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“Still nothing on the scanners?” Steve asked, twisting in his seat to look back at Peggy, who was looming over Morita at the science station in that way that she does when it doesn't give her the answers she wants.She looked about thirty seconds away from hitting it. Or, revise that, maybe it's him she'll be hitting – if looks were phaser beams he'd have been heavily stunned for sure. “Still nothing,” she confirmed, her mouth pressed into a thin line.“Nothing, that is, apart from the mysterious radiation leak that brought us here in the first place,” Bucky drawled from where he was leaning against his own console.It was definitely a mystery alright. Steve straightened himself in his seat, staring out of the viewscreen at the asteroids lazily tumbling in front of them. They'd been searching this sector for the past day now, ever since Morita had detected the unusual readings, and so far turned up nothing. The system they were in was unremarkable: a couple of gas giants, dozens of moons – only one of which was class M, but as far as they could determine uninhabited – and this asteroid belt, which they'd located as the source of uncommonly high levels of radiation.Steve considered his next move for a few minutes, allowing the sounds of his crew to wash over him as he weighed up the pros and cons of a number of possibilities before reaching his decision.“Lieutenant Dugan, take us in closer,” he ordered, waiting for Dum Dum's nod before turning around to face the science station again. “Morita, I want those scanners at maximum, we'll do one more sweep before making an entry in the log and leaving it for the next ship passing through to investigate.”“Aye sir,” Morita said, hands already dancing over his console, flicking switches and pressing buttons.Peggy scowled down at the monitor, as if she could make it give them results this time, through the force of her will alone.Steve waited patiently, watching on the viewscreen as the asteroids loomed larger. So much of his job was waiting, but he enjoyed every minute of it, even if he could hear Bucky muttering under his breath about what a waste of time this detour had been. Steve knew they'd end up having a lengthy argument about it later, he'd already planned out a few strategies for what he'd say, like the fact that-“Sir, I'm getting a spike in radiation dead ahead!” Morita said, seconds before the viewscreen lit up, a pinpoint of light blossoming in the densest part of the belt in front of them. A shockwave rippled out a moment later, breaking up asteroids in its path, and sending others ricocheting off each other – all heading in their direction.Steve went for the button on his armrest that activated the ship wide comm, but Peggy was faster. “All hands brace for impact, I repeat, all hands brace for impact.”“Dum Dum, evasive manoeuvres! Bucky, raise shields!” Steve ordered, gripping the armrests and watching the shockwave and about two dozen asteroids heading straight for them.The engines strained as Dum Dum tilted the ship up and away from the majority of the incoming asteroids and pushed them to maximum impulse. Steve felt himself being pushed back in his seat as the inertial dampeners struggled against the sudden changes.The bridge lurched under them as what was left of the shockwave finally hit. He saw the shields flicker vibrantly on the viewscreen, colour flaring as they were peppered with fragments of asteroid.“Aft shields have taken a beating,” Bucky announced, flicking the viewscreen so they were looking down the length of the nacelles.Steve's knuckles turned white as he watched a huge, rogue asteroid collide with the shields, which struggled for a long moment before finally deflecting it away. He let out a sigh of relief and looked back at Bucky, thinking they were past the worst of it, when suddenly the ship shuddered, throwing them about as it spun on its axis.“We've been hit,” Bucky called out as soon as he righted himself at his console. “A fragment of asteroid got through the shields and clipped the port nacelle.”Steve could see it. Now that they'd stopped spinning the image on the viewscreen had stabilised, showing the starboard nacelle intact, while the end of the port one had been blown off. A jagged pattern of cracks interlaced themselves halfway up its length, and it sat within a haze of vibrant blue warp plasma that must have leaked out in the seconds before the system was shut down.Steve cursed. “Damage report! Were there any casualties?”Peggy looked up from the console she'd commandeered to survey the status of the ship, “Doctor Erskine reports minor injuries only,” she replied.“What on Trill is happening up there Cap?” the voice of Howard Stark came booming over the comm, “I thought we were investigating a bit of stray radiation, not getting half a nacelle torn off!”“You know I like to keep you on your toes,” Steve replied, used to his chief engineer's bluster. “Is everything else okay down there?”He could hear Stark shouting orders to his team for a few seconds before he returned to the comm panel, “Aft shields are still on the fritz but everything else was spared – except for the nacelle of course, it's going to take a day to fix.”“A day?” Steve repeated, startled.“At least,” Howard confirmed, “So try to keep us out of any more explosions until then. Stark out.”Steve let out a frustrated breath and ran his fingers through his hair for a moment before turning to face the rear consoles. “So what the heck just exploded?” he asked, glancing between Bucky, Peggy and Morita.“Sensors are finally clear of interference,” Morita said, “Let me scan and see … huh, that wasn't there before.”He pressed a quick series of commands and then pointed to the viewscreen, which had refocused on the asteroid belt to reveal what appeared to be some sort of installation on the surface of a large asteroid that had clearly been the epicentre of the explosion. Sections of the installation were wavering in and out of existence, but what they could see had clearly been damaged. Debris could still be seen tumbling away from the base.“Is that … some sort of cloaking device?” Bucky asked, already frowning down at his console where no doubt he was studying the readings as they came in, searching for valuable tactical information.“It certainly looks like it,” Steve agreed.“And it would explain why we weren't able to locate the source of the radiation leak,” Peggy said, folding her arms across her chest. Steve could see from the little quirk of her lips that she was pleased their mystery had been solved – though it certainly raised more questions than it answered.“Clearly whoever that base belongs to, they didn't want to be found – not even when they started leaking radiation,” Steve said, leaning back in his chair and studying the installation in more detail.“You're assuming that there's anyone left alive over there,” Bucky countered, “With radiation levels that high, chances are whoever was over there didn't survive. And if they did, that explosion probably took the rest of them out.”