Discovery Gaming Community - The mind is a wonderful toy. A tale of a woman with no past and every future.

Pages: 1 2

Standing alone in the Padua Bar, a silent woman quietly polishes beer mug after beer mug keeping a close watch on the clock above the large Bar entry doors. She seems slightly on edge though otherwise calm and collected. At a quarter till 15:00 hours, the doors open as two pilots walk in talking to themselves. With a sigh, the young woman sets the towel on the counter clenching her right hand a few times to relieve the discomfort from cleaning the mugs.

"What can I do for you boys?" She asks half expecting them to ignore her.

"Huh? Oh, nothing today, just takin a shortcut robo girl." They both laugh as they continue through the bar and out a side entrance.

"Idiots..." She looks back at the clock, shrugs, then locks the register and moves towards the bar doors. As she reaches the doors, she stops suddenly as she realises she still has her sidearm, her hand having brushed the grip of her repeater auto short rifle strapped to her hip. "Oh, right... take nothing with you." She mumbles to herself then moves back to the bar, Opening a concealed cabinet, placing her holster and weapon inside. She runs her fingers across the rifle for a moment in deep thought, Her mind drifting to the night Nathan gave her the weapon. After a few moments, she closes the cabinet and walks out, heading straight for the docks.

Stepping out into Dock 11, Siren takes a seat on a stack of crates acting as if she were simply on a break and was out for a stroll. A few Docks slaves take notice of her presence though do nothing as they would normally given the presence of a Rogue in their vicinity. Her eyes to wander over the docks activity, watching as a large lift loader carries a crate of obviously stolen Cryer Pharmaceutical cargo from a large cargo transport. Pulling out a small data pad, she looks through it as information on the recently docked vessels pop up one by one. As her eyes cross over the name Nicholas Bower, she glances to the right finding the name of his transport ship to in fact match that of the ship she'd just viewed.

Siren watches the vessel offhandedly for another 8 minutes before she notices a man walk down the cargo ramp, look around the area, then wander off. Confirming the man to be Captain Bower on her data pad, she stands up, throws a quick glance around the area. "Well, here goes nothing." She gracefully moves to the ship, acting as if she were simply checking things over before moving up the ramp and into the cargo bay. Once inside, The young woman looks around for some form of clue as to where she's supposed to go though after a few minutes searching, she decides to simply sit on a packing crate at the back of the bay and wait.

An older man in his late fifties smoking a cigar walked up the cargo ramp of an unmarked freighter in the dock 11 on Padua Base. Once he reached the top he instantly hit the button on the wall.

- Welcome back, Nicholas.

A soothing ship's AI voice greeted the man after the built in sensor confirmed his identity. The hatch closed and the ship was sealed. A small status screen showed silent intruder alert. One human, possibly female, currently located in starboard section of the cargo bay. Nicholas Bower opened the nearby locker, took out a bio-hazard bag, a black engineering suit and a bio-scanner, and went directly to meet his guest. A very attractive young raven-haired woman wearing a leather jacket was sitting on a closed crate and waiting. Before she managed to say anything Nicholas thrown the bag and suit under her feet, put the scanner in his left hand and finally took out cigar from his mouth.

- Undress.

A licentious smile arrived on his face when he had noticed terror and hesitation in the woman's eyes. He took a deep puff of the cigar and switched the bio-scanner on.

- Take off all your clothes and put them in the bag. We really don't have whole day for this, honey.

Sitting in the back of the cargo bay, The young woman sat quietly as fear slowly seeped into her mind. Thoughts of what would be done to her, how it would be done, and for how long as well as if she would survive what was soon to come caused her to completely miss the sound of the Cargo bay doors closing. Only once she noticed that the light from the docks was no longer present over the numerous stacks of crates did she realize that the captain had returned. Raising a hand to hold her arm, she listened in silence as the man's footsteps grew closer to her position until he came into view, moving around a large crate seeming to be carrying something in his hands. Beginning to say something, though cut off by the man's actions, Siren looks at the man with fear as he instructs her to remove her cloths.

