[You Interviewing Amalie]
"Hmm, what could you possibly be talking about?" She said with a grin. "I have absolutely 'nooooo' idea who this 'Gordan Freeman is… though now that you mention that name, I do recall something about playing a 'video game'… yes video game when I was here on Earth."
She twirled her pistol one more time before holstering it and slipping out of her armor a disc.
"They never 'did' figure out what happened with their precious… 'Half Life Three'. I believe they just never 'officially' released it." She chuckled again as she slipped the disc back into her armor. "If only they knew…"
She smiled warmly as she pulls the pistol out once again and began to hold it. "Speaking of knowing things, you probably want to know how exactly I… uh… how do you put it…. 'fell' for my friend? Well… when you spend so much time living in the shadow of the Elders' rule, not knowing if what one says is truth or lie, you become attached to the few truths you get to know."
"Back when we were just friends, I just felt like I could trust him. When I came back, and he controlled me, even though he was manipulating my mind, I knew deep down that he wasn't doing it just for himself."
She smiled lovingly as she stared at the pistol.
"His freedom was 'my' salvation… and I would pay any price to be truly free, for even one minute."
= Chapter 11, Remembrance =
(Inside an unknown chamber)
Several steel platforms surrounded a central pillar, from which a strange purple aura emitted. Silence ruled the vast chamber as the massive walls reflected the purple light across the room, giving an unearthly appearance.
Then, all at once, three mighty pillars of purple light erupted in a triangle formation, and from each of the three pillars of light, various mechanical entities appeared.
From the northern most pillar of light emerged a mighty walker, covered in four anti-personal plasma guns and carrying powerful shields upon its back.
From the eastern most pillar of light appeared an extremely tall and elongated walker, with an enlarged chassis and sporting a massive artillery cannon on its underbelly.
And from the western most pillar of light, stormed dozens upon dozens of small sleek and heavily armed and armored hovering 'tanks', each armed with multiple weapons for war.
[Well doesn't this just scream about a meeting!] D.L. Infinity declared, to which all of the other tanks nodded in agreement. [And here I was getting ready to prepare some oil and cookies!]
The Sectopod known as E.C. 1 took a giant step toward D.L. Infinity. [Watch your words D.L. Infinity, our masters have called us here for a reason! So, you best be on your best behavior less 'we' suffer for 'your' problems.]
[MY problems, who's bright idea was it to LET THEM GET AWAY, WHEN WE HAD THEM CORNERED?] They all screamed in unison.
The Sectopod referred to as C.X. 2 rotated itself to stare at D.L. Infinity as well. [Probability to XCOM Forces receiving and expecting reinforcements within mission zone controlled by E.C. 1… calculated only at 7.92% likely. Situational probability of operation failing… 0.91% likely based on all concurrent data.]
[Oh, so its now 'my' fault C.X. 2?] E.C. 1 asked, turning to aim its front at it now. [You gave me a very low chance of it happening, based on that probability I acted accordingly! You should have fully analyzed the battlefield data and given me a higher chance, so I could plan the operation with that knowledge!]
[Negative, Unit E.C. 1 should have left this unit in charge of Mission Operation L-42-B15, instead of sending this unit to mission zone K-55-G22!] It replied.
[And you both shouldn't have stuck me with the job of staying in the sewers, to cover 'your' mistakes!] D.L. Infinity shouted, rotating their barrels and switching to heavy anti-armor weapons.
At D.L Infinity's actions, E.C. 1 took a step backward and aimed several targeting lasers and charged up its shields. C.X. 2 reacted too, opening its chassis and preparing to launch several recon-drones and charged up its primary artillery cannon.
Before a single shot could be fired though, the center of the platform, where the purple aura seemed to emanate, burst asunder and took on the form of a tall robed individual wearing a head-dress that concealed its entire body.
(Silence!) It declared, in a voice of a thousand that spoke as one. (All of you… will be 'silent'!)
All three turned to the individual and stood down their weapons, each one bending or lowering itself at the appearance of the entity.
(Each of you, have been created with our blessings! Each of you created with a greater purpose than any other being we have uplifted! Greater than our wisest, greater than our strongest, and greater than our most knowledgeable of children!) It said, as flashes of past creations, Sectoids, Vipers, Mutons, Crysalids, and a host of other creatures and machines. (Of them all you were truly the most gifted and privileged of all our past creations. Of them all… you 'three' were given the greatest purpose of all… the reclamation of our 'greatest asset'… stolen from us many years ago! Your purpose and mission were our greatest hope…)
There was silence as it left those words hanging…
(And you have greatly… disappointed us!) It said with quiet, seething anger. (Why… has this 'simple task'… not been achieved by the greatest of our achievements and most privileged of our charges?)
All three of the AIs looked to each other before one of D.L. Infinity floated upward to stare into their master, turret to mask.
[Your excellency… an answer can be provided.] It said. [You see, we had them cornered… trapped within the abandoned human city. At our mercy and completely helpless!] It then turned to stare at C.X 2 and E.C. 1. [But then these 'BUMBLERS', in their 'infinite wisdom' decided instead of capturing the target and then working from there, they decided to proceed with their stupid 'plan' to weaken him!]
[Plan coordination was carried out properly, all probabilities of actions taken by XCOM calculated…] C.X 2 said.
[Indeed, as my counterpart said, we had a plan and it was going accordingly. What we failed to predict… were the most 'unknown elements'… such as our cohort's inability to 'watch his temper!] E.C. 1 said. [If he had stayed calm instead of lashing out at simple words, the XCOM force we had trapped would not have escaped and we would have been able to achieve victory, according to plan!]
[Don't even THINK of trying to pin this failure one me you oversiGAHAAAAAAA!]
The entity in the center's mask shifted and psionic energy erupted, shocking D.L. Infinity with enormous energy. The shock was felt by the other D.L. Infinity tanks, and all of them screamed in pain at the shock.
The shock ended as the mini tank was flung to the ground and landed, smoking and sparking. Both E.C. 1 and C.X. 2 watched D.L. Infinity the entire time that happened.
[The blame is all of ours… if D.L. Infinity is to be punished then we 'all'… should be…]
(Silence!) The entity said. (Do not attempt to dissuade our thoughts. While you have all 'failed' your ultimate purpose, this is not something that we did not foresee! For as you have failed, you can still be redeemed… you are still our greatest achievement and your purpose is still the greatest of all.)
(Our time upon this world is drawing to a close, yet we need not abandon in entirely. Your ultimate purpose is to continue to reclaim our greatest asset and return to us that which we have lost! Should you succeed, unto you we will bestow this entire world for you to claim!) The mask opened up once more and this time they heard the collective words of the Elders speaking as one. (Your mission remains the same, reclaim our asset, failure is not accepted, NOW GO!)
As one all of the AIs and the image of the Elder vanished, in bright pillars of purple energy.
