Infiltration: A Wolf Story
Finally, it's done! Almost two months of no inspiration, then bam! All prompted by a few fireworks. :) Hope you guys like, because it didn't turn out quite the way I had planned. It's a slight crossover with the Stargate universe, but as long as you know that the Goa'uld are parasites that take over their host you're fine. A more detailed description can be found at GateWorld.net. I would post a direct link but the blasted thing won't work, so anyone interested will have to take the long way round. Sorry. :(
Title: Infiltration
Pairing: Jack/Sky (pre-slash)
Rating: R. Probably.
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Wish I did, but I don't. :(
Summary: A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.
“Incoming ship, crash course with the edge of the city.”
Jack’s head snapped up. Not good. The last time they’d had a ship on a crash course with the city it had resulted in an attempted assassination. He pushed the thought away as he morphed and slid into his delta runner, remembering Drew wouldn’t help whoever was crashing now.
As before, there was no time to bring the ship down safely so they had to settle for limiting the damage. Unlike before, this ship wasn’t SPD, it was triangular in shape and looked to be a golden brown colour in the dim light of the evening. This ship hadn’t smashed into debris, so it was made of stronger stuff than SPD tech was. There was no sign of movement and he carefully gave the order to leave the megazord to conduct a more thorough evaluation.
Their attempts to get through the door were fruitless, even blasting the lock with either a Deltamax Striker or his Delta Enforcers was ineffective, not to mention the risk of doing more damage. He sighed in frustration and powered down. “You guys keep at it, I’m going in.” Ignoring the immediate protests he walked through the wall he’d been leaning against, his blaster loose in his hand, just in case. He wasn’t a complete idiot after all.
Walking warily through the corridors he was a little surprised that he hadn’t seen anyone yet, not even any bodies. A ship this size should have a fairly decent sized crew, so where were they? The Egyptian style design was also interesting. Why would an alien ship have a design that so clearly belonged to an ancient Earth culture? It was a puzzle he didn’t have time to concentrate on as he finally reached the bridge. Finding the door apparently fused shut, he simply shrugged and walked through it anyway.
The bridge looked like a bomb had hit it: bits of the ceiling lying on the floor, wires hanging exposed from still sparking consoles, the lights flickering dimly. Finally though, he’d found someone, most likely the captain, collapsed over one of the consoles. He pulled out his communicator. “Guys, I’ve found someone. They’ll probably need medical attention so get a med. team on standby.”
“Understood,” came Sky’s voice. “We’re through the door, so we should be with you in a couple of minutes.”
“Okay, see you in a bit.” Flipping his communicator closed, Jack slid it back in its holder and made his way round to the console, getting his first look at the captain. Humanoid, with olive coloured skin and dark hair, it only took a moment to see that the man was beyond help, burns liberally covered his hands and face and there was a sharp piece of metal piercing his stomach. Reaching out in what was probably a futile attempt to find a pulse, Jack started back in shock when the man jerked slightly at his touch.
Dark eyes stared at him and the man’s mouth moved silently, as if he were trying to say something. “What?” Jack asked quickly. “What is it?”
There was no response. Jack had one brief moment as the man’s eyes glowed yellow, not unlike Z’s when she replicated, before his mouth dropped open in shock as something slid out of the other man’s mouth. His shock and hesitation was his undoing, as the grey, slimy thing launched itself at him, sliding into his mouth and biting through the back of his throat. He threw his head back in pain, silently screaming as he choked, feeling the unwelcome presence of something else in his mind, something dark. There was one horrifying instant with both of them struggling for control, the other mind surging against his, but, caught up as he was with trying to focus on breathing, Jack couldn’t give it everything, and the last thing he remembered before everything went black was the smug sensation of triumph.
***
Ma’at blinked as he adjusted to the new body, the sensation of having metal piercing his stomach thankfully gone. Looking at the body of his former host, he disdainfully pushed it back into the seat and turned away looking for things he could salvage. He didn’t have long to search before the door to the bridge opened and four other people walked in, weapons in hand. He stiffened, ready to fight before it sank in that his new host knew these people, was friends with them. He’d have to be careful, make sure he didn’t do or say anything that would make them suspicious, the last thing he needed was to be found out.
***
Jack felt like howling with frustration. No matter what he did, he couldn’t get control of his body back from the thing that had taken over it and he couldn’t believe the others were falling for it. He thought for a minute that Z had worked it out when the thing controlling him made a callous comment about not needing the med team anymore because the other guy was already dead, but the moment passed as it covered itself quickly against the disbelieving looks from the rest of the squad, putting it down to shock or something. Come on! he bellowed inside his mind. Come on! That’s not me, can’t you see that?
As they started to move out, leaving the ship and its contents for the forensic team, he caught Sky looking at him steadily, expression closed, and he winced. Sky hadn’t been that distant with him for a while. He felt his eyebrow rise in response to that look, and damn if that wasn’t what he’d do anyway.
“Problem, Sky?” his voice asked and he cursed extensively at how quickly the thing inside his head was assimilating his memories, putting names to faces and attributing behaviour. It was going to be harder than he thought for the others to realise it wasn’t him in control anymore. But Sky had a better chance, surely with his enhanced senses and all the rest of it, he’d know something was wrong…
Sky’s expression never altered. “No.”
Oh, come on! he yelled again. Come on, Sky, work it out! Sky studied him for an extra moment, then turned to follow the others out of the ship. Jack noted though that, despite his saying there was no problem, Sky managed to be between ‘Jack’ and the rest of the team for the rest of the evening.
***
Ma’at stalked into the pathetic box that passed as his living space, and threw the first thing that came to hand across the room. No matter what he did, the young man in blue was always in his way, and it was getting frustrating. No, it was beyond frustrating. If he didn’t know better he’d think that the human knew he wasn’t the person he was pretending to be, but that was impossible. None of the others seemed to think anything was wrong, so maybe it was just characteristic of this ‘Sky’.
Throwing himself down on his bed, he began sorting through his host’s memories of the man, trying to find anything that would help. He needed to solve this problem, and fast. Early memories of the relationship between the two proved that they hadn’t always gotten along and at first he thought that maybe the two had never moved beyond that, but then he realised that analysis was too simple, and didn’t account for the confused feelings his host had for Sky. No, there had to be something more. He frowned as his host fought back, trying to keep him out, but still he felt a surge of triumph. There had to be something there, something his host didn’t want him to find out, something about Sky…
Oh.
Now that was interesting.
***
He knocked sharply on Sky’s door, fully prepared for anything. It was time to end this annoyance once and for all. Sky didn’t seem pleased to see him, but that wasn’t unusual. There had been a faint edge of hostility from the human ever since he’d taken control of this host.
“Can I come in?”
Sky studied him for a moment, then moved away from the door, a tacit invitation. Stepping inside he looked around casually, taking in everything. “We need to talk,” he said abruptly. “You have a problem with me and I want to know what it is.” Straightforward, that was how his new host behaved. If he wanted answers he asked for them.
Sky simply folded his arms across his chest and Ma’at was dismayed at how his new body responded to that one simple action. “What makes you think that?”
“You haven’t been this cold to me for a while now. What changed that?”
Maybe he wouldn’t have to kill the human, he mused. He could find other uses if necessary. No! he thought firmly. Don’t get sidetracked. These are the host’s feelings, not yours.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He had a very nice mouth, Ma’at thought distantly. Even when he scowling like he was now. “Yes you do,” he replied, shaking off the distracting thought. “You hardly talk to me anymore and you barely even look at me.” Which was a shame, considering those eyes were so… STOP IT, he yelled at himself. Stop thinking like this! You haven’t been this affected by a host for three hundred years, so stop it!
He turned his back on Sky and looked out the window, trying to regain some semblance of calm. What was wrong with him? He hadn’t felt like this for… oh, further back than he could remember. It was ridiculous, the way he was being affected by this host. Distracted as he was, he missed the tell-tale whisper that preceded the rush and he was suddenly pressed into the wall, one arm held behind his back, the other pressed flat against the wall.
“Who are you?” Sky hissed in his ear. “Who are you and what have you done with Jack?”
***
Yes! Jack thought in exultation. Sky had come through, just like he’d hoped before. All he had to do now was call for help and this would all be over.
His hopes were dashed as a) Sky didn’t call for help and b) the thing in his head tried to convince Sky he was wrong.
Come on! he yelled. Come on, Sky, call for help already! You can’t do this on your own!
***
Ma’at tried bluffing his way out, but it soon became clear it wasn’t working. This human-wolf hybrid wasn’t buying it. It was time for desperate measures.
“You know what? You’re right. I’m not Jack.” The surprise gave him a marginal window of opportunity and he snatched it, reversing their positions. “But he’s in here, and you wouldn’t believe the headaches he’s been giving me.” He could feel one building right now as his host screamed in his mind, promising all kinds of retribution if he hurt Sky.
“Actually,” Sky replied, twisting against him. “I would. But that’s not the point.”
“No, it isn’t, is it? The point is, I can’t let you tell anyone else about this. It interferes with my plans too much.”
“Sorry about that,” Sky snarked back, twisting again, without success. “But you can’t honestly expect me to just go along with this.”
