"Fission: Conversion" by Farad (NC-17)

[the-summoning-d.livejournal.com]

Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
Pairings: Chris/Buck, Chris/Vin
Length: ~54K
Author on LJ: farad
Author's Website: Unknown
Why This Must Be Read:

The author describes this fic as 'the 54 thousand word monstrosity that ate my brain'. In fairness that's not a bad description. Clear the decks of anything you need done urgently before you click the link, because once you start reading you won't be able to stop.

'Fission: Conversion' brings our boys to a sci-fi setting, where humanity is at war with the mysterious Albouais. The story picks up with Chris and Vin defending an overrun experimental nuclear facility. In a last ditch attempt to prevent it from falling into enemy hands, they overload the reactor, causing it to blow. They expect to die. Instead they wake up...different.

All the character's voices ring true, and their frustration and pain in the face of circumstances beyond their control is almost painful to read. If this fic doesn't move you I sincerely doubt that you're human. The prose is beautiful, every character feels real, and the science is a little dubious but believable - like in all good sci-fi. Read it. I swear you will not be disappointed.



- 01.20 minutes fusion point

Chris could feel the very air around him humming, shimmering as the ionization increased, the reactor going. Damn the Albouais and their desperation and sacrilegious need to win. The attack here, without warning, was against all concept of fair play. They were starting the war again, as if they hadn’t agreed to peace just a year ago.

“Out!” he screamed, looking for Buck to make sure he was out – he’d never come in, thankfully, holding the line at the end of the corridor, keeping the Albies from access to the power-generating materials at the core. “Get those doors closing!”

Vin was already at the panel, his hands deftly working the code as people streamed past him, fleeing the containment area, fleeing the attack.

Another blast rocked the building, debris falling around them – why were they attacking again?

But they were, targeting the power station for this quarter of the planet, to take the resources they needed for themselves –

“Get that damned door!” he screamed, but Vin’s voice came back, just as angry.

“The mechanism’s jammed, central switching’s probably hit. We’re gonna have to do this manually.”

Chris helped one of the technicians back to her feet – the building was trembling, klaxons louder and more strident as the field failure grew imminent. The Albouais had surrounded the perimeter, not a large enough force to control it, but enough to take what they needed from the core reactors. To steal what they needed and to restart the war at the same time.

He ran to help Vin, moving around the last people out, lab techs from the lowest levels. He wondered how many there were, wondered how many different experiments this plant had running. Vin was struggling with one of the large panel sections, trying to get it open. His hands were slipping on the ceramic plating, the ionization affecting solid forms. Chris didn’t want to think about what it was doing to their bodies –

“Dammit!” the other man swore, but then the catch gave and the panels slid apart.

Not that it mattered – the manual release wasn’t working either.

“Outside!” Chris shouted, grabbing his teammate by the shoulder. “We’ll use the one outside! We can't let them into the core!”

But even as they moved, the door gave way, the fail-safe engaging as the containment field vanished.

White. Blinding white. Then nothing.

Note: Please heed the author's warnings before reading. This is not fiction for the faint-hearted.
Fission: Conversion