After a few moments of staring at the man's cold smirk, Siren gives a weak nod before slowly standing, turning her back to the man, and hesitantly pulls her jacket off. As she lets it side from her shoulders, her body tenses up as she feels the cold chill grace her bare upper body, her recently cut short hair and missing jacket now revealing the small circular mechanical port just at the base of her neck. She looks to the side for a moment, not able to see anything of the man except for a hand holding the lit cigar at his side, she can't help but be reminded of the Junkers from her past.

Holding her arms across her chest, the embarrassed woman reluctantly lowers a hand and unbuckles her belt before siding her pants off, at this point, she can't help but shiver as she was now completely nude, having kicked her boots off before standing.

"Is this... ok?"

- Mhm.

After the woman had taken all her clothes off, Nicholas stubbed out his cigar and started slowly scanning her body starting from her head with the portable device he brought with himself. Once he reached lower the scanner revealed a very invasive chip rooted deeply in the woman's spinal core which was connected with the visible port on her neck. He further scanned her back and legs but found no visible modifications or implants.

- Turn around, please.

The woman slowly turned around while trying to hide her shame with her hands. Nicholas quickly finished scan of her body, which detected a large quantity of nano-mechanical entities within the bloodstream and shown that several bones had been reinforced with a thin plating of an unknown material.

- You certainly have a very interesting body, Sweetheart.

The old smuggler turned off the portable scanner, put the woman's old clothes in the bag and thrown it to the large molecular incinerator in the middle of the cargo hold. Only most paranoid smugglers were installing such devices in their ships to be able to get rid of a hot cargo in an event of a lawful patrol or inspection. The incinerator automatically detected and dispersed the bag and its contents.

- You may dress now. I am sure you will find some boots in your quarter. We will reach Airdrie tomorrow, so expect a dinner in four hours. Let's go.

Standing nude before the old smuggler had Siren on a nervous edge, she'd only ever willingly stripped for one other person before in her life and doing so now for someone she didn't even know made her want to jump out an airlock. As she listens to the scanners gentle beeping, her mind wanders away for a moment to the last time someone did any sort of tests on her, her memories of such tests were not something she'd ever wished to experience again.

Her attention returns to her when Bower orders her to turn around. Hesitating, she complies though keeps her left arm across her chest and lowers her right hand to block his view of her lower regions. She looks away as embarrassment covers her face, before his comment about her body causes her to visibly shudder. When the man finally finishes his scans, Siren quickly turns around to block his view once again and only attempts to say something when she glances over her shoulder at his throwing her cloths to the incinerator.

"That was my favorite Jacket."

Although her words are mostly to herself, she notices the man's small, "I don't care" gesture before he drops an engineer's jumpsuit on the crate she was resting on only a few minutes beforehand. Siren quickly takes it and dresses though soon realizes that he'd incinerated her boots as well. Once Bower informs her as to where she can find a pair of boots and when her meal would be served, she replies with a nod before following the man deeper into the ship.

"Could I have something to read?"

Professor Nicole Hunter was reviewing mission reports in her personal chamber on Mactan when a transmission from Nicholas Bower was redirected to her terminal. She had closed all data pads and received the call.

- Professor, the package is secured and on its way. Our ETA to Airdrie is 16 hours.
- What is its condition?
- She is in her cabin browsing Neural-Net, read only mode. I have completed preliminary medical scan. I am sending data right now.

The data stream instantly arrived on a large holographic projector. Once an upload was completed it showed a three dimensional computed scan of Siren Stone's body, based both on X-Ray and sonic readings. Parts classified as aberrations were marked in red.

Nicole Hunter came closer to the hologram and through simple gesture command zoomed the neck and spinal core region. She glanced at it from different angles and thought for a moment.

- Direct spinal core interface connected with intrusive cybernetic implant. Most likely a combat model produced by Liberty Security Force. I see two small capsules, possibly containing hyper-adrenaline or other stimulant.

She stopped her monologue to take a closer look at reinforced bones and nanobots. Once she had finished her examination, Nicole returned to communication terminal.

- It's extremely dangerous assassin model. Do not try to sedate it. Nanobots will neutralize most substances. Make sure it does not feel threatened as it may trigger deadly reaction. That's all. Good luck, Mr Bower.
- Thank you, professor.

