/A short based on a prompt I received on Tumblr from the wonderful Darkdraconis. Kinda got out of hand, so posted it here for easier reading.
/WARNINGS: swearing, blood, injuries, death, injections
/The prompt:

Elsanna:
"Oh fuck, oh FUCK."
"Look at me - just breathe, okay?"
"I can't breathe!"

Sinnium

The sound with which the Sinnium split in two was deafening, the gas that erupted from the newly exposed veins thick enough to make your eyes water. Everyone knew this, it was the reason the overseers wore protective headgear. The volatile ore was embedded deep within stones that had been compressed over several millennia, deep underneath the largest of mountains. To reach it, tunnels needed to be dug deep into the crust of the planet. They went on for miles and miles, the memory of fresh air now alien to those condemned to work in the deepest reaches of the poisonous tunnel system.

Elsa swung the pickaxe high above her head, bringing it down onto the unyielding rock at her feet. As soon as she lifted it again, a second pickaxe struck the stone, moving out of the way in time for Elsa to bring down her diamond instrument again. The blonde glanced over at the young woman working next to her, sweat running down her face onto the flimsy paper mask they were handed out at the start of their shifts. If you could call them that.

Elsa's short distraction caused the rhythm to falter and the two young women halted, putting their axes down and leaning on the handle. The redhead's chest was rising and falling quickly, her eyes closed halfway.

The blonde moved over and gently put her hand in the other girl's neck, the sounds of pickaxes on stone still echoing through the tunnel from every direction. Combined with the metallic crunch of ill-serviced mine karts being pulled over their rails, it forced Elsa to raise her voice quite a lot to be heard. "Anna, are you okay? Do you need to sit down?"

Anna weakly put her hand on Elsa's, the smile she tried conjuring up lifting the flimsy mask a bit. Elsa recognised the gesture but it was not very convincing on Anna's pale, dusty face. "I'm fine. Let's keep working before the overseer notices."

"Our shift should be over any moment, we'll…" At that precise moment a loud buzzer resounded through the tunnel, causing those without protective ear muffs to cringe slightly. The overseers didn't seem fazed as they immediately started herding the workers towards the living halls, whips clutched in their hands.

Elsa wiped some of the sweat and dust from Anna's bare shoulders. The workers had one set of clothes, consisting of little more than a white singlet and shoddy brown pants that were woven from some sort of itchy material that left over half the workers with rashes after a mere half hour of labour. Not to mention the gashes workers got on the bottom of their feet sometimes, the sharp slivers of rock easily cutting through skin and muscle.

Anna pushed some hair back from Elsa's face, but soon what little strength she had left faltered and her arm fell down to her side again. She laughed bitterly. "A couple more days, at most."

Elsa swallowed heavily and pulled the girl to her feet, her eyes shooting towards an overseer that was regarding them suspiciously. "Don't talk like that," the blonde hissed. "We're getting out of here."

"You're still strung up on that plan of yours, hm?" Anna put her arm over Elsa's shoulders and allowed the blonde to support her towards the living halls. Workers were pouring out of the tunnels into Junction Omicron, doing their best to move in an orderly fashion whilst getting to the food hall as quickly as possible.

"Yes, I am. But we shouldn't talk about it now." As on cue, the sharp crack of a whip sounded right over their heads and both women ducked, keeping their heads low as they joined the herd of workers.

"We should really get in the first batch," Elsa said worriedly as they passed the heavy metal doors leading away from the junction and into a large corridor. "It's been hard getting food lately." They had left their diamond pickaxes on stands at the junction, safely back with the overseers. Diamond was the only material hard enough to crack the tough stones containing the Sinnium, but the workers weren't exactly trusted with something that valuable. Elsa had heard some of the older workers joke about how one of those axes was worth more than a dozen workers, but she hadn't found it funny.

"You should let me help," Anna muttered. The redhead was still panting, even though Elsa was carrying most of her weight and they had halted work a while back already. "I can see what the food runs are doing to you."

"And I can see what this place is doing to you," Elsa snapped back. "Now shut up, save your strength." Elsa felt Anna push against her, the crowd packing in on itself quickly now that they were approaching the shower chambers. A large counter on the wall told the overseers how many people were already inside the chamber and Elsa bit her lip. There wasn't much room left for the first batch. She hadn't told Anna of the newest details of her plan yet, because she knew the redhead wouldn't agree to it.

"You there, stay in line!" The thunderous voice of one of the overseers, mechanically enhanced by his headgear, hit Elsa on the side of the head almost like a physical slap would have. For a moment her stomach fell, but a quick glance to the side showed her the overseers weren't concerned with her and Anna but with a man who had started running to the shower chambers, shoving people out of the way as he went.

"Elsa, what's going on?" Anna wasn't as tall as Elsa and couldn't see what was going on. Elsa's eyes followed the man as he took several more steps, her face growing sad as she watched him. He probably had his own reasons for stepping out of line. Maybe he had someone he needed to take care of too, a child or partner. Maybe he was just so hungry he decided to take the risk.

Elsa averted her eyes down towards Anna right after she saw the man's head snap forward suddenly, blood and other more viscous matter hitting the wall and the workers around him. Some of them screamed, but mostly the crowd just kept moving forward. No need in causing a stir, not if it might bring you the same fate as the man now lying on the floor. The clean-up crew would arrive soon, they always did.

"It was nothing, Anna. Let's keep moving." Elsa pulled on Anna's arm and managed to skilfully pass several people until they were almost at the shower chambers. A quick glance told them they had to hurry to make it into the chamber, otherwise they'd have to wait to be a part of the next batch and that would mess up Elsa's plans severely.

