Lights Out and Shoot Up The Station
Title: Lights Out and Shoot Up The Station 2 of ?
Pairing or Characters: Ram/Java, Ram/Siva, Ram/OC, Ved/OC, Jay, Mega, Paul
Word Count: 1,675
Rating: PG-13, with strong hints of murder.
Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine.
"Bad news?" She hears the familiar arched tone of voice behind her.
She stares at the blank void of screen, black an unending.
He moves and she catches sight of his reflection, that shock of bleached hair.
"Ram's recalling me to the City." She answers, keeping the shudder of her voice in check.
She can already feel him, those gloves tracing their way up her spine, making her wish she'd just died.
"That's too bad." She closes her eyes, listening as he speaks, desperately trying to catch any trace of concern or regret, there's nothing.
"I thought he was pleased, with our work here." Her question floats between them, he can't answer her.
She slaps the lid back down on the laptop.
"We've all had our orders." He says after a beat.
Intrigued she's spins in her chair to face him.
Ved grins down at her, arms folded across his chest, his expression is forever fixed in that deviantly confident smirk.
"I thought that would interest you." His right eyebrow raises slightly as he speaks.
"I'm for the City as well, and so is Jay, as personal guards to your beloved husband. I don't think he's entirely convinced by the job your sister are doing."
Silence suddenly falls between the pair, the only sound that can be heard is the low hum of the fan above their heads, as it cuts through the heavy air.
"Don't...call him that, please." She finds herself suddenly saying.
Ved moves quickly across the room closing the door, blocking out the sound of so many heavy boots.
And then he's there kneeling in front of her, the cocky well rehearsed confidence fleeing from his face.
"Solange, please don't cry." Ved begs her desperately, tangling her small numb fingers within his own.
"I can't," Solange's voice gives way completely as a torrent of bitter tears begin to flow.
Ved's hands find their way to the side of her face, Solange feels his thumbs as they work across her cheeks in a vain attempt to wipe her tears away.
"It will be alright." He soothes her softly, nuzzling his lips against the damp flesh of her pointed chin.
"How!"
"We'll find away to see each other, debriefings, meetings, I'll be there in the City with you."
The anger wells up inside of her.
"I don't want to have to sit at a desk across from you any more! I'm tired of all the pretending, I love you Ved!" From the minute those final three words leave her mouth, she sees something catch in the corner of his eye, a shadow, and then it's gone replaced with his lips and tongue.
She finds herself smiling against the familiarity of his skin.
"We could leave." He says, as they part breathlessly.
"Ram would have us both deleted."
Deleted, the word which both of them knew meant imprisonment, slavery, and working until you died on your feet.
"Not you, he'd never risk breaking up his collection." Ved sounds almost jealous.
Solange pushes that thought wilfully to the back of her mind.
"I'm only the half sister, once Ram has Ebony, I'll be surplus to requirements. Just another General, in the great Techno army."
Ved pulls away from her, and she watches as he gets up from his knees. His forehead knots into a tight frown as he begins to stalk back and forth across the small room.
They've been here before, with plans and promises, but when it comes, always, the truth is that there's noway out for either of them, not together at least.
"He's got to get that sister of yours first, from everything you've told me about that Ebony, she'll take some wrangling."
She has to stop this now.
"When are you leaving?" Solange asks.
He stops mid step, and blinking back at her.
"In two days." His response is muted, defeat settling upon him.
"I'm flying out tomorrow." She replies, adjusting herself eternally attempting to address him as her subordinate.
"I'll have to look forward to you welcoming me personally into the City, General."
It's easy to slip back into character, she doesn't even have to force herself to roll her eyes at his weak double entendre.
"That will be all, Ved."
"That will be all, Ved."
"Turn it off." Ram orders, and Jay watches in silence as the image of his younger brother fades.
His mind begins to race as he struggles to think of a way out.
He sees Ram, his back to the webcam slumped forward, flanked by a triumphant looking Java, and concerned Siva.
"It's just as I told you." Java coos.
Jay finds Siva's eye, and the pair share a look, the same look, total fear and utter resignation.
He steps forward taking a shallow breath.
"Lord Ram," Jay begins, with no idea where the next word will take him, the sentence seems to form by itself on his tongue.