Nicole Hunter quickly opened shared communication channel with two Lane Hacker operatives, Mr Sun Liang-Tan and Mr Rak.

- Good evening, gentlemen. I have priority assignment for you both. The subject is Siren Stone, one of Moka's underbosses. Mr Rak, you have been a frequent guest on Padua and have good contacts within Cassini. I need her complete dossier as a Liberty Rogue, everything you can dig up. Mr Liang-Tan, I need anything you can dig up in the Neural-net on her before she joined the Rogues. Check social networks, dental cards, high school registries, everything. Gentlemen, I need these reports in 16 hours...

Professor Nicole Hunter was sitting in an interrogation chamber on Airdrie Hideout. Two of her elite assassin bodyguards were standing at the sides of the blast doors. She just received a transmission with update on Mr Rak's and Mr Sun Liang-Tan's reports. She opened her tablet and started reading Mr Rak's report while walking around the chamber.

"...I have worked quickly to find the information you need and was overly surprised at the amount of which I found as well as how easily it was to obtain. There seems to be a certain amount of anger and ill will towards Ms Stone which given the information I've found, would make complete sense. Here are the most pressing bits of information.

Ms Stone was first reported to appear among the Rogues nearly four years ago. She seemed to come from nowhere yet blended perfectly within the Liberty Rogues without fault. Her first noticeable actions with the Rogues began about a month after she joined their ranks as she took a job as the bartender in the Alcatraz, more commonly known as the Skanky Beaver. She was an openly outspoken woman with a seemingly endless supply of hate and anger for the Liberty Navy and especially the LSF. She proved herself to be a crack pilot and easily made friends among the more influential Rogues at the time. There were numerous reports of her suddenly falling ill and multiple occasions she seemed nearly pass out from exhaustion.

I did an invasive hack of the medical files on Padua as well as contacted a friend who is currently on Alcatraz, the subject seems to have never visited medical, not even for injuries that would be normal after a confrontation in space. This brings me to one of the most important bit of information. The day the subject officially joined the Padua Liberty Rogues after having left the Liberty Rogues, in the currently named Dogs Maw Bar, an incident occurred before the leadership at the time including Lord Moka. It was revealed that the subject was in fact a Liberty Security Force agent, or rather, in her own words she 'was built by the LSF though never wished to and ran looking over shoulder ever since'. The subject further indicated herself to be a new form of bio-android and it was proven that her body holds an auto regeneration ability that quickly heals minor to moderate wounds. At the time, a man known as Jason, who no longer is among the PLR had a knife stuck deeply into her shoulder, yet after the incident there wasn't even a mark on her.

It is unclear as to why Lord Moka allowed Ms Stone a few days later to rejoin the PLR and as such now holds her as one of his most trusted underbosses as well as the station master for Padua Base. What we do know is that the subject has shown no indication in her time with the Liberty Rogues and now the Padua Liberty Rogues that she is in fact a spy or has any intention of turning on her allies..."

Lane Hacker Professor stopped reading and wondered for a moment. While Lord Moka was not a genius, he was counted among more reliable Liberty Rogue warlords and also well known for his paranoia and deep concerns for own safety. He would never let a possible LSF agent go free not counting flushing him out of an airlock. Did some Rogue technician manage to crack Stone's implant or was it another show of complete lack of competence - Professor Nicole Hunter thought before switching to the report prepared by Mr Sun Liang-Tan.

"...we managed to complete initial investigation on Ms Siren Stone's true identity. We decided to narrow down search using three known facts about the subject, namely age estimated through bio-scans between 25 and 26, emergence within Liberty Rogues around 4 years ago, and participation in an experimental cybernetic enhancement program hosted by the LSF.

Having in mind above we assumed that the subject must have been a young military recruit, most likely Liberty Navy, deemed expendable enough to warrant participation in a risky program. We ran facial recognition AI through all public archives of military school graduates, however, as it turned out, The Liberty Security Force did a reasonably good job at removing its agent from public records. Instead, we decided to hack several Cryer dental databases on Manhattan, Los Angeles and Houston.

