The Best of the Bad Ideas (part 1)
Title: The Best of the Bad Ideas
Author: Shenandoah Risu
Rating: PG-13
Content Flags: some bad language
Spoilers: Season 1 up to "Divided"
Word Count: around 18,910
Summary: It shocks her to the core when she sees the sadness in his eyes, which suddenly don’t seem so alien any more.
Characters: Everett Young, Tamara Johansen, the Destiny crew
Author's Notes: Written for the LJ Comm syfybigbang
Disclaimer: I don't own SGU. I wouldn't know what to do with it. Now, Young... Young I'd know what to do with. ;-)
Thanks for reading! Feedback = Love. ;-)
( part 2)
( part 3)
( part 4)
( part 5)
( part 6)
The Best of the Bad Ideas (part 1)
“Tighter,” he says, nodding at his left leg.
Greer bends down to cinch the strap harder; he grimaces slightly at the pressure.
Scott notices, of course. “Sir! Sir… let me do it,” he pleads.
Young shakes his head. Scott’s desire to take on the toughest jobs himself is familiar to Young - he reminds him a lot of himself, so many years ago. “Lieutenant, it’s not going to happen,” he insists and gives him a level stare, trying to mask his own worries.
“For the record,” Caine pipes up, “I think this is a very bad idea.”
“Yes,” Young quips, “but it’s the best of the bad ideas.”
Caine rolls his eyes in reluctant agreement and looks at Greer and Scott. They nod, and he reaches out for the switch on the communication stones terminal. The device lights up. Caine turns to Young.
“Go,” he says, handing him one of the stones, protecting himself from direct contact with a thick cloth.
Young turns the stone over in his hand, and Caine hastens to add “Colonel, you can always go back in if you don't find her,” just in case.
Young looks up at him and nods. “Okay,” he says, as if quitting was even an option. Caine is a civilian, an IT tech, Young knows all too well, and his life experiences include lots of second chances and starting over after a good night’s sleep.
Young is going into combat, alone, and he knows it.
Greer grasps the end of the last strap as Young struggles to place the stone on the platform - not an easy feat with his arm bound to the chair. He manages, though, and Greer pulls the strap tight with a lightning-quick move.
Young closes his eyes.
He’s used the communication stones many times to go to Earth, always arriving in the same room at Homeworld Command. Usually he ends up in Telford’s body, or one of the technicians guarding the device 24/7, especially if it’s an unscheduled visit.
This is different, though. This time, he has no idea where he will emerge from the not-space and not-time of the transition. It’s a terrifying prospect, but there’s no going back now.
There is the usual brief sensation of falling, of vertigo, of weightlessness, of hearing his own blood rushing through his veins.
He knows he has arrived as he gradually becomes aware of the different gravity, the damp coolness of the air around him, the nauseating smell that reminds him of an old dentist’s office.
He opens his eyes.
He’s back on the alien ship.
***
At first there is no change in what they see. Young’s body is very still, only his eyes are moving. Then he begins to pull at his bonds and makes a strangled hissing sound.
They try to calm him - it - down, without success. The alien appears to panic, it struggles and screams.
The interrogation is going nowhere.
The minutes tick by, and suddenly the impact of weapons fire rocks the Destiny.
“Cut it,” Scott snaps at Caine, and the IT tech turns the platform off.
***
Young emerges from the excruciating pain with a scream, retching and coughing, and he recognizes the sound of his own breathing, hears the panicked and concerned voices around him.
Oh no.
He’s back on the Destiny.
He looks around, blinking in the bright light, confused and disoriented.
“What happened?” His voice sounds hoarse and he tries to clear his throat.
“He’s back,” comes Caine’s voice from his side.
He shakes his head in near-panic. “What just happened?” he repeats, more desperate.
Scott leans into his field of vision, deep concern on his face. “The alien ship is closing in on us,” he says, speaking slowly and clearly, and Young realizes his twenty minutes must have been up and they pulled him back, as agreed.
He was so close…
“Send me back,” he surprises himself saying the words.
Caine jumps and turns the device back on, carefully picking up the stone with the cloth.
“Send me back, now!” There is no quick way to explain, and time is of the essence.
