Chapter Text
“Dammit, Greebo, get back here!”
Marie chased after the three-legged alien canine that had chomped down on her wrench and launched itself out of her repair bay, deciding to be a menace and demand playtime when she was locked in on fixing one of the robots. Its three-part maw awkwardly wrapped around the metal tool, tongue lolling out of the side of its mouth as it happily squealed across the marble floors and between the legs of various employees. Several dirty looks were shot in her direction as she quickly apologized for her pet, trying to keep up with the beast.
Greebo managed to get himself backed into a corner, though, as he turned the hall down to where the meeting rooms were and bolted into an open door. Marie cursed, following the pup into the room and shut the door when she heard someone clear their throat and realized they weren’t alone . Her gaze looked up from where Greebo was sitting between a pair of legs to see her husband Jack at the head of the table, his body double Timothy at his one side, and a dark-skinned woman on the other. Jack raised an eyebrow at Marie, looking down to where Greebo was sitting happily drooling over her tool, then his mouth formed a smirk.
“Well, I’d say perfect timing, but,” Jack mused, his heterochromia eyes remained focus on Greebo as he reached down to take the wrench from the pup’s mouth. “You’re early, little fox. And I didn’t even call for you.” He pulled out a handkerchief from his jacket pocket, wiping the slobber off the tool before setting it down on the table. Jack gestured to the open seat next to Tim, across from the other woman. “Have a seat, pumpkin.”
She quickly took the seat Jack gestured to, taking her tool off the table in embarrassment. The woman just gave her a knowing smile, lips stained a beautiful shade of blue-based bright red. A streak of white accented her perfectly styled dark hair, a highlight within the singular wisp of her bangs. Her eyes were the color of ice, and they were just as fierce and cold as the questionable surface of a frozen lake. Clear blue gems adorned her neckline, a fashionable coat with real fur on the neckline drawing attention to her face. She was regal and haughty, her attention focused on Marie.
“Little fox,” Jack announced. “This is Aurelia Hammerlock, an old friend of mine.” Marie curled an eyebrow up, the last name a familiarity to her. “She’ll be here on the Helios station for the foreseeable future, acting as your guardian and bodyguard.”
“Guardian?” Marie asked. “Jack, I’m an adult.”
“Correct.” Aurelia answered, her voice high-pitched and noble in tone, an old British accent thick on her words. Definitely related to the man she met on Pandora . “But, let’s be honest darling, you need someone to look after you. So think of me, not as a guardian like a parent, but like some type of…guardian angel?” Jack glared at the woman when she said that, though his face was ignored by Aurelia. “An auntie figure, if I’m allowed to voice my preference.”
“There’s concern about the Crimson Raiders trying something now that you’re back home.” Tim explained at her side, sharing his meeting minutes document with Marie. She gazed over the typed itinerary, scribbled amongst the words was Tim’s handwriting, which was identical to Jack’s. “There’s been at least three attempts from their low-ranking officers trying to board the station, we think they’re after you.”
“So I hired Aurelia to stay by your side for the time being.” Jack added, running a hand through his brown locks. “Besides being your bodyguard, she’ll also be teaching you as much as she can about the corporate factions showing up in six months.”
“What’s happened in six months?” Marie asked, trying to find that information on the document.
“Your debut to high society, darling!” Aurelia laughed. “Your official banquet party welcoming you to the circle of the rich and powerful.” She turned her gaze to Jack, “Which, by the way, you haven’t answered my question. Where exactly am I starting from with this girl?”
“Considering where she came from?” Jack shrugged. “Start with the basics.” He got up from his chair, stretching and yawning. “Meeting adjourned, folks. Marie, you’ll be joining Aurelia for dinner tonight. Go close up your repair bay and freshen up. I’ll let the floor foremen know you’re out for the remainder of your shift.” He paused, then turned to his body double. “Oh, and Tim? Be a good boy and escort my wife, will you?” He clicked his tongue as his fingers formed into a gun, winking at the group before exiting the room.
Aurelia’s face dropped her smile, eyes widened in disbelief as she pressed her fingers to her temple and puffed her cheeks out to blow a long stream of air. Once she composed herself, her gaze fell upon Marie, who was quietly getting out of her chair. “Put on your best for dinner tonight, dear. I’d like to see what your finest ensemble is before we even begin.” She looked her over and gave a wide grin, like she wasn’t liking what she had to work with before even knowing where to actually begin. “And clean up, dear. I don’t want my fine crystal sullied by oil.” Aurelia spun to the side of her chair and got up, straightening the new wrinkles in her jacket before sauntering off, heels clicking loud and fierce against the cold floor.
