Fic: Reaper of Bones
Title: Reaper of Bones
Author: miss_m_cricket
Fandom: Star Trek Reboot! / Doom Crossover.
Rating: NC-17 for language and goriness and brief sexytimes
Pairing: will be Reaper!McCoy/James T. Kirk
Disclaimer: Own neither Doom, nor Star Trek. (Nor Abstergo Industries or the Animus)
Summary: Starfleet has ordered the Enterprise to Mars to reactivate the Olduvai facility and Bones is once again forced to face his demons...
A/N: So Reaper refused to shut up until I finished this chapter. And since he's a demanding little munchkin I felt compelled to oblige him. Although this chapter turned out a lot darker than I expected it would.
A/N 2: Many thanks to the awesome mysterysquid who puts up with my rambling.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7
Reaper of Bones
Excerpt from ‘Mutiny: Subversion or Making the most of an opportunity?’
Mutiny has existed for thousands of years with rebellions against overlords, assassinations of leaders and also the changing of allegiances on Naval ships, which is where the term Mutiny came from.
It is most common for mutinies or rebellions to occur in military and political organizations, but during the rise of UAC and Abstergo, ruthless moves to the top of the company became more and more frequent.
So why do people rebel, why mutiny against superiors in the workplace?
Power is an alluring prize, and sometimes when information changes, or an opportunity presents itself, people will do anything to take advantage of it.
~*~
His mind was swirling, preparing to launch into the next sequence of memories. But before the next memory could begin Bones felt his mind suddenly float upwards, as though ascending through water. Jim’s mind was gone, they were no longer entangled, and he was alone for those long moments before reality returned.
Slowly he opened his eyes.
The machine was dark, the humming growing softer as it powered down, but there was something wrong…
”What do you think you are doing!?” that was Dr. Young’s voice, furious and clearly audible through the belly of the machine, ”Cutting the power like that with the two of them in the machine! It could have done them serious damage, Doctor MacLean. What…”
Her voice was cut off in a way that made Bones body snap to attention. No-one’s voices cut off that suddenly unless they were killed or knocked unconscious.
Then the machine opened with a low sound and bright light flooded in. Bones eyes closed automatically and it was that moment of instinctive protection that cost him. A hypospray was jammed against his neck and the world swirled once more.
The last thing he heard was Jim’s scream.
~*~
Later, Bones would think back on the following days as some of the worst of his long life. Many times during them, he longed for death, longed for it in a way that made his body ache.
Without Jim, what was his life worth?
He came to, bound once more to the biobed, a hard faced man standing next to him, phaser in hand.
“Doctor, he’s awake.”
Another man moved over to him, one of the most beautiful men that Bones had seen in his lifetime, with smooth skin, light blond hair and pale blue eyes. He looked like a painting of an angel, except for the small curve to his lips. In that curve Reaper could read an abundance of cruelty, malice and ambition.
“John Grimm.” The man murmured, reaching out a hand to brush some dark hair from Reaper’s forehead, “Ever since I got that report from Young I have been dying to meet you.”
“Who are you?” Bones growled, tugging at his bonds, “Where’s Doctor Young, where’s Jim?”
“Oh yes, how rude of me not to introduce myself.” The man chuckled, placing his hand on his chest, “I am Doctor Jeremy MacLean, a specialist in human genetics, and the new head of the Starfleet Genetics Center.”
“I thought Doctor Young…”
“She was,” MacLean grinned at him brightly, “But you see Mr. Grimm there was a terrible accident that day in the Animus lab. A mechanical failure. The whole machine exploded.”
Bones stared at him, for a moment thinking the man had to be insane and then slowly, coldly, realizing his game.
“So that’s your story. Where are Dr Young and Captain Kirk?”
“Disposed of. Permanently. Casualties caught in the crossfire. Fact of war and life I am afraid. The Enterprise has left orbit under the command of that annoyingly smug Vulcan. Oh and by the way didn’t I tell you? You’ve been out for a week.”
Bones felt frozen, like the world had stopped in its tracks and then flipped upside down.
Jim.
