─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
SEASON 2 EPISODE 6
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Location:
System: Alpha Centauri
Faction: United Colonies
Planet: Jemison
Place: New Atlantis
A/N: I told y'all that as long as we keep hitting the vote goal, I'll update more often, so here you go! Keep voting if you want to see more content. 25-30 votes per chapter and I'll update a few times a week instead of just once.
This is a very action-packed chapter, but there's also a lot of emotional moments. I hope you like it cause I really liked writing it. The next chap is super fun too but for a different reason-
Anyway. Enjoy!
And don't you worry, Jimin is absolutely, 110% getting traumatized this chapter!
(As always)
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Jimin
There were two things Jimin despised: the UC and himself.
As he stood in front of the Cabinet, he realized both were at play. He hated himself for signing up for the UC Vanguard, but he hated the UC for being punk ass bitches with the personality of a piece of lettuce. Actually, no. That was unfair to lettuce. Even lettuce had more personality than the UC.
"We got confirmation that the Freestar representative is in the embassy, so all you have to do is go there and convince her to give you her Archive access card," Logan said, and Jimin sighed.
"Yay, that sounds so easy."
Y/n, who stood by his side, nudged him to get him to shut up. For her sake, he did. The last thing anyone needed was for Jimin to get them in trouble. They were already trusting him with a huge task, which wasn't a surprise. Jimin was new to the Vanguard, sure, but he had already proven himself trustworthy. He had been a Neon street rat with his eyes on credits all the time; however, upon becoming part of SysDef, he had held the largest sum of credits in his hands when he had gone to the Legacy. Despite possessing potentially billions of creds, he still returned it to the UC and took out the pirates. If that didn't prove he was trustworthy, he didn't know what would.
"House Va'ruun is the problem," Chief Sarkin said as he tapped away on a tablet. "According to our recent data, no one has heard anything from the Va'ruun embassy in a decade."
"You guys just casually ignore the entire Va'ruun embassy?"
"Yes," Chief Diplomat Alexandra said in a matter-of-fact tone. "It's not our responsibility to babysit them and tell them to show up to meetings. If they want to ignore us, by all means, we'll let them."
Well, she had a point. Jimin didn't mean to assume all of House Va'ruun were bad, but in his experience, every House Va'ruun he had ever met had tried to blow his head off. One even tried to kill Y/n. He had a theory that Andreja had a history with the Va'ruun, but if that were true, that made it worse. Andreja had held a gun to his head too. That meant every Va'ruun he had ever met had held him at gunpoint.
They sounded quite peaceful, didn't they?
Jimin didn't like Alexandra's attitude. She was snarky and aggressive. Still, she was right. If one of the leading factions in the Settled Systems decided not to go to meetings when called upon, there wasn't much the UC could do. The UC had its own problems to solve. Knocking on House Va'ruun's door could take precious time away from solving other issues.
Yet another reason Jimin hated politics: no problems got solved. The Well was a rampant issue for the UC, yet nothing had changed. Tensions between the UC and Freestar were as high as they were during the Colony War. At least they weren't bombing each other, but every day there were hate crimes. Jimin had his property, his Vanguard suit, vandalized. He had it cleaned easily enough, but that didn't change that UC dogs had pissed on it for no reason other than Jimin was a Freestar native. Those problems persisted, and the politicians did nothing. As always.
"The point is," Chief Sarkin said in a sharp voice to get Alexandra to shut up. "You may have trouble finding a living person in the embassy. In that case, look for the Archive key. You're one of the best hackers in the Freestar, aren't you?"
"I like to consider myself one of the best hackers period, but sure, let's go with that."
"Then if the access card is locked behind something, you have our permission to steal it."
Jimin almost moaned. "Did the UC just give me permission to steal? Oh God, I think I came a little."
"Jimin!" Y/n said in a yelp. She facepalmed and shook her head. "Please excuse him, he's not used to talking in formal environments."
