Submission

<snip>
The Starbug touched down. Then prodeded to sink several feet into the muddy ground. The landing stairs deployed with a sploosh, covering the unfortunate people in the doorway to be covered in mud, water and other... swampy things.
"Right, split up into groups and start searching. Stay in radio contact and if you find anything let me know. We are running out of time people. Let's hussle."
"You know you sound a lot like him wheh you talk like that." Katrina braved a smile at Cass.
"Yeah. Someone has to do it." Cass said, her mask of impeneterable grouch briefly cracking to show an amount of pride. "Let's go."
</snip>

As the others moved off in opposite directions, Cass hefted her psi scanner and swung it around in a broad arc, checking the readings as she began picking her way through the mud and ooze
Grimacing in distaste as the lukewarm, brackish water began seeping through her boots into her socks, she glanced in askance at Katrina and Jamie
“Coming?”
“Sure” Kat hefted her STCP pulse rifle and splashed after her, leaving Jamie to grimace and morosely dig his hands in his pockets before, left with little choice, wandering after them


For the most part, the little group conducted their search in silence, Katrina ever watchful while Cass led them back and forth through the swamp, trying to maintain as tight a search pattern as the twisted trees and murky pools allowed
The swamp around them literally seethed with life; insects of many varieties buzzing angrily around their ears, while unseen amphibians croaked incessantly, and, on many occasions, splashed into the filthy pools of water, startled by the approach of the three humans battling through the oozing murk and twisted, rotting vegetation

Three hours passed
Three fruitless hours of mud, filth and seeping moisture
Reflecting on the many different ways she’d rather be spending her day, Cass glanced over at her companions, wondering how they were doing, and caught Jamie staring at her
<snip>
"JAMIE!" Cass yelled, staring at him. Jamie blinked several times in response.
"Huh?" he asked.
"You were staring at me. Is something wrong?" She asked.
"Uhh, no, it's fine." he said, looking away embarassed. He cleared his throat, and repositioned his psi-scanner a little lower than it was.
"Any readings?" She asked.
"Nope. Nothing." Jamie responded in a quite wooden way, like he would to his superior officer back on the Hercules. He found his gaze travelling back to her, and quickly looked away again.
"damn dreams." he said to himself.
"Anyone else get anything yet?" Cass asked the others in the group. A chorus of "Nothing." and other such similar words came back.
"Any communication from the others yet? they could have found something already." Jamie asked, hoping to get the others talking so he could fade into the background.
</snip>
“Nope. Nothing” Cass murmured, examining the communicator before slipping it back into a pocket and returning her attention to the psi-scanner, tapping away at its controls
“We’ve been at this for hours” Katrina sighed, batting another one of the weird glowing insects out of the way and swung herself down onto a fallen log “Let’s take a break, shall we?”
“Yeah, sure” Cass breathed, plonking herself down next to her “I was hoping we’d find this smegging door long before now”
“I ah...” still embarrassed, Jamie waved his psi-scanner “I’ll just do a perimeter sweep – You know, to make sure it’s safe...”
“Sure” Kat shrugged, batting another one of those damn bugs away from her “Knock yourself out”