Distress filled him, flooding his veins, sending the blood pounding through his ears so loudly he couldn’t hear MacLean’s smug voice prating on about how he had successfully overthrown Young, about how he had disposed of Jim.
“Why didn’t you dispose of me?” his voice was low, raspy with grief and burning hatred, “Why keep me alive and not Jim?”
“Oh but it is obvious Mr. Grimm!” MacLean patted his head condescendingly, “We need you for the C-24!”
“But…”
“Captain Kirk, despite being a formidable Starfleet Officer cannot hope to compare to a man with the C-24. We could only keep one of you alive and kept secret and so we chose you.”
How could they have not known about Jim’s infection? It had been in Spock’s report, the same one that had exposed him. But then…
“You said Doctor Young gave you the report. Can I read it?”
“Why on Earth would you want to do that? Its dry drivel with both her and that Vulcan writing it.” But the man was already bringing up the report on the bio bed screen, and Reaper skimmed through it, skimming until he came to the part about Jim.
...List of Survived/Infected/Dead Persons
Brocard, Sebastian - Killed in Action
Dijo, Morlan - Infected/Mutated, Killed in Action
F’zulm - Killed in Action
Garbon, Henry - Infected/Mutated, Killed in Action
Kirk, James - Survived
Kurrle, Mattias - Infected/Mutated, Killed in Action
Leeson, Justin - Infected/Mutated, Killed in Action
MacGuiver, Seamus - Infected/Mutated, Killed in Action
McCoy, Leonard - Infected/Enhanced, Survived
Oraten, Richard - Infected/Mutated, Killed in Action...
The report had been changed and Bones had a good suspicion as to why. Young had suspected her workers weren’t entirely loyal to her. She needed to study the chromosome’s history, but she didn’t want unnecessary exposure.
So they hadn’t known Jim was enhanced.
The irony was almost enough to make him cry
~*~
It soon became clear that MacLean was nothing like the noble Doctor Young. Whereas both Young and Starfleet had emphasized their stance against replicating or testing the C-24, it seemed that MacLean was determined to do just that.
It included extracting samples from the helplessly bound Reaper, testing it in a room down the hallway, broadcasting their video to him, while he watched with fury as person after person was infected and then killed as they mutated.
He wasn’t sure how long it was before they got the idea to unbind him and test him out against some of their failed monster experiments.
A part of him, the part that never stopped grieving for Jim, wanted to just lie down and let the monsters kill him. But the larger part of Bones rejected the idea, Reaper’s fighter instincts kicking in, and McCoy’s stubbornness combining to keep him alive and fighting.
Retribution was all he wanted now.
Then he would die.
~*~
“I wonder.” MacLean mused from the desk nearby to Reaper’s bed, “I wonder if you are immune to poisons.”
Reaper rolled his eyes, staring up at the bland white tiles above his bed. He knew every detail of those tiles, every stain, every dust fragment, every crack. They had become the touchstones of his existence. They did not change, did not waver. And neither would he.
“You’ve already tested me against being burned alive, shot, cut, dissected and drowned...I suppose poison is the next logical step.”
Logical, Spock’s word. He had been using it aloud and in his thoughts a lot recently. Along with Jim’s ‘no win scenarios’ talk. More touchstones to hold onto who he was: Leonard McCoy, formerly John Grimm, best friend of Jim Kirk. He never thought about Jim being dead; it made the tightness in his chest ache less if he pretended that one day Jim would burst through the door, phaser in hand.
MacLean chuckled, seemingly delighted by his captive’s sense of humour, “Indeed. It will be interesting to see how your body reacts against toxins.” He stood and moved over to a cabinet, extracting a vial which he clipped into his hypospray.
Reaper closed his eyes, feeling the pressure at his neck as the chemical was sent rushing into his veins.
It was strange. The feeling was akin to having his mind completely detached from his body, which he could almost feel fighting the toxins invading it. He knew he would live, could feel the feeling dissipating after a while.
“How intriguing.” He heard MacLean announce, just before a sedative was sent into his bloodstream, sending him into oblivion once more.
~*~
When he woke it was to find the scientists grouped around the desk, animatedly discussing something.
