The Chase: A Trill-ling Adventure Part III
Posted on Mon Sep 30th, 2024 @ 6:12pm by Ensign Kateyo Fenn & Senior Chief Petty Officer Mason Malone
Mission:
Into the Qniverse
Location: Space Has No Meaning
Timeline: Time Has No Meaning
3310 words - 6.6 OF Standard Post Measure
Their love was strong but it was not long-lasting and the alien died soon into their marriage. Jago mourned the alien, mourned the children that never were and the lives they were supposed to have. Just as he began to heal, another alien came to him. This alien was different, he had a different shell but the inner was the same. He called himself Nuben and he had broken his society’s most sacred law to find Jago again; to continue a love that had ended too quickly.
At first, Jago was confused, this alien was different, and he could never love him in the same way. But then Nuben would move or smile or laugh in a certain way and Jago knew that she was in there somewhere. So he ran away with Nuben, convincing himself that this was the love he was meant to have: Half a love is better than no love! But as time went on, and Nuben’s love grew, the signs of her drifted into the background and Jago knew that she had faded into the realm of memories only. He was trapped with an alien and only the memories of her kept their love alive. He needed to escape any way he could, so he contacted the alien’s people hoping they would take Nuben away. But when they came, on a bright starry night, they came for the pair of them…
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Teyo pulled Mason into the back garden of the cottage and pulled him behind a barrel that housed the compost used in the garden. The smell penetrated his nose and made the Trill want to gag but doing so would give their position away and his flight response wasn't ready to give up so easily. He wasn't sure how many officers were looking for the pair, the story had never been too clear on that part. Some versions said as little as four, other versions said closer to a hundred. All he knew was that they would check upstairs first and that was their opportunity to escape under the cover of the nearby woods.
Teyo realised he was still holding Mason's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "We're going to get out of here, it's going to be okay," he said, hoping the lie didn't sound as hollow as it felt.
The lie was spotted, but Mason again pretended not to have done so, for Teyo's benefit. The Trill seemed genuinely scared and somehow Mason felt that the person he represented in this story, was very much responsible for it. He squeezed the hand that held his in return, before pulling it back. "I know it will," he lied in return, staring into the darkness, listening for the sounds of footsteps as they stormed into the house. Doors that were slammed open, and muffled voices that seemed to report a room was empty. "Let's go," he urged, as he nudged Teyo ahead.
He followed, but somehow managed to knock over the barrel of compost in the process. In hindsight he'd never know if it had been an accident, or if something had compelled him to do so...if he had touched it at all. Even so, the sound alerted their unwanted visitors of their presence in the garden, as the two men fled for the forest. "Run," Mason hissed, looking left and right for either a way out, or something inconspicuous they could use for cover.
Teyo didn't need telling twice and shifted into a full run up the path. He wasn't sure if it was his hours in the gym that were finally paying off or if it was residual knowledge of Riani's athleticism but he managed to reach the treeline in record time. His instincts were pulling him towards the right, where the trees were dense and inviting. However, how much of these instincts could he trust? Was it his own survival instincts working to keep him alive, or knowledge of a predetermined future that was trying to deliver him to the end of the story? Would Q let this unwinnable scenario be winnable or did his sadistic fun come from allowing the players to believe they may stand a chance just to take it away at the last moment?
"This way," Teyo shouted back at Mason, who was only a few paces behind him. He took the left fork into the woods and ran towards a large tree trunk that was wide enough to hide them both.
Despite being physically fit -at least that's what he felt- Mason was panting for breath as he ducked behind the tree trunk, crouching low. "That was close," he breathed, looking back over his shoulder, peering into the forest. "We should keep moving."
"Agreed," Teyo said as he tried to control his breathing. "You're the boy scout, lead the way." The fact that he was willing to put his life in Mason's hands was a testament to how little he trusted his own instincts right now. Maybe Mason could beat Q? Or at least last long enough to run out of story. Somehow he doubted it.
Mason took a few seconds to listen for their pursuers, then peered into the darkness of the forest again. "I'm not a boy scout but I'm sure we can lose them.... for a while anyway. Our best bet to lose them would be walking down or up a stream of water if they have dogs they'd lose our scent. Except I'm not hearing any dogs, and I think they're all on foot."
He paused again, then took Teyo by the arm. "Let's go...I won't leave you behind. Even if seemingly my part is responsible for this mess, I won't leave you behind." Running on a dark forest floor probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, since they couldn't use lights, but what choice did they have? "Be careful," he whispered as he led his companion while testing his footing and scanning their path ahead. "The snap of a twig, or even the rustle of a dried leaf will alert them to our location. Running will do exactly that, I'm afraid." He led Teyo from tree to tree and from bush to bush, slower than he wanted. His expression was tight as he listened, his grip on Teyo's hand equally tight as he made good on his word.
