Captain-Master:
Interlude
Disclaimer: These are not my characters. They are owned, copyrighted and created
by far wiser people than me. I have attempted to bring them back to life for a short time,
attempting to ease that gaping hole in my heart where B5/Crusade once was.
Note: Series is NC-17. m/f, m/m.
Archiving: SW and the WWOMB archive
Excalibur's Ship-Avatar.
Lyta and her Master had left my Master's quarters, and I was still lying in bed,
waiting for my Master. I had enjoyed the chance to talk with Lyta, as she was the Senior
Avatar in the fleet. The average ship's age in the fleet was only ten or so years old,
while the Alexander had been in service for over thirty years.
Our ships were still linked, so I tried to mentally send her a message to once again
offer my thanks, but I found her ... occupied... with her Master. The Alexander and the
Excalibur had begun to mate again, and she was being flown by her Master. Their many years
together had given him a keen insight in what she enjoyed, and he was almost ruthless in
the use of his knowledge. Whimpering, I wished that my Master would attend to me, flying
me also, so that I might have some relief.
I hadn't had a chance to tell her my story, as her Master had been called back to his
Ship right after she had told me her story, so instead, I found myself remembering... Anything
to take my mind off the fact that my Master wasn't using me.
I was happy, once.
Before I knew what a freak of nature I truly was, I was blissfully ignorant. My litter
mates and I played silly childish games together while we were under the watchful eyes
of our litter mother, and at night, the eight of us all curled next to her for warmth.
Physically, she wasn't my mother, but emotionally and spiritually, she was.
And I was happy.
During those long nights, sometimes one of my litter mates would wake from sleep, crying
softly, and our mother would soothe and comfort my pack mate. She would tell stories about
how one day, when we were merged, we'd be ship's avatars, and we'd have brave Masters who
were strong, and handsome, and our Masters would be understanding of our flaws. They would
care for us, and we'd care for them, and life would be wonderful as we flew among the stars.
I think I was the only one who knew that our group mother wept softly after telling
us those stories and lulling the others back to sleep. Snuggling closer to her, I'd nuzzle
her neck and face with my wet kisses, and try to console her, even though I never understood
why she cried.
Now, years later, I knew why she wept.
She knew she was lying to her children, but now, if I ever saw my litter mother again,
I would thank her for those lies. For that duplicity had given me hope during my darkest
moments. I hoped that perhaps one day, if I tried hard enough, I would find that loving
Master.
So I strove, and I did everything possible to be worthy of that fabled Master. What
if she or he saw me one day, and because of my flawed nature I unintentionally offended
them? They would turn away in revulsion, and my chance would be gone.
But pot metal is still pot metal, never to be tempered and molded into sword steel,
and so my best efforts failed constantly due, to my inherently flawed nature.
Years later, I met my Master.
His name was Matthew Gideon, and I hated him.
I
had been linked with the Excalibur for several months before I met the man who was to become
my Master. The two of us, Ship and I needed to become adjusted to one another, and I enjoyed
learning how to fly, how to destroy and how to kill. I had never felt such fulfillment
until the day the two of us screamed our first battle cry in the darkness of space, and
we had annihilated our first pretend foe. TOGETHER.
Laughing, thrilling in the intoxication of flight and fight, I had merged further and
further with the Excalibur, and I realized that I had finally found my soul-mate, for she
loved me unconditionally. The two of us had been full of happiness for we were finally...complete.
My partner! My Ship! We will do well together - The Others will learn to fear
our name, like they tremble to hear the name of the Alexander and the Churchill!
Yes! YES! YES!
My new Master was onboard, and I was trying my hardest to be perfect in every way I
could. From where my station was, I could barely see him out of the corner of my eye, and
I refrained from looking at him directly. There would be time for that later. I was so
naïve, so innocent then, hoping that I had found a Master that I could love.
"Randy. You didn't have to hand pick my Assassin for me." His voice sounded
amused.
"Ed wanted me to do so. And while those Captain's bars positively gleam like a
pair of supernovas, I'm sure that even you are not brave enough to tell the Old Man to
go scratch."
'Go ahead, I'd like to see you try' was the unvoiced comment in the other male's voice.
He was a big man, blond hair liberally streaked with gray, and he laughed a great deal,
even though he wore the Black and Scarlet of a Commissioned Officer-Assassin. I sensed
something about the blond, a spiritual taint, and I was suddenly afraid of him.
