[Bang Bang]
[Bang Bang]
Dead -- it was the only word that could describe it. If their city was an organism, this would be a severed limb. No movement and no reaction. Just a separate appendage of what once was, struggling for life. Luckily for the Resistance, they weren't going to bleed out and become a missing part of the whole. Or so they hoped. A short breeze whipped past the multilevel structure, creating the only sound within a mile or two. After it passed, all sat still once again. Then there was a small clinking noise. It didn't last long and it got quieter, the longer it proceeded. It was the sound of glass hitting the walls of a cup of what once was sugar water. On Kai, it was called 'cicle' and was nearly as popular as water, itself. Now empty, it served as an trash can where two other glass vials were already turned out and emptied. Soon after, a young man in a protective vest with casual clothing underneath began to walk up to roof access. He carried a hand gun in a holster to his side and another weapon in his hand. It was standard around these parts. As he made his way around the roof, he paused for a brief moment before stomping toward the one on duty. The young man kicked the guard in the boot, causing a reaction.
Bradley Modemura hauled the enormous UP7 Sniper Rifle upwards and aimed it directly at the other member of the resistance's forehead all in a matter of milliseconds. The young man froze in terror and raised his hands in the air. "Cool it, man. You were sleeping on the job." He said with a hint of fear at the back of every word. Modemura slowly lowered the sniper away from the man's head and started to calm down. "I wasn't sleeping." He replied, lowly. Then he lifted one hand up and tapped, with his index finger, against the visor shades he wore over his eyes. The sunglasses didn't serve any purpose towards the velocity of brightness during the day. It didn't protect him from any light that he needed to block out. It was actually a weapon. Across the entire visor, was an LCD screen which was capable of zoom, grid, and target retrieval. The visors were linked to the scope inside of the sniper rifle, meaning whatever could be seen through there would be seen on his shades, only better. So while he looked sound asleep, laying with his head facing the sky and his body sunk into the pilot seat, he was actually well aware of his surroundings.
"Well your cover's out." The man said lowly. Bradley sat up slightly and raised his visor up over his forehead. When he looked over at his weapon, he saw it was a clear white. Any enemy could have spotted it and taken him out. The thought of letting a small thing like cover slip up made him grumble. Bradley brought his fist up and hit the side of the weapon twice. Immediately, it responded by camouflaging with it's surrounding on every side, making it near to invisible.
Bradley began to get comfortable in his seat once again when the other man spoke. "What's this?" Before he had time to even look, he could hear the clinking of the vials once more. Bradley cursed mentally but tried his best to stay calm. "Have you been turning out clips?" Modemura began to picture himself throwing the man off the roof of their base or perhaps punching him square in the mouth and sending him to the infirmary. His ideas made him lift the visor up before closing his eyes to drink in the wooziness he could feel in his head. "I've been out here for five hours," He tried to explain. Five hours with your own thoughts could feel like days. "That doesn't mean anything! Do you want to start shooting glow too?" Glow was another drug and a far more dangerous one. "I have to report this." The man said, while starting to turn for the roof access staircase. He still had the vials in hand and the seal at the top of each one which had three puncture points for quick use. Bradley's silver blood was still at the tip of each.
At the sound of reporting, Modemura shot up out of his seat. His hands immediately went for the other mans and twisted them until he was on the floor, cheek to asphalt, and restrained by Bradley's knee. Bradley's hands were shaking and his actions began to seem to quick for him to even remember. It felt like he was thinking in blotches. Before he knew it, he was bending low so his face was near to the man's ear. The man was too shocked to speak. "I. Need. Them." He growled. All the while his skin was beginning to lose it's color and decay away. His lips began to shrink back, revealing the cores of his teeth. The pupils of his eyes started to glow while all else -- retina, eyelid, iris, cornea -- decayed with the rest of his skin, leaving nothing but black. It was a slow process, thanks to the clips he had turned out, but very surely, he was beginning to change. Just then, his visors started beeping from the top of his head, where he had pushed them. With his knee still in the man's face, he used one arm to bring them back down and observe. Not too off in the distance, a crowd of people were beginning to head for their base. The man in front of the pack, the leader, wore an infrared jacket which showed up in a stranger color on his visor. Bradley immediately knew what this meant. As he came to realization, his face began to return to normal color while his eyes became healthy once more. "s**t."
Bradley leaned off the man on the ground and took three steps back while he stood back up on two feet and dusted himself off. They stared each other down for two seconds before the man saw the group off in the distance as well. He still had the vials in his hand. Without wasting any more time, Bradley ran for the telecom by the wall and pressed the red button. Every speaker on every floor except for the sixth and seventh turned on. "Code 091. Code 091. We're got cattle, people. From my head count, about..." He pushed a button on the side of his visors. Immediately little targeted circles plotted over every head in view. Then a number appeared in the corner of the screen. "Fourty six of 'em." He released his finger from the button and waited. A man's voice soon answered. "You're relieved of your position. Now report to gate status immediately." Bradley paused for a second, hesitantly but decided not to argue to avoid exciting any of his emotions. He had already been on the brink of shifting just moments ago. 'Speaking of which...'
Bradley turned towards where he last left the other man to see no one was around. He was alone on the roof - the vials were gone as well. With nothing else to do, Bradley headed for the roof access staircase. While he was undergoing the normal scan for identification and wounds, he started to question if heading down to where all the action was going to be at would be a good thing. He had forcefully assigned himself to sniper duty, despite the fact that he was damn good at mobile infantry. If at any point, his heart rate got too quick or he let one of his emotions get the best of him, he would go under and his shift would take the lead. All he had for protection were the clips he had been shooting himself with and now with that punk on the loose, he wasn't sure how long that'd last. Modemura got down to ground level five minutes before they planned to open their doors. The group about to enter was what The Red Tail Resistance referred to as 'cattle'. They were people they picked up on the battle grounds of what once was the city of Drevin. Whether they went willingly or not, they were forced to come back to their base. With war and all the horrific scenes people were seduced to, sometimes sanity was where the wound laid. Once everyone went through a standard scan for health, weapons, and information, they were released. Actually, it went a bit slower.
The wounded were taken in by scale. If your wound was lower leveled, you were released. If it was higher ranked, you were taken to the infirmary and patched up as best as they could get you. If your wound was lower level but you insisted on getting it treated, you had to join the Resistance. As for weapons, they were always confiscated. If you joined the resistance, you didn't always have a guarantee of getting your weapon back but it was a better chance then none. For those who held information, they were interrogated then offered a spot on the resistance or injected with a blood-linked GPS tracker when you didn't notice. It was the only way to make sure the information they got wasn't going to spoil soon after their source left. If you passed all three categories, you were offered to join the resistance and let go. No one (except for enemies or criminals) was held against their will. It was the only way they could recruit and at the same time, take care of their people. They were the only Varro base set up for a good amount of miles which meant if they got wiped out, people all over would be suffering due to lack of shelter. A man walked by and held out a hand gun for Bradley but he waved it off. Weapons tended to scare the cattle and cause problems.
When the gate finally opened, Red Tail became a mad house. There were people yelling and screaming all over. A certain few were rushed to the infirmary while others just wanted to go back home. Bradley took the health line, where he made people sit still for a few moments while a machine checked them. Before he could get to his fourth patient, someone leaned inwards and whispered in his ear. "They need you at the front." Another man replaced his spot while Bradley started to head for the gate. When he arrived, he saw two people excluded from the protective walls of Red Tail. One of them was apart of the resistance, he could tell by the outfit. The other, he didn't have time to make out. A group of people walked over to Bradley, all carrying looks of concern in their eyes. "What's going on?" He quizzed. "We found one." One man said. Bradley's blood went cold. He knew what they meant but a bigger part of him still wanted to play dumb. "What do yo-" He started before someone interrupted. "The leader says they caught her in her shift. But our scan says nothing's wrong with her." Bradley's eyes narrowed. 'Nothing wrong?' They had used that scan on him many times before and each time, it had caught his syndrome.
"If she has a shift, she's unstable. We can't bring her inside." Their thinking was rational. If she shifted inside of the base, she could kill countless innocents. Or she could take out valuable recruits. Even worse, she could destroy some of their machinery and everyone knew they were low on technology as is. But leaving her out in the open could cause them to be spotted on a passing by satellite. 'So what to do?' Biting his inner lip, Modemura looked towards the men and said, "I'll take her." He knew it was the words they wanted to hear. There were other shifts in the Red Tail but most were either in the infirmary or in restraints. Bradley was one of the few who managed to last this long without causing havoc. "Don't aim any guns at her but keep on your toes. And get me three clips....and a cloth bag." Once Bradley received what he had asked for, he took the items and began to walk out. With a wave of his hand, he signaled for the man who was keeping her pinned to leave. All the while, his heart beated in his ears. He had to remain calm but the thought of seeing another shifter made him somewhat unsettled.
Korrye
Sparkly Genius
Commander Lye Delph of the Varro, Prisoner of War. Shifter Status Complete; Dual Syndrome Active
- _______________The stench was what got to her every time she woke up in the damned room. Smelling of disinfectant and cleaner, fresh plastic underneath her and not to mention the nearly crisp sheets and the blinding lights, the room itself was never a habitual thing. Having been a captive for nearly a year now (a year in human timing, it was all she knew. The equivalents they wouldn’t tell her, in fact they told her the wrong date intentionally so her only way to keep track was to listen to what the specialists had to say, the ones who spoke without thinking around her). Flipped on her stomach her eyes opened and cleared to a perfect view of the floor. Her regular thick blonde hair was hanging loose around her face, sticking in places where she was sweating. It seemed warm, almost abnormally so.
“Heart rate is 50BPM, resting naturally Doctor Liang.”
“Is she awake?”
There was a brief moment of shuffling and the Varro stifled a cough. Despite her inability to see them she knew by now what the man looked like. Liang was a leading Human Engineer, a man who had lost his entire family in transition six months ago. The transport fleet had been blown out of the sky following the Human’s attack on Tolve. She judged him at maybe forty two years old. For his age he was precise and quick to think of his feet. The man was also the one responsible for the idea of exploring her anatomy, her body for anything salvageable relating to the shifter serums. That was why she was there then.
“Yes, Sir.”
"Consciousness is to be maintained, let's get started."
A swift brush against bare skin caused for her to shiver. Exposed, her lower back was wide open and a latex glove was running along her flank, up to find her vertebral column. When the spot they were searching for was found the hang paused and then pinched the skin between their two fingers. Though she fidgeted slightly there was no stopping them. So when the puncture came all she could do was gasp and clench her mouth shut, biting on the inside of her lip. Then came the heaviness of the injection, solid and up into her bones whatever it was felt thick. Sweat gathered at her hairline, dripping down her face and into her eyes-stinging. Then down her chin, dropping onto their perfectly clean floor, it gathered as a liquid. Then the retreat, as they pulled the metal from her and dabbed at the spot with a sponge of some sort, and with it came a sort of relief. But it was short lived because suddenly they were stabbing something else into that spot, a larger puncture and with it she screamed.