“Starfleet is getting suspicious.” One balding man exclaimed, pushing a pair of glasses up his nose, “That Vulcan is stirring them up. He never seemed to accept the story about the Animus, and now he’s the Captain of the Enterprise...”
“We still have so much to learn about him though.” A small woman with thick dark hair said, blue eyes flicking over towards Reaper, “It would be foolish to dispose of him so hastily.”
Leonard frowned slightly; she was familiar...where had he seen her before?
“It would be foolish to be caught with him, red-handed!” Another man blustered, “It would undermine all our research...”
“We have the C-24 now...” another chimed in, “Why do we need him?”
“Because we’ve tested it on 40 different people.” The woman snapped back, “40 people! And all of them have mutated. He’s special.”
“We’re missing something,” MacLean’s oily voice spoke, “Clearly we are missing something, and until we figure out exactly what that is, we cannot dispose of Mr. Grimm. Doctor Anderson,” he turned to a sullen looking young man, “Has the next batch of transfers from the prison arrived yet?”
“Yes Doctor, they’ve been assigned security quarters and the first subject is ready.”
“Excellent. Well then gentlemen, shall we go attempt Patient number 41?”
They all filed out of the room, except for the woman. She lingered, turning to Reaper as the last of them disappeared out of the door. Reaper kept his eyes closed, except for a small crack, and watched her move over to his bedside.
To his surprise he felt her fingers brush his forehead gently, and heard her breathe softly.
“Just a few more days.”
And then she was gone, leaving behind Leonard who stared at the door a long time, a frown on his face.
~*~
When it happened the first he knew something was going on was when alarms started blaring.
It jolted him out of his semi stupor, klaxons howling above his head, and a red light flashing in the corner of the pristine white room. He could hear footsteps running to and fro outside his room, shouts echoing, and then suddenly, phaser blasts.
The door opened, and the black haired woman tumbled through the door, shutting it behind her. She wasn’t wearing the usual white coat, but instead was kitted out in a male Starfleet uniform, science blues. It was a little large on her, but she still moved fast, hurrying over to his bed, and transferring her phaser to her left hand. With her free hand she tapped at the controls beside his head, and his bindings sprang open.
Instantly he was up and grabbing the hypospray from the desk. It was filled with the sedative that kept him docile and although it wasn’t much of a weapon, it was something.
“Who are you?” he gritted out, keeping one eye on the woman, who now had her free hand raised in the ‘don’t shoot’ gesture, and the door through which enemies might flood at any moment, “Speak quickly!”
“My name’s Marlena Moreau...”The woman said, also keeping her body turned towards the door, “I’m a Lieutenant in Starfleet.”
The name rang a bell, “What are you doing here?”
“What does it look like?” Marlena reached down to her boot, withdrawing a second phaser which she tossed to him, “I’m part of your rescue party. The first part’s underway and now I need to get you out of here. I know you can hold your own in a fight, but the priority is getting you away from this facility, destroying all their information on the C-24 and any samples they have.”
“Right,” he nodded, pocketing the hypospray, and flicking the phaser setting to stun, “You know where the samples are?”
“Down the hallway, turn right, right again and then third door.”
“I’ll take care of them.”
“My orders are to get you out of this facility.”
“And you will,” he looked at her, almost grinning at the scowl on her face, “You have to access the information...and wipe it.”
She looked less than convinced, but phaser shots sounding nearby reminded them of their tenuous position. The scientists would be heading for John, hoping to eliminate him and hide the evidence. They needed to get out of there, and soon.
Together they moved to the door and he nodded at her. She pulled it open, leaving him in the clear to get off two shots which struck a scientist running by with a phaser in his hand. They hurried out of the room, Marlena checking around the corner while he watched their flank.
“It’s clear.” She hissed to him and they darted around the corner and then the second. “Here’s a terminal,” brushing her hair out of her eyes, she nodded towards the third door, “Samples are in there, better hurry.”
Her fingers were already flying over the keys, bringing up reams and reams of data. Leaving her to it he kicked open the door, feeling a dark thrill as it splintered open, revealing the balding man trying to gather up the samples.