(Amalie's PoV)
"This is insane, you want us to plug that chip back into you, and transfer the Commander's mind into you? Not only that, you want us to then transfer his chip into another Gremlin 'while' he's still inside your head and 'then' transfer him out?" Shen asked incredulously. "I don't even want to think of what could happen if we attempted the procedure, let alone fail it!"
"As you said so yourself, we are out of time, and our options extremely limited." She stated in her 'facts of matter' tone. "He is dying, and we must do what we can to save his life. I will not simply stand by and allow my friend, your commander, to die without lifting a finger to save him."
At that Central Bradford put his hand to his face, almost looking exhausted. "This is insane." He muttered, mirroring Shen's words. "You want us to put that chip that the elders used to control you, and put it back into you, and then put the Commander's mind into 'it' while it's inside 'you'. Do you want us to just hand his mind over to them on a silver platter? Because that's exactly what you're asking us to do!"
"While that is the original intention of the chip, a means of communication between higher members of Advent's military to their lower field units, as well as transmitting enormous data across vast distances, with minor adjustments I can disable its primary function and allow it to act as a two-way communicator between the Commander's psionic chip and hers." Tygan said. "Though I must implore you, that is not what the original function of the chip, so I have no idea how effective it will be."
"Ugh, even if we do that, how could we convince the Commander's mind to go from Chip 1 to Chip 2, it's not like he's fully aware of his own surroundings now." Shen said in frustration. "That last shock his Gremlin took fried most of his circuits, as it stands he's barely alive, let alone conscious of his surroundings."
"Indeed, my scans indicate that his brain's psionic activity is extremely sporadic, his mind is attempting to sustain mental activity, but his Gremlin body is unable to maintain any conscious action for longer than a few minutes." Tygan responded. "If we are to do something to save him, it has to be soon, his Gremlin body cannot keep going for much longer, even with assistance."
"I don't like the idea of putting our Commander's mind into your brain, even if it would only be temporary!" Central stated.
"While you stand here debating, your Commander is dying not ten feet away." She hissed angrily. "If you want him to die then go ahead, debate, think, come up with a 'miracle solution' and let his mind whither away into nothingness. I have an option that can be implemented now and has a chance to save him! So, unless you 'want' him to die I suggest you hurry up and prepare for the procedure, as we have little time!"
With that she turned and left the three humans to return to her friend's side.
She looked at the feeble form of his Gremlin, battered and bruised, barely functioning as it tried to sustain her friend's life. What was once simply a tool to help him coordinate his forces better, became a new prison for his mind not dissimilar to the suit he was kept in stasis. But now the Gremlin was damaged beyond repair, and unless they acted quickly, he would soon expire.
She glanced over at the full body pod which contained his 'real' body, and almost snarled in frustration.
"Why the… what is appropriate word?" She asked herself before shrugging and cursing in her own language. "- did you have to take that bullet to your Gremlin and get yourself trapped in that little mechanical body."
She had to admit, while she loved her friend, he made some dumb decisions from time to time.
After a few hours of arguing, Shen, Tygan and Central eventually agreed to Amalie's plan. It was their only real chance of saving the Commander. While Tygan prepared Amalie for the procedure, Shen got all of the engineers on the ship who weren't doing anything and even pulled some from their duties to create a new generation 4 Gremlin for the Commander. It took them all of six hours but eventually all parties were ready, with Amalie now sporting a slight headache as she felt her implant once more in her head.
But before she would go under, she pulled her daughter, the first one 'liberated' by XCOM aside to give her some instructions.
"Yes, Hierarch Mother?" Mercy asked her as she waited outside the lab.
She contemplated her thoughts, thinking very hard on her decision. While earlier she had been adamant in going about this procedure, now that it was upon her, it was another thing entirely to go in without a backup plan. She knew the risks, and while she was willing to accept them, it was another thing to go in and not think of the fate of her species.
She may have condemned hundreds of thousands of her kind to death over the last few decades, but she was 'still' Hierarch Mother of the 'Free' Vipers. She had to think of their future, even if it was one without her.
"Uh, Hierarch Mother?" Mercy asked again. "Is there something you need of me?"
She glanced at her daughter, looking quite nervous as she eyed her leader while waiting outside the lab.
"Yes, my apologies my daughter, I was lost in thought…" She hissed in their language, turning to look into the lab where Shen was busying herself with final preparations for the procedure. "Very lost in thought indeed, I have gambled my entire species' future upon these humans. A gamble which, so far, hasn't fully paid off yet but if we don't play our part it will indeed spell the end of us."
Mercy looked in as well at the scene. "What do we do, if we cannot save him Mother?"
She smiled sadly as she looked at Mercy, "What I am going to do is everything I can to save him, no matter the outcome he will most likely survive." She hissed proudly. "However, there is a chance that 'I' will not survive…" She was silent for a while to let that sink in. "If the worst should happen… 'you' my daughter of many, will be named the next Hierarch Mother."
"Me?!" Mercy hissed in shock and fear. "Surely, there must be others more qualified, there must be a better candidate, I cannot possibly le-."
"This alliance between us and the humans must last." She hissed instantly, cutting her off. "It must last, and it must work if we are to survive this war. The elders only allowed us to be because we followed them willingly, now that we have rebelled they will no doubt slaughter us as they do the humans, using 'clones' of us to supplement their forces." She smiled proudly at her 'Mercy' as she was called. "You are the first one accepted by them, you are the best example of a working relationship between Humans and Vipers, of all my daughters you Mercy are the most qualified to maintain this alliance in my absence."
The first duty of the Hierarch Mother is to be an inspiration to her daughters, and of what her species should strive to be." She said with a grin, patting her daughter's head in traditional Earth Fashion. "If the worst happens to me, you will inspire your sisters, who will be your daughters, to work alongside and with humans as I have. It must be you who maintains this alliance… so I have said, so you shall be… if the worst happens to me."
With that declaration made she slithered away and prepared to enter the lab.
"But what happens to the Hierarch Father if the procedure fails!?" She asked suddenly.
At that Amalie stopped, looked back, and grinned.
"If that happens, at least I'll finally have gotten him 'inside me'." She chuckled before slipping into the medical lab.
"Ah, Amalie, are you ready to begin?" Tygan asked her.
"Let's just get this over with." She hissed, taking her spot on one of the beds.
Moments later Shen walked over to the Commander's Gremlin and slowly undid the latches to his frame. "We're ready over here." She said.
"Amalie, though this is your idea, I should warn you, that if the worst happens and we can't get the Commander's psionic signature out of your brain while both of you are 'under', his psionic signature will no doubt overwrite yours in an attempt to save itself. If that happens, it will be impossible to save 'you', in essence, the Commander's mind will inhabit your body instead. If that happens, I doubt that even returning him to his original body will bring you back. Are you sure you wish to go through the procedure?"
She rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Just get on with it already, before I do it myself."
Tygan nodded and pulled out needle filled with a light blue liquid. "Inducing sleep now." He said, before pressing it against her neck and injecting her.
