The Deadwood company bas was filled with the sound of people eating and drinking as dinner was served to the soldiers. The servers where often pushed and shoved around be the men trying to have a little fun in this only hour of small freedom that they had.
Asher sat off in a corner, picking at the items of the dinner with ample amounts of disgust. Whatever was on the plate did not seem to be even remotely edible, or worthy of calling itself such, but he did his best to choke it back.
"The soldiers are nothing but disgusting vulger men! I thought we are trying to run a clean operation here!" A man screamed at his advisors trying to get a sence of whats been happening to his men.
"They are being payed for nothing and taking advantage of it. While you where working on your little project REAPER, they have had nothing to do but guard the station." An advisor said to the man.
"Call a soldier in. I need to get a inside look at things." The man at the end of the table said to his advisors.
"who?"
"anyone..."
Intercom:Will soldier number 3242 come in the main advisory board room in section 1 of quadrant 1 please.
The room was silent and they all looked in Asher's direction.
Inside the docking bay, the Reaper and a van holding a new recruit arived.
He walked around the car and looked Anaya in the eye. "Get out now."
The 2 foot soldiers stepped out and stood behind him.
Anaya glared down her nose at him, standing on the edge of the back of the van. "Make me," she said sternly.
He silently grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder. "Normally you would go to the halls, but since you are my only recruit for the day I must take you to dad." He said as he started walking twards the door.
"I'm meeting your parent? But, we haven't even had our first date," Anaya said, frowning as she was potatoe sacked, unbothered. Looking down the back of his body, she raised an appreciative eyebrow. She had to say she didn't mind.
The two soldiers stepped behind her and him almost marching.
She sighed and looked at the back of his head. Carefully moving her body up a bit, she put her lips as close to the nape of his neck as she could and blew lightly at the sensitive little hairs there.
He was silent as he stepped softly to the door. He entered the code and then stepped through.
Anaya smile and placed a kiss on his hair, then lay still, just admiring the view of his backside.
"Stop touching me. I Might think that you are planting a weapon and then I have to kill you. Understand?" He said as he set her down and let his guards escort her.
"Who says I haven't?" Anaya asked rhetorically, then smiled at him and bowed her head before turning away, ready to be led away.
Asher sighed, before standing and slouching out of the dining room, the chatter resuming as soon as he left. He made his way to the main advisory board room, with only a mild curiosity as to what was going on and more a surety that he'd done something wrong as usual.
He reached the room and knocked on the door.
"Come in!" A voice said from inside the room.
Asher opened the door and walked in, closing the door behind him.
"Hello," One of the advisors glanced at a card."Asher. We have called you in to see-"
Just as he was about to finish his sentence, Reaper and Anaya came through the door. "Father I've brought you a recruit."
"Can't you see we're in the middle of something." The Father said to his son making a hand motion to Asher.
Asher warily eyed Reaper, having made a prior personal dedication to staying as far away from that monster as he could, and after a quick questioning glance at Anaya, he returned to attention. "You called for me?...Sir."
"Wait a moment Reaper I will be right with you. So we called you in here to ask your thoughts of this place. Good or bad. Smelly or fresh." The man asked Asher, his words a hoarse stubby grunt.
Asher thought for a moment, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Frankly, it could be made much better with some actual food, as every meal I've encountered so far was most surely not meant to be eaten. Maybe something you could actually regard as mattress on the beds would be nice, and the odd sweeping wouldn't hurt either. Otherwise, things seem to be just peachy." He smiled.
"Is anyone writing this down?" The man said as the sound of scribling filled the room.
"Excuse me dad but I need to talk to you." Reaper said his arm twiching.
Anaya watched all of this calmly, almost boredly. It looked like a meeting of legistature to her, and politics meant little to a bounty hunter. She took a step from Reaper and started doing katas that didn't involve her hands being too far apart.
"Max... Wait. So Asher? You believe that our operation is a complete mess?" He said clasping his hands together.
"Might as well sit down Anaya. And you won't be needing those cuffs anymore." Reaper said as he typed the code in and the cuffs opened.
Asher bit his lip, choosing his words a bit more carefully."I wouldn't say it's a complete mess...I mean, evidently there's been some success on the front, but it's clearly not evident back here. But to say most our quarters are disgusting would be, well, an understatement
."
Anaya ignore Reapers words and once the cuffs for gone, she spun around, standing behind Reaper now, her arms around his waist and she hugged him gently.
"What do you think about the other soldiers?" The man questioned Asher looking over at his son periodicly.
Reaper pushed her hand away."Do you need the handcuffs?"
"Only if you prefer me to have them," Anaya whispered in his ear softly, smiling.
Asher looked over at the pair, rather puzzled. He tried to regain his train of thought. "Well...they're everything you could ever ask for in the common soldier, if given the right direction."
