And so we get to the confessions foretold back in Chapter 17.

To clear the air, things will be said, tempers will flare, and bonds will be tested.

Caprica City University Hospital Lobby

Caprica City

Caprica

The lobby of Cap-U Hospital was a hive of activity, doctors, and nurses moving to and fro with civilians interspersed around the room. The sight of uniformed and armed soldiers standing guard by one of the lifts was an odd sight, though a familiar flash of auburn hair between the soldiers had the man heading that way. Brushing past a clump of doctors, he finally caught sight of the woman he was here to meet, seeing a compression cast wrapped around her chest a reminder of why she was here.

"Michael! Bro, get your ass over here before I come and drag you, doctors orders or no!" The now named Michael shared a look with his sister's escorts, shrugging at the looks sent his way.

The presence of armed soldiers kept the crowds at bay, leaving the last few meters free to cross, then sweep his sister up in a gentle hug.

"Zeus dammit Jessie, you had me worried with that message! Bad enough you disappear off the face of Caprica for two months, the only news we got was that you'd been injured a few days ago." A career of Pyramid and a good six inches on his sister let him pick her up, carefully avoiding squeezing too hard.

Jess had the presence of mind to look abashed, returning Michael's hug with surprising force for a woman hospitalized a few days prior. Once back on her feet Jess took hold of her brother's hand, leading him past the sentries without so much as a glance at them. The taller of the soldiers looked about to protest before his companion shook their head, leaving Micahel free to be dragged into the lift which soon began ascending. Inside the elevator, Jess's cheery attitude evaporated, in its place leaving her looking nervous, about what he had no clue.

They continued ascending, slow enough Michael figured he had time to ask what this was all about, getting a message to meet his sister at Cap-U was odd enough, the lack of details stoking his curiosity.

"Jess, what's wrong? It's not like you to need me holding your hand, at least not since that time in High-School with the Triad fiasco..." Michael's attempt at levity fell flat, the unusual silence from his normally snarky sister worrying to see.

His sister kept glancing at the floor icons, the number increasing at a glacial pace. Turning to look at Michael, he could see the nervousness was backed with fear, a lot of it.

"I fraked up Bro... I fraked up real bad and got a friend badly hurt because of it", It had been a long time since she'd confessed the like to him, never for something so serious, "Because of me, a friend got blinded, maybe forever and the only reason she was there was because she listened to me!"

Michael was left speechless, the loathing in his little sisters' voice, loathing for herself seriously disturbing to hear. Compared to the hug he gave her in the lobby, this one was much softer, letting her rest her head against his chest while he stroked her back. Feeling his hard-as-nails, badass Marine sister all but sobbing in his embrace felt... wrong. A cheerful ping announced their arrival to the designated floor, the sound making Jessie pull away and start to dry her eyes, Michael ignoring the tear tracks down her face. Giving her time to clean up, he poked his head out the open doors, glancing around for other people but turned up blank. Privately, he thought it a bit creepy, an entire floor of a hospital just... empty.

A sharp poke to the ribs shocked him enough to nearly fall out the door, Jess using the space to slip past, her eyes still puffy but no longer crying, "C'mon, they cleared out this floor for our people only, it's just down this way", Without giving him a chance to object, Jessie wrapped an arm around his and began dragging him down an empty corridor.

The sudden mood-whiplash was odd enough, his Sister looking determined as she led him past an empty reception desk and down a hallway that was empty bar the ward door at the very end, two black-armored soldiers carrying scary-looking rifles standing guard. Unlike the pair down in the lobby, one of the anonymous sentries moved to block the door, forcing Jess and Michael up short before they could enter.

"Apologies Ma'am, your companion isn't on the authorized visitor list", The blacked-out visor turning Michael's way, "I'll have to ask you to leave Sir, this is a restricted area." The man at least sounded apologetic about it, Jess's scowl up at him doing nothing to budge the man.

Michael saw the frustration inside Jess about to boil over, her impending outburst halted as the ward door opened, an older man with salt-and-pepper hair giving him and Jess an odd look.

