Sabotage: The plot ran away with me, so please enjoy.
Eden is a pretty powerful shadow cult on Earth - enough so that they are able to send someone in to the Hail Mary Project to sabotage those who are trying to stop God's plan. Of all the brothers, only one has the coma resistance gene - and who better than the Butcher to cut down the head of the beast?
Simon gets sent in under the guise of the tertiary pilot position to kill one Dr. Ryland Grace, as Stratt's shoes could technically be filled, but no one knows more about astrophage than this one man. It seemed simple enoygh to kill a middle school science teacher - and from the old conference videos, he was enough of a dick to deserve it.
Except each time he gets close, Grace distracts him with a warm smile and ridiculous science facts that have no reason to be as fascinating as they are. Or asks Simon about his life and work as a pilot, admiring his bravery to make this sacrifice and somehow not catching on to how he stumbles over his fake backstory. Or offers some of his neverending stash of candy, or seeks him out to sit with him at meals, or talks about the astrophage as though Simon is an equal.
Months later, and even the perfect moments to kill him quickly and quietly are impossible. He can't interrupt Grace as they're looking up at the stars on the Vat late at night- no one has ever bothered to listen to Simon ramble about constellations yet Grace looks enthralled. He can't smother a Grace who has fallen asleep at his desk- the bags under his eyes are so heavy, if anything Simon needs to get him into a proper bed so that he doesn't wake with another crick in his neck.
Eventually, Eden gets impatient, and takes matters into their own hands. The astrophage research facility goes up in flames - and Grace is now on the chopping block. Simon knows the kind of woman Stratt is - his old Captain Ava was the same way, ready to make the tough calls for the sake of the many.
He needs to be on that ship with Grace, one way or another. The man gets nervous talking in front of too many people, has spoken to Simon about how he was too much of a coward to take the mission on himself. He needs Simon there and at some point, Simon has developed the need to be there for him. Fuck it, he'll go out and save the sun and die among the stars he loves so much. And he'll be holding Grace's hand as he does so.
He tries to make Yao's accident as painless as possible - the man is honorable and tried to take Simon under his wing multiple times in the last few months. Blind is better than dead, and enough to take him out of commission.
He thinks that he'd been sneaky enough, that he hadn't left a trace. And then Stratt calls him to her office.
When he enters, the first thing he notices is the disarray of the back half - a chair flipped, a cup of pens scattered across the back counter - but he ignores it and moves to sit.
"Captain Fleischer, I have no proof and no reason to believe that you were behind this."
He swallows hard, "What now?"
Stratt could throw him out of the entire project, could probably kill him here and now, and no one would be able to say a word against her. Instead, she sighs, "You are now the secondary pilot for this mission. That has either placed a target on your back, or given you exactly what you want."
He can't help himself, "Unless what I want is sabotage."
Her lips quirk into a wry, joyless smile as the door behind him opens and several men step in, "We have ways of preventing that."
Thirteen/four years later, Simon wakes aboard a spaceship with only one other living passenger: a man whose name neither can recall, but who he knows he'd do anything to stay in his orbit. He takes his hand, and they save the stars together (with some extraterrestrial help, of course, but that's another story).
(Feel free to use these for drawing or writing prompts, just no ai- you have to use your own brain, Grace would want you to)
pixelskylines
blakekathryn
kaledo-art
romaincrisis
annaxmalina
