Orphanage
"Lis..." Sara said softly into the Tenno's ear. "They are Corpus."
"I know." Lis said quietly. "They are likely watching and listening. And they have tapped my brain, listening to my thoughts." She gave the girl a warning squeeze and Sara returned it.
"Oh crap." Sara said weakly. "I feel... so..."
"It's all right, Sara." Lis said, holding the terrified girl carefully. "We will get out of this. Somehow."
"Where are we?" Sara asked, staring around. Lis was about to respond when an automated voice sounded. It was modulated to sound female and kind.
"You are currently guests at Corpus Orphanage 87-A." The voice was calm. "You will be housed and cared for at company expense until further arrangements can be made. I am the automated systems dedicated to medical care of our charges. Further questions should be directed to facility staff." The voice clicked off and both girls stared at one another.
"Orphanage?" Sara asked weakly. "I..." She shuddered. "Lis... I am going under. Oh god... No..."
"You need rest, Sara." Lis said softly. "Too much stress, too fast. I am here, Sara. I am not going to leave you."
"Don't let me hurt you. Don't... let them..." Sara gave a sigh and was asleep.
"I won't." Lis promised the sleeping girl, holding her gently. She looked up as a door hissed open and put a finger to her lips in warning as a young looking woman stepped in. The woman nodded. She wore the same kind of silver suit that the man had.
"We have quarters set up for you and her." She said softly, her face sad as she looked at Sara. "She needs sleep." Lis shook her head savagely and the woman slumped. "I... we cannot, will not press you. But this medical facility stresses her. The other... will not as much. Please?" She begged.
Lis thought about that for a long moment and then slowly rose from her chair, cradling Sara to her chest. The Tenno wasn't that big, but Sara wasn't very heavy either. The poor girl had been sick. Lis took a careful step, balancing Sara's still form in her arms and looked at the other.
"Follow me, please." The woman said with a nod.
Lis followed the young woman out into... wonder. The hallways was not a the sterile walls of a medical ward. Or the platform on which she had arrive. The colors were bright and cheerful. Every so often, a picture of some kind hung. Some were digital images, pictures or portraits. Others looked to have been done in crayon on actual wood pulp paper. The woman did not speak, just walked. Lis followed without comment, but her eyes were roving. Many doors that she could see off this hall. None locked apparently. No obvious security systems. The whole floor felt... odd. A mix of ultra high tech and primitive comfort. The woman led Lis to an elevator and when it arrived, entered. The elevator was wider than Lis had expected. Narrow but wide. Wide enough for two gurneys at once, Lis realized. The woman guiding her nodded.
"Our medical ward." The woman said quietly to keep from disturbing Sara. "Not much, but sufficient for our needs." Lis did not reply, just kept her eyes moving. "No one will attack you. The only guards are at the portal."
This made no sense at all. Lis was trying to understand this when the door opened and her world started turning completely in circles. At least a dozen children sat around a large room, boys and girls, but... aside from a few looks, none of them made any motion. None spoke as the woman guided Lis out of the elevator. The room was large and comfortable, with chairs, couches and small tables set up. There were a few of the mechs that Lis had seen before, but these were smaller. None seemed to be armed. All seemed to be watching the children. The woman led the Tenno with her burden into another hall and sighed.
"They are scared, Ma'am." The woman said quietly. Lis turned an incredulous look at the woman but the other just shrugged. "Not so much of you. But the Board has been talking about shutting us down as 'inefficient.' " She made a face. She muttered under her breath. Something about 'lousy perverts'? Lis just looked at her and the woman sighed. "Never mind. We set up a double room for you two. It will be as comfortable as we can make it. I don't know what will happen. No one does. But for now, we can be gentle for her sake." She nodded to the sleeping girl in Lis' arms and Lis nodded as well.
A door opened ahead of them and the proctor woman that Lis had seen in the portal room appeared in the doorway, beckoning. Lis and the young guide entered and Lis came to a complete halt. This... she hadn't expected. The room was... gentle. Two beds lay against either wall. A desk with a chair sat against a third wall. A small door was ajar, showing a shower stall, small toilet and sink. There was rug on the floor. It looked... hand woven. A picture of a tree was hung on one wall and a smiling woman on another.
"How is she?" The proctor asked, her tone worried.
"She woke and fell asleep again. Since then, she hasn't woken." The guide replied sadly. "Probably for the best. Set her down. We have a somatic unit in the pillow." Lis tensed, but the woman shook her head. "It will keep her from having nightmares, no more. We are not an Indoctrination facility." Pain rang in her tone and Lis stared at her. "Please. She needs rest and you need food. We are not your enemies."
