Chapter Text
KJ
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The moment their pod drops from the ship, Mac’s hand drops from the window. KJ lingers, clutching her other fist to her stomach as she listens to Mac’s restless pacing behind her. Neither of them says a word.
KJ turns to sit on the floor, back to the pod’s door, and sees that Mac is sitting on one of the benches. They make silent eye contact, indecipherable messages passing in a glance.
The trip is just as fast as she remembers. Within seconds the pod has stopped moving – or whatever it’s called when you’re traveling through time instead of space – and Mac breaks the stare between them, looking past KJ.
“Um, KJ?” KJ turns awkwardly, trying to look behind and above her at the ship’s window. “I don’t-”
“ Green for radiation. ” A feminine voice blares through hidden speakers, and KJ, startled, scrambles away from the doors. She braces herself on the opposite wall, hitting Mac’s shin hard in the process.
“Green for atmosphere .” The voice continues. Mac swears, pulling her legs up onto the bench as she cradles her shin.
“ Green for climate. Doors opening in 3…2…1… ”
The sleek white doors slide apart, and KJ sees what Mac had been looking at before. A densely packed forest lies in front of them, more natural life than KJ has ever seen, far as the eye can see. Overgrown plants cover almost the entire area: vines, moss, and ivy on every surface. Trees have grown into each other wildly, gnarling and knotting as they combine. The scent of dirt permeates the air, rich with what must be early autumn warmth: the leaves are all some shade of orange or brown. They crunch under KJ’s shoes as she steps out of the pod. But even in this season of death, everything surrounding them feels so full of life that it takes KJ’s breath away.
“...This sure as shit isn’t the future.” Mac comments, piercing through the deafening cricketsong. After a second, she continues, “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” she kicks up some dead leaves before storming back into the pod.
KJ takes in the situation, their surroundings. Her heart is still racing from the fight in the Old Watch’s ship only a few minutes ago. She forces herself to breathe, deeply . It doesn’t really work. She paces across the forest floor, leaves crunching rhythmically to the tune of the thoughts swirling in her head as she tries desperately to formulate some kind of plan.
“KJ!”
Mac’s voice shocks her out of her own thoughts. “Jesus Christ, KJ. Spacey much?” She’s standing at the door to the ship, leaning against the side with her arms crossed.
“Sorry.” KJ’s voice sounds hollow, echoing in the emptiness. “I was just…thinking. About what we should do.”
“What we should do? ” Mac sounds incredulous, staring at KJ like she’s grown a second head. “What is there to do, KJ? We don’t know where we are - don’t even know when we are. I–.” Mac is interrupted by KJ shushing her. She hopes desperately that she was just imagining that noise from somewhere far above.
KJ turns around herself, eyes searching the treetops like a dog chasing its tail until she spots it: a light pink splotch in the sky – decidedly not part of the natural landscape. She curses.
“Shit.” KJ scrambles past Mac into the pod, searching it frantically. “Shit, shit, shit! ”
“What the–” Mac trails off as KJ tries lifting the seats of the ship's benches, looking for some kind of handle or mechanism. “KJ what are you doing? ”
“They’re here.” KJ answers. “They followed us here, somehow.” She’s aware of the panic creeping into her voice – the same way it did in the forest in 2019 – but this time Mac doesn’t take her shoulders, doesn’t try to reassure her. So she continues her search.
There’s no control panel that KJ can see – not that she would know how to use it. But when she presses on one of the wall panels, it springs open to reveal six pristine white backpacks. KJ grabs two of them, slinging both on her back before grabbing Mac by the wrist and meeting her eyes.
“We have to go.” But before KJ can even lead them out of the pod’s door, Mac is wrenching her hand away.
“ You can do whatever you want,” Mac tells her. “But I’m not going anywhere.”
Words splutter in KJ’s mouth for a moment. “What do you mean?”
Mac gives her that look , the same numbness on her face as when she asked to have her mind extra rinsed. “I’m tired , Kaje. I’m tired of running and getting caught and running again. Tiff and Erin are stuck in that giant-ass evil spaceship thing, and who knows what those freaks are gonna do with them? Face it Kaje, there’s nothing we can do. We’re helpless, always have been.”
