Where there is life...
The armored XCOM soldier was shaking her head.
"Again." Gertrude said very firmly when Chris stepped out of the improvised shower room, his skin red from scrubbing and his only clothing a towel around his waist. "You missed behind the ears."
"You couldn't possibly-" Chris broke off as Gertrude stepped forward, laid an armored finger on his right ear and stroked the back of it faster than he could retreat. Her finger came away filthy. She held it up and he slumped, defeated. "Yes, Ma'am."
He walked back into the room that she had set up the shower in and a gasp came as the pipes poured icy water on him. That was all they had but he wasn't complaining. Much. Buc looked a question at Gertrude who smiled grimly.
"He never does the ears the first time." The XCOM soldier said with a small smile that Buc slowly shared. "Always in hurry, that kid. He has been ever since I first met him." She raised her voice to be heard over the water spraying. "Use the soap, Chris."
"Yes, Ma'am." He said in the same defeated tone as the sound of scrubbing came.
"Never wants use anything to get clean, huh?" Buc asked. Gertrude shook her head. The human had arrived with a companion who had moved to examine the closed door without a word to anyone. She had taken the whole situation in at a glance on arrival, grabbed Chris literally by the arm and dragged him to a place where she could examine him. She hadn't really been rough, but she hadn't given an inch either. Then she had demanded to talk to Buc who was quite subdued in the face of the XCOM warrior. "We Deep Dwellers don't have that problem, but cleaning was always... Well..." She broke off and slumped. "I expected you to be angry with me."
"I am angry." Gertrude replied, not looking at the Gill Woman. "You attacked the home of a friend and kidnapped two of her kids. One of them is dying and the other is attracted to you."
"Yes, I-" Buc broke off and gasped. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
"Keep it down." Gertrude warned, a hint of ice entering in her tone. Buc stammered an apology and nodded, glancing at the shower, but Chris was still busy. "He is distracted and I want to keep him that way long enough to talk to you. He doesn't know what he is doing. He is a kid. He has all kind of book learning and zero life experience except for horror and now, maybe slavery and/or dying even more horribly." At that, Buc went totally still and Gertrude continued. "I met Chris a couple of years ago. He and his family had escaped Advent and gone through several bad experiences. We helped them and they offered to help us. None of us understood back then the full horror of what Advent had done to them. None of us want them enslaved. As angry as I am with you, I reviewed the reports on the way here and you may be his only chance at avoiding that."
"I hurt Alice." Buc protested, but softly as the water sounds cut off and scrubbing sounds intensified.
"No, you didn't." Gertrude replied and Buc stared at the armored human. "The neural damage was caused by the imperfect link and the damage your ship took. Nothing you did hurt her. I don't know if it helped but it didn't hurt her any worse."
"I…" Buc stammered very softly. "She was in pain and I… I couldn't… She was…"
"I know." Gertrude was very quiet now and Buc stared at her as the XCOM's soldiers eyes went far away. "I have seen it firsthand. They had a sister named Marie. Her ship was caught in storm. It was a drone, but the connection was so tight that she might as well have been in it herself when the electrical discharge hit it and fried all of its systems. She died right in front of me." She looked at Buc and the human's eyes under her armored faceplate held bottomless sorrow. "As furious as I am, as raging as all of us are at what just happened… If there is any chance for him outside of our sphere, please, grab it! I don't know what you can do, if anything. I know you are not the same species. I know you are a soldier and you have to obey orders. I know you have been fighting a war that according to Alley is just as bad in some ways as the one we fought, but please..." She begged. "If there is any way to help any of them… I cannot watch another of them die in front of me. I also cannot watch them slowly stagnate in our benevolent captivity trying to keep them alive and I cannot set them free. Maybe you can."
"Chris said they were healed." Buc pleaded.
"No." Gertrude replied as the sounds of scrubbing faded. She called out. "And the back!"
"Yes, Ma'am." Came the dispirited reply with more water sounds.
"Not healed?" Buc asked, stunned.
"Aging." Gertrude said very softly. "Dying as slowly as humans always have. We are not meant to live forever. We are meant for a time on this plane and then to go further, where is always depending on what you believe. Chris and his siblings didn't have that before and Alley fixed that, but she cannot fix the core of what they are. What was done to these kids cannot be undone. Alley has nearly killed herself several times trying. Advent meant them to be disposable. We do not want to act that way but…"
"I saw what Alice did." Buc was stunned by all this. "That shouldn't have been possible."
"Exactly." Gertrude took a deep breath and then nodded to Buc. "Your commanders will see Alice and Chris as powerful weapons. Nothing more. Rightly so, they are. That is what Advent made them for. Weapons to use and throw away."
"That is… unspeakable. They are young! Not soldiers!" Buc stammered, almost undone and Gertrude actually put a hand on her arm.
"They want to fly. They want to feel free and what they seek is not freedom. It is slavery and they do not recognize that because they were all programmed not to recognize it at a level too deep for any of us to touch with any power known." Gertrude paused as the water sounded ended. "Did you do the toes?" She called and Chris gave voice to a wordless cry of rage. "Don't you yell at me, young man!" She put just the right sound of 'Momma is not happy!' into her tone and he subsided. "Clean not quick!"
"Sorry, Ma'am. No excuse, Ma'am. Yes, Ma'am." Chris said from the shower and the water noises started again.
"What can 'I' do?" Buc asked after a moment of processing this insanity. "As you say, we are different species."
"A relationship does not have to involve reproduction." Gertrude kept her eyes on the room where Chris was showering. "Some of the strongest relationships I have have seen involve people thrown together who found strength with each other. Do you like him?" Buc gasped and Gertrude continued. "Not in any physical way, but…" She broke off as Buc nodded.
"Yes." Buc said very quietly. "The captain has noticed. He hasn't said anything, but I think the others have too. Chris is very young and a bit naive, but he is strong and independent minded. He sets his mind to a task and does it. I get the feeling that if he gives a promise, he will keep it barring some unforeseen events." Gertrude nodded. "I am much older than he is and I will not take advantage of him."
"Your commanders will tell you to." Gertrude said with a growl and Buc stilled. "When they do, what will you do?"
"I… I do not know." Buc admitted. "I have been a soldier since my family was killed and I know no other life now. Alice and Chris awakened something in me that I have no name for. I am not attracted to either of them, but I admire them. I would like to help them. Both of them are exceptional."
"They are." Gertrude agreed. "I do not know your military. Its ranks or its workings. I know that Chris and Alice would be seen as weapons. That is what they were made for. My people chose a different way and it is not working. All I have now is hope." The water stopped again and she moved to stand by the entry to the next room. This time, when Chris entered still clad only in the towel, she gave him a long look and then nodded. "Go get dressed." Chris started off, but paused when Gertrude laid a hand on his arm. "Chris? You doing okay?"
"Not really." Chris admitted. "You being you helps. That is why you do it. Right?" Gertrude smiled and nodded. "I don't like it, but I do love you for it, Miss Feedback."
"I know." Gertrude swatted his behind and he yelped, but it was play and both knew it. "Go get dressed, scamp. And yes. Put the armor on."
"Yes, Ma'am." That was firmer than his other replies and he smiled at her before leaving the room.
"You really care for him." Buc said, stunned beyond measure at this tough as nails warrior's softness to the other human.
"Yeah." Gertrude said and then gave herself a shake. "It is hard not to. They are kids. They have lived for longer than they seem to have. They have been educated as well as possible, but in the end? They are still kids and throwing them into battle just sits wrong with me and a lot of others."
"If flight is their only freedom, even if it is fake…" Buc inhaled as the sheer awfulness of the whole situation crashed down on her.
"...then we have no right to deny them that, no matter how it hurts us when they fall." Gertrude agreed. "I hope and pray you can find a better way. Maybe for Chris. Maybe for Alice if you can help her. As I say, I am very angry with what you and your people did, but we are failing them. All of them."
"He doesn't blame you." Buc muttered and Gertrude shook her head.
They are all good people. They know we are trying our best." Gertrude slumped. "It just isn't enough. A couple of them have shown improvement, but not enough of them. They all want to fly and we cannot help them. Maybe your people can."
"My people will use them in our war." Buc warned.
"I know. I just… I am grasping at straws. At any hope that is dangled in front of me. I love them and I can't help them." Gertrude frowned when Chris appeared nearby clad in his armor, but without his helmet on. He moved to her side without a word and hugged her! "Chris!"
"We know, Miss Feedback." Chris hugged her armored form tight enough that the plastic on both torsos squeaked. "We know."
"You know you don't have to call me that, Chris." Gertrude patted his head fondly as he laid it on her shoulder. "You are not in my chain of command, so you don't have to use my call sign."
"I know, but it makes you blush. That is what everyone called you when we first met so you will always be 'Miss Feedback' to me." Chris grinned as he said that and she groaned, but her heart wasn't in it. Buc smiled at the interplay, but then she stilled.
"You heard all of that." Chris nodded to Buc's words and the Gill Woman sheaved a sigh. "I don't know what to do. I mean, I am a medic. A soldier."
"So am I." Gertrude hugged Chris one more time and released him. He stepped back and nodded to her. "I am also sort of an informal aunt to these hellions."
"Aunt. Baby sitter. Nanny. Caregiver." Chris commented and her face turned an interesting shade of pink. "Diaper changer. Shoulder. Boot to the butt. You know we love you, Miss Feedback."
"It is a good thing I love you too, Chris or I would kick your butt." Gertrude promised and both of the humans laughed. Buc looked confused. "It is an old human joke, Buc. It doesn't make a lot of sense."
"I… No, love doesn't make sense." The Gill Woman agreed. "I haven't felt that since my family died, but seeing you and Alice makes me feel different, Chris. It is not the same. But I do feel something for you. I have no idea how to define it however."
"Buc, you are stubborn, pushy. Bossy and opinionated." Chris said to Buc who met his gaze. "But you are also right much of the time. I know I lack experience. I haven't been through the same horrible experiences that you and Miss Feedback…" He paused as Gertrude slapped him on the head. "Hey!"