“Sir, her heart rate’s rising. We’re up to 110BPM.”
“She can take it.”
Clenching her teeth together she groaned. This was it, she couldn’t take it anymore.
“Blood pressure rising Sir, heart rate is still rising.”
When the second injection came it was heavier than the first, debilitating to her as foreign material oozed into her blood involuntarily. Crying out she tried to move but an earlier sedative made her limbs immobile.
“Heart rate is at 130BPM.”
“Relax Nora, she’ll be alright, we anticipated this reaction.”
“No, I won’t be,” Lye Delph thought mildly. Pushing herself into her shift she felt the anger and hatred for them pool together in her stomach. Rushing through her body her skin started to ripple, fading in color like that of a corpse until suddenly it was like jet.
“Heart rate is sky rocketing! 17B0PM!”
“This is like nothing I've ever seen!”
What happened next was so fast, so painful, that her memory blocked it out.
• • •
How she had gotten in there was a painful thing to accept. It was hard to believe who she was, what she had done. The war had been over for a short period of time and Lye wasn’t sure if their species were being herded to be put to death or enslaved. But all she knew was that she had to run. In her shift Lye Delph had control, fascinating control, and she ran faster than she ever had before. Thick black skin covered her, in fact her entire being was black and on fire. God she felt warm, truth warmth-that of their second sun. Bare feet padded into the ruddy asphalt of a former road. Though all around her was destruction she was free. There was little time to think of it so she focused on exerting herself, using her shift to get as far away as possible.
Forcing herself to breathe she was a little more than fifty kilometres, from where she had come out of her berserk, when she came upon an establishment, a Varro camp that had nearly been obliterated during the conflict. By then she was exhausted. Phasing out in the blink of an eye her body became smaller--so inactive. Almost as if dissolving, the blackness faded, her skin turning white and then flushing with circulation until it was deep tan of normalcy. Slowly her eyes returned, the whites, iris’ and pupils. Trembling, her entire body was left without any sort of energy. In fact she was in the exact condition the humans wished her to be in. The injections, it seemed like she could feel them moving around inside her. Moving into her cells and muscle tissue, burning and raising her body temperature. It was the one thing she couldn’t stop now.
It didn’t take her long to seem as if she were clawing her way towards the tents. At that point she could barely walk. Rippling with tension the drugs were doing her in, pushing her thoughts out of focus and numbing her hands and feet. Taking control of her, bonding themselves to her. It was painful, like a fire was ripping through her core and the burnt remainders were being nailed back together. The stabbing pain from the entrance point in her back grew until it seemed like all of her joints were going to collapse in on themselves. What had they done?
Pausing in her step Lye felt the wooziness cause her to sway. There was no hope of her retaining her balance. Instead she felt, collapsing on her side and rolling onto her back. Limbs splayed out as if she had dropped from the sky she felt her chest rise and fall rapidly. In her head she could feel her heart racing. The air seemed toxic, thick with dust and dirt thrown into the sky. But the odor of life was within it and this she enjoyed. The smell of people, habitation in unsanitary conditions. Who would have thought one enjoyed the smell of the uncleanliness associated with people? Fading away she almost laughed to herself. Was this a dream?
Icicles jammed themselves into her face. Ice water was what woke her up. When she immediately came to an alert Lye Delph easily leapt to her feet onto to feel a dozen hands suddenly come upon her from behind, forcing her onto the ground and forcing her face into the dirt. Native dialects were exchanged, tongues she knew of.
“Wait,” she forced out the word in Hiila, native to Varro alone. The motions didn’t stop. One large hand in particular covered the back of her head. Others pawed at her hands to restrain them. Fidgeting she felt that rising wave of emotion. Goose bumps erupted over her skin, the darkness erupting in thick patches. But they were quick to react to her shift, they knew of the side effects that they understood. To them she was uncontrollable. To them she was a monster, dangerous to them and what little hopes they had left. The voices, all of them seemed so loud. Overwhelmingly they discussed her. Who was she? Where had she come from? Slamming the butt of a rifle into the back of her neck was their remedy and it was more than enough to cause her to falter. Lye shuddered and felt a residual pain tear through the base of her neck and skull-they’d smashed the damn thing into where they’d taken the biopsy.
The adrenaline faded and the weakness returned, a weakness associated from phasing into her shift but also from food deprivation and her lack of hydration. It seemed like an eternity before they pulled her to her feet. Barely able to stand she wobbled only to be forced forward. They acted so strangely towards her. Members of her own people had been so welcoming before. What had happened? Was this the war?
Restrained at the wrists by old fashioned robes, four men gathered standing around her from every angle. Then one left and another stepped forward wearing an inspection visor, one that had formally been military issue. They didn’t recognize her face. Instead the man stepped back and ran off.
“Walk,” one muttered and suddenly as Lye began to focus in on her surroundings she found that she was in the midst of a much larger group. Estimating forty plus Varro she tried her best to be kept along. There was yelling amongst a group of them, weary children looked at her. No one fawned, it was like she represented something that they hated. “If only you knew about the humans, about their true strength now,” she thought. There was no way it would escape her mind. They seemed to be herded by a group of stern looking men and women, all dressed in worn down military grade wear. Falling back into old standards, military tactics, she watched them and tried her best to learn the most that she could by the way they carried themselves. Few of them were officially trained-actual military. They held no visible weapons but camouflaging them would be no trouble. That had been around behind her capture, her detainment as they liked to call it. They being the humans.
When the horizon gave way to a city she looked up to see one main building. To her it stood a part from the rest. Looking in the places where she would have placed her own men there was no movement. But they were there. And it instincts proved correct. As they approached the building a few members of the crowds rushed forward. Lye was jostled.
“Grab Modemura, he’ll be helping herd the cattle. Quickly now!”
As one man went inside the three others dragged her away from the people pushing and shoving to get inside. They pulled her to the side of the building where three instantly pulled her up to the wall. The largest one, presumably the one who had been holding her down before, held her flush and pinned.
"Don't aim any guns at her but keep on your toes. And get me three clips....and a cloth bag."
Lye’s eyes tore towards the figure. Tall, worn, he looked tired. This must had been the man the other was told to retrieve. Modemura, was it? What tore her from his name were his eyes, when she looked into them she saw something familiar to her, yet foreign. There was always something she had to keep in check now, her identification of other shifts would and could no longer be based on her. Not after what the humans had done, what they had given her. But he didn’t know. Instead he looked at her and the man pinning her up took a step back. It was almost as if he backed down. The old scars on her wrists were stinging. When she was released she fell to the ground, sitting on her bum with her knees pulled up to her chest. Slowly she looked the man in the eye whilst moving her hands from behind her back, under her butt and feet to in front of her. The blood was gathering at the ends of the restraints, the scar tissue had been torn open on her left hand. Hissing she looked at them from a second and then back to him, sighing and then rubbing the side of her head on her right shoulder.
“So this is how you treat a member of your own species, not too different from them are we now?”
There was so much implied in that sentence, so much pent up anger and frustration. It was degrading to be where she was, in the position that she was, and to go unrecognized. There came the threat, the desire to know her name and where she came from. For ages she’d been speaking that damned English that it took awhile to gather the courage to speak.
“Could you take these off, please?” Raising her hands in the air the wounds gathering at her wrists provided a trail of blood down her forearm, scarred in places from incessant IV punctures in resent weeks.
“I’m Commander Lye Delph, I’m the one who saved Corer. Now could you please get these damned these off?” Cussing she turned her head away and spat a wad of phlegm into the grass. There was at least a shred of dignity left within her. But the belligerent didn't seem to respond. Well, if he didn't say or do anything then what was she to say or do in response? It wasn't like he or she were either stupid. But fear rippled through them both, she felt it. And it was that heightened fifth sense that made her set her hands into her lap and purse her lips.
-Get off me assholes.
[Bang Bang]
From far away, she seemed calm. Bradley wasn't sure what to expect as he approached the second shift. The only thought he was really sure of was that he wanted to keep an eye on her emotions. And reading a stranger was like trying to understand a foreign language. Thinking back to previous shifts, he tried to remember the other approaches the Red Tail took in these sort of situations but got no results. Had he not been around when they recruited the shifts? Bradley was one of the fourteen original supporters of Red Tail so he never had to undergo the same persuasion. And at the same time, Modemura had never known another person with duel syndrome on a personal level. Maybe that was why walking from the enormous entrance of their base down to the bridge of the walkway was causing so much anticipation to build up inside. It was the fact that there were so many outcomes to one single moment and he was about to take the risk for every single one which made his blood pump faster.
Modemura had begun to take a deep breath after every five short breaths. He knew this because he counted. When he counted in his head, he became more focused on numbers and rhythm. This calmed his shift down to a normal level, keeping the monster inside of him at bay. On a primeval level, this was the clashing of two powers. There was no telling how strong she was and he had never put his shift against another's. Would he even know to attack once he changed? 'No, stop thinking about that.' Modemura started to pace his steps into a rhythm as well. The heartbeat in his ears started to swell down, leaving him at peace. As he finally closed in the gap between them, he stopped thinking about all the possibilities and just focused on what was happening. He hadn't said a single word before the woman started to take charge. “So this is how you treat a member of your own species, not too different from them are we now?” Immediately, Bradley didn't like her. Images of kicking her square in the forehead and causing her skull to richocet with the asphalt appeared in his mind. He pondered how much force it would take to make her bleed from her ears.
It was odd how she referred to herself as apart of the Varro. So she may have been born one of them but after treatments induced by the army, she was no longer one of them. That thing inside of her - inside of him - it was anything but Varro. However, he kept those thoughts to himself in attempt to keep the peace and refrain from angering her. Modemura's grip on the cloth bag, which also held three clips inside, tightened. 'Calm down. She's one too.' Bradley tried to recover his thoughts. What was he going to say? She had made him forget his train of thought so instead of speaking, he bent down and grabbed her by the arm. Carefully, he raised her up on her feet and held her up for a few seconds, making sure she could stand on her own, before releasing her. He hadn't three seconds after before she offered out her wrists and spoke once more. “Could you take these off, please?” She had been more polite this time but he could still suspect that small hint of disrespect and sarcasm. Quick flashes of violence passed through his eyes. All he could see for a few moments was his throat around her neck and her face turning purple.
