History is Written by the Victor - Part 6
History is Written by the Victor
Rating: NC-17 (overall)
Pairings: Jensen/Jared, Chris/Steve, Tom/Mike
Category: M/M, AU, Futuristic (i.e. it is set in space!)
Summary: The Core planets have declared war on the Rim planets. When Captain Ackles and his squadron are taken prisoner by the enemy, their jailer turns out to be a young man called Jared. What will Jared do when Jensen's interrogation begins?
http://lady-krystal-79.livejournal.com/24424.html
Part Six
“They’re asking questions. It’s only so long until they work out what we did.” A low, worried voice whispered.
“If you know what is good for you, you’ll keep me out of it. Understood?” Another voice, sharp and confident, hissed in response.
“I’m not taking the fall for you!”
“Oh, yes you will. Otherwise we’ll find out how that family of yours does without work or a home...”
“You b...”
“Uh uh uh. Language. Now, do we understand each other?”
“...Yes.”
“Excellent. I have another job for you...”
***
“Jensen! Jared!” The loud shout carried over the crowds of people swarming about the little cafe where the two men were sitting, causing both to turn and then smile when they recognised the man coming their way.
“Hey, Doc!” Jensen greeted warmly and gestured at the spare seat at their table. “Why don’t you join us?”
“I can’t. I was just on my way home.” Beaver returned their smile. “When I saw you here, I wanted to come over and say goodbye.”
“So you’ve decided to leave us?” Jared asked, a little sad to think he may never see the gruff older man again.
“Nope. Your Commander was good enough to give me a little more time to talk it over with my wife. We were never given a choice before, and I don’t have any idea how she feels about it.” He explained, shrugging a little.
“That’s good, Doc. I hate to see you go, but we’ve all had enough of this war to not begrudge you your chance to get out of it.” Jensen told him seriously. And the truth of his words was there in his eyes. Jensen was tired of fighting, tired of struggling, tired of it all. Beaver squeezed his shoulder in understanding.
“You’re a good man, Captain. If I don’t come back...well, you know where to find me.” The doctor seemed to be slightly embarrassed with his offer, so Jensen and Jared both just nodded their thanks and shook his hand.
“See you ’round, Doc.” Jared added.
After that, Beaver left and the two men returned to the very important business of enjoying the luxury of real coffee. Jared had taken one look at the prices on the menu and prepared to leave. He had then taken a look at Jensen’s excited face and prepared to starve for the next month. Coffee was a high demand, low supply item and was priced accordingly. Jensen had heard a loud whirring sound from within the cafe and his eyes had glazed over. “Oh, man. It’s real real coffee. They’re actually grinding the beans on the premises!” Jared hadn’t had the heart to say anything. They had only just ordered - Jared with his heart in his throat - when Doc Beaver had called out, but now their drinks had arrived. Jensen leaned close and took a deep breath, sighing in pleasure. Jared had to admit, it did smell amazing; nothing like the sterile, coffee flavoured beverages they received on board. Jensen took a sip and whimpered the way he had in the throes of pleasure, causing Jared to almost choke on his own. At Jared’s raised eyebrow, Jensen blushed.
“Did I mention that we farmed coffee?” Jared shook his head, surprised. “Not commercially or anything, just enough for our family and friends. I might be a little bit...addicted?”
Jared snorted in amusement. “A little? Geez, Jen, I have a feeling you’d sell me for a cup!”
“Hmmm, you’re pretty big. Maybe more than one cup...” Jensen pretended to consider until Jared smacked him lightly on the arm and gave him hurt puppy eyes. “Okay, okay. I wouldn’t sell you for coffee.” Then, much more softly, he added, “Or anything else.”
“Glad to hear it.” Jared answered just as softly. “’Cause I wouldn’t give you up for anything either.”
They shared a pleased smile and then Jensen’s whole attention became devoted to the strong, dark drink before him. Jared sat back, amused, and paced himself. If he was going to throw away a chunk of currency, he was going to enjoy it, damn it. Eventually Jensen returned to the here and now, a sheepish little smile on his face, and he determined to be better company. “So, you know all about me and my life now. As I recall, you had a story to tell as well...”
Jared sighed, looking out into the crowd for a moment as he gathered his thoughts, before looking back to Jensen. “Yeah, I owe you that, I guess.”
“You don’t have to.” Jensen told him, but Jared could see that it had hurt the older man. Jared grabbed his hand and tried to make him understand.
“No, Jen, it’s not like that. I just...I want to tell you, but it’s not a happy tale. It’s hard for me to dredge it all up again.”
Jensen gripped Jared’s hand tight in his own. “You don’t have to tell me everything, Jay. Just tell me what you can.”
