Dismantle The Sun

Chapter 12

There was an agony of clatter and clammer bursting through the doors with all the stealth of a rabid wildebeest charging and stampeding in a dessert gorge. Two figures followed, clad head to toe in a black: blacker than the blackest of blackholes, it sucked in the light as the vantablack-clad would be assassins drew their laser pistols.

Arthur and Merlin sprang apart, as if burnt by the intensity of the their feelings in the moment for each other. They both crouched slightly, poised to strike as the other men, for the assassins were men, charged at them their guns drawn. Just then, Arthur heard the subtle but distinctive zap-zip of the weapons being discharged, feeling no pain he glanced across at where Mlerin was, his heart a writhing sea of panic as he expected to see him injured. But Merlin was fine, and starring across at the blonde man in equal amounts of confusion. A soft thu-thud drew their individual attentions from each other and towards where the assassins stood. Except they weren't standing, they were lying on the floor of the holodack; dead.

"Wuh-" Arthur started in a whisper of incertitude, glancing across to where Merlin stood only to see his doubts mirrored back.

"You're welcome Princess" came a cheek Irish voice around the corner follow by its owner: Gwaine. He swaggered in blowing imaginary smoke off the barrell of his laser-gun looking every inch a cowboy gunslinger of the old west. Even in his pyjamas. From the other side of the door sloped Percy, smiling a little.

"Oh Percy too?" Arthur asked jokingly."What are two of you still doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep through the sound of your pining" Gwaine said, pointedly looking between the captain and the dark haired star.

"And what about you Percy, were you and Gwaine having a... a... listening party?!" ARthur splattered. Gwaine and Merlin, in the meanwhile had both crouched down and were rummaging through the dark bodysuits of the two men for identification, they both repressed smirks at their captain's indignation, but only Merlin felt his heart flitter and flop in affection at it. Percy blushed puce.

"I was trying to unencrypt the data on the nova-tera" Percy said honestly. Arthur sighed loudly.

"I told you to go to bed and get some sleep! I'm captain! You're supposed to listen to me and do what I say!" Leo, the Leptailurus, chose this moment to stroll in and start nuzzling at Gwaine's crouched form. The pilot smiled and stroked the big cat's head as the feline joined in rooting through the dead means bodies. Arthur threw his hands up in frustration.

"Honestly, next Lance and Elyan and Leon'll show up. Does no-one do what I say around here?!" he artificed.

"You're still up." Gwaine pointed out, looking up from his riffling with a cheeky grin.

"Captain's privilege. I give orders not follow them." Arthur reesponded, his hands firm on his hips, trying to ascertain authority. Merlin snorted in laughed, Gwaine's quick eyes glanced to him, dark and brimmed with mirth.

"What about Merlin?" he asked, his lilting accent a teasing waltz. Arthur looked flummoxed for a breif moment.

"Merlin's not crew." he finally responded. Smugly.

"Uh, Arthur, if you're quite done arguing you need to see this" said Merlin, brandishing a small starter key he'd found in one of the many pockets of a dead assassin. Arthur's face balnched ivory white almost matching Merlin's own alabaster hues.

"That's from a short range docking pod." he muttered, his eyes a light.

"You know what that means" Percy muttered, glancing at the other men before pacing over to the computer and typing furiously like the wind.