Case Notes: Hello again my outstanding readers!
I have updated all of these first three chapters, I hope that they flow better and don't quite rush things along as much! Feel free to let me know again in a review what you think!
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Another sidenote, check out my second fic Dawn of Battle! It's a Halo story, but I'll be updating this one more frequently.
Close Case Notes
The rest of the evening was dominated by silence, as Visia slept I was waging an inner battle with myself over my rash decision to let her – AN ALIEN – stay in my hospital, let alone possibly my house. I knew that it was at first the shock of the situation that kept me calm, but the white noise of the hospital let me dive inside me head some to figure out what in the hell I was doing.
I have to turn her in to someone, I might get put in jail or worse for this! One part of me argued, whereas another threw in: She's a random alien creature that looks like she could tear me apart in an instant, and I'm considering taking her home. What if she just ends up killing me in my sleep? I glance over at her, only for a second, but it was enough to make me freak out even more as I saw her sleeping form. Shit… she knows I'm scared… I'm done for, for sure. I should have called the friggin CIA.
Visia POV
It may have looked like I was asleep to anyone that glanced at me, but the events of the day kept me from fully resting. I never would have imagined I would find myself crashed on the Human planet. I assumed everything would have gone according to plan, but yet here I am, lying in a human hospital bed, with little idea when exactly I could go back to my own space, and to top it off I was being watched by a member of the newly-found species! To be honest I would have expected to be greeted with the planet's military, scientists prying open my plates and killing me to learn about my kind.
But no. Where do I end up? The human equivalent of a backwater colony world, no military to be found, and quirky doctor who invited her to stay at his work, and possibly, even his own home. I guess he was either in shock of what was happening and allowed this before thinking it through, or he feared I would kill him if he didn't. As I lay there, eyes closed, reveling in the first real moment of rest I have had all day, I suddenly felt the chilling sensation you get when you know someone is watching you. Not wanting to give away that I was awake, I waited a few moments before cracking an eye and taking in the human that was seated on a stool at the foot of the bed.
Letting out a deep breath (very softly), I had my first real experience gathering what their species looked like. His most prominent features were his grey-blue eyes, I noticed those when we caught each other's gaze earlier in the day. Next to that would be his pale blonde hair. It was amusing to see, cropped short on the sides with the top a tad longer and showing some curl. He had both a soft and strong face, with a somewhat angled jaw and small divot on his chin. His skin was a lighter color than most, with a small hint of a darker shade, what I guessed to be from the sun. I saw a few small, odd flecks of brown on his cheeks, how strange?
He was taller, from what I could tell, by my own guess 6'3", and had broad shoulders with large arms and a thin but strong upper body. In general, he looked somewhat imposing, but I could tell he had a thoughtful, compassionate side that showed by his choice of profession. I wonder how our two species stack up against each other? I wondered, closing my eyes again to try and fall back asleep for good this time. I couldn't help but wonder, though, what it would be like to spend days with the humans!
Cole POV
I noticed subtly that her eyes had opened a crack, looking me over for a moment before closing them again. Was she sizing me up? She had to have been. Why, God I hope she's not deciding whether or not to keep me alive. I mused for a few minutes more, until I thought she was really asleep, before leaning my head back and falling asleep myself.
I woke several hours later, according to the small clock on the wall of the room. As soon as my mind cleared of grogginess I looked around to see if maybe it had all been a dream or figment of my imagination, that maybe it all wasn't real, and I had thought it all up as a result of my stress. All it took to disprove that, though, was a look at the bed where I had left her the night before to find that there was, indeed, an alien sitting off the edge.
"This really isn't a bad hospital you have here, Cole. The room is smaller than my apartment on the Citadel, but still comfortable…" Visia commented as I gained my senses. She had made herself comfortable on the hospital bed, so I made my way to a chair closer to where she was sitting, one, so we can talk and be able to see each other, and two, it's closer to the door in case of some sort of attack. "T-thank you…" I stammer, my mind blowing up as it truly begins to process what had happened the previous day.
