members waiting for the lift by exclaiming; “these're me only friends! Alien n' an engineerin' kid!” Most of the half dozen people waiting started and took a full step back out of the way immediately.
Alice was among them and was wide eyed at first, then grinned broadly. “Everything okay?”
“We have it under control,” Price reassured.
“Bollocks! Steph'nie's gone! Cocked it all up, pissed on 'er job an' I don't respect her! Least tha's wha she thinks.”
“It'll be all right.” Alice reassured as she passed them and stepped into the express car. “She's a patient woman.”
The doors closed behind Finn and Price as they started guiding and carrying Frost to the command deck berth. Finn double checked the location of the Chief's quarters and realized they were almost there, it was just around the corner.
Frost was following along, seeming to almost dose off until he brought his head up just enough to realize they were passing right by Stephanie's door. With a sudden burst of strength and a bare minimum of dexterity, he freed himself of Price and Finn's aid. He nearly full on collided with Stephanie's door and shouted; “I'm sorry! I'll explain! On me knees if y'like.”
Finn caught up with him and put a hand on his shoulder; “you can talk to her in the morning.”
He turned to Finn and Price with desperation. “Listen ta me lad.”
“Come Frost, we should leave her be,” Price tried to convince him.
“Nono, lisssentame! Could be there willna be a mornin', every moment's precious. Asides, I'm charmin' when I'm drunk,” he turned back to the door control panel and peered into it, pressing the open button. It buzzed a stern denial in response, showing the door was locked with a flash of red across the control. “C'mon lass! Spent too much time chasin' tha' empty headed pilot girl, dinna notice the great lady right behind 'er!”
The panel came to life, Ashley's face filling the screen. “Come back tomorrow after shift. You're so drunk you should come with subtitles.”
Finn looked to Price with his hand over his face. “I forgot Ash and Steph are hanging out tonight.”
“Sorry Ash, ye had yer chance, tell Steph ta lemmie in.”
Stephanie came into view, looking irritated but dressed for a night out, with her hair up and in a low cut black dress. “Leave me alone or I'll call security.”
“Y'look juicy lass. Jus' lemmie in and I'll make it all better. Forget Burke, tha' buggerer inna worth yer attention. Sorry I dinna notice ye aboard th' Samson, we shoulda been snoggin' years afore!”
“Security's on their way, you should go.” Stephanie said as she walked out of view.
“Love ye lass! You're like I've never seen!”
Ashley came back on screen. “Have a good night guys,” she waved before deactivating the door display.
“Feck!” Shamus exclaimed, pounding his fist against the wall beside the door controls. “She's all dressed ta trot out right after our row.”
“We should go before security gets here,” Price said, putting his arm back on Frost's shoulder and trying to steer him down the hallway.
Around the corner came four security guards in their heavy black vacsuits.
“Oi! Look 'ere, her boys!” Frost exclaimed loudly with a mock welcoming gesture. “Well, let's 'ave a go then! One up, keep it level!”
“Sometimes I wish he came with a dictionary.” Price said as he shook his head, cringing at what he knew was about to happen.
“All right, just relax. We can either take you somewhere where you can sleep this off or give you an injection that'll help you sober up. It's up to you.”
Frost steadied himself a little and stepped away from the doorway. “Those shots're nothin' but instant hangover! Ye'll hafta take me down th' hard way afore I let ye hit me wi' that! Come on then you chancers.”
The first two guards stepped towards him, one with an injector in his hand, the other with hands open, ready to subdue the drunken Chief. As soon as the first was in striking distance, Frost grabbed the arm with the injector in it and pulled the man off balance before pushing him into the other guard. Shamus couldn't steady himself as the pair collided, and was pulled into the mess which ended with all three of them in an awkward pile on the floor.
Frost was facing upward by the time the other two approached, ready to pick him up and drag him off. “You too eh?” he exclaimed before punching the nearest in the nose so hard he was flung back into a man behind him.
Both Price and Finn cringed as they watched the guard's nose start bleeding in a gush. The rest of the guards took a few seconds to seal their face plates. It only took that long for Frost to roll to his feet and stand squarely, fists at the ready. “Ye march off yer own way lads an' I'll forget this ever 'appened,” Frost slurred.
“You're coming with us to the brig, Chief,” replied one of the guards getting to his feet. He took two steps towards Frost before he was punched fully in the face. The stout Gunnery Chief put so much weight behind his blow that he was nearly thrown completely off balance. The guard's head bobbed backwards, if he wasn't wearing his faceplate something would have been broken, but the transparent metal stopped any damage from being done.
Price and Finn couldn't help cringing. They knew that the guard would be fine, but Frost's hand was another question entirely. “Go with them Frost, you should sleep it off,” Finn half heartedly tried to convince him as he squared up again, getting ready to slug the next guard.
The Gunnery Chief turned towards Finn and Price to wave them off and in that moment the nearest guard stepped forward and injected Frost right below the ear with a tranquillizer.
The look of surprise on the drunken fellow's face was priceless as he fell back to the deck. “Ye shitehawk bastard! If it weren't fer yer faceplate I'd find out who ye were and come after ye sober!” he managed before passing out.
The guards rolled him onto a stretcher from a nearby emergency medical station once they were sure he was fully unconscious. “Thanks for watching him,” one of the guards said over his shoulder as they walked off.
“Where are you taking him?” Finn asked.
“The brig.”
Finn and Price shrugged and decided to follow.
Ashley and Stephanie had watched the whole thing and when the security personnel were down the hallway and in the lift Ashley turned to her best friend. “You're taking him back, aren't you?”
Stephanie sighed and smiled. “He's a big thug, but he's my big thug. I understand if you don't get it.”
“Oh, after seeing you two together when you're not fighting, I get it. Well, I sort of get it. You two seem to fit.”
“I wouldn't have imagined back on the Samson. ”
“Me neither,” Ashley said as she put her hand on her friend's arm. She looked tired, and after the couple of days they had had after Frost had captured and tortured Burke to within a second of his life, she understood. “Don't feel like going out?”
Stephanie looked so apologetic; “I'm sorry, I'm just tired. If he wasn't all liquored up and just came to apologize we'd probably be going to the club night as a double date.” She recognized uncertainty in her friend right away; “things aren't going well with Finn?”
Ashley tried to lighten up her expression, feigning optimism; “we're good. There's just no…”
“Sparks?” Stephanie finished.
“Yeah, there's just a piece missing. He's nice, and he listens, but I just don't know what to say, what to do. I don't know.”
“Well maybe the away time you two are going on will change that. It might be that you just need time away from the ship with him, you know, no distractions, no one watching you. After you visited him every day in medical, people are watching to see how things turn out.”
“That's probably it, too much pressure,” Ashley agreed. “Now let's find a couple movies and have a night in.”
“You don't mind? We could still make an appearance.”
“It's all right, you and Frost tired me out.”
