This is an OLD one, basically a rewrite of a scene I had written previously and wanted a different take on it. In this one, Talic was just returned home from a prisoner exchange and woke up while recovering from his injuries…
—
A loud clang from the med bay suddenly disrupted their conversation. Both heads turned in the direction of the source, and yelling echoed from inside. They ran back in and saw Talic, now wide awake, yanking out the tubes in his arms and Zanvir trying to hold him down and stop him. Ganex and Lexus ran over, grabbing his arms and holding him down against the cot. Talic was still weak from his injuries, but he yelled and fought back as hard as he could.
“Talic, it’s okay!” Lexus spoke directly into his ear. “You’re home! You’re not on the Maverick anymore. You’re back at the base with us!”
“Get off me!” Talic screamed and tried to pull his arms out of their grip. “Get off! Let me go!”
Ganex and Lexus held his arms back when he tried to reach up to pull the air line from his nose.
After several seconds of fighting, Talic’s strength gave out and he laid panting on the cot. Ganex and Lexus let go of his arms and Ganex rested his hand on the top of his head.
“You’re alright, Talic. You’re back in the medical bay at the base. Lexus is here, Zanvir is here. All of us are here with you.”
Talic flinched at the contact and was not settled by his words. Just behind them, Alek, Byruk, and Marra rushed into the room, worried from the commotion they heard.
“He’s awake!” Alek exclaimed. “Is he okay?”
“He still thinks he’s on the Maverick,” Zanvir replied. “We need to pull him back down.”
Content warnings: fever, mystery illness, worried about loved one's health
Titan Guard tag list: @nightly-whump, @angst-art-writing, @whipper-whumper, @yet-another-heathen, @why-not-whump-it, @kixngiggles, @annablogsposts, @whumpwillow (let me know if you'd like to be added!)
Lexus whimpered quietly in her sleep. Even under the blankets, she shivered like she was fighting the striking cold of winter. Next to her cot, Talic wrung out a cool, wet washcloth and placed it on her forehead. She winced slightly from the cold on her skin, muttering incoherently under her breath. Talic sighed, feeling the heat of her cheek on his knuckles.
“Her fever still hasn’t come down, and none of by relief meds are working. I’ll have to start an IV if she doesn’t wake up in the next hour.”
“How long has it been now?” Ganex sat on the other side, his fingers laced together with a concerned frown.
“A while, too long. I was hoping some rest for her would help more than it has.” Talic sighed and set the cloth carefully across her forehead. “It looked like coughing fever, but she’s not out of breath. I have to run a few more tests to be sure.”
Lexus moaned and frowned into her pillow, her voice soft and cracked and so unlike how she normally was. It was just yesterday she was up and getting things done. It was a frightening transformation. Her temperature radiated to where Talic could feel it just a few inches from her skin. He brushed back her tangled hair and shushed her softly.
“She’ll be alright,” Ganex told him reassuringly, “You’re taking good care of her.”
Talic nodded, but Ganex could see the tension and worry lining his expression. It was doubtful he’d slept since Lexus became ill, and he certainly wouldn’t until she was better.
“I… I’m trying,” Talic exhaled sharply and bit down on his lip. “Mm, I’ve—I’ve been worried about this for a while.”
“Her getting sick?”
“Any of us, really. Being on this planet and having no fucking clue what would happen if someone caught a human illness.” Talic closed his eyes and cleared his throat. “Ah, sorry.”
“It’s fine,” Ganex smiled a little. Twenty years ago, none of them would have spoken to him so casually, let alone swear in conversation. Just another sign of how their circumstances were whittling away rules and protocol. They had gotten to know each other better than most squads normally did, and he knew how close knit some were.
They were as worried for each other as they were their own families.
“Mhm, Tal…” Lexus whispered in a breathy sigh and reached a hand out from under her blanket. He let her twitching fingers wrap around his, hoping the difference between their temperatures wasn’t enough to make her away from discomfort. She still frowned, muttering words he couldn’t quite make out with a concern of the world’s weight on her mind.
Whatever troubles she faced in her dreams couldn’t have matched the dread growing in Talic’s gut.
“What if she doesn’t get better? What if—" Talic looked up at Ganex for the first time since he sat down. His fatigue cast a shadow over him, more than Ganex had noticed the first time. There was uncertainty, a tired and busy mind trying to think of the right solution and coming up short. Ganex wished he had the right answer for him.
“I believe she will. But for right now, we’ll focus on what we can do this moment. We’ll worry about what might happen when it comes.”
Not his best advice perhaps, but it seemed to be enough as Talic quickly turned his attention back to Lexus. He squeezed her hand gently, hoping there was more he could do to bring Lexus out of her sickness. He thought about other tests he could try, other medicines and remedies to ease her discomfort. They ran through his head too fast for assurance that any of them would work.
