Seventh 2 Survive (WAYHAUGHT)

35-45

Wheeler wasn't dead. Waverly wasn't incarcerated. And, Nicole thankfully wasn't dying. Yay.

Except, the future remained fucked up. Billions were destined to die. The Admiral was a bitch. And, Swan was still alive. Boo.

Sat in her private chambers, the Admiral called up the latest report sent by Swan. She didn't trust her own spies to advise on the status of the bean domes, preferring to pay a rogue like Swan. He could feed back information, keeping her informed of developments on the surface.

She had long realised her hold on power was tenuously thin. It rested on bean production, which meant every harvest from every dome dangled over her head, like an executioner's sword. And, with every passing year, with every reduced harvest, she knew there would come a time when her power would wane completely.

On learning the scientist had been plotting behind her back, had played her for a fool, the Admiral knew exactly what she had to do. Disrupt bean production further, blame it on the scientist, expose her duplicity, then conveniently have her dispatched to the bio system. In fact, the situation suited the Admiral perfectly. She calculated her actions to sabotage the domes would lead to a call to reduce the population, which would buy her more time, while at the same time achieving most, if not all, her objectives without the need for disclosure of her true motives.

Simples.

Power has a curious effect on some people. It seeps into their blood, cooling it to the point where human suffering becomes nothing more than a numbers game, a necessary calculation in a bigger game of keeping the ball. And, whether she commanded seven billion, or one billion, it hardly mattered if it meant she remained Admiral.

...

Waverly beamed at Nicole. To see her again, to see her looking exactly as she remembered from their encounter in the police station, filled her heart. She rushed to kiss her, Nicole stepping back, a shocked expression appearing as she watched Waverly pucker up. Nicole's reaction caught Waverly by surprise, wondering why she couldn't lock herself onto those luscious lips.

"I...we must not touch," Nicole informed.

"Why?"

"It might kill me."

"How can kissing kill you?"

"You might have diseases."

This was not the welcome she had been expecting. Surprise, turned to disappointment, turned to annoyance, at the prospect of not being able to grope her girlfriend. The only consolation was that Nicole was alive and well, and they had a world to save. If only those lips came as part of the deal. She would have to steal herself for now, keep her desires dampened, get on with the business of sorting out the future.

She led the way to the basement. "We need the scientist here," she explained. "She needs to talk me through her theory on bees."

"Bees?" Nicole replied. "What's that got to do with saving you?"

"Apparently, quite a lot," Waverly replied. "I might not be the right Earp, but I might be good for something."

Nicole's head tilted, sending that oh-so-lovely tingle through Waverly's body. God, she thought, if she could only taste those lips.

"I also need Xavier here. And, maybe Greta."

"Greta?"

"She needs to hear what will become of us."

"This is...it's not part of my mission," Nicole stumbled. "The Admiral needs to give permission."

Waverly's hands went to her hips. "Your wife wants you dead. She's the cause of all this fuck up. Well, not all of it, a lot of it, and she's not helping make it right. So, we do not contact her, we do not tell her what we're doing, got it."