His body was nonresponsive. Bradley could feel her flesh under his fingertips and the pulse in her throat right beneath his palm. He counted the rhythm it made as it got slower and slower. And yet when he blinked, they were still standing there, apart from each other like nothing had happened. She was obviously getting impatient with him. “I’m Commander Lye Delph, I’m the one who saved Corer. Now could you please get these damned these off?” At the word commander, Bradley's feet nearly buckled at the ankles. His hand wanted to twitch up to his chest and form a fist over his heart. All soldiers of Kei soluted this way. However, his body didn't move and he made no recognition of any military experience. Finally having enough, Modemura jabbed his elbow up straight into the bottom of the girl's chin. The hit sent her body flying back down. There was a rush of freedom slithering in every vein, making it's way to his head. Modemura felt addicted to the feeling but knew in the back of his head, he could never embrace it without unleashing his shift.
The girl had landed on her back, with her knees bent. Bradley reached into the black cloth sack and grabbed a clip. Very slowly, he got on one knee and started to take off the vial's cap. Beneath it, were three puncture points. Very carefully, Bradley brought the vial in the eye sight of the girl. He used one hand to lift her up by the back of her head and the other to hold the object in front of her. "A low grade sedative." He said. It was a slightly new creation. After the Duel syndrome had been released, doctors had begun dishing them out to infected soldiers like they were candy. The ones which the Red Tail had were a bit more enhanced then the first generation. Instead of putting you to sleep, they gave the user a short high and euphoric feeling to stop rapid shifting. They were only supposed to be used right before the brink of a shift. Modemura had been abusing them by turning them over whenever he started to get violent thoughts. He then placed the vial at her jugular and waited a few seconds before pressing it inwards. A small hissing sound made way while Bradley watched the serum drain into the girl's neck. Normally, it was supposed to be injected at the arm. She'd feel the effects hit her stronger and faster.
"If you haven't noticed... Captain, was it?" Bradley started, purposely demoting her rank in response to her rude demands. "This isn't the army. And we're not at war." Bradley pulled the girl up by her arms once more so she was standing again. He looked towards the man who he had told to back off previously and pointed at the remote strapped to his side. The man walked over and handed it to him before stepping away once more. "The more you struggle, the tighter they're going to get." His eyes turned towards the wire which was wrapped around her wrists. They were designed to start off at a decent strength. When the wire became taut, it'd shrink and grow smaller. The entire thing was activated and deactivated by a frequency. Modemura pressed a button on the remote which made the wire loosen up. Then he readjusted the wire so it wasn't digging into her skin anymore. Afterward, he reactivated it once more and tossed the remote back to the man, previous. "Those men out there, they aren't going to shoot you up with sedatives, like I did, if you make a false move. I have two more of those vials before you're history."
"So listen, if you help me out, I can help you out. We have food and medical treatment -- you look like hell right now. I'm sure a shower and a meal would do you some good. Just answer a few questions and we can get on good terms." Taking out another vial from the cloth, he popped the cap off and held it at his fingertips. "Go get me some cicle. And tell them to clear a room." Bradley said to the man standing by. He nodded and walked for the entrance in response. Bradley didn't want to be out in the open for much longer. "Where did you come from? Were there other people with you?"
Korrye
Sparkly Genius
Commander Lye Delph of the Varro, Prisoner of War. Shifter Status Complete; Dual Syndrome Active
- _______________The unresponsiveness of him, it was something she expected.. But the response to her name, it was something that came up and her eyes flashed with some respect. There was a wavering in him, a sort of disbelief about it and she was proud to suck in that sort of response. So when the blow came she wasn’t expecting it. Before her time in Human detention she would but not now. With short reflexes she was unable to catch herself. Instead her head whipped back and in two seconds she was on her back, knees up protectively. Instead of moving or urgently getting herself back up she laid there, watching him as he came over to her removing something from a small bag. The dosage, or clip, looked so primitive and the sight of the three prongs sent her back in her own memory for a few seconds.
• • •
“Liang, the dosage is ready,”
Having not slept in days Lye was in no condition to ward off the Humans. Strapped down to a vertical platform, much like being buckled to a wall with a slight backwards slant, the doctor approached her with a funny looking device. The end of it had a small looking prong, the rest of it looked like a silver electric shaver common to men. Pushing her head to the left side he jabbed it into her jugular vein. The device promptly hissed and immediately sent a rapid injection into her blood stream. And almost instantly her body was on fire. The rapid cell integration of the serum ripped through her like a tidal wave. The pain, she was sure, would be the end of her. All over her body her veins seemed to pop and turn slightly blue (instead of their regular silver), her skin flushed as her core temperature doubled. It was like every cell in her body was getting jump started, connected to cables that kept pumping energy until they exploded.
• • •
When he leaned down and supported her head he was gentle. When he brought it towards her she reached out a hand and grabbed his wrist. When he held it in front of her she still looked at it. The thing was outdated, like she had thought. But it was the contents that concerned it. “A low grade sedative” he explained. Lye loosened her grip considerably. What was this, a trust exercise? When his hand brought it close to her neck her fingers slid off his warm skin. Expecting it immediately the instants that he waited, (or was it hesitated? She couldn’t tell) seemed like hours. Then came the pinch and the sudden flow of whatever the heck he considered a sedative. Twitching her feet shifted in the dirt, coming towards her and then shifting back out while her hands were in tight fists for a second. The wave that washed over her was so different than anything the Humans had given her for suppressants. This was mild, like water after drinking Irish Poitin to humans. But she didn’t give that away to him in any way. Instead she blinked her eyes several times and continued to stare up at him. For the moment she didn’t mind letting him enjoy his position of power. That and he wasn’t that bad of a thing to look at.
"If you haven't noticed... Captain, was it? This isn't the army. And we're not at war."
"I'm not an idiot," she thought but her face didn't show her distaste. The arm he extended to her she took and rose to her feet. Though it was the second time he helped her up she immediately retracted her hand. Wobbling slightly Lye held out her arms slightly for balance, tilted her head to the left and then returned her attention to him when she knew she was okay. The restraints, in front of her, were kindly adjusted by remote (what a surprise, once again she knew the Humans had a one up on those too). "The more you struggle, the tighter they're going to get."
Nodding in response she looked down at her hands, cut up and bruised. "Those men out there, they aren't going to shoot you up with sedatives, like I did, if you make a false move. I have two more of those vials before you're history."
Right, so why was it that she was being attacked by the Varro? They really did see the Army as a failure? This thought seemed to be expanding the more she was around this group. A resistance, she established this, was what they were. The last group truly fighting, but for what? To help the people or to restore the planet ownership to the Varro? Questions buzzed through her thoughts but she kept on par with him, nodding as he spoke. There was no urgency for her to speak at that very moment.
"So listen, if you help me out, I can help you out. We have food and medical treatment -- you look like hell right now. I'm sure a shower and a meal would do you some good. Just answer a few questions and we can get on good terms." When he took out the second vial she took a step back from him, looked him square in the face again and then at the men around him. Ignoring the order he barked out to his second man Lye watched how he carried himself. With the vial in his hand, open in his finger, she saw how at ease he was with it but how tightly he held it. There was a dependence there, like it was important. Now it was either in short supply, he thought he needed it for her or he needed it for himself. The thoughts themselves merely produced more questions. Walking towards the entrance Lye kept a few paces behind him, not to run but merely for defence purposes. Training told her to do so. “Where did you come from? Were there other people with you?"
Licking her lips she bowed her head for a moment. There were half a million ways for her to answer that question and a thousand things he wanted to know with one, and simply put, extremely vague question.
“Enlighten me. What day and year is it?” It might shock him that she didn't know. Lye had a rough idea but it was best to be sure. And as she expected the answer came clearly. In her mindset she hadn’t been that far off in keeping track. But it was a long time and a lot had happened.
“Right, so, I would say about a year and a half ago I was in orbit on the Fleet ship Kett. We were shot out of orbit and crash landed. Convenience took us into Corer where the humans were staging a sweep of the city for control. I was stationed on the top of a building for sniper duty and long distance back up. The commander was killed and as first officer I took control of the unit. We decided to half up, half to stage some sort of blockage or stalemate to hold the humans off so that the city could be evacuated.” For a moment her eyes seemed to haze over, as she remembered. It seemed so long ago, that selfless act she’d done. It meant so little to her now considering what she’d gone through. “When we got to ¾ of the people out of the city the humans located my communications frequency as a commander. Before I could get off of the building it collapsed underneath me. My troops wanted to come and retrieve me, I’d only just gotten my fourth shifter serum two days ago. I told them to get the rest of the people out. I was about to take the black tablet when the humans got to me. They identified me as a shifter. They kept me alive and transferred me into what I thought was a detention facility. The war was over by the time I was in interrogation. I was in there for a year I would say, subject 00396 of maybe two thousand. The compound was specific to those who had information and...something to give them.”
Lye stopped there. Maybe it would annoy him that she didn’t want to go with it any further. There was a lot of private information when it came to what had happened there. If he asked the right questions she might answer but at the same time, was she really ready?
"This morning was different. Suddenly I was just fed up with what they were doing. I caught them off guard and I phased. I don't remember but suddenly I was hundreds of kilometres away. I remember the fifty I traveled before I completely phased out. Your people found me. I was...alone."
-This guy is a real jerk.
[Bang Bang]
She was responding well and that was all Bradley could hope for. He didn't want to have to rough her up and treat one of his own like a criminal. He wasn't about to stand aside and let her boot pancake his face out, either. He was in charge and in order to show it, he had to take rough measures. He just hoped she wasn't going to act out for much longer. He didn't want to have to restrain himself from his other half for much longer. She wasn't worth it and he had seen those cellars before. She seemed to have a decently sane mind from what he could tell. From what she had been through - captured, treated like a criminal, and not given any answers - she was taking it very well. A hell of a lot better then Bradley ever would. He had to cut her some slack for making it this far without dying.
After he helped her up, she seemed a bit more hesitant then before. She wanted to keep her distance which was understandable considering he had knocked her on her a**, previously. As long as she didn't wander, he was willing to give her some distance. She seemed barely strong enough to even hold her body vertical. Either it was the sedative that was slowly relaxing each of her muscles or the exhaustion that was already there. Bradley figured it was a combination of both. From the way she looked at the current moment, he might have passed her for a man. Her face was covered in grime and her clothes were dirtier then the floor she was standing on. She smelled of sweat and from what he could pick up, fear as well. Whatever she had been through must have felt like hell and back, and here he was just adding onto her list of problems. 'She's one of us. Cut her some slack.'
