Twelve Two
Lockette was drifting -- locked in a space between what was, and what was about to be. She remembered her death on the Idari. She remembered coming to Orikolai, and seeing a replica of her face. She could taste chemicals on her tongue, where she had been sedated. But that ripping sensation... Somewhere in her core.
Lockette couldn't feel it anymore.
Captain Lang: "Wake up, XII-2."
Systems started to come online, flashing warnings briefly, before catching up with the latest information. All systems orange -- two levels below green, but above red (aka dying!). Lockette grimaced, and opened her eyes. She was in a medical bed, flanked by Captain Natasha Lang, of Omega Delta Squad, and a doctor she didn't know.
Lockette: "Well, I'm not dead. So I suppose I owe someone a thank you. It's Lockette, by the way."
Captain Lang: "My apologies. I'd forgotten you cared -- most prefer the number. This is Dr. Lebowitz, our senior researcher. She'll be taking care of your recovery."
Dr. Lebowitz: "It's an honor, Lockette. I've read all your files."
Lockette: "Oh! Might I get a look at those?"
Captain Lang: "Afraid not. Lebowitz? The debrief? I have a meeting in ten." Lebowitz winked at Lockette, and pulled a datapad from behind her back, and started reading from the screen. Dr. Lebowitz: "You experienced a supernatural resurrection effect, classified SD-1230, also known as Rastelviri's Blessing, and returned to Orikolai last week. We were able to save most of your gear, and your memory banks, but the body was thoroughly dismantled. My guess--"
Captain Lang: "Stick to the data, Lebowitz."
Dr. Lebowitz: "We don't know why. But we were able to utilize your... Well. An extra--"
Captain Lang: "You were noncompliant, so we started on Lockette XIII for when you eventually kicked the bucket. We weren't keen on getting your body back, given your extraplanar adventures. Unlike the last model, which was Jun Zhao's work, this was designed by Lebowitz and our team, using his notes." Lebowitz glared at Lang behind her back as she was interrupted, but cooled at the transfer of credit. Lockette looked down at her hands... But they didn't turn like they were supposed to. Her left didn't even move. The other melted, crumbling into a pool of nanites in her lap, and then snapping back to form. Lockette: "Brigh's ghost! I thank you, but are you sure you did it right?"
Dr. Lebowitz: "Yes! I wouldn't move much, until you get the hang of it... This new body is very different. It will take some time to get used to."
Lockette: "Some time?"
Captain Lang: "Three months, or so I'm told."
Lockette: "Three months? I need to--" Lockette felt her internal alarms fire off, and her stomach flipped, and then summarily began to melt. Looking down, she realized it was happening to all of her, like when she activated Assimilate, but she had no control of it. She tried to steady her breathing, but it kept going, and getting worse, and worse...
The vision skips ahead, where a whole and healthy Lockette lays in her bed, seen from above. Dr. Lebowitz stands over her, checking vitals, as Captain Lang returns from another engagement. Captain Lang: "Status?"
Dr. Lebowitz: "Stable. Still some damage, but it's healing. She'll get it, I know she will." Lang scowled, looking down at Lockette, and then to her comm unit. She kept a live video feed of the hangar going, in case the situation changed. There were Swarm mutants everywhere, spreading their ichor on the walls, and sealing them in. They had two and a half months of food left, if they stuck to half rations. Captain Lang: "She'd better. For all our sakes..."
Captain Lang: "My apologies. I'd forgotten you cared -- most prefer the number. This is Dr. Lebowitz, our senior researcher. She'll be taking care of your recovery."
Dr. Lebowitz: "It's an honor, Lockette. I've read all your files."
Lockette: "Oh! Might I get a look at those?"
Captain Lang: "Afraid not. Lebowitz? The debrief? I have a meeting in ten." Lebowitz winked at Lockette, and pulled a datapad from behind her back, and started reading from the screen. Dr. Lebowitz: "You experienced a supernatural resurrection effect, classified SD-1230, also known as Rastelviri's Blessing, and returned to Orikolai last week. We were able to save most of your gear, and your memory banks, but the body was thoroughly dismantled. My guess--"
Captain Lang: "Stick to the data, Lebowitz."
Dr. Lebowitz: "We don't know why. But we were able to utilize your... Well. An extra--"
Captain Lang: "You were noncompliant, so we started on Lockette XIII for when you eventually kicked the bucket. We weren't keen on getting your body back, given your extraplanar adventures. Unlike the last model, which was Jun Zhao's work, this was designed by Lebowitz and our team, using his notes." Lebowitz glared at Lang behind her back as she was interrupted, but cooled at the transfer of credit. Lockette looked down at her hands... But they didn't turn like they were supposed to. Her left didn't even move. The other melted, crumbling into a pool of nanites in her lap, and then snapping back to form. Lockette: "Brigh's ghost! I thank you, but are you sure you did it right?"
Dr. Lebowitz: "Yes! I wouldn't move much, until you get the hang of it... This new body is very different. It will take some time to get used to."
Lockette: "Some time?"
Captain Lang: "Three months, or so I'm told."
Lockette: "Three months? I need to--" Lockette felt her internal alarms fire off, and her stomach flipped, and then summarily began to melt. Looking down, she realized it was happening to all of her, like when she activated Assimilate, but she had no control of it. She tried to steady her breathing, but it kept going, and getting worse, and worse...
The vision skips ahead, where a whole and healthy Lockette lays in her bed, seen from above. Dr. Lebowitz stands over her, checking vitals, as Captain Lang returns from another engagement. Captain Lang: "Status?"
Dr. Lebowitz: "Stable. Still some damage, but it's healing. She'll get it, I know she will." Lang scowled, looking down at Lockette, and then to her comm unit. She kept a live video feed of the hangar going, in case the situation changed. There were Swarm mutants everywhere, spreading their ichor on the walls, and sealing them in. They had two and a half months of food left, if they stuck to half rations. Captain Lang: "She'd better. For all our sakes..."
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