Metal Whispers
Title: The World Turned Sideways
Word Count: 724
Crossposted: HERE at runaway-tales
"Can I ask you something?"
His fingers were tracing tiny circles in the small of her back, a barely-there touch that paused briefly when she spoke. She felt him smile against her forehead.
"Only if it has nothing to do with work," he said, and when she pursed her lips, thinking, he chuckled. "You are so predictable," he teased.
"I am not!"
"Is it too much to ask for you to go ten, fifteen minutes without thinking about work?"
"Hey, I went most of the evening without thinking of it," she defended, smacking his ribs with an open palm. "That's pretty good, for me." She snuggled into his chest, sulking. "And I was just going to ask if you're nervous about tomorrow."
"I'm never nervous."
"Uh huh." She closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of his skin as she coiled her legs around his. "You're such a liar."
"Keelin, listen to me!"
Her eyes snapped open, and instead of the warm embrace of his arms she found herself leaning over Aria's console, her hands deep in smoking wires, fingers scraped and bleeding.
"I can fix this!" she yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Dax, I can -" Her eyes widened as the screens went to static, the console lights flaring a brilliant white as the remote auto-pilot engaged. "No!" she screamed, slamming her hands on the smooth metal. "Goddammit, don't do this!" Aria began to move, and without the field to hold her in place Keelin had to throw her arms around the boards to keep from being tossed into the wall. "Please!" she begged, even as the comm link hissed and went silent. "Please, Dax, don't -"
"... don't send me back..." she murmured, and flinched as a light bloomed against her closed eyelids.
[ I would if I could, ] Aria said softly, [ but unfortunately that isn't an option for either of us. ]
"Ari...?" Keelin's eyes opened just a crack, and she found herself staring up along the console, her perspective dizzying and confusing until she realized the entire cockpit had been turned sideways. "Wha... happened?"
[ I was afraid they'd killed you. ] The mech's voice was small and high-pitched, like a frightened child. [ You were so still, and my sensors are damaged, I couldn't get a reading off you, and then they were saying what they were going to do to us and I thought that - ]
"Whoa... slow down," Keelin said, pushing herself off the wall that had become the floor, pressing a hand to the large lump on her forehead. She felt like a ragdoll that had been flung about by an unruly toddler. "Who was saying what?"
[ The Galian pilots, ] Aria said in a low moan. [ They were in here and - ]
"In here? In the cockpit?"
[ Yes, that's when they drugged you, and I thought they were trying to kill you, and... ] Aria made a noise oddly like a sniffle, though Keelin was more focused on hauling up the sleeves of her uniform. Sure enough, there was a circular ring of bruised punctures in the crook of her left elbow. She pressed her fingers to it, numb with horror. [ They said they're going to execute us, Keelin, they're going to hang you and they're going to use me for... for bombing practice! ]
"How long have I been out?" Keelin asked, gaining her feet on legs that felt like rubber.
[ Approximately nine hours, twenty-seven minutes, ] Aria told her. [ And didn't you hear me? Bombing practice, Keelin! ]
"They won't bomb you. You're way more valuable to them as spare parts."
[ ... I'm assuming that was supposed to make me feel better? ]
"Something like that," Keelin said, pulling a panel off the section of console closest to her. "Try to stay calm. I'll get us out of this." Reaching inside, she dug out one of the small programming pads and tapped it to life, bringing up Aria's readouts, and began to rapidly route and reroute power to the piloting interface and weapons systems. She assumed the Galians were watching, and that she didn't have much time, but if they were planning to make good on the executions she was damn well going to make them work for it.
Word Count: 724
Crossposted: HERE at runaway-tales
"Can I ask you something?"
His fingers were tracing tiny circles in the small of her back, a barely-there touch that paused briefly when she spoke. She felt him smile against her forehead.
"Only if it has nothing to do with work," he said, and when she pursed her lips, thinking, he chuckled. "You are so predictable," he teased.
"I am not!"
"Is it too much to ask for you to go ten, fifteen minutes without thinking about work?"
"Hey, I went most of the evening without thinking of it," she defended, smacking his ribs with an open palm. "That's pretty good, for me." She snuggled into his chest, sulking. "And I was just going to ask if you're nervous about tomorrow."
"I'm never nervous."
"Uh huh." She closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of his skin as she coiled her legs around his. "You're such a liar."
"Keelin, listen to me!"
Her eyes snapped open, and instead of the warm embrace of his arms she found herself leaning over Aria's console, her hands deep in smoking wires, fingers scraped and bleeding.
"I can fix this!" she yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Dax, I can -" Her eyes widened as the screens went to static, the console lights flaring a brilliant white as the remote auto-pilot engaged. "No!" she screamed, slamming her hands on the smooth metal. "Goddammit, don't do this!" Aria began to move, and without the field to hold her in place Keelin had to throw her arms around the boards to keep from being tossed into the wall. "Please!" she begged, even as the comm link hissed and went silent. "Please, Dax, don't -"
"... don't send me back..." she murmured, and flinched as a light bloomed against her closed eyelids.
[ I would if I could, ] Aria said softly, [ but unfortunately that isn't an option for either of us. ]
"Ari...?" Keelin's eyes opened just a crack, and she found herself staring up along the console, her perspective dizzying and confusing until she realized the entire cockpit had been turned sideways. "Wha... happened?"
[ I was afraid they'd killed you. ] The mech's voice was small and high-pitched, like a frightened child. [ You were so still, and my sensors are damaged, I couldn't get a reading off you, and then they were saying what they were going to do to us and I thought that - ]
"Whoa... slow down," Keelin said, pushing herself off the wall that had become the floor, pressing a hand to the large lump on her forehead. She felt like a ragdoll that had been flung about by an unruly toddler. "Who was saying what?"
[ The Galian pilots, ] Aria said in a low moan. [ They were in here and - ]
"In here? In the cockpit?"
[ Yes, that's when they drugged you, and I thought they were trying to kill you, and... ] Aria made a noise oddly like a sniffle, though Keelin was more focused on hauling up the sleeves of her uniform. Sure enough, there was a circular ring of bruised punctures in the crook of her left elbow. She pressed her fingers to it, numb with horror. [ They said they're going to execute us, Keelin, they're going to hang you and they're going to use me for... for bombing practice! ]
"How long have I been out?" Keelin asked, gaining her feet on legs that felt like rubber.
[ Approximately nine hours, twenty-seven minutes, ] Aria told her. [ And didn't you hear me? Bombing practice, Keelin! ]
"They won't bomb you. You're way more valuable to them as spare parts."
[ ... I'm assuming that was supposed to make me feel better? ]
"Something like that," Keelin said, pulling a panel off the section of console closest to her. "Try to stay calm. I'll get us out of this." Reaching inside, she dug out one of the small programming pads and tapped it to life, bringing up Aria's readouts, and began to rapidly route and reroute power to the piloting interface and weapons systems. She assumed the Galians were watching, and that she didn't have much time, but if they were planning to make good on the executions she was damn well going to make them work for it.