Fear's match
"Is that some kind of odd human joke?" Torque asked as Valere wept in Ai's arms. "I don't get human humor."
"No." Ai replied, her focus on the now shivering girl in her arms. The girl was clearly going into shock. "You got an emergency blanket?" She demanded of the Viper who eyed her. "The girl is going into shock!"
The Viper's face was blank but she did pull a tiny square thing out of a pocket and hand it to Ai who broke it open and yes, a silvery foil like blanket erupted from the package. She wrapped it around Valere who didn't even notice, as distraught as she was. Ai wrapped herself in the blanket as well, her own body heat would help the girl. She held tight to Valere whose face was still pressed into her shoulder.
"She is not hurt." Torque said softly and Ai shook her head.
"Intense emotion such as terror and helplessness can cause such episodes just as much as wounds." Ai replied as she rubbed Valere's arm with her free hand. "The human body is a robust organism, but it can fail in many ways."
"I am not human." Valere sobbed, but then paused as Ai gave her a shake.
"Two arms. Two legs. A head and a predilection towards tears." Ai replied with just the right hint of mocking in her tone. Valere gasped and then looked affronted, but Torque snorted in matching humor. "You look and act human to me." Valere stared at Ai's face and Ai shook her head. "Big head. Sectoid eyes. Whoopty. Big fricking deal. You are not even close to the weirdest human I have seen." Nope, Valere wasn't anywhere remotely close to the weirdest looking member of Cobra, let alone some of the other factions in Mega-Primus.
"I am not human." Valere protested, her fear taking back seat to outrage.
"You are acting like a human." Ai retorted and Valere snarled at her. "Blubbering, carrying on and all. Come on, girl. You have to be tougher than that!" Ai put just the right tone of 'get over yourself' into her voice and Valere snarled again, but then went still. "Valere?"
"You are making me mad so I don't focus on my fear." Valere sounded dumbfounded as Ai smiled at her. "I…" She gave herself a shake and nodded to Ai. "Thank you." She was calmer now. Still shivering and in the early stages of shock, but far calmer. An odd recovery, but not the oddest Ai had seen.
"You are welcome." Ai gave Valere a squeeze and then released the girl, twirling the blanket around her. "You have had a nasty shock and you should probably sit down. I am here, Valere. You are safe." She took the girl's hands in her own and gave them a squeeze.
"It felt so real." Valere said weakly as she plopped to the floor with more haste than decorum. "So terrifying. It was… They just…" She swallowed hard and Ai shook her head.
"I know." Valere stared up at the Nightstalker as Ai stared off into the distance, memories of horror surfacing. "I know what they do, girl and they won't do it to you." Steel might have bent under her tone. Torque was eyeing her but Ai only had eyes for the girl. Ai spoke to Torque without looking away form Valere. "ETA on your backup?"
"Ten minutes." Torque replied. She had slung the sub-machine gun that Ai had carried along with another that swung oddly as she moved. She had collected the fallen weapons. Smart. Ai was glad to see that the magazines were gone. Torque was odd, no question, but the Viper was a professional.
"They have a medic?" Ai demanded as she sat next to Valere who leaned into her gratefully.
"Yeah." Torque was shaking her head at this.
"Good." Ai paused and then looked at the sole door to the room. "Is this thing still in motion?"
"I can't stop this piece of..." Torque paused and looked at Valere before correcting whatever she was about to say. She continued. "…of junk without probably sinking it. Not such a good idea when we are on it."
"Agreed. Collateral damage sucks when we are part of it." Ai smirked at the Viper who nodded. "Friendly fire isn't." She heaved a sigh. "I assume your bosses won't be happy with me doing what I did any more than you are. But I wasn't about to let such an assault happen if I could stop it. I did."
"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one." Valere said weakly and went still as Ai glared at her. "I volunteered."
"I don't care." Ai snapped and now both of the others in the room were staring at her. "You are not trained or equipped for such operations. No!" She snapped harder as Valere opened her mouth to protest. "Don't even try, girl. If I hadn't been here, he would have raped you. Maybe something worse. I was here. I stopped him. End of story." Valere looked green, but then nodded slowly.
