The absolute silence was broken by heavy panting. It took Red a few moments to realize that the sound was coming from him.

The crimson haze faded from Red's eyes as he rocked back on his heels, his lungs gasping for air.  He sat, staring at the carnage in front of him. Blood pooled on the floor around him and splattered the nearby wall. He was sitting in the middle of it on a man's body. A crushed-in skull was all that remained, completely unrecognizable. He trembled there for a moment as it didn't register, but he felt Dag's hand grip one shoulder and Ember's light touch on the other, it was enough to pull him back from the berzerking rage he'd just experienced. 

He staggered to his feet unsteadily, disgust as he jerked away from his handiwork. His breath came out in ragged wheezes as he fought to calm himself. He was stained head to toe in blood and gore.  Red looked down at his own hands, red with carnage, nausea rising up in his gut. I did this.

The threat was neutralized, his sensors told him as his breathing steadied. No shit, he responded to himself. There was a bloody mess on the floor where the head of the man who'd tried to grab Ember used to be. Ember. He glanced her way. Her breaths were labored as she returned his stare. She had blood on her as well, on her sleeves, none of it hers. He let out a small sigh of relief. 

Blood dripped into his eye and he wiped it away smearing his face in a crimson tide. He tried to feel something like regret or guilt. It didn't come. Him or her, he thought.

He turned around scanning for any other signals as he went. Something they might have missed because they weren't looking for it. None of the New Caledonians came near. The fight had gone out of them at the sight of their leader being pulverized.  Red doubted he had their loyalty but he at least had their unwilling cooperation for the time being.

No one moved but Red, no one seemed to dare to breathe.  

"Red," Dag's voice penetrated the silence. 

Red glanced his way, Dag was still close to him, concern etched on his features. You really lost it back there.

Hell, he didn't need Dag to say that out loud. He took a step forward, feeling unsteady, and some of the New Caledonians scrambled to get away from him. Blood still dripped from his fingertips. Their wide eyes and small gasps as they moved were enough for him to know, there would be no more mutinies on this ship. A small part of him regretted things had come to this. I used to be better at leading. Or maybe I wasn't, honestly, I can't remember...

"Ember," he rasped, the sound of his own voice surprising him, as he walked past her. "What's  our heading?"

"Unchanged," Ember answered from his right. He glanced sideways at her, afraid of what he was going to see.  There was a strange glint in her eye, but unlike Dag, there was no concern on her face. If anything, she looked relieved. Her voice was rock steady as she answered. "We're still heading for New Elysium, or whatever happens to lie at that end point."

"Anyone following?"

"I don't sense anyone...but this isn't a military ship. The long-range sensors are a bit impaired to what I'm used to." She clasped her hands behind her back, hiding the blood on her sleeves, and waited, fully a Neo-Tokyan soldier. She too had come into this room and killed someone. Now that Red had a chance to look there was a second body, charred on the floor. Ember's voice may have been steady but he could see she was breathing heavily, and the stare she was giving him... Her voice came back to him from their conversation earlier. If anything happens to you, I'll vent this ship, Red. Do you understand?

Red nodded and moved past her towards the door. He flicked a glance at Andrea who was standing next to it with her hands over her mouth. He suddenly felt sorry for the old woman. Trying to keep these people in line when they were absolutely terrified was probably the worst job one could take on. He hadn't helped matters either. On the other hand, Red still hated her for condemning Ember to die. 

He shoved past her through the door, pushing past the long cables that bound Ember to her ship. The door wouldn't close until she came back through. He didn't stop moving even as he heard Ember call his name from behind him.

The hallway outside the door was empty, and Red's knees buckled. He'd just beat a man to death with his bare hands. He sank to the floor leaving his hand on the wall to steady himself, the adrenaline rush leaving him empty of energy. The gun, unused slipped from his shoulder and dropped to the floor, its clatter echoed down the still corridor. He heard the door close firmly behind him, the cables shifted and he heard the familiar sound of clicks as Ember disconnected herself from the ship. The ends drifted by as they retracted all the way back to Ember's chambers.

