The Great Journey

Ajax

White noise, recalled Ajax's soul, from the depths of his distant, frozen plain of slumber. Returning to consciousness, after five years of sleep, had been harder than any galactic boot camp training he had experienced. Nauseous, unable to open his eyes, Ajax found himself in a delirious predicament.

Calm yourself. Remember what to do.

Training for galactic boot camp had its pros. Ajax could calm himself in almost any situation, filling himself with the strength to overcome his obstacle. Time slowing, Ajax's breath deepened, his heart racing, pounding like a war drum in his ears. Concentrating, he gave his eyelids a final stretch, breaking them free of their icicle restraints, finally being able to see his blurry world.

Feeling as though he had just visited a polar region, naked, a sharp sting pierced his bicep flesh, instantly bringing waves of warmth to his veins. A flourish of heartbeats, pumped the warmed blood around his body, raising his temperature immensely. He could hear, what Wes would have to say about the experience, inside his head.

I bet that's what childbirth felt like, ay?

Faint voices, broke past the irritating sound of white noise, a voice soft, like an angel, 'And that's the last person. Thanks Amir, I can take it from here. Report to the flight deck for your next orders...'
'Ajax ... Are you awake?'.

Consumed by tunnel vision, a shadowy figure stood before him, combing their fingers through his hair, sending a sparkle of ice shavings into the air. Lazily blinking away the darkness, a shiny medallion swung before his eyes, its lion insignia roaring. He knew he had seen it somewhere but he couldn't remember where. Lifting his eyes, a beautiful face filled his line of sight, her blue eyes, lovingly staring at him.

'Indi?'

'Hey, silly! How are you feeling?', she sympathetically asked. 'You're the last person to be unfrozen, feel special?'

Trying to form a sentence wasn't happening for Ajax. Slumping his head in defeat, he hung from the pod's safety belts, exhausted, and a little nervous.

'I know, its hard to think, but that's ok. By the time we make it to the med bay, you'll be thinking a lot clearer than you are now', Indi comforted. 'Just lean back so I can release you', Indi spoke softly, pushing Ajax back by his shoulders.

'My head kills', Ajax moaned, leaning back into the erect, cryogenic pods seat.

'Yea, it feels like brain freeze', Indi squinted, recalling from her memory. 'It's your blood heating your brain up again. You're tough though, you'll get over it', she teased, punching his defrosting arm, causing another shower of ice flakes to float into the air.

Gaining some brain capacity back, Ajax realised he was talking to Indi, his eyes widening with fear. The tough bravado returned, pushing all his pain aside. 'Actually, it's not that bad. I'm good', Ajax muttered.

Free from his belts, confidence piloted his body, lifting his legs out of the pod. With no strength in them, his legs collapsed beneath his weight. Grabbing hold of Indi, falling to the floor in a heap, he dragged her down, accidentally pulling her hair, forcing a screech from her lips. In a pile on the smooth steel floor, they both groaned in pain, Indi landed on top of Ajax, giving him an elbow to the ribs, for pulling her hair.
'You good huh?', Indi teased, with a smile on her face.

Jumping to her feet, Indi assisted Ajax to his, throwing his arm over her shoulder. Dragging him to a bench opposite his cryogenic pod, she placed him down, retrieving a flight suit from a set of drawers beside the bench. 'Get changed. I'm just going to close all the pods and then we can leave'.