“Well, it all starts out fine enough. I also grew up in a farming community with an older brother and a younger sister.” Jensen made a surprised sound. Jared huffed out a breath of laughter. “Yeah, I know, what are the odds, huh? I was surprised too when you mentioned it. I guess the only difference is you were Inner Rim and I was Outer Core. We attended all the best schools and heard all the Core propaganda, but our parents didn’t believe it. We were close enough to the Inner Rim planets to have had dealings with them, and what they saw out there didn’t sit right with them. Why, they used to ask, should all the food grown in the Rim be shipped to the Core? There were enough farming planets in the Core to provide for those that weren’t cultivatable. Who had decided that the people who had chosen to live further out in the galaxy were uncivilized, uneducated and unimportant?”
“That wouldn’t have been popular with the Government.” Jensen offered.
Jared gave a harsh, unamused bark of laughter. “No. No it wasn’t. But many on our world felt the same. When the Core decreed that they were increasing the shipments to eighty percent of all farmed produce, they were horrified. There was just as many, if not more, people in the Rim as there were in the Core. How were they going to survive on a fraction of the food they needed? How could the Core justify taking the food out of the mouths of those who produced it?” Jared gave Jensen a heart broken look. “We thought we could make a difference. We thought we could help. We picketed the Government offices. We signed petitions and boycotted imported foods. We thought if we made enough commotion, then others might listen and join us in trying to right this wrong. Well, we were heard.”
“Jared.” Jensen gripped Jared’s hand. “You’re from...”
“Ieress.” Jared broke in, his voice wavering. “The Government saw us as a threat. They ‘neutralised a great threat to the stability of our community’.” The propaganda was bitter in his mouth. “Neutralised! They terraformed the whole damn planet! Anyone on world, anyone without transport immediately at hand, died; choking on air that the Government had deliberately made toxic. They were killed...everyone I knew...my whole family...” He stopped, the tears falling unheeded down his face.
“I’m so sorry. Jared...I’m sorry.” Jensen felt helpless. He knew the words were inadequate, but what exactly did you say to a person who had literally lost his whole world?
Jared shook his head like he was trying to shake away the memories, and he wiped at the wetness on his face. “We knew it was dangerous. We knew the Core was growing more and more totalitarian. But we never imagined...” He shook his head again. “I was one of the lucky few to survive. I was off world at the time; getting last instructions from my teachers for our graduation. I tried to contact my parents to confirm that they were coming, but I couldn’t get through. I found out what had happened the next morning and I think I might have gone into shock; I went through the motions, I even graduated, and all the time I kept wondering what could have kept my parents from making it...”
“Jare.” Jensen was still clinging to Jared’s hand, trying to let him know he was there and that he felt deeply for all he had suffered. Jared looked at him, his eyes dark, but no longer crying.
“It took me a little while, but I pulled myself together. I moved to a Rim planet and got work as a manual labourer on a farm. We got reports, daily, of the Core’s attempts to squash any uprisings. When we heard that the Government had abandoned the Rim, claiming it was too volatile, we thought that would be the end of it; no more taking what didn’t belong to them. Instead, they enlisted people from throughout the Core, increasing the size of their fighting forces, and taught them that it was their duty to appropriate the food stores of the greedy Rim planets who wanted to keep it all for themselves.” Jared gave another bitter laugh. “The farm where I worked was hit early in the conflict, and the owner was killed, leaving his wife and two daughters to run it. When the Rim planets joined together and sent out a call for anyone willing to fight, they encouraged me to go. They said they would rather I go out there and fight to protect them than stay to help them manually. So, I joined the Rim forces. I had only just completed training when Commander Morgan came to me with a proposal for an undercover mission. I accepted. I wanted to hit back at the Core, take them out from within.”
“Yet you came back, and you’re staying. For me.” Jensen was ashamed. He had no right to ask that of Jared.
Jared kept Jensen’s hand when the other man would have pulled away, and smiled a little. “Jen, revenge can only burn in you for so long before it hollows you out. When I joined them, I realised that most of those people are just doing what they’re told, believing what they’ve been taught because they always have. They aren’t bad, or evil, just misinformed. Sure, those in charge know exactly what is going on, but most of the people have no idea. So, I stopped dreaming of revenge and concentrated on helping our side to victory so we could do what my parents had been trying to do all along; right the wrongs.”
“You are an incredibly good person, Jay.” Jensen leaned over and brushed a kiss across Jared’s lips. “Don’t let anything or anyone change you.”
Jared didn’t get a chance to answer as a young runner arrived at their table. “Captain Ackles?” Jensen nodded. “Captain, the Commander has requested that you meet him in his office ASAP.”
Jensen frowned; all but a skeleton crew were on leave for the next three days. “Did he say what it was about?”
“No, sir.” The answer wasn’t a surprise, really. Morgan wouldn’t have entrusted a runner with information that was important enough to call Jensen back from on planet.