She felt it taking effect and the world around her growing fuzzy and faint, and she took her last conscious look over at table beside her. Lying atop it was the Commander's Gremlin, her friend…
'Twinkle… twinkle… little star…' She thought. 'How I… wonder… how… long… you… … …'
(Shen's PoV)
Shen watched as the Viper queen's vitals dropped to minimal levels before Tygan moved over and began activating several commands.
"Subject is in stasis, I am now linking the Commander's chip and Amalie's chip together… attempting to coax his Psionic Signature into her chip now."
He pressed a few commands on the console and it showed a purple energy pattern flowing from the image of a Gremlin, into the image of Amalie. Visually she saw a faded purple aura seem to float from his Gremlin body and toward Amalie, wrapping itself around the area where her Psionic Chip was sitting inside her head. For a few seconds it just floated there, and she watched with baited breath, hoping that his subconscious knew what they were trying to do and would cooperate.
Moments later it seemed to evaporate away from the sleeping Viper, and she was afraid it would return to his own psionic chip, but then it settled into her skull and disappeared.
She sighed in relief, the easy part was over, now came the hard part, her job.
"Alright Tygan, keep an eye on those consoles, and let me and my team get to work on this Gremlin." She said as she gingerly picked up the Gremlin and moved it over to a workstation in the lab. "Alright team let's open this up…"
But while she slowly opened up the Commander's Gremlin to begin extracting his psionic chip, inside Amalie's mind her brain was becoming extremely active.
=Inside Amalie's Mind=
(Amalie's PoV)
"Approaching planetary coordinates, time to target zone?"
[Knofteeen Kilmotons]
"I'm behind schedule, my Hierarch Mother will slaughter me if I don't reach my target zone on time…" She hissed to herself. "Position on the other pods?"
[Helmiftun Pnoften, Izgoon noft poraften]
"Of course, I'm last…" She growled as she punched in commands. "Never mind safety procedures or targeting procedures, just take me in! Set course for the closest settlement that isn't near any of the other infiltrator's locations!"
[Hshar nafteez meez!]
At her command her shuttle pod dove toward the blue ball planet, the target of the Elder's next plan. They had plans for this world, their wish to uplift the species and make them theirs in exchange. Much like how her species was uplifted.
As she entered the atmosphere her view of the world became enflamed, and her vessel shook from the intense heat of entry. Yet she channeled power from the engines to the stabilizing thrusters to control her descent.
Soon the flames died down and she had her first look at the world below her.
"Activate cloak mode!"
At her command her vessel activated an onboard cloaking field which shielded it from vision, it was a technology that was meant to be reserved for the Elder's vessel, but for the sake of gathering information on the natives of this world she and other first line infiltrators were granted access to it.
As for her destination she had chosen to enter on the dark side of the world, hoping the lack of light would mask her from the natives.
Apparently though, her entry was discovered as seconds later explosions appeared in front of her.
'Boom, bdooom, bdoompffbtbtbtb…'
All around her explosive devices erupted around her, causing her to panic and assume manual control over the ship.
"Damage report?" She yelled.
[Nofteees hisssmotoff, jsssschtoof miftoospah]
"How was I discovered, none of the other infiltrators reported being spotted on entry?" She asked in panic.
As she flew through the barrage of detonations and explosions, she witnessed that most of them were taking place all over her screens. Judging from her instruments she saw the explosions were being launched from residential areas that she had scanned. This puzzled her extremely, as she did not expect such living locations to be heavily armed or even capable of detecting her. This was why she had picked one of these locations for her landing, to avoid being detected.
Suddenly an explosion wracked her vessel and she heard warning beacons spam her ears.
[Egnoos hiftoomara, egnoos hiftoomara!]
"My engines are offline, how could they hit me directly!?" She screamed as she tried to maintain control. "All remaining power to ventral stabilizers!"
It was all she could do, a controlled descent.
Within a few moments she nose-dived into the ground and crash landed near a residential living area, specifically in the back location of a native dwelling.
Then she heard the sound of her vessel's cloaking field turning off."
"What was the point of that if these natives can detect me?" She asked sourly.
Seeing her ship was not working, and that she had landed, she decided to get on with her mission. She grabbed the psionic deviance device, a creation of the Elders to twist the minds of the nearby natives to believe whatever she told them. It was a tool designed to help them infiltrate and learn all they could.
She would need it to keep her ship out of sight, long enough to repair it, including gathering intelligence for the Elders.
She hoped her genetic modifications done to her before she left for this world would be enough to fool the natives, but if not, at least she had this device to work with. With that she kicked the shuttle pod door open and stumbled out. In the distance she heard explosions and saw to her wonder, the explosions that caused her to crash land.
They were still going off in the sky around her, and to her confusion they were not targeting where she was or even where she figured she would go. They simply seemed to be firing 'anywhere', but the explosions didn't seem to be for shooting her down. They were too elaborate, they were far more colorful and far less 'lethal' and inefficient for what she figured was deemed military worthy by this species' technological achievements.
It was almost like they were simply for 'show'.
"Wooohooo, yeeeea look at the size of that one!" She heard someone call in the distance.
She turned and ran to a nearby fence and looked over it and saw several 'humans' pointing up into the sky. She smelled meat and cooked food and saw them eating something while pointing at the sky and even watched one of the younger humans ignite something, before running away.
"Wooooo and… THERE IT GOOOOOOES!" They said, before the 'thing' flew off into the sky, and exploded, creating a dazzling explosion of colors that awed her.
"Happy fourth of July everyone!"
"Hey, get me another hot dog!"
She was most puzzled, what was the point of these explosions, was it some… celebration? Was it a ceremony, why did they find enjoyment by seeing things explode?
She didn't know, but she was realizing that they had shot her down not on purpose, but by sheer accident. And it was obvious that they didn't even know she was there.
"Hey, who are you?" Someone said very close to her, causing her to turn around.
Behind her was a native, young by the looks of it, looking at her in confusion even as she looked at him in both confusion and 'fear'.
"Hello… uh… I'm nobody!" She said with a feign smile.
The boy looked at her in confusion. "Why are you dressed so funny?" He asked.
She looked at him and noticed he had outer 'things' which she guessed was what he referred to as 'dressed'. Then she glanced down at her own body and realized that she wasn't properly blending in with them.
First thing she did though was take her device and activate it.
"I'm nobody, you don't see me, and you won't tell anyone about me alright?" She said in a suggestive way, using her training on the device and how it worked to manipulate the human's mind.
The boy looked at her even more confused now. "Why would I do that, are you in trouble?" He asked. "What is that, is that a space ship, are you an alien?"
'By the Elders… I'm dead…' She thought after a few moments.
Her first mission, her first chance to show off for her mother, as proof that she was the Hierarch Mother's daughter, and next in line by birthright… and she gets shot down by 'accident', gets caught off guard by a 'child native', and now realizes that her device isn't going to work on this native because his mind isn't fully developed yet enough for it to work.
