Rumbles and Lightningflashes

[Admiral Hart]

Captain Hart had gone to large lengths not to include anyone else on the ship in on the plan.

The cake had been made especially at a fine store in London, and shipped secretly during shore leave, and was currently being refrigerated until the time was right.

And that time was now.

Andromeda had been called out of her room for a fake emergency by the Captain and in that time an absurdly large cake was moved to her room. Jo had been prepared to bribe Cassi to leave but, as luck would have it, she was already out for some reason or another.

The most feared pirate in the solar system smirked. Andi had no idea what she was about to get into.

[Cassiopeia Reyes-Hart]

All the stars were red.

The whole universe was red.

Or was that just the blood leaking out of her eyes?

The young woman standing alone on the barren battlefield was almost completely covered in a sheen of crimson gore—her black clothes gummed with it, her creamy copper skin copiously splattered and her long blonde braid streaked with the same. Not her own blood, however—save for the twin streams steadily oozing out of her narrowed metallic eyes. The deadly female was coated mostly in the blood of the countless bodies that surrounded her. The dead soldiers lay in various positions like broken marionette dolls—gutted, sliced, skewered, stabbed, slashed and shredded. All by the glowing, humming white rapier clenched in one of her now-stained fists.

Yet even more horrific than the state she was in or the sight of the death around her, was the cold, malicious, pitiless expression on her pretty face. A face that had once shown with innocence and sweetness, now twisted with hate and loathing.

Slowly, other figures began gathering around her. Behind her. In a united front of fury and retribution. Figures that on some level she recognized, even if her mind rebelled violently at that knowledge. Slowly, the young woman turned and stared at her silent, unseen observer, her silver eyes swirling.

“Now you see. See what we will become.”

~~*~~

Cassiopeia came awake with a short, shrill scream. The teen wrenched this way and that with wide, terror-filled eyes, her whole body shaking like a leaf, covered in sweat. Which, for one horrifying moment, she thought might still be the blood she had just seen herself drenched in. It took her a minute of wiping vigorously at herself to realize otherwise. Cassi continued to pant a little even afterward, trembling, her wide eyes slowly lifting from herself to stare at the wall in front of her.

Oh God, was that . . . was that the future? What happened? . . . What will I become?!

Cassi began to sob then, terrified and sickened of the vision she had just seen in her dreams. And she had had enough of the strange, prophetic reveries to know that they weren’t just silly whimsies. She had seen a glimpse of the future, a glimpse of herself and . . . . And somehow, in that future, she had become a monster.

The blond teen didn’t know what she was doing at that point, only knowing that she had to get up, had to move, had to get away. As if trying to run away from the truth still echoing in the back of her tortured mind. Still wearing her pale lavender thigh-length nightdress, her long golden hair braided into a loose rope down her back, Cassi practically leapt out of her bed and then took off out of her room on bare, silent feet. It was very late, the halls were almost completely empty. Largely oblivious to this or anyone she might have passed on the way, the distraught teen ran almost the entire way to the observatory—her one place of comfort—faintly blood-tinted tears streaming out of her reddened eyes and down her coppery cheeks.

She passed through the doors into the large, darkened room, and then stumbled to a stop near the center. Here she hit her knees, hugging her middle and rocking back and forth, staring up helplessly through the observation dome at the stars passing by overhead. Cassi was so overwrought that she never realized that she had been followed, nor did she hear the doors open and then close again, or someone giving the verbal manual override to lock them.

When Morgan suddenly knelt down beside her though, dark face wreathed in worry, one of his hands caressing against her cheek and then her shoulder, Cassiopeia didn’t hesitate. She curled into his wide chest with another heartbroken sob, clinging to his jacket with both hands. His powerful arms wrapped tight around her just as quickly, holding her close.

“What’s wrong, Cass,” he questioned hoarsely after a moment more of her bitter tears. “What happened?” The teen clenched her hands tighter into his jacket, her eyes squeezing as another sob tore loose.

