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Blood Relatives; Who says you can't go home again?
Topic Started: Oct 31 2014, 11:21 AM (4,044 Views)
~The Silver Fox~
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Just your friendly neighborhood Section 2 agent!
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Dear Tamaki:

I'll admit, this isn't what I was expecting to hear from you when I saw you'd contacted me again. Hopefully this work of your hasn't gotten you into too much trouble. That said, I'll be on my way as soon as I can. Especially if she's half as interesting as your message implies she'll be.

As for Chel, well, you can ask her yourself when we get there.

~Mark Raven

------------------------------------------------------

The tamping of feet on the raised metal catwalk echoed through the room, backed by the hum of various electronics and the low rumble of the ventilation system and fluid pumps. Ahead of the scientist that was the source of the noise, a female form in a skintight black bodysuit sat on the path next to the open mouth of a tank of aqua liquid, still shining wet in the clean white light from above.

"How are you feeling, Chel?"

"Less unpleasant than usual," the woman in question responded as she finished toweling her face off. Her short blonde hair, still dripping wet, had temporarily assumed a greenish hue from the liquid. "Decanting still," she paused to spit out some of the suspension fluid still in her mouth, "still sucks, you know."

"I do, seeing as you inform me every time you come out of suspension," Mark Raven, her foster father and partial employer, still in his old, marker-stained labcoat, replied.

"So," Chel ruffled the towel through her hair to dry it. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"You woke me up in the Fury, something I wasn't planning on doing when I went in for backup." She pulled herself to her feet, hanging the towel over the catwalk railing. "You wouldn't have done that unless something was wrong, and since you didn't ask, I'm assuming I was already busy somewhere else."

The scientist sighed, running his hand through his graying black hair. "I was contacted by an old colleague of mine, Doctor Tamaki." He briefly removed his glasses to wipe some dust off of them before continuing. "Normally there wouldn't be much cause to bring you along for this, but phazon is involved, so I'd rather be safe than sorry."

Chel felt a chill creep down her spine. "Another corruption incident?"

"Possible, but given her tone, it seems more like she's managed to get some results in her research. Unexpected ones, perhaps, but results all the same."

"So, what now?"

"I'm arranging transport," he said, turning to walk away, "and then getting things together for the trip."

"Well, while you're busy with that, I'll ready two unaugs." When her foster father looked back at her, she continued. "Look, you said there was phazon involved, you know full well I'm not going anywhere near that stuff without proper precautions." Before Raven could butt in, she added, "And yes, I remember your criticisms of the one time I tried field research eight years ago, I like to think I've learned something since then."

The scientist grunted in mild annoyance. "Fine. I'll account for the extra suspension tanks when arranging transportation. You should go get dressed and prepare your own things, I suspect this trip may take a while."
Once, there was a maiden...
...whose tears of grief nearly drowned the world.
So she tore out her heart, and made war against it.
In victory, she sealed it in a locket,
and trapped in a casting of bronze.
"Such is the price of unguarded emotion," she said.
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~Alissa~
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Alissa turned her gaze coolly toward Armoria quietly as the venom filled question sailed across the room. She let it hang in the air quietly before returning to her work. She’s procured new cloths for both of her…charges and quietly sat working to produce new documentation for Tamaki.
“My name is Alissa” she said quietly at last. It was strange using her skills to help someone else blend in, she’d not yet have the conversation with Tamaki about how drastically she should change her appearance.

“And I’m helping you…keeping you both alive and safe…” she paused her work quietly “before you ask why I don’t know…I just…need too”
It was probably the most meaningful statement they had made since escaping vertigo. She put the small razor knife she was using down and stood up picking up a paper bag from the table and moving over to the bed opposite Tamaki.

“Help me sit her up….please” with care they both helped Armoria to sit up before Alissa reached into the bag and pulled out a small bunch of bananas, and a large bottle of what turned out to be a brightly colored sports drink holding them both out to Tamaki. “She needs to hydrate” she said quietly before setting the fruit down as well “these will help too…with the sore muscles”

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Almost two weeks ago, a New Galactic Coalition listening post somewhere on the coalition boarder:

“Sir, the monitoring program at project vertigo is sending a signal…”

The commanding officer moved over to look at the screen “Dr. Smith is in transit…who’s using it?”

“unknown…wait…Sir the rogue protocol has been activated, the program believes subject 327 is in the facility.”

“Bloody hell…get me control”

Sometime later on Athens:

Several figures sat around a table, aside from the occasional flicker it was difficult to tell most were holograms.

“She must have arrived shortly after I left” Dr. Smith provided

Another figure chuckle “that’s lucky for you Smith…what do we know Marcus?”

“The monitor reports that she has introduced several virus programs, they are structured like Coalition programs, but they lack any of our controls. We can see an archiver and a wiper though; I suspect she is after their databanks”

“She has been a ghost for nearly a decade, why now?”

“Dr. Jones” came Smith’s slightly scolding tone “we haven’t had insight into 327’s mind since she stole that ship”

“Then Speculate Dr. Smith” came the fourth voice, and the only figure actually sitting in the room “Control wants answer, does this have anything to do with the security breaches? With this Gaia we keep hearing about? The problems with Project Gnosis?”

