Taking the Silver Tongue
Skye fell out of the hyper sleep tube and landed harshly on the floor with a thud, she groaned loudly, “Ugh! Fuck you, Ward...” She complained to guards that were pointing guns at her while she doubled over and began throwing up.
A few minutes later she was joined by Trip who was dumped on the floor as unceremoniously as she was, except he wasn’t puking ( It was a nasty side effect that some people were lucky enough not to have to deal with) , he did cough however as he was ripped back into concienceness, he patted Skye’s back as she heaved on the floor.
A few minutes later she was finished and she wiped her mouth and groaned, rubbing her ribs delicately, He patted her back again, “You good?”
“Wonderful.” She said with thick sarcasm, “I love the taste of bile in the morning.”
One of the guards poked her with the tip of his gun, urging her rudely forward as he probably didn’t know how to speak with his mouth. Skye glared at him and spit on the ground, he prodded her again, this time Trip helped her up and they let themselves be pushed forward by the guards.
They were both dizzy and unsteady from the hypersleep and nearly fell over several times as they were moved into a shuttle and strapped into a transport pod, next to them Mack and Ku’ut were looking as dazed and miserable as them. Ku’ut growled at the guards as they passed by, a string of drool coming from the side of her mouth.
Ward boarded the shuttle and then, on his command, they were transported onto the planet with nothing they could do to stop the process.
Skye closed her eyes and tried to think about something else but the reality of what was happening. A technique that her mother had taught her; Kepp something in mind that keeps you grounded and your mind clear.
However, she immedietly began thinking about excape routes that would get them all out of this alive but again, her mother's voice interupted her thoughts, saying "Be patient and wait for the right moment."
Skye took a deep breath and thought about her and Jemma's theoretical wedding. It would be an outside wedding that Helen would administer with Jemma's best friend at her side and Trip by Skye's side. Her dad would be holding back tears although he would be denying it. Her mom's face would be indifferent but she would be proud and she would tell Skye that in private after the wedding...
The colors would be silver and pink and it would be the most perfect day ever... Trip glanced at Skye strangly as she smiled, completly unphased, to herself.
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“So, what was Skye like as a child?” They were at the end of their journey, and Jemma was still attempting to break the silence that always seemed to surround May. At the moment, Phil and Nueh’nah were touring around the ship. Nerves were consuming Jemma's insides and she was desperate for something to take her mind off of things.
May gave her a slow glance and then looked back at the sensors she was studying, “She was adventurous, she never turned down a challenge.”
“So she hasn’t really changed?” Jemma asked, smiling.
May shook her head, “No, she was always too smart and brave for her own good.”
“Did she get that from you?” The younger woman inquired, determined to fill the silence between them.
May raised her eye brow, “Maybe.” Jemma looked down, disappointed, and May sighed with a roll of her eyes, “Skye loved the idea of being a pirate, when she was little she always wanted to be just like me, I told her that she didn’t want to be like me but she never listened--” She chuckled, “I should have known, she never listened, even when she was a baby, she always wanted to explore, argue and question everything.”
Before Jemma could respond, May changed the subject, her voice motherly and threatening “You seem like a nice girl, Dr. Simmons but you’ve yet to impress me. You can kiss my ass all you want but I’ll be the judge of if you’re good enough for my daughter.”
Jemma nodded, “Yes, Ma’am.”
Phil and Nueh’nah entered the room before they could speak anymore, the teenager looked like a child at Christmas by the way she was staring around and asking him questions. “Have you two been to Bellamane?” She asked him as they came into the bridge.
Jemma looked up, curious at what he was going to say, he grinned, “Yes, we have.”
“Was it beautiful?”
He nodded, “It was one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever been.”
May was reloading her gun which was a lot bigger and more intimidating than Jemma’s, the librarian leaned over and asked in a low voice, “Is Bellamane an actual place? I’ve never heard of it before.”
May glanced at her, “It’s a storybook place, “ She whispered, “A place that parents tell their children in Tah’Reh, It’s not for us to destroy her dreams.” Then she locked her gun on to her side and stood up, “We’re almost there, get ready.”
Jemma’s eyes widened, “Already? What’s the plan? What are we going to do now that we’re here?” She asked anxiously.
“We’re going to hit them hard and fast. Get a suit on and meet us on at the transporter.”
Nueh’nah turned to follow Phil but May stopped her, “Nueh'nah, do you know how to use a gun?”
She shook her head.
“That’s fine,” She handed the teenager a small gun, “Just pull the trigger when you feel threatened. I need you to stay on the bridge, if anything happens just put the ship into warp speed; it’ll take you someplace safe.”
“But I want to help.” She insisted.
“You will be helping. Never leave your ship completely empty, that’s an important rule. I need you to stay here and defend my ship."
She patted the girl on the shoulder and then left with Phil and Jemma. The librarian looked back at the young girl; She was smiling to herself and looking at the gun.
As they walked her heart was beating so hard in her chest that she felt like she was going to pass out.