“Enlighten me. What day and year is it?” Her words didn't make much sense at first. What day? Kei didn't use the word day. It was just gibberish in their vocabulary. And yet, in the military, he remembered hearing it in reference to the humans. Slowly, his memories started to draw him to the conclusion that she was referring to time. A day, or a mark as they said on Kei, was equivalent to about three fourths of a mark on Kei. A year was another word that didn't exist. It intrigued him how she was using human words on her home planet. A secki was the closest equivalent to a year. After reporting the date to her, he started to notice that he, himself, had lost track of time long ago. Every day was another battle and eventually, it all blended into one. “Right, so, I would say about a year and a half ago I was in orbit on the Fleet ship Kett. We were shot out of orbit and crash landed. Convenience took us into Corer where the humans were staging a sweep of the city for control.” She started.
The scary part was that Bradley remembered that day. He was stationed one ship over from Kett. His ship, Maude, launched the same day as Kett but returned from their mission four months later. He remembered when the entire fleet heard about Kett and how there were rumors that they might change course to go rescue their comrades. In the end, they never received word that they were cleared to change routes so Maude stayed on course. “I was stationed on the top of a building for sniper duty and long distance back up. The commander was killed and as first officer I took control of the unit. We decided to half up, half to stage some sort of blockage or stalemate to hold the humans off so that the city could be evacuated.” Modemura noticed the change in her face. Obviously talking about this was causing flashbacks of some sort. 'At least she's talking.' It was the best thing for her, whether she believed it or not. If she got it all out now, she'd be able to move on quicker. That, and Modemura wouldn't need to keep hastling her for information. It was obvious she had some training because she knew what information was vital and what they would want to hear.
“When we got to ¾ of the people out of the city the humans located my communications frequency as a commander. Before I could get off of the building it collapsed underneath me. My troops wanted to come and retrieve me, I’d only just gotten my fourth shifter serum two days ago. I told them to get the rest of the people out. I was about to take the black tablet when...” Her words faded out as he saw the violence in his head. The humans had done it again. He knew people who were stationed on Kett. Many good soldiers risked their lives simply to protect a planet that had been theirs for ages. Every time he thought about how helpless their people had become, fighting for their right to live, he couldn't help but become enraged. “...of maybe two thousand. The compound was specific to those who had information and...something to give them.” It was all he heard when reality started to surface. Modemura turned to look at the entrance of their base, and spotted the man from before, now walking towards them with a cup in one hand. Obviously, they were ready for her.
Lye went on to talk about her escape but none of what she said was truly valuable. She didn't remember any of what she did which meant they couldn't put her memories to good use. There was still a lot to be learned though, and Bradley knew this. She was a walking file cabinet that the Red Tail could learn a lot about. Once she finished, Bradley nodded and let a few seconds pass for the information to soak. A year and a half had been summed up in 90 seconds. Before he could speak, the man with the cup had approached them and offered it out to Bradley. He nodded when Modemura took the cup, letting him know they had made arrangements for her. Modemura signaled for the remote he had in his hand and then waved the man away. "Listen," Bradley said with calmness in his voice. "You have a big story to tell and we don't have the luxury of passing it up. We need to take you inside and learn what you know." He carefully attached the remote to his belt buckle. "Only problem is, you're a shifter. We have a lot of people in there who don't feel safe around you. So I gotta take you in while looking out for their best interests."
Bradley lifted the cup up to Lye and offered it to her. He brought his other hand into the cloth sack and pulled out the remaining vial. "I need to put this on you so we can escort you to a room without setting off any alarms in your head. Once you get in, you'll have full access to a shower, clothing, medical supplies, and food." He carefully extended the cloth out to her, letting her choose to place it over her head on her own. "It's either that or I shoot you up with these two clips to put you out. Once you have the cover over your head, I can release those restraints." He wondered if there was something he could say to make the situation any less... troubling but nothing came to mind.
Korrye
Sparkly Genius
Commander Lye Delph of the Varro, Prisoner of War. Shifter Status Complete; Dual Syndrome Active
- _______________Whatever reaction he displayed towards her story, she caught little sight of it. Recalling what she had just escaped from and how she had gotten there was painful. Though she’d summed it up there was so much more to say to him. Yet he sat there and he didn’t call her a liar. In fact he believed her when she said that she didn’t remember. Though a large part was blank she could have been lying. Would he have cared? Genuine motive didn’t seem like something anyone had trusted her for before. In fact her irrational decisions and tendency to stick her nose where it didn’t belong sort of came with the idea that people rarely trusted her upon first introductions. Despite the fear in him Modemura looked to believe her. This came as a shock overall simply because of the earlier blow. In fact at that thought she raised a hand to her chin, running over a tender patch under her jaw while her other arm folded around her chest. "Listen, you have a big story to tell and we don't have the luxury of passing it up. We need to take you inside and learn what you know."
“Hold on," she thought. Collecting his words in her mind she ran over what he had said, the various interpretations. Her Hiila seemed to slip back so easily, intertwined with English but still he understood her and what she meant. Watching him as he attached the bracelet remote to his belt she stopped walking with him."Only problem is, you're a shifter. We have a lot of people in there who don't feel safe around you. So I gotta take you in while looking out for their best interests."
Desperately she wanted to spit out a retort just then. But what about her best interests? Did they truly regard shifters as monsters? In all honesty there were few of them. Scientists gathered one out of a thousand had the gene that would be activated by the serum. When the cup was offered to her she stared at it for a second, licking her blistered lips.
"What if it's drugged?" the thought surged through her mind. Then he took out the remaining vials and offered her the cloth sack. "I need to put this on you so we can escort you to a room without setting off any alarms in your head. Once you get in, you'll have full access to a shower, clothing, medical supplies, and food. It's either that or I shoot you up with these two clips to put you out. Once you have the cover over your head, I can release those restraints.”
There was still so much she had to think about. Standing there out in the open she felt so free. The idea of stepping into a guarded building made her a little more than skittish. Lye stared him straight in the face then. “How do I know that you’re good people? How do I know that you’re not some third party of rebels?”
Scrunching up her brow Lye felt the exhaustion pulling on her shoulders. But before she stepped into that building she wanted to know at least one thing. “Why does everyone hate the idea of the Fleet or former soldiers?” When she had been a soldier, the fleet had been the primary source of employment. And just because you were a member or studying at the academy didn’t mean that you were stationed at the front. There was a non-stop need for intergalactic translators, pilots, doctors, engineers, tacticians amongst the people who actually committed the fighting. Yet there she stood no longer a glorious commander. Lye Delph was hated because of the shifter serum but also for her useless title. The civilians, what did they think? Deep down inside her heart was striving to understand this drastic shift in opinion.
“I can’t do the cloth bag,” she admitted afterward. It was honesty really and it showed in her voice and in her eyes. They looked at the darkness it contained and they shifted to look away from it, taking the ground at Modemura’s feet. “If you want me knocked out your sedatives--they’re like cicle.”
Sighing she then raised her eyes to his. “If you want me out—“ she paused, looking over at one of his men. Specifically the one who had smashed the butt of the rifle into the back of her head earlier as he stepped forward understanding her train of thought. “Wait,” she paused, stepping back and holding her hands up to him. No, there was no way in hell she was going to let him knock her out. And again it all triggered her defensive strategies. What if these people weren’t the kind of people who would align themselves with her thoughts? What if they would kill her after she’d spilled her story? Shaking her head Lye took two more steps back and turned to look swiftly over her shoulder. If she ran, how far would she make it? Would they stop her or shoot her down? The tension she was feeling, though she showed little of it on her face, caused her clench her hands into fists and open them, more of a timed exercise to calm her down. And as she tried to move her hands the restraints continued to tighten. Letting out a deep breath she took a step towards the side of the building where she leaned her back against the wall. What was this panic she was feeling? Never had anything like this struck her before. Fear had been so foreign to her for so long. Yet now she distrusted these people, her mind kept telling her that they could want something else. It explained why he believed her so easily. Were they picking up on Human techniques? Of all the lies and deceit? Her heart was racing. A monitor that had long since been clipped onto her wrist started beeping, something she’d long since ignored. She was approaching 110BPM. "I can control myself, it's just...my mind keeps telling me not to trust you. My instincts say that cicle you're offering to me is drugged."
- Does he understand me? I sure as hell hope he does.
[Bang Bang]
And there it was. It was wishful thinking to expect her to take this calmly. As relaxed as Bradley had tried to stay, what he was asking of her was too much for her to handle. His first signs of it was when she got that look over her face. He could read immediately that she was beginning to realize they weren't on the same page. While he had been treating her like a Varro, she was still a stranger to the Red Tail and that meant that she was a possible threat. This one girl wasn't anywhere near worth risking their entire organization for. Especially because they had just began to pick up the pace. They were expanding rapidly and possibly looking at opening another base in a separate city to keep the prosper growing. The Red Tail could be what wins their war and Bradley would be damned to know she would get in the way of that.
He was beginning to realize that simple persuasion wasn't getting through to her. She didn't care about the people inside the base that were scared of her - why would she? She just wanted to feel anything but scared and alone, or so he assumed. It was hard at first, to have to be the one face she could relate all her emotions with. He was the vessel that all her built up aggression was about to unload on. Here, they looked like a safe house for Varro and in reality, turned out to be treating her like she was the enemy. Actually, they were going about her arrival very well but she had never been apart of the Red Tail so she wouldn't know that. Bradley had extended the cup out to her but she simply stared at it as if she had no idea how to go about even holding it. He watched the look in her eyes. He knew she was thirsty. Those bright blue hues were basically raping the cup just by staring at it. How long had this poor girl gone without a drink?
Curiosity sent Bradley into wondering what was going on in the Commander's mind. What thoughts were passing through her mind and at what speeds was she thinking? He wondered if she could hear her heart beat in her ears like he could hear his own. Or perhaps the watch strapped to her wrist did all the listening for her. “How do I know that you’re good people? How do I know that you’re not some third party of rebels?” She questioned. Her words were slightly touchy. Third party? She said that as if there was even a second party. She had to have been out of it for a very long time because as far as Kei was concerned, there was only humans and non. If you weren't human, you were apart of the 'problem'. If you were human, then you exterminated anything in your way. Taking in a deep breath in a slow manner, Bradley closed his eyes and grasped the words he needed to explain. “Maybe you haven't noticed yet,” He began cooly. “but you're the outcast. Whether we're 'the good guys' or not really doesn't matter. You're going to be treated differently no matter where you go. At least here, we're offering you help.” She was starting to get on his last nerve again. 'Just take the damn help and get in the base.'
She had yet to be done with her questions though. After Bradley had finished with one, she asked another. “Why does everyone hate the idea of the Fleet or former soldiers?” This made Bradley c**k an eyebrow up. Where did she get this thought from? He had been apart of mobile infantry for five years now, and he had never faced anyone who hated him for what he did. Again, she wasn't seeing the separation between herself and the rest of the Varros. And Bradley's denial in being apart of the separation wasn't helping. He didn't know why he chose to keep it a secret from her that he too, was a shifter, but he didn't plan on telling her anytime soon. “You're delusional.” He answered, simply. It had to be the only explanation. Whatever thoughts she had packed up in her swelling mind were sending her off the edge of rationality. If she'd only calm down, they'd be able to take her in with an orderly fashion. The more seconds that passed though, the less likely it seemed to be possible.