“I . . . I-I saw death,” she whimpered tremulously, voice hitching every so often as she continued to cry. “Blood every-everywhere. The ground r-runs red with it. I’m covered in it! So . . . so much death, the stars will nev-never be the same!”

She felt Morgan gently pet one of his hands down her braid, his chin rubbing against the top of her head, and he made soft, shushing noises meant to soothe her. “It’s alright, luv,” he whispered then. “It was just a nightmare, is all. Yer alright.”

Cassi just shook her head, whimpering. “No, Morgan! You don’t understand!” She lifted up then, her eyes still faintly blood-soaked—from the strain of her powers activating in her sleep. “I dreamt of Clara, months before I ever met her. A bunch of times, to the point where I couldn’t sleep at all some nights. Of a tiger in a cage, locked in a room filled with pain and anger.” Cassi clutched at his jacket front, desperate. “People are gonna die, Morgan! I’ve seen it! So many people . . . .” A fresh wave of tears spilled loose down her reddened cheeks, her expression crumpling into one of abject fear, bitter despair and cold horror. “And I think I’m the one that kills them!”

[Dr. Andromeda Reyes]

Andromeda grumbled to herself as she headed back toward her and her sister's quarters, coat slung over her pajamas, med-kit in hand, hair askew and golden eyes spitting fury.

"I don't know what you're talking about, honest," Cook had sputtered moments ago, looking wide-eyed and startled at Andromeda's sudden, less-than-stellar appearance on the bridge. "I-I didn't send out any distress signals."

"Well I sure as hell got one pinging in my quarters a minute ago!" she'd snapped, in no way cheerful at being woken up rudely at what would equate to four in the morning.

"S-sorry Doctor," Cook had offered miserably. "It . . . it must've been a short or a malfunction. I-I'll get one of T.K.'s boys in to look at it first thing."

Andromeda had been forced to concede that, and left the bridge again, now on her way back to her bunk to hopefully pass out and sleep for the rest of the day. It was now officially her birthday. She was now the saddest creature roaming the universe. A thirty year old virgin in love with another woman who was married to someone else. It just didn't get any sadder than that.

The depressed doctor made her way back into her quarters, and had the door closed and her kit down before she noticed the giant, man-sized birthday cake sitting in the center of the room. The slender woman drew up short with a jerk, eyes rounding to the size of saucers.

"What in Mars' name . . . ."

[Clara Hart]

Clara did not care why Christian was refusing to look at Nathan. All she knew was that it was making it harder to debrief them because of the strong negative emotion between the two of them and she was not going to tolerate delays, so she amped down the tension and said, "I have a plan in motion. Very soon, it will begin. But there are two people who could create a conflict with it."

In front of her were Sean, Christian, and Nathan, and at her side was Tina. They were in her room, but at the moment it looked less like a tennage girl's room and more like a debriefing chamber.

"Sean, Christian, I need you two to assess if the android is going to be a threat to me. Use whatever means necessary." She replied calmly. It looked as though that Christian understood what that entailed better than Sean, and the pair left, Christian giving Nathan one last glare.

After they left, she turned to Nathan. "Dagger Leopold will be a problem. While I hate to do this to a fellow mage, get her out of the picture. Preferably non-fatally. And make it look like an accident. Take whoever you want to help you."

Nathan grinned, and left. When they were alone, Tina gave her a concerned look. "Are you sure this is the right thing to do?"

Clara brushed a hand again Tina's cheek and said in a reassuring tone, "It's for the greater good. Everything will be fine in the end."

But a voice inside of Clara, one that was very much not her own, added, And the end is coming very, very soon indeed.

[Dagger Leopold]

Dagger was spending yet another night at the shooting range.

That selfish slut had won.

She had told her as much to her face after they had returned to tell her and Miller's parents the "good news".

"Congratulations, bitch." She had said. "You win." Before she had stocked off to the dark corners of the ship to be by herself.