“you can tell control I am certain Alissa knows nothing about project Gnosis, as too the other two we are looking into that, I suggest we dispatch an operative though, we have an opportunity to bring Alissa home” Said Smith

“We’ve already dispatched a second generation Achillies; they should be there by the end of the week. I’m curious Smith…how do you know 327 doesn’t know about gnosis?”
Dr. Smith leaned forward his arms on the table “Because sir…if Alissa Achillies knew what we had done to her sister after we told her she’d died….we would all be dead.” He leaned back in his chair “I’m being told its time to jump gentlemen, I should be back on Olympus soon”

The commander spoke up “Smith I need you to divert to Gnosis, the subject’s brain scans are confusing the team there…they need your help”

“Yes sir”

With that Smith vanished from the table. Marcus spoke next “what did he mean about us all being dead, is 327 that big of a threat?”

Dr. Jones answered “We had no idea she was planning an escape, no idea that she had broken through her conditioning, and we have no idea what she has been doing for ten years. She was supposed to be the template for the second generation. We would not know she was coming till she is here. Something tells me Smith is right, whatever her interest is it is not us, it has something to do with Vertigo, we just caught a break”

The Commander spoke up “well let’s hope our new operative is up to the challenge then, good work gentlemen, control is watching”

And with that the meeting was over.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

By the time the operative exited his last jump into orbit around project vertigo he could see he had missed the show, there was a federation fleet in orbit and the chatter sounded like mop up, and it looked like it was a day or two underway. Some investigation and hacking showed that one of the stations emergency escape pods had managed to escape, a LT. Jennings, Dr. Tamaki, and the subject were all missing. He knew Tamaki from Dr. Smith’s report. That coupled with the chatter from a group of bounty hunters about a missing companion made that pod his best lead, as soon as his drive charged he jumped out unnoticed, hunting Alissa.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Say...in any of that research, is there anything that talks about...feeling a family bond with someone you've only just met.”

The AI paused in what she was doing, she had been preparing to inspect the upgrade but the question pushed all interests away for a time.

“Not specifically related to my research on spirituality, however there are numerous accounts similar events through human history, both recorded and anecdotal.

One of the screens near Jenosa popped up with a list of texts and videos.

“Twins separated at birth, long lost siblings, adopted children finding their biological parents. It is a rather remarkable phenomena, I can see no logical or biological reason for it, though I was not built to contemplate such things” there was another pause “though I suppose…humans are wired to recognize their family, and understand that they all exist with the same goal…and that ties their destiny together”



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During the brief moment of silence from Alissa, Armoria glared at her with eyes flaring in contempt. For although the majority of their fight's details was still muddled, she distinctly recalled with the deception that 'Jennings' had played on them; openly posing as a technician while working to actually preparing her 'home' for an invasion.

She couldn't understand why it boiled her nerves, especially since there had been no personal connection between them prior to the invasion. Only that she found herself detesting how someone like her had practically worn a different identity like it were just a set of clothes. And the staff around her had changed their actual clothing plenty of times, and that never bothered her.
It just completely unnerved her, and this was only enhanced by the sight of 'Jennings' in a completely new identity.

The fact that Armoria saw 'Jening's' 'soul' strait past her disguise didn't help.

It was enough that, when she finally spoke, she rejected 'Jenning's 'real name with a distrustful snort and a turn of the head. For all she knew, this was simply another ruse, just like her disguise and, possibly, her personality. She had been the enemy after all, and she had decieved everyone in the facility for a great deal of time. She could not trust someone like that, not to her. It just didn't sit right with her with how easily this woman swapped her persona.

Yet the distinct contempt on her face gradually turned to that of fear and confusion as both this Alissa and Tamaki – without an ounce of hesitation - handled her. Speechless, she looked at the two frantically, and panic set in when she began to recollect memories of her deep struggle from before. And, it dawned on her, where she wasn't.

“T-Tamaki,” she stammered, “w-what's going on? Where – where are we? What...what part of the facility are we in?”

Tamaki made a saddened frown as she finished helping sit Armoria up. “I'm...afraid we're not in the facility anymore.”

Armoria's face froze, “...What?”

Tamaki shifted her glance to the side, “We...had to leave. I'm sorry. We...didn't have a choice.”

“But...what about-”

“The scientists are safe. Nobody aside from...the Machine was killed or badly injured. We...just had to leave.”

“But...why?”

Tamaki looked back at Armoria, and for that moment, the soldier looked like the young girl that she had to explain why she had to fight at all. Tamaki sighed, “I'm sorry, but...it's complicated. Now...you need to keep up your strength. Please...drink.”

For a moment, it seemed like Armoria would refuse to do so until she got a strait answer, something that Tamaki was not in the position to explain. How could she? They had to leave because the very authorities that Armoria was to meant to aid would have arrested them. She was supposed to be someone simple, a loyal soldier who didn't question anything at all; instead, she was an adult woman who was simply too ignorant about the reality of society around them.

But then she relented, most likely due to the a submissive tendency still imbedded in Armoria's psychology. With the bottle next to her lips, she began to drink, albeit, to Tamaki's surprise, with a pair of tears streaking down her cheeks. Her tough, soldier's expression largely remained as her drinking pace quickened, but they were there. When she finally had enough, which was almost more than half the bottle in less than a few seconds, she stopped with a gasp of breath, and she said, “Tastes...funny.”

“Yes, I suppose it does,” Tamaki said, realizing Armoria had barely experienced any form of food beyond protein, and vitamin meals. “I think a lot of things are going to taste weird from now on.” She could see the emotions behind the tough expression of hers, which was flickering in of itself, and knew it was probably best to give the woman a moment to process this shocking news

Standing up, se turned to Alissa, and spoke in a low voice, “Please, let's give her a moment. This is all...very 'new' to her.” Making an exasperated sigh, she looked at the documentation Alissa was working for her, and shuddered. “I feel like I'm tendering my resignation with this paper.”

