The Thief and the Commander : 02
Jan. 4th, 2001 12:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
manicdakChapter 02: Into the Darkness
Feliu Viernes materialized in the teleportation room on the Time Ship Darkness. He cursed at himself as he had tried to direct his course to his bunk to avoid detection. Avoiding detection on the Darkness was a work in futility, though. They monitored incoming time signatures closely, and the teleportation room intercepted those signals in order to redirect them into a safe and central location.
Yaretzi, the ship's portkeeper, was startled out of the book she was reading when Feliu's mass appeared unexpectedly before her.
He stumbled forward, almost crashing into the control console that Yaretzi was sitting at. She jumped up and grabbed his arm, guiding him to the center of the room.
"Are you okay, kid?" She asked.
He chuckled at her.
"I'm twenty-nine years, Yaretzi," he said.
"Still a kid to me, you stubborn thing. Did you forget your specs again?" She sat him down on the chair she had vacated, and he nodded at her.
It cost resources that his parents just didn't have to run a time ship the size of the Darkness at full capacity. The amount of light needed for a Utopian to see properly was not a cost that they were willing to expend. Feliu was practically blind on the ship without sun-specs; a device that simulated the conditions of actual sunlight. As it was, he kept his eyes on Yaretzi, whose soft bio-luminescent glow was much easier to focus on than the dull gray interior of the ship.
She smiled sympathetically at him and then shuffled around in her desk drawer before pulling out a pair of specs.
"What would you do without me?" She asked as she held them out to him.
"I'd probably walk right out of an airlock into space," he admitted, and with a laugh, snapped up the specs and flipped them on as he slid them over his ears. The fuzzy dark shapes quickly reverted into the familiar bulkheads of the ship.
"Better?" She asked.
"Yes," he said. "The better to see you with, beautiful." He stood up and bowed gracefully at her which caused her to giggle at him.
"You flatter an old lady," she said.
"Hardly," he replied. "You're the only thing worth looking at around here. You'd think my father would hire at least one handsome pirate, right? I think he likes torturing me."
"He knows your vices," she said. "Would you ever get anything done?"
"Yes." He nodded at her. "I could complete my studies on the effects of sex in anti-gravity situations."
"Of course," Yaretzi replied. "Your father loves it when you turn off the gravity engines so you can have kinky ceiling sex."
"Seriously, though...all old guys and lady pirates? I don't even get one fresh-faced deck hand to corrupt!"
"Oh, stop trying to pretend you're some kind of inter-galactic playboy, Feliu." She smirked at him. "Did you have fun on Tarain?"
The teasing smile abruptly disappeared from his face, and he groaned.
"My jump registered in the logs?"
She nodded at him.
"These things are supposed to be equipped with an auto-cipher!" He yanked the TTD out of his pocket and glared at the small, black, rectangular device.
"I can erase it," she said, "but it's going to cost you."
"Yaretzi!" He whined at her, but she stood her ground.
"I know how your father feels about that I-GAS boyfriend of yours. He's not going to like this, and if I'm going to cover for you, I expect something in return."
"Fine," he muttered.
"I-GAS HQ? That's a big risk, kid. Was it just a visit, or were you captured again?" She asked.
"None of your business."
"Captured then?" she said. "I worry about you kiddo. One of these days you're not going to escape, and with the things you know about this operation..."
"I know, Yaretzi." He glared angrily upon her. "I-GAS will have to kill me before I talk."
"Or your father will kill you before you get the chance," she murmured. "You and I both know that. He's borderline already knowing you've been seeing that man..."
"First of all, his name is Robin, and he wouldn't betray me," Feliu said even though he was fully aware that Robin had been micro-seconds away from handing him over to the higher authorities. If he hadn't managed to steal the Earthian's TTD, then he was sure he would be sitting blind in some dark cell on I-GAS headquarters awaiting interrogation or worse. He wasn't about to let Yaretzi know that.
"Second of all, I haven't seen him in ages. I just wanted to see him, okay? Don't you have someone out there who you love? That you miss? Huh?"
"Don't try to appeal to my romantic nature," she said with a frown. "I'm just trying to look out for you."
"I know," he said. "I appreciate it, Yaretzi. I really do. Thanks."
"Good." She nodded approval and gestured towards the console where the incoming teleportation log was stored. "Now there's the issue of payment."
"You were serious about that?" He eyed her dubiously, and she nodded again.
"I am a pirate."
