FIC: "Ride Out The Storm" 1/1 (Karl Urban/Orlando Bloom/Sean Bean)
Title: "Ride Out The Storm" 1/1
Author: Brenda (azewewish)
Pairing: Karl Urban/Orlando Bloom/Sean Bean (Christina Hendricks/Viggo Mortensen)
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I only own the plot, not the people involved.
Summary: Orlando makes the discovery of a lifetime.
Set in the same universe as Transmissions Will Resume and Breach The Outer Sphere. Dystopian AU.
Notes: I'm pretty sure I started writing this as a birthday gift for giselleslash, but I owe everyone so many fics it's hard to remember. *g*
Title taken from "Unnatural Selection" by Muse.
The faded wooden sign for The Last Outpost Bar and Filling Station was the most welcome sight Orlando had seen in the last hundred clicks. He held his breath as the jeep jolted and creaked ominously across the bumpy, sandy road, and the rust-colored, squat, L-shaped building and pumps came into view. Heavily armed guards were at the shield wall, alert to any threat, blasters and plasma cannons at the ready. This may be neutral territory, where neither the Coalition nor the Nannies or Iron Junkies held sway, but the Nightstalkers cared nothing for treaties when there was a profit to be made, and there were always rogue bands roaming the lands, eager to exploit the weak for valuable materials. Here in the Barren Lands, one careless moment was tantamount to committing suicide.
"Five minutes," Viggo told Orlando, voice muffled and tinny from behind his mask, and cast a quick glance at the small rectangular box in Orlando's lap. His hands were steady at the wheel. "Billy's already radioed Bean and Urban, told them to rendezvous with us here instead of North Hollos."
Orlando gave a thumbs up in lieu of a verbal thanks, and caressed the top of the box. The guards waved them through after conducting the usual DNA scan, but Orlando knew he wouldn't truly be able to relax until he had Sean and Karl with him. He could only hope that they made good time out of the hills, and that the main road through the lowlands was still open.
Viggo cut the engine when they got to the pumps, and they both climbed out of the jeep, wasting no time in yanking off their helmets and oxygen masks. Orlando took a deep breath of stale, recycled air, thankful that the generators at the station were still in working order. Viggo curled his hands around the collar of his Kevlar vest, surveyed the blaster damage to the jeep with a dispassionate gaze. "Gonna need a new redactor-coil before we attempt the trip back across the Westlands," he observed. "We're lucky she made it this far."
Orlando nodded. The box was carefully cradled under one arm. "Barter with Christina for what we need." Then he nudged Viggo's elbow with his own, determined to change the subject. They'd come far too close to disaster for his peace of mind. "Is she still not giving you a discount?"
Viggo scoffed, the sound richly amused. "My lady is far too mercenary for discounts. Now bribes, on the other hand, those she'll accept."
"Well, see to it that you bribe her to her satisfaction," Orlando grinned, thankful Viggo had taken the hint. "The place is heavily fortressed, but it's not the compound. We need to get back there before anyone gets wind of what we have."
"I'll manage something," Viggo replied, and clapped a hand on Orlando's shoulder. "Come on, I'll feel safer with you inside and out of sight. Billy and the others should be right behind us." Indeed, Orlando could make out the familiar shapes of the other Jeeps, dust kicking up as they lumbered towards the clear wall.
He and Viggo stepped inside the bar, squinting as their eyes adjusted to the brightly-lit room. The walls were painted a cheerful light shade of blue (Sean and Karl had told him stories about the sky in the days before the Wars, how the color had been even more brilliant than the walls, and he wished, not for the first time, that he'd been able to see such a sight for himself) and the tables and chairs were beat up and scarred, but kept in good condition. There were a few patrons scattered throughout the tables and booths â convoys passing through or mercenaries taking a rest on their routes between the compounds â but the bar running along the back wall was empty except for Christina, the proprietor of The Last Outpost, who glanced up with a smile as they came into view.
"About time you two got here," she said, when they got close enough.
"Ran into a little trouble near Angelos," Viggo replied, then leaned in, meeting Christina halfway for a kiss of welcome.
When they parted, Orlando took a few moments to study Christina. She was still stunningly gorgeous, with an hourglass figure that was poured into a pair of black BDU pants and an olive green tank top, her signature flame-red hair piled high on her head in a loose bun. She had a wide, expressive face, with flashing blue eyes, and a generous mouth that always seemed permanently curved in a smile, like she was in on a joke that the rest of the world couldn't hear.
