Cool water rushed down her throat, washing away the smoke and ash of the fires. Ruby sighed in contentment as she finished the tall glass of liquid.
"Thank you," she said quietly, handing it back to Anderson. He nodded with a smile and handed the glass off to Doctor Chakwas. The kind woman wordlessly set it on a nearby desk and continued her examination, running her omni-tool everywhere down her sore body.
Ruby yawned and leaned against Anderson, the exhausting events of the last few hours finally catching up with her. The comfy bio-bed beneath them wasn't helping her fight to stay awake.
The Lieutenant hadn't let her out of his sight once since he found her. The fear of being burned alive and the fact that she had almost died made her cling to him like a barnacle. He was kind and gentle with her, almost like a father, but not like... her own...
Something about that statement made Ruby pause. It troubled her somehow, she just didn't know why.
"Look here."
Ruby looked up and saw Chakwas holding a finger up in front of her eyes.
"Uh... what?" she asked, blinking in confusion.
"Just testing your retinas, dear," the Doctor said soothingly. "Now, here."
Ruby tracked the finger as it traced the air in front of her. As it withdrew, her eyes slowly began to droop as she pressed into Anderson's side.
After pulling her out of the burning settlement, Anderson's team medic had immediately started looking her over for injuries. Aside from a bunch of fresh scar tissue on her chest, visible through tears in her clothing, she wasn't seriously hurt. There were a few small burns, but nothing their medi-gel couldn't handle.
It had been a terrifying experience, almost burning to death in the flames. But the terror had quickly faded when she was rescued, only to be replaced by awe and fascination as Anderson's team had closed in around her. Their weapons and armor were just so... so... Ruby wanted to squeal with excitement as she saw a pistol fold up into a box small enough to fit on her belt. The mechanisms of the weapon fascinated her. For some reason she wanted nothing more than to take it apart piece by piece.
The squad had laughed when she asked if she could and denied her request, being more concerned with getting her to safety. She had pouted childishly at them, something that amused Anderson to no end. But that pout had been instantly washed away when she saw the shuttle land in front of her to take her up to the Alliance fleet in orbit. Already she was being called the sole survivor of Mindoir... wherever that was.
Then she was going up. Into space.
For some reason, that also troubled her. That didn't seem possible for some reason. In fact, the very name of the planet, Mindoir, made her feel... uneasy. That wasn't right somehow.
Once they landed in the hanger bay of a Cruiser she was given no time to look around and was immediately rushed off to the medical bay where she had remained ever since. And now it was starting to get boring. Anderson had stayed with her, of course, but he had remained silent for most of the time while Chakwas was fussing over her.
But something had continued to trouble her. Something was missing. Something very important.
Finally satisfied, the Doctor sighed and lowered her hand, dismissing the omni-tool.
"Well, Ruby, you are in the best of health, all thing considered. Though I have to wonder how you survived that long. You must have been in that fire for hours before Anderson came."
Ruby shivered, remembering her frantic race for survival, something that didn't go unnoticed by the man beside her.
"Does it matter?" Anderson asked, wrapping an arm around Ruby's shoulders comfortingly.
"Not to me, no. But some people might be suspicious of the circumstances."
"That's ridiculous."
As their talk descended into more confusing technical terms, Ruby yawned and cuddled against Anderson, trying to find what little warmth she could through his armor.
The size of the cavernous medical bay boggled her mind. It was huge, larger than any room she'd seen so far... well, that wasn't true. The hanger was bigger, but that was for shuttles and gunships. Here rows of bio-beds stretched from wall to wall and highly advanced medical equipment filled the room. A doctor's dream come true.
But it was still rather cold in here. Anderson said it had something to do with them being in space. Again, that continued to bother her. Had she never been in space before?
"Ruby?"
She looked up and found Chakwas looking down at her. Both she and Anderson had looks of extreme sympathy on their faces.
"We hate to bring this up," the Doctor said softly, "but did you have any family on Mindoir? We're having trouble tracing your name in the colony's records. Anything you can give us might help."
Ruby opened her mouth to answer, then stopped.
She didn't know. She remembered waking up in the fires, meeting Anderson and then coming up here... but nothing before that. She couldn't remember anything.