He notices the flustered demeanor in Caine as he hands him the stone back. Greer loosens the strap on his left arm a little, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly.
“Okay. Good to go,” Caine stutters and steps back.
Young drops the stone on the device, Greer pulls the strap tight and once again he’s falling into the gray nothingness.
***
He can’t breathe.
The pain is back, the utter agony of the transmission device, and he can’t breathe. He’s on the ground, he can feel something wet against the naked back of his legs. He flails his arms, trying to find purchase.
His vision returns.
It’s Rush, kneeling next to him, his hands around his throat, choking him. His vision begins to close in, and now he struggles in earnest, fighting for his life. In a split second he understands that Rush thinks he’s the alien, in the few minutes he was gone the alien must have attacked and Rush is fighting for his own life as well.
“Gloria,” he thinks desperately, hoping Rush will get it through the link, “Gloria. Music.”
And Rush lets him go, an expression of utter horror on his face.
Young gasps for air, reaching for his neck, crying out. The pain is back, boring into his mind, and he screams, but all he manages is a hissing sound, a high-pitched wail, a rasping cough.
He claws at his temple and succeeds in ripping the transmitter off.
The pain subsides instantly, and he rolls over, curling up into a ball.
“Colonel Young?”
A tentative hand on his arm.
“Is it you? You’re back?”
Young pushes against the floor and turns his head.
Rush is squatting next to him. He knocks on the floor. “One tap for yes, two for no. Can you understand me?”
Young pats the floor once.
“Come on.”
Rush pulls him up into a seated position. Young tilts his head back, still trying to catch his breath.
“You okay?”
Young nods, taps on the floor, then draws a circle with his clawed finger and points at Rush.
“Am I okay?”
Young nods again and pats the floor once.
“Well, we’ll see. We gotta get off this ship. We can discuss the rest later.”
Young draws a semi-circle on the floor, and a question mark.
“Do I know where Chloe is?”
One tap.
“I think so. In the few minutes you were gone I got a lot of information through the device, from the alien you swapped bodies with.”
Rush gets up. Young struggles to align the unfamiliar limbs and fails miserably, crashing right back down.
He looks up at Rush who hesitates, then kneels down again.
“I should just leave you here. But you got it easy - they’ll pull you back in a few minutes and you’ll be safe aboard Destiny. Unlike me on that other planet. Or here.”
Young stares, then taps the floor once and points at the entrance to the room.
“Then again, you are a lot more useful to me in your current body. Get the fuck up and let’s go.”
Young finally manages to pull up the pipe he had used to smash the water tank, and he uses it to get himself up off the floor. Rush wanders over to the console and starts pushing buttons.
“Come here and look at this schematic. Chloe has to be in one of these rooms. You need to go first, pretend to be one of them, and signal to me when it’s safe to go. Do you understand?”
Young taps the pipe with a claw.
“All right. Here we go.”
And the door slides open.
***
“That’s enough - we’re under attack, you have to yank him back!”
Scott grabs Caine by the arm and pulls him over to the communication stones terminal.
“Cut the connection! Now!”
Next to him the alien in Young’s body starts to scream and struggle violently, and Greer steps closer, aiming his gun at his chest. Caine hurriedly grasps the cloth and pulls the stone off the device and turns it off.
***
Rush waves Young over to the door.
Young is still unsteady on his alien feet, he holds on to the wall as he carefully looks around the corner. The coast is clear. Young turns back to Rush and points at the pipe he used to smash the water tank.
“Right,” Rush mutters and picks it up.
Young takes a deep breath. The smell is almost gone now, he’s finally gotten used to it.
“Go,” Rush urges him on, and he nods.
Stepping out into the corridor he finds they are alone and he beckons Rush to follow. His steps are unsteady but slowly he’s getting better with the different locomotion of the alien body again. They hurry down the hall, and at the junction at the end Young raises a clawed hand. Rush presses himself flat against the wall while Young pretends to be busy inspecting a pipe connection at the corner.
Three blue aliens pass by, at a fast pace. One of them snarls at Young who makes a clicking noise.
When they’re gone Rush grabs Young’s elbow.
“What the hell did you say to them?”
Young looks at him and turns his palms up. Then he indicates his head and taps on the wall twice.