The corner of his lip twitched upward in a wry smile, and he shrugged helplessly.
"Fine, what do you want?"
"What do you got?" she asked.
He laughed heartily at her then produced a small leather pouch and tossed it onto the console.
"That do?"
She snatched up the bag and poured the contents out into the palm of her hand.
She glowed brighter with excitement, and it illuminated the perfect diamonds that she suddenly found in her possession in a soft lime green glow .
"Where did you get these?" She eagerly glanced up at him.
He chuckled again.
"Q4," he said.
"But...the security?"
He shrugged as if breaking into one of the most heavily secured planets in the known galaxies was an every day occurrence for him.
"That ought to cover any side trips I decide to take for the next thousand years, right?" he said.
She ignored him and turned away; intent on studying her new found treasures.
He chuckled at her then headed towards his bunk, stopping by a garbage portal to toss away the TTD. Before the ship moved on to the next spot it would be dumped out into space. Feliu knew he couldn't keep it around despite the convenience it afforded. The TTD not only allowed one to teleport much further distances, but through time as well. The one he had stolen was I-GAS an issue though, and he was sure that they had some way to track it. He knew that leading I-GAS directly to his father's ship was not going to earn him any favors from anybody, and would more than likely get him and everybody else killed.
"It's useless anyway," he murmured to himself. From what had transpired that morning, he knew that Robin had given up on him. He was no longer worth the risk and might as well stay on the ship for all the good it would do him to try and see Robin again. He might not get lucky enough to be left alone with another wet-behind-the ears recruit.
****
Neither Robin nor Ehren were anywhere to be seen the next morning. Axel wasn't surprised. He had done his friendly duty and smuggled in a liter of contraband lily wine into his and Ehren's room the night before. In that moment he knew that Ehren was sleeping off the biggest hangover in his life. The Earthian had told him the night before, after being coaxed reluctantly into a drink, that he had never done so before. On Earth alcohol was for the wealthy, was tightly rationed on the planet, and import costs were vastly inflated.
Axel had learned a valuable lesson the previous day. He was not going to risk toilet cleaning again despite the rest of the squadron milling about the room speaking in hushed whispers about the many possible whereabouts of their commanding officer. Axel wasn't going to be caught out again, so he retired to his desk and flipped on his computer. There was always datawork for the recruits to handle. He kept his eyes focused on the holographic output display even when he was approached by the Dysprosian twins. They marched across the room, arms linked, determined to squeeze any gossip they could out of him. When they arrived without so much as a glance, Seth broke away from his sister and sat right on top of Axel's virtual keyboard.
"So?" He said as he sprawled out across the desk, effectively putting a halt to what Axel was trying to accomplish.
Axel glared stonily at him. Seth was the worst, always showing off and trying to garner the attentions of his superiors at the expense of his team. He scored high marks on field exercises but never shared any of the credit. It was as if the rest of the squadron was somehow beneath him, and he was convinced that he was going to get promoted through the ranks faster than any of his peers. The recruit stage, as far as he was concerned, was only a quick stop-over on the way to bigger and better things and not something he had to worry about.
"If you would kindly remove your face from my display," Axel said. He poked Seth in the forehead where the computer was projecting the database information he was working with.
"Oh, Come on!" Seth made a grab at Axel's finger, but Axel quickly rolled his chair out of reach and crossed his arms impatiently.
"What is it that you want?" he said.
"We were just wondering what was going on with Ehren," Rasa said.
She perched on the edge of the desk and gave her brother a warning glare. He rolled his eyes and sat up.
"I do not know," Axel said. "He did not feel well on the morn. Please, now... I have spent enough time with my elbows in humanoid waste for the rest of my lifespan. I would prefer to remain on good terms with the Commander."
Seth grinned knowingly and nodded to himself.
"Who cares about that guy? Leda told me about the wine." He chuckled. "Last night, if you know what I mean." He winked at Axel.
Rasa was once again glaring at her brother, who only shrugged at her and turned his attention back to Axel.
"So, the kid's hung-over?" He laughed loudly. "Man, I knew Earthians were stupid, but..."
He stopped speaking when Axel jumped from his seat to stand at attention and stare straight ahead at a point behind Seth's shoulder, his hand frozen in salute. Rasa had risen to stand beside him in an identical pose. Seth grimaced at them momentarily before scrambling to his own feet and falling into line next to his sister.