Now she was alone with her thoughts, which was quickly becoming a bad thing.

He doesn't want you. Her mind said. He wants a normal girl and to have a normal family, free of freaks like you. Free of losers. Free of the sort of girl who would save herself for years in a desperate attempt to prove she loved him.

She threw her gun away and collapsed to the ground, knees to her chest, and began to sob.

This day, she decided, could not possibly get any worse.

[Admiral Hart]

As Andromeda stared at the cake, the happy birthday song began to play, and the top broke open, and out popped Captain Hart, wearing only a sash that read, "Happy Birthday!" on it, her hair unbound, as she sang along in as sultry a voice as she could.

"Happy birthday Andi." She said with a smirk and pointed to the sash she was wearing. "Wanna unwrap your present?"

Andromeda stared for a good long moment before she began to sputter, "C-captain, what's going on? What's the..."

Jo crouched and leapt out of the cake, landing in front of Andi and smirking. "I thought for your birthday we could both get a present." Her hand trailed down the front of Andromeda's blouse. "So, here I am. And here you are. Let's make the most of it, shall we?"

"I don't think..." Andromeda began in a panic, stepping back. Jo stepped towards, matching her motion, and smirking, interrupting her statement.

"Don't think, Andi. Don't. Just do. Just go with it and let go of all that stress and all that worry and responsibility. Just let go of it and do what you want to do, what you need to do. And do it now."

She still had a deer in headlights look, but she stopped talking, and as Josetta stepped forward again, pressing her body against the doctor's, she did not resist as her captain began to slowly, but passionately, kiss her.

[Dagger Leopold]

Dagger's moping was interrupted when someone came in the room. She was not quite sure who it was--the pattern of footfalls and weight did not seem to match anyone she knew, so she was surprised when she looked up and saw Miller.

"Mil....what, come here to gloat?" She asked as she rose.

"Oh, no, of course not. I've come to say I'm sorry about what happened with Willie. I know I shouldn't have let you go, I shouldn't have forgotten about you, and I'm sorry." He said compassionately. Dagger did not quite notice that his voice patterns were not the same as Miller's. What he was saying was too wonderful.

She did, however, notice someone appear behind her. When she turned, she saw Gloria, one of the magi kids, who she was now pointing a gun at reflexively.

"Sorry about this, lady." The blue-haired girl said apologetically.

Dagger never would have suspected that the movement behind her was Miller raising a pipe, and expected it even less when he brought the pipe down on her skull in a strong overhand swing.

Dagger turned, a look of hurt and betrayal on her face as she woozily collapsed to her knees. She started to swerve and point the gun, but she was too bleary, and the weapon was knocked from her hands with another heavy thwack.

"You don't think I'd apologize to a dumb bitch like you, do you?" Nathan raised the pipe again.

"Nathan. Shoulda...figured." She said woozily as she tried to get to her feet. The pipe came around again, but this time, Dagger blocked it, though the movement knocked her back down. Enraged, "Miller" brought down the pipe a few more times before Gloria shoved him out of the way.

Dagger, by this time, was both bleeding heavily from her head and unconscious.

"Jesus, you fucking little freakshow, stop!" Gloria said. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Does that look like a fucking accident."

"She saw...she knew! We can...we can throw her out the airlock or something. Clean all this up."

"Non-fatal, make it look like an accident. Did you fail to understand both of those?" Gloria replied, and then sighed. "Look, get Omega in here. Maybe she can heal the damage and keep her unconscious. And try not to screw up on the way back, okay genius?"

Nathan growled and started to raise the pipe again. Gloria teleported behind him, grabbed it, and teleported it and her back to where she was standing. "Go."

"Why don't you get her?"

"Why don't I rearrange your face permanently, ese? Go fucking get her now." Gloria replied, looking down at Dagger with a painful wince. Nathan left, grumbling and glaring as the blue-haired hispanic girl knelt next to the bounty huntress and, surreptitiously, placed a note in her pocket.