Camouflage Ch3
Mar. 11th, 2005 11:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jebbypalAU-ish Firefly story. Ch1 etc can be found here
Chapter 3: Cold Souls
Zoe carried River through the airlock while Wash followed. She hoped he took her warning not to speak out of turn to heart. Things were going to be pretty tricky for a while. They were met by an escort almost immediately. She cursed inwardly when she saw the soldier carrying his gun. Already she could hear the gears in Wash's brain start to turn as her husband continued to collect more and more questions.
After a short walk down a drab metal corridor, the group came to a stop in front of three officers. Two of them Zoe could identify immediately. The third must have been newly promoted from a regiment she hadn't trained with. She nodded her head in acknowledgement rather than saluting since she didn't want to lay River on the metal grate upon which they stood.
"Report," ordered the new officer.
Zoe resisted wincing as River jabbed her with an elbow. There hadn't been time to give the girl another dose and it appeared that she was beginning to rise to the level of simple sleep. "Sirs, our ship was ambushed by an Alliance patrol. My Captain ordered me to remove this girl to safety since she's a wanted fugitive," Zoe answered. She saw their eyes flicker back towards her husband as they pieced her cover story together with what they knew of her actual orders.
When Admiral Burton stepped forward, Zoe felt a small sense of relief. Burton was a firm, but fair commanding officer and someone she trusted. The old man hadn't aged well; his light brown skin hung from his face while what hair he had left was now completely silver. He still wore the turquoise necklace she had sent to him after the war though. The gift had accompanied her message informing her superiors that Mal had bought Serenity as well as the wave address of the ship.
"I imagine that you are all tired. Goodman here will take the girl to the infirmary. Lieutenant Yabis," he told them as he nodded his head toward the new officer, "will escort you to your assigned bunk."
Zoe felt Wash tug gently on her arm. " River will be pretty upset when she wakes. Shouldn't one of us should stay with her?" he asked quietly.
Of course, Burton overheard the question. He might appear to be older than dirt, but his hearing was as sharp as ever. "Certainly. Your husband is welcome to accompany her."
Zoe understood the unspoken message. They'd take advantage of this opportunity to debrief her. Sighing, she decided that there was no avoiding it. Didn't matter how much she'd hoped for a bath first. Or a night of sleep. "Yes, sir," she answered as she gently handed River over to Goodman. Before following Yabis down the corridor, she gave her husband a quick kiss and a silent reminder to watch what he said.
Wash sat beside her on a metal chair. She could feel how uncomfortable his seat was, but that he wasn't noticing it. His mind was going over and over the day's events trying to suss out a pattern. He wanted to trust his wife, but too much had been revealed. He'd found an elephant larger than the Captain and Zoe's past battles, but he couldn't determine its color. She felt sorry for him, yet she knew that she didn't have the luxury of getting him to understand.
She could feel the eyes on her. The machines and technicians both watched - one with clinical detachment, the others with eager curiosity. She wouldn't get long, but then they also didn't know anything about her. Waiting until the curious eyes got bored, she started to stare at Wash's face until he could see her open eyes. She'd already managed to move her hand close to her face, so he immediately saw her signal him to be quiet.
The pilot was smart. She had to give him that. She wasn't sure if the rest of the crew would have immediately leaned toward her while being sure to not attract attention from the eyes. She split her attention between him and the eyes while she continued to make her body fool the machines. Controlling heart rate and breathing was so simple. Brain waves would have been more difficult, but fortunately they hadn't hooked anything to her head. She was glad. She might have had a flashback otherwise.
"Have to get a message to Daddy," she told Wash. She saw his forehead scrunch in confusion. She never understood why no one else ever understood the title. He'd get it in time. "Careful of the tacks. They prick so easily. She's Zoe, but not your wife."
Wash gasped as if she'd punched him. She felt the watchers. Too late, they saw her eyes open. She hid her smile. They had no clue what to expect. The performance might be fun.
