Planet #A6-5FT - Year 56, local reckoning [48th century]
Otherwise occupied. It was such an elegant turn of phrase.
Jack hadn't expected actual elegance to go with it, but the Lieutenant's quarters were, shockingly, something that actually qualified. "What's your name, anyway?" Jack, naked and sweaty, slid his fingers along the silk sheet.
"Does it matter?"
"Guess not." He rolled off the bed and padded across the room. There was wine, and glasses, and he brought both back to with him.
"So," he said, casually using the point of the corkscrew to slice the wax seal on the bottle, "this mean I get safe passage out of the sector?"
The Lieutenant stretched and Jack couldn't help taking a long, slow appreciative look. They may be nasty, but by damn, the Chula were pretty. Even if you had to watch the teeth.
"Not quite yet," was the quiet response.
Jack froze, but only for a second. Not quite yet suddenly sounded a hell of a lot like never. "Impressed you, did I?" His smile was pure smugness, his laugh deeply amused. He'd hoped, just maybe, it would be that easy. Looked like it wasn't going to be. It never is.
"In a way I haven't been...impressed for quite some time."
He popped the cork out of the bottle, poured two glasses and offered one to his host. "I hear that a lot."
"Do you now?" Grey eyes looked at him "Care to impress me again?"
The wine went flying, the bottle crashed onto the the floor, and Jack pounced.
He had to get out of here, was sure now the Chula would never let him go. It had been a calculated risk, sex for life and freedom, worth taking, even with the stakes so high. But now, now it was time to change the game.
Careful, careful because the teeth were sharp, Jack caught his full attention. Held it with lips and tongue and teeth while he leaned forward and around, hand trailing across bare skin, nails scraping.
The corkscrew was right there.
His fingers closed around it, hefted it, while his other hand closed around something else.
The Chula gasped, eyes closing as his hips arched up off the bed.
Jack drove the corkscrew into the artery under the jaw. Dug it in, twisting and turning while he shoved him down, pinning him with knees and body, hand clamped over his mouth to block noise.
Blood was spurting, running down his chest, pouring out over his hand, coating him in purple as the Chula's struggles slowed. Slowed. Stopped.
Breathing harshly, he was up and off the bed, dragging the sheet off to wipe himself down.
Clothes. Weapons.
Everything was very simple. Very clear.
Get out, get Jason.
Don't die.
He slipped out into the corridor and the world narrowed to targets. Fire until the gun was empty, drop it, grab another - the dead didn't need them any more - do it again. And again. And again.
That was the beauty of a beehive-- the bees all knew danger came from the outside. Never from the inside.
He found Jason in a room at the end of a long hallway, and it wasn't even locked. They never saw him coming.
"Jason." It wasn't as bad as he'd feared. Lots of blood, lots of damage, but none of it crippling, none of it fatal. The Chula who'd had him had obviously been amateurs.
Jason's eyes snapped open and Jack had to look away from the flare of hope, of trust. "You came back." His voice was scraped raw.
"You knew I would." Guilt spiked through him as he spoke, and he had to suck in a deep breath, then he was freeing him with gentle hands. "We're leaving. Now. Can you walk?"
It was a near thing, but Jack took most of his weight and together they made their cautious way towards freedom. Freedom that didn't mean a damn thing until they had something better than their feet.
Jack found the hangar and stopped, staring with his mouth hanging open. "Oh, you beautiful thing," he whispered. It was a Chula timeship, perfect and gleaming, where no Chula timeship should be..
But here it was, almost as if it was waiting for him.
"You're incredible," he said, hands gliding across the surface while Jason, even with more than one broken finger, bypassed the security. "Amazing, beautiful."
"Do you need a moment alone?" Jason managed to ask..
"Maybe." Jack smirked and carefully manoeuvred him inside, settling him in the tiny bunk. "Just rest. Once we're off this planet, I'll be able to do something about making you feel better."
Jason smiled weakly. "I told you I only like girls."
He touched his forehead to Jason's, closed his eyes. "I remember. Damn shame, too."
It didn't take long to get the ship in the air and it was glorious. "Oh, Sam and Cedric have to meet you," he whispered to it as they broke orbit. "You are something special."
Something incredibly special. Jack banked her safely behind a moon, snapped his fingers, and watched with pleasure as a golden glow filled the air, settling over Jason, dancing and bright, leaving healed flesh and bone in its-- no, in their wake. Nanites definitely constituted a they.
Watched as they repaired the damage that was his fault. Watched as Jason smiled when the pain just stopped. Watched as he drifted off to sleep.
Jack climbed to his feet and went to make the call he didn't want to make. The Agency.
It went about as well as he'd expected. Asshole One's voice saying, Dump him somewhere. Get your ass back here, was all he could take.
Jack hit the disconnect. He'd left him once, there was no way in hell he was leaving him again. The moment of silence stretched into minutes, hours, and Jack tried to decide what to do while Jason slept on.
The silence was broken, sudden and sharp. "It's time to leave."
The voice was coming from inside the ship. Which was impossible. But Jack had lived in Fandom. Nothing was impossible. He whirled, gun drawn, and almost dropped it in shock. "Kane?"
Kane was simply there, hunched over because there wasn't a lot of room in the ship. "Jack."
"How did you get in here?"
Kane looked inscrutable.
"You're dead."
"Actually, I'm not." The corner of Kane's mouth lifted.
"But-" It was too much. "Why not?"
"Can't have any fun when you're dead." He moved closer and put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "It's time for the next step. Are you ready?"
"As long as Jason comes with us, I'll do whatever you want."
It was Kane's turn for shock and he glanced towards the bunk. "He's alive?"
Jack couldn't help being defensive. He'd almost left him to die; defensiveness was inevitable. "Yeah, that a problem?"
Kane was shaking his head slowly back and forth. "It's amazing the things that change," he muttered, then nodded once, firmly. "No problem. Unexpected, but no problem. What are you going to do with him?"
Jack leaned back in his chair, and it already felt like his, closing his eyes as he laced his hands behind his head. There was only one answer. "I'm taking him home."
"And then?"
He didn't have an answer for that one.
Kane's hand tightened on his shoulder and, for the first time since Jack had met him, he was a comfort instead of an unmitigated pain in the ass. "Jack. It's time to leave the Agency. And I'm here to help you do it."
[ooc: NFB, NFI, OOC AOK]
Jack hadn't expected actual elegance to go with it, but the Lieutenant's quarters were, shockingly, something that actually qualified. "What's your name, anyway?" Jack, naked and sweaty, slid his fingers along the silk sheet.
"Does it matter?"
"Guess not." He rolled off the bed and padded across the room. There was wine, and glasses, and he brought both back to with him.
"So," he said, casually using the point of the corkscrew to slice the wax seal on the bottle, "this mean I get safe passage out of the sector?"
The Lieutenant stretched and Jack couldn't help taking a long, slow appreciative look. They may be nasty, but by damn, the Chula were pretty. Even if you had to watch the teeth.
"Not quite yet," was the quiet response.
Jack froze, but only for a second. Not quite yet suddenly sounded a hell of a lot like never. "Impressed you, did I?" His smile was pure smugness, his laugh deeply amused. He'd hoped, just maybe, it would be that easy. Looked like it wasn't going to be. It never is.
"In a way I haven't been...impressed for quite some time."
He popped the cork out of the bottle, poured two glasses and offered one to his host. "I hear that a lot."
"Do you now?" Grey eyes looked at him "Care to impress me again?"
The wine went flying, the bottle crashed onto the the floor, and Jack pounced.
He had to get out of here, was sure now the Chula would never let him go. It had been a calculated risk, sex for life and freedom, worth taking, even with the stakes so high. But now, now it was time to change the game.
Careful, careful because the teeth were sharp, Jack caught his full attention. Held it with lips and tongue and teeth while he leaned forward and around, hand trailing across bare skin, nails scraping.
The corkscrew was right there.
His fingers closed around it, hefted it, while his other hand closed around something else.
The Chula gasped, eyes closing as his hips arched up off the bed.
Jack drove the corkscrew into the artery under the jaw. Dug it in, twisting and turning while he shoved him down, pinning him with knees and body, hand clamped over his mouth to block noise.
Blood was spurting, running down his chest, pouring out over his hand, coating him in purple as the Chula's struggles slowed. Slowed. Stopped.