“You have no idea,” Rush sighs. “Well, it worked. Turn right here, and left at the end of that hallway. Go.”
Young hesitates.
Rush gives him a little shove. “Go!”
***
“Colonel Young?”
“Sir?”
More snarling, hissing and struggling.
Scott turns to Caine. “Turn the damn thing off, Caine,” he yells.
“I - I did, it’s off, see - the light is off, the stone is off,” Caine mutters, all flustered.
Greer gives him a dirty look. “So reset it and do it again!”
“Umm, yeah, okay…”
The Destiny trembles with more weapons fire impact.
“Colonel Young? Matt?” comes Eli’s panicked voice over the radio.
“Coming, Eli,” Scott responds and turns to leave.
“Get him the hell out of there,” he points at Caine. “Greer, you make sure it happens!” And he takes off towards the Apple Core at a run.
***
Shrill alarms are blaring as Rush and Young hurry towards the next room. Finally they find another occupied water tank and Young touches the door control. Rush wipes the condensation off the glass.
“It’s her,” he gasps and Young grabs the pipe from him and begins hitting the tank with all his might.
Inside the tank, Chloe awakens from the noise, and Rush notices her eyes widen in shock and fear. He pushes Young aside and places his hand flat against the glass. Chloe struggles in a panic, and Rush knocks on the glass. Finally Chloe looks at him and places her hand against his. He motions for her to back up and she pushes herself away, towards the back of the tank.
Young hits the tank again, and finally the glass cracks, and then with a sudden crash it shatters and the water bursts out, washing Chloe out with it.
Rush signals Young to back off as he bends down to remove her breathing apparatus. Chloe gasps and coughs. He taps her cheek.
“It's okay. It's okay,” he soothes her. “It's okay. It's okay. We have to go. Here.” He helps her up.
She spots Young standing against the far wall and screams in terror.
“Shh,” he tries to calm her, “It’s Colonel Young - he body-switched with one of the aliens.”
He turns to Young. “Do something,” he hisses.
Young waves with both hands, then places them over his eyes, his ears and his mouth.
Rush rolls his eyes. “Come on,” he mutters, pulling Chloe up off the floor.
The ship is rocked by heavy impacts again.
“Where are we going,” Chloe asks, her voice shaky and hoarse.
Rush looks at Young. Young bumps his fists together, then sticks out his spindly arms to the side, moving them up and down.
“Fighter bay,” Rush answers her. He points at Young. “You first. Left, left, right, left, right, two levels down. Got it?”
Young taps his palm with one claw and moves to the door.
Rush pulls Chloe behind himself and picks up the pipe again. Young activates the door controls, and they move quietly, leaving three sets of wet footprints.
***
“Again - nothing.” Caine’s voice is panicked. “I don’t know what else to do!”
Greer turns to the alien. “Shut the fuck up,” he yells, and the alien stops its screaming for a few moments. Greer reaches for the cloth. “Gimme that thing,” he demands and Caine passes the cloth to him. Greer makes quick work of gagging the alien’s mouth, stifling all but the loudest screams.
“All right, you better shut up now or I’ll pop you one, you hear me?”
The alien shirks back and resumes its panicked struggling.
Dunning pokes his head in the door. “Greer, we need you.”
“Well, I can’t leave him alone here,” Greer barks. “Get me a backup, now!”
Dunning ducks back out and returns after a minute with two other marines.
“Keep the guns on him,” he says. “It looks like Colonel Young, but it’s definitely not him. Do not under any circumstances let him go.”
And he follows Dunning to his battle station.
***
They reach the fighter bay unnoticed. They pass several other aliens but Young hisses at them and they hurry on without giving them a second look. Rush walks up to one of the few closed doors.
“This one,” he says and Young moves to open the door.
“Oh no, no, no,” he says, “You are SO not coming with us.”
“We can’t just leave him here,” Chloe protests and Rush grabs her by the arms.
“Chloe, he’ll switch back to his own body as soon as they cut the connection. He’ll be perfectly safe until then.”
Young slaps the door twice.
“Then why haven’t they pulled him back yet,” Chloe insists.
Young mimics picking something from his palm and setting it aside, then waves his claws across his neck.
Chloe turns to Rush. “He says the communication stones aren’t disconnecting,” she pleads, “We have to take him with us!”
