Chapter 2 - Spring and Summer
Plasia yawned softly and stretched her arms over her head, blinking the sleep from her eyes. She pulled the blanket back across her body, and tucked her chin underneath it. She wasn't really cold; the ship had a pretty good air circulation and heating system, and since her corruption, she'd become noticeably hardier to the elements, but it was nice to feel all tucked in and cosy. Safe. It was something she hadn't felt in a very long time.
Slowly, she uncurled her legs from underneath her and stretched them out too. She was sitting in the pilot's chair of the Radon's cockpit, which luckily was plenty large - and comfy - enough for her to curl up in. She hadn't felt too comfortable exploring much of the ship, and for the most part, had stayed in the cockpit. She'd even moved the medical and food supplies on board into there. She couldn't really explain it, but the thought of exploring more of the ship made her anxious. Perhaps it was as simple as knowing the ship wasn't exactly hers. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, and the pain from her bruises and blistering burns was starting to fade, she actually found herself feeling somewhat guilty. It was a weird conflict she was feeling, but at least it was one she could rationalise against easily; Moltezz had literally been seconds away from ending her life…
If only the sinking feeling in her chest could be so easily bested.
Although she was still recovering, and still exhausted, Plasia was looking much better. Her eye was completely healed now. Her missing limb was regenerating at a strong pace, and she didn't have to hobble around so much on her makeshift walking cane anymore (a long piece of ladder railing she'd broken off the ship - as convenient as it could be, her strength still terrified her sometimes). Despite that though, despite how much better she has gotten in such a short amount of time, her hand drifted up towards her neck, which was still scorched an ashy grey. Moltezz's fingers remained imprinted into her skin. She could still feel the sting from the top of her head where her dreadlocks had been pulled out. Everytime Plasia ran her hands through her locks, she could feel them; the clumps that were shorter than the others, that she did her best to hide and push beneath her longer, thicker locks, even though there was no-one else around to see the damage.
Despite being the only one on board the ship, Plasia had been making a very conscious effort to stay decent. Considering all the trauma, both physically and mentally she'd been exposed to, she just hadn't been able to relax in her burned, broken and torn little gown that at this point showed more than it concealed, that Leech had given her back at
Barru X's medical bay. There hadn't been much in the way of clothes aboard the Radon, but in one of her few hesitant explorations around, she had managed to find a few outfits vacuum-sealed away in one of the storage cupboards. They didn't fit her at all - it was obvious from the gothic-fantasy-dominatrix style and the size that these were Moltezz's clothes, and it took Plasia hours of psyching herself up to even pull her stump through the trouser hole. They were too long for her, and tight around her hips, and her bust straight up tore through some of the tighter tops available. But, with a shaking breath and fresh, unshakable resolve, Plasia persevered, and tried again. After six months in nothing but mechanical bondage, and even longer than that before in solely the rags Moltezz deemed fit to don upon her -
Plasia was fucking fed up of being naked.
She wasn't exactly sure how long she'd been on this ship now. It could be difficult enough to regulate a schedule while space-travelling, and she'd spent most of the journey so far sleeping. But it must have been a week at least, judging from the amount of provisions she'd gone through. She knew that the ship wasn't travelling at its full speed - maybe not even half, looking at its speedometers, but she'd not wanted to touch anything - she was leaving, that was all that mattered. While Plasia was more than able to pilot a simple craft, the Radon was more complicated than the nomad civilian ships she was used to. Since she'd left Barru X, quite frankly she'd left it completely alone. And besides, she was happy to wait and take her time before reaching her final, mystery destination. Finally, she'd had some time to rest. Finally, she'd had some time to heal.
Finally, she'd had some time to think.
She thought about the last six months - she'd had no idea she'd been kept prisoner by the DA for that long. So much of it was a blur of the senses, blinding lights, a flash of pain, a warm rush of blood against the skin, and that sweet, sickening smell… She remembered that horrid, slippery white eel, his thin, evil smile and his ice-cold eyes. His scathing tongue and cruel, bitter remarks, and to what end? For his own twisted entertainment.
And then there was the young girl, the golden-yellow dragoness with kind eyes…
and wavy, silken hair…
and soft, malleable skin…
Plasia buried her face into the blanket and started to sob loudly. Her fingers gripped desperately at the soft woolen fabric. She stroked it tenderly as, slowly, she tried to control her breathing.
