Good News from Nara

A/N: Lara Nara is busy rescuing nooby damsels in distress. Really, it is a waste of his talents, but sometimes the fallout gets interesting.

Set pre-game, post arrival. Spoilers to chapter 2/5. Slight swears at loud volume.

All the good stuff belongs to MONOLITH SOFT. Congratulations about XCX being nominated for the MTV Games Awards, kids, because you are awesome. Lila is mine. Don't worry, she cleans up okay.

Lara Nara liked to keep a list of every kind of reaction a person could have, once they had lost their cool. It helped him decide how to respond. After scraping someone up from the lowest point of their life, he'd watch to see how they chose to bounce back. He was watching this woman now, waiting to see which way she'd shift.

He was guessing she'd be the Flower of Denial. A slight laugh, a shake of the head, oh how silly I must have missed breakfast, that's why I was a shuddering wreck a few minutes ago. Possibly the Glutton for Puns, cracking jokes that weren't even close to funny in a voice that wandered across all octaves. Definitely not the Swing and a Miss, which featured cursing that burned even his experienced ears and a tendency to start a fight.

"This is the Habitat Unit, correct?"

Ah, the Just the Facts Ma'am. Tricky. Those types tended to crash the minute you let them loose, but you'd never know from their eyes or their voice. Flat even odds between them fixing themselves after a few days, alone and in excruciating agony, or becoming a completely broken mim by morning. Depended on what they hung on to. It was best to answer their questions, cheerfully and promptly and ALWAYS with a slant towards the most positive, most hopeful information. Then find them a familiar face, and fast, anyone that could keep an eye on them. That tended to boost the odds more than somewhat.

"Yes, dear, already set up as our colony. New Los Angeles. Like the name? I'm spending my spare time admiring the California hotties around town." Couldn't get a more positive slant than that, he thought.

She managed the slightest smile. Good girl, already trying to reach normal, even though she still looked like all she could taste was acid. "That's good news. I'm glad the impact gel worked right." She fell silent, eyes closed, nodding her head slightly as if agreeing to an argument.

Ah, probably part of the engineering team, thought Nara. Too small and beat up to be military, that's for sure. She looked all wrong in even the plainest BLADE wear that the Mim Center kids issued newly found colonists. Except for her posture. When he'd found her, leaning against the front of BLADE tower and shaking like a maraca, just as that gorgeous green-eyed boy had warned him, she was still standing almost straight, and she'd repeatedly pulled herself up from an almost crouching gait as he steered her towards the Mediators' bay. Either she was very proud of her spine, or somebody had taught her parade stance but good.

She was almost sitting straight right now, although her hands clutched each other like love-struck squid and she couldn't keep her eyes open and focused for 60 seconds straight. But she kept on trying. Oh, this one was going to kill herself trying to get over whatever had happened to her.

"Sweetheart, we need to get you back to the Mimeosome Center."

"No!" Mercy if she didn't sit up perfectly then, take a deep breath, open her eyes and look him as if nothing were the matter. "They seem to have enough trouble. As long as I'm inside, my agoraphobia settles down okay. If I could have some water?"

He shrugged. Agoraphobia, my fanny, he thought. Something wicked had happened to her and left her gutted. He'd get her some water, and then trot her over to the center. No rush to start a fight. Alas, he was going to be late for lunch with his brother. As he stepped away, he shot him a message.

"got a new case have some fries for me"

His brother must have been waiting, because the response was instant. "greasy things. Handsome?"

"small and beat up"

"culprit?"

"Mira"

"baby blade?"

"fob. engineer maybe"

There was a necessary pause as Nara got a tumbler of water. He was surprised by the string of messages that had piled up in that scant minute. "small like short? weird hair? name?!" "never mind tell the commander" "nara ping him now!" "and stick around!" "and tell me everything!"

Nara did as his brother suggested, then pushed the device away before returning to his charge. She was still sitting bolt upright, but her eyes were closed and she seemed to be spending every ounce of energy on breathing in and out calmly. She didn't notice him until he spoke, but to her credit, she didn't startle either. "Here's some water. After this, we'll just go see the mim kids down the block."

"Thank you." She accepted the tumbler with both hands. They were shaking so much, she was having trouble getting it to her mouth.

"Like me to hold that?" he asked softly.

"No bother. Give me a moment." She looked at him and shook her head. A confused look flashed in her eyes. "You look … different. Weren't your eyes blue?"

Nara laughed. "Oh, you must be thinking of someone else."

She looked blank. He smiled, and then his smile disappeared as she said, "Huh. He never mentioned a brother. Guess you're the cute one." Well, score one for her team. Almost no one figured it out that quickly. "Is he … did he survive?" she asked hesitantly.

Nara's smile returned, warm and gentle. "Yes, dear. He's fine. Would you like me to call him?"

"No, no. It's just … good news. Second piece of good news. Third, if you can count Hector." She took a deep breath and tried to sip the water again, with better luck.

"Anyone else you'd like me to contact?"

She gave a small pause, then said, steadily, "No, no one right now. What's the procedure for reintegrating noobs like me?"

"Let's not worry about that. If you were any fighting shape, we'd let the Commander decide first if you would be useful for BLADE or better off as a civilian."

"BLADE. That's new."