"One second mister Asher. Max, please regain the control of your recruit." The man said looking over at the two.
Reaper grabbed her and placed her on the seat beside him not so gently.
Anaya smiled and sat properly, motioning for the man to continue, that she would be still now.
"Anyhow, I think that we all agree that we can meet your requests. Say, it says on my bio screen that you are quite the efficient soldier. Hmm... maybe an advanced section would be the best reward system it seems." He said as his advisors wrote their thoughts down in their indavidual log books.
Asher was taken aback slightly, having fully expected to be at least demoted by his words, or shot. However, he thought, advanced placement may be their way of sending me to the front more where I would probably end up the same."There's really no need, I can't have helped enough to earn such a thing" he said, trying to get out of it.
"If you don't want it then you won't get it. We can send our to 100 to advanced placement... After we build the section of course. Oooh I like that." He said leaning back in his chair.
"Ummm...I'm not sure I fully understand..." Asher said, trying to figure out what game they were playing at.
"We do this... and it will put some excitement in the company. Some hard workers." He said inclining his head towards Asher.
Asher was torn, as he wasn't at all happy with where he was...but there was nothing saying he'd enjoy this 'advanced placement' any better. But it couldn't get much worse than what he already had. "Alright then. I'm up for it."
"Good. You're the first one...be proud. Go tell your friends about it, brag a little." He said almost falling out of his chair.
"Thank you, sir." Asher said, fully-knowing that no one in the building would give him the slightest regard for anything he said. Taking this as allowance to leave, he walked out the door, with one last wary glance at Reaper, and exited.
"You may speak now Max." His father said almost instantly frowning.
"I have brought you a new recruit." Reaper said in a military line up stance.
"Only one? What is her name?" The man said dissapointingly.
Anaya let her smile fall and she stood, standing like a soldier 'at ease' and answered formally. "Sir, I am called Anaya Essence, sir." She was serious now, even as her mind worked how to escape. She was no longer joking.
"Hmmm..." The man stood up and went over to her. He started to examine her closely. "Max."
"Yes sir" Reaper said as he looked strait forward.
"You brought us a mercenary? You know not to bring us mercs, they are too smart to be held. Thats why you buy mercs on good terms!" His father said laying his head in his hands. "Oh well. Send her to the implat cell."
"Yes sir!" Reaper said putting her hands in cuffs again and motioned to the gaurds that they where leaving, as they started walking to the implant cell.
Anaya didn't budge. She looked at Reaper's father, still serious. "Sir, I am not a mercenary. I was trained to fight to the best of my abilities and to show respect to those in command. My father wished me to be the perfect soldier, and to this day I strive to be, sir." It was almost true.
"Of to the obedience implant center for you." Reaper said tugging her along.
"I wouldn't do that..." Anaya warned him, but didn't resist. Too much anyway.
"I would..." He said still tugging on her cuffs as the guards followed.
"No, seriously," Anaya tried to warn him again. She sounded absolutely serious. "I have wiring in my brain that eletricutes anything foreign that enters my mind, to disable it. It would be pointless to put the chip in there. It wouldn't work."
"We will find out soon enough." He said not believing her for a second.
"Wait!" Anaya yelled, stopping in her tracks and pulling him to a stop. "Don't I get to have like.. one last minute of getting what my individual thought wants, before you take that all away? Like a last meal in prison?"
"Whats the use... You will forget it anyway." He said not remembering anything of his childhood. Just the constant training that they wanted him to remember.
Anaya looked at him, shocked. "I could never forget a hug from you," she said softly, honestly.
He remembered feeling his cold metal skin and screaming for his life. "I wouldn't either." He quietly said and walked on.
Anaya pulled hard, making him stop again. She looked at him sternly. "Then hug me," she ordered.
"Why would you want to hug me. I killed that boys mother and his dad. I'm cold, literaly heartless and you still want to hug me? What are you blind, can't you see that I can kill you right now." His eyes shined red and his metal skin grew hot.
"Yes, I do," Anaya told him softly, looking at him without fear. "And as I told you before, you are worth dying for."
He took a deep breath through his maske and looked at her. "You said that your mind will reject the chip?" He questioned her scratching his head.
She nodded seriously. "A precaution my father took. He said it was better to be able to move on the field, than to have to wait for the order of a busy man to give it to you."
"My father was right. Hire people that have modifications. Then I have to bend the rules slightly." He whispered in her ear so that the servalence didn't pick it up."Whats going to happen is you are going to go through the machine and then do what I tell you to do." He said turning around and walking."My father said do whats best for the company. We can't let this ruin are reputation." He said looking around still worried.
Anaya's face fell, then her head, but in her head it was like spring. She followed without complaint like a broken spirit lead to her death.
"Don't be sad. It's for the better." He said blandly.
"Easy for you to say," Anaya shot back angrily, but it was all an act. She made to strike him but moved just a bit slower than she usually did and let the guards stop her. She was glaring as they led her along.
"This is what I ment by a common goal." One of the guards said smiling under his mask.
"What are you talking about?" Anaya shot at him quietly, still glaring at Reaper's back.
The Reaper continued onward, turning around corners.
"See, after the implant you have to follow the orders given to you." The other said nudging his friend. "Any orders."
Anaya grinned and looked at him, her eyes flashing. "I love it when a man is dominant with me," she told him lustfully. "But you don't have to order me to do that." She leaned in close to his ear and whispered. "I already want to."
"Shut up guards." Reaper ordered and they shut up instantly.
Anaya school her face to saddened again and let her head fall. She stared at the floor until they reach the room.
"This is the room. It is very clean and infection free." The Reaper insured as he did with the rest of his recruits.
One of the guards nodded looked at the other one not able to talk.
"I still don't want to be here," Anaya told him. She looked around for exits and cameras, observing the room.
"Sit down over their to begin the process." He said pointing to the end of what looked like a M.R.I. machine.
Anaya glared, hard but took the seat, watching him closely.
The gaurds where on both sides of her standing still.
Reaper went behind a large computer and started typing. "Lay down and it will start shortly."
Anaya frowned deeply at him. Why was she trusting him? Trying to clear her mind of any and all thought, she lay back and stare at the ceiling as she was told, praying he didn't do anything.
Reaper kept typing. Scanning her for any thing that might affect the outcome of the test. "This part takes a while." He said looking at her and back at the screen.
Anaya kept watching him, pleading with him, looking almost hurt as if he had kicked her when she had done nothing wrong. "Ok.." she said timidly, not even looking like she moved.
"Yep everything checks out fine. It looks like you where lying about the special funtion." He said as he motioned for the gaurds to take her over to the implant station."Okay sit over there and we will begin your implant."
Anaya almost panicked. Looking at the guards she said to them, ordered more like it in her desperation, "Get me out of here."
The gaurds' implants made them follow any orders given to them, so following orders they lifted her out of the machine and set her on the ground.
"What is this? Set her back in the machine." Reaper ordered them suprised at the action they took.
The guards set her back onto the machine like nothing had happened.
Anaya gaped slightly and yelled at the guards, "Stop listening to him! Stop listening to anyone with the Deadwood company and get me out of this crazy place!"
The Reaper watched as they grabbed the girl and started walking her out of the room. He slid in front of the three and put his hand out. "Stop right there." He said but it was of no use, they just strolled on by.
Anaya was surprised, but had no reason to complain. They made it outside thankfully. She thanked them quickly and told them to not go back and not tell a soul what had happened, to forget about her before she turned and took off down the street.
The Reaper just stood there. "I'm... happy." He admitted as he started walking twards his fathers meeting room to tell him of his failure.
The next morning.
Asher woke up, still tired and hoping to all hopes that nothing important was happening today.
Some of his bunking quarter mates where talking about the escaped men.
"I heard that they just decided to walk away with the girl." One of them said bright eyed to another.
"Whatever happened, That Reaper is in deep shit." The other one said half seriously.
"Whoa, wait a sec." Asher said, still half-asleep,"What happened, exactly?"
The CEO was walking around the company halls with his advisors and others trying to figure out a lay out for his new advanced section addition.
"Hmm that might be able to go here, and the entrance over there." He said looking at a rough draft of a blue print for the new structure. "Omnis, please show me the current over view of the entire company." He said motioning to a girl in his group of people following him.
Omnis stepped up with him and held out her hand, palm toward the ceiling. "Would you like a blueprint layout or a three-dimensional model?" she asked calmly before anything appeared.
"Um... 3D please." He said rubbing his hand down his tie.
Omnis nodded and looked foreward as a small halogram model of the entire grounds and building of the Deadwood company appeared before them in the hall. "The scale is currently one one hundreth of a meter. If you require different, please ask. I am happy to oblige." She smiled under her hood, her eyes hidden. She didn't need to see. "If you need a close up an area, please request so."
"A close up on our current position is requested." The man said arms now behind his back.
Omnis smiled as the model turned and rushed toward them. A building lay before them, a small red block was lit up on the ground floor, some ways into it. It was slowly rotating. "At your request, sir," she said, her voice smooth and kind.
"See what I mean?" He said holding the blue print over the hologram and they all continued onward.
"Excuse me sir," Omnis entered carefully. "But cameras in the sleeping quarters show that soldier 3242 is awake. Am I permitted to inform him of his knew assigment? Personally, or otherwise?"
"Sure, I have no use of you for now." He said waving her off like a sick dog.