“That is quite an assumption Commander Barnes,” Peggy retorted. Steve didn't have to look behind him to know the look she was giving Bucky – he'd been on the receiving end of it enough times. “And one, might I add, based on no evidence whatsoever.”Steve heard Bucky suck in a sharp breath, clearly gearing up to reply, so he quickly interrupted them before they really got into it. “What do your readings say Lieutenant? Are there any lifesigns?”“It's difficult to say, sir,” Morita replied, “There's a great deal of interference from the debris – and the cloaking device.”Steve pursed his lips together, considering.“Commander Carter, open a channel,” he said, straightening up in his chair.“Open.”“This is Captain Steve Rogers of the Federation Starship America to the unidentified facility on the asteroid. We have detected the explosion that appears to have originated from your location. Do you need assistance?”He waited a beat, then glanced over his shoulder at Peggy who shook her head. He turned back to face the viewscreen.“I repeat, this is Captain Rogers of the America. We are prepared to offer assistance if you need help – we have medical staff on standby as well as engineers. Please respond.”Another minute passed in silence. Steve looked back at Peggy and swiped his hand across his throat. “Channel closed,” she confirmed.“See?” Bucky said, “I told you – no one home.”“Or,” Steve countered, eyebrow raised, “Their communications system was damaged in the explosion. Peggy, I want you to repeat our hail every few minutes.”She nodded. Steve looked around at the rest of his bridge crew, then out at the base – resting in a nest of jagged asteroid fragments.“If there are people over there …” he began.“Of which we have no evidence either way,” Bucky interjected.“ … we can't just leave them to die,” Steve concluded, ignoring Bucky.“Of course not,” Peggy agreed, moving to stand beside him. She looked down at him, “What do you want to do?”Steve rubbed his chin for a moment, then nodded. “Assemble the senior staff, let's talk options.”~“How many times do I have to tell you Barnes? Transporters. Can't. Beam. Through. Cloaking Devices!” Howard said, pounding his fist on the table for emphasis.Bucky rolled his eyes and Steve knew he'd be on the receiving end of another 'Stark is such a drama queen, why do I even put up with him?' rant as soon as this rescue mission was over. He pinched the bridge of his nose, opening his mouth to settle everyone down again.“And I keep telling you,” Bucky said, before Steve could get a word in, “If there is anyone over there – which we still have no indication of – then they'll see a shuttle coming from a lightyear away!”Howard threw his hands up in exasperation, “Which is it Barnes? Are they all dead – or are they hostiles preparing to blow us out of the sky? Because it can't be both!”Morita opened his mouth but Howard pointed at him, “If I hear one word about zombies out of you then you're off the invite list for my next get-together.” Morita's mouth shut with a snap.Bucky leaned forward, but before he could say another word Peggy slammed her hands down on the table, making them all jump – except for Steve, who just gave her an amused smile, hidden from the rest of them by his hand.“Gentlemen! That is enough!” she snapped. “No, we don't know whether there's anyone left alive over there, or whether they are potentially hostile,” she said to Bucky, “But in case you'd forgotten, we are Starfleet Officers. Which means that we are going to go over there and rescue anyone who may need rescuing!”“ … By shuttle,” Howard muttered, breaking the silence that had settled over the room.Peggy rolled her eyes at him, “Yes, by shuttle,” she agreed.“Alright, so it's settled,” Steve finally chimed in. “Bucky, Howard, I want you to accompany me. Peggy, you'll be in charge.”She looked at him sharply – he preferred to go on away missions himself, despite her objections, but even he usually left the most dangerous ones in her capable hands. He wasn't quite sure why he felt the need to go on this mission – perhaps it was because there were so many unknown variables, he didn't like sending his crew off alone when he had no idea what they were going into.Whether Peggy saw this in his expression or concluded he had another reason, she didn't object.“We'll leave in ten. Dismissed,” Steve ordered, waiting patiently as everyone stood to leave.Everyone except Bucky, who scowled down at the table, still slouching in his seat.“What's eating you Buck?” Steve asked, standing up and moving around to lean back against the table next to his oldest friend.Bucky's scowl deepened, “This mission … something doesn't feel right.”Steve made a noise of agreement, “There are a lot of unknowns. I don't like it either.”Bucky shook his head, looking up at Steve, “It's not just that. Something about this base … or this sector …” he trailed off, making a disgusted noise in the back of his throat, “I can't put my finger on it.”Steve rested his hand on Bucky's shoulder, “You don't have to go, if you've got a bad feeling.”Bucky snorted, “And leave you to get yourself killed? Yeah right. Jerk.”Steve grinned at him, “Come on, let's go – punk.”~“We're past the worst of the debris,” Bucky announced from where he was hunched over a console on the starboard side of the shuttle.Steve nodded, glad for the confirmation. The base loomed large out of the shuttle's windows, sections of it still flickering in and out of existence. He rested a hand on the back of Howard's chair and glanced down at him, “Good flying Stark.”Howard smirked at him, “You think this was impressive? Did I ever tell you about the time I—”“I think I've spotted a launch bay on the scanners,” Bucky interrupted. Steve saw Howard's eyebrows go up at the interruption, but he didn't say anything.He didn't know what Bucky's beef with Howard was lately – maybe after this mission it was time for the two of them to sit down with a bottle of Dugan's finest (which he wasn't supposed to know about) until Steve got the truth out of him.But that'd have to wait. “Still no response to our hails?”Bucky shook his head, “No – gonna make it a bit difficult to get inside, if they don't open the doors for us.”“Difficult, but not impossible,” Howard said, not taking his eyes off his console as he piloted them in the last few hundred metres. “I might be able to get the doors to open from the outside and, assuming they have functioning forcefields, anyone inside won't be sucked out by the decompression.”“That's a big assumption,” Steve said, brow furrowing.“Well unless you wanna sit outside waiting for someone to respond, we might have to go with the less ideal option,” Bucky pointed out, swivelling around in his chair to look at Steve.Steve's lips pursed. He knew they were right, even if he didn't like it.The next few minutes passed in silence, Steve watched the base loom larger and larger the closer they got, until it filled every inch of the shuttle's window. This close up he could see the flickering of lights in different sections, as well as the jagged scar along the starboard side – presumably the section taken out by the explosion. He thought he saw movement in some of the base's windows, but it was impossible to tell.Another minute later and they were positioned directly in front of the bay doors. Howard put them into a holding position and then swivelled around to face Steve. “What are your orders, Captain?”Steve pondered his options for a moment. “Well, I suppose it's only polite to knock,” he said, leaning forward to activate the ship-to-ship channel.