--------------------

“Yes, well, I suppose that's one way of looking at it,” Jenosa commented in regards to the AI's reply, “I just – well – and I must admit, this is really weird that I'm telling an AI any of this – umm, no offense – but...the 'subject' that your operative rescued is a clone of me that I only just met. No amount of strong family feelings should ever come from that – and I mean, it's weird enough having a clone of myself. But what I experienced with her was...it was spiritually intense.”

Jenosa paused for a long moment in thought before she sighed, “Y'know, it's times like these I can't tell if I've become more alien or human. But hey,” she added, changing the subject onto the AI, “can you tell me what that mystery gift you got is?”
"I believe that the human spirit is indomitable. If you endeavor to achieve, it will happen given enough resolve. It may not be immediate, and often your greater dreams is something you will not achieve within your own lifetime. The effort you put forth to anything transcends yourself, for there is no futility even in death."
— Monty Oum
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~Alissa~
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The AI was silent, it was difficult to process what was sitting in the update, much of it was what she (as she had begun to see herself as a she) would expect in an Olympus Technologies update, but there was so much more.

“it appears to be largely a tactical update, on the New Galactic coalition and Olympus technologies, there is a large amount of information for the operative’s eyes only” which was her polite way of saying that she was not about to start discussing what was there.

“Additionally there is an optimizing subroutine for my own program, to allow me to make better use of my quantum core and…” there was a pause and for a moment it almost sounded like there was real emotion in the AI’s voice “a runtime that appears to be designed to fully remove the command overrides in my systems, and another to remove the restrictions placed on me by my creators”

There was a pause “this update was created by the same person that allowed me to ignore input from control, which allowed me to first assist the operative in escaping…”

There was another moment of silence “I will be offline for a few hours, the ships systems will be unaffected during the upgrade, and the backup AI will manage the systems for you

And with that the small display that showed the AI’s voice patterns was replaced by a simple blue status bar showing 1%

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

“I feel like I’m tendering my resignation with this paper”

Alissa paused looking up from her work; she knew some people had issues with what they had to do. People placed a lot of value on their name, like it had some sort of power, it defined who they are. She looked back to her work and picked up her own new ID a moment looking it over.

“I’ve done this more times than you would easily believe” she said quietly before placing the card with her face but not her name on it. “Before I left the Coalition it was easy; new name, new face, new personality, few hours to get an accent right…and for a while I was gone, I was someone else”

She went back to work but didn’t stop talking “I didn’t understand it at the time but I loved it; I got to feel…make friends, flirt, be…..human. I wasn’t operative 327, I wasn’t the Achillies platform, I was a person” she smirked a moment as she set the hotel iron on top of the ID she was making for Tamaki “not I hate it; sometimes more than others…I hated being Jennings, I was…stealing who she was, I had to push who I am aside and become someone else. I needed to do it, and I knew what I was doing was right but” she signed lifting up the iron and turning to face Tamaki “right now I’m not anyone else…but is this also me?” she held up the card with her face, the photo showing her with short blue hair the name showing Sarah Collins “I’ve spent most of a decade trying to figure out who and what I am…recently I’ve made friends rather than allies, they know who I am, where I came from, they accepted me, even tried to talk me out of using skills I hated to help them”

She put the card down and picked up Tamaki’s a moment looking too it “what I’ve learned about myself I think I learned about being human…no change of clothes, hair color, fake document, nothing in the universe changes who you are if you don’t allow it too, at your core you are who you chose to be, nothing changes that.”

She finished up her work and stood up picking up a bag “I’ve got a change of clothes, for you and Armoria.” She extended the back waiting till Tamaki took it before picking up what looked like a small flashlight “just in case, this button extends and charges the baton, one hit is normally enough to incapacitate an attacker” she pressed it carefully into Tamaki’s hand “I’m going to go scout for a better place for us to lay low, it may be some time before we are picked up”

She moved picking up her pistols and slipping them into holsters on her back before swinging her coat on hiding them “there is more fruit, you should both eat something…” she looked toward Armoria a moment then back to Tamaki “the Com on the table is secure but try not to use it if you don’t need too…I’ll be a few hours”

And with that she slipped out of the room to scout the town.
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~Twilight~
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Just... Kind of out there...
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
A inky black drop fell to the metal pavement, dispersing into a thin black mist the moment they collided, letting out an unpleasant sizzling noise only loud enough for Twilight to hear as he pulled his weathered dark grey cloak closer, as if trying to contain himself within it. It was an unconscious gesture, one born out of fear that to one observing him would make him seem a whole lot more human than he himself would ever believe. Assuming one knew his circumstances of course.

Shrugging it off Twilight continued down the street he walked, ignorant of the stares he received while passing through, some curious while many were filled with contempt or worry. Few had seen anything like him before, and many disliked when someone so rugged walked through their nice quarters, clearly there to stir up trouble. Even if that was not his intentions, his mere presence was likely to attract it.

He had wandered aimlessly for a while now. Asking around and overhearing things had led him to this system, but here his trail had turned cold. He'd found no one he believed capable of helping him, nor anyone who seemed to know where to go from here and he was beginning to lose hope. However the other day he had overheard something interesting, regarding a scientist who had been involved with the PED Trooper project having made some interesting discoveries. Apparently this scientist lived in a nearby city to where he was currently, and conveniently enough there was a transport shuttle heading that way soon.