“Alright. I’m on my way.” The runner saluted quickly and then disappeared back into the crowds of people surrounding the cafe and most of the streets in the entertainment quarter of the city. Jensen sighed and looked at Jared. “Sorry, Jay. Looks like you’ll have to spend exorbitant amounts of currency without me.”
“I think I blew the budget on the coffee.” Jared teased, but went on more seriously. “I’ll come with you.”
“You don’t have to do that. It’ll be boring.” But there was a soft pleasure in Jensen’s eyes that melted Jared’s heart.
“It won’t be boring if we’re both there.” He gave a wicked smile. “Maybe we can sneak back into Morgan’s office when he’s not there and find out how sturdy that ancient desk really is...”
Jensen looked suitably shocked - and turned on - by the idea, and Jared just grinned wider. Finally, Jensen shook his head as though clearing it and called the waiter over in the local dialect. Jared had discovered that Jensen spoke several dialects almost as fluently as he spoke Standard, and that it was hotter than Jared would have thought. He didn’t realise what was going on until Jensen handed over his currency chip for the waiter to scan and the man walked away, apparently satisfied. Jensen stood up. “Come on. We’d better get a move on.”
“Wait. Let me pay you before I forget.”
“No.” Jensen told him. “It’s my treat. Consider it...a belated ’sorry I was a jerk, thank you for forgiving me’ present.”
“Jensen.” Jared made an exasperated noise. “You know that isn’t necessary...”
“But I want to. Please? Don’t make a fuss?”
Jared grumbled a little under his breath, but followed Jensen out of the cafe. Jensen gave him a bright smile, and Jared couldn’t help but return it. They headed out of the city side by side.
***
“Commander?” Jeff looked up to see Mike at his door.
“Lieutenant? What are you doing here? You should be on planet.”
Mike gave a half smile. “Tom didn’t feel like battling the hordes, so we stayed on board. He’s practicing his swing.”
Jeff laughed at Mike’s scowl. He knew how much Mike hated golf, especially when it took his boyfriend’s attention away from him. “Okay. What brings you here, though?”
“I decided to do some more digging into our...problem.” Jeff sat up, giving the other man his full alertness.
“And?”
“And I found something.”
“Come in. Shut the door. Tell me what you’ve got.”
***
Jensen and Jared had barely left the bustling, busy entertainment quarter when they were set upon by a group of masked, armed men. Jensen remained calm, offering to hand over his currency chip, but the response was dark, nasty laughter. Jared stood beside him, watching their attackers warily. It was clear that they weren’t after their currency, they were after them. No, Jared re-evaluated, they were after Jensen. The message that had brought them here had only been addressed to Jensen, and it was only sheer luck that Jared was here to back him up. There were five men facing them, their faces covered by makeshift masks made of rags. Whoever they were, they didn’t speak either to their quarry or to one another. Jensen must have followed a similar train of thought.
“What do you want? I know it’s only me you’re after. Let the Airman go. This has nothing to do with him.”
“I’m not walking away, Jen.” Jared hissed, and met the pleading green eyes with stubborn refusal.
“How touching.” One man, slightly ahead of the others and therefore probably the ringleader, sneered. Jared was disappointed not to recognise the voice. Jensen was frowning, like he was trying to place it. “Neither of you is going anywhere. If you had come alone, we could have spared him, but not now. You’ll get to die knowing that you got him killed too.”
The five men, armed with their vicious looking blades, advanced on the two completely unarmed men, circling them and cutting off any chance of escape. Jensen and Jared moved so they stood back to back. “I don’t suppose you’ve had to do much fighting in your life?” Jensen muttered over his shoulder.
“Not really.” Jared sighed unhappily.
“Well, just try not to get killed, okay?”
Jared didn’t get a chance to respond, as the murderous attackers closed in on them together.
***
“And you’re sure?” Jeff’s voice came muffled from where he had his head hanging in his hands. It wasn’t that he doubted Mike - or his unholy ability to uncover just about anything going on aboard the ship - but he simply didn’t want it to be true.
“Yes.” Mike didn’t add anything more.
“Where’s Jensen?” Jeff lifted his head, eyes hard and mind focused on what must be done.
“On planet. He said something about coffee...”
Jeff gave a short laugh. “Yeah, that sounds like Jensen. Send a runner to find him. He needs to know about this.”
“Yes, sir.”
***
Jensen, it turned out, was not a stranger to a good, old-fashioned street brawl. The older man was quick on his feet, and knew how to land a punch with great accuracy and force. Jared was simply using his greater reach and height to defend himself, dodging the slicing movements of his opponent’s knife. He heard a crack, followed by a gurgle and a thud, and chanced a look behind him. Jensen had broken a man’s nose and he was out cold on the ground. The remaining attackers grew wary of the dangerous Captain. When another screamed in pain at his broken wrist, they backed off further.
