Fic: Selection Part 2/3
May. 29th, 2017 01:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
enkaychiTitle: Selection - Part 2
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: YunJae
Length: Chaptered
Summary: Whoever was chosen at a Selection Ball would not be an Honored Spouse. They would be tribute.
A/N: So, this fic has three parts. But wait! There's more! I spent the last month plotting this thing (something I didn't do with Lotus Roots and will need to). There will be at least two novel length books in this series. I even plotted out the entire next part by chapter so I wouldn't get writer's block, all delays in the now named 'Dragon Fire' series will be due to the author's own laziness.
Also because lazy author is lazy, the tech in this fic is a composite of Star Trek/Star Wars/Stargate tech. Hopefully everything will be explained clearly, if not, just drop me a question.
Previous: 1
-
When Jaejoong woke up the next morning it wasn’t in the same place he had fallen asleep. The first thing he noticed was the noise, an endless grinding.
He panicked and attempted to climb out of the bed, falling when his feet didn’t quite touch the floor. He winced at the sharp pain, rubbing his side to dull it. He would have never fallen off his bed, he could get in and out of it with his eyes closed, and even if he did he wouldn’t have hurt himself. The floor of his bedroom was covered in a plush, beige carpet. This was not Jaejoong’s floor. He’d fallen on cold, hard, what was this? Jaejoong patted the floor. It felt slick. It looked like wood, but it didn’t feel like it.
Why had he fallen? Jaejoong stood up. The top of the mattress was taller than his hip. This bed was too high. This was not Jaejoong’s bed, not the bed he had collapsed on last night after returning from the Selection Ball, not the bed that had provided him comfort for most of his life.
And that damn noise. Jaejoong knew that noise. He whipped his head from side to side. Bed. Side tables. Ugly paintings. Doorway, no door. No windows.
He needed windows. Jaejoong stumbled through the doorway into the adjacent livings space. Sofas. Glass tables. More ugly paintings. Holodeck. Windows. Good. Covered windows, but still windows.
Jaejoong walked past the lavish sofas and translucent tables, nearly walking into one, over to one of the large windows at the far side of the room.
He shook his head like something was stuck on it. Or in it. That noise. That noise.
Jaejoong had heard that sound once before and once was enough to never forget it. When he’d been a child he’d begged his father to take him up on one of the large freight ships that periodically docked in their ports. His father had agreed after much pestering, taking Jaejoong along on one of the routine cargo inspections. He had covered his ears with his hands as soon as they had beamed onto the ship, wincing at what had sounded to him like screeching and grinding.
His father had explained later, that it was the sound of the ships engines. There were sound dampeners in place and most space travelers never noticed the sound. It was a low constant hum they disregarded the way Jaejoong might think nothing of the sound of trees rustling in the wind. It was just background noise to them but to someone who spent their entire life planetside, it was a siren letting Jaejoong know something was wrong. It wasn’t actually loud, but it was different enough to stand out, the way a building demolition would stand out in a city among the chatter of pedestrians and the woosh of passing hover cars. That sound terrified Jaejoong. It was something unique, something different. Something not from home.
Jaejoong raised a hand to press the consul on the wall that would lift the panels covering the windows when he felt a sharp pain in the side of his neck. A hand flew to his neck and whipped his body around staggering backwards until his back was pressed against the wall.
He blinked rapidly as vision started to blur, barely making out a white covered figure as he slid down against the wall and crumpled in a heap on the floor.
-
The next time Jaejoong woke he could barely move. He tried to lift a hand to scratch at the unrelenting itch in his neck but his arm wouldn’t budge. His limbs felt like they were tied to bags of stone weighing him down and holding him in place. Even turning his head to the side felt like it would take too much energy to accomplish. However, unlike the first time he had awoken in this unfamiliar place, Jaejoong didn’t feel panicked.
It was a curious matter. He knew he was on a space ship, that sound recalled from distant childhood memories was as recognizable to him as the sound of his mother’s voice. He didn’t know where he was or how he had gotten there. He didn’t know if he was on land or in space, or even if he was still anywhere near his home planet. He didn’t know why he had been taken or what would be done to him. All he could see was the white of the ceiling above the bed and some pieces of furniture out of the corner of his eyes and he couldn’t get out of the bed to further investigate his surroundings, but none of that mattered.
He just felt calm, as if everything would be alright if just kept still and laid on this bed.
Not even the voices he could hear growing steadily louder gave him cause for concern and nor did the content of the words being exchanged.
