Dangerous Connections EMM08

[Mark Garrison 0]

Victria was seething. She kept her quarters bare for just such occasions. The most damage she could do would be to dent the walls in a few places or rend a pillow or two into bits. There were plenty of weapons about, but no good targets to be had. Thankfully, however, she'd paced off most of her nervous energy during her first rampage through the room and was now leaning on the window frame, staring out into space at the stars flying past. She'd been ignoring the door chimes for five minutes now, but she knew he was still there – still waiting.

 

Beep.

 

He pushed the button again, determined that he was going to stand there and push it until she either left for shift duty, or the heat death of the universe occurred. He could feel her on the other side, more than likely tearing something apart. It was why he hadn't used his security override to enter already – mostly because he was a gentleman, but partly worried about being torn apart himself. So, instead he pushed all other thoughts out of his mind, summoned his best "determined" emotions, and pushed the chime again.

 

Victria hissed under her breath. The chimes had been muted, but she could do nothing about the beating of his heart. The scent of his stubbornness was also maddening. She dug her fingernails into the wall as she again was forced to assert some measure of calm over herself. With a snap of frustration, she growled at the computer to allow him entrance.

 

The doors whooshed open suddenly. He stood at the doorway for a moment, before stepping in enough only to allow it to close. He took in a deep breath, forcing himself to push his battling emotions down. She was pissed, he could see it and feel it, which in turn affected him. If he allowed these emotions to control him, he'd mirror them back on to her. More than likely somehow ending in the destruction of the ship. But he lacked the skills to handle most human relationships, how was he to deal with a pissed Al-Ucardian? Mild Sarcasm? Reassurance? Humor? Nudity? This was exactly why he became a security officer. All you had to do was shoot or say 'yes sir'.

 

He took a few more steps into her sparse living quarters before attempting any sort of communication. "I'm going to take a stab in the dark and assume the 'reanimating the dead pilot' idea wasn't taken too well by Command."

 

"You should not be here," she said to his reflection in the window. "I'm not the best of company at the moment." The total disarray of the room left little imagination to her recent activities, but she felt a warning from her own lips would make him realize that she couldn't always control herself. As much as the Al-Ucard liked to think that they'd risen above their animalistic instincts, the predisposition for emotional intensity had been genetically bred into them and could not always be denied. The line of her back straightened with tension as he moved closer. Her teeth gritted as she realized why he'd sought her out at this particular moment. "If I've pushed this on you, I apologize."

 

He chuckled. "You don't need to apologize," he was now next to her, but staring out into the stars rather than meeting her eye to eye. "I'm sure you've gotten emotions from me that come as an inconvenience," He paused, regarding his choice of words before looking at her. "But if you think I'm going to leave you alone in this state, you don't know me that well."

 

She took another deep breath and released it slowly. "You count on the fact that I will not harm you, but I am not certain I could guarantee that if you ever caught me in a true fit of rage. I maintain control out there only through strength of will. Here, I am alone and have no need to hold back." She closed her eyes for a moment, resting her forehead against the window. "How much do you feel?"

 

"Oh, plenty enough," he trailed off with a sigh. "Let's just say I got off bridge duty just in time." He was watching her closely, trying to see if his slightly aloof approach to this situation was having helping her any. "Still, when it's this intense, it's easy to tell what I'm feeling that's me, and what isn't. Makes rational decisions easier. It's the underlying emotions that are harder to tell who's whom."

 

"They seem intense now because the bond is new, but they grow easier to distinguish and control. You will eventually be able to turn them off completely as though controlling a computer program."

 

"That will be helpful, especially on hazardous missions. What about our range?"

 

"That will increase with time, though it takes years to cultivate and develop any sort of lasting results. If I were to leave for Al-Ucard, time and space would diminish the connection and eventually sever it."

 

"All the more reason for us to spend as much time together as possible," he said with a grin.

