The Best of the Bad Ideas (part 6)
Title: The Best of the Bad Ideas
Author: Shenandoah Risu
Rating: PG-13
Content Flags: some bad language
Spoilers: Season 1 up to "Divided"
Word Count: around 18,910
Summary: It shocks her to the core when she sees the sadness in his eyes, which suddenly don’t seem so alien any more.
Characters: Everett Young, Tamara Johansen, the Destiny crew
Author's Notes: Written for the LJ Comm syfybigbang
Disclaimer: I don't own SGU. I wouldn't know what to do with it. Now, Young... Young I'd know what to do with. ;-)
Thanks for reading! Feedback = Love. ;-)
( part 1)
( part 2)
( part 3)
( part 4)
( part 5)
The Best of the Bad Ideas (part 6)
“Wow.”
Becker stares at the two stones on the mess hall table. “Which one is the real one?”
Camile beams. “The one on the left. I was crafts-obsessed a few years ago. This was actually fun.”
Riley eyes her with undisguised skepticism. “You did crafts? Like decorations and frou-frou and things?”
“Why is that so weird?”
“Ornaments?!”
“So what?”
Riley shrugs. “I dunno. I just didn’t know that about you.”
“Well, I could ask the same thing about you.”
“Oh, pshaw,” Riley scoffs, “I have seven siblings at home. Try growing up on a farm without keeping the kids busy with stuff like that. It comes with the territory.”
“Well, good for you,” Camile smiles and gathers up the stones.
“You go on ahead,” Riley waves at her, “I’ll help Darren clean up.”
But she’s already gone.
***
Vanessa surveys her handiwork as TJ lays out surgical instruments and supplies.
“It’s a little on the ghetto side, but it’s the best I could do.”
“It’s great,” TJ praises her. “Go get Rush. He should stay in this room so we can put him under as soon as we make contact with Dr. Brightman. She’s a wizard with stuff like that.”
“Yes, she is. I remember, she got that bullet out of Riley’s chest, right after I arrived at the SGC,” Vanessa nods. “This will be like M.A.S.H., then. Except not as funny. And far more real.”
TJ sniffles.
“Hey,” Vanessa takes her hand. “All we can do is try our best. It’s what Colonel Young is doing, too.”
***
TJ is reminded of those movies where a guard takes a death row inmate to the electric chair.
Young sits quietly as she unties him for the last time.
“Could you give us a moment?” she asks Scott who nods and closes the door behind him.
HAPPY
She shakes her head.
“I’d rather have you like this than lose you altogether,” she whispers.
He reaches up and touches her face with the back of his fingers.
“I know you need to do this. Just please understand, that if this doesn’t work, you need to come back. To us. To me.”
He gently places a claw across her lips and shakes his head.
“I understand,” she says, trying to sound brave.
“Tee-ssay,” he coos, and she gathers him in her arms. She can feel him trembling, and she knows she needs to be strong for him.
“Russs,” he manages to get out.
She nods. “We’ll take good care of him. He should be in the operating room by now, with Chloe and Vanessa. Caine is standing by with the stones terminal.”
She turns and goes towards the door, and he follows her, a bit unsteadily on stiff legs.
They step out into the corridor - and all of Destiny’s people are lined up there.
Rush, Vanessa, Caine and Chloe are up first.
“Good luck, Sir,” Vanessa salutes him. Rush nods and Chloe is crying into Caine’s shoulder. Young lifts his clawed hand to his temple, and they leave.
He passes the others slowly, nodding at everyone, touching outstretched hands, saluting others.
TJ follows him.
Brody gives him a boost up into the alien craft and TJ climbs up after him and hooks him up to the hoses again.
Young surveys the craft and purrs, pointing at Eli’s notes and getting his bearings.
“Everett,” TJ says in a small voice and he looks up at her frightened face.
“I have to go now. Please come back - one way or another.”
He looks at her steadily and nods.
She kisses him on the forehead and then turns and leaves. The access hatch closes after her.
He’s never felt so alone in his life.
He takes a deep breath and pushes everything out of his mind except the alien craft.
He’s going into combat - alone - again.
He knows what to do.
***
Rush and Vanessa play chess while Chloe and Caine pass the time with Battleships.
Camile and Eli present another slide show to Kyrrtik who clearly senses something is up.
Brody, Volker, Lisa and Riley are hunched over consoles in the control center.
Scott paces.
Greer is doing push-ups.
TJ sits with Franklin in the infirmary. She massages his unresponsive fingers when he turns his head a little and looks at her.