"Thank you for that." Valere said in a tiny voice. "I wouldn't have felt it until I woke, but still... Thank you."
"You are stressed." Ai shrugged. "Stress makes us all do odd things. But for what it is worth? You are welcome." She smiled at Valere as the girl managed a tiny one in response but then bent down under the blanket, conserving her body heat. Smart kid. The Nightstalker sat down beside Valere and looked at the Viper. "I assume your bosses will want to debrief me. I am hoping for some answers myself. I have no idea what happened or how I got here."
"What were you doing before you woke here?" Torque asked and stilled as Ai eyed her.
"Dying." Ai said flatly and Valere gasped and the girl's face held shock. Ai shook her head. "We accomplished our mission, but it was bad on toast. We fought hard and we did the mission, but they overran us and…" She sighed again. "Maybe a couple of my team got out. We knew going in that we had little chance, but there were kids in there. We wouldn't just leave them to die or worse. We got the kids out. That is something. I was holding the rearguard and then I was overwhelmed. I died and woke up here." She shook her head. "So… Where is here?"
"We are near the docks of City 31." Torque said slowly. "And let me guess." The Viper snarked "You have no idea what that means." Ai shook her head. The Viper clearly did not believe her, but Ai couldn't care less. "Right."
"Yeah, makes no sense to me either." Ai shrugged. "I am pretty sure I did die. I had a sucking chest wound and was bleeding out even as they grabbed me. Their standing orders have always been to take any females alive. So, we set a trap. The trap should have killed me along with them. We knew they would salivate at the thought of taking me alive." Valere stared at Ai, her face ashen and Ai nodded. "We know our enemies. They are fanatical scum, but unfortunately, they are not stupid. They cannot match us in open combat, so they found a way to make better killing machines." Valere gave a small cry and Ai reached out to pat her arm through the blanket. "Yeah."
"I…" Valere was shivering hard and Ai pulled her into the Nightstalker's lap, hugging her tight through the blanket as the girl fought her terror. "They… In my dream… They put me on a table and… I saw…"
"A plastic robot. Plastic face. Plastic hair. Plastic skin." Ai said very softly and Valere nodded, her motions jerky. Ai's tone was clinical. It almost hid her own hate and fear. "It is made to look like something called an 'action figure', but it is a robot chassis with a human brain buried deep inside."
"Cyborg." Torque said softly as Valere tried hard to keep from crying.
"Yeah." Ai shook her head. "Robots can be very powerful, but they are almost always limited by their hardware and programming. If something happens to break their programming or circumvent it, they are next to useless. A human brain is far more capable of handling the unexpected." She made a face. "After, of course, the scum wipe all the pesky things like independence and free will from it."
"Seen such." Torque clearly still didn't believe Ai, but she was not disagreeing.
"Not a good way to go, but better than what they wanted me for." Ai could not restrain a shudder herself and both of the others stared at her. "Don't ask. I am sure someone will, but I don't want to have to repeat myself."
"But… if you died…." Valere all but begged, hugging Ai back. "I don't understand!" She all but wailed that.
"Neither do I." Ai admitted. "But if Joes are here, then I will do what I have to." Both of the others jerked at her tone as raw hate sang in it. Torque didn't move and her weapon was covering Ai now. Valere was staring from the Viper to the human, her jaw dropping and Ai shook her head. "Like I say, I know my enemies. You don't."
"HQ is just going to love this." Ai shook her head as Torque snickered a little. "Then again, I want to see their reaction to this."
"You are not a nice person, Agent Torque." Valere complained.
"Nice doesn't get the job done." The Viper relented a little as Valere gave a sob. "I am sorry I failed you, Valere. The Lady will be mad."
Ai fought hard not to react, but she bet Torque saw her sudden jerk at that designation. Lady? She couldn't mean the 'Lady', could she? Ai had never met the Lady. The Ethereal had been gone before Ai had been decanted from her clone pod. And a Viper… Ai did not like where her thoughts were taking her, so she kept them to herself. She had been interested in history, but the wars had for Mega Primus taken most of her time and focus. She knew the Lady had lived in Mega Primus for a time, but then had left before the really big messes had started. The Matron had always spoken of the Lady with affection. Not quite awe, but definitely a feeling of deep respect and affection that bordered on reverence. Then again, the Lady had helped train the Matron, so… Loud 'thumps' sounded through the deck and Ai jerked, but Torque shook her hood.