She couldn't hide herself from him, if he told anyone she was going to be in trouble. She had only one hope now… play along.
"Yea… I would be in 'big' trouble, yes!" She said with a giggle. "You know, I'd be in veeeeeery big trouble being an alien from space, so please… promise you won't tell anyone?"
There was a moment's hesitation where she feared for her life and tried to figure out a way to kill this native and hide the evidence if the worst happened. Then he smiled and nodded.
"Alright, but you have to agree to be my friend then!" He said.
"Eh… friend?" She asked.
"Yea, a friend, someone who trusts someone else and helps them when they need it!" He said. "I'll help you, so you'll be my friend, alright?"
She weighed the options and decided there was no harm in this agreement, at least it would buy her time to remain undercover.
"But why me in particular?" She asked.
"I don't have friends really, nobody seems to want to trust me, so if you'll trust me to keep your secret I'll be your friend because I trust you with my secret, and you'll be my friend because of that!" He said, now extending his hand toward her. "So how about it, will you be my friend?"
She looked at the hand and then at him, before nodding and extending her own hand.
'My first… 'friend'…' She thought warmly. 'How that moment… changed me… forever.'
(Central's PoV)
"Look at all these burnt out memory boards."
"Vwe iz going to needs to move fast ya?"
"Yep, start cutting, we need to cut out the burnt memory cores in order to clear enough space to safely extract the psionic chip." Shen said, being handed a plasma cutter from Rover. "Aright, setting nine, maximum precision, and watch where you aim…"
While Shen worked on the Gremlin he walked over to Tygan and looked at the console. "How's it going?" He asked.
"So far so good, as it stands at least, though I'm noticing increased activity in Amalie's cerebral cortex, particular the frontal lobe on the eastern hemisphere of her brain. My guess is, the increased activity seems to be a result of her and the Commander's intermingling consciousnesses." He said.
"Is it something to worry about?" He asked.
"No, for the most part." He said, tapping the screen and bringing up a diagram of two psionic signatures. "It's more likely an exchange of data between the two, perhaps they are simply reliving old memories. It's safe to say that Amalie is probably bringing up past events to keep her own consciousness grounded and stable, while also ensuring the Commander's mind remains active enough in her own mind to survive the procedure."
"Hmmm, wonder what they could be dreaming..." He commented.
=Inside Amalie's Mind=
(Amalie's PoV)
"What are you playing?" She asked her friend as he eagerly opened up a new game box for his 'Nintendo 64' as it was called.
"Wave Race 64!" He declared eagerly.
She watched him curiously as he popped in the game into the console, familiar with console as a 'time waster'.
It was indeed a time waster, as she learned days before how long it took to pull herself away from the device just to affect some minor repairs to her ship. She's been stranded in this area outside of a major population center for just over a week now, and while she's failed to learn a lot about humans, she's observed quite a bit with her friend as a major test subject.
It was also a good thing that her friend was an only child, as she had to use her device to keep the parents under her 'suggestive' control.
Speaking of them, "Hey son, do you and Amalie want me to pick up anything while I'm heading out?"
"No thanks mom!" He said.
"Yes, as 'he' said, we don't require anything!" She said.
"Okay, make sure you move your pretend space ship though, my husband needs to bring the car in tonight!" She said in a sweet voice.
"As you wish!"
Humans were so easy to manipulate, at least the adults were. The children were much more aware and more in tune with their surroundings then the adults she noticed. Despite how developed their minds were, they seemed to zone out so much more as adults then they do as children. She had used this to her advantage and used her device to give everyone around the neighborhood the impression that she was a 'foreign exchange student' who liked to play pretend 'space ship mechanic' in her free time.
But she put that aside and watched her friend play his new game and was quite surprised to see 'water' so detailed in the game. At least she believed it to be water, which later was confirmed when her friend said how 'cool' the water looked and how real it was.
"And up we goooo!" He called out as he rode one wave as high as he could…
And promptly fell off the wave-racer.
"Is that how water looks?" She asked.
"Pretty much, though real waves look even better!" He said as he kept on racing, now trying to surf around 'Dolphin Park' as it was called. "Why do you ask?"
"I've never seen water before…" She remarked. "Where my Hierarch Mother comes from, there is hardly any water to be found across the planet. It is so rare that… it is almost priceless."
"We got water all over the place here!" He said.
She watched him do some more wave rides and decided to go and do some more 'research' about political structures and human civil habits, before she was called back by him.
"Hey you wanna try? Its real fun!"
She glanced back at the console and looked over at the garage door where her ship sat parked. She should seriously be investigating who oversaw this city or at least who the 'leaders' were across the world, especially their languages. She was only lucky her translator was functioning.
But… those waves looked 'fun'… even if they weren't real.
"Sure!" She said, before hopping down and grabbing the controller from him.
She could waste a few minutes, there was no hurry, the information wasn't going anywhere…
Moments later she saw a 'dolphin' as it was called jump in front of her, and intrigued she began racing toward it. "Bew, bew!" It called to her as it did a 'fin stand' in the water, before diving forward.
Taking the invitation, she followed it and it began taking her around the island in the game, where she jumped a few waves, performed some tricks, and listened to the fake crowd cheer her on!
Before she knew it though an hour flew by while she and her friend played the game, and she and he both had to do 'chores' before his mother came back. While he had to clean up the dishes, she went back to her ship and began to access the network database the humans call 'the internet'. Her first instinct was to begin looking up national leaders, but then she remembered the 'dolphin' in the game and was curious about it.
So, she looked up dolphins instead.
"Amazing…" She whispered to herself as she read the data they had on the species.
They were so intelligent, such beautiful creatures, both mammal and aquatic, breathing air to live while living their whole lives in the water. Reading up on dolphins lead her to looking up similar species, and she found whales, different species of whales. Humpback whales, Killer whales, Beluga whales, all kinds of whales. The sea itself was alive, teeming with thousands of species alone…
"So much 'life' in just the water…" She marveled, wondering how this plant could have so much life without needing the Elder's to uplift it?
'I never knew water… never touched it… never felt it… but that day… I 'loved' just the word water… all I wanted then was to swim in the water…'
'Water, that on my world… was as rare as the rarest element known to be found on Earth…'
(Shen's PoV)
"Good job everyone, keep it slow and steady…" She said while slowly cutting away another memory card.
"These vires are fused togesther Shen, it's a mess inz here!"
"Take it slow then, cut the wires at the ends and pick them apart one at a time…" She said, not taking her eyes off the memory card she was working on.
She sliced away another piece of the card and used a pair of pliers to tug out the remnants. As she did she saw what her target was, the psionic chip that Tygan had pulled out of the Commander, and then was instructed by him to put back in but after reworking it for their purposes.
"There you are you little piece of shit…" She growled. "All the way down there and buried underneath all this crap."