“We can keep this up, gentlemen, until you are all nursing broken bones; or you can leave now. Up to you.” Jensen’s voice was conversational, like he really could keep doing this all day. Jared saw the eyes of his opponent flick past his shoulder, apparently conferring with his companions, before he raised his hands and began to back away. Jared assumed the others were doing the same. The next time Jensen’s voice came, it was harsh and cold. “No. He stays.”
When the last echoes of their attackers’ retreat had drifted away, Jared relaxed and turned completely to see Jensen. Jensen met his eyes with a half smile. Jared returned it full force. “You’re amazing!”
Jensen flushed slightly. “You hang around Chris and Steve long enough and you’ll end up in your fair share of brawls.” They looked at the man at their feet and Jensen hunkered down beside him. “I recognised his voice, but not well enough to place it. Let’s see who he is.” With that, he reached out and unwrapped the ragged, blood-soaked mask from the man’s face. Jared still didn’t recognise him, but Jensen did. “He’s a tech. Not one of ours, but I’ve seen him around.” Each squadron had their own tech team, and Jared was relieved to hear that this man wasn’t on Jensen’s team.
“You think he is responsible for what happened to your fighters?”
“Mmm.” Jensen hummed his agreement. “Let’s get him back to the Commander and see if we can get this sorted out once and for all.”
***
As Jensen and Jared hauled their still unconscious prisoner up the boarding ramp between them, a runner skidded to a stop and came back to them. The kid’s voice, when he spoke, was part official and part surprise. “Captain Ackles?”
“Yes.” Jensen frowned. They hadn’t been so long that Morgan had needed to send another runner.
“Commander Morgan wishes to see you in his office.”
Feeling a sense of déjà vu, Jensen told him, “I’m on my way.” As the boy turned to leave, Jensen stopped him. “Hey, have any other runners been sent out to find me?”
“No, sir. Lieutenant Rosen...um, the Commander’s aide, just called the hub five minutes ago. It’s the first call we’ve received all day.”
“Thank you.” Jensen dismissed him and looked at Jared. “I think our first summons was simply a set up to get us to walk into their trap.”
“What do you think the Commander wants, now that he has actually summoned you?”
“No more idea now than I did before, unless...” He looked at their captive and then back to Jared. “Unless he has some insight into what is going on.”
“Let’s find out.”
***
Jeff looked up as Mike entered his office scowling and followed by Jensen and Jared holding up an unconscious man. Mildly, ignoring the most obvious questions, he murmured, “That was quick.”
“We were already on our way in.” Jensen told him, not answering any of those unasked questions.
“Well, go on.” Jeff smiled. Jensen returned the smile before his face became more serious. He explained about the runner, the attack, and how they came to be in possession of their prisoner. He finished with their subsequent meeting with the real runner. Indicating the man, Jeff asked, “He’s one of the techs, you said?”
“Yes. I vaguely recognised his voice, and I know his face, but I don’t know whose team he is on.”
“I do.” Mike spoke up. It was no surprise to anyone. Mike had played cards with most of the people on board, and many came back to try and regain their reputation, again and again. “First, though, let me tell you what we found out.”
“So you were looking into it.” It was more a question than a statement in Jared’s tone.
“Of course.” Jeff answered. “We had an entire squadron go down together. That doesn’t happen by accident. We started investigating as soon as we heard.”
“I started in the obvious place; the maintenance logs. Everything seemed in order. We looked very closely at your tech Chief, but the man was flogging himself enough for us to cross him off the list pretty quick. So we turned to the rest of your tech crew. As far as I could find out, they were all clean. In fact, they’re possibly the cleanest tech crew on the whole cruiser.”
Jensen gave a half smile. “I knew Chief Weatherly from my trade days, and we recruited the rest straight out of tech training. I’m glad it wasn’t any of them.”
“Well, having hit a dead end,” Mike continued, “I had to broaden my search to anyone who might have had access to the hanger bay. Do you have any idea how many people that is?” The three other men smirked at Mike’s expression. “A lot, let me tell you. I’ve spent every spare moment going through work histories, personal backgrounds and any anomalies of a large portion of our crew. Finally, I found something that didn’t add up, or did add up, I should say.” Jensen raised an enquiring eyebrow. “One of the tech crew Chiefs was depleting his currency accounts as fast as he was putting money in. It turns out he has a daughter who is involved with these guys...suffice it to say, Daddy’s little girl is in big trouble and Daddy is desperate. The rest of this particular man’s tech crew seem to have simultaneously hit the jackpot. All up, from what I can tell, they have managed to make two years worth of wages in one month.” Waving a negligent hand at the prisoner still flat on the floor, he added, “Meet Tech Chief Tanner.”
“I’m guessing we met the rest of his tech crew earlier too.” Jared put in.
Jensen was nodding. “Whose Chief is he? Do we know who is behind him?”