"No need to apologize. On the contrary, Miss L/n, I think that's why he'll do so well," Logan said with a dismissive hand wave. He narrowed his eyes at her for a split second before turning his attention back to Jimin. "Your attitude separates you from us. If they don't see you as a UC grunt and instead as a friend, maybe they'll give in. Don't wear anything that shows you as a Vanguard, and try your best to distance yourself from the UC."
Jimin grinned. "Oh please, I do that every day anyway."
The Cabinet went quiet at that and whispered amongst themselves. Y/n and Jimin stood there, waiting for the next step. Jin was in the back pretending not to be there, and that was because the Cabinet didn't want him there. Jin was a creature to them, not a person.
"Alright, then it's settled," Logan said with a nod. "Captain Park, you'll go to the Freestar first to see if you can-"
'Beep!'
Logan got cut off by the emergency alarm sounding, and the otherwise bright room became painted in a sea of crimson light. The metal shutters on the windows closed and halted all sunlight from pouring in. Jimin got in front of Y/n on instinct and grabbed his AA-99 from off his back. Other than the alarms, there were no noises. They were too high up the skyscraper to hear what was happening on the ground. Jimin had a feeling it wasn't pretty.
"What's going on?" Logan asked.
Chief Sarkin tapped away on his tablet. Then, his face went pale. "Terrormorph attack."
"What?! Here?!"
"Yes, here. In the spaceport. Three Terrormorphs, almost fully grown."
Y/n stumbled back, and Jimin caught her elbow to keep her upright. Even Jin seemed horrified; wide eyes and a dropped jaw infected his face, and his hands were clammy enough that he wiped them on his lab coat.
"Shit, the Xenoforce is off world, it'll take forever to get them here," Logan said. He brought his eyes to the other three in the room. "You all have experience fighting Terrormorphs. Get down to the spaceport and help."
Jimin held Y/n behind him. "Are you insane?! You can't make my girl-"
"Jimin," Y/n interrupted. "It's fine. The UC needs me, and it is my duty to answer. Let's move out."
Although enraged, Jimin followed her orders. They left the Cabinet alone and went down the elevator. Jin picked at his nails and didn't have a weapon, so Jimin wasn't sure how that would work.
"You know how to fight?" Jimin asked.
Jin nodded. "Of course, I was the Xeno team lead. No one knows how to kill these things better than I do. Aim for the pores on their back or their heads. Weak spots."
"You didn't think to tell me that when I fought the first one?"
"It was a baby, I didn't think it'd be that hard."
Jimin rolled his eyes as they doors parted and showed the NAT station underneath the MAST skyscraper. He didn't know what he was expecting, but it wasn't chaos. The NAT station had flickering lights and a broken NAT car there. It was derailed as if it had been pushed over, but no Terrormorph was in sight. Instead, there were people. Tons of people. All of them wore ripped clothes with ash on their faces.
That NAT train had come straight from the spaceport, which explained the appearance of the humans. There were four security guards there, on the ground. The dozen citizens were growling like animals with clouds of smoke surrounding their heads. Their nails attacked the screaming guards, and Jimin gasped at the sight.
"The EM!" one of the male guards cried as he received more blows. "Shoot them!"
Jimin spotted two weapons on the ground. It was a stun gun, or an EM weapon that would knock the citizens out. Jimin hesitated. Y/n didn't.
She rushed into action, swung her AA-99 around her back, then slid on the floor to pick up the EM weapons. She threw one back to Jimin. He caught it just in time for her to whip around and fire at the dozen civilians in the room. Sparks of cyan light blasted out of the muzzle of the curved white rifle, and it lit up the otherwise dark station. As soon as the balls of light hit the people, they fell over, unconscious.
Y/n and Jimin made quick work of the aggressors. Soon enough, the civilians were down, and the security guards were battered but alive. They staggered to their feet and took the rifles back as they thanked the Vanguard for assisting them.
"It's the Terrormorphs at the spaceport, they're taking control of people's minds and making them go crazy," the man said with a heave in his voice. He had a bruised lip and a broken nose that jutted off to the side. "Are you heading there?"