“Attention unidentified base, this is Captain Rogers from the America, on the shuttlecraft Liberty. We are holding position outside your launch bay – obviously we would prefer if you opened the doors yourselves, but if the system is down then please evacuate any personnel within the bay so we can enter safely. Rogers out.”He closed the channel then leaned back in his chair to wait.Bucky raised his eyebrows at him, “You really think there's someone over there?”Steve fixed him with a piercing look, “I wouldn't have risked coming over here if I didn't Buck, you know that.”Bucky looked away, frowning, “Yeah, I know.”Steve remembered his warning from before they left and felt uneasy. They often joked that Bucky must have had a telepath in his family at some point – his intuition usually ended up being right.“Well someone must be over there – look,” Howard said, pointing.Warning lights had started flashing around the doors, which began to creep open inch by inch a moment later. Steve looked over at Bucky, pleased, and was relieved to see Bucky give him a nod of acknowledgement. They were probably both worrying for nothing, they'd help whoever was here and be on their way in time for dinner.“Alright Stark, take us in.”~There was a welcoming committee waiting for them.The launch bay's forcefields had still worked, allowing them to safely pass through without decompressing the atmosphere in the bay. Howard set the shuttle down in an empty space in the middle of the bay that appeared to have been cleared for them. The rest of the bay contained about a half dozen ships – all small, and a few decades out of date.They hadn't seen any people in the base until after they'd set down, then Bucky had nodded out of the port window at a group of humanoids that were making their way towards them, from an interior door.“Looks like you were right, their communications must have been down,” he murmured, but he didn't sound particularly convinced. He held out phasers to both Steve and Howard before they left the cabin. His was already strapped to his belt.Steve frowned at it, he didn't want to give these people the wrong impression – they were here to help. But Bucky just raised an eyebrow at his hesitance. Steve pursed his lips and took the phaser.The shuttle door hissed open, touching the deck with the briefest clang of metal on metal. A rush of stale air filled the cabin, tainted by the tang of ozone that was a sure sign of overtaxed air filters. Steve could definitely smell the distinctive char of burnt circuitry.“Ah, Captain Rogers! Welcome, welcome!” a voice rang out from the group approaching them, it had the slightest traces of an accent, though Steve couldn't quite place its origin.A tall Human man stepped forward, the rest of his group remaining at a distance. His dark brown hair was slightly ruffled, and his clothes – a non-descript black jumpsuit – looked a bit singed.He held out a hand in the old Earth custom. When Steve shook it his grip was just a touch too firm.“I am Doctor Schmidt, the administrator and head of research at this facility. You must forgive my appearance, we rarely get any visitors, and as I'm sure you're aware there has been a minor accident in our facility.”Now Steve had to admit, he was slightly thrown by Schmidt's attitude. He glanced over his shoulder at Bucky, whose eyebrows were raised.“Uh, yes, well, that is why we've come – to make sure everything is okay. When you didn't respond to our hails we were concerned you'd all been injured in the … accident,” Steve said, using his most diplomatic smile.Schmidt clasped his hands together in front of him and smiled back. “Yes, of course, Starfleet has always been most helpful in these sorts of situations. But I assure you, everything is completely fine. Our repair crews are already busy at work fixing the damaged sections, and our casualties were minimal.”“I'm glad to hear it,” Steve said, sincerely, “But there must be something we can do. As I said in my hails, we have many skilled medical staff and engineers who'd be more than happy to help you get up and running as quickly as possible.”Schmidt's smile widened, but there was something about the way his eyes narrowed slightly that gave Steve the distinct impression that his good humour wasn't going to last much longer.“I appreciate your offer Captain, but I'm afraid I must decline. Our research here is very … delicate. And we take our privacy very seriously.”“What exactly is it that you research here?” Bucky asked.Steve turned to him, a rebuke on the tip of his tongue, but saw that his attention was focused intently on the rest of the group waiting just beyond the shuttle. He hadn't paid them much notice, but now that he did … there was something odd about them. There were two men and two women, all very tall and with well-defined muscles – that wasn't strange in and of itself, but there was something in their gaze that seemed … off.“You didn't say,” Bucky added, finally turning his calculating gaze on to Schmidt, whose lips had thinned.“We are a medical research facility,” Schmidt replied, “We research many things.”“Of course,” Bucky said, giving him a smile that belied the coldness in his eyes.Schmidt smiled back, just as hollowly, before turning back to face Steve. “Well, I'm sorry you've come all this way for nothing gentlemen,” he began.“Sorry, but before we go would you mind explaining the high levels of chroniton particles I'm detecting in this facility of yours?” Howard interrupted.Steve and Schmidt both turned to look at him. Apparently, while they'd been speaking, he'd surreptitiously pulled out his tricorder and taken a few scans.“Not to mention the dangerous levels of metreon radiation – which was what brought us to this sector in the first place,” he went on, “I assume that was what was responsible for the explosion? Metreon particles are extremely volatile. They’re also known for their temporal properties.” He raised his eyes from his tricorder to look directly at Schmidt, “Must be some pretty interesting medicine you're researching.”In the seconds it took for Schmidt's face to slip from forced civility to icy coldness, Steve wished their shuttle was secretly filled with a team of security officers, ready to spring out and take Schmidt and his people into custody.“Take them,” Schmidt snapped.All three of them had their phasers out in a split second, but even that was too slow compared to Schmidt's people. They crossed the distance faster than Steve could blink.He had time to raise his phaser, but couldn't even press the trigger before he was struck. One of the women kicked the phaser out of his hand, sending it flying across the bay. Another went straight for his stomach, landing a punch that sent him doubling over, already winded.Behind him he heard the distinct whine of a phaser, but a second later it was cut off and he heard a body hit the deck.He struggled to get back to his feet, just in time to see Howard combat roll past him and come up shooting. But he was no match for them – one jab to a pressure point on his neck and he'd collapsed, a trick that Steve had only ever seen Vulcans manage to pull off.He didn't even have time to move toward either of his officers when two of them hit him at once. One kicked out his knees, while at the same time another jabbed his solar plexus. Steve groaned, trying to fight through the pain and get back up. He heard a scoff from above and had enough time to look up and see a boot coming towards his face. Then everything went black.