06-04-2024, 01:47 AM
== <in a Homer voice> Mmmmm, idiot sandwich... timeline ==
When Tyra whipped about, there was an instinct within Nathan that told him he was about to get all of that rage turned toward him. That was because it had been instilled in him. It was a part of him and his history with Tyra and Ben. Again, he had deserved much of it, but still got away with more than he rightly should have. Somehow, he’d had managed to endear himself to Tyra despite… everything.
It was the smile that disarmed his inclination to start dodging, ducking, dipping, diving, and dodging. Seeing Tyra switch from rage to happiness felt weird, but Nathan was grateful for the change. As she fiddled with his jacket Ramius’ eyes traced her visage, comparing the face he knew in his memories, and the one before him now. If time had passed, and probably no small amount of continued stress, it certainly didn’t show on her face beyond the state of her hair.
"Those look good on you.”
“Thanks,” he nearly choked on the word as his cheeks began to flush and emotions filled his throat.
Hearing those words, said with pride, definitely felt good after all the years he’d spent making Tyra miserable. A lot of work had gone into making a change, and the work wasn’t done either. Nathan wasn’t sure if it ever would be, so long as he was in the fleet. It meant more though coming from Tyra. She’d seen him at his worst. Coached him. Tried to bring him back up from the muck. To finally show her that all her work wasn’t in vain, that he hadn’t wasted his second, third, or however many chances she’d given him; it made the trip worth it. Even if there was something darkly dire underlying the proceedings. Something which reared itself in Tyra’s face.
It took a fantastic amount of willpower not to recoil from Tyra as her expression morphed. Instantly he was a Midshipman again, in some corridor or subdeck of the Gettysburg, about to get his first taste of true Crawford rage. Shivers ran down his spine as other memories and feelings came flooding back from that time. The face of one particular creature sizzled as it jumped from his mind and into his periphery. The monumental shift from elation to abyssal dread made his heart palpitate.
"Did he call you here?"
Even if Nathan could have roused himself from being stunned, Tyra didn’t give him enough time to answer.
"Did you call him?"
“No, I didn’t—”
Back at Ben, Nathan watched as a lock of her auburn hair sizzled and bounced back from the repulsive energy field. He almost stupidly reached out to hold her back, and his hands even rose up from his sides to do so, but Nathan shook the response away; the only way Ben was going to get strangled was if someone was stupid enough to lower the forcefield. And it would be pretty damn stupid to do so. The change of pitch and tone in her voice made Nathan’s skin crawl. Throughout his days long ordeal of being interrogated by so many other officers, not one of them ever managed to come close to creating such a visceral reaction in him.
Looking at Ben, Nathan’s eyes were compassionate as Tyra laid into him. He had wanted a reunion between them all, but not like this; especially because Ramius hadn’t been sure that a reunion would even be possible. Nathan had zero idea what the hell was going on. He hadn’t been on their most recent mission, and any digging he did turned into instant scrutiny and a litany of questions. It got to a point where he thought that both Elias and Crawford finally found a fight they couldn’t get out of. Sure, he’d been pissed about being grilled on Pomn, but his heart had also been heavy, worried that the worst had happened.
Tyra moved even closer to the forcefield, and Nathan thought for sure her face was gonna bounce off of it. Instead, it was the closest he’d ever seen someone get without getting a zap. Ramius drew forward, suddenly and stupidly worrying that maybe Tyra knew something about forcefields that he didn’t.
"Are you selling someone down the ******* river?”
Reacting immediately, Nathan’s hand rose up and he touched his face. Of all the people, in all the galaxy, he couldn’t ever see Elias doing such a thing. Perhaps it was because of their shared history. Coming up on the Gettysburg and then the Artemis together, and all the stupid shit they had both gotten into. But of anything, it definitely was because of what had happened on Pomn. The things that never once again saw the light of day after that particular mess, and everything they had gone through together on that trip, had created a bond. How many years had it been since all of that happened, and nothing, not even a peep about it, had come up until now? And why now? Why wait? Ben could have easily done whatever Tyra was accusing him of years ago; there was plenty of deep knowledge he had on all sorts of things. Plus, what would he get out of it? Anything he would have said about Nathan or Tyra, or even Cera, would have implicated himself just as much if not more.