No, no, I don't want to think about that.
"I wish they'd come with me." Plasia whispered softly. Cherry, Plum, Bubblegum. As her current star disappeared from view, her eyes flickered to the next, a soft, fiery orange through her wet, blurry vision. "I wish she would leave me alone." Her eyes focused then on the murky violet blackness before her. As more tears welled up in her eyes, the streaking comets blurred into soft, sparkling lights. "I wish he was here with me." Her voice cracked.
Of course, Diego had been on her mind the most, both waking and sleeping. Dreams graced her sleep, nightmares tormented them. Those precious few days she'd shared with him, his arms wrapped around her body so protectively, his chest warm against her face, the way they'd moved together, he'd moved in her and her in him… It had been so fleeting. She raised her hand, and gently grasped at the stars as they whizzed past her.
How long had she carried the weight of his death on her? The relief she'd felt when Leech had told her the truth, it had felt as though the weight of the world had been lifted off of her. There was still the matter of finding him, and Seeth, and the others, but at least she knew now.
But… Do I?
All of this thinking came to a head of the most complicated feeling of them all. Leech. She'd looked after her. Treated her, tried her best to keep Moltezz away from her. She'd tried to calm her raging fears around Diego. She tried to shake the doubt from her mind; she wasn't exactly sure what Leech would get from lying to her in that moment, as cruel and sadistic a creature she could be. Besides, it's not like she'd confirmed Diego was actually alive, just that she hadn't been the one who killed him. No, with a few shaky but calming breaths, this was another one that Plasia could rationalise; she didn't think that Leech had lied about that.
So, what did she think of Leech? So much of her time with her had been contained within the dungeon, as much her prison as it was the Marks', and her limited recelections mostly flashes of her other half's memory, interrupted only by flashes of pain and fire. She'd spent a lot of that time as her other half, running around Leech's lab like her own personal little minion. At least I was useful, she thought to herself with an angry little flick-of-the-tongue, as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Probably just missed having her loyal little assistant around the place. I wasn't going to be much good to her like this, was I? She kicked out her injured leg. The too-long trouser flopped around like a fish caught on a line.
Do you even know what you look like now? When did you last look at yourself? At what she turned you into? She made you into a monster! Of course she'd tried to hide you away!
Warm tears still rolling down her cheeks, she rolled her head upwards, and rested it heavily against the headrest, staring up and out of the windshield at the night sky, distant stars whizzing past her like falling stars. It almost felt magical. She shivered, and curled up tighter beneath the blanket. No matter how hard she tried, no matter how much she thought, there was one nagging thought she couldn't get out of her head;
Then why did they rescue me..?
A soft beeping then from the console interrupted Plasia's thoughts. Although the noise was gentle, it made Plasia jump; the console hadn't done anything at all since she'd… commandeered the Radon. Slowly, she uncurled herself from the seat and walked unsteadily towards the console. She kept the blanket draped across her shoulders, and the bottom of it trailed along the cold metal floor behind her.
As she looked over at the console, at its many colourful blinking buttons and dials and trying desperately to figure out what to do, Plasia suddenly felt her stomach lurch; the ship was slowing down, almost in anticipation of their impending arrival. The stars outside finally took form, distant glittering balls, no longer white-orange streaks lining her vision. Anxiety immediately took hold, and Plasia wrapped the blanket tightly around her body.
Her short respite was over. It was time to fight again.
The ship shunted again, and then the engine silenced all-together. They'd stopped. Shaking, Plasia limped forward, until her face was only millimetres from the glass.
She didn't quite understand what she was seeing at first.
Splayed out in front of her was the mid-dissection wreckage of a space station. Chunks of its destroyed carcass floated through space as several distant drones used bright orange lasers to pluck through the scraps and bring them back to the main barges. Her eyes landed on a particular piece towards the front that bore a massive hole through its hull section, the metal still glowing with heat.
She shuddered uncomfortably, leaning on the seat by her side for support as a wave of dizziness hit her. This place felt familiar. Far too familiar.