She let the machines detect her systems gearing up for the fun. Screaming, she started to jump off of the bed. Wash was taken aback, his fear and confusion washed over her. She welcomed it, used it since she couldn’t find her own through the haze of the remaining sedatives. Ripping at the wires, she managed to tear the restraints from the table. She jumped to run before the first of the eyes got to her, but she was too slow. Strong arms encircled her as others approached with more drugs. Drugs all around her, tacks couldn't be avoided. She heard Wash yelling, felt the blow he dealt to her captor, felt the prick in his skin before her own. Surrendering to the darkness, she found herself praying to the Shepherd's symbol that he understood.
Zoe gritted her teeth as she entered the bunk. No one had protected her. She hadn't known any of the officers. At least she had gotten to see Stu first. 'Course, the fact that he was onboard wasn't exactly a comfort since her husband was as well. However, it had been all kinds of nice to be able to confirm with her eyes that he had survived the war. She couldn't remember the last time they'd actually seen each other.
She shook her head as she sat on the bed. Wash was already asleep. Not sure if that was a good thing or not. Might be better to get all the interrogations over in one night. Didn't matter. She was beginning to wonder if anything ever had.
River struggled against the drugs. They hadn't given her a sedative this time. Only a mild tranquilizer. Eyes were too eager to start their tests. Problem was none of them knew where to start. Their eyes hadn't found the right information. Hands of Blue didn't like sneaky little rats.
No, mustn't go that way. Attract attention. Stay focused, find a place to hide. She reached out hoping to find Wash's dreams. Unfortunately she missed; they'd given the pilot too much sedative for him to be in R.E.M. yet.
River cried out when they attached the monitor to her temples. Not there, here. Zoe brought them here, didn't bring the Hands of Blue. Felt the tack prick her as the eyes delivered another round of drugs. No time - now or never!
She jumped. She cried when she landed. She avoided these dreams as much as she avoided Daddy's. Too late. Grabbing a tree, she closed her eyes against the driving snow as her teeth began to chatter from the cold.
Zoe shivered. Couldn't remember the last time she'd been warm. In her head, she knew it hadn’t been that long. Only three days since her life had been destroyed, but it seemed longer. Only spot of warmth to be had was beside her, sleeping. But that was ruined by the guilt.
Only reason she was cold was she had lied. Played sick to miss the weekly meeting. Gone to meet Stu in the woods instead. God hadn't been happy with either sin. Their hot session in the storage shed had been interrupted by the first explosion.
They'd been smart enough not to leave their clothes behind, but had no time to dress during their frantic dash from the shed to the woods. The cold had set in and not let go as they watched flames consume the church and additional bombs destroy the surrounding homes. His fingers had been like ice as he pulled her away into the woods. Blue hands forced her into the brush before he jumped on top of her. She'd grunted when he knocked the air out of her with an elbow as he hastily pulled his clothes on.
The cold of the ground seeped into her body while his heat on top kept her warm. Zoe wanted to go back to the flames. Find her parents, her little sister, oh god, her baby brother. Today was to be his baptism. She'd left the food for the celebration cooling on the table when she'd left to meet Stu.
The tears froze on her face and his cold hand covered her mouth, the force begging her to be silent. She soon saw why. Purple uniforms spilled out of a landing shuttle. Purple robots went house to house searching. Weapons thrown onto the church, elderly and sick people dragged from their homes.
Stu hit her when she screamed. The gunshots and other screams camouflaged it. None of the robots noticed. His icy hands pulled her from the ground and forced her to run. The cold snow covered her body and his hair.
She hadn't been warm since.
Zoe froze when she heard the sound. They'd seen the shuttles leave the day before. Waited another before building a fire. Had they left some uniforms behind? Her eyes searched for a stick as she struggled to remain still.. Didn't want to wake him - first time Stu had slept. First day and night he'd had to keep her quiet and alive. Afterward he'd tried to find them both food while she'd slept cocooned in the cold that wouldn't leave. Apparently, it had all been for nothing though.