"President Logan commanded us to assist, so yes," Y/n answered.
"Good luck."
Y/n thanked him before taking Jimin and Jin near the NAT car. It was broken, so they had to go through the NAT tunnel to make their way to the spaceport. It would take several minutes even at a fast pace.
Jimin had trouble keeping up with Y/n. With only one day of training under his belt, Jimin didn't have the same speed and stamina as her. Running from security in Neon helped, but it wasn't professional training, it was just a fight for survival. It looked like Jimin would need more Vanguard training, and fast.
It took them seven minutes to get to the spaceport, and when they arrived, it was catastrophic. There were dead bodies littering the terrain. Cracked concrete led up to the launchpads, where countless guards were with assault rifles, firing at a Terrormorph that hissed and snarled at anything that came close. Guards were ripped in half, heads were torn off, and limbs detached from bodies until they formed a pile of mush.
What was once the spaceport became a bloody mess as the sun set in the horizon and casted a warm glow over the battlefield. One Terrormorph out of the three was there and shouting. It was twice the size as the one Jimin fought, and each shout pierced the sky. It reverberated across the land and infected Jimin's ears with agony. He winced and staggered back with a gag and a cough.
"Help! Jimin, please!" Y/n's voice yelled.
He whipped around to face her, but she was fine. No yells spewed from her lips. She grabbed his shoulder to help him focus, but it didn't work. Despite having visual confirmation that she was fine, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. If he was beginning to hallucinate, she was too, right?
"I'm used to it," she said as if reading his mind. "We trained for this before I was dispatched to Londinion. Jin should be used to it too."
Jin came forward and agreed. "We don't escape the effects, but we can resist it more. Remember: it's not real."
How was Jimin supposed to handle that information? In his mind, he heard his girlfriend screaming. He could hear even the tiniest cracks in her voice. It didn't sound fake. If anything, it sounded more real than Y/n's actual voice. No amount of training could stop his adrenaline from spiking each time he heard her in his brain.
"We need to help them, come on!" Y/n said before dashing off to join the guards.
Jimin shook off his thoughts as best he could and made it to the blockade the guards had set up. There were well over a dozen guards, but they weren't trained to handle a Terrormorph, let alone an adult one. They had weakened it; Jimin could tell by the popped pus and stained blood coating the Terrormorph's otherwise black flesh. However, it wasn't enough. The Terrormorph wasn't dead yet.
Y/n, Jin, and Jimin joined the guards and knelt by the barricades, propping their weapons on the stone barriers as they fired away. The singular Terrormorph lashed out with its claw and got two more guards. Their heads flew in the air and plopped on the concrete. The Terrormorph stomped on the decapitated men and squished them so hard their skulls burst. Brain matter spilled between the cracks on the sidewalks, as did the eyeballs and teeth.
Jimin didn't let up and slammed on his trigger. Superpowers could help, but not in front of all those people. If the situation escalated, he'd have to use them regardless. Maybe being discovered was worth it if it meant saving the lives of innocent guards. They were UC, sure, but Jimin didn't know them. They could be assholes, or they could be as sweet as Y/n. Jimin refused to discriminate like the UC did to Freestar natives. Like the Vanguard did to him and Y/n. That meant he'd save them, no matter what he had to do.
For the time being, he didn't think of his powers. He focused on shooting the creature to hell. Somehow, it worked. UC security had injured it enough that once the Vanguard joined, it was over. Still, the other two Terrormorphs wouldn't be as easy. And it looked like UC security had already lost over a dozen men.
There was less than a dozen left.
A man approached Jimin, Y/n, and Jin. Jin, who was unarmed, got handed a rifle, and he accepted it without complaint. The man had dark hickory eyes that seemed dull despite the sunlight pouring on him, and his short brown hair looked like it had been half burned off.
"Captain, my name is Sergeant Yumi," the man said. His voice was deep and raspy, though Jimin had a feeling that was because of the firefight. It took a second for Jimin to realize Sergeant Yumi was talking to him, not Y/n. "There are two more Terrormorphs up near the launchpads. One is on pad A, the other pad B. What do you suggest we do?"