We were lucky to find an archived match from 812 A.S. belonging to a 16 year old girl - Rebecca Larson. The bill for dental implant service was paid by Bellaire Orphanage on Houston. Having location, age and name, our stolen LSF profiling software allowed us to find more clues. Rebecca Larson was most likely an oaf who visited several orphanages in Los Angeles, Manhattan and Houston, usually being relegated from one to another as a form of punishment or a disciplinary measure. It is hard to build a genuine psychological profile from the found bits of information, however, we believe that Rebecca was an aggressive child unable to adapt to her environment and build stable social relations with her peers - a classic unwanted child syndrome.

After graduation she applied to Liberty Navy reserve forces and received basic piloting training, but at this stage it is impossible to discern between facts and planted LSF cover material. The aforementioned dental service was performed after the subject was released from detention and cleared from charges of an assault with a deadly weapon. It appears that 16 year old Rebecca disarmed and seriously wounded a two year older boy almost twice her weight who allegedly attacked her with a knife. Having this in mind it is not unrealistic that she was an early selectee for a new LSF assassin training program. I advise extreme caution..."

Professor Hunter stopped walking and looked over her shoulder to find reassurance in the look of her assassins. She sat in the interrogator's chair and enabled security mode.

- Mr Knox, please bring her in.

Siren had been reading a news article about Bretonia and their failing defenses against the Gallic invasion when the smuggler opened the door to her room. Siren hadn't even noticed them landing let alone the older gentleman coming down the hall as she normally would have, though at the moment she didn't care. She followed Bower through his ship to the cargo bay, down the loading ramp, and up to a man awaiting them near an inner station access door. When she held her hands out, her wrists together and palms up, the man shook his head gently pushing them down.

- That won't be necessary. Just follow me.

As the two moved through the station, she wondered about the complete lack of human life in their vicinity though once she noticed several ceiling mounted auto defenses along the way, all of which seemed to be offline. - I guess you don't want me to feel threatened. You would do a better better job having some people moving through the corridors to make the place seem less vacant - she thought. As they continued moving through the station, Siren couldn't help but think back to the LSF Installation on which she was born. She remembered how the guards would move her through the station in much the same fashion and how unsettling it was for her back then.

Once they arrived at their destination, the man instructed Siren to wait next to him which they do for a few minutes before a somewhat familiar voice called out from behind the doors - Mr Knox, please bring her in. Although she had never met her before, Siren had heard more than a few recordings of the woman's voice on communications between the PLR and Lane hackers, especially given the recent Orange Treaty. Opening the doors for the unarmed woman, Knox led Siren inside the large room. Glancing around the room, she found the two seemingly highly trained men behind her, noticing their stature and mannerisms giving Siren an Idea as to their skills. She then looked to the woman sitting in the center of the room and a weak smile crossed her face.

- Ms Hunter, I presume?
- Good afternoon. Please, make yourself comfortable, Rebecca.

Nicole Hunter said while showing Siren the chair on the other side of the desk and very thoroughly inspecting her reaction. The young woman hesitated for a moment, and tensed up as slight anger crossed her face.

- My name is Siren.

She did not say this out loud, though she stressed it loud enough to be heard by everyone in the room. The Lane Hacker professor smiled and let her guest take a seat.

- As you wish... Siren. How may we help you, then?
- I... I'd like to know what I am... or who I am... I... I don't know.

Sitting in the chair opposite the Lane Hacker professor, Siren suddenly felt the fear and dread she should have during the flight. She looked away as she spoke, betraying how uncomfortable she felt saying such things out loud.

- Who we are is a philosophical question mostly. Answers are usually nothing more than labels we use for our convenience, though I guess this is something you expect from me now. Therefore, let me then give you some labels - professor paused for a moment and started to iterate with a passionless voice - Homo sapiens sapiens, commonly known as human, an orphan, Rebecca Larson, Liberty Navy Reserve Forces volunteer, Liberty Security Force cybernetically enhanced assassin...

As Professor Hunter spoke, Siren grew more and more tense she finally turned her head from Nichole's gaze, not wanting to look at the woman as she was feeding her "her lies".

- I know what I am!
- You do come here at a great risk and cost to learn who you are. However, when you do you reject this knowledge claiming you know better. A significant dose of self-contradiction, wouldn't you agree?
- You think I don't know that!? - Siren slammed her fists on the desk while turning her head with a hateful glare - I don't want to be here. I just...