Three men and a woman appeared, all armed. No purple though and the weapons weren't pointed at them. One of the men, his skin a lighter shade of brown than her own and hair straight, smiled at her. "No need to be afraid, we aren't here to hurt you," he told her.
The words jolted Stu out of his slumber. He sat up quick as he aimed their only gun at the people in front of them. The speaker motioned for his people to do nothing. "I know you're confused. It's all right. We've been looking for survivors. We'll take you someplace safe and warm, I promise."
That was when they saw them. Two of the younger kids from their classes standing silently with the woman, hands around each leg. "The other settlements?" Zoe asked.
The man's face fell. "They're fine. All this was an example. Strike is over though, but I doubt any of them will risk taking you in. A monitor in each town is searching the houses randomly to see if any survivors are hiding."
Zoe's breath caught at the knowledge that her entire world had been destroyed randomly. All their parents had wanted was assurance from the Alliance that their children could leave the mining moon for schools in the core when they were of age. Had closed the mines until their demands were answered with written promises. No one had taken up arms; no one had destroyed company property.
She felt Stu pull her off the ground. Didn't know if she wanted to go. She should have been with her family. For her desertion, she didn't deserve to leave the cold. She followed the brown man and the rest though as Stu silently pushed her along.
Zoe woke freezing. Ice ran through her veins as the tears ran down her face. She hadn't had those dreams in years. Had started to think the fires of Serenity Valley had burned them out. She felt her husband's arms surround her in a comforting embrace as he made comforting noises and tried to find out what was wrong. Zoe just closed her eyes as she imagined what Stu's arms would feel like right now.
Okay..that's it for now. By monday should have everything I have to date up and then hopefully giving you semi-regular updates.
Chapter 3: Cold Souls
Zoe carried River through the airlock while Wash followed. She hoped he took her warning not to speak out of turn to heart. Things were going to be pretty tricky for a while. They were met by an escort almost immediately. She cursed inwardly when she saw the soldier carrying his gun. Already she could hear the gears in Wash's brain start to turn as her husband continued to collect more and more questions.
After a short walk down a drab metal corridor, the group came to a stop in front of three officers. Two of them Zoe could identify immediately. The third must have been newly promoted from a regiment she hadn't trained with. She nodded her head in acknowledgement rather than saluting since she didn't want to lay River on the metal grate upon which they stood.
"Report," ordered the new officer.
Zoe resisted wincing as River jabbed her with an elbow. There hadn't been time to give the girl another dose and it appeared that she was beginning to rise to the level of simple sleep. "Sirs, our ship was ambushed by an Alliance patrol. My Captain ordered me to remove this girl to safety since she's a wanted fugitive," Zoe answered. She saw their eyes flicker back towards her husband as they pieced her cover story together with what they knew of her actual orders.
When Admiral Burton stepped forward, Zoe felt a small sense of relief. Burton was a firm, but fair commanding officer and someone she trusted. The old man hadn't aged well; his light brown skin hung from his face while what hair he had left was now completely silver. He still wore the turquoise necklace she had sent to him after the war though. The gift had accompanied her message informing her superiors that Mal had bought Serenity as well as the wave address of the ship.
"I imagine that you are all tired. Goodman here will take the girl to the infirmary. Lieutenant Yabis," he told them as he nodded his head toward the new officer, "will escort you to your assigned bunk."
Zoe felt Wash tug gently on her arm. " River will be pretty upset when she wakes. Shouldn't one of us should stay with her?" he asked quietly.
Of course, Burton overheard the question. He might appear to be older than dirt, but his hearing was as sharp as ever. "Certainly. Your husband is welcome to accompany her."
Zoe understood the unspoken message. They'd take advantage of this opportunity to debrief her. Sighing, she decided that there was no avoiding it. Didn't matter how much she'd hoped for a bath first. Or a night of sleep. "Yes, sir," she answered as she gently handed River over to Goodman. Before following Yabis down the corridor, she gave her husband a quick kiss and a silent reminder to watch what he said.