They were faced, not with Robin Grey, but with a woman who they had never set eyes on before. She was tall and pale. Her blue eyes were in stark contrast to the black hair that was tied up in a bun. She stood there, her posture rigid, her expression impassive. The recruits might have paid her no mind if it were not for the insignia she wore clearly upon the breast of her uniform. She was an officer of the Internal Disciplinary Squadron.
"Commander Grey?" She asked.
Rasa competently took the initiative to show the woman to the Commander's office. Seth let out a loud sigh once the girls had left their orbit.
"What?" Axel muttered.
"IDS?" He replied. "That bastard is in trouble. Wouldn't be surprised if we never saw him again."
"What do you care?" Axel said. "I did not think you liked Grey anyway."
"I don't, but he's easy," Seth said. "Better the enemy you know, right?"
"Huh?" Axel stared ponderously at him. "We are here to learn to be better law enforcement officers. The Commander is not our enemy. We must all work toge..."
"Shut-Up," Seth interrupted him with a roll of his eyes. "Can't you take a joke?"
Axel frowned at him and didn't reply. That was all the encouragement Seth needed to keep talking.
"With IDS here, we're going to have to watch ourselves. She's a Utopian too." He made a short gagging noise in the back of his throat and cringed.
"So what?"
"So, they're all bastards. That's what's so what." Seth crossed his arms and returned Axel's scowl. "They think they're so great, all swooping down on Dysprosia and taking all our shit for their own because they think they're better than us. It's not such a great race. All they got is lots of sun and the audacity to call their planet the Golden Utopia for the God's sake, Axel. Like it's the best place ever. That'd be like if I settled a planet and called it Awesometown or something. No wonder they walk around like they're the most privileged humans to have ever existed. I hate Utopians."
He continued along on his rant until Rasa returned to them.
"Not this again," she said.
"Not my fault Utopians suck," Seth replied stubbornly.
"Well, they'll suck more when she gives us a reprimand for standing around like this," she said and nodded towards their desks. "Let's go. We have a field training exercise to prepare for."
Axel watched the twins link arms again and wander off in the direction of their work stations. Then he glanced towards the closed door of Commander Grey's office where the IDS agent had disappeared. He could only sit there and wonder with worry that perhaps Ehren wasn't being so rash when he had packed his bags the night before.
Then the sound of laser-fire filled his ears, and he wasn't quite so worried about Ehren any longer.
Previous || Next
Feliu Viernes materialized in the teleportation room on the Time Ship Darkness. He cursed at himself as he had tried to direct his course to his bunk to avoid detection. Avoiding detection on the Darkness was a work in futility, though. They monitored incoming time signatures closely, and the teleportation room intercepted those signals in order to redirect them into a safe and central location.
Yaretzi, the ship's portkeeper, was startled out of the book she was reading when Feliu's mass appeared unexpectedly before her.
He stumbled forward, almost crashing into the control console that Yaretzi was sitting at. She jumped up and grabbed his arm, guiding him to the center of the room.
"Are you okay, kid?" She asked.
He chuckled at her.
"I'm twenty-nine years, Yaretzi," he said.
"Still a kid to me, you stubborn thing. Did you forget your specs again?" She sat him down on the chair she had vacated, and he nodded at her.
It cost resources that his parents just didn't have to run a time ship the size of the Darkness at full capacity. The amount of light needed for a Utopian to see properly was not a cost that they were willing to expend. Feliu was practically blind on the ship without sun-specs; a device that simulated the conditions of actual sunlight. As it was, he kept his eyes on Yaretzi, whose soft bio-luminescent glow was much easier to focus on than the dull gray interior of the ship.
She smiled sympathetically at him and then shuffled around in her desk drawer before pulling out a pair of specs.
"What would you do without me?" She asked as she held them out to him.
"I'd probably walk right out of an airlock into space," he admitted, and with a laugh, snapped up the specs and flipped them on as he slid them over his ears. The fuzzy dark shapes quickly reverted into the familiar bulkheads of the ship.
"Better?" She asked.
"Yes," he said. "The better to see you with, beautiful." He stood up and bowed gracefully at her which caused her to giggle at him.
"You flatter an old lady," she said.
"Hardly," he replied. "You're the only thing worth looking at around here. You'd think my father would hire at least one handsome pirate, right? I think he likes torturing me."
"He knows your vices," she said. "Would you ever get anything done?"
"Yes." He nodded at her. "I could complete my studies on the effects of sex in anti-gravity situations."
"Of course," Yaretzi replied. "Your father loves it when you turn off the gravity engines so you can have kinky ceiling sex."
