Post by Maelstrom on Jun 13, 2014 14:41:48 GMT -6
Emily's full lips felt like silk against his, as she arched her back. Her chest pressed against his, as she took the high ground. The kisses were hungry and intense, not the quick pecks they sometimes exchanged during training or the soft kisses that they shared before parting ways every night.
She was making him rethink things. His determination to see Cerberus laid to complete and utter ruin was as ironclad as ever, but he began to wonder if maybe he was wrong. Perhaps some of the people working for Cerberus did deserve a second chance. An opportunity to redeem themselves. He was going to give Emily that chance.
"You're distracted," Emily said, pulling away from him and seating herself back down on the couch.
He had to remember to be more careful. Though he loved and trusted her, he needed to make sure he kept his priorities in order. The most important thing in his life was getting free of Cerberus.
"Just thinking about our future," he said, reclining back against the couch.
"I wouldn't waste too much time on that," she chuckled.
He turned to look at her with a quizzical expression.
"I only mean that we're in a dangerous line of work. There's no guarantee that either of us will have much of a future to speak of. That's why we have to enjoy the present."
He certainly knew the truth of that, but the thought of being without her was almost more than he could bear. Without thinking he leaned over and kissed her urgently, and she melted against him, returning the kiss eagerly. When they parted, they were breathless.
With a groan, she said, "I should be getting back to my quarters for the night."
"You know you don't have to go," he said hopefully.
She gave a pained moan. "Don't do that to me. I'm just not ready."
"We could just sleep," he offered. Just to fall asleep with her in his arms would be a joy beyond describing.
She seemed to consider it for a moment, before shaking her head. "I should just go."
It was his turn to moan, as she stood up. They had spent so much time together the past few weeks, but parting was always painful. He hoped someday that they would not have to, that they would have their own small ship together, with quarters that they shared. He hoped she would join him in his fight against Cerberus.
Stopping at his door, she said, "I love you."
Slumping over on the rest of the couch, he groaned into the cushion, "I love you too."
Her sweet laugh rang out, as she headed out the door and down the hall. The door closed a moment later.
Jonathan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, savoring the lingering smell of her on his shirt before it faded. She was not one for perfume, so he assumed it was largely the smell of her soap and shampoo. It was not exactly floral, but there was a certain quality to it that he found undeniably feminine.
Then the thought of what might happen if she refused to leave Cerberus with him popped back into his head. He would be forced to leave her behind, because he knew, deep down, that he would not be able to bring himself to kill her. After all, there was always the chance she could later change her mind and join him once she saw how serious he was. On the other hand, he knew that was a weakness and that Cerberus would exploit any weakness in him it could if he was truly successful in what he hoped to do.
He felt a painful lump forming in his throat. Jonathan tried to swallow it down, but to no avail. He opened his eyes, hoping to find something to draw his attention and bring his mind away from such sad thoughts.
On the table in front of his couch, he found the pad Emily was working on before they reached his quarters. She said she had been studying the schematics of the new shuttle their team was just assigned. According to her, it was an impressive piece of machinery, utilizing the same kind of stealth technology implemented on the SR-1 and SR-2. He shuddered to think what Cerberus could accomplish with such dangerous technology.
It was the distraction he needed, though. Picking it up, he made his way out of his quarters and towards Emily's. Seeing her smiling face when he handed it back to her would be all he needed to clear away his depression. Of course, he knew she would pick on him, saying it could have waited until morning, and she would be right. Still, it was what he needed.
It was quite a long way across the base to reach her quarters, which were stationed all the way on the other end. The most direct route took him through the heart of the installation. He slowed as he neared the quantum entanglement communicator room. There was a faint glow and the sound of voices coming from inside. Normally, the room was closed if in use, but, at such a late hour, the user had evidently been lax in their adherence to security protocols.
He smiled. This was just the sort of thing which might one day give him the information he needed to make his escape or bring down the organization.
Then he heard Emily's voice, and his smile evaporated. The QEC was an extremely limited piece of technology, only able to communicate point to point with one other platform. To his knowledge, this one only connected with Cerberus' headquarters, wherever that was. The only people he ever knew to use it before were Commander Rand and the base's commander, Commander Harrison.
"So, your assignment is proceeding as expected, then?" an unfamiliar man's voice queried.
