Genesis or ExodusChapter 12

"You're finally here! I was worried that you'd be locked in that room with Miss 'high and mighty' Matriarch for the rest of this bloody journey!"

"Mac... Can it," Bruce said with a shake of his head. He could see that his Commander was struggling with whatever had transpired behind those closed doors, the moment she'd stepped into the room... Though Bo was doing her best to keep her face neutral, her eyes gave away the fact that whatever The Matriarch had shown her, had her truly rattled and he knew that she wouldn't burden anyone else with what she'd learned.

Mackenzie glared at Bruce before stuffing another dumpling in her mouth.

"Well, it's good to see that you didn't starve to death in my absence and watch what you say about The Matriarch. We are guests on this ship and you know better." Bo went to the serving area of the mess hall and grabbed a plate and loaded it with the foods that Mackenzie had chosen to be their dinner, that evening. She then took her full plate and a bottle of beer and sat at the head of the table so that she could see her team sitting together at the other end. Bo focused on Vex, who was being unusually silent, after taking a generous swig of her beer. "So, what's the verdict on the new arrival? Will she live?"

Vex looked up from the sculpture he'd made with his food and gave his Commander his undivided attention. "Yes, her injuries were easily healed and besides the broken nose, there was only superficial bruising and small abrasions and cuts. She certainly had a few choice words to say about you and The Alliance. Not a fan, I must say. When are we handing her over to the authorities?"

Bo had never seen Vex so serious.

"What's this? Who is this mystery woman?" Mackenzie asked with a mouth full of food. Bo had always marvelled at her second-in-command's ability to eat so much and remain so thin.

"Who she is, isn't important because The Matriarch has ordered me to stand down and issued me a directive that this known criminal is under her protection and she is not to be harmed or handed over to the authorities. And under our current mission objectives, I am forced to abide by The Matriarch's wishes. Understood?" Bo took a bite of her bread despite having no appetite. She was mentally exhausted, something that her nanomites couldn't help her with.

"I still wanna know who our special guest is, Bo Bo."

The Commander glared at her best friend. Mackenzie didn't have a worry in the world. When it came to her job, she was silent, deadly and ruthless. She could slip into a camp of insurgents and slit their throats without raising an alarm, slipping away into the night without a trace that she'd even been there. When she wasn't working, she was anything but silent… but she was relentless, and Bo knew that if she didn't tell her, she would interrogate Vex until he cracked. Bo didn't want to put poor Vex through that, so she decided to just tell her other two squad members who the guest was.

"Evony Fleurette Marquise."

"Sweet baby Jesus! We would get medals if we brought her in," Mackenzie said as she mopped up the sauce on her plate with the last of her bread. "How are we gonna release this information to headquarters and get her ass thrown onto a prison ship?"

"She doesn't exist and is not on this ship, Mackenzie. Do I make myself clear? Nothing is to be done and that is an order," Bo said forcefully.

"You can't be serious! Just because The Matriarch has you wrapped round her little finger doesn't mean that the rest of us have to stand by while she harbors a fugitive of the law." Makenzie thumped her hands hard onto the table in frustration, causing the cutlery and plates to jump before clattering back down.

"You are bordering on subordination, soldier, and I suggest you remember just who you are talking to. I am your commanding officer and you WILL follow my orders. And you have now shown disrespect to the Matriarch not once, but twice! Believe me when I say that I am not happy about this either, but my hands are tied." Bo was weary, and she saw that both Bruce and Vex were focused intently on their food in front of them and appeared very uncomfortable.

Mackenzie muttered something under her breath.

Bo's head snapped back to her second, "What was that? I didn't hear you. Speak up!"

Her friend looked up at her with blazing eyes, "I said, just fuck her already. Maybe then you'll get your balls back."

What the hell is going on here? Bo was not a stranger to Mackenzie's penchant for bucking authority and mouthing off, but this was unexpected, and she was not in a tolerable mood at the present time.

