Luck of the Stars [Part 5]
Aug. 23rd, 2020 12:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
esp_dragonv2Fandom: Noblesse
Summary: It started with Frankenstein chasing up the engineering officer, Muzaka Starr, for a late checkup. But there's something about the man that interests Frankenstein the more he interacts with him.
Notes: Space AU square for![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
trope_bingo. :D
Rating: G
Genre: General
Word count: 2,185
Total word count: 10,652
Status: Complete
There had been no code alarm by the time Frankenstein reached the emergency room and that was one less thing to worry about. Which meant it was the engine...
Atyeri was there by the time he arrived, as was two unconscious wheezing engineering officers. Frankenstein could smell the smoke off them, see their charred uniforms and almost blackened skin along their arms.
It was a flurry of activity then, finding out what happened between stabilising each officer who came in.
Muzaka wasn't amongst their number, but witnesses had said he'd been the one who had dragged out most of the officers.
Lucky he hadn't been caught in the initial blast. Lucky he hadn't been affected by the smoke-filled air. Yet. Lucky lucky lucky.
Frankenstein's stomach was a tight knot of worry, even though he knew - but he didn't. Not quite.
He had to focus on what was happening right now. Wait for Muzaka to show up. He had to show up.
Frankenstein almost ran when he heard Muzaka was being sent through.
"Need support?" Atyeri called out as he went past, and he shook his head. Not in the way she assumed.
"Keep focusing on her." The officer Atyeri was tending to had mostly stabilised but there was still much left to be done.
Muzaka was already there when he arrived, curled up on the emergency bed, breathing hard. The emergency room doors closed behind Frankenstein, shutting off most of the noise in the rest of the med bay.
"Hey, doc," Muzaka said, smiling weakly.
"Are you really lucky if the engine blows while on your shift?" Frankenstein said, pulling out his scanner. Luck had different forms though. Muzaka's skin was only slightly redder than it usually was, one of his sleeves burned off.
"Lucky I was around to help?" Muzaka's voice sounded almost normal. Not struggling to breathe after continuous smoke inhalation.
"That's what everyone is saying," Frankenstein murmured, scanning Muzaka.
"An' I'm pretty lucky to get out unscathed, heh," Muzaka said.
Frankenstein kept his eyes on the scanner screen. "That would depend on what your definition of 'unscathed' is." He caught the screen jitter, the numbers twitch and changing for a second before settling. The results were nothing too dangerous. Normal.
Too normal. No adrenaline spike, increased heart rate or CO levels, and no decrease in oxygen levels either. Nothing to indicate Muzaka had just been a situation where he'd been lacking in oxygen and trying to save other people's lives.
Frankenstein pursed his lips.
"Yes, it would appear that you were very lucky to came out as you have," Frankenstein said, seeing the relief flash across Muzaka's face when he looked over the top of the scanner monitor. The scanner that he'd just printed the day before and would have no reason to already be glitching. And yet...whenever he used some kind of monitoring device on Muzaka, there was a brief hiccup.
"But I can't let you leave right now," Frankenstein continued, "no matter what my scanner says. I would rather know how you really feel and what you need."
Muzaka had the expression of a trapped animal again, eyes wide and his lips parted, and Frankenstein exhaled, crossing his arms.
"As much as I appreciate what you've done, and what you're trying to do, there's no time for this, so I will lay out what I know: you are some kind of physical manifestation of a celestial body, if not the Muzaka galaxy." He wasn't sure how that was possible, but that was what all the hints he'd found pointed to. But there was so much in the universe he didn't know that anything was possible.
"As you haven't shown any aggression or maleficent attitudes, I'm inclined to let the exact question of what you are slide," Frankenstein continued. "That's not what's important now. You have saved crewmembers' lives without hesitation and at great risk of yourself, so let me help you."
"I - I have no idea what you're talkin' about?" Muzaka said, his eyes wider after everything Frankenstein said.
Frankenstein's scanner screen glitched again, the lights in the emergency room dimming for a second. Energy. Right. Of course.
"Do you need an energy source to drain from?" he asked, running through what high powered machinery that were readily available nearby that weren't currently needed.
Muzaka gaped at him. "Wait - how did you-?"
"People talk about work during their checkups," Frankenstein said. "Someone had complained about the engine leaking energy the last time you 'luckily' escaped grievous injury."
Muzaka winced but didn't say anything to that.
Frankenstein sighed. "You're a member of this crew, and it's my duty to make sure everyone is as healthy and pain free as possible. That is my top priority. Now, what do you need?" For all he knew, Muzaka was dying, only just able to keep his form together - every second that ticked past was one he couldn't get back.