When Siren bashed the desk the resonance activated the security field between her and Nicole. Professor waited for the field to quickly disappear and continued.

- The irony of the situation here is that we know more about you than you yourself. To the point that there is little we could learn from you. This is not really an interrogation, as you would expect, as this is more of a prelude to your disarming.

- If you know so much about me, then tell me why the LSF built me? Why am I here?! - Siren clenched her fists, as she looked up at the woman with fire in her eyes - Did they make me so I could infiltrate the Rogues? Did they program me to get close to the Liberty Rogue leadership and become one of them only to turn and slit each of their throats? Was it the LSF that programmed me to be who I am and make friends with the enemies of Liberty? Was I sent to the people I care about and call friends to murder them in their sleep like I did to those Junkers that caught me four years ago?! - she didn't even stop to take a breath as the anger was building up in her. She stood up and confronted her interrogator as anger and rage was running through her body - Tell me miss Hacker Professor with all the answers. Am I nothing more than a weapon sent by Liberty to kill all of you?!

She swiped her hand back in a theatrical manner to make her point, though as she did, her hand hit the back of the chair sending it to the floor though the obvious injury she received from it was not registered by her mind.

- More or less. Though specifics do not matter. You might as well be a runner. Undoubtedly your program did not go as planned as apparently your triggers failed to activate so far. Though you were not built. Just brainwashed and cybernetically enhanced through standard surgical means. Your memory loss might have been caused by the severity of the surgery. As for anxiety, lack of self-control and paranoia, judging from your dossier, those are inherited traits.
- I am not a human and I was not brainwashed! This is all lies the LSF put out there for you to find on me! They built me, I know they did!
- An inquisitive being, be it a human or artificial intelligence, facing an obvious cognitive dissonance and contradictory statements would at least try to examine their source before rejecting them. Refusal to do it is quite common for brainwashed fanatics, don't you think?
- How can I even start to think what you're telling me is true when it comes from the bastards who made me this way? They built me, gave me these memories, and named me Rebecca?!

In her hysteria, the woman didn't even notice what she'd said. At this point the Professor ceased to treat her interlocutor seriously and just pushed towards her a tablet with Mr Liang-tan's report and medical scan. While the tablet was crossing the middle of the desk, the barrier field activated slightly but allowed it through.

- Certainly there are worse names than that - Professor allowed herself for a smirk comment before proceeding to one of her famous speeches - When nothing is certain, Occam's Razor is your harbor in the sea of doubts. Nobody, not even LSF, builds an android that resembles so closely a human being down to a single cell. It is simply neither efficient nor cost effective. On the other hand, inexperienced, eager, and expendable recruits are abundant resource...

While Siren listened to Nicole speech and read the report, her mind started to grow hazy and she visibly began sweating. - I am Siren... I... my name is... is... Siren... not... not Siren.... I... it's... Siren... it's not... - the woman was deteriorating at a fast pace, her breath grown shallow and heart pounding. It wasn't soon before she could barely breath as it all happened so fast. Before she knew it, her head was on the desk, barely breathing and unconscious. The nanites inside her body had activated in response to her confusion, as the chip deep rooted algorithms identified her questioning what she has been programmed to believe. The resulting emergency protocol quickly sent her into a deep coma, barely breathing, yet still alive. The last thing she registered in her mind were Professor Hunter's words.

- Alert medical...

- Alert medical!

Professor Nicole Hunter shouted to Mr Knox as Siren Stone was collapsing in front of her. - Things go rarely as planned... - she thought afterwards as she glimpsed over the blue pill laying on the desk containing the specially prepared nanite inhibitor. Lane Hacker did not let herself to leave the security field though. She survived several assassination attempts only because of knowledge that distraction is the best prelude for an attack. Professor left the interrogation room with her guards only after the medical crew had left with "their patient" to the octagonal cybernetic surgery chamber and strapped her to the neural interface chair.