“Hey, Doc,” she smiles.
He lifts his arm a little and tilts his head.
She scoots up onto the bed next to him and leans against his shoulder.
He understands, and it comforts her.
The minutes stretch into hours.
Then Destiny drops out of FTL.
***
Young feels the shift back to normal space and he’s instantly alert. He tugs on the supply lines and pulls them off the collar of his suit.
The homing beacon on the console before him begins to flicker, then blinks frantically and finally stays lit.
He reaches for the docking clamps release and with a roll and tumble he’s off.
He can see the alien ships, and he tamps down a brief moment of panic by concentrating on keeping the beacon centered on his target screen. The little craft maneuvers easily and precisely, and he wishes he could keep it somehow.
The alien ship looms impossibly large in his viewport and he almost doesn’t see the bay access until he’s nearly there.
The giant ship swallows the tiny shuttle and he reverses the thrusters, gliding in to a smooth docking, assisted by a tractor beacon that leads him to a docking berth. He extends the clamps and with a gentle thud they make contact.
He engages the autodock and waits for the pressure to equalize, then picks up the stone and cycles the door open.
Immediately there’s that unpleasant smell again, like a dentist’s office, and the air is cold and clammy.
He’s back on the ship.
***
“That’s it, he’s on board,” Volker announces.
“All right, people, you know the drill,” Brody adds, and Lisa makes the ship-wide announcement.
The lights go out on Destiny as Riley diverts all the power they can spare to the shields.
TJ looks up as she hears the call.
“I gotta go,” she pats Franklin on the chest. He smiles at her lopsidedly and closes his eyes.
She hurries off to Kyrrtik’s cell. Eli hands her a kino remote and promises to call in immediately should Young return to his own body.
The alien seems agitated and restless, and she puts her hand on his knee.
“Hang in there,” she says kindly, “It will all be over soon, one way or the other.”
She nods at Camile and Eli and leaves to get Rush ready for the surgery.
***
Young touches the C4 and timer Greer has tucked under his collar, checking for the safety latch so he won’t accidentally blow himself up. He picks up the stone, takes a deep breath and fights off the nausea. He’s no chicken at the dentist, but he hates that smell, and so he tells himself that soon he’ll be able to ignore it.
He steps out of the craft into the bay and there are two aliens waiting with a cart of equipment. He hisses at them and they give him a blank stare, then enter the craft and he hears more growling and hissing as the supply bags come flying out and go splat on the floor.
He picks them up and deposits them in a tub on the cart, feeling vaguely guilty about inconveniencing the custodial staff. They probably have no idea who he is or where he came from. One of them pokes his head out of the shuttle and looks around. Young points at the cart and the alien coos softly, then disappears again.
He moves farther into the ship, stepping on an elevator platform and moving up two levels, then retracing the steps to the chamber where Chloe was held: left, right left, right, right. The tank has been repaired and stands vacant. He follows the map in his mind to Rush’s former chamber.
Several aliens are working on sealing the front glass panel back into place. One of them turns and snarls at him. He holds up the stone. The alien makes a clicking noise and gestures to the hallway, then to the right. He nods and retreats, breathing a sigh of relief.
He gets to an intersection where a handful of aliens seem to stand in silent conversation. He holds up the stone and points at it, and one of the aliens hisses and points down another corridor.
Young marches on, trying to walk with purpose and not appearing too friendly.
Further down another alien is fumbling with an open console on the wall. He seems shorter than the others, and he has only one arm. Young watches him for a while as he struggles with a wire and finally he reaches out to hold the wire that keeps slipping from the alien’s hand. The alien chirps excitedly and twists the two wires together, then notices the stone and eagerly gestures at the next chamber.
Young walks in.
It looks like a small storage facility with neat rows of shelves. He starts down one aisle and marvels briefly at the vast collection of items the aliens have amassed. None of them look even remotely familiar. He hears a soft chirping noise, and the one-armed alien who was working on the console points down another aisle.
And sure enough - there is the missing stone, nestled in an open box lined with soft pliant material. He picks it up and notices that a small hole has been drilled through its center - a core sample, perhaps, and quite likely the cause of his current predicament. He feels a little lightheaded and uses his body to mask his action as he fishes the C4, detonator and timer out of his suit. It’s difficult to attach the doughy mass to the stone with his clumsy claws, but he manages eventually.
He sets the timer for five minutes.
***
“How much longer,” Chloe asks.
