Fic - Weiss Kreuz - Facing Reality
Fandom: Weiss Kreuz
Title: Facing Reality
Author: daegaer
Warnings: worksafe
Pairing(s): Crawford/Ran
Notes: Written for laurose8's prompt: Crawford/Ran : future reincarnation fic : belonging together Space Opera! Following on from Purchase Day.
Points to Crawford, please!
"So this is what you spent our money on?" Schuldig said, catching up as they reached the ship. He spun the boy around, grinning at the way he stumbled. "Nice legs, anyway."
"Get your damn hands off me!"
"Well, well, he talks," Schuldig said, raising an eyebrow at Crawford. "Thought you were getting us a new nav?"
"He is new," Crawford said. "Look at the eyes - brand new. He's never flown before, we'll get years out of him." He keyed in his identification and let the ship read his retinal implant. "Come on."
The ship's corridors were chill, the heating turned down to minimum. The boy shivered between them, his thin tunic and bare feet no match for the temperature. Crawford led them to the tiny cabin the previous navigator had used. He shoved the unwashed clothing off the bunk and indicated the space as if he were showing the boy around a liner's ballroom.
"This is where you'll sleep, or stay when you're not needed."
"Someone else's things are - everywhere," the boy said, looking around. He wrinkled his nose at the stale smell.
"Take what you want," Schuldig said, off-hand. "You want to put him through his paces before anyone else comes back on-board, Captain?"
"Maybe we should wait until we're at the jump point, what do you think?" Crawford grinned. "You have lunch?"
"Yeah," Schuldig said, as the boy said,
"No."
They both laughed. The boy turned a blotchy red, and stared at his feet. After a moment more he started to tidy things around him. Schuldig leant against the wall, watching him, a mean grin still on his lips. Crawford waited until the boy had piled the dirty clothes into a heap, letting him regain some equilibrium, then took his elbow.
"That doesn't matter, come on. You need training."
The boy swallowed, the effort need to look into Crawford's eyes obvious. "Already?"
There was no point in trying to soften the situation. "It's what you're for. Don't dawdle."
The bridge was shadowy and intimidating, Crawford supposed, to someone who'd never been there before. The navigator's station was definitely intimidating, the wires and straps coiled and waiting. The boy stared at it in disgusted fascination, as if at a particularly revolting insect.
"Right," Schuldig said, "let's get this off." He tried to pull the boy's tunic over his head, and succeeded only in starting a scuffle as the boy flailed at him.
"What the hells?" The boy scrambled away. "Get away from me!"
"Damn," Schuldig muttered, gingerly feeling at his cheek, where the boy had got in a lucky scratch. "Get back over here, you little - come on, now, it's all right. I just need to check your ports, I'm First Mate, I'm the one who puts you in." He held a hand out, his face kind and concerned, as if the only rational thing to do would be to walk back into his grasp. Crawford felt an almost overpowering urge to step forwards, and kept a tight grasp on the cold console behind him, so his dignity would not be compromised. The boy had no idea he should defend himself against a mental assault, however, and shuffled back, his face wary.
"There, now," Schuldig said, keeping his voice calm. He put a hand on the boy's arm, patting him as if he were a nervous animal. "What's your name, anyway?"
"Ran."
"Nice to meet you, Ran. I'm your superior officer, so you have to do what I say, all right? Now, I need to check everything is all right, so please, take off your clothes."
The boy - Ran - reluctantly obeyed, holding out his arms. Schuldig checked his wrists, turned him round gently enough to examine the nape of his neck and base of his spine. He shivered as Schuldig patted his thigh.
"Nice, clean work. You know how to keep yourself free of dirt?"
"Yes," Ran said in an abrupt, terrified voice.
"Shh, shh, it's all right. Damn, he's skittish - don't worry, he won't surprise me again. I got used to Sani, that's all."
Crawford made a noise of assent. "How much did you get, in the end?"