Everyone, that was, except possibly for Viggo. They'd met on a routine scouting mission about five years ago, thereabouts, and the sparks between them had been instantaneous, to hear everyone who'd been there that day tell it. They both claimed they still revered their freedom too much to make their arrangement permanent, but Orlando expected that, sooner or later, Viggo would leave the squad and the compound and take up residence at the Outpost.
"Any word from Sean and Karl?" Orlando asked, setting the box gingerly on the bar as he took a seat.
"Not yet, hon," Christina replied. "Once they know you're here, I expect they'll be along soon enough." Then she wagged a finger between him and Viggo. "Drink?"
"Tube of soy pop if you've got any," Orlando replied.
"Just got a case two days ago from one of my regular mercs," Christina replied with a smile as she set the tube on the counter. "How about you, lover?"
"Nothing for me," Viggo said, regretfully. "Others should be pulling up and someone's gotta get 'em sorted."
Christina lifted an eyebrow at Orlando. "Thought that was your job as squad leader?"
Orlando gently tapped the lid. "Normally it is but I can't let this out of my sight until Sean and Karl get here."
"You'll be alright?" Viggo asked.
"I'll be fine."
Christina patted at the blaster on her hip. "I've got his back, don't worry."
"Never, not with your aim," Viggo grinned, and gave her another quick kiss before leaving them to go back outside.
Orlando nodded towards the back. "I'm gonna take a table facing the door, if you don't mind."
Christina grabbed his soy pop and another for tube for herself. "I'll join you. Not a lot requiring my attention at the moment."
They passed the time catching each other up on news â Orlando told her of the goings-on inside the compound, and Christina told him what she'd heard from the convoys and mercs passing through her doors. Friendly chitchat, something to keep his mind off the mission and the box at the table. He was grateful for the distraction.
But when the door opened again about twenty minutes later, Orlando knew, even before he saw them, that it was Sean and Karl. He released the breath he hadn't been aware he was holding, and stood.
They were certainly a sight for sore eyes â both dressed in their usual field uniforms, plasma rifles slung across their shoulders. They were both of similar size, Karl with a little more height and muscle, but both were in peak physical condition, honed by years of training and fighting. Sean had the more angular face, set off by brilliant green eyes and short, baby-fine blond hair, whereas Karl's handsomeness was more rugged, with dark hair and an imposing physique that housed the most open and generous heart Orlando had ever known. Orlando didn't want to think about what his life would have been like if they hadn't found him all those years ago â given him shelter and a home and so much unconditional love that he was still humbled and awed by its presence. Everything he was â everything he would be â was because of them.
Karl broke into a wide, relieved smile the second he spotted Orlando and Christina, and he made a beeline towards their table. Orlando stood, accepted Karl's bone-crushing hug and returned it just as tightly. In their world, safety was as obsolete as the birds, and every day they left the compound for patrol, Orlando knew he could lose them both. Which made every reunion a miracle and a cause for celebration.
Sean's slightly more subdued hug was next, and after they parted, Orlando allowed Sean to check him for injuries without protest. Not that it would matter if he did â Sean would still check over him, anyway.
"Satisfied?" he asked, when Sean gave a succinct nod.
"For now," Sean replied, unrepentant and not bothering to hide it.
"Billy said it was urgent," Karl said.
Orlando nodded, and gestured at them to have a seat. Christina stood just as they did. "I'll go check on Viggo, give you three some time."
"Appreciate it," Sean replied, with a small smile that she returned.
Karl waited until she'd headed out the door before speaking. "What've you got?"
In answer, Orlando just lifted the lid. Their reactions â disbelief and hope warring side by side â were exactly as he'd expected. He was sure, if anyone had been recording him when he'd first made the discovery, that he'd had the same look on his face.
"You know what this means?" Orlando asked, unable to keep the excitement from creeping into his voice as he watched them. "There's life out beyond Empirio. I think we've been looking in the wrong place."
Sean's eyes were still wide when they met Orlando's. "Where did you find this?"
"In the brush. This isn't the only one."
"There were more?" Karl asked, in an awed voice.
"Viggo can back me up."
Karl shook his head. "I trust you always, you know that."
"And I you." They shared a smile before Orlando turned his attention back to Sean. "This is big, love. Worth exploring."
