Catapult
The atmosphere in the base where the kids had been hidden was tense but this room was not. Doctor Cooper had made absolutely sure of that. Alley lay in one bed, Jane Kelly in another right beside the Viper's. Both were relaxed in sleep but no one else was.
"Keep it quiet." Doctor Cooper said firmly as he let Cable and Ana into the room. "They need sleep now more than anything else." Both nestmates stopped short as they saw who else was in the room. Sam lay on a bed near one wall, still asleep, his face stricken with fear and pain that even Alley's love could not erase quickly. Maya's tube sat beside Jane Kelly's bed and Mina slumbered beside Alley.
"Ana?" Cable all but begged. The Viper looked at Doctor Cooper who nodded. She slid forward to check Alley, Mina and then Jane Kelly with the speed that only a snake trained as a professional could hope to match. Only after she turned and smiled at him did Cable relax. He slumped a bit and nodded to the doctor. "We needed to see them."
"I understand." Doctor Cooper did. After all of what happened to them, the betrayals, the losses, the horror, Alley's nest could not trust anyone outside their ranks with the possible exception of Jane Kelly. "Do you want to leave one of yours to guard?"
Ana and Cable shared a glance and then Ana slid back to the Doctor's side while Cable moved to a free space by one wall. The doctor looked at him and the human nestmate shrugged.
"Staying still and quiet is what I do." The sniper did not smile, but he did nod as Cooper made a face.
"True, but you will need rest as well." The Doctor said firmly, but still quiet. "Do not think to fool me that you are not exhausted. I am and I barely remember all of what happened." Cable nodded and assumed a position of parade rest. Doctor Cooper stared at him, but paused in whatever he was going to say as Ana laid a slim hand on his arm.
"We can talk outside." Ana did not pull him, but he got the feeling she would if she had to. The less said about the fate of anyone else who tried to hurt Alley the better. "Better him in here than one of Oshina's people."
"True." Just the thought of a Muton trying to be 'quiet' had Doctor Cooper wince and smile as one. The image was just too funny. Mutons were bigger, stronger and tougher than almost anything else on Earth. They generally didn't need to do quiet. They could, they just didn't bother most of the time. "I know you are not human anymore, Cable, but please? It has been a bad day." Doctor Cooper looked at Maya's tube and his face fell.
"Yes, it has." Cable unbent and smiled at the doctor for a moment. "We will set up a guard rotation but Ana needs to reassure the others." Now, his face hardened. "No one will touch Maya again."
Doctor Cooper wanted to say something, but he had no idea what to say. He contented himself with a nod and moved to the door, Ana at his side almost protectively. Doctor Cooper smiled at her, but his heart wasn't in it.
"Is there nothing you can do?" Ana asked very quietly as the door closed behind them.
"No." The human physician said sadly. "Her body was damaged beyond repair by what was done in that base. It was being dissolved. Whatever Alley did to stop the process worked, but the damage was done. Even in stasis, her body will fail and there is nothing I can do about it."
"Her mind is not in that body." Ana said a bit dubiously and Doctor Cooper nodded.
"Yes, that is one small blessing to this mess." The Doctor led Ana into a room where many people stood waiting. Jack, Aroa, Jesse and Arisha stood in a small cluster near one wall, likely a trained defensive response to unknown situations. Ana nodded to her nestmates and they relaxed a bit. Two Mutons stood by the other door, both armored and fully armed. Two X-Com warriors stood beside them, looking far less dangerous than the hulking aliens. That was an illusion and everyone knew it. Syndrome was incredibly powerful, even for a psi and the human woman beside him had a Gremlin drone hovering beside her. It was the horde of small forms that stood or sat in bleacher like seating at the other wall that drew the eye. Valere sat in their midst, the non-human girl's face professionally blank, but the Doctor could feel her pain and sorrow. Doctor Cooper ignored everyone else as he moved to stand in front of the kids. Not that they were. The youngest of them was twelve now, but she looked two. None of them aged after what the Elders did to them and all of them were far smarter and better educated than any kid had any right to be. When Cooper spoke, it was to them. "Alley was exhausted when she came back from whatever she did. She and Jane Kelly are uninjured physically. They need rest now. As to the other? I have no idea how Alley did what she did, but the mind in that body is your brother's."
"Doctor, that is not possible." A dark skinned boy said slowly as all of the not-child kids stared at one another. "We felt him die. What happened?"
"Do not ask that, Chris." A familiar voice sounded from Valere's hands and everyone stared at her as she held up a small box. A speaker. "We are not cleared for that information."
"Maya!" That was pure ten year old from the dark skinned boy.
"We. Are. Not. Cleared." Maya's voice might have bent iron. "What is more? You do not want to know. What little I know scares the hell out of me." Maya wasn't a little girl any more than Chris was a little boy, but for just a moment, a terrified little girl spoke through her speaker.
