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konstantyaFandom: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Characters: Ishara Yar, Ard'rian McKenzie (and technically Lore?)
Word count: 438
Summary: What it says on the tin. An alternate scene from my Mirror Universe one-shot All the King's Horses and All the King's Men. I ended up not going with it (because I preferred the idea that Mirror!Ishara is ridiculously, stupidly optimistic, hah), but still, it was a pretty neat scene that I ended up holding onto. And since it was, like, 97% coherent, and I'm currently engulfed in some Lore/Ishara feels (and am trying to get back into writing), I figured what the hell—might as well polish it up and share it.
"Hey, Ardi," she said, voice suddenly hushed with anticipation. "Ardi, I think I found something."
Ard'rian looked up from where she'd been inspecting the back of his neck. Moving closer, Ishara grabbed her hand and led her fingers to the small of his back.
"Do you think—?" Ishara broke off, daring to hope. Ard'rian carefully stuck her fingers further into his skin, and after a moment, made a face.
"Well, I have no idea what the hell those are," she muttered, "but this…certainly feels like a button to me." She looked up at Ishara. Ishara swallowed and nodded, then immediately changed her mind and grabbed her friend's wrist.
"Wait!" she exclaimed, her whole body suddenly gripped by fear. She took a breath to calm herself. Licked her lips and stared at the android before them. The very prone, unmoving, currently harmless android. "What if he's like his brother?" she whispered. What if they were wrong and he was like Data? Cold. Ruthless. Amoral. (Her sister's superior officer, her mind unhelpfully provided, but that was beside the point.)
Ard'rian looked at her, and something in her eyes seemed to convey the sentiment, So what? We're dead already. But then Ard'rian blinked, and it was gone. "He isn't," she said, uncharacteristically somber. "We found the papers from Soong's lab. He was deactivated because he was too moral, remember?"
Ishara took another breath and slowly let go of Ard'rian's wrist. "Right," she said. "Right." She raked her fingers through her hair and took a step back from the table.
Ard'rian peered at her a little cautiously. "You okay, Shar?"
"Just tired." She ran a hand over her face and scrubbed at her eyes. "Or—maybe I'm developing claustrophobia, I don't know. I'm just tired. And scared. I guess." What if he wasn't what they expected? What if he wasn't a boon to the Resistance? What if he couldn't help them?
What if he could? And Ishara was tempted to think that that was what scared her most of all. Hope could be so dangerous sometimes…
"Well, hey," Ard'rian quipped with a light shrug. "If he goes on a rampage, at least we'll die together."
Ishara laughed, despite herself. Leave it to Ardi and her devil-may-care attitude to bring back her conviction. "Okay," she said, steeling herself. She nodded, more to herself than to her friend. Every bit of information they'd come across led to the conclusion that, whatever personality traits the android in front of them might have had, 'murderous' was not one of them. "Okay."
Ard'rian glanced up. "Ready?"
Ishara nodded. With a bracing breath, Ard'rian pushed the button.
Characters: Ishara Yar, Ard'rian McKenzie (and technically Lore?)
Word count: 438
Summary: What it says on the tin. An alternate scene from my Mirror Universe one-shot All the King's Horses and All the King's Men. I ended up not going with it (because I preferred the idea that Mirror!Ishara is ridiculously, stupidly optimistic, hah), but still, it was a pretty neat scene that I ended up holding onto. And since it was, like, 97% coherent, and I'm currently engulfed in some Lore/Ishara feels (and am trying to get back into writing), I figured what the hell—might as well polish it up and share it.
"Hey, Ardi," she said, voice suddenly hushed with anticipation. "Ardi, I think I found something."
Ard'rian looked up from where she'd been inspecting the back of his neck. Moving closer, Ishara grabbed her hand and led her fingers to the small of his back.
"Do you think—?" Ishara broke off, daring to hope. Ard'rian carefully stuck her fingers further into his skin, and after a moment, made a face.
"Well, I have no idea what the hell those are," she muttered, "but this…certainly feels like a button to me." She looked up at Ishara. Ishara swallowed and nodded, then immediately changed her mind and grabbed her friend's wrist.
"Wait!" she exclaimed, her whole body suddenly gripped by fear. She took a breath to calm herself. Licked her lips and stared at the android before them. The very prone, unmoving, currently harmless android. "What if he's like his brother?" she whispered. What if they were wrong and he was like Data? Cold. Ruthless. Amoral. (Her sister's superior officer, her mind unhelpfully provided, but that was beside the point.)
Ard'rian looked at her, and something in her eyes seemed to convey the sentiment, So what? We're dead already. But then Ard'rian blinked, and it was gone. "He isn't," she said, uncharacteristically somber. "We found the papers from Soong's lab. He was deactivated because he was too moral, remember?"
Ishara took another breath and slowly let go of Ard'rian's wrist. "Right," she said. "Right." She raked her fingers through her hair and took a step back from the table.
Ard'rian peered at her a little cautiously. "You okay, Shar?"
"Just tired." She ran a hand over her face and scrubbed at her eyes. "Or—maybe I'm developing claustrophobia, I don't know. I'm just tired. And scared. I guess." What if he wasn't what they expected? What if he wasn't a boon to the Resistance? What if he couldn't help them?
What if he could? And Ishara was tempted to think that that was what scared her most of all. Hope could be so dangerous sometimes…
"Well, hey," Ard'rian quipped with a light shrug. "If he goes on a rampage, at least we'll die together."
Ishara laughed, despite herself. Leave it to Ardi and her devil-may-care attitude to bring back her conviction. "Okay," she said, steeling herself. She nodded, more to herself than to her friend. Every bit of information they'd come across led to the conclusion that, whatever personality traits the android in front of them might have had, 'murderous' was not one of them. "Okay."
Ard'rian glanced up. "Ready?"
Ishara nodded. With a bracing breath, Ard'rian pushed the button.