"Agreed, but not on your own." Sean pointed a finger at the box. "And we need to get that back to the compound so the tech-heads can have a look at it, run all of their tests to make sure what we're dealing with is real and not some crazy experiment or a replica."
"Agreed, but we've got a busted jeep, and no way am I leaving Viggo here on his own if the Nightstalkers come sniffing around. And you know they will," Orlando added. "We were careful out there, but we got spotted and hit coming out of the Pass. They'll be along to finish the job, probably before nightfall. I'd rather not be here when they do."
No place was foolproof, but the solid and protective walls of the compound were much easier to defend than the Outpost.
"Then we load you and Viggo with us and high-tail it back to the compound," Karl interjected. "I can handle losing a jeep. But I'm not losing you."
"We can take a day or two to regroup, then head out with a squad, maybe radio Bana for some backup," Sean added. "And we'll be with you this time."
"I'm not gonna lie and say I'll be fine without you two there," Orlando replied, not even bothering to hide his relieved sigh. "Besides, you'd both just call me on it."
"Too right we would," Karl said, and lifted Orlando's hand to graze a quick kiss across his knuckles.
"You're the one who left our squad, not the other way around," Sean pointed out.
"I'm a damn good scout."
"You're a marvel, no one's disputing it. But striking out on your own was still your idea." Sean's gaze flickered to Karl, then back to Orlando. "Whenever you want to rejoin us..."
"You worry too much about me when I go out on patrol with you."
"We worry about you anyway," Karl stated. "Just as you worry about us."
"I'm certainly not going to apologize for wanting to keep an eye on you both," Sean said.
Orlando waggled his eyebrows. "Just admit you like looking at our asses in cammo pants."
Karl's laugh was a welcome sound, and it crinkled the corners of his eyes delightfully. To Orlando, Karl was always beautiful, but he definitely looked his best when he smiled. "If Sean won't, I don't mind admitting it."
"You two are incorrigible."
"Which is precisely why you love us," Orlando replied, and nudged Sean until Sean scraped his chair closer and draped an arm across Orlando's shoulders. Orlando held out his hand, and Karl took it, lacing their fingers together.
Their life may be a harsh one, filled with pitfalls and strife, Orlando thought, with the odds stacked against them at every turn, but they had hope and they had each other. They had all of the important things covered.
***
Author: Brenda (azewewish)
Pairing: Karl Urban/Orlando Bloom/Sean Bean (Christina Hendricks/Viggo Mortensen)
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I only own the plot, not the people involved.
Summary: Orlando makes the discovery of a lifetime.
Set in the same universe as Transmissions Will Resume and Breach The Outer Sphere. Dystopian AU.
Notes: I'm pretty sure I started writing this as a birthday gift for giselleslash, but I owe everyone so many fics it's hard to remember. *g*
Title taken from "Unnatural Selection" by Muse.
The faded wooden sign for The Last Outpost Bar and Filling Station was the most welcome sight Orlando had seen in the last hundred clicks. He held his breath as the jeep jolted and creaked ominously across the bumpy, sandy road, and the rust-colored, squat, L-shaped building and pumps came into view. Heavily armed guards were at the shield wall, alert to any threat, blasters and plasma cannons at the ready. This may be neutral territory, where neither the Coalition nor the Nannies or Iron Junkies held sway, but the Nightstalkers cared nothing for treaties when there was a profit to be made, and there were always rogue bands roaming the lands, eager to exploit the weak for valuable materials. Here in the Barren Lands, one careless moment was tantamount to committing suicide.
"Five minutes," Viggo told Orlando, voice muffled and tinny from behind his mask, and cast a quick glance at the small rectangular box in Orlando's lap. His hands were steady at the wheel. "Billy's already radioed Bean and Urban, told them to rendezvous with us here instead of North Hollos."
Orlando gave a thumbs up in lieu of a verbal thanks, and caressed the top of the box. The guards waved them through after conducting the usual DNA scan, but Orlando knew he wouldn't truly be able to relax until he had Sean and Karl with him. He could only hope that they made good time out of the hills, and that the main road through the lowlands was still open.
Viggo cut the engine when they got to the pumps, and they both climbed out of the jeep, wasting no time in yanking off their helmets and oxygen masks. Orlando took a deep breath of stale, recycled air, thankful that the generators at the station were still in working order. Viggo curled his hands around the collar of his Kevlar vest, surveyed the blaster damage to the jeep with a dispassionate gaze. "Gonna need a new redactor-coil before we attempt the trip back across the Westlands," he observed. "We're lucky she made it this far."