“I can’t do the cloth bag,” She admitted. Bradley had no right to distrust her. She may have had some genetic alterations but she was still Varro at heart. They were a peaceful society - why would she lie to them? Did she want the humans to kill them all? He had become accustomed to trusting anyone who was of the same species as him. Lying generally wasn't in their nature. After she spoke, Bradley began to grip the vials tighter and take one step towards Lye. Before he could even shift weight from one foot to the other, she spoke again. “If you want me knocked out your sedatives--they’re like cicle.” This made Bradley pause in disbelief. How was that possible? They were low grade but... they weren't that low. Two injections could put out someone who weighed 200lbs. Three could knock out anyone. 'She can't be...is she lying?' It was such an odd thought to consider. Why would she lie to him?
Modemura began to take another step for her as she began to back up. She was starting to get a bit too far for his own comfort. He didn't like her straying, especially in her state of mind. “Wait,” She demanded but Modemura ignored her request. Instead, he continued to step closer, while she continued to back up. Nearly forgetting entirely, Modemura's head snapped around to see an entire group of men aiming their guns at Delph who appeared, from far away, to be shifting. If she kept up her act, she was going to be swiss cheese. Bradley held his hand upwards and directed them to lower their weapons. They followed orders but it was clear they weren't going to hold off for much longer. The thought of an unstable shifter scared them and it nearly scared Bradley too. 'That could be me.' he thought. Except when he shifted, there wouldn't be anyone to contain him. He'd be taken out, plain and simple. "I can control myself, it's just...my mind keeps telling me not to trust you. My instincts say that cicle is drugged."
That was where Modemura drew the line. She was a flat out liar if she thought she could control her shifts. No one could do that. It wasn't made to be a stable weapon, it was always a side effect to a bigger experiment. His first assumption was true - she was delusional. She needed help more then he thought and trying to reason with her wasn't the way to go about it. This was the very reason why the Red Tail had to take people in forcefully. Some people didn't know they needed help until they got it. He could have been saving her life and she'd never know it. Finally giving up on his peaceful ways, Modemura bent down and began to lay the cup on the floor. He placed the vials back into the black cloth and laid them on the floor as well. When he took a step for Delph, she didn't step back this time. She seemed prepared for anything but Modemura hadn't noticed. With a swift swing of his hand, he brought his fist for Lye's face in attempt to knock her down again. Instead, she brought both hands - still tied - up and grabbed his fist. Then she pull his arm downwards, bringing his face closer to hers. The second he was within reach, she smashed her skull into his nose and released him. Modemura tumbled back and gripped his nose while cursing.
While his eyes were closed, he saw himself taking the remote for the wires and making them tighten until they cut right through her hands. He could hear her screams in the pits of his ears. Every bone in his body urged him to rip her throat out. Modemura opened his eyes but only saw himself crushing her skull into the asphalt. His heartbeat was the only thing he could hear, cutting off all other sounds. With a loud yell, he charged straight at Delph and tackled her to the floor by using his shoulder to ram into her gut. The two both fell to the floor but Bradley was quick to climb over her. One of his hands pressed her cheek down so her face was turned and her eyes were away from him. The other was squeezing her neck, trying to make her pass out. Both of her restrained hands were up at his face, trying to push him off of her. Delph couldn't see him but his face began to change colors again. His skin got course and thin while all the color was drained out. His lips peeled away, leaving only his slightly clear teeth to jab out. His eyes glowed once more ; all the while, Modemura's memory began to spot. One moment he was staring down at Lye, the next, he was looking up at the sky, the next he was watching the men who had previously been far away now rush towards him.
The next time Bradley blinked, he was being pulled off the unconscious commander and people were surrounding the two of them in every direction. Bradley was panting, as if he had just been fighting for hours. Someone was yelling his name but their voice came out distant - like they were yards away. The echo didn't form any understandable words. Bradley stumbled towards the black cloth sack he had laid down earlier and fingered for a vial inside. His fingers had shifted already. They looked like bones covered with little amounts of skin with sharp burgundy nails. His hands were shaking as he popped off one of the caps to the vial and jabbed it into his neck. His eyes crossed and began to roll to the back of his head. A minute later, he was recovering and changing back into himself again. The voice that had been speaking got louder and louder until he realized it was coming from right beside him. It was the voices of the men, checking the girl on the ground and talking about what to do. As Modemura raised back up to his feet, he started to take charge once again. “Everyone get inside. We've been out here far too long already. She needs to be tested.” He pulled the remote out from his buckle and released the wires from her wrists. "That's right," Another man said. "Get the machines running, now. No quick movements people, we want her sleeping like a baby."
Modemura faded into the background as they all walked for the entrance. One of men who had more authority then most approached him and leaned inwards. "Did you find out anything valuable?" He asked. Bradley glanced over at the girl who was being carried by two men. He nodded slowly and replied, “That's Delph. Commander Delph. And she's a gold mine.” The other man glanced back at Delph as well, looking at her in new light. "Hey! Watch it! Be careful with her!" He yelled, to no one in specific. Bradley tapped the man on the arm to get his attention. “The sedatives... she said they had no effect on her.” The man thought for a few seconds for an answer. "She might already have too many drugs in her system. A low grade sedative would be like lighting a candle in a house that's on fire. We'll try and clean her system out and get her healthy again." Modemura nodded, as if that was what he wanted to hear. In reality, he wasn't sure a healthy Lye was what he wanted at all. Picking up the cup of cicle and remaining vial in the bag, he gulped down a large amount of the drink and thought carefully. That blow to his nose hurt like hell. He hadn't noticed it until now but.. he had begun to bleed.
Korrye
Sparkly Genius
Commander Lye Delph of the Varro, Prisoner of War. Shifter Status Complete; Dual Syndrome Active
- _______________It t was partly delusion that seemed to overcome her in those moments. In all honesty her mind was trapped in a world it had escaped. These weren’t the humans but her mind couldn’t acknowledge this which led her to a sudden lapse of personality and judgement. Backed up against the wall she wasn’t herself. When he started to get annoyed she grew fearful. When he attacked her instinct kicked in and suddenly she was moving without any sort of thought. Ultimately the exchange of blows was so short lived that she found herself on the ground, underneath him with his hands wrapped around her throat. Lye’s eyes widened and her legs kicked out, her restrained wrists bleeding down her arms as the wire cut deeper in towards the bone. Coughing and choking she fought for any sort of air that she could gasp for but his strength was too great. Staring into his eyes she saw him change, his fingertips at first felt funny against her skin. Falling unconscious the last image she had in her mind was of his shifting face.
• • •
There was barely any light filtering into the cell. The walls were coated with the blood and vomit of the previous occupant. The smell was the first thing that hit Lye as she was dragged into the room. The 24-hour lights in the previous room had deprived her of any sense of daylight hours or proper sleep. Having not eaten in over three days her stomach area seemed likely to collapse in on itself at any given moment. Two men pulled her, one by each arm. One hoisted her onto her feet, one which she stood shakily, while the other closed and sealed the door. Slapping a pair of laser restraints around her wrists they connected the frequency with the ceiling, lifting her off the floor where she hung limp. The second man left while the first spat on her before ripping open the backside of her shirt.
“Piece of s**t!” The man yelled as he too began to walk away as if to leave. Closing her eyes Lye gulped in the foul air and kept her head bowed. When the man paused in step she opened her eyes. There was no way to defend herself when he flew at her, arm extended in a tightly balled fist.
• • •
Erratic nightmares seemed to strike her when she closed her eyes. Triggered by familiar sights or noises there simply was no guard. Twitching in her unconscious state her eyes flashed open before the punch from the Human soldier connected with her ear. Attempting to sit herself up immediately only brought on a vicious wave of nausea and coughing. Gripping the sides of a standard metal cot Lye swung her legs over and onto the floor, bending over so that her head was between her knees and her hands could run through her hair. The thick blonde and brown locks were so dishevelled and sweaty. At first she thought that it might have all been a dream. Had she escaped? Had the Varro treated her like a monster? Yes. It was all true. The interior of the room was standard issue, the walls were bare and the linens well worn. But the smell of the room was somewhat dusty and homey, not that anyone normal would ever call such a bare room homey. But it beat a room in which everything was white and plastic. Feeling along her jaw and down her throat she could feel the bruises swelling, now especially that her blood and heart were racing. The watch on her wrist said that she was approached 80BPM. Breathing in slowly she exhaled, the pounding in her head wouldn’t cease.
At that moment the door to the room unlocked and the swung open, a large commanding man stepped forward. Lye pried her eyes off the floor and raised her head only so much as she had to to meet his eye level, to look at him as he towered over her. Muscular and dressed in clothing that looked superior to that of Modemura, Lye watched him mutter something over his shoulder to a group of men behind him, essentially reinforcements. One was dressed in white, carrying a battered toolkit. When he returned to face her his face looked sincerely kind and concerned. What overwhelmed Lye in those next moments was that he knelt down in front of her, almost as if she were a child. Half of her expected him to remain standing, the other hand anticipated him sitting behind her but the cot (she soon realized) was too small to accommodate the both of them.
“My name is Emeric, I’m one of the leaders of the Red Tail. My understanding is that you’ve identified yourself as Commander Lye Delph.”
Knowing that her voice and throat were too parched to speak she merely nodded her head which--unfortunately--only added to her nausea. Lye bent down further, her head was getting close to the floor.
“Regulation restricts us from giving medical care to anyone who doesn’t want it, so as not to waste it. Do we have permission to help you? Initial scans show that you’re suffering from a severe detoxification, amongst other pressing matters.”
If that, Lye felt so much more. For one her head felt incredibly heavy while the room and its contents seemed to spin every few minutes. Nodding in response to help from him she shut her eyes tightly again as the people in the room shuffled. Taking in slow breathes through her mouth her ears seemed to pop.
“My name is James Hugh, my colleagues and I are going to do what we can. You may feel a slight pinch; this is a shot of a adrenalin to get you on your feet and into the infirmary where we can have a better look at you.”
Opening her eyes to look at the two of them specifically, she could only make out blurs of white. They pushed her back lightly by her shoulders onto the cot and started rustling through a bag of sorts. The sudden motion caused for her stomach to pitch. Turning over onto her side and hoisting her head over the edge of the cot she wretched onto the floor. It seemed to rip through her body which in turn shuddered violently. Coughing-she choked for air, her lungs trying to grab too much air while her sides ached from the motions of vomiting.