~“This is a bad idea – their ship is still out there! Someone is going to come looking for them!”An unfamiliar voice cut through the haze of Steve's mind. His head throbbed, but he had enough of a memory of what had happened to keep himself perfectly still – the more he could find out about what was going on without anyone realising he was conscious the better.“Enough whimpering Zola, I must find out what they know,” Schmidt snarled, “They were sent here to capture me and shut down my work again, that much is certain. But how much does the Federation know this time? How many more ships have they sent?”Steve mentally cursed, Bucky had been right, there was more going on here than he'd realised. He should have suspected something – mysterious readings in an otherwise unremarkable sector of space, far away from the shipping lanes and other important habited systems? You didn't hide a base in a place like that and then go to the trouble of cloaking it if you had nothing to hide.“Our sensors have only detected the one – but one is enough!” Zola said, sounding terrified at the prospect.Schmidt snorted, “They are no match for us. Even if they could manoeuvre through the asteroid belt, our disruptor cannons can take them down before they've even entered range.”“But sir, I already told you – the disruptors were damaged in the explosion. It will be some time before we can get them back online.”Steve's heart sped up with that valuable piece of information. If they could get the word out to Peggy now, they'd be able to—Steve's eyes flew open as pain lanced through his body for
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three seconds, before cutting off.Schmidt stood over him, furious, a dial clasped in his hand. “That was setting one, Captain,” he snarled, “You would do well not to attempt to deceive me again. But it is of little consequence now – by the time your crew come searching for you, the disruptors will be online, won't they Zola?”He turned around, revealing a short alien with big ears, who was cowering on the ground. It had a collar around its neck, with a receiver on it, that it was clutching desperately – and it was panting, in much the same way Steve was after the jolt of current that had run through him.Steve felt the press of metal against his neck and suspected that he too had a collar that activated his pain receptors at Schmidt's command. He tried to raise his arms up, to confirm his suspicions, but found they were strapped down to the bench he was lying on. His legs were also strapped down.“R-right,” Zola said, scrambling to his feet and scuttling out of sight.Schmidt scowled at his retreating back. Steve took a few deep, steadying breaths, schooling his features into perfect calmness. He needed to play this carefully, needed to find out what Schmidt was up to so that he could stop whatever it was.“He was right, you know,” Steve said, aiming for a casual tone. “The last my crew heard, we were entering your base – when we don't report in they're going to come searching for us. And no offence to Zola, but I doubt he'll be able to get the disruptors back online before that happens.”Steve had barely closed his mouth before pain lanced through him again.
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His muscles remained cramped for another few seconds, even after the pain had ceased.“That is my concern, Captain, not yours,” Schmidt said coolly, “All you have to concern yourself with is telling me why you were sent here.”Steve took a moment to calculate the risks versus the benefits of his potential strategies. It didn't take long to decide that he had the most to gain from the riskiest strategy, and in these circumstances, that seemed the best option to go with.“You already know why we're here, Schmidt,” Steve said, trying to control his tone, to keep it even and light. “Starfleet has been onto you for months.”“I knew it!” Schmidt crowed, fist clenching around the device in his palm. “I kept telling Zola that sooner or later Starfleet would find me again – would lock me up and destroy my work, again! But I took so many precautions this time, I had to give myself enough time.” Schmidt paced back and forth as he spoke, but at this final point he stopped, eyes narrowing. “I calculated every risk, every variable. I was so careful – how did you find me?” he asked, suspicious. His hand hovered over the dial.Steve forced himself not to swallow, to return Schmidt's gaze with one that was steady. His mind raced with potential answers, how would they have tracked him down, if they'd known he was here?“Did you really think the supplies you were getting wouldn't tip us off?” he asked, flippant. He tried to hide the way his muscles had started to tense, anticipating a shock any second now as he lied through his teeth. “We've had your location narrowed down for a month now, but of course, it was the radiation leak that gave you away.”Schmidt raged, his other fist slamming down on a table and sending its contents flying. “I knew it! I told Zola the Orions could not be trusted! Ferengi toad! He will pay for his mistakes!” He seethed, once again pacing back and forth in front of Steve.Steve carefully tested his bonds, while Schmidt was distracted. He'd managed to fool him, but he still had no clue what Schmidt was actually doing here – beyond the fact that he'd apparently been imprisoned by the Federation once before. He wished he'd had time to talk to Howard, he'd clearly recognised something, enough at least to know it was dangerous.He'd said something about chroniton particles and metreon radiation – Steve knew they had something to do with time … time travel? Was Schmidt building some sort of time machine?And what about the people Steve had fought? He'd never seen anything like them. They were as strong as Vulcans, maybe even stronger. But they'd looked Human to him.Something about that niggled at the back of Steve's mind, but before he could sift through more of his memories, Schmidt had turned to face him again, his rage apparently sated for the moment.“It does not matter now. I've decided – the plan will have to proceed ahead of schedule. You have forced my hand, Captain Rogers.”Steve's mind whirled, this was the last thing he wanted – he needed time, the longer he distracted Schmidt, the higher the chance Peggy would come looking for them before he could do anything. And, of course, he still had no idea what Schmidt's plan even was – he had to find out, so he knew what to do to stop him.“Are you sure that's wise?” Steve asked, “Given the damage your base has already sustained?”“Do not question me!” Schmidt snarled and jerked the dial halfway up. Steve let out a soundless gasp as pure agony raced through his body.