Laughter. The Assassin found everything amusing, it appeared, especially my new Master
but I still could sense a great deal of darkness in him.
"You're right about that, Randy."
"I always am. Her name is Dureena Nafeel, and she seems to be a bit of a wildcat."
That was admitted softly, which made my new Master laugh.
"Is that where you got that new scar on your face? I was wondering about it. You
didn't have it the last time I saw you."
More laughter. "I cannot confirm or deny that is how I received it, but I did try
her out before I gave my unconditional approval to the Inquisitors."
"I'm sure you tried her out in more ways than one." 'In bed, Randy?' was the
leering unspoken comment.
"Matthew, you wound me. After all we've been through together, that comment deeply
injures me."
"Randy, don't bullshit me."
"Wounds me, directly to the heart that someone I helped raise from diapers..."
The Assassin's voice dripped in pretend hurt, as though he were mortally wounded by Gideon's
remarks. "Burped even, getting my nice uniform all dirty. Put the training wheels
on his Star Fury..."
"Randy!!!"
"Gives me so little credit about having common human emotions such as sensitivity
and compassion. Do you really think that part of my evaluation process was spreading her
legs wide?"
"Randy, you've been a great person to work for, but you and I know exactly who
and what you truly are."
Randy's voice turned somber. "I am who I am, and I am what I was created to be.
Very few people can ever forgive me for my genetic flaw as I have found out first hand
during my military career. I had hoped that you might be one of them, but it appears I
was mistaken. Perhaps with your Assassin, you can find some compassion for her flaw. It
is difficult enough to serve, Matthew, but to serve someone who has contempt for you, then...the
leash chokes and confines."
"Randolph Jonathan Morrison, I didn't mean to hit a sore spot." Quickly, he
began questioning Morrison about his new Assassin as though attempting to assuage his unintended
insult. "So tell me about this Dureena. She's non-military?"
"Yes. Most Assassins are non-military, you know. I was one of the few that actually
made it in the Military before they discovered my God given ability or as most say, my
Fatal Flaw."
"Randy. I am truly sorry about upsetting you."
"Whatever, Matthew, I have long gotten used to any comments that one could make
about my special aptitude. Dureena was found in one of those back-water planets, fighting
in the Arena. She was ... magnificent, I was told. The Inquisitor noticed her natural ability
and bought her. The rest, as they say, is history."
"Randy. I have a question for you?"
"Ask away, Matthew."
"You and Ed work together well?"
"Extremely well. We compliment each other well, I being his Ying to my Yang. What's
your question?"
"How did he earn your loyalty?"
Randy laughed, and it appeared all had been forgiven between the two men. "That,
you'll have to figure out on your own."
"How the hell did I know that you were going to say that?"
I stop reminiscing after that, because what happened next was still too painful for
me to want to remember. After Randy had left the ship, my Master had taken me repeatedly
to prove that he was the one in total control. After he was bored with me, he had given
me to Executive Officer Eilerson for his use.
I had been in a significant amount of pain after that initiation rite, so I had slept
in my Ship's "brain" and she had comforted and soothed me while I had wept. The
next day had found my Master even angrier with me as he thought I had been planning a rebellion
during my disappearance. Gideon had beaten me severely for my alleged mutinous thoughts
while I had whimpered repeatedly how I would never betray him, and then he had shown me
where I was to sleep, so he could keep a watchful eye on me. A small rug in front of his
bed was to be my sleeping place.
I felt like I was burning up with a fever, and I snuggled under the blankets, wanting
nothing more than to fall asleep so I could stop remembering.
John Matheson.
I didn't like what I was seeing in Matthew.
Not at all.
He appeared to be sleeping with a few members of the crew. Ok- he wasn't sleeping, and
it was more than a 'few". Try like fifteen crewmembers. Sometimes in his ready room,
sometimes in the bullet car and a few other places.
I didn't think anyone else noticed - as he was being very circumspect.
But I noticed.
Matthew was displaying a dangerously reckless streak and I again wondered about the
change that had taken place since he had been rescued. He didn't talk to me anymore, and
I had found my duty shift rearranged when he came back to duty. I now had straight Ship
midnight's for the next four months.