Muzaka stared at him for five long seconds before exhaling, relaxing as - his skin shimmered, pinpricks of light shining through.
Not a star. A galaxy shining throughout Muzaka's skin.
"...Heh," Muzaka murmured, not looking at him, his gaze fixed at the floor. "All these centuries and you're the first one to figure it out."
The confirmation of his guess didn't bring the joy it normally would have. What Muzaka was wasn't important right now.
"I don't really need anythin' right now," Muzaka said, making Frankenstein narrow his eyes at him. Was he still pretending? "Just time to settle down again." He exhaled, drawing in on himself a little. "I could do with a couple energy cells though."
Frankenstein nodded, opening a panel in the wall and collected one of the big energy generators. They were usually used when they went planetside, with solar panels on the side if its charge ran out.
Muzaka's eyes were wide as Frankenstein connected it to the wall and brought it over, setting it next to him. "Do you need a way to access it more directly?" Frankenstein asked.
"Nah." Muzaka lay a hand on top of it. Nothing happened as far as Frankenstein could see, but Muzaka's breathing evened out, the stars across Muzaka's skin dimming as he looked more solid. "Thanks." His grimace was in contrast to his words.
"No good?" Frankenstein said. "Or do you need more?"
"Nothing like that," Muzaka said with a soft chuckle. "The engine energy just feels better. Maybe 'cause I'm so used to it now."
Frankenstein hummed, his gaze drifting. Muzaka had needed to draw energy by touching the generator, which would mean he would need to touch the engine. "No-one's going to be allowed in the engine room for a while yet." If whatever happened had even been contained yet.
Muzaka shook his head. "You've done enough. I'm good. Go check the others."
Frankenstein eyed him, lips pursed.
Muzaka smiled at him, looking more relaxed than he had when he'd first arrived. "I'm not going to explode in a cluster of stars now." Was that what would happen when Muzaka died...? Or was he joking?
"...All right," Frankenstein said, grudgingly. "If anything should change, contact me immediately."
"Got it, doc," Muzaka said, curling closer to the generator.
* * *
They didn't lose anyone with the explosion. Lots of burns and smoke inhalation, but no lives were lost.
Frankenstein went to the room Muzaka had been moved to, and found him sipping water through a straw when he arrived.
"You saved a lot of lives today," Frankenstein said.
Muzaka smiled softly. "Yeah, the nurses told me." He didn't say anything for a few seconds, gazing down at his cup. "So what now?"
"You'll stay here until I'm sure you're actually feeling better," Frankenstein said. "But to do that, I'll need accurate readings."
Muzaka winced. "Do you really need 'em?"
"Yes. It'll be harder to know if something is wrong without them."
Muzaka sipped his water, his gaze drifting towards the wall. He sighed. "All right."
This time, when Frankenstein scanned Muzaka, there was no glitch across his screen and the results that displayed there showed an overwhelming ratio of hydrogen and helium. "You'll have to tell me what's out of balance."
He got a blank look at that. Did Muzaka not know...?
"We'll learn together, then?" Frankenstein said. "I'll need a scan when you're feeling better, so we can know what youre baseline is."
Muzaka grumbled, but Frankenstein could see the smile in his eyes. "I need to come back for my checkup?"
Frankenstein smiled. "Yes."
* * *
"Yo, Frankenstein," Muzaka said as he entered the med bay. "I'm here for my checkup."
"Ah, good." Frankenstein directed him towards the big scanner. "I didn't need to chase you this time."
"Heh, you can probably understand why I was avoidin' it before."
It seemed understandable. "For fear of being caught?"
Muzaka nodded. "Yeah, and manipulatin' all the machines gave me a headache."
Frankenstein was interested how he did that. If Muzaka could draw energy directly from containers, could he use that energy to manipulate other machines around him? "How long exactly have you been travelling?" he asked instead. "It's been, well, centuries since aliens have tried to pretend to be human to hide under the radar."
Muzaka shrugged. "Centuries."
...Right. That made sense. And explained how Muzaka had gathered so much knowledge of the universe around them.
"It ended up being a habit to do it," Muzaka continued, "and a lot easier than trying to explain what I am."
"Which would be physical manifestation of the Muzaka galaxy?" Frankenstein hazarded. He hadn't found any other clues in other ships' reports while he waited for Muzaka to appear again. It wasn't right, Frankenstein knew - they would have known if the Muzaka galaxy had just disappeared one day, especially centuries ago.
Muzaka chuckled, shaking his head. "Almost. The embodiment of the Muzaka galaxy."