“Shh. That’s fine, you’re okay.”
It wasn’t until they were soothing her that she noticed that she was gasping for breath as if panicking.
The next few days seemed to go over in a blur. Rather quickly they admitted her into a stark infirmary that was void of any conscious patients. Lye was literally carried by the two physicians into the room. Shortly after she’d thrown up they agreed that the shot would be too hard on her system. When they got her settled into a proper bed they gave her a shot of Chelatine, a compound intended to rid the body of any foreign substances. From there on she let them do as they please, that is until they got to giving her a brief physical examination in which they found the stretched incision on her lower back where her skin was stained from blood. The area was extremely sensitive to the touch and slightly infected. Cleaning it was necessary, even flushing out the incision itself. They didn’t seem to question what it was from so Lye sat through it all, ultimately passing out during the irrigation.
A day to herself, a night of poor rest and then she was confronted with a thorough list of questions. The interrogations intimidated her. The man who had identified himself as Emeric largely conducted the interviews, referring to her as Commander or Ma’am. There she saw the regular characteristics of the Varro and ultimately patience. Releasing that she’d been tortured took a bit. Their methods were briefly discussed. Then came an onslaught of questions as to the nature of the technology under their control, what other Varro were with her? Were they shifters? Were they treated like her? Was there any mention of other compounds? Did she remember her escape? It was exhausting and was met with a fitful sleep.
Three days after her escape the Emeric, along with a group of maybe five other resistance members, led her through the compound. Lye was slowly picking up the pieces of her personality, the one she’d been brave enough to display when first brought in front of Modemura. Above all she was quiet. Lye had been given the explicit lecture of her guest status. They avoided showing her to various places and for moments she felt the sudden impulse to sneak through barred doors. But she followed the rules knowing full well that she wasn’t important enough to stretch them. They could throw her out, though it would be against their morals to do so. Over all it was a shock to see so many of them oblige to military codes and regulations that she was familiar with. Modemura’s character seemed to all but fade in memory.
“After you were captured the city of Corer fell. But your…detainment was essentially what was needed to evacuate the remaining residents and cultural leaders. You improvised and you saved nearly sixty-three million Varro. The majority of them flew off planet to one of our sister colonies, others chose to simply flee. But with the fall of Corer they took control of the governmental buildings. They declared victory and started to move their people in.” Lye found herself sitting in what seemed like a small lecture hall in a front row desk flipping through pages of major events, things that had happened while she was in the compound and been unaware of.
“Do you have an accurate understanding of where other groups of resistance may be?”
“So far we’re the only Red Tail base. But the south western city of Tolve is said to still have Varro members. The humans haven’t moved into that city. But at this point the Humans are herding the Varro into what appears to be fleet ships. We haven’t been able to track where they’re sent. It’s dangerous to be outside, the Humans have constant satellite imaging trying to pick up any foreign movement.”
- Kindness isn't foreign to some Varro after all.
[Bang Bang]
“But why me?” Modemura asked, a look of dissatisfaction on his face. He was uncomfortable with the thought.
"You're a familiar face. Plus, she might want to get a little pay back for that sucker punch of yours." Another man replied. His name was Cyrus and he was also one of the beginning members of the Red Tail. The Red Tail Vets were usually the only people Modemura chose to speak to.
“Oh, you think that's-that's funny to you, isn't it?” Modemura was annoyed with the smile he saw forming over the face of an old comrade. “Is it going to be funny when you have to shoot the both of us down?” Cyrus was busy hanging up old portraits on the wall of his room. Even though they were caught in the middle of the war, he still liked to make himself feel at least slightly comfortable.
"Modemura, you have to stop thinking about that. Haven't you heard the news? She's on our side." Bradley grumbled, still a bit distrusting from the last time she lied to him. He didn't like her. He didn't like the fact that she had the duel syndrome and could explode like him at any moment. He didn't like her previous status in the military and the fact that she was technically of a higher rank then him. And he didn't like that she was a hero to millions of his people. He didn't care if she was the key to solving the war - he didn't like her. Only problem was that everyone else did.
“So am I but this monster inside me doesn't pick sides. And neither will hers when she shifts and goes ballistic in the base. Remember Alastair?” Modemura followed Cyrus as he walked around the walls of his room, hanging portraits of random things like their oceans or a home from three centuries ago. At the mention of Alastair, Cyrus stopped for a brief second then continued on. Alastair had also been induced with the duel syndrome. When he shifted, it was inside of their base. He killed seven people and destroyed half of their defense system. It just so happened to be their luck that the humans had also been sighted in the area. They made it out but with hardly any luck. And it all started from one shift.
"I'm ordering you to go spend time with our newest recruit. And if she takes a swing at you, you better sure as hell hold still." Cyrus said with a small irritation in his voice. It was apparent that Modemura had gotten to him. He could only take so much of him before he wanted to dismiss him. Modemura scoffed at his command and started walking for the door. Before he left, he turned back around and asked, “Is that an order too?” Cyrus turned to look at Bradley and grinned. "Damn straight." With another grumble, Bradley turned and headed out of the room.
As he headed around the second level of the enormous base, he stared down at the bottom floor where most people were on computers, trying to keep track of the outer walls. He hated working security. All you did was sit in the same seat all day, staring out and nothing for hours at a time. And falling asleep on the job wasn't an option. Modemura leaned over the railing and whistled down to the people below. A few men looked up and pulled off their headphones which hadn't been turned up to a loud volume. “Uhh, Delph.” He called, nearly forgetting the girl's name. He had gotten accustomed to just referring to her as 'she' or 'her'. One of the men tapped a few buttons on their screen then looked back up and called, "Second level. War room." Modemura nodded and started to walk down the hallways. It wasn't actually a 'war room' per se. It held a lot of important history of their past and was where the original fourteen Red Tail Vets met to discuss plans. Occasionally the room saw it's fair of attack plans.
Before he entered, he peaked through the window of the room. He could see the back of Delph's head and a swarm of about five other men, all sitting around her, talking to her and logging in documents of past events into her desk monitor. They must have been updating her. With a deep sigh, Modemura waved his hand over the entrance scanner, opening the door by identification. This specific room, like many on the sixth and seventh floors, only opened with the correct ID. He stepped in slowly and held his arms behind his back. His legs were slightly apart and his posture was perfect. Emeric looked up from his position and stared over at Bradley. Soon enough, the other men in the room followed suit. Bradley immediately felt uncomfortable. “Permission to visit with Commander Delph, sir.” He said lowly. Every word he spoke seemed to leave a bad aftertaste in his mouth. Emeric smiled and slowly stood to his feet. He looked down at Lye for a few seconds before turning back for Modemura and answering, "That's really up to the Commander."
Bradley bit his inner lip. His friends were such assholes. They knew he didn't like her and that he just wanted to serve his part in fighting off the humans. By talking to her, he wasn't saving lives or capturing back cities. He wasn't winning battles or rescuing prisoners of war. All he was doing was wasting time and no one but him seemed to notice. “I have orders..” Bradley stated, already annoyed. Emeric chuckled and waved at the other men as he started to head for the door. The other men began to stand up and follow him out. "Yes, and you follow them well. But your manners could use some work. She is a lady, after all." Modemura's eyes hit the floor. His tried his best to fight the violent images back. He hated when they were of his closest comrades. Yet all he could see was himself ripping Emeric's jaw off and taking out the men one by one. Emeric and the others left right when he was picturing himself snapping the neck of a faceless recruit. When the door shut, he snapped out of his thoughts.
Modemura took in a cool breath and headed for Delph, in her seat at the front. As he rounded her desk and took a seat in front of her, he was shocked by what he saw. Lye Delph was, indeed, a lady. A beautiful one at that. Her blonde hair was complimented so well by her glowing teal orbs they called eyes. He felt as if they nearly pierced right through him. And her skin, though tanned, still looked flawless despite the years of pain she must have suffered. It was no wonder everyone liked her. They must have forgotten to let him in on the little fact that she was a babe. Last time he had seen her, she was looking her worse. He could barely make out any of her traits from all the dirt. Her looks weren't enough to swoon him over though. She was still the same person he didn't like. Just a bit prettier. 'So what. You're not going to fall for it like everyone else.'
Modemura fumbled for something to say. He just come to the realization that he hadn't planned out a single thing to say. What were you supposed to say to someone who you knocked out last time you saw them? “I realize we got off on the wrong terms last time we spoke. My name is Bradley Modemura.” He said carefully. Bradley had never liked his first name. Every time he used it, it just felt so out of place. And no one who had ever pronounced his name ever made it sound right so he had given up on it, entirely. “Have you been getting proper treatment?”
Korrye
Sparkly Genius
Commander Lye Delph of the Varro, Prisoner of War. Shifter Status Complete; Dual Syndrome Active
- _______________Gathering from what Emeric was telling her, they were the kind of people who worked form the inside of a shaded building. And by shaded, she meant off radar and secure. But it was nearly impossible for them to achieve anything that way. In fact there was little they could track and watch as the humans progressed. Without knowing what the Humans were building or doing, it left gaps in how they would plan strategies and overall that was a painful thing to acknowledge.
“They have a lot more going for them than you know,” Lye sighed, brushing her hand across the sheaf of papers and gathering them up. It wasn’t that she was done with them but that she felt there were more pressing matters than just the situation of the base and its history. Quite ably she’d picked up the layout of where she had been given permission to go. That and she’d been introduced to various ‘original members’ (as Emeric liked to call them) of the Red Tail organization. Not that she was one hundred percent on her feet just yet but her memory was gathering information the way Lye liked to and should have been. It caught onto concepts and stored them. Stacking the papers under the desk she activated the touch screen watching as it slowly flickered to life. The men around her, she noticed, had been working to establish a network of information for her to go through.
“Is that all, Commander?”
“Just one moment Captain, please,” she managed, muttering under her breath lowly as her right hand started to work the screen, flicking through documents until something peaked her interest. There was a blatant lack of information on the subject of the shifter serum or what had happened to any of them. But before she could raise her question the main door to the conference room opened and none other than Modemura chose to make his entrance. Busy skimming one government ordered document, one of the last passed before the Corer take over, Lye didn’t look over her shoulder to see him. If anything she was blatantly ignoring her presence. An uneasy feeling rose in her stomach. Though it seemed like a blur now she was more than displeased with her own behaviour and shocked that she had given in to something of a post traumatic stress syndrome. Having been in the Fleet for years she had never once been scarred by something she had seen or experienced and yet after a year in a Human compound she had lost herself, her language and her confidence. Though admired by the people here, some revelled in the thought that she had saved all of those people, Lye considered herself anything but a hero. But what they didn’t understand wouldn’t hurt them for now.
