Ensign Dylan Bryce: The Ensign and the Outlaw
Kait
((Dark Hallway : Ivory Tower))
Bryce: Just so you know, ladders and I have never been friends.
Dylan’s hands were already shaking as she reached for the first metal rung. This was nothing like the climbing wall back at the colony where you had a harness and a teacher telling you "good job." This was dark, it smelled like ionized air, and she had a literal armed commander right behind her.
Sael: Climb. Slowly. If you fall, I cannot catch you and fight them at the same time.
She did not need the reminder. The height alone was enough to make her stomach do a slow, nauseating roll. As she hauled herself up, she felt the vibration of his boots on the rung right below her. He was staying close, a solid wall of armored shadow that made her feel a weird mix of trapped and protected.
Above them, the service hatch shrieked fully open and boots hit the metal shaft, echoing like a drumbeat. Sael looked up into the darkness and climbed faster, forcing Dylan to move quicker than her shaky legs wanted.
((Time Skip : Maintenance Spine to Docking Ring))
The crawl through the guts of the station felt endless. Every time they passed a vent, Dylan held her breath, convinced that some security officer was going to look down and see her. The maintenance tunnels were clean but narrow, filled with the hum of power relays that made the fine hairs on her arms stand up.
The air was getting warmer, thick with that sterile, chemical smell of recycled coolant. It was the same smell that always clung to her mom’s clothes after a long day in the labs. There was no dust here, just a strange, heavy humidity and a constant static charge that made her uniform feel stiff and uncomfortable against her skin.
Sael was stumbling. He did not say anything, but she could hear his rough breathing and the way his boots caught on the perfectly smooth metal floor. He was not the invincible warrior she had first thought. He was hurting, tired, or maybe just as confused as she was.
Twice, he halted abruptly, shoving her back against the conduit wall while Starfleet boots passed just meters away on the other side of the partitions. The static in the air made her hair cling to her forehead, and the vibration of the power relays felt like a second heartbeat against her spine.
When they finally reached a narrow service access overlooking the docking ring, Sael eased forward and peered through the lattice. Dylan stayed low, her knees aching from the long crawl.
Bryce: Is that it? The jagged one?
It looked like something out of a scary holomovie. It was all sharp angles and dark hull, looking completely wrong next to the smooth, white curves of the Federation station. It looked like a predator that had been caught in a net.
Sael: Yes, that is my ship. If we can get to her we can figure out what is going on.
Dylan looked at the ship, then at the three Starfleet officers standing guard. Their uniforms were a sharp, cautionary yellow. Security. They weren't wearing the cool blue her science-division mom wore, or the layered civilian jackets her other mom favored. But the Starfleet badges still hit her with a sharp wave of recognition. These were supposed to be the "good guys."
She looked at her own sleeve, at the pips on her collar she still did not feel like she had earned. In their eyes, she was one of them. She was just some Ensign who had probably gotten turned around in the dark. If they caught her, she would get a lecture, maybe a trip to a holding cell, and a very long talk with a real Counselor.
But Sael? Sael was a giant, purple, armored alien holding a weapon. To them, he was a threat. If they started shooting, she knew exactly who the phasers would be pointed at first.
Bryce: Look at me, then look at them. They won't shoot me. I'm one of them.
She shifted her weight, her knees popping loud enough to make her wince in the quiet shaft. It was a weird sort of bravery, the same logic she used to get her friends out of detention: take the heat because you know you can handle the lecture.
Sael: Response
Bryce: I'll go out and act like I just escaped. While they're worried about me, you run for it. They won't hurt me, but they might shoot you on sight. While they're focused on me, you can get to your ship.
She looked at Sael, her heart vibrating against her ribs.
Sael: Response
Dylan did not wait for him to argue. Her fingers fumbled with the latch, her breath coming in short, jagged hitches as she worked the unfamiliar metal.
Bryce: Just... don't leave me here, okay? Fix this. Figure out what's happening.
She took a deep breath, the warm, sterile air of the docking ring filling her lungs. It was now or never.
Sael: Response
...TBC/TAG...
Ensign Dylan Bryce
Counselor, Starbase 118 Ops
Writer: A238909RJ0
"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself."