When the doctor returned hours later, Heart's anger had cooled to stony resignation as she still had no idea how to get away from these humans. She remained stoic, only glancing away from the wall when she felt movement from the various wires and tubes attached to her. She swallowed and twitched her feeding hand nervously as she watched the contents of a needle being injected into a line attached to that arm.
"This is just to help you relax," the doctor told her, noticing Heart's look. This didn't help her apprehension at all, as she assumed that she was about to experience the tests that had been mentioned earlier. She received a smile that was probably meant to be comforting before Dr. Keller turned to nod towards the doorway. On cue, more humans entered the room and her bed, along with the various pieces of equipment connected to her, were slowly moved out into a bright hallway. Despite their proximity and her uneasiness, the young wraith felt her muscles unconsciously loosen and she let out a quiet sigh.
Her mind began to drift, and she was finding it difficult to think clearly, feeling as if she was on the verge of falling asleep. She blinked, and her surroundings shifted and changed; voices and forms moved around and above her, appearing and disappearing.
As Heart lay semi-lucid, her thoughts confused and uncertain, she reached out with her mind, searching for the comfort of the Hive she had once been a part of. Her thoughts touched another's, and she felt their confusion and wariness at the contact, but she was so relieved to feel the mental connection that she didn't try to make sense of the Other's emotions.
After a few seconds, the mind opened to her and her relief deepened. They seemed at once familiar and unknown to her, but she couldn't seem to focus on why that was. As she ignored the humans working over her physical body, she tried to explain her plight to the Other in disjointed words and images. In her vulnerable state, she found it nearly impossible to summon any emotion beyond fear, though the mind connected to hers didn't reprimand her for it.
Please, help me* she begged, feeling helpless as a small child. She closed her eyes as comfort spread across their connection. The Other urged her to relax, that she would be alright, and Heart found herself almost forced to obey by the power of the Other's mind. Her anxiety lessened as she started to lean further into the darkness that beckoned from whatever she had been injected with.
What is your name?* The question pierced her thoughts gently, just before she finally drifted to sleep. Her response was the complexity of emotions, images, and feelings that made up her individuality among the hive mind: One who is strong-willed and stubborn, but open-minded and curious. One of defiance and compassion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heart's eyes blinked open and she found herself laying on her side. Uncertainty filled her as she took in her surroundings. Eyes darting around the sparsely lit room, she carefully sat up, surprised but thankful to find her limbs unbound. Her bed, a thin mattress laying atop a metal frame, was situated near a wall within a cell of horizontal slats that was centered in the room.
There were two armed humans standing on either side of the entry leading from the room, both staring straight ahead, and she spared them a short glance before looking around her cell. Slowly standing, Heart cautiously watched as the guards turned their attention to her, though they didn't move. She took a step forward, then another as they remained still. Her eyes darted to the bars enclosing her, judging the width between the cell bars and the distance from the cell to the open doorway.
A touch of hope blossomed within her as she reached out a hand to rest against one of the slats. Just as her hand touched the metal, however, a blue light emanated from where her fingers met the physical barrier, and she jerked her arm back with a cry as a jolt of pain ran through it. Cursing inwardly at her stupidity, she noted that neither guard had moved, and one seemed to be smirking at her. Of course they wouldn't put her in a cell she could simply crawl out of!
The sound of footsteps reached her ears and she retreated to the bed after leveling a glare at the humans, rubbing her stinging hand. Teyla walked in carrying a tray and Heart watched her approach the cell warily.
"I brought you some dinner," the woman stated quietly with a smile as one of the guards moved forward and seemed to enter a code into one of the corner columns of the cell. Heart remained silent but continued to stare, wondering how naive these humans thought she was, to fall for the same trick twice. Heart tensed and her eyes darted between the cell and the humans as the bluish light rolled across the walls of her prison.
Teyla knelt to push the tray of food beneath the lowest bar. Heart met the woman's eyes briefly before glancing at the food that had been delivered. Would they try to force her to eat if she refused? As the force field was once again raised, Heart made her decision and turned, climbing back onto the bed and laying down on her side, facing away from the humans. It took nearly a full minute before she heard Teyla leave, and she finally allowed her muscles to relax.
After what felt like hours of listening and waiting for something else to happen, Heart fell asleep. This room, however, was cooler than where she had been before, and her rest was fitful as she kept waking up shivering, curling up in an attempt to stay warm. At one point, she heard several sets of footsteps moving around the room.
A shot of anxiety-fueled adrenaline caused her to sit up, and she watched as the two guards left the room, and two more marched once around her cell, possibly checking for any weakness in either the shield or the physical barrier. She slowly laid back down when they stopped on either side of the door, where the previous two had been.
After another round of short naps Dr. Keller brought her a tray of "breakfast" along with a blanket. Heart remained on the bed, facing the wall, but recognized the woman's voice.
"The guards said you looked cold," the kind doctor said as she tried to get the wraith's attention. Then she must have noticed the untouched food from Teyla. "Are you not hungry?" The doctor's voice was now confused, but Heart said nothing.
She heard a sigh. "If you're feeling sick or if the food's no good, we can fix it," Dr. Keller added, and Heart closed her eyes as the audible concern washed over her. This human was confusing-running tests on her one moment, then showing compassion the next. The combination was like nothing the young wraith had expected to encounter from her captors.
As she tried to understand what intent this human must have for showing her enemy kindness, she heard another sigh before the doctor asked that the force field be lowered. Heart heard a small scrape as the new meal was pushed into the cell and the old removed. There was a soft rustle as she assumed the blanket was shoved through the bars. Then a long pause after the shield went back up before she heard the doctor begin to leave the room.
"Let me know if she eats anything."
Determined not to fall prey to anymore tests or experiments, Heart continued to ignore the next three meals brought to her cell. She refused to leave her cot except to retrieve the blanket after much consideration and several more chilly hours. Aside from the change of the guards and those that brought her food, she received no visitors.
Only the doctor and Teyla attempted to engage her in conversation, either verbal or mental; of course, she rejected all attempts with stony silence, with them leaving after a few minutes.
This, again, made no sense her. If the humans were going to try and extract information from her, shouldn't they be doing more than offering her food and isolation? If they were going to continue the wraith scientists' work, they should be forcing her to eat and make her endure all manner of tests. None of this occurred, leaving Heart with more questions than she ever thought she'd have about the behavior of humans.