"Tried for a hundred and fifty, ended up getting one-ten. Let's hope no one ever tries going further than the station with her, huh?"
"Not our problem any longer."
"That is the truth, Captain. Right. You, Ran. We're going to do a few simulations now. Step up here -"
Ran stepped closer to the navigator's station, still shivering. "And then we'll be in hyperspace?"
Schuldig laughed over his shoulder, inviting Crawford to join in. "We're on a planet. You want us to try dragging it with us? We're not engaging the engines, this is to see how you manage the route calculations. You really are new, aren't you? Come on, up you go."
"It's cold, can't I put my clothes on?"
"You're going to be strapped in there a long time," Crawford said. "A fold of cloth trapped under you will go quickly from being inconvenient to being torture." Especially, he thought, when the boy wasn't looking as healthy as he did now. Schuldig caught the thought and shrugged.
Things went well for the next few seconds, Schuldig slipping the connectors home with practiced ease. Then Ran seemed all at once to register he was going to be strapped in face down, and jerked back. Crawford stiffened. He's going to run. Ran seized the cables and tore them from his arms, then just flung himself away from Schuldig, the cables at his neck and back falling free. He fell, hard, on the floor and scrabbled his way, fast and panicked, back to the corridor they'd entered by.
"Shit."
"Won't surprise you again, huh?" Crawford said. "What's in his head?"
"Panic," Schuldig said, "Just panic and fear. Where the hells does he think he's going to hide from us?" He gave Crawford a disgusted look. "Nice buy, Captain."
"We're on the bridge," Crawford said. "Keep it civil. Come on, let's get him back here."
They found Ran hunched in the galley. They flanked him carefully, in case he made a try for knives, but he stayed there, miserable and silent even when they hauled him out.
"Give me a few minutes," Crawford said. "In my quarters."
"Sure," Schuldig said. "He can go in when you're done."
"Sit," Crawford said, when Schuldig had left them alone. He indicated the bed and repeated, more firmly, "Sit down." Ran sat, and looked up at him in sheer misery. "There's no point in being afraid," Crawford said. "The technology is long-since tested. The effects are known, and accepted. Accepted by you, I might add. I agreed that I would personally ensure that your sister's medical bills were indeed paid, didn't I?" He waited until Ran reluctantly nodded. "Then you will get back out there, and you will get in the navigator's station, understand?"
"It's different when you actually see it," Ran said. "I don't want to do it. I'm sorry. I can't do it - I'll do anything else you want, but I don't think I can do this."
Crawford put a finger under his chin and lifted his head so he couldn't look away. "I've bought you," he said, "or I've bought your sister. Decide."
Ran gaped at him. "She - her health is very delicate, she'd never last as a navigator. It'd be a waste of money."
"Does she look like you? She's pretty if she does; I think we could wait for her to get out of hospital. By the time we got to a more specialized market I think we would have her training well underway. Schuldig in particular has a very vivid imagination; there's little would surprise her after that."
"You bastard," Ran said. He didn't look like he was going to cry, which was better.
"Captain," Crawford said gently. "You address me as Captain. Am I to take it you've made your decision? Good. Now, some practicalities - I'm sorry, but you can't be sedated, so you'll need to get yourself under control, and you can't eat before going in, you'll throw up. Have you emptied your bowels today?"
"What?" Ran said in confusion.
Crawford sighed and pulled him into the tiny bathroom. He pulled a box from the cabinet. "Stand there. Hold the safety rail -"
"What the -" Ran shot upright in horror, but the suppository had already been inserted and Crawford had turned away and was washing his hands.
"Count to at least sixty and then, this time, you can use my facilities," he said.
Ran looked at him like he was ready to curse again, then winced as the first cramp hit. Crawford took a hypo-spray from the cabinet and waited until after Ran had cleaned himself up.
"Normally Schuldig would give you this on the bridge, but under the circumstances, let's do it before you start panicking again."
