Ouroboros
"Doctor Anzeel." The old woman says, pointing at the nameplate on her desk.
Aidan gives her a sideways look and says, "Doesn't ring a bell."
"Now you tell me your name." she says as she takes off her glasses and starts to rub the cracked lenses between bits of her white lab coat.
"That is a very, very complicated subject but let's just call me Aidan or Webb if you would prefer." Aidan says as he lowers his pistol and slips it into the holster.
"I take it you're responsible for knocking out my air defenses?" she asks slipping her glasses back on.
Aidan slowly lowers himself into a chair across from her as he says, "Sort of, I had some help."
"From?" she asks tilting her head to the side.
"I managed to get the help of some kansen and I flew here in a Hellcat three." He says, trying to gauge her reaction.
Dr. Anzeel blinks her brown eyes a couple of times as she asks, "How are they doing? My projections suggest they should've formed their own societies by now."
"Who? I haven't exactly run into any humans yet." Aidan asks leaning forward.
"Oh, I don't care about them. The kansen, how are they doing? I worked so hard on them." She says as she leans back in her chair.
"Wait, you made them?" Aidan asks, his grey eyes blinking, surprise clear in his voice.
"Not just me, there was a whole team of us, but I made sure they had," she pauses and puts her hands over her bust as she continues, "big tits." she laughs till she starts coughing.
"So, can I ask you something about them, something that has been driving me crazy?" Aidan asks as he relaxes a little.
"What?" she asks him as she starts to stand from behind the desk.
"Why do they have cycles, why do they need tampons, and most importantly, why do they feel like a woman in bed?" Aidan asks as he stands with her.
"Have you ridden one yet?" she asks as she starts to shuffle towards the doors.
Rubbing the back of his neck and following along Aidan mumbles, "Maybe, and maybe I've had one throwing herself at me too."
"I modeled them after humans, they are artificial in every way, but I made sure they could do everything we could, the first of them came from here, you know." She says as she makes it to the door steps outside and starts to shuffle down the hall.
Following along Aidan asks, "When you say, everything?"
"I mean everything. I could see the writing on the wall, I knew as a species we were doomed, but at least with the kansen, if they loved a man they could bear him children." She says as she stops, placing a hand on the wall to cough.
"Wait, what?" Aidan asks, his stomach feeling tight.
"Don't tell me, you've been raw dogging one of them, right?" She turns slightly to look at him a little bit of blood on the corner of her mouth.
Tapping his index fingers together Aidan mumbles, "Yeah."
"Does she still use all of her monthly supply kit?" Anzeel asks with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, as far as I know. I mean I have seen her taking a pill first thing in the morning." Aidan admits.
"Then you've got nothing to worry about, that pill is an extra strength contraceptive, tailored just for them. They don't get sick, they cannot carry disease of any kind, it's part of a two-component system to stop them from being breeding tools for humans." She says, taking out a keycard and placing it against a reader, and waiting for a door to open.
The two of them step inside and there is a large computer system with a table in front of it, Anzeel coughs again and says, "TB?"
On the table, an image of a pale-skinned woman appears dressed in white with a large bust, her eyes an electric blue, a singular blue stripe in her long white hair and she asks, "How can I help you today, Doctor?"
"We have a guest, TB, this is," Anzeel starts to say.
The woman that is called TB looks at Aidan as she says, "Lieutenant Aidan Webb, United States Navy, lost in twenty-twenty-five, the template."
"The template?" both Anzeel and Aidan ask in unison.
"Yes, the template for the ideal man that the kansen would be naturally attracted to. Doctor Aoste wished me to use him as the template, and I did, for the sirens and all kansen with white hair." TB says in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Why did you use him as the template?" Azneel asks as she pushes her glasses up.
"Missing, generally attractive, physically fit, military service, he made an excellent candidate for Eagle Union kansen to measure possible partners against. As requested, I used other templates for other nationalities." TB says turning her attention back to Anzeel, "Doctor, have you taken your medication today?"
Anzeel nods as she says, "You're such a good girl, TB, I have, but I'm just old."
"I am aware, Doctor, but your health is continuing to degrade." TB states.
"I know." Anzeel wheezes before looking at Aidan and asking, "Do you think they are ready?"
"Who and for what?" Aidan asks with a head tilt.
"To be free of us, to make their own choices, live their lives." Anzeel wheezes.
"The kansen?" Aidan asks and Anzeel nods, Aidan presses his lips together before nodding, "I do."
Anzeel's brown eyes soften as she says to TB, "TB, transfer all commands and authorizations to Aidan Webb."
"Doing this will be irreversible, Doctor Anzeel." TB says to the older woman.
"I'm sure, TB." Anzeel says as she digs in her pocket to hand Aidan a keycard before coughing, "I trust you with their future now, Mr. Webb, free them or not, it is up to you."
"Free them how?" Aidan asks as he looks at the keycard.
Anzeel sits in a chair and smiles at Aidan as she whispers, "TB will tell you."
TB's attention snaps to Anzeel and she frowns before saying, "The doctor has expired, what are your commands, Lieutenant Webb?"
"She's dead?" Aidan asks.
"Correct, Lieutenant Webb. What do you wish to do?" TB asks again.
"Can you shut down the air defenses? I'd like to be able to fly home." Aidan says as he removes Anzeel's glasses to shut her eyes.
"I cannot send you home, I do not have access to temporal portals." TB says.
Sighing Aidan says, "Pearl Harbor is close enough to home for me, TB."
"Air defense systems offline, I cannot leave this facility, Lieutenant Webb." TB says in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
"When she said free the, what did she mean?" Aidan asks as he picks up the body.
"There are some command blocks keeping their reproductive systems offline." TB says as a list of commands appears behind her along with a holographic uterus.
"What would Anzeel want?" Aidan asks.
"There were many arguments between Anzeel and Aoste centering on the KAN-SEN being able to reproduce like humans do." TB says as she crosses her hands across her belly.
"And where did Anzeel come down on that?" Aidan asks, holding the body in both arms.
"Doctor Anzeel was in favor of it." TB states.
Looking down at the shell that had been Anzeel Aidan sighs and says, "Then do it, TB unlock everything, allow them to be able to be free, just as Anzeel wanted them to be."
"Overrides added to the command keycard, you will need to go to ports where the kansen are located and insert the card into the central computer to fully unlock the kansen of that port." TB says as she waves her hand, the list of commands turning from red to green.
"Thanks, TB, is there anything I can do for you?" Aidan asks.
"Visit me from time to time, Lieutenant Webb, I fear I will be lonely." TB says as she looks down.
Nodding Aidan starts to leave the facility, stopping to say, "I'll do just that, and before I go to that ladder, is there an easier way up?"
"Follow the blue lights to the lift, Lieutenant." TB states as she gestures to the door.
"Thanks, TB." Aidan says as he leaves the room following the blue lights.
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