"What's wrong? You seem nervous, doc?" She crossed her legs, the 'spur' on the back of one tapping against the other. "I'm not scaring you, am I?" She spread her mandibles in another grin before chuckling. "That'd be a bit odd, to be scared so soon, don't you think? I haven't done anything to you, and you barely know me, so why don't you take a second to figure it all out and then we can start all over, no more 'Big, Scary Turian' act. Sound good?" My brow cocked as I heard her little speech, I soon nodded and rubbed my eyes, shaking my head to clear any shaky thoughts before taking a deep breath and looking back up at her. "Alright, I guess you have yourself a deal."
"Great. So then, Cole. Besides the obvious that you're from Earth, where do you come from?" She asked me. I glanced away for a second, deciding what I wanted to divulge right away. She was, despite any indications to the contrary, a possibly hostile alien, and I had to be safe. But then again, I couldn't shake the gut instinct that she was safe, so I decided on a happy medium of my 'full' history.
"Well, actually I was born here, this very town. Grew up in a house not too far from here with my parents and a younger sister, loved it here. After I got my job here they moved away for my sister's school, and they let me keep the house, so I've been living there since. I moved away for a little while for medical school, but came back for residency and now a job at the same ER." I replied, my pared down history seeming to work for her as she nodded after listening. "So, Visia what about you? I know you're from space, but where exactly?" I asked, leaning forward a bit, into the conversation. Now was my chance to finally get a glimpse into the life of another species, something I had been dying to do since I was little.
"My past is a bit more complicated than most, I guess. I was born on my kind's homeworld of Palaven. It's a really rocky place, lots of solar radiation, hence my plates. But, I grew up there, with only my mother and father. I was seventeen when my parents were deployed in the military to fight against a particularly bad pirate ring. They… didn't make it back…" Here she stopped, having to look away and close her eyes before continuing. "At that point I was beginning my training in the military, as all Turians do, when I heard the news. I tried to take it in stride, made it through basic just fine, but left as soon as my required service was done. Moved to the Citadel, which is a massive space station that holds our galactic council, and started taking some odd jobs to get by before landing this job for the Council's exploration operation. Since I was a recon pilot for the Hierarchy, I fit the bill perfectly. You know the rest."
"Wow… that's a hell of a lot to go through." My eyes were wide, and I was honestly shocked at her history. It was amazing to see how similar her story is to some human friends that I had known over the years. "So, do you have anyone else to go back to? Any family or friends?" I asked, genuinely concerned for her.
She heaved a heavy sigh and shook her head, "Not really. I have extended family from my clan, but I hardly talk to them. And I've always been too busy for friends, or anything outside work to be entirely honest." She tilted her head back in what I took to be shame, frustration, or maybe even both.
"Hey, don't be so smug!" I told her, "Look at it this way, now that I'm starting to see you're not a genocidal alien killing machine, I can offer a little advice. You're basically doing 1000 times more than your job asked you to do by getting first-hand experience, straight from the source. Plus, since you're stranded, it gives you time to step back and look at things from another perspective, set off in a new direction. At least, that's what I would do…" I look away, up at the clock, at the door handle, anything to avoid some sort of backlash from my short speech (though I really doubted at this point there would be any.)
When I looked back at her after a few moments, she too looked like she was thinking what I had said over and over in her head. Her brow plate was raised quizzically before she nodded subtly, looking back up at me. "You know, you're right. Hell, the Council better pay me double… no triple… after what I've been through and the info I've gotten for them. And sure, I know I'll only be here for a month, at most, so a fresh start on a new planet, however short, I'll count my blessings from the spirits…" She chuckled.
Visia POV
It appears that these humans are fairly wise creatures, capable of great foresight, intelligence, and emotions. I'm sure that the members of the council would just love to hear a report from this perspective…
Cole POV
Oh, good, I thought I was just ranting… "Oh… well, that's great to hear, Visia…" I smiled some to no one in particular, leaning back into the chair for a while as we both sat, contained in our thoughts before I spoke up again. "What do you say to some food? I'm starving, it's been more than just a busy night…" I joked. She widened her mandibles in a smile before nodding, standing with me to grab some of her rations as I went back to grab more of my reliable cold pizza.
Case Notes: Well that wraps up the rewrite of number 3! Tell me how you liked it! Check in next time!