Lexus whimpered again and curled in Talic’s direction under the blanket. Her hand squeezed back and Talic’s thoughts slowed. He exhaled slowly and brought it up to kiss softly.
If nothing else, at least he could hold her hand now.
15. The scene that will give you, personally, the most joy.
@emeraldwhump go and have some fun with writing for me!
I'll enjoy this but i don't know how many others will haha
Content warnings: minor character death mention, guilt, hospital setting, grief, mention of medical prodecures
Titan Guard tag list: @nightly-whump, @angst-art-writing, @whipper-whumper, @yet-another-heathen, @why-not-whump-it, @kixngiggles, @annablogsposts, @whumpwillow, @for-the-love-of-angst (let me know if you'd like to be added!)
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Lulan always figured that he could hold a good stoic expression. It had been helpful in the past when it came to dealing with bad news. It probably wasn’t quite as good as Ganex’s or even Lexus’, but it had always managed to be enough for him. It always seemed like a good quality in leaders, which hopefully some day he would be. Holding it for several hours on end, now that turned out to be a little harder.
Frankly, he was amazed he was still standing unscathed after the explosion. His balance still felt a little off from having to donate blood, but really he was fine. Only he and Byruk managed to walk away from the disaster with a few scraps and bruises. Everyone else was worse off in one way or another, and some…
Far, far worse.
He sat in the post-op room next to Lexus’ bed, where she still rested while recovering from her leg wound. His eyes wandered over to the opposite side to another cot, where their friend Dosair still laid and struggled through each breath. Byruk and Alek sat next to him, somber expressions on all their faces. At least Alek was up and moving now, albeit with one arm in a sling and a nasty bruise on the side of his head.
It was hard to see Dosair like this. He almost looked like a body embalmed, skin deathly pale where it wasn’t covered by gauze concealing burns from the fire. Part of one leg and one arm was gone, Talic wasn’t able to save them, and tubes stretched out across his body in a web Lulan couldn’t even think to begin untangling. His eyes were closed, but they weren’t sure if he was resting or even knew what was going on around him. Just a few days ago he looked normal, he looked fine. Now he was almost unrecognizable.
But he was alive, that’s what mattered. He was lucky, which they couldn’t say for Lylimeph, Prash, Koladi, and Hōdek.
There were only eight of them left now. How could there only be eight of them left? They left Maltrina with thirty-one of the best fighters in the Titan Guard. In the whole Pax Rebel military. Thirty-one. It didn’t make sense that they would find themselves barely hanging onto survival so far away from home. Lulan sighed, thinking a bit of twisted humor to himself. He remembered when he thought the other side of their planet was impossibly far away from home. The thought was almost funny now.
In a rather sick kind of way.
I hate this planet.
His ears twitched at the sound of footsteps coming back into the space. Ganex stepped in, followed by Talic and Zanvir behind him. There was that strong, stoic look Lulan remembered, if a bit shaded with the curtain of tragedy that fell over all of them. Talic and Zanvir looked a little worse for wear after spending hours trying to keep everyone alive.
“How is he doing?” Ganex asked as he came and sat by the end of the cot.
“Uh,” Alek cleared his throat and tried speaking in a low voice, “Okay, I think. Not really sure if he’s awake.”
“Hm.” Talic came over by the head of Dosair’s cot and checked his vitals. Lulan could see his exhaustion in each movement he made. Losing four teammates was hard for all of them, but he imagined being the one to try saving and still losing them was weighing heavily on Talic. All of them watched as he gave Dosair another dose of painkillers before turning back to him.
“Hey, DoDo,” Talic leaned in close to his ear and spoke clearly, “Can you hear me? How you doing, bud?”
All eyes were on Dosair, waiting, hoping there would be a response. The only sounds heard were Dosair’s labored breathing and the machines working to keep him alive. The air felt cold in the few second before his fingers twitched and he let out a breathy “Y-yeah…”
A small smile appeared on Talic’s face as they all let out a collective sigh. Lulan smiled too. This was good, Dosair was going to get better now. The light at the end of the tunnel was looking brighter now.
“That’s good,” Talic grabbed his bioscanner from his front pocket, “I just need to check a few readings and tests, it’ll be quick.”
He switched on a small light on the end and shined it into each of Dosair’s eyes. All of them watched as he took notes on Dosair’s response time, neural activity, blood pressure, every little thing it seemed like. But it was done with such precision that it barely took any time at all. Lulan admitted to himself that watching Talic work was always interesting. One of the best medical professionals he’d ever known.
“Alright, that wasn’t too bad, was it? Pain meds should be working now. Need anything else, DoDo?”