“…had to dose him again, he woke up,” a mid toned voice said.
“That’s impossible,” a second voice said, this one higher pitched. “Those drugs are strong enough to knock out a full grown dragon.”
“Well he did,” the first voice said. “I found him running around in here.”
Jaejoong wondered who they were talking about. Maybe they had a prisoner. Maybe it was him. Was he a prisoner. That would be interesting.
His thoughts drifted away from the conversation he was listening to. He had never been a prisoner before. Maybe it would be exciting. It might be fun even! Although he hoped that would let him lie down a little while longer, it really was quite relaxing. He felt better than he had in months.
“…check him again. Maybe you missed something the first time,” the second voice was saying when Jaejoong started to pay attention again. The voices were much closer now. If Jaejoong had to guess, he would say they were in the room with him.
“I didn’t miss anything,” the first voice snapped. “He’s just some teenager from some backwater planet in some backwater system. He’s got a pretty face but he’s nothing special.”
“That backwater system is part of our system now, so hold your tongue,” the second voice chastised. “Just get another sample. We’ll both be in trouble if he reacts poorly to the rewriting and the transformation.”
The voices sounded like they were right next to him now but he still couldn’t see anyone.
Jaejoong felt a prick on his arm. Ow, that had hurt.
“Did he just flinch?” the first voice asked. “Probably just a reflex right?”
“His eyes are open.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. It happens sometimes.”
“No, look at the readings,” the second voice said. “He’s awake.”
“Shit!”
Maybe they were talking about him, Jaejoong thought.
“It told you, you missed something!” the second voice said furiously.
“We’ll have to dose him again.”
“Are you crazy? That might kill him, and it’ll be both our asses on the execution block,” the second voice argued. “Give him this instead.”
“The wedding’s tomorrow. What if he wakes up again before then?” the first voice asked.
“We’ll just have to monitor him, keep him asleep.”
“What if it messes up the tethering? We won’t have to worry about the execution block then. The prince will just kill us, no trial.”
There was silence and another prick to Jaejoong’s arm.
“We can’t think like that. We’ll worry about it when it happens,” the second voice said.
“When!” the first voice all but screeched. It hurt Jaejoong’s ears.
“If,” the second voice corrected hurriedly, “if it happens.”
How fascinating, Jaejoong though before slipping into unconsciousness.
-
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: YunJae
Length: Chaptered
Summary: Whoever was chosen at a Selection Ball would not be an Honored Spouse. They would be tribute.
A/N: So, this fic has three parts. But wait! There's more! I spent the last month plotting this thing (something I didn't do with Lotus Roots and will need to). There will be at least two novel length books in this series. I even plotted out the entire next part by chapter so I wouldn't get writer's block, all delays in the now named 'Dragon Fire' series will be due to the author's own laziness.
Also because lazy author is lazy, the tech in this fic is a composite of Star Trek/Star Wars/Stargate tech. Hopefully everything will be explained clearly, if not, just drop me a question.
Previous: 1
-
When Jaejoong woke up the next morning it wasn’t in the same place he had fallen asleep. The first thing he noticed was the noise, an endless grinding.
He panicked and attempted to climb out of the bed, falling when his feet didn’t quite touch the floor. He winced at the sharp pain, rubbing his side to dull it. He would have never fallen off his bed, he could get in and out of it with his eyes closed, and even if he did he wouldn’t have hurt himself. The floor of his bedroom was covered in a plush, beige carpet. This was not Jaejoong’s floor. He’d fallen on cold, hard, what was this? Jaejoong patted the floor. It felt slick. It looked like wood, but it didn’t feel like it.
Why had he fallen? Jaejoong stood up. The top of the mattress was taller than his hip. This bed was too high. This was not Jaejoong’s bed, not the bed he had collapsed on last night after returning from the Selection Ball, not the bed that had provided him comfort for most of his life.
And that damn noise. Jaejoong knew that noise. He whipped his head from side to side. Bed. Side tables. Ugly paintings. Doorway, no door. No windows.
He needed windows. Jaejoong stumbled through the doorway into the adjacent livings space. Sofas. Glass tables. More ugly paintings. Holodeck. Windows. Good. Covered windows, but still windows.
Jaejoong walked past the lavish sofas and translucent tables, nearly walking into one, over to one of the large windows at the far side of the room.
He shook his head like something was stuck on it. Or in it. That noise. That noise.
