Lethal drabble

[jmtorres]

Crossposted, farscapefriday and jmtorres.

100 words even.



I should have known. What else could he have done? I was the only one who knew.

He never knew. My heart skipped a beat when he put his arm around me not because I feared, but because I hoped. The brand of loyalty that strands you deep in the Uncharted Territories with a man you suspect may now be completely crazy has less to do with duty and more to do with devotion.

He never knew my trust when his hand first touched my chin. He never knew I expected to be kissed.

He never knew I forgave him.

Comments

[ide-cyan.livejournal.com]

Alas, poor Teeg.

[jmtorres.livejournal.com]

got it in one :-)

[kernezelda]

On a second reading, one could wonder if she was willing to die to further his objectives? She was quite careful to ensure that only he and she know of the message; as his first officer, she surely was aware of his violent temper.
Was she aware of the strength of his obsession? He did take the carrier away from Peacekeeper space into the Uncharted Territories, in pursuit of familial justice, a concept known to Peacekeepers per Aeryn in Premiere. He must have been brutal, even more so than when he ordered Moya's first Pilot's death. That was a project of ambition; guarding Tauvo was a matter of a lost father's command; of a self-appointed duty stronger than anything else.
How loyal was Teeg? Loyal enough to die? Or was she merely blinded by her own devotion, a slip as common as Talyn's to Xhalax or Velorek's to Sun?

Re:

[jmtorres.livejournal.com]

*grins amusedly* I love your reactions. First you go all kneejerk, then you start analyzing. It's fun to watch.

[kernezelda]

I LIVE to amuse.

Hey, I am a multi-tasker - while I was amusing you, I was also posting the results of my driving-home think-along.

[kernezelda]

I was thinking about the unseen scene you mentioned in your third S/J snip; the line about cutting, painstaking, shallow lines across John's ribs.

The whipping is brutal, without finess or art. It's meant to inflict severe pain very fast, get Scorpius off and punish John at the same. Efficient.

Cutting, on the other hand, is much more intimate, it seems to me. If Scorpius is taking care in his labor, then he'd want John down on the floor or a table or bed - a flat surface for stability - rather than having him dangle from a chain, where a sudden shift could ruin the stroke of a blade.

Where might he find the greatest effect? In his own cold bed, where John's skin would contract, an almost numbing cold that each piercing cut would strip away. Is Scorpius merely cutting to hurt, or is he marking John? Symbols carved into his flesh, sign of possession and ownership, perhaps.

Is John restrained, or is he forcing himself to endure these ministrations? If Harvey is able to control his body, would John struggle enough so that the clone would take over, so that John could say he wasn't co-operating, even if he only said it in his own head? Would Harvey be able to read that intent?

If he's the one enduring the cutting on his own, does that make him feel as if he has some control over the situation? And is that better or worse, submitting on his own because to not do so results in worse treatment, or does he consider it cowardice in his own mind? Which comforts him more, the illusion of controlling himself, or the role of victim if Harvey controls him?

"I am in control of me." vs "It's that frelling neural clone."

Re:

[jmtorres.livejournal.com]

You, you. You're trying to engage me in fic spec.

Or is this your way of making sure I keep writing?

[kernezelda]

*looks around innocently*

Who? Me?

No, no, it's just your snippet series has come to seriously occupy a corner of my brain. I was wondering the other day - what is the ultimate point of Scorpius trying to get reaction from John? Shouldn't that be of much lesser importance than getting John to work on wormhole theory?
If John is resigned to working, even while he's trying to hide parts of the research from both Scorpius and Harvey, then there's only so far Scorpius can go with torture before John simply refuses to react/gives up. If he has no hope of rescue or escape or that things might change in some way for the better, then what keeps John going? In LATP, he resigned himself to marriage/statue to escape Scorpius.
What is keeping him going under the conditions you're setting forth?
And what is Scorpius's motivation for harming Braca, really? If it's merely to affect John, then any random crew member (esp. a female) would have the same effect on him - don't hurt them, I'll co-operate.
That scene post-whipping feels a bit forced - I don't quite get why Scorpius is so bound and determined that Braca shouldn't change his mind - this is a loyal officer, still willing to serve after having been treated badly. That's not someone to throw aside, and Scorpius is quite careful of his tools. He has wheels and plans spinning all the time, is usually steps ahead of everyone around him.
In that last scene, he seems a bit flatter, short-sighted.

Got to go to a meeting now, stalk to you later.