The Doctor turned, saw Leonard and squeaked in terror, dropping the vial in his hand.
“Please don’t kill me,” the man started blubbering, hands lifting above his head, “I’m nothing really, I didn’t even do much of the experiment. Please...”
Leonard stood, indecisive. Even though this man had been in some part responsible for his suffering, he still couldn’t bring himself to kill him. Slowly he lifted his phaser and squeezed off a shot, stunning the man who crumpled to the ground.
“You’re lucky I’m a better man than you.” He spat at the unconscious form, stalking over to the samples.
A couple of phaser shots and the workbench was a blackened smoking hull, no sign of C-24 anywhere.
So satisfying...
Heading back out the door he was in time to stun a man lifting his phaser to shoot Marlena in the back. She didn’t even look up, slipping a disk out of the terminal and turning to him, blinking as she spotted the man on the ground.
“Oh...”
Leonard rolled his eyes, comforted by the familiar gesture and gripped her arm, tugging her along. “Time to go.”
Together they ran down the corridors, Marlena shouting directions over explosions and phaser blasts. It was a full on battle out in the lab foyer, which they ducked and weaved through, heading for a blue shirted figure surrounded by various red clothed men.
“Commander!” Marlena panted, dragging Leonard over to crouch beside Spock. “Got him.”
“Doctor,” Spock’s eyes considered Leonard, and he nodded, “It is most gratifying to find you safe and sound.”
“Never thought I would be so glad to see those pointy ears Spock.”
Spock’s eyebrow twitched, and he turned to the nearest redshirt, “Ensign, notify the gentlemen on the right flank that we are preparing to retreat.” And then he flipped open his communicator, crouching to head for the left flank.
“Lieutenant Moreau managed to retrieve him, we are pulling back. What is your...” his voice was drowned out as he moved further away.
Step by step they inched back, until they made it out into the main entryway of the facility. There they were joined by another group of Starfleet officers, coming from another section.
Leonard couldn’t see them, his head was bowed, mind burning with only one idea.
MacLean might still be alive.
Author: miss_m_cricket
Fandom: Star Trek Reboot! / Doom Crossover.
Rating: NC-17 for language and goriness and brief sexytimes
Pairing: will be Reaper!McCoy/James T. Kirk
Disclaimer: Own neither Doom, nor Star Trek. (Nor Abstergo Industries or the Animus)
Summary: Starfleet has ordered the Enterprise to Mars to reactivate the Olduvai facility and Bones is once again forced to face his demons...
A/N: So Reaper refused to shut up until I finished this chapter. And since he's a demanding little munchkin I felt compelled to oblige him. Although this chapter turned out a lot darker than I expected it would.
A/N 2: Many thanks to the awesome mysterysquid who puts up with my rambling.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7
Reaper of Bones
Excerpt from ‘Mutiny: Subversion or Making the most of an opportunity?’
Mutiny has existed for thousands of years with rebellions against overlords, assassinations of leaders and also the changing of allegiances on Naval ships, which is where the term Mutiny came from.
It is most common for mutinies or rebellions to occur in military and political organizations, but during the rise of UAC and Abstergo, ruthless moves to the top of the company became more and more frequent.
So why do people rebel, why mutiny against superiors in the workplace?
Power is an alluring prize, and sometimes when information changes, or an opportunity presents itself, people will do anything to take advantage of it.
~*~
His mind was swirling, preparing to launch into the next sequence of memories. But before the next memory could begin Bones felt his mind suddenly float upwards, as though ascending through water. Jim’s mind was gone, they were no longer entangled, and he was alone for those long moments before reality returned.
Slowly he opened his eyes.
The machine was dark, the humming growing softer as it powered down, but there was something wrong…
”What do you think you are doing!?” that was Dr. Young’s voice, furious and clearly audible through the belly of the machine, ”Cutting the power like that with the two of them in the machine! It could have done them serious damage, Doctor MacLean. What…”
Her voice was cut off in a way that made Bones body snap to attention. No-one’s voices cut off that suddenly unless they were killed or knocked unconscious.