She waited until she judged Jamie to be out of earshot before she spoke
“Cass?”
“Hmm?” the other woman slowly swung her psi-scanner in front of her before glancing over at Katrina, her face spotted with mud
"About Alex..." Kat began "I said I'd have a word"
Looking away, Cass shook her head, her expression hardening
"Whatever it is you're about to say: No"
"Just hear me out" Katrina soothed “What he did really wasn’t so bad”
"It's more the trust thing" Cass grumbled in response, her fingers moving over the psi-scanners controls "Even in spite of his bloody drinking, I used to think he wasn't a bad guy; but now..."
She paused to blow out a sigh
"He still is a decent guy" Katrina insisted "He’s just dumb. Do you know what he was looking for anyway?"
"Oh, who gives a shit?" Cass sneered, struggling to keep the anger out of her voice as she glanced sharply up from the scanner "He's just like every other alcoholic: weak, stupid, and above all: utterly, utterly selfish"
Katrina shrugged
"That's a little harsh" she said choosing her words with care "He's always been pretty supportive of you"
Cassandra's expression darkened as she recollected the circumstances that led to her sobbing uncontrollably in Solvay’s arms on those two occasions
"I know how an alcoholics mind works Kat; my..." she paused before literally spitting the next words out, the venom in her voice plainly evident "My father was an alcoholic. It's all 'Oh, I just like a bit of a drink', and 'I didn't really mean it, it'll never happen again'; but it always, always does!"
"Shall we agree to differ on this?" Katrina gave her a lopsided smile "He's just a decent guy that did something dumb; you shouldn’t let your past cloud your opinion of him"
"It's kinda hard not to" Cass sighed, twitching her head and waving a hand to dissuade a particularly determined insect "Doesn't matter anyway. The trust's gone"
“Well, yeah...” Kat grimaced, waving the same whining insect away from near her ear "I get that"
“You know: He’s smegging lucky to be alive” Cass grumbled, returning her attention to the psi scanner “If he had actually taken anything from my room...” she paused to blow out her cheeks and shake her head before glancing back at Katrina “My machines would have eviscerated him”
"Then you should just be glad that he didn't" Kat smiled wanly “I don’t know how you even sleep with those things in there!”
“They’re kinda comforting” Cass shrugged gloomily, leaving the real reasons why she kept an array of killer robots in her room unsaid
“Would you consider reinstating Alex’s privileges when we get back?” Katrina asked
“Why bother?”
“To keep him occupied?” Katrina tried “Rehabilitation through work? He'll only drink himself stupid if he's left to his own devices”
Cass was silent for a moment before she shook her head, her shoulders slumping
"Oh, alright" she sighed "Fine."
"Thanks" Kat smiled "You won't regret it"
"Yeah, I will" Cass muttered in a low voice "We all will; but what else can I do?"
“If...” Katrina started but trailed off, leaving Cass to glance at her and mutely raise her eyebrows in expectation “If we don’t manage this” Kat managed eventually “If Jay dies... I want you to know that I won’t blame you; I think you’ve done everything possible. He’d be impressed”
Cass lowered the psi scanner to regard Katrina
“He won’t die” she said evenly “I promised it. One way or another he will have his cure”
“I wish I shared your optimism” Kat murmured, the corners of her mouth tightening
"Hey..." Cass soothed, slipping a friendly arm around her shoulders "You should know me by now; there's always a contingency"
Katrina nodded mutely, but kept her eyes fixed on the floor
"I'm scared" she admitted
“I know” Cass soothed, giving Kat’s shoulder a squeeze "But I told Jay that if I had to, I'd tear the stars from the sky for him. He is not going to die"
Katrina glanced up at her
"Thanks" she murmured before taking a deep breath and signing it out "He's lucky to have you; none of this can have been easy. I'm sorry"
"Yeah, well..." Cass grimaced and pulled away a little, letting her arm fall from Katrina's shoulders as she moved "We're all making the best we can of a crappy situation"
"C'mon" she sighed, hefting the psi-scanner "I think that’s Jamie coming back; we should get on"
"Wait..." Katrina breathed "There's something..."
Cass felt it too and turned to regard Katrina with a mixture of confusion and, as the other woman leaned in to kiss her full on the mouth, unbridled and animal lust
Aching with desire, Cass pressed in closer, their tongues colliding as she slipped a hand up inside Katrina’s top, one of Kat’s hands gently pulling Cass towards her, the other urgently pulling the buttons of Cass’s jeans open
The glowing firefly’s danced rosy pink around them as Cass pulled suddenly away, gasping for breath, her green eyes alive with a wonton passion
“Let’s do this” she breathed, her voice thick with lust
Katrina made no response other than pressing forward and ardently kissing her neck, making Cass gasp with pleasure
“What the hell’s going on here!?” Jamie suddenly demanded in astonishment as he emerged from the undergrowth
Gazing unsteadily at him, Cassandra’s mouth widened into her broad smile while Katrina continued kissing her neck, the pink firefly’s darting and zipping around them
“Why don’t you come and join us?” she asked huskily

<tag>
A little help please ;)
</tag>