"Why do you have navigation drugs in your quarters?" Ran said, his voice still a little shaky, his eyes fixed on the violet liquid in the capsule.
"I just had a feeling I'd need them today," Crawford said. "Hold still -" He pressed the hypo-spray against Ran's neck and gave him the full dose. Ran swayed and looked a little lost, almost at once. "Yes," Crawford said, "Stronger than the stuff you found on the street, isn't it?" He led Ran back to the bridge, the young man more tractable with each step.
"That looks better," Schuldig said. "He seems not want to give you any trouble. You should threaten little girls more often."
"It's not polite to eavesdrop," Crawford said. "Get him in." He watched as Ran was connected to the station and strapped in securely, his body lying limp on the gel cushions. "Right. Let's start with something simple, just a point to point jump."
"Then a triple?"
"Mmm. But nothing too difficult, not as a first attempt."
They ran the navigation computer, keying up some simple routes and sat back, watching the numbers. Crawford kept an eye on Ran, seeing how his fingers twitched slightly, and he muttered half-audibly now and then. Schuldig indicated a screen with the results of the first jump. Crawford pursed his lips.
"Run that one again."
After the second result he took out his hip flask and shared the rum with Schuldig.
"He'll get better," Schuldig said.
"You're the precognitive suddenly, are you?" Crawford said morosely.
"Hey, look on the bright side. At least he's only theoretically blowing up the ship."
"I want at least one clean result before anyone else gets back," Crawford said. "Run it again."
"I have another bottle in my quarters," Schuldig said, levering himself out of his chair.
Crawford allowed himself a heavy sigh when Schuldig was gone. Ran would improve, he told himself. It just took a while for the drugs to take proper hold, for a navigator to get used to the experience. By the time they actually had to make a real jump, he'd be fine. He re-entered the route and sat back, waiting for the rum to arrive. In the navigator's station, Ran twitched and muttered nonsensically.
He'd be fine, Crawford thought. Just fine.
Title: Facing Reality
Author: daegaer
Warnings: worksafe
Pairing(s): Crawford/Ran
Notes: Written for laurose8's prompt: Crawford/Ran : future reincarnation fic : belonging together Space Opera! Following on from Purchase Day.
Points to Crawford, please!
"So this is what you spent our money on?" Schuldig said, catching up as they reached the ship. He spun the boy around, grinning at the way he stumbled. "Nice legs, anyway."
"Get your damn hands off me!"
"Well, well, he talks," Schuldig said, raising an eyebrow at Crawford. "Thought you were getting us a new nav?"
"He is new," Crawford said. "Look at the eyes - brand new. He's never flown before, we'll get years out of him." He keyed in his identification and let the ship read his retinal implant. "Come on."
The ship's corridors were chill, the heating turned down to minimum. The boy shivered between them, his thin tunic and bare feet no match for the temperature. Crawford led them to the tiny cabin the previous navigator had used. He shoved the unwashed clothing off the bunk and indicated the space as if he were showing the boy around a liner's ballroom.
"This is where you'll sleep, or stay when you're not needed."
"Someone else's things are - everywhere," the boy said, looking around. He wrinkled his nose at the stale smell.
"Take what you want," Schuldig said, off-hand. "You want to put him through his paces before anyone else comes back on-board, Captain?"
"Maybe we should wait until we're at the jump point, what do you think?" Crawford grinned. "You have lunch?"
"Yeah," Schuldig said, as the boy said,
"No."
They both laughed. The boy turned a blotchy red, and stared at his feet. After a moment more he started to tidy things around him. Schuldig leant against the wall, watching him, a mean grin still on his lips. Crawford waited until the boy had piled the dirty clothes into a heap, letting him regain some equilibrium, then took his elbow.
"That doesn't matter, come on. You need training."
The boy swallowed, the effort need to look into Crawford's eyes obvious. "Already?"