Orlando nodded. The box was carefully cradled under one arm. "Barter with Christina for what we need." Then he nudged Viggo's elbow with his own, determined to change the subject. They'd come far too close to disaster for his peace of mind. "Is she still not giving you a discount?"
Viggo scoffed, the sound richly amused. "My lady is far too mercenary for discounts. Now bribes, on the other hand, those she'll accept."
"Well, see to it that you bribe her to her satisfaction," Orlando grinned, thankful Viggo had taken the hint. "The place is heavily fortressed, but it's not the compound. We need to get back there before anyone gets wind of what we have."
"I'll manage something," Viggo replied, and clapped a hand on Orlando's shoulder. "Come on, I'll feel safer with you inside and out of sight. Billy and the others should be right behind us." Indeed, Orlando could make out the familiar shapes of the other Jeeps, dust kicking up as they lumbered towards the clear wall.
He and Viggo stepped inside the bar, squinting as their eyes adjusted to the brightly-lit room. The walls were painted a cheerful light shade of blue (Sean and Karl had told him stories about the sky in the days before the Wars, how the color had been even more brilliant than the walls, and he wished, not for the first time, that he'd been able to see such a sight for himself) and the tables and chairs were beat up and scarred, but kept in good condition. There were a few patrons scattered throughout the tables and booths â convoys passing through or mercenaries taking a rest on their routes between the compounds â but the bar running along the back wall was empty except for Christina, the proprietor of The Last Outpost, who glanced up with a smile as they came into view.
"About time you two got here," she said, when they got close enough.
"Ran into a little trouble near Angelos," Viggo replied, then leaned in, meeting Christina halfway for a kiss of welcome.
When they parted, Orlando took a few moments to study Christina. She was still stunningly gorgeous, with an hourglass figure that was poured into a pair of black BDU pants and an olive green tank top, her signature flame-red hair piled high on her head in a loose bun. She had a wide, expressive face, with flashing blue eyes, and a generous mouth that always seemed permanently curved in a smile, like she was in on a joke that the rest of the world couldn't hear.
Everyone, that was, except possibly for Viggo. They'd met on a routine scouting mission about five years ago, thereabouts, and the sparks between them had been instantaneous, to hear everyone who'd been there that day tell it. They both claimed they still revered their freedom too much to make their arrangement permanent, but Orlando expected that, sooner or later, Viggo would leave the squad and the compound and take up residence at the Outpost.
"Any word from Sean and Karl?" Orlando asked, setting the box gingerly on the bar as he took a seat.
"Not yet, hon," Christina replied. "Once they know you're here, I expect they'll be along soon enough." Then she wagged a finger between him and Viggo. "Drink?"
"Tube of soy pop if you've got any," Orlando replied.
"Just got a case two days ago from one of my regular mercs," Christina replied with a smile as she set the tube on the counter. "How about you, lover?"
"Nothing for me," Viggo said, regretfully. "Others should be pulling up and someone's gotta get 'em sorted."
Christina lifted an eyebrow at Orlando. "Thought that was your job as squad leader?"
Orlando gently tapped the lid. "Normally it is but I can't let this out of my sight until Sean and Karl get here."
"You'll be alright?" Viggo asked.
"I'll be fine."
Christina patted at the blaster on her hip. "I've got his back, don't worry."
"Never, not with your aim," Viggo grinned, and gave her another quick kiss before leaving them to go back outside.
Orlando nodded towards the back. "I'm gonna take a table facing the door, if you don't mind."
Christina grabbed his soy pop and another for tube for herself. "I'll join you. Not a lot requiring my attention at the moment."
They passed the time catching each other up on news â Orlando told her of the goings-on inside the compound, and Christina told him what she'd heard from the convoys and mercs passing through her doors. Friendly chitchat, something to keep his mind off the mission and the box at the table. He was grateful for the distraction.
But when the door opened again about twenty minutes later, Orlando knew, even before he saw them, that it was Sean and Karl. He released the breath he hadn't been aware he was holding, and stood.