As she gritted her teeth, she tried pushing the both of them past one more group of workers, but at this point everyone was desperate to get inside the chamber and the overseers were breaking up quarrels everywhere. Elsa managed to get both of them to the front of the line, right as the counter hit zero and the large gate started closing slowly.

"Oh fuck, oh FUCK." Elsa cursed, causing Anna to squeeze on her shoulder.

"We'll get the next one Elsa." The redhead was still panting and Elsa felt bad for exerting herself and the redhead as much as she had, moving through the crowd, but she didn't have a choice.

"We need to be on this one. We have to be." Elsa looked up at the gates coming down slowly. They were already halfway down, blocking off the corridor completely in just a few more seconds. Elsa had to act quickly, and now.

Elsa moved forward swiftly, dragging Anna along with her. "Elsa, what're you…" Whilst biting down on her lip, Elsa let go of Anna and grabbed two women by the backs of their shirts, pulling sharply. From all sides overseers were calling out, but Elsa knew that there weren't any overseers in the shower cabin.

As soon as the two women stumbled back over the line separating the segments of the corridor, the counter to the left jumped back to two and the gate halted, destined to grind to a slow stop – were it not for Elsa, who pushed Anna over the line and jumped after her, causing the counter to go back down to zero and the gate to continue to go down.

The two women were clamouring loudly, but when the overseers reached them the gate was already down to hip height and they clearly weren't in the mood for going down on their knees, and they surely weren't going to override the gate command to get two workers onto the second batch instead of the first.

Elsa ignored the dark glances she was getting from all around her, including the one she was receiving from right next to her. "I can't believe you just did that," Anna hissed. The first buzzer sounded as soon as the chamber door closed and everyone methodically took their masks off, dropping them to the floor. The loud drone of air being sucked out of the room sounded, quickly followed by the gentle breeze that meant a breathable mix of carbondioxyde and oxygen was being pumped back in.

Elsa closed her eyes and shot a quick prayer, asking the gods to forgive her for what she just did. Maybe those women had families too, and the fact Elsa had just condemned them to the second batch and most likely a lot less food they could've had otherwise caused long-lasting consequences. But she couldn't think about that right now. She had to think about Anna. "I'm sorry, Anna. I couldn't just…"

Elsa's sentence trailed off when the second buzzer sounded and everyone closed their eyes and mouth, holding their breath when the chamber was momentarily filled with a disinfectant haze. It lasted ten seconds and Elsa quickly found Anna's face with her right hand, pushing her left hand against the back of the redheads head as she covered Anna's mouth and squeezed her nose shut. She knew the redhead couldn't hold her breath that long but she had to. Indeed, Elsa counted they were halfway when Anna's body started shaking, her chest desperately trying to expand in order to get air into her lungs. Elsa held on tight despite Anna's body objecting whilst the redhead squeezed Elsa's wrists tightly.

When the haze disappeared Elsa let go of Anna's head and the girl almost dropped to the floor, swaying on her legs whilst her body worked overtime to replenish the oxygen it so desperately needed. Elsa caught the girl and held her up, her stomach clenching sharply at the sight of Anna's slack, pale face on her head that was rolling from side to side. "Jesus Anna, since when has it been getting this bad?"

Water came pouring down from the ceiling, washing away all the dust and sweat from the workers. There were cries of delight erupting everywhere around them in the cramped space, all the workers packed together with barely enough room to stand. Anna aimed her face up, opening her mouth to drink some of the water – just like every other worker in the chamber. Elsa gave in to the urge as well, her parched body relishing the nutritious liquid pouring into her stomach.

As soon as the water stopped spilling down, the door on the other side of the chamber opened and the first workers started crawling underneath the doors into the dimly lit corridors, most of them sucking on their soaked clothes to get some more moisture in. There were no more overseers on the other side of the chambers, no law or regulation. There was however food, and the first one to get to it was the one who got to eat.

"Leave me here, Elsa. I'll manage it back to our cot alone." Anna wiped some soaking strands of hair into her mouth, sucking them dry, and patted Elsa on the arm.

"No way, you're far too weak." Elsa tightened her hold on Anna's waist, the redhead's arm once again slung over Elsa's shoulders.

"If you won't let me help you on the food runs, at least let me help you by not getting in the way."

Elsa bit her lip, moving out of the chamber as fast as she could with the almost dead weight hanging off of her side. She wasn't going very fast, that much was true, and she really needed to get food for the both of them. "Okay, fine." Elsa moved to the side of the corridor, avoiding other people who were running towards the food hall on their last legs. "But wait here, don't go back to the cot."

"Wait, what?"

"Trust me Anna, wait here." Elsa carefully put Anna down in a small niche in the wall, making sure she wasn't too easily seen from the shower chambers when the second batch of workers would come out. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Anna opened her mouth, her face contorted into a confused and worried frown, but she merely shook her head. "Okay, go. I'll be here."

Elsa moved forward and pressed a quick kiss to Anna's forehead before sprinting away into the dark.

Anna woke up with a start when she felt a cool hand press against her forehead. Her arms flew up in a defensive manner, but they soon fell down to her lap again, her breath coming heavily once more as her eyes finally recognised the shape before her. "Elsa, what… Oh my gods."

"It's nothing," Elsa said softly as she repeatedly felt the redhead's forehead. "I'm more worried about you."