Jaejoong had heard that sound once before and once was enough to never forget it. When he’d been a child he’d begged his father to take him up on one of the large freight ships that periodically docked in their ports. His father had agreed after much pestering, taking Jaejoong along on one of the routine cargo inspections. He had covered his ears with his hands as soon as they had beamed onto the ship, wincing at what had sounded to him like screeching and grinding.
His father had explained later, that it was the sound of the ships engines. There were sound dampeners in place and most space travelers never noticed the sound. It was a low constant hum they disregarded the way Jaejoong might think nothing of the sound of trees rustling in the wind. It was just background noise to them but to someone who spent their entire life planetside, it was a siren letting Jaejoong know something was wrong. It wasn’t actually loud, but it was different enough to stand out, the way a building demolition would stand out in a city among the chatter of pedestrians and the woosh of passing hover cars. That sound terrified Jaejoong. It was something unique, something different. Something not from home.
Jaejoong raised a hand to press the consul on the wall that would lift the panels covering the windows when he felt a sharp pain in the side of his neck. A hand flew to his neck and whipped his body around staggering backwards until his back was pressed against the wall.
He blinked rapidly as vision started to blur, barely making out a white covered figure as he slid down against the wall and crumpled in a heap on the floor.
-
The next time Jaejoong woke he could barely move. He tried to lift a hand to scratch at the unrelenting itch in his neck but his arm wouldn’t budge. His limbs felt like they were tied to bags of stone weighing him down and holding him in place. Even turning his head to the side felt like it would take too much energy to accomplish. However, unlike the first time he had awoken in this unfamiliar place, Jaejoong didn’t feel panicked.
It was a curious matter. He knew he was on a space ship, that sound recalled from distant childhood memories was as recognizable to him as the sound of his mother’s voice. He didn’t know where he was or how he had gotten there. He didn’t know if he was on land or in space, or even if he was still anywhere near his home planet. He didn’t know why he had been taken or what would be done to him. All he could see was the white of the ceiling above the bed and some pieces of furniture out of the corner of his eyes and he couldn’t get out of the bed to further investigate his surroundings, but none of that mattered.
He just felt calm, as if everything would be alright if just kept still and laid on this bed.
Not even the voices he could hear growing steadily louder gave him cause for concern and nor did the content of the words being exchanged.
“…had to dose him again, he woke up,” a mid toned voice said.
“That’s impossible,” a second voice said, this one higher pitched. “Those drugs are strong enough to knock out a full grown dragon.”
“Well he did,” the first voice said. “I found him running around in here.”
Jaejoong wondered who they were talking about. Maybe they had a prisoner. Maybe it was him. Was he a prisoner. That would be interesting.
His thoughts drifted away from the conversation he was listening to. He had never been a prisoner before. Maybe it would be exciting. It might be fun even! Although he hoped that would let him lie down a little while longer, it really was quite relaxing. He felt better than he had in months.
“…check him again. Maybe you missed something the first time,” the second voice was saying when Jaejoong started to pay attention again. The voices were much closer now. If Jaejoong had to guess, he would say they were in the room with him.
“I didn’t miss anything,” the first voice snapped. “He’s just some teenager from some backwater planet in some backwater system. He’s got a pretty face but he’s nothing special.”
“That backwater system is part of our system now, so hold your tongue,” the second voice chastised. “Just get another sample. We’ll both be in trouble if he reacts poorly to the rewriting and the transformation.”
The voices sounded like they were right next to him now but he still couldn’t see anyone.
Jaejoong felt a prick on his arm. Ow, that had hurt.
“Did he just flinch?” the first voice asked. “Probably just a reflex right?”
“His eyes are open.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. It happens sometimes.”
“No, look at the readings,” the second voice said. “He’s awake.”
“Shit!”
Maybe they were talking about him, Jaejoong thought.
“It told you, you missed something!” the second voice said furiously.
“We’ll have to dose him again.”
“Are you crazy? That might kill him, and it’ll be both our asses on the execution block,” the second voice argued. “Give him this instead.”
“The wedding’s tomorrow. What if he wakes up again before then?” the first voice asked.
“We’ll just have to monitor him, keep him asleep.”
“What if it messes up the tethering? We won’t have to worry about the execution block then. The prince will just kill us, no trial.”
There was silence and another prick to Jaejoong’s arm.
“We can’t think like that. We’ll worry about it when it happens,” the second voice said.
“When!” the first voice all but screeched. It hurt Jaejoong’s ears.
“If,” the second voice corrected hurriedly, “if it happens.”
How fascinating, Jaejoong though before slipping into unconsciousness.
-