Normally, Matthew was an early riser, usually arriving an hour or two early for each
shift but with all his extracurricular activities, he had changed his own shift to a more
reasonable mid-morning to mid-evening and he still wasn't on time. My relief was Lt. Jackson,
and she was always prompt, but I got the feeling that Matthew was avoiding me for some
reason. He had held a staff meeting and I hadn't been informed. I had confronted him carefully
about that, and Matthew had brushed it off with an excuse of not wanting to interrupt my
sleep for this staff meeting.
"It was just an update of how everyone's doing, a brief over-view of where we've
come, and where we're going. You already know that, so you don't need to lose any sleep
over it. Lt. Matheson, if I didn't know better, I think you weren't happy that I was making
sure that you got enough rest. Those midnight shifts can wreak havoc on your sleep patterns
until you get adjusted."
Then Matthew had walked away, and one of his female conquests had followed him surreptitiously.
The entire conversation had upset me, especially when I had noticed that he wasn't looking
in my eyes. He wasn't even looking in my general vicinity. Instead he was busy smirking
at the buxom red head in the hallway. Since he came back, he was holding me at arm's length,
not allowing me to be too close to him, and there were other new personality quirks that
were apparent.
Matt loved to antagonize Max, but there was a darker edge to it now, and he was still
flirting with both Sarah and Dureena as his libido was apparently in hyperdrive. He didn't
play basketball anymore, instead he spent a lot of time in the gym playing with knives
and other sharp implements.
Then
there was the whip. Matthew had gotten himself a whip, and I had covertly watched him as
he practiced with it. He used it like an extension of himself, and I wondered at his familiarity
with it. One day I found Dureena observing me, while I espied my wayward Captain, and I
suddenly had a moment's unease. What if she told him?
"John." Her voice was low.
"Dureena."
"He's using it like he's been trained with it. I also noticed that he seems to
be favoring knives and a few other tools favored by assassins for his daily exercise session."
Her golden eyes looked at me, and I found myself regretfully answering her unspoken
question. "He doesn't use his normal equipment for exercise. Instead, he seems to
be focusing..."
"On improving his flexibility, his speed and his eye hand coordination. Ever since
he was rescued, I noticed, he's been acting... a little unGideon-like. I would have sworn
by my ancestors that there's no way Matt could have handled a whip without hurting himself."
The two of us stared at the Captain who was unaware that we were watching him. The silence
grew and grew until at last, Dureena broke it.
"I'm not the only one who has noticed it. Max, Sarah and a few other people. I
know you've been researching what happened to him prior to his rescue, and I think we need
to have a brief... get together to pool our information. But, I'm thinking that we need
to be careful, as whoever this new Matt is, might think we're trying to move against him.
He seems... a little paranoid, especially when he deals with you."
Max Eilerson, Commander.
I
had a wonderful surprise waiting for me in my quarters after I had been temporarily relieved
of duty by General Ryan. I had spent a few hours in the gym, trying to work off my excess
adrenaline, and I had returned to my quarters to take a long, hot shower. Someone had broken
into my quarters while I was showering, so I was amused to find that I had a package on
my bed. And what a package it was! All wrapped in silk and lace, and just dying to be taken
in a multitude of different ways.
"Hello, Sarah. To what do I owe this chance to experience unspeakable delights?"
"Master, fly me." Sarah whispered.
Ah. We were playing Avatar and Master again, and I found my pulse quickening. Reaching
over to one of the drawers in my desk, I pulled out a few toys. Carefully I applied the
soft velvet collar to her neck and I chained her to my bed. It had a long leash so to prevent
an accidental strangulation of my 'Avatar' and she began moaning softly.
"Take me, take me, Master..." Her voice was throaty and I suddenly grinned
when I felt the familiar rocking motion begin again.
"The Alexander is riding the Excalibur again, and it must be driving you wild with
desire. You little bitch, you're such a slut." Carefully I pinned her arms, and I
began to threaten her. "When I'm done with you, the entire crew will know that I've
flown you, as the Excalibur will echo your climax. Everyone will know, that I am your master,
and you are under my complete control."
I bit her on her shoulder, and she moaned again.
"Harder, Master. Harder."
I had unleashed her after a rather glorious time, and she purred her approval.
"We need to talk, Commander," she whispered softly.
"Yes, DOCTOR." I answered, stressing her rank. Sarah never believed in pillow
talk, or any niceties like that after fucking. No, Sarah usually had something on her agenda
besides sex, so I gave her my full attention.
"Gideon's acting odd. Have you noticed?"
"Yes. He is. Ever since we had the misfortune to rescue him from that temporal
flux, he's been acting differently."