“No. I don’t.”
Before he could do anything though, Ma’at was thrown backwards by a pulse of shimmering blue energy emanating from the man he’d had pinned against the wall. To his dismay, Sky had got his ‘morpher’ out and was opening it, no doubt to call for backup. He couldn’t let that happen. Lashing out with a side kick, he sent the communication device across the room where it crashed into the wall before dropping to the floor.
When he looked back at Sky he knew that it had been a mistake. Up until now, there had always been the faint possibility that he could come out of this without having to hurt the other man, although why he was so reluctant to do that he had no idea. Now though, all bets were off. Sky was determined to take him down, one way or another.
“You know,” he said conversationally as Sky slowly circled him. “Everything Jack knows, I know.” He reached surreptitiously into a back pocket. “That means I know what you are. And how to hurt you.” Lunging forward he grabbed hold of Sky’s wrist before the other man could react and slammed the silver into his hand.
***
Jack felt sick as Ma’at used his knowledge of Sky against him, for the first time seeing just how badly silver affected Sky. He’d seen the slight widening of Sky’s eyes as too late he recognised the tell-tale buzz of silver in his mind. Even the small amount of silver that Ma’at had hidden in his pocket had Sky’s eyes rolling back into his head, teeth gritted against the pain. He staggered backwards, almost out cold even while he was still standing and Ma’at took advantage of that, using a spin kick to send Sky to the floor.
“Sky, we don’t have to fight. We can do this another way.” He was surprised to hear the pleading tone in his voice. If he didn’t know better he’d say the thing didn’t want to hurt Sky, and that just didn’t match up.
Sky had revived slightly the moment the silver had fallen from his hand. “There is no other way,” he said unsteadily. “You’re not Jack and you’ll never be Jack. There’s nothing else to say. I want my friend back.”
“Sky--” Ma’at tried again.
“Don’t act like you know me,” Sky snapped, throwing a punch at Jack’s head. “You know nothing about me.”
The fight was brief, with both of them going all out. Jack had to hand it to Sky, he wasn’t being hampered by the knowledge that he was still in here, just focusing on taking down the threat. Much to his dismay though, Ma’at managed to get the drop on him and Sky went crashing to the floor. His attempt to reach his morpher was thwarted by Jack’s body kicking it out of the way. Going to stand up, Sky was sent reeling when the piece of silver landed on his chest and apparently the thin cotton of his shirt was no barrier, his eyes rolling back into his head again.
To his surprise, Ma’at removed the silver before placing a hand on Sky’s chest. “Why did you make me do this?” he asked, voice more broken than Jack could believe. “Why? We could have gone anywhere, done anything. Why did you fight me? Don’t you realise that gave me no choice?”
Sky opened his mouth to say something but he was stopped by the knife that was suddenly imbedded in his stomach.
No! Jack screamed silently. You can’t… I swear you’ll pay for this. If it’s the last thing I do, you will not get away with this!
“I’m sorry, Sky,” Ma’at whispered. “You left me no choice.”
Standing, Jack was forced to watch helplessly as his body walked into Sky’s bathroom and slowly rinsed off the knife before sliding it back into its sheath on his right ankle, hand shaking slightly. He had to do something, he had to. He needed to find some way of telling someone what had happened, needed to find some way to save Sky. It couldn’t end like this. It wasn’t supposed to end like this.
***
Ma’at cursed to himself as he paced in his room. He shouldn’t be feeling like this, these emotions were completely foreign to him: feelings of sadness, a wish that things could have been different, none of it something he’d felt before. How was it possible that a couple of humans could do this to him? And in only a couple of days, too. It was infuriating and he fought to shake them off, ignore them, he didn’t have time for them after all, not if he was going to survive here. No, he had to focus now on how best to cover his tracks. He couldn’t afford to let himself be weak, he didn’t have that luxury.
***
“Come on, the least he can do is say no,” Syd said as she and Z headed for Sky’s room. “And anyway, it’s lightball, he loves that game, no matter how much he denies it.”
“Fine. Just don’t blame me when he says no. He’s been more distant than usual lately.”
“Well, we’ll just have to get him out of his funk then, won’t we?” Syd replied as they reached Sky’s room. She frowned when her knock didn’t get an answer and tried again. “That’s weird.”
“Maybe he’s just not there,” Z suggested. “He’s probably in one of the training rooms or something. You know how he is.” Walking off, Z was yanked back by the scream that burst out of her roommate. “What? Syd, what’s wrong?”
Her voice trailed off as she took in the sight. Syd was standing just inside Sky’s room, face white as a sheet, with her hands pressed against her mouth, frozen in shock. Sky was sprawled on the floor, blue shirt red with blood, soaking the carpet.
“Oh my god,” she whispered before her own paralysis wore off and she quickly moved to check his pulse. Much to her relief she found it; weak, barely there, but definitely still there. Grabbing her morpher she activated the communicator function, pressing down hard with her other hand on Sky’s stomach, hoping the pressure would help. “Emergency med. team to Cadet Tate’s quarters, now!”
“Z.” She looked up and found Syd on the other side of the room, holding Sky’s morpher in one slightly shaking hand. Z swallowed, Sky would never give up his morpher that easily, so the fact that it was lying over the other side of the room was not a good sign.
“Z, what’s going on?” Her communicator crackled into life as Jack’s voice came over it.
“Someone attacked Sky in his quarters.”
“What?” Jack demanded. “How the hell did that happen? No, never mind, I’m on my way.”
Z sighed in relief as she closed her communicator. Knowing Jack was on his way made her feel better, and she sat back on her heels, trying to take a dispassionate review of the situation. Syd knelt down opposite her, on the other side of Sky, clearly trying hard to keep herself under control. Z assumed it would be harder for Syd to deal with this than it was for her, she’d known Sky longer, after all, but so far the pink ranger was holding up pretty well.
Just as she thought that, Syd frowned at something. “Z, look at his hand.”
Z looked at her in confusion. “What?”
“His right hand. Look at it.”
Still confused, Z glanced down, then frowned herself. Sky’s hand was a livid red, almost like from a burn or something. “How would Sky burn his hand in his quarters?” she wondered out loud and Syd shook her head, no more answers than Z. Just then Jack ran in and Z looked up in relief.
“Hey.”
“Got here as fast as I could.” Jack stopped short as he took in the scene, face paling. “What the hell happened?”
“We don’t know, we found him like this. Did you see the med. team on your way?”
Jack shook his head. “No, but they should be here soon.”
On that, the doors slid open again as the med. team arrived, first aid kits in hand.
“Come on,” Jack said. “We should get out of their way.”
Reluctantly, Z and Syd followed him out, eyes straying back to their teammate. “Syd, I want you to go find a computer and pull up the security footage for the last two hours.”
“Jack--”
“Look, we can’t help Sky right now. All we can do is try to find out who did this so we can take them down. I saw Sky a couple of hours ago and he was fine then, so whatever happened, happened after I left, okay?”
Z nodded and saw Syd do the same out the corner of her eye, before the pink ranger hurried off down the corridor. “We should get Bridge here, he might be able to find something we won’t.”
Jack paused. “Agreed. He’s out on patrol right now, but he should be finished by the time the med. team’s done here.”
“We should call him back. He’d be here in a heartbeat.”
“And he wouldn’t be able to do anything until the med. team was finished. Look, Z, I want to find this guy as much as you do, but we’re not going to get anywhere if we just run headlong into things. We need to look at this as calmly as we can, you know that. Panicking won’t help us or Sky. It’ll get done, Z, don’t worry. Look, go help Syd, okay? I’ll fill the Commander in.”
***
Bridge looked round the room in dismay. Sky had always seemed so invincible, it seemed impossible that someone could just come in here and do something like this.
“Bridge,” Jack prompted. “Anytime you’re ready.”
Bridge flushed slightly. “Right.” He pulled off a glove and waved it across the room. Damn it, he thought in frustration when he got nothing but images of Sky just lying there, followed by the arrival of Syd and Z, followed by Jack, then the med. team. There was nothing of who or what had attacked Sky. “I’m not getting anything,” he said dejectedly. “Too much time’s gone. If we’d found Sky a bit earlier…”
“Well, we didn’t,” Jack interrupted. “Are you sure there’s nothing?”
Bridge tried again and frowned. “A couple of feelings that I think are Sky’s. There’s shock and… anger. He was angry at… someone.”
“Most likely whoever did this,” Syd surmised.
“Probably, I mean he wouldn’t be angry at the med team or anything, or--”
“Bridge! Enough!” Jack snapped, causing the green ranger to flinch. “Anything else?”
Yes. “No.” There was something else, but he wasn’t sure if he was imagining it or not. He wanted to be wrong, he really did. Unfortunately he’d just have to wait and see. His unease wasn’t helped by the faint feeling that something was wrong. And not just with Sky being attacked and all. Syd and Z were still in a state of shock, although they were holding it off well for the moment. Jack though… Jack seemed wired, edgy, his nerves strung tight. It could just be his way of dealing with the shock, but… he didn’t like the faint edge of… regret? relief? that tinged Jack’s mind.
About to wave a hand across his squad leader, he was stopped by the arrival of Commander Cruger.