Anna reached out and carefully touched Elsa's burst lip with a shaking hand, her eyes flying over the rest of her lover's face. Her eye was blue and puffy and there was enough dried blood on the blonde's face to tell her it hadn't just come from the cut on her cheek or her swollen nose. Anna noticed both of their clothes had dried completely, telling her the blonde had been gone quite a while.

"I got us some food at least," Elsa said with a sideways smirk. She showed Anna her spoils and the redheads' eyes went wide.

"Elsa, where did you get all this stuff?!" Anna's hunger caused her to almost lunge at the food, grabbing a chunk of dark, hard bread and some sort of sausage she didn't want to know the origin off. But it was fatty and full of protein, just what they both needed right now.

"I managed to get to the food hall pretty quickly. I only had to fight off a few unarmed people, the real fighters had to go get their weapons from their cots first. I caught a glance of them as I ran back here, they… well, let's say I'm glad I didn't have to go up against them." Elsa also stuffed a few bites of food into her mouth, chewing with her eyes shut to savour every last bit of it.

Anna decided not to ask any more questions. Ever since they had been captured and brought to this godsforsaken place Elsa had been the one who took care of them. At first Anna had helped, but the girl's health had deteriorated quickly to a point where the daily labour in the mines left her so drained that at night all she could do was lie down and try not to die in her sleep.

Before this things had been different. Anna had always been the adventurous one, getting into fights at bars whenever they docked at a station or trying out some ridiculous new sport, only to come home battered and bruised and cursing the world. Elsa had been the one who got them hired on the Prospathoun, a Confederation exploration ship that needed kitchen staff for their long journey towards the outer reaches of charted space. They had kept their relationship a secret at first, but the crew of the Prospathoun had quickly turned into a family for the two young women. It made sense of course, their journey was estimated to last for several years with just the other crew members for company when they weren't docked anywhere.

Anna smiled when she thought back to their captain and the other friends her and Elsa had made on the Prospathoun during their two and a half year stay aboard the ship. They had been through so many things together, including shoot outs with bandits and even a short famine when their engine had broken down and they had been adrift in space for several weeks… only for her and Elsa to be captured whilst on a foraging run on a jungle-like planet whilst the Prospathoun remained in orbit to conduct repairs.

"Are you okay?" Elsa asked worriedly.

"I'm good." Anna stuffed the last bit of her sausage into her mouth, the food already seeming to fill her with some renewed strength. "I was just thinking back to… You know. The Prospathoun."

Elsa frowned distractedly and stared at a point next to Anna's head for a moment before suddenly smiling and bringing Anna's hand to her mouth, brushing it with her lips. "Those were good times, yes." The blonde then continued to throw glances to all sides whilst Anna sadly regarded the smear of blood Elsa's mouth had left on her hand.

"Okay, let's go." Elsa wrapped the remaining food and the priceless bottle of water up in a cloth and tied it around her waist. Anna looked on, rather befuddled by the blonde's behaviour. Elsa had been acting strange ever since the end of their shift, noticeably more jumpy and even more tense than usual. The stunt she had pulled at the showers had left Anna very uneasy and unclear as to what Elsa was up to.

Anna allowed Elsa to help her to her feet once more, the food steadying her feet a little bit. She managed to walk on her own, even though she kept a firm hold on Elsa's shoulder just in case. Even though the redhead usually didn't object to Elsa's plans, no matter what they were, she was getting more uneasy with every passing moment. "Elsa, you're… not planning anything stupid, are you?"

"Stupid? Me?" Elsa laughed nervously as she checked their surroundings to make sure no-one was near. There were distant noises of yelling and fighting and Anna didn't even want to know how many workers would lose their lives that day in the struggle over who got to eat and who didn't. It made sure only the strongest ones survived and remained strong for a while longer, warranting the mining of more Sinnium and more money made by the slavers that sat in their luxurious rooms probably eating fresh fruit from a silver platter…

Anna blinked when she realised Elsa had been talking to her, the thought of fresh fruit clouding her brain and causing her mouth to water. "What?"

"Pay attention, Anna. This is important." Elsa moved through the maze of corridors rather quickly and soon Anna wasn't sure where they were anymore. When they had just arrived Anna had explored together with Elsa, but they hadn't gotten to this part of the complex yet before her health went down the drain. She knew Elsa had continued without her and she just hoped the blonde knew what she was doing.

"You want to do it tonight, don't you." Anna's voice was soft and sombre, causing Elsa to falter for a moment.

"Yes." The blonde looked straight at Anna, searching her face and eyes for a reaction. Anna was too tired, too drained to let her pain shine through on her face.

"Please, Elsa. I don't want you to die over this."

The blonde abruptly started walking again, causing Anna to stumble alongside her. Elsa wrapped an arm tightly around Anna's waist, pulling her close. "You don't have a say in this. Not anymore." Anna just let her head hang, her mind starting to get as fatigued as her body. She knew Elsa wouldn't be swayed off of her stupid plan, nor did Anna have the energy to try anymore. A lethargy started to settle itself over the redhead's body and mind, and suddenly Anna realised that she had accepted the fact she was going to die. Whether during their already doomed escape, or whether they stayed here. It caused her to blink twice, but then the thought slipped from her mind once more. If it was going to happen, there was no use in dwelling on it.

"Anna, are you okay? Anna!" Elsa shook the redhead's shoulders. The girl had collapsed against a wall and Elsa hadn't been able to keep her up in their current position, so Anna had slid down and was now sitting against the wall, her head hanging to the side. "Gods be damned," Elsa mumbled through clenched teeth. She looked around and knew they were close to where they had to be, but also that they had to hurry – the hallways would fill up quickly with people trying to find a safe haven for the night.