When Professor entered the room after Siren was already injected with the nanite inhibitor that in theory should occupy nanobots long enough to not interfere in the operation to come. The room quickly crowded with several technicians bringing medical monitoring equipment and remote microsurgery device that was quickly immobilised under the head of the strapped woman as she was being injected with a series of sedatives and psychoactive substances. While Siren's implant had a direct interface port The Lane Hackers could not simply plug in due to security measures installed by The Liberty Security Force. The only way was to boot the implant into a service mode by physically opening its casing and directly manipulating its internal circuits.

Another technician gave Nicole her yet inactive hypnotainment band as the surgery began viewed on one of the biggest displays in the room. A laser scalpel made a small incision directly above the port in Siren's neck, then a razor edged micro-pipe slowly dived under woman's skin and ventured deeper through flesh towards the implant control unit. Suddenly a strong convulsion went through the woman's body.

- I am in.

Said the technician operating microsurgery unit after unlocking the implant's service interface. A group of Lane Hackers, whose task was to copy and hack software from the implant, eagerly started their work, as for a Lane Hacker there were few more sought achievements than successfully hacking Liberty Security Force software.

- We are rebooting.

Said the Lane Hacker overseeing whole operation. Nicole Hunter as well as several other senior Lane Hackers present in the chamber put on their hypnotainment bands, as Siren Stone's implant started a service rebooting sequence...

Siren sat quietly in a chair. Her vision - dark. Her mind - hazy. She couldn't remember where she was or what she had been doing, yet the weak, steadily growing voice calling her name seemed to be pulling her back to reality.

-...son. Mis... ars... Miss Larson. Rebecca Larson, FRONT AND CENTER!

- Sir! -
Rebecca jolted forwards, quickly standing and saluting.

- Miss Larson, I hope you know that nap time is not allowed while on board the Rio Grande. - Said the senior Liberty Navy recruitment officer.

- I... I'm sorry sir. I... don't know what came over me. - Rebecca responded. Her mind was still a bit foggy though aware.

- Right then. Miss Larson, I first need to inform you that the Liberty Navy does not take just anybody off the street. It takes a certain type of person to pilot a fighter, to man a turret station. A certain will and drive to hold a gun and do what needs to be done even in the bleakest of uncertainties. Do you understand this? - The Recruitment officer asks the young woman.

- Yes sir, I do.

- Good, then take a seat and we can begin filling out the paper work.
The officer said with a smile as he moved to the chair in front of his desk. As Rebecca took her seat, her vision started to go hazy once again as the sound began to trail away.
- First I'd like to ask about this incident on your record regarding a near fatal attack on one of your fellow students at the High School you attended. It says here...
The man asked but the last bit of his question faded away. The woman was sitting in a dark fog now for what seemed like hours as hazy images passed by her in shadowy waves.

-...you und... rogram...

-W... what? -
Siren asked looking up into the fog.

- Do you understand? -
A faint voice asked her once again, this time clearly.

- Under.... stand? -
Siren asked with glassed over eyes.

- Yes, do you understand what this program entails and that you can never go back once you begin. This will be a life time commitment Miss Larson and you could very well die because of it.
A man wearing an LSF uniform with a strange insignia on his shoulder told her as they were sitting in a deserted diner in one of Manhattan's smaller towns. She looked around herself and noticed the menu glowing on the holo-boards above the counters and the waitress outside having a smoke break with an LSF guard standing just inside the entrance, seeming to be keeping watch on who may be approaching. She turned her attention back to the older gentleman with a bit of a frown.

- How dangerous will it be... I mean... you mentioned there would be surgery... I think? -
The man set a briefcase on the table and opened it before setting a large file on the table.

- Yes, there will be surgery. Quite a few actually. In order to undertake the assignments that you will be given, certain measures must be taken. First and for most Miss Larson, would be the removal of your ability to have children.

- My... MY WHAT!? - Rebecca cried out in shock
- Why the hell would that need to be done?! -
The man calmly passes her a small stack of papers, each containing a short summary of past female deep cover agents and the incidents involving unexpected children.