"Red," She whispered softly her hand once again on his shoulder. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." He said without turning around. He glanced at the wall so he wouldn't have to look at her and saw only his bloody handprint and bits of bone instead. Wincing he pushed himself to his feet staring straight ahead as he moved towards his room hoping T and Alt were not inside. He wanted a shower badly, just to wash the blood off of himself. He heard her start to follow and he stopped. 

"I'm fine Ember." And he was. He felt a little regret for losing control but that slipped away when he remembered the look in Andrej's eyes.  Andrej had made his choice. It was going to be him or Ember. 

Red had made damn sure it was Ember walking away.  

He turned to look at her, so she would stop worrying but she reached over and grabbed the hand that wasn't touching the wall for support. Red winced as she ran a finger over his bloody knuckles. Her touch both electrified him and terrified him at the same time. He held his breath for a moment as he thought of pushing her against the wall and kissing her right there. Where did that come from? He shook his head as his own thoughts bounced in twenty different directions. He'd just killed a man with his bare hands and now he was absolutely terrified that this woman would hate him for it.

"Let's clean this," She said softly as she stooped and grabbed the gun he'd dropped. Handing it back to him, she continued leading him forward with his one hand in both of hers. "The back of your head is split open as well. In case you didn't know."

"Oh." Now that he thought about it, his head ached. He reached for it but she stopped him. 

"Don't, I'll take care of it." Her voice carried its own quiet authority with it. He dropped his hand, feeling exhausted both mentally and physically.

She tugged him forward, walking him to his own room. When they got to the cabin, she opened his door, letting it slide open and they both could see T and Alt inside. Ember pursed her lips and pushed Red behind her away from the door. 

"Hey boys, can you go to Dag's cabin for a bit?" Ember smiled at them both, keeping Red out of the doorway so they wouldn't notice his injuries. 

"Ember!" T leaped off the bed and threw his arms around her waist. "Hi, Red." 

T frowned, noticing the blood on Ember's hands. "Are you ok?" And then he saw Red behind her, his jaw dropped open and he became still, eyes wide.

"Red?"

"I'm fine, Ember is going to take care of it."

"What happened?"

"The usual, I'll tell you about it later when I'm cleaned off," He hesitated before adding. "You two stay out of the commons. Got it?"

T nodded solemnly. He'd seen plenty of violence in the prison but seeing Red bloodied put him on edge. Red had been his protector and one constant in Helion 7. 

"Dag is meeting you at his cabin," Ember reassured him, getting a second hug from Alt, who openly stared at Red without saying a word, his mechanical eyes shifting up and down audibly as he took Red's state in.

"Go straight there," Red turned away and pushed past Ember into the room. He heard the door close behind him as Ember warned them again not to go to the commons area. He stepped inside expecting to be alone but Ember followed him into the refresher after locking his cabin door. 

He turned and stared at her for a moment not sure what to say or do.

"Sit here on the toilet," she ordered before moving to the back of his head. He felt her pulling at his hair and again, he winced. It stung.

"Am I going to die, doctor?" He quipped at her, taking a moment to stare at her amused expression in the mirror. She was trying to be gentle, but evidently, she didn't like what she saw back there. She frowned and pursed her lips again. He studied the way her hair fell into her face. She currently had no way to tie it back. He'd fix that once they got to wherever they were going. Hell, he promised her a rail gun, he'd better make it two. Vespers liked rail guns, didn't they? 

Ember snorted, holding in a laugh. "Unfortunately, not today. It's not a big split and I can fix this."

"You guys got medical training?"

"Of course we did." Ember shrugged as she reached into a compartment that Red didn't even know was there. She produced a small red box marked "First Aid" and dumped its contents on the floor behind him. She was silent for a moment as she worked. 

Her gentle hands belied the stinging which he felt as she wiped away blood from his split.

"This might hurt."