Sarah sat up in my bed, and I began to play with her breasts. She growled at me in disapproval
for being so easily led astray from the subject we were discussing.
"What can I say? My mother never breastfed me so I've had a bias since then, Sarah.
But," I removed my hand from her nipple, "You were busy talking about how odd
Mateo has been acting since we found him."
"Yes. I think it's adversely affecting our ship. And as Commander, you must handle
the situation. Especially now, as no doubt he's complacent after pulling that near miracle
of our survival. "
Sarah, wonderful bloodthirsty Sarah was telling me it was time for a coup d' etat I
pulled her back down into my bed, and she laughed delightedly.
"I've always wanted to be a Captain's mistress."
"That's why you were Gideon's, I thought." I warned her that I knew she was
playing games, deciding which one of us would further her ambition and that for now, she
thought I'd help her goals along better than Matthew. Even with Sarah's defacto permission
for a mutiny, my head was still the one that would roll if anyone found out about it. She'd
just blink her eyes in pretend astonishment when they used my severed head as a soccer
ball.
"He's so... vanilla. While you on the other hand, think of the most fun games to
play." Sarah smiled delightedly, and I began kissing her again.
"We can't do it with Ryan and his Assassin here. Ed's Matt's mentor, after all,
and I think the Assassin might be ... fond... of our little Matthew. He did pick Dureena-Assassin
out for him, after all. So, we'll arrange for an accident, after the Alexander is away
from us. A bitterly tragic accident, with both our Fearless Leader and his Assassin quite...
utterly... DEAD."
Matthew Gideon II
I
was having entirely too much fun in this new world that I had been sent to. I had voraciously
read the history of this strange universe, and I realized something wonderful.
No Guides. Sorry... SHADOWS.
No Inquisitors. TECHNOMAGES - with the exception of a few rogues who sometimes showed
up, life appeared to be blessedly Inquisitor free.
No OTHERS... Sorry, Vorlon.
Instead there were a few races fighting it out to be the head banana, Earth was seeded
with a plague of sorts, the Centauri & Narns were bombed back to the Stone Age, and
Telepaths were apparently part of the military. A man with a brain could go far in this
universe, much farther than I could go in my old universe. I have to admit it, I liked
this soft universe except for those vibe showers.
I HATE vibe showers as I just never felt clean after I was done showering.
Things were going entirely too well for me, as I had managed to fool just about everyone
into thinking I was Captain Clean. Any lapses I made I brushed off as a lingering affect
of my harrowing ordeal in the Spatial Anomaly. No one seemed to notice, no one seemed to
mind, except for that Damn Mind-Freak.
I had to do something about him, and quickly before he blew my cover. Something permanently
fatal might be a very good idea, and so I decided it was time to go back to my quarters
and think of something suitably drastic.
Meeting Excalibur Senior Staff - on EA Excalibur
"He's acting really odd lately." John Matheson announced.
"Can you put a more clear cut definition on what you mean by that? Captain Courageous
always acts a little odd," Max Eilerson announced, "It must be the hero mystique
affecting his brain. You know, running into burning buildings, and other stuff like that
begins to affect one's brain after a while. "
John Matheson and Sarah Chambers both shot their favorite Xeno-archeologist a look of
sheer disgust which Max ignored completely.
"He's a little paranoid lately."
"And his senior staff meeting in a utility closet doesn't give him that right?"
Max asked sarcastically. "Couldn't you find a bigger one at least? Someplace we could
actually sit?"
"It's one of the few places that aren't monitored that the four of us could meet."
Dureena hissed.
"Cloak and dagger dramatics." Max sniffed.
"Enough. Go ahead, start talking John." Sarah commented.
John Matheson then took a deep breath and began to explain quickly and succinctly of
the changes that he had noticed in the Captain.
Matthew Gideon I
The circus was long since over, the clowns have left and even the elephants have
been cleaned up after, but I was still awake. My head was pounding, and I had the sinking
suspicion that the predicted mutiny was going to rear its ugly head and soon. I had bought
a few more minutes of peace, but I hadn't won the damn war. My headache decided to land
right behind my left eye, and I wished that I felt comfortable enough to ask Sarah for
some sort of analgesic. But this Sarah Chambers would probably add something to it to make
sure that I never woke up again.
