Shedding Light on the Past
Title: Shedding Light on the Past
Author: fullmetal_cute
Fandom: Space Cases
Table/Prompt: Table 2/10. Light
Character/Pairing: Radu, Harlan
Rating: PG
Word Count: 499
Summary: Why does Radu put up with Harlan, anyway?
Authors Notes/Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did, Space Cases would have gotten a real ending.
Radu tapped lightly on the bunk room bulkhead, drawing Harlan’s attention to him. The human pulled his lips back in a snarl. “What?”
Radu slipped all the way inside, letting the door shut. “Today is an important day for me,” he said.
“Don’t care,” Harlan snapped, being even more terse than usual as he got to his feet. Radu reached out and pushed him back onto the bunk.
“Shut up and listen.” The Andromidan sat down, lacing his fingers together. “I was very young when the war was coming to an end. The hatchery was still under Spung control, and all I knew was the older children were being taken away in greater and greater numbers, until there was just my group and the unhatched eggs. Even most of the caretakers had been taken away by then, to fight in the war.
“Then the humans came. All my life, there were two threats used by our caretakers to keep us in line; the Spung and the Humans. Can you imagine what it was like, Harlan? To be suddenly confronted with the boogyman in great numbers? With weapons? And these humans… I think they were as scared of us as we were of them… except for one.” Radu watched Harlan’s face as he spoke. “He treated us like children instead of potential enemies He told us stories, and he played with us, and he gave us candy. I’d never tasted anything like it before.” Radu smiled slightly at the memory. He could almost taste the little treat, even though it had been eaten years ago.
“He appointed me his liaison with the others. He said I reminded him of his son back on Earth. He told me all about him, and how badly he missed him.”
Radu closed his eyes, picturing the memories has he kept talking. “The humans had us for a week before the Spung tried to retake the hatchery. They sent Andromidans in, with bombs wired to them to make sure nobody would ever get anything from the place. The Spungs were perfectly willing to destroy the hatchery and everyone in it to take out the humans. The humans… The battle was fierce and awful and many of them died saving us. He died.”
Radu took a deep breath as Harlan watched him with growing comprehension. “My dad?”
“I promised myself that I would find his son, that I would tell him how great a hero his father was, and that I would pledge my allegiance to him in his father’s honor.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before now?” Harlan demanded to know.
“Would you have listened to me before now?” Radu asked in reply.
Author: fullmetal_cute
Fandom: Space Cases
Table/Prompt: Table 2/10. Light
Character/Pairing: Radu, Harlan
Rating: PG
Word Count: 499
Summary: Why does Radu put up with Harlan, anyway?
Authors Notes/Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did, Space Cases would have gotten a real ending.
Radu tapped lightly on the bunk room bulkhead, drawing Harlan’s attention to him. The human pulled his lips back in a snarl. “What?”
Radu slipped all the way inside, letting the door shut. “Today is an important day for me,” he said.
“Don’t care,” Harlan snapped, being even more terse than usual as he got to his feet. Radu reached out and pushed him back onto the bunk.
“Shut up and listen.” The Andromidan sat down, lacing his fingers together. “I was very young when the war was coming to an end. The hatchery was still under Spung control, and all I knew was the older children were being taken away in greater and greater numbers, until there was just my group and the unhatched eggs. Even most of the caretakers had been taken away by then, to fight in the war.
“Then the humans came. All my life, there were two threats used by our caretakers to keep us in line; the Spung and the Humans. Can you imagine what it was like, Harlan? To be suddenly confronted with the boogyman in great numbers? With weapons? And these humans… I think they were as scared of us as we were of them… except for one.” Radu watched Harlan’s face as he spoke. “He treated us like children instead of potential enemies He told us stories, and he played with us, and he gave us candy. I’d never tasted anything like it before.” Radu smiled slightly at the memory. He could almost taste the little treat, even though it had been eaten years ago.
“He appointed me his liaison with the others. He said I reminded him of his son back on Earth. He told me all about him, and how badly he missed him.”
Radu closed his eyes, picturing the memories has he kept talking. “The humans had us for a week before the Spung tried to retake the hatchery. They sent Andromidans in, with bombs wired to them to make sure nobody would ever get anything from the place. The Spungs were perfectly willing to destroy the hatchery and everyone in it to take out the humans. The humans… The battle was fierce and awful and many of them died saving us. He died.”
Radu took a deep breath as Harlan watched him with growing comprehension. “My dad?”
“I promised myself that I would find his son, that I would tell him how great a hero his father was, and that I would pledge my allegiance to him in his father’s honor.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before now?” Harlan demanded to know.
“Would you have listened to me before now?” Radu asked in reply.