Fic: Altered Trajectory (cont.)

[jeriendhal]

As the escape pod's tiny thrusters puffed to kill its considerable spin, Rufus hastily grabbed a sick bag from a storage compartment and proceeded to be violently ill. Again. By the time he was done throwing up the pod had come to a standstill, relatively speaking, thought it still had considerable forward momentum from the White Knight's final plunge into the Federation cruiser. But he couldn't give himself time to mourn her. There was another love of his that still required his attention.

“Hazel, are you all right?” he asked, unbuckling himself and turning around to face her.

“Rufus... that has to be... the dumbest question... you've ever asked,” she replied, clutching her wounded belly. Dark red stains leaked from under the bandage sealed to her abdomen, staining her fur and dripping away to form little globules around the cockpit.

“Sorry, habit,” he said. “How much pain are you in?”

“Lots,” she gasped. “Did you see... what happened... to Blake's ship?”

“Not really. Though I'm certain we got a solid hit on her engineering core. Hopefully it was enough to take her reactors offline and force her out of the fight.”

“How long... before we're picked up... do you think?”

“Well that depends on how busy they are. Not to mention who wins,” he said, turning back towards the instrument panel. He checked the com system and let out a quiet, “Oh, dear.”

“What?”

“We were a bit closer to the impact than I'd intended. The explosion stripped away all the lifepod's exterior antenna. Which means the emergency beacon isn't transmitting.”

“That's... a problem.” She swallowed. “What about... the standard com?”

“Gone. We're running silent.”

“Life support?”

“The pod is good for twenty-six vulp-hours. So thirteen for the both of us.”

Hazel shook her head slowly. “A bit more for you than me, I think.”

“We'll get picked up well before then,” he said firmly.

“Optimist.” She was silent for a minute, seeming to concentrate solely on breathing. “Hey... do me a favor?”

“Anything, my love,” Rufus agreed.

Hazel licked her lips and swallowed. “Marry me?”

He smiled at her. “Of course. You'll have the finest wedding imaginable.”

She shook her head again, eyes half-closed against her pain. “No... I mean right now.”

“Er.” Rufus glanced around the cockpit. “Not that I'm against the idea, but there's no room in here for a priestess.”

“You're the master of... this vessel, right?”

“I suppose I am, if you want to call this a vessel.”

“Don't... quibble... with the bleeding vixen. You're the master... of the ship... you can marry us.” She laughed once, then bit down hard on her lip in pain. “Don't want to die... a spinster... like your loony aunt.”

“You're not going to die,” he said with as much conviction as he could muster.

“Ru... we're not going... to be picked up... in time. If they don't think... we died in the impact... they may be too... damaged themselves... to search for us... There's so much... damned debris... they might not even...”

“Enough,” he interrupted, before Hazel could strain herself further stating the same conclusions he'd come to when he found the damage to the com. “I'll marry us. Then you quiet down and concentrate on not bleeding.”

“Okay,” she agreed.

“Um, Haz Elin Swiftfoot, under the eyes of the Holy Den Mother and all present, by your sacred honor and by your love, do you take this Mother's Son, Lord Ru Ofanius Brushtail, as your lawful husband and mate, until...” He fought back a sudden urge to burst into tears. “Until you die?”

“I shall,” Hazel breathed.

“So do I,” he said quickly. “So by the power invested in me as master of this vessel, under the Holy Den Mother's eyes and blessed by Her love, I pronounce us mated. Let our kiss seal this sacred bond.” Awkwardly, he pushed his face against the gap between the windscreen and his acceleration couch's headrest, snaking his arm around the other side to stroke Hazel's headpelt as she unstrapped herself to lean forward and kiss him. He held onto her for a long time, trying to imbed this moment in his mind forevermore, before finally releasing her.

“What's wrong?” she asked, as he glanced at the stars outside.

“Nothing. It's just if this was an entertainment vid, this would be the point when the rescue vessel made a dramatic appearance. Cue soaring music as we're pulled aboard, when a quick fade to your hospital bed for some quips and another kiss before the credits roll.”

“Ah... nobody ever... hits their cue... in real life. Heh.” Hazel grinned, then started to laugh. She'd barely let a single haha when her face twisted up in pain and she began to cough and choke, spitting out dark globules of blood.

“Hazel! Hazel no!” Rufus reached forward and grabbed her paw. “Stay with me!”

“Sorry... sorry Ru...” She coughed again, blood splashing against the cockpit windscreen and Rufus' face, as the little pod began to shake.

Federation fighter to escape pod. Is anyone alive in there?

Rufus forced himself to let go of Hazel's paw as he turned back towards the instrument panel. A docking bot had attached itself to the front of the pod, reeled out from a Human Federation fighter, the electronic connectors in the nose of its probe automatically hooking up with what was left of the lifepod's com system. He slapped his paw against the com panel, shouting, “Yes! Yes, we're alive. My co-pilot is severely wounded and requires immediate medical attention! Please, where is your mother ship?” Frell, at this point it didn't matter if Blake hauled them both back for another round of torture. He'd give her anything she wanted now, if she would agree to save Hazel.

Right behind you, sir.

Rufus turned back around, as the enormous shape of a Federation battle-carrier decelerating behind them, its half-kilometer long bulk overshadowing both of the smaller vessels. Painted across her bow was the name FSS Edward Rickenbaker.

Admiral Blake's complements, sir. A medtech team will be meeting you in the landing bay shortly. The fighter accelerated gently, pulling them into the lighted landing bay.

As the bay re-pressurized, he turned back towards Hazel. “It's all right, love. I promise it'll be all right.” But she was slumped forward in her seat, the fur of her muzzle matted with blood, no longer breathing. Gone.

TBC

Comments

[chaypeta.livejournal.com]

Oh no you don't!!!!

[mjkj.livejournal.com]

I hope they know vulpine reanimation...

...and I wonder how Admiral Blake will handle the situation - and his daughter...

*looking forward to the next installment*

mjkj

[mjkj.livejournal.com]

...if Leeza is still alive I mean...