After Tyra’s tirade, hearing the switch in Ben’s voice turned Nathan’s attention straight to him. The words came out like a burst firing phaser cannon, strategically aimed with precision and at a frequency that could bypass shields. Seeing them both stand so close together, and yet so very far apart, hurt Nathan.
What the actual **** did happen? he wondered.
Nathan approached Tyra and comfortingly put his hands on the sides of her shoulders, offering the contact as some small form of solace, as Elias burst into tears. He would have given Ben the biggest hug he could, but that was impossible. He didn’t know what to say, or even what to do. Nathan was so close to both of them, yet somehow never felt so far removed from them as he did in that moment. It was beyond understanding to know if he could even help them, and it felt worse to think that all he could do might be to provide comfort. Ramius wanted to do something to help, but everything he thought of just led to more questions from those looking to tank Ben, and Tyra’s, careers.
“Ben,” Nathan’s voice wavered just a little, “I never meant… my words earlier were harsh. I’m in the dark about whatever has happened out there. I just know that whatever did, has brought down a whole heap of thunder and fury on everyone’s heads. Me staying out of this, as much as I can, will probably be the best for all three of us; because all I can do is make it worse.”
Even if Nathan wanted to, there was no saving Ben now. Offering up himself in Ben’s place wouldn’t happen, he knew. They’d just take them both down. It would just demolish their careers, Tyra’s, and maybe even Cera’s too. A surge of feelings slammed into him, and a forceful urge to give his brother a hug shook his core; to bring in all three of them for a hug. It ripped at his chest just how much it all felt unfair. Yet here they were, yelling and sobbing in a brig. A reunion that should have been much more celebratory.
“We should probably go,” he finally said after a moment to Tyra, “before someone sees all of us together and assumes we are colluding.”
Then his focus went back to Ben.
“When all of this is over and the dust settles a fair bit, I owe you a distillery, Ben,” Nathan half-joked, because what he actually owed him was probably closer to a whole damn franchise.
== tags ==
When Tyra whipped about, there was an instinct within Nathan that told him he was about to get all of that rage turned toward him. That was because it had been instilled in him. It was a part of him and his history with Tyra and Ben. Again, he had deserved much of it, but still got away with more than he rightly should have. Somehow, he’d had managed to endear himself to Tyra despite… everything.
It was the smile that disarmed his inclination to start dodging, ducking, dipping, diving, and dodging. Seeing Tyra switch from rage to happiness felt weird, but Nathan was grateful for the change. As she fiddled with his jacket Ramius’ eyes traced her visage, comparing the face he knew in his memories, and the one before him now. If time had passed, and probably no small amount of continued stress, it certainly didn’t show on her face beyond the state of her hair.
"Those look good on you.”
“Thanks,” he nearly choked on the word as his cheeks began to flush and emotions filled his throat.
Hearing those words, said with pride, definitely felt good after all the years he’d spent making Tyra miserable. A lot of work had gone into making a change, and the work wasn’t done either. Nathan wasn’t sure if it ever would be, so long as he was in the fleet. It meant more though coming from Tyra. She’d seen him at his worst. Coached him. Tried to bring him back up from the muck. To finally show her that all her work wasn’t in vain, that he hadn’t wasted his second, third, or however many chances she’d given him; it made the trip worth it. Even if there was something darkly dire underlying the proceedings. Something which reared itself in Tyra’s face.
It took a fantastic amount of willpower not to recoil from Tyra as her expression morphed. Instantly he was a Midshipman again, in some corridor or subdeck of the Gettysburg, about to get his first taste of true Crawford rage. Shivers ran down his spine as other memories and feelings came flooding back from that time. The face of one particular creature sizzled as it jumped from his mind and into his periphery. The monumental shift from elation to abyssal dread made his heart palpitate.
"Did he call you here?"
Even if Nathan could have roused himself from being stunned, Tyra didn’t give him enough time to answer.
"Did you call him?"
