half_a_soul | Aftermath [ Locked to Jackson]

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Aftermath [ Locked to Jackson]

Once it was decided, things moved on fairly quickly. Contacting the Starjammers had been the hardest part, but once Corsair heard why, it wasn't hard to convince him. After all, he'd lost a lifetime with his two sons, thanks to aliens attacking them, and lost his wife to those same aliens later. He was willing to help, even if he didn't understand everything about how they'd manage to get there.

Which was something Jono took care of, anyway. It had required a larger PINpoint than usual, but it did the trick. From there, it was a case of following the trails laid down. And avoiding the Federal military patrols. Avoiding because the Colonial Program that ran everything out their direction seemed perfectly happy to let the aliens keep raiding the colonies so long as they could plausibly ignore that it was happening.

It pissed Jono off like few things ever had and he had nowhere to work it off. Sex, even zero G sex, could only do so much to take his mind from it, though he tried not to let it show too much when Jackson was with him. But, then, it was easier to ignore when Jackson was with him.

And then they found the planet.

A lot of what happened there was fuzzy in Jono's mind, even several days later. They got the prisoners out and he thought that the aliens would probably think twice or three times before going after humans again. But there had been a lot of fighting. A lot of it and Jono had been smack dab in the middle, psionic flames and telepathy used to devastating effectiveness.

Once they'd gotten the former prisoners onto the ship, Jono'd pulled away, going to his quarters with an apology to Jackson. He'd used up so much in the fighting that he needed time to recover and get his mind recentered. The ship was heading to Boshane, under Jackson's instructions. Now that he felt more normal, Jono slipped out of his room, casting about to find Jackson. Who was near Gray, just as Jono thought he might be. He headed that direction, brushing his mind against Jackson's in greeting before he got there.

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Jackson is strong enough, at least after his training, to carry Gray himself, but Jono just being there with him is more helpful than he can say. He couldn't do this just by himself. Gray is still very much asleep when Jackson collects him from the bunk, but the boy makes a groggy noise signifying the meds are beginning to wear off. "Hey," Jackson greets softly. "We're home now. Everything's gonna be okay."

With Gray in his arms, trying not to think about how light the boy is after being in captivity for so long, Jackson heads out of the quarters and to the nearest ship's exit. There should be doctors on the landing pad, anticipating crew members suffering decompression sickness.

And there are. Doctors who swarm Jackson a bit when he appears with Gray in his arms. Though it becomes very clear to them very quickly that the boy is far too young to be a member of the crew and he's certainly not suffering decompression sickness. Which doesn't make what he is suffering from less significant; they just aren't prepared for it.

The head doctor looks up from his people helping Gray with a stern expression. "What is the meaning of this?"

Meanin' is, mate, Jono speaks up, hand on Jackson's back. 'E's one of the people what've been stolen from Boeshane over the pas' few years. We got more in the ship, mos'ly sufferin' from malnutrition an' dehydration, 's well as a number o' smaller injuries obtained in the fightin' an' before we got there. An' 'at's jus' the physical.

The doctor, to his credit, seems to take the telepathic communication in stride (it is the fifty-first century and it does take all sorts) and once it's explained where the injured people are from, he doesn't seem to question why the ship apparently smuggled them in under the guise of a vessel in need.

"His name's Gray," Jackson explains, offering his own hand over to the doctor for an ident-scan. "He's my brother. He went missing during the attack four years ago. We found him on a planet a few sectors over with the others."

When the doctor scans Jackson's hand for the implanted ident-chip, something beeps a tiny alarm and Jackson looks resigned. Of course, his mother reported him missing. The doctor scrutinizes Jackson momentarily, then looks over at Jono. "I've alerted three other medical teams, they'll come collect the others."

That's something, though it only confirms the fact that the Colonial Program doesn't give a shit. Which still bothers Jono, but less so now that the prisoners are safe.

Jono nods, tugging Jackson closer for a moment. Thanks. Reckon they're all gonna need a fair bit of care fer a bit. And some of them might never be able to go home because of the things they've seen. If I can be of assistance, though...

The doctor gives Jono a much more scrutinizing look now and raises both eyebrows in question. "We'll handle things now, but thank you. Please wait here, I've alerted the militia to your presence. You'll need to answer some inquiry questions."

