BACKLOG- JL | Capt Landon Neyes, Cmdr Tristan Neyes | "Heads Above Water"

Posted on Tue Mar 10th, 2015 @ 2:19am by Captain Landon Neyes & Commander Tristan Neyes PhD.

1,277 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: A Spot To Kill
Location: Runabout Horizon

=/\= Runabout Horizon, 24 Hours Since Vindicator Entered the Wormhole... =/\=

“Reverse course, or so help me!…” Like a caged animal, Landon stood at the cusp of the flight controls, just a few meters behind Tristan as the younger brother sat piloting the Horizon through deep space. They had turned tail and run, left to continue the mission to Atlantia without them. Tristan had left his post, at the behest of the Captain, to wisp them away. It was a reality Landon, Rochelle, nor Tristan was terribly fond of. Just as real was the potential threat to Zed, and the two men had no choice but to act in his best interests, even if it meant leaving their home behind. Staying on board the Vindicator was a liability, and a trap waiting to spring.

“TRISTAN!”

Tristan continued to tap the controls, his relaxed demeanor frayed in a few places, “Then what? Huh, brother? You leap back and scoop her in your arms until one of us dies in our sleep?” Zed was soundly napping in the rear cabin, a fact Tristan would always be supremely thankful for. “We both know this is the only way to shake the commission for now.” It was the best truth either of them knew. It was the difficult decision no one wanted to make, but had to be made at some point. It was no easy feat to just take Landon captive and steal him away to live a life of hiding. Tristan was no stranger to it, but Landon had out and told them all he’d given up living in the specter of fear. The man wasn't willing to put others at risk for his own pride, though, thankfully.

Landon slammed his hand into the force-field separating them, sparking the shimmering blue of the protective field. In this case he knew the barrier was designed out of his best interests. Rochelle and his brother both knew he would change his mind once they’d left the shuttlebay. At this point, Landon could see from the nearby controls the Horizon was well over a day’s travel from Vindicator. Not at all lost on him was how their ship was now also through the wormhole on the way to her ‘people’, some Atlantean world. Another dangerous mission wrought with subterfuge and lies, no doubt. He couldn’t stop thinking about it; his skin crawled imagining everything... anything happening to her.

“It doesn’t matter.” Landon finally responded. “They’ll never stop hunting us, and the thought of leaving her out there is killing me.”

Tristan shook his head. “I think you know I’m not lying when I say I understand what you’re going through. She will be fine. Rochelle is a more than capable Captain and leader. The crew will make sure she’s safe, and you not being there is safer for everyone right now. You might even bring her off a few radars now that you’re gone.” Those last words cut a little too deep, and Tristan wished he could pull them out of the air as he said them. It wasn't Landon’s fault any of this was happening, and he’d been on board the Vindicator long enough to know who was going try to make a move against him. So far it seemed, just the TSC was determined to ruin their lives…

“I’m sorry, Landon. That came out wrong.” Tristan added. “You aren't responsible for this any more than she is.”

“I let myself get caught.” He paused. “Not on purpose, sure… but I could have stopped them. Neyes was strong enough. I was afraid they’d hurt her if I didn’t cooperate. Then they told me she was dead. I can’t keep doing this, Tristan. Something has to give at some point.” As he spoke the almost defeatist words, he slumped into an observer seat along the wall. “If I never see her again, it’ll be no sooner that I find a way to forgive myself.”

“Your job is to stay alive. Keep us safe until we work something out.” Tristan said, still working the Horizon’s controls. “The rest will work itself out in time. We never know what’s going to happen in the future.”

Neyes muttered something in Trill, his fingers grinding against one another in a fist. "I will make those bastards pay for this. They don't get to just abandon us out of fear. I thought we were more evolved than that..." The TSC had never been his favorite body of government, but they had always served their purpose. In wasn't outside the realms of possibility this was very possibly just because they were afraid. First it was their fear of how many Trill were compatible hosts, and now it would be fear of people trying to clone symbionts for their own uses.

A true nightmare to the TSC.

Landon idly tapped at his lower lip, his mind tracing back over the past few years. Part of him was afraid he’d eventually give up on them all, and Rochelle wouldn’t wait for him to come back. They’d slowly drift apart like bodies in space, never to notice the life they mutually abandoned to keep one another safe. It was just one of many nightmares he’d been having lately, and not the least of the things concerning his over-burdened mind. Landon hadn’t known much of a life staying in once place, but that wasn’t true of Neyes entirely. A family life was something he wondered if he’d be able to find again.

“So where are we going?” Landon asked, staring off into space. The stars dimly passing by the windows of the runabout, never giving any insight to their true speed.

“Dyma. One of Archer’s contacts got us a cabin 25 kilometers outside the furthest settlement. We’ll settle in and wait for things to go cold, and then we’ll move back to Cesparia proper.”

Dyma, as Landon clearly recalled, was one of the glorious and opulent moons above Cesparia. His and Tristan’s shared home was a place of wonder, if any such thing existed in their lives. Dyma was the more posh of the three moons, having given rise to a paradoxically few number of luxurious estates and resorts. Each of the settlements on Dyma was like a quiet Risa, if the Risians had poured art and grace into every bridge, every trickling creek or sturdy lodge. There were no places on the planet a couple couldn’t sit down and enjoy one of the most romantic evenings of their lives. Lush forests covered the moon, and resplendent beaches lined with dozens of private islands etched out the world like gilded silver.
“I want to review the communique before we get there. Look it over for anything suspicious. Do you have a layout of the area?” Landon asked, willing to accept anything to take his mind off Rochelle.

“It’s in database 21-alpha, and use Hyane’s first puppy as a passphrase.”

Landon’s right eyebrow lurched upward, “Gidget?” He laughed. “I suppose living in the high seat of luxury isn’t exactly the first place the TSC would think to look for us. It’s nice of Archer to put us up so well.” Landon shook his head.

“I’d imagine this won’t be free, but I don’t think it’ll cost us too much.” Tristan said, speaking over his shoulder.

“Too late…” Landon whispered.

=/\= END LOG =/\=

Captain Landon Neyes
Former CO - Unassigned
USS VINDICATOR

Cmdr Tristan Neyes
Chief Counselor
USS VINDICATOR

 

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