“Well, I haven’t been able to make a connection as yet, but he is part of Captain Kreuk’s team.”
http://lady-krystal-79.livejournal.com/24997.html
Rating: NC-17 (overall)
Pairings: Jensen/Jared, Chris/Steve, Tom/Mike
Category: M/M, AU, Futuristic (i.e. it is set in space!)
Summary: The Core planets have declared war on the Rim planets. When Captain Ackles and his squadron are taken prisoner by the enemy, their jailer turns out to be a young man called Jared. What will Jared do when Jensen's interrogation begins?
http://lady-krystal-79.livejournal.com/24424.html
Part Six
“They’re asking questions. It’s only so long until they work out what we did.” A low, worried voice whispered.
“If you know what is good for you, you’ll keep me out of it. Understood?” Another voice, sharp and confident, hissed in response.
“I’m not taking the fall for you!”
“Oh, yes you will. Otherwise we’ll find out how that family of yours does without work or a home...”
“You b...”
“Uh uh uh. Language. Now, do we understand each other?”
“...Yes.”
“Excellent. I have another job for you...”
***
“Jensen! Jared!” The loud shout carried over the crowds of people swarming about the little cafe where the two men were sitting, causing both to turn and then smile when they recognised the man coming their way.
“Hey, Doc!” Jensen greeted warmly and gestured at the spare seat at their table. “Why don’t you join us?”
“I can’t. I was just on my way home.” Beaver returned their smile. “When I saw you here, I wanted to come over and say goodbye.”
“So you’ve decided to leave us?” Jared asked, a little sad to think he may never see the gruff older man again.
“Nope. Your Commander was good enough to give me a little more time to talk it over with my wife. We were never given a choice before, and I don’t have any idea how she feels about it.” He explained, shrugging a little.
“That’s good, Doc. I hate to see you go, but we’ve all had enough of this war to not begrudge you your chance to get out of it.” Jensen told him seriously. And the truth of his words was there in his eyes. Jensen was tired of fighting, tired of struggling, tired of it all. Beaver squeezed his shoulder in understanding.
“You’re a good man, Captain. If I don’t come back...well, you know where to find me.” The doctor seemed to be slightly embarrassed with his offer, so Jensen and Jared both just nodded their thanks and shook his hand.
“See you ’round, Doc.” Jared added.
After that, Beaver left and the two men returned to the very important business of enjoying the luxury of real coffee. Jared had taken one look at the prices on the menu and prepared to leave. He had then taken a look at Jensen’s excited face and prepared to starve for the next month. Coffee was a high demand, low supply item and was priced accordingly. Jensen had heard a loud whirring sound from within the cafe and his eyes had glazed over. “Oh, man. It’s real real coffee. They’re actually grinding the beans on the premises!” Jared hadn’t had the heart to say anything. They had only just ordered - Jared with his heart in his throat - when Doc Beaver had called out, but now their drinks had arrived. Jensen leaned close and took a deep breath, sighing in pleasure. Jared had to admit, it did smell amazing; nothing like the sterile, coffee flavoured beverages they received on board. Jensen took a sip and whimpered the way he had in the throes of pleasure, causing Jared to almost choke on his own. At Jared’s raised eyebrow, Jensen blushed.
“Did I mention that we farmed coffee?” Jared shook his head, surprised. “Not commercially or anything, just enough for our family and friends. I might be a little bit...addicted?”
Jared snorted in amusement. “A little? Geez, Jen, I have a feeling you’d sell me for a cup!”
“Hmmm, you’re pretty big. Maybe more than one cup...” Jensen pretended to consider until Jared smacked him lightly on the arm and gave him hurt puppy eyes. “Okay, okay. I wouldn’t sell you for coffee.” Then, much more softly, he added, “Or anything else.”
“Glad to hear it.” Jared answered just as softly. “’Cause I wouldn’t give you up for anything either.”
They shared a pleased smile and then Jensen’s whole attention became devoted to the strong, dark drink before him. Jared sat back, amused, and paced himself. If he was going to throw away a chunk of currency, he was going to enjoy it, damn it. Eventually Jensen returned to the here and now, a sheepish little smile on his face, and he determined to be better company. “So, you know all about me and my life now. As I recall, you had a story to tell as well...”
Jared sighed, looking out into the crowd for a moment as he gathered his thoughts, before looking back to Jensen. “Yeah, I owe you that, I guess.”
“You don’t have to.” Jensen told him, but Jared could see that it had hurt the older man. Jared grabbed his hand and tried to make him understand.
“No, Jen, it’s not like that. I just...I want to tell you, but it’s not a happy tale. It’s hard for me to dredge it all up again.”
Jensen gripped Jared’s hand tight in his own. “You don’t have to tell me everything, Jay. Just tell me what you can.”