Elsa grabbed a hard chunk of something she didn't recognise out of her food stash. They were mostly fed things of which she had no idea what they were, but this particular food item tended to give her more energy than anything else she had ever had. It had caused the two of them to call them 'white diamonds'. There usually wasn't a lot of it so she was lucky she managed to get her hands on this bit.

After washing down the white diamond with a small sip of water, Elsa blew out her breath a few times before dragging Anna's passed-out body up and draping it over her shoulder. Her hands locked in front of her chest, one of Anna's arms and legs clung tightly to her body. The extra weight caused Elsa to sway for a moment before regaining her balance, but the fact Anna weighed less than the pickaxe she handled daily made things a lot easier.

Elsa thanked the gods when she reached her first destination without coming across anything that might ruin her plan. She had worked the grid for weeks, until last night she finally managed to pull the thing loose from its hinges. After she carefully put the still unconscious Anna down, she opened the grid as quietly as she could before dragging Anna into the ventilation shaft. She heard voices coming closer so she quickly pulled the grid back in place moments before she saw shapes turn the corner and head straight for them.

Her heart beat in her throat as she froze, not daring to move in the mostly metallic ventilation shaft. She was squatted over Anna's unmoving body, trying not to make a sound until the three figures had passed their hiding place. She almost held her breath when the figures were less than a few feet away, the sound of her heart so loud she was afraid they might hear it beating in her ears. It shot up even higher when Anna stirred underneath her, a soft moan escaping her lips as she moved around a tiny bit. Elsa's hand immediately shot to the redhead's mouth, but the figures had stopped walking. They were speaking in a tongue Elsa didn't know, but she was pretty sure they had heard Anna.

One of the figures bent down to look into the ventilation shaft the two of them were hiding in. Elsa averted her head and kept pushing her shaking hand onto Anna's mouth, not sure whether the girl was awake but thankful that she was at least lying still again.

Another rough voice sounded and the man peering into the ventilation shaft responded curtly. Elsa tried to will the darkness to envelop them, to shield them from sight… and apparently it worked. One of the other figures spoke again and shoved the one sitting down, causing him to shoot up and shove back. They started struggling and Elsa made quick use of the distraction and noise to move further down the ventilation shaft. She was on all fours with Anna underneath her, crawling forward a little bit before pulling Anna along with her. She was moving slowly but steadily, trying to ignore the pain that was unwaveringly spreading through her back, elbows and knees.

Anna woke up just as Elsa was lying down on top of her, breathing heavily and giving her tormented body some rest before continuing. "Els… Elsa?" Anna moaned, causing the blonde to shush her quickly.

"Be quiet, Anna. I'm not sure where we are yet but we've been going on for about two hours, we're bound to end up somewhere soon."

"What… where…" Anna looked around herself, the confined space leaving barely enough room for the both of them to fit on top of each other. "…how?"

Elsa regarded Anna's confused and worried face, a burning sensation building up in her chest. She softly pressed her lips against Anna's, knowing it wasn't exactly the time or place but not really caring either. Anna's lips were rough and dry against hers but she closed her eyes and imagined they were back in their living quarters aboard the Prospathoun. Elsa would have cooked and Anna might have managed to steal or barter some booze from somewhere, and they'd spend the entire night eating, drinking, watching the stars and enjoying each other… until they would fall asleep with their limbs entangled, each other's tastes lingering on their tongues.

Elsa was pulled from her blissful memory when Anna's body started convulsing, coughs building up in her chest. "Shit, shit…" Elsa got up on her elbows and knees again, pressing her back against the top of the ventilation shaft and helping Anna to roll onto her side. The redhead coughed into the crack of her elbow, doing her best to muffle her coughs as best as she could until her eyes watered and she had drawn blood from her lip by biting down so hard. Elsa hurriedly grabbed the bottle of water, managing to get a little bit on Anna's face before dropping it. It spilled almost all of its contents down the ventilation shaft before Elsa had put it upright again, disbelief on her face.

When Anna's body finally calmed down again she rolled back, bringing a lightly trembling hand up to caress Elsa's anxious face. "Kiss me again," she said softly.

Elsa looked down the ventilation shaft stretching out in front of them. "We should really get going, we…"

"Elsa, please." The blonde looked down into Anna's eyes and saw need there, a burning want that pierced her heart and made everything else fade away. She allowed Anna to pull her head back in and press their mouths together again. Anna broke the kiss, keeping her eyes closed. "Just remember… remember that night? I stole a bottle of Earth whisky from the captain's quarters and we drank it all in the hydroponics bay…"

"Yes, you earned us three weeks on toilet scrubbing duty with that stunt."

"Make… Please, kiss me like you did then. I want to feel like that again, before…" Elsa opened her mouth to protest, tears ready to push their way out of her eyes, but Anna pressed a finger to the blonde's lips. "Please…"

Elsa bit her lip for a moment, squeezing her eyes shut. She gently pressed her lips against Anna's again, her tears mixing with Anna's on the redhead's freckled cheeks. Elsa inhaled sharply and flicked her tongue out, her left arm sliding underneath Anna's neck and her right hand grasping the redhead's hand, pushing it down against the metal sheet they were lying on top of. Anna opened her mouth and her tongue found Elsa's, but Elsa pushed back with such dire emotion all the redhead could do was inhale deeply through her nose while the blonde dominated the kiss, their hands squeezing each other until their knuckles turned white.