Wash sat beside her on a metal chair. She could feel how uncomfortable his seat was, but that he wasn't noticing it. His mind was going over and over the day's events trying to suss out a pattern. He wanted to trust his wife, but too much had been revealed. He'd found an elephant larger than the Captain and Zoe's past battles, but he couldn't determine its color. She felt sorry for him, yet she knew that she didn't have the luxury of getting him to understand.
She could feel the eyes on her. The machines and technicians both watched - one with clinical detachment, the others with eager curiosity. She wouldn't get long, but then they also didn't know anything about her. Waiting until the curious eyes got bored, she started to stare at Wash's face until he could see her open eyes. She'd already managed to move her hand close to her face, so he immediately saw her signal him to be quiet.
The pilot was smart. She had to give him that. She wasn't sure if the rest of the crew would have immediately leaned toward her while being sure to not attract attention from the eyes. She split her attention between him and the eyes while she continued to make her body fool the machines. Controlling heart rate and breathing was so simple. Brain waves would have been more difficult, but fortunately they hadn't hooked anything to her head. She was glad. She might have had a flashback otherwise.
"Have to get a message to Daddy," she told Wash. She saw his forehead scrunch in confusion. She never understood why no one else ever understood the title. He'd get it in time. "Careful of the tacks. They prick so easily. She's Zoe, but not your wife."
Wash gasped as if she'd punched him. She felt the watchers. Too late, they saw her eyes open. She hid her smile. They had no clue what to expect. The performance might be fun.
She let the machines detect her systems gearing up for the fun. Screaming, she started to jump off of the bed. Wash was taken aback, his fear and confusion washed over her. She welcomed it, used it since she couldn’t find her own through the haze of the remaining sedatives. Ripping at the wires, she managed to tear the restraints from the table. She jumped to run before the first of the eyes got to her, but she was too slow. Strong arms encircled her as others approached with more drugs. Drugs all around her, tacks couldn't be avoided. She heard Wash yelling, felt the blow he dealt to her captor, felt the prick in his skin before her own. Surrendering to the darkness, she found herself praying to the Shepherd's symbol that he understood.
Zoe gritted her teeth as she entered the bunk. No one had protected her. She hadn't known any of the officers. At least she had gotten to see Stu first. 'Course, the fact that he was onboard wasn't exactly a comfort since her husband was as well. However, it had been all kinds of nice to be able to confirm with her eyes that he had survived the war. She couldn't remember the last time they'd actually seen each other.
She shook her head as she sat on the bed. Wash was already asleep. Not sure if that was a good thing or not. Might be better to get all the interrogations over in one night. Didn't matter. She was beginning to wonder if anything ever had.
River struggled against the drugs. They hadn't given her a sedative this time. Only a mild tranquilizer. Eyes were too eager to start their tests. Problem was none of them knew where to start. Their eyes hadn't found the right information. Hands of Blue didn't like sneaky little rats.
No, mustn't go that way. Attract attention. Stay focused, find a place to hide. She reached out hoping to find Wash's dreams. Unfortunately she missed; they'd given the pilot too much sedative for him to be in R.E.M. yet.
River cried out when they attached the monitor to her temples. Not there, here. Zoe brought them here, didn't bring the Hands of Blue. Felt the tack prick her as the eyes delivered another round of drugs. No time - now or never!
She jumped. She cried when she landed. She avoided these dreams as much as she avoided Daddy's. Too late. Grabbing a tree, she closed her eyes against the driving snow as her teeth began to chatter from the cold.
Zoe shivered. Couldn't remember the last time she'd been warm. In her head, she knew it hadn’t been that long. Only three days since her life had been destroyed, but it seemed longer. Only spot of warmth to be had was beside her, sleeping. But that was ruined by the guilt.