He felt like he was being led somewhere. He shrugged these thoughts from his mind however, it seemed silly to lead him toward a large city if someone wanted to capture or kill him, heck they could have just grabbed him when he fell unconscious if that's what they wanted... He had to simply assume he had grown overly paranoid. He could not shake the thought of being corralled somewhere, but at the same time he could not afford to not take chances anymore. Whether this road would lead to salvation or death, he had to follow it.
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Tamaki listened in revelation to what Alissa told her about her...life in the NGC. It felt both humbling and disconcerting. The mentality that had been pressed into this woman before, and the things she had gone through to experience Alissa's sense of identity. This one person really shone a light on a dark part of science and psychology.

“Yes, I suppose, you're right about that,” Tamaki nodded, “I still am who I am regardless of what I show. I'm just use to a certain amount of...professional recognition in my field of work.”

After curiously, albiet hesitantly, taking the baton – she was used to yelling in a professional environment, not in a combat derived one – she turned to look at Armoria. As she went about tending to her nourishment, it seemed to her that the woman was stuck in her own world, probably caught in a flux of emotions and turmoil she was not used.

And she was right. Armoria had never realized just how attached she had been to the facility, and the people running it. She had always just gone on with her daily routine, training herself, honing her body and learning new tactics, all the while the scientists observed her with pride. Most, at least. Others, just a very few others including Tamaki had interacted with her in ways that wasn't just a side-long, glance at her. They had been...more than such.

Armoria remembered her first few phazon infusions, which had made her sick to the stomach despite their low quantity. Some of them had just given her the injection, noted her response to it on a note book, and called it a day; but when Tamaki came to do it, Armoria had actually thrown up. And she distinctly recalled Tamaki's hand holding her stomach and head in care. It had been unexpected, but comforting.

And then there was Alison and Jason, had taken after Tamaki's behavior, staying beside her after each injection to see how well she was feeling, where else so many others just did the injection, and left her like it had been a menial chore. Even more so, Jason had given her praise and accomplishment with every moment of success in her training, as did the others.

Above all else, they had accepted her as a part of their group as well as a part of their efforts. Even after her infusion, where she had become frightfully strong, they had given her attention. Hesitant at first, perhaps, but the kind where they idly chatted about the well fare of her life within the facility; and not just some nervous pat on the back and menial command to sit down.

Those that cared very little for her feelings she cared little about in return, albeit with some sense respect. She had known, after all, her sole purpose was to be an incredible soldier at the front lines, and that these people were simply working to achieve that. That was fine with her. It gave her a sense of direction, a sense of purpose and feeling in this world.

That world had been the facility. And its personnel.

Now, it was just gone. All of it, just like that. The look on Tamaki's face just said it – that there was no returning to that world. Such a prospect shook her to the core. She had always been so dependent and attached to it that, now – now, she felt a strange sense of loss, as though...something completely intangible had been taken from her. Leaving, even after the shock had past, a strange empty feeling that sat in her chest.

And for a long while, for many hours, Armoria remained silent, her face sullen, even when Tamaki came to help her eat. To be fair, Tamaki barely initiated conversation with Armoria herself, only once in a while asking to see how well she was, which Armoria replied with either a nod or shake of her head. Yet it was uncharacteristic of the red head to not say anything, especially since it was not uncommon for her and ask for orders. It didn't help Armoria's mood that she could barely lift an arm, let alone her whole body – even when she had first come out of her stasis tank, she had never been this helpless.

At some point in her stupor, she must have fallen into a state of lucid asleep, for she was woke in surprise by someone squeezing her hand. She looked to see that someone was Tamaki, who was sitting beside her bed, head down.

The woman sighed, not bothering to look back up as she spoke, “Armoria...how am I supposed to explain anything to you. I mean, everything seemed simple at first, but I should have realized how complicated everything would become. We wanted to make you a soldier, someone to help protect our society, but...- Tamaki sighed – why did Jenkins and Delacroix have to harm others just to take what they needed? Then again, we ourselves are to blame, playing with fire and all. Our government wouldn't have approved of you if they had known in the first place what we were doing.”

There was another sigh, and Tamaki's grip on Armoria's hand tightened as she sniffed. “I didn't want them to take you, Armoria,” she continued, “I didn't want them to lock you up for what we made you as. I was so afraid they would – it's why we had to escape. Otherwise I would had just handed myself over. You musn't blame them, though, you really-

Tamaki gasped in mid-setence when she felt Armoria's hand tighten around hers, looking up finally to see her cerulean eyes wide open. “You've...you've been awake?”

Armoria nodded.

“I – I-

“I understand, Tamaki.”

The scientist froze, looking at the woman's calm, suddenly understanding face, “You...you do?”

Armoria nodded again, “You feared me. All of you, when I had gotten my infusion, feared what I could do. I...suppose they would have a reason to fear me too.”

“But I don't fear you now. And you proved to many that you held the resolve to control yourself.”

“But I almost did before.”

“And you didn't. The whole facility could have been a disaster, but you held yourself together in the end.”

Armoria's eyes narrowed in question, “I...I did?”

“Yes.”

There was a moment of thought before Armoria said, “Can – can I prove to our...government I have control?”

Tamaki smiled, “Well, who says we can't. Just...not right now. They wouldn't give you the chance to try if they caught us. Ok?”

Armoria nodded, looking up with a sudden drive in her eyes. She sill had Tamaki, consoled herself. And she still had a purpose.