"Why aren't they moving?"
"Not sure. One came and attacked us head on, the other two are waiting. I was thinking of splitting our forces and attacking both at once, that way we don't have any risks of an ambush or one getting away while we try to kill the other."
"Not a bad plan," Y/n said, stepping between Jimin and Sergeant Yumi. "But you'll need one experienced fighter on both sides. I'll lead one team, Jin and Captain Park can lead the other."
Jimin grabbed her arm. "I'm not splitting up with you."
"No offense to Jin, but he hasn't fought these things in a long time. You fought this thing less than two weeks ago. He may be experienced, but he'll need backup."
"You haven't fought one in a while either."
"I'm also a fully trained Vanguard, you and Jin aren't. I have the skills to lead a team on my own. No disrespect, but I don't know if I can say the same about you and Jin. That's why you're better together." Y/n stepped toward him and squeezed his elbow. "Look, I don't want to split up either, but you know I'm right. You can't lead a team on your own, and Jin probably can't either. That's why you two need to do it together, and if we don't take care of both of these things at the same time, we risk an ambush or one of them escaping."
She was right. Arguing would get them nowhere, so he relented and backed off. They debriefed the plan, though Jimin couldn't listen. The shout effect had worn off due to the Terrormorph being deceased. For some reason, it felt like it was still there. Like he could hear Y/n's screams in the back of his mind.
It was decided that Jimin and Jin would take the Terrormorph on the left, or pad B, while Y/n would take the Terrormorph on the right, or pad A. Each would have their own team of soldiers. Y/n would get two extra guards since Jin and Jimin's team had one extra leader. Although Jimin couldn't tell them, he also had superpowers. That was another factor to consider. He knew just from glancing at Y/n that she had it on her mind as she made the plan.
The teams gathered, reloaded, and grabbed all the gear they'd need. They didn't have much in the way of explosives, but they had a few grenades they could use to knock the Terrormorph off balance. Jimin prepared himself to use his particle beam if needed. As soon as they were ready to head out, Jimin approached Y/n one last time.
"What if we're about to lose? Do I use them?" he whispered, and she nodded.
"Do what you have to. Stay alive, you hear me? I can't lose you."
PDA was a no no, so he didn't kiss her. Though he felt the Universals could chill and allow him one public kiss considering it was a drastic situation. Y/n and Jimin could die. That constituted one kiss, right?
Still, Jimin didn't lean in for it. Y/n held his hand and gave it a squeeze before ordering the troops to move out. He watched her go and wished he could join, but he had a job to do. That led to him approaching Jin and marching off with him to pad B.
Up on the launchpad was a massive transport ship that had two of its four landing gears broken, so the ship was slanted and on the verge of falling over. Shipping containers were covering the pad, and they were of varying colors like crimson, navy blue, and black. All had white text on them that said "NEW ATLANTIS." There were fires sputtering and sparking. They were the main source of light in the area.
Jimin slowed his movements, as did Jin. They had their rifles ready to go, but they heard no signs of the Terrormorph. There were distant screams and sirens. It smelled of smoke. Soot got on Jimin's face as he passed by many open flames and containers that dripped in mud. His boots got soaked in muck. Luckily, they were thick enough to prevent any grossness from touching his socks or toes.
The smooth metal of the AA-99 slid in Jimin's hands as he adjusted it and readied himself for action. His boots squeaked, and his tongue could taste the thick smog entering his mouth. His tastebuds shriveled up in disgust. He pushed on anyway.
There were three containers up ahead. In the middle, Jimin swore he could see the leg of a Terrormorph. It was waiting for them, so Jimin held them up and motioned to it. Then, he turned and faced three guards standing behind him.
"Get on top of the containers for a high ground advantage. Help each other up. The more spread out we are, the more it has to move to get us. The more it has to move..."
"The more time we have to kill it," Jin finished, lighting up in amazement. "That's genius."
