In which many more people see Nike and understandably, are very confused.

Good thing she's unconscious, her talking would send them into fits.

Chapter 8:

Corporal Jessie Anders

The transition from the gloom of the underground to the evening sun momentarily blinded her. The Heracles rumbled out of the tunnel proper and into the station above ground. Numerous Caprican, civilian, and even some Colonial Fleet personnel walked, strolled, or ran about performing their duties. By now, news of Gamma company's victory had spread and the weary troopers were greeted with cheers. The mood quickly fell as the casualties made themselves known, the sight of so many missing friends and comrades putting a damper on things. What the onlookers certainly weren't expecting was an AVRE bearing the blood-stained, monstrous, and heavily wounded form of Nike.

The crowd quickly retreated from the Heracles's path, whispered conversations along with louder questioning about what they were seeing. For the most part, shock and a degree of fear were prevalent, the handful who reached for weapons quickly cowed as both Jess and Hadrian pointedly didn't aim in their direction. For all that their little procession was an oddity, shouted orders had the gawkers hurrying back to whatever they'd be doing before. Undoubtedly some were off to spread what they'd seen, but Jess couldn't have cared less. Pulling up alongside a platform, the Engineering vehicle was met with an actual welcoming party. A hydraulic trolley for moving cargo took up the most space, likely to move Nike off the Heracles.

The three figures beside it drew her attention, two older men in the digital camo of Army units, and one bookish-looking man in civilian clothes. The younger of the two soldiers had the crossed swords over a U-87 skull, marking him as a Spark. The older man, his salt-and-pepper hair tucked under a cap bore the triple green diamond of an Army Major, Jessie's arm coming up in a snap salute on reflex. An annoyed cough had her scampering off the trailer, with some reluctance, as the crew of the Heracles moved to lift Nike's bulk carefully onto the trolley. Jess help back a wince, her friend looking much worse in the sunlight, caked nearly head to tail in blood and other fluids.

The civilian was looking over her scaled form, naked interest warring with awe on his face. The Spark meanwhile, was edging as far from her bloodied form as possible without leaving the Major's side, Jess snorting at the scene. Unfortunately for him, his superior was watching the loading up close, only stepping back as Hadrian joined Jessie on the platform with the trio. The youthful face was at odds with the salt-and-pepper hair, moving first to shake Jess's and then Hadrian's hand. For her part, the Marine was nonplussed by the behavior, the Major seemingly not caring about the dark blood marking his hand from touching Jess.

"Major Valerian Matos, CO of 1st Battalion, it's a pleasure to meet the two people responsible for giving the Toasters a good smashing" Hadrian shared a look with Jess, the motion not missed by Matos.

"Corporal Jessie Anders, Battlestar Indecisive. I'm not sure who told you, Sir, but the person responsible for that is right behind you." The Major turned, watching the Civilian join the two medics who'd stabilized Nike wheel her off.

A scoff off to the side had the three turned towards the Spark, the specialist's expression one of disbelief. An expression that was wiped away when Jess crossed the distance between them, her boot coming down on his toes non to gently.

"You wouldn't be so disbelieving if Nike was awake Asshole! She went hand to hand with a company of Toasters and won! The only reason I'm alive, Frack, the only reason your friends are alive is that she fought and won against a Valiant!"

The man looked ready to take a swing at her, a shake from Matos having him back off, glaring at the Marine the entire time.

"You speak of that... creature as if she's a person Corporal, surely you don't actually mean it? I'll forgive your assaulting Specialist Hatch considering all you've just experienced, just make sure it doesn't happen again." The outright skepticism Hatch displayed wasn't evident on Matos's face, though his voice did carry a healthy degree of skepticism.

"Major, Nike is... Nike is as much a person like you or me. She's clumsy, can't hold her booze, looks like something that crawled out of Tartarus, and sounds like she's from Caprica City's rough neighborhoods. But when we needed her, she stood up and fought because she wanted to, at great cost to herself! So yes, Sir, I do consider Nike a person."

Jess could see her words had done nothing to the Spark, but the Major merely nodded, his expression unreadable.

"I'll take your word for it, Corporal, you're not in my chain of command, but I'd recommend some chow and rack time, our best people will be caring for... Nike. You have my word." Matos turned to leave, his aide following along, still favoring his non-stomped foot.