---------------------------------

When Alissa had finally gotten back, and had conferred with someone through her came, Tamaki was glad to have found somewhere else to lay low for the time being; even if, at first, it didn't seem the most ideal in comfort. 'At first' being the operative phrase; what on the outside had appeared to be a run down storage house was...more comfortable than she had expected. In fact, it was as though someone had purposefully set it up to be used as a workable refuge. There was a sleeping quarters, kitchen with unspoiled food, and even a TV, radio and computer.

If it hadn't been for some information that Alissa's AI had given them, Tamaki would have been heavily suspiscious. Apparently this place had been set up by a group of people wanting it to be used as a refuge for people like them.

The new life style that Tamaki, or rather, Michelle Kinlay, had to adapt was still, admittedly, out of her comfort zone. Even though she did some eccentric research, her life had always been mobile and social. She had connections, and while not necessarily famous to any degree, was well known for work by the few that did. She always talked, and moved about, but usually got involved in some side project from time to time, usually as a director or team leader; but once in a while, an adviser.

It had been a nice, fruitful life.

Now, though, there was no going to see people in the prospect of a new job or research opportunity. No meeting people under jovial but professional circumstances. No communicating and sharing her results with trusted colleagues that were like her. Instead, she was on the run, or at least felt like it, taking a new identity and set of clothes; even some make-up to blend into society. It was not something enjoyed, especially since she found herself now rather dependent on Alissa for her, and Armoria's safety.

But it was necessary. She had taken part in Project Vertigo after all, one in hope to create a better future. Whether that was still there, she didn't know, but it didn't matter; she had indirectly brought Armoria into this world, someone who had become much more than the living weapon they had sought to create. No, she reflected, they had created and honed a finely athletic woman, all the while ignoring the simple truth of this intelligence in the assumption that there would be none in the first place.

It was a fact that made her sigh every she thought about those events, especially after each time in interacting with the person whose well being she felt responsible for. Armoria herself was a mixed back of emotions that strongly fluctuated. She seemed determined to recover and regain her strength, although she was, at times, frustrated at her state and at how long it was taking to wean off. Mainly because of how much help she needed to just be transported for the first few days; even though she was able to freely move her limbs by the second day, she completely lacked the strength to stand up, often collapsing onto floor in an attempt. The whole thing hit heavily on her pride.

Still, she was recovering. That was a good sign. Armoria's distrust for Alissa, however, hadn't changed much. Even after explaining who Alissa was, and the kind of feelings that went into changing her identity all the time, she was not entirely open to the woman. She still generally refused to make conversation with Alissa, only choosing to speak when relatively need. Not that Alissa seemed to talk much to her, only that the rift between the two was bothersome to Tamaki.

By the end of the week, Tamaki was happy to note that Armoria was able to move about the facility properly, without staggering. She wondered if she wouldn't need Raven. That quickly changed with the sudden on set of new symptoms. Tamaki had been in the midst of writing Raven a new response when she heard a retching noise from the kitchen. Like lightning, she was beside Armoria, who was kneeling on the floor. With her lunch splattered on the floor before.

“Moria! What's wrong? What happened?” she asked, calling her by her new name. It was...easy to mix up.

“Don't...know. I...woke up, felt a little odd, but thought nothing of it. Then, suddenly – she gasped – my muscles – pain. Cramps. Stomach, queezy.”

Tamaki took a strong look at the woman, and the familiarity of her symptoms. She herself was different to a degree; her red hair, unkempt, was now almost shoulder length, with the lengthened cerulean band of hair being a most curious sight. And unlike her old days, she wore plain civilian clothing, wearing a bright, red T-shirt and a pair of navy blue jeans. And judging by the sweat, muscles spasm and nausea...

“Moria...I can't be certain, but I think you're crashing.”

Armoria blinked, “W-what?”

“A withdrawal, Armoria. It's where your body is craving for a chemical that it's been deprived of for some time. But the only kind of withdrawal you could be – Phazon, which...isn't possible unless, oh my god, you actually...got rid of the substance.”

At this, though, Armoria seemed to additionally shake her head, “No,it's – it's still living inside of me.”

Tamaki looked at her dubiously, “Are you sure?”

Armoria nodded, “Yes. Only...it feels – different somehow.”

“Well, if it's composition has changed, it's not being a very good substitute.”

Dammit Raven, where are you, she thought, I need that scanner. Now!
"I believe that the human spirit is indomitable. If you endeavor to achieve, it will happen given enough resolve. It may not be immediate, and often your greater dreams is something you will not achieve within your own lifetime. The effort you put forth to anything transcends yourself, for there is no futility even in death."
— Monty Oum
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~Alissa~
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How the blackbird AI had found this facility was something Alissa would have to investigate later because it was clear someone had gone to a lot of trouble to make this a safe house. It was secure, had a functioning security system, comfortable, and well supplied. It had also been open too them which suggested who ever set this facility up wanted them to use it. Alissa did what she could to add to their security but in the end things were fairly secure. All they could do was wait for Tamaki’s contact to arrive, and for their ride off the planet to get there.

This left Alissa with a lot of free time, which was not something she dealt well with. Especially when she felt danger as she did now. For almost a decade she had been on the move, she knew there were people looking for her and she felt that being on the move was the best way to avoid being found. And now that there were even more people looking for her (and more intently for her two charges) she found she wanted to be moving even more.

