The break room was full as a team of elite ORBIT officers were grabbing food and catching up before the day’s mission. Most were in at least a portion of their navy blue uniforms among their undershirts and more casual bits of clothing. Some were settled into sagging couch cushions and metal break room chairs with their coffee in tow, and others were chatting among themselves.
The low roar of their discussions abruptly faded when Gemini entered the room.
With every eye upon her, she scowled and ducked her head before starting to the coffee pot. She said nothing, trying with great difficulty to ignore the stares—and the thoughts she knew they had to be thinking. Thankfully, when the silence lingered long enough to highlight the clinking of a spoon within her coffee cup, the others in the room were forced to continue.
“What’s on the agenda for today?” A dark-haired man asked between bites of bagel.
“I assume we’re heading back to Theresk to, um, try again?” The blond woman lowered her voice when she reached the end of her question. Her eyes again drifted to Gemini, though the Gallifreyan still had her back turned.
“I can’t see why not, since the mission had to be aborted after someone screwed it up,” the male operative beside her was much less tactful.
“Cooper,” the blond woman eyed him.
“What? We shouldn’t have to tip-toe around the demigod when she’s part of our team,” Cooper sneered at Gemini. “She disobeyed orders and got punished... if that’s what you’d call it.”
Gemini dropped her spoon, biting her lip. She took a deep breath and removed the coffee mug from the counter to find a seat across the room.
“Let’s not talk about work anymore than we have to,” a red-haired man chimed in, waving a hand at them. “Or at least wait ‘til I’ve finished my coffee.”
Cooper instead turned to a man slumped into the sagging couch behind him. “Cratcher, did you ever hear back from Maria?”
Cratcher glanced up from the phone screen clamped tightly in his hands. “No,” he replied as his thumbs returned to their work.
“You know, I’m set for a second date with Tessa tomorrow night,” Cooper continued despite Cratcher’s apparent lack of interest. “I can see this one turning steady for sure.”
“You’re dating Tessa?” Adkins, the only other female operative in the room, asked with a hint of heat upon her tone.
“What—you think I can’t?”
“I think she’s already dating Ted in Emergency Operations,” she raised an eyebrow.
“Like that matters,” Cooper rolled his eyes. “I know you’ve had your eyes on a few guys lately.”
“Yeah, but I’m not attempting to date all of them at once.”
The dark-haired man pointed at him. “I thought you were dating Anabeth.”
“That’s tonight,” Cooper thumbed his chin.
Adkins’ mouth was agape. “Are you serious?”
“We may be stuck on this station for the next six months, but even I’m not desperate enough to date any of the guys in this place,” the blond muttered under her breath.
“I’d love to help you change your mind, Hailey,” Cooper leaned closer to her.
Hailey pushed him away. “Ew.”
“There has not been enough coffee consumption to be talking about everyone’s love lives, either,” the redhead’s eyes stared blankly over his coffee cup.
Cooper sat back in his chair and turned his gaze across the room. “What do you think, Time Lord?”
The room again fell silent, surprised Cooper would attempt to include the woman who so often tried to avoid their conversations.
Gemini’s legs were crossed and she seemed almost hunched over, holding her coffee mug in her lap as her hands wrapped around it for warmth. The golden embellishments on her red tunic seemed dull in the fluorescent light.
Cooper smirked and tuned his head back to Hailey at his side.
“I think you’re going to learn the hard way why you can’t keep a single girl.”
Upon Gemini’s words, every officer in the room was painted with varying states of shock. Then, slowly, each turned back to Cooper on bated breath.
Cooper, himself, was almost too surprised to answer. “Excuse me?” He finally spouted out.
The Time Lord’s cold eyes rose to meet his. “In two minutes you admitted to dating two women and attempted to wrangle a third; you will never ‘turn steady’ if that’s the way you treat your girlfriends.”
Cooper’s mouth spread wide in a stunned grin. “Are you serious right now?” He gave a short laugh, though the glares from the two women at his table quieted him. “So, what, all of a sudden you’re full of dating advice?”
“You asked what I thought,” Gemini looked down as she took a sip of coffee. “I gave you my answer.”
“Have you never heard of testing the waters?”
“Is that what you call that,” she sneered.
The man held open his hands as he glanced around the room, but everyone dropped eye contact before he could catch them. “Cratcher, do you—”
“Leave me out of this.” He refused to look up from his phone.
Cooper’s amused grin flattened when he could find no support among his colleagues. “You know, you’re one to talk,” he scowled after a moment. “You can sit back and relax because you’re the one Reynolds picked.”