Jimin knew it was a serious moment, but his heart panged at the praise. He didn't know why. "I have my moments. Quick, get up top while we change formation."
The three guards obeyed. Jimin made two other guards take their places near the ship. It was risky seeing as it was rocking back and forth, but it was good cover. There was also a chance the Terrormorph would bump into the ship and it'd collapse on top of the monster. That would be a good way to kill it. However, Jimin didn't know if there were any civilians inside that needed saving. If he could avoid causing collateral damage, he would.
Jimin lined himself up and knelt. It provided more stability when shooting, and he'd need it if he were going to deal with a fast-moving target. A breath sucked itself inside his lungs. One second passed. Two. Three. Then, he pulled the trigger.
The bullet exploded out of the barrel and sunk into the side of the Terrormorph's leg. A scream howled out and whacked Jimin in the face. It was so strong it dulled all his senses for a beat, but when he regained control, he spotted the Terrormorph lunging out of cover and hissing. Drool slithered down its sharp, claw-like teeth and leaked on the floor. As soon as it revealed itself, the soldiers opened fire.
It shouted once more, and that time, it was intense enough to throw Jimin back. He got launched to the earth. His head hit the concrete, and right away, blurriness took over. His vision became a series of blobs. There were blotches of black and blue as if his eyes had been bruised. Then, he felt a sticky substance trailing down his neck. It was a crimson liquid that stained his bare hand. A grunt left his lips as he sat up, but to his surprise, the commotion had ceased to exist.
There was no gunfire, no shouts, no sirens—nothing. All he could hear was the crackle of the various fires. All he could smell was his own sweat. There was no feeling except the warm blood cloaking his fingers, and his tongue had gone from disgusted to relieved at the lack of heavy smoke entering his throat. It was serene. No Terrormorph was in sight, no guards lingered by his side, and Jin was gone.
Jimin got to his feet and peeked around. Nothing. It was as if he had fallen into a new dimension, but he wouldn't complain about that. If it meant peace, it was worth it.
His feet carried him to the area in between the three containers, and his knees began to wobble. How long had he been out for? He could have sworn his vision only wavered for a handful of seconds, but no, the middle of the containers had countless bodies, Jin's included.
Jimin whipped to the side and threw up. What seemed like pounds of vomit exited his body and burned his mouth on the way up. Every ounce of him down to the nerves of his teeth felt vile.
"Jin," Jimin whispered, diving to the older man's side and shaking him. "Jin, wake up. Wake up!"
Jimin didn't know why he was crying and panicking. He didn't know Jin, but how could he be gone so soon? Jin's arm was missing, and his guts were pulled out of him. There was a gaping hole where his stomach had once been.
Cries passed Jimin's parched lips, and he scrambled to his feet. All the guards were dead. The ship still teetered back and forth, but otherwise, there were no signs of life in the vicinity. That was what made him freeze.
Y/n.
Jimin sprinted to pad A. No sounds of gunfire or voices alerted him to any signs of survivors. That caused his heart rate to spike and dance inside him, performing complex moves that lurched his stomach and paled his skin. Clamminess attacked his hands, even his gloved one, as he rushed to Y/n's squad's location. Upon finding it, he noticed there was no Terrormorph, and all the guards were dead.
"Y/n!" he shouted in a heave. His voice broke as if smoke lived in his lungs and prevented him from speaking coherently. "Y/n! Honey! Where are you?!"
He muttered soft No's as he scoured through the bodies on the concrete. He searched and searched until he saw the colors of the UC Vanguard. There was a leather jacket that was black and crimson, and it had a Universal symbol stamped onto the sleeve. Jimin pulled her figure from under the other corpses, and he felt numbness cling to him when he saw a hole where her chest had been. Her eyes were hollow, her hair brittle, and her lips caked in blood and ash.
Jimin sobbed as he thrashed her back and forth. "Y/n! Wake up!"
His wails and whimpers didn't work. Her eyes remained lifeless, and no sweet words of reassurance poured from her mouth. She was gone. Yet another corpse lost to the madness of the Terrormorph attack.