A kind of hive mind? But on a celestial scale. The minds could move around the universe while their bodies stayed in place. Amazing. "I'm...surprised you chose the family name Starr for yourself, and not Galaxy." So many questions he wanted to ask, but he could only as one at a time!
Muzaka grinned at that. "I used ta go by that, but everyone picked up on it, so I decided to change it."
"And Starr was your next go-to," Frankenstein said wryly. There wasn't much difference between them.
"Yeah! I was interested in explorin', not making up a huge in-depth backstory." Muzaka shrugged. "And it was easy to remember."
There was no screen jitter this time, and Frankenstein exhaled, seeing the results. There was more hydrogen in comparison to last time, more trace elements. Frankenstein nodded, committing the numbers to memory, saving the data on a stick.
"Here," Frankenstein said, ejecting the stick and holding it out towards Muzaka.
"Huh?" Muzaka blinked at the stick, but eventually took it.
"That has your baseline data on it, saved under a new profile." Muzaka's eyes widened. "This way, you will at least know what's normal in the future, and if you want or need to share that information with someone, it's available."
"But don't you need this?" Muzaka asked, still holding onto the stick.
"For a quick reference, yes," Frankenstein said. "But do I need it saved on your file? No. Especially when I won't be the only one who can access your details."
Muzaka stared at the stick for a second, a small smile on his lips. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Frankenstein said, double-checking nothing had been saved elsewhere on the scanner. "Now, if you could come to my office, and we'll discuss what affects and helps you in more detail." There was too much chance of someone walking in and overhearing what they were talking about.
"Sure thing, doc," Muzaka said, tucking the stick away.
* * *
"Yo," Muzaka called out when he entered Frankenstein's office, hoverbike helmets in hand. "You should bring some extra sample bags for this one."
Frankenstein raised his eyebrows, but did as Muzaka suggested. "Is this going to be a surprise or are you going to tell me beforehand?"
Muzaka just grinned at him, handing him his helmet. "I thought you wanted to discover things yourself?"
"I do. I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't need to bring anything else." Frankenstein considered his sample bags for a second, before adding more, just in case. "That should be enough."
Muzaka nodded, coming close enough to bump shoulders with Frankenstein as he walked up alongside him.
Yes, while Frankenstein had missed the initial exploration expeditions, he was lucky to have had the chance to meet Muzaka.
Summary: It started with Frankenstein chasing up the engineering officer, Muzaka Starr, for a late checkup. But there's something about the man that interests Frankenstein the more he interacts with him.
Notes: Space AU square for
trope_bingo. :D Rating: G
Genre: General
Word count: 2,185
Total word count: 10,652
Status: Complete
There had been no code alarm by the time Frankenstein reached the emergency room and that was one less thing to worry about. Which meant it was the engine...
Atyeri was there by the time he arrived, as was two unconscious wheezing engineering officers. Frankenstein could smell the smoke off them, see their charred uniforms and almost blackened skin along their arms.
It was a flurry of activity then, finding out what happened between stabilising each officer who came in.
Muzaka wasn't amongst their number, but witnesses had said he'd been the one who had dragged out most of the officers.
Lucky he hadn't been caught in the initial blast. Lucky he hadn't been affected by the smoke-filled air. Yet. Lucky lucky lucky.
Frankenstein's stomach was a tight knot of worry, even though he knew - but he didn't. Not quite.
He had to focus on what was happening right now. Wait for Muzaka to show up. He had to show up.
Frankenstein almost ran when he heard Muzaka was being sent through.
"Need support?" Atyeri called out as he went past, and he shook his head. Not in the way she assumed.
"Keep focusing on her." The officer Atyeri was tending to had mostly stabilised but there was still much left to be done.
Muzaka was already there when he arrived, curled up on the emergency bed, breathing hard. The emergency room doors closed behind Frankenstein, shutting off most of the noise in the rest of the med bay.
"Hey, doc," Muzaka said, smiling weakly.
"Are you really lucky if the engine blows while on your shift?" Frankenstein said, pulling out his scanner. Luck had different forms though. Muzaka's skin was only slightly redder than it usually was, one of his sleeves burned off.
"Lucky I was around to help?" Muzaka's voice sounded almost normal. Not struggling to breathe after continuous smoke inhalation.
"That's what everyone is saying," Frankenstein murmured, scanning Muzaka.
"An' I'm pretty lucky to get out unscathed, heh," Muzaka said.
Frankenstein kept his eyes on the scanner screen. "That would depend on what your definition of 'unscathed' is." He caught the screen jitter, the numbers twitch and changing for a second before settling. The results were nothing too dangerous. Normal.