Her eyes turned up.
“Everyone knows you get preferential treatment,” the grin was returning to his lips. “And we all know how he didn’t punish you yesterday,” he pushed through the alarmed glances Hailey was shooting his way. “For breaking protocol and ruining our mission, you got off easy.”
Gemini felt the heat of anger rising from her chest. “I’d like to know your definition of easy,” she hissed.
“When you get in trouble, all you have to do is hop in Reynolds’ pants—”
“Cooper!” Hailey spat.
It was too late.
Gemini had already risen to her feet with the coffee mug slammed onto a nearby table. Fuming, her narrow gaze intensified as she stepped toward him. “Tell me... when you’re with one of your girlfriends, do you try to control her? Do you cringe when she tells you no? Does it make you angry?”
She arched her head as she stepped closer, looking down at him upon his metal chair. “Or do you simply stand over her to further prove your power over her? Do you throw her to the ground to make her look up to you? How much pain would you put her through to make her submit to you?”
Cooper’s elbow slid from the table as he pressed into the back of the chair.
Gemini’s breath was hot upon his face as her eyes pierced into his. “How many times will you ‘make love’ when ‘love’ has nothing to do with it??” She seethed through bared teeth. “How many times will you tear her apart from the inside out??”
“Get out of my face!!” Cooper yelled in anger as he squirmed in severe discomfort.
“What’s the matter—all of a sudden you can’t take the heat?!” Gemini shouted with her fists raised.
“Hey!” Adkins grabbed her by the arms and pulled her back as the others snapped out of their shock and scrambled to their feet.
In a matter of moments, the room had split; some behind Gemini, and others behind Cooper.
Reynolds burst through the door. “What is going on in here?”
Adkins released Gemini quickly, but Reynolds had already noticed Cooper wedged defensively into his chair in front of her.
His lips curled. “I should have known my little instigator was to blame.”
The other operatives backed away in silence as Reynolds approached her. They didn’t step in and correct him; they didn’t attempt to stop him.
Gemini kept her eyes away as he glared daggers upon her face.
With every eye upon him, he chose to hold his peace. “Suit up and be in the hangar in fifteen minutes.” He glanced up. “That means everyone.”
Smatterings of Yes-Sir’s were mumbled under breaths as the group began to disperse or return to the last of their breakfast.
Gemini turned away and returned to her own cup, now sitting in a puddle of coffee that had sloshed out from its abrupt relocation.
Reynolds remained where he had stood, his eyes still looking narrowly upon her back. As he scanned her form, his lips curled on the ends.
Adkins frowned as she watched Reynolds silently pour over Gemini. Her lips parted to speak, but, instead, she breathed out through her nose and left the break room.
- - -
“Thank you, everyone,” the lieutenant nodded to the operatives as they exited the ship and began to disperse. “Well done, today.” He was instantly distracted when Gemini emerged from the ship, and he grabbed her by the arm before she got too far. He corralled her out of the hanger, away from the operatives’ prying eyes, like a greedy child hiding away his toy.
Gemini saw the eyes turn toward her before the door was closed. Ever since breakfast, she had been more aware of their stares.
“I suppose I should be thanking you,” he slid behind her back as the hangar door closed behind them. “You remained on task today. I appreciate that.”
She turned her head away, but he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.
“Was I finally persuasive enough?” A lurid smile hung close to her lips.
Gemini shut her eyes but did not move, even after he began kissing her cheek. “Why didn’t we return to Theresk?” She asked emotionlessly to interrupt his moment.
He pulled away, wondering how much she had heard the night before. “There was nothing more we could do,” he answered.
She tried to turn away, but his grasp remained firm.
“We lost our only chance, thanks to you,” he lied through his teeth.
She did not respond.
“For your sake, be glad there’s still much more to do. You’ll have more chances to redeem yourself, not to mention redeeming the rest of the Time Lords. As long as you continue performing as you did today,” he brushed his cheek against hers, “not to mention last night...”
He finally drew a grimace from her lips, but this only fueled his snide grin.
He tucked her arm under his and led her down the hall to his quarters, unlocking the door with his fingerprint. He pulled her inside and shoved her toward the bed.
She caught herself and sat down on the edge, her eyes turned away as he loomed over her.
He slipped off his belt and tossed it, and the gun and short sword tied to it, aside.