Breathing harshly, he was up and off the bed, dragging the sheet off to wipe himself down.
Clothes. Weapons.
Everything was very simple. Very clear.
Get out, get Jason.
Don't die.
He slipped out into the corridor and the world narrowed to targets. Fire until the gun was empty, drop it, grab another - the dead didn't need them any more - do it again. And again. And again.
That was the beauty of a beehive-- the bees all knew danger came from the outside. Never from the inside.
He found Jason in a room at the end of a long hallway, and it wasn't even locked. They never saw him coming.
"Jason." It wasn't as bad as he'd feared. Lots of blood, lots of damage, but none of it crippling, none of it fatal. The Chula who'd had him had obviously been amateurs.
Jason's eyes snapped open and Jack had to look away from the flare of hope, of trust. "You came back." His voice was scraped raw.
"You knew I would." Guilt spiked through him as he spoke, and he had to suck in a deep breath, then he was freeing him with gentle hands. "We're leaving. Now. Can you walk?"
It was a near thing, but Jack took most of his weight and together they made their cautious way towards freedom. Freedom that didn't mean a damn thing until they had something better than their feet.
Jack found the hangar and stopped, staring with his mouth hanging open. "Oh, you beautiful thing," he whispered. It was a Chula timeship, perfect and gleaming, where no Chula timeship should be..
But here it was, almost as if it was waiting for him.
"You're incredible," he said, hands gliding across the surface while Jason, even with more than one broken finger, bypassed the security. "Amazing, beautiful."
"Do you need a moment alone?" Jason managed to ask..
"Maybe." Jack smirked and carefully manoeuvred him inside, settling him in the tiny bunk. "Just rest. Once we're off this planet, I'll be able to do something about making you feel better."
Jason smiled weakly. "I told you I only like girls."
He touched his forehead to Jason's, closed his eyes. "I remember. Damn shame, too."
It didn't take long to get the ship in the air and it was glorious. "Oh, Sam and Cedric have to meet you," he whispered to it as they broke orbit. "You are something special."
Something incredibly special. Jack banked her safely behind a moon, snapped his fingers, and watched with pleasure as a golden glow filled the air, settling over Jason, dancing and bright, leaving healed flesh and bone in its-- no, in their wake. Nanites definitely constituted a they.
Watched as they repaired the damage that was his fault. Watched as Jason smiled when the pain just stopped. Watched as he drifted off to sleep.
Jack climbed to his feet and went to make the call he didn't want to make. The Agency.
It went about as well as he'd expected. Asshole One's voice saying, Dump him somewhere. Get your ass back here, was all he could take.
Jack hit the disconnect. He'd left him once, there was no way in hell he was leaving him again. The moment of silence stretched into minutes, hours, and Jack tried to decide what to do while Jason slept on.
The silence was broken, sudden and sharp. "It's time to leave."
The voice was coming from inside the ship. Which was impossible. But Jack had lived in Fandom. Nothing was impossible. He whirled, gun drawn, and almost dropped it in shock. "Kane?"
Kane was simply there, hunched over because there wasn't a lot of room in the ship. "Jack."
"How did you get in here?"
Kane looked inscrutable.
"You're dead."
"Actually, I'm not." The corner of Kane's mouth lifted.
"But-" It was too much. "Why not?"
"Can't have any fun when you're dead." He moved closer and put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "It's time for the next step. Are you ready?"
"As long as Jason comes with us, I'll do whatever you want."
It was Kane's turn for shock and he glanced towards the bunk. "He's alive?"
Jack couldn't help being defensive. He'd almost left him to die; defensiveness was inevitable. "Yeah, that a problem?"
Kane was shaking his head slowly back and forth. "It's amazing the things that change," he muttered, then nodded once, firmly. "No problem. Unexpected, but no problem. What are you going to do with him?"
Jack leaned back in his chair, and it already felt like his, closing his eyes as he laced his hands behind his head. There was only one answer. "I'm taking him home."
"And then?"
He didn't have an answer for that one.
Kane's hand tightened on his shoulder and, for the first time since Jack had met him, he was a comfort instead of an unmitigated pain in the ass. "Jack. It's time to leave the Agency. And I'm here to help you do it."
[ooc: NFB, NFI, OOC AOK]