The explosions had not only killed Riker, but also had taken the lives of five Agents, injuring many more. Aside from Ender himself, Cryptid Means had miraculously come away with only a few minor injuries. All three ships, however, were damaged, with Ender’s apparently suffering before the bombs. They hadyet to assess how badly, but on Brick Bond, he could tell it had definitely messed up the climate controls, as the temperature was dropping rapidly.
Under the circumstances, having been closest to the breach point blast, aside from the Skinwalker who set the bomb off, Ender should be dead. But he wasn't. The Gorgon being what he was, along with his age, was likely all that had saved him. His scales had apparently risen up at the right time to protect him.
That being said, the older man wasn't out of the woods yet. But he was alive. At least, Killian hoped he still was. Anything could have happened in the last thirty minutes… But he sincerely hoped the Gorgon survived.
Despite Ender and his group being a pain in the ass, there was no denying the good they did. He, like Cyrus, agreed that the world would be a worse place without the man. And Ender…had saved him. He hadn't yet had the time to contemplate why the Cryptid was even here in space, but the Gorgon had saved his life, he just wasn't sure why…and…
Shaking his head and pushing the thoughts away, he finished applying the sealant as Killian awkwardly patted the man. Standing, he pulled his borrowed coat closer around him, before helping the person to stand, and basically dragging him to a safer area of the ship.
With Ender in his arms,Cyrus slowly sat down, fully submerging himself and the ice-cold Gorgon under the bordering on hot water.
“If he dies, you will follow,” Soran ground out, with unshed tears in his eyes.
The Harpy wasn't looking at him. The man was looking down at Ender, as if his world was ending. They'd never really figured out what Ender and Soren’s relationship was, or why they seemed so inseparable and unbreakable loyalty-wise, but…he couldn’t help but wonder if they’d ignored the obvious reasons a bit too much.
Cyrus held back his burning question about their relationship and said, “I’m doing this so he doesn't die. I can force the healing to speed up, but I need his temperature to rise before I even attempt it, or I risk sending him into shock."
Soren scoffed, but otherwise remained quiet.
With his back covered in third-degree burns, he held Ender a bit closer against his chest, keeping the man face down. Cyrus couldn't help but notice that while the Gorgon's shoulders were wider than Killian's, the Cryptid still somehow fit perfectly in his arms. Which was an odd realization for him to have, and he wasn't sure why he’d had it. It was also extremely inappropriate when the Cryptid was currently passed out and half naked in his lap. Not to mention, the Gorgon's possible lover was standing mere feet away, glaring down at them. Yeah…that's just what this situation needed…more awkwardness.
The conversation, thankfully, didn't pick up, and after what felt like hours, but he knew wasn't, the temperature monitor on Ender's wrist alerted him to the fact the man's body temp had finally reached where he needed it to be.
Cyrus then did something he hadn't done in a long time. He dropped the veil and looked at Ender's threads. Eyeing the various dim green frayed lines, with the worst of them at the center, he slowly began to rewind, weaving the damaged threads back together.
It wouldn't instantly heal the Gorgon, but it would speed things up. Unfortunately, it also wouldn't guarantee he'd live, and Cyrus couldn't see if he would or not. He couldn't see if Ender was destined to die now, soon, or even far off into the future, which was normal. Cyrus normally couldn’t, and shouldn’t, see the deaths of everyone around him. The problem was…he couldn't see anything.
Cyrus had never realized just how much he relied on, and was even comforted by, the threads being there, by having the ability to drop the veil and look, to peek at the possibilities, until he couldn't.
Even if he couldn't see, Cyrus wouldn't let Ender die. The world needed the man. Ender would live, even if Cyrus had to break more and more of his family's rules to accomplish it. He had done it once already. One violation or two, did it really matter?
The man was here, and injured, because Cyrus had fucked with the future. Ender had saved Killian, and Cyrus knew the Cryptid had made the decision to do so. The Gorgon would have known. He was old enough, and knowledgeable enough, to know when some outside force was urging him to do something beyond his own will.
And Ender was strong enough to fight and refuse that urge. It would have caused him pain to do so, but he could have, yet he hadn’t. For that, Cyrus would do everything in his power to make sure he survived.
Cyrus had to admit, while he was hearing all that was being said, his mind was slightly distracted. It was hard not to be with Killian’s eyes boring into him. Whether he was openly staring at him or not, he was going to keep holding the hand that was currently in his.
Eight hours had passed since everything had gone down, and they were currently aboard Brick Bond, holding a meeting in the large cafeteria. While he, Killian, and a few other high-ranking Bureau members, along with upper-level members of Cryptid Means, took up a large round table in the center of the room, the rest were pretty filled out with everyone else who was not busy with other things, along with quite a few of the former captives.
Bureau Agent and Ship Engineer, Hugo Barns, cleared his throat. “Threadless UGA91 has been reconnected and is currently docked beside Red Herring. The left haul has been damaged, but sealed. Our greatest issue, aside from the climate control failing, and comms still being down, is that the main elevation engine core was completely destroyed. We can float and use the boosters, but we won’t get far. At least, not far enough to get within range of a space port.
“There is no fixing it, and those familiar with ship cores will likely understand that it is not something one just keeps a spare of, due to the massive size and weight. My expert advice would be to focus on comms and climate control. Temperature-wise, I’ll let Cryptid Means’ engineer explain what we are currently doing to keep things livable.”
“Has Agent Barus Dely woken up yet?” Cyrus asked.
The man had been in charge of guarding the breach point.
“No. The man is comatosed, with massive brain swelling. Not sure when, or if, he will wake up.” Captain Adam Bricker sighed. “But he didn’t bother hiding his tracks, so we already know he’s responsible for the bombs on the ship. I assume he didn’t expect us to survive.”
“Or expect there to be a bomb near where he planned to be standing.” Saffire Starlight, a member of Cryptid Means, laughed. “Well, I don’t have any better news when it comes to Red Herring, or this giant piece of crap either. While the engine core of Big Red is less in pieces, the damage is enough that fixing it wouldn’t be advised, unless we happen to have a pixie around here who knows what they are doing. Which I don’t believe we do. At least, there isn’t one amongst the freed captives, or in Red Herring’s crew.”
“You are correct. There are none currently here,” Cyrus confirmed.
“That’s what I thought. So, more bad news, or rather, more of the same and similar. The climate control on Brick Bond is failing, while Red Herring’s is just shot. Currently, with some spare parts, we have rigged up individual space heaters, but I’d suggest that only those who are negatively affected by low temperatures grab one, as they are limited.
“Mind you, in a successful attempt to keep us all from freezing, I have connected lines from the boosters of the other two ships into Brick Bond. It will keep the temperature raised temporarily, until we find a more permanent fix. For the time being, I’d suggest all avoid going onto the other two ships, unless necessary.
“That aside, the communication systems are in the same state across all three ships, which is to say they're broken as fuck, because everyone had the stupid luck of being in range of the solar flare. So with all that being said, I agree with the big man over there that comms and climate control should be our main focus, and that we should prepare to be stuck here for a few weeks.”