Lis shook her head slowly, but what choice did she have? If they wanted to, they could knock her out, do whatever to Sara then. They seemed to want to help. But... They were Corpus. This made no sense. She sighed deeply and laid Sara on one of the beds, careful to arrange the girl so she would not lie on any of her limbs. She went still as the proctor pulled a fuzzy blanket out of a drawer under the bed and laid it across Sara. Sara... murmured in her sleep and relaxed as Lis rubbed her scalp. The proctor jerked her head to the other girl and they both left the room. Lis pulled the chair from the desk and sat beside Sara's bed. Waiting for something, anything to happen. But nothing did. Sara slowly relaxed, comforted by the warmth of the blanket or Lis' presence? Either one was okay in Lis' mind. She went still as the door hissed, but it was the woman who had guided her here, with a tray in hand. She set it on the desk.
"We figured you wouldn't want to leave her." The woman said with a small, sad smile. "None of this is drugged. Some of the kids we get need help sleeping. We do what we can. It..." She sighed again, her eyes on Sara. "It doesn't feel like enough." Lis was stunned. Was the woman about to cry? "Leave the tray when you are done. An airborne proxy will be in to collect it. They are quiet. It... isn't armed. Not a threat." The woman turned and left. Leaving the tray on the desk. Lis stared at it for a long moment and then sighed deeply. She did need nourishment. And if they were going to drug her? Actually, now that she thought about it... What would be the point with the thing attached to her skull?
There was an odd utensil beside the covered bowl on the try. For a moment, she couldn't figure it out, but then a hidden button depressed under her finger and a spoon shape came out of one end. A second click made a fork shape. A third reverted it back to a long flat metal piece. She smirked a little. She hadn't thought they would give her a knife. She made the utensil into a spoon and opened the bowl. The smell was... good. Not Eliza's quality of cooking, but it did smell good. She took a long, slow careful bite of the... whatever this was. It wasn't quite soup and it wasn't quite stew. Something in between. IT looked kind of unappetizing, but it was filling. She hadn't meant to eat the whole bowl. She had intended to leave some for Sara, but in moments the bowl was empty and she was staring at it. She blinked, startled out of a doze. She was tired. Was she drugged? She didn't think so. There wasn't any of the fuzziness she knew from drugs. She was just... so...
"I thought she was never going to fall asleep." The voice of the proctor roused Lis a little. Lis tried to move, but something held her. It was gentle, whatever was holding her, but irresistible. She was lying on her side. On the bed? Something warm was being laid over her. "Maybe we should have drugged her, but that wouldn't have ended well. Tough girl." Admiration sounded as gentle hands eased Lis onto something that yielded under her.
"Very." The supervisor sounded somewhere between worried and amused. "I never thought to see you scared, Gen H-12. But then again, I saw what she did at the portal. She is no average soldier, whoever she is."
"All to protect this girl." The proctor sounded both awed and resigned. "We need answers, supervisor. The Board will demand them."
"I know." The supervisor sounded deflated. "They were already on our back. That witch Vina is demanding Olena V-12 back." A hiss came from the woman and his tone turned harsh. "Not a chance. Not a chance in hell."
"Supervisor." The proctor sounded scared now. "She ran away. If we don't give her back... They will review us. Thoroughly. You know what they will find."
"I don't care!" The supervisor snapped. "We... we have to abort it. She will die otherwise. I won't let her go back. I don't care how productive that bitch is. That was uncalled for. The girl is only nine! She had no idea what she was signing! She is too young to be a surrogate!"
"I know that, supervisor." The proctor sounded sick now. "You know it. The Board doesn't care. The witch's mines are some of the most productive in system currently. They want her kept happy. And if the cost is a little orphan girl's soul? Why should they care?"
"I am going to make them care." Something in the supervisor's words chilled Lis. The proctor hissed as well.
"Frank O-34..." She warned. "Don't do anything rash. With the six new girls, we have twenty eight kids who need us here. Plus these two. And if you tick off the Board, they will 'correct' you with a mindwipe and shut us down."
"I have had to watch as we mend these kids and then send them out so they can be worked to death or worse, Gen H-12." Was he crying? It sure sounded like it. "I... can't do this anymore. I can't send them out... knowing..."
"Come on." The proctor said gently. "Let's leave these two to sleep and you can get drunk. I wish I could, but my kidneys can't handle it anymore, even the replacements have worn out. Come on. Rest well tough lady. You need it."
A hand patted Lis's shoulder and something warm was placed beside her. She managed with effort to crack her eyes and stared at the small stuffed Kubrow that had been placed in her arms. She took that utterly impossible image into full slumber.
She wasn't afraid when she woke. Lis should have been. But she wasn't. Sara lay still in the next bed, but the girl's breathing was even. Just asleep. And wonder of wonders, no nightmares. Sara was cuddling something close. A stuffed animal of some kind? Lis stared down at the small furred thing that sat beside her and shook her head. Some kind of hypnotic device? But she could hear no mechanisms, see no power supply or indicators. She set it aside. Another mystery for later. Sara was her primary focus. She slid form the bed and walked to where the chair still sat by Sara's. A hand on Sara's brow had the girl murmuring in her sleep, but not waking. The tray was gone. Then she stilled as Sara's eyes shot open, but... the girl didn't scream.