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He collapsed back onto the bench, feeling sweat sticking to the back of his uniform.“I … merely … meant …” Steve panted out between breaths, “that … you wouldn't … want to … risk ruining … your plan … not when you're … so close.”Schmidt's eyes narrowed, “You cannot fool me Captain, I know you're hoping to delay me long enough for your ship to come to your rescue.” He strode across the room to activate a comm panel on the wall. “Zola!” he snapped, “Forget the disruptor cannons. It is time to set our plan in motion – prepare the module at once!”“What- b-but, sir,” Steve heard Zola whimper through the comm, “We aren't ready!”Steve saw Schmidt click a button on his device, then nudge the dial up a notch. A high pitched screech sounded for a few seconds before Schmidt returned the dial to a neutral position.“At once, Zola,” Schmidt repeated, already de-activating the panel.He returned to Steve's side, a smirk firmly in place. “I'm afraid your ship is going to be too late, Captain Rogers. But no need to worry, soon you will cease to exist entirely.” With that ominous proclamation, Schmidt turned and stalked out of the room.Steve struggled against his bonds. “Wait! You don't need to do this!” he called to Schmidt's retreating back. The other man hit the panel to close the door as soon as he'd passed through it, leaving Steve alone.He immediately set about trying to free himself in earnest. He struggled against his bonds, muscles straining despite the lingering pain.But after five minutes of alternating between pushing against the bonds with all his might and collapsing back on the bench to catch his breath, Steve was getting nowhere.He was just beginning to despair when a distant explosion sounded, the overhead lights flickering for a few seconds before the power was re-routed. He had no idea whether that was the sound of his freedom, or his doom.But his answer came a moment later when a ceiling panel clattered to the floor, followed a second later by Bucky.“Took you long enough punk,” Steve berated him.Bucky rolled his eyes as he came over to him, “Jerk. I don't see you freeing yourself from these, so maybe you should save the telling off for once I've got you out. Wouldn't want me to leave you here now, would ya?”He withdrew a knife from his belt that made short work of the bonds, then helped Steve sit upright.“Where's Howard?” he asked, “You didn't let yourself get separated from him did you?”Bucky scoffed, sheathing the knife and then dragging over a loose table and positioning it beneath the hole in the ceiling. “Sheesh, what's with the third degree from you today? Do you honestly think Stark would let me leave him behind? I swear, the man sticks to me like a Tarkalian Leech.”Steve raised his eyebrows, allowing Bucky to help him stand but brushing off his attempt to help him onto the table.Bucky huffed, “Honestly Steve, who do you think cause that diversion a minute ago? Stark jumped at the chance to go and cause some damage – but I made him promise to come right back, cause I knew you'd start mother-henning.”Steve spluttered, “I do not mother hen!”Bucky just raised both eyebrows, then climbed up onto the table, caught the edge of the vent and wriggled himself up into it.Steve scowled as he clambered up and followed him.~“Where exactly did you say you were meeting Stark?” Steve asked, finally breaking the minutes-long silence as they crawled through the base's maintenance tubes.Bucky shushed him. “Not much farther,” he whispered, turning left at another intersection. They went another twenty metres down this maintenance shaft before Bucky pried off a wall panel and slid through.Steve followed, emerging in a dimly lit cargo bay. Bucky was already walking across the bay to a cluster of shipping containers, he squeezed himself between two of them – Steve a pace behind – and emerged in cramped space surrounded by a wall of containers.“Fancy meeting you here,” Howard said, grinning up at him from where he was sitting on the floor, his face lit from below by the glow of his tricorder screen.“As you can see, Operation Retrieve Steve was a resounding success,” Bucky quipped.Steve rolled his eyes.“Well, as I'm sure you heard, Operation Blow Shit Up also went off without a hitch,” Howard replied.Steve sighed, he almost preferred it when they weren't getting along. “Maybe now we can focus on coming up with a plan for Operation Stop Schmidt?” he interrupted.“You're no fun,” Bucky muttered. Howard smirked.“I couldn't get much out of him,” Steve said, ignoring them and crouching down so he was on the same level as Howard. “Except that he’s already been imprisoned once by the Federation – and that our presence here forced him to accelerate his plans.”Howard immediately leaned forward, the smile dropping off his face. “What? Why didn't you say so? We need to stop him!”“That much is obvious,” Steve agreed, “But I still have no idea what this plan of his even is.”Howard and Bucky exchanged a glance. “Stark and I had a little chat, while we were busy freeing ourselves,” Bucky began, “About those people he set on us.”“We think they're genetically engineered,” Howard interrupted, cutting to the chase as always.“What?” Steve gasped. The puzzle pieces in his mind fell into place. It all made sense now. “Of course,” he breathed, “I knew the name Schmidt was familiar!”Howard nodded, “Fifteen years ago, Doctor Johann Schmidt was found guilty by the Federation Supreme Court of trying to genetically engineer super soldiers. I remember his trial – but it didn't come to me straight away. Not until after we were getting the stuffing beat out of us by his super humans.”“And I helped jog his memory when I pointed out that most of the tech in this base seems to be about a decade out of date,” Bucky explained, arms folded over his chest. “I knew there was something about it that was bothering me.”“Okay, so … he's been genetically engineering some sort of super humans,” Steve said, nodding to himself, “But that's not the plan – he said something about preparing a module. And I remembered that you said something about chronitons Howard …”Howard's lips thinned, “I've been detecting them everywhere. You don't honestly think-”“Wait,” Bucky interrupted, “Chronitons? You don't mean-”“That's right,” Howard said, interrupting his interruption. “Time travel. He must be planning on going back in time and unleashing these super soldiers on a Federation that won't be prepared to stop him.”Bucky's eyes widened, “Then what are we waiting for? Let's go stop him!”Steve looked at Howard, who was adjusting a setting on his tricorder. “We need a plan. You've already taken out something with your explosion, do you know where we need to go?”Howard looked up from the screen, frowning, “I think so. I downloaded the base's schematics onto my tricorder after we escaped. There's a section that's draining most of the reactor's power – if that's not where this time machine, or whatever he's got rigged up, is, then I'm not a Trill.”“Do we even need to destroy this module?” Bucky asked, “Wouldn't it be quicker just to blow the entire base up?”Howard considered this, “I'd think so, but I can't be sure. We'll have to split up, one of us goes for the main reactor, the other for the time machine.”Steve nodded, standing back up and squaring his shoulders. “I'll take the time machine, Howard, you take the main reactor.”“I'll go with you Cap,” Bucky said, but Steve shook his head.“I need you to go and secure our shuttle – I don't know about you, but I'm not planning on getting blown up along with Schmidt.”Bucky's brow furrowed, but he reluctantly nodded. “Understood.”Steve clasped his shoulder, “Don't worry Buck, we'll be off this hunk of junk and back on board the America getting told off by Peggy before you know it.”Bucky's lips quirked up.“Alright, I think I'm almost ready,” Howard said, reaching out a hand. Steve leant down and pulled him to his feet.Howard adjusted a setting and then held the tricorder out so Steve and Bucky could see the screen, “Here's our current location – I've marked out each of our routes. Take a minute to memorise them.”“And while you're doing that …” Howard went on, reaching into Steve's pocket and removing his communicator. “I already modified Barnes' so we could talk to each other without them overhearing – piggybacking the signal along one of their own channels.” He grinned, already deftly dismantling the little box and making minor adjustments to its circuitry.Once they'd memorised where to go, Howard handed Steve back his communicator. “Oh, I almost forgot,” he added, retrieving a phaser and handing it to Steve, whose own had presumably been taken off him by Schmidt or his people.“Without having seen this device,” Howard mused, “I couldn't guess at how to shut it down, so you'll just have to do as much damage as possible – which shouldn't be too difficult. The fact that there are chronitons and metreon radiation leaked all around the base suggests that Schmidt's machine is probably already unstable.”“Right,” Steve agreed, nodding.“Worst comes to worst, find a way to delay it and the reactor exploding should take it out.”Steve didn't voice his own worst case scenario strategy – that if Schmidt managed to activate this device before he could damage it, that he'd try to get himself in there and stop him from wreaking havoc in the past, even if it meant getting stranded there.But apparently he didn't need to say anything aloud. Bucky took one look at his face and grabbed onto his shoulder to scowl down at him, “You'd better not be thinking of doing anything foolish, punk.”Steve gave him a shaky smile, “Wouldn't dream of it, jerk.”But he could see that Bucky knew he was lying.The three of them squeezed out of their hideaway in single file, and were halfway across the cargo bay when pain blossomed across Steve's body.