“Can…” Dosair’s fingers twitched on his stomach, struggling to lift as he pointed to himself. “W-Water… dry…”
“Yeah, sure. Byruk, can you get a glass of water?”
Byruk nodded and stood quickly to retrieve one. While he was away, Alek shifted closer to his side. “How are you feeling, DoDo?”
“Mm, shit…” Dosair tried to give him a half-smile. “You look like… you need… naptime.”
“Ha ha.” Alek rolled his eyes, but it did make him smile a little. At least Dosair’s wry humor was still intact.
Byruk came back with a glass of water and handed it to Talic. The group watched as he helped Dosair lift his head to drink. Lulan thought the sight was strange. It was only a few days ago all of them were working together, training and laughing like nothing was wrong. He was fine, happy. All of them were.
At least now he was awake.
He was going to be fine.
“The pain medication is bound to wear off in a few hours or so,” Talic told him as he set aside the now empty glass, “Just let me know when it gets too bad, okay?”
Dosair winced as he tried to shift underneath his sheets. His head rolled to the side, facing Talic and Ganex. “Others… hurt…?”
It felt like a stone dropped in Lulan’s stomach, and he was sure the same was felt all across the room. He was bound to ask the question at some point. Dosair wasn’t dumb, he knew there was no possibility he was the only one who was hurt in the explosion. Even his exhausted expression held anxiousness in the waiting to the response. Lulan looked up at Talic and Ganex, who exchanged sad looks with each other.
This was going to crush him.
“It… got bad,” Talic finally broke the silence, “We lost some people. Prash… Koladi… Hōdek…”
“Lylimeph…? Dosair let out a tearful sigh, “Okay…?”
Lulan bit down on his lip and exhaled sharply. That’s right, he thought. Dosair had a thing for her, it wasn’t surprising that he would ask about her first. He noticed Talic fidgeting more, wringing his hands together as he tried to think of the right words to break the news. Ganex rested a hand on his shoulder, nodding once as they locked eyes. Talic sighed and looked back at Dosair.
“She’s resting now. And you need to rest more too, so you can see her in a bit. Okay?”
Lulan blinked.
What?
What did he just say? Did he mishear what Talic actually said? He looked around at the rest of the team. Only Ganex and Zanvir seemed to not be as surprised as he was. The rest of them look at each other in confusion and growing hurt. He felt his heartbeat start to pick up and his breath quicken, a complete contrast to Dosair’s sigh of relief as he rested back against his pillow.
“O-Okay… good…” Lulan felt the wrongness growing in his chest at the growing relaxed expression Dosair had. His eyes darted back at Ganex, who looked around the rest of them with somberness.
“We will leave you to catch up on some rest, Dosair,” Ganex said in a gentle voice, “The rest of you, let’s keep any discussions or questions outside of the medbay, understood?”
There was silence in the moments following. Like Lulan, the others seemed just as baffled and unsure of how to respond. Zanvir was the first, nodding with a grunted ‘yes’ which prompted Alek and Byruk to reply in kind.
Lulan said nothing.
He couldn’t stay in the room any longer, not with how he felt his chest pounding up into his ears with each passing second. Without a word, he stood and stormed out, positive it probably raised some eyebrows as he left. He didn’t care what everyone else thought about him. He was angry, and they could deal with it.
He walked until he reached the bunks, opening up his and Talic’s room and slumping against the wall. He glared off into space, feeling a growing heat behind his eyes and hoping it wasn’t tears. He growled, pressing his forehead to his knees and gripping the ends of his hair. Lulan had never really been one to cry. For him, the same energy that went into tears was better spent doing something useful, or something to just get the energy out.
But he hadn’t quite felt like this before. And it was overwhelming.
Why did he have to keep losing friends? It wasn’t fair, monumentally not fair. His hands balled into tight fists, already shaking as he tried to breathe through it. They lost so many friends already. Their whole team was almost gone, killed far from home and buried on a strange planet. And now they had to do it again, but this time it seemed while lying to their friends in the process.
It. Wasn’t. Fair.
Lulan wasn’t sure how much time had passed before he heard the sound of footsteps outside the room. He looked up to see Talic opening up the room across from theirs, Dosair’s room. Without thinking, Lulan sprang to his feet and caught Talic’s shoulder before he stepped inside.
“Why did you say that to him?” He ignored the flinch in Talic’s shoulders as he whipped him around. “Why’d you let him believe Lylimeph is okay?”
“Lulan, we…” Talic’s voice was heavy with exhaustion, “We talked it over, and… for the condition he’s in now, we believed it would be easier. Give him some time to come to terms with it.”
“But you lied to him! He’s gonna be waiting to talk to her, and it’ll crush him when he finds out she’s dead!”
Talic tried to respond, but couldn’t manage any words. He just looked at Lulan with regret and sorrow. And it felt like the final nail in the coffin. He wanted to deny it, not think about it. But reality never cared what he wanted.