"At your dismissal," Omnis replied softly and turned and walked away from the group. She arrived at the bunking quarters a couple of minutes later, walking over to Asher. "Soldier 3242?" she asked to get his attention, then in a less stoic and more friendly tone, "Asher?"
Asher rubbed his eyes, finally waking up fully. "Yeah, what is it?"
"I wished to congratulate you on your new assignment," Omnis told him, smiling lightly. "And to inform you where to go. I was dismissed, do you wish for my assistance for the day?"
Asher stood, pulling on his shoes. "Any chance you might be able to tell what this assignment is exactly?" he said, tying up his shoes, "Then I might know whether or not I may need assistance, or even want to go."
"You're promotion to the new advanced section," Omnis answered simply. The stares from the half naked men around her didn't seem to distract her in the least. "You get personal quarters that I will show you to-" some of the guys grinned and whispered to each other, glancing at the two "As well as a pay increase-" some of them looked shocked, mouths agape with interest "And of course, more input and time on the field. We will be spending time together occasionally now."
Asher thought as he pulled on his shirt and jacket, clearly ignoring the guys around him. "Well, that seems alright..." he said as he tied his small black scarf around his neck before moving towards the door. "Good to go?"
She smiled softly from underneath her hood and followed without nodding or showing any sign of answering otherwise. She led him along as they walked. She was silent as they went along, not being programmed to engage conversation, merely give orders (well, assign them) and answer questions.
"So...what sort of stuff will I be doing on the field?" Asher asked.
"Well, you will have input on strategy, though no actual command just yet. If you take a small exam, you could be the leader of a small squad. But that is optional," Omnis explained as they walked. "Also, you will have more time out and less time here. You will be first choice on missions, instead of extra."
"Oh, awesome..." Asher mumbled, already beginning to regret taking the offer. The more missions he went on, the greater chance he had of being killed, and so far he'd done pretty well at avoiding such things.
"Of course, you won't have to go one so many soldier missions. You are too important now," Omnis went on. "More messenger things for the company. Close to an embassador."
"Alright" Asher said, perplexed at how well things seemed to be going. There had to be a catch somewhere.
"You're quarters," Omnis interrupted his thoughts as she stopped at a fine door. She handed him the cardkey to the room that was attached to chain to go around his neck, then stepped back to let him enter first. The card could be used, or one could simply type in the code on the card to enter, so the card could be left in the room for safety purposes. A thin screen on the door projected the words "Please state your name and describe your room."
Asher typed in the code and the door opened. He was completely taken aback. The quarters were completely immaculate, with a separate washroom and shower, and even a few shelves. Asher flopped down on the bed and sighed. "Wow, this is even nicer than home."
"I am glad it pleases you," Omnis told him as she joined him in the room, even as she sent a report of his changed living arrangements that had been completed. "Is there anything I may get for you or assist you with?" she asked sweetly.
"I'm alright, thanks." Asher said, closing his eyes in pure contentment, never actually wanting to move from that spot.
The CEO walked by the room. "And here is are test room. You can see that it is already in progress." He said stepping closer to Omnis. "I trust that it is going nicely?" He asked putting a hand on her shoulder.
Omnis nodded, very carefully. "Yes sir. He seems to rather enjoy it. I am taking extra care to catch and repair glitches as they occur. Only one so far, but I fixed it before it could manifest."
"Good. Once your are done here, move to the next on the list." He said removing his hand from her shoulder.
"Yes sir," Omnis agreed softly and waited until they had gone before she left Asher to his peace and contentment. She went back to the bunking area and looked around for soldier 2290, Draon.
Just entering the barracks, Draon sees a woman looking around the bunk area. He watched her for a moment before walking up to her, standing at attention, as a good soldier would. He assumed she was looking for him, as he hadn't been called to assist in any experiments as the others had. He'd been asking around about just that.
Omnis smiled at him, her eyes still hidden under her hood. "At ease," she told him kindly. "Please come with me... Draon." She turned and left the barracks, leading him to the room beside Asher's. Again, she handed him a key and stepped aside, the screen telling him to state his name and describe his room as Asher's had done.
Following the woman and accepting the key, Draon followed the screen's instructions. Taking a quick look at the card-key in his hand, he slid the card through the slot which opened the door to a white furnished room with a comfortable looking bed covered with a white comfortor, brown decorated pillows, and a wooden frame. At the end of the bed stood a couch, matching. In a corner stood a large chair also matching the couch. Next to the door was another door, slightly open to allow a veiw of a clean bathroom and personal shower. Walking into the room, Draon also noted a dresser on one side of the bed. He turned back to Omnis and said, "Permission to ask a question," he stated, simply, standing 'at ease' in just inside of the door.
"Permission granted," was Omnis's calm responce from outside the door way. She was facing him, but her eyes remained covered and her small smile remained in place.
Just then the alarm sounded off and the sound of a explosion went off not too far away.