Then the machine opened with a low sound and bright light flooded in. Bones eyes closed automatically and it was that moment of instinctive protection that cost him. A hypospray was jammed against his neck and the world swirled once more.
The last thing he heard was Jim’s scream.
~*~
Later, Bones would think back on the following days as some of the worst of his long life. Many times during them, he longed for death, longed for it in a way that made his body ache.
Without Jim, what was his life worth?
He came to, bound once more to the biobed, a hard faced man standing next to him, phaser in hand.
“Doctor, he’s awake.”
Another man moved over to him, one of the most beautiful men that Bones had seen in his lifetime, with smooth skin, light blond hair and pale blue eyes. He looked like a painting of an angel, except for the small curve to his lips. In that curve Reaper could read an abundance of cruelty, malice and ambition.
“John Grimm.” The man murmured, reaching out a hand to brush some dark hair from Reaper’s forehead, “Ever since I got that report from Young I have been dying to meet you.”
“Who are you?” Bones growled, tugging at his bonds, “Where’s Doctor Young, where’s Jim?”
“Oh yes, how rude of me not to introduce myself.” The man chuckled, placing his hand on his chest, “I am Doctor Jeremy MacLean, a specialist in human genetics, and the new head of the Starfleet Genetics Center.”
“I thought Doctor Young…”
“She was,” MacLean grinned at him brightly, “But you see Mr. Grimm there was a terrible accident that day in the Animus lab. A mechanical failure. The whole machine exploded.”
Bones stared at him, for a moment thinking the man had to be insane and then slowly, coldly, realizing his game.
“So that’s your story. Where are Dr Young and Captain Kirk?”
“Disposed of. Permanently. Casualties caught in the crossfire. Fact of war and life I am afraid. The Enterprise has left orbit under the command of that annoyingly smug Vulcan. Oh and by the way didn’t I tell you? You’ve been out for a week.”
Bones felt frozen, like the world had stopped in its tracks and then flipped upside down.
Jim.
Distress filled him, flooding his veins, sending the blood pounding through his ears so loudly he couldn’t hear MacLean’s smug voice prating on about how he had successfully overthrown Young, about how he had disposed of Jim.
“Why didn’t you dispose of me?” his voice was low, raspy with grief and burning hatred, “Why keep me alive and not Jim?”
“Oh but it is obvious Mr. Grimm!” MacLean patted his head condescendingly, “We need you for the C-24!”
“But…”
“Captain Kirk, despite being a formidable Starfleet Officer cannot hope to compare to a man with the C-24. We could only keep one of you alive and kept secret and so we chose you.”
How could they have not known about Jim’s infection? It had been in Spock’s report, the same one that had exposed him. But then…
“You said Doctor Young gave you the report. Can I read it?”
“Why on Earth would you want to do that? Its dry drivel with both her and that Vulcan writing it.” But the man was already bringing up the report on the bio bed screen, and Reaper skimmed through it, skimming until he came to the part about Jim.
...List of Survived/Infected/Dead Persons
Brocard, Sebastian - Killed in Action
Dijo, Morlan - Infected/Mutated, Killed in Action
F’zulm - Killed in Action
Garbon, Henry - Infected/Mutated, Killed in Action
Kirk, James - Survived
Kurrle, Mattias - Infected/Mutated, Killed in Action
Leeson, Justin - Infected/Mutated, Killed in Action
MacGuiver, Seamus - Infected/Mutated, Killed in Action
McCoy, Leonard - Infected/Enhanced, Survived
Oraten, Richard - Infected/Mutated, Killed in Action...
The report had been changed and Bones had a good suspicion as to why. Young had suspected her workers weren’t entirely loyal to her. She needed to study the chromosome’s history, but she didn’t want unnecessary exposure.
So they hadn’t known Jim was enhanced.
The irony was almost enough to make him cry
~*~
It soon became clear that MacLean was nothing like the noble Doctor Young. Whereas both Young and Starfleet had emphasized their stance against replicating or testing the C-24, it seemed that MacLean was determined to do just that.
