No—! He shouldn’t have paused, dammit! Thanks to Sonia’s warning, he has enough presence of mind to roll out of the way of Tarn’s stunner shot, the electric crackle of the bolt just barely missing his head. He grits his teeth as he raises his head again, his gaze flicking back and forth between Sonia and the stunner in Tarn’s hand. Hell … She’s still awake, but that can’t have been pleasant. Concussion, maybe? He can’t let her get hit again, lest she risk real injury. (This is all his fault - he should have been taller, faster, stronger—)
God, what kind of a monster tries to incapacitate someone out by hitting someone physically with a stunner? For fuck’s sake. Stunning Sonia would be bad enough. That’s just cruel. And likely intended as such. It makes him simultaneously furious and terrified to picture what else Tarn might do in the name of taking Sonia “alive.” Clearly there’s no qualms about “alive” meaning “unharmed”…
He needs a moment to get to his feet. Needs to get Sonia out of this. So it’s the same plan as before, with the same weapon; he’s just way less fucking happy about it. As if he was happy with this to begin with. “I’ll give you another chance, then,” he says, getting up onto his hands and knees. “You think Piotr’s sister-in-law is a good target? Try his time-traveling grandson.”
He’s not actually lying here; he really is Piotr’s grandson. The trick is that Piotr doesn’t know it, and wouldn’t trade a damn thing for him. Hell, Piotr wouldn’t trade a damn thing for him even if he did believe Miles’ claim. It’ll be much worse if the Cetagandans get this from Tarn and believe the information, but - well, either he gets Sonia out of this safely or he doesn’t. And there’s no way in hell she isn’t getting fast-penta’d shortly after capture, right? He may as well try to buy her freedom with it, given he’s screwed regardless.
“Leave her here,” he says between gritted teeth. “I’ll go with you peacefully if you do.”
And if that doesn't work he's throwing himself bodily at the outsider, but. Words first.
no subject
God, what kind of a monster tries to incapacitate someone out by hitting someone physically with a stunner? For fuck’s sake. Stunning Sonia would be bad enough. That’s just cruel. And likely intended as such. It makes him simultaneously furious and terrified to picture what else Tarn might do in the name of taking Sonia “alive.” Clearly there’s no qualms about “alive” meaning “unharmed”…
He needs a moment to get to his feet. Needs to get Sonia out of this. So it’s the same plan as before, with the same weapon; he’s just way less fucking happy about it. As if he was happy with this to begin with. “I’ll give you another chance, then,” he says, getting up onto his hands and knees. “You think Piotr’s sister-in-law is a good target? Try his time-traveling grandson.”
He’s not actually lying here; he really is Piotr’s grandson. The trick is that Piotr doesn’t know it, and wouldn’t trade a damn thing for him. Hell, Piotr wouldn’t trade a damn thing for him even if he did believe Miles’ claim. It’ll be much worse if the Cetagandans get this from Tarn and believe the information, but - well, either he gets Sonia out of this safely or he doesn’t. And there’s no way in hell she isn’t getting fast-penta’d shortly after capture, right? He may as well try to buy her freedom with it, given he’s screwed regardless.
“Leave her here,” he says between gritted teeth. “I’ll go with you peacefully if you do.”
And if that doesn't work he's throwing himself bodily at the outsider, but. Words first.