“So he is going to die.” The tension in Lulan’s throat was enough to break his voice a little. “Why couldn’t you just say it to his face?”
“Lulan, he’s just barely woken up. I don’t want to hit him with everything at once before he’s ready!”
“That’s not your fucking choice to make!” Lulan’s voice rose to a shout. “Dosair should be able to face the truth without us interfering, but you want to lie and take that dignity away from him?! How the hell do you justify that?!”
He saw the tension growing in Talic’s jaw as he tried to remain steady. But he glared back at him with the same anger and pain.
“If you’re angry about me not telling you about Dosair’s condition until now, then I’m sorry,” Talic snapped back, “But don’t you dare make this about some betrayal of confidence to you or the others. For better or worse, this is what we’ve decided is going to be easiest for him before he goes.”
“I guess you have enough practice taking care of dying strangers,” Lulan growled at him. “But I figured you’d have a little more sympathy for someone you actually care about!”
“…Stop it, Lulan.”
“We’re a team, we’re supposed to be there for each other when things are fucking impossible! That’s supposed to mean something to you!”
“Shut up.”
“But you’d rather make it easier on yourself and lie to Dosair like he’s a child!”
“What else am I supposed to do?!” Talic hollered at the top of his lungs, making Lulan flinch. In an instant, he finally noticed the bags under Talic’s eyes, the sullen look of exhaustion and grief that hung over him as he shook with anger. He wasn’t sure why he didn’t see it as clearly before. He certainly did now with Talic screaming in his face.
“I did everything I could to keep them alive, all of them! And nothing about it is fucking easy! I did everything right, everything I was supposed to do, and I still couldn’t fix it! He’s lost his liver, both fucking kidneys, half his intestines, and a whole lung! You can’t live without those things, you can’t fix them! I can’t fix any of it! I’m not a miracle worker! You don’t have any idea what this has been like, none! So don’t give me a fucking lecture over what’s easy or right!”
Lulan stood in stunned silence, unable to think of a response as the hallway echoed Talic’s shaky breath. Talic never got angry, not even when he was frustrated. But here, Lulan saw he’d struck a deep and painful nerve and brought it out into the light.
“The best we can all do for him now is make him comfortable as he goes. “Talic stared daggers into him with glistening eyes. “Until then… do not go thinking this is just another case to me. He’s my friend too.”
Neither of them spoke, standing in a cover of tension and anger thick enough to cut with a knife. They glared at each other, a silent dare for the other to say one more word. It was distracting enough that neither of them heard the sound of footsteps heading towards them.
“What is going on here?!” Both of them flinched at Ganex’s voice snapping the silence away. They stepped away from each other, Lulan lacing his fingers behind his neck and Talic covering his mouth with one hand. Neither of them looked at Ganex as he approached.
“Well? Either of you, hm?” They knew he wouldn’t leave without some kind of answer. Lulan turned back toward him, staring at the floor as he tried to think of what to say.
“We’ll be fine…” Talic murmured first, “Just… disagreement.”
“I understand,” Ganex sighed, “that keeping yourselves together feels an impossible task right now. And there will be time for us to grieve in the way we need to, but it is not now and not by going after each other. Is that clear, both of you?”
Talic and Lulan took a moment to breathe, collecting themselves before turning back to Ganex, without looking at each other again.
“Yes, sir.”
“…Yes, sir.”
“Now… Talic, gather the things Dosair asked for. I will speak to each of you personally, when this is all over.”
Talic nodded and went back into Dosair’s open room. Lulan watched him come back out with two pillows before walking past them back to the med bay.
“DoDo’s pillows?” Lulan’s voice was barely above a whisper now.
“Yes,” Ganex nodded, “He wanted them for his neck, says that he won’t be able to sleep with them otherwise.”
Lulan bit down on his lip until it felt like it would bleed. His sight blurred, and it nearly shocked him as tears started spilling over his cheeks.
“It’s…” he exhaled slowly, “It’s not right, Ganex. It’s not fair to him. It… It’s not fucking fair.”
Ganex’s expression softened and he rested a hand on his shoulder. “Whether it’s fair or not is something we’ll have to decide later, but I’m sorry you had to find out this way. Blame me if you want to be angry, but do just one thing.”
“What?” Lulan quickly wiped away the tears.
“Make peace with Talic when this is over. The coming months are going to be harder, and we need to rely on each other more than ever.”
“Fine,” Lulan grumbled, but then sighed and shook his head, “No, I—I will, I promise. I don’t think I meant any of it, but… I’ll make it right.”
Ganex sighed, “We will tell him when the time comes, but no one will blame you if you need some time alone—"
“No,” Lulan cut him off, “I’ll be fine. I… I want to be there for him.”