As her heart began to thump painfully in her chest, she turned her attention to the main controls of the Radon, something she now regretted having neglected to review in detail. Her fingers hammered at the buttons, looking for anything that might explain where she was. In the corner of her eye, the drones attending to the wreckage had noticed her.
The Radon's controls were obscure as ever, but something of use finally appeared as she frantically searched through the different displays. She had ordered the ship to return to its last destination.
Which would have been…
DA space.
Bright warning lights suddenly flashed in front of her from the Radon's displays.
No no no no! This-This can't be! No! I'm not attacking you! I'M NOT - I NEED HELP! PLEASE!
Menacing interceptors warped in front of her, blinking into existence with a stinging flash of radiation white, shining their headlights at the cockpit and brandishing their hull-mounted heavy vulcan arrays. Larger vessels appeared behind those, covered in larger, turret-mounted weapons that all turned to face the Radon, their barrels emitted a threatening, cold glow.
Plasia fell backwards as she briefly forgot about her lack of foot, shaking from head to toe. The moment lingered forever as she stared at the weapons pointed at her, more and more ships warping in until they had her completely surrounded.
A new light blinked on the Radon's console; an incoming transmission.
Plasia fought with every ounce of strength she had in her quivering frame to claw her way up to the panel and allow the transmission, screaming at the top of her lungs the second a face appeared on the holo-display.
"Identify -"
"I SURRENDER! I SURRENDER! PLEASE! I DON'T KNOW WHERE I AM! PLEASE DON'T SHOOT!"
*
"We've triple checked the interior of the czarite's ship, and I'm confident she was the only person aboard, sir."
"Hmm." Jace didn't look convinced. "Are you absolutely sure? They managed to slip past our defences once - twice - before."
The captain looked a little irritated at that. "I have the utmost confidence in my crew, sir… but I can instruct them to check again?"
"Please." Jace nodded. "Oh, and Stevens?"
The captain glanced up from his communicator.
"Don't call me 'sir.' I don't need to be reminded of my age every time I have a conversation with someone. Just Jace is fine. Or Commander Koa, if you must."
"Oh, right…" The captain replied, somewhat uncertainly.
Following the successful capture of the intruding vessel, Jace had quickly made his way to the command bridge of the battleship to discuss their options and plan their next move. But before Jace and the captain could even begin to talk strategy, a familiar clank-clomp rapidly approached and drowned out any hope of talking with an indoor voice. Theo's muscular frame screeched into the room.
"Sorry cap, no time to ask permission to enter!" Theo almost shouted as he clomped up the gangplank, gasping for breath. He gestured half-heartedly to the frustrated-looking pilot, but kept his focus completely on Jace. "Jace, it's her!" He was saying between heavy breaths. "That's the czarite I saw being rescued in the attack on the station!"
"Are you sure?" Jace asked urgently, not in scepticism this time, but in a desperate need for confirmation.
"Definitely." Theo nodded. "And boss, she's in an absolute state."
"Alright, alright." Jace thought quickly; after everything that had happened with Diego and Seeth, Jace was absolutely desperate to get this right. "Have her moved into my office. See that she's taken care of. Clothes, food, medical attention. Anything."
"Roger that!"
Theo immediately turned on his heels and dashed back into the main body of the ship. Jace however, lingered for a few moments. He felt his shoulders drop, the tightness across the front of his chest he hadn't even been aware of suddenly relaxed, as that tension was replaced by an overwhelming feeling of… hope. If Theo was right, and if this really was the captured czarite…
He had everything he needed to take down Scyler and Evangeline.
*
"Hey, look at that, we match!" The blue dragon laughed as he re-entered the room, carrying a large tray of hot chocolate, marshmallows, and a large plate of sugary biscuits. She noted the three mugs that were on the tray; were they waiting for someone else?
As the dragon placed the tray on the desk, he rolled up his combat trousers, showing Plasia his silvery robotic leg. "If you like, we could get you hooked up with one of these babies! A nice rose-gold maybe, I think that would look wonderful with your hair."
Plasia actually blushed, and a small smile teased her lips. Self-consciously, she tucked her stump back underneath the blanket, and reached over to grab a mug of drink that she could hide her embarrassment behind. "Th-Thank you," she mumbled, "b-but that won't be necessary. My leg's actually growing back."