There was an amused chuckle. "I've got him wrapped around my finger." His heart plunged to the pit of his stomach when he realized Emily was the speaker now. In as fake a tone as he could imagine anyone managing, she said, "We're in love."
"Good," the voice said.
Jonathan took a couple silent steps forward. Emily was standing on a circular pad, facing away from him. He recognized it as the receiver for the communicator. He did not have to worry about the person on the other end spotting him, as he would in a conventional communicator, because the only thing the person on the other end saw was what was on the communicator. Rand had explained its workings to him. The man was dressed in a suit. He held a cigarette between to fingers. As much as the man's glowing eyes bothered him, it was more the man's calm, calculating countenance that unsettled Jonathan.
"Your unit will be going on your first assignment in a couple days," the man said. "Before that, I want you to make love to Mister Hunt."
"What?" Emily asked, incredulous.
"You heard me," he said, his tone deathly serious.
"I'm not some whore," she said. "I don't just sleep with people on command."
"You know what you are," the man said, his tone brokering no argument. More lightly he added, "You are an agent for Cerberus. Sometimes, we undertake tasks we would rather not to achieve our goals. Mister Hunt's loyalty is important to our long-term goals, if as a proof-of-concept if nothing else."
"And how long will I be tasked with assuring his loyalty?" she demanded.
"Your continuing presence would contaminate the results of the experiment," the man said. "After a couple missions, we will see to it your death is faked. This should further align Mister Hunt with our cause. Our enemies will be his enemies. He will be willing to lay down his life for our cause."
"And me?" Emily asked.
"You will be given a new task more suited to your skills and the loyalty you show by completing your assignment as instructed," the man said.
"Understood," she said, though she did not seem happy about it.
Jonathan quietly started back to his quarters. Giving her the pad could wait until morning. He had a great deal to think about.
Jonathan had wanted to believe it was only a dream when he woke up that morning, but Commander Rand's announcement that they would be heading out first thing in the morning on their first mission, which would take them about a day to reach, confirmed it for him. Emily noticed that he looked bothered about halfway through the day's training. When she asked why, he gave her the answer he knew she wanted. He told her he was worried about her safety.
That got him through the day with no more questions asked. Once all the training was done, he secreted himself away in his room, with the door closed and the lights out, brooding. He was not even able to imagine what would happen. His mind was a maelstrom of thoughts and emotions. They were in too chaotic a state for any of them to become coherent.
There was a chime at his door, and the world snapped into clarity. He stood and found exactly what he expected, Emily standing there with a big smile. Her grin faded when she saw his expression.
"Is everything okay?" she asked.
"Just thinking about the mission. Afraid to lose you," he answered.
She laughed. "You heard the commander. Just grabbing some reaper tech from a civie research station. I'd be surprised if anyone dies, much less one of ours."
"I know," Jonathan said. "Still, you can never be certain what might happen."
"Well, I've got something to help you be certain," she said, reaching around behind her back as she let herself in. She handed him a compacted weapon, a model he had never seen before. "I ordered it just for you. It's a prototype, heavily modded. A single shot from this will pierce anything short of a tank."
Jonathan activated it. The weapon felt heavy in his hand. Clumsy. But powerful.
"And I have something else for you," she said, stopping at the door to his bedroom. She started to slip her fingers under her shirt.
"No," he said, knowing he would never be able to keep up his act in the heat of passion.
"No?" she asked, seeming truly concerned.
"I..." He found himself fumbling for words. "I'd just like to hold you tonight."
A timid smile crossed her lips. "Alright, then." She came close to him, putting her arms on his chest. "But you had better believe we're going to have one hell of a night when we get back."
He forced a smile. "I can't wait."
The shuttle ride was almost a full day, and Jonathan loathed every second of it. It could have been more bearable, if he had not determined the night before, as Emily lay in his arms, exactly what needed to be done. All that remained for the shuttle ride was to pretend that he was not determined to be the death of every last person onboard.
There was a slight bit of atmospheric turbulence, as they descended towards the landing zone, a couple kilometers from the research station. Nothing major. Still, Jonathan found himself gripping the pistol Emily had given him. It elicited a smile from her.
"We'll be breaking into teams," Rand announced, as he walked down the center of the main compartment, holding to the overhead rail for stability. "Hunt, you're with Marco. Your job will be to infiltrate the station and shut off any security systems before the rest of us move in."