Teyo followed Mason as best as he could but it wasn't easy in this light and over this terrain. The ground was wet and uneven, small roots and stumps threatened to pull him to the ground on every other step, as the though the land itself was committed to reaching the end of this tale.
In the distance he could hear a murmur, he wasn't quite sure what it was but he was convinced that it didn't belong here. As the sound grew, so did Teyo's awareness. "Get down!" He yelled as he dived into a low lying shrub and pulling Mason along with him. No sooner had the two men slammed against the cold ground, a support craft, no bigger than Type-4 shuttle, flew overhead. Its lights were scrutinizing the dark forest, looking for any sign of the fugitives. Teyo held Mason down as the bright lights started to move t another area and just when he thought the pair were safe, he heard another familiar sound; the rematerialisation of multiple transporter beams. And it was coming from all around them.
Mason gasped as he was forcefully pulled down, shivering as the cold seeped into his clothes. He stayed still, conscious of the strong arm that held him down as he listened. There were hushed voices, speaking a language he wasn't overly familiar with but he could recognise the names of the two people they represented. Dogs were barking in the distance and there was the sound of footsteps on the forest floor. He too heard the transporters and he found himself holding his breath as steps were getting closer. He squeezed the hand that still held his but didn't speak for fear of giving up their location. For a moment, he considered revealing himself and explain it was all a big mistake but somehow he felt that probably wasn't going to work.
He closed his eyes, concentrating on the sounds around him. Teyo's breath close to him, he could hear the man was just as scared as he was. Heavy footsteps coming closer, but how close he couldn't tell. The hum of the shuttle engine as it flew over in another pass, its searchlight casting long and eerie shadows. His own heart pounding in his chest and blood rushing past his ears. The footsteps were closing in on them, they had nowhere to run now.
There was no way out. The footsteps were getting closer and soon the two of them were going to die. But the two of them needn't die, the soldiers were after him, not Mason. Maybe if he gave himself up, maybe they would spare him, maybe Mason could get out of this unharmed. He knew this was a game, Q's sick way of placing them in danger but how far was the omnipotent being willing to take things? There was no way to tell and this was the only way to be sure.
Teyo looked at Mason, as though seeing him for the first time. The pair of them had been on a journey and not only tonight. They had gone from enemies to lovers, to friends and now who knows. The feelings he had were deep and primal and all he could think about was kissing the man, and so he did. It was a short kiss but passionate and at that moment he wasn't sure if it had come from Riani or Nuben or himself, maybe all three. It didn't matter now, nothing did except keeping Mason alive. "Stay here!" He ordered. Without a moment's hesitation, he jumped to his feet, and as loudly as he could, he ran away from Mason, drawing the soldiers in his direction.
Stunned by the brief but passionate kiss which he had returned in reflex, Mason realised too late what Teyo was planning. The sharp order to stay put resonated in his mind, and he found himself wondering why for a moment. Too late he came to his senses because Teyo was already gone. "No!" He cried out. There were too many of them, there was no way he could draw them all away. He watched in horror as his friend was chased by armoured people, then winced as he felt something sharp snag his own arm, multiple weights keeping him down. He heard growling in close proximity and realised that the dogs had gotten him at last. He could no longer see what was going on, any sound drowned out by the growling canines which snipped at him the moment he tried to raise himself to watch. "Teyo!" He called desperately, almost as desperate as if he were calling the former lover, Riani.
After what seemed like an eternity, he was hauled to his feet but his vision was blocked as soldiers kept him in their middle. The human looked pale in the faint moonlight, his eyes searching but coming up empty. "Where's my friend," he wanted to demand, but his words came out as a mere whisper.
Adrenaline coursed through Teyo's body as his muscular legs pumped harder and faster than they ever had before. There was a sense of clarity the young Trill had never experienced in his life. All of his senses became sharper as he dodged and weaved at just the right moments to avoid capture. He felt like an apex predator, a jungle cat that was being hunted by something much bigger than him. The keen senses he would usually use to hunt his prey were making him as difficult to catch as a leaping deer or a gazelle, bounding over roots, logs, and felled tree trunks. He knew that he couldn't keep this pace forever, but he didn't need to. He just needed to give Mason a chance, a slither of hope that he would make it back to the ship unscathed. This was all he could do now, his parting gift to a universe that had given up on him a long time ago.
Teyo ran until the ground in front of him disappeared. He skidded to a halt at the edge of a cliff edge and watched as loose debris wasn't as lucky and tumbled into the cavernous void. This cliff wasn't here before, he thought as he doubled back on himself. His body was confused and tired, he lost all grace as he hobbled, tripped, and stumbled his way back in the direction he had come from. There was no sign of the chasing soldiers but after around 100 metres he was faced with another cliff, just as big and all-consuming as the first. No, no, no! He doubled back on himself again but this time was faced with 5 heavily armoured soldiers.
