Orders and Wonders - Connor/Kara Fanfiction

Stranger

He was following her.

She sensed him in every abandoned room of the ship that she explored - his brown eyes finding hers through cracks and sometimes directly in front of her. The stranger who had arrived only mere hours ago frightened her and many others who refused to acknowledge his presence. But then again, they never acknowledged hers either. She had never noticed that until now when she had tried to escape the lingering gaze by sitting near the other androids, but they had moved away instantly. She began to understand that she was unwanted, so as always she had searched for Markus, Josh or Simon.

"You okay?" He asked, when she stood in the doorway looking lost, her head turning to look behind her every now and then. Markus had never seen her look so aware of her surroundings until now and he had a good idea just why this was.

She smiled, always the one to conceal her thoughts when North was around. "Ye . . .s. I was . . . I was wondering if . . . there was something you'd like me to do." Her soft voice came out breathless as if she had been running from something.

North swerved around in her chair, her attention that was once focused on the monitor behind her now pinning Kara to the spot. "We'd like it if you would stop turning up here every other minute. We're so close to hacking into the FBI files and-"

"North." Markus reprimanded when he saw hurt flash through Kara's blue eyes. The woman in question rolled her eyes at him before spinning back around to resume typing at a furious pace. He sighed, conflicted at his companion's supercilious attitude before allowing a bright smile to adorn his face. "I feel like a break, anyway. You're welcome to join me . . . if you wish." He added, leaving her the open option so as to not pressure her.

She nodded fiercely, before bolting up the stairs leading to the roof, not looking behind her even once. And as he moved to follow her, a figure came out from the shadows, his LED glowing amber - the only indication that he had been concealed in the darkness.

There was something unwelcoming in Connor's brown eyes, but Markus was surprised to find that they were not dispassionate as he had expected them to be. Instead, they looked pained as they clashed with his own before he stiffly nodded in gratitude and disappeared down the stairs.

"What the hell was he doing here?" North seethed behind him. "I still can't believe you let him stay, Markus! He's already spying on us!"

Josh saved him from replying to her. "He's evidently a deviant! If his clothes didn't give that away then that kicked puppy look on his face certainly did."

She shrilled back just as Markus climbed up the stairs and was shutting the door. "He's a fake!"

***

Kara felt relieved for once as the snow crunched under her feet, leading her to the edge. It was her small little heaven where she could see things clearly - the snow and the sun on her hair and the feeling of not being watched. She didn't know how she had gotten through these last few hours without moving around every other minute.

"It feels great to be out here!" He exclaimed, stepping next to her on the edge to stare below. The world past Jericho seemed so pure and beautiful, but Markus had learned a thing or two about beauty. It was always flawed and came with a price - androids had become the price this time.

A smile touched her inquisitive face. "Yes. I . . . I really like it up here."

The deviant leader understood her inclination to this place. Trapped inside Jericho with nothing, but ruins around them and the sight of dying androids had made him question his decision to come to the place that claimed to provide a safe haven for deviants or rejected androids like him. And then he had emboldened the androids around him to find that courage hidden deep within them. And his own courage had been discovered here, in this silent place where Carl's presence would surround him.