“Permission to visit with Commander Delph, sir,” came Modemura. Even in the small room his voice seemed to have a mild echo. Lye paused and rose to sit up straight in her seat. The clothes she was wearing were anything but comfortable. Most of what they had was standard issue to men. The pants were too large and the thin white undershirt was too tight under her arms. They assured her that they would come up with something better but no matter. Making eye contact with Emeric she watched the man stand, relaxed and content to have Modemura in the room. “Does he trust the man with his life?” Lye wondered. "That's really up to the Commander,” Emeric told him.
“Permission granted. And if I may say so Emeric, you control your own men, not me,” her voice was smooth and fluid. The bruises around her throat and under her jaw seemed to pound in those instants as if her body was reminding her of what her first encounter had gotten her. When he came around to take a seat beside her she finally gave him the grace of eye contact. The once over he gave her was standard to the various men in the compound. Even the doctor had been shocked at the sight of her after she was fully showered and clothed properly. The black scrubs she had been wearing from the facility had masked her feminine frame. When Modemura hesitated to make any initial form of communication she returned to briefing the document. With the informality of the wording Lye would have thought it a draft yet it had been passed. “It’s amazing what people will try to shuck off when they know their defeat was imminent,” she thought casually. But Bradley himself was quick to break her train of thought as he finally gathered his words and spoke.
“I realize we got off on the wrong terms last time we spoke. My name is Bradley Modemura,” and when the words came from his mouth Lye found it as if he did so as if walking through a mine field.
“And I apologize for my state of mind the last we saw of one another, but not for that nose of yours,” Lye responded, taking in his swollen face with some pride. At least she had had the guts to fight him back a little, not that it settled the score at all.
“Have you been getting proper treatment?” He questioned. Lye held her tongue for a moment, resisting the urge to spit out something like the fact that by the statement it seemed that he didn’t trust his own men to handle her properly or that since they were treating her so humanely they were doing wrong.
“Yes, but have you from your colleagues Modemura? Excuse my lack of a title; I have yet to be informed of your rank.” Holding her gaze with him it was almost as if they exchanged lightning. There was a tension in the room, one that was greater simply because they were both shifters. Somewhat, Lye had also caught onto some of the jokes flying between the men about Modemura and the way he had treated her.
“If I may inquire, the last I saw of you, you were phasing into your shift after I said something that seemed to annoy you. You were rather agitated after I claimed that I could control myself when I phase. Care to explain to me why that bothers you?”
Emeric seemed to suck in a deep breath and for a moment her eyes glanced over at him just to see where he was at. The man was closing the door behind him. During the interrogations they briefly touched on her shifter status. But with Modemura in the room now it seemed like a good time to bring it up.
- I'm not forgetting that first impression.
[Bang Bang]
You know, the idea of being kicked out of the Red Tail Resistance didn't seem so bad anymore. Compared to Lye's presence, just about anything seemed better. What was it that Bradley couldn't take? Was it all the work he had put into distancing himself from all others which was now being crumbled? Was it her completely harmless appearance? Or maybe it was just the fact that she was one in the same as he was and seemed to liked more because of it. Whatever the reason was bugged him like a buzzing irritation in his ear. He had tried to throw the negative thoughts out before he entered the room but only found more, once inside. Emeric hadn't helped much upon entrance. It was the first time Modemura had acted even remotely apart of a military unit for weeks, almost months. Since the war had ended, he threw out his old military habits and spoke to people in whatever manner he chose. He still carried the training close to his heart but all else was pointless. The rest of the Red Tail still seemed to be attached.
“Permission granted. And if I may say so Emeric, you control your own men, not me,” Lye responded. This was where it started. Modemura noted on her tone and every word she used. He didn't like a single minute of it. Emeric smiled at Bradley as he walked for the door. Modemura gazed up at the man who was looking back at him. “Your men?” He questioned, wondering what lies they had been feeding the girl. Emeric's smile grew a little more. When they were nearly parallel to one another, Emeric patted Modemura's shoulder and simply continued walking. Bradley couldn't help but wonder what impression she had gotten from their hideout and the people in it. Did they still seem military - based? Did someone tell her Emeric was the one in charge? 'The Red Tail has more to it then she realizes.' Modemura headed for the seat in front of Lye and decided if he kept himself verbally distant, it'd be harder to get angry.
Formalities had to be broken, first and foremost. He had never introduced himself - purposely - but now felt as if it was unavoidable. She hadn't been shy to give away her rank as a Commander. It almost made Bradley see her somewhat as a boaster. He could have been the damn general of the army and she wouldn't have known it. “And I apologize for my state of mind the last we saw of one another, but not for that nose of yours,” Modemura imagined himself leaping over the table and finishing what he had started last time. The blue and purple around her neck seemed out of place anyways. His fingers, at his lap, twitched at the idea of slamming her skull into the monitor on the counter of the desk. Images of the electrical unit flickering out from the blood slipping in through the cracks of the screen flashed through his mind. Modemura had to blink once or twice to see clearly again. He was just starting to realize he had come unprepared by not bringing along at least one or two clips for his own good. A minuscule panic started in the pit of his stomach.
“Same goes for that ring around your neck.” Modemura scoffed. So maybe she got in a hit. It didn't mean much compared to the fact that he had knocked her down, twice. Thinking back, Modemura had tried his best to keep the men on guard from shooting her. Maybe he was wrong to attempt saving her life. He'd of liked it more if she never stumbled upon them. Bradley wasn't so sure on how to ask, "Are you feeling better?" to someone he didn't like so instead, he had asked about the treatment she was getting. He knew they had to have been pampering her back to health in order to secure the answers they needed. “Yes, but have you from your colleagues Modemura? Excuse my lack of a title; I have yet to be informed of your rank.” Her response felt like a low blow. What was she getting at? Did she want to tempt him? From their last encounter, she had to have figured by now that Modemura wasn't much for games. He didn't put up with anyone's quick talk and was usually the first to lose his temper. Scratch that. He was always the first to lose his temper.
“What business is it of yours? And I've told you this before - this isn't the army. Ranks don't exist here.” He didn't like the way she was starting to 'examine' him. Her question about the way his colleagues treated him could have spiked his paranoia but he chose to toss her words aside. If this was her attempt at isolating him from his base, then he wasn't going to let it work. “If I may inquire, the last I saw of you, you were phasing into your shift after I said something that seemed to annoy you. You were rather agitated after I claimed that I could control myself when I phase. Care to explain to me why that bothers you?” Her motives were starting to confuse Modemura. Why was she asking him things about himself? She didn't even know him and here she was passing judgment. The request that Cyrus had made was to get information from her, not the other way around. Bradley immediately felt uncomfortable by being alone in the room with her. There was too much pressure to kill her since he had the chance. “What are you trying to do?” He asked defensively.
“Let's get this straight - I'm not here to chat with you. Personal inquiries about myself are out of the question. I'm here to figure out more about your shift and that's it.” Modemura couldn't let go of his anger, now. 'The nerve.' He thought. She didn't even have her facts straight. Bradley had assumed he was walking into the room with plans to interrogate. He had no idea he was entering a therapy session, with her as the therapist. “Now get up, let's go.” Modemura sat up from his seat in a rush. The chair he pushed off of scooted backwards and fell over behind him but Bradley didn't even turn. He reached out and grabbed Lye by the arm, pulling her up. Once she was to her feet, he released her and started to head for the door. “Tell me what shift phase you are.” He demanded. There were two phases. Phase I was the type which Bradley had. His DNA simply couldn't mix with the serum and resulted in an uncontrollable shift to form within him. Phase II happened to those which didn't receive all their proper shots in the time allotted for them.
Korrye
Sparkly Genius
Commander Lye Delph of the Varro, Prisoner of War. Shifter Status Complete; Dual Syndrome Active
- _______________All of the remarks, the scoffs and the retorts that he sent back at her were something that she wasn’t accustomed to. Holding her tongue as he spoke she turned her gaze way and caught herself before she said something unruly. Deep down the comments ate at her. Having regained a shard of her former confidence in the past few days he took away what she had gained in an instant—not that Lye Delph would ever let it be known. The slip ups about the army, well, that was habit. Even the Humans had worked with a hierarchy and to go from a decade of living in that system it was taking her time to adjust.
“What are you trying to do? Let's get this straight - I'm not here to chat with you. Personal inquiries about myself are out of the question. I'm here to figure out more about your shift and that's it. Now get up, let's go.” When he turned around in a huff she watched his chair slide out from under him and fall over. And when Modemura grabbed onto her wrist she raised herself to a stand and twisted out of his grasp, rotating her right arm until he was essentially forced to let go. Slapping his hand afterwards for touching her she glared at him, a little more than uncomfortable. Heading for the door she followed him mildly, almost taking her time. Who had gone and shoved a stick up his a**? “Tell me what shift phase you are.” He demanded.
“First, I didn’t mean to indicate that all men here fall under Emeric’s jurisdiction. More so that all Red Tail members are responsible for one another and seeing as I’m a guest here I don’t have any say in what you do or do not do.” Lye said this with a stern voice, emphasizing that it was going to take her a long time to adjust to this way of life, to the demands of this group let alone picking up the pieces of herself which he only seemed to step on and shatter further. “Second, I classify as a phase two. I received four of five shots before my detainment. The bonding agent that I was required to take the day after the serum was something I never got. Or have you forgotten because I’m pretty damn sure that I told this story when I first got here.”
Walking towards the door now she passed him and waited impatiently for the barrier to slide open in front of her. Anger was contagious, more so than laughter. “If you want to play a*****e I’ll play a*****e. Where do you intend on going? What do you want to know? Ask me already. I’ve been toured through this compound three-four times over. The last thing I need is you walking me around in circles correcting me because I’m having troubles adjusting.”
Standing with her weight leaned on the open doorframe she titled her head back and cringed as a sudden jolt of pain wove it’s way from her lower back into her tailbone and then down to her legs. Traveling through it wiped through her and for a moment she supported her entire weight on the doorframe, the door itself having slid inside. The surges in her blood pressure was something she had been warned of given that she was fighting an injection and the entrance wound on her back was at least three times the size of what it was before she escaped. Licking her lips and sighing Lye slowly redistributed her weight between her feet. Modemura was something that she didn’t need right now. If anything she should damn well be avoiding him. The screen on the info-desk was still lit as she looked back in the room to see if he was following her or not. Yes, there truly were more pressing matters. Like why the government had chosen to terminate all Shifter programs and associates, including rehabilitation for dual syndrome patients, a month before the end of the war. Why go through all that trouble? The answer seemed so hidden.