“Alright then.” Ganex swung his arm over Lulan’s shoulders and the two of them walked back toward the med bay. Neither of them spoke again, Lulan trying to breathe through the wave of emotion trying to overtake him. He didn’t feel ready to face it, but it wasn’t really up to him now. He need to be there for Dosair, for all of them.
Whatever came next, they had to be there for each other.
Content warnings: dystopian setting, police brutality, manhandling, head injury
This officially marks the earliest piece I’ve written in my story!
@whumpmasinjuly
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“There. Perfect.”
The can of spray paint in his hand ran out just as he finished the last line of his work. Ganex stepped back to see his work. He used glow-in-the-dark paint this time, with a special stain so it’d be harder to clean off the stone wall. Hard to remove and hard to ignore.
This resistance graffiti would piss off the peace officers even more than the last few.
Ganex wiped the can of his fingerprints before throwing it in the garbage. It was a few hours past the city’s curfew and the sun had set long ago. He had to get back before anyone at home noticed he was gone. Or before he was caught and arrested for vandalism and rebel sympathizing.
At the moment, he wasn’t sure which would be worse.
“Hey, you there!” A voice boomed from across the street that made Ganex’s hair stand on end. He whipped his head around to see three peace officers running towards him, batons already out.
“Shit!” He ejected his wheels and took off in the other direction at full speed. They shouted the usual things at him, ‘Stop,’ ‘Stay where you are,’ ‘You’re under arrest,’ while the more he ran the more they struggled to keep up with him. He had the advantage here, knowing these streets like the back of his hand. Most peace officers didn’t live in the area, coming here for work either from the upper sects of Agerdon or from one of the more affluent neighboring towns. They didn’t know the people here, and underestimated them at their own risk.
The glow of lower town central was just a few blocks away and disappearing from view as Ganex fled. Corner stores were closed, but their signs still shined against the dark sky. Roads and sidewalks connecting each block to the next were devoid of public life, a phenomenon resulting from the Council-mandated curfew. Anyone caught out past that time was arrested on grounds of suspicious activity, if they were lucky. The only people out during this time were the peace officers and anyone willing to sell out their neighbors and morals for some extra cash.
Ganex turned a sharp corner and rushed to the back of a café where the dumpsters were. He ducked low to the ground, waiting as the peace officers stopped and looked around.
C’mon, just leave already…
“Shit,” one of the peace officers groaned, “Lost them.”
“Should we keep looking?”
“No, let’s just get back on patrol. Either of you get a good look?”
A chorus of no’s muttered through the air as they started walking away. Ganex was relieved. It hadn’t occurred to him that having a mask or face paint would probably help him if this ever happened again. Since he wasn’t planning on stopping, the likelihood of being spotted again was high. He’d get a mask for next time.
He waited until the sounds of their steps disappeared completely before coming out of his hiding spot. He looked up at the signpost, Synlex Street. Good, only a few blocks from home. So long as he kept an eye out for more officers, he should be fine.
He kept to the alleys as he made the jog back, anywhere with low lights where he could keep to the shadows as much as possible. A transport flew overhead and he ducked behind another dumpster. There was always more security on this side of town. Once it was gone, he started walking again, passing by a few stores his family often shopped at. He couldn’t help but stop by one of the bakeries he’d go to with his mother. The owner always displayed a few loaves of bread and cakes in the window to draw in potential customers. There were still a few out. Ganex’s stomach growled the longer he stared at them. He hadn’t eaten anything since about noon. When he got home, he’d have to scrounge for something there. Still, the bread looked delicious.
“Come here, you little brat!” Someone grabbed him from behind and shoved him against the wall. Ganex yelled, not realizing that another peace officer came around the corner to this street. Having the officer pin his head against the stone wall was terrifying. They grabbed the top of his backpack and yanked it off his back. It opened and his other spray paint cans and notebooks fell out on the concrete.
“Get off me!” Ganex shouted as the peace officer pulled his arm back behind him. It hurt so much he worried his shoulder would be dislocated. He gritted his teeth as his eyes started to water.
“Spray paint, huh? I’m arresting you for suspected vandalism and curfew violation. You’re coming with—”
The officer’s sentence ended with a thwack and a pained grunt. They let go and Ganex turned around just as they fell to the ground. He looked up at a new figure, a tall man with crimson red hair and a bat clenched in his hand. His eyes widened as they darted between the stranger and the now unconscious peace officer.
“You okay, kid?” The stranger asked as he rested his bat on his shoulder. Ganex stepped back until he was pressed against the wall. His caution made the stranger chuckle. “Don’t worry, okay? I just knocked out a Council lackey for you, so I’m not gonna hurt you or anything.”
“I—I mean—Is, is he…?” Ganex was almost afraid to say the words.