He brought her up against his chest and bawled. Muddled sentences flew by his tongue. None of them revived her or eased his cracking bones. His nails tugged at her jacket and attempted to breathe life back into her. Nothing worked. Nothing. Y/n was gone.
"Please don't do this to me," he muttered with a hiccup. Tears flooded his face and cleaned the soot off his skin. "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault. I love you so much. Please don't go!"
None of his words would matter. They would float in the void. She wouldn't hear his begs for her to return, and he would never hear her gentle voice reassuring him that she was okay. He'd never feel her soft touch as she stroked his hair. He'd never watch her stargaze and say stupid facts about stars that he had never cared about until he had met her. There was no more love in her gaze; it was replaced by an abyss.
Jimin shut his eyes and placed his hand on his thigh holster. There was a knife there. Although he had Sam and Cora, Sarah, Barrett and VASCO, his mother, the other Constellation members, and even Jungkook, Jimin wanted nothing more than to ram his blade through his heart and join his love up above. He had never believed in God, but in that moment, he prayed. He prayed that if he killed himself, he would join her in Heaven, where she belonged. Y/n deserved a happy ending. He hoped she found it. He hoped she found Him.
However, before he could grab the knife, a sharp sting smacked his cheek, and Y/n's body fizzled away. As did the rest of the scene. What replaced it was loud sirens and distant screams, gunfire and blazing fires, a creaking ship and guards shouting orders. In front of him was Kim Seokjin, very much alive.
"Get up! It's the Terrormorph visions!" Jin shouted over the mayhem occurring behind him.
Jimin peeked around and saw the Terrormorph was still alive. That was when it hit: Jin had slapped Jimin to wake him up. When Jimin had banged his head off the ground, he must have fallen into a Terrormorph vision. Right. They were dealing with an adult Terrormorph. The baby had been able to invade his brain with voices, and an adult could give him full visions and transport him to different realms that didn't exist. That meant none of that was real. Jin was alive. The security guards were alive.
Y/n was alive.
Just like that, Jimin discovered the urge to fight harder so he could confirm she was okay. He snapped to his feet and picked up his rifle before firing at the Terrormorph. While Jimin was in disarray, the guards had weakened it and blown its back pus out. The pus oozed down the side of its body and painted it in a sea of a murky green.
"Grenades!" Jimin shouted, and the guards on the top of the nearest container grabbed grenades from their belts and threw them at the roaring beast.
The explosions rocked the terrain and almost caused the ship to fall, but it went upright at the last second. The grenades worked as a distraction.
No superpowers were required. Instead, Jimin rained hell on the beast. He emptied multiple mags into the Terrormorph and changed positions as needed. The Terrormorph had so many potential targets that it didn't know what to do. It pounced between guards and even ate a guard whole. Two of the security guards got too terrified and ran for their lives, and as much as Jimin wanted to punch them for it, he couldn't say he blamed them.
Security guards were meant to handle petty theft and occasional violent crimes, but on New Atlantis, crime was rare. They weren't trained to handle the most horrifying beasts in the galaxy. That was the military's job.
And apparently Jimin's now.
His AA-99 clicked empty again, but he didn't have another mag to reload with. Jin noticed and got in front of him, pushing Jimin back to keep him safe. Jimin watched in awe as Jin massacred the Terrormorph with precision Jimin had never seen before, even from Y/n. Jin stayed focused the entire time and leaned into the kick the AA-99 had. He handled it as if it were just another day in the office for him. Then, the Terrormorph slumped over with a final roar. It collapsed with its mouth slacking. A human head rolled out.
Vomit threatened to leave Jimin's mouth, but he held it back. He didn't have the strength to thank Jin for saving him. Without consulting his team, Jimin jumped over the guardrail and raced to pad A. Waiting there was Y/n's team, and they surrounded a dead Terrormorph. One of the guards was retrieving a tissue sample. More importantly, Y/n was in the center of it all, directing them with her AA-99 strapped around her back.