"Bah! Of course!" The dragon smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand in an overly dramatic fashion. "I always forget you czarites are regenerative. Terrible of me really, seeing as my boss has this absolutely massive crush on a czarite - whoops!" He smacked his head again and shot her a wide grin. " Shouldn't have said that! Best not to repeat that to him, might get me into trouble." He winked, and Plasia blushed even harder. He knelt down before her then, and gently held out his hand. "My name is Theo, by the way."
Still curled up in the safety of her blanket in the large office chair, Plasia slowly reached out and took the dragon's hand. "Plasia."
"Lovely to make your acquaintance, Plasia." Theo smiled. His eyes were old and sharp and crinkled, and sad, that no doubt held horrors that Plasia couldn't even imagine. But they were kind too. "A-Are you… a soldier?"
"Pfft. Depends who you ask, to be honest." Theo jumped back into the office chair beside her and gently rocked himself back and forth with his tail. "Technically yes. Although I find I cause more trouble than I fix." He glanced behind him; someone was outside the office door. "That'll be Jace!" He turned back and smiled. "There's no need to worry, Plasia." He said kindly, immediately seeing the panic in her eyes. "He's just a grumpy old man, like me. But remember, don't mention the girlfriend." He put a finger to his lips, and Plasia giggled softly.
"Apologies for making you both wait for me." A brown dragon with leathery skin opened the office door, and quickly closed it behind him. He sat down behind the desk, and clasped his hands before him. His eyes were tired, with dark bags over his already dark skin, but there was a shine to them; a determination. "Commander Jace Koa, Royal Military Division. I see you've already been acquainted with Officer Theo Kintrax here. I hope he's treated you well."
"O-Oh, y-yes, very!" Plasia nodded shyly. He truly had; the boarding crew, while they hadn't been too rough with her, had been frightening, and loud, restraining her immediately upon boarding and pushing her about the Radon faster than she could hobble. They'd tried to take the blanket away from her, but just as Plasia had started to cry, Theo had arrived, and quickly snatched it back from the man who had confiscated it. "Commander's orders, I'll be taking our guest from here." He'd snapped. As soon as the boarding party had dispersed, he'd freed her from her binds. He'd gently supported her through the docking bay to a small washroom, where she'd been able to tidy herself up somewhat, and rinse the dried tears from her face. He'd found a new set of clothes for her to wear too, nothing special, just a grey jumpsuit, however it fit much more comfortably that the clothes Plasia had had to make-do with.
"What do you think, Jace? We could get Plasia here a matching prosthetic, just like mine!" He plonked his metal leg on the desk with a heavy thunk. "We'd be like twins, don't you think that'd be great?"
Jace chuckled. "Theo, I think the poor girl's been through enough. The last thing anyone needs is to look like you."
"Bah!" Theo's leg scraped off the desk as he forced a look of dramatic disgruntlement on his face. "He doesn't know what he's talking about, does he Plas?" He tutted and jutted his chin out at Jace. "I'm fucking awesome."
Although Plasia tried to smile, she couldn't quite fight back the threatening flow of fresh tears.
Plas…
"Hey, I'm not that bad am I?" Theo chuckled, and placed a hand on her shoulder. Plasia shook her head, but didn't trust she could keep the waterworks in if she spoke. Jace cleared his throat softly, looking somewhat awkward, but not at Plasia's tears; he was hesitating, as though he was dreading what he was going to say next.
"I'm sorry to have to do this, Plasia, but if you're up to it, there's some questions I need to ask you. They might be difficult, and you can take all the time you need. But it really is very important you answer."
Plasia nodded, coughing slightly to try and regain some composure. She shifted about and sat up on the chair. Theo moved his hand away. "I'm here if you need me." He said softly, then leaned away from her. Plasia looked at him gratefully.
"Now," Jace began. "You're Plasia, is that correct?"
"Yep." Plasia nodded confidently. She had a bad feeling the confidence wouldn't last, so figured she may as well use it while she could.
"Plasia, we believe that several months ago a czarite had been brought aboard a Xeno Investigation and Threat Dismissal space station, unauthorised."
"A X-Xeno what?" Plasia mumbled in confusion.
"Oh, the XITD. The Zits." Theo shot her a toothy grin. "Just the DA's science division. Bunch of nerds with nothing better to do than poke their fingers in things they shouldn't."