"Seriously, though...all old guys and lady pirates? I don't even get one fresh-faced deck hand to corrupt!"
"Oh, stop trying to pretend you're some kind of inter-galactic playboy, Feliu." She smirked at him. "Did you have fun on Tarain?"
The teasing smile abruptly disappeared from his face, and he groaned.
"My jump registered in the logs?"
She nodded at him.
"These things are supposed to be equipped with an auto-cipher!" He yanked the TTD out of his pocket and glared at the small, black, rectangular device.
"I can erase it," she said, "but it's going to cost you."
"Yaretzi!" He whined at her, but she stood her ground.
"I know how your father feels about that I-GAS boyfriend of yours. He's not going to like this, and if I'm going to cover for you, I expect something in return."
"Fine," he muttered.
"I-GAS HQ? That's a big risk, kid. Was it just a visit, or were you captured again?" She asked.
"None of your business."
"Captured then?" she said. "I worry about you kiddo. One of these days you're not going to escape, and with the things you know about this operation..."
"I know, Yaretzi." He glared angrily upon her. "I-GAS will have to kill me before I talk."
"Or your father will kill you before you get the chance," she murmured. "You and I both know that. He's borderline already knowing you've been seeing that man..."
"First of all, his name is Robin, and he wouldn't betray me," Feliu said even though he was fully aware that Robin had been micro-seconds away from handing him over to the higher authorities. If he hadn't managed to steal the Earthian's TTD, then he was sure he would be sitting blind in some dark cell on I-GAS headquarters awaiting interrogation or worse. He wasn't about to let Yaretzi know that.
"Second of all, I haven't seen him in ages. I just wanted to see him, okay? Don't you have someone out there who you love? That you miss? Huh?"
"Don't try to appeal to my romantic nature," she said with a frown. "I'm just trying to look out for you."
"I know," he said. "I appreciate it, Yaretzi. I really do. Thanks."
"Good." She nodded approval and gestured towards the console where the incoming teleportation log was stored. "Now there's the issue of payment."
"You were serious about that?" He eyed her dubiously, and she nodded again.
"I am a pirate."
The corner of his lip twitched upward in a wry smile, and he shrugged helplessly.
"Fine, what do you want?"
"What do you got?" she asked.
He laughed heartily at her then produced a small leather pouch and tossed it onto the console.
"That do?"
She snatched up the bag and poured the contents out into the palm of her hand.
She glowed brighter with excitement, and it illuminated the perfect diamonds that she suddenly found in her possession in a soft lime green glow .
"Where did you get these?" She eagerly glanced up at him.
He chuckled again.
"Q4," he said.
"But...the security?"
He shrugged as if breaking into one of the most heavily secured planets in the known galaxies was an every day occurrence for him.
"That ought to cover any side trips I decide to take for the next thousand years, right?" he said.
She ignored him and turned away; intent on studying her new found treasures.
He chuckled at her then headed towards his bunk, stopping by a garbage portal to toss away the TTD. Before the ship moved on to the next spot it would be dumped out into space. Feliu knew he couldn't keep it around despite the convenience it afforded. The TTD not only allowed one to teleport much further distances, but through time as well. The one he had stolen was I-GAS an issue though, and he was sure that they had some way to track it. He knew that leading I-GAS directly to his father's ship was not going to earn him any favors from anybody, and would more than likely get him and everybody else killed.
"It's useless anyway," he murmured to himself. From what had transpired that morning, he knew that Robin had given up on him. He was no longer worth the risk and might as well stay on the ship for all the good it would do him to try and see Robin again. He might not get lucky enough to be left alone with another wet-behind-the ears recruit.
****
Neither Robin nor Ehren were anywhere to be seen the next morning. Axel wasn't surprised. He had done his friendly duty and smuggled in a liter of contraband lily wine into his and Ehren's room the night before. In that moment he knew that Ehren was sleeping off the biggest hangover in his life. The Earthian had told him the night before, after being coaxed reluctantly into a drink, that he had never done so before. On Earth alcohol was for the wealthy, was tightly rationed on the planet, and import costs were vastly inflated.
Axel had learned a valuable lesson the previous day. He was not going to risk toilet cleaning again despite the rest of the squadron milling about the room speaking in hushed whispers about the many possible whereabouts of their commanding officer. Axel wasn't going to be caught out again, so he retired to his desk and flipped on his computer. There was always datawork for the recruits to handle. He kept his eyes focused on the holographic output display even when he was approached by the Dysprosian twins. They marched across the room, arms linked, determined to squeeze any gossip they could out of him. When they arrived without so much as a glance, Seth broke away from his sister and sat right on top of Axel's virtual keyboard.