“She means well.” Tim tried to assure Marie, hand rubbing his face. “She just doesn’t come across as such.”
“Could’ve fooled me.” Marie sighed, waiting for Tim to collect his paperwork. “Look, you can just meet me up at my apartment, okay? No need to escort me.” She turned to quickly leave, but Tim had already grabbed at her hand and held on firmly, but gently.
“No, just, wait. Okay?” he asked softly. “Just wait a minute, please.” He quickly got up, one hand shoving the binder full of loose paper under his arms. “I do want to catch up with you, eventually. You just got out of quarantine and…well…” He let go of her hand, clearing his throat as he straightened up. “Been kinda missing my trauma buddy, you know?”
Trauma bonding . She remembered the last time she spoke to Tim, before she had been stolen away to Pandora, he used that term to describe their relationship. The last time she saw him, the both of them strolled up the shopping district after Jack had instructed Tim to keep her away from his office. Her grandfather had stormed the station, demanding something from Jack. Her arranged husband had not taken kindly to the old man’s presence, and kept Marie as far from him as possible.
She remembered how, during her time on Pandora, she often wondered how Jack and Tim were without her. And now that she was back, she’d done everything she could to avoid the pair. Yet, here Tim was, his kind, awkward, boyish smile crossing his features. She felt her wall break down a little, a brick removed from the box she put herself in just to peer out and admire his sincerity.
But she quickly put that brick back, chastising herself for betraying Jack and Tim by falling for Mordecai. “I have a lot to do.” She answered sternly. “Not really available for chit-chat. Hell, this dinner with Aurelia is really stretching me thin.”
“Oh, I understand.” Tim assured, but didn’t back down. “I figured I could come down to the repair bay and help you close up. I mean, Jack did tell me to go with you.”
“You don’t have t-”
“I’m ordered to.” Tim pushed again, this time his hand reached out to take hers and lace their fingers together. “Please? It’s been a while. I missed you.” She looked down at his hand, seeing the leather-brown glove cover what she distinctly remembered as the hand he cut up during the debacle at the jewelry store on their outing. She brought it up to her face, inspecting the bright blue “H” shining on the back of the hand. “Oh, I nearly forgot about that.”
“What is this?” She asked, letting go of his hand to inspect the glove closer. “Were you hurt badly?”
“Oh, no.” Tim shook his head. “Trust me, the medical staff here is excellent at skin damage repair. No, I’m being relocated after the ball.” Marie glanced up at him, feeling a little bit of her heart sink. “Jack’s always owed me for some bullshit before he took over Hyperion. Finally got his ass around to finishing one of his side projects and lucky me gets to go have a cushy job for the next…” He counted off in his head. “26 years? Yeah, that’s about right.” He pulled his hand away gently, flexing his fingers. “This is called The Winning Hand . Its a cybernetic augmentation that acts as an access key to all the facilities in Jack’s casino station.”
“Jack has a casino station?” Marie asked. “I thought we had casino’s here at Helios?”
“We do.” He smiled at her, nodding. “But this station? It’s a full-blown monument to every sin imaginable. A food court with buffets from around the world, a shopping district with unreleased products strictly meant for the Jackpot Casino only, an entire entertainment level…” He trailed off, looking down at her. “It’ll have everything there, Mae.”
“...then I’m happy for you.” She murmured. “I really should go close up shop. I don’t want-”
“Can you promise me you’ll visit?” he asked, refusing to let her wander off with her thoughts alone. “I’ll show you around. Take you to see all the best places. This,” He waved his cybernetic augmentation, “Gives me access to everything and anything, free of charge. All I have to do is kiss some babies, smile and wave when I need to, and take photos when asked. Really, its a nice gig and it won’t impede our time together.” The urgency in his voice wasn’t lost on her, he really wanted her to commit to seeing him.
“I doubt I’ll stay long enough to enjoy all of it in one go.” Marie murmured. “But…I’ll come sometimes, okay?” Tim lit up like the sun at her promise, and it made Marie want to go crawl into a deep hole just to avoid the way he looked at her. She didn’t deserve it. She didn’t deserve any of this kindness. She had betrayed them, damn what the therapists said.