Jace shot Theo a look, a I appreciate what you're doing but this is serious sort of look, then continued. "Would you be able to tell us about that, Plasia?"
The girl didn't respond; she stared down into her hot chocolate and said nothing. After a few moments, Jace reached across his desk and grabbed his own mug. He gestured at Theo to do the same, who happily complied, taking half the plate of biscuits with him too. "This isn't an interrogation, Plasia." Jace said. "You're not in trouble. Quite the opposite. We want to help you. But right now, we don't have the information to piece together what happened."
With several deep breaths Plasia nodded, then finally glanced up towards the commander. "What do you want to know?"
"My timeline of events suggests that you were kidnapped from Barru X several months ago, whereas the XITD claimed you were officially dead and they recovered a corpse for research. If we start right at the beginning… Were you kidnapped from Barru X?"
"Y-Yes… I can't remember too much about that… I remember fighting, everything hurt… but it's all so blurry now." Plasia placed a hand to her head and rubbed her forehead. "I-I'm sorry, it gives me a headache trying to remember -" my other half, Plasia almost said, but quickly cut herself off.
Jace seemed satisfied though, and nodded. "Can you remember much from the XITD station? Your treatment? Anyone you saw?"
"I…" She was fighting desperately to keep her tears back - god it felt like all she did was cry these days! "I… A lot of it's blurry. I wasn't… present for a lot of it." Plasia didn't really want to go into the whole split personality situation. As nice as Theo and Jace had been so far, they were still DA, and she was on her guard. "They did this." Plasia gestured to her leg. "And they cut my eye out too, and my tummy…They called it a pre-mortem something, but that was at the end."
Theo was stiff in the seat next to her. He looked like he was fighting to stay calm. He seemed to be in control, for now though. Jace took steer of the conversation. "And what about before? Were they hurting you before then too?"
Plasia nodded. "They kept me chained up, locked in a room. They'd cut bits off me, stick needles into me, ask me questions… I can't really remember what now, though."
"Who would ask the questions?" Jace leaned forward. "Is there anyone you remember seeing specifically?"
"Um, there were a few… the main one was the eel though."
Theo visibly flinched at that, and there was a low growl emanating from the bottom of his maw. "Can you remember his name?" Jace pressed urgently. "Or what he looked like?"
"I don't think he ever told me his name… He was white though. He had a thin muzzle and nasty eyes. I-I remember his teeth being pointy and small. I-Is that helpful?"
"Very. That's definitely Scyler." Theo feigned spitting on the floor in mention of his name. "What about a black and white dragoness, Evangeline? Did you ever see her?"
"Um, no, not a white one. There was a golden dragoness though, I think her name was Mooki?"
Theo all but jumped out of his skin at the mention of the name. "Mooki?! Do you know what happened to her?!"
"I…" Plasia looked away; she was feeling guilty. She was feeling scared. She wasn't sure how much the DA knew about the corruption, and she certainly didn't want to be the one to just spill it all to the first draconic citizen who showed her a fraction of kindness. "I-I'm sorry, Theo. She tried to rescue me. But it went wrong. She's… she's not the same person anymore. But she is safe!" Plasia suddenly cried out. "She's with the Rewritten now, and they'll look after her there!"
"Like they looked after you?" Jace asked, gesturing towards the burns on Plasia's neck. Plasia instinctively ducked her chin, and pulled the blanket back over herself. "Would I be stretching to assume that was the red czarite with the fire psyonics?"
"Y-You know Moltezz?"
"Moltezz…" Jace let the name wash around his mouth. "I wouldn't say we know her, more we know of her. We managed to salvage some security footage from the attack on the space station. Or, I suppose, rescue mission, for you. The footage also matches up with the eye-witness descriptions we have from survivors. That's Moltezz, is it?"
"Y-Yeah… Moltezz doesn't really like me. She says I'm weak. I'm wrong." Plasia bowed her head.
"You're none of those things, Plas." Theo suddenly spoke up again, his voice gentle despite the fury in his eyes. "You survived literal hell. Over and over again, from the sounds of things. And not once did you give up. You must be one of the strongest people I know."
"I concur with Theo. I don't think Moltezz understands what strength truly is, if she regards you as weak."