One,
two,
three,
four,
five,
six,
seven
– it just kept going on and on and on.“Steve!” He hazily heard Bucky's exclamation.The comm crackled to life, “Captain Rogers,” Schmidt's voice rang out, “there was little point in escaping, but rest assured you will not be allowed to interfere in my plans.”This message barely reached Steve, who still had pain lancing through this body, setting every nerve ending alight. He wasn't sure how much more he could tolerate, but just as it grew to such unbearable levels he was sure he would pass out it abruptly cut off.He came back into his body in stages.First he became aware that he was lying crumpled on the deck, metal pressing cold against his cheek.Next he realised Bucky was leaning over him, staring down into his eyes with a terrified look on his face.“'m okay,” he managed to slur out, trying to push himself upright but only half succeeding.“Geez Steve, why didn't you tell us he'd put that on you?” Bucky asked, sitting back on his haunches and running a hand through his hair.“Forgot,” Steve answered, honestly.Howard snorted, “Well you're lucky I was here,” he said, leaning over Bucky's shoulder and holding out the smashed remains of a metal collar.“Pfft, I could have done that,” Bucky said, rolling his eyes.Steve pushed himself up on trembling arms, Bucky reached out to steady him, his hand gingerly touching his shoulder.“I'm okay,” Steve insisted, “You two had better get moving.”This time it was Howard who rolled his eyes, “Not until we know you're okay, Cap.”Steve sucked in a determined breath and shakily got to his feet, leaning on Bucky who scoffed at him, “You're always so damn stubborn,” he grouched.“We don't have time” Steve pointed out, “Help me to the vent, then get moving – that's an order.”Bucky sighed deeply but tightened his grip around Steve's waist and helped him stagger towards the vent.~It was painful crawling through the maintenance tubes, but Steve couldn't afford to waste any time. Bucky had been reluctant to leave him, but Steve had just pointed out that if they didn't go they might be wiped out of existence entirely.Despite the strain in his muscles he was already almost at his destination. He'd been trying to devise a strategy for what to do once he got there, but without knowing more than the rough layout he was just going to have to wing it.He had no idea how many super soldiers Schmidt had, or even regular mercenaries, though he couldn't imagine there were a lot, given how paranoid and secretive he was. And surely the ones he did have would all be in the module, leaving Howard and Bucky free to complete their tasks. Then again, Steve didn't like to make assumptions.His musings were interrupted by the muted chirp of his communicator – Howard must have modified the volume along with whatever else he'd done to it.Steve stopped, leaning against the wall and catching his breath as he flipped the device open. “Rogers.”“I'm in position,” Howard's voice was pitched low, “Minimal resistance, but the reactor has a lot of safeguards in place, it'll take me some time to bypass them.”“Right. How long?”Howard hummed, “At least ten, fifteen tops.”Steve felt his pulse speed up. He had no idea how much longer Schmidt would be – he needed to find him and find out. “Right. I'm almost at my destination, I'll buy you as much time as I can.”“Do I wait for your signal?” Howard asked, tone neutral, though Steve could imagine the furrow in his spotted brow without needing to see it.Steve let out a deep breath, “No. If I haven't been in touch in ten, assume I've been incapacitated.”“Barnes isn't going to like that.”“Then it'll be up to you to point the shuttle away from the base before it explodes, even if I'm not onboard.”“Understood,” Howard said. There was a pause. “Good luck Steve.”“You too,” Steve replied, swallowing heavily. He closed his communicator and continued crawling on.~Steve heard voices up ahead. He hadn't noticed how eerie the silence had become, or realised until now that it wasn't indicative of good soundproofing, but of a lack of personnel in the sections he'd already passed through.“B-but sir, if the reactor is malfunctioning-”That was Zola, his reedy voice growing louder as Steve turned down the last junction.“Fool, it is Rogers' men, sabotaging it. But that is of little consequence,” Schmidt's voice echoed through the enclosed metal space, “We have mere minutes left before we leave this pathetic time behind.”Steve's heart sped up, he had to get in there and delay them. He tried to crawl up the maintenance shaft as quickly as he could, without giving his position away. He hoped to take advantage of the element of surprise.“S-sabotage? But, sir, the system has not been properly tested, what if-”“Silence! There is no tolerance for failure! We will succeed!”Steve winced at Zola's brief squeals of pain, but they cut off quickly – clearly he had too much to do to waste time being tortured.He slid the last few meters on his stomach, his phaser already out and gripped tightly in his hand.The grate into the room Schmidt and Zola were in lit up the section of the shaft in front of him. He cautiously peered out of it, looking past the mesh of metal, but couldn't see much from where he was – the base of some sort of machinery a metre in front of the opening blocked his view.But Schmidt and Zola's voices rang out clearly enough, as did their footsteps on the deck plating.“The stasis pods are now secure,” Schmidt announced, his voice coming from just beyond the grate.Steve took a few deep breaths, getting ready to pop the grate off and leap into action.“I have almost completed the final sequence,” Zola called out from across the room, “The device will be ready to activate in a few more minutes.”It was now or never. Steve closed his eyes for a second, let out one last shuddering breath and then he was moving – the grate popped off with minimal noise and Steve tumbled out and into a crouching position behind the machinery.He took less than a second to orient himself, the adrenaline coursing through him blocking out any pain in his muscles, then he rolled out into the open, phaser already aimed up at Schmidt. Who, as anticipated, was standing with his back to the console, moving towards Zola on the other side of the room.