Lt. Robin Hopper: I Melt With You
Robin Hopper
((OOC – Going to be working on trying to close out the mission over the next week as best as I can!))
((Landing Pad, Perdition Research Facility, Idrustix))
Looking at the imperial delegation standing across the landing pad from them, Robin felt a bit like a ewe staring down a pack of wolves. Each of them looked ‘hungry’ for something – and, if there was anything she’d learned about diplomacy from her mother, it was that one had to approach negotiations with compassion, a willingness to truly hear the other side, and the understanding that compromise would likely be necessary to find a resolution. She doubted whether any of the folk from this universe had come prepared to do any of those things.
Vataix: Empress, we came here in good faith. Will you honor your word or not?
There was silence from the Empress as she seemed almost entertained by the events unfolding.
oO Yeah, that figures… Oo Robin shifted uncomfortably, her left leg still a bit ‘sore’ following her ‘surgery’. She winced slightly, and was grateful that the others from this reality seemed engaged in some sort of internal dispute. If they were like wolves, she figured, they might single her out as the ‘weak one’ in the flock… and that was not a position she wanted to find herself in.
Raven: Once again, I invite Initiate Richards to present any claim of substance to support his wild speculation. I think you’ll find the evidence quite to the contrary. I love my work, and my reputation speaks for itself. ::Pointing a mechanical finger at M-Richards:: If you’ve got anything solid to bring forth, I’d do it now, before I have to cut it out of your skull.
Robin gawked at her own voice saying those words, her mouth dropping open slightly. The thought of her own dark reflection doing any such thing to Nathan’s… She couldn’t think of it, just had to close her eyes and think about something else. Anything else. She tried to imagine something innocuous – back on Earth, Clipper Cove Beach, a view of the Bay Bridge and the seals frolicking in the water, eating a picnic, Nathan was there, oh my god his skull was there!
She opened her eyes, her heart pounding. That hadn’t worked at all. She was getting quite frustrated with this whole business. The sooner they could exchange the prisoners and get out of there, the better.
M-Talos: Response
M-Tri’lea: Is that all? ::Faux disappointment:: I far prefer this exchange of barbs between zealots than the exchange we’ve come here for. Are we still doing that?
She crossed her arms, looking over at the resistance folk.
Hopper: ::Irritated:: We’re trying to.
M-Dro: Yes do please turn us over to be tortured and killed so you can go home and sleep well. You are truly different than this universe and do not belong here.
Keehani: ::Audible sigh scowl::
At least Rivi was still trying to move things forward – despite the ‘stone wall’ she’d been faced with from Empress. Robin followed the conversation with her eyes, looking back to the conversation unfolding before her.
Vataix: if you wish to learn more about the Federation, I am happy to entertain that conversation. ::She glanced around all of the guards:: But preferably not while being held at gunpoint.
M-Keehani: It may surprise you to hear it, ambassador, but I do wish to hear more. In fact, your arrival here, along with your colleagues, presents an opportunistic moment for the empire.
“Opportunistic?” That didn’t sound good. That didn’t sound at all good. Robin’s eyes widened slightly, and she glanced to Keehani, wondering if she’d noted that particular word-choice as well – however, Keehani seemed fully intent on the Empress’ words. No doubt she could sense far more than Robin could.
oO Great, I’m the sickly ewe in a flock of sheep being hunted by telepathic wolves and I’m the only one who can’t read minds… Oo
M-Keehani: In fact, it presents an historic moment for the Empire. I will give you all one piece of advice to ensure you can play your part, so that we *all* may be safe, and peace can be achieved…
There was a pause. Robin felt herself subconsciously held her breath in anticipation.
M-Keehani: ::Cheery tone:: Duck!
In an instant, the Imperial guards had raised their weapons, pointed directly at her group. Robin dropped, and would have reached for her phaser but for the intense shot of pain caused by bending her leg so abruptly. Instead, she fell to her hands and knees, with a whimper. The sound of weapons fire overhead, along with shouts and screams from both sides, was horrific.
Keehani: ::Crying, angrily yelling at M-Keehani:: NNNOOOOOOOOOO!
Hopper gritted her teeth as she crawled, trying to reach Keehani. She hadn’t been trained for situations like this – Robin had. At least, sort of. Maybe not this exact specific situation, but as a Starfleet Officer, it was still her duty to try to protect the civilians in their group. However, just as she was nearing Keehani, the otherworldly whistling of a transporter beam filled the air and her friend disappeared in a flash of light.