"Both of you out, now! I need to have words with Malikov, in private," Bo said through clenched teeth. Bruce and Vex looked almost relieved as they dropped their forks on their plates and hastily exited the mess hall without a word.

"What crawled up your ass and died?"

The raven-haired soldier stared at her best friend and leader for several long moments before sighing in frustration, "I just don't get it!"

Bo clasped her hands together in front of her as she leaned on the table, "What don't you get?" she asked warily, expecting the young woman to engage in another diatribe about her burgeoning relationship with Lauren.

"I don't understand why we are here! We are elite, Bo. We are sent to the front lines of battles that are predicted to be unwinnable. We are sent to do the impossible. To turn the tides and strike fear into those who oppose The Alliance's peace efforts. Instead we are on a glorified bodyguard mission, protecting someone who hates The Alliance and everything it stands for. Why? It makes no sense to me whatsoever."

"The council requested us for this mission because we are the best and The Matriarch and this ship are important assets and crucial to The Alliance in its war efforts. You know this. We don't question our orders, we follow them to the best of our abilities. I know you are going stir crazy despite all of the leisure facilities aboard Genesis and a certain man that you have been spending a lot of time with. I know you miss the thrill of the kill, doing the impossible for the cause. I'm sure you'll feel better once we reach Old Earth and get our boots on the ground. Please stop giving me grief and give The Matriarch a break. I don't know what your problem is with her, besides the fact that she is anti Alliance, I mean. It's got to be more than that. I'm still furious with you for the comments that you made, Mac. Especially in front of the guys. It was out of line and I should put you in the brig for a couple of days. It's what you deserve. You've never disrespected me like that before and I warn you to think before you speak, because my patience is completely gone at this point."

Mackenzie had the sense to look contrite and her tone was softer when she finally spoke, "It's different with her. You're different. It scares me because she is an unknown entity, surrounded by mystery and arrogance, not to mention her disdain for us being here. She has gotten under your skin and you are open with her. Like you are with me. You don't do that. You love them and leave them. I just don't trust her motivations, okay? So, sue me!" Mackenzie crossed her arms defensively. "I'm worried that your judgment is being clouded by her."

"You're worried about me. I can take care of myself, Mac. Whether I have real feelings for Lauren is none of your business. I'm not ragging on you for carrying on with Hale, am I?"

"Well no, but that's different," came the petite soldier's lame response.

Bo couldn't contain the chuckle that escaped her lips, "Oh, and why is it different?"

"Because Hale is nice. The Matriarch is prickly, combative and secretive. I know she is keeping things from us. I can feel it in my bones."

"Of course, she is keeping stuff from us. Lauren collects knowledge and that includes secrets. She has been surprisingly forthcoming, I feel, especially with her evident disgust and distrust of The Alliance's motives. I don't blame her for that. I may argue with her, but it's understandable that she is wary. I would be, if I was in her shoes and you, my friend, are distrustful of almost everyone until they have proven themselves to you. So, will you please just give The Matriarch bashing a rest? Please?"

Bo thought it was the please that did it. Mackenzie nodded, "Fine. I'll lay off, but please be mindful of my concerns."

"Very well. But know that she has been quite forthcoming with me, Mac, despite her distrust. I'm not as in the dark as you may believe and I'm sorry that I can't share the details with you, but she has shared the information in confidence. I care about her. It is nice and... different. I can't quite explain it, but I hope that as my best friend, you can trust and support me as I explore these feelings."

Bo watched her friend purse her lips and frown. Bo knew that she was struggling with the mistrust that came naturally to her. "Alright, I'll do my best. May I be dismissed now?"

Bo nodded, "I'll forward my new mission statement to you and the guys, to go over in your own time, seeing as our briefing got knocked off track. You're dismissed soldier."

"Thank you, Commander," Mackenzie responded as she stood up and stood at attention, saluting her commanding officer before turning on her heels and exiting the Mess, leaving Bo alone with her thoughts and a cold dinner.