At the same time various persons surrounding them were given a freebie into an interesting conversation. Though they appeared to keep working Lye knew that they were the kind of people who still lapsed into the human trend of workplace chatter. It was simply how news spread even though there seemed to be so few people here.
- Anger is definitely contagious.
[Bang Bang]
Upon taking her by the upper part of her arm, he had intended to lift her up to a standing position then let go. Even that seemed too big of an effort, for she immediately responded by twisting her arm and making it difficult. It didn't matter much - if she didn't like being touched then he wasn't going to bother. Modemura released his hand with eyes still towards the door. In that instant, he felt a soft slap over the knuckles of his hand. Modemura stopped in his tracks and stared at Lye who was glaring at him for what he had done. Her reaction was entirely new which left Bradley questioning how to react to the situation. Lye began to venture ahead of him and take the lead for herself. Bradley slowly started to trot afterward with a little less stomp to his step. From the look in her face, she was obviously mad as well. His intentions weren't to set her off or to try and pick a fight. Anger was generally the only emotion he knew how to wear - all others faded with the war.
“First, I didn’t mean to indicate that all men here fall under Emeric’s jurisdiction. More so that all Red Tail members are responsible for one another and seeing as I’m a guest here I don’t have any say in what you do or do not do.” Lye said, attempting to clear up some smoke. Modemura didn't appreciate that she was answering the little comment that he had made to Emeric. If he wanted to include her in on his thoughts on the subject, she would know. Instead, she just listened in and forced her way in. How ever, it was interesting how she threw around the word 'guest' so freely. She might not have realized by now that the Red Tail's hands were slowly pulling her in, one way or another. Then she went on some more. “Second, I classify as a phase two. I received four of five shots before my detainment. The bonding agent that I was required to take the day after the serum was something I never got. Or have you forgotten because I’m pretty damn sure that I told this story when I first got here.” Phase II. She could have just shortened her little rant to that. He honestly didn't care about the rest.
Thinking back, he wondered if she actually had told him before. From what he remembered, she only talked about her capture and their short battle in Corer. Then again, he might not have been paying attention. For someone with little energy, she sure did talk a lot and Modemura had been battling his emotions so it wasn't surprising if he tuned her out. Still, the way she went about reminding him was something he didn't appreciate and although he had been doing it back to her the entire time, his tolerance for people was a lot lower then hers. Modemura resisted all the crude and intimidating quips he wanted to spit at her. If he could just hold his tongue for five minutes, maybe he'd be able to calm down. Lye got to the door before he did and when she did, it slid open smoothly. She positioned herself in between the door and the seal so that it couldn't slide back closed. Modemura walked with a rhythmic count so he could focus on numbers again instead of the one who was pissing him off.
“If you want to play a*****e I’ll play a*****e. Where do you intend on going? What do you want to know? Ask me already. I’ve been toured through this compound three-four times over. The last thing I need is you walking me around in circles correcting me because I’m having troubles adjusting.” Standing on the inside of the door, right before the exit, he locked eye contact with Lye and stopped walking. A small grin slid up the side of his mouth. “a*****e.” He commented, with a chuckle. She had that look that made her think she knew what she was doing. But as she said herself, she was still trying to adjust. It could have been that Modemura was an impatient person and didn't have time to wait for the Commander to play catch up in their game of survival. “You have no idea.” Modemura was the last person she wanted to get tangled with. If she thought she had seen him mad yet, then she was in for a big surprise. And throwing around a challenge like that was something that couldn't be taken lightly.
She said she had been given the tour already. That meant she must have seen the first five floors of their compound. The first floor was mostly for door control or herding. The machine ratio was far greater then the Varro on the first floor. They had a separate room with five or six men, all linked to different groups of rebels who were out on missions or going through sweeps. The room more then likely wasn't shown, but explained, to Lye to keep from interrupting the work. The majority of the second floor was known as the roundabout level. It was the most occupied floor due to it's recreational facilities, library, history room, and cafeteria. The war room also fell under this category but could only be visited by the original fourteen veterans. The third floor was specifically dedicated to the dorms. The fourth floor was where more military resemblance came into play. It was the floor with the shooting courses and new weapon trials. All of which were done through holograms. The fifth floor held their infirmary and most things medical. There was also a sublevel, below the first floor but it was a stock room. Again, only the Red Tail Vets had access to it.
It was apparent she wanted answers and she wanted them now. Modemura figured she was finally saying something smart - the faster he got through with his questions, the quicker he could leave. However, she would still have to put up with following him whether she had 'gotten the tour' or not. Modemura slowly moved in between the door and the seal, like Lye had. Since she was standing there already, their proximity was a bit closer then what could be deemed as 'normal'. If he had to judge, he'd say their faces were a little less then a foot (human measurement) away. Bradley's height conquered over hers, making him have to stare down in order to glare into her eyes. “Follow me.” He directed in a low toned voice. Then he slowly shifted his body out of the threshold and started to walk down the hall. His eyes connected with two men who had been staring at their scene, curiously. When they met his gaze, they both turned and pretended to look busy. “How many times have you shifted?” He didn't turn around or make any movements to show he was directing his questions to her - he simply expected her to pay attention.
“How did you feel after coming to? Physically and emotionally. Do you know the longest your shift has lasted? What are you generally feeling before you shift? Hurry up now.” He had picked the pace up after about a minute of walking. Bradley caught sight of a lift about to head to the next floor and he would have rather caught it then wait for the next to arrive. Modemura managed to make his way onto the lift in time. To keep it from starting, he put his hand in the way of the entrance and waited for Lye to follow through. “I have a proposal for you.” Even though they were side by side, Bradley still chose to keep his gaze outwards at people and objects instead of looking the girl in the eye when he spoke to her. “I understand my temper can be a distraction from my intentions. Despite my impression, I am just as much apart of this organization as anyone else, if not more.” As he spoke, Modemura checked his clothing and picked off pieces of lint or dust that had made contact with him. He dusted off his right shoulder before straightening back into place. “I will attempt answering any of your questions in return for yours. It seems like a fair enough trade.”
Korrye
Sparkly Genius
Commander Lye Delph of the Varro, Prisoner of War. Shifter Status Complete; Dual Syndrome Active
- _______________Proximity normally never bothered her. But when Modemura was no less than a foot away from her face she suddenly felt nauseous. It wasn’t him specifically but his closeness uprooted a memory. And that memory made her stomach twist in a rather violent knot for a second. Lye’s face flushed yet her eyes stayed locked on his. Though taller than her Lye wasn’t intimidated by him, when he spoke she didn’t flinch. “Follow me,” and when he turned to walk down the hall in front of them she followed, the door to the war room sliding shut the moment she stepped out of the frame.
"I'm inclined not to," she muttered.
As they passed curious spectators returned to work. Lye knew that it was Modemura’s stern expression that snapped their attention off of their scene. In fact her drawing out their bickering into the hall was a mild attempt at getting him to stop belittling her. For the moment the remedy seemed to have worked, so he wasn’t an attention whore. That much she was learning about him. Every response he had given her built up a profile in her mind of how he might respond to something and as a trained mentalist she created hypothetical backgrounds for him, reason why he might behave the way he did and persist to seem angry and annoyed with her. That she didn’t completely understand. But the ideas were brewing and that much was enough.
“How many times have you shifted? “How did you feel after coming to? Physically and emotionally. Do you know the longest your shift has lasted? What are you generally feeling before you shift? Hurry up now.” The questions flew at her as he led her through a series of halls and turns, past various people some of which she had met in previous days as well as others who looked up in mild awe. Not that she ever wanted the attention, specifically now of all times, even though in a past life she wouldn’t have hesitated. When his pace quickened Lye fought to keep up. Normally this wouldn’t have been a strenuous exercise but her thighs were quick to ache.
“I don’t know, I’ve lost count. I’m not sure what you mean about that second one, coming to as in after you punched me or after I phased out of my shift? My longest, I don’t know,” the facts were jumbling around in her mind. Before her detainment she would have had exact numbers for him. It had been mandatory that they keep track. But the humans had forced her into her shift many times, too many times, that she’s lost count. Not to mention the first few she was totally vacant of recollection when she phased out but they had pushed her to her limits as well. What was his limit? “Before, it’s complicated. Um, it’s just--it's like, this previous time I decided that I had had enough. It was like all of the rage and emotion I was feeling gathering in the pit of my stomach and then engulfed my body rapidly.” Resisting the urge to put a “what about you” on the end of her response Lye rushed her way after Modemura, finishing her last sentence as she entered the lift after him. Packed with people she looked around to see no other familiar faces. There were a lot of people here, she was beginning to notice.
“I have a proposal for you. I understand my temper can be a distraction from my intentions. Despite my impression, I am just as much apart of this organization as anyone else, if not more.” He offered. Lye was intrigued but that didn't mean that she appreciated his tone.
Watching him look away from her, it was distasteful almost. Modemura rarely if ever looked her in the face now which was annoying to say the least. As he began to dust off his clothing Lye smirked and let out a huff of breathe. “Going somewhere important?” she thought mildly. “I thought you had no boss.”
“I will attempt answering any of your questions in return for yours. It seems like a fair enough trade.” He finished.
“Promise me one thing before I commit to this,” Lye said, looking straight at him and bringing her arms up to fold tightly under her bust. “You’ll give me honest and full answers; no more of this crap where you try you avoid any true answer and throw the question back in my face like I’m an idiot.”
There was a snicker from someone else in the elevator. Lye broke her gaze with Modemura for a moment to turn and look over her shoulder at a young man carrying what looked like a handheld monitor, working away at something important while eavesdropping on their conversation. Lye bit the inside of her cheek and waited for the lift to end. The ride was nerve-wracking, being so cooped up inside a little box. So when the thing plummetted six feet down in a second Lye instantly reached her hand out to brace on the wall, her small frame almost lifted into the air. The screeching and sudden crashing noise jarred her and Lye found herself knocked off balance into Modemura beside her. Quick to fix her stance and get off him she looked up at the laser screen detailing their floor. The screen was vacant and the lights flickered for a few moments before shorting out. The power down that followed was as if a constant whir that someone was so accustomed to stopped and everything was jarringly quiet. Taking in a deep breath Lye closed her eyes and knelt down on the floor. Heartbeat in her ears and temple throbbing Lye felt the earlier wave of nausea returning, the nausea associated with a memory.
Quietly she opened her eyes and held her hands in front of her face. On her wrist her BPM monitor read 90. With trembling fingers she cupped her face in her hands and exhaled deeply. The scars, they ran so deep. And there was only one way to get her mind off of things.
“First question to you, Modemura, since I answered five of yours previously,” sighing she ran a hand through her hair and slid backwards so that she was sitting on the floor completely. “Why did you choose to become a part of the Shifter program?"
- Damn lifts aren't trustworthy, but then again neither is he.