I heard shuffling behind me, and my stomach began to tighten up for I knew perfectly
well who the person behind me was. The person stealthily creeping up behind me was the
man-animal that wore John Matheson's face, and who wanted me, to pardon the vernacular,
fly 'im. Ignoring him, I concentrated on the data from my rescue attempt. I was on the
verge of a breakthrough, as I could feel that there was a pattern forming that might help
me get the hell out of this Disney-Universe and back home.
He leaned his head against my knee, and I knew what he wanted.
Not tonight, dear! I've got a headache!
Tentatively, like he was a dog, I patted him on his head. "Good job today."
I figured that would be high praise from Matthew "Captain Bligh" Gideon and
it might make JT happy enough to go to bed. Reading through the instruction manual on Avatars,
I had noticed that I was suppose to reward him after today's job, but that the book had
given me no suggestions on what the proper reward was. Maybe that was all the reward he
needed? A kind word or two?
No, he continued to rest his head against my knee instead of scampering off to sleep
on his rug. Shit, he seemed feverish, and since I was the designated JT-watcher, I put
my hand on his forehead.
Come on, I don't know anything about Avatars! Give him two aspirins and have him call
me in the morning?
"Feverish?"
Inane question, as he was burning up. He whimpered slightly in agreement. Gingerly,
hoping whatever he had wasn't catching, I pulled his head up to look at me, and I noticed
that his eyes looked glassy.
Fucking wonderful. Normally I'd push this right into Sarah's lap, but I think
she doesn't like you, my little lonely JT. I better research this.
"Go to my bed. Lie down. I will be there shortly. I need to look up information."
I always kept my comments to JT short and sweet, as I was never sure how much he understood
me, and I was glad when he nodded his head. "But, I want you to drink some water."
Didn't need my Avatar dehydrating, as I could imagine that Eddie might use his cudgel
on me. Hey. Maybe Ed would know what to do? Did he say something about if my Avatar didn't
perk up to call him? I think I shall.
Wonderful idea, Matt.
The graying blond on the Alexander appeared amused that I was trying to contact Ed.
His insignia was that of a Marine Lieutenant Colonel, and he wore an uniform that was black
and scarlet. Bad enough that this universe's military command structure didn't make sense
as the different branches of the military were completely integrated and intermingled,
but ... the blond was the first one who wore those particular colors. Black as night, and
scarlet as fresh spilled blood....
What the hell do those colors mean?
"I'm sorry. He's a little busy right now, can I take a message?" The Lieutenant
Colonel... Morrison, leered when he gave me that information. With that particular smirk,
I had a pretty good idea what Eddie was busy with. Or should I say 'with whom?'
"Any idea how long...," I trailed off, refusing to believe that I was actually
asking this Morrison fellow how long the General would be... debriefing...
his Avatar.
"Matthew.... Matthew... Matthew...." Morrison spoke sadly though he still
appeared fairly amused. "I'm sure you don't want me to interrupt the General to ask
that particular question, now do you? You should remember from first hand experience that
the General does have a bit of a temper."
"No. Forget I called." It looked like that I'd have to figure out what the
problem with JT was on my own.
"Matthew, let me switch this over to my office. You were never one just to call
and say 'Hello'."
"Ok - What's the problem? You can speak freely to Uncle Randy." His voice
fairly dripped in fatherly wisdom, and I groaned. Randy was another person who knew my
alter pretty well. What the hell did Ship's Confinement mean anyway? What ever it was,
the two of us had been sentenced to it for a month early on in "my" career. I
had found some information on him quickly by searching through my files and I was grateful
I had done so. A former Department Head of mine plus being the long time Executive Officer
of the Alexander who just had a whole list of commendations on how well he killed people.
And to top it off, I noticed that Murdering Morrison landed a bit on the sardonic side
of the personality gauge.
Wonderful. An Assassin with a sense of humor.
Just kill me now!
On second thought, maybe that wasn't a good idea. I could just imagine him slicing and
dicing me while he was wearing a red rubber clown nose and I wore a clown wig. That thought
would haunt my dreams for weeks, I was sure, as I would dream about being repeatedly killed.
Death by a rubber chicken, what a way to go.
And my alter LIKED Murdering Morrison the Marine.
"I need help with my Avatar," I admitted softly, and then decided I sounded
too compassionate. "Freak's acting up."
"What's the problem? I doubt he's really acting up as I know you wouldn't tolerate
that for long."
"No. Feverish and he seems to be in a great deal of pain. Whatever your Avatar
did for him didn't seem to help for that long. He's spiking a temperature of almost 40
Celsius."