“Well, it all starts out fine enough. I also grew up in a farming community with an older brother and a younger sister.” Jensen made a surprised sound. Jared huffed out a breath of laughter. “Yeah, I know, what are the odds, huh? I was surprised too when you mentioned it. I guess the only difference is you were Inner Rim and I was Outer Core. We attended all the best schools and heard all the Core propaganda, but our parents didn’t believe it. We were close enough to the Inner Rim planets to have had dealings with them, and what they saw out there didn’t sit right with them. Why, they used to ask, should all the food grown in the Rim be shipped to the Core? There were enough farming planets in the Core to provide for those that weren’t cultivatable. Who had decided that the people who had chosen to live further out in the galaxy were uncivilized, uneducated and unimportant?”
“That wouldn’t have been popular with the Government.” Jensen offered.
Jared gave a harsh, unamused bark of laughter. “No. No it wasn’t. But many on our world felt the same. When the Core decreed that they were increasing the shipments to eighty percent of all farmed produce, they were horrified. There was just as many, if not more, people in the Rim as there were in the Core. How were they going to survive on a fraction of the food they needed? How could the Core justify taking the food out of the mouths of those who produced it?” Jared gave Jensen a heart broken look. “We thought we could make a difference. We thought we could help. We picketed the Government offices. We signed petitions and boycotted imported foods. We thought if we made enough commotion, then others might listen and join us in trying to right this wrong. Well, we were heard.”
“Jared.” Jensen gripped Jared’s hand. “You’re from...”
“Ieress.” Jared broke in, his voice wavering. “The Government saw us as a threat. They ‘neutralised a great threat to the stability of our community’.” The propaganda was bitter in his mouth. “Neutralised! They terraformed the whole damn planet! Anyone on world, anyone without transport immediately at hand, died; choking on air that the Government had deliberately made toxic. They were killed...everyone I knew...my whole family...” He stopped, the tears falling unheeded down his face.
“I’m so sorry. Jared...I’m sorry.” Jensen felt helpless. He knew the words were inadequate, but what exactly did you say to a person who had literally lost his whole world?
Jared shook his head like he was trying to shake away the memories, and he wiped at the wetness on his face. “We knew it was dangerous. We knew the Core was growing more and more totalitarian. But we never imagined...” He shook his head again. “I was one of the lucky few to survive. I was off world at the time; getting last instructions from my teachers for our graduation. I tried to contact my parents to confirm that they were coming, but I couldn’t get through. I found out what had happened the next morning and I think I might have gone into shock; I went through the motions, I even graduated, and all the time I kept wondering what could have kept my parents from making it...”
“Jare.” Jensen was still clinging to Jared’s hand, trying to let him know he was there and that he felt deeply for all he had suffered. Jared looked at him, his eyes dark, but no longer crying.
“It took me a little while, but I pulled myself together. I moved to a Rim planet and got work as a manual labourer on a farm. We got reports, daily, of the Core’s attempts to squash any uprisings. When we heard that the Government had abandoned the Rim, claiming it was too volatile, we thought that would be the end of it; no more taking what didn’t belong to them. Instead, they enlisted people from throughout the Core, increasing the size of their fighting forces, and taught them that it was their duty to appropriate the food stores of the greedy Rim planets who wanted to keep it all for themselves.” Jared gave another bitter laugh. “The farm where I worked was hit early in the conflict, and the owner was killed, leaving his wife and two daughters to run it. When the Rim planets joined together and sent out a call for anyone willing to fight, they encouraged me to go. They said they would rather I go out there and fight to protect them than stay to help them manually. So, I joined the Rim forces. I had only just completed training when Commander Morgan came to me with a proposal for an undercover mission. I accepted. I wanted to hit back at the Core, take them out from within.”
“Yet you came back, and you’re staying. For me.” Jensen was ashamed. He had no right to ask that of Jared.
Jared kept Jensen’s hand when the other man would have pulled away, and smiled a little. “Jen, revenge can only burn in you for so long before it hollows you out. When I joined them, I realised that most of those people are just doing what they’re told, believing what they’ve been taught because they always have. They aren’t bad, or evil, just misinformed. Sure, those in charge know exactly what is going on, but most of the people have no idea. So, I stopped dreaming of revenge and concentrated on helping our side to victory so we could do what my parents had been trying to do all along; right the wrongs.”
“You are an incredibly good person, Jay.” Jensen leaned over and brushed a kiss across Jared’s lips. “Don’t let anything or anyone change you.”
Jared didn’t get a chance to answer as a young runner arrived at their table. “Captain Ackles?” Jensen nodded. “Captain, the Commander has requested that you meet him in his office ASAP.”
Jensen frowned; all but a skeleton crew were on leave for the next three days. “Did he say what it was about?”
“No, sir.” The answer wasn’t a surprise, really. Morgan wouldn’t have entrusted a runner with information that was important enough to call Jensen back from on planet.
