Blood Pact, Part II

[Mark Garrison 0]

"Blood Pact, Part II"

 

 

 

 

 

She left the lift behind as she headed down the corridor, her pace somewhat decreased now that they were in the confines of the ship. "Where are we going? What is your first area of concern?"

 

 

 

He produced a padd and handed it to her, several corridors on deck 14 were highlighted. "These are areas I suspect would most likely be used by enemy forces to gain access to access to Main Engineering, but again, I'm using a human point of view for this. Any thoughts on how you'd get down here, and how you'd bypass security would be helpful."

 

 

 

"The crawl spaces are always a good option, especially if one has the entire layout of the ship. They can be utilized without drawing attention." She studied the padd as they walked. "Beaming into points here, here, and here," she pointed out on the diagram. "Would produce immediate results in shutting down or rerouting all of the ship's power into that area."

 

 

 

He nodded as the roamed the halls. He held back an approved sigh, some of those areas had passed his mind as well, which meant he couldn't be completely off. "Alright, lets through caution to the wind then. What route would you take if you didn't have the option of a stealth approach?"

 

 

 

She gave the layout another long look and finally traced her chosen route for him to see, pointing out the actual areas of the ship as they passed them. "The least path of resistance lies here. A small party could infiltrate to a significant degree before they could be stopped. A party of one would fare worse if stealth could not be achieved." She pondered for a moment. "You could always run a holographic program of the area to capture different scenarios."

 

 

 

He nodded again, the programs already half written. "I plan to. Thank you, your help has been invaluable." He trailed off, not sure if he had anything to ask her, or if he even wanted to leave yet.

 

 

 

Holding the data padd for him to take, she paused and continued to stare at him. After several moments of silence, she finally spoke up. "I cannot read minds, but I do know that you hold some sort of tension. There is something you wish to know? Just ask me."

 

 

 

He looked down at the padd, and grabbed it, having forgotten it until now. "It's... well... I'm not sure to be honest. You've been so forthcoming, but you haven't inquired into my life at all. I can't help but feel I'm just probing you for information."

 

 

 

"Most humans find inquiries into their personal life too invasive coming from one such as me, especially given the small amount of time we have known one another." She smiled slightly. "I am not so bound by many of your taboos. If you wish to tell me of yourself, I would be interested to learn."

 

 

 

He smiled as he watched her eyes. "The first thing you should know is that I don't throw myself into the vast lump that is the Human race. I doubt there is much you could ask or do that could offend me; I make it a point in life to be open minded. As to my life story... I wouldn't know where to begin or what would be interesting. Maybe you should just ask."

 

 

 

"Perhaps I shall think on it and make a list of what would be most strategically sound." Her gaze shifted to the others in the corridor as they continued to travel through the deck, slowly making their way to one of the other turbo lifts. "I have little practice at it."

 

 

 

He held back a smirk as they reached the turbo lift. "You know, this isn't a battle. It's a conversation. Just ask me something. There aren't any rights or wrongs here." He paused as a thought passed through his mind. "I know a lot of races that don't hold small talk in as high accord as Humans, and usually I don't either, but don't let that hold you back."

 

 

 

She considered him for a few moments as the doors closed and the lift lingered, awaiting command. "Perhaps I would ask as to the reason why you decided on a career in ship security."

 

 

 

He had no idea where to go, and ignored the fact they were now standing in a lift alone. He smirked as he thought the question over before finally turning to face her. "I suppose it would have to be because I'm not good at anything else. My parents were both in Starfleet; I was born and raised on a ship like this. It's basically the only life I know. But... I neither had the practical intelligence or the patience for any of the other fields. Science, maybe, but it's more of a passing hobby. So, being a solider was the only option left if I wanted to get out here."

 

 

 

"It is good that you were not content. Contentment breeds complacency and blind obedience. It is the reason why my people are now struggling to be free." She fell silent as she considered her next question. Her capacity for emotion was slowly beginning to expand as she allowed herself to wonder how these humans felt. "And you have no clan on the ship? No family?"

 

 

 

His thoughts passed over his mother, dead. His father, stricken with a mental disorder. His sister, too apathetic to care. His brother, too young to have his family's situation pushed on him. But he pushed those thoughts out, determined to be open with her. "No, not on the ship. My mother... she died about a year ago. My father is retired from Starfleet, and lives on Earth. And my sister... we, uh don't talk that much anyway."

 

 

 

She nodded, still watching him carefully, tasting each emotion. "I believe that having a clan is an important part of life. It is difficult without one because you have no support. Do you believe that the crew on this ship have taken the place of your family? Many feel this way, from what I've been told."

 

 

 

He considered the query as the computer asked for their destination again. "Possibly. I wouldn't know to be sure though. I've only been here a short while, and I've only met a few of the crew. I guess time can only tell. What of your... clan? Do they live on Al-Ucard?"

 

 

 

"Yes, but I know not how many of them still exist. The first Scorpiad barrage threw our kind at the Federation until most of our ships were destroyed. My clan is one of Hunters and most, if not all, of us were recruited to serve on those ships. I hope to return to Al-Ucard to discover what has become of them." She said this without changing her expression, superbly trained to repress them in the company of others.

 

 

 

 

He watched her speak about her family, and their possible death without emotion, while he struggled to contain his own. But, if that was how she was he wasn't about to question it. "Well, for what it's worth I hope they survived. And... if not, that they are someplace they can hunt eternally."

 

 

 

"There is no eternal Hunt. We simply cease to exist. Perhaps we return to the world of which we were born." She shrugged. "It is not important." Her eyes traveled upward to where the lift voice emanated that was still requesting their destination. Evidently no one else had called this particular lift for service.

 

 

 

 

"Are we traveling somewhere? Or do you wish to learn more about my people and their customs?" Her voice lowered, the blue of her eyes seeming to intensify as she focused on him once more. The space between them shortened.

 

 

 

He locked into her eyes, unconsciously noticing her closer to him, but not taking any steps to change that. Odd, that she'd have an atheo-agnostic view of the universe. He'd never heard of a culture of Hunters that didn't have some sort of God or the like that aided them in the hunt. He paused, losing his train of thought for a moment before replying. "Right now, there's nothing I'd rather do more then learn more about you."

 

 

 

"Then perhaps we will start with the pact you made earlier. We do not take such things lightly." She slowly reached for his arm and pulled him to her. Her eyes remained locked on his as she lifted his wrist to her mouth. "Together in the Hunt, Mark of the Garrison," she said softly, lips barely brushing his skin. And then she bit down, savoring her first taste.

 

 

 

He was startled slightly at her movement, and winced for a second at the bite. This wasn't exactly what he envisioned, but at this point he had thrown out any hopes for normality on this ship out the airlock.

Edited December 23, 2007 by Mark Garrison

[LeftEar JoNs 0]

Gives whole new meaning to the term Bite Me. Ba Da Bing. Yes. Yes, I went there.

 

Nice log guys! w00t!