"That's a relief--" He gasped as she pinched the skin together and a metal click sounded. "Are you done--" He gasped again. *click*

"No." *click* "Now hold still, and don't squirm like a child."

The muscles in his arms tensed as he squeezed his hands around the edge of the toilet. Her bedside manner is something else. *click* 

She pulled his skin together two more times before she was finished. Red couldn't help but fidget as the staples went into the back of his head.

"Don't your augments numb you?" Ember questioned as she packed up the little box.

"After the fact." He gingerly touched his head feeling the metal staples there. It was nowhere near his implants, a fact that he was grateful for or this could have been a little more serious. His head was already starting to go numb, and he breathed a sigh of relief as the pain drifted away.

She moved around to stand in front of him reaching for the hand he was using to touch his staples. "Let me see."

He sat there as she dabbed at his hand with a towel, content that it was the just the two of them. His body no longer felt like a dead battery.  His skin tingled wherever Ember touched him, he felt a surge of energy through him whenever they made contact that he knew had nothing to do with either of their augments. He was enjoying being with her, and he didn't want it to end. As soon as either set foot outside the door it would be back to dealing with the New Caledonians, the fact that he'd just killed another one of them, and they'd tried to sabotage them.

"Why are we still trying to save them again?" He still felt the urge to jettison the whole group.

"It's the right thing to do?" Ember grabbed the towel and turned towards the sink. She pulled his hand into the sink and turned on the water, dabbing the knuckles, which were raw and bleeding but did not require stitches. She grabbed his other hand and pulled it into the sink as well. His arm and shoulder were pressed up against her side and he sat up straighter very much enjoying the contact. He faced both of them in the mirror now. Her attention was focused down on his knuckles, his attention was on her face. He would flick his gaze away whenever she looked up. Had he really not found her attractive when he first saw her?

"They're fine." He almost whispered it, daring to make eye contact with her. The blood was washed off his hands, and he needed to toss his clothes into the washer, something he couldn't do with her still in here. They really needed to remedy the fact they were still wearing prison uniforms. She still had his blood on her as well, mostly on her sleeves.  "Sorry about that." He nodded his head toward her wrists. 

"Stop apologizing, Red," her cheeks flushed as she held his gaze with a lifted eyebrow. 

"Sorry." He offered a crooked grin at her face in the mirror as she let go of his hands and turned the water off. They hadn't been this close since the last time he'd kissed her to stop her from taking them on a rage-induced trip of her own. He wondered if she could hear his heart hammering in his chest as he held his breath. To him, it sounded like a jackhammer. His skin still tingled from where her fingers had brushed it. Say something, you idiot.

She just stood there staring at their reflection for a moment, that odd expression on her face again. 

"Ember--" He started to say when she turned and cupped his face with her hands, her lips touched his before another word could come out. He froze, fear coursing through him, but evidently, some part of him still knew what to do. Her lips brushed his shyly at first and then as his arms came up around her and clasped her to him with more force. They were soft against his but they made him want so much more. Her arms wrapped around his neck. Her lips parted slightly and he felt her tongue brush against his as she deepened the kiss. If he'd thought his heart was racing before, it was at light speed now.

He pulled her to him tightly against his chest, brushing his fingers up her back he could feel the metallic circles embedded up her spine all the way up to her neck. He buried his face against her neck pausing just to hold her for a moment as he inhaled the scent of her. It was mixed with blood and sweat, both dizzying and exhilarating. 

Before he could slow himself down he was standing with her sandwiched between him and the wall, his hands cupping her face as she pulled him down to her. 

"Red," she whispered against his cheek as he brought his lips down her neck to her clavicle tugging the fabric out of the way.  "How about we toss our clothes into the wash?"

"Gladly," was all he could get out, hooking a thumb under her shirt and dragging it over her head, their clothes not quite making it into the wash as she captured his mouth with hers again.

***Well that escalated quickly. Unfortunately, that's all you get, still keeping this sci-fi! Can't wait to see what their next stop has in store for them! How will Red deal with his terrified passengers in the future? What is New Elysium like?***