Plasia's eyes pricked with tears at their words.
"So, did you escape from the Rewritten?" Jace asked. "They didn't send you here?"
"No." Plasia shook her head furiously. "I s-stole the ship and ran away."
"Is there anything else you can tell us about the Rewritten?" Jace asked. "We know that they've moved on from Barru X, they have a mobile base now. We have footage of two other czarites from the attack as well. And Theo saw your rescue."
"Y-You were there?!" Plasia asked.
"I'd done an inspection on the station a few days earlier, looking for you! But they hid you well and I came back empty handed, mostly… I ended up going back after Mooki failed to get in touch with us. She knew something but didn't feel comfortable telling me." Theo explained. "My gut was telling me that something had happened to her… I went back and the station was melting! I dived in to pull people out and… well… and I saw you. A green czarite was carrying you on her shoulder, legging it for dear life as the place fell apart."
"Leech?! Leech rescued me?!" Plasia's jaw dropped. "Like, it was actually her? Not one of the others?"
"It was just her, and… Mooki. Or what was left of her." Theo sniffed gruffly and clenched his fists. "She got the both of ya out before the station blew."
Plasia couldn't believe it. Leech had actually, personally come to rescue her? This opened up far too many questions. Who exactly was she?! This cruel, kind, crazy and confused young woman who'd all but destroyed Plasia's life… was she trying to fix it?
I have no idea who she really is… I don't think she even knows who she is…
"Could you tell us more about Leech?" Jace asked. "You seem rather shocked she helped you."
"It's… complicated." Plasia fiddled with the tips of her dreadlocks anxiously. "I don't know how to describe her in a nutshell. I thought she was just… evil. But maybe she's not."
"Is she important to the Rewritten?" Jace asked cautiously. His mind raced as he recalled the aerial shots taken of the czarite, destroying the planetside dragoons. Despite the fire in his stomach however, his figure remained calm and composed.
"I mean… I guess? She's good at science. She figures things out. I don't… I don't really…" Plasia trailed off, still playing with her locks. Her eyes started to glaze over.
Jace cleared his throat softly and Plasia jumped back into attention. Sensing the unease, he decided to move the conversation on.
"Plasia, I cannot apologize enough for what the underhanded, cruel members of that division have put you through. I'm sorry to ask this, after everything you've endured. But I have to ask a favour of you."
"O-Oh?" Plasia shrunk back slightly, cautious.
"Yes." Jace cleared his throat. "Plasia, what happened to you aboard the XITD station was illegal, and not at all condoned by the rest of the Draconic Alliance. It's my job to bring these people down. I want the individuals behind your entrapment brought to justice, and to feel the full force of draconic law. I tried before, but we didn't have the evidence we needed against them. But now… Plasia, we could send these people to prison for a very long time. They will never hurt anyone ever again."
"W-What would I need to do?" Plasia asked uncertainly.
"Testify. You would be safe, you have my word. Me and Theo won't leave your side the entire time, if that's what it takes for you to feel comfortable. But you would need to testify openly and honestly in the DA royal court, and explain the crimes they committed against you. You need to be there in person, as per the laws and regulations."
"How long would that take?"
"Well, I want to get this started as soon as possible." Jace shifted in his chair and started typing on his computer. "Well, there's a slight delay right now due to a… technicality on my end." Stupid court mandated couples therapy. I am in awe that the princess actually decreed that. "If I reach out to the royal family now, I think we could get this sorted within four, five months -"
"- five months?! No!" Plasia scrambled up from her chair, hot chocolate spilling over the arm. "No! I-I'm sorry, but I just want to go home! I want to go back to Diego! I don't want to spend more time in the DA, being stared at! Please -" Plasia begged, "please just let me go!"
Jace froze with his fingers hovering over the keyboard. There was a slight hint of irritation in his eyes. "Plasia, I understand that, and I promise we will make amends for the way you've been treated in our company thus far, but I really need you to understand how important it -"
"No! I'm not doing this! It's not my job to help you clean up the Draconic Alliance! I'm sick of being everyone's tool!"
"I know, Plasia. Believe me, I know. I don't want to ask you to do this either, but the people that did this to you… They're part of something bigger. Something worse. I need to bring them down. What they did to you, they could be doing to a thousand others, and that is my concern."