“There’s no telling,” Rush grumbles as TJ wipes down his chest with alcohol. “It could be minutes or hours or days, or never. They may have locked him up already.”
TJ gives him a stern look. “I’m going to rule out that possibility,” she says and starts an IV line on his arm.
Vanessa sighs deeply and puts the chess set away, and then joins Chloe in playing Battleships.
“Whoa,” comes Eli’s voice through the kino remote.
“What? What is it?”
“Noooope, no joy… we just had a good bit of, well, product here,” Eli answers. “Let me get this, Camile. There’s a new bucket over there.”
They hear Kyrrtik growl in the background.
Chloe smirks.
***
Young leaves the storage room, forcing himself to walk at a normal pace - not an easy feat knowing about the level of hell that is brewing on a shelf behind him. He steps out into the corridor and walks in the opposite direction from where he came.
A subdued chirp makes him stop, and he turns to see the one-armed alien still fumbling with the wall console. He considers ignoring him, pauses, and then returns to the other creature. He points down the hallway but the alien merely chirps and resumes his work.
Young hisses at him and reaches for his shoulder, trying to pull him away from the console. The alien wails, sounding scared, and suddenly Young has had enough. He grabs him by his arm and pulls him away, dragging the protesting creature down the corridor. For the shrimpy little guy he is the alien puts up quite a fight. Young knows time is running out so he pushes him around the next corner and yanks him down to the floor, covering him with his own body.
A tremendous explosion rips through the ship, fire and smoke shooting down the hallway, then a pressure wave that robs him of his senses. He slips into the gray fog, feeling the alien creature shaking beneath him.
And his world shifts.
***
The smell has changed. It’s no longer the dentist’s office smell - it’s a vague scent of machine oil, sweat and bananas.
Bananas?
And then he remembers: Dr. Inman had come up with an artificial banana flavor to make the daily protein slop more palatable.
“Ba… na… nas,” he says slowly, taking a deep breath.
And then he screams and screams and can’t seem to stop.
***
TJ falters when she hears the commotion via the kino remote. There are shouts, and more screams, crashing noises and then Eli’s panicked voice: “Oh god, I don’t know what’s… wait… I think he said ‘bananas’… What’s going…”
The screams turn into racking sobs, then pained coughs.
“I think he’s back,” Camile cries out. “Colonel? Is that you?”
“Yes,” comes the reply. “Yes, it’s me.”
TJ feels her face split into a huge smile, and she gestures at Caine and Chloe. “Go,” she urges them on. Caine turns on the stones terminal and Vanessa picks up a stone and places it gently on the box.
Minutes later she’s back and Chloe goes in now as Dr. Brightman takes over her body. TJ injects the alien venom into the IV and Rush goes under within seconds.
TJ explains to Dr. Brightman what needs to be done. Weapons fire keeps rocking the ship. TJ assures her that there’s nothing to worry about and they begin the surgery.
It goes off without a hitch, despite the connection to the stones glitching several times. Vanessa makes sure Chloe is looking up whenever it happens, and they pause until Brightman returns.
Scott has entered quietly and when Brightman removes the nasty-looking transmitter he catches it in a bowl and smashes it with the handle of his sidearm.
***
Young takes deep, even breaths.
“Sir?” Greer steps forward.
“Sergeant,” Young replies slowly, carefully, no longer used to his own tongue.
“You did it?”
“I guess so. They had drilled a hole into the stone - core sample, maybe. It’s gone now.”
And he falls silent, thinking of the little one-armed alien and hoping he survived the blast.
“Well, what happened? I wanna hear all about it!” Eli scoots closer, all eager to listen.
“Not now, Eli,” Camile pulls him aside. “Let’s give the Colonel some time. And maybe his clothes back.” She tugs him away and to the door.
Greer kneels down and unties Young, then turns and gets his neatly folded stack of clothes.
Young closes his eyes.
“Come on, Sir,” Greer says softly. “Let’s get you dressed. It’s all clean. I’m happy to help, if you need me to.”
Young nods. “I don’t think I can get up by myself,” he sighs.
And Greer gently helps him out of the chair, moving his hands to the backrest so he can steady himself, and then he gets him dressed. Young hangs his head, allowing Greer to do everything and knowing fully well there’s nothing he can do to help.
When he’s done Greer waves at the door and Eli and Dunning drag in a large stuffed chair. Young sits down gratefully, closing his eyes again.
“We’ll let you rest for a while, Sir,” Greer says. “I’ll be right here, if you need anything.”
The others leave.
“Rush?” Young whispers.
