Chapter 42 - History
The wind howled over the desolate wasteland. A bright red sun hovered just over the horizon. Everything was grey, save for the sun and the streams of blood flowing from a throne of corpses; doll and human alike. On the throne sat a man in a black suit. Bryant found himself unable to tear his eyes away from the figure. "You're here. Looks like all it took was a massive sedative, I guess." Bryant's eyes scanned the carnage around him. "You shouldn't be surprised. This was all your doing, anyway." The man stood up and approached. That was all Bryant needed to break from his stupor.
Bryant swung a fist at the man. His fist felt slow and sluggish, no power behind figure easily dodged the attack. "You can't kill me, Bryant. You never could." Bryant reached for his gun and shot. The bullet shattered against the man's torso. "Remember, Bryant? 'I am unbreakable'." Another bullet shattered. "'I am undefeatable'." Another bullet. "'I am death incarnate', 'The Bane of the Machine'. Remember?" Bryant opened his mouth to speak but couldn't. The man grabbed Bryant by the shoulders and shouted with a horribly distorted voice. "Remember!"
Bryant was thrown onto his back. Mud and hydraulic fluid splashed onto his face. Reflexes made him roll over and jump up. A soldier wearing an enemy uniform charged him with a knife. Bryant reached for his own knife, but his arm wouldn't move. He was frozen. Heat shot through his body as the knife entered his stomach.
Bryant's eyes snapped open. The white surgical lights hurt his eyes. Bryant rolled his head to the side. Yulia sat on a chair against the wall in powersave mode. Bryant managed a weak chuckle before propping himself up. His side felt heavier. A sturdy metal limb hung from what was once a stub of flesh. The limb twitched slightly. Bryant thought for a moment, trying to move his new arm. He gave up after a few moments and pushed the 'Call for Assistance' button on the bed. A nurse and the doctor arrived in a few minutes.
The nurse took some vitals and did a check while the doctor looked at her notes. "Well, you made it." She said with a smile. Bryant chuckled.
"Yeah, but I feel like crap."
"Don't we all?" The doctor said and turned a page. "So, how does it feel?"
"Heavy...and sore."
"The soreness will continue for about a week, maybe two. It'll take you longer to get used to the arm itself." Bryant nodded and rolled his shoulder. The arm twitched again. "I have some exercises for you to do. Should help you get back up and running."
"Thanks doc."
"One more thing, Mr. Bryant." She tore a page off the clipboard and handed it to him. It was a list of exercises, hygiene and maintenance tips, and a list of 'forbidden' activities. "Follow this for the first three months, and then we'll review your progress. Ideally," She pointed to a spot on the paper, "You should be able to perform basic actions with the arm by then." Bryant nodded.
"What else can't I do? Things that aren't on the paper?"
"Well, no swimming until you get used to the weight. No extreme sports. No tug-of-war until it finishes bonding with your shoulder…"
"Can I go shooting?" Bryant interrupted.
"I don't see why not. Just make sure to use the other hand as the firing hand. Don't want to pull the trigger and blow your whole arm off, now do you?" She said. There was no laughter, so not a joke. Bryant shuddered to think of the injuries she must have seen. "Anyway, you have a green bill of health. Your heart rate is a bit high, but not dangerously so. You can leave as soon as the sedatives wear off. Don't forget to take your Doll with you." She pointed her pen towards Yulia. Bryant nodded and leaned back in bed. His head still swam with the images from his dream. He ran his good hand down his chest towards the scar on his stomach. The wound felt warm, and he swore it was slick with blood.
He shook his head and sat up. He turned to Yulia and cleared his throat. "Yulia, time to wake up." The Doll's eyes opened. Yulia stretched and looked at him.
"Ah. Good Afternoon, Commander. What are your orders for today?" She looked at him with a faint smile.
"I'm going to get ready. I'll need your help with my jacket and sling." Bryant slowly stepped out of bed and shuffled over to his bag. He opened it and paused. On top of his clothing was an old photograph. It was worn from years of travel and being stuffed into pockets during deployments. He gently lifted it and felt a wave of crushing sadness.
Yulia looked over at the picture. A young couple held up a cake in front of a smiling toddler. Several framed medals could be seen in the background, as well as several other things that decorated Bryant's room at base. The picture itself was The date written underneath was nearly too faded to read. "Is that your family, Commander?" Bryant nodded slightly. "That's a birthday party, right? The date is coming up, are you going to take a leave?" Bryant swallowed hard and gently placed the pictured back.
"No." He grabbed his things out of the bag and started getting ready.