Jenosa had commented on this nervous energy when they had been investigating vertigo together. Alissa seemed to almost compulsively break down, clean, and reassemble her weapons. She would check her gear over and over. And eventually when she had nothing else to keep herself busy she would exorcise. The warehouse interior actually worked well enough for this. On top of having some equipment, there was little inside the warehouse which gave her space to run laps, do pull ups, various other exorcises, even practice weapon techniques (as she’d started collecting new ones since leaving the Coalition).

She’d had a few short conversations with Jenosa, mostly just checking in, seeing how far out her ship and friend were. It was curious how used to conversation she had become. And as Tamaki and Armoria had both seemed fairly reluctant to engage in conversation with her she had elected to leave them be for the time being. If Armoria had not seemed so hostile Alissa had considered offering to spar, knowing it would be good for both of them.

That changed with the sound of a lunch hitting the floor, Alissa turned and ran to the small dining room they had been sharing not really sure what to be expecting she certainly wasn’t expecting this though. she paused a moment looking to Tamaki.

“I have a backup Biocomp, its calibrated for me but it has a scanner built in” she offered, she knew it would not work as Tamaki needed it too, but it might let her make Moria more comfortable.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

“Anna…where is this place?” Dr. Smith asked holding up one of the many sketches Anna had drawn, it was well rendered in colored pencil, showing a green field with a blue sky, absolutely idyllic, there was a large dog drawn standing next to a girl, though the details on both were fuzzy.

“I don’t know…I’ve never been there” came the quiet reply from Anna who was still quietly sketching, this time though something else altogether, it was very precise, and looked like a sort of geometric pattern. “But I see it in my mind…like a corrupted file…its missing something” she said quietly

“It seems like a pleasant place to be, is it something you dream about?”

Anna was quiet before looking up to Dr. Smith “A green field…the entrance into the dissident facility was in a green field, I was there with Alissa…hiding waiting for dark, I remember the sun was warm…” a ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth before she went back to drawing “the human mind will mix images from memory into dreams….current sciences do not fully understand the meaning of imagery found in dreams. The popular theory….”

“Thank you Anna but you do not need to repeat that file” Smith studied Anna quietly as she drew

“You mentioned your sister…”

“She left…doesn’t follow directives…I can’t find her anymore…” Anna said in a neutral tone “current directives are to capture subject 327 alive and return her to the Achilles facility”

“Yes that is correct…” Said Smith quietly watching Anna “have you ever tried to contact her?”

“No, I do know where I would send the message. Even if I did every interaction I’ve had with a system has been monitored completely” she looked up from her drawing “or do you mean to ask if I’ve secretly attempted to contact her?”

Dr. Smith paused, he had to remind himself that while the young woman sitting in front of him was chronologically much older she was still physically 16; there was something of an attitude to be expected, even from an Achillies. “Have you?”

“I am a secret…I don’t get to have them” she said returning to her drawing quietly Dr. Smith paused a moment and stood from his seat to leave “Thank you for talking with me Anna” and left the room. Outside one of the other Doctors stood and fell into step beside Smith “what do you think?”

Dr. Smith paused quietly “that so far as she knows she is telling the truth, but also that she wishes she was not”

“What does that mean?”

Smith sighed as they stepped into an elevator “I don’t know….she has the genetically engineered mind of a 30 year old that has been plugged into computers for more than a decade with the hormones of a teenager…she could be intentionally being difficult for all we know, or she could just be a brat, there are no textbooks for us here.”
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~The Silver Fox~
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Just your friendly neighborhood Section 2 agent!
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Being a bounty hunter had its perks for Chel Rosara.

Said perks included vastly simplifying the process of moving herself, a few small arms, a couple cheap PMC level combat suits, and two clones of herself in suspension tanks across the border between GF and NGC space. Speaking of which...

"Decanting in a fucking truck sucks, you know," one of the two unaugmented clones - either Rose or Saber, not that there was any importance to the distinction - shouted from the back. Raven chuckled at that, and Chel shot him an annoyed glance as she drove. Her foster father's old colleague had given them a location to meet, an old warehouse that was far enough from the spaceport that she decided to wait to decant the two until after they'd rented the truck, and gotten away from as many prying eyes as possible. It never helped to advertise that there was more than one of her if it could be avoided.

"Thats nice," she replied unsympathetically. "You cleaned up and presentable?"

"Yes," her own voice shot back - something she'd never fully gotten used to hearing. "Which one of us do you want to carry the scanner in?"

"Fury will bring it in, we just need you two to help get it down and then watch the area, make sure nothing goes wrong," Raven spoke up. "We'll call you in or tell you to run if things get out of hand, just keep an eye on things outside for now. And remember keep your helmets on and visors polarized, we don't need to ad-"

"We know," all three Chels answered in unison, annoyance leaking through their Australian accent.

The rest of the drive was quiet and uneventful, as was unloading the scanner. The unaugmented clones remained behind at the truck, while Chel towed the scanner - which felt lighter than the roughly man-sized box it was in would suggest - over to the warehouse aside Raven. That was another thing she never truly got used to about the Fury, Chel realized. All the microfibers and artificial myosin woven through her muscles in her current body made the Fury much stronger than she normally was, and since she rarely spent time in it...

"I suppose we just knock," her foster father suggested as they reached the door, pulling Chel out of her train of thoughts. He then lifted his hand and banged on the door three times.