Elsa broke the kiss when she felt Anna's chest tighten, allowing the girl to inhale much needed oxygen through her wide open mouth. Elsa leaned her forehead down against Anna's, tears still dripping down slowly onto Anna's nose and eyelids. When she noticed, she moved to wipe them away with her hand but Anna stopped her, pressing Elsa's hand to her own cheek instead. "Leave them. It's okay."

"It's not okay," Elsa managed to say with a voice strained with emotion. "It's not…" She shook her head, swallowing the rest of her words back – together with the sadness that was threatening to overwhelm her. She needed to stay strong now. For Anna.

Elsa contemplated the many pairs of heavy boots passing in front of her eyes. She was lying on her stomach in the ventilation shaft, Anna pressed down on top of her. It allowed Elsa to drag herself forward without having to pull Anna along with her. The redhead had offered to try and crawl for herself for a bit but Elsa had refused, knowing she'd need her strength later.

The grid in front of her wasn't nearly as strong as the one on the other end. Elsa was looking out into a hallway that was well-lit and looked nothing like the corridors the workers saw every day. She had also seen some signs posted on the wall but she couldn't read them, they were too far away. She had calculated that it was nearing morning time, so the overseers should soon return to work. Elsa's body was burning from getting her and Anna through the tunnel, so she didn't mind having to wait for a little bit until the hallway died out a bit more. She had already seen which door she was going to try to get to as soon as she had an opening.

Elsa felt a soft tap on her shoulder and she helped Anna off of her back, putting her on her side against the wall of the ventilation shaft. There was a voice over the speaker and the sound of boots increased in volume, until it started dying out again shortly after. Elsa threw Anna a swift smile, trying not to think back to the kiss they had shared before. The way Anna's voice had sounded, so needy but at the same time… calm and composed, like she was ready to die, it caused Elsa's heart to clench up on itself so much she was afraid she wouldn't be able to continue with their plan. So, instead, Elsa kept pushing forward.

When the last overseer had rounded the corner, Elsa pushed against the corners of the grid with both her hands, swinging the grid outwards. She froze for a few seconds, checking whether the noise had attracted anyone, but it remained quiet so she carefully moved out into the hallway, the soft carpet like clouds underneath her battered feet.

Without halting she moved towards the door, her feet making no sound on the soft floor. She pushed her ear against the door, holding her breath for a moment and closing her eyes. There was no sound, so after taking another deep breath she slowly pulled the door open. A bright light shone in her face and blinded her for a moment, and it was the fact she froze that saved her. Had she slammed the door shut, the overseer sitting with his back towards the door behind what looked like a communications panel would have definitely heard.

Elsa blinked a few times, trying to think up a quick plan. She didn't exactly have a lot of combat experience, but the time she had spent on the Prospathoun with Anna had had its effects on her. You can't live aboard an exploration vessel with enough fire power to drown out most rebel ships without picking up a few things here and there.

To her left, Elsa saw a jacket hanging over a chair. Her eyes flicked back to the man sitting with his back towards her and she noticed he wasn't wearing a jacket, nor was there one over his chair – hopefully it was his and there wasn't another overseer back on his way to the room.

A sudden noise almost made Elsa jump but she managed to stay still, using the static that had suddenly erupted from the console to mask her movements as she grabbed the jacket off of the chair. With her heart pounding high up in her throat she froze again, the jacket hanging from the sleeves in between her hands. The man pushed a button and spoke, giving Elsa the opportunity to move forward again. This repeated itself several times until Elsa was right behind the man, her eyes moist and her heart pounding so fast it made her dizzy. The adrenaline kept her up however and when the man finished his conversation by closing the channel she sharply moved the jacket over the man's face, pulling the sleeves together behind the man's neck. His initial loud reaction was quickly cut off when Elsa put all the strength and weight she had left onto the jacket, the fear and adrenaline causing tears to run down her face.

The man got a hold of the jacket and pulled on it, but Elsa quickly twisted the sleeves, pulling the jacket so close the guard was unable to pry his fingers in between the fabric and his throat. Elsa watched the man's neck and head get increasingly red, then purple. She caught the man's eyes in a dark monitor on the console, and she saw the fear in his eyes. It almost caused her to let go of the jacket, but she knew that would mean her and Anna would surely die then and there, so all she could do was mutter "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry," as she squeezed her eyes shut and let the tears soak into her singlet.

When the man stopped moving Elsa kept a hold of the jacket a little while longer, until she noticed the way the man's glazed eyes stared up at the ceiling. Her heavily trembling hands let go of the jacket and she regarded them, flexing her fingers with a dull fascination. She had just killed a man. She had never killed anyone before. The Prospathoun had, but…

Right, Anna. Elsa composed herself by taking several deep breaths and biting her already aching lip, pulling herself back to the present. She looked over at the console. This opened up several possibilities. They had to get to the surface, and there were cameras everywhere. The monitors showed several of them, all currently showing empty corridors. She considered herself lucky and decided not to wonder at the lack of security right now. There was enough to worry about without mulling over luck being on their side for a change.

Elsa blew out her breath and pushed some buttons she thought she recognised. The monitors were off, and she hoped she had turned off the cameras all together- but even if it hadn't worked she at least hadn't alerted the entire complex to the fact she was there. Hopefully.

When she returned to the ventilation shaft Anna desperately held her hands out for Elsa and the blonde pulled her out of the ventilation shaft and up on her feet. Anna hugged her tightly. "I thought you were gone…"

Elsa hugged Anna back for a moment, but then gently pushed the redhead off. "We have to go." She looked down the hallway. "I'm really hoping it's this way."