Intercom: "Will all soldiers prepare for battle! Project Reap-Ahhhh." Over the intercom there was the sound of bones breaking and blood splatter. And then there was silence.
Then screams and gun shots filled the hallway as the Reaper stepped in with a Deadwood company medium assault rifle and a shotgun. He was atleast half a foot taller that he was and he was now even faster and stronger, running over to random soldiers and ripping them into bits and peices. "Enemies targeted." His voice robotic like under his mask.
Suddenly bursting into action, Draon ran to the couch and as he guessed, a large box filled with about ten different weapons was unlabeled. He opened the chest-shaped box and pulled out three different weapons: two hand guns and a machine gun, tucking the handguns in the chest holster he wore underneath his jacket. Almost pushing Omnis out of the way he found himself in the hallway, looking one way, then the other, only to see Reaper standing behind a fellow soldier who fell to the ground. Looking behind the man, he saw many other soldiers who met the same fate and knew he was next in line. He held the trigger of the machine gun, knowing how long it'd take for the spinning part to warm up.
Omnis had mostly stepped out of the way and was now in Draon's door way. She leaned out to see the Reaper and was smiling softly, watching him in action. When it came to the Deadwood company, there was no threat for her.
"Enemy threat detected." He said as the bullets absorbed into his body and came out on the other side, not slowing him down at all as he walked twards Draon.
Abandoning the weapon, Draon also pulled out the hand guns, throwing them off to the side. He knew what was to come, and hoped that his one mechanical arm and leg were going to be enough to stop the opposing man known as Reaper. He took a ready stance, remembering the hand-to-hand combat he learned upon joining the Deadwood Company as well as the electrical training he recieved as well, as a sort of plan began to form in his mind.
Max Reaper threw his guns at the wall and his arm transformed into a larger blade than he had before. The electrical surges that ran down it made the lights flicker, one of them even bursting from a power overload. He looked at the man and started walking a little faster while his head twitched to the right from time to time.
Omnis watched it all until the last possible minute, when a small spark in her mind told her what she was to do. She 'shocked' Reaper the signal of shut down even as she said it, "Shut down sequence activated until further notice. Virus detected. Glitch in program. Reactivation time: unknown."
Max Reaper came to his knees and his eyes flickered for a moment. "Access denied... Code not veryfied." He stood himself up again, and started to walk twards Draon.
Draon's own arm reacted to the power overload of the light behind Max. He grabbed onto it with his opposite hand as it changed, sending electric messages to his brain. When it was finished, he now had a sort of drill for a hand and the 'controls' on the flat metal of his arm, his jacket ripped to just past his elbow. Grabbing a handle that was right next to the drill, he closed the gap between the two men, shoving the drill into the stomach of Reaper, knowing it wouldn't phase him very mich, if at all.
Max stood there and looked at the drill in side of his stomach and then to Draon. He hit Draon in his side releasing the charge. It didn't do much as Draon was grounded out through his leg, so winded up his arm and cought Draon across the face with his hand.
Taking both hits, he let his human hand move out to catch his balance again. The drill began to spin slowly, at first, but it picked up speed. His mechanical leg jolted from the charge, sending him to one knee. He kept the spinning drill, which now began to spark as it rubbed against the metal of Max, and used his human hand to support him. Managing to upright himself while on one knee, he grabbed Max's shoulder and pulled him down.
Reaper grabed his hand and stopped it from spinning and his other arm morfed back into a hand and grabbed his head and tossing him to the side while he stood back up. He peered at the hole in his chest as it repaired itself. His mask was blood splattered and his jacket was too.
Asher, having tumbled off the bed as soon as the announcement had come over the intercom, engaged in a frantic search for some sort of weapon of any effect, or even a decent hiding place. Reaper was scary enough as is, but Reaper gone psycho was not something he wanted to mess with. He found his weapons under the bed, quickly sheathing the knives in his sleeves and grabbing one of the guns before crawling under the bed himself.
Omnis frowned for the first time that day. She ignored the cameras a moment and went into a very complicated way of seeing things. Before her eyes flashed dozens of codes, html, and numbers, faster than anyone could understand them, or computers really. Finally finding the one she needed, which only took about a second, she started hacking into Reaper's mainframe, shutting down programs that directed motor control while accessing the problem and quickly isolating it and shutting it down in a sort of digital 'locked box'.
The Reaper started to get off balance as his motor skills where shut off one by one. Finaly he fell backward, his jacket and gloves melting ravealing his metalic skin.
Asher heard the crash from Reaper's fall, and peered out from under the bed. Hoping it was relatively safe enough, he slid out from under the bed and looked out the door, gun in hand.