“Have you found anything, Carson?”
Bridge shook his head despondently. “It was too long ago, the traces have faded. I’m not getting anything.”
The Sirian sighed. “Very well. Jack, continue the investigation. I want to know the second anything turns up.”
“Yes, sir,” Jack replied, saluting sharply. “You heard him,” he said to the rest of them. “We keep looking. Come on.”
As they followed their squad leader out of Sky’s room, Bridge took one last look back. He really hoped he was wrong.
***
Jack had just about given up on trying to get through to the rest of his teammates, especially after the past few days hadn’t shown any indication that they knew something was wrong with him, and now their attention was mainly taken up with trying to find out who had attacked Sky. It was frustrating to know all the answers but not have any way of telling anyone. Currently, they were all sitting in one of the interview rooms, going over the ‘evidence’ they’d uncovered so far. It was a pitiful effort, especially since Cruger had put ‘Jack’ in charge of the investigation, giving the thing inside his head the opportunity to cover itself. He mentally went over the information anyway, a habit ingrained in him since he’d joined SPD, looking for something, anything the parasite had missed. It was then that he found it, the one thing that had been overlooked. Bridge wasn’t wearing his jacket. Sure, his gloves were on, but if he could just… yes! Ma’at was standing up, Jack wasn’t sure why, he hadn’t been paying attention, but it was now or never.
As his body moved past the chair Bridge was sitting on, he threw all his effort into stopping his body from moving, and, much to his surprise, it worked. His body stumbled and a hand was automatically thrown out in search of balance, grabbing hold of Bridge’s bare arm.
“Bridge, I need you! Come on Bridge, pick this up, please!”
Bridge recoiled as the plea hit his mind, or at least Jack hoped that was what it was, before Z was scolding him for not watching where he was going and how he should know better. For a moment it seemed like it had been a vain attempt, but then Bridge grabbed Z’s arm and pulled her back, standing between her and ‘Jack’.
***
“Bridge, what--” Z’s voice was cut off as Bridge interrupted her.
“That’s not Jack.”
“What? Bridge, what are you talking about?”
“That’s what I’d like to know,” Jack said, arms folded expression unreadable.
“Don’t bother,” Bridge said. “I know you’re not him, so you might as well stop pretending.”
“Bridgey, are you sure?” Syd asked cautiously and he nodded without looking back.
“I’m sure.” He couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen it before, but now everything was starting to fall into place. It was as if this had been the missing piece that made everything come together, and now that he was looking for it, he could see the coldness in ‘Jack’s’ eyes that was so unlike the upbeat red ranger he’d come to know. Much to his relief, Syd moved so she was standing behind him, giving him her support and Z did so as well, slowly, uncertain if she were doing the right thing.
As Jack’s expression became colder, he held on tightly to the frantic plea that had invaded his mind, Jack’s desperation hitting him hard. “There was one other thing I picked up in Sky’s room,” he said slowly. The one thing he hadn’t mentioned because he hadn’t been sure and didn’t want to jump to any conclusions. “Betrayal. Like whoever attacked Sky was someone he trusted, someone he would never have expected to attack him.”
“This is crazy,” Jack snapped. “You think I attacked Sky? That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it?” Syd asked, voice measurably colder than it had been. Obviously she’d been putting two and two together herself. “You were the last one to see Sky before this happened.”
“Yeah, I already told you that, and anyway, he was fine when I left.”
“Only someone Sky trusted would have been able to get that close,” Syd continued inexorably. “There’s no way one of Gruumm’s freakshows could have gotten into the base without the alarms going off and none of the cadets would go to Sky’s room, let alone actually go inside. The only ones who do that are us, and I know it wasn’t me or Z, and Bridge was out on patrol. That leaves you.”
“You’ve been acting weird since that ship crashed,” Z continued into the heavy silence and Bridge noted that ‘Jack’ had tensed up, no doubt ready to bolt if he had to. “Something happened then, didn’t it?”
“You guys can’t seriously believe all this,” Jack tried. “Come on, this is me we’re talking about. Do you really think I’d do something like that?”
“One way to find out,” Bridge said and he pulled his morpher out of its holder. Cold, dark eyes latched onto it and there was one charged moment before Jack spun round. Straight into Commander Cruger, who’d probably been about to demand an update before all this happened.
Reluctantly activating the judgement function of his morpher, it wasn’t a surprise when the verdict came back guilty. When his struggles proved useless, ‘Jack’ had stopped trying to escape, and he’d also given up the pretence of being Jack Landors.
“Your friend will die,” the thing impersonating Jack said. “And there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”
***
Z felt sick to her stomach as Jack’s eyes glowed yellow, the distorted voice and sneering expression so at odds with who Jack was and she couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen this sooner. It had been bad enough when Sky had been body-switched without them noticing, but that didn’t disturb her as much as this did, she and Sky simply weren’t that close. Jack on the other hand, Jack had been the most important person in her life for the longest time: her brother, her best friend, the one person she would do practically anything for, and while her family had extended to include a geekily adorable psychic, a spoiled princess who left her stuff all over the bathroom and a guy with a stick so far up his butt it could probably be used as a flagpole, Jack was still the first person she turned to, the person she trusted the most.
What had Sky seen that she hadn’t? She had no doubt that that was the reason Sky was in the infirmary, barely holding onto his life. He’d known. Somehow he’d worked it out, worked it out when she hadn’t. Why? “Sky knew, didn’t he,” she said. “That’s why you attacked him, isn’t it? He worked it out.”
A faint smirk appeared on Jack’s face. “Not just a pretty face, that one,” he said mockingly, returning to Jack’s normal voice. “Yeah, he worked it out. Worked it out where you didn’t. And I thought the two of you were supposed to be close.”
Z felt nauseous at the way the those words came out, all the innuendo carried with them as well as the way he looked her up and down, focusing especially on her breasts and hips, perverting everything about her relationship with Jack and she wanted nothing more than to smack that look off his face before forcibly beating him out of her brother.
“It’s a pity Sky worked it out, really,” the thing sighed in mock disappointment. “I could have had some fun with that one, bet he had a nice tight ass. Feel like joining in, Z?”
Z swallowed against the bad taste in her mouth, unable to believe the things coming out of Jack’s mouth, even though she knew it wasn’t Jack speaking.
“Or maybe you’ve got your eye on someone else,” he continued maliciously. “Think I should spill a few things? Give him a heads up?”
“Don’t act like you know me,” she spat and the smirk on ‘Jack’s’ face grew.
“Funny, that’s what Sky said. Right before I stuck a knife in his gut. You people really don’t get it do you? Everything darling Jack knows, I know.”
“Where’s the knife?” Syd demanded from Z’s left. “What did you do with it?”
“Ankle sheath,” Bridge said quietly. “Right ankle.”
Jack’s eyes widened in shock, struggling in the secure grip the Commander still held him in and Z took advantage of his distraction, replicating instantly right by his side. She quickly removed the knife and moved away, her replicant vanishing a moment later, looking with disgust and horror at the long blade that had been used to try and take Sky away from them. Until they’d joined SPD Jack had never carried a weapon, neither guns or knives. He’d always believed that they just made bad situations worse, that people were more likely to shoot first, don’t ask questions later if they thought you were carrying. This was just the final piece of incontrovertible evidence that the person standing in front of her was not her brother.
She flipped the blade over in her hand, noting with some satisfaction that the thing controlling Jack never took his eyes off it, and she stepped forward so she was standing right by him. “You used this on Sky?” she asked quietly, holding it up in front of his face.
“Be careful, cadet,” Cruger warned, watching her closely, and she could feel two other sets of eyes watching just as steadily.
“Yeah, be careful with that, it’s sharp.”
She smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile. “What’s the matter? Afraid of little old me?”
He swallowed slightly and tried to back away. “I’m not afraid of you,” he said, a little uncertainly, “only that you’ll mess it up.”
“I think you are afraid, afraid of someone doing to you what you did to Sky.”
He swallowed again and laughed uneasily. “You wouldn’t,” he said. “You wouldn’t kill this body, and that’s the only way you’ll get rid of me.”
“Jack would rather be dead than live like this,” Z said, spinning the knife casually in her hand again. “I know that. Everyone here knows that.” She paused for effect. “Still think I wouldn’t?”
“You wouldn’t let her do that, right?” Jack said, desperately appealing to Cruger. “Isn’t it against your rules or something, that you’re not allowed to kill people?”
“Perhaps you should have thought of that before you tried to kill Sky,” was the cool response and Z sighed quietly in relief that the Commander was playing along.
“You won’t kill me,” he repeated, sounding a little more sure of himself. “You’re not killers. You wouldn’t do it.”
“No?” Z asked, absently flicking her thumb over the knife. “Not even to spare Jack this?” As his eyes became once again uncertain, Z lashed out, the pommel of the knife connecting solidly with Jack’s temple. “You’re probably right,” she said as he slumped in the Commander’s arms, out cold.
In order to save the med. teams a trip, Commander Cruger scooped up the unconscious form of his red ranger and carried him up to the infirmary.