"I'll be right over, then. I'll fix up your little guy, and then we'll play cards
for a bit. No one ever wants to play with me anymore, except for Ed, and he's too busy."
Perhaps nobody wanted to play cards with you because of that little fact that if you
lost, you might decide to take a piece of each player?
Meeting Excalibur Senior Staff - on EA Excalibur
John finished his rather extensive list, and it took several minutes for the Executive
Staff to digest the information.
"You say, this is all since he was rescued?" Max asked.
"Yes." John answered slowly, as though he thought he was betraying his Captain
by that admission.
"There was so difficulty during the rescue, wasn't there?" Sarah began questioning.
"His signal was flickering wildly, and for a few times..."
"We thought we had lost him, but then the signal came back, stronger than ever,
but..." John stopped, and grimaced. "But we thought the signal was distorted
by the temporal flux, as it wasn't the standard EF rescue beacon, and the metal of his
ship..."
"Had been affected, as it wasn't quite the standard material used in the manufacturing
process for Star Furies. The Captain made us dump it.... as it wasn't even suitable for
scrap metal," Eilerson reminded. "He did so quickly, as though not wanting any
of us to get our hands on it. We didn't even analysis it, because at the time, we thought
that it had been affected by the Spatial flux as it was giving off quantum particles that
we had no way of controlling."
"Hypothesis:" Sarah's voice was barely audible. "The beacon was not the
same as the Standard EF beacon. The metal in the Ship retrieved had a basic similarity
to what we use, but it wasn't the same. The Captain... appears to be physically the same
man, but... mentally and emotionally, he's not."
"Then, our tentative assumption is," John spoke softly. "Is perhaps that
the Matthew Gideon captaining our ship, is not our Captain, but instead... his counterpart
from another universe."
Max began rubbing his head as though in pain, and he sighed. "I hate to say this,
but I think..."
"We need Galen." Dureena's voice brooked no contradiction to that.
"No," the Xeno-archeologist laughed. "I think I'm in a bad sci-fi crystal."
Sarah began laughing softly, with a trace of hysteria in it. "Do you realize, what
we're saying?"
Max nodded, and Dureena spoke for the four. "That we're planning a mutiny and that
somewhere, out there, our Matthew Gideon is trying to get home."
"Unless he's dead."
The three mutineers glared at Eilerson, who matched them stare for stare.
"You know, I might be right. Don't get your hopes up, because you have to realize
that even if he IS alive, there's no way that we might be able to bring him back."
Matthew Gideon I.
Morrison's arrival had been a near crisis as he came onboard the Excalibur, fully armed
and carrying his little black box of assassin playthings. My Head of Security nearly had
a melt down when I told her to direct him to my quarters.
"Captain! He's an..."
"I know what he is, and let's be honest. If Randy was going to kill me, he'd be
a whole fucking less obvious! Use your head for something besides growing hair!" I
snarled that at her, in my best impersonation of what I thought my alter would sound like,
and she backed right down.
Randy arrived quickly, as I was trying to convince JT to suck on some ice chips.
"When Ed left six hours ago, he said that your Brain looked fine to him. What happened?
Do you have his bio-rhythms for the last six hours? I can pull them off your computer,
if you'll just let me have access, that way I can download them to my computer."
"Go ahead." I ordered.
"Hmmm..." The big man stared at JT's statistics and then he brusquely ordered
me to fill my bathtub with tepid water.
Excalibur's Avatar.
There was another man in my Master's room, and for some reason, he reminded me of Dureena-Assassin.
He undressed me quickly and then he picked me up, carrying me easily like I was a small
child. His skin was cool against my feverish skin, so I tried to stay as close to him as
possible, even though I could sense 'wrongness' radiating from him. I was so fevered, and
he was so blessedly cool.
Ah. Randy. His name was Randy-Assassin, and he was the Alexander's Assassin. I had seen
him once years ago.
"Into the tub, you go."
I went into the warm water happily, as I immediately felt cooler. My Master sat next
to the bathtub, while I rested. He checked my temperature often, and I heard my Master
reporting what my temperature was to the other man in the room.
"Ok- let's get him out of the water now. He's down to 39 Celsius, and I don't want
to bring it down too quickly. You're lucky he didn't seize when his temperature spiked,
as that would have confused the hell out of the Excalibur. With her stuck to the Alexander,
we would have had a huge fucking problem in more ways than one."