Draon, having a bloody face from the first hit, a slightly crushed drill of a hand, and his lower arm broken from being thrown, stood up. There was a cut above his left eye as well as a very plainly bruised cheek. He forced his mechanical hand to change back to a hand form before wiping blood from his closed eye. The other arm hurt like hell but he wanted to know whether Max was going to stand back up or not. A habit he wasn't too proud of.
Omnis stepped into the doorway of Draon's room, where she had been mostly in. "Medics are on their way," she told him, frowning a little and not looking at him, but she turned her head to Reaper then, her eyes still covered. "And the engineers are coming for him."
Asher moved towards them, still watching Reaper out of the corner of his eye. Glancing at Draon warily, he turned to Omnis. "What exactly...went wrong?"
"A glitch," Omnis answered him, but did not sound as sure as the words should have been. She walked over to Reaper and crouched, knees together and hands on them, leaning over him a little, observing him, though on a more internal level. Still, her eyes were not visible.
Two medics came around the corner sporting basic medication and a strecher, Checking the pulses of those who were not completely obliterated.
Two men in suits started to drag Reaper's limp, heavy, body from the scene, leaving a trail in the blood soaked ground.
Draon had attempted to move towards his room, but failed. He knew that he'd get looked at and they'd find that his mechanical arm and leg needed more attention than he wanted to give them.
"Do you need any help?" Asher asked Draon, wondering how anyone could have managed against Reaper for so long and still be in one piece.
"Get these medics away from me," he replied, almost commandingly. Draon was pulling away from the medic trying to attend to him, only to find himself almost against a wall. He moved so he was now backing down the hallway, in the direction of the two men in suits dragging Max.
"You have to lay down sir!" One of the medics said trying to calm him down. "You're in shock, please settle down or you will go into cardiac arrest." She said trying to put a gas mask on him.
Using his mechanical hand, Draon took the mask from her and crushed it, letting it fall to the ground. "Leave me be," he said, definitally not showing any sign of shock. He knew that if he didn't calm down, his heart would stop, but he would rather die than go back to a doctor's office or be treated by people who worked in one. He pushed her to the wall and walked back to his room, as if nothing happened.
Asher directed the medics towards some much more critical cases, mainly by much flailing as it seemed to get their attention much better. Once they were more preoccupied, he followed after Draon.
Omnis stepped into Draon's room after the other two men. "If you wish, Draon, I will tend to your mechanical problems. I'm.. rather qualified." She chuckled at her own joke. She was the only one in the entire Dead wood building that knew every piece of equipment and everything about them.
One of the medic men walked up to Omnis, dodging Draon for obvious resons. "What is the total death count?" The male medic asked Omnis as she was told of her Living Life Form Diagnostics Implant (L.L.F.D.I.) that the cheif of Medicine installed when she was a basic computer.
Omnis 'looked' at him. "One hundred, sixty-one," she answered, without elaboration. "Seventy-five with critical injury, thirty-two with other injury."
The medic shuddered before calling in more support.
Draon had sat down on the couch opposite his bed. With his slightly damaged arm, he reached under the bed, pulling out a large white box with a bright red cross on it. His personal first aid kit. "I can take care of this on my own, if you don't mind," he replied as he opened the box revealing not only the usual medical kit for flesh and muscles, but also spare parts and tools for his mechanical arm and leg. He pulled out peroxide standing to head to the bathroom, despite Asher and Omnis who were in his room. The door was open, so he closed it.
Asher sighed, shrugged and walked out back to his room, where he sat down on the bed once again and checked over all his weapons. The last thing he needed was disfunctional weaponry, especially since he had a feeling this wouldn't die down anytime soon.
Draon poured some peroxide on his arm over the sink; leaving the bottle, he walked back to the couch, sat down, and forenged for something to wrap his useless arm with. Sighing, he stood up and turned to Omnis. "Could you wrap my arm?" he asked, less than sincerly.
A lady in a suit and skirt came in through Draon's doorway. "The CEO would like to know if his special section people are alright and still able to function." She addressed Omnis.
"The other is fine," Omnis answered seriously as she wrapped Draon's arm without fault. "This one will be."
After Omnis wrapped his broken arm, Draon sat back down, mending the small bend in his mechanical leg. Fixing that, he attempted to fix his arm, stopped very frequently because he was trying to use his broken arm to fix it. He soon abandoned trying to reqire some areas and unbend the area just above his wrist and wrapped a sling around his neck, setting his broken arm in it to heal. He stood up after closing the first aid kit and slid it back under the couch. He stood and passed by both Omnis and the lady in a suit and skirt, exiting his own room. He found the hallway cleared and cleaned, one man still scrubbing off the wall which had just about half and hour's worth left. He shook his head at how quickly the entire base would rather play dumb, as if he didn't really fend off and distract Max Reaper who killed many of his former comrades.
Asher looked out of his room and walked over to Draon. "You know," he said, "I've never seen anyone live through any interaction with Reaper...It's a rather impressive feat. How did you manage it?"