Silence permeates for a few moments before KJ collects herself again. “We can’t just do nothing. We have to try.”
Mac scoffs. “Okay, sure. Say we actually manage to avoid them and stay alive. What then?” KJ starts curling her hands into fists, and Mac keeps going, egging her on. “You’re just gonna figure out a way to get out of this time, save Tiff and Erin from the Old Watch, and, what, end the time war?”
KJ rakes a hand over her face. “I DON’T KNOW , OKAY??”
“Exactly.” Mac says, but KJ isn’t done. She’s reached her breaking point.
“I don’t know what to do, is that what you want to hear? I’m not Tiffany, I haven’t come up with some genius plan in the last five fucking minutes since we landed here. But at least I’m not using that as an excuse to give up.” Mac’s head snaps up at this, eyes narrow.
“Face it Kaje, there’s nothing we can do. We’re helpless, always have been.” She spits out.
“Maybe you’re right. But if I fail, I’m going down swinging.” Mac’s eyes widen at this, like some switch being flipped in her head. “Throw yourself a pity party all you want, but I’m not letting you give up on yourself. So come on, we’re going.” KJ grabs Mac’s wrist again and marches them out of the pod and toward the forest. Mac doesn’t say another word.
The first thing KJ does after letting go of Mac’s wrist is unslinging one of the packs from her back. She’s surprised when Mac’s hand darts out to grab the bag, putting it on her own shoulder as they march on. KJ opens the second bag to check what's inside.
She says a silent prayer of thanks at the emergency supplies within: a compact sleeping bag, first aid kit, water bottle and filter, compass, lighter, knife, and some freeze-dried rations. As KJ roots around to see if she missed anything, she finds a small disc sewn into a pocket at the bottom. She uses the knife to free it, inspecting the small blinking device. She stops walking, throwing it overhand back towards the pod.
“Mac. I think there are trackers in these bags. Give me yours so I can cut it out.” KJ holds out a hand.
“I’ll do it.” Mac grumbles, finicking with the bag for a minute before her hand emerges with an identical disc. They march on.
From the sun’s position in the sky – high in the east, according to the compass – KJ deduces that it must be mid-morning. Despite the leaves crunching underfoot, the heat is stifling, and KJ ties her sweatshirt around her waist as she takes in the scenery.
Most of the trees are bare, but a few species still show signs of life: a vibrant red or yellow island in the landscape of impending winter. KJ has the strangest urge to pick up one of the prettier leaves and tuck it in her pocket. She shakes her head to banish the childish thought.
As the hours pass into the afternoon, the heat only gets worse. Sweat pools on KJ’s skin, making her hair and clothes unbearably. The packs’ water bottles were pre-filled, but they’ve long since been drained as the pair trudges along the forest floor. KJ practically pants as she walks, praying they’ll find a water source soon. Neither she nor Mac complains.
They don’t say anything at all – both tension and dehydration keep them silent – leaving KJ with nothing to do but think. She considers their argument earlier, her harsh tone and words making KJ wince internally. But she finds herself caught on Mac’s words more than her own.
Say we actually manage to avoid them and stay alive. What then? You’re just gonna figure out a way to get out of this time, save Tiff and Erin from the Old Watch, and, what, end the time war?
So many problems to fix, with no idea how to fix them, and yet there’s one that Mac didn’t mention: her cancer.
KJ had swelled with hope when the Prioress told them she was sending them to the future. She wasn’t sure that Mac had even considered that they could get a future cure there, but KJ certainly had. The possibility of actually getting there – even as out of reach as it felt now that they’d landed here – kept KJ marching on despite her bone-dry tongue and aching muscles.
Because if nothing else, KJ is stubborn. She repeats each goal in her head:
Survive. Protect Mac. Find Erin and Tiff. Save them. Cure Mac’s cancer. End the Time War. Go home. Survive. Protect Mac. Survive. Find Erin and Tiff. Survive. Survive. Survive.