She looked around at her engineers and nodded.
"Alright everyone, slow and steady wins the race, don't go too deep, and watch your cutting plasma burners' lengths."
Taking her own advice, she dialed back the length and began cutting at another memory card.
=Inside Amalie's Mind=
(Amalie's PoV)
She had to admit, after two weeks of being here, there were things she found fascinating about humans. Their 'daily lives', the things they make, the food they cook and eat, the 'entertainment' they produced and enjoyed. She found how they interact with each other fascinating and found how different humans can have vastly different characteristics. Her friend was shy, not very talkative, preferring to follow the lead instead of taking command and play things safe instead of taking risks. She liked that about him…
This was quite different compared to the human he and she were now stuck with as a babysitter.
"Alright you kids, the fun's about to begin!" Her friend's cousin yelled loudly as he revved his car's engine and took off down the street.
"Uh Kevin, are you sure this is safe?" Her friend asked nervously as they picked up speed.
"Course it is little cuz!" He yelled back.
"Because I think we're going the wrong way!"
She nodded in fear as they passed by a 'one way' sign, and all the cars parked were pointing the other direction.
"Perhaps we should turn around?" She asked hopefully, hoping her device would put some suggestive 'sense' into this insane human.
"And spoil the fun cuz's friend?" He hooted. "Here we go, first ride for my driver's license, and they said I'd never pass!"
She learned more about her device, it had its limitations, not only did it not work on underdeveloped minds like her friend, it also couldn't use its full effects on brains that are high on a dopamine rush from their body.
They soared past three cars all beeping and hollering at them. Soon she heard sirens screaming and flashing behind them.
"What's our speed?" She asked in fear, clutching her seatbelt as if her life depended on it.
"80 Miles per hooooour!" He laughed.
"Why are we going the wrong way!?" Her friend begged.
"Because it adds to the challenge!"
"Can we pleeeease stop!?" She begged.
"Why do that, this is where the fun begins!"
"This isn't fuuuuuun!"
"This isn't fuuuuuun!"
Yes, she learned a great many things that day. She learned of what Police do, she learned of what the news did, she learned how she and her friend had ended up on 'World's Wildest Police Videos' that week, and she learned just how far up the chain she had to go to manipulate so nobody knew who she and her friend were.
She learned what 'fun' was and wasn't.
And she learned never to trust anyone below the age of twenty with driving her or her friend around ever again.
But she also learned about how much trust humans have in 'family', because even though her cousin got stuck on probation, he took the full blame and even covered up for her and his little cousin so that he didn't get in trouble. After all, the idea to go out for a joyride was 'his' idea, she and he wanted to do something fun besides play games that day and so they asked him to take them on a joyride.
They did not realize though, that a joyride for someone meant something else to another. His cousin being an idiot, wanted to show off his 'elite' driving skills and go speeding down the street with the wind in their hair. He was an idiot, but a 'cool' and caring idiot, as even though they had been running from the police, when he knew their lives were at risk he stopped and turned himself in without a moment's thought. Though in hindsight she could have gone through the day without that 'rush'…
Still, she had to admit, that was quite the rush she had that day…
'Damn fine human he was… stupid, but fine… my second favorite human of all time~!'
(Mercy's PoV)
Mercy stared into the lab from the hallway of the ship, simply hoping that her Hierarch Mother would awaken. She was hoping that the procedure would go well, that her species mother would wake up, that nothing bad would happen and that everything would be back to 'normal' on this ship.
But at the back of her mind she just began preparing herself for the mission her Hierarch Mother had imposed on her. If she was to lead, she would have to be brave, she would have to inspire her sisters, soon-to-be daughters if the worst happens, and show them how they were to live. That meant getting along with the humans, forming a symbiotic relationship with them, and…
She gulped and blushed inwardly at the next thought.
Breeding the next Generation of Hierarch Mother for her species with who she deemed worthy and having the best genes for her species' needs.
"How are they doing?" She heard Hawkeye ask her from her left side.
She glanced at him before returning her attention to her Hierarch Mother's still form. "So far nothing has changed, she sleeps with him inside her." She hissed quietly.
There was silence as they stood there, watching as Chief Engineer Shen cut away more pieces of fried and destroyed memory cards within the Commander's Gremlin.
"I hope this works, no offence to your leader but, I don't think I want to be looking at her face knowing that its my Commander's mind sitting inside it." He commented. "That will be so awkward for him, I don't think he'll ever get over it. Being removed from your body and stuck in a machine is one thing, being removed and put inside of an alien's that is of the opposite gender than you are is another. He doesn't want to be in that machine any longer than he must, can you imagine him being stuck inside of his 'girlfriend's' body?"
"I agree… but not for those reasons…" She replied. "If that happens, I'll be made next Hierarch Mother."
"You?"
"Me… she told me that was her wish… if worst happens." She muttered sadly. "I don't know if I'm ready for that… how can my sisters possibly follow me?" She looked over at him with a terrified expression, hoping for him to give her some shred of courage. "I 'fled' for my life, I abandoned my sisters, left them to extinction. Yes it was all part of her plan but, for me it was real, I 'left' them… all so I could live another… miserable day of existence. How can I ever hope to lead them as she did?"
Before he could answer she slithered closer to him and held him, taking comfort in his body heat and scent.
"She led our species, guided us to this point, sacrificed for the greater good of our species and orchestrated our rebellion with your Commander all in the shadow of Advent and playing the role of his enemy and their puppet. She and he played everyone like… like… 'fiddle' and them the musicians. What have I done that could even compare?" She hissed softly. "What have I done, run and beg for my life, betray and turned against my own kind, put my own life above others around me for my own selfishness? How does that qualify me for being made next Hierarch Mother?"
She simply stood there and sniffed him, hoping his scent would calm her fears and worries, but it wasn't exactly working. The longer she thought the worse they became.
Then she felt Hawkeye hug her in return, causing her to look up at him.
"I don't know Mercy, but…" He said warmly. "If she's anything like the Commander, she has her reasons. And if she says you're the next leader of your species then that's what you are, and if there is anything I can do, I'll help you however I can."
"You will help me?" She asked, already knowing his answer was 'yes'.
"Yes, I will Mercy, if those two can work together so well while barely talking to each other for years and get our two species this far, I think the two of us working side by side will do just as good if not better." He said.
She smiled happily at those words and leaned in with him as he proceeded to gently kiss her on her lips.
Such a simple act, kissing him, and yet for some reason, the act alone gave her hope and courage.
'He is right, if my Hierarch Mother and Father can do all this with barely a few words to each other for years. What could me and my 'Mate' accomplish together?'
Suddenly she saw flashing lights from inside the lab and pulled away to see what was going on.
Tygan and Central were staring at a console while Tygan worked on a datapad frantically.
(Central's PoV)
"What's happening?" He asked.