"My team." The Viper was eyeing Ai who did not relax. "Calm down." Ai looked at the Viper. Looked at Valere and then looked at the open container, then back at the Viper. Her non-expression said it all. The Nightstalker wasn't about to relax here. The Viper snorted, but it was almost respectful. "Okay, be that way."
Ai wasn't sure what to expect, but when a Muton in a uniform similar to Torque's appeared in the doorway, Ai wasn't really surprised. The massive being moved with grace and skill, covering a sector as more beings filed in after him. Ai nodded approval as his gaze swept over her and he paused, clearly not sure if she was friend or foe. Then he took in the fact that she was 1) unarmed and 2) trying to console Valere and his gaze swept away, seeking threats. She wasn't an immediate threat, so inconsequential for the moment. The three beings that followed the Muton defined the word 'eclectic'. A human female, a Sectoid and a human/alien hybrid who carried an energy shield. All wearing armor that bore the same colors and badge as Torque. The Sectoid took in the scene and vanished back out the door. A guard?
"Making new friends, Torque?" The human female asked as a flying robot of some kind zoomed into hover by her shoulder.
"Can it, Terminal! Check Valere." Torque snapped and everyone seemed to tense. The other three moved to secure the area, but the female human moved to stand by Ai and Valere who was crying softly now.
"Valere is in shock." Ai said quietly as the human gave her a once over. "No wounds I can find, just terrified."
"And you are?" Terminal asked as her robot swept down and scan beams coruscated over the girl in the blanket.
"I am Ai." The Nightstalker replied curtly. "Valere is a mess. She needs help." She made to release Valere, but the girl cried out, still sobbing and Ai sighed. "Valere, let the medic work."
"Don't… Don't leave!" Valere pleaded.
"I am not going anywhere, Valere." Ai reassured the girl, aware of several gazes locked on her. Torque coughed loudly and the others went back to securing the area. "Let the medic work. I am not a medic. Let her do her job." She all but crooned the last and Valere relaxed a bit.
"She is right, Valere." The medic was gentle. Not all medics in Ai's experience were. In combat, results mattered more than feelings. Baroness Anna, the head medic of Cobra, tried to be kind, but no one sane got on her bad side. "You are a mess. Emotions are not my focus, but I can help calm you a little. Will you let me?"
"The Lady says… to let you…" Valere gasped. "I… I am a mess…" The girl sobbed as the blanket fell away a bit. Ai pulled it back up around the girl who smiled just a little.
"Ordeals like this are bad for those of us who are trained, Valere. You are not trained." Ai reassured her. "You woke up beside a dead man. Of course you are stressed."
Ai looked at Terminal who nodded and a soft hiss came from the robot. Valere gave a small gasp and then she slumped.
"Thank you." The girl snuggled close to Ai who shook her head. The girl's huge eyes closed almost of her own accord. She was all but asleep as her fear faded, the adrenaline fueled terror leaving exhaustion in its wake. "I... Please don't leave me, Ai."
"I don't know what is going to happen, Valere, but I will try not to." Ai offered as the girl all but sank into her embrace.
"You won't pass out, Valere." Terminal said firmly. "What I gave you eased you, no more. You are very tired and you need more help than I can give in the field."
"She saved me, Terminal." Valere mumbled. "The Lady pays her debts."
"'Saved'?" Terminal's soft word held reproof as she glared at Torque who seemed bit sheepish now. "Do I want to know?" She demanded of the Viper who would not meet her gaze. "Torque..."
"The guy who put her in the container was going to sexually assault her as she slept." Ai said quietly and everything seemed to stop. "I stopped him before he did."
"And these…" Terminal stared at the bloody corpses on the ground. "These do not look like Torque's work. Not nearly enough nasty green residue lying around." Ai shrugged and Terminal actually chuckled. "Damn. Just you?" The medic asked as her robot started scanning Ai.