"Anders! Just in time, I assume this is your brother?", Not giving her time to reply, the man turned to the sentry guarding the door, "It's alright Private, Corporal Anders and her brother are both authorized to be here, my orders."

The two guards shared a glance, the one blocking the exit returning to his previous post. The path now clear, the still-unnamed man beckoned them inside to a sight that had Michael freezing, the room's other occupants regarding his reaction with low-key amusement.

The room itself looked like a medical ward that had been cleared out of actual beds, the only furniture a desk against a wall, and a collection of chairs currently occupied by an odd mix of people. Even the sight of an honest-to-Ares Cylon casually playing cards with a smoking man wearing a lab coat couldn't draw his attention from the... monster covered in bandages across its head and chest lying surrounded by beeping medical equipment and IV's.

A flurry of greetings met them, his Sister moving to chat with a tall, blond soldier and her companion, a tanned young man. Michael was left gaping at how crazy it was for all these people to just ignore the literal creature in the room, a quiet chuckle from his side revealing the older man who'd let them enter.

Michael accepted the offered handshake, his mind still trying to understand what the frak was going on.

"A pleasure to meet you, Jessie speaks highly of you and wanted you here as emotional support. I'd introduce you but as you ca..." Whatever the man meant to say next was lost as the massive thing of scales, bone, and bestial fear shifted, all attention turned to it.

The slow tempo of the machines attached to it increased as the thing woke up from its slumber, a slumber Michael desperately wished it had stayed under. An expectant hush fell over the room as it sniffed the air, the beasts armored wedge of a head moving to look at every person present. Michael saw its eyes were covered, but even without sight, the look it sent him very nearly had him running for the door. He wanted to scream as his sister moved closer to the creature, the sight of her gently stroking the bone ridge along its snout unreal to the extreme.

Unfortunately for Michael, the insanity continued as the damn thing leaned into Jessie's touch, his sister whispering something to the monster with a head larger than her torso.

With how nobody else present seemed to consider this frakking insane, that worked to calm his racing heart... until the thing spoke, with a woman's voice no less!

"Hello, Mister Anders! You smell just like Jess but like, grumpy..." Nothing that scary-looking had any right to sound so, so chipper, everyone else seemed to find the beasts words funny, judging from the chuckling around him.

That was the straw that broke the camels back, Michael feeling increasingly distant as his vision darkened, realizing before everything went dark that he'd fainted.

Luckily for Michael Anders, Matos managed to catch the man before he hit the floor. Dekker came over to help the Major lift him onto a nearby chair, leaving the tall Pyramid player leaning against a wall.

Nike looked blindly as where Michael had fainted, tracking the noise of him being moved away, sounding confused as she spoke, "Was it something I said? Will he be okay, fainting like that could be bad..."

Jess had to giggle, despite the circumstances, seeing her brother fainting over Nike speaking was going into her cherished memories, as ammunition to embarrass him of course.

"He just fainted Nike, I probably should have told him about your looks before bringing him to visit", Jess's hand still continuing to stroke along the Beastie's bone ridge, avoiding the bandaged area around her eyes.

Now that her friend was awake, everyone took turns coming close to greet her, mostly variants of being happy to see her awake and happy. Even Hatch made the effort to chat with Nike, while not displaying the happiness of Milo and Jess at seeing her awake, the Spark at the least sounded sincere talking to her. Nike sounded happy to speak with every Irregular, but Jess had a gut feeling she was putting on a brave face, the same feeling coming to the fore any mention was made of her eyes.

While the damage to Nike's eyes wasn't her fault, the coiling guilt in her gut didn't care about reality, instead fueling the feeling that the entire mess was her fault. Hacker had tried to be optimistic about her friend's chances, but he didn't have evidence if Nike could actually regenerate them. Unbidden, the memories of every time Nike had looked delighted to learn something about Caprica, the Twelve Colonies... or even about Jess herself filled her mind. In her mind's eye, the Beastie's inquisitive orbs were replaced by so much mush laced through with flechettes and glass shards, weeping blood all the while.