Bo had grabbed enough food for two people and made her way towards Lauren's quarters. And I only got lost once!, she thought triumphantly, as she came to a stop at her destination and disengaged her hover disc, balancing the food in one hand and announcing her arrival by pressing the button on the panel by the door, with the other.

The door slid open with a whoosh, revealing Lauren sitting with her legs crossed, a drink resting on her knee and some music playing softly in the background.

The Matriarch was wearing comfortable looking clothes, that Bo suspected were her sleeping attire, blonde locks loose and free over her shoulders. The only thing that showed that Lauren was anything but relaxed, was the frown creasing her forehead and the way her knuckles had turned white with how tightly she held her glass.

Bo held up the bag that held the containers of food. "I brought dinner."

Lauren smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes, "That's very kind of you, but I'm not feeling very hungry."

The Commander stepped further into the room, so that the door closed behind her. She placed the bag on the table in front of the couch where Lauren sat and started unpacking the food. "Well, I'm ravenous and you shouldn't drink on an empty stomach, so please have dinner with me, Lauren."

"You didn't eat with your squad?"

"No. I didn't!" Bo was unable to keep the anger out of her voice.

"I... uh, I'm sorry if I made things difficult for you to do the briefing, Bo. Do you want to yell at me? I was kind of surprised that you were so calm at the end of our meeting. What I showed you can't have been easy to see or hear." Lauren looked up at Bo with compassion and understanding in her eyes. "The rest can wait, if you need more time to digest the information that I shared with you. I would understand."

Bo's heart melted, at the emotion she saw in Lauren's eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm not angry at you. My bad mood has nothing to do with our earlier meeting."

Lauren placed her drink on the table and gave Bo her full attention. "Do you want to talk about what has you so upset? Please sit down," she said softly and patted the empty space beside her. "I'll dish out the food. Would you like a drink?"

Bo smiled, "I think I need one. Thank you."

Lauren poured Bo a drink from the bottle she had been steadily drinking for the past hour and passed it to her companion. The brunette took a grateful sip and leaned back into the cushioned backrest and closed her eyes. She listened to Lauren busy herself with the food for a few minutes and made an effort to calm her temper. Her best friend had severely hurt her, with her scathing attack of both herself and the woman beside her. Bo knew it wasn't just Mackenzie being protective, no, it was jealousy too. And that is what made her so angry. How is my deepening relationship with Lauren, any different from what is going on between her and Hale? There is no difference. she thought bitterly to herself. The Matriarch's voice penetrated her thoughts and made the soldier jump.

"Let's eat and then you can talk about what happened, if you want to?"

Bo took the offered fork and food, allowing Lauren to take her drink in exchange. "I don't want to talk about it, no offense. It's personal and just thinking about it, makes me furious."

"No offense taken. I won't force you to share it with me."

"But you could, couldn't you?" Bo instantly regretted the comment. "Sorry... I'm sorry, I should not have said that."

They ate, the silence stretching out between them, only the soft music keeping them company.

"You're right. I could, but I wouldn't," Lauren said softly a few minutes later.

The minutes stretched out again, each of them finishing off their food. Bo watched The Matriarch as she cleaned up and deposited the dishes in the disposal unit. The blonde hesitated for just a moment before re-joining Bo on the couch. If it had been anyone else, they wouldn't have noticed, but The Commander's keen senses often gave her extra insight and while she was often thrown off balance when it came to The Matriarch, she was learning to notice more and more.

"I feel like I need to apologize again. I do know that you wouldn't do that to me," Bo said, in an effort to soothe Lauren's unease. She grabbed her glass and downed the remaining amber liquid from within, relishing the burn as it went down.

"No, you don't know. You fear my abilities and I know that you wonder if I've always been using them. It's understandable. You don't know me, not really. There is still mistrust on both sides and I fear that it could destroy us, before we ever get a chance to truly explore the connection that we both feel, towards one another."