"She dazed them with a flashbang or I would be dead." Ai retorted even as the others on the team all eyed her.
"Maybe." Torque snorted. "Guys? Do not fight her hand to hand." That was pure warning. "Zephyr could take her. Axiom might have a chance in hand to hand against her. No one else on the team would, not even me. She is well trained." The Muton eyed Ai speculatively, but the Nightstalker ignored him to eye Torque who shrugged. "You are good. They had sub-machine guns. You had a knife. They would have killed you, but you probably would have gotten them both before you died."
"Well, duh." Ai snapped, but it was humorous. Two to one odds were fairly low for Nightstalkers. The guns would have killed her at that distance, but she would have gotten them as she died. "Sorry about your op." She wasn't not really, but it was polite to say such, right?
"Nothing?" Terminal asked and Torque shook her head. "Damn."
"These were just goons." The Viper was almost a statue now. "They got their orders and payment in advance. I got that before I heard the commotion in here." She glared at Ai who ignored her. "Nothing on this piece of junk's computers except a drop off point which is likely blown by now. Whisper says Team Two will check it out anyway."
"Shelter and Patchwork might find traces." Terminal offered. "The other girls?" She asked.
"All of them are still asleep." Torque said flatly. "I gave Valere a neutralizer to wake her up and she… um…" Torque trailed off, clearly upset.
"She woke up with a dead body beside her and freaked." Ai finished and Terminal winced. "She has a right to stress."
"I will check them." Terminal was shaking her head as she and her robot moved towards the open container. "Just when I think things might be starting to make a little more sense, Torque of all people finds an incredibly dangerous stray."
"Not sure if I found her or she found me." Torque was eyeing Ai speculatively but Ai ignored her. "What is a Nightstalker?" She asked Ai who ignored her again. "You called yourself that. Ai…" Torque warned when Ai did not react.
"Some kind of sneaky soldier." The Muton was aiming his shotgun at Ai now but Ai ignored him too. "Spec ops? Black ops?"
"From the name, black." The hybrid was aiming a pistol at Ai too. Oddly enough, Torque was not aiming at Ai.
"No." Valere tried to protest, but the drug she had been given was too strong and she couldn't seem to move. "Don't!"
"Valere, it is okay." Ai reassured the girl. "They don't know me. They don't know who I am or what I am. I said too much and well…" She nodded towards the corpses. "I am what I am, Valere. I scare people. I do not intend such and I never target the defenseless like my enemies prefer to, but I do scare people." She shrugged just a little even as Valere whimpered a bit. "Easy, girl. These are not terrorists or murderers. I am not sure what they are, but they have not gunned me down out of hand."
"The day is young." Came from the Viper and Ai bit back a snort. Was Toque joking? From the looks of stunned disbelief on the other faces, that was a shock to them.
"I do not know what I can say or to who." Ai forced herself to relax and took Valere in gentle hands, easing the girl onto her lap. 'What I can say is that this is going to be a mess."
"You are obviously military, but not Reclamation, X-Com or any of the merc groups we have seen." Torque mused. Ai fought hard not to react at the name 'X-Com'. She had conflicting feelings about them. "So, when in doubt, pass the buck up."
"I won't resist." Ai reassured the Viper who shook her head. "I want answers as much as you." She looked at Valere and then at Torque "And if my enemies are here? You will need my help."
"Such is not for me to say." Torque replied even as the Muton slung his shotgun and approached Ai, hands held carefully. "HQ will decide. For now? Let's just get out of here."
"You are bleeding." The Muton said as he started to search her, careful to avoid jostling Valere. Ai glanced at her seeping wrist and shrugged.
"I will live." Ai replied even as Valere snuggled closer despite the Muton's attempts to separate her. "Valere…" Ai warned.
"Don't leave me. Please?" Valere begged and Ai shared a helpless look with the Muton. The girl was clinging and resisting every effort to extricate her from Ai's lap. Neither wanted to hurt her, so...
This was likely going to be a LONG day.