Jackson doesn't know if that's his fault for being missing or if it has more to do with the fact that they've recovered missing and presumed dead colonists from all over the sector. The doctor hurries off to take Gray into the medical center, while several more teams come up to sort out of the prisoners.

If you want to go before the militia gets here... It's not as much of an offer as it sounds like, more of a good idea to avoid holding up Jono's friends. Not that Jackson suspects the colonial militia could do much up against Corsair and his crew.

Probably not, all said. Jono casts his mind back to Rachel, another telepathic conversation taking place. The corners of his eyes turn down and he nods. Gonna be a lot of questions they don' need t' be answerin'. Not that there's a lot of things they possibly could say, honestly. How do you explain that you've come from another dimension to save a bunch of people you weren't supposed to even know were missing?

He steps back while there's still a mess to be sorted out. Be back in an hour or so. They had to get back into orbit before they could disappear, then Jono had to disengage the PINpoint. Or at least take out the dimension hopping capabilities. Somehow, he figured the teleporting technology would be useful to them. He took a moment to set new coordinates on his own PINpoint before leaning in to nudge his nose against Jackson's, then he's off back to the ship. It's only moments later that they're in the air, heading back for orbit and to deal with getting home.

"I'll be waiting," Jackson promises, smiling at the little kiss he gets. He watches Jono leave, then the ship take off back into the upper atmosphere, while waiting for the militia to arrive. When they do, he's taken down into the medical center, not specifically for questioning so much as to be given into the custody of his mother, who can't seem to be anything else beyond cry and hug him and cry a little more.

There will be questioning eventually, but for now he's made to wait with his mother while the doctors examine Gray and the other colonists are brought in.

(In an hour or so, Jackson will have answered all the questions he knows how and left with his mother to sit by Gray's hospital bedside.)

It takes a bit more than an hour. Jono had to text to get instructions on how to turn off the dimensional access to the PINpoint without turning the damned thing off entirely. He left the others with his thanks and a little more ribbing from, oh, everybody. Especially the X-Men on the ship who knew him to be difficult and cranky.

He got back to the spaceport, looking around before reaching out, trying to find Jackson's mental signature. Once he did and was certain Jackson was safe, he found someone to tell him where the people from the space ship had been taken. Thankfully, it wasn't far. He didn't have the money with him to get a cab. Or whatever the current form of pay transportation was. Once he got there, he was directed to Gray's bedside, reaching out with his mind again to brush against Jackson's.

There is no current form of pay transportation on Boeshane, but only because there's no form of currency on Boeshane. The colony is essentially an overgrown city, sitting on the cusp of an inlet and broken up into three specific sections on three different tiers. The hospital is located at the topmost tier, along with the small space port mostly dominated by small transport ships. Transportation, when necessary, is in the form of strategically placed teleportation pads.

Jackson looks up, feeling Jono's telepathic presence, and stands from his chair. "Mom," he says, "Jono's back. Can I bring him in?"

His mother looks up from fretting over Gray's hair and a smudge of dirt at his cheek, tears in her eyes. She nods.

"I'll be right back. I promise." He slips out of the small room and looks around for Jono, knowing he has to be close.

Jono can hardly be expected to know this sort of thing. Besides, it wasn't exactly a long walk, so Jono didn't mind so much.

He's only a few dozen feet away when Jackson steps out of the room, looking around and trying to find the right one. Which is easier when he sees his boyfriend and hurries that direction. 'Ey, he murmurs, reaching for Jackson's hand the moment he's close enough. 'Ow's 'e doin'?

Jackson smiles with obvious relief, taking Jono's hand in his and tugging his boyfriend closer. "Hey," he greets in return, voice soft in the way that a person naturally makes it in a setting like a hospital. "He's all right. Physically, at least. The doctor says there's no way of knowing what he went through. They're going to send a psychologist to talk to him when he wakes up."

Jono's going to get a sneaky hug now that Jackson's done explaining things. He's very happy Jono came back.

He was always going to come back. There was just one thing he had to do first.