"But, if it's important-"
"It isn't." He said pointedly. Yulia froze from his tone. "Besides, I'm too busy to take a leave. So much work to do." He mumbled as he put on a boot. "Gotta stay busy for the rest of the month…"
"But… I don't understand." Bryant shook his head.
"Different times. That was before everything." He put on his other boot and motioned for her to help him. The two continued in silence until Bryant was ready to leave. He lifted his bag and turned to leave.
"Humans are supposed to enjoy family. That's what we've been told." USP said quietly.
"Yeah…"
"What happened? You seem upset." USP asked. Bryant stopped and clenched his fist. He took a sharp breath and his shoulders slumped. He stood there shaking for a few moments. He let out an angry hiss and started walking.
"It's getting late. Let's just go already." USP noticed how tense he looked now. He was almost a different man. He was silent every step of the way home, on the helicopter, and back inside the walls. He muttered a half-hearted greeting to Ursula and Kalina. He all but ignored the other dolls. He sat down on the side of his bed and undid his sling.
"Yulia, get the command room ready. I'm going to be searching again."
"For what?!" Yulia snapped. "Alchemist? Are you that eager to lose your other arm?" She put her hands on her hips. "You need your rest, and you need to stop holding this grudge." Bryant was silent. He slowly stood up and swung his new arm against the wall. The screech of metal-on-metal hung in the air for a brief moment. Yulia's mouth hung open, a gasp of fear stuck in her throat.
"You don't get to give orders!" He roared. He towered over her. "I don't need to explain myself to a machine! You are built only to serve and follow the orders you are given." Every word he spoke caused Yulia to cringe more in fear. "Now get the damn command room ready!" She managed only a squeak and rushed out of the room.
Bryant stood still for a long time. Long enough for the burning anger within him to reduce to a simmer. His entire body ached, a rage deep within him that wouldn't be settled. He sat down and let out a loud sigh. He glanced over to his tablet. The screen was flickering. He reached for it, and the screen turned black. After a few moments, a thin voice came through.
"Bryant." He hesitated to answer. "Your security is terrible."
"Who-"
"It is not important."
"I beg to differ." Bryant said. There was another pause. There was clicking noise, like another line was connected to the call.
"Captain?" The voice was familiar. One he hadn't heard in a long time. "Listen to me...I need your help." Bryant was quiet again. "I know I said we were even last time, but this time...it's big." The tension in his voice was evident. "Someone is going to destroy the Neo Karis spire."
"How can you possibly know that?!"
"I can't risk it any more on the open air. We need to talk in person."
"Where?"
"The Neo Karis resort. I can meet you at the security office."
"I'll be there. See you soon." Bryant got up and reached for his bug-out bag stuffed in the corner.
"Wonderful. I'll see you there, Captain. Godspeed to you." Bryant grabbed his things and hurried towards the Command Room to leave a note for Ursula. He turned to say something to Yulia and stopped. She wasn't there. A pang of guilt shot through his being. No matter, he thought, she'd just slow me down.
The line was terminated almost before Andrew could get his last words out. The room was quiet, except for the labored breathing of a badly beaten thug. There were seven total in the room. Four dolls wearing black robes surrounded the man, each holding a knife. A doll in white stood next to Andrew. "Do you think Bryant will arrive?"
"Of course," Andrew said while wiping his hands, "the captain wouldn't ignore such a threat."
"Do you believe you can turn him against the intruders?"
"Definitely," Andrew said as he turned to the beaten man, "doubly so if this one is telling the truth." He slid on a pair of thick gloves before delivering another suckerpunch to the other man's gut. The man spat up blood and bile. The doll in white glanced to the floor and back up.
"What more do you hope to accomplish?" She asked. Andrew delivered another punch, this one to the face.
"Stress relief." He muttered before stepping back. "That's all." He announced loudly, "I don't think we'll get anything more from him." He took off the gloves and made a gesture. The women in black took their knives and hacked away at the thug's neck until the head was severed. Andrew picked up the head and wrinkled his nose. "Terrible knife work. We'll need to work on that."
He put the head into the awaiting hands of a doll before sitting back in a chair. He made a motion and one of the dolls fetched him a drink. "Everything is set. Are you ready to go?" The white doll shook her head.
"There has been a change of plans. You will be taking one of my sisters, one who is ready to prove herself." Andrew nodded and downed the drink.
"Perfect. I hope she's a good tactician. It will be coming to blows and bullets, and I will not be babysitting."
"Certainly. She will be ready." The doll pulled up a list of information. "Now then, let us go over the plan once more, shall we?"