Astronomically Imposterble

VIII

Laying bleeding out on the floor is Teagan. Havien gasps and stumbles back a few inches, her hands flying to her mouth. Ian looks up from the cameras and turns around in the computer chair. Blood splatters his clothing. Teagan's blood. His space suit sits discarded in the corner. She glances to it, her mouth falling open. She quickly glances back to Ian. He stands and spreads his arms wide, a huge smile on his face.

"Ah, my lovely Havien." He closes his eyes for a moment, cherishing it. "I knew it was only a matter of time before someone stumbled upon them." He glances down at Teagan's lifeless body. His smile slowly turns into a smirk. "And boy am I glad it's you." She balls her fists at her side, her jaw clenching.

"You," she spits. His smirk grows.

"Me," he agrees. "It's been me this entire time." Havien takes a step forward but Ian holds up a hand, his other pulling out a knife from behind him. "I'd be careful where you step, Havien, dear. We don't want you to turn into your dearly beloved just yet." He winks at her. She takes a step back. growling. She narrows her eyes at him and raises her chin. Ian snorts. "You can look intimidating all you want--I'm not scared of you."

"Why are you doing this Ian?"

He twirls the knife around his fingers. "I can ask you the same thing." She raises an eyebrow. "Why are you trying to kill our dearly beloved Captain?" Havien's eyes widen as her face pales. Ian smirks as he catches the knife, the blade digging into the palm of his hand. "You didn't think anyone knew, did you?" She glances to the floor, avoiding Teagan's lifeless form. "Ah, well, when I found the vial of poison in the trash the other day. . ." He shrugs. Havien looks back up, her mouth parted slightly. Ian doesn't pay much attention to her now as he starts pacing his side of the room. "How did I know it was you, you might be asking yourself." She bites her tongue as he shrugs. "Well that's simple. Does the name Franklin Kingston ring any bells?" Havien's heart stops.

"How do you know that name?" she demands, risking a step closer. Ian whips around and points the knife at her. Havien hesitates but doesn't take a step back. "How do you know that name?!" she growls. Ian's lips twitch.

He stops pacing and gestures to the chair in front of the cameras. Havien looks over at the chair before raising an eyebrow at him. He makes his way over to the door causing her to quickly jump over Teagan and head over to the chair. Ian shoves Teagan's head out of the way and slams the door shut. Havien swallows thickly.

"Allow me to tell you a little bit about myself, Miss Parker," Ian draws out as he goes back to spinning the knife around in his hand. He makes his way back to the chair but stays a reasonable distance away from Havien. He kicks Teagan's legs out of the way in order to lean against the wall. "My family is poor," he says flatly. Havien narrows her eyes at him. "I'm the oldest of five children--two boys, three girls. My brother and I were hopelessly outnumbered. But being the eldest meant certain. . . responsibilities fell on my shoulders. When my parents couldn't afford bills, I had to find a way to pay them." He digs the tip of the knife into his palm, his nostrils flaring with anger. "I was forced to be a high school dropout," he spits as he meets Havien's eyes for a split second. "My parents needed someone to help pay the bills. My sisters--fuck them--were never the type to willingly get their hands dirty. And then my brother was always too young." Havien frowns. Ian seems to lose focus as he stares at where the carpet meets the wall. "So I had to work." He shrugs. "Sometimes multiple jobs." He snorts and glances to Havien. "I worked at a flower shop once." He shakes his head, seemingly lost in thought. "It wasn't always how you'd picture it. Sometimes there were the nastiest customers demanding large bouquets for dirt cheap." He continues to shake his head before looking to Havien. "But it was nice." He shrugs. "A, uh, nice distraction from my horrible reality." He lets out a breath and smiles softly. "I always wanted to go to space. Seems like a lot of people on the mission wanted to." Havien nods slightly. "But I never thought I'd get the chance. NASA doesn't necessarily take high school dropouts now do they?" Havien shakes her head. "Then this mission was announced. And I knew I'd be able to find a way to space when they said they'd be sending a seventeen year old up here." He snorts. Havien leans back against the chair. "Don't get me wrong, I adore Elorie. Didn't think I could possibly grow attached to anyone on this mission knowing what I had to do." He shakes his head and shrugs. "Killing her's gonna suck." He stares blankly at the wall as he imagines killing Elorie. Havien's eyes widen. "If I'm being honest with ya, Via--is it okay if I call you Via?" Havien shakes her head but Ian doesn't pay attention to her. "If I'm being honest with ya, Via, and boy am I being honest here, I woulda killed Elorie ages ago if she wasn't attached by the hip to Helena--or, Hel, I suppose. Damn did that throw a wrench in my plan." He walks over to the small desk a few inches away from Havien and sits down on the edge. Havien watches him carefully, almost forgetting to breathe. "Do you think I could a god?" He starts biting his fingernails in thought. Havien doesn't say anything. He huffs and looks to her. "Maybe if I try hard."