I was removed from the water, and I was aggressively dried by the two men. I began to
shiver uncontrollably, and I was quickly dressed in a long robe that I believed to be my
Master's.
"Come on, let's walk to the bed."
Stumbling, while leaning onto the Assassin for support, I made my way back to the bed
where I was immediately tucked in.
"Electrolyte imbalance. With that, combined with the Excalibur's condition, your
little mind-freak couldn't regulate his homeostasis enough to handle everything he was
experiencing. He's on complete bed rest until we reach B5. He's not to be allowed to link
with the ship, and you'll need to make sure he takes his medication until then. I'll mix
something up, and then, my little Brain-Boy, you're going to get a needle or two in that
posterior of yours."
I was drifting off to sleep to the sounds of medication being mixed when I heard a sound
of amusement.
"Roll over, mind-freak, or else I'll have to roll you over. Matthew, why don't
you get a few ice chips for our little invalid here?"
My Master left the room quickly, and I quickly rolled onto my belly.
"Not that position, silly little freak."
I was surprised to hear gentle derision and contempt directed not only to me, but also
to himself in his voice, as he fully accepted himself as a perversion of humanity also.
"Position number three, and spread those legs wide, silly boy." He slapped
me on my ass to help motivate me to move.
Quickly, I moved myself into that position, my arms and head resting on the headboard,
and my knees were bent, and spread wide. Morrison settled into position behind me as though
he was going to fly me, and he began teasing me, by forcing my legs farther apart.
"Now, I should have made a suppository for you, but instead, I'm going to give
you a few shots instead."
I felt my rear being uncovered, and his large hands began to knead my ass.
"You know, I should ask Matthew if he'd let me borrow you for several hours when
you're feeling better. You'd like that, wouldn't you? As I've been trained fully in all
the little idiosyncrasies of you little mind-freaks. I know all your little quirks, and
how if I touch certain implants it can cause you intense pleasure or... pain. You'd like
that, wouldn't you?"
His hand pressed on one of my implants that was located near my coccyx and I suddenly
gasped in pleasure due to the sudden ardor his touch had caused.
"We assassins are well trained in how to mix pleasure and pain, so perhaps, I will
ask Matthew if I can. He can't refuse me, you know."
Randy's hands began kneading that particular implant, and I began to whimper uncontrollably.
Waves upon waves of pleasure were building in me, and I knew that I was responding to his
touch. I heard his laughter that meant that he had noticed my desire.
"It's our right as Assassins. We are allowed to satisfy any of our base urges so
to prevent our darker sides from bubbling over. We are allowed to indulge our desire in
any way we want, and you wouldn't be able to say... no."
Then, while he massaged my implant with one hand, he carefully injected me four times.
I barely felt them as my body was too busy focusing on the intense feelings that his other
hand was causing. Then Randy gently kissed me on the spot where he had injected me, and
he pushed me face down onto the bed.
"Not tonight, little one. You're too exhausted for such games." His low voice
sent a shiver down my spine. "But when you're feeling better, you'll be mine. Repeatedly.
Remember that."
Then he left me, and I quickly dropped off to sleep while he reported to my Master.
Alexander.
Ed Ryan, General.
"Report, Assassin." Lyta was sitting at my feet, and I was stroking
her hair. No doubt Randy knew that little gesture meant that I was nervous about his report,
but while I was hoping I was wrong, I knew it was doubtful. "Perhaps, it would be
better?" I nodded toward the Avatar who immediately understood that she was to make
herself scarce. "Lyta. Leave my quarters and go to Randy-Assassin's. You will attend
to him there when he returns."
Brusquely, I ordered her and she left quickly, while Randy suddenly smiled in delighted
surprise.
"Thank you, Master." He nodded his head in acknowledgement of my gift.
"Gideon?" I asked.
"You are correct, Captain. He IS acting strangely. I took the liberty of lying
to him, that you were busy with the Avatar when he called for your help earlier today."
Randy grinned again, his face seemingly far too innocent for the Lucifer that lurked beneath
his façade.
"I understand, and approve, though I regret the necessity." I didn't like
bending the truth or lying to my those that were under my command, but Gideon was acting
strangely, and I needed confirmation from Randy that it wasn't just an old man's paranoid
thoughts. Randy was almost as good as a Spy, for he had been trained to watch, observe
and catalog by the Guides, looking for any minute weaknesses or cracks to exploit. And
he was better than a Spy, for he was completely loyal to me rather than the Guides.