"So?" He said as he sprawled out across the desk, effectively putting a halt to what Axel was trying to accomplish.
Axel glared stonily at him. Seth was the worst, always showing off and trying to garner the attentions of his superiors at the expense of his team. He scored high marks on field exercises but never shared any of the credit. It was as if the rest of the squadron was somehow beneath him, and he was convinced that he was going to get promoted through the ranks faster than any of his peers. The recruit stage, as far as he was concerned, was only a quick stop-over on the way to bigger and better things and not something he had to worry about.
"If you would kindly remove your face from my display," Axel said. He poked Seth in the forehead where the computer was projecting the database information he was working with.
"Oh, Come on!" Seth made a grab at Axel's finger, but Axel quickly rolled his chair out of reach and crossed his arms impatiently.
"What is it that you want?" he said.
"We were just wondering what was going on with Ehren," Rasa said.
She perched on the edge of the desk and gave her brother a warning glare. He rolled his eyes and sat up.
"I do not know," Axel said. "He did not feel well on the morn. Please, now... I have spent enough time with my elbows in humanoid waste for the rest of my lifespan. I would prefer to remain on good terms with the Commander."
Seth grinned knowingly and nodded to himself.
"Who cares about that guy? Leda told me about the wine." He chuckled. "Last night, if you know what I mean." He winked at Axel.
Rasa was once again glaring at her brother, who only shrugged at her and turned his attention back to Axel.
"So, the kid's hung-over?" He laughed loudly. "Man, I knew Earthians were stupid, but..."
He stopped speaking when Axel jumped from his seat to stand at attention and stare straight ahead at a point behind Seth's shoulder, his hand frozen in salute. Rasa had risen to stand beside him in an identical pose. Seth grimaced at them momentarily before scrambling to his own feet and falling into line next to his sister.
They were faced, not with Robin Grey, but with a woman who they had never set eyes on before. She was tall and pale. Her blue eyes were in stark contrast to the black hair that was tied up in a bun. She stood there, her posture rigid, her expression impassive. The recruits might have paid her no mind if it were not for the insignia she wore clearly upon the breast of her uniform. She was an officer of the Internal Disciplinary Squadron.
"Commander Grey?" She asked.
Rasa competently took the initiative to show the woman to the Commander's office. Seth let out a loud sigh once the girls had left their orbit.
"What?" Axel muttered.
"IDS?" He replied. "That bastard is in trouble. Wouldn't be surprised if we never saw him again."
"What do you care?" Axel said. "I did not think you liked Grey anyway."
"I don't, but he's easy," Seth said. "Better the enemy you know, right?"
"Huh?" Axel stared ponderously at him. "We are here to learn to be better law enforcement officers. The Commander is not our enemy. We must all work toge..."
"Shut-Up," Seth interrupted him with a roll of his eyes. "Can't you take a joke?"
Axel frowned at him and didn't reply. That was all the encouragement Seth needed to keep talking.
"With IDS here, we're going to have to watch ourselves. She's a Utopian too." He made a short gagging noise in the back of his throat and cringed.
"So what?"
"So, they're all bastards. That's what's so what." Seth crossed his arms and returned Axel's scowl. "They think they're so great, all swooping down on Dysprosia and taking all our shit for their own because they think they're better than us. It's not such a great race. All they got is lots of sun and the audacity to call their planet the Golden Utopia for the God's sake, Axel. Like it's the best place ever. That'd be like if I settled a planet and called it Awesometown or something. No wonder they walk around like they're the most privileged humans to have ever existed. I hate Utopians."
He continued along on his rant until Rasa returned to them.
"Not this again," she said.
"Not my fault Utopians suck," Seth replied stubbornly.
"Well, they'll suck more when she gives us a reprimand for standing around like this," she said and nodded towards their desks. "Let's go. We have a field training exercise to prepare for."
Axel watched the twins link arms again and wander off in the direction of their work stations. Then he glanced towards the closed door of Commander Grey's office where the IDS agent had disappeared. He could only sit there and wonder with worry that perhaps Ehren wasn't being so rash when he had packed his bags the night before.
Then the sound of laser-fire filled his ears, and he wasn't quite so worried about Ehren any longer.
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