Too normal. No adrenaline spike, increased heart rate or CO levels, and no decrease in oxygen levels either. Nothing to indicate Muzaka had just been a situation where he'd been lacking in oxygen and trying to save other people's lives.
Frankenstein pursed his lips.
"Yes, it would appear that you were very lucky to came out as you have," Frankenstein said, seeing the relief flash across Muzaka's face when he looked over the top of the scanner monitor. The scanner that he'd just printed the day before and would have no reason to already be glitching. And yet...whenever he used some kind of monitoring device on Muzaka, there was a brief hiccup.
"But I can't let you leave right now," Frankenstein continued, "no matter what my scanner says. I would rather know how you really feel and what you need."
Muzaka had the expression of a trapped animal again, eyes wide and his lips parted, and Frankenstein exhaled, crossing his arms.
"As much as I appreciate what you've done, and what you're trying to do, there's no time for this, so I will lay out what I know: you are some kind of physical manifestation of a celestial body, if not the Muzaka galaxy." He wasn't sure how that was possible, but that was what all the hints he'd found pointed to. But there was so much in the universe he didn't know that anything was possible.
"As you haven't shown any aggression or maleficent attitudes, I'm inclined to let the exact question of what you are slide," Frankenstein continued. "That's not what's important now. You have saved crewmembers' lives without hesitation and at great risk of yourself, so let me help you."
"I - I have no idea what you're talkin' about?" Muzaka said, his eyes wider after everything Frankenstein said.
Frankenstein's scanner screen glitched again, the lights in the emergency room dimming for a second. Energy. Right. Of course.
"Do you need an energy source to drain from?" he asked, running through what high powered machinery that were readily available nearby that weren't currently needed.
Muzaka gaped at him. "Wait - how did you-?"
"People talk about work during their checkups," Frankenstein said. "Someone had complained about the engine leaking energy the last time you 'luckily' escaped grievous injury."
Muzaka winced but didn't say anything to that.
Frankenstein sighed. "You're a member of this crew, and it's my duty to make sure everyone is as healthy and pain free as possible. That is my top priority. Now, what do you need?" For all he knew, Muzaka was dying, only just able to keep his form together - every second that ticked past was one he couldn't get back.
Muzaka stared at him for five long seconds before exhaling, relaxing as - his skin shimmered, pinpricks of light shining through.
Not a star. A galaxy shining throughout Muzaka's skin.
"...Heh," Muzaka murmured, not looking at him, his gaze fixed at the floor. "All these centuries and you're the first one to figure it out."
The confirmation of his guess didn't bring the joy it normally would have. What Muzaka was wasn't important right now.
"I don't really need anythin' right now," Muzaka said, making Frankenstein narrow his eyes at him. Was he still pretending? "Just time to settle down again." He exhaled, drawing in on himself a little. "I could do with a couple energy cells though."
Frankenstein nodded, opening a panel in the wall and collected one of the big energy generators. They were usually used when they went planetside, with solar panels on the side if its charge ran out.
Muzaka's eyes were wide as Frankenstein connected it to the wall and brought it over, setting it next to him. "Do you need a way to access it more directly?" Frankenstein asked.
"Nah." Muzaka lay a hand on top of it. Nothing happened as far as Frankenstein could see, but Muzaka's breathing evened out, the stars across Muzaka's skin dimming as he looked more solid. "Thanks." His grimace was in contrast to his words.
"No good?" Frankenstein said. "Or do you need more?"
"Nothing like that," Muzaka said with a soft chuckle. "The engine energy just feels better. Maybe 'cause I'm so used to it now."
Frankenstein hummed, his gaze drifting. Muzaka had needed to draw energy by touching the generator, which would mean he would need to touch the engine. "No-one's going to be allowed in the engine room for a while yet." If whatever happened had even been contained yet.
Muzaka shook his head. "You've done enough. I'm good. Go check the others."
Frankenstein eyed him, lips pursed.
Muzaka smiled at him, looking more relaxed than he had when he'd first arrived. "I'm not going to explode in a cluster of stars now." Was that what would happen when Muzaka died...? Or was he joking?
"...All right," Frankenstein said, grudgingly. "If anything should change, contact me immediately."
"Got it, doc," Muzaka said, curling closer to the generator.
They didn't lose anyone with the explosion. Lots of burns and smoke inhalation, but no lives were lost.
Frankenstein went to the room Muzaka had been moved to, and found him sipping water through a straw when he arrived.