“Dead? No, if I wanted the fucker dead, it’d be a lot more obvious.”
He dropped the bat on the ground next to the officer and started picking up the contents of Ganex’s backpack. Ganex crouched down and started stuffing things in his pack as fast as he could. The stranger came across one of his notebooks, opened to a drawing of one of the resistance symbols Ganex had put up a few times.
“Hey, I know this,” the stranger held the picture up to the light, “Are you the guy putting up resistance graffiti around town?”
Ganex held his breath and reached to grab the notebook from his hands. “N-No, that’s nothing!”
“C’mon, dude,” the stranger pulled it away before he could grab it, “You’ve got like a dozen cans of paint and doodles in your notebook, it’s definitely you.”
Ganex clenched his hand tightly, the muscles in his jaw straining as he tensed. “Are… are you gonna report me?”
“Fuck no, I think it’s awesome! I mean, you’re kinda younger than I imagined. How old are you?”
Ganex’s cheeks flushed. “…151.”
“Oh wow.” The stranger closed up the notebook and handed it back to him. “Don’t you have homework or school stuff you should be doing?”
Ganex snatched the notebook from him and stuffed it in his backpack. He frowned as he zipped it up. “No.”
“Oh.” That seemed to be enough of a cue for the stranger. “So, you do this then?”
“Yeah.” Ganex stood up quickly and turned to head home. “Thank for the help.”
“Hey wait!” The stranger leapt forward and grabbed Ganex’s sore arm. Ganex winced and tried to pull away, but the stranger had a good grip on him. He finally stopped and turned back to him. “What?”
“So, it’s just you?” The stranger seemed genuinely curious. “You don’t go with any backup after curfew?”
Ganex shrugged. “No? I mean, I don’t know anyone else?”
“You mean people actually in the resistance?”
“…No?”
Something about that was amusing to the stranger. He started to chuckle under his breath and shook his head in disbelief. Ganex glared at his and tightened his grip on his backpack strap. “What’s so funny?”
“Sorry, it’s just not the smartest thing for someone to do.”
“Look, I just don’t know any other sympathizers, okay?”
“I’ll say.”
“Well, it’s not like their meetings get posted on the fucking bulletin or anything!” Ganex’s voice rose to an angry shout. “Not like I can just go around asking where I can meet with the leaders, huh! ‘Cause everything they do is just a big secret that’s impossible for everyone else to figure out!”
“Okay, okay,” the stranger held up his hands in surrender. “Let me just ask you this: what made you want to start putting graffiti up?”
“Uh…” Ganex looked at the ground and shifted his feet. “I just… think things can be better than they are. I guess I started looking up to them, and wanted to show support somehow.”
“You think they can change things?”
That was the first time anyone had asked him that. The resistance was always met with gloomy thoughts among his family and neighbors. Many thought of them as troublemakers, that their efforts were futile and would only cause more pain for everyone else. But not Ganex. See them fight back, hearing their words on the news, he found it inspiring.
It gave him hope for a better future.
“Yeah, I do.”
The stranger nodded with a smile and reached for his pocket. “That’s good to hear, kid. Look, I’m not saying you have to, but you might think about reading up on the guiding principles they use. At least know what they stand for if you’re gonna go around using their symbol. Here.”
He held out a data drive between his fingers. Ganex took it, noticing it was unlabeled and bulkier than a normal one.
“That’s encrypted, so even if you’re monitor’s searched, it won’t show up in the files. It’s also connected to an isolated local network. We use it for signaling when and where the next meeting is gonna be.”
“We?”
The stranger winked at him and picked his bat back up. “Name’s Sarvock. I gotta go, so stay out of trouble for the night, ‘kay?”
He turned and started walking down the sidewalk. Ganex watched him as he walked away, looking between him and the data drive in his hand. There was an excitement in holding it, like he had just found a treasure trove of forbidden knowledge. He wanted to know more about the resistance for so long, and now it was finally in his hands.
“Maybe I’ll see you at the next meeting!” Sarvock yelled from down the street. Ganex watched his crimson hair disappear from the light of the streetlamps. Once he was gone, he felt the eerie nature of the empty streets creeping back. The peace officer on the ground shifted, and Ganex took off running to his house. He couldn’t wait to see what was on here.
When he got back, he was careful to slip past the kitchen where his parents were talking. He’d be in serious trouble if they realized he only just got back. His little sister was already tucked in for the night, so he could be alone and unbothered for a bit. He went into his room, stashed his backpack under his bed, and pulled out a tablet to plug in the data drive. The screen went blank for a second, then the symbol of the resistance he had been painting for months appeared.