"Stop calling me that." Gertrude warned.
"You want me to call you Gertrude Morgan?" Chris asked, half joking, but he went still when she nodded, a small smile on her face. "How about Mrs Morgan?"
"Either will work when we are not in combat." Gertrude said with a nod. "'Feedback' is for when I am on duty. Not on my honeymoon."
"Right." Chris took a deep breath and then nodded to her. "Apologies, Mrs Morgan. I am out of sorts. I may lapse, but I am sure if I do, you will slap me."
"Ja." Gertrude smiled at him and he smiled back.
"You humans certainly talk violent." Buc complained, but it wasn't really serious. "Then again, the ones we usually deal with are even less civilized, so… Is it normal for your kind?"
"Not really." Chris started, but Gertrude nodded, making a face. "Um…"
"History says it is, but many people are trying new things now. Especially since so many non humans are stuck on Earth with the Elders gone." The XCOM woman said with a frown. "That said? We knew nothing about you being attacked. No word at all from any of our sources. Who has been attacking you? Do you know?"
"No. They refuse communication of any kind and even if disabled, all of their craft self destruct to prevent capture." Buc was quiet and neither of the others pressed her. "We have only caught a few of their agents and even under extreme interrogation, they refuse to talk. They seem to be a diverse group. The only true similarity is that all of them have psionic powers."
"All of them?" Chris inquired, his face scrunching up.
"Yes." Buc agreed. "Not totally out of the realm of possibility that only their warriors are cursed in such a way and those are the ones who of course would be the ones sent out to fight, but still. It is odd."
"Yes, it is." Gertrude agreed. "Humans as a whole are not psionic. The ones who are are rare, even among our ranks, so… Hmmm." She pondered for a moment and then blew out a deep breath. "Is there anything else that comes to mind about them? I can think of a couple of different groups who had large numbers of psis, but we haven't seen most of them recently and the few groups we have seen a lot of recently are not hostile, generally." She smiled at Chris who looked abashed. "Present company included."
"We just want to fly, Mrs Morgan." Chris said carefully and Gertrude smiled wider. "Not necessarily fight."
"Yeah, and that is a good thing." Gertrude agreed. "Is there there anything else? Psi powers are not as rare as they were before the Elders came but people still tend to get very private about their powers."
"They also tend to get upset when people who look official start coming around asking questions." Chris said sourly. "Echoes of Advent sweeps."
"Not really." Buc admitted. "The only real similarity is the outsized helmets they wear and the circle on the… front of…" She trailed off as both of the others hissed.
"Front of the helmets." Gertrude suddenly had a rifle in hand and Chris was tensed. Buc froze solid, unsure of what to do, but Chris shook his head and she relaxed a little as. "Let me be sure I have this straight. Your human enemies wear helmets that have a large empty circle on the front? Almost where the forehead would be on a human?" Buc nodded, mystified and Feedback cursed. She shook her head as she tapped a control and then muttered. "Don't you dare tell your moms I taught you that one, Chris. But ah, well… If it is them, then we are in deep."
"It can't be them, can it?" Chris hissed again. "They wouldn't dare cross the Director! Would they?"
"They did crazier things during the war, Chris." Gertrude… No, this was the XCOM soldier Feedback now. Crisp, clean and professional as something beeped and a robot of some kind swooped in from where it had been concealed and hovered by her shoulder. "Are either of you armed?"
"Yes." Buc said instantly, but didn't dare touch her holstered pistol.
"No." Chris admitted. "I was in the hospital. They frowned on my being armed." Buc gasped as Feedback took a hand from her rifle, pulled a pistol out of a concealed holster and handed it to Chris!
"It is chambered. Talon rounds." Feedback warned as Chris checked it expertly. "Be sure of your targets."
"Yes, Ma'am." That was professional, not a kid responding to the soldier's order. He held the weapon low, but ready.
"What is going on?" Buc asked slowly, unsure.
"Draw your weapon and be ready to defend yourself." Feedback was quiet, every sense on hyperalert. "This place was setting off all of my nerves before and now I am sure it is a trap. I don't know for who and I don't care. We are going to rejoin the main group and-"
An alarm sounded from the distance and Buc jerked, her hand halfway to opening her holster as her wrist mounted control beeped an urgent warning. "That is from the ship! The stasis field is failing! Alice!"
"That is a trap. Don't move!" Feedback snarled as Buc started for the door. "They want you running into their line of fire! Chris! Behind me! You, Buc! To the side!"
"I have got to help Alice!" Buc snapped right back, finally getting her sonic pistol out, for all the good it would do her. She wasn't stupid though, she did move to where Feedback gestured her to. Chris was always in meager cover behind the thin wall to the shower area.
"You will do her no good a prisoner or dead." Feedback snapped again as two shadows lengthened outside the room. "That is close enough!" She said, drawing a bead on the closest shadow. Chris and Buc aimed at the other one. "Identify!" Instead of a response, one raised a hand and purple power flared out to touch Feedback's helmet. Said power did nothing! She laughed, but it was both sour and a bit maniacal. "Okay, have it your way, dumkoff."
With that, she opened fire.