by Tygati
They closed the hatch behind themselves and all three of them made their way to the bridge, or the Vek equivalent thereof. It was small, which was only to be expected given the small size of the ship it controlled, and laid out differently than the bridge on the Pele.
Jeremey settled into one of the seats, watching curiously as the Vek manipulated the controls at another seat. Promise remained standing, intently watching what their captive was doing. After a minute, the Vek asked what Jeremey could only assume was a question, given that Promise responded to it. Several exchanges later, they were in the air, speeding rapidly away from the Imperial city.
"Backup rendezvous point?" Jeremey asked once it seemed things had smoothed out.
Promise nodded. "Seemed the best course, given the state in which we left the city."
Jeremey pulled his hat off and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, how were we supposed to know they'd react like that? I mean, it was a long time ago, right?"
Promise frowned thoughtfully. "Yes. So long ago that the details have been lost to time and the blood enemy remembered only in tales. If not for the evidence of the poison bite, most would believe them to be only tales."
Jeremey snickered. "I guess you guys must have made a bigger impression than you thought."
He could see Promise fighting to maintain composure, to keep from laughing in front of their captive. It was a near thing, but in the end he persevered. "Apparently."
"Big, scary dragon." Jeremey settled back into his seat and put his hat back atop his head. "It going to be another two-hour trip to the pole?"
Promise glanced down at the screen. "Seems that way."
"Good." Jeremey tipped the hat down over his eyes. "Then I'm taking a nap."
Promise's soft laughter followed him into his dreams.
*~*~*
When Jeremey awoke, he was alone. The hum of the engines had ceased and the stillness led Jeremey to conclude that they must have landed. As there was no sign of Promise or their Vek captive, he got up and went in search of them.
The aft section of the ship was noticeably colder than the bridge had been. Jeremey discovered the reason for it as he turned the corner and found the hatch open and an endless expanse of white snow beyond. He shivered and wrapped his arms around himself as he scooted over to peer out, wondering where Promise had gone. Surely he wouldn't be traipsing about in all that snow. It was freezing out there!
Gingerly venturing a few steps out, dismayed at the way his feet sank into the snow-covered earth, Jeremey cupped his hands and called out for Promise.
There was an answering call a few moments later, unfortunately from further outside the ship rather than the warmer interior. He picked his steps carefully through the whiteness until he came around the bulk of the ship and spotted Promise standing a short distance away.
"Stay there," Promise called. "They are landing."
Confused, Jeremey looked upward. He didn't see anything. He could, however, hear the faint whine of an engine growing steadily louder.
It had to be the Pele, still in stealth mode. He had to admit it was pretty impressive from the outside. From the inside, he knew, everything would look exactly as it did when the ship was visible. If he looked carefully, he could see a faint shimmer in the air, the only sign that the sky wasn't as empty as it seemed. A faint puff of air gusted as the snow compressed beneath the weight of the ship as it landed, the only other evidence of the Pele's presence.
Once everything had settled again, there was a faint flicker as the Pele disengaged its stealth technology and reappeared. A few moments later, the main hatch opened and Sam stepped out.
"Seriously?" she asked, already smiling. "First you manage to incite a riot in the capital and now you've stolen a cruiser? I'll admit, I'm impressed."
Promise spread his hands as though in supplication, though he smiled back. "The riot was an accident, to be honest, and the ship was simply the better option given the circumstances."
Sam shook her head. "I can't believe you managed to swipe a cruiser. We've never captured one intact before." Her gaze shifted to Jeremey, trudging cautiously toward them through the snow. "Get in here before you freeze. There's something you need to hear."
Frowning, Jeremey glanced at Promise, who shook his head. Apparently he didn't know either.
They went in through the hatch, shutting it behind them, and followed Sam to the open room they'd been using as both mess hall and rec room. The rest of their team was already there, most with grim expressions.
"What's wrong?" Jeremey asked, a sick feeling settling in the bottom of his stomach. "What happened?"