Nothing.
She whimpered as a shiver ran down her spine. "I... I..."
She couldn't remember a thing. No home, no family... She was alone... and that terrified her.
"I... I don't know," she whimpered, pressing herself harder against Anderson as she stared up at the two adults with watering eyes. "I-I can't remember."
She started to tremble. She couldn't remember a single thing, but... she felt something missing, an empty feeling in her chest that came with a revelation. She missed someone. A person? A brother, a sister? Sure, she might not remember having a family but that didn't mean she didn't have one.
Right?
Right?
"It's alright," came Chakwas' soothing voice as she wrap her arms around the trembling girl and hugged her tight. "It's alright... it's alright..."
Soon Anderson joined the hug, wrapping Ruby in a feeling of reassurance and safety. Slowly, her tremors ceased, though she still clung to the marine sitting next to her, sniffling occasionally. Anderson didn't object and only tightened his arms around her. After a while Chakwas extricated herself from the embrace and looked to Anderson. "This could be a problem."
The man nodded grimly. "Yes, it could."
"I'll talk to the Admiral."
Giving Ruby one more comforting smile, Chakwas turned and hurried from the medical bay to parts unknown.
"What was she talking about?" Ruby asked quietly as she watched the door shut behind her.
Anderson sighed. "There are no records of you ever being on Mindoir. We don't know if-"
"Where's that?"
Anderson looked down in surprise and met two silver eyes staring up at him in confusion.
"It's the name of the colony," he answered. "It's where we found you."
She blinked at him. Had the circumstances been different, Anderson would have found the look of confusion on her face cute.
"That... doesn't sound right," she said slowly.
"Why?"
"I don't know." She pulled up her legs and hugged them to her chest. "Mirdoir... it doesn't sound right for some reason."
"Mindoir," he corrected softly. "But don't worry, we'll have this sorted out soon enough. Is there anything you can remember? A name, a place, anything?"
"No," she said with a sniffle. "Nothing. Everything before I woke up is black... but I miss them."
"Who?"
"I don't know," she whimpered, her voice trembling. "I-I just don't know. I miss someone... I just don't know who. I know... they can't be dead... I-I'm-"
"Hey, its alright," Anderson said softly, pulling her in tighter. "I'm here for you, okay? I won't let anything happen to you, child."
Her trembling ceased abruptly and she glared up at Anderson with a rather cute pout. "I'm not a kid. I'm sixteen!" Her face fell slightly. "At least... I think so."
"So you are," he chuckled, reaching down and ruffling her unruly hair. She squirmed out of his grip, playfully slapping away his hand as she glared at him with another pout. But before she could say another word, a door on the other side of the medical bay opened and two uniformed officers stepped in. Both were wearing the black uniform of the Alliance Intelligence Division.
They examined the room for a moment before locking on their position. More specifically; Ruby.
"Who are they?" Ruby asked nervously as they started towards them
Anderson's fists clenched. He had known Alliance Intelligence had come to investigate the attack, trying to discover where the pirates had come from and hopefully uncover where they were going to strike next. He didn't have a problem with it, but it was who they had sent that troubled him.
Colonel Fang, a brutal man, even by Krogan standards. Anderson had hated him after their first meeting. He couldn't recognize the other officer, a man with short salt and pepper hair, but he gave off an air of importance.
They were here for Ruby, that much was obvious, and Anderson would've been fine with it. If not for Fang. From personal experience the man blurred the line between questioning and interrogation to the point of non-existance.
"Wait here," Anderson said quietly, rising and moving to intercept the advancing pair.
Ruby watched him go, hugging her knees tighter. The black suited men gave her the creeps.
Anderson stopped them about ten meters away, planting himself firmly between them and her. Ruby heard him speak to the officer, though his words were too quiet for her to make out. They talked for a minute, the officer calmly answering Anderson's questions with disturbing ease. Though Ruby strained her ears to listen, she still couldn't make out anything.
Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She hopped off the bed and made to run to Anderson's side.
But then something strange happened.
The moment her feet touched the ground a spark seemed to go off inside her, filling her body with energy. And then she ran.
-o000o-
"I don't like this, Doctor."