"No," Jonathan said. "I'm with Emily."
"Excuse me?" Rand demanded, bristling at the challenge to his authority.
"One of the reasons you gave me to join Cerberus is that it allows more freedom than service with the Alliance. I'll be accompanying Emily," Jonathan said, not flinching.
"Jonathan, I'm not sure this is the time to..." Emily started, before he shot her a look that told her not to argue the point.
"Two minutes to touchdown," the pilot called.
Rand bared his teeth. "I don't have time to argue this, Hunt."
"No, you don't," he replied calmly. "I'm with Emily."
"Damn!" the commander spat. "Okay, Marco, you're with me. Armstrong, White, you're going to be in charge of making sure we don't have to deal with any resistance from their security personnel. White, non-lethal rounds. Armstrong, take out any turrets or patrol craft. Hunt, Moore, you'll be in charge of keeping the civies in line. Once security is taken out, you gather them up and keep them quiet. Then Marco and I will retrieve the package and call for pickup. Understood."
As a unit, they all said, "Sir, yes sir!"
The shuttle set down a moment later. As Jonathan stepped out of the shuttle, Rand passed him and added, "This isn't over, Hunt."
Jonathan kept his mouth closed. There was no need to respond to the threats of a dead man.
As he and Emily made their way through the forest, towards their objective, Jonathan kept a leisurely pace. Emily did not question it. After all, for everything to go as Rand envisioned, their group would be the last to arrive anyway. For everything to go as Jonathan planned, it meant he was between his enemies and their only means of escape.
He drew his pistol. The one Emily gave him. It activated.
"So, what was all that back there about?" she asked, sounding upset. He did not know which emotions of hers were real anymore. If she even had any.
"I wanted to be able to keep an eye on you," he said. A half truth.
"That's not all of it," she argued, taking the lead and leaving her back to him.
"I wanted to be alone with you," he said, telling the whole truth.
"This isn't a date, Jonathan. We need to do as we're ordered," she said.
He raised the gun silently. "I'm never taking orders from Cerberus again."
She stopped dead in her tracks. Just as he planned, when he halted, the pistol he gave her was pressed just to the base of her skull. Everything was silent, save for their breathing.
"Jonathan?" she asked, her voice filled with fear.
"I did love you," he replied.
Then he pulled the trigger.
She was making him rethink things. His determination to see Cerberus laid to complete and utter ruin was as ironclad as ever, but he began to wonder if maybe he was wrong. Perhaps some of the people working for Cerberus did deserve a second chance. An opportunity to redeem themselves. He was going to give Emily that chance.
"You're distracted," Emily said, pulling away from him and seating herself back down on the couch.
He had to remember to be more careful. Though he loved and trusted her, he needed to make sure he kept his priorities in order. The most important thing in his life was getting free of Cerberus.
"Just thinking about our future," he said, reclining back against the couch.
"I wouldn't waste too much time on that," she chuckled.
He turned to look at her with a quizzical expression.
"I only mean that we're in a dangerous line of work. There's no guarantee that either of us will have much of a future to speak of. That's why we have to enjoy the present."
He certainly knew the truth of that, but the thought of being without her was almost more than he could bear. Without thinking he leaned over and kissed her urgently, and she melted against him, returning the kiss eagerly. When they parted, they were breathless.
With a groan, she said, "I should be getting back to my quarters for the night."
"You know you don't have to go," he said hopefully.
She gave a pained moan. "Don't do that to me. I'm just not ready."
"We could just sleep," he offered. Just to fall asleep with her in his arms would be a joy beyond describing.
She seemed to consider it for a moment, before shaking her head. "I should just go."
It was his turn to moan, as she stood up. They had spent so much time together the past few weeks, but parting was always painful. He hoped someday that they would not have to, that they would have their own small ship together, with quarters that they shared. He hoped she would join him in his fight against Cerberus.
Stopping at his door, she said, "I love you."
Slumping over on the rest of the couch, he groaned into the cushion, "I love you too."
Her sweet laugh rang out, as she headed out the door and down the hall. The door closed a moment later.
Jonathan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, savoring the lingering smell of her on his shirt before it faded. She was not one for perfume, so he assumed it was largely the smell of her soap and shampoo. It was not exactly floral, but there was a certain quality to it that he found undeniably feminine.