"We've gotten word from Sergeant Sawyer on the Sekhmet that she's lost all communication with Sergeant Major Dallas and his strike team."
It was like a blow to the gut. Jeremey blindly reached out for Promise, taking what little strength he could from the strong grasp. "Charlie? And Zorevan?"
Sam shook her head. "Unknown. Sawyer hasn't heard from any of them since they left the Sekhmet."
"We have to do something! We have to rescue them!" Jeremey exclaimed, looking wildly around at the strike team. "They're our friends."
There were a few uneasy glances at that, then Will Longley rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"It's one thing to go courting death when you've got surprise on your side, but this time they know we're coming. It'd be suicide."
"Would it?" Airi asked thoughtfully, her tail slowly flicking back and forth. "I don't think I've ever heard of the Vek mounting a rescue mission before."
"That's true," Kishan Allison agreed, leaning forward. "Perhaps the element of surprise is not entirely lost."
"There has been no unusual chatter on Vek frequencies," Dheran offered. "Our destruction of their main communications array does seem to have been effective."
"We don't even know if they're still alive," Longley protested, although it was obvious that he was weakening.
"Are we forgetting? We have a secret weapon." Everyone turned toward Binh-Duc-Tu, who made his species' equivalent of a grin. "Our brave friends have brought to us a ship of the enemy. Can we not simply fly straight into the void, so to say?"
All around there were dawning expressions of surprise, hope, and elation. Sam slapped her hands down on the table, jerking everyone's attention back to her.
"All right," Sam announced. "Anyone wants to stay behind on the Pele, that's fine. Those of us who have an unfulfilled death wish will take the cruiser onto the flagship and see what else we can find to blow up."
A chorus of cheers and shouts of "Hooah!" met her announcement. Jeremey managed a faint smile, though his stomach still churned with worry. What could possibly have happened to his friends? He didn't think there was anything out there that could take on Zorevan and win, so it didn't make any sense.
As soon as he had the thought, the answer followed. Something must have happened to Charlie. Like Jeremey, like Promise, Zorevan would do anything to protect his heart-partner.
The uneasy worry that had been plaguing him washed away beneath a tide of rising anger. If someone had hurt his friends then they were about to sorely regret it.
Jeremey caught Promise's gaze. "We'll get them back," he said firmly. He wouldn't accept anything else.
Promise nodded, his cold words belying the fire in his eyes. "And then we will make certain that we haunt their dreams, and those of their children, for many generations yet to come.
FIFTEEN
The Vek flagship was exactly how Jeremey had pictured it: big, pointy, and oozing menace. It hung in space like a dark blot against a backdrop of distant stars and colorful nebulae, smaller ships circling it and moving about in some unknown pattern. Tiny cruisers, much like their own, went in and out of the flagship by way of a large open hatch somewhere near the midsection of the ship. The hangar bay, or so Sam declared.
As they approached the hangar bay entrance, several areas of the cruiser's control board lit up.
Promise grimaced. "I was afraid of that."<
br />
Sam looked at him sharply. "What is it?"
"Incoming communication. Hopefully they do not use too many unknown words."
Promise motioned them all to silence before bending toward the panel. He pressed three buttons and began to converse with the unknown caller. After several exchanges, he pressed the buttons again and sat back in his chair with a grimace.
"Ugh. I wish they would not slur their words so much," he grumbled.
"Like Old Man Yaller after too much to drink," Jeremey said, laughing.
Promise grinned. "Very much like," he agreed. "We have been granted permission to enter and are instructed to land in bay twelve, wherever that may be."
"Vek writing is ridiculous, but we've more or less gotten the numbers figured out," Kishan said, peering at the monitor as they slowly entered the hangar bay. He murmured to himself as various things came onto the screen, stabbing a finger at it when a certain symbol came into view. "There, park there. That's a twelve."