"Lis?" Sara's voice was confused, but clear. "I had... the weirdest dream..." She froze as she stared about. "It... wasn't a dream..." She swallowed hard and went still as Lis laid a hand on hers. "What the hell?" She asked, fear rising.
"I don't know." Lis admitted. "We are prisoners, but... this is not what I expected."
"They will try to brainwash us." Sara said, curling up and clenching her knees. Lis laid a supportive hand on her arm and Sara clenched it tight enough to hurt. Lis did not react. "It is what they do."
"For now, all we can do is watch and wait, Sara." Lis said quietly. "And be ready." She brought her other hand up to rub Sara's brow. The girl leaned into it like a cat.
"I have never heard of a Corpus Orphanage." Sara said after a moment. "Then again... I only saw labs. A ship..." Both women went till as the door chimed. "Ah..." Sara stared at Lis who shrugged. "Come in?" Sara said in a tremulous voice. The door opened, but the proctor woman did not enter. She smiled on seeing both awake.
"First meal will be ready in twenty minutes." The Proctor said quietly. "My name is Gen H-12. I am proctor here. I figured an introduction would be polite."
"Sara." The girl said weakly. "This is Lis. She... doesn't talk much." Lis gave Sara 's hand a squeeze. Both comfort and warning. Sara returned it.
"We got that." The proctor said dryly. "But... you asked where you are and what an Orphanage is?" Sara nodded and the proctor returned it. "An orphanage has always been a home for orphans, children who have lost their parents. This orphanage was set up a long time ago. I have been here for a hundred and fifty seven years." Sara's eyes bulged, then she paled, but the woman took no offense. "I have seen a lot of... odd things come through here. You two are no odder than some. And far less disturbing than some of the others. You are hurt and she is protecting you. That I can understand." She shook her head. "Once, long ago, I was a soldier. Maybe not her equal, but I did serve. I... believed." Lis jerked and the woman nodded. "No longer."
"You... don't believe?" Sara asked, caution rising.
"Oh,..." The proctor waved a slow hand. "I believe the Corpus are humanity's future. A good one? Or the only one as we are told in Indoctrination? That I don't believe."
"That kind of talk would have gotten you punished, where I... was." Sara said slowly as Lis gave her hand another warning squeeze.
"Oh, it has gotten me punished a bunch of times, girl." Gen H-12 said with a sour laugh. "One thing about being as old as I am? I don't have to care anymore. They cut off my longevity treatments when they exiled me out here and truth be told? I don't know how much longer I can do this. My body is finally starting to wear out. But for as long as I can do it, I will."
"What is 'this'?" Sara asked quietly. "You are not like any Corpus I have ever... heard of."
"You have dealt with Corpus." Gen H-12 said without a hint of emotion besides a dangerous glint in her eyes. "One of them hurt you. Or more than one. We get a lot of that here. Lots of hurt kids."
"But... Corpus are all about efficiency." Sara said weakly. "Kids can't work as hard or as long as adults."
"No." Gen H-12 said savagely. "But they also don't know all of their rights and are far, far cheaper to house and pay." Lis jerked and the proctor frowned. "Sorry, I am... I get upset easy these days. Most of the Corpus, even most of the Board, do try to make their employees lives at least reasonably secure and safe. Some don't."
"Happy employees work harder." Sara said, uncomfortable.
"Yeah." Gen H-12 said with a sigh. "But try telling a few of the worst that. They have their power and no one can curb them. Except maybe the Clergy sometimes. Not all the time. We get... the detritus. The flotsam who are tossed away when the worst of the Board are done with their parents."
"What do you do?" Sara asked, confused. "What can you do?"
"First meal is being served now." Gen H-12 said with a smile. "Come and see." She stepped away from the door. Sara looked at Lis who shrugged Sara's stomach growled and Gen H-12 smiled. "I can bring a tray for you both, but you...should probably see." She turned and left as Sara looked torn.
"I am scared, Lis." Sara said softly. Lis gave her hand a squeeze. Lis sighed and shook her head. She wouldn't move without Sara. The girl looked at her and smiled. "You are one stubborn caretaker, Lis." Sara's smile became a grin as she rose and slid from the bed, holding tight to Lis' hand. "We do need food." Her stomach growled and she shrugged. "Don't we?"
Lis nodded and rose from the chair. They walked side by side, the small half Tenno girl and the Tenno. Hand in hand. Ready for anything. Or so they thought.
As they exited the room, the proctor beckoned them from ahead and they stepped to where she stood. The woman led the way into a larger room that seemed followed with children. All eating quietly. All were... smiling at the proctor and now at Lis and Sara.
"What do we do here, Sara? Lis?" Proctor Gen H-12 asked softly. "We heal souls."