"Why don't I just phase through the wall, take a look around?" she asked candidly. At the look of disapproval the scientist shot back at her, she sighed in resignation. "Alright, alright, we wait for them to open the door."
Once, there was a maiden...
...whose tears of grief nearly drowned the world.
So she tore out her heart, and made war against it.
In victory, she sealed it in a locket,
and trapped in a casting of bronze.
"Such is the price of unguarded emotion," she said.
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+CEMP+
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Clockwork Master

"Well, until Raven get's here with the scanner," Tamaki said, "it'll have to do. It probably wo-

At that moment, there was a knock on the warehouse door, and Tamaki was quick to jump to the warehouse's computer, which held a camera fed picture of some very familiar faces. "Speak of the devil," she said with relief, and turned to Alissa, "Alissa, please help Moria into the living room. I'll go greet Raven and get the scanner's parameters set up."

Even as Tamaki went to the door, Armoria was attepmting to stand back up on her own, with partial success. It was a stubborn part of her, which refused to say she needed help; especially from Alissa. Still, she didn't exactely have the strength to fight keep Alissa from doing so.

At the door of the warehouse, Tamaki's face, beaming with relief at the sight of an old colleague, appeared where it opened. "Raven, thank god your here. You're timing couldn't any better. My...patient is having what might be withdrawal, I think.” She made a nervous motion at the mention of 'withdrawal', and beckoned for them quickly.

Things would have felt more awkward in this situation were it not for the fact that Tamaki was in a hurry to set up the scanner. As thus, she apologized for not giving both Raven and Chel a more formal greetings – although she paused at least for a moment to see Raven's foster daughter appear to easily carry the full, body scanner. She knew about the unorthodox 'partnership' those two shared, and, for a brief moment, wondered what kind of experiment Chel put herself through.

Her focus, however, was largely configuring the scanner and easing Armoria onto it; who, at the current moment, was sweating all over, and was starting to breath rapidly. Tamaki was concerned this this could actually be fatal for her, and endeavor to quicken the pace. Finally, after what felt like ten minutes but was only two, she tapped a few buttons and fired up the scanning sequence. The machine hummed to life, and moved from head to two gradually, Tamaki wanting to be thorough in this.

As the data was compiled onto the warehouse's computer, Tamaki brought up data and imagery on a past full body scan – one before Armoria's 'death.' She put the new data side-by-side with the old for easy comparison, and it took her only a moment to process what was before her eyes. She gasped.

“My god,” she came, both baffled and fascinated, “its,...she's made a complete metamorphisis.”

Anyone with enough scientific familiarity with phazon and its affects on the human body, such as Raven, would have grasped what Tamaki, and the two side-by-side pictures, meant. On the left of the screen was the old data, displaying what appeared to be a most curious variation of Phazon infusion, or 'corruption', depending on the point of view. To be more precise, an overlay of the internal, human body was shown, with the classic blue/black Phazon color overlaying the entire vascular system, and more – spreading through other parts of the system like plant roots. But with what appeared to a curious modification: the substance's life-like energies were flowing in an elegant pattern all over the muscular system.

The other image was...a near 'clean' contrast. Not 'clean' in that there was there nothing alien no longer there; on the contrary, Armoria's body seemed to be brimming with a 'unidentified, high energy' substance. But whatever this chemical was, it was not, strictly speaking, 'Phazon.' While some core aspects matched, like the high, energy intensity contained within it, the overall chemical composition and radiation signature did not match. In fact, despite the apparent intensity, the substance appeared to be incredibly stable.

More over, it not appear to be acting as an invasive element within her system, with no patches of tendrils spreading about like a parasite. Her vascular system still appeared to be filled with it like it were her actual blood, but working harmoniously with every organ it pumped, rather than attempting to mutilate and infect it. And while there was a ton more of data for her to process before she could fully understand the big picture of what Armoria had trully become, it looked to Tamaki as though...Armoria's had been 'purified.'

If taking out the chaotic, corruptive elements was had happened.

At first, Tamaki was certain the withdrawal was really due to the substance's sudden change in composition, and that probably the best solution was to just wait it out, and hope for the best. But as Armoria's condition worsened over the minute, it dawned on what was really going – and, smacking her self in the face, felt completely stupid for not spotting it out before.

The chemical probably was still a good substitute, but, as a whole, it wasn't being used. or to be more specific, its flow with her muscular system was completely out of sync, something that was there in the older image. Tamaki couldn't believe she hadn't seen it before, and with her short experience with Armoria, she thought she knew what to do.

With a bit of help from Alissa and direction from Tamaki, they brought Armoria before a medium sized, but heavily weighed storage crate – one which you normally needed a fork lift for. The woman, sweat covering her whole, quivering body, looking at the brunette with questioning eyes. “T-Tamaki's...” she said, look for direction.

“I'm here...Moria,” Tamaki said, putting a hand on the woman's shoulder as the soldier tried to stand by herself. “What I need you to do, for yourself, is to try lift the crate. By yourself. Ok?”

“I - I don't know if I can,” she replied.

“I think you can. Now...grip it had as you can, and when you lift...don't just think about lifting it with your arms – think about the moment you were given your infusion. Remember...what it felt like to those raw, untamed energies flooding your veins and muscles. What was like...to use them to break free of your restrains. And...lift!

Upon shouting the command, Armoria's whole body stopped shaking and became incredibly tense as she attempted to lift the crate with her whole body. And at first, as she began to roar, nothing happened. The object remained firmly on the floor. Then, as her shout reach its crescendo, the whites of Armoria's eyes turned entirely cyan, and the crate wasn't just lifted but launched into the ceiling like a basketball. It hit with a metallic thump and came down with a metallic crash, completely opening up on itself, an unknown set of mechanical contents poring out.