It included extracting samples from the helplessly bound Reaper, testing it in a room down the hallway, broadcasting their video to him, while he watched with fury as person after person was infected and then killed as they mutated.
He wasn’t sure how long it was before they got the idea to unbind him and test him out against some of their failed monster experiments.
A part of him, the part that never stopped grieving for Jim, wanted to just lie down and let the monsters kill him. But the larger part of Bones rejected the idea, Reaper’s fighter instincts kicking in, and McCoy’s stubbornness combining to keep him alive and fighting.
Retribution was all he wanted now.
Then he would die.
~*~
“I wonder.” MacLean mused from the desk nearby to Reaper’s bed, “I wonder if you are immune to poisons.”
Reaper rolled his eyes, staring up at the bland white tiles above his bed. He knew every detail of those tiles, every stain, every dust fragment, every crack. They had become the touchstones of his existence. They did not change, did not waver. And neither would he.
“You’ve already tested me against being burned alive, shot, cut, dissected and drowned...I suppose poison is the next logical step.”
Logical, Spock’s word. He had been using it aloud and in his thoughts a lot recently. Along with Jim’s ‘no win scenarios’ talk. More touchstones to hold onto who he was: Leonard McCoy, formerly John Grimm, best friend of Jim Kirk. He never thought about Jim being dead; it made the tightness in his chest ache less if he pretended that one day Jim would burst through the door, phaser in hand.
MacLean chuckled, seemingly delighted by his captive’s sense of humour, “Indeed. It will be interesting to see how your body reacts against toxins.” He stood and moved over to a cabinet, extracting a vial which he clipped into his hypospray.
Reaper closed his eyes, feeling the pressure at his neck as the chemical was sent rushing into his veins.
It was strange. The feeling was akin to having his mind completely detached from his body, which he could almost feel fighting the toxins invading it. He knew he would live, could feel the feeling dissipating after a while.
“How intriguing.” He heard MacLean announce, just before a sedative was sent into his bloodstream, sending him into oblivion once more.
~*~
When he woke it was to find the scientists grouped around the desk, animatedly discussing something.
“Starfleet is getting suspicious.” One balding man exclaimed, pushing a pair of glasses up his nose, “That Vulcan is stirring them up. He never seemed to accept the story about the Animus, and now he’s the Captain of the Enterprise...”
“We still have so much to learn about him though.” A small woman with thick dark hair said, blue eyes flicking over towards Reaper, “It would be foolish to dispose of him so hastily.”
Leonard frowned slightly; she was familiar...where had he seen her before?
“It would be foolish to be caught with him, red-handed!” Another man blustered, “It would undermine all our research...”
“We have the C-24 now...” another chimed in, “Why do we need him?”
“Because we’ve tested it on 40 different people.” The woman snapped back, “40 people! And all of them have mutated. He’s special.”
“We’re missing something,” MacLean’s oily voice spoke, “Clearly we are missing something, and until we figure out exactly what that is, we cannot dispose of Mr. Grimm. Doctor Anderson,” he turned to a sullen looking young man, “Has the next batch of transfers from the prison arrived yet?”
“Yes Doctor, they’ve been assigned security quarters and the first subject is ready.”
“Excellent. Well then gentlemen, shall we go attempt Patient number 41?”
They all filed out of the room, except for the woman. She lingered, turning to Reaper as the last of them disappeared out of the door. Reaper kept his eyes closed, except for a small crack, and watched her move over to his bedside.
To his surprise he felt her fingers brush his forehead gently, and heard her breathe softly.
“Just a few more days.”
And then she was gone, leaving behind Leonard who stared at the door a long time, a frown on his face.
~*~
When it happened the first he knew something was going on was when alarms started blaring.
It jolted him out of his semi stupor, klaxons howling above his head, and a red light flashing in the corner of the pristine white room. He could hear footsteps running to and fro outside his room, shouts echoing, and then suddenly, phaser blasts.
The door opened, and the black haired woman tumbled through the door, shutting it behind her. She wasn’t wearing the usual white coat, but instead was kitted out in a male Starfleet uniform, science blues. It was a little large on her, but she still moved fast, hurrying over to his bed, and transferring her phaser to her left hand. With her free hand she tapped at the controls beside his head, and his bindings sprang open.