***
“It’s a parasite,” Dr. Felix said as they gathered round the x-rays, not far from the bed currently holding Jack. “It’s wrapped itself round the top of his spinal column and part of it has attached itself to the brain stem, which is how it was able to control Cadet Landors in the first place, also giving it access to his memories.”
“Which is how it was able to pass itself off as Jack,” Kat surmised and Dr. Felix nodded.
“Precisely.”
“Is there any way to get rid of it?” Commander Cruger asked, standing not far from the bed, just behind the three figures that were all that was left of B squad.
“I believe so. With the right equipment I can remove the parasite but it will require surgery, delicate surgery and time is critical, so if you don’t mind… I have some prep work to do.”
Taking that as the dismissal it was intended as, the rangers and their Commander filed out, leaving Kat and a couple of nurses to assist Dr. Felix, who was currently scrubbing up in preparation for surgery. While the Commander made his way back up to the control room, the remaining members of B squad went to sit with Sky. In critical condition for the past thirty-six hours, they were relieved when they heard the good news that he was past the worst and would make a full recovery.
***
Z sat back in her chair, eyes never leaving her brother. Jack should be waking up any time now. Almost as if in answer to her thoughts, Jack stirred softly and his eyes blinked open slowly, automatically focusing on her a moment later.
“Hey,” he said in greeting, voice a little slurred as a result of the anaesthetic and she smiled back carefully.
“Hi.” She glanced over at Bridge, who took the hint and moved to the side of Jack’s bed. Peeling off a glove, he waved his hand across Jack’s slightly confused face, then he smiled in relief.
“It’s him,” he said happily. “No-one else in there.”
“Huh?” Jack asked, his confusion still evident before his memories caught up with him, and he paled in horror. “Sky!” he exclaimed, sitting bolt upright. “Is he…?”
“He’s alright,” Z reassured him and Jack sank back into the bed with relief. “It was mainly a problem of blood loss, but he’s past the worst. He heals freakily fast.”
“Yeah, he does,” Jack muttered and Z gave him a confused look. “He is okay, though, right?” Jack continued. “Or, he will be?”
“Yeah. Dr. Felix thinks he’ll wake up either sometime tonight or tomorrow morning.”
“That’s good. Really good.”
She leant forward and flicked him in the shoulder. “It wasn’t your fault, Jack. I don’t think Sky’s going to blame you for this. From what that thing said, he worked it out.”
“Yeah, he did. I don’t know how, but he did.”
“Well then, there you go. He won’t blame you, and you shouldn’t blame yourself.”
Whatever Jack had been going to say was cut off by the arrival of Dr. Felix, whose stern gaze fastened onto Z like a magnet swinging north. “Cadet Landors needs rest, not to become agitated.”
“I’m not--”
“Rest, cadet.”
“I only just woke up,” Jack grumbled, but the doctor merely smiled.
“I want to run a few more tests, just to make sure everything’s as it should be, and you will probably be tired by the time I’ve finished.”
True to his word, Jack was definitely feeling sleepy by the time the tests were over, despite the fact that they hadn’t really taken all that long, and Z smiled a little as Jack snuggled down under the covers. “At least now I won’t have to fight you for the orange juice in the morning,” she said lightly and there was a faint snort from the bed.
“Not like you win anyway,” Jack replied, voice sleepy as he drifted off, but his eyes flickered open briefly over the top of the sheets and they smiled at her before he closed them again, curling up and pulling the sheets round himself, almost like a child.
She grinned anyway as Dr. Felix dismissed them, brushing a few stray braids out of Jack’s face before she moved away. It was a hard learned lesson that you didn’t steal Jack’s orange juice, and she’d added it to her list on how to deal with Jack before he’d woken up properly. She’d tried to impart her wisdom to the others but it hadn’t sunk in, so she’d hopped onto a computer and printed off the list, sticking it to the wall in the rec. room.
The Care and Feeding of Jack Landors *
1. Never talk to Jack before breakfast
2. Classes etc. before 10 am are wasted on Jack
3. Never steal Jack’s orange juice
4. Avoid all eye contact and sudden movement before noon if Jack has been on night duty
Those were just a few, the list went on quite a way and Jack had scowled when he’d spotted it, before he’d seen the funny side. It had had the desired effect on the rest of B squad though, and early mornings had become slightly easier to deal with.
The list had been joined a few days later with one titled ‘How to Deal with Sky’, something which had not amused the blue ranger when he found out about it. The list started with “Never steal Sky’s coffee if you’re attached to your head, because he will bite it off.” That had the definite ring of experience, so Z had decided that either Bridge or Syd had come up with it, leaning more towards Syd as the perpetrator than Bridge. This list was also fairly long and currently ended with “If Sky is PMSing, stay out of his way” and she knew Jack had been responsible for that one, no matter how much he protested his innocence. None of the others would dare put something like that in writing.
The lists had been joined by others, one for each member of B squad, and the end result had been a notice board for the lists where rules could be added as and when inspiration struck. They had also been joined by lists on how to deal with Kat, Cruger, and how to avoid Dr. Felix’s needles.
***
When Jack woke up the following morning, the first thing he did after having a quick breakfast was demand to see Sky. As expected, the blue ranger had woken up late the night before, and Jack mentally gave thanks for Sky’s healing abilities, otherwise he was pretty sure his friend would be dead by now, and that was absolutely unacceptable.
It didn’t take long for Sky to notice his presence and the blue ranger looked up sharply from his ‘breakfast’. Giving his friend a sheepish wave, Jack sat on one of the other beds. “Hey. How you doing?”
Sky studied him for a moment, taking in the infirmary pyjamas he was still wearing, then seemed to realise Jack was himself again because he relaxed. “Okay, actually. Hopefully I’ll be out of here by this evening.”
“Good. That’s… good. How’s the hand?”
Sky wrinkled his nose slightly. “The bandage needs to stay on for a couple more days, but after that it should be fine.”
“Good.” It seemed to be all he could say. He didn’t know how to face Sky after this, not after his body had been used to try and kill the other man.
“Jack, it wasn’t your fault. You can’t blame yourself for this.”
“No? If I hadn’t gone into that ship alone none of this would have happened.”
“Look, I know how you feel, believe me, you can’t--”
“How would you know how I feel?” he snapped. “When was the last you got taken over and almost killed someone you care about?”
“When was the last time your body was used to try and destroy the city?” Sky snapped back. “It might not have been possession, but Wootox did a lot of damage in my body, including attacking Kat, in case you’d forgotten. You think I don’t know what it’s like to be completely helpless while someone else controls your body and uses it to hurt people? Jack, I understand better than anyone else ever will.”
His anger disappearing as quickly as it had arrived, Jack felt his shoulders sag as the fight went out of him. Sky had a point there.
“I felt guilty about it for a long time, until Bridge talked me out of it. It took a while, but eventually he got it into my head that the things Wootox did weren’t my fault. I’m returning the favour. Believe me, it wasn’t your fault.” There was a quiet sigh as Sky realised that he wasn’t getting through. “I don’t have a problem with you for this, okay?”
Jack gave him a lopsided half-smile. “Okay.”
There was a quiet pause, neither of them really knowing what to say, until Jack broke the silence a couple of minutes later.
“I don’t think he really wanted you dead, you know,” he said. “I mean, I know it looks that way, but he was really confused afterwards and he didn’t understand why he was so upset about it. I think part of him wanted someone to find you. I don’t know if that helps or not.”
Sky looked at him steadily. “I already said I don’t have a problem with you for this. You don’t have to explain anything.”
“I know. I just… feel like maybe I have to?”
The conversation drifted away from the uncomfortable topic until Dr. Felix firmly announced that visiting time was over for Jack, that he should be back in bed himself, and besides, the others wanted to see Cadet Tate as well and if Jack spent much more time there, then Sky would be too tired to see them.
Grumbling under his breath, Jack went back to his own bed, outside of the intensive care section, giving the others a quick wave as he did and rolling his eyes at the back of Dr. Felix’s head, causing a few smiles before they entered Sky’s room. Getting back into bed with a sigh, Jack picked up one of the comics Z had left for him. He couldn’t wait to get out of here.
***
As it turned out, he and Sky were released from the infirmary at the same time, most likely by some contrivance on Dr. Felix’s part, and together they headed for the rec. room, walking in an uncomfortable silence. They walked into a dark room until the lights were slapped on, revealing the rest of the squad, Kat, Boom and even the Commander, under no doubt hurriedly put up streamers and other party-type banners. It seemed ridiculous to have a ‘Welcome back’ party under the circumstances, but nonetheless they apparently had one. It had to have been Syd’s idea, none of the others would come up with something like this.
He looked across at Sky and found his 2IC regarding the scene with resigned amusement. Before he could react further though, he was dragged into the miniature party, as was the protesting blue ranger, although Syd and Bridge were very conscientious about how hard they could tug on him. His attention occupied by Z, he took a moment to glance at Sky standing over by the seats, laughing as Bridge shoved a glass into one hand and a plate into the other while Syd attempted to wrap some streamers round his head, the petite pink ranger not daunted by their relative size differentiation or Sky’s lack of co-operation as he kept moving his head out of the way. Smiling to himself he decided he’d have plenty of time later to try and regain something of the closeness he’d developed with the tangle of complexities and contradictions that made up the other man. It would just take time.