“Alright. I’m on my way.” The runner saluted quickly and then disappeared back into the crowds of people surrounding the cafe and most of the streets in the entertainment quarter of the city. Jensen sighed and looked at Jared. “Sorry, Jay. Looks like you’ll have to spend exorbitant amounts of currency without me.”
“I think I blew the budget on the coffee.” Jared teased, but went on more seriously. “I’ll come with you.”
“You don’t have to do that. It’ll be boring.” But there was a soft pleasure in Jensen’s eyes that melted Jared’s heart.
“It won’t be boring if we’re both there.” He gave a wicked smile. “Maybe we can sneak back into Morgan’s office when he’s not there and find out how sturdy that ancient desk really is...”
Jensen looked suitably shocked - and turned on - by the idea, and Jared just grinned wider. Finally, Jensen shook his head as though clearing it and called the waiter over in the local dialect. Jared had discovered that Jensen spoke several dialects almost as fluently as he spoke Standard, and that it was hotter than Jared would have thought. He didn’t realise what was going on until Jensen handed over his currency chip for the waiter to scan and the man walked away, apparently satisfied. Jensen stood up. “Come on. We’d better get a move on.”
“Wait. Let me pay you before I forget.”
“No.” Jensen told him. “It’s my treat. Consider it...a belated ’sorry I was a jerk, thank you for forgiving me’ present.”
“Jensen.” Jared made an exasperated noise. “You know that isn’t necessary...”
“But I want to. Please? Don’t make a fuss?”
Jared grumbled a little under his breath, but followed Jensen out of the cafe. Jensen gave him a bright smile, and Jared couldn’t help but return it. They headed out of the city side by side.
***
“Commander?” Jeff looked up to see Mike at his door.
“Lieutenant? What are you doing here? You should be on planet.”
Mike gave a half smile. “Tom didn’t feel like battling the hordes, so we stayed on board. He’s practicing his swing.”
Jeff laughed at Mike’s scowl. He knew how much Mike hated golf, especially when it took his boyfriend’s attention away from him. “Okay. What brings you here, though?”
“I decided to do some more digging into our...problem.” Jeff sat up, giving the other man his full alertness.
“And?”
“And I found something.”
“Come in. Shut the door. Tell me what you’ve got.”
***
Jensen and Jared had barely left the bustling, busy entertainment quarter when they were set upon by a group of masked, armed men. Jensen remained calm, offering to hand over his currency chip, but the response was dark, nasty laughter. Jared stood beside him, watching their attackers warily. It was clear that they weren’t after their currency, they were after them. No, Jared re-evaluated, they were after Jensen. The message that had brought them here had only been addressed to Jensen, and it was only sheer luck that Jared was here to back him up. There were five men facing them, their faces covered by makeshift masks made of rags. Whoever they were, they didn’t speak either to their quarry or to one another. Jensen must have followed a similar train of thought.
“What do you want? I know it’s only me you’re after. Let the Airman go. This has nothing to do with him.”
“I’m not walking away, Jen.” Jared hissed, and met the pleading green eyes with stubborn refusal.
“How touching.” One man, slightly ahead of the others and therefore probably the ringleader, sneered. Jared was disappointed not to recognise the voice. Jensen was frowning, like he was trying to place it. “Neither of you is going anywhere. If you had come alone, we could have spared him, but not now. You’ll get to die knowing that you got him killed too.”
The five men, armed with their vicious looking blades, advanced on the two completely unarmed men, circling them and cutting off any chance of escape. Jensen and Jared moved so they stood back to back. “I don’t suppose you’ve had to do much fighting in your life?” Jensen muttered over his shoulder.
“Not really.” Jared sighed unhappily.
“Well, just try not to get killed, okay?”
Jared didn’t get a chance to respond, as the murderous attackers closed in on them together.
***
“And you’re sure?” Jeff’s voice came muffled from where he had his head hanging in his hands. It wasn’t that he doubted Mike - or his unholy ability to uncover just about anything going on aboard the ship - but he simply didn’t want it to be true.
“Yes.” Mike didn’t add anything more.
“Where’s Jensen?” Jeff lifted his head, eyes hard and mind focused on what must be done.
“On planet. He said something about coffee...”
Jeff gave a short laugh. “Yeah, that sounds like Jensen. Send a runner to find him. He needs to know about this.”
“Yes, sir.”
***
Jensen, it turned out, was not a stranger to a good, old-fashioned street brawl. The older man was quick on his feet, and knew how to land a punch with great accuracy and force. Jared was simply using his greater reach and height to defend himself, dodging the slicing movements of his opponent’s knife. He heard a crack, followed by a gurgle and a thud, and chanced a look behind him. Jensen had broken a man’s nose and he was out cold on the ground. The remaining attackers grew wary of the dangerous Captain. When another screamed in pain at his broken wrist, they backed off further.