"I ask for clemency for my brother. He's weak, and young, I don't believe his intention was ever to harm you. Please give him a second chance to prove himself, and rebuild your trust."
Jay knows it's his fault, that he is the one whose taken his eye off the ball, this isn't the first time Ved has fallen into an inappropriate relationship with a member of the opposite sex, and he fears it won't be the last. His excuses for his brother are weak, considering their own relative ages, youth no longer holds the currency it once did, but what else could he say.
Ram waves one gloved hand weakly, and Jay feels relief begin to wash over him.
"When she arrives I'll talk to Solange, I'll make her understand the mistake she's made." Siva quickly jumps in, evidently attempting to capitalise on Ram's forgiveness.
"No!"
Siva jumps slightly taken aback by her husband's response.
"Do you want to have her deleted, Lord Ram?" The note in Java's voice is deliberate and calculated.
She's planned this, separating her younger sister from Ram and the guidance of Siva, pushing Ved and Solange together.
Perhaps she'd hoped it would be him, who would slip and fall into her younger sister's arms.
"Java, no!" The veil is lifted from Siva's eyes, and it seems that Ram is the only one oblivious to the plotting of his head wife.
Jay strains his ears to listen, he catches Ram's words, and tries to translate them, only catching half-a-dozen.
That would take too long.
"I want her to die!"
Even Java seems to bulk at the idea, her eyes widening slightly, betraying her suprise.
"Ram, please...no!" Siva begs.
Solange had made Ram laugh, in the way that Java couldn't, and Siva wouldn't. He'd begun to show a partial favouritism towards the younger sibling, Jay had noticed it.
"She's only fifteen, she's just a kid!"
Java holds Siva back, silencing her with whitening knuckles.
"Jay, you will change the crew list for Solange's flight tomorrow. I want all Techno's who you believe to have wavering loyalty, and the remaining prisoners marked for deletion on that plane."
The brief respite of relief at managing to save his brother is washed away, nausea and the sinking knowledge that he is being ordered to be complicit in the deaths of so many hits Jay suddenly.
He's never killed anyone, he's not sure if he ever could.
"Lord Ram,"
"Ved's an excellent pilot isn't he, and every plane, even those not indented for flight need a good pilot."
And then came the threat, and Jay was powerless in the face of it, unable to sacrifice the life of his brother.
What good would refusing do? Ram would only load Ved into the plane, and transfer the task of executioner to Mega.
"Yes, Lord Ram."
Jay feels a part of himself die in that moment.
Jay tries to distract himself.
He notices how blades of grass have begun to spring up through the cracked, and faded tarmac of the runway.
The sky is blue, cloudless, the breeze is warm, perfect conditions for flying.
Something tightens around his chest.
Desperately Jay tries not to notice the object in the corner of his eye.
"You're quiet today." Ved is next to him chattering away, with no idea of how close he has come to death.
Jay envies him.
Solange appears, followed by Mega.
Jay never noticed before how small she is, or how young she really looks.
Fifteen is too young to die.
She stops in front of them, and Jay finds himself wishing that she would just keep moving, just get on that plane, and fly out of his sight.
"Captain Jay," Solange greets him with a nod, he can't force himself to meet her eye.
"Captain Ved." He catches his brother's smile, and wonders how he'd missed it for so long.
"I will commend your excellent service to me to Lord Ram, and ask that he considers you both for promotion."
"Thank you, General." The way Ved's voice lingers on the General reminds Jay of the conversation he witnessed the previous day.
"Thank you." He whispers softly.
Solange moves past them, and Jay feels as if he can breath again.
Mega makes a move to follow her, but Jay catches him.
"Mega, you are to stay with us. Paul is replacing you." He feel the weight of Ved and Mega's stares, and he remembers how to lie.
"I didn't receive any new orders," Mega begins, Jay quickly cuts him off.
"But, I did, from Ram last night. The other three planes still need to be serviced, since this one has already been done, you're to stay behind and oversee the procedure, and then fly to the City with Ved and myself."
He thinks they believe him.
Solange doesn't pause, and he hears the sound of her boots as she races up the stairs towards her fate.
He concentrates on the grass, and feeling the sun burning down across his face.
The engines roar into life, propellers spinning.