“No, I didn’t—”
Back at Ben, Nathan watched as a lock of her auburn hair sizzled and bounced back from the repulsive energy field. He almost stupidly reached out to hold her back, and his hands even rose up from his sides to do so, but Nathan shook the response away; the only way Ben was going to get strangled was if someone was stupid enough to lower the forcefield. And it would be pretty damn stupid to do so. The change of pitch and tone in her voice made Nathan’s skin crawl. Throughout his days long ordeal of being interrogated by so many other officers, not one of them ever managed to come close to creating such a visceral reaction in him.
Looking at Ben, Nathan’s eyes were compassionate as Tyra laid into him. He had wanted a reunion between them all, but not like this; especially because Ramius hadn’t been sure that a reunion would even be possible. Nathan had zero idea what the hell was going on. He hadn’t been on their most recent mission, and any digging he did turned into instant scrutiny and a litany of questions. It got to a point where he thought that both Elias and Crawford finally found a fight they couldn’t get out of. Sure, he’d been pissed about being grilled on Pomn, but his heart had also been heavy, worried that the worst had happened.
Tyra moved even closer to the forcefield, and Nathan thought for sure her face was gonna bounce off of it. Instead, it was the closest he’d ever seen someone get without getting a zap. Ramius drew forward, suddenly and stupidly worrying that maybe Tyra knew something about forcefields that he didn’t.
"Are you selling someone down the ******* river?”
Reacting immediately, Nathan’s hand rose up and he touched his face. Of all the people, in all the galaxy, he couldn’t ever see Elias doing such a thing. Perhaps it was because of their shared history. Coming up on the Gettysburg and then the Artemis together, and all the stupid shit they had both gotten into. But of anything, it definitely was because of what had happened on Pomn. The things that never once again saw the light of day after that particular mess, and everything they had gone through together on that trip, had created a bond. How many years had it been since all of that happened, and nothing, not even a peep about it, had come up until now? And why now? Why wait? Ben could have easily done whatever Tyra was accusing him of years ago; there was plenty of deep knowledge he had on all sorts of things. Plus, what would he get out of it? Anything he would have said about Nathan or Tyra, or even Cera, would have implicated himself just as much if not more.
After Tyra’s tirade, hearing the switch in Ben’s voice turned Nathan’s attention straight to him. The words came out like a burst firing phaser cannon, strategically aimed with precision and at a frequency that could bypass shields. Seeing them both stand so close together, and yet so very far apart, hurt Nathan.
What the actual **** did happen? he wondered.
Nathan approached Tyra and comfortingly put his hands on the sides of her shoulders, offering the contact as some small form of solace, as Elias burst into tears. He would have given Ben the biggest hug he could, but that was impossible. He didn’t know what to say, or even what to do. Nathan was so close to both of them, yet somehow never felt so far removed from them as he did in that moment. It was beyond understanding to know if he could even help them, and it felt worse to think that all he could do might be to provide comfort. Ramius wanted to do something to help, but everything he thought of just led to more questions from those looking to tank Ben, and Tyra’s, careers.
“Ben,” Nathan’s voice wavered just a little, “I never meant… my words earlier were harsh. I’m in the dark about whatever has happened out there. I just know that whatever did, has brought down a whole heap of thunder and fury on everyone’s heads. Me staying out of this, as much as I can, will probably be the best for all three of us; because all I can do is make it worse.”
Even if Nathan wanted to, there was no saving Ben now. Offering up himself in Ben’s place wouldn’t happen, he knew. They’d just take them both down. It would just demolish their careers, Tyra’s, and maybe even Cera’s too. A surge of feelings slammed into him, and a forceful urge to give his brother a hug shook his core; to bring in all three of them for a hug. It ripped at his chest just how much it all felt unfair. Yet here they were, yelling and sobbing in a brig. A reunion that should have been much more celebratory.
“We should probably go,” he finally said after a moment to Tyra, “before someone sees all of us together and assumes we are colluding.”
Then his focus went back to Ben.
“When all of this is over and the dust settles a fair bit, I owe you a distillery, Ben,” Nathan half-joked, because what he actually owed him was probably closer to a whole damn franchise.
== tags ==