Frowning in concentration, Promise directed the ship into the slot that Kishan indicated. He'd managed to learn a great deal from their captive on how to control the ship before dropping the Vek off somewhere while Jeremey slept—one less variable to have to keep track of, he'd explained—but he hadn't had time to learn it all and it certainly wasn't easy. Still, he did his best, even if they did land with a bit of a bump.
"Okay folks," Sam called, sliding one last weapon into place. "You know the drill. Find our people, finish the mission, and get the fuck out of dodge. If things happen to blow up on the way out, all the better." She grinned wolfishly.
"Your love affair with explosives wouldn't happen to be the reason you're barred from ever setting foot on Arcturia again, would it, Captain?" Kishan asked with mock innocence.
"Silence is a virtue," Sam shot back, though she seemed more amused than anything. "Is everyone ready?"
All around were various nods and gestures to the affirmative. Sam nodded back and then looked toward Promise. "Whenever you're ready."
Promise drew in a slow breath, letting it out just as slowly before heading for the hatch at the rear of the ship. He looked back briefly, meeting Jeremey's eyes, then pressed the button that opened the doors and stepped out. For a moment, there was only a heavy, waiting silence, and then the screaming began.
"Go!" Sam ordered.
The rest of the strike team hurled themselves out the door, taking advantage of the chaos Promise had caused to cross the open area of the hangar bay and disappear into the ship. Sam went last, following her team, and leaving only Jeremey remaining on the ship.
He waited, counting in his head, then bolted out the hatch. The panicking Vek had mostly dispersed by that point, leaving Promise free to meet up with him halfway across the hangar. When they reached the far wall, Promise shifted back and the two of them ran through the door and into a wide hallway.
"Which way?" Jeremey asked, holding his blaster at the ready.
Promise sniffed the air for a moment, then turned. "This way, I believe."
They made their way through the twists and turns of the Vek flagship with a very efficient, if brutal, process. Jeremey would shoot anything that didn't run and then Promise would bite it. In this manner they followed the faint scent of friend deep into the bowels of the ship. There was no telling how far they would have gotten if something hadn't suddenly grabbed hold of them from behind and dragged them into an adjacent room.
Jeremey squirmed and struggled, caught in his captor's iron grip. "Let me go, you—"
"Quit moving, rachya-breath," a familiar voice growled.
Jeremey stilled. "… Zorevan?"
The arms holding him let go. Jeremey whirled to face what appeared to be a Vek just like any other he'd seen.
"Of course you can manage the colors too," Promise said with a sigh.
"You're just lazy," Zorevan retorted, smirking. "You could do it too if you put some effort into it."
"Zorevan," Jeremey interrupted, "Where's Charlie?"
Zorevan stilled, his expression blanking. "Two levels down. They surprised us and captured Charlie. I haven't been able to get to him since you need special clearance to enter that section." Beneath his carefully controlled words, Jeremey could hear an unmistakable worry.
"And the rest of your team?" he asked.
Zorevan shook his head. "I don't know. I believe some of them may be with Charlie, but I don't know for certain since I can't get down there."
Jeremey pulled off his hat to run a hand through his hair, then settled it back into place. "Can we get down one more floor?" he asked.
"Yeah." Zorevan jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Access ladder over that way."
Jeremey grinned and held up one of the handful of things Sam had equipped him with. Promise, catching onto his plan, started laughing quietly.
Zorevan looked from one to the other and snorted. "Whoever let the two biggest troublemakers on Noman be heart-partners was out of their sandy mind."
Jeremey blinked, shooting a startled glance at Promise. "How did you know?" he asked, baffled.
Zorevan snorted again. "I'm not an idiot." He turned and strode off, leaving Jeremey and Promise scrambling to catch up with him.
"How did he know?" Jeremey whispered to Promise as they followed Zorevan around a corner. "We haven't, um…"
Promise shook his head. "I have no idea. I can only assume that, having had a human as a heart-partner for so many years, he can recognize the same in others."
That made sense, although it was still disconcerting to Jeremey that someone else could pick up on something that had taken him so long to recognize.
They stopped at a very small room with a large hole in the middle of the floor that Zorevan pointed to.