“We can keep this up, gentlemen, until you are all nursing broken bones; or you can leave now. Up to you.” Jensen’s voice was conversational, like he really could keep doing this all day. Jared saw the eyes of his opponent flick past his shoulder, apparently conferring with his companions, before he raised his hands and began to back away. Jared assumed the others were doing the same. The next time Jensen’s voice came, it was harsh and cold. “No. He stays.”
When the last echoes of their attackers’ retreat had drifted away, Jared relaxed and turned completely to see Jensen. Jensen met his eyes with a half smile. Jared returned it full force. “You’re amazing!”
Jensen flushed slightly. “You hang around Chris and Steve long enough and you’ll end up in your fair share of brawls.” They looked at the man at their feet and Jensen hunkered down beside him. “I recognised his voice, but not well enough to place it. Let’s see who he is.” With that, he reached out and unwrapped the ragged, blood-soaked mask from the man’s face. Jared still didn’t recognise him, but Jensen did. “He’s a tech. Not one of ours, but I’ve seen him around.” Each squadron had their own tech team, and Jared was relieved to hear that this man wasn’t on Jensen’s team.
“You think he is responsible for what happened to your fighters?”
“Mmm.” Jensen hummed his agreement. “Let’s get him back to the Commander and see if we can get this sorted out once and for all.”
***
As Jensen and Jared hauled their still unconscious prisoner up the boarding ramp between them, a runner skidded to a stop and came back to them. The kid’s voice, when he spoke, was part official and part surprise. “Captain Ackles?”
“Yes.” Jensen frowned. They hadn’t been so long that Morgan had needed to send another runner.
“Commander Morgan wishes to see you in his office.”
Feeling a sense of déjà vu, Jensen told him, “I’m on my way.” As the boy turned to leave, Jensen stopped him. “Hey, have any other runners been sent out to find me?”
“No, sir. Lieutenant Rosen...um, the Commander’s aide, just called the hub five minutes ago. It’s the first call we’ve received all day.”
“Thank you.” Jensen dismissed him and looked at Jared. “I think our first summons was simply a set up to get us to walk into their trap.”
“What do you think the Commander wants, now that he has actually summoned you?”
“No more idea now than I did before, unless...” He looked at their captive and then back to Jared. “Unless he has some insight into what is going on.”
“Let’s find out.”
***
Jeff looked up as Mike entered his office scowling and followed by Jensen and Jared holding up an unconscious man. Mildly, ignoring the most obvious questions, he murmured, “That was quick.”
“We were already on our way in.” Jensen told him, not answering any of those unasked questions.
“Well, go on.” Jeff smiled. Jensen returned the smile before his face became more serious. He explained about the runner, the attack, and how they came to be in possession of their prisoner. He finished with their subsequent meeting with the real runner. Indicating the man, Jeff asked, “He’s one of the techs, you said?”
“Yes. I vaguely recognised his voice, and I know his face, but I don’t know whose team he is on.”
“I do.” Mike spoke up. It was no surprise to anyone. Mike had played cards with most of the people on board, and many came back to try and regain their reputation, again and again. “First, though, let me tell you what we found out.”
“So you were looking into it.” It was more a question than a statement in Jared’s tone.
“Of course.” Jeff answered. “We had an entire squadron go down together. That doesn’t happen by accident. We started investigating as soon as we heard.”
“I started in the obvious place; the maintenance logs. Everything seemed in order. We looked very closely at your tech Chief, but the man was flogging himself enough for us to cross him off the list pretty quick. So we turned to the rest of your tech crew. As far as I could find out, they were all clean. In fact, they’re possibly the cleanest tech crew on the whole cruiser.”
Jensen gave a half smile. “I knew Chief Weatherly from my trade days, and we recruited the rest straight out of tech training. I’m glad it wasn’t any of them.”
“Well, having hit a dead end,” Mike continued, “I had to broaden my search to anyone who might have had access to the hanger bay. Do you have any idea how many people that is?” The three other men smirked at Mike’s expression. “A lot, let me tell you. I’ve spent every spare moment going through work histories, personal backgrounds and any anomalies of a large portion of our crew. Finally, I found something that didn’t add up, or did add up, I should say.” Jensen raised an enquiring eyebrow. “One of the tech crew Chiefs was depleting his currency accounts as fast as he was putting money in. It turns out he has a daughter who is involved with these guys...suffice it to say, Daddy’s little girl is in big trouble and Daddy is desperate. The rest of this particular man’s tech crew seem to have simultaneously hit the jackpot. All up, from what I can tell, they have managed to make two years worth of wages in one month.” Waving a negligent hand at the prisoner still flat on the floor, he added, “Meet Tech Chief Tanner.”
“I’m guessing we met the rest of his tech crew earlier too.” Jared put in.
Jensen was nodding. “Whose Chief is he? Do we know who is behind him?”
“Well, I haven’t been able to make a connection as yet, but he is part of Captain Kreuk’s team.”
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