Written by Light, Cajun, and Taylor

Mitar tugged on the hem of the tac vest he was wearing, trying to adjust the fit, and shifted the P-90 he carried. ( Carrying weapons always filled him with a sense of foreboding. )

Mitar moved off with his exploration team still mulling what he'd seen. He'd been amused at first, but now he wasn't so sure. There was something in Ridley's eyes, something vulnerable, something fearful, when he'd turned that made Mitar realise this thing with Miller wasn't just a fling, a way to allay his grief. Mitar had realised in that moment ( Read more... )

Ridley watched everyone leave till there was only his team and a feeling of trepidation. He knew he needed to act professional yet casual around Tim with his teammates. Traan, as an Athosian, probably knew all about them, had probably even heard them having sex (and he couldn't help but blush again at that), but Enid didn't know anything and he had ( Read more... )

The morning had proceeded without incident and Ridley, Adam, and Belem had headed back to the jumper, arriving before the other teams. Ridley set out the thermoses of coffee, tea, and cocoa and the tray of sandwiches they'd gotten from the mess, ( and then sat down with his data pad )

Tim arrived at the jumper bay and started his pre-flight checks while he waited for the other members of the mission to arrive. He’d been able to get there early enough or maybe other folks were running late, either way he was nervous. His feelings stemmed entirely from Parrish and the Athosians. He couldn’t undo it and, really, he didn’t want to. ( Read more... )

Mitar followed the captain in a southwesterly direction, the Athosian herbalist, Marran, walking beside him. He was making mental note of the trees and bushes even as his eyes scanned the ground for more low-lying plants that might have lived into the winter and the tree branches for the rare aerial-growing or parisitic plant. "Are the trees much ( Read more... )

Ridley stood watching the jumper take off, still somewhat in awe of its silence in doing so, and then turned to Captain Hunter and Belem Sayeur ( Read more... )

Jack awoke with a groan and blinked in confusion. He was warm, hot even, sweaty, naked. Sore. God, was he sore! His head pounded in rhythm with his heart, his stomach churning. A breath ghosted across his face, sour with morning breath. ( A body was pressed up against his back )