Plasia shook her head defiantly. "I'm not doing it! Not if it's going to take that long!"
"Plasia, I urge you to reconsider -"
Theo suddenly cleared his throat, interrupting the commander. "Boss, I've just had a ping come through, could I borrow you outside a sec? It can't wait."
Jace inhaled deeply through his nostrils in frustration. "Fine. We'll be right back, Plasia." Jace stood from his chair and stepped outside the office. Theo flashed her a smile as he stood to follow. "Sit back down, Plas, I promise everything will be okay. You don't need to look so worried."
Outside Jace's office, Jace stood, leaning against the wall, his fingers pressed to his eyebrows. The moment Theo closed the door, Jace snapped at him.
"What are you doing?! The key to taking down Evangeline and Scyler is right on the other side of that door! We've been fighting this for years, and we're almost there! Don't you want them brought to justice?! What about Mooki?!"
"Jace. You cannot in good conscience make that girl testify. She was crying. She was straight up on the verge of a panic attack just listening to you speak! She's just been locked up, what are we going to do? Lock her up again but nicely this time?!"
"I'm worried that the Dynasty will just assassinate her if she's outside the border! Based on our last discussion, I'm one-hundred percent certain they know she's here by now. She wants to be with Diego, but there's no possibility Diego is going to come back over the border after he's been locked up here too! There isn't another way of doing this, Theo!"
Theo's eye twitched as he tried to ignore the commanding voice screaming inside his head, right on cue. Shut up you fucking cunts, we're on the same page, here! "You're worried about her when she has Diego and Lockblade at her side? I get your point, but she couldn't be in safer company! Especially if we actually inform that lot of the potential danger? How about a little transparency here?!"
"WE'RE ALMOST THERE, THEO!" Jace shouted in frustration. "We'll finally pull Evangeline down and the rest of her creeps with her! We'll be one step closer to dismantling the Dynasty once and for all! And that girl is the key to all of it!"
"And what about Plasia?" Theo snapped back.
"Think of how many people we could help -"
"What happened the last time you did this, Jace?" Theo was appalled. "Are you fucking daft!? Can't teach an old dragon new tricks, apparently."
"What?! What do you mean?"
"Diego!" Theo shouted. "This is exactly what you did to Diego! Entrapped him for your own gain without a thought for him!"
"It won't be the same, Theo." Jace said firmly. "We'll take care of her! She isn't our prisoner, or a slave!"
"She's not our prisoner, sure. She just needs to stay here for the next four to six months whilst we get our shit together. In reality, doesn't sound much different, does it? I know you've got the best intentions Jace, but we can't keep doing this. We may treat her better than the XITD did, but that doesn't mean we're treating her right." Theo sighed and leaned heavily against the wall, beside Jace. "If Isabelle were here right now, she'd say the same thing. And you know it."
Jace gritted his teeth in frustration. He did know it. And now that Theo had said it, he couldn't get the image of Plasia out his mind, this young girl, battered and bruised, shaking, crying, just wanting to go home. "You're right." He muttered. "I hate it… but you're right… But we've been handed a golden opportunity here, Theo… they don't come often."
Theo placed a firm hand on Jace's shoulder. "They'll fuck up again, Jace. You said it yourself, the Dynasty are getting cockier by the day. They've slipped up once. They'll do it again. And we'll be there, ready to keel-haul the mother fuckers. We can still use this information she's provided, hell, she's confirmed our theories were true! That means we're onto something! We're not wasting the opportunity, we're just using it differently!"
"So… what do we do now?"
"You heard her. We're still in touch with Lockblade, right?"
Jace nodded. "I need to get her back to her friends."
Theo nodded. "We need to get her home. And as quickly as possible, I think. Poor girl doesn't deserve to stay in DA space a second longer than she has to."
"You're right." Jace said again. He pushed himself from the wall. "Thank you, Theo. Between you and Isabelle… I don't know where I'd be without you."
"Ha! You'd probably be the DA president by now, if you didn't have us two softies holding you back!" Theo laughed. "I meant what I said, Jace. You've got the best intentions, I know you do. But sometimes…" He glanced back towards the office. "Sometimes there are things more important than that."