She stopped in her tracks, still on all fours, and looked around for Rivi – also gone. The fighting around them was chaos, as the security detachment they’d brought along tried their darndest to repel the imperial guards – but the Betazoids had surprise on their side… and the ability to read the thoughts of their own security officers. She watched, in horror, as a woman in gold – whom she only knew as Lieutenant JG Campbell, was struck by a bolt from an Imperial disruptor, and fell forward in front of Robin, crying out as she disintegrated at the molecular level.
Fighting back the urge to vomit, Robin reached forward and grabbed the Lieutenant’s combadge, tucking it into the small pocket inside the flap of her uniform. She looked around, looking for any sign of the others – and she spotted Nathan across the fray. As she began moving towards him, trying to stay low and inconspicuous, she heard the distinctive sound of another transport and was dismayed to find neither him or herself in the beam.
By this point, it was clear – the Empress had absconded with those she considered ‘valuable’ and left the undesirables behind to be killed. She noted that her own counterpart, and Talos, had vanished – even the prisoners they’d brought along… Polgonz, her father, the ‘other’ Rivi and Wil… The only ones left were Starfleet Security, Robin, and Nathan… The difference? They were human. They were Starfleet. More trouble than they were worth, in the Empress’ estimation, most likely.
She stopped crawling and sat back, her legs tucked under her body, as a wave of terror and grief washed over her. Uncontrollably, she started to think about the decisions that had led her to this point – the steps along the way. Leaving home with the prospect of finding answers in the stars, answering the call of Starfleet, asking for the posting on Amity Outpost… She thought of the people she’d left behind in her wake… her mothers, her sister, friends, lovers… None of them would ever see each other again.
Finally returning to the situation, she looked across the landing pad to the one person left in the universe – in either universe – who she had.
Hopper: Nathan…
Their eyes met for a brief second before he pulled himself to his feet and rushed over to her, wrapping his arms around her. She felt him pull her aside, as they scrambled to get behind some crates as phaser shots glanced off the landing pad and surrounding cover.
Richards: It’s okay. I’ve got you.
More shouts, and the sounds of boots and weapons fire advancing. Robin felt safe in his arms – though she knew that was silly. Death was coming for them, it was almost there. Nathan held her close as the firefight continued, some shots striking very close to where they hid. The smell of charred thermocrete filled the air.
She looked up at him, her blue eyes finding his steely gray ones.
Hopper: I… I didn’t think it would end like this. ::Brow furrowed:: We were supposed to save you.
Richards: We aren’t going to die. We will get out of this.
His words were meant to be comforting, she knew, but there was no truth to them. Their own security detail had been outgunned and outplayed, and in a minute or two they would be the only targets left for the Imperials.
Hopper: ::Shaking her head slightly:: I… Nathan, I don’t think we will.
Richards: ::Sigh:: Maybe not. ::Looking into Robin’s eyes:: I’m sorry. This never should have happened.
She nodded. All of this was just some tragic twist of fate – it was all wrong. Had that anomaly not appeared right in the Targhee’s flight path… had they not immediately found themselves taken captive by the rebels… had the Empress meant a word she said… But all those ‘what ifs’ weren’t relevant. What mattered was the final moment they had together.
Hopper: But it did.
She reached up, resting a hand on his cheek, a tiny forlorn smile on her face. At least, if she was going to die, it would be with her favourite person. It all seemed so trivial now – her fears about ‘getting involved’, her aversion to ‘falling in love’. She’d thought she was sparing them the pain of being torn apart by duty or by tragedy.
If she’d known then that they would die together, in each other’s arms, she would have chosen differently. What difference would it make now, she figured, to finally let her guard down?
Hopper: Nate– I…
Words couldn’t express what she was feeling, so she let her actions do the talking. She grabbed the front of his jacket and pulled him towards her, desperate to know that in their last moments together, they had at least been truly connected with each other. As their lips met, she felt her fears and worries melt away, replaced by a surging feeling of calm reassurance. The butterflies, which she’d thought had died on that date, nearly a year ago, soared to life within her again – but were quickly replaced by the familiar warmth of a transporter beam enveloping them…
TBC
((OOC – Inspiration for the title: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Nmg5zP5nYO0))