Rush shakes his head. “What if he switches back mid-flight?”
Young steps closer and crosses his wrists, tapping them together.
“We tie him up. He wants us to tie him up!”
One tap.
Rush bites his lip as another impact rocks the ship and nearly knocks them off their feet. Young reaches for the controls and the door slides open. Chloe ducks into the small chamber beyond and seconds later she tosses out several sturdy-looking straps.
Young crosses his wrists again and holds them out to Rush.
“I’m going to regret this,” Rush mutters and quickly ties Young’s arms together. Young twists his arms and nods, then holds up a foot.
“No - get in first,” Rush replies, then tosses the straps into the chamber. “Chloe, tie him down in there!”
Young climbs in and settles into one of the narrow chairs. Chloe ties his legs and neck down with a speed that surprises him. By the time he enters the craft Young can’t move at all anymore.
Rush closes the hatch and moves forward, quickly scanning the controls.
“Well, here goes nothing,” he sighs.
And they’re out there, in space.
***
“They’re… they’re retreating,” Scott gapes.
“All of them, except that one,” Greer observes.
Scott shuts the shuttle engines down and they hurry back into the ship.
A grinding noise above them makes them stop in their tracks. Greer aims his gun at the spot in the ceiling where a large sparkling red ring appears. The stench of burning metal wafts down and then the thick disk goes crashing to the floor.
“What in the hell -“ Greer whispers. And then a pair of legs appears in the hole and seconds later Chloe drops down, landing in a heap on top of the hull piece.
“Chloe?”
“Matt,” she shrieks at the top of her lungs and throws herself into his arms, sobbing hysterically.
Greer grins and looks up when a second pair of legs appears, and to his great surprise and shock it’s Rush that comes through.
“Doctor Rush?”
“Yes, yes, it’s me,” he mumbles and tries to get up.
Greer shakes his head. “Colonel Young said you were dead.”
“Oh, did he?” Rush gasps, the breath knocked out of him. “Did he say how it happened?”
“Rock slide,” Greer says.
Rush scoffs. “Well, obviously he was wrong again.”
“He’s still on that ship, looking for Chloe,” Greer grunts, his anger resurfacing.
“Nope. He’s right there.” Rush points up.
“What?”
“Yes. We brought his alien body with us. He’s - a little tied up at the moment, so someone needs to go up there and get him out.”
“Shit.” Greer grabs his radio. “Dunning, James, Marsden, get to the corridor leading to the shuttle. Bring a ladder and rope.”
“On my way,” James’ voice responds.
***
Greer is the first one up into the alien craft.
“Whoa,” he drawls, “That is one ugly motherfucker you brought back.”
Young makes clicking noises and nods his head.
“Is that you, Colonel?”
Young nods again and taps a claw onto the armrest.
“One means yes,” Greer remembers. “Jeez, I’m sorry, Colonel. Are you okay?”
One tap.
“All right. I’m gonna untie you. You’re gonna jump down through that hole and then James is gonna tie you right back up. Ready, Sir?”
One tap.
It takes him a while to undo Chloe’s non-standard knots and he swears softly under his breath, but at last Young is free. He raises his hand to his temple and Greer smiles broadly, returning the salute. Young lowers himself gingerly through the hole and drops to the floor where James stands ready with several ropes.
“Sir,” she says, her eyes large and a little frightened.
Young holds his arms out to her, crossing them at the wrists. James takes a deep breath and quickly ties them together, while Dunning shudders and ties his ankles with a short length of rope between them.
“Good god,” Scott whispers, holding Chloe tightly against him.
“It’s him,” Chloe sniffles. “What happened with the stones?”
Scott shrugs. “Nobody seems to know. They can’t sever the connection.”
“So one of the aliens is still in his body?”
“Yep.”
She shivers in his arms as they watch them lead the spindly alien away, several guns trained on him.
“Come on, let’s get you into some dry clothes. You, too, doc. TJ should look at both of you first.”
He accompanies them to the infirmary.
TJ is overjoyed to see them and soon they are on their way to their quarters.
Young is led to an empty room and strapped to a chair again.
***
( part 2)
( part 3)
( part 4)
( part 5)
( part 6)