* ‘The Care and Feeding of Jack Landors’ was taken from Kikos-ai’s ‘Ghosts in the Machine’, which is apparently undergoing rewrites and so not available to link to. Used with gracious permission. :)
Title: Infiltration
Pairing: Jack/Sky (pre-slash)
Rating: R. Probably.
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Wish I did, but I don't. :(
Summary: A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.
“Incoming ship, crash course with the edge of the city.”
Jack’s head snapped up. Not good. The last time they’d had a ship on a crash course with the city it had resulted in an attempted assassination. He pushed the thought away as he morphed and slid into his delta runner, remembering Drew wouldn’t help whoever was crashing now.
As before, there was no time to bring the ship down safely so they had to settle for limiting the damage. Unlike before, this ship wasn’t SPD, it was triangular in shape and looked to be a golden brown colour in the dim light of the evening. This ship hadn’t smashed into debris, so it was made of stronger stuff than SPD tech was. There was no sign of movement and he carefully gave the order to leave the megazord to conduct a more thorough evaluation.
Their attempts to get through the door were fruitless, even blasting the lock with either a Deltamax Striker or his Delta Enforcers was ineffective, not to mention the risk of doing more damage. He sighed in frustration and powered down. “You guys keep at it, I’m going in.” Ignoring the immediate protests he walked through the wall he’d been leaning against, his blaster loose in his hand, just in case. He wasn’t a complete idiot after all.
Walking warily through the corridors he was a little surprised that he hadn’t seen anyone yet, not even any bodies. A ship this size should have a fairly decent sized crew, so where were they? The Egyptian style design was also interesting. Why would an alien ship have a design that so clearly belonged to an ancient Earth culture? It was a puzzle he didn’t have time to concentrate on as he finally reached the bridge. Finding the door apparently fused shut, he simply shrugged and walked through it anyway.
The bridge looked like a bomb had hit it: bits of the ceiling lying on the floor, wires hanging exposed from still sparking consoles, the lights flickering dimly. Finally though, he’d found someone, most likely the captain, collapsed over one of the consoles. He pulled out his communicator. “Guys, I’ve found someone. They’ll probably need medical attention so get a med. team on standby.”
“Understood,” came Sky’s voice. “We’re through the door, so we should be with you in a couple of minutes.”
“Okay, see you in a bit.” Flipping his communicator closed, Jack slid it back in its holder and made his way round to the console, getting his first look at the captain. Humanoid, with olive coloured skin and dark hair, it only took a moment to see that the man was beyond help, burns liberally covered his hands and face and there was a sharp piece of metal piercing his stomach. Reaching out in what was probably a futile attempt to find a pulse, Jack started back in shock when the man jerked slightly at his touch.
Dark eyes stared at him and the man’s mouth moved silently, as if he were trying to say something. “What?” Jack asked quickly. “What is it?”
There was no response. Jack had one brief moment as the man’s eyes glowed yellow, not unlike Z’s when she replicated, before his mouth dropped open in shock as something slid out of the other man’s mouth. His shock and hesitation was his undoing, as the grey, slimy thing launched itself at him, sliding into his mouth and biting through the back of his throat. He threw his head back in pain, silently screaming as he choked, feeling the unwelcome presence of something else in his mind, something dark. There was one horrifying instant with both of them struggling for control, the other mind surging against his, but, caught up as he was with trying to focus on breathing, Jack couldn’t give it everything, and the last thing he remembered before everything went black was the smug sensation of triumph.
***
Ma’at blinked as he adjusted to the new body, the sensation of having metal piercing his stomach thankfully gone. Looking at the body of his former host, he disdainfully pushed it back into the seat and turned away looking for things he could salvage. He didn’t have long to search before the door to the bridge opened and four other people walked in, weapons in hand. He stiffened, ready to fight before it sank in that his new host knew these people, was friends with them. He’d have to be careful, make sure he didn’t do or say anything that would make them suspicious, the last thing he needed was to be found out.
***
Jack felt like howling with frustration. No matter what he did, he couldn’t get control of his body back from the thing that had taken over it and he couldn’t believe the others were falling for it. He thought for a minute that Z had worked it out when the thing controlling him made a callous comment about not needing the med team anymore because the other guy was already dead, but the moment passed as it covered itself quickly against the disbelieving looks from the rest of the squad, putting it down to shock or something. Come on! he bellowed inside his mind. Come on! That’s not me, can’t you see that?
As they started to move out, leaving the ship and its contents for the forensic team, he caught Sky looking at him steadily, expression closed, and he winced. Sky hadn’t been that distant with him for a while. He felt his eyebrow rise in response to that look, and damn if that wasn’t what he’d do anyway.
“Problem, Sky?” his voice asked and he cursed extensively at how quickly the thing inside his head was assimilating his memories, putting names to faces and attributing behaviour. It was going to be harder than he thought for the others to realise it wasn’t him in control anymore. But Sky had a better chance, surely with his enhanced senses and all the rest of it, he’d know something was wrong…
Sky’s expression never altered. “No.”
Oh, come on! he yelled again. Come on, Sky, work it out! Sky studied him for an extra moment, then turned to follow the others out of the ship. Jack noted though that, despite his saying there was no problem, Sky managed to be between ‘Jack’ and the rest of the team for the rest of the evening.
***
Ma’at stalked into the pathetic box that passed as his living space, and threw the first thing that came to hand across the room. No matter what he did, the young man in blue was always in his way, and it was getting frustrating. No, it was beyond frustrating. If he didn’t know better he’d think that the human knew he wasn’t the person he was pretending to be, but that was impossible. None of the others seemed to think anything was wrong, so maybe it was just characteristic of this ‘Sky’.
Throwing himself down on his bed, he began sorting through his host’s memories of the man, trying to find anything that would help. He needed to solve this problem, and fast. Early memories of the relationship between the two proved that they hadn’t always gotten along and at first he thought that maybe the two had never moved beyond that, but then he realised that analysis was too simple, and didn’t account for the confused feelings his host had for Sky. No, there had to be something more. He frowned as his host fought back, trying to keep him out, but still he felt a surge of triumph. There had to be something there, something his host didn’t want him to find out, something about Sky…
Oh.
Now that was interesting.
***
He knocked sharply on Sky’s door, fully prepared for anything. It was time to end this annoyance once and for all. Sky didn’t seem pleased to see him, but that wasn’t unusual. There had been a faint edge of hostility from the human ever since he’d taken control of this host.
“Can I come in?”
Sky studied him for a moment, then moved away from the door, a tacit invitation. Stepping inside he looked around casually, taking in everything. “We need to talk,” he said abruptly. “You have a problem with me and I want to know what it is.” Straightforward, that was how his new host behaved. If he wanted answers he asked for them.
Sky simply folded his arms across his chest and Ma’at was dismayed at how his new body responded to that one simple action. “What makes you think that?”
“You haven’t been this cold to me for a while now. What changed that?”
Maybe he wouldn’t have to kill the human, he mused. He could find other uses if necessary. No! he thought firmly. Don’t get sidetracked. These are the host’s feelings, not yours.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He had a very nice mouth, Ma’at thought distantly. Even when he scowling like he was now. “Yes you do,” he replied, shaking off the distracting thought. “You hardly talk to me anymore and you barely even look at me.” Which was a shame, considering those eyes were so… STOP IT, he yelled at himself. Stop thinking like this! You haven’t been this affected by a host for three hundred years, so stop it!
He turned his back on Sky and looked out the window, trying to regain some semblance of calm. What was wrong with him? He hadn’t felt like this for… oh, further back than he could remember. It was ridiculous, the way he was being affected by this host. Distracted as he was, he missed the tell-tale whisper that preceded the rush and he was suddenly pressed into the wall, one arm held behind his back, the other pressed flat against the wall.
“Who are you?” Sky hissed in his ear. “Who are you and what have you done with Jack?”
***
Yes! Jack thought in exultation. Sky had come through, just like he’d hoped before. All he had to do now was call for help and this would all be over.
His hopes were dashed as a) Sky didn’t call for help and b) the thing in his head tried to convince Sky he was wrong.
Come on! he yelled. Come on, Sky, call for help already! You can’t do this on your own!
***
Ma’at tried bluffing his way out, but it soon became clear it wasn’t working. This human-wolf hybrid wasn’t buying it. It was time for desperate measures.
“You know what? You’re right. I’m not Jack.” The surprise gave him a marginal window of opportunity and he snatched it, reversing their positions. “But he’s in here, and you wouldn’t believe the headaches he’s been giving me.” He could feel one building right now as his host screamed in his mind, promising all kinds of retribution if he hurt Sky.
“Actually,” Sky replied, twisting against him. “I would. But that’s not the point.”
“No, it isn’t, is it? The point is, I can’t let you tell anyone else about this. It interferes with my plans too much.”
“Sorry about that,” Sky snarked back, twisting again, without success. “But you can’t honestly expect me to just go along with this.”
“No. I don’t.”
Before he could do anything though, Ma’at was thrown backwards by a pulse of shimmering blue energy emanating from the man he’d had pinned against the wall. To his dismay, Sky had got his ‘morpher’ out and was opening it, no doubt to call for backup. He couldn’t let that happen. Lashing out with a side kick, he sent the communication device across the room where it crashed into the wall before dropping to the floor.