"Down we go."
Promise went down first, then Jeremey, with Zorevan guarding the rear. The level below seemed to be deserted as there was not a single Vek in sight. It was the perfect setup as far as Jeremey was concerned.
"Okay," Jeremey said, getting Sam's little silver globe out of his bag again. "Down is a one-way trip, so I hope you can figure out how to get us out of there once we get in."
"The layout of this ship is not difficult to understand," Zorevan replied, which Jeremey interpreted as a yes.
"All right, we need to be five meters away when this thing goes bang," Jeremey instructed, waiting until the two dragons were clear before pushing the trigger. He darted over to join them, silently counting down the six seconds Sam had told him he had to get out of the blast zone.
Right on time, there was a bright flash followed almost immediately by a sizzling sound. When Jeremey looked at the spot where he'd set the little device down, there was now a gaping hole in the floor instead.
"Nice," Zorevan commented, leaping down into the hole as though he did that sort of thing every day.
Jeremey grimaced, but before he even had a chance to contemplate how he was going to climb down, Promise picked him up and jumped.
He had his blaster out almost as soon as they hit the floor below, but there was no need for it. The three Vek within sight were already convulsing on the ground from the effects of the dragons' poison bite.
"Do you think he'll leave any for us?" Jeremey asked as they headed toward that room's only door.
"Most likely not," Promise said, in line with Jeremey's own thoughts. "If it was my heart-partner who had been taken away from me, I would undoubtedly be in a similar temperament."
Jeremey grinned. "Violent and bloodthirsty?"
Promise's return grin was sharp and full of teeth. "Precisely."
Laughing, Jeremey stole a quick kiss and headed off down the hallway in search of Zorevan and, he hoped, Charlie. It shouldn't be too difficult; just follow the trail of bodies.
They caught up with Zorevan in a wider hallway lined with numerous closed doors. He had abandoned his Vek disguise shape and was back in his more familiar humanoid-dragon one, looking quite impressive as he held a Vek up in the air by its
shirt, its feet dangling helplessly above the floor. He growled something at the Vek in its own language before throwing it toward one of the doors.
Instead of complying like the pilot Jeremey and Promise had "borrowed," this Vek reached for its weapon. It only managed to get the weapon halfway up before Jeremey shot the Vek in the hand and the weapon clattered harmlessly to the floor.
"Hi." Jeremey gestured toward Zorevan with his blaster. "I'd really recommend doing as my friend over there asks. He doesn't have a lot of patience and neither do I."
Eyes darting between the three of them, the Vek eventually seemed to come to the conclusion it should have reached a long time ago. It moved toward the closed door, doing something to the pad beside it which caused the door to slide open.
Zorevan was through the door almost immediately. Jeremey didn't take his eyes off the Vek, waiting as he heard Zorevan speaking with someone. Charlie, apparently, as a few moments later he heard Charlie's voice boom out, "I told you, I'm fine! Quit fussing, you damned lizard!"
Jeremey and Promise shared a grin, carefully schooling their expressions as their friends emerged through the open doorway.
Charlie's brows shot up. "Jeremey? What are you two doing here?"
Jeremey grinned. "Rescuing you, of course."
"And blowing things up," Promise added, trying for innocence and failing.
Charlie snorted. "I'm not sure which of you is worse anymore. Has anyone seen my hat?"
A brief examination of the area failed to turn up any trace of Charlie's hat so they turned their attention to the rest of the prison cells instead. One by one they made their reluctant captive unlock them, although they only turned up two of the Sekhmet's missing strike team.
"Where are the rest of your people?" Promise asked, frowning.
Dallas shook his head. "I don't know. I saw Madsen go down, but that's it. I'm surprised they left any of us alive, to be honest."
"More prisoners means more to torture for information," Konol'ya rumbled, smoothing down his thick white fur where it had gotten mussed.
Jeremey frowned as well and turned toward the waiting Vek. "Where are the rest of them?" he asked. "There were more."