"You saved a lot of lives today," Frankenstein said.
Muzaka smiled softly. "Yeah, the nurses told me." He didn't say anything for a few seconds, gazing down at his cup. "So what now?"
"You'll stay here until I'm sure you're actually feeling better," Frankenstein said. "But to do that, I'll need accurate readings."
Muzaka winced. "Do you really need 'em?"
"Yes. It'll be harder to know if something is wrong without them."
Muzaka sipped his water, his gaze drifting towards the wall. He sighed. "All right."
This time, when Frankenstein scanned Muzaka, there was no glitch across his screen and the results that displayed there showed an overwhelming ratio of hydrogen and helium. "You'll have to tell me what's out of balance."
He got a blank look at that. Did Muzaka not know...?
"We'll learn together, then?" Frankenstein said. "I'll need a scan when you're feeling better, so we can know what youre baseline is."
Muzaka grumbled, but Frankenstein could see the smile in his eyes. "I need to come back for my checkup?"
Frankenstein smiled. "Yes."
"Yo, Frankenstein," Muzaka said as he entered the med bay. "I'm here for my checkup."
"Ah, good." Frankenstein directed him towards the big scanner. "I didn't need to chase you this time."
"Heh, you can probably understand why I was avoidin' it before."
It seemed understandable. "For fear of being caught?"
Muzaka nodded. "Yeah, and manipulatin' all the machines gave me a headache."
Frankenstein was interested how he did that. If Muzaka could draw energy directly from containers, could he use that energy to manipulate other machines around him? "How long exactly have you been travelling?" he asked instead. "It's been, well, centuries since aliens have tried to pretend to be human to hide under the radar."
Muzaka shrugged. "Centuries."
...Right. That made sense. And explained how Muzaka had gathered so much knowledge of the universe around them.
"It ended up being a habit to do it," Muzaka continued, "and a lot easier than trying to explain what I am."
"Which would be physical manifestation of the Muzaka galaxy?" Frankenstein hazarded. He hadn't found any other clues in other ships' reports while he waited for Muzaka to appear again. It wasn't right, Frankenstein knew - they would have known if the Muzaka galaxy had just disappeared one day, especially centuries ago.
Muzaka chuckled, shaking his head. "Almost. The embodiment of the Muzaka galaxy."
A kind of hive mind? But on a celestial scale. The minds could move around the universe while their bodies stayed in place. Amazing. "I'm...surprised you chose the family name Starr for yourself, and not Galaxy." So many questions he wanted to ask, but he could only as one at a time!
Muzaka grinned at that. "I used ta go by that, but everyone picked up on it, so I decided to change it."
"And Starr was your next go-to," Frankenstein said wryly. There wasn't much difference between them.
"Yeah! I was interested in explorin', not making up a huge in-depth backstory." Muzaka shrugged. "And it was easy to remember."
There was no screen jitter this time, and Frankenstein exhaled, seeing the results. There was more hydrogen in comparison to last time, more trace elements. Frankenstein nodded, committing the numbers to memory, saving the data on a stick.
"Here," Frankenstein said, ejecting the stick and holding it out towards Muzaka.
"Huh?" Muzaka blinked at the stick, but eventually took it.
"That has your baseline data on it, saved under a new profile." Muzaka's eyes widened. "This way, you will at least know what's normal in the future, and if you want or need to share that information with someone, it's available."
"But don't you need this?" Muzaka asked, still holding onto the stick.
"For a quick reference, yes," Frankenstein said. "But do I need it saved on your file? No. Especially when I won't be the only one who can access your details."
Muzaka stared at the stick for a second, a small smile on his lips. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Frankenstein said, double-checking nothing had been saved elsewhere on the scanner. "Now, if you could come to my office, and we'll discuss what affects and helps you in more detail." There was too much chance of someone walking in and overhearing what they were talking about.
"Sure thing, doc," Muzaka said, tucking the stick away.
"Yo," Muzaka called out when he entered Frankenstein's office, hoverbike helmets in hand. "You should bring some extra sample bags for this one."
Frankenstein raised his eyebrows, but did as Muzaka suggested. "Is this going to be a surprise or are you going to tell me beforehand?"
Muzaka just grinned at him, handing him his helmet. "I thought you wanted to discover things yourself?"
"I do. I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't need to bring anything else." Frankenstein considered his sample bags for a second, before adding more, just in case. "That should be enough."
Muzaka nodded, coming close enough to bump shoulders with Frankenstein as he walked up alongside him.
Yes, while Frankenstein had missed the initial exploration expeditions, he was lucky to have had the chance to meet Muzaka.