- Miss Larson, while a part of this project you would more than likely be in a deep cover situation for years, even decades if need be. Relationships would be garnered, broken, love found and lost. If during an assignment, certain intimate circumstances were to befall you, would you want the fall out to be simply a night of regret or a lifetime of remorse for the child you had to give up.,. just as you were at such a young age. -
Looking away, Rebecca clenches her fists remaining silent for a few minutes. During this time, the man began packing his belongings and stood.
- Miss Larson, perhaps I was mistaken. If you cannot get past your own history, then you will never be able to take part in...

- I'll do it. -
She suddenly said, interrupting the older gentleman's speech
- I would never want to bring a child into this world if it meant they would end up as I did, growing up in orphanage after orphanage, looked down upon by normal society simply because I had no parents. If losing the ability to bear offspring will help win this meaningless war... ANY war... then I will gladly do so.

- That's a good head you have on your shoulders Miss Larson. Here's what we will do. In two days time at 14:00 hours, take the third shuttle from Meridia dock in South Wall Street. Give the captain this card and tell him, you will be "Taking the long road ahead". He will know what to do. Make sure you pack nothing but the cloths on your back. -
He handed her the card then put his hat on, adjusting the fit so that the crease is at just the right angle.
- This was a nice talk we had Miss Larson. I will be seeing you soon but remember, what you do now is for the good of the people of Liberty.
As the man began to walk away, Rebecca seemed to stare thoughtfully at the card in her hand. After an unknown amount of time, she stood taking her jacket and turned to exit the diner, though as she stepped into the sunlight, her view suddenly took the form of a long white hallway in which a nurse seemed to be leading her towards a set of white doors with a medical insignia on them.

- Miss Larson, today we will be taking more blood samples as well as checking on the progress of the auto immune DNA re-sequencer. -
The nurse looked back at Rebecca with her pale figure and weak body barely holding her upright
- Is everything ok today ma'am? Were you able to sleep last night?

Weakly shaking her head, Rebecca refrained from talking in order to keep what small amount of her breakfast she was able to eat down. The nurse gave her a caring smile as she helped her through the doors over to a large chair in which she sat.

- Rebecca, we'll be taking six samples today. I was told this morning that you should only have two more weeks of the auto immune DNA re-sequencing before the surgery. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to make you comfortable.

Rebecca simply nods as she rested her head on the back of the chair. As the nurse went about scanning her body while drawing blood, Rebecca found a small amount of strength to ask a question that had been bothering her for a few days.

-Te... ressa...

-Hmm? What was that Miss Larson? -
The nurse asked, suddenly ceasing her work to pay close attention to Rebecca.

- Is... th... this... all worth... it? My... my body... and... the tests... I... I don't know... if I... should have done... this. -
Rebecca started coughing roughly once she finished speaking. The nurse sat her up, helping her lean forwards so that she didn't choke.

- Miss Larson... Rebecca. I think what you are doing is very brave and that you are one of the few people in this universe that could possibly do something like this. I don't know what it is that drives you, but any other person would have died by now. You have a strong body and sense of duty and I think that is what has kept you going.

- But... should I... have done... this... I... I mean... I... I can't even... walk... without someone help... helping me.
The weak woman tried to make a fist now, though all she managed was a shaking hand. The nurse placed her hand on Rebecca's holding it gently.

- That is something only you can decide Rebecca. As for me, I need to finish these tests. Hey... just two more weeks and you will have your auto immune system replaced right? Two more weeks. Just think of it, two weeks and you will be good as new again. -
The nurse slowly sat Rebecca back up in the chair, helping her lean back so that she was comfortable.

- Y... yeah... two... weeks... two weeks and... I'll be ok... just... two... weeks...

Rebecca fell unconscious at this point. Her mind was once again hazy as Siren returned to the dark fog. Standing still, hearing nor seeing anything whatsoever, Siren sat on the ground and held her knees to her chest. She looked like a scared little girl lost in the woods. Finally after a few hours, sounds slowly began to creep in from the darkness - the sounds of hospital machines, surgery equipment, and doctors speaking in multiple languages all seeming to be standing around Siren in the darkness. Clasping her hands to her ears, the now scared young woman cowered in fear as the sounds grew louder and louder before suddenly stopping all together. After a few moments, Siren looked up, finding to her surprise that a blue holo-terminal seemed to have appeared in the darkness right before her. On the screen was a single word.

- Rebooting.

Pages: 1 2