"I treated his Avatar, who being young and apparently badly trained, became feverish
due to the battle. Claiming that I needed his Avatar's biorhythms, I gained access to his
computer. While I accessed that information, I pulled his computer log since he was rescued.
What files he was accessing, and other things. Accidentally," again, the smile of
the shark. "I placed a virus, so that if and when the Inquisitors attempt to access
his computer log, it will cause the log to self-destruct. They will be unable to trace
it back to me, as it appears it was due to a corrupt data crystal."
"Wonderful. You are highly skilled, Assassin."
"I will give you the information that I retrieved, so you may analyze it, but I
am concerned with what he was accessing. His personnel logs, his personal log, and any
public information that was available on you and myself. Information on Avatars, universal
history for the last millennia especially in regards to Earth, The Guides, and The Others,
and he seemed to be focusing on the data that was collected during his recent accident.
It was almost as though he was trying to quiz himself in preparation for any questions."
"You played cards?" I had advised Randy to play several hands with Gideon,
in the hopes that he might grow complacent and slip.
"Yes, and I specifically tested him, on information that he should know. Slight
distortions in our personal history that he should have picked up on, and yet he did not.
I called Hal McDonald, Harry and he did not comment. There were several other fabrications
that he did not catch or comment on."
Ah. Interesting. But this information led to a more troublesome problem. I stretched
and scratched my bad shoulder, giving my Assassin a questioning look. Had he been... implanted,
was what I was asking. One of Randy's surprising gifts was the ability to detect the Organic
Overseers that the Guides implanted on unfortunate souls. I knew for a fact that several
of my current crew had them, and I was always careful around them, knowing that if they
learned too much, an unfortunate accident would have to take place.
No. A slight shake of Randy's head meant that the Guides weren't the causes of any changes
in Matthew, as I doubted that if they had remediated him, that he'd be free of their control.
Matthew, old friend, if you're still the man that once served onboard the Alexander,
be careful of your Assassin for she has been given an Overseer.
What then? What the hell happened to Matthew Gideon? More importantly, could I still
continue to trust him? I had a inkling that soon all hell was going to break loose, and
I needed to know who I could trust, and who I couldn't.
I dismissed my Assassin, and I wondered, not for the first time nor for the last, that
when I died would Maggie and our children be there to greet me? Or would they be so repelled
by what I had been forced to become, that I would be greeted only by the souls of those
that I had killed?
When I died, I knew that Randy would be quickly terminated, despite my suspicions on
what his rank was among his guild, and I wondered how my spoiled Lyta would deal with her
new Master, who wouldn't pamper and coddle her like a lonely man had done.
And not for the first time, I wished I had died on Cheron with my wife and children.
Excalibur. John Matheson.
He caught me in a hallway, and Matthew Gideon smiled at me. It was a smile that didn't
reach his eyes and it had been the first personality change that I had noticed. I hadn't
mentioned it to the others when I had listed the changes in my Captain. How could I glibly
tell them that what distressed me most about the changes in my Captain was that where once
there had been friendship in his hazel eyes, there now existed nothing but contempt and
derision?
"Lt. Matheson," the Matthew that wasn't my Matthew gave me a challenging look.
"I think the two of us need to discuss your recent performance. It has left much to
be desired in my judgement, and I am... concerned... about how your attitude is affecting
the rest of the crew."
He knew that I had noticed his recent personality change.
"Let's go to your quarters, so we can talk...in private."
{1 And so it Begins} {2
Captain-Master & Executive Officer} {3 Captain-Master
& Assassin} {4 Battle Fatigue} {5
Story of an Avatar} {6 Story of a Captain-Master}
{7 Interlude} {8 General-Master & Assassin}
{9 Babylon 5} {10
Lines are Drawn} {11 Alliances are Made}
{12 Seeds of Rebellion} {13
The Storm Breaks} {14 Battle of the Light
Brigade} {15 "Theirs but to Do and Die"}
{16 "Valley of Death"} {17
"Jaws of Death"} {18 Finale}
{The
Main Gate} {HomePage}
{Wytches
World} {We
are Family} {A Little
Artistic Licence} {No, we don't
mean "A"riadne}
{Our
Home Is Our Castle}
{The
Witches' Diary} {Witches Familiars}
{The
Gateway} {Webrings}