Watching the trolley bearing Nike turn a corner and disappear out of view, the Major and Spark following behind it. Matos's assurance worked to soothe some of her worries, but not enough to trust him completely.

"Hadrian, go after them and make sure they don't do anything frakked up to Nike. As insurance... see if you can upload footage of Nike fighting to the local datanet, show her beating the Frak out of that Valiant."

She'd gotten good at reading Hadrian's body language, came with him lacking facial expressions. The hesitation in her Cylon friend's nod stood out from how unlike him it was.

"Un... I will ensure Friend Nike is taken care of. You should obey the Major's orders, Jessica, given all that has occurred the last week." With that, he was off, long strides eating up the distance as he passed out of view, leaving Jess gaping in shock.

Hadrian had never used pronouns as long as she'd know the U-87, lots of 'Unit this' and 'Unit that' sure, but never something so personal as I. The move was surprising in its onset, her shock fading as what he'd said after came to mind.

"HADRIAN, YOU DEFECTIVE WIND-UP TOASTER, I TOLD YOU NEVER TO USE THAT NAME!"

The few Troopers and support personnel still hanging around from earlier watched the blood-stained Marine let loose large and very strong curses, before storming off in a huff.

While the physical effects were still playing out, a flurry of rumors and messages spread across 1st Battalions Datanet and from there the Regiment and beyond. Something decidedly odd had happened in that subway tunnel and the story got stranger with every retelling. Interested eyes were turning towards this little section of Caprica, heralding much larger things in store.

-

Alexis Hacker
Former Caprica City Zoo Veterinarian

"I understand now why your men were so remarkably insistent I come with them, Major." Stripping the soiled surgical gloves from his hands, Alexis disposed of them in a nearby bin. He joined Major Matos is observing the unconscious monstrous body of this... Nike.

From the moment the creature had been deposited in the hastily cleared OR, the former veterinarian had been working non-stop to catalog every injury it had suffered, cross-checking with the Medic's who'd performed initial treatment. The entire thing was one huge mystery, wrapped in a layer of questions and dusted with far too much confusion for his liking. The Major had been far too recalcitrant in revealing what the creature was, though from examining the deeper wounds, it was clearly not natural.

"Before you ask, yes, she's still alive, though that's the only good news I can give at this point. Her injuries are extensive, to say the least, though her artificial nature is assuredly the sole reason she's still breathing."

Matos had a questioning look on his face at the mention of an artificial nature, Alexis motioning to the spread of X-Rays on the table between the two men.

"I know you're not a medical man, Major, but I think even you know a subdermal bone shell protecting vital organs isn't normal, especially the bone shell around her brain, a skull within a skull if you will. That's not to mention this."

Before the Major could question it, the X-rays swept aside to make a place for an image of a huge... heart?

"What does a heart have to do with them being artificial?" Seeing the military man's confusion, a second, larger picture was place side by side with the first. This one was notable for being cored through, the organ missing most of its mass.

"Because that first picture isn't her primary heart, much too small to support her. If the second was her primary heart, she'd be dead from the damage. As you can see, our enigma creature is still alive, which leaves only one answer..."

Alexis saw the dawning realization cross the Major's face, reflecting his own grin, one of professional interest of course.

"Nike here has Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary copies of all her major organs, that level of redundancy is far beyond natural, let alone to this degree. Her Cardiovascular system is similarly redundant, even her primary muscle groups are!"

The veterinarian's voice betrayed the sheer excitement he'd felt since seeing this creature for the first time. Here was something that was unique to a degree that was astounding. Nothing like it had been seen in the Twelve Colonies, the blend of familiar and alien driving his curiosity wild.

"So someone in the Twelve Colonies made it and what... dumped it in Cylon territory?" Matos's eye had left the pictures to watch a Nurse sponge away the remaining gore where the dud shell had finally been extracted from the creature's chest. The shell itself was secured in a lockbox in the armory.

"Oh, most certainly not Major. Nike here is by all the evidence we have, a product of somewhere with much better knowledge in the Biological fields. I'd love to chat with whoever designed the adrenaline she utilizes. It's twenty times the strength of our adrenaline, the amounts she must use would make our hearts pop."