Anna looked down at Elsa's waist and the belt hanging off of it. "Where did you get that, Elsa?"

Elsa also looked down at the belt, a hand weapon and electronic tag hanging off of it. "I took it off a guard. Please, we have to go."

Anna complied but she wasn't able to run, so Elsa once again took her onto her back. The redhead protested but Elsa ignored her, knowing Anna couldn't physically object to her treatment. She set off down the hallway on a jog, regulating her breaths. It wouldn't be long before they finished the headcount and would realise that between the alive and dead bodies, two workers were missing.

Elsa rounded corner after corner until she finally saw something she suspected to be an elevator. Anna was breathing heavily on her shoulders and Elsa felt rushed to get to the surface and out of the complex, knowing the redhead needed fresh air and medicine.

Without putting Anna down, Elsa pushed the electronic tag on her belt against the scanner next to the door. The doors slid open and Elsa took a step to get into the elevator, but instead froze on the spot when she saw three very confused looking overseers stare at her. The stalemate lasted for a few seconds, but Elsa was the first to respond and she turned heel, running down the hallway as fast as she could. She heard shouts behind her but didn't look back, knowing that if she slowed down they would definitely be caught.

She felt Anna pull the weapon from her belt with her free hand. As Elsa kept running she heard the tell-tale discharge of the weapon when Anna fired, causing a loud cry to erupt from behind them. Elsa quickly rounded a corner, her throat and legs burning but her mind forcing her body to keep complying. Run, run for your lives.

As she rounded the corner she saw another door that looked like an elevator. She clenched her teeth. Either she passed the door and she'd probably collapse soon after, or she'd open the door and risk the chance of it once again being a squad room. With a frustrated cry she kneed the button and almost cried with relief when the doors slid open to reveal an elevator. She unceremoniously dropped Anna onto the elevator floor and pressed the highest button she saw, hoping it would lead to the surface. She bent down and grabbed the gun from Anna's hand, quickly firing out of the closing elevator doors when she saw a figure appear in front of it.

The elevator doors slid closed and the noise stopped. Just like that, the shouts and loud footsteps died out and Elsa was left with just hearing her own ragged breaths and Anna's faint sobs. Frowning, Elsa turned around to see Anna lying on the floor of the elevator, clutching her chest and her eyes wide. The elevator was shooting upwards and Elsa prayed once more to the gods that it led to the surface. She wondered why the security was this low up here in the complex, but pushed the thought to the back of her mind when she knelt down next to Anna.

The redhead's eyes found Elsa's and she clasped at her chest once more, making grabbing movements with her hand. "I… I can't breathe!" Elsa put her hands on Anna's cheeks, rubbing them and desperately looking into Anna's eyes.

"Look at me! Look at me – just breathe, okay?" Elsa rashly grabbed the water bottle, offering what was left to Anna, but the redhead pushed her hand away and the bottle dropped to the floor.

"I can't!" Anna's throat and chest were visibly struggling to take in oxygen, but the look in Anna's eyes told Elsa she was unable to.

"We're getting out of here! Listen to me, Anna, we're getting out of here and we're getting you your medication!"

Anna opened her mouth to speak but couldn't, her lips slowly turning blue. Elsa squeezed her cheeks harder, almost shaking the girl's head in a desperate attempt to get her lungs to work once more. "Anna, please, breathe for me. Please…" Elsa's voice broke as the elevator started to slow down, indicating on the small monitor that they were at the surface level. "See, we're almost there, please, Anna…" Elsa pushed her forehead against Anna's, begging her to breathe, begging her lungs to work again.

The elevator doors slid open and Elsa automatically used her body to shield Anna when the uproar outside reached her ears. Elsa looked over her shoulder and immediately knew why there were so few people downstairs in the facility. They were all up here, fighting the Confederation.

Elsa's heart leapt up when she saw the familiar blue uniforms, but it was pushed down just as quickly when she took in the whole picture. They were looking out onto some sort of hangar, a large space that would easily fit the Prospathoun. It was currently being torn apart by gunfire, however.

Elsa looked out onto the backs of other familiar uniforms, but a kind that filled her heart with dread instead of hope. A large army of overseers, or maybe she could just call them soldiers, were pushing back the Confederation soldiers on the other end of the hall. Elsa was rooted in place from the scene she was regarding, but when the doors of the elevator started closing again she quickly pushed her foot in between the doors to keep them open.

"Hold on Anna, we're getting out of here." Elsa ignored Anna's blue face and closed eyes, she disregarded the fact the redhead's chest was now barely even moving anymore. She just picked her up again, the sight of Confederation soldiers filling her with renewed strength. "You'll see, we'll be out of here in no time."

Once out of the elevator however, Elsa stalled again. Everywhere were soldiers, the sounds were overwhelming her. She was sure no-one would hear her, but if one of the overseers saw them in their worker's outfits he'd just shoot them on the spot. Elsa looked around for a disguise but didn't see anything and quickly figured she didn't have the time to get both her and Anna changed. They'd be spotted well before that.

Elsa let out a frustrated cry which was drowned out completely by the gunfire noise. She started running to the left, where the concentration of soldiers seemed thinnest. When she reached the wall of the hangar she almost collapsed, her legs burning. She looked over her shoulder, managing to keep upright on trembling legs with Anna still on her back. She ignored the fact the girl didn't move at all anymore, her chest not stirring and her breath not present on Elsa's skin.