Admiral Steven Hackett drummed his fingers on his desk. The screen floating before him flashed as lines of text scrolled past. It was a list of everyone, living and dead, who had ever set foot on Mindoir. There were also tens of thousands of security reports, detailing stowaways and other lowlifes that had smuggled their way onto the planet.
There were millions of names. Expect one.
"Ruby Rose. You're certain that's her name?"
"Yes sir," Chakwas said. "It's the only thing she can remember."
"Or she's lying."
The hologram vanished and Hackett leaned forward, pressing his hands together and intertwining his fingers.
His temporary office on board the Cruiser Mother of Invention was spartan, having only a desk, terminal and a padded chair. It wasn't his flagship, of course. The Everest was back on Earth undergoing some retrofits. Still, the office served its purpose in dealing with this mess.
"We've gone through the whole system. Ruby Rose does not exist," Hackett said firmly.
"I am well aware of that," Chakwas replied. "I've gone through every medical database I know. There's nothing."
"Then who is she?"
"She is who she says she is," Chakwas said stiffly. "I believe Ruby is telling the truth. My findings, or rather the lack there of, proves it."
Hackett's brow furrowed. "Explain."
"When I said nothing, I meant nothing. No genetic tracing, no retina scans, blood analysis, not even a finger print the system can track. She's never been to an Alliance hospital before, otherwise the system would have recognized her."
"Hmm." The Admiral leaned back in his chair, looking thoughtfully at Chakwas. "And what is your opinion on Miss Rose?"
"She's hardly a danger if that's what your asking. She doesn't look like a trouble maker. Right now she's just scared. Poor girl. She hasn't let go of Anderson once since they met."
Hackett scowled. "Please understand the situation, Doctor. Mindoir has just suffered one of the worst pirate attacks in history, millions are dead or enslaved and the only one to come out of it alive is a single girl who doesn't even exist. The rest of the brass is afraid that this is merely the start of something bigger. What are they going to think when they learn about this? A single survivor with no trace in Alliance records? They haven't ruled out the possibility of a sleeper agent just yet."
"And I would disagree," Chakwas said tightly. "My examinations haven't found any signs of any trauma, either physically or mentally."
"That proves nothing."
"Admiral-"
"Doctor, please," Hackett sighed tiredly. "I want to believe you. Believe me, I want nothing more than to go out and say that someone, anyone, survived this tragedy. But until we know for certain we can't take chances."
"But why?" Chakwas asked, quickly growing frustrated. "She's just a girl! What does she have to do with all this?"
"Because she's the only survivor out of four whole colonies combined." Hackett leaned back, letting his words sink in. "It hasn't made the news yet, but whole colonies and outposts are being wiped off the map. Everyone just... slaughtered. The question here is why? Alliance Intelligence has been on this case for months. They believe the culprits are the same ones that attacked Mindoir."
It took Chakwas a minute to find her voice again. "But... how does Ruby fit into this?"
Hackett scowled. "Fang theorized that they used sleeper agents. Slip them into the colony as refugees and just wait for the right time to strike."
"So you're just handing her over then?" Chakwas said slowly, voice growing hard.
"Of course not," Hackett scowled again, crossing his arms. "I may have made some tough choices in the past, but I would never willingly hand over a girl to a monster like Fang."
"So why is he here?"
"An interview. Nothing more and nothing less. If he tries anything else I'll have him thrown out on his ass."
Chakwas appeared unconvinced. Before either one could say anything Hackett's omni-tool beeped with an incoming call. A quick glance confirmed that it was from Anderson. The Doctor had already informed him that the Lieutenant had stayed in the medical bay with Ruby. Something must have happened. Of course, with Fang in the room that was a given. Hackett sighed again and accepted the call.
"Lieutenant, is everything all right?"
"I... don't know, sir." Anderson's cautious voice replied. "We may have a problem here. Fang is..."
The name had barely been spoken before Hackett was moving, leaving the office and striding down the hall towards the medical bay. Chakwas followed behind him, almost jogging to match his pace.
Hackett fumed as his feet pounded against the deck plating. He had let Colonal Fang aboard in good faith that happen to the girl– Ruby, he corrected himself. He shouldn't have trusted the man. His earlier arguments were still valid, but that didn't mean he was completely heartless. Whatever Fang wanted with Ruby it couldn't be good, and he wouldn't let it happen.