"Easy, Maya." The human doctor all but crooned. "The only way to earn wisdom is through experience. Usually painful experience." Doctor Cooper said as the boy recoiled a little from Maya's vehemence. "Let go of your fear, Maya. We will not let you pass. Alley swore it before and I swear it now."
"Doctor…" Maya's voice was calmer, but resigned. "There are limits even to psi powers. I did what I did. I knew the risks and I accepted them. I did what had to be done, so…"
"Stop." Everyone paused as Arisha spoke up. She was so quiet, so calm and gentle that it was easy to dismiss the soother. That was usually a mistake. She was just as dangerous in her own way as any Viper. She wasn't a timid soul, not even close, but she was so polite that many people took her for one. Most realized the mistake fairly quickly and never made it again. "Maya, be calm. This has been a traumatic episode for everyone. Alley swore for all of us. We will find a way to help you." Her calm gaze swept the room, lighting on each of the children. "All of you."
"But…" Maya sputtered, but Arisha was having none of it.
"Enough, Maya." The Viper slithered to where Valere sat, the non human girl's face ashen and took the speaker from her. "You are scared and you have every right to be. We are all scared and confused, girl. You are not alone. Not now. Not ever. We cannot touch you physically at the moment and it doesn't matter. We know about losing kin and we will not lose you!" All of her nestmates nodded emphatically as she cradled the speaker close. A sob came from it and Arisha crooned at it. "It is okay to be afraid, girl but you will never be alone again. Marina and the others have been updated on the situation. As of this moment, they are searching every file we have access to. We will find a way to help you. To undo what EXALT did to you and what the Elders did to your family. So get used to staying. You are going nowhere." That last was a growled hiss of exasperation.
"Yes, Ma'am." Maya's hushed voice was not as afraid now. Wary, yes, but not afraid. Arisha looked at Doctor Cooper who smiled at her and she returned it.
"Well said, Arisha." Doctor Cooper moved to stand by the Viper and fought a sigh as she flinched back from him. It wasn't her fault that she had been so abused as a nestling. That she and Jesse were the only survivors of their nest. He did not miss that both Jesse and Jack had tensed as he approached her. At least neither had drawn weapons. This time. "Alley didn't have time to tell me much, but the threat that we faced is past. The Warlock is gone and his weapon was destroyed. The base exploded so there is no chance of that being a threat again."
"Advent is moving to scour the ruins." Came from Jack and everyone looked at him. "Is there any chance of them finding any remnant?" He asked Syndrome who looked at the floor.
"I want to say 'No'." Syndrome said sourly. "But none of us knew about that horrible place to begin with. Secrets within secrets and lie within lies let us survive, but…" He broke off with a sigh before continuing. "Those secrets and lies bit us today. It could have been so much worse. If not for Alley, it would have been. I felt some of what she did, but I know better than to press. There are limits for a reason." He bowed to Arisha!
"That there are." Arisha smiled at Syndrome but her heart wasn't in it. "We cannot let this happen again. We mustn't."
"No, we must not." Doctor Cooper agreed. "The Elders may be gone, but their evil lingers. Their Chosen are gone, but their actions left damage that will take decades or longer to repair. What this episode has shown us is that we are all vulnerable to assaults from space. We need some kind of defense against that, but none of us trust one another." He slumped a bit. "Not surprising, but sad." Arisha startled him as she slid close and wrapped an arm around him. He stared at her and she smiled at him. He shot a quick look at the other nestmates, but they were no more excited than ever. "Arisha?"
"There is one person that everyone who knows him trusts." Arisha said quietly. "You have done no harm that I know of." The Doctor opened his mouth to protest, but Arisha continued. "Your mother has recused herself from any leadership beside her immediate group. She feels shame for what her kind did. She had nothing to do with that, but she does feel ashamed. It is not her fault or yours. I have been thinking about a lot recently. Human history abounds with those in power abusing their power. Maybe the ends justified the means, maybe it didn't. What the Elders did to so many when they came to this world define the words 'abuse of power'." She gave him a squeeze and released him. "We cannot go that way. We must not. Alone, we are all vulnerable." She looked him in the eyes and he paused. Was she about to- She did! "The Elders came here hoping to be cured of a mortal illness. One that was caused by their enemies." At her calm words, everyone froze. "Enemies that will likely chase them here."
"Arisha…" Jesse said very softly as Jack and Aroa both stilled completely. Ana shook her head and slithered to Arisha's side.
"Secrets just killed a lot of people." Arisha said softly. "Not all of them were extraterrestrials, either, were they?" She asked Syndrome who was a statue. He didn't answer, his companion did.
"No. We are still reconning the bases that were attacked." The woman beside Syndrome said slowly. "We have found human bodies but we are not sure why they were there. None were armed, so, servants? Human shields? Dinner? We do not know."
"Does it matter, Feedback?" Syndrome asked heavily. "Humans were there. They died. We did that. X-Com's base was subverted by the Warlock, but the weapon was ours. We caused that with our secrets. We did that." He repeated.