“Excellent!” Schmidt was saying, “Come my children, let us-”“Father!” one of the super soldiers called out – his enhanced senses had spotted Steve instantly. He'd hoped they'd already have been secured aboard the module, but apparently not. So much for the element of surprise.He had a split second to take in the entire scene in front of him and calculate his next move.The grate had been in the corner of the room – a cavernous space that was filled by a spherical spacecraft about the size of a Starfleet shuttle. This module was ringed by slender consoles, pressed up against the walls, many of which were directly connected to the craft by thick cables.Schmidt was the closest to Steve, already turning around from where he was standing by the console Steve had just come rolling out from behind. One of his super humans was only a couple of metres away, he'd been standing guard beside the opening of the module but was already moving towards Steve, a furious gleam in his eyes. A second was on the far side of the room, already moving away from the console she'd been operating. Steve couldn't see Zola, but assumed he was on the side of the room blocked from view by the craft.He had no idea which of these consoles was most essential to the module, so in lieu of that he thought the most logical option was taking out the leader of this whole operation.He squeezed the trigger, aimed squarely at Schmidt, who didn't have time to move out of the way.But he wasn't counting on just how enhanced Schmidt's super soldiers were. Steve watched the golden beam from his phaser streaking its way towards Schmidt as if in slow motion. And right in front of his eyes he saw the super man take a leap across the metres between them and throw himself directly in front of the phaser beam, seconds before it was about to hit Schmidt.Steve stared down at him in shock for a few precious seconds. Then everything happened at once.Schmidt snarled, “Take him out!” and his remaining super soldier sprung across the room, her hands already balled into fists.Steve knew what to expect this time, so the first thing he did was get the hell out of there. He ducked and rolled head first towards the console Schmidt had been standing next to.“Zola! We have run out of time!” Schmidt called out, having already rushed away from the console to occupy the one abandoned by the super soldier currently going after Steve.“I-initialising final sequence,” Zola replied, sounding shrill and absolutely terrified.Steve rolled up into a crouch, facing towards the super woman, who was already almost upon him. He levelled his phaser and fired, almost point blank, into her chest.She collapsed on top of the other soldier, and Steve quickly scrambled to his feet.He had just rushed past the crumpled forms of the two super humans, making a beeline for Schmidt, when an iron grip latched around his ankle and sent him crashing to the ground.His phaser slipped out of his grip, skittering along the deck away from him.It took him a moment, the wind having been knocked out of him, to roll himself back over. But when he did he came face to face with the super man, who snarled at him and aimed a punch at his face.Steve quickly rolled off to the side, feeling the impact as the punch landed on the deck in the space he'd just been.“But I stunned you!” Steve spluttered, as he scrambled back to his feet. His phaser had been on the heaviest stun setting – usually more than enough to take out any humanoid, even a Klingon.The super soldier didn't dignify his outburst with a response, just charged towards him lightning quick.Steve, unarmed as he was, had no choice but to duck and roll out of the way again. But apparently the soldier had been anticipating that. He twisted around as Steve went past, and caught him in the back, right above one of his kidneys, as soon as he'd emerged from his roll onto his feet again.Steve staggered to the deck, but knew he couldn't afford to stay still or else the soldier would be upon him. He hastily let his body collapse completely onto the deck and rolled himself away – towards the module. He felt another super punch impact the deck a second later and couldn't help his grin at having outsmarted him.He shakily got to his feet, back protesting the movement, and clung to one of the thick cables connected to the side of the module for support as he panted heavily.The super man smirked at Steve as he stalked towards him. “You might as well give up now,” he said, the first words Steve had heard him say, “You're no match for me.”Then he lunged forward, fist jabbing out straight for Steve's head.But Steve anticipated this and jumped up, wrapping both arms around the cable and swinging himself bodily up and out of the way of the blow.The soldier's fist connected with the module, denting it slightly.Steve swung himself around so he was on top of the cable, his knees gripping tightly to hold him in place. He saw the super soldier right himself from where he'd almost crashed headlong into the module. As soon as he'd reoriented himself he reached up for Steve – who had already flung himself up the cable to where it was connected to the module, ignoring the snarl of fury from the soldier beneath him.“You might be right,” he called down, “Physically I am no match for you.”He wrapped his hands around the connecting ring that locked the cable in place, then twisted it with all his might. It only loosened slightly, but it clearly hadn't been designed to withstand the weight of two humans – as soon as the soldier had hauled himself up onto the cable Steve saw the ring strain. He only had a split second to act, before the soldier realised what was happening.Steve grabbed onto the ring and gave it an almighty pull, while simultaneously swinging himself down so that his entire body hung from the cable.His plan might not have succeeded, if the super soldier hadn't picked that moment to launch himself up onto the end of the cable, after Steve.Their combined weight was too much for the ring, which was finally yanked from its housing within the module. With nothing holding it in place, the cable went snaking to the ground – electricity sparking and hissing from the open end.Steve had been ready for this and quickly let go of the falling, live cable. He expertly rolled into the fall and came up neatly on his feet, muscles screaming from the effort.But the super soldier was taken by surprise and fell along with the cable. The few seconds it took him to reorient himself from the shock was long enough for Steve to lunge across the room, pick up his fallen phaser, turn and fire.This time the soldier stayed down.“Hmmm, it seems your intelligence wasn't so super after all,” Steve quipped, already turning away.Their entire fight had only lasted a matter of minutes, though it felt much longer to Steve. He looked around just in time to catch Schmidt's eye from where the other man was busy tapping commands into a console. Zola was standing next to him, wringing his hands together.“Sir, without that power-” he began.“We will have to make do,” Schmidt snapped, pulling a disruptor from his belt and aiming it at Steve, who quickly ducked out of the way to avoid the blast.“But sir-”“Come Zola!” Schmidt called out, firing over his shoulder at Steve as he ran into the module – its door was already beginning to close, no doubt activated by Schmidt remotely.