"He's robotic," Draon answered. He turned to face Asher. "All mechanical parts have a distinct shut down sequence. I didn't know his, but I knew someone who could find out. I just had to distract him long enough for her to figure it out. Besides, any flesh and blood in his way would've gotten pulverized."
Asher nodded thoughtfully. "True very true. Thanks, by the way."
Draon looked questioningly at him. "For what?" he asked, somewhat confused as that was part of his job.
"Well, no one else around here would do that..." Asher said, fiddling with his shirt cuff. "I mean, everyone says they would, but, except for the drones, when it comes down to it no one would ever even attempt anything like that."
"Then they need an attitude adjustment," Draon said. "I'm not a drone, though. To be honest, I had no clue how to slow him down." He thought back to what happened not too long ago.
Asher grinned. "Well then, you must have some ridiculously skilled mental reflexes to manage that well with no idea as to what you were doing."
Draon shook his head. "I was simply trying to figure out what kind of power he had," he said as if it was natural. "What about you? You don't have any drone parts, do you?" he asked.
"No, just normal human flesh, which doesn't seem to hold out too well these days." Asher sighed, "With all the technological advancements, it seems to be more of a disadvantage than anything else. At least I generally get a bit of distance from the fray." He paused. "What about you?...if you don't mind me asking."
Draon shook his head, holding out his arm. "My left arm and shoulder," he said, then pointing to his opposite leg and adding, "And my right leg are prosthetic." He moved back to a comfortable position, his arm hanging at his side, and his feet shoulder width apart and slightly bent.
"Rough." Asher said sympathetically, "What happened? To your normal limbs I mean."
"A car accident robbed my leg and I was a reluctant hostage when I lost my arm," Draon replied. He acted as if it was no big deal and there wasn't much pain in loosing limbs.
Asher flinched at the thought. "That sucks, I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. I didn't know you then, so there's nothing you could've done," he said, matter-of-factly. Draon looked up and down the hallways, once again, clear of rubbash. He heard a grumbling and sighed. "Would you care to eat something with me?" he asked.
"Sure." Asher agreed, "If the food manages as well as the rooms did, it'll be unbelievable." He held out his hand. "I'm Asher, by the way. Asher Leif."
Taking his hand with his mechanical one, Draon replied, "Draon Menik," and let go, adjusting his sling's strap.
Draon then moved to the side and began to walk down the hallway.
Asher followed him. "Do you know where the food is? Because frankly I have no clue."
Draon shook his head replying with, "No, but I have an idea." He didn't say it was to find Reaper and what they intend to do with him once he's restored, but then he didn't actually want to, for the fact he needed some food.
"Alright then." Asher said.
Walking down a corridor similar to the one which led to their rooms, Draon turned right. "I hope you don't mind, but I'd like to make a stop before we head down to the cafeteria, okay?" he asked, attempting politeness.
"That's fine." Asher replied, wondering what the stop may entail, but not saying anything.
A small bald man is a lab coat was quickly running around the corridor posting notices on the metal doors that read: 'Out of service due to power grid faliure'. Which was odd due to the failsafe that was designed 2 years ago to prevent that.
Narrowing his eyes, Draon led the way through the doors on which a sign had been placed. "You can stay here if you'd like," he told Asher.
"Excuse me sir! S-sir do you have the correct papers t-to uh go uh have permission to procede through these doors?" Said the fidgity man pushing up his glasses.
Outside Jacky walked about twirling her handgun whistling a song."Still the same huh?"Jacky asked herself looking at the building She placed her gun away and pulled out the letter that the dead wood company gave her."Why would they want me back so suddenly?"She asked herself before walking into the building ignoring any soldier who tried to stop her.
After a few moments of scrutiny of this man, Draon's metalic hand held out a marked ID card. His eyes narrowed as he allowed the man only a glance at the image before he sunk it back into his pocket. "Excuse me," he said gruffly, moving past the man, pushing the doors open, despite the lock on them.
"Gahoivan!" Sputterd the man as he looked at his metal arm. "Sorry." The nervouse man quikly ran in the other direction to contenue his work.
Jacky walked about in the halls as the peice f hey she was chewing on stuck out from her lips as she had her hands behind her head as she walked around looking for the meeting room.