He closes his eyes, and knows he's a damned man.
Pairing or Characters: Ram/Java, Ram/Siva, Ram/OC, Ved/OC, Jay, Mega, Paul
Word Count: 1,675
Rating: PG-13, with strong hints of murder.
Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine.
"Bad news?" She hears the familiar arched tone of voice behind her.
She stares at the blank void of screen, black an unending.
He moves and she catches sight of his reflection, that shock of bleached hair.
"Ram's recalling me to the City." She answers, keeping the shudder of her voice in check.
She can already feel him, those gloves tracing their way up her spine, making her wish she'd just died.
"That's too bad." She closes her eyes, listening as he speaks, desperately trying to catch any trace of concern or regret, there's nothing.
"I thought he was pleased, with our work here." Her question floats between them, he can't answer her.
She slaps the lid back down on the laptop.
"We've all had our orders." He says after a beat.
Intrigued she's spins in her chair to face him.
Ved grins down at her, arms folded across his chest, his expression is forever fixed in that deviantly confident smirk.
"I thought that would interest you." His right eyebrow raises slightly as he speaks.
"I'm for the City as well, and so is Jay, as personal guards to your beloved husband. I don't think he's entirely convinced by the job your sister are doing."
Silence suddenly falls between the pair, the only sound that can be heard is the low hum of the fan above their heads, as it cuts through the heavy air.
"Don't...call him that, please." She finds herself suddenly saying.
Ved moves quickly across the room closing the door, blocking out the sound of so many heavy boots.
And then he's there kneeling in front of her, the cocky well rehearsed confidence fleeing from his face.
"Solange, please don't cry." Ved begs her desperately, tangling her small numb fingers within his own.
"I can't," Solange's voice gives way completely as a torrent of bitter tears begin to flow.
Ved's hands find their way to the side of her face, Solange feels his thumbs as they work across her cheeks in a vain attempt to wipe her tears away.
"It will be alright." He soothes her softly, nuzzling his lips against the damp flesh of her pointed chin.
"How!"
"We'll find away to see each other, debriefings, meetings, I'll be there in the City with you."
The anger wells up inside of her.
"I don't want to have to sit at a desk across from you any more! I'm tired of all the pretending, I love you Ved!" From the minute those final three words leave her mouth, she sees something catch in the corner of his eye, a shadow, and then it's gone replaced with his lips and tongue.
She finds herself smiling against the familiarity of his skin.
"We could leave." He says, as they part breathlessly.
"Ram would have us both deleted."
Deleted, the word which both of them knew meant imprisonment, slavery, and working until you died on your feet.
"Not you, he'd never risk breaking up his collection." Ved sounds almost jealous.
Solange pushes that thought wilfully to the back of her mind.
"I'm only the half sister, once Ram has Ebony, I'll be surplus to requirements. Just another General, in the great Techno army."
Ved pulls away from her, and she watches as he gets up from his knees. His forehead knots into a tight frown as he begins to stalk back and forth across the small room.
They've been here before, with plans and promises, but when it comes, always, the truth is that there's noway out for either of them, not together at least.
"He's got to get that sister of yours first, from everything you've told me about that Ebony, she'll take some wrangling."
She has to stop this now.
"When are you leaving?" Solange asks.
He stops mid step, and blinking back at her.
"In two days." His response is muted, defeat settling upon him.
"I'm flying out tomorrow." She replies, adjusting herself eternally attempting to address him as her subordinate.
"I'll have to look forward to you welcoming me personally into the City, General."
It's easy to slip back into character, she doesn't even have to force herself to roll her eyes at his weak double entendre.
"That will be all, Ved."
"That will be all, Ved."
"Turn it off." Ram orders, and Jay watches in silence as the image of his younger brother fades.
His mind begins to race as he struggles to think of a way out.
He sees Ram, his back to the webcam slumped forward, flanked by a triumphant looking Java, and concerned Siva.
"It's just as I told you." Java coos.
Jay finds Siva's eye, and the pair share a look, the same look, total fear and utter resignation.
He steps forward taking a shallow breath.
"Lord Ram," Jay begins, with no idea where the next word will take him, the sentence seems to form by itself on his tongue.