He reached the medical bay in good time, punched the controls and hurried in with Chakwas on his heels. He instantly saw the small group gathered around one of the bio-beds, recognizing Anderson among them, and hurried over.
"...which is completely understandable," came Fang's unmistakable monotone as Hackett grew near. "But we cannot let this go to waste."
"Waste?" the second Intelligence officer said, giving the man an incredulous look. Hackett didn't recognize the face, though he did recognize the rank. "Colonel, your narrow mindedness knows no bounds."
"So... what happens now?" Anderson asked, looking between the two men.
"For starters, you can explain this whole mess," Hackett spoke up, stopping just behind them and giving the second officer a respectful nod. "Director, I wasn't expecting you."
"Admiral, a pleasure, as always," the Director turned, smiling brightly as he shook the Admiral's hand. "Though I wish this was under better circumstances."
"What happened?" Hackett asked, getting straight to the point.
"Well..." the Director sighed, looking back to Ruby who was sitting on the bio-bed, nervously hugging her knees to her chest. "Things got... complicated."
"We are wasting time," Fang said stiffly, making Ruby close in on herself. "We need to bring her in for further testing."
"Over my dead body," Anderson muttered with a barely concealed growl.
"Gentlemen, please," the Director sighed tiredly, stepping between them. "Let me assure you, Lieutenant, I have no intention of taking her. Far from it. I just want what's best."
"And what's best is utilizing this to its fullest potential," Fang almost snarled. "This needs to be studied, not ignored out of sympathy."
"What are you talking about?" Hackett demanded before the Director could retort.
The man sighed. "Well... its best if we show you." He stood back, leaving a lane open towards Chakwas who stood just beside Hackett. "Kid, if you please."
An instant later Chakwas staggered back as a red meteor crashed into her legs, solidifying into Ruby as the girl hid behind her, leaving a trail of rose petals in her path.
Hackett stared, blinking in surprise. It had happened so fast he barely caught it. In less than a second Ruby had sprinted over to Chakwas with a speed that rivaled most biotic charges, becoming little more than a blur in the air. That defiantly wasn't any kind of biotic ability.
The Directer lip's twitched upward. "Simply incredible."
"Fascinating," Fang intoned dryly, turning to his superior. "Which is why we need to bring her in for further examination."
Sighing explosively, the Director turned to him. "Look, we both know what's going to happen in a week. So why don't you take a moment and talk it over with the Admiral, see how long you last."
"I will," the Colonel scowled. "And what about you?"
"I'll do what I came here to do," he replied cooly, looking at Ruby. "Finish the job I started."
-ooo000ooo-
The officer sat beside her with a sigh of contentment, settling onto the bed and stretching. Ruby watched him warily, wishing Chakwas, or at least Anderson, had stayed. To her dismay Fang had dragged both them and the Admiral out of the medical bay to talk about her 'power.'
She swallowed nervously. Just what was happening to her? Why did it have to be her in the first place? First almost burning to death, losing her memory and now this? Superpowers?!
"I hope Fang didn't scare you too much," the Director said softly, looking down at her. "I know he can be a bit of a prick at times."
"He's... creepy," Ruby agreed. She looked up at him. "What does he want with me?"
The man scowled. "Study, obviously. Though with him you never know what that could be." He shrugged. "Maybe dissection, if he gets frustrated enough."
Her eyes widened in horror. "B-but why?"
"The Alliance, hell, the whole galaxy has never seen anything like this before. With abilities like yours the possibilities are endless. If they find a way to replicate them, which I doubt, the tactical advantages they'll provide would change warfare forever. Even if that means killing you," he added darkly. "Barbaric... but I can't blame them. You're the first person with a Semblance they've ever seen."
Her brow furrowed at the unfamiliar word. "A what?"
"Nothing, nothing," he said quickly, letting out a chuckle that trailed off in a sad end note. "Just... something I heard once. A long, long time ago."