Jono wraps his arms around Jackson, holding him close for a moment before nuzzling his hair. 'At's good. Once the psychologist talks to 'im, you'll all have a better idea what's goin' on. And, God, Jono wanted to help.

A very ridiculous part of Jackson figured that once he came back to Boeshane, everything that happened in the Nexus would just ... stop. Like it never happened.

But Jono's here now. So all of that is just ridiculous.

"Yeah," he agrees softly, nodding a little. "I hope it's not too bad. I hope there's something we can do." Jackson pauses, taking in a shaky breath. "I wasn't too screwed up, was I? After that whole Adam thing?" He wants to know, on a scale of one to ten, hos fixable Gray's mind might be.

He slips his fingers up to the back of Jackson's head, holding him carefully. You weren't too bad. But...you hadn' been messed up as long, neither.

He nods, understanding. "If there's anything we can do to help him ... " Then he wants to do it. He wants Jono's help, if there's anything to be done.

Jono nods, hugging him close. I'll do what I can. And if he has to pull Professor Xavier over or get Rachel again? He'll do it. It's all going to depend on what needs to be done.

Jackson nods again, nuzzling against Jono's shoulder. "My hero." He isn't even teasing in the slightest. When he pulls away, it's with a tiny, hesitant smile. "Want to come in and meet my mom? I told her what happened, so she's kind of ... anxious to meet you."

He looks at the door, then back to Jackson. There's half a moment of hesitation because he's a little scared. Then Jono nods and squeezes his hand. Roight. Reckon we bes' get in there, yeah?

Jackson gives Jono's hand a reassuring squeeze. It's all right, he tries to project, leaning in to nudge his nose against Jono's lightly. There's nothing to be worried about. Smiling softly, Jackson pulls back and turns to take a step toward the door.

Inside the room, Gray is tucked into bed with the monitor affixed to the wall above beeping a soft cardiac rhythm. Beside the bed sit a blond woman, in her early forties, holding the boy's hand and clearly trying to put herself together from the verge of hysterics. She looks up with the two enter and gives a strained little smile.

Jackson pauses just beyond the door, feeling a little awkward, and tugs at Jono's hand lightly. "Mom, this is Jono," he introduces. "Jono, this is my mom."

Hullo, Mrs. ... And here Jono flails because his manners say he should greet her with one thing, but as far as Jono knows? Jackson doesn't have a last name. Not yet, at least. Instead, he 'coughs' slightly. Ma'am, he finishes lamely, eyes pulling up slightly in a bit of a smile. He offers his other hand, the one Jackson's not holding onto.

Very reluctantly, she lets go of Gray's hand and smooths the blanket over him, eventually standing from her seat and moving around the bed to greet them properly. Jono will have to put that hand away, because she's going to give him a proper squeeze of a hug. When she pulls away, it's with a kind smile. "Call me Audra," she insists, because she can't be known to mom to everyone, Jackson.

Jackson ducks his head a little, smiling in spite of himself.

Okay, the hug is a surprise. Jono stands a little stiffly, eyes wide for a moment before he tries to hug her back with one arm. Unexpected, but nice. Audra, he agrees after a moment, the corners of his eyes pulling up a little higher. Pleasure to finally meetcha, ma'am.

It's going to take some time to break him of certain manners.

"It's good to meet you," she answers, smiling a little wider at Jono's manners. "I don't know how I can ever thank you," Audra goes on, pulling away to go straight back to Gray's bedside. "Between looking after Jackson and helping him find Gray? I can't tell you how much it means to me."

Jackson squeezes at Jono's hand again, inching closer to rest his cheek against his boyfriend's shoulder.

He glances over at Jackson, releasing his hand. Instead, he puts his arm around Jackson's waist, rubbing his fingers comfortingly along the younger man's side. Once I knew what 'appened, couldn' jus' sit by an' do nothin'. Not when I could 'elp.

"It was very brave," Audra says softly, taking Gray's hand in her own again. "For the both of you."

Jackson tries to hide his embarrassment at his mom's scrutiny and praise, sliding an arm of his own around Jono's waist to return the hug.

"I'm sure you're both dead on your feet," she goes on, glancing down at Gray with a soft, sad look. "We'll be here for a while. Why don't you go get some rest?"

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