“He’s in surgery, Sir. Eli made a scope out of a kino, and Dr. Brightman is operating via Chloe. Should be done in a minute.”
“I wanna see him.”
“Yes, Sir. As soon as TJ gives the all clear I’ll take you there.”
Young nods and promptly falls asleep.
Greer looks down at him and smiles.
***
“OK, we can close him up,” Dr. Brightman smiles. “Good work, everyone.”
She works quickly, praising TJ’s precise stitches as she assists.
“I’ll finish up,” the doctor says. “Go. You need to check on Colonel Young.”
At that moment Destiny jumps back into FTL, and after the familiar blur-shift the ship returns to its familiar hum and one by one the lights come on again. TJ peels off her gloves and takes off at a dead run.
Vanessa smiles in sympathy and hands the requested instruments to the doctor, and soon they are done.
“I should go back,” Brightman says. “I’ll send a post-op nurse to help supervise until TJ gets back.”
Vanessa nods. “OK. Tell them they’ll be swapping with me, then.”
Brightman removes the stone from the terminal and Chloe gasps as she returns.
“Is it done?”
“Yep. Stay here - I’ll go next, they’re sending a nurse.”
Chloe steps aside and Vanessa places her stone on the device. A short time later a very nice woman named Evans from Homeworld Command takes over and begins the post-op care.
***
Greer places a finger across his lips as TJ enters quietly.
“I’ll be right outside,” he whispers and leaves as she kneels down beside Young.
Tears are running down her face as she gently places her hand over his.
He twitches and opens his eyes, focuses on her and smiles.
“Hey,” she says.
“Hey, TJ,” he answers.
She bites her lip and he lifts his hand and she turns her face into his palm, holding his hand against her cheek.
***
“I wonder what happened to Kyrrtik,” Chloe muses over lunch. “I hope he’s all right. And the little one-armed guy the Colonel mentioned.”
“We’ll probably never find out,” Scott shakes his head. “I for one don’t miss him. He was one ill-tempered customer.”
“Oh, cut him some slack,” Camile interjects. “He may have had nothing to do with any of this at all. Maybe he was just a - a bookkeeper, or a lab tech.”
“The guy who cleans the specimen tank windows,” Eli suggests.
“Hey, Rush, come join us,” Scott calls out as the scientist enters the mess hall.
Rush shakes his head. “I need to get back to work.”
“You just had surgery,” Volker protests. “Take a few days off!”
“Thanks, but no.” He nods at them and takes his bowl from Becker.
Camile walks over to him, laying a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Nicholas, nobody’s pushing you. We’re all back, and that’s what counts.”
He doesn’t look convinced but nods anyway.
***
She finds him, alone, bracing himself against the railing on the observation deck.
TJ watches for a few moments, and something warm uncoils in her belly and flows through her. She smiles and steps closer. He’s shaved and looks like himself again.
They contemplate the colored streaks of light gliding over the ship.
“The worst of it was being alone with my thoughts,” he finally breaks the silence, well aware of her presence.
She closes the distance and stands next to him.
“Everything else is just skin deep.”
She nods.
“I’m glad Rush is doing so well and is back to his old grouchy self. If I’d known -“
“But you didn’t,” she interrupts him, “and there’s no point in second-guessing yourself. I think you’ve both suffered enough.”
He shakes his head but doesn’t answer, and for the first time she catches a glimpse of how deeply Young was affected by his experience, and the consequences for Rush and Chloe.
“Well - there’s plenty of opportunity now for both of you to work it out. That chess set looks really good.”
“It does,” he agrees, “I never figured him to be the crafty type.”
TJ chuckles. “I don’t think he did, either.”
“Chloe all right?”
“She’s coping. It will take time.”
He looks down at his hand, holding on to the railing.
“Anyway, I’m really glad you came back, Sir,” she ventures.
He turns and smiles at her.
“I wasn’t actually gone for that long.”
She nods, and turns to leave.
“TJ?”
“Yes, Sir?”
“Thanks for everything. I would have gone nuts without your help. You really kept it together, and I know I can never repay you for that.”
She nods, and he knows she’s crying.
“Hey, it’s all right,” he says gently. “Come here.”
She turns and slips into his arms, once more relishing his warm embrace, even if it’s just for a fleeting moment.
It’s a bad idea, she knows it, but it’s still the best one she has.
***
The End
(part 1)
(part 2)
(part 3)
(part 4)
(part 5)
My own artwork for the story can be found on my LJ. Please click on the thumbnail for the link.