"End of the line," one of them said, their voice muffled by the black helmet that masked their features.
A sixth soldier appeared from between the trees dragging Mason along with him. He threw the struggling human at the ground towards Teyo's feet. "There's nowhere left to run!"
Pale and clearly not unscathed from his encounter with the canines, Mason struggled to his feet and inched closer to Teyo. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "they got me just as you left. I tried to fight them after they recalled the dogs but there's too many and I didn't want to break my promise to you."
As he got closer, he noticed the sheer drop behind his friend and he paled even further. If there was one thing that really unsettled the former marine, it was heights. The soldier has it right, there was nowhere left to run. Putting on the bravest expression he could muster, Mason reached out for Teyo's hand and subtly tried to move him towards himself, away from the cliff's edge. "You're not alone," he repeated, his voice betraying his fear. "We're together.. no matter what. I won't leave you." It was unclear who spoke those words however, were they coming from the Starfleet officer, or the stricken and trapped lover Jago.
Teyo allowed Mason to take his hand and he gave it a reassuring squeeze. After all they had been through he hated to think it would end like this but what were they to do? They were surrounded by armed soldiers, 6 phasers pointed at them from all directions, whereas the two of them didn't even have as much as a stick to defend themselves. "It's me you want," Teyo said loudly to their pursuers. "Let him live and I'll turn myself in."
The lead soldier scoffed. "Turn yourself in? We have you and you're not going anywhere. We're going to kill you both and take the symbiont back to Trill, find it a better host." At the mention of this, Teyo covered his abdomen with his arms. "Any last words?" The soldier continued.
Mason was at a loss for words, all he could do was stay close to his friend and try to shield him with his own body as he was trained to do. But how was he going to do that with six phasers trained on them?
Their journey started together and it was going to end together. Teyo knew it was reckless, the sole purpose of the host was to protect the symbiont. Its life meant more than anything else. But right now Teyo wasn't feeling rational, the only person he wanted to protect was Mason. He had done a poor job of that if he was being honest, so what was left? If the symbiont were returned to Trill, its memories would be altered, all existence of him, erased. If it died here, if they died here, then maybe someone would ask the right questions and they would be immortalised.
"I'm sorry," Teyo said to Mason as he pulled himself and the human off of the cliff edge and into the abyss. The last thing Teyo heard was the shout of the soldiers as they tried to stop the pair (or more the symbiont) from falling to their deaths. But they were not successful and this filled Teyo's heart with joy. He thought he would be scared but it didn't feel like falling, it felt more like flying slowly. As the ground got closer the world started to fade away into a brilliant white. Teyo didn't believe in a deity but if he did he thought this is what it must be like to be called home. His body would be broken beyond repair but his soul would live on, full and content with the love he was given.
As Teyo thought his final thought, the white light enveloped him and he was finally at peace.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Teyo opened his eyes unsure what he was expecting to see. Heaven? God? The party he had been pulled from? That would make the most sense he thought as the world came into focus. What he hadn't thought of, what he hadn't predicted was to be surrounded by the soldiers again. "NO!"
"Any last words?" The soldier asked in the same tone as before.
Face completely drained of blood, Mason stood beside Teyo. The jump off of the cliff was something he hadn't expected and his scream had echoed until the scene flashed back to them being surrounded. He clung to Teyo's arm to keep himself on his feet and realised Q wouldn't allow suicide in this story. He straightened, once again trying to push the Trill behind him. "Love is stronger than any rule," he said, though his voice was shaking. "Stop playing with us and do what you need to do."
He turned to face Teyo, reaching to touch his cheek. "It's alright..." He whispered, lost in his own part in this now, "we'll be together forever..." He steeled himself, waiting for the beams to strike him, while never looking away from the Trill. "Don't look at them, look at me."
Teyo thought about jumping again, why give them the satisfaction, but he knew it would be pointless. He looked into Mason's eyes, "I don't deserve your frien-" before he could finish his sentence there was a loud bang and Mason's lifeless body slumped into Teyo's arms. He had always considered himself strong, but the emotional, and physical, weight of his dead friend brought him to his knees.
Teyo cradled Mason's head even though there was nothing left to protect. His eyes were streaming as he turned towards the soldiers, only vaguely realising that their phasers had been replaced with guns. "Did- did you just shoot him!?" He bellowed at them. The only answer he got was another bang and before he could react his head hit the ground with such force he thought it might split the rocks beneath him. He could feel blood covering his head as his lifeless eyes stared up at the sky. He was dead, again, but instead of everything fading to white like it had before, everything turned to an angry, fiery red.