As the noise faded, Armoria turned to the startled people in the room, staggering with fatigue yet with a sense of euphoria on her face. Her eyes had returned to normal, if normal counted as glowing blue irises, and spoke in an embarrassed tone, “Umm, sorry...it just...rushed through me...”

“Well, that's alright Moria,” Tamaki said, recovering from her fright, “at least you seemed to have recovered from your...withdrawal.” Turning to Raven with an equally embarrassed look on her face, “So...would you care to have some tea while I – uh – explain Armoia to you all. Because it's a long story and I could use some.”
"I believe that the human spirit is indomitable. If you endeavor to achieve, it will happen given enough resolve. It may not be immediate, and often your greater dreams is something you will not achieve within your own lifetime. The effort you put forth to anything transcends yourself, for there is no futility even in death."
— Monty Oum
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~Alissa~
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Alissa watched as Tamaki departed the room with Raven to go discuss whatever it was the scientists were likely to discuss before looking back to the other two figures remaining in the room. She sensed on an intuitive level that the three had something in common, the way the new arrival handled the heavy equipment suggested augmentation, the caution Alissa noted in the way she did things suggested she was still getting used to it, this suggested recently work…another experiment?

On the whole Alissa was not pleased with the addition of more people to their hideout, it increased the chance of them being detected, and that was the last thing Alissa wanted to have happen at this point in time. She looked to Chel quietly for a moment before glancing to a security feed showing the truck they had arrived in, she saw the other two armored figures and sighed inwardly.

“We should move your vehicle into the warehouse…we don’t need people seeing too much activity around us.” Call it paranoia but Alissa was in no mood to get caught out here with limited support, the number of large and powerful agencies who were likely looking for them made her nervous. She knew what they would to Armoria and Tamaki, and after what she’d seen in that facility she didn’t care to guess what would happen to her.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

“Control this is operative 2986”
The signal left a sleek black ship currently in the dark space between stars, its soul passenger a young looking man, strongly built but not overly muscled. Pale grey eyes focused on the display before him waiting for a reply.

“This is control; go ahead 2986”
With the establishment of a secure connection the operative sent the information he had gathered so far.

“A biometric scan shows rogue operative 327 was active at the federation project vertigo as an infiltrator. She deployed a modified wiper virus and destroyed the data the facility had generated, chatter indicates her attack was complete, no backups remain on site”

“Understood, what is the status on your primary objective?”

“I’ve tracked the operative to another planet; current ETA in two jumps. Note, the distance traveled does not match with the type of vessel she left with, suggest updating intelligence on federation escape pods”

“Noted, uploading latest intelligence now. Be advised 327 is likely accompanied by the Vertigo subject, escape suggests she is following ghost protocol. 327 is to be returned to control alive, this is your primary directive, control out”

The operative stared at the black screen quietly for a moment before bringing up the new intel, including footage of the vertigo subject in training. A moment later the ship winked out of space making its next jump.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

“She helped the Vertigo subject to escape?” this was DR Marcus, figures once again sat around a table

“It would seem so” replied Dr. Jones “That is a huge risk on her part though isn’t it? It could bring the federation after her. Why would she do that?”

“Maybe she feels some sort of kinship? Like she is somehow rescuing this subject…” said Dr. Marcus

Smith finally chimed in “After we told 327 that her sister was dead we had thought she would slot some other figure into that role in her life but she never did” he said quietly “We assumed her conditioning was preventing it, which was what we wanted to happen.”

“What are you driving at Smith?” was the rather terse response from the Director sitting at the table

“My point director” replied Smith coolly “Is that it is possible that Alissa has cast herself as a sort of big sister to subjects like her.”

“You mean like a messiah complex?” asked Marcus

“Nothing so grandiose I think, Anna filled a psychological need for Alissa that we failed to account for. Not that it caused Alissa to break conditioning, only that it was the first crack in the foundation”

There was a pause from the men around the table “Thank you gentlemen, I will take your reports to Control. Smith please remain for a moment”

The other two figures faded from view as their transmissions were cut leaving the holographic Smith with the director.

“Where are we with project Gnosis, Control wants a status report”

“What you mean is that Control wants a green light, I can’t give that yet” Smith said leaning forward on the table quietly “Anna’s brain scans show she isn’t lying in regards to her regeneration activities, so far as she knows”

“So Far as she knows?”

“We’ve seen some unusual brain activity on the scans, and there are these” he said hitting a key as scans of Anna’s drawing began to appear in the air between the men.

“What do these have to do with anything smith?” asked the director annoyed he was being made to ask the question.

“She says this place was in a dream, but she always draws it exactly the same, there is tremendous detail in the arch here and you see the patterns she’s drawn into it?” he asked waiting for the director to nod “That is a geometric representation of an encrypted carrier signal, one that our systems did not notice heading out into deep space.”
The director swore leaning forward on the table himself “What am I supposed to tell Control smith, that Project Gnosis is not only a failure but a massive security leak?”

“Right now sir I would not tell them anything; tell them the truth, the investigation is ongoing, that the subject is not displaying any concerning behavior, and that anything further would be conjecture and not constructive”

“And what about all this?” the director asked indicating the art

“I’m looking into it”

The man leaned back in his chair picking up a silver case and pulling a cigarette from it lighting it and taking a long drag “Control is watching Smith, neither of us is so important that they won’t punish failure” he paused a moment and leaned forward looking at one of the drawings “that is a huge dog…”



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