"It's their psionic signatures, the link between them has lasted too long and it's starting to affect Amalie's Cerebral Cortex." He said. "Their patterns have been connected within her mind for too long, they're starting to merge and there's not enough space for the two. The Commander's psionic signature is attempting to override hers to save itself!"
"Separate their signatures then, we need to keep them separated until Shen finishes pulling his Psionic Chip out!"
Tygan quickly grabbed a syringe and pressed the liquid inside of it into Amalie's neck, before activating several command functions on the nearby console. On the screen the warning lights highlighting the two signatures began to change back to normal, as the two merging patterns swiftly separated again.
He breathed a sigh of relief. "That was close, we almost lost one of them, and the Commander almost got stuck inside of her body as a permanent resident."
"Indeed." Tygan agreed. "Shen, I do not mean to rush you, but I do not know how much longer I can keep their psionic patterns separated."
"Will you shut up and let me work!" She growled while gently tugging another chunk of burnt electronic out of the Gremlin Shell. "This is hard enough without you two badgering me!"
Meanwhile behind them, the console showing the mental activity inside of Amalie's brain showed yet another surge in activity.
=Inside Amalie's Mind=
(Amalie's PoV)
Amalie sat in the movie theatre with her friend, enjoying the 'popcorn' that his parents had bought. The salty yet chalky flavor of the treat had enticed her mouth, it was so very unlike the standard food that they ate at mealtimes. It was also 'very' unlike the food she had brought to sustain her while undercover.
As the final fight scene played out of the move 'Power Rangers', she took a sip of the next treat that she enjoyed, a cup of 'soda'. The sugary treat was amazing, a fizzy drink that made her have a very strange flavor in her mouth, but more importantly…
She hiccupped.
She enjoyed the bubbly flavor that it gave her.
It was so amazing, she loved how this movie trip was going. She hadn't seen a movie and, upon telling the family she was hiding with that she had never seen a movie, they decided to go see the last showing of the movie Power Rangers. It was a new power ranger's movie based on the classic series with a modern spinoff, and it looked awesome.
"Now that was a movie!" Her friend said.
"I still say the classics are better." The father said.
"Are all movies like that?" She asked eagerly.
"No, that's just one movie, there are hundreds of movies every year." Her friend said.
"I want to see all of them!"
How cool was that, there were way more movies available to be seen, stories she wanted to see. Sure, the Power Rangers weren't real but, that giant mech, those other mechs they used, the thought that people fought for things 'above their own lives'. She had seen other movies too, movies that looked like ancient medieval that had a mix of 'magic' and 'fantasy. She just wanted to see 'all' of them!
As they sat down in the food court, and ordered food, she was very careful to ensure her mind scrambling device was turned to maximum power. She had to mess with the local security to ensure that anywhere she went the cameras were turned off, to ensure no record of her being there with her 'family' existed.
She had to do this because her device only worked on humans, not technology.
When they got their food, she was eating a slice of 'pizza' and enjoying a cup of 'coke' as it was called. She loved it, the hot and 'cheesy' flavor, mixed with bread and sauce that gave it a spiciness. Combined with the soda's sweet and cold flavor, made their lunch all the more delicious! It was only made better because she and her friend were talking excitedly about their favorite moments in the movie.
"And then when the big bad guy came in for an attack, they just went POW and gave it an uppercut!" Her friend said hyped.
"Oh, oh oh and did you see the look on that one girl's face when they kicked him in the face in 'slow motion'." She hissed excitedly. "Noooooooooo blaaaagh!"
They both laughed and pretended to make the face as if they were getting punched in slow motion.
As she laughed though, she felt a twinge in her heart, as she looked at her friend. She still smiled but something deep inside her felt guilty, here she was, enjoying herself alongside these humans, eating their food and enjoying their entertainment. And she was supposed to be a 'spy', learning to infiltrate them so that future infiltrators could come here.
Hours later when she sat in her ship, looking over the very old and outdated logs of her notes, regarding her knowledge of human leadership and national language as well as other details… she found herself unable to correct or even bother with it.
She didn't like this, she didn't want to pretend to be human anymore. She hated pretending, but what else could she do? She barely looked human, her disguise was only temporary, a genetic alteration to give her the appearance. Without the Elder's device she would be spotted instantly out of the crowd.
"Waldo can hide better than me, and he looks 'stupid'!" She muttered.
She hated her life now, with the Elders she was nothing… not even worth mentioning, only her Mother and Father appreciated her and she hasn't seen him in ages, her Mother would have skinned her alive if she failed to reach the planet. But here…
She glanced at the rear of the ship, where inside the house that her ship hid inside…
"Here… I have family… I have 'name'… I have friend and…" She hissed quietly. "I have 'life' here on this planet!"
At those words she glanced at her ship and pulled up an image of the planet, not from the computer banks but from a picture book. It was a silly one, but it showed the world, a blue/green marble, home to so many, many more than just humans. Insects and mammals, fish and birds, species of all shapes and sizes, colors and… and… 'everything' imaginable!
Surely there was room for the likes of her? Surely there was space, some small corner, a tiny speck of land that she could call hers? A tiny spot on this world that she could call 'home'.
She stared and stared, stared some more, and stared yet longer at the tiny world in the galaxy, so small and inconsequential yet… so much more valuable than the whole of endless space.
"May I be forgiven…" She muttered as she slammed the book down on the console, and it promptly deleted every single entry she had logged and shut the whole ship down. "For what I 'want' to do!"
She stepped out of her pod ship and walked upstairs to her friend's bedroom. He was sound asleep, and that put a smile on her. He wouldn't mind her sleeping with him, he never minded, she was his friend after all!
She slipped onto the bed and slid under the blankets, curled up with him, and promptly fell asleep.
She liked his scent…
It was a nice scent, and it made her feel safe, warm, and happy.
(Shen's PoV)
"Just a little more…" She muttered, inching her plasma cutter ever closer to the edge of the last motherboard she needed to cut out.
"Patterns are merging again, attempting to separate them again!" She heard Tygan saying loudly.
She ignored that as she focused on trying to keep her hand steady. It was hard to do that considering her hands were sweating bullets, and her face wasn't helping either, but she had no choice. Tygan had his job, keeping Amalie and the Commander as separate entities in one body. She had her job, getting this chip out of its old home and into its new one.
She continued to cut away though, mentally counting down the centimeters until the last piece was cut through, so she could pry it out of the chassis, and then finally remove the psionic chip that was causing her headaches.
"Patterns have separated again." Tygan called out. "Shen, I don't mean to bother you…"
"Yes, I know, hurry up!" She growled. "Patience is a virtue and I can't rush this anymore!"
She moved her hand as fast as she dared, as close as she could, and finally cut the last incision for the damn piece of equipment to be pulled out. After the cut was made she reached in and used her plyers to pull the piece out, and then promptly chucked it anywhere. It was dead anyway, all that mattered was that the Psionic Chip was not damaged, and thankfully it was not.