"Have to…" Elsa started moving again, swaying from side to side alongside the wall of the hangar. It was dark enough to make them move almost unseen, and Elsa kept going even after they had broken the line of Confederation soldiers. She simply didn't notice and just kept running, until she had run right out of the hangar into the bright shine of the large sun which this system of planets revolved around. "Have to…" Elsa mumbled again, her knees weak. "Have to…"

Hands grabbed Elsa's shoulders and removed Anna from her back. "No, stop, I have to…"

"What's wrong with this one, is she injured?"

"She's not breathing, she needs a medic right now."

"How about this one?"

Elsa was slowly realising that there were people talking around her, her brain catching up slowly through a thick haze of exhaustion. "Have to…"

"What's she saying?"

"She looks like hell."

"Maybe we should shoot them, they could work for the Nukari."

"Look at them, do they look like they enjoyed their work?"

Elsa shook her head, trying to clear her brain up a bit. She felt something press against her lips and soon cool water poured into her mouth. She reacted swiftly, grabbing the bottle and pouring the liquid down her throat, swallowing greedily while half of the contents spilled over her chest.

"Slow down, slow down." Strong hands removed the bottle from Elsa's grasp. "Now, can you tell me who you are? Can you even understand what I'm saying?"

Elsa blinked a few times, slowly registering she was outside of the hangar and kneeling on something that felt like grass. The sun was shining down on her and she was surrounded by Confederation soldiers, most of them with their guns at the ready. One man was kneeling down in front of her and a woman in an officer's uniform was carrying Anna.

"Anna…" Elsa reached out to the girl but the man in front of her pushed her hand back down.

"We'll try to get your friend help. Now can you tell me…"

"Prospathoun," Elsa quickly uttered. "We're crew members of the Prospathoun."

A silence fell in which the soldiers exchanged shocked glances. "Radio them," the man quickly said as his strong hands picked Elsa up, despite her protests. She quickly realised her weak punches against the man's back and shoulder didn't prevent him from carrying her, and seeing how he was following the woman who was carrying Anna Elsa stopped protesting. Slowly the realisation that they made it out seeped into her brain. They made it.

The man's radio cracked and a voice urged its way out. "We're being pushed back, it's no use. There's too many of them."

Both the man and woman swore loudly, the gunfire never lessening as they carried Anna and Elsa away from the fight. Elsa still barely saw anything, but she enjoyed the way her lungs filled with air. She wanted to see Anna, make sure she was okay too. She had to be, right? They were at the surface, there was good air here, and Anna would be fine… Right?

Suddenly the sun was gone and Elsa was put down on something. She was disorientated for a while but there was nothing confusing about the sharp pain in her neck and her eyes shot open whilst she screamed loudly. The medic above her nodded quickly at her. "Sorry," she said swiftly as she moved to examine Anna.

Elsa's heart was pounding heavily and she shot up, the injection the medic had given her clearing all the haze from her eyes. She was sitting in a tent, Anna put down on a stretcher beside the one she was sitting on herself. "Anna," Elsa uttered. She moved to get up but the soldier who had carried her to the medical area pushed her back down.

"We need a sitrep," he urged her.

"I… It's a mining facility, they use slaves to mine Sinnium."

"We know that. Do you have any idea how many guards there are? How large the facility is? How deep it goes? Our scans can't penetrate the surface."

"I… I don't know, Anna and I were lucky, we got out… There's loads of tunnels. And junctions, the tunnel system works as an ant hive. There's mine carts too…" Elsa's eyes shot to Anna. "Please, let me check on her."

The man gave Anna a look but didn't take his hand off of Elsa's shoulder. "We're losing, do you understand? We've been fighting these people for months now, all over the galaxy. We need to take out this hub."

They had been fighting them? Why? When Elsa and Anna had been on the Prospathoun they hadn't even heard of them yet… Elsa shook her head. "I'm confused. I just…" She rubbed her eyes with her palms. "I don't get it, I don't know!"

"Fuck," the soldier cursed. A second soldier stuck his head into the tent and the first cursed again. "What do you want?"

"We're retreating. Captain's orders."

The nurse who was working Anna looked up. "I need a shot of xenotriptalyn, now."

The soldier looked at her. "We're retreating, didn't you hear?"

The nurse glanced up angrily. "And I need a shot of xenotriptalyn, right now, or this girl dies."

Suddenly Elsa was tossed off of her stretcher when there was an explosion that caused the earth to shake. Everyone stumbled and fell to the ground, loud clangs filling Elsa's ears as things tumbled off of shelves and the nurse's station.

"We have to go, now!" The soldier grabbed a medical suitcase and thrust it at the nurse. "Figure it out on the way, we're leaving!"

He moved to pick up Anna, but no-one was moving towards Elsa. The young woman didn't mind as she scrambled up on her own two feet, swaying a bit but her strength renewed thanks to the shot the nurse had given her. The blonde wanted to check on Anna, but the man was already leaving the tent with the redhead flung over his shoulder.

"Anna!" Elsa shouted, but the nurse grabbed her arm.

"If you want to live, we have to make it back to the ship right now."

Elsa blinked as the woman dragged her along, out of the tent onto a large field that was littered with debris and corpses clad in blue. "Which ships are here?"

The nurse clenched her teeth. "Just the Amity."

Elsa wracked her brain. "But that's a cargo ship, how are you planning on…"

"We don't know, okay?" the nurse cut her off. "We were supplying the Endeavour but it got shot down. We managed to get to the surface unseen to save as many people as we could. When we got here, the crew of the Endeavour was fighting and the few soldiers we have joined the fight while we tried to get the Endeavour back in working status – but we failed."