He sighed deeply, staring forlornly at the floor for a long minute before shaking himself out of his stupor with a rough laugh. "Eh, I'm getting too old for this. I've been the Director of Alliance Intelligence for... ah, what's it been? Twenty, thirty years? Hell, I was there when it was first formed. And all that other stuff I did before... damn, I couldn't leave at a better time." He looked down at Ruby sadly. "I'm sorry, kid."
"A-about what?" Ruby asked, fearfully.
"Fang," he replied grimly. "I'm retiring soon, in less than a week actually. Once I leave, Fang will take over my position. He's been pushing for this for a while. When that happens... there's nothing stopping him from taking you."
Ruby could almost feel her heart stop. "B-but... what would he do to me?"
"Hell if I know." He smiled reassuringly at her. "But that's if, and only if, the Alliance lets him. You've got sympathy on your side, that's always good. Spread the story of the sole survivor and if Fang tries it would be PR hell. But there's something else going for you."
Ruby looked up, eyes hopeful. "What?"
"Me. I still got a week in power, and even after that I'll have some influence." He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into a light embrace. "So long as I'm alive he won't touch you, you got that?"
Relief shot through her and she threw her arms around him, almost crying in relief. The Director only smiled kindly down at her, then frowned.
"By the way, I never caught your name. What was it again?"
"Ruby Rose," she murmured into his side, never noticing how his face twisted in silent anguish. Then he swallowed, settling his features back into one of calm amenity.
"Well, if it's any more comfort, the Admiral is probably giving Fang hell right now. What a way to start a career, huh? That's what happens when you act like an emotionless prick all the time. Oh wait, he is an emotionless prick all the time. My bad."
Ruby couldn't help but giggle.
"But enough about that," he grinned, pulling one of the largest cookies Ruby had ever seen out of nowhere. "You wouldn't happen to like-"
The cookie was gone in a puff of rose petels as Ruby munched happily on her prize. Director Conrad Verner smiled sadly at her, wishing things could have been different. Still, his part in this was complete.
"Also, I hope you don't mind that I have some questions for you. First, you said you can't remember anything before Mindoir, right? Have you had any dreams so far?"
-ooo000ooo-
"And that is why we can't not make a judgement based purely on sentimentality," Fang finished, looking down at the Admiral sitting at his desk. "I've already preformed some preliminary tests, but the results were inconclusive. We need to bring her in for further study."
"So that constitutes you kidnapping her?" Hackett asked angrily, glaring at the man. He could feel Anderson and Chakwas doing the same from the edge of his office. Unfortunately it had no effect. "Because let me assure you, Colonel, if you try anything I'll-"
"Be reasonable, Admiral." Fang said with surprising intensity. "This is unlike anything we've ever seen. She doesn't have a trace of Element Zero in her body, no sign of any technological assistance and yet she can do something incredible. Natural talent? I don't think so."
He met Hackett's eyes. "Admiral, the planet below us is a sure sign that we are still the bottom dog. Mindoir was razed to the ground and our men were powerless to do anything. But some good may still come of it. Miss Rose has a gift, a gift that I refuse to let go to waste. With further study anything is possible. Imagine giving our men the ability to run faster than the speed of sound without the use of eezo. We would be unmatched on the battlefield, able to stop atrocities like this from ever happening again. And the cost? Well, I'm willing to sacrifice the life of one unknown survivor if that's what it takes."
Fang stepped closer, leaning over the desk so he was nose to nose with Hackett. "So much for so little. All I need is your word and we can usher in a new generation of warfare and safety."
Hackett blinked at him, his mind spinning with what he had just heard. Iit struck many cords inside him. Yes, he wanted to stop things like Mindoir and yes he wanted to save lives. But the cost? One girl, alone and afraid, rescued from a burning colony.
So much for so little.
Hackett set his jaw, stood, clenched his fist, and gave his verdict.
-ooo000ooo-
Pale moon light shone down, illuminating the empty street and darkened store fronts. Only the small cafe on the corner was open, its bright windows shining out into the darkness. Its only customer this late at night was the man sitting alone at one of the tables out on the sidewalk.
He was large and heavily muscled, dressed in a black leather vest zipped up to his neck, leaving his arms bare. Black jeans and combat boots covered his legs. His black hair was short and slick, broken only by the red stripe that ran from the top of his left eye over his head. Even at night he still wore his aviator sunglasses, yet somehow was still able to see perfectly. A massive broadsword was strapped across his back, marking him as one of the famed and dreaded Huntsmen.