Then the thought of what might happen if she refused to leave Cerberus with him popped back into his head. He would be forced to leave her behind, because he knew, deep down, that he would not be able to bring himself to kill her. After all, there was always the chance she could later change her mind and join him once she saw how serious he was. On the other hand, he knew that was a weakness and that Cerberus would exploit any weakness in him it could if he was truly successful in what he hoped to do.
He felt a painful lump forming in his throat. Jonathan tried to swallow it down, but to no avail. He opened his eyes, hoping to find something to draw his attention and bring his mind away from such sad thoughts.
On the table in front of his couch, he found the pad Emily was working on before they reached his quarters. She said she had been studying the schematics of the new shuttle their team was just assigned. According to her, it was an impressive piece of machinery, utilizing the same kind of stealth technology implemented on the SR-1 and SR-2. He shuddered to think what Cerberus could accomplish with such dangerous technology.
It was the distraction he needed, though. Picking it up, he made his way out of his quarters and towards Emily's. Seeing her smiling face when he handed it back to her would be all he needed to clear away his depression. Of course, he knew she would pick on him, saying it could have waited until morning, and she would be right. Still, it was what he needed.
It was quite a long way across the base to reach her quarters, which were stationed all the way on the other end. The most direct route took him through the heart of the installation. He slowed as he neared the quantum entanglement communicator room. There was a faint glow and the sound of voices coming from inside. Normally, the room was closed if in use, but, at such a late hour, the user had evidently been lax in their adherence to security protocols.
He smiled. This was just the sort of thing which might one day give him the information he needed to make his escape or bring down the organization.
Then he heard Emily's voice, and his smile evaporated. The QEC was an extremely limited piece of technology, only able to communicate point to point with one other platform. To his knowledge, this one only connected with Cerberus' headquarters, wherever that was. The only people he ever knew to use it before were Commander Rand and the base's commander, Commander Harrison.
"So, your assignment is proceeding as expected, then?" an unfamiliar man's voice queried.
There was an amused chuckle. "I've got him wrapped around my finger." His heart plunged to the pit of his stomach when he realized Emily was the speaker now. In as fake a tone as he could imagine anyone managing, she said, "We're in love."
"Good," the voice said.
Jonathan took a couple silent steps forward. Emily was standing on a circular pad, facing away from him. He recognized it as the receiver for the communicator. He did not have to worry about the person on the other end spotting him, as he would in a conventional communicator, because the only thing the person on the other end saw was what was on the communicator. Rand had explained its workings to him. The man was dressed in a suit. He held a cigarette between to fingers. As much as the man's glowing eyes bothered him, it was more the man's calm, calculating countenance that unsettled Jonathan.
"Your unit will be going on your first assignment in a couple days," the man said. "Before that, I want you to make love to Mister Hunt."
"What?" Emily asked, incredulous.
"You heard me," he said, his tone deathly serious.
"I'm not some whore," she said. "I don't just sleep with people on command."
"You know what you are," the man said, his tone brokering no argument. More lightly he added, "You are an agent for Cerberus. Sometimes, we undertake tasks we would rather not to achieve our goals. Mister Hunt's loyalty is important to our long-term goals, if as a proof-of-concept if nothing else."
"And how long will I be tasked with assuring his loyalty?" she demanded.
"Your continuing presence would contaminate the results of the experiment," the man said. "After a couple missions, we will see to it your death is faked. This should further align Mister Hunt with our cause. Our enemies will be his enemies. He will be willing to lay down his life for our cause."
"And me?" Emily asked.
"You will be given a new task more suited to your skills and the loyalty you show by completing your assignment as instructed," the man said.
"Understood," she said, though she did not seem happy about it.
Jonathan quietly started back to his quarters. Giving her the pad could wait until morning. He had a great deal to think about.
#########
Jonathan had wanted to believe it was only a dream when he woke up that morning, but Commander Rand's announcement that they would be heading out first thing in the morning on their first mission, which would take them about a day to reach, confirmed it for him. Emily noticed that he looked bothered about halfway through the day's training. When she asked why, he gave her the answer he knew she wanted. He told her he was worried about her safety.
That got him through the day with no more questions asked. Once all the training was done, he secreted himself away in his room, with the door closed and the lights out, brooding. He was not even able to imagine what would happen. His mind was a maelstrom of thoughts and emotions. They were in too chaotic a state for any of them to become coherent.