Bo didn't know what to say. She just looked into Lauren's eyes until she couldn't stand looking at the sadness she saw there.

"I need to show you the rest, Bo. I need to show you what's on this other crystal because no matter how much I want to spare you from the truth and the possibility that it could destroy everything that has started to develop between us, I find that I don't have a choice. It is like you have power over me as well. I am not used to feeling so vulnerable and powerless, and that is exactly how you make me feel. It infuriates me to no end, but I can't seem to resist sharing my knowledge with you. It is completely out of character for me." The Matriarch gave a small chuckle and rolled her eyes, "We were called Keepers for a reason, you know."

Bo smiled and took Lauren's hands in her own and she felt the crystal that had been clasped tightly within them. Lauren loosened her grip reluctantly and allowed the crystal to fall into the soldier's hands. Bo silently placed it into the receptacle on the table. A video image began to play without prompting. Bo was confronted with a plain white corridor, as the person who was recording the images walked with purpose and listened to an unidentified man walking in step beside them.

"This way to the labs, Matriarch. The Alliance appreciates your assistance in acquiring the supplies, to aid us in our research."

The Matriarch, who Bo knew now was the one recording the footage, suddenly stopped and turned to the left, at a door with muffled voices coming from beyond it. "And this research uses children as Guinea pigs?" Bo heard Lauren ask, as she took a step towards the door and looked through the small window to see inside.

Bo gasped when her eyes landed on one of the children seated in the second row. Their hand was raised, eager to answer a question that had been asked by the man in a bright white lab coat, at the front of the room. She had been eight, maybe nine, when this footage had been taken and Bo couldn't believe what she was seeing. She tried to focus on what the man was saying, as he guided Lauren by the arm, to encourage her to move on to the desired location.

"... no concern of yours." Bo caught the last of the man's sentence.

Lauren's voice came through neutral and measured, "That is not why I asked. The doses must be smaller if they are to be administered to children. Ten children to each dose, or they will perish. Understood? Even then, you must know that the success rate will be low."

"I will make a note to adjust the dosage." They stepped into an all too familiar lab and Bo felt like her heart was going to pound out of her chest. "Is everything in order and to the correct specifications?"

"Yes, Doctor Faust. We have everything we requested, and it all checks out."

"Very well, your payment will be released and in your account the moment you return to your cruiser, Matriarch. The Alliance thanks you."

"Your payment in full is ample thanks, Doctor. Good day."

The footage ended abruptly, and Bo was left almost hyperventilating as her mind tried to grasp what she had just seen, and the shocking memories that seemed to be unlocking within her, at seeing the inside of that lab again. "I. What? You... you sounded so cold and unaffected by what you saw. That was me and the others. The NANO project. God, I can't breathe!"

Lauren unzipped Bo's jacket and rested her hands on the soldier's strong biceps. "Close your eyes and try to take in deep, slow breaths. I had to appear unaffected, Bo. They couldn't know that I had tracked the missing children from Sin Yun. They would have killed you all and destroyed any evidence of what they were doing."

"Sin Yun? What...?" Bo received more flashes of memories. Real memories, as the fake implanted memories came crashing down. Bo screamed at the assault. Seeing the carnage as soldiers led by General Titus killed her parents and ripped her from their protective embrace. "Oh God! I'm going to be sick," she cried out as she stumbled on unsteady legs into Lauren's bathroom, reaching it without a moment to spare, as she lost the dinner she'd just eaten.