Draon moved quickly past the few chairs and the table in the room, and into a door the builder's apparently meant to be hidden. After a few light taps with his natural arm, he pushed lightly with his mechanical arm, pushing the door inwards before it slide out of sight, into the right side of the wall. He slipped through, making sure the door closed behind him. If Asher wasn't coming, he wasn't going to wait for the man. Turning around, he saw an extravagant labratory in front of him. Test tubes running in and out of complex machines with many commands to be used labled with buttons, switches, knobs and dials. He followed a water line which he noticed uncovered on the ceiling, until he came to a large cylinder with what appeared to be a man suspended inside. Just what he was searching for: evidence. After taking nearby paperwork and several files, he quickly pryed open a locked breifcase, surprised he hadn't met anyone. Perhaps it was that sign on the door that hindered people from entering, despite his lack of hindrence in getting in. After closing the breifcase, he looked closer to the human specemin, curious as to who survived in the tube with IVs and water-filled living quarters. He came withing a few inches of the glass, the man almost a reflection in distance. His eyes were closed, he was bald, and he was muscular, almost too muscular to actually be considered human.
A small screen beside him switched on and read:
Systems check for B23 alterspecies 4.
Oxygenated fluids: %40 Compasity pumped through at normal rate
Energy efficiency: %30 normal rate
State: Medical induced coma
The screen read through other evaluations and information that was only to be read by perfetional personel. Next to the screen was a eye scaner and finger print scanner along with 4 full body suits.
Asher had been lagging behind, worrying about the return of personnel for he was sure they weren't supposed to be there. But his curiosity got the better of him as he caught up to Draon and saw the entubed-man. He gaped for a few seconds, before coming back to his senses and frantically whisper "What IS all this?"
"It seems that they found Reaper." Said a man on the other end of a speaker installed in the meeting room filled with the various leaders of the company including the CEO.
"Send the troops in!" Exclaimed a man at the end of the table.
"No!" The CEO put his hand up in the man's direction. "Let's let them explore. Can you change the info on the read out and let the palm reader let them through?" He said leaning towards the speaker.
"Sure thing." Said another voice coming from the speaker.
Jacky stopped infront of the meeting room door."Hmmm if I remember clearly..this is the meeting room.."she said and opened the door a bit looking in.
Omnis looked up from her corner of the room, her red eyes showing for only a moment before she smiled softly, and lowered her hood once more.
Carefully reading through what seemed to be latin to him, Draon watched as the information seemed to be typed in on the screen. "This man's an experiment," he said calmly. "Don't gape at him. He's not a dead animal." He looked back to the man, sure he recognized him from some memory stored in the back of his mind. He then moved over to the palm reader, eye scanner, and lab suits. "We may not have authorization, and this door is most likely on an alarm system." He moved to examine the door, which had a single, Nine inch by six and a half inch curved corner window along with several, short spaced bolts holding it on in a vacuum sealed opening. Another duel pane of glass was assumed bolted on the other side. Moving back to Asher, Draon kept suspicions of exactly what kind of experiment the man was as well as why no one came in to stop them after he'd found the initial entrance and indicated to the door. "Shall we try anyways?"
"I don't know..." Asher said, dubious about the whole situation, already mapping out the best hiding places in the room. "It's pretty high security, but, I mean, if no one's come by now they probably won't come after...and we could probably get away fast enough...so maybe just a small peek?" Curiosity was gradually getting the better of him, but still he was nervous. He gestured towards the door "After you?"
Moving forwards and hesitating a second before placing his fleshy palm on the screen, Draon watched as the white light line passed from his wrist to his finger tips and back again before blinking.
"Approved." Echoed a voice coming from a small speaker to the left of him.
Draon's eyes narrowed as he heard the voice speak. He removed his palm from the scanner and the door slid open. "Come on," he said, waving Asher to follow him into the room. He had a lurking suspicion what they would find would seal their own fate, despite the effort Draon would excerpt on anyone willing to face him.
"They seem to be curious!" One man said at the side of the table.
"Good." Said the CEO looking at a small holographic screen on the middle of the table.
Asher glanced back again, growing increasingly more dubious about the whole situation, as he had not expected there to be any success opening the door. Before following Draon in, he shoved a small piece of stray hardware into the doorway, to make sure they couldn't suddenly be locked in.
Jacky walked into the meeting room seeing the CEO and the others.She snored before walking over to the CEO."So I'm geussing you wrote this letter to me?"She asked holding the opened envelope.
"Can't you tell were in the middle of something! Yes I did but wait a second." He said glancing at the envelope and back at the screen.
Noting where the supposedly hidden security cameras were, Draon, didn't look into each one specifically, choosing to look around the room. Instead of the expected labratory equipment, there sat several printing machines, each with a different objective to print. One simply kept a written form of the subject in the previous room. The rest, he couldn't figure out what they were for with first glance, so he looked back to Asher, aware both were being observed or that they were a second experiment. "We're being watched," he said, almost as well as a vantriliquist. "Try not to seem like you're talking. I don't know if they can hear sound, yet. Knowing the security around this place, I wouldn't be surprised."
Asher nodded practically imperceptibly, also taking some time to spot some cameras in his peripheral vision, before moving a bit closer to one of the machines.
Back to...
W.O.T.F. story
Stumble!