"The Warlock did that." Arisha and Doctor Cooper chorused that. They eyed one another and more than one person smiled.
"Arisha, you cannot ask people who have spent their whole lives fighting to simply stop." Jesse said slowly.
"I am not." Arisha's smile was wide now as Doctor Cooper stared at her. Then he hissed as realization struck. What better use for people who could fight than to protect those who could not? But none of these warriors would trust their enemies. So, who did that leave? Him!
"You are not serious!" Doctor Cooper protested. "I am a doctor! That is all I am."
"You are a healer." Arisha replied evenly as most of the people in the room stared at the pair in confusion. "This needs healing." Everyone started talking at once except the Mutons but paused as Arisha held up a hand. "Let him think."
"Arisha, I cannot do such a thing alone!" Doctor Cooper protested.
"No one will ask anything of you that you do not wish to do." Arisha was still quiet. "You know what Alley and Jane Kelly will do if anyone tries to force you to do anything." She made a slightly sick face that he shared. More than one person in the room winced. Yeah, it would get very messy.
"Arisha, I am as much of a mess as anyone else here. Maybe more." The Doctor tried again. "And… I do not want to fight! The very thought makes me ill."
"That is good." Arisha smiled at him as he goggled at her. "Leaders who want war are dangerous to everyone around them." At that, everyone nodded, even the Mutons! She sighed, a very human gesture from a six foot long snake woman. "Doctor, I am not pressing anything. I have no agenda, no plan. I am trying to see how to help my suddenly greatly extended family in their hardship. I know that my nest are not good for leading." At that, all of her nestmates nodded. "We were made to follow orders. To be disposable weapons. We are more than that now, thanks to help from your mother among others. She won't stay here." She said very softly and he stilled. "You know that."
"I… I…" For the first time in a long, long time, Doctor Cooper felt as if the world had fallen to pieces around him. He felt the love of the Ethereal that was bonded to him sweep through him, but also sorrow. Fear. She didn't have to say anything. He knew. "They will hunt her, won't they?"
"That is my fear. That beings who gave the Elders pause are on their way here as we speak. To kill any and every Ethereal they can find. Even an innocent one." Arisha was close again, and this time, she did not retreat as he reached out to her. His fear for his mother's life was just as strong as it had ever been. She took his hand in her free one. "As with my family, you are not alone, Doctor Cooper. We stand for you and with you."
Suddenly, she was coiled around him, a gentle, warm scaled hug as she laid her head on his shoulder. He fought for control as Ana slid close as well, then Aroa. The Lady's love was with him and the others, but...
All he could do was cry.
An hour later
Doctor Cooper was still crying as Arisha led him through the halls. The meeting had adjourned when it became clear that he was unable to continue. The nest had helped, the kids had helped, even the Mutons and X-Com troopers had helped in their own silent, stoic way, but he could not stop crying. The Lady's sorrow had overwhelmed him and then she had retreated to keep from harming him further. He felt bereft. He knew she was there. He could still feel her, but…
"Easy." Arisha's croon cut through his fear and grief as she stopped him in place. When she spoke again, it wasn't to him. "I am such an idiot! I should have brought him here immediately."
"Don't beat yourself up, Aunt Arisha." That voice! That voice was familiar! Young, but not. He fought for control as a cloth wiped the tears off his face. "No one is perfect. I am here, I will help."
Someone was pulling his shirt off! The hands were small but strong. Arisha's hand shifted as his shirt came off and warm cloth surrounded him. A robe? Now, Arisha was holding him off the floor and the same small handed person pulled his pants off! He protested, but Arisha was having none of it.
"No." Arisha said firmly. "You are in no shape to shower on your own. Right now, you patient. We doctors. We will take care of you. We do it a lot in Alley's facility. At least you are not pregnant." Was she laughing at him?
The next few minutes were a blur. He was wet and cold, but then hot air blew over him and he was warmed. The warm cloth surrounded him. Fuzzy cloth. A robe again and a towel wrapped his wet head. Warm. Comforting.
"Easy, doctor." That same tantalizingly familiar voice! "A few steps and a nice place to rest. You have been stressed as badly as any of us have. Mom is ready, Aunt Arisha."
"I hope he is." Arisha's rejoinder was worried, but Doctor Cooper could not muster the energy to reassure her as he bumped into something and she made a noise that was half sigh, half moan. "Up you get, dear."
He was spent. He could not even get his hands to move and was far beyond resisting as two sets of hands, one small, and one large lifted him up and deposited him on a yielding surface. A yielding surface with two warm masses! He managed to crack his eyes and saw Mina sleeping beside him! He didn't need to turn to know he was in the bed with Alley and Mina!
"No!" He tried, but a blue skinned hand reached into his vision, power flared and he saw a small face as his vision blacked out.
Lizbeth, but not. Young, maybe ten Earth years old? That paled beside her blue skin. She was a Chosen!
He took that impossible vision into sleep as Arisha started to sing a lullaby. He never heard the second verse.