“Whoa…” There were a few dozen files listed on the drive. He opened the first one, ‘Social Inequities in the Dicio Council Regime’ by Andama Pax, and started reading. For hours he couldn’t take his eyes off the screen, fascinated and enchanted by each new reading.
Content Warnings: hospital setting, surgery (descriptions are a little grizzly), minor character death, blood, burns, broken bones
Follows this piece
@whumpmasinjuly
“Induced coma unsuccessful. Vital signs in critical condition.”
“Shit,” Talic hissed as he turned back to Koladi’s table. Warning signs flared up on her vitals screen, low blood pressure, fast irregular heartbeat, multiple broken bones and fractures in her body. He was going to lose her too if he didn’t get her stabilized in a coma within the next few minutes.
“How Lylimeph doing, Zanvir?”
Across the room, Zanvir sighed and brushed away the sweat gathered on his forehead with his sleeve, still leaving a streak of blood on his forehead and surgery cap. He looked down at the bloodied mess on the table in front of him, partially covered by a surgical blanket with Lylimeph’s pale face covered with a mask.
“I wish I could say better,” he shook his head as he went back to work, “Even if I get all this shrapnel out, I don’t know if we’ll have enough bulk blood to keep her stable.”
Talic bit his lip, trying to think as he recalibrated the controls for Koladi’s table. “Ok… Once, once we get these two stabilized, you and I can donate, and we’ll see about Ganex and Byruk helping too.”
“And Lulan?”
“Lulan’s donated twice already, anymore and he’ll be bedridden for days. We’ll just… have to hope it’s enough.”
Talic reactivated the machine’s sequence, hoping this time would go through so Koladi could stabilize. He turned his attention back to Prash. Broken spine, burns covering most of his body from the bomb’s flames, and Talic already had to take a leg too damaged to save. Infection was his greatest worry for Prash at the moment, on top of an endless growing list.
Talic was exhausted. Twenty hours since most of their team got caught in the explosion and they still weren’t even close to being done fixing everyone up. Lexus still had a hole in her leg held together by a medpack. Alek was unconscious from a head wound and a broken arm. Dosair was the only one Talic managed to fix up stabilize after barely reassembling most of his insides.
Hōdek died within a few seconds of being placed on an operating table.
It was horrible, but Talic didn’t have time to dwell on it now. Chief Medical Officers never had time to dwell in the terrible, painful things they saw in an operating room. He had four more lives to save. Once he knew they were out of harms way, then he could let everything crash down around him.
But not one moment before.
“Induced coma unsuccessful. Vital signs in critical condition.”
The warning sounded again, and Talic tore himself away from Prash back to Koladi. She was deathly pale, and the rising motion of her breathing was slow and labored. Sweat started gathering on Talic’s brow as he quickly tried to restart the sequence again.
“Warning: hemorrhaging detected in upper abdomen.”
“Fuck, no, no, no, no,” Talic muttered in growing panic under his breath, “C’mon, Koladi, just hold on a little longer, c’mon…”
“Warning: blood pressure not detected. Pulse not detected.”
“No!” Talic abandoned the monitor and yanked back the covering over Koladi’s chest. Already he could see the dark shading of blood pooling under her skin. “Open defibrillators.”
Slots on either side of the operating table opened and he grabbed a defibrillator out from each. The voltage charged and he held the flat ends against her chest. Her body jolted from the current, but the heart monitor remained flat.
“C’mon, Koladi, hang in there…” He charged them again and winced from the loud sound of electricity discharging. Still, nothing. He tried again and her vital signs still remained flat. He tried not to look at the grayish hue growing in her complexion as he charged them up again.
“Talic—”
“I can do it, Zanvir,” Talic didn’t look back at him as he discharged the electricity a fourth time. Still no pulse. He could feel Zanvir’s eyes staring into the back of his head.
“Talic, listen—”
“I’m not losing her!” Talic shouted as he charged the defibrillator again. Koladi jolted on the table, but remained lifeless. “I’m not losing another one, I can do it!”
“The cutoff is three, Vellatang!” Talic flinched as Zanvir’s voice rose to a shout. He turned back to look at him, the defibrillators still clenched tightly in his hands. Only now he noticed how short and rapid his breath was.
“It’s three times,” Zanvir said with a long sad look on his face, “You know that. You’ve done five now. I… You have to move on.”
Talic’s breath froze in his chest. He was right, trying again now would just waste time. He turned back to Koladi, setting the defibrillators down as he finally looked at her still face. There was nothing, no breath, no fluttering of her eyes. Even now, he knew the color of her irises were drained under her eyelids, leaving behind a haunting milky white.
She was gone.
“Go back to Prash, Talic,” Zanvir’s voice grew softer, “He still needs you.”
Talic didn’t need any other prompting. Zanvir was right, he had to move on. He had to hold on, try and save the others as best he could. Just for a moment, he allowed his hands to shake as he pulled the cover over Koladi. The look of death disappeared under the blue sheet, and he exhaled sharply.
