rec: Beautiful Monsters
Feb. 20th, 2010 04:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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calufraxStory: Beautiful Monsters
Author: Cathica
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 9005
Author's Summary: When outnumbered by a homicidal species, it's best to keep it simple.
Characters/Pairings: Jack Harkness, Other Doctors
Warnings: None
Recced because: It's a good story with a future Jack Harkness on his own, battling some truly creepifying aliens, and not-so-nearly blowing up a mysterious stranger in the process. It's not only got a good horror-style plot, but a great character arc with some dramatic irony as Jack's interactions with the mysterious "Nadia" develop to a specific confrontation and revelation. I like the way Cathica develops the relationship between Jack and Nadia, as two people who don't realize how much they need each other but who are loathe to give up their secrets until it's almost too late. It starts off as a dark, bleak tale, but it emerges triumphant from this with a sprawling coda that reminds you how fun happy endings can be.
The plan: sprint a straight line to the back of the warehouse, place the bomb, run like hell. When outnumbered by a homicidal species, it's best to keep it simple.
But as he's retreating, even over the noise of the explosion, he hears a scream.
The Miriki don't scream.
It sounds human; but male, female, he can't tell. He hears fear, shock, pain, and he's running oh my God he is running. Smashed wood and brick fly like shrapnel and he's dodging through it praying for help to whatever gods might be listening.
This time, they are. He finds her crumpled on what used to be a loading ramp, her too-big clothes pierced by jagged hail. Her shoes blown off, cut and scraped, but not bleeding too much. Her long hair jeweled with broken glass.
Her eyes snap open as he touches her face. Her hand clamps around his wrist. "What--?"
"Take it easy. I'm getting you out of here."
Author: Cathica
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 9005
Author's Summary: When outnumbered by a homicidal species, it's best to keep it simple.
Characters/Pairings: Jack Harkness, Other Doctors
Warnings: None
Recced because: It's a good story with a future Jack Harkness on his own, battling some truly creepifying aliens, and not-so-nearly blowing up a mysterious stranger in the process. It's not only got a good horror-style plot, but a great character arc with some dramatic irony as Jack's interactions with the mysterious "Nadia" develop to a specific confrontation and revelation. I like the way Cathica develops the relationship between Jack and Nadia, as two people who don't realize how much they need each other but who are loathe to give up their secrets until it's almost too late. It starts off as a dark, bleak tale, but it emerges triumphant from this with a sprawling coda that reminds you how fun happy endings can be.
The plan: sprint a straight line to the back of the warehouse, place the bomb, run like hell. When outnumbered by a homicidal species, it's best to keep it simple.
But as he's retreating, even over the noise of the explosion, he hears a scream.
The Miriki don't scream.
It sounds human; but male, female, he can't tell. He hears fear, shock, pain, and he's running oh my God he is running. Smashed wood and brick fly like shrapnel and he's dodging through it praying for help to whatever gods might be listening.
This time, they are. He finds her crumpled on what used to be a loading ramp, her too-big clothes pierced by jagged hail. Her shoes blown off, cut and scraped, but not bleeding too much. Her long hair jeweled with broken glass.
Her eyes snap open as he touches her face. Her hand clamps around his wrist. "What--?"
"Take it easy. I'm getting you out of here."