Elsa shook her head, rather content with the hand dragging her along. "So there's just the Amity."

"That's what I said. The Prospathoun was in the area and was already on its way, hopefully they'll be here in time to save our asses."

"They were in the area?"

"Yeah, they've been patrolling here for the past two and a half months, ever since…" The nurse looked at Elsa with a look of recognition. "Ever since two of their crew got kidnapped. Guess that's you then."

Elsa looked ahead at Anna, and her stomach clenched at the way the girl's head was lolling from one side to the other. "Will she be okay?"

"We need to get her to the ship, I have her medicine in my suitcase. She has pneumonixia, doesn't she?"

Elsa nodded weakly. They came over a slight hill and Elsa saw the Amity, a class three cargo ship, visibly going through the launch stage. The engines were roaring and the anchors were straining to keep the ship down long enough to make sure everyone got on board.

Another loud explosion behind them told Elsa they didn't have a lot of time anymore. The shot had helped and she managed to run on her own, matching the nurse's speed. The woman kept her suitcase clutched to her chest and they were advancing on the ship quickly.

"Let's go, let's go!" The soldier who was carrying Anna gestured at them with his arm, urging them to move faster. He handed Anna over to soldiers already on the plane before hoisting himself up. Elsa and the nurse reached the ship and he held out his hand, pulling Elsa on board as well. The blonde immediately threw worried looks at Anna, but the girl didn't look good. Her skin was a greyish blue and her eyes were half open.

"Is she still…" Elsa couldn't finish her sentence, instead she looked at the nurse who fell to her knees next to Anna and threw open her suitcase. She scattered the contents everywhere until she found what she was looking for and pressed the injector to Anna's neck, emptying the contents into the redhead's blood stream. The nurse then immediately started compressions, confirming Elsa's fear that the girl's heart had stopped.

"Fuck, they're too close! We'll never make it!" Most of the soldiers had run off to their respective stations but one remained at the door. Elsa looked at him and saw it was merely a boy, a boy whose gun was way too big for him as he stood there. He raised it to his shoulder nonetheless and started firing at the soldiers pouring over the hill, but for every one he dropped two more took his place.

The anchors were releasing one by one but they wouldn't be out in time. Elsa's eyes flew from the soldiers to the door to her left. She knew exactly where it led to, it was the same in all Confederation vessels.

Elsa looked around and a calm settled itself in her stomach. Anna was sitting up, panting heavily and clutching the nurse's shoulder. Her eyes were wild but they found Elsa's, colour slowly coming back to her face. They made it. They actually made it.

"Anna…" Elsa said the name with so much emotion, so much love, that Anna's eyes went wide and her face contorted into a visage of terror.

"Elsa what're you…"

Elsa squeezed her eyes shut and dashed for the door, opening it and moving inside whilst Anna's screams filled her ears. Her heart was running over but she couldn't stop, not now. It had to be this. It was the only way.

She threw one more look at Anna as the door slid closed and her hand moved towards the emergency release handle above her head. She pulled it and the escape pod released from the ship, dropping down straight back towards the earth, propelled forward by the thrusters that were supposed to push the pod away from the ship whilst in space. It wasn't designed to be used on a planet and Elsa quickly found out why when it crashed into the ground, causing her to be flung across the inside of the pod like a ragdoll.

Groaning and with the world swimming in front of her eyes, Elsa reached out to the command console. She revved the engines up to maximum and the pod started shaking as it started burning the impressive amount of fuel inside the tanks. Elsa knew she didn't have long before the gasses would react with the oxygen in the atmosphere outside, but there was one last thing she needed to do.

Screaming from the pain shooting through her entire body like bolts of lightning, she hoisted herself up onto the control panel. A robotic voice filled the cabin. "Scans show atmosphere outside of vessel. Engine shutdown imminent." Elsa was panting heavily as she hit the override button, putting the ships AI out of play. "AI no longer active. I suggest turning me back on." Blood dripped down onto the console underneath her hands as she punched in a numeric combination very common to her, ignoring the AI's voice.

"Scans show twenty one broken bones and a punctured lung. Please remain seated and press the distress button."

"Shut the fuck up," Elsa gasped as she hit a green button, begging that it would still be working after their crash into the surface of the planet. She started hearing voices outside of the escape pod, followed by loud banging as the soldiers started to try and get into the capsule. "Fat luck, assholes," Elsa panted.

Static filled the cabin. "Prospathoun receiving. Please identify yourself."

"Hey, Jolok. It's Elsa."

"Elsa, what the fuck!?" Jolok's voice returned to its usual pitch when he clamoured her name.

"Please, shut up Jolok. I'm… I'm on the planet's surface. Anna is on the Amity. Get her… take care of her…"

"Elsa what's going on? Please, what's…"

The robotic voice once again filled the cabin. "Gas levels building. Consider engine shutdown."

"Elsa what are you going?! Don't tell me you're…"

"Jolok. Promise me."

"I…" There were several voices in the background and Elsa recognised the voice of their captain barking orders. "Take care of her."

"Elsa…"

"Gas levels reaching critical levels. Explosion imminent. Please consider the planet's environment."

"Tell her I love her, okay?" Elsa's head fell forward onto the console as she panted heavily, every breath thickening the mist of blood on the buttons and switches. "Tell her that… tell her to remember the hydroponics bay."

"Vessel destruction in five. Four. Three. Two."

"Of course, Elsa."

"One."