“You are too late Captain, nothing you can do will stop us now!” Schmidt called out from within the module, sounding gleeful.Steve rushed forward, preparing to leap into the module after them. He took a shot at the door, but without time to aim it went wild, merely scorching the metal.Left with no alternative, Steve flung himself up, towards the opening in the doorway, ignoring the way it was still closing even as he rushed towards it.He caught a glimpse of Schmidt’s face, skin cast in a red glow from the lighting within the module.His fingertips were just passing through the opening when something grabbed onto his calf and flung him back around to tumble across the deck.Steve scrambled to his feet to find the super woman already in front of him. Her punch came, quicker than a phaser beam, to strike his chest. He knew the impact had broken some ribs, easily. But he didn't have time to let it slow him down – running on adrenaline alone, ignoring his battered body, Steve lashed out with a kick that caught her in the abdomen.She staggered back, and that second was enough for Steve to see the way she was panting, her clothing scorched from the phaser beam that had taken her down. He tried to raise his phaser up and shoot her again, but she snarled and struck his temple.He lurched back, spots dancing in front of his eyes, and she hit him again, across the chin this time. He tasted blood.The entire room was thrumming now, and he could see the bright flashes and sparks from the fallen cable out of the corner of his eye. The deck began to vibrate under his feet. And dimly, in the background, he heard his communicator chirp.The super soldier went in for another hit, but miraculously, Steve saw it coming fast enough to block it and hit back – his blow landed in the centre of her scorched uniform.She grunted in pain, faltering for a second – this one long enough for Steve to aim and squeeze the trigger of his phaser. She crumpled at his feet.There was no time to waste.Steve turned and aimed for the next cable attached to the module and fired his phaser at it. The cable glowed red hot, but remained intact. He quickly adjusted the setting on his phaser, putting it at maximum – powerful enough to disintegrate a person.His phaser beam sliced through the cable in a matter of seconds.Warning lights began to flash on all the consoles, and an alarm began to sound.“Warning. Reactor critical. Warning. Reactor critical.” The voice of the base's computer repeated over and over, its tone perfectly calm despite its dire warning.Howard had cracked the system, his ten minutes were up, but would Schmidt disappear before the base blew? Steve had been locked out of the module itself, the only thing he could do now, from outside, was as much damage to its external systems as possible. Hopefully it would be enough.He fired along the lines of consoles and across the module's thick connecting cables, ignoring the squeal of alarms that increased in volume and pitch with each pull of the trigger. Smoke filled the air now, thick and oily. Steve covered his mouth with one hand as he ran around the module, causing as much havoc as possible.There, that was all he could do. Every cable was severed, sparks showered the room and flames licked the consoles.He stumbled through the smoke towards the only door, where he had to struggle with the manual release before it'd open for him.Steve burst out into the corridor, gasping in lungfuls of clean air, smoke trailing after him. He didn't give himself time to breath, his lungs screamed in protest as he ran through the corridor, towards the hanger bay where he knew Bucky and Howard would be waiting.He pulled out his communicator as he ran, flicking it open.“Steve? Is that you?” Bucky's voice burst out of the communicator's tiny speakers at him, tinged with panic.“Yeah … I'm coming,” Steve panted, not able to talk and run and breathe all at the same time.“We're out of time,” Howard called out, his voice slightly more distant. “This base is gonna blow.”“You … have your … orders,” Steve confirmed, his jaw clenching.“What are you doing Stark? Oh hell no!” Bucky yelled, “We are not leaving without Steve! Steve, you bastard, what the hell-”Steve heard the sounds of a scuffle in the background, though it was mostly drowned out by the pounding of his footsteps on the deck plating and the continuous drone of the computer's automated warnings.He only had a few more corridors to go.“We've left the base,” Howard's voice came over the comm a moment later, “I had to restrain Barnes behind a forcefield.”“I'm going to get both of you for this!” Bucky's angry yelling was faint, “I don't give a damn if they court martial me!”Steve felt some of the tension within him ebb, knowing that at least his crew would be safe. “I'm … almost … there,” he panted, rounding the last corridor at an all-out sprint.“Go for the Orion Interceptor on your left,” Howard told him. “It has the fastest warm up sequence – and I went in and put it on stand-by before joining Barnes,” he admitted.“You planned this? Damn you Stark!” Bucky was still yelling. Steve would owe him a hell of an apology later.Steve grinned as he slapped the panel to open the doors to the bay and rushed inside. “Thanks … Stark,” he wheezed out, jogging the last few metres onto the ship to his left. Its door had been left open for him.He dropped into the pilot seat, closed the door and began the warm up sequence.“I've got the America on the comm – Schmidt was jamming our signals,” Howard said a minute later, as Steve was pressing the last of the controls. The ship rose shakily into the air, Steve didn't have the time for finesse, or to let its engines warm up as much as he should have.“Patch me in,” Steve called out, “I'm just leaving the base now.” He engaged the thrusters, and the ship lurched forward less than steadily.“Steve? Bucky? What is going on over there?” Peggy's voice came over the speakers, loud and clear – and more than a little angry. “We're detecting a massive power build up. But when we tried to approach, the base shot at us!”Steve's heart lurched, “Is everyone okay?”“Yes, yes, everyone's fine, it barely scratched our shields,” Peggy assured him hastily. “But what is-”“The base is going to blow,” Howard interrupted, “Barnes and I are approaching fast – Steve is only clearing it now, but he should be- oh no.”All of the alarms on Steve's ship began blaring at once. Explosions were tearing through the base as its reactor went critical. And Steve was too close – he was going to get caught in the blast.“Peggy, Bucky, Howard, I-” Steve began, then choked, what could he even say? There wasn't any time.He didn't think it would end like this.“Steve! No! Dammit Stark I told you-” Bucky's frantic yells were the last thing Steve heard before the shockwave hit and everything went black.