There was a chime at his door, and the world snapped into clarity. He stood and found exactly what he expected, Emily standing there with a big smile. Her grin faded when she saw his expression.
"Is everything okay?" she asked.
"Just thinking about the mission. Afraid to lose you," he answered.
She laughed. "You heard the commander. Just grabbing some reaper tech from a civie research station. I'd be surprised if anyone dies, much less one of ours."
"I know," Jonathan said. "Still, you can never be certain what might happen."
"Well, I've got something to help you be certain," she said, reaching around behind her back as she let herself in. She handed him a compacted weapon, a model he had never seen before. "I ordered it just for you. It's a prototype, heavily modded. A single shot from this will pierce anything short of a tank."
Jonathan activated it. The weapon felt heavy in his hand. Clumsy. But powerful.
"And I have something else for you," she said, stopping at the door to his bedroom. She started to slip her fingers under her shirt.
"No," he said, knowing he would never be able to keep up his act in the heat of passion.
"No?" she asked, seeming truly concerned.
"I..." He found himself fumbling for words. "I'd just like to hold you tonight."
A timid smile crossed her lips. "Alright, then." She came close to him, putting her arms on his chest. "But you had better believe we're going to have one hell of a night when we get back."
He forced a smile. "I can't wait."
#########
The shuttle ride was almost a full day, and Jonathan loathed every second of it. It could have been more bearable, if he had not determined the night before, as Emily lay in his arms, exactly what needed to be done. All that remained for the shuttle ride was to pretend that he was not determined to be the death of every last person onboard.
There was a slight bit of atmospheric turbulence, as they descended towards the landing zone, a couple kilometers from the research station. Nothing major. Still, Jonathan found himself gripping the pistol Emily had given him. It elicited a smile from her.
"We'll be breaking into teams," Rand announced, as he walked down the center of the main compartment, holding to the overhead rail for stability. "Hunt, you're with Marco. Your job will be to infiltrate the station and shut off any security systems before the rest of us move in."
"No," Jonathan said. "I'm with Emily."
"Excuse me?" Rand demanded, bristling at the challenge to his authority.
"One of the reasons you gave me to join Cerberus is that it allows more freedom than service with the Alliance. I'll be accompanying Emily," Jonathan said, not flinching.
"Jonathan, I'm not sure this is the time to..." Emily started, before he shot her a look that told her not to argue the point.
"Two minutes to touchdown," the pilot called.
Rand bared his teeth. "I don't have time to argue this, Hunt."
"No, you don't," he replied calmly. "I'm with Emily."
"Damn!" the commander spat. "Okay, Marco, you're with me. Armstrong, White, you're going to be in charge of making sure we don't have to deal with any resistance from their security personnel. White, non-lethal rounds. Armstrong, take out any turrets or patrol craft. Hunt, Moore, you'll be in charge of keeping the civies in line. Once security is taken out, you gather them up and keep them quiet. Then Marco and I will retrieve the package and call for pickup. Understood."
As a unit, they all said, "Sir, yes sir!"
The shuttle set down a moment later. As Jonathan stepped out of the shuttle, Rand passed him and added, "This isn't over, Hunt."
Jonathan kept his mouth closed. There was no need to respond to the threats of a dead man.
As he and Emily made their way through the forest, towards their objective, Jonathan kept a leisurely pace. Emily did not question it. After all, for everything to go as Rand envisioned, their group would be the last to arrive anyway. For everything to go as Jonathan planned, it meant he was between his enemies and their only means of escape.
He drew his pistol. The one Emily gave him. It activated.
"So, what was all that back there about?" she asked, sounding upset. He did not know which emotions of hers were real anymore. If she even had any.
"I wanted to be able to keep an eye on you," he said. A half truth.
"That's not all of it," she argued, taking the lead and leaving her back to him.
"I wanted to be alone with you," he said, telling the whole truth.
"This isn't a date, Jonathan. We need to do as we're ordered," she said.
He raised the gun silently. "I'm never taking orders from Cerberus again."
She stopped dead in her tracks. Just as he planned, when he halted, the pistol he gave her was pressed just to the base of her skull. Everything was silent, save for their breathing.
"Jonathan?" she asked, her voice filled with fear.
"I did love you," he replied.
Then he pulled the trigger.