"I ask for clemency for my brother. He's weak, and young, I don't believe his intention was ever to harm you. Please give him a second chance to prove himself, and rebuild your trust."
Jay knows it's his fault, that he is the one whose taken his eye off the ball, this isn't the first time Ved has fallen into an inappropriate relationship with a member of the opposite sex, and he fears it won't be the last. His excuses for his brother are weak, considering their own relative ages, youth no longer holds the currency it once did, but what else could he say.
Ram waves one gloved hand weakly, and Jay feels relief begin to wash over him.
"When she arrives I'll talk to Solange, I'll make her understand the mistake she's made." Siva quickly jumps in, evidently attempting to capitalise on Ram's forgiveness.
"No!"
Siva jumps slightly taken aback by her husband's response.
"Do you want to have her deleted, Lord Ram?" The note in Java's voice is deliberate and calculated.
She's planned this, separating her younger sister from Ram and the guidance of Siva, pushing Ved and Solange together.
Perhaps she'd hoped it would be him, who would slip and fall into her younger sister's arms.
"Java, no!" The veil is lifted from Siva's eyes, and it seems that Ram is the only one oblivious to the plotting of his head wife.
Jay strains his ears to listen, he catches Ram's words, and tries to translate them, only catching half-a-dozen.
That would take too long.
"I want her to die!"
Even Java seems to bulk at the idea, her eyes widening slightly, betraying her suprise.
"Ram, please...no!" Siva begs.
Solange had made Ram laugh, in the way that Java couldn't, and Siva wouldn't. He'd begun to show a partial favouritism towards the younger sibling, Jay had noticed it.
"She's only fifteen, she's just a kid!"
Java holds Siva back, silencing her with whitening knuckles.
"Jay, you will change the crew list for Solange's flight tomorrow. I want all Techno's who you believe to have wavering loyalty, and the remaining prisoners marked for deletion on that plane."
The brief respite of relief at managing to save his brother is washed away, nausea and the sinking knowledge that he is being ordered to be complicit in the deaths of so many hits Jay suddenly.
He's never killed anyone, he's not sure if he ever could.
"Lord Ram,"
"Ved's an excellent pilot isn't he, and every plane, even those not indented for flight need a good pilot."
And then came the threat, and Jay was powerless in the face of it, unable to sacrifice the life of his brother.
What good would refusing do? Ram would only load Ved into the plane, and transfer the task of executioner to Mega.
"Yes, Lord Ram."
Jay feels a part of himself die in that moment.
Jay tries to distract himself.
He notices how blades of grass have begun to spring up through the cracked, and faded tarmac of the runway.
The sky is blue, cloudless, the breeze is warm, perfect conditions for flying.
Something tightens around his chest.
Desperately Jay tries not to notice the object in the corner of his eye.
"You're quiet today." Ved is next to him chattering away, with no idea of how close he has come to death.
Jay envies him.
Solange appears, followed by Mega.
Jay never noticed before how small she is, or how young she really looks.
Fifteen is too young to die.
She stops in front of them, and Jay finds himself wishing that she would just keep moving, just get on that plane, and fly out of his sight.
"Captain Jay," Solange greets him with a nod, he can't force himself to meet her eye.
"Captain Ved." He catches his brother's smile, and wonders how he'd missed it for so long.
"I will commend your excellent service to me to Lord Ram, and ask that he considers you both for promotion."
"Thank you, General." The way Ved's voice lingers on the General reminds Jay of the conversation he witnessed the previous day.
"Thank you." He whispers softly.
Solange moves past them, and Jay feels as if he can breath again.
Mega makes a move to follow her, but Jay catches him.
"Mega, you are to stay with us. Paul is replacing you." He feel the weight of Ved and Mega's stares, and he remembers how to lie.
"I didn't receive any new orders," Mega begins, Jay quickly cuts him off.
"But, I did, from Ram last night. The other three planes still need to be serviced, since this one has already been done, you're to stay behind and oversee the procedure, and then fly to the City with Ved and myself."
He thinks they believe him.
Solange doesn't pause, and he hears the sound of her boots as she races up the stairs towards her fate.
He concentrates on the grass, and feeling the sun burning down across his face.
The engines roar into life, propellers spinning.
He closes his eyes, and knows he's a damned man.