Instantly he was up and grabbing the hypospray from the desk. It was filled with the sedative that kept him docile and although it wasn’t much of a weapon, it was something.
“Who are you?” he gritted out, keeping one eye on the woman, who now had her free hand raised in the ‘don’t shoot’ gesture, and the door through which enemies might flood at any moment, “Speak quickly!”
“My name’s Marlena Moreau...”The woman said, also keeping her body turned towards the door, “I’m a Lieutenant in Starfleet.”
The name rang a bell, “What are you doing here?”
“What does it look like?” Marlena reached down to her boot, withdrawing a second phaser which she tossed to him, “I’m part of your rescue party. The first part’s underway and now I need to get you out of here. I know you can hold your own in a fight, but the priority is getting you away from this facility, destroying all their information on the C-24 and any samples they have.”
“Right,” he nodded, pocketing the hypospray, and flicking the phaser setting to stun, “You know where the samples are?”
“Down the hallway, turn right, right again and then third door.”
“I’ll take care of them.”
“My orders are to get you out of this facility.”
“And you will,” he looked at her, almost grinning at the scowl on her face, “You have to access the information...and wipe it.”
She looked less than convinced, but phaser shots sounding nearby reminded them of their tenuous position. The scientists would be heading for John, hoping to eliminate him and hide the evidence. They needed to get out of there, and soon.
Together they moved to the door and he nodded at her. She pulled it open, leaving him in the clear to get off two shots which struck a scientist running by with a phaser in his hand. They hurried out of the room, Marlena checking around the corner while he watched their flank.
“It’s clear.” She hissed to him and they darted around the corner and then the second. “Here’s a terminal,” brushing her hair out of her eyes, she nodded towards the third door, “Samples are in there, better hurry.”
Her fingers were already flying over the keys, bringing up reams and reams of data. Leaving her to it he kicked open the door, feeling a dark thrill as it splintered open, revealing the balding man trying to gather up the samples.
The Doctor turned, saw Leonard and squeaked in terror, dropping the vial in his hand.
“Please don’t kill me,” the man started blubbering, hands lifting above his head, “I’m nothing really, I didn’t even do much of the experiment. Please...”
Leonard stood, indecisive. Even though this man had been in some part responsible for his suffering, he still couldn’t bring himself to kill him. Slowly he lifted his phaser and squeezed off a shot, stunning the man who crumpled to the ground.
“You’re lucky I’m a better man than you.” He spat at the unconscious form, stalking over to the samples.
A couple of phaser shots and the workbench was a blackened smoking hull, no sign of C-24 anywhere.
So satisfying...
Heading back out the door he was in time to stun a man lifting his phaser to shoot Marlena in the back. She didn’t even look up, slipping a disk out of the terminal and turning to him, blinking as she spotted the man on the ground.
“Oh...”
Leonard rolled his eyes, comforted by the familiar gesture and gripped her arm, tugging her along. “Time to go.”
Together they ran down the corridors, Marlena shouting directions over explosions and phaser blasts. It was a full on battle out in the lab foyer, which they ducked and weaved through, heading for a blue shirted figure surrounded by various red clothed men.
“Commander!” Marlena panted, dragging Leonard over to crouch beside Spock. “Got him.”
“Doctor,” Spock’s eyes considered Leonard, and he nodded, “It is most gratifying to find you safe and sound.”
“Never thought I would be so glad to see those pointy ears Spock.”
Spock’s eyebrow twitched, and he turned to the nearest redshirt, “Ensign, notify the gentlemen on the right flank that we are preparing to retreat.” And then he flipped open his communicator, crouching to head for the left flank.
“Lieutenant Moreau managed to retrieve him, we are pulling back. What is your...” his voice was drowned out as he moved further away.
Step by step they inched back, until they made it out into the main entryway of the facility. There they were joined by another group of Starfleet officers, coming from another section.
Leonard couldn’t see them, his head was bowed, mind burning with only one idea.
MacLean might still be alive.