He ran his fingers through her dark brown hair. He drew them around her jaw line and lifted her chin. He brought his lips to hers and roughly kissed her. “I can get used to this,” he offered, hoping for some sort of reaction. He frowned when he received none. “Still giving me the silent treatment, eh?” He chuckled under his breath. “That’s all right; I don’t need to hear you talk in order to—”
A sudden beeping jolted them both out of the moment. He threw up his wrist, grimacing with annoyance at the interruption. The grimace quickly faded; the general was calling. He turned away from Gemini and hunched over his arm. “Yes, sir?”
“Reynolds, I need you in my office immediately.” Bishop’s voice boomed in return.
“What’s the issue?”
“We need to discuss the Theresk mission.”
His face paled as he threw a glance at Gemini. “Sir, I told Officer Malak to inform you—”
“He’s still in my office.”
Reynolds pressed his fingers against his temples. “Sir, I’m not sure what more I can add to his findings—”
“We need to discuss going on missions before adequate research has been completed.” Even over the miniscule speaker on Reynolds’ wrist, the general’s voice was heavy with irritation.
His teeth clenched as his eyes again slid to Gemini.
She was looking at him coolly.
“I’ll be right there,” he kept his eyes on her. Once the comm. link had been closed, he shut his eyes and puffed a sigh through his nose. “You: stay here,” he ordered. “If I find you anywhere else on this ship, I’ll stop your heart.”
She didn’t move or reply. Only her eyes drifted to the door at his back.
He frowned and grabbed her by the chin with his fingers pressed into her cheeks. “Do I make myself clear?”
Her eyes narrowed, but she said nothing.
He grunted and sharply released her before storming from the room.
Gemini breathed out a pained breath.
Intense dread filled her very core as she slumped forward at the edge of Reynolds’ bed. For five years she had submitted to everything he wanted as the path of least resistance—but now he wanted her body, too.
She shut her eyes as her forehead fell to her knees. Her arms wrapped tight around her waist, haunted by the actions of the previous evening. The stakes had been raised too high: she could no longer submit to his desires, but the power to bring her to the brink of death and back was now strapped to his wrist.
She could not continue in this way.
Her eyes opened.
It was him, or her.
It was fight, or flight.
It was now, or never.
She rose from the bed.
Gemini sprinted into the hallway, tugging at the straps and metal layers of her armor as she ran. Bit by bit, the red and golden pieces fell from her body and clattered onto the floor. She rushed down the maze of corridors and flew into the empty break room. She darted to the freezer and dug a box of frozen biscuits from the bottom shelf. Her room was often the subject for searches, but in her five years as prisoner on ORBIT’s station, the refrigerator had never once been cleaned.
She pulled out a small silver canister and tossed the empty box into the trash can.
She rounded the corner and raced to the armory, knowing her time to act would quickly run thin. She wedged her fingerprint onto the keypad and slipped through the sliding door before it had fully opened. She climbed onto the gun table and pushed into the ceiling panels overhead. From there, she removed another canister with a trigger on one end. She snapped the two canisters together and verified that the connection powered on the device. She took in a breath as the trigger was activated.
She reached up one more time to pull down a short blade strapped to a modified sonic screwdriver. Inspecting it by thumbing the sharp blade, she pressed her lips together and bounded from the table.
After sprinting down the last stretch of hallway, she found herself faltering at the edge of the corridor that led to the escape pods. This would lead her past Bishop’s office and one of the most heavily trafficked areas of the station. This one stretch of corridor could make or break her mission—or her chances of surviving it.
She was going to have to be clever, quiet, and quick.
She scanned the wall and found the power panel for the lights in the hallway beside her. Gripping the trigger in one hand, she flipped the blade into a reverse grip and jammed it into the power panel.
The lights powered off in the corridor.
At once, she rushed through the darkness, hoping the shadows would cover her.
A door opened in front of her, spilling light into the hallway.
She gnashed her teeth and darted to one side to avoid colliding with Adkins, but the woman grabbed her by the arm and slung her backward. She put up a fight, blocking or dodging the jabs and punches thrown at her while attempting to deliver her own, but there was a reason Adkins had been promoted to captain since their days as sparring partners. Before she knew it, Gemini found herself on the ground with a knee in her back and her face squashed against the floor.
It was at this moment Adkins had a moment to look at what Gemini had been carrying. “What is that??” She gaped at the trigger in her left hand.
Reynolds pushed through the door of Bishop’s office just ahead of them. “Gemini?!” He blurted in shock. In a look of utter repulsion, he shoved Adkins aside, yanked the Time Lord from the ground by her arm, and threw her against the wall.
