Chapter Text
The warehouse was a maze of dark tunnels and buzzing engines, each hallway seemingly longer than the last. Juno inhaled deeply as they walked, trying to calm his nerves. He, Nureyev, and Vespa were on this mission together, and so far, things had been going according to plan. But that didn’t make Juno any less nervous.
He’d fallen back slightly from the other two, checking their shoulders and their sides continuously, one hand on his blaster. Ahead, Nureyev glanced back at him, catching his eye with a searching look. Juno attempted a smile back, causing Nureyev to slow his pace.
“I can’t help but notice you seem a bit tense, dear detective.” He murmured, falling into step beside Juno.
“Really? What gave me away?” Juno responded, voice high with anxiety.
Nureyev chuckled, “Intuition, I suppose.” He said. “…Are you alright?”
Juno let out a shaky breath, “I’m… fine.” He said.
Even in the dim light of the machinery around them, Juno could see the skeptical look Nureyev gave him.
Juno sighed, “I just- This whole thing brings back… bad memories.”
Nureyev’s hand brushed against his own, “I know.” He said softly.
Juno took his hand, finding solace in the reassuring squeeze Nureyev provided.
“This isn’t going to be like last time, love. I assure you.” Nureyev told him.
Juno shuddered, but he did allow himself to relax a little, “Yeah. You’re… You’re probably right.”
They were there to stop the THEIAs. Again.
Rita had told Juno before she’d told anyone else.
They’d been sitting in Rita’s room after dinner, Juno watching her as she fiddled anxiously with the seam of a pillow, “Boss, there’s- there’s somethin’ I gotta tell you.”
Juno scooted closer to her, brow furrowing, “What is it, Rita?“
Rita didn’t meet his eyes, “It’s somethin’- it’s somethin’ bad, boss.”
By the way her voice sounded, then, Juno knew it was really bad, because Rita was scared, and that made him scared, too.
“What is it?” He repeated.
Rita put down the pillow, looking him in the eye, “It’s the THEIAs, Mistah Steel. They’re back.”
Juno stared at her, “Back? Back?! What- What do you mean it’s back? How could it be back? We took down every THEIA in New Town!”
Rita pulled out her comms, shaking her head, “I dunno, boss, but somehow, there’s more of them. Look,” She pulled up some sort of fancy website for a company, “I’ve had an active program running ever since we took ‘em down the first time, keeping track of all those names of the people who worked on the THEIA, just in case they popped up again, because if there’s one thing that streams have taught me about bad guys, boss, it’s that they always come back in the next one- and sure enough, yesterday I got an alert about this company.”
There was a logo at the top of the page with an image of a brain next to five letters, “P-Q-U-C-A?” He read.
“Yep. It stands for Providing Qualities for Upstanding Citizens Association.”
“Well, that certainly sounds like THEIA.” Juno said dryly. “…But I’m guessing there’s more.”
Rita nodded, “I wasn’t gonna tell anyone until I was really sure. So I did some digging, and I found a patent that they recently filed.” She switched the screen to a new display, and Juno’s stomach dropped.
The plans on-screen were chillingly familiar. An image of a small chip with the PQUCA logo, surrounded by thin wires on all sides, splayed out like tendrils. Underneath, a diagram of the human body, with a rectangle in the center, and blue lines running all across the central nervous system.
“They’re callin’ it ‘The Upstanding Citizen Project’.” The distaste in Rita’s voice was clear, “It’s pretty much the same as the THEIA Soul, but there’s a couple of- um, a couple of modifications.” When she pointed to the comm, her hand was shaking, “Instead of on the- the chest, the chip goes on the back, that way the little evil wires can connect directly to the spinal cord. Which- Which makes it a lot harder to remove, and- and there’s also, um- the memory-blocking system is a lot more… brutal. Instead of just blocking memories, it- it uses pain to- to-“
Rita was trembling like a leaf by the time she got that far, and Juno didn’t blame her one bit.
“Sh, shh, it’s okay.” He said. “You don’t have to keep going.”
Rita set the comms down gratefully, taking deep breaths to try and calm down as tears welled up in her eyes. Juno wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to his chest as she shook. With his other hand, he reached up and touched the place where his right eye used to be, feeling a small bit of comfort in the feeling of his eyepatch’s tough fabric against his skin.
They sat like that in silence for a while, before Juno finally spoke, his voice hoarse, “We have to tell the rest of the family about this. We have to stop those things, Rita.”
“I know, boss.” Rita said.
So, that night, after asking Buddy to call an emergency family meeting, they did tell the others. It took… a lot, to get it all out, but with Juno and Rita together, they managed to do it.
The crew’s reaction was shocked, primarily. Angry, too. Not at Juno and Rita, but at the kind of people who would create a mind-control device and call it an improvement. And everyone agreed that that the PQUCA had to be taken down.