Tim gently lanced their hands together once more, “Let’s go close up your shop, Mae. I’ll give you a hand picking out clothes for dinner tonight with Aurelia.” He looked her over, “Do you have accessories at all? Jewelry?”
“Do I look like the type to wear that shit?” She asked. “It’ll get caught up in the metal and pipes when I’m working. I’d need to take extra care of what’s on me rather than my job. That’s not-”
“Okay, okay.” Tim held up a hand in defeat. “We’ll need to stop at a jewelry store on the way up, then. Aurelia will want you to wear something flashy for dinner. You’ll only have to wear that crap around her, okay?” He gently gripped her chin, turning her face side to side, inspecting something. “You’ll have to get your ears pierced at some point.”
“Pierced?” she asked, confused. “Why?”
“Earrings.” Timothy replied simply. “Jack’ll want you to wear jewelry to the ball, and earrings are the highlight of the face - or so he says.” Tim gestured to the lone stud in his left ear. “Dunno why, the guy really likes earrings. Maybe it's a fetish?” That got Marie to snicker a little, and Tim’s eyes shone with an unfamiliar emotion. “I’ll ask Jack if he can schedule you in with Freddie some time this week. If he doesn’t go with you, I will.”
“Freddie?”
“Oh!” Tim tsked at himself. “Freddie’s the personal body modification guy for Jack. Really awesome dude. Just don’t get him talking about robots.” He remembered something, “Or…do, actually. Cause, ya know, you two enjoy fixing bots and-”
“I wouldn’t…” Marie interrupted. “I…I can’t right now.” Her thoughts went back to her last day on Pandora, holding the decapitated head of her friend Flak in her hands, watching their literal light flicker in and out of existence. Jack had said he tried to revive the bot for her sake, but the Flak’s data was gone before they managed to board Hyperion. Talking to this Freddie person about her lost friend would only bring up hope for her that would be extinguished like a match against a tsunami. Brutal, total, and drowning.
“I get it.” Tim assured her, leading her to the hall that connected the office to the repair bay. He saw one of the workers passing by and stopped, handing them his packet of documents and asking them to have the notes delivered to his office. Which was really Jack’s office. “So let’s just focus on us right now, okay? The here and now.” He squeezed her hand in his, thumb rubbing up and down hers in an effort to try and soothe her.
The floor manager had met the pair at the entrance, stopping them from even entering. He had taken the liberty of cleaning up Marie’s bay and shop, going as far as to declare that he was going to scrub the area down. Jack had brought up the urgency of Marie needing to be out of there as soon as possible, and the manager did not want to deal with an angry CEO breathing down his neck. He did, however, let them in so Marie could go and grab her belongings before heading up to the apartment.
Her hand reached for the strap of her messenger bag, throwing the firehose canvas material over her shoulder. Upon her return, almost everything of hers from Pandora was thrown out. The only things she couldn’t part with were the pipe wrench that she used to defend herself, and the pair of combat shoes that a small child named Tina drew all over. Those very shoes were covering her feet, and that pipe wrench was buried at the bottom of her messenger bag like some dirty secret. The last thing she grabbed before leaving was the small orb that was on its own display stand on a nearby tool cart, containing a small data chip suspended in a clear goo.
The data chip of her dearly beloved friend and companion, Flak.
Jack had tried everything to get some memory back from the chip, but nothing worked. There was no recall, it didn’t respond to his master codes, and at one point Jack had put the chip into another bot in the hopes that something would turn on. But, alas, nothing worked. So he had carefully pried this portion out of the decapitated metal head, dropped it into the orb filled with the mineral oil goo, and sealed it up for her. A type of personal memorial tribute to her fallen companion. She carried it with her, small stands set up in her frequent habitats so she could put the chip on display. An odd thing, she supposed, but it made her feel less… alone .
She pocketed the orb in her black canvas pants, slipping her hand into Tim’s outstretched one. Being back in Helios; back with Hyperion , should’ve felt a lot more like coming home. Instead, it felt a lot more like she was slogging back to her work, like she had never truly left Blackwatch. Only traded it for some additional privileges, glittering bobbles, and extra security.
After all was said and done, she was still just a captive bird, living in the bigger, golden cage.