Composure

Light stole in, before he realized he'd even awakened, playfully making patterns on the ceiling above where he was laying. A window. Trees dancing in the soft breeze that danced through an open doorway somewhere, and tickled against the bare skin of his cheek.

He felt better than he had since... he couldn't remember when. He'd slept soundly, safely.

And there hadn't been any dreams.

Slowly, carefully, Jace sat up.

Muscles ached, and protested the movement– but nothing gave way, or screamed at him to stop. He swung his legs over the side of the large... table that he'd been sleeping on.

Where was he, anyway?

A warehouse of some kind, perhaps, the vaulting ceilings gave plenty of headroom for anyone who might be over thirty feet high. There was, however, a lot of large-scaled equipment that he could only guess the functions of.

Or maybe he did know some of them The names were floating through his mind on currents that Jace did not quite dare to swim in right now.

Beyond the last bank of perimeter sensor controls, was a huge garage door– open. That was the source of the breeze, most likely. And next to it was parked a sturdy ambulance, facing the surreally normal landscape outside.

The lights at the back of the SUV were dim, but there, as though the vehicle was just resting, and waiting for something. Sleeping...

Jace remembered.

The dark of the desert night; the police car; the spooks surrounding them...

Fighting.

Jace touched his shoulder, and found a bandage neatly covering the graze that he remembered. The spooks had finally started talking, telling him something other than 'we can't tell you.'

"...some sort of shield- type weapon that belonged to one of your people."

A weapon.

His right hand curled into the shape of a half-remembered grip. There was a weight. A specific feel. After all, he'd been the one to design...

His weapon.

Jace groaned as the dizziness of the untouchable current threatened to sweep him up and drown him once again.

"Are you... okay?"

The voice was light, and distinctly feminine. Not Ratchet, or Ironhide. Or Epps–

Jace rubbed his eyes, and looked around for the source, finding it– her next to the open doorway.

Young. Dark hair. Slender figure.

"Yeah... just–" Jace told her, "Just... I'm not sure. Probably overdid it last night."

"Last night?" The girl looked soberly amused. "You've been out for two days. Ratchet said you should wake up today."

The ambulance. Ratchet.

"...if there's even the slightest hope..."

"Where am I? Where's Epps?" Jace gave a quick glance at the resting vehicle. Ratchet. And he'd overworked himself yet again. Nothing would wake him until he could get a few more hours of defrag time–

Jace managed not to flinch, as the memory surfaced for a moment. No dizziness. No threat to pull him under again. But he knew that the information was right. He was familiar with the robot that transformed from the ambulance. How?

"You are just outside of Tranquility." The young woman told him. "Sergeant Epps has gone back to his base, and is telling Captain Lennox all about whatever adventures the two of you had. The others went to pick up some visitors. They asked me to babysit you and Ratchet."

"Babysit?" Jace frowned. "Look, I'm not some kid–"

"Whatever. I'm not the one who just spent two days flat on my back." The girl shrugged halfheartedly, and jerked her head towards a pile of cloth Jace had missed in his survey of the room. "There's a bathroom at the other corner, if you want to get cleaned up before they get here."

Jace glanced down at the tattered and dirty shirt that he was still wearing. Had been wearing for four days. He felt filthy.

This would not work.

He rubbed the side of his face with a hand, and tried not to look at the girl. He'd almost forgotten, for a moment, how rough he looked right now. Jace gave her an indistinct grunt, and headed for the indicated clothing.

"I'm Mikaela, by the way." She told him as he moved carefully towards the open door that he could now see at the other side of the building. "I don't know how you got tangled up with these guys, or why, but..."

"Call me Jace." he paused for a moment, and turned to study the obviously curious young woman. She wanted to ask him why he was there, Jace could see, but was refraining. "I... was looking for answers to what happened to me, and found them. And I know that if anyone can tell me what happened in Mission City, they can."

Jace ignored the startled look on Mikaela's face, and closed the door quietly behind him.

There would be time to ask questions later. Right now, all he wanted was to be clean.