Dark Energy Supernova - An Anthology of SF SD Shorts

Yang's Kiss

A/N: Group#5, Genre: Alt-Universe, , Picture; #9, dude with camera and bat, soldier and female soldier in purple, Setting; subway station, Compulsory Item: Led Zeppelin LP, Song: Scarlet Begonias, Quote: I told you to kill her but you didn't. And now you gonna turn and you gonna tear away the flesh of her bones. In this life now you kill or you die. Or you die and you kill. - in bold

",...She had rings on her fingers and bells on her shoes ," he quietly sung under his breath as he pulled on his utility jacket.  "And I knew without askin' she was into the blues. She wore scarlet begonias tucked into her curls, I knew right away she was not like other girls, other girls."

Hearing the low, scratchy voice carefully attempt the lyrical words, she smiled as she looked over at her partner.  Any casual glance would see a thickly muscled, road-block of a man, dark hair cut military style.  Sporting battered and well-used body armor over his olive drab and with his favorite bug-stomping percussion wand held sword-like in both gloved hands, he was a force to be reckoned with.

But for those that truly knew Jasper Kent, they would see a thoughtful, driven man sporting a genius level intellect and a love for old world music.  As likely to hum lyrics to his favorite song, 'Scarlet Begonia' by an old world group called the Grateful Dead as spit out a complicated battle plan, to Kennedy Marshall, Jasper was one of the most amazing men she had ever met.

As if feeling Kennedy's eyes on him, Jasper looked up and grinned ruefully.

"I was singing out loud again, wasn't I," he rumbled in his low, basso profondo voice.

"Yeah.  But at least you weren't mangling the words this time," Kennedy said with a grin, strapping down her double holsters to her legs.  Unlike Jasper, who liked going old school in his fatigues and body armor, she sported the latest in combat sheaths.  Its iridescent purple covered her in several millimetres of military-grade, EMF-shielded protection that resisted everything up to a full-on disruptor beam.  Strap on a utility harness and her double holsters for her twin Helix percussion rams and she was ready for anything.

Which, as the ready light above the door to the locker room began to flash to indicate a developing situation somewhere out in the Continuum, was a good thing.  Because it was time to rock.

The transit hub was throbbing with activity when Jasper and Kennedy stepped out of the lift and into the big, circular chamber.

"I knew right away she was not like other girls, other girls." Jasper quietly sang as they paused at the threshold to take a quick look around.

The transit hub was huge.  Made initially to instantly sending entire companies of soldiers to the far-flung reaches of the Continuum, humanity's vast interstellar empire, using artificially created and controlled Einstein-Rosenburg bridges, it was now used for bug hunts.  

A bug hunt was a two-step process used by the Continuum after one or more of their colonies identified a quasi-sapient invading species impacting the population in some negative fashion.  Step one involved a small recon team, usually two or three assets with hard experience in dealing with such organisms that would be sent in to look around.  If they could handle the situation, they had clearance to do so.  If not, they went to step two and called in the cavalry.

Following that simple formula meant the transit hub was constantly the scene of opening wormholes and sword-tip teams like Jasper and Kennedy coming and going as they jumped out to recon one of hundreds of situations that were continuously developing.

" - Hold it, team 12. - " the hub's alert system abruptly spoke.  " - Bio is detecting trace elements on your gear.  You need to stay in arrival for decon. - "