"Agreed. Start preparing an escort vehicle." Jace stood up straight then; just like that, he was Commander Koa again. "I'll speak to Seeth straight away. I don't want them coming back into DA space, we'll take Plasia to them, personally."
"No problem, boss. Although… Does this mean your date tonight is postponed?" Theo shot him a toothy grin, and Jace groaned in realisation.
"Dammit! I'm gonna have to cancel -"
"REARRANGE! You ain't wriggling your way out of this, Jace!"
"Yes, yes, rearrange!" Jace sighed in exasperation. He went back to his office door. "I'll have to call Isabelle as soon as I've spoken to Seeth. Ugh, that's going to be horrendous, after you fucking rang her earlier!" Jace shot at him, a faint blush of embarrassment colouring his cheeks.
"Hey, I'm just trying to help where I can." Theo shoved his hands deep into his pockets and started to back his way out of the reception area. "Speaking of, I should get that ship ready?"
"Yes, go!" Jace muttered. "And it's not a date!" He shouted as Theo turned and dashed out the room, cackling as he did so.
Jace sighed as he watched Theo leave, and a familiar crease graced his forehead. Why won't she listen to me? Why won't she let me protect her?! If Autumn does this, I won't be able to -
Jace suddenly froze.
P-Plasia… If Plasia does this…
*
Aboard the Minitaur - sixteen hours after planetside return
*
Diego whined under his breath as he pulled himself upright on the bed. His bones and muscles creaked loudly under his skin as his shaking hands clamped onto the metalwork either side of him.
His eyes blinked, blurry and tired, the room around him fuzzy and unfamiliar. But a familiar, enticing smell filled his nose, replacing the otherwise sterile hum of the room. His brain flooded with memories, lingering on particularly intimate ones, indulging their time together all those months ago.
His body tingled in anticipation before a wave of strain and pain replaced it, stinging particularly through his left arm. He felt a thrum of adrenaline as his body clock kicked in, his stomach jolting uncomfortably, it was time to get up and make breakfast for…
For…
His fingers cautiously felt around his neck, only to feel it free and empty.
She's not here.
His vision slowly adjusted into focus and he appeared to be in some sort of small med-bay, with only four beds in total but no other occupants. It was dimly lit, likely for his comfort, with the other detail of note being the chair next to him with a blanket cast over it and a couple of canisters on the floor.
He went to push himself off the bed, but felt an intense wave of discomfort and fizzling pain throughout his limbs.
Okay. Point taken, not ready to move yet.
He laid himself back down carefully, clicking his fingers a couple times. In response, the med bay displayed a series of diagnostic holo-screens above him, showing a full break-down of his current injuries.
A quiet, completive sigh escaped his mouth as he surveyed the damage done to his body. He winced as he raised his arm to flick the screens across, showing the diagnostic history from two days ago. There was significantly more skeletal damage and his progress was amazing, all considered. His blood was a veritable stew of nanobots and medical serum, all working overtime to knit his bones and muscles back together. He flicked the screens over to more information and noticed a small estimated date of recovery.
One month.
Not bad. That's one of the worst injuries I've had! I -
The fragrance filled his nose again, gently floating through the air like a whisper from the dark.
Sweet. Delicious. Dangerous. A mind melting concoction of will-breaking pheromones and feminine perfection. His skin shivered from head to toe, all the way down his tail and back up his spine.
Seeth.
Gods how he'd missed her scent. He'd missed everything about her, but there was no way he'd be able to indulge her or himself in this state. A month was too long. Far, far too long. His mind quickly saturated with thoughts of her, an unintentional smile quickly finding its way to his face.
She must have pulled through for me! I wonder where she is at the moment? That must be her blanket.
He flicked the screens back to the current diagnostic display and began to take note of his injuries.
This medicine is incredible, but I can do better.
He pushed his hands together and slowly drew out web-like orange strings between his fingers, sticky and tense, before glancing up at the screens above him again.
Okay. One wound at a time. I'll be on my feet before I know it.
The lizard was tending meticulously to his injuries, when the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps cut through his concentration. A panting Oxyi skidded around the corner, half-falling into the room as she fought to maintain her balance.
"Diego! It's Plasia! She's found us! Commander Koa is bringing her home!"