 

"If Segami knew, he would be livid. I am certain he would consider it a hazard to our department and this ship. You have seen the latest memo from him, I'm sure. He is already on the prowl for war and feels the need to assert his dominance. Besides that, I have also been formally chastised by Corizon for my part in retrieving the pilot's memories." She wondered how much more furious the captain would be if he discovered this deception. For some reason the thought of making him angry always amused her. Pushing off the window, she turned away and strode across the room, snatching a mostly-intact pillow from the floor. Piece by piece it fell to the carpet.

 

He smirked as he observed the rest of her quarters properly for the first time. He wondered himself if she kept it bare for exactly these reasons. "Segami and Corizon would be the least of my worries. The grapevine on this ship would ruin us."

 

"You would receive a warning on your record, perhaps. I would be imprisoned in the brig and labeled an enemy. I have noticed that some on this ship, even in our own department, would be apt to do that even now for no reason other than my race. Which leaves me to wonder... if I can sense muted hostility without any provocation, what will happen if we are faced with an actual Al-Ucardian attack?" She gritted her teeth again, fighting the rising anger and frustration she felt. The two emotions had been her constant companions ever since she'd first awoken on Excalibur.

 

He sighed, having thought this himself. "They will see the truth." He stared straight into her eyes. "You're an asset to this ship, and anyone who thinks otherwise is an idiot."

 

"Forgive me if I continue to doubt." Hands emptied of the destroyed pillow she picked up a small disc from her desk and toyed with it in her palm. Clutching it carefully she squeezed the trigger release and its three deadly blades sprung forth, barely missing her skin. She'd taken it off one of the bodies of her fellow dead when she'd originally been rescued.

 

"Is that contraband?" He asked in mock surprise, smirking. "An unauthorized weapon? I'm afraid I'm going to have to report you to the Chief, Lieutenant."

 

"I have clearance for it and all other bladed weapons." She snorted. "Undisputable permission."

 

"Don't let Segami hear you say that. He would find a way to dispute it."

 

She sighed as the blades disappeared once more, and she tossed the weapon back onto her desk. "The hardest part is knowing..." her voice lowered significantly. "That the ones that stare at me in anger and fear when they think I cannot see them... they are probably right. I cannot be trusted. It is only a matter of time before I do something drastic. And I will not be able to help myself." Her gaze swung back to him, searching his expression.

 

He smiled at her, and put a hand on her shoulder. "I trust you, and I believe in you. You'll find your balance. I can't begin to imagine how foreign this place and these people are to you, but you'll find your place." He paused, almost for dramatic effect. "There isn't anything I seen that you can't do."

 

Her eyes flitted to the hand on her shoulder then back to his face, though she made no move to shrug off his touch. "If the others have too little faith, then you, perhaps, have too much." But one of the corners of her mouth did twitch in amusement, the majority of the anger and rage draining away slowly. She was still frustrated, but she lived in a perpetual state of frustration.

 

He left his hand there. "Perhaps. But I prefer my way of doing things." He smirked at her in an almost boyish way. "Besides, I'm not about to let my first 'bonding' end in disaster."

 

"It is not my first link, but it is my first real connection to humanity." She stilled under his touch, willing herself to remain frozen. "Thank you for seeking me out, despite the danger. But you may wish to leave now to avoid the disaster of which you speak." Blue irises were slowly being devoured by murky black.

 

His face mirrored confusion as he tried to determine what she meant exactly. Failing that he had to use a more direct approach. "And why's that?"

 

"Because you smell... appetizing." She resisted the impulse to bare her fangs. "We are in the privacy of my quarters and you are not currently inebriated, so I am within my rights as per Atticus, but I doubt you came expecting to be my next meal."

 

"Don't I have to be a willing participant?"

 

"He never specified that," she said, a slow smile appearing.

 

He smirked in a small manner and removed his hand, careful not to make it look like a reeling gesture. "I suppose nothing beats fresh, eh?"

 

"No."

 

He was quickly getting the picture. He just smiled as he walked by her to the door, his hand brushing her arm once more before he came to a stop in the open doorway and looked back. "Just behave now. I have enough paperwork as it is."

 

"I'm not making any promises," she replied, her smile now slightly more feral than friendly.

Edited March 21, 2008 by Mark Garrison