Jimin didn't care about the PDA or how desperate he looked. He charged over to her, and she turned in time for him to engulf her in his arms. Shaky hands clawed at her back, and he couldn't stop the moisture from slipping by his eyes. Trembles contaminated his figure, goosebumps formed on his arms, and his bare hand had more sweat on it than skin. But none of that mattered more than her.
"Terrormorph visions?" she asked, and he buried his head against her neck to confirm her suspicions.
"It was so real. I... I saw you die. I... baby..."
"Shh, shh. I'm right here, it was just a hallucination, okay? We got the Terrormorphs and I'm alive and uninjured. We did it, Minnie. We're here."
He wished he could collapse like that Terrormorph had. Exhaustion didn't describe it well enough. The very fiber of his being felt like it would pour out of him at any moment, and to be honest, he'd let it. He didn't possess the strength needed to keep himself standing, and that showed in the way all his weight pressed on Y/n.
"I'm sorry, I know you don't like PDA," Jimin muttered. Despite himself, a soft whimper left him. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize, I get it. I heard your voice too. I tried to tell myself it was just the shout, but..."
"It's hard."
She pulled back and placed a hand on his cheek. "Very. I'm glad you're alright, and that this is over. We'll need to report back to the Cabinet."
"Let's get this over with, I want to shower."
There was nothing he wanted more than to cleanse his skin of all the soot, blood, and mud covering him. His outfit would need a deep cleaning. Hoseok's scarf was riddled with stains. If Hoseok were there, he would scold Jimin and beat his ass for getting the scarf dirty.
Y/n and Jimin took the security team back to Sergeant Yumi, who was aiding the wounded guards and innocent civilians who had gotten caught up in the Terrormorph mess. After dropping off the guards and meeting up with Jin, they returned to the MAST building and entered the Cabinet's meeting room. All four of them stood at attention with their eyes bulging upon seeing the trio.
"You survived," Logan said.
"Gee, thanks for the confidence," Jimin replied with a huff.
Logan rounded the table and rushed to get in front of them. "We just got word from Sergeant Yumi that the spaceport is under control. Your doing, I assume?"
Y/n opened her mouth, but Jimin got in front of her and offered Logan a tight smile. Pettiness overtook Jimin. Silence carried on in the Cabinet room as Jimin waited. He let the quiet sink into their minds, giving them a chance to think over how they had underestimated him and, more importantly, his girl.
"Y/n's," Jimin said, slowly. He rolled his tongue over every letter of her name. "She came up with a plan to stop them and led an entire team on her own. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for her."
"Captain Park, thank you for-"
"Nuh-uh-uh, thank her."
Jimin grinned and pointed to Y/n. His hooded eyes fell on Logan, and he waited and waited and waited for Logan to get the hint: Jimin wasn't allowing the conversation to continue until they gave her the recognition she deserved. They had already stripped all acknowledgement away from Jimin during the Fleet ordeal, but he wouldn't let them strip that away from Y/n too. Never.
"Y/n, thank you," Logan said, giving her a short bow.
"Awh, c'mon, President Logan. If you're gonna call me Captain, you should do the same for her, don't you think?" Jimin asked. His tone dropped by an octave, and he came a hair closer to the older man.
Y/n went to interfere, but Jimin held her back and kept his glare on Logan. The president hesitated. Then, he nodded and backed away from Jimin.
"Of course, where are my manners? Commander L/n, thank you for your service. You saved countless lives today."
"Yes," Jimin said with a tongue click. "She did. As always, if I may add. Now, let's continue."
Although Jimin wasn't part of the Cabinet, somehow he ended up controlling the conversation. They didn't get to speak until he let them. They were politicians who were trained to dodge questions, but Jimin wouldn't permit it. Not when Y/n had made sacrifices to keep their faction safe and they refused to recognize that.
Logan straightened his posture. "We have tissue samples coming from the deceased Terrormorphs. The security team will send them up. Do you have any comments you'd like to make?"