Apparently she looked like it to since Coulson put a hand on her shoulder and reminded her to breathe. She took a deep breath, not even realizing that she had been holding it.
She understood immediately that when you were working with Captain Melinda May, there was no time to waste, May moved fast and she expected everyone else to keep up or fall behind. That attitude actually made Jemma more determined to keep up with her, maybe to impress her or earn her respect she didn’t know but she did know that it was a good attitude for a leader to bring out in their crew.
“Do you remember when you told Skye that so she would stay on the bridge while we went down, Melinda?” Phil asked his wife with a grin.
May smiled, “Yes, but she rarely believed me.”
They were talking as if they were having a morning coffee and Jemma was struggling between the anxiety and the fear to keep up with them. After they were suited up May transported them onto the Silver tongue without any further explanation.
Jemma jumped as she looked around and she was on the ship, she raised her gun and expected to be surrounded by Ward’s guards but there was nothing. They were on the bridge of the ship but it was completely empty. Jemma twirled around with her gun, breathing heavily.
“Where are they? Where did they go?”
May placed her gun back on her side and walked over to the main console, moving through the cubicles with knowledgable ease. “They’ve already transported to the planet.”
Phil was moving through the boxes, checking for any stragglers, but Jemma was staring at May expectantly, “What does that mean? Are we too late?”
May didn’t answer her but Phil did, “No, it just means we’re going to have to go to the planet and get them out.”
“Oh that’s not good..”
“It’s not advisable, no, but we can do it.” He reassured her,
“How? In the capitol city of one of the largest powers in the universe?”
“We’ve done it before.” May said, moving to another cubicle. Looks like everone left on the ship are in the slave section. Phil, you want to get them?” She asked her husband.
He nodded, “My pleasure.”
“I’m going to go have a visit with any of the officers left on the ship. And Jemma?”
“Yes?”
“I need you to find Helen.” She ordered, "I doubt they've moved her, they probably want to keep her body for profit."
Jemma nodded and moved to the lift at the end of the room, she looked through the symbols on the panel, and unfortunately she didn’t know how to maneuver through O’Nahn technology since so much of it was triggered with their telepathic abilities.
It took her several minutes but eventually she was moving down the ship, She had a shot of finding the right place. When the lift stopped she raised her gun and waited for the door to slid open, when it did the hall was empty.
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On another floor May was moving at an impressive rate down a hall. She stopped at a door and opened it. The man inside, Ward's second in command, jumped to his feet with a yell.
"Who the hell are you?! How did you get in here?!" He struggled with the words but he executed them perfectly nonetheless.
He had barely got the words out before May had bashed the side of his head with her gun and he fell over with a cry of pain.
"I overode your sensors and alarms. It was child's play. You're a pathetic excuse for an officer."
He groaned, trying to regain his footing, she grabbed one of his arms and threw him into the wall with enough force to leave a dent in the shape of his face.
"Tell me where they took the Pirate Skye." She demanded.
"What?" He coughed out and she smashed his face again.
"Skye! The one Ward shot in the back!" She yelled at him.
He whimpered pathetically, "She--She's being held on the planet for a public execution."
"I know that, dumbass, where on the planet?"
He pointed a shaking hand to a small hand held that was lying on the bed. She let him go and picked it up, sure enough it had all of her information and even the security that Ward had requested.
Ward's second in command raised an arm with a small knife held tightly in his cracked hand, May raised her leg and kicked him without even looking back at him. Her foot connected with his jaw with a loud crack, he fell over to the side, clutching his face.
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When Jemma found Helen, the android was strung up on an robot repair rack, the image made her cringe but she moved to her friend and began working on her circuits that had been fried in the blast. In human terms, Helen was in an induced coma and wouldn’t be able to wake up until her circuits were repaired.
Jemma had no idea what she was doing and she was going off of pure instinct, when she was almost done she heard steps behind her, she looked back, hoping that it wasn’t a guard, May emerged from the hallway dragging the second in command with her. The man was bloodied and bruised and was whimpering at her firm grip on his neck.
“I know where their keeping her.” She said, then he looked behind her where Phil walked up, “What’s the situation?”
“He’s got nearly four hundred Naht'Wunas working here against their will.”
“Are they willing to help us?”
“Oh yeah, their willing. But a lot of them are children”
May closed her eyes, “We'll transport the children onto The Calvary, all the healthy adults that want to help, tell them to meet me in the cargo hold. Jemma?”
The librarian didn’t answer and simply continued to work, a few minutes later Helen came back to life with a snap. The android acted started and scared at first but when she saw Jemma she smiled, “I am glad it was you that Skye took hostage.” She said sweetly, and then she added, “I assume there are many asses to kick, now?”
Jemma let out a relieved breathe and then practically fell into the android's arms. "It's good to hear your voice, Helen, and yes we do. But We've got some help." She looked back at Captain May.
Helen smirked in a way that Jemma had never seen before, "Am I your secret weapon, may?"
May's expression didn't change but she threw her gun over her shoulder, "Yes. Now suit up."