shake himself. "Right. Are you okay?"
"I'll survive," Sean grinned. "It's good to see you again, whatever the circumstances. I expected worse from you, honestly."
"I don't have the energy." Cyan shook his head, "But never mind. I'm not certain how safe this is for you. Did they relay that part of the message?"
"Yeah, we got it." Sean sat down at the table, motioning the other two to do the same. "But everything should be secure, baring something particularly unusual or bizarre on the part of this potential threat. Which you didn't name."
"Because I don't fucking feel like it. Suffice to say you may not want to stay too long."
Sean frowned, but hearing the pain in Cyan's voice, let the matter drop. "So what brings you all the way here?"
Cyan hesitated. "It's your mom," he said finally. "There's no easy way to say this. She's sick - sick enough that she probably isn't going to recover."
"I…I see…" Sean paled. He leaned into the Draconis, who had immediately moved to half-embrace him.
It hurt to watch them, somehow. "It looks like you're doing well for yourself," he said quietly, voice a bit rough.
"Yeah…life isn't easy but it's not bad…I'm sorry I just left like that."
"S'okay," Cyan said. "I understand why you did." He looked at the Draconis, "Your name is Mendel, right?"
"Yes. It is nice to finally meet Sean's best friend, though I wish the circumstances were happier."
"You and me both." He turned back to Sean, "I don't know what to tell you. I told her I'd come find you and try to see that you went to see her. But I know and I think she knew that it would be nearly impossible."
"We will go," Mendel said. "One way or another. Arrangements can be made, we will manage."
Sean blinked at his lover, "Mendel…"
The Draconis stroked his cheek, "What are we supposed to say? No? You would go crazy. So we'll manage." He stood, "But I think perhaps, if the danger is real, we should leave now." He shot Cyan an apologetic look, "I am sorry to have to rush…"
"Don't be," Cyan said bitterly. "It's my damn fault you might be in danger."
"Indeed it is," a voice said from the door.
The three companions whipped around.
"Val," Cyan hissed. "What in the hell are you doing here?"
Val grinned, his bald head gleaming the overhead light. "The crew let me out before you even landed."
"What? Einn--" Cyan couldn't continue.
Sean frowned, "What do you want?"
"Shouldn't that be rather obvious, mutant?" Val's heavy leather boots clomped across the hardwood floor of the dining room, and he recklessly shoved tables and chairs out of his path as he stalked toward them.
"Get away from us," Sean hissed, stepping forward.
Val looked amused, "What are you going to do? Use magics against me?"
"If that's necessary."
"Sean - just go!" Cyan moved to stand beside him, stunner in hand - and set to kill. "Get out of here - can't you just teleport or something?"
"We won't leave you!"
"I'm not the one they want!"
Mendel's voice was full of worry as he spoke, "Sean…"
"What is it?" Sean braced himself as Val drew close.
"Our magics…I can't use them…"
"What are you talking about?" Sean frowned, still not taking his eyes off Val.
Val started to laugh, stopping far enough away that no one could attack him without giving him a chance to defend. "Put the stunner down, Rehab. You can't hurt me with that."
"Oh?" Cyan asked.
"Go ahead and try."
"With pleasure," Cyan fired.
The energy jolt didn't even make Val jump. "Oh, shit." Cyan's voice was a whisper.
"Something isn't right…" Mendel said, drawing closer to the other two.
"Heh. The Lord Alexander has sent along his personal servant to assist me in the capture of the convict Mendel Ekard and his mutant mate."
"…Personal servant?" Sean asked.
"Behind you." Val looked lazy and smug. "It really was too easy for him to keep an eye on you, Rehab."
With a hiss the three whipped around, toward the door at the back that led to the kitchen.
"What in the hell is that?" Sean asked.
The figure was completely black - skin, eyes save for the white around his pupils, hair, nails. He - she? - was short, and stocky. Its build was similar to that of Cyan - short but powerful. It was dressed much like Val, but somber where the human was flashy. It bared its startlingly white teeth at them in something like a hungry grin.
"Tha-that's impossible," Mendel said. "They were wiped out."
"What is it?" Sean asked again. "Is that what's keeping us from using our magics? And why the stunner didn't work?"
"Yeah," Cyan answered in a gloomy voice. "That's a Temperast."
"But they're extinct!"
"Clearly not," Cyan shifted forward. "Take care of Val, Sean. I'll take of that thing. And whatever you do - don't go near it. Neither of you."
"Okay," without further word Sean launched himself at Val, easily ducking the blast from his stunner before surging up from below to break his nose. But Val was no slouch in hand-to-hand himself, and the two were rapidly engaged.
Cyan felt vaguely sick, and not all of it from the thing he was about to fight.
