His Brother's Keeper by Betty Ragan (PG-13)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Fandom: BLAKE'S 7
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: astrogirl2
Author Website: Betty Ragan's Home Page, but Betty's on-line B7 stories are in the Hermit Library
Why this must be read:

This is one of my all-time favourites although it doesn't end happily. Vila tells the story, and his voice is so perfectly him, I could almost hear him speaking to me.

When their explosive charges go off too soon on a Federation base, the crew have to flee down collapsing corridors, and under the rubble, Avon finds an injured mutoid he recognises.

Anyway, we managed to dig him out -- there really wasn't that much of the stuff on top of him, even though it seemed to take forever -- and Blake had me take his feet while he grabbed the shoulders and we went pounding down the hallway as fast as two people carrying a mutoid can possibly go, which wasn't nearly fast enough for me, let me tell you. I also don't know why Avon couldn't have carried the feet -- I mean, it was his brother, after all -- but I suppose it was his turn to cover us, and, anyway, I didn't really want to take the time to argue.

On Vila's suggestion-- "Where there's life, there's hope," as my old gran used to say--the crew attempts to reverse the modification and Vila is detailed as unwilling nurse. The events and the crew are seen through his eyes, and this is what gives this story the humour it has; even in the worst situations, Vila can always raise a wisecrack or two. The way he sees the crew is brilliantly written: he might not always understand (though he can also be very perceptive) but we do.

There are far too many lines I love in this, and a scene involving Avon's bum is very funny in the telling while not being funny in actuality, but here's a favourite bit.

I went off to introduce some green liquid into my own body in an attempt to forget the whole mess.

The story is on the Hermit Library and the author's LJ.

His Brother's Keeper (on LJ)
His Brother's Keeper (on Hermit, complete)
His Brother's Keeper (on Hermit, page 1 of 5)