“What do you think you’re doing??” He hissed, dipping his face close to hers as he pressed her against the wall by her shoulders.
“Careful, she’s got—”
Before Adkins could finish her warning, Gemini ducked her head forward and clocked Reynolds in the nose with her forehead.
He coughed and rolled backward, blood spilling from his nostrils. Gemini broke out of his grasp, but he didn’t let her get much farther. He pounded his fists into her back, knocking the wind out of her. She caught herself on her hands and sprung back up, swinging her blade widely. He narrowly dodged and reached for his own sword, but he froze when he remembered he had left his belt behind in his room.
Seething through the blood in his mouth, he resorted to diving at her and grabbed her in a bear hug to keep her arms restrained. His wrist—complete with the watch that was on it, was in view. With clenched teeth, she dropped her weight, threw up her elbows to break his grasp, spun around, and swung the blade to slice through the watch band on his wrist.
He shrieked as the watch went flying and a long gash of blood broke across his arm. At last, he fell to his knees.
The sound of a gun cocking reached her ears. Without time to think, she thrust out her blade and shot first, striking Bishop in the chest and catching his uniform on fire. He struck the door and his back before falling back into his office. She knew adding a blaster to the sonic would come in handy.
Gemini rushed with all her strength to the escape pod. She threw her weight onto the lever to open the heavy latch that sealed the pod bay.
“G—gh—Adkins, Code Twenty-Two!!” Reynolds spat while clutching his wrist.
Adkins did not move. Her wide eyes followed Gemini as she slipped into the escape pod.
“Code Twenty-Two!!” He lunged at her and they both fell against the floor.
The metal door of the pod clanked shut seconds before it launched from the space station.
Gemini watched the station shrink in size as the pod drove into the darkness of space. But even as she left it behind, she could see the light from a second pod bay as it opened toward her. Her heart leapt into her throat. She was not far enough away, but she could not risk being followed.
She took the silver trigger in her hand.
She held her breath.
Her thumb pressed the button.
A series of explosions popped across the ORBIT’s Earthrise station until it burst in white-yellow light. The light expanded outward like a shockwave, and it was heading straight for her.
She felt the explosion in her chest long before the escape pod was engulfed in it. She held onto her seat with all her might as she was tossed in every direction, all while a flurry of alarms rang out around her. Outside every window, streaks of yellow littered with debris coated her view. She shut her eyes and braced for failure.
Then, the turbulence ceased. The escape pod, still barreling through space from the force of the explosion, regained a straighter trajectory when the balancers kicked back online. She raised her head and looked out the hatch window. There was nothing but the blackness of space surrounding her.
She unclipped the seatbelt and floated out of the chair, slipping into the command chair on the other side of the pod. She scanned the status reports to find the main engines were blown. She adjusted the balancers and leveled out the craft, and she found she could steer its forward momentum with the secondary thrusters. It was better than nothing.
She let out a heavy breath and slumped back against the chair. Stars were darting by her window. In the distance, she could see the cloudy colors of a nearby nebula.
Her breaths began to shorten. Tears began to well in her eyes. Her mouth hung open as she drew her arms against her chest and touched her face with her fingers. She curled, whimpering first, before breaking into sobs.
Why was she crying?
It was because she was free. She had done it: she had escaped. She had been planning what to do and how to do it for years. She had been saving bits and pieces to create the explosives. She had built the sonic blade. She had hidden everything away so that no one would know—all while obeying their orders, completing their missions, and withstanding their contempt—not to mention Reynolds’ abuse.
Her sobs broke into strained laughs. She was free.
But at what cost?
A pang of guilt cut through her stomach and made her insides churn. She was free because she had killed them. Every single person upon ORBIT’s space station was now dead; blown to pieces like the station itself. There were hundreds who lived and worked on the station; many of which she had never met or seen. Did they deserve the fate she gave them? Did any of them? Did Reynolds?
Was her life worth their deaths?
She simultaneously felt sick and relief; the joys of freedom and the crush of defeat. She felt grief, remorse, sorrow, despair, and hopelessness.
Was this something Gemini would have done?
Another pang shot through her hearts when she realized she was now completely alone. She was floating on an escape pod that could scarcely be maneuvered even if she were to find somewhere to land. What if, after all she had done, she remained lost? What if, despite surviving her escape, she died alone on the escape pod?
It didn’t matter if she was Gemini or not. There was no one looking for her; no one to find her.
Her cries returned in full force. She curled up on the seat with her knees at her chest, sobbing into her hands.
She was forgotten.
Chapter Notes