Jaxx

Running
It had been weeks since she’d had the chance
One stride after another, after another, after another
The Dwarf barely felt like a home after six months away, and it seemed strange to see all the old sights as she ran the length of the dilapidated Promenade with only her thoughts for company
Her journey back here though time had been an unmitigated disaster and, if she were honest, Cass would probably admit that she was out exercising today, less for her health, and more to distract herself from the shock she felt at the body count
It was Katrina's loss that she felt most keenly.
Artemis, bizarrely, seemed genuinely happier in his current form and Alex going into stasis was frankly a relief. In Cassandra's view, his drinking had degenerated to the point where it was only a matter of time before there was a 'misunderstanding' with one of the female members of the crew, and then...
She shook her head, grimacing at the thought and mentally chiding herself for thinking such a thing. Alex for all his failings had been the one person who’d had the decency to show her any compassion when she had so desperately needed it; but even in spite of this, she still couldn't bring herself to forgive him his drinking. The memories of her 'father' and his violent alcoholism meant that she could never see anything but the worst in someone like that
But Katrina... Ah, shit. How on the hell had it all gone so horribly wrong?
There’d be the funeral in a few days and then that would be that; time travel and dimensional hiccups notwithstanding, she’d never see her ever again - and that was one of the most awful things she could contemplate
She ran on, contemplating the loss of her friend
It felt weird knowing that someone she had been intimate with was dead...
Cass hurriedly pushed the thought away with a sharp pang of guilt and embarrassment. As far as she had been concerned, Katrina had taken advantage of her when she was at her most vulnerable; but given the circumstances, those memories didn't need raking over, and as such she was in no hurry to re-examine the sorry affair
One stride after another, after another, after another
Past the site of the old Marks and Spencer's
In all likelihood, Katrina would still be alive if Cass hadn't had the hubris to think she could play Brittany at her own game and escape her clutches.
Fuck's sake
That thought had been gnawing at her psyche for days now and, try as she might, she couldn’t quite shake the feeling that she must somehow shoulder at least some of the responsibility for her death
Putting on an extra burst of speed, Cass ran hard for a couple minutes, attempting in vain to try and physically distance herself from her thoughts and memories, but to little effect, as cares for Jay's well-being rose unbidden to the surface of her mind. He had kept a low profile in the days following his return, and while Cass had called at his quarters on more than a couple of occasions, he had either been out or just hadn’t answered the door and she wondered how he was doing
It had somehow felt wrong to try and locate him using Holly, and she didn't want to feel like she was stalking him, so she had, thus far, resisted the temptation; but the concern remained that he might, for some reason, be avoiding her
Their history probably made things complicated, she realised, but Cass wanted to move past that and just to be there for Jay, a friend for whom she cared deeply, and who, right now, needed the support

Rounding one of the clustered masses of the low Vermin dwellings that proliferated out into the middle of the Promenade, Cass ran down a twisting side street and then out into an irregular square, bordered by shops and bars, and with a...
Bugger
Her heart sank as she spotted Max playing with some of the small Vermin children, out in the middle of the square. Jay was seated not far beyond at a table outside one of the bars
Truth be told, Cass would have preferred to have encountered Jay on her own terms, or at the very least when she was looking a little more presentable. Sheathed in sweat and clad in a tatty old vest top and leggings wasn’t the look she’d have ideally aimed for
The problem was that he’d spotted her now, and there was no way she could reasonably double back or go another way without seeming weird or causing offence, so there was nothing for it other than glumly resigning herself to looking like shit.
Still, she conceded as she ran across the square, at least she’d got to see him
Jay shifted his weight in his chair and eyed her in silence as she trotted to a halt in front of him
“Hey” Cass gave him something of a self-conscious smile
“Hiya” the corners of his mouth twitched in acknowledgement "I didn't know you ran" he raised a glass of water (vodka?) to his lips and took a sip
"Yeah, I started about four, maybe five months ago" Cass shrugged "Nanosuit's aren't all that flattering; and I'm afraid not above being vain enough to want to look good in the damn things" she gestured towards the empty chair opposite him "Mind if I join you?"
“Sure” Jay lowered his glass and placed it back down to the table while she pulled the chair out and slumped into it with a sigh
They eyed each other in silence for a moment before Cass eventually spoke up
“Mind if we talk Dwarf stuff?”
Jay shrugged and glanced away across the square towards where Max was playing “What’s there to talk about?”
“Jaxx” Cass quickly held up her hands in placation as he glanced sharply back at her, his expression darkening “Yeah. Yeah, I know” she soothed, "People really aren’t happy"
Jay slowly shook his head and exhaled a deep sigh
"I thought it was just me" he murmured, a note of relief evident in his voice
“It’s all of us Jay”
“You know...” he began “I was beginning to respect him; but then, when we had escaped...”
Jay paused a moment to collect himself, clearly struggling with his anger
“When we had escaped,” he finally continued “he and the rest of the fucking Canaries hit us like a ton of bricks”
“He’ll probably say he was following orders”
“Bullshit!” Jay snapped, a little too loudly “We’d already found a way to release the collars. You could have hacked the war mechanoids, and we could have turned the Canaries to use as an invasion force to take the fight back to the prison; but Jaxx,” he angrily threw his hands up in the air “Jaxx virtually led the fucking charge against us! He was instrumental in our recapture and... And...”
He petered out into a brooding silence, Cass electing not press him on what he had just left unsaid
“I’m uncomfortable with his willingness to kill” she said “He was responsible for a hell of a lot of deaths, and I’m not happy with having someone like that around us”
“Well, he’s too dangerous as a fucking mega-skutter” Jay retorted bitterly “Use that last vial of nano-meds and restore him into his body, then we'll decide what to do with him”
Cass smiled, albeit thinly, at this, glad just to hear that he’d been keeping abreast with at least some of what had been happening aboard the rest of the ship
“Those meds are too precious to waste on him” she shook her head “I say we deactivate him”
“Don’t tempt me”
“Alright then. Restrict him to his quarters?”
Pursing his lips, Jay contemplated this in silence “Do it” he said eventually
Cass glanced down at her wristwatch “Hol?”
The AI shimmered into view on the little screen a couple of seconds’ later “Orrite dude what’s happening?”
“Where’s Jaxx and Evelina?”
“Well, she’s with Jamie in Engineering and he’s in his lab watching old reruns of ‘Gilligan’s Island’”
“Good. Restrict Jaxx to his quarters, effective immediately. Override Jones C. Zero, protocol two seven four”
“Alright, that's done; although I don’t suppose he’ll notice,” Holly shrugged, or bobbed it’s head depending on which way you wanted to look at it “he’s barely moved away from the front of the telly in days”
“Like I give a shit” Cass cut the call and looked up in surprise as a waiter approached to silently deposit a bottle of water on the table for her - this place had good service
“He’s in isolation” she said to Jay as the rodent eventually departed “We don’t have to make an immediate decision, so how about we all give it a week or two to and have a think about what we want to do?”

<tbc>Part two should be complete later on...</tbc>

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Evelina - There's no way in or out of the lab and Holly's not opening the door
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