They were certainly a sight for sore eyes â both dressed in their usual field uniforms, plasma rifles slung across their shoulders. They were both of similar size, Karl with a little more height and muscle, but both were in peak physical condition, honed by years of training and fighting. Sean had the more angular face, set off by brilliant green eyes and short, baby-fine blond hair, whereas Karl's handsomeness was more rugged, with dark hair and an imposing physique that housed the most open and generous heart Orlando had ever known. Orlando didn't want to think about what his life would have been like if they hadn't found him all those years ago â given him shelter and a home and so much unconditional love that he was still humbled and awed by its presence. Everything he was â everything he would be â was because of them.
Karl broke into a wide, relieved smile the second he spotted Orlando and Christina, and he made a beeline towards their table. Orlando stood, accepted Karl's bone-crushing hug and returned it just as tightly. In their world, safety was as obsolete as the birds, and every day they left the compound for patrol, Orlando knew he could lose them both. Which made every reunion a miracle and a cause for celebration.
Sean's slightly more subdued hug was next, and after they parted, Orlando allowed Sean to check him for injuries without protest. Not that it would matter if he did â Sean would still check over him, anyway.
"Satisfied?" he asked, when Sean gave a succinct nod.
"For now," Sean replied, unrepentant and not bothering to hide it.
"Billy said it was urgent," Karl said.
Orlando nodded, and gestured at them to have a seat. Christina stood just as they did. "I'll go check on Viggo, give you three some time."
"Appreciate it," Sean replied, with a small smile that she returned.
Karl waited until she'd headed out the door before speaking. "What've you got?"
In answer, Orlando just lifted the lid. Their reactions â disbelief and hope warring side by side â were exactly as he'd expected. He was sure, if anyone had been recording him when he'd first made the discovery, that he'd had the same look on his face.
"You know what this means?" Orlando asked, unable to keep the excitement from creeping into his voice as he watched them. "There's life out beyond Empirio. I think we've been looking in the wrong place."
Sean's eyes were still wide when they met Orlando's. "Where did you find this?"
"In the brush. This isn't the only one."
"There were more?" Karl asked, in an awed voice.
"Viggo can back me up."
Karl shook his head. "I trust you always, you know that."
"And I you." They shared a smile before Orlando turned his attention back to Sean. "This is big, love. Worth exploring."
"Agreed, but not on your own." Sean pointed a finger at the box. "And we need to get that back to the compound so the tech-heads can have a look at it, run all of their tests to make sure what we're dealing with is real and not some crazy experiment or a replica."
"Agreed, but we've got a busted jeep, and no way am I leaving Viggo here on his own if the Nightstalkers come sniffing around. And you know they will," Orlando added. "We were careful out there, but we got spotted and hit coming out of the Pass. They'll be along to finish the job, probably before nightfall. I'd rather not be here when they do."
No place was foolproof, but the solid and protective walls of the compound were much easier to defend than the Outpost.
"Then we load you and Viggo with us and high-tail it back to the compound," Karl interjected. "I can handle losing a jeep. But I'm not losing you."
"We can take a day or two to regroup, then head out with a squad, maybe radio Bana for some backup," Sean added. "And we'll be with you this time."
"I'm not gonna lie and say I'll be fine without you two there," Orlando replied, not even bothering to hide his relieved sigh. "Besides, you'd both just call me on it."
"Too right we would," Karl said, and lifted Orlando's hand to graze a quick kiss across his knuckles.
"You're the one who left our squad, not the other way around," Sean pointed out.
"I'm a damn good scout."
"You're a marvel, no one's disputing it. But striking out on your own was still your idea." Sean's gaze flickered to Karl, then back to Orlando. "Whenever you want to rejoin us..."
"You worry too much about me when I go out on patrol with you."
"We worry about you anyway," Karl stated. "Just as you worry about us."
"I'm certainly not going to apologize for wanting to keep an eye on you both," Sean said.
Orlando waggled his eyebrows. "Just admit you like looking at our asses in cammo pants."
Karl's laugh was a welcome sound, and it crinkled the corners of his eyes delightfully. To Orlando, Karl was always beautiful, but he definitely looked his best when he smiled. "If Sean won't, I don't mind admitting it."
"You two are incorrigible."
"Which is precisely why you love us," Orlando replied, and nudged Sean until Sean scraped his chair closer and draped an arm across Orlando's shoulders. Orlando held out his hand, and Karl took it, lacing their fingers together.
Their life may be a harsh one, filled with pitfalls and strife, Orlando thought, with the odds stacked against them at every turn, but they had hope and they had each other. They had all of the important things covered.
***