Lauren was there in seconds and held Bo's hair as she retched and rubbed her back, hoping that it would ease the violent reaction that her recovered memories had caused. The Matriarch wondered for the first time since deciding to show Bo who she really was, before The Alliance had stolen her away from her home. She questioned if she'd done the right thing. She now questioned whether her motives were pure, whether she'd done it for Bo or whether she had done it to hurt The Alliance. Tears filled her eyes, as she realized that her hatred had blinded her to what the consequences could be, by revealing who Bo truly was. Bo had been destined for great things within her tribe on Sin Yun, before the Culling. Bo's mother had been a high priestess, revered above all others. Bo would have taken the mantle at her mother's death, if The Alliance hadn't decimated the peaceful, spiritual people, all for the rich mineral deposits they lived upon. "I'm so sorry, Bo. So sorry."

Bo had ceased vomiting and was slowly getting her breathing under control. Without a word, she stood and went to the sink. After splashing water on her face and rinsing her mouth out, she clung to the edge of the sink and stared into the mirror at Lauren, who stood uncertainly behind her.

"So much blood and carnage. They cut them down like animals. The memories of my life before the research facility, are so vivid. I am remembering a language and rituals that I don't understand, but I have a feeling that it will return to me in time. The other memories, the memories that are fading away..."

"They were false memories planted by Doctor Faust and his researchers," Lauren said softly, her eyes filled with regret. "I'm so sorry. I didn't realize how painful the recovery of your true memories would be. They were lazy and basically just built a wall of false memories to block you from the real ones. I thought they would have wiped the old memories completely, before programming you with the false ones. I was going to produce the results of the exams I performed on you, as proof of who you were. I hadn't been sure until Genesis matched your physiology to those of the forgotten children of Sin Yun. There are very few people in this multiverse that know what truly happened there. You are a priestess, Bo, do you remember that?"

The brunette rubbed her temples, swaying slightly as she turned around to face The Matriarch. "Genesis, please dim the lights, my head is killing me." The lights dimmed instantly at Bo's request. "That still unnerves me, Lauren. I've never been aboard a living ship before. There must be very little that you don't know, of the goings on, aboard your vessel."

Lauren reached out a steadying hand as Bo appeared ready to collapse. "Genesis only fills me in on things that she feels are important. You look terrible, I feel you need to get some rest."

"I can't get the image of my parents' deaths out of my head. I don't know if I'll be able to rest," Bo said, pulling away from Lauren and attempting to leave the bathroom. The blonde caught the stubborn soldier, her arms sliding underneath Bo's armpits, hands clasping together under her breasts as she begun to crumble to the floor. "I don't remember ever feeling this weak before," Bo muttered.

Without a word, Lauren swept the weary woman into her arms and carried her towards the door, planning to take The Commander next door, to her quarters.

"My hero," the brunette said, giving the blonde a small smile before her face became serious. "Can I stay with you tonight, Lauren? Could you maybe hold me for a while?"

"I… yes... of course you can. I'm here for you, Bo. I feel responsible for what's happened. Maybe I should've just let it be. What good have I done you, really?" Lauren said, her voice breaking as she gently lay Bo down on the bed.

Bo grabbed The Matriarch's hand, as she pulled away. She fixed her gaze upon the soft, expressive eyes that searched hers, pleading for forgiveness for causing so much pain. "I can't answer that right now, Lauren. The memories are mixed up and distorted. My brain feels like it has fire beetles crawling all over it. Can you just hold me?"

Without another word, Lauren pulled off Bo's boots, before slipping onto the bed beside her. Lauren wrapped her arms around the woman that she had fallen deeply in love with and held her while she wept for the loss of the family she had been forced to forget.

Authors Note: Hello there. I wish to thank those who have read this chapter after such a long hiatus. I have had a hellish 18 months health wise and while some things have improved or been surgically fixed, there are still things that I need to deal with on a daily basis. I will endeavor to try to finish this story and hope that you will continue to bear with me on the irregular updates. I will do my best to not take as long to update from now on though.I would love to hear from you. Any thoughts and predictions would be great to read because I am basically winging it from this point on trying to find my way back to my original vision.Thank you from the bottom of my heart for not abandoning me.God bless each and every one of you.Doccubus21 xo