When he looked back at Sky he knew that it had been a mistake. Up until now, there had always been the faint possibility that he could come out of this without having to hurt the other man, although why he was so reluctant to do that he had no idea. Now though, all bets were off. Sky was determined to take him down, one way or another.
“You know,” he said conversationally as Sky slowly circled him. “Everything Jack knows, I know.” He reached surreptitiously into a back pocket. “That means I know what you are. And how to hurt you.” Lunging forward he grabbed hold of Sky’s wrist before the other man could react and slammed the silver into his hand.
***
Jack felt sick as Ma’at used his knowledge of Sky against him, for the first time seeing just how badly silver affected Sky. He’d seen the slight widening of Sky’s eyes as too late he recognised the tell-tale buzz of silver in his mind. Even the small amount of silver that Ma’at had hidden in his pocket had Sky’s eyes rolling back into his head, teeth gritted against the pain. He staggered backwards, almost out cold even while he was still standing and Ma’at took advantage of that, using a spin kick to send Sky to the floor.
“Sky, we don’t have to fight. We can do this another way.” He was surprised to hear the pleading tone in his voice. If he didn’t know better he’d say the thing didn’t want to hurt Sky, and that just didn’t match up.
Sky had revived slightly the moment the silver had fallen from his hand. “There is no other way,” he said unsteadily. “You’re not Jack and you’ll never be Jack. There’s nothing else to say. I want my friend back.”
“Sky--” Ma’at tried again.
“Don’t act like you know me,” Sky snapped, throwing a punch at Jack’s head. “You know nothing about me.”
The fight was brief, with both of them going all out. Jack had to hand it to Sky, he wasn’t being hampered by the knowledge that he was still in here, just focusing on taking down the threat. Much to his dismay though, Ma’at managed to get the drop on him and Sky went crashing to the floor. His attempt to reach his morpher was thwarted by Jack’s body kicking it out of the way. Going to stand up, Sky was sent reeling when the piece of silver landed on his chest and apparently the thin cotton of his shirt was no barrier, his eyes rolling back into his head again.
To his surprise, Ma’at removed the silver before placing a hand on Sky’s chest. “Why did you make me do this?” he asked, voice more broken than Jack could believe. “Why? We could have gone anywhere, done anything. Why did you fight me? Don’t you realise that gave me no choice?”
Sky opened his mouth to say something but he was stopped by the knife that was suddenly imbedded in his stomach.
No! Jack screamed silently. You can’t… I swear you’ll pay for this. If it’s the last thing I do, you will not get away with this!
“I’m sorry, Sky,” Ma’at whispered. “You left me no choice.”
Standing, Jack was forced to watch helplessly as his body walked into Sky’s bathroom and slowly rinsed off the knife before sliding it back into its sheath on his right ankle, hand shaking slightly. He had to do something, he had to. He needed to find some way of telling someone what had happened, needed to find some way to save Sky. It couldn’t end like this. It wasn’t supposed to end like this.
***
Ma’at cursed to himself as he paced in his room. He shouldn’t be feeling like this, these emotions were completely foreign to him: feelings of sadness, a wish that things could have been different, none of it something he’d felt before. How was it possible that a couple of humans could do this to him? And in only a couple of days, too. It was infuriating and he fought to shake them off, ignore them, he didn’t have time for them after all, not if he was going to survive here. No, he had to focus now on how best to cover his tracks. He couldn’t afford to let himself be weak, he didn’t have that luxury.
***
“Come on, the least he can do is say no,” Syd said as she and Z headed for Sky’s room. “And anyway, it’s lightball, he loves that game, no matter how much he denies it.”
“Fine. Just don’t blame me when he says no. He’s been more distant than usual lately.”
“Well, we’ll just have to get him out of his funk then, won’t we?” Syd replied as they reached Sky’s room. She frowned when her knock didn’t get an answer and tried again. “That’s weird.”
“Maybe he’s just not there,” Z suggested. “He’s probably in one of the training rooms or something. You know how he is.” Walking off, Z was yanked back by the scream that burst out of her roommate. “What? Syd, what’s wrong?”
Her voice trailed off as she took in the sight. Syd was standing just inside Sky’s room, face white as a sheet, with her hands pressed against her mouth, frozen in shock. Sky was sprawled on the floor, blue shirt red with blood, soaking the carpet.
“Oh my god,” she whispered before her own paralysis wore off and she quickly moved to check his pulse. Much to her relief she found it; weak, barely there, but definitely still there. Grabbing her morpher she activated the communicator function, pressing down hard with her other hand on Sky’s stomach, hoping the pressure would help. “Emergency med. team to Cadet Tate’s quarters, now!”
“Z.” She looked up and found Syd on the other side of the room, holding Sky’s morpher in one slightly shaking hand. Z swallowed, Sky would never give up his morpher that easily, so the fact that it was lying over the other side of the room was not a good sign.
“Z, what’s going on?” Her communicator crackled into life as Jack’s voice came over it.
“Someone attacked Sky in his quarters.”
“What?” Jack demanded. “How the hell did that happen? No, never mind, I’m on my way.”
Z sighed in relief as she closed her communicator. Knowing Jack was on his way made her feel better, and she sat back on her heels, trying to take a dispassionate review of the situation. Syd knelt down opposite her, on the other side of Sky, clearly trying hard to keep herself under control. Z assumed it would be harder for Syd to deal with this than it was for her, she’d known Sky longer, after all, but so far the pink ranger was holding up pretty well.
Just as she thought that, Syd frowned at something. “Z, look at his hand.”
Z looked at her in confusion. “What?”
“His right hand. Look at it.”
Still confused, Z glanced down, then frowned herself. Sky’s hand was a livid red, almost like from a burn or something. “How would Sky burn his hand in his quarters?” she wondered out loud and Syd shook her head, no more answers than Z. Just then Jack ran in and Z looked up in relief.
“Hey.”
“Got here as fast as I could.” Jack stopped short as he took in the scene, face paling. “What the hell happened?”
“We don’t know, we found him like this. Did you see the med. team on your way?”
Jack shook his head. “No, but they should be here soon.”
On that, the doors slid open again as the med. team arrived, first aid kits in hand.
“Come on,” Jack said. “We should get out of their way.”
Reluctantly, Z and Syd followed him out, eyes straying back to their teammate. “Syd, I want you to go find a computer and pull up the security footage for the last two hours.”
“Jack--”
“Look, we can’t help Sky right now. All we can do is try to find out who did this so we can take them down. I saw Sky a couple of hours ago and he was fine then, so whatever happened, happened after I left, okay?”
Z nodded and saw Syd do the same out the corner of her eye, before the pink ranger hurried off down the corridor. “We should get Bridge here, he might be able to find something we won’t.”
Jack paused. “Agreed. He’s out on patrol right now, but he should be finished by the time the med. team’s done here.”
“We should call him back. He’d be here in a heartbeat.”
“And he wouldn’t be able to do anything until the med. team was finished. Look, Z, I want to find this guy as much as you do, but we’re not going to get anywhere if we just run headlong into things. We need to look at this as calmly as we can, you know that. Panicking won’t help us or Sky. It’ll get done, Z, don’t worry. Look, go help Syd, okay? I’ll fill the Commander in.”
***
Bridge looked round the room in dismay. Sky had always seemed so invincible, it seemed impossible that someone could just come in here and do something like this.
“Bridge,” Jack prompted. “Anytime you’re ready.”
Bridge flushed slightly. “Right.” He pulled off a glove and waved it across the room. Damn it, he thought in frustration when he got nothing but images of Sky just lying there, followed by the arrival of Syd and Z, followed by Jack, then the med. team. There was nothing of who or what had attacked Sky. “I’m not getting anything,” he said dejectedly. “Too much time’s gone. If we’d found Sky a bit earlier…”
“Well, we didn’t,” Jack interrupted. “Are you sure there’s nothing?”
Bridge tried again and frowned. “A couple of feelings that I think are Sky’s. There’s shock and… anger. He was angry at… someone.”
“Most likely whoever did this,” Syd surmised.
“Probably, I mean he wouldn’t be angry at the med team or anything, or--”
“Bridge! Enough!” Jack snapped, causing the green ranger to flinch. “Anything else?”
Yes. “No.” There was something else, but he wasn’t sure if he was imagining it or not. He wanted to be wrong, he really did. Unfortunately he’d just have to wait and see. His unease wasn’t helped by the faint feeling that something was wrong. And not just with Sky being attacked and all. Syd and Z were still in a state of shock, although they were holding it off well for the moment. Jack though… Jack seemed wired, edgy, his nerves strung tight. It could just be his way of dealing with the shock, but… he didn’t like the faint edge of… regret? relief? that tinged Jack’s mind.
About to wave a hand across his squad leader, he was stopped by the arrival of Commander Cruger.
“Have you found anything, Carson?”
Bridge shook his head despondently. “It was too long ago, the traces have faded. I’m not getting anything.”
The Sirian sighed. “Very well. Jack, continue the investigation. I want to know the second anything turns up.”