Though that was most of it. He'd met one before, not long after being promoted to 1st Class. And it had been something he'd never been allowed to share with anyone. There was a long scar trailing up the back of his right lower leg, a run-in with the claws that this Temperast had yet to display. But Cyan wasn't fooled.
Of course, this would be easier with more than one person - it had taken him and two 0 Class Guards to stop the last one, which had been put down not long after arriving on Rehab under greatest secrecy. They were impossible to kill if there were magics-capable for him to feed on. The first one had died as much from starvation as it had from the beating.
Magics were what they fed on; mistakenly created by a race for some lost purpose, they had turned out to be the worst thing to happen to any magics-capable race. Annihilating them had been a nightmare for the people involved. It had finally been done - but a few survived.
Cyan dodged away from the thing's abrupt attack, just missing the claws that left deep marks in the wooden bar top. He caught the thing's wrist as it swung around to get him with a back swing, twisting the arm behind him and sending him to the ground. But the Temperast fought free before he could pin it.
Non-magics were there worst threat; because they could do nothing to impede them, beyond channeling the magic they absorbed to block such things as Stunners - probably why Val couldn't be hit.
He blocked another swing - just barely - and went reeling back, tripping over the edge of a chair and tumbling to the ground. "Fuck!" Cyan braced himself for the attack he wouldn't be able to dodge -
And instead saw a chair crash down hard on the thing's back, crumpling it momentarily to the ground.
He blinked up at Einn. "What in the fuck are you doing? Get away from it."
Einn frowned, "What the hell is you--"
"NOW!" Cyan snarled, launching himself from the ground and shoving Einn hard, back away from the creature, before spinning around to confront it. "That's a Temperast, you dumbass. Get away before it decides to make you lunch!"
Faller kept Einn from protesting further, "Go get Val." He eyed Cyan in the moment before the creature attacked them, "What do we do?"
"Knock it out. Then kill it."
"How do we knock it out?"
"Beat it. They can't stand up long against brute strength without magics to feed on. And if he's shielding Val like I think he is, he's losing his stored magics fast. So as long as we keep him away from the others..."
"Right." Faller didn't wait for the thing to reach them, but launched himself at it, immediately joined by Cyan.
Mendel watched as they all fought, unfamiliar with hand-to-hand combat but ready to utilize his magics as soon as he was able.
They returned to him in a rush, as if they'd been held back. He turned to see that Cyan and Faller had knocked the Temperast out - it was crumbled on the floor, bleeding profusely from a wound on its head.
"Now, Mendel!" Cyan looked desperately at him.
Mendel obeyed, even as Sean protested.
Val sneered at the three left, "How annoying." He looked at Einn, "They didn't kill you like they were ordered to."
"Annoying for you, maybe. I'm rather happy about it."
"Well, this has been a disappointing day. You even took out the Temp, I'm impressed."
Cyan was furious. "What the fuck is going on?"
"You can ask your brother when you see him."
"I have no plans to see him."
"That's too bad, because you're my back up." And Val pressed the button on a switch no one had seen him pull from his pocket.
The blast, had it been much closer, would have killed Einn and Faller. But it had been planted far enough away that the blast merely sent them all diving to the ground for cover.
In the mess of heat and smoke, Val caught Cyan from behind and knocked him out. He dragged the unconscious soldier out, and keyed in the transport number for his ship even as Einn came staggering out of the burning building.
13 will be up once the betas approve (at least, the ones who aren't asleep approve XP)
no subject
Date: 2004-11-14 03:15 am (UTC)I think I'm really the only Beta who is...
no subject
Date: 2004-11-14 03:23 am (UTC)Well, S is finally home. But your word is good enough for me!
no subject
Date: 2004-11-14 03:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-14 05:58 am (UTC)Missing a fullstop there.
How? How [he] could someone like Einn be working for Jade? It made him shake, both in rage and fear. Einn had seemed…so much better than that. He still was having a hard time believing it.
I think the [he] should be deleted?
(I'm not pointing out the mistakes I found before.)
They returned to him in a rush, as if they'd been held back. He turned to see that Cyan and Faller had knocked the Temperast out - it was crumbled on the floor, bleeding profusely from a wound on its head.
"crumbled" sounds a bit odd. Did you mean "crumpled"?
"That's too bad, because you're my back up." And Val pressed the button on a switch no one had seen him pull from his pocket.
"you're my back up" sounds a bit odd. "back up plan"? or "contingent plan"? Or... um... I dunno. Not thinking straight here.
[/beta]
13 will be up once the betas approve (at least, the ones who aren't asleep approve XP)
Sometimes I wish we weren't twelve or more hours apart. ;_;
And I forgot to mention it earlier, but I like your action bits. <3