Unconsciously, the arm wrapped around Nike's neck tensed, lasting all of a second before Jess resumed stroking the plates of bone. The movement didn't go unnoticed by Nike, a barely perceptible rumble coming from the Beastie's massive torso, a sound Jess felt in her bones. Jessie knew Nike was just trying to comfort a friend, but it just fuelled the guilt ever higher, making her feel sick that the concern shown to her was all a product of conditioning...

Matos was the final person to talk with Nike, the Major giving Jess an understanding look which passed unseen by the Beastie beside them. They'd agreed to tell Nike after the mission had finished, the idea of keeping silent was tempting and repulsive in equal measure. Considering Nike might be blinded permanently... not telling her would be a weight Jess knew she'd never recover from...

The four people who knew the secret among the Irregulars noticed in how Jess moved to pull away from Nike that things were likely to get nasty. Under the fluorescent lighting, the Marine looked sickly pale as she settled cross-legged before Nike's snout. The change confused Nike, the Beastie cocking her head to the side in her version of confusion.

"Nike... I have a confession to make. Lady Hera forgive me for what I'm about to say..." An unseen tension grew to live, something in Jess's tone encouraging everyone to stay silent, to hear what she had to say if nothing else.

Those of the Irregulars who could see the Marines face were concerned to see the beginnings of tears run down her cheeks. To see Jessie Anders cry was not something anyone expected.

"You... you remember that night we spoke about your past and where you came from?" Confused, Nike hesitantly gave a nod of her armored head, picking up the scent of salt from the tears being shed by her friend.

"After you went to bed... I talked with Doc Hacker about some worries I had, I felt silly doing it but he agreed to run some tests to check." The members of the Unit who weren't in on it looked to Hacker, the Vet looking haunted but confirming what Jess was saying.

"He did a bunch of tests the next few days, probably said it was more tissue samples", Jessie choked up, taking a moment to fight past the blockage and speak again, "That was a lie... he was checking for signs of conditioning... mental conditioning, which was why I sat with you during them. That was why I was the one telling you to do things, the Doc was checking for Dopamine... that stuff your body makes to reward you for doing something."

The air was thick enough to cut with a knife, those who knew looking on with varying degrees of understanding. Those who had no idea were everything from disgust to horror, Jess had laid out enough information to let them connect the dots. It was no secret Nike and Jess had a degree of trust in the other which was incredible for having only known each other for two months. The implication that one half of the friendship was built on the conditioning of a person's mind put their entire bond into doubt.

Nike was no fool, clumsy but with a sharp mind hiding behind the skin of a monster. That she'd understood what Jess was trying to say was guaranteed, but the Beastie was stock-still, not even her normally animate tails expressing any of the feelings she had to be experiencing.

When she spoke, it was in a voice devoid of emotion, even Hadrian's normal monotone having more life than Nike's current voice. "And what did you find out Jess, nothing good I...assume?"

Now openly crying, Jess looked distraught as the woman struggled to voice the secret that had been eating away at her, "E-Every time... every time you listened to me, followed a request I made or obeyed an order I gave... your body rewarded you for it. Doc says it's like feeling good for doing something... which in this case way obeying me. Please... please for...", Jessie stopped herself from completing it, knowing even saying it would trigger the conditioning and force Nike to obey.

Unseen by Jess, those who knew about it beforehand were keeping a wary lookout towards the Irregular's who didn't know. Sergeant Echard was drawn into a violent whispered argument with his fellow engineer, while Dekker wasn't exactly friends with Nike, she was a comrade and a nice person beyond her looks, which made the knowledge that Echard knew about it and kept it hidden enough to get mad.

Standing beside Valerie, Milo had taken to sitting down mid-way through the explanation, increasingly ashen-faced the more Jess admitted. Val knew the kid better than anyone else, the betrayed, venomous glares shot at Jessie's back showing just how badly the revelations were affecting the normally forgiving Trooper. Laying a hand on his shoulder, Valerie hoped the gesture would be enough to stop Ramirez rushing Anders to release his feelings... violently. Beyond Jessie, Milo was the only other person to be that close to Nike, the fact he was sweet on the Beastie a fact noticed by Val but which the kid himself likely didn't even know.