"Yes," Y/n said. "It wasn't just me who saved lives today. Jin and Jimin led a team too, and the security guards are heroes. They held down the fort until we arrived, and they fought monsters they were never trained for without hesitation. I am formally requesting all of them get recognition as soon as possible."
Logan hummed. "You're right. Very well, I will name all of them in my upcoming address. Do any of you know the cause of this attack?"
"My guess is terrorism," Jimin said with a shrug. The entire room stared at him at that. He tilted his head. "What? You think three Terrormorphs suddenly showing up on New Atlantis is a coincidence? Adults at that? No, someone planned this. Investigate that ship that brought them in."
"Already on it, we have security investigating the scene. Mr. Kim, we want you to spearhead the research on the samples they recover, and also any evidence they may find on the ship."
Jin, who had been hanging in the back pretending he wasn't there, perked up. "Me?"
"Yes, you. Today you fought for the United Colonies and risked your life to keep us safe, all without hesitation. We would like to apologize for how we've treated you. Although we will still be cautious, we want you on the team. Maybe even as the leader."
"The... leader?"
"Correct."
Jin's eyes bulged, but he was quick to rush up and shake Logan's hand. "Thank you, sir. I won't let you down."
"For all our sake's, I hope so," Alexandra said before shifting her attention to Jimin. "Captain, you deserve a rest after all you've been through today, but unfortunately, time isn't on our side. We are going to inform the Freestar of what happened, and maybe try to get in contact with House Va'ruun." She motioned to Jimin's face and outfit. "But you're a mess. Please go clean up and get changed into something more presentable, then go to the Freestar embassy. You'll want to speak to Ambassador Radcliff, she's the representative with the Archive access card."
Chief Sarkin joined in. "Please try to do this in no later than two hours."
Two hours gave him more than enough time to shower and cuddle with Y/n, reassuring himself that she was real and not dead like the hallucination had led him to believe.
"I'll be off, then," Jimin said. On his way out, he squeezed Jin's shoulder. "You deserve it. Come by the Lodge after this is all over, I want to talk to you."
It was the truth. Somehow, Jimin wanted to be in Jin's presence. The older man put Jimin's mind at ease. Perhaps it was the lab coat or the fact that Jin was one of the only ones who knew Jimin's secret, even if it wasn't to its full extent. Either way, Jimin felt the need to engage with Jin. At least one more time before shit went out of control. More than it already had, anyway.
Jimin and Y/n departed the Cabinet room to give them the privacy required to understand what had just happened in their city. Jimin himself couldn't comprehend it. A Terrormorph attack in New Atlantis was unthinkable. They had anti-xeno defense mechanisms like scanners and planet-wide defenses like shields, shutters, and turrets. That was why Jimin knew it was terrorism. In order for the Terrormorphs to get on the planet, they had to come from elsewhere. A ship had to smuggle them in, but to do that, they had to make it past the scans. Whoever did this knew what they were doing.
Jimin held Y/n's hand as they left and entered the stupid elevator. That time, he had no energy to curse at it and kick it. He rested his head against the metal and felt the coolness seep through his forehead. It was healing. Therapeutic, even. But not as therapeutic as Y/n's gentle touch. He leaned into the way she held him, and he ended up resting his head on top of hers.
That day, he thought he had lost her. He thought she had died, and all he could do was watch and beg her to come back. It reminded him of the time he had watched himself die, only he would rather watch himself die a million more times before watching her die again. Even if it were just once. That was because he loved her more than life itself. He loved her more than Neon, his mom, and crime combined. He loved her.
All that was left was saying it.
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Upcoming Location:
System: Alpha Centauri
Faction: United Colonies
Planet: Jemison
Place: The Lodge
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SEASON 2 EPISODE 6
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─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
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A/N: My heart goes out to those impacted by the Maryland tragedy. I have a very close friend who lives in Baltimore, but her and her family are okay. I'm grateful for that. It was an absolute tragedy, and I hope nothing like this happens again.
Thank you guys for reading this chapter. I hope you liked it since it's honestly the first chapter I've been happy with since Fourteen. This chapter and the next chapter are wild, so I hope you like the next one too.