There was no point in trying to soften the situation. "It's what you're for. Don't dawdle."
The bridge was shadowy and intimidating, Crawford supposed, to someone who'd never been there before. The navigator's station was definitely intimidating, the wires and straps coiled and waiting. The boy stared at it in disgusted fascination, as if at a particularly revolting insect.
"Right," Schuldig said, "let's get this off." He tried to pull the boy's tunic over his head, and succeeded only in starting a scuffle as the boy flailed at him.
"What the hells?" The boy scrambled away. "Get away from me!"
"Damn," Schuldig muttered, gingerly feeling at his cheek, where the boy had got in a lucky scratch. "Get back over here, you little - come on, now, it's all right. I just need to check your ports, I'm First Mate, I'm the one who puts you in." He held a hand out, his face kind and concerned, as if the only rational thing to do would be to walk back into his grasp. Crawford felt an almost overpowering urge to step forwards, and kept a tight grasp on the cold console behind him, so his dignity would not be compromised. The boy had no idea he should defend himself against a mental assault, however, and shuffled back, his face wary.
"There, now," Schuldig said, keeping his voice calm. He put a hand on the boy's arm, patting him as if he were a nervous animal. "What's your name, anyway?"
"Ran."
"Nice to meet you, Ran. I'm your superior officer, so you have to do what I say, all right? Now, I need to check everything is all right, so please, take off your clothes."
The boy - Ran - reluctantly obeyed, holding out his arms. Schuldig checked his wrists, turned him round gently enough to examine the nape of his neck and base of his spine. He shivered as Schuldig patted his thigh.
"Nice, clean work. You know how to keep yourself free of dirt?"
"Yes," Ran said in an abrupt, terrified voice.
"Shh, shh, it's all right. Damn, he's skittish - don't worry, he won't surprise me again. I got used to Sani, that's all."
Crawford made a noise of assent. "How much did you get, in the end?"
"Tried for a hundred and fifty, ended up getting one-ten. Let's hope no one ever tries going further than the station with her, huh?"
"Not our problem any longer."
"That is the truth, Captain. Right. You, Ran. We're going to do a few simulations now. Step up here -"
Ran stepped closer to the navigator's station, still shivering. "And then we'll be in hyperspace?"
Schuldig laughed over his shoulder, inviting Crawford to join in. "We're on a planet. You want us to try dragging it with us? We're not engaging the engines, this is to see how you manage the route calculations. You really are new, aren't you? Come on, up you go."
"It's cold, can't I put my clothes on?"
"You're going to be strapped in there a long time," Crawford said. "A fold of cloth trapped under you will go quickly from being inconvenient to being torture." Especially, he thought, when the boy wasn't looking as healthy as he did now. Schuldig caught the thought and shrugged.
Things went well for the next few seconds, Schuldig slipping the connectors home with practiced ease. Then Ran seemed all at once to register he was going to be strapped in face down, and jerked back. Crawford stiffened. He's going to run. Ran seized the cables and tore them from his arms, then just flung himself away from Schuldig, the cables at his neck and back falling free. He fell, hard, on the floor and scrabbled his way, fast and panicked, back to the corridor they'd entered by.
"Shit."
"Won't surprise you again, huh?" Crawford said. "What's in his head?"
"Panic," Schuldig said, "Just panic and fear. Where the hells does he think he's going to hide from us?" He gave Crawford a disgusted look. "Nice buy, Captain."
"We're on the bridge," Crawford said. "Keep it civil. Come on, let's get him back here."
They found Ran hunched in the galley. They flanked him carefully, in case he made a try for knives, but he stayed there, miserable and silent even when they hauled him out.
"Give me a few minutes," Crawford said. "In my quarters."
"Sure," Schuldig said. "He can go in when you're done."