“Yes, sir,” Jack replied, saluting sharply. “You heard him,” he said to the rest of them. “We keep looking. Come on.”
As they followed their squad leader out of Sky’s room, Bridge took one last look back. He really hoped he was wrong.
***
Jack had just about given up on trying to get through to the rest of his teammates, especially after the past few days hadn’t shown any indication that they knew something was wrong with him, and now their attention was mainly taken up with trying to find out who had attacked Sky. It was frustrating to know all the answers but not have any way of telling anyone. Currently, they were all sitting in one of the interview rooms, going over the ‘evidence’ they’d uncovered so far. It was a pitiful effort, especially since Cruger had put ‘Jack’ in charge of the investigation, giving the thing inside his head the opportunity to cover itself. He mentally went over the information anyway, a habit ingrained in him since he’d joined SPD, looking for something, anything the parasite had missed. It was then that he found it, the one thing that had been overlooked. Bridge wasn’t wearing his jacket. Sure, his gloves were on, but if he could just… yes! Ma’at was standing up, Jack wasn’t sure why, he hadn’t been paying attention, but it was now or never.
As his body moved past the chair Bridge was sitting on, he threw all his effort into stopping his body from moving, and, much to his surprise, it worked. His body stumbled and a hand was automatically thrown out in search of balance, grabbing hold of Bridge’s bare arm.
“Bridge, I need you! Come on Bridge, pick this up, please!”
Bridge recoiled as the plea hit his mind, or at least Jack hoped that was what it was, before Z was scolding him for not watching where he was going and how he should know better. For a moment it seemed like it had been a vain attempt, but then Bridge grabbed Z’s arm and pulled her back, standing between her and ‘Jack’.
***
“Bridge, what--” Z’s voice was cut off as Bridge interrupted her.
“That’s not Jack.”
“What? Bridge, what are you talking about?”
“That’s what I’d like to know,” Jack said, arms folded expression unreadable.
“Don’t bother,” Bridge said. “I know you’re not him, so you might as well stop pretending.”
“Bridgey, are you sure?” Syd asked cautiously and he nodded without looking back.
“I’m sure.” He couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen it before, but now everything was starting to fall into place. It was as if this had been the missing piece that made everything come together, and now that he was looking for it, he could see the coldness in ‘Jack’s’ eyes that was so unlike the upbeat red ranger he’d come to know. Much to his relief, Syd moved so she was standing behind him, giving him her support and Z did so as well, slowly, uncertain if she were doing the right thing.
As Jack’s expression became colder, he held on tightly to the frantic plea that had invaded his mind, Jack’s desperation hitting him hard. “There was one other thing I picked up in Sky’s room,” he said slowly. The one thing he hadn’t mentioned because he hadn’t been sure and didn’t want to jump to any conclusions. “Betrayal. Like whoever attacked Sky was someone he trusted, someone he would never have expected to attack him.”
“This is crazy,” Jack snapped. “You think I attacked Sky? That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it?” Syd asked, voice measurably colder than it had been. Obviously she’d been putting two and two together herself. “You were the last one to see Sky before this happened.”
“Yeah, I already told you that, and anyway, he was fine when I left.”
“Only someone Sky trusted would have been able to get that close,” Syd continued inexorably. “There’s no way one of Gruumm’s freakshows could have gotten into the base without the alarms going off and none of the cadets would go to Sky’s room, let alone actually go inside. The only ones who do that are us, and I know it wasn’t me or Z, and Bridge was out on patrol. That leaves you.”
“You’ve been acting weird since that ship crashed,” Z continued into the heavy silence and Bridge noted that ‘Jack’ had tensed up, no doubt ready to bolt if he had to. “Something happened then, didn’t it?”
“You guys can’t seriously believe all this,” Jack tried. “Come on, this is me we’re talking about. Do you really think I’d do something like that?”
“One way to find out,” Bridge said and he pulled his morpher out of its holder. Cold, dark eyes latched onto it and there was one charged moment before Jack spun round. Straight into Commander Cruger, who’d probably been about to demand an update before all this happened.
Reluctantly activating the judgement function of his morpher, it wasn’t a surprise when the verdict came back guilty. When his struggles proved useless, ‘Jack’ had stopped trying to escape, and he’d also given up the pretence of being Jack Landors.
“Your friend will die,” the thing impersonating Jack said. “And there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”
***
Z felt sick to her stomach as Jack’s eyes glowed yellow, the distorted voice and sneering expression so at odds with who Jack was and she couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen this sooner. It had been bad enough when Sky had been body-switched without them noticing, but that didn’t disturb her as much as this did, she and Sky simply weren’t that close. Jack on the other hand, Jack had been the most important person in her life for the longest time: her brother, her best friend, the one person she would do practically anything for, and while her family had extended to include a geekily adorable psychic, a spoiled princess who left her stuff all over the bathroom and a guy with a stick so far up his butt it could probably be used as a flagpole, Jack was still the first person she turned to, the person she trusted the most.
What had Sky seen that she hadn’t? She had no doubt that that was the reason Sky was in the infirmary, barely holding onto his life. He’d known. Somehow he’d worked it out, worked it out when she hadn’t. Why? “Sky knew, didn’t he,” she said. “That’s why you attacked him, isn’t it? He worked it out.”
A faint smirk appeared on Jack’s face. “Not just a pretty face, that one,” he said mockingly, returning to Jack’s normal voice. “Yeah, he worked it out. Worked it out where you didn’t. And I thought the two of you were supposed to be close.”
Z felt nauseous at the way the those words came out, all the innuendo carried with them as well as the way he looked her up and down, focusing especially on her breasts and hips, perverting everything about her relationship with Jack and she wanted nothing more than to smack that look off his face before forcibly beating him out of her brother.
“It’s a pity Sky worked it out, really,” the thing sighed in mock disappointment. “I could have had some fun with that one, bet he had a nice tight ass. Feel like joining in, Z?”
Z swallowed against the bad taste in her mouth, unable to believe the things coming out of Jack’s mouth, even though she knew it wasn’t Jack speaking.
“Or maybe you’ve got your eye on someone else,” he continued maliciously. “Think I should spill a few things? Give him a heads up?”
“Don’t act like you know me,” she spat and the smirk on ‘Jack’s’ face grew.
“Funny, that’s what Sky said. Right before I stuck a knife in his gut. You people really don’t get it do you? Everything darling Jack knows, I know.”
“Where’s the knife?” Syd demanded from Z’s left. “What did you do with it?”
“Ankle sheath,” Bridge said quietly. “Right ankle.”
Jack’s eyes widened in shock, struggling in the secure grip the Commander still held him in and Z took advantage of his distraction, replicating instantly right by his side. She quickly removed the knife and moved away, her replicant vanishing a moment later, looking with disgust and horror at the long blade that had been used to try and take Sky away from them. Until they’d joined SPD Jack had never carried a weapon, neither guns or knives. He’d always believed that they just made bad situations worse, that people were more likely to shoot first, don’t ask questions later if they thought you were carrying. This was just the final piece of incontrovertible evidence that the person standing in front of her was not her brother.
She flipped the blade over in her hand, noting with some satisfaction that the thing controlling Jack never took his eyes off it, and she stepped forward so she was standing right by him. “You used this on Sky?” she asked quietly, holding it up in front of his face.
“Be careful, cadet,” Cruger warned, watching her closely, and she could feel two other sets of eyes watching just as steadily.
“Yeah, be careful with that, it’s sharp.”
She smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile. “What’s the matter? Afraid of little old me?”
He swallowed slightly and tried to back away. “I’m not afraid of you,” he said, a little uncertainly, “only that you’ll mess it up.”
“I think you are afraid, afraid of someone doing to you what you did to Sky.”
He swallowed again and laughed uneasily. “You wouldn’t,” he said. “You wouldn’t kill this body, and that’s the only way you’ll get rid of me.”
“Jack would rather be dead than live like this,” Z said, spinning the knife casually in her hand again. “I know that. Everyone here knows that.” She paused for effect. “Still think I wouldn’t?”
“You wouldn’t let her do that, right?” Jack said, desperately appealing to Cruger. “Isn’t it against your rules or something, that you’re not allowed to kill people?”
“Perhaps you should have thought of that before you tried to kill Sky,” was the cool response and Z sighed quietly in relief that the Commander was playing along.
“You won’t kill me,” he repeated, sounding a little more sure of himself. “You’re not killers. You wouldn’t do it.”
“No?” Z asked, absently flicking her thumb over the knife. “Not even to spare Jack this?” As his eyes became once again uncertain, Z lashed out, the pommel of the knife connecting solidly with Jack’s temple. “You’re probably right,” she said as he slumped in the Commander’s arms, out cold.
In order to save the med. teams a trip, Commander Cruger scooped up the unconscious form of his red ranger and carried him up to the infirmary.
***
“It’s a parasite,” Dr. Felix said as they gathered round the x-rays, not far from the bed currently holding Jack. “It’s wrapped itself round the top of his spinal column and part of it has attached itself to the brain stem, which is how it was able to control Cadet Landors in the first place, also giving it access to his memories.”
“Which is how it was able to pass itself off as Jack,” Kat surmised and Dr. Felix nodded.