“I’m sorry, Koladi…” His hand rested on top of her head for just a moment, almost as though he was trying to comfort her through her passing. He inhaled sharply and pulled away, feeling a sharp sting of sadness in his chest as he came back to Prash. He could still feel Zanvir’s eyes on him, making sure he was able to keep moving forward.
Talic pushed the rest of his thinking to each piece of shrapnel he pulled out of Prash. He could keep going like this, focusing only on those still breathing. There would be time to mourn the others later. But for now, he could hold on for Lylimeph, Prash, and Dosair.
"you're safe with me, you always will be," - for Ganex and Alek please! 🥺
CW: overextending abilities
Ganex could tell it was a bad day before he stepped one foot into the room.
Alek had been in the training room for a few hours at least after returning from his patrol. As far as Ganex could tell, he hadn’t left the room since then. The ship’s computer indicated his usual training program had been running the entire time. Overexercising. It was a behavior Ganex would often see when Alek wasn’t doing well. A little over ten years under his command and he could tell when he was having a rough time.
He could hear Alek yelling and panting as he approached the training room. Ganex stopped outside the open doorway and watched him running through the final sequence of this level. He was fast, hitting and slicing through each projection as it appeared. But he was unsteady, unfocused and barely anticipating the next moves. He was purely reacting, keeping a pace without a plan. If he kept this up, he’d get too worn out to stand.
The program ended within a minute and Alek stood at rest with his fists clenched, panting for breath. Ganex watched from his profile and noticed his ears were tilted far back and his eyes were wide, as though something had frightened him. He didn’t seem to notice Ganex watching him as he readied to start the next level. Ganex decided it was time to step in when he saw his stance wavering.
“I remember the first time I got to train on a holo-projection deck,” he said as he stepped casually into the room. His chest pained a little when he saw Alek flinch at the sound of his voice his voice. He turned towards him and wiped the sweat off his brow.
“First time, sir?”
“Yes, I was a little older than you, around 270 or so. Renting a deck was expensive, mostly for soldiers and athletes who could afford it and my family never could. Myself and my fellow Rebels trained together, and none of us could keep up with the programmed speed.”
“Oh… I didn’t know.”
“Mmhm, we had to train old-school for a long time. You still practice techniques with Lexus and Byruk, yes?
Alek nodded. “Yeah, sometimes. I didn’t want to bother them, though, in case they were busy.”
I wish I could believe that’s the only reason. Ganex didn’t say it out loud, but he was silent for a moment, and that’s just enough for Alek to look away. He already knew he didn’t ask them because he wanted to be alone, to avoid having to interact with anyone and deal with whatever was going on by himself. Ganex had seen it countless times now, and he’d probably see it countless more. It never disappointed him, but it still made him sad. He sighed as he placed both hands on Alek’s shoulders.
“I understand if you find you need to take time to be alone, and it might feel strange since I’m your commander and general,” Ganex said softly. He squeezed Alek’s shoulders gently and leaned forward. “But you can always talk to me, about anything, truly. I want you to know that you’re safe with me, you always will be.”
When Alek looked back up at him, Ganex saw the eyes of a scared child staring up at him. Sometimes he forgot just how young Alek was. He gave him a small smile. “You’re never alone, or at least you don’t have to be, alright?”
Alek exhaled and nodded, his guard finally folding in on itself as he fell to hug Ganex. Ganex still felt him trembling in silence as he hugged back tightly. His fatigue seemed to seep out of him. Ganex worried that if he let go, Alek might just fall to the floor. He didn’t say anything else, patting his back reassuringly as Alek held onto him like a lifeline.
Those were words he had spoken before, many times. Ganex hoped that maybe this time, they’d stick.
A race of aliens known as Maltrinites have been fighting a war for over 400 years, a bitter conflict between the Pax Rebels who seek freedom from oppression, and the Dicio Council who seek to regain total control of the planet Maltrina. The war devastates the lives of all involved in some form or another. In the Earth year 2041, a group of elite Pax Rebel fighters crash on Earth during a mission to acquire new weapons and gear. They now find themselves struggling to find a way home, all while a Dician ship hunts them across the planet Click here for the full list!
Alek and Banévar: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
The Downtrodden: Alek’s Backstory
The story of a young Pax Rebel caught in the worst of circumstances. 30 years before joining the Titan Guard, Alek was taken prisoner by the Council’s forces. A year passed before he was found, the only one left alive. Click here for the full list!
Revolution: The Early Years of the War
A young Rebel joins the efforts to help his people and his world against the ruling Dicio Council. It’s a time when those close to him show their true colors, and he finds that people aren’t always who they seem to be.