The plan was to send a small team to the primary distribution warehouse for PQUCA, get to the “main systems room”, whatever that meant, then connect Rita to the “main database”, whatever that was, so that she could have full access to all the information she needed to stop the PQUCA.
Rita laid out the plan.
“First we gotta go to the main distribution warehouse, which is located here.” She pulled up a map of a planet.
“It’s on Vishnu?” Vespa said.
Buddy looked over at her, “You know it?”
Vespa nodded, “It’s a dwarf planet in the Outer Rim. Pretty desolate place. There were only ever a few human colonies there, and after the war, even less than that.”
“So what you’re saying is that if you’re trying to keep a huge mind-controlling megacorp a secret, Vishnu’s a good place to hide.” Juno said.
“Exactly.”
“Well their warehouse certainly ain’t hidden.” Rita said. She zoomed in on a huge white multi-story building, built into the side of a mountain, with the letters PQUCA projected into the sky in a glowing display.
“I would agree that does not look hidden.” Jet said.
Juno snorted, “No kidding.” He said, leaning closer. “What do we need to do in there?”
“It’s just like that stream, Mission It’s-Probably-Possible-But-It’s-Gonna-Be-Hard, where the team of spies has to get that super secret info in order to keep the evil robots from taking over the galaxy— you gotta go to the main systems control room, which is here,” She switched to a blueprint of the building, and pointed to a large room in the basement level, “And from there you can give me access to the central database, which’ll basically let me get any information about the PQUCA that I want, and then I’ll be able to write a virus to make it all go BOOM! …But not really go boom, just go boom inside the code so that the chips don’t work anymore.” Rita stopped, looking around with a smile. “That’s all I got so far.”
Buddy smiled as Rita sat down, “Thank you, Rita. That is a fantastically well-constructed outline for this mission.”
Rita beamed, “Thanks, Captain A!”
Buddy turned to the rest of the family, “Now, the first order of business we’ll need to address in the process of turning that outline into a plan is who will be participating in this mission. I think we’d be best off to send a small team of two or three, given that this is a stealth mission. Rita, darling, you are obviously off the table, as you are our most valuable asset against these people. There is no possible way that we could risk you being captured or even seen by any of these people if we were to encounter them.”
Rita bit the inside of her cheek uncertainly, but nodded.
Buddy moved on, “Rita excluded, however… Before I choose who will be going on this mission…” She turned towards Juno, “Juno.” She hesitated. “Your… prior experience with this type of technology could be a beneficial advantage to have on this mission. However, I would never ask you to do something you’re not comfortable with-“
“I want to go.” Juno said.
“What?!” Nureyev exclaimed.
Rita’s brow furrowed worriedly, “Mistah Steel, are you sure?” She asked.
Juno took a breath, “Yeah.” He said. “Buddy’s right, I have experience with these things. I know how to recognize them. I know… how they work.” He tried not to dwell on the memory of the THEIA Soul, the feeling of absolute purpose accompanied by an invasive voice in his head, the static of memories just out of reach. “If they’re really back, I want to be there when we stop them.”
Buddy nodded solemnly, “Very well, then.” She said.
“Captain, you can’t possibly be serious about this!” Nureyev blurted.
All eyes turned towards him. It was extremely out of character for Peter Ransom to be anything but dutifully subordinate towards their captain, let alone overtly defiant.
“Excuse me, Pete?” Buddy said. She sounded more surprised than anything else.
“I mean no disrespect, but- Surely after everything we just heard about his experience with this technology, Juno couldn’t possibly be expected to go on this mission.”
“I understand where you’re coming from, Peter, but the truth is that we’re going into this mission with less information than I’d like already, and Juno is the only one on this crew other than Rita who has any idea what we’re up against. Nonetheless, I’d be completely ready to disregard that advantage… if it wasn’t for the fact that Juno himself just stated his own desire to be assigned to this.”
Nureyev had no response to that, other than an irritated exhale of breath as he leaned back in his seat. Juno had never told Nureyev about the THEIAs in their time together. He probably should have. He’d meant to, but he’d never quite gotten around to it. What happened in New Town was something he’d much rather forget than remember, and, honestly, he hadn’t thought it would ever come up again.
…Figures.
Juno laid a gentle hand on Nureyev’s shoulder, “Ransom-“ He began, but Nureyev brushed him off with a swipe of his hand, not meeting his eyes.
There was a beat of silence, then Nureyev spoke.
“Fine.” He said. “If that is the case, Captain, I would like to request to be assigned to this mission as well.”
Buddy let out a barely perceptible sigh, “Well, I would certainly be amenable to that, given that I was already planning on choosing you for this.” She smiled dazzlingly, “This is a stealth mission, after all.”
She continued, “Now, that’s two people, but I think for this job we’ll need at least one more. Vespa, you will accompany Juno and Peter.”
Vespa wrinkled her nose, “Do I have to?” She said.
