Dismantle The Sun

Chapter 9

"What the Fuck was that." Arthur asked, his anger cloaking him and filling the room like a set of wings spread out behind an enraged celestial birb.

"What happned?" Elyan asked looking up in alarm as the landing crew crashed into the bridge.

"Someone wanted to kill you?" Merlin siad, unsure of himself and doubting the other man's reaction, his head tilting partially to one side, his left, as uncertainty rivered through his sea blue eyes.

"I am well the Fuck aware of that, I want to know who the Fuck it was, and what the Fuck they wanted, right the Fuck now. Here. Look into this." he slapped the nova-tera into Percy's waiting cybernetic hand, who took it without a word and inserted it into the deck..

"Right away Captain" he said.

"Do they not know who the Fuck I am? I'm Arthur Fucking Rothwell, and no Fucker shoots at me and lives." ranted the captain, pacing the flight room like a caged lion.

"Not while Merlin's around eh?" Lancelot asked, still looking at the black haired man.

"Or Lance's grilfriend. She's handy with a handbag. Pity you left her behind, she could have made up for Parcy's terrible lack of Melee skills!" Laughed the Irish man, playfully cuffing the big man on the shoulder.

"Oi!" he griped, still typing as he explored the files.

"Next time we raid we'll give you a handbag and see how you measure up yeah?" Gwaine continued.

"I could take you out with a handbag and one hand tied behind my back." Percy rose to the bait, turning away from the computer screen and towards the mocking pilot.

"Is that a challnege?" asked Gwaine, mirth poiroting in his eyes. The two were interrupted by a slim bleeping from Percy's computer deck. He sighed and leaned over, tapping at a few keys.

"The card's corrupted. I might be able to defrag and mine some data but....It won't be quick." Percy said matter a factly.

"Fuck!" Slamming his fists on the back of his chair Arthurs curse cut through the jovial air of the bridge like a cauterising scalpel through butter.

"Arthur." MErlin's voice cut it's way through Arthur's anger, his face was set like granite but his tone was as gentle as roses. Arthur staired at him, his eyes wide and blue and his mouth slightly open like a guppy. His eyes searched Merlin's face.

"You need to calm down. We will find who did this, we will find out why, and they will pay for it." the black haired ninja said. It was matter of fact, leaving no question that between the two of them, and with the crew, they would bring the perpetrators of the Bens to justice.

"He shot at you." Objected the captain, his voice a pentualnt teenaged wine.

"He shot at everyone." poitned out Merlin, calmly, rationally.

"He shot at me!" Arthur shot back.

"And he paid the piper." Merlin responded. His tone was still neutral and so level as he stepped closer into Arthur's space, linking their hands, Merlin's left in Arthur's righthand and Merlin's right in Arthur's left hand. They looked at each other in the eyes.

"Because you saved my life." replied Arthur, his voice of a gentle butterfly of a whisper hushing alone a zephyr of space.

"And I would do it again." the raven haired spoke, his skin twinkling with a glowing truth, his plain words ringing with an intentness that terrified and intrigued the other man. They sat gently between and wrapped themselves around Arthur like a comforting blanket wrapped around a crying child by their father, or so Arthur imagined, he couldn't be sure: he'd never had a father.

At least not one he'd ever known. He'd been raised by his mother on Gun Athair, a small planet with one cramped city wedged into the only habitable sot amidst almost perpetual screaming storms, until she'd died when he was 15 and he had to finish raising himself.

"Hate to interrupt lads, but....what's our heading?" Gwaine asked appearing, cheekily patting them on their individual backs.

"I swear to the Fucking gods Gwaine." Arthur ground with a pained sigh and a sideways glare at the luxourously haired man, who grinned cheekily in return, show off his pearly white teeth. Arthur rollde his eyes and then he pushed the friendly hand of Gwaime that was rested on his shoulder off and walked authoritatively over to the captain's seat in which he then sat. He tried to ignore the jolt inside him when he realised that the scoundrel of his pilot was still touching Merlin, nudging him in the ribs gently, with his scandalous elbows in a suggestive way.

"There's a planet called Eire on the western edge of the Dynastic Frontier. That's where we'll find the Fata Morgana." Arthur said; back to the business of space piracy and flight.

"Aye aye, Cap'n" The pilot nodded at his navitagor as he made his way back to his chair and sat in it, spinning around a little more than was strictly necessary, his professional face belaying the flippant tone of his voice. Lancelot cultivated the coordiantes and uploaded them to the flight-pass system, and with a warming hum of the engines the ship was on its way.

"I'm going to change" Merlin announced gently. His tight costume was unusual for him and he didn't like the feel of the fabric at his writsts.

"Do you have to? You look so good in black!" Percy smiled. Arthur glowered again.

"Almost like he's glowing- with that pale snake" flirted Gwaine, shamelessly.

With a snort Merlin left the bridge through the quite swish of the door. As he turned a corner along the winding corridors to his room he thought he heard footsteps behind him, but he hadn't heard anyone else leave the bridge. He paused to hear better but it was silent over the hum of the engines. As he walked on again he heard the same thing.

"Arthur?" He stoed and turned back down the corridor: it was empty. He shrugged and carried on, but the footstes were faster now and closer: on instinct he tergiversated to the side and felt a sharp stick in his side as a deep black obsidian blade stabbed into the space he had previously been occupying with his back. He stared at it aghast - no star didn't know that blade and fear it and rightfully so. He looked into th face of the man weidling the weapon