"Sit," Crawford said, when Schuldig had left them alone. He indicated the bed and repeated, more firmly, "Sit down." Ran sat, and looked up at him in sheer misery. "There's no point in being afraid," Crawford said. "The technology is long-since tested. The effects are known, and accepted. Accepted by you, I might add. I agreed that I would personally ensure that your sister's medical bills were indeed paid, didn't I?" He waited until Ran reluctantly nodded. "Then you will get back out there, and you will get in the navigator's station, understand?"
"It's different when you actually see it," Ran said. "I don't want to do it. I'm sorry. I can't do it - I'll do anything else you want, but I don't think I can do this."
Crawford put a finger under his chin and lifted his head so he couldn't look away. "I've bought you," he said, "or I've bought your sister. Decide."
Ran gaped at him. "She - her health is very delicate, she'd never last as a navigator. It'd be a waste of money."
"Does she look like you? She's pretty if she does; I think we could wait for her to get out of hospital. By the time we got to a more specialized market I think we would have her training well underway. Schuldig in particular has a very vivid imagination; there's little would surprise her after that."
"You bastard," Ran said. He didn't look like he was going to cry, which was better.
"Captain," Crawford said gently. "You address me as Captain. Am I to take it you've made your decision? Good. Now, some practicalities - I'm sorry, but you can't be sedated, so you'll need to get yourself under control, and you can't eat before going in, you'll throw up. Have you emptied your bowels today?"
"What?" Ran said in confusion.
Crawford sighed and pulled him into the tiny bathroom. He pulled a box from the cabinet. "Stand there. Hold the safety rail -"
"What the -" Ran shot upright in horror, but the suppository had already been inserted and Crawford had turned away and was washing his hands.
"Count to at least sixty and then, this time, you can use my facilities," he said.
Ran looked at him like he was ready to curse again, then winced as the first cramp hit. Crawford took a hypo-spray from the cabinet and waited until after Ran had cleaned himself up.
"Normally Schuldig would give you this on the bridge, but under the circumstances, let's do it before you start panicking again."
"Why do you have navigation drugs in your quarters?" Ran said, his voice still a little shaky, his eyes fixed on the violet liquid in the capsule.
"I just had a feeling I'd need them today," Crawford said. "Hold still -" He pressed the hypo-spray against Ran's neck and gave him the full dose. Ran swayed and looked a little lost, almost at once. "Yes," Crawford said, "Stronger than the stuff you found on the street, isn't it?" He led Ran back to the bridge, the young man more tractable with each step.
"That looks better," Schuldig said. "He seems not want to give you any trouble. You should threaten little girls more often."
"It's not polite to eavesdrop," Crawford said. "Get him in." He watched as Ran was connected to the station and strapped in securely, his body lying limp on the gel cushions. "Right. Let's start with something simple, just a point to point jump."
"Then a triple?"
"Mmm. But nothing too difficult, not as a first attempt."
They ran the navigation computer, keying up some simple routes and sat back, watching the numbers. Crawford kept an eye on Ran, seeing how his fingers twitched slightly, and he muttered half-audibly now and then. Schuldig indicated a screen with the results of the first jump. Crawford pursed his lips.
"Run that one again."
After the second result he took out his hip flask and shared the rum with Schuldig.
"He'll get better," Schuldig said.
"You're the precognitive suddenly, are you?" Crawford said morosely.
"Hey, look on the bright side. At least he's only theoretically blowing up the ship."
"I want at least one clean result before anyone else gets back," Crawford said. "Run it again."
"I have another bottle in my quarters," Schuldig said, levering himself out of his chair.
Crawford allowed himself a heavy sigh when Schuldig was gone. Ran would improve, he told himself. It just took a while for the drugs to take proper hold, for a navigator to get used to the experience. By the time they actually had to make a real jump, he'd be fine. He re-entered the route and sat back, waiting for the rum to arrive. In the navigator's station, Ran twitched and muttered nonsensically.
He'd be fine, Crawford thought. Just fine.