Glowworms teaser part 2, still Chaos' fault
Because I am supposed to be writing a different fic, I finally typed up another part of that teaser I posted earlier, found here. This is more impressive than it sounds, because I had to mesh together about 3 or 4 rough drafts and rearrange paragraphs and such things. I actually have the entire plot sketched out for this fic, so the odds of me finishing it are slightly better than normal (normal being nil, because I suck.)
The first part, again, is here and can also be found under the fic: teaser tag.
632 words, Kirk and Bones, a continuation of a previous teaser
The tree continues to short out until a convulsing worm knocks the rock loose. Everything stops at once and the the worms fall limp, some sliding to the ground with a plop.
Bones takes a calming breath and says carefully, "Jim, if we split up, we're gonna die."
"Bones, you've said that about every mission we've been on for the past six years," Jim replies just as calmly. "Is there any particular reason why you think you'll be right this time?"
Bones' answer is a silent yet eloquent flail of limbs that encompasses the eerily dry air, the admittedly foreboding trees, and the musty tang of fried worms.
"You'll need to use some actual words because I don't speak whatever this is," Jim snaps back, giving a fair approximation of Bones' gestures. He's lying, of course. Jim is fluent in every dialect of Bones-speak, with a particular mastery of Drunken Slur and Eyebrow.
"Don't rile me up, Jim," says Bones. He waves his hand at the bleached white soil where the research team used poison to clear a path for their vehicles to travel between stations. That was fifteen years ago but without rain or animal population, the poison's dominion has remained unchanged. Bones points to the widest path. "I vote we take the right fork."
"I vote we follow the orders of our commanding officer and split up," Jim shoots back.
"You so much as think the word 'insubordination' and I will shove my boot up your ass. I have the medical knowledge to do that," Bones adds when Jim open his mouth.
"Try to guess what word I'm thinking now," Jim says.
Bones puts his fingers on Jim's face in an imitation of Spock's mind-meld. "Well, I can tell for sure it isn't 'common sense,'" he drawls.
Jim smacks Bones' hands away but Bones grips his fingers, refusing to let go or step back. "I got the heebie jeebies, Jim," he says softly.
Jim looks at Bones for a minute, cataloguing the creases that have crept into his skin along the years, the hard, worried line of his lower lip and the flecks of green in his eyes. Jim re-evaluates his strategy. "Listen," he says, leaning a little bit into Bones like he's telling a secret. "I don't want to split up, either, but we have a limited amount of time before the Enterprise will come back into range. If we split up, we can cover all the required ground and get beamed back up before breakfast tomorrow instead of sticking around while the ship orbits again."
Bones is starting to concede; Jim can tell from the softening of his mouth and the way his eyes cut away. Jim slides their hands into a proper military grip, each holding the other's wrist, and says, "Besides that, we'll be in touch the whole time with the short range communicators." He adds solemnly, "If you get scared, you tell me right away and I'll sing you a lullaby."
Bones snorts and pulls away. "No thanks, Jim, I've heard you sing." He stares at the tree for a moment then lets out a long breath. "Ok, fine," he says. "But if you die, I'm going to etch 'I told you so' into your chest with a laser scalpel during the autopsy."
"You're the best friend a guy could have," Jim says with a grin. "If you die, I promise to shed a manful tear while speaking eloquently at your funeral."
Bones squeezes Jim's shoulder without really looking at him and walks away.
"Meet you at the rendez-vous point!" Jim calls.
Bones waves his hand in acknowledgement without calling back. Jim watches him go, listening to the scuff of his boots in the soil even after he disappears around the curve of the path.
_____________
I should totes win an award for "subtlest foreshadowing ever."
You guys trust me, right? :D
The first part, again, is here and can also be found under the fic: teaser tag.
632 words, Kirk and Bones, a continuation of a previous teaser
The tree continues to short out until a convulsing worm knocks the rock loose. Everything stops at once and the the worms fall limp, some sliding to the ground with a plop.
Bones takes a calming breath and says carefully, "Jim, if we split up, we're gonna die."
"Bones, you've said that about every mission we've been on for the past six years," Jim replies just as calmly. "Is there any particular reason why you think you'll be right this time?"
Bones' answer is a silent yet eloquent flail of limbs that encompasses the eerily dry air, the admittedly foreboding trees, and the musty tang of fried worms.
"You'll need to use some actual words because I don't speak whatever this is," Jim snaps back, giving a fair approximation of Bones' gestures. He's lying, of course. Jim is fluent in every dialect of Bones-speak, with a particular mastery of Drunken Slur and Eyebrow.
"Don't rile me up, Jim," says Bones. He waves his hand at the bleached white soil where the research team used poison to clear a path for their vehicles to travel between stations. That was fifteen years ago but without rain or animal population, the poison's dominion has remained unchanged. Bones points to the widest path. "I vote we take the right fork."
"I vote we follow the orders of our commanding officer and split up," Jim shoots back.
"You so much as think the word 'insubordination' and I will shove my boot up your ass. I have the medical knowledge to do that," Bones adds when Jim open his mouth.
"Try to guess what word I'm thinking now," Jim says.
Bones puts his fingers on Jim's face in an imitation of Spock's mind-meld. "Well, I can tell for sure it isn't 'common sense,'" he drawls.
Jim smacks Bones' hands away but Bones grips his fingers, refusing to let go or step back. "I got the heebie jeebies, Jim," he says softly.
Jim looks at Bones for a minute, cataloguing the creases that have crept into his skin along the years, the hard, worried line of his lower lip and the flecks of green in his eyes. Jim re-evaluates his strategy. "Listen," he says, leaning a little bit into Bones like he's telling a secret. "I don't want to split up, either, but we have a limited amount of time before the Enterprise will come back into range. If we split up, we can cover all the required ground and get beamed back up before breakfast tomorrow instead of sticking around while the ship orbits again."
Bones is starting to concede; Jim can tell from the softening of his mouth and the way his eyes cut away. Jim slides their hands into a proper military grip, each holding the other's wrist, and says, "Besides that, we'll be in touch the whole time with the short range communicators." He adds solemnly, "If you get scared, you tell me right away and I'll sing you a lullaby."
Bones snorts and pulls away. "No thanks, Jim, I've heard you sing." He stares at the tree for a moment then lets out a long breath. "Ok, fine," he says. "But if you die, I'm going to etch 'I told you so' into your chest with a laser scalpel during the autopsy."
"You're the best friend a guy could have," Jim says with a grin. "If you die, I promise to shed a manful tear while speaking eloquently at your funeral."
Bones squeezes Jim's shoulder without really looking at him and walks away.
"Meet you at the rendez-vous point!" Jim calls.
Bones waves his hand in acknowledgement without calling back. Jim watches him go, listening to the scuff of his boots in the soil even after he disappears around the curve of the path.
_____________
I should totes win an award for "subtlest foreshadowing ever."
You guys trust me, right? :D