The chip had been spared the electrical damage the rest of the electrical boards and circuits had suffered. The wires inside had all fused together and short circuited, but the chip was thankfully unharmed.
"Alright team, I'll handle it from here…" She muttered and began to carefully tug it out.
She had to be careful, if she tugged too hard and too quick the shock might kill off the faint psionic link between the chip and Amalie's chip. If she was too slow though, the longer he stayed in her head the more likely their patterns would merge, and he'd move into 'her' psionic chip and brain than back into his chip and kick her mind out of existence.
"Detecting increasing activity in Amalie's brain!" Tygan yelled.
She continued to ignore him, this couldn't be rushed at all, she had to time it right!
=Inside Amalie's Mind=
(Amalie's PoV)
Seven weeks, seven wonderful and amazingly fun weeks of life on Earth. She had made more friends, made wonderful memories, enjoyed so much food and spent so much time on this beautiful world that if it had stayed this way for the rest of her life she would have died a happy Viper. The games she played, the movies she saw, the books she read and the stories she enjoyed all made this tiny spot in the world all the better. Every day she had woken up to the sun in her eyes, felt the air in her hair and watched the wonders of nature live their lives around her, from the bees that buzzed to the birds that flew, to even the rats that scampered and seagulls annoying her for scraps of food. Everything she saw just made her love this world with every fiber of her being…
But now, all of that has come crashing down.
She stared at the recall order from the Elders on her ship's console screen.
She had run out of time.
Despite all her efforts to prevent knowledge of Earth returning to the Elders, despite how many of her sisters she had killed, whether directly or indirectly, there was no way she could stop this order from coming through. This order was sent to 'all' of her sisters currently on the planet acting as infiltrators and information gatherers.
Yet only '1' ship had received the signal; the rest were dead or destroyed. She had allowed the human governments to take a few of the ships, damaged beyond repair as they were, in the hopes that they would be satisfied and leave 'her' alone.
But this was something she couldn't avoid now.
She had 'two' choices now, ignore it and hope the Elders didn't send a second group of ships and infiltrators, which 'wouldn't' happen. The Elders would send the ships, they would get their information one way or another. She knew how they were, they didn't accept failure easily.
Her other choice was to return, and give them something to go on, and leave the world she now called home behind, and perhaps never see it again.
How could she just leave this world, it was probably the best home she ever had, ever knew, she barely even remembered her home world anymore. She only knew of sand on that world, of how little 'water' there was, of how stale the air was, how food wasn't as freely available as it was here. There was not nearly as much life on that planet as there was on this one, it was so arid and not nearly as beautiful as it is here.
Here she swam in water, here she breathed wet air, here she felt wind in hair… this beautiful blue/green marble was a wonder.
"What do I do…" She muttered, slumping in her seat as she stared at the screen.
She stepped out and stared outside the back door to the yard. She could still see the dirt path where her ship had crashed, saw the pile of dirt where she had pulled her ship out and transported here into the garage. It was nighttime so the stars and moonlight, as well as street lights in the distance gave her enough light to see everything in the backyard with an eerily beautiful glow.
The backyard of the home, where she made her first friend…
"If I stay, they'll come… and I can't repeat all that again, or they'll just arrive in 'force'." She whispered. "If I go they'll come here anyway."
She thought of this world, all she knew and loved about it.
"If I go… they'll come here… but I can at least 'control' how they come here and what they'll do."
She nodded mentally, and took one last look at the grass, the sky, the stars, the moon… everything…
Before she turned and headed back into her ship, turned on its graviton generators and levitated it out. As it did she jumped out and pushed it toward an ideal position.
"Are you leaving Amalie?" She heard a voice call out.
She turned and saw her friend walking out from the garage door, holding two stuffed sharks in his hands.
She nodded and looked back at her ship. "Yes, I have to go now…" She muttered sadly. "If I don't, bad things will happen to me and you. I need to go back or else…"
"But after you get punished will you be allowed to come back?" He asked her innocently.
She almost chuckled inwardly, forgetting that his mind wasn't fully developed yet. He was so innocent, he didn't realize just what was going to happen to her if she 'doesn't' go back, or worse if they discovered she attempted to sabotage the mission. She needed to go back, it was the only way to 'save' this world now. If she goes back then she can lie and make up 'facts' for them, perhaps help this world for the eventual invasion when they 'fail' to uplift this planet.
"Maybe… maybe…" She whispered.
"Well then make a promise with me!" He said, walking toward her and carrying his two stuffed sharks with him. "Promise to come back here and bring back one of my toys!"
She glanced at the toys and watched him hold it out to her, if she was correct it was called 'Sharkette', the girlfriend shark to 'Sharky'.
"Why would I make that promise?" She asked curiously.
"Because you're my friend, and friends never break promises!" He said determinedly. "So, if you promise to bring my toy back, then you'll definitely come back!"
She looked at the toy and smiled, "I'll do more than that… and promise to call you… my 'best friend forever!"
He nodded and smiled as well as she took the toy from him. Then she went to her ship and pulled out a stasis unit, and two plasma chips. It took her some convincing, but she eventually got him to press his finger to the chip and pricked his finger enough to draw blood into it. Plasma then flowed into the chip's circuitry and flowed through, keeping the blood sample contained and preserved into it.
She told him then, to keep the chip secret from everyone and protect it from anyone. Then she did the same for the other chip, preserving her own genetic material in the plasma stream. Those two keycards would preserve their genetic materials for centuries, until they were both inserted into the stasis unit, unlocking the toy locked away inside. Once that was done, she placed 'Sharky' inside the stasis unit, and sealed it shut.
From there they dug a hole near a tree in front of the house and buried it there. Upon the tree she clawed and wrote out their names labeling them as 'BFF', Best Friends Forever. As she did she heard a song playing in her mind.
(I'm sailing away… setting an open course to the virgin seeeea~…)
She took one last look at him, glanced around, and made the biggest decision of her life.
(Cuz I've got to be freeee, free to face the life that's aheeeeead of me~…)
This world was more her home than her home world was, faint memories as it were, and she decided to make this her true home someday.
(I look to the sea, reflections in my waves spark my memories, some happy some saaaaad~…)
She took another look at her friend's face, his innocent ten-year-old face, so full of inexperience… and decided to take a leap of faith.
(I think of childhood friends, and the dreams we had… we live happily forever so the story goes…)
He had made her life here on this world, short as it was, worth living in her eyes, worth walking down the road she was now about to take… so she made a silent declaration as she took her leap…
(But somehow we missed out, on the pot of gold… but we'll try, best that we can… to caaaary oooooon~)
She jumped him, held him close, and kissed him full on the lips.
'If we survive, I swear… you 'will' become the Hierarch Father and I your Hierarch Mother!' She thought.
Indeed, this world was beautiful, and she loved her 'friend'.
He was so confused he didn't know how to react, so she pulled away and simply smiled, before waving and running into her ship to fly away.