“Precisely.”
“Is there any way to get rid of it?” Commander Cruger asked, standing not far from the bed, just behind the three figures that were all that was left of B squad.
“I believe so. With the right equipment I can remove the parasite but it will require surgery, delicate surgery and time is critical, so if you don’t mind… I have some prep work to do.”
Taking that as the dismissal it was intended as, the rangers and their Commander filed out, leaving Kat and a couple of nurses to assist Dr. Felix, who was currently scrubbing up in preparation for surgery. While the Commander made his way back up to the control room, the remaining members of B squad went to sit with Sky. In critical condition for the past thirty-six hours, they were relieved when they heard the good news that he was past the worst and would make a full recovery.
***
Z sat back in her chair, eyes never leaving her brother. Jack should be waking up any time now. Almost as if in answer to her thoughts, Jack stirred softly and his eyes blinked open slowly, automatically focusing on her a moment later.
“Hey,” he said in greeting, voice a little slurred as a result of the anaesthetic and she smiled back carefully.
“Hi.” She glanced over at Bridge, who took the hint and moved to the side of Jack’s bed. Peeling off a glove, he waved his hand across Jack’s slightly confused face, then he smiled in relief.
“It’s him,” he said happily. “No-one else in there.”
“Huh?” Jack asked, his confusion still evident before his memories caught up with him, and he paled in horror. “Sky!” he exclaimed, sitting bolt upright. “Is he…?”
“He’s alright,” Z reassured him and Jack sank back into the bed with relief. “It was mainly a problem of blood loss, but he’s past the worst. He heals freakily fast.”
“Yeah, he does,” Jack muttered and Z gave him a confused look. “He is okay, though, right?” Jack continued. “Or, he will be?”
“Yeah. Dr. Felix thinks he’ll wake up either sometime tonight or tomorrow morning.”
“That’s good. Really good.”
She leant forward and flicked him in the shoulder. “It wasn’t your fault, Jack. I don’t think Sky’s going to blame you for this. From what that thing said, he worked it out.”
“Yeah, he did. I don’t know how, but he did.”
“Well then, there you go. He won’t blame you, and you shouldn’t blame yourself.”
Whatever Jack had been going to say was cut off by the arrival of Dr. Felix, whose stern gaze fastened onto Z like a magnet swinging north. “Cadet Landors needs rest, not to become agitated.”
“I’m not--”
“Rest, cadet.”
“I only just woke up,” Jack grumbled, but the doctor merely smiled.
“I want to run a few more tests, just to make sure everything’s as it should be, and you will probably be tired by the time I’ve finished.”
True to his word, Jack was definitely feeling sleepy by the time the tests were over, despite the fact that they hadn’t really taken all that long, and Z smiled a little as Jack snuggled down under the covers. “At least now I won’t have to fight you for the orange juice in the morning,” she said lightly and there was a faint snort from the bed.
“Not like you win anyway,” Jack replied, voice sleepy as he drifted off, but his eyes flickered open briefly over the top of the sheets and they smiled at her before he closed them again, curling up and pulling the sheets round himself, almost like a child.
She grinned anyway as Dr. Felix dismissed them, brushing a few stray braids out of Jack’s face before she moved away. It was a hard learned lesson that you didn’t steal Jack’s orange juice, and she’d added it to her list on how to deal with Jack before he’d woken up properly. She’d tried to impart her wisdom to the others but it hadn’t sunk in, so she’d hopped onto a computer and printed off the list, sticking it to the wall in the rec. room.
The Care and Feeding of Jack Landors *
1. Never talk to Jack before breakfast
2. Classes etc. before 10 am are wasted on Jack
3. Never steal Jack’s orange juice
4. Avoid all eye contact and sudden movement before noon if Jack has been on night duty
Those were just a few, the list went on quite a way and Jack had scowled when he’d spotted it, before he’d seen the funny side. It had had the desired effect on the rest of B squad though, and early mornings had become slightly easier to deal with.
The list had been joined a few days later with one titled ‘How to Deal with Sky’, something which had not amused the blue ranger when he found out about it. The list started with “Never steal Sky’s coffee if you’re attached to your head, because he will bite it off.” That had the definite ring of experience, so Z had decided that either Bridge or Syd had come up with it, leaning more towards Syd as the perpetrator than Bridge. This list was also fairly long and currently ended with “If Sky is PMSing, stay out of his way” and she knew Jack had been responsible for that one, no matter how much he protested his innocence. None of the others would dare put something like that in writing.
The lists had been joined by others, one for each member of B squad, and the end result had been a notice board for the lists where rules could be added as and when inspiration struck. They had also been joined by lists on how to deal with Kat, Cruger, and how to avoid Dr. Felix’s needles.
***
When Jack woke up the following morning, the first thing he did after having a quick breakfast was demand to see Sky. As expected, the blue ranger had woken up late the night before, and Jack mentally gave thanks for Sky’s healing abilities, otherwise he was pretty sure his friend would be dead by now, and that was absolutely unacceptable.
It didn’t take long for Sky to notice his presence and the blue ranger looked up sharply from his ‘breakfast’. Giving his friend a sheepish wave, Jack sat on one of the other beds. “Hey. How you doing?”
Sky studied him for a moment, taking in the infirmary pyjamas he was still wearing, then seemed to realise Jack was himself again because he relaxed. “Okay, actually. Hopefully I’ll be out of here by this evening.”
“Good. That’s… good. How’s the hand?”
Sky wrinkled his nose slightly. “The bandage needs to stay on for a couple more days, but after that it should be fine.”
“Good.” It seemed to be all he could say. He didn’t know how to face Sky after this, not after his body had been used to try and kill the other man.
“Jack, it wasn’t your fault. You can’t blame yourself for this.”
“No? If I hadn’t gone into that ship alone none of this would have happened.”
“Look, I know how you feel, believe me, you can’t--”
“How would you know how I feel?” he snapped. “When was the last you got taken over and almost killed someone you care about?”
“When was the last time your body was used to try and destroy the city?” Sky snapped back. “It might not have been possession, but Wootox did a lot of damage in my body, including attacking Kat, in case you’d forgotten. You think I don’t know what it’s like to be completely helpless while someone else controls your body and uses it to hurt people? Jack, I understand better than anyone else ever will.”
His anger disappearing as quickly as it had arrived, Jack felt his shoulders sag as the fight went out of him. Sky had a point there.
“I felt guilty about it for a long time, until Bridge talked me out of it. It took a while, but eventually he got it into my head that the things Wootox did weren’t my fault. I’m returning the favour. Believe me, it wasn’t your fault.” There was a quiet sigh as Sky realised that he wasn’t getting through. “I don’t have a problem with you for this, okay?”
Jack gave him a lopsided half-smile. “Okay.”
There was a quiet pause, neither of them really knowing what to say, until Jack broke the silence a couple of minutes later.
“I don’t think he really wanted you dead, you know,” he said. “I mean, I know it looks that way, but he was really confused afterwards and he didn’t understand why he was so upset about it. I think part of him wanted someone to find you. I don’t know if that helps or not.”
Sky looked at him steadily. “I already said I don’t have a problem with you for this. You don’t have to explain anything.”
“I know. I just… feel like maybe I have to?”
The conversation drifted away from the uncomfortable topic until Dr. Felix firmly announced that visiting time was over for Jack, that he should be back in bed himself, and besides, the others wanted to see Cadet Tate as well and if Jack spent much more time there, then Sky would be too tired to see them.
Grumbling under his breath, Jack went back to his own bed, outside of the intensive care section, giving the others a quick wave as he did and rolling his eyes at the back of Dr. Felix’s head, causing a few smiles before they entered Sky’s room. Getting back into bed with a sigh, Jack picked up one of the comics Z had left for him. He couldn’t wait to get out of here.
***
As it turned out, he and Sky were released from the infirmary at the same time, most likely by some contrivance on Dr. Felix’s part, and together they headed for the rec. room, walking in an uncomfortable silence. They walked into a dark room until the lights were slapped on, revealing the rest of the squad, Kat, Boom and even the Commander, under no doubt hurriedly put up streamers and other party-type banners. It seemed ridiculous to have a ‘Welcome back’ party under the circumstances, but nonetheless they apparently had one. It had to have been Syd’s idea, none of the others would come up with something like this.
He looked across at Sky and found his 2IC regarding the scene with resigned amusement. Before he could react further though, he was dragged into the miniature party, as was the protesting blue ranger, although Syd and Bridge were very conscientious about how hard they could tug on him. His attention occupied by Z, he took a moment to glance at Sky standing over by the seats, laughing as Bridge shoved a glass into one hand and a plate into the other while Syd attempted to wrap some streamers round his head, the petite pink ranger not daunted by their relative size differentiation or Sky’s lack of co-operation as he kept moving his head out of the way. Smiling to himself he decided he’d have plenty of time later to try and regain something of the closeness he’d developed with the tangle of complexities and contradictions that made up the other man. It would just take time.
* ‘The Care and Feeding of Jack Landors’ was taken from Kikos-ai’s ‘Ghosts in the Machine’, which is apparently undergoing rewrites and so not available to link to. Used with gracious permission. :)