"Stands for … well, something long and not helpful. Simple description, eight divisions, doing the jobs that need doing. Not exactly military, but it has its moments. Every day, most of the kids go out and beat the planet into submission. Except for yours truly and company. We're the Mediators. Our division just keeps all of the inside of New Los Angeles safe, is all. Breaking up bar fights and rescuing kittens from trees, that sort of thing. All the while looking our very best."

"If you do say so yourself." She took another sip and looked away. "Did the Captain make it?" she asked, quietly.

"Nagi? Bless you, girl, he's our new Secretary of Defense. Good enough news for you?"

"We need one?"

"Yes." He shrugged. "We still don't know what attacked us, and, well, …" He hesitated before giving her the most honest yet mild version. "There are signs we're sharing this planet, and we don't know if they're friendly or not."

"Some of the critters are definitely not." She puffed out a breath. He waited for her to start shaking again, but she didn't.

"So you met some of our indigen neighbors when they rescued you?"

"Indi-what neighbors? And no one rescued me. I came in on my own. Slowly, but I got here."

"Good for you. Indigen. Short for indigenous. They're too big to be called critters, and we aren't sure which are animals, and monster, well, that's just a little too hysterical to be used all the time."

"Fair enough." She'd drunk almost the whole tumbler, and only spilled a fraction. "So we've got the Captain as Defense Secretary, and some new Commander. Of this BLADE thingy."

"Say it proud, and you won't start any fights, dear."

"Of BLADE. Sorry. Anything else?"

"Well, the civilian wing of government is being run by our ever popular executive, Maurice…"

"…Chausson. That figures." She sounded like she couldn't decide whether to be pleased or not. Nothing too surprising about that. Most inhabitants of New Los Angeles weren't sure either. "Nagi and Chausson, that'll work, I guess."

"And the Commander. Our own little triumvirate. Nagi's very virate." He leered slightly, but she didn't seem to care.

"Sure." She was scanning the Mediator's camp, taking in the passing skells and people.

Nara looked at her. Her breathing was steady, and her color was less grey and more chalk, possibly a good thing. He patted her hand, noting her temperature, again good. He wasn't going to let her wander loose, but maybe the trip to the Mim Center could be quick. He'd get her situated, and get his brother to check in on her. He wondered how they'd met.

"Hey, did anyone make it from Sak…" she started to ask, before snapping her mouth closed and jumping to her feet. Nara stood up too, a hand on her elbow, because she was starting to shake again, and hard.

"Brown, what the hell is wrong with you?! You were supposed to stay put!" bellowed Commander Vandham. Nara hadn't heard the big man marching into the Mediator's camp, a wonder with those size I-really-can't-say-but-I'd-love-to-imagine boots of his. His charge was staring at the Commander but otherwise not moving, aside from the shakes. Vandham was continuing to shout. "I get word you evaporate from the Center and show up here. You gotta stop pulling this disappearing crap."

"Sir. I …" Ms. Brown, if that was her name, had her hands over her face, and was swaying a little now, on top of the shakes. Oh dear, thought Nara. Here goes. Lovely bedside manner you have there, Commander.

"You what? You got anything for me, Brown?"

To Nara's surprise, when the woman dropped her hands, she wasn't weeping or hysterical. The shakes stopped completely, although the swaying wasn't quite gone. "I think I'm going to have to kill Hector, sir. He told me… he let me think …" She gave her head a quick shake. "Doesn't matter. Good to see you looking well, sir."

"And you look like … "

Nara stepped in. "Now, now, personal comments are so difficult to manage sometimes. Do you need something, Commander?"

Vandham looked at Nara. "Yeah. I need an extra 5 hours every day, and an extra day each week." He turned back to Brown. "I need my team not to go goddamned AWOL out of the center. Hear me, Brown?"

"They cut me loose, sir. Said I was good to go."

"And you pretended to believe them? I know you're part squirrel, but are you really that stupid?"

"I suspect resources are thin for everyone right now."

"Shut it. A lecture I do not need. Center. Now. Nara, you make sure it happens. Once you can stand like a normal human being, then you can scurry around." With that, the Commander turned on his heel and stomped off.

Well, well, well. Nara was already looking forward to a long debriefing session with his brother. But first, it was time to get Ms. Brown squared away. "So, my dear, let's do what the Commander asks. Best for all involved. Certainly, my eardrums can't take that sort of discussion again."

She didn't protest as he guided her down the administrative district. Still chalky pale and wobbly, she shot a quick glance at him with eyes sharp and clear. "Nagi and Chausson and the Chief. I think we have a chance. That's good news."

"Very good news," he agreed with her, with absolute honesty. "Come along."

A/N: fob: fresh off the boat, mean slang for a new immigrant (at least when and where I was growing up,).

Nara, almost as fun as his brother to write. I did this first from Lila's viewpoint, but that was just too depressing (and misleading, because she's a survivor under the worst conditions, down but rarely out). And H.B., honestly, what a brat, I didn't include that, but you can bet he knew exactly what he was doing, letting Lila believe the worst. Something along the lines of "no more engineering, no more Chief, you're on your own, you pathetic creature" – not exactly false, if you parse it carefully. Like I said, brrrrrrat … except then he made sure that Nara found her and quickly. Weird concern, and generous, because we all know he hates the Lara twins. And we're back to: what a brat.

Next up: A short musing on coffee, sleep aides, and what was lost with the destruction of the Whale. AKA indulgent fluff.