Valerian looked green around the gills at that idea, coughing into his fist to cover it. Giving the Major time to compose himself, Alexis collected all the images he'd strewn about in his... enthusiasm, going back to the folder they came from. A commotion down in the OR drew his attention, panicked shouts filtering through the glass.

The nurse who had been sponging Nike clean was pressed against the nearest wall, sponge raised as if to ward away the creature. Where before she'd been unconscious from the anesthesia they'd given her, now, an eye was wide open, darting around in panic. The paralytic they'd applied stopping her from moving, which was clearly driving the monster into a panic. Just as he thought things couldn't get any worse, the speaker mounted above the door began wailing. The voice coming from it was thick with interference but was unmistakenly that of a woman in horrific agony. It should have been impossible for too many reasons to count, but he had a heavily wounded and fully awake Nike panicking in the OR, the voice could only be hers... absurd as that sounded.

Major Matos was busy shouting into the radio he'd unclipped from his belt, struggling to be heard over the gut-wrenching wailing making his ears ring.

Alexis was going to kill the Lords dammed idiot who'd frakked up the dosages, that is, if that crazy Marine didn't get them first.

-

Nike

I had thought waking up in that alleyway stuck in an alien body in a world experiencing a machine rebellion was bad.

This... this was far worse.

I was lying in some kind of surgical theatre, all I could see with the one eye that opened was tables of surgical tools, stands of medical equipment, and one guy in scrubs looking at me in horror. I tried to speak, my mouth refusing to cooperate, trying to raise my arm to wave had the same result. Nothing responded, everything from my head down was frozen, leaving me paralyzed with no way to communicate. The burst of adrenaline that came upon waking up faded, the pain making me blank out for a second. I could feel the gaping hole where that shell had punched through me burning in agony. As if it was a pain extravaganza, the crater in my chest flared up too, my body trying desperately to vocalize its distress.

Somewhere through the haze of pain driving me to the edge of consciousness, I could hear a woman screaming. Funny that, I knew Sonnie could interact with tech like speakers with the Affinity-link, but it took until I was a paralyzed, heavily-wounded cripple strapped down in a strange operating theatre before I could do the same! It was enough to drive anyone to tears, but then, Khanivore had no tear ducts, so fuck trying to cry to help with the pain eating me alive!

Sometime after, my world was reduced to an eternity of agony, every aborted cry of pain nearly knocking me unconscious. The nurse had disappeared sometime between my bouts of unconsciousness, my only company stark while walls and distorted screaming. I'd had a pretty sheltered life, so my experience of pain wasn't much. My heart felt fit to burst, thudding against the bone protecting it, and filling my ears with the sound. It was an indicator of how out of it I was that I never noticed Jessie arrive, the woman looking much nicer without the armor, grime, and judging by her wet hair, a shower. Though the worry plain to see on her face scared me in its intensity, her hazel eyes gentle as she reached out.

I could feel a hand stroking the flesh along my snout, feather-light, and like a balm for the pain. The pain infusing every inch of my body didn't fade, not truly, but it was like a filter that had been erected between it and my mind. The wailing from the speakers began to slowly fade, the feedback between my brain and the A-Link cutting out and letting me hear... soft humming?

Sure enough, Jessie, the hardened, bad-ass Caprican Marine was humming a simple tune. She'd sat down on the floor beside me and shifted my head onto her lap, a move I'd somehow fuckin missed? It must have looked surreal to anyone watching, this short woman cradling a heavily wounded monsters head in her lap while humming to it. I couldn't remember anything between falling unconscious back in the tunnel and waking up in this place... but if Jess was here, then Hadrian wouldn't be far behind. I hadn't known them long, but when you're ripped from your family and made a monster, any friendly person makes an impression.

Jess and her quiet confidence, balls of fuckin adamantium, and snark enough her first reaction was to joke when she saw me, rather than shoot.

Hadrian and his stoic assurance, like nothing would stop him doing his duty. The little flashes of emotion he showed making them all the better to receive.

With friends like these, I felt in safe hands.

-

Alexis Hacker is another character who'll return, but for now, Nike needs to recover and the ripples from her arrival have just started to spread...