Lace Ravine

Chap. 1: Lace Finds Herself in a Bit More Trouble Than Usual - pt.2

After a few minutes of struggle, Lace acclimated to the situation. She slouched weakly in the chair and examined herself. A few drops of blood had reached her tattered t-shirt, and her scuffed boots and calves were covered with sand. "Oh, c'mon." She bemoaned. "I look awful. Prison really doesn't agree with my style." Exhaling, she threw her head back, and felt every dirtied tangle in her hair, which only prompted her to whine more. Her eyes were closed for merely a second, when the intercom in the hall buzzed to life with three beeps, and she shot up, alert. "Oh no, does that mean what I think it means?"

A polite robotic female voice answered her. "Please, find stable seating and prepare for Infinity Jump. Infinity Jump in one tinti, or, one-hundred-and-twenty-seven Earth seconds."

Lace looked sick, then shrugged as much as she could with her hands bound. "Nice of them to include us." Time passed too slowly until the woman reappeared.

"Infinity Jump in five tintas, or one-point-twenty-seven Earth seconds."

Lace scrunched up her nose. "That one felt a bit condescending."

"Five... Four... Three... Two... One..." Lace tensed, fists so tight her fingernails made indents in her palm, and waited for the feeling to strike. After 'one', it felt like the entirety of her reality and the space around her was slapped, like the air itself was thrown against the walls. Her eyesight tripled, and she could taste colors and emotions in the saliva against the roof of her mouth. A wave of heat, that was somehow the coldest draft she had ever felt, slid up her arms, a prickling blanket of satin across her skin. Each hair stood on end, but the pressure of the universe was unbearable. Everything flickered, and for a moment, she could see the emptiness of infinity stretched before her, brilliant and terrifying. Then, as if the whole experienced had taken negative time, life sprang back into its proper place.

Eyes wide, Lace gasped. "Christ in his cradle! I think I can still see the nth dimension!" Her heart felt like it could tear outwards from her chest, and she cried out. "Am I looking backwards in time?!" Finally, as her being settled, she was left only with a brain that pulsed painfully against her skull, and she released her tension. "God I hate Infinity Jumps. What a headache." At this point, the space-time bending trip across thousands of light years of distance had made her tired enough that she let her head droop, and slipped into dozing.

Several hours passed, and somewhere in between, she awoke, and grew restless. She took to shouting at the guard she knew was stationed at the end of the hall, taunting, trying to get him to come over and at least provide her with some entertainment, but to no avail. Eventually, however, she heard footsteps approaching. She straightened up, and waited to see her caller. The Phocorian man that turned the corner sent a broad smile to her face.

"Vin! Thank god, could ya get me outta here?" Though he had been sent to fetch the thief, Vin was not informed of her state, and he shook his head at her desperate, trapped form.

"What did you do this time?"

Lace scoffed. "Wow, trust issues! What makes you think I did anything wrong?" Vin gestured vaguely to the entire situation, and Lace frowned. "Fair point. I stole something."

"Somehow, I'm not surprised. I guess you're why we made a pit stop that was completely off course and in IAC territory?"

Lace rolled her eyes. "Artecca is barely part of the Interstellar Alliance of Civilizations! It's got, what, like two whole Tarzoths on it?"

Vin folded his strong arms. "More like half a million, and its fair share of Fortans too. The Alliance has dug their claws into that harmless planet, and you? You march right over and get yourself arrested." He felt a dry chuckle against his broad chest, but released only cold air. "Glass-Eye bailed you out again?"