“I’m afraid so, dear.” Buddy answered.
Vespa sighed, “Alright, Bud.”
From there, the family meeting continued, and they worked out a more concrete plan for the mission ahead.
The moment the meeting ended, though, Nureyev got up and headed towards his room. Juno got up a moment after, rushing to catch up with him.
“Ransom.” Juno said. Nureyev kept walking. “Ransom!” Juno grabbed his arm, stopping him. “Can we please talk about this?” He said.
Nureyev’s eyes met his, and he relented, “Alright.” He said.
Juno let go of his arm, “Thank you.” He said.
They went to Juno’s room, since that was where they usually went when they spent time alone together, which was becoming more and more common. These days, it was rare any night for Juno to go to sleep alone. The room was practically shared.
Once they entered the room, Nureyev took a seat on the bed, looking up at Juno expectantly.
Juno sighed, “Look, I… I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the THEIAs.” He said.
Nureyev gave him a disbelieving look, “Juno, is that what you think I’m upset about?” He said.
Juno frowned, caught off-guard, “Is that… not right?” He said.
Nureyev’s expression softened, “No, Juno. I’m not upset about you not telling me about the THEIAs. You aren’t obligated to tell me anything you don’t yet feel comfortable talking about. What you explained at the meeting sounded… awful. It’s completely understandable why you haven’t mentioned it.”
“Oh.” Juno said. He shuffled on his feet, “Then… what are you upset about?” He asked.
Nureyev let out a deep sigh, “After hearing you talk about everything that happened to you- with your eye, and Old Town, and the ‘Soul’,” His hands clenched into fists, “And seeing how upset it made you, even to think about…” He looked up at Juno, “I don’t want you to have to go through that again.”
Juno pressed his lips together, “Yeah, well, neither do I.”
Nureyev stood up, grabbing Juno’s hands, “Then why go on this mission?!” He asked, suddenly desperate. “The crew of the Carte Blanche is fully capable of handling this with you here on the ship. It’s not too late to tell Buddy you changed your mind.”
Juno shook his head, “I’m going, Nureyev.” He said. “As much as I never want to see technology like that again, I- Now that I know this company is out there, I have to be there to take them down. If I’m not there to see it for myself, to make sure those things are gone, I- it’ll haunt me forever. I have to be there.”
Nureyev was quiet for a moment, before he sighed reluctantly.
“I suppose I understand where you’re coming from.” He said, then paused. “I… I apologize for getting upset with you, Juno. It was never really you I was upset with. I just… hearing that technology like this exists, the kind of technology made to… mind-control people into being ‘better’… and the thought of the kind of people willing to create such technology… that’s what angers me.” He said. “And the fact that it was used on you…” He grit his teeth, taking a highly-controlled breath.
Juno smiled sardonically, “Uplifting, isn’t it?”
Nureyev choked out a laugh, “Certainly.” He said. “…I apologize, though, for making a scene about it. I’m just… worried for you.”
Juno stood on his tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek, “You’re fine, Nureyev.” He said. “…I’m scared, too.”
Then, without prelude, Nureyev pulled him into a hug, which Juno immediately returned, burying his head into the silky material of Nureyev’s shirt as he held him.
Eventually, Nureyev pulled back reluctantly, taking a breath, “I suppose I had better start looking over the blueprints for tomorrow.” He said. “Wouldn’t want to go into a job like this unprepared.”
Juno felt a sudden rush of panic course through him as Nureyev turned towards the door. The thought of being alone, with… everything that was stirring in his brain, was terrifying.
“Could you- uh- come back, when you’re done?” He said. “I’d… prefer not to sleep alone tonight.”
Nureyev looked at him, eyebrows raised, before he seemed to understand, “Of course, love.” He said.
He stepped closer to Juno and leaned in to give him a long, lingering kiss. Then, he turned to leave again.
He made it halfway to the door before he stopped, turning back towards Juno, “…Given that the mission isn’t until late tomorrow evening, I could… wait until the morning and go over the blueprints then, if you’d like.” He said. The underlying question was clear: Would you like me to stay?
Juno’s shoulders sagged with relief, “Yeah. That- That sounds good.” He said.
Nureyev smiled and walked over to the bed, taking a seat where he’d sat before, this time gesturing to the space beside him. Juno took the invitation and sat down, leaning over to rest his head on Nureyev’s shoulder. He felt Nureyev’s arm wrap around him, holding him close, and Juno took a deep, shuddering breath.
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, detective.” Nureyev said, voice low. “It’s going to be okay.”
Juno breathed and let himself relax, fighting away the fear that threatened to consume him. It was going to be okay. Someone might’ve been trying to bring the THEIAs back, but they were going to stop them. They were the Aurinkos. They had a plan, and they would stick to it, and if that didn’t work, at the end of the day, they had each other.
The PQUCA wouldn’t know what hit them.