He scowled, checking his watch. There was still plenty of time to spare, but he wanted to get this done with. Money was scarce and they needed a job. Irritably, he took a sip from the mug of mocha before him, eyeing the steaming cup of tea on the other side of the table.
Just what the hell was taking him so long?
As if fate decided to reward his patience, another man silently emerged from the darkness, seating himself on the other side of the table. He was dressed in much the same fashion, though lacking the sunglasses and carrying a rapier strapped to his belt. His frame was smaller, more like a runner or a dancer. His dyed yellow hair gleamed in the light from the windows.
The first man scoffed, his voice deep and rich. "Took ya long enough, brother."
"I was busy," the other man said, his silver eyes carefully examining his tea. "Vacuo's finest, I presume?"
"Vacuo has a finest?"
The man sighed. "Too much to hope for, I guess. Atlas, then?"
"Does it look like ice water to you? Just drink it already, I paid good Lien for that."
Silently, the man took a cautious sip, then nodded at the taste. "Dare I say it, but you actually have some taste, Monty."
Monty only grinned and leaned back in his chair with a long sigh, taking another swig from his mug. They sat in comfortable silence for a minute before Monty leaned forward, planting his hands on the table. "So, what did ya get us?"
His brother paused mid sip, then pulled a small stack of papers from his vest, held together by a paper clip.
"Okay, lets see," Monty murmured, snatching the papers and reading the header. "Hmm... A recovery mission, huh?"
"You heard about that fire last weak?" his brother asked, setting down his tea.
"Yeah. Who hasn't? Poor kid. Probably never thought she'd be burned alive."
"She was a Huntress."
"What?" Monty looked up in surprise. "A Huntress, are you shitting me?"
"Well, Huntress-in-training, actually. The family and friends want the body back."
"Yeah, not gonna happen," Monty sighed, tossing to papers onto the table. "Unless they want ashes. It's probably all that's left by now. Still, easy job, right? Just go in with a jar or something and start digging."
"Not quite." His brother turned a page and pointed. "Witnesses reported men fleeing the scene, carrying what they say was a body bag. As nothing was recovered from the building the family has assumed the worst."
"Again: Fire. Burn. Ashes. She's probably all over the place by now."
The blond brother turned another page and pointed at a figure. Monty stared in shock, pulling off his sunglasses and reading the number again, just to be sure he wasn't imagining things. His silver eyes twinkled brightly in the moon light. "Holy shit, that's a lot of zeros!"
"I know. From what I heard she was teammates with some rich heiress. Probably from some company up in Atlas."
Monty slowly looked up to his brother, their silver eyes meeting, and he smiled. "This..." he said breathlessly, shaking his head. "By Oum, this is perfect. Finally, our lucky break! I mean, it's probably just a dead end. But hey, it's worth it. Ashes or not, we're getting payed!"
His brother scowled, snatching the papers back. "You know I hate it when you do that."
"Can't help it," Monty snorted. "I mean, your name is just perfect. 'Oum'. 'By Oum.' 'Oum protect us.' 'Oum bless you.' It's like you have the name of a god!"
"It's not my fault mom had a strange taste in names," Oum grumbled, standing and walking away down the street, leaving his tea behind. "Let's just go."
"Seriously, it's perfect," Monty said, jumping up and following him, slipping on his aviators as he did so. "We're like two peas in a pod. Monty and Oum. Oum and Monty. Monty Oum: The deadliest pair of Huntsmen to roam the world. It's perfect!"
"I can't figure out if it's a gift or a curse that I got all the brains," Oum mused dryly.
"Hey, none of that now. I'm two years older than you, that has to count for something."
"No it doesn't."
"It does and you know it!"
The two brothers continued bickering long into the night, strolling fearlessly into the darkness of the woods that surrounded the city, following a trail that Oum had picked up earlier. The shattered moon hanging above watched them go, floating silently in the night. All in all, just another normal night on the world of Remnant. But not even the Huntsmen could have known of the dreaded eyes watching them from above.