As she began to take off she began singing lyrics…
"I thought she was an angel, but to my surprise~!" She sang, closing her ship and preparing the launch sequence. "She climbed aboard her space ship and flew off to the skiiiiiies~!"
The ship blasted off, leaving her friend stunned on the land as she flew off away from home.
"Come sail away, Come sail away, come saaaaail away with meeeee~!"
(Central's PoV)
He watched as Shen clicked the psionic chip into place in the new MK IV Gremlin. It was nearly half a size bigger than the MK III, had ten times more memory space, both actual and memory size, and was even armed with a side plasma pistol built into the frame. It was designed so that the Commander would be able to reside within it safely for decades if necessary, with memory card updates until his body came out of the comma.
It was a real piece of engineering by Shen's standards, and he was glad to see the psionic chip installed at long last.
"There… job's finished." Shen said tiredly, wiping sweat from her brow.
"Alright, now to coax the Commander back into his own chip." Central said to Tygan.
"Indeed, proceeding with psionic separation…" Tygan declared, and entered a few commands on the screen.
They watched as the Commander's psionic aura emerged from Amalie's head, specifically from where her Psionic Chip was inserted, and hovered around her. Then they all watched in shock as it suddenly flew back into her…
"Tygan what's happening?" Central demanded.
Tygan examined the information on his pad and the screen as quickly as he could. "His psionic signature is being pulled back, Amalie's subconsciousness appears to be unwilling to let go of his pattern!"
"Screw what she wants, get him out of there!" He ordered.
As if on que, the screen began screaming that their patterns were merging yet again.
"Their patterns are merging again, and I'm detecting extremely high mental activity in her cerebral cortex!" He declared.
"Sever the connection then!"
"We can't, if we do that while their patterns are still in her chip we risk killing both of them, or risk leaving them both mentally impaired!" Shen declared.
"Wait a minute… I'm detecting an increase in her brain's limbic system…" Tygan said, bringing up that section of her brain scan on the screen. "It appears she's transferring memory into the Commander's psionic signature…"
=Inside Amalie's Mind=
(Commander's and Amalie's PoV)
They both stared at each other across an empty expanse of white nothingness, both looking at each other as they saw each other.
On one side, Amalie as her child human disguise, her young teenage Viper self, and finally her matured adult Viper form.
On the other, him as a young ten-year-old boy, him as a fully grown adult, and his Gremlin body.
"You were my first friend, you gave me all the hope and courage to face the universe." She said mentally to him as all her 'selves' smiled warmly. "To think that all it took to set me down this path of freedom was meeting you, calling you my friend, and wanting to be with you."
"You were always such a mischievous snake, always trying to see things that didn't need to be seen." He said back to her, as all his selves smiled back in agreement. "I dreamed of the stars from that day forth, and I took the steps needed to prepare our home for your arrival, you gave me that drive and I thank you for that."
She smiled happily as a burst of water poured from behind her, splashing to the ground and flowed past him.
"You will always be my friend… and you will always have my heart, no matter what body you reside in…" She hissed soothingly.
"And to me you will always be that same little girl who became my first friend that summer, and gave me the best summer vacation of my life! No matter how much you change on the outside." He replied just as soothingly.
"My friend…" She hissed, as her past selves vanished, fading into nothingness as the river began to dry up. "Our time is up, I can feel them wanting you out of me…"
He nodded as he began to fade as well.
Then all was white as the river dried up completely.
"I give you that which you have lost…"
.
"Be careful… I doubt we can do 'this' again…"
.
"And do hurry up and win… I'm not going to wait forever to let you… how you say…" She hissed seductively. "Pop my 'cherry'?"
(Central's PoV)
"What is all that?" He asked as enormous data was being transferred from Amalie's mind to the Commander's.
"Based on what little I can read… old data that seemed to have been copied from the Commander and into Amalie, specifically during his time while he was unconscious and trapped as their 'puppet'."
"So basically, she's transferring his old tactical data and strategic knowledge that she learned from him and is giving it back to him?" Shen asked. "That's a lot of data."
"Indeed, it's a miracle that she managed to maintain such a stored amount in such condition this long." Tygan said as the transfer was finishing. "The Commander's psionic signature is leaving her chip and is beginning to transfer back to his own."
They watched as the purple aura floated out of Amalie, slowly levitated toward the Gremlin, and flew into it.
Moments passed as they watched the Gremlin sit there motionless, before the optics turned on and looked around.
[Ugh… how long was I out?] He grunted.
Shen chuckled in relief as she tapped his frame. "Long enough to make me age ten years Commander." She said. "If I grow grey hair before I'm sixty I'm blaming you for it!"
[I'll keep that in mind…] He said as he floated from the table. [Huh, it feels roomier than before, don't know why but everything seems to be much clearer now…]
"Shen's worked on a new body for your mind to sit in, comes complete with new features." Central said.
[So, I'm still stuck in the chicken suit…] He grunted. [Well back to business then, Central head to the Command center and take us to central Eurasia, we need to resupply after all these encounters and I need to have 007 infiltrate an Advent facility. When we arrive have Amalie contact her spies inside the city and get them to help her sneak in for our mission…]
He turned to Tygan and Shen after that.
[Shen, I want you to begin modifying some of our heavier ordinance to see if we can make something more explosive, those AI units have tough armor and it took everything to put a dent in them, I want something with punching power! Tygan, I want your research team to get a move on with that cloaking unit we recovered from the Seeker, and after that I want you to find a way to reverse engineer what was left of the Portal technology that resided in the shell!]
"Got it Commander!"
"Yes sir, I'll have my team begin researching it at once."
As they all left he turned and looked at Amalie's sleeping form on the bed and decided to float closer to her.
She looked so peaceful with her eyes closed, and her mouth curved into a loving smile.
He owed everything to her, he remembered everything that he had lost, and thanks to her sacrificing her own knowledge he had gained back all of the tactical and strategic information he had obtained from his countless 'centuries' worth of wargames while asleep in that suit.
So, it came as no surprise that as he leaned closer to her face…
He swung his mechanical claw and smacked her on the hood with a heavy 'THUNK'.
"Ow!" She yelped as she covered her injured hood. "What was 'that' for?"
[That was for trying to get into my pants you conniving snake!] He growled.
"Oh… heheeh… you saw that did you?" She hissed in embarrassment.
[I was only 'ten', how could you possibly think I was ready for 'that'!]
"Sorry, but I was a horny 'teenager' at the time… you can't blame me for being… interested!" She said with a giggle.
[What part of 'I was only 'ten' did you not get?]
"Well you know… ten your age means twenty in my age~!"
[Oh, you are so lucky I need you or I would end you right now!]
"I'd love to see you try~!"
[You bet I will…]
There was silence while they stared at each other, before he turned and prepared to leave. [Thank you, by the way…]
"Don't think on it friend, we have work to do as you said…" She hissed.
He nodded in agreement, they did indeed have work to do.