The one person nobody expected to get mad about it was Hatch, the gangly Spark shoving past the Major to grab the sitting Jess by her hair. Crouching down to look her in the eyes, the Specialist wore an ugly expression on his gaunt face, poking Jessie in the ribs hard enough to make her cry out.

"You two-faced, lying, deceitful bitch! You assault me for calling Nike your pet and this entire time you've been making her dance to the strings you hold!" A grip like a vice on Hatch's shoulder had the man cursing in pain, Hadrian having crossed the gap and made his displeasure very clear, without having spoken a word.

Forgotten against the wall, Micheal Anders woke up to find the entire room embroiled in arguments, all blending together in a cacophony of noise the man had no way to decipher. Seeing his little sister in tears and having her hair pulled by the gaunt soldier he vaguely remembered seeing lit his protective instincts. Before he could get up, a noise like rolling thunder filled the room, every man and woman freezing as Nike said one simple word, backed with every bit of air her cavernous lungs held.

"STOP".

As the closest to Nike, Jessie and Hatch were the worst affected, Marine and Spark clutching their ears from the volume. With the Specialist no longer threatening Jess, Hadrian backed away, the U-87 staying just in reach should he need to intervene again.

With the majority of her head bandaged, it was nigh impossible to make out an expression on the Beastie's face, Hatch blanching as her blind gaze first turned his way and then towards Jess. To describe the Marine in one word, despondent would be the best choice, clearly expecting Nike to respond badly to the betrayal of trust she'd admitted to.

Eyes closed, the woman looked on in shock when instead of lashing out, her friend chose to merely bump Jessie in the chest with the wicked crest of bone protecting her snout. No snapping teeth, writhing tails, or lashing claws, just a gentle nudge before resting her head in Jessie's grasp. Hesitant to believe it, the Marine began stroking the patch of skin behind Nike's bandaged eyes, a spot the beastie always complained about being itchy but needed someone to scratch for her.

Nike's reaction wasn't the one of an enraged Beastie betrayed by a close friend, far from it.

"I know Jess... I've known since that night on Aerilon after the Major and I had our... disagreement." With how quiet the room was, Nike's soft voice carried easily, though perhaps that was her intention.

Far from the rejection, she'd been expecting, to hear Nike admit she'd known and still trusted Jess... the guilt that had been eating at her wilted as hope began to bloom, slowly but surely.

"If you knew... w-why didn't you say anything", Jess half expected Nike to lash out, but it never happened, "I betrayed your trust... let you believe it was real and hid it from you..."

To say everyone watching felt confused by this turn of events was an understatement, the revelation seemingly having been received worse by the humans instead of the subject of it.

"I know the only reason you hid it from me was that... because you were worried about my reaction. Someone who truly betrayed me wouldn't have had the courage to admit it sitting right beside my mouth. So what if my body rewards me for listening to you, I'd have frakking done it anyway. Nobody could have foreseen you being the first person to meet me, let alone that you'd become my friend. None of this is your fault, Jess, if you want to blame someone, blame the sick fucks who created this body and shoved me into it,"

While things certainly weren't perfect or even well, but it said much about the bonds the Irregular's had formed that they'd reacted the ways they had.

Still forgotten on his chair in the corner, Michael Anders seriously hoped this entire day was a dream and he'd wake up to a universe that made sense.

One where monsters didn't sound like young women and where his little sister hadn't impressed on said creature.

If it wasn't already clear, Jessie Anders is a relative to the future Samuel Anders, specifically an aunt. I know he's a Cylon inserted into Colonial society after the armistice but frak it, this universe is going off the rails as is and it's never going to end up like the original Cylon Rebellion anyway.

It won't ever come up in this book, maybe the second or third one as an epilogue thing, but rest assured the Ander's family in this story are a bunch of badass Pyramid players who make damn good Marines.

If the chapter is a downer, that's my bad.

But I did say they'd admit this all to Nike back in 17, so this is just coming to fruition.