Only reason she was cold was she had lied. Played sick to miss the weekly meeting. Gone to meet Stu in the woods instead. God hadn't been happy with either sin. Their hot session in the storage shed had been interrupted by the first explosion.
They'd been smart enough not to leave their clothes behind, but had no time to dress during their frantic dash from the shed to the woods. The cold had set in and not let go as they watched flames consume the church and additional bombs destroy the surrounding homes. His fingers had been like ice as he pulled her away into the woods. Blue hands forced her into the brush before he jumped on top of her. She'd grunted when he knocked the air out of her with an elbow as he hastily pulled his clothes on.
The cold of the ground seeped into her body while his heat on top kept her warm. Zoe wanted to go back to the flames. Find her parents, her little sister, oh god, her baby brother. Today was to be his baptism. She'd left the food for the celebration cooling on the table when she'd left to meet Stu.
The tears froze on her face and his cold hand covered her mouth, the force begging her to be silent. She soon saw why. Purple uniforms spilled out of a landing shuttle. Purple robots went house to house searching. Weapons thrown onto the church, elderly and sick people dragged from their homes.
Stu hit her when she screamed. The gunshots and other screams camouflaged it. None of the robots noticed. His icy hands pulled her from the ground and forced her to run. The cold snow covered her body and his hair.
She hadn't been warm since.
Zoe froze when she heard the sound. They'd seen the shuttles leave the day before. Waited another before building a fire. Had they left some uniforms behind? Her eyes searched for a stick as she struggled to remain still.. Didn't want to wake him - first time Stu had slept. First day and night he'd had to keep her quiet and alive. Afterward he'd tried to find them both food while she'd slept cocooned in the cold that wouldn't leave. Apparently, it had all been for nothing though.
Three men and a woman appeared, all armed. No purple though and the weapons weren't pointed at them. One of the men, his skin a lighter shade of brown than her own and hair straight, smiled at her. "No need to be afraid, we aren't here to hurt you," he told her.
The words jolted Stu out of his slumber. He sat up quick as he aimed their only gun at the people in front of them. The speaker motioned for his people to do nothing. "I know you're confused. It's all right. We've been looking for survivors. We'll take you someplace safe and warm, I promise."
That was when they saw them. Two of the younger kids from their classes standing silently with the woman, hands around each leg. "The other settlements?" Zoe asked.
The man's face fell. "They're fine. All this was an example. Strike is over though, but I doubt any of them will risk taking you in. A monitor in each town is searching the houses randomly to see if any survivors are hiding."
Zoe's breath caught at the knowledge that her entire world had been destroyed randomly. All their parents had wanted was assurance from the Alliance that their children could leave the mining moon for schools in the core when they were of age. Had closed the mines until their demands were answered with written promises. No one had taken up arms; no one had destroyed company property.
She felt Stu pull her off the ground. Didn't know if she wanted to go. She should have been with her family. For her desertion, she didn't deserve to leave the cold. She followed the brown man and the rest though as Stu silently pushed her along.
Zoe woke freezing. Ice ran through her veins as the tears ran down her face. She hadn't had those dreams in years. Had started to think the fires of Serenity Valley had burned them out. She felt her husband's arms surround her in a comforting embrace as he made comforting noises and tried to find out what was wrong. Zoe just closed her eyes as she imagined what Stu's arms would feel like right now.
Okay..that's it for now. By monday should have everything I have to date up and then hopefully giving you semi-regular updates.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-11 08:53 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-11 08:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-12 06:10 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-12 02:31 pm (UTC)The bunny hopped into my brain, dug a hole, and spawned many babies since. And I don't know if I've forgiven Zoid cause originally Zoe wasn't someone I was comfortable writing....Now I can write in her head believably at least...but I don't know how well I hit her voice.
Wash however has decided to make a permanent home there.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-12 09:17 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-12 09:18 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-12 09:20 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-12 02:28 pm (UTC)2 more chapters up.