Zack
Inactive Member
About twenty miles outside Funky City, a sedan pulled to a stop outside a small, nondescript building. The sign mounted in front of the parking lot denoted the structure as owned by "Paladin Development LTD." However, anyone who had ever entered the lobby elevator and descended to the basement levels would quickly find that it was by no means an average private company's premises. In fact, the building belonged to the newly-formed Nepleslian intelligence group, the IPG. Pulling the keys from the ignition, Albert Fresk got out and entered the building. Several moments later, he stepped into the large cloning lab that dominated the seventh basement level of the complex. Before him stood a translucent blue cylinder, inside of which he could make out the blurred form of a woman.
"She's done today, right, Ted?" He asked one of the many lab assistants. "Yes, sir. And the Vice Admiral is sending over someone to look it over and give us some extra specifications." Fresk nodded. "All right. Open the tank now. Let's give her some air."
The subject in the tank was still blissfully unaware of it's surroundings, her hair floating about her face and a almost pleased expression on her face. Ted the assistant pushed a few keys on the panel at the foot end of the tank and the fluid started to drain rapidly, through tubes at the bottom of the cylinder. The young female inside collapsed to the floor, no longer supported by the thick liquid. Ted left the room to bring some towels, nodding to Craig that just entered the lab. "I thought you'd wait for me" he said, scowling. The cylinder turned until the opening, located at the back was at the front, and just in time for Ted to return with two large white towels, with the IPG's logo on.
"Mr. Fresk. I'm glad to see that your project is on schedule." The scientist jumped a bit and turned to see a heavyset, smiling Cadet Third Class. His name tag stated his name as Mercir. Albert nodded. "Yep, this is her. Veles said something about some 'specifications?'" Mercir nodded and pulled a package from one of his pockets. "Info's all there, buddy." "Excellent." Fresk opened the package, revealing a datapad. He turned it on and clicked through several pages of text. "Quite some stuff he wants shoved in there," Albert whistled, looking to Mercir. "We'll see what we can do."
Craig blinked a couple of times, surprised to see more people joining them at this early stage of the project. He was about to spill out something moderately intelligent to the man with the datapad, but got cut off by the girl sitting on the floor, as she began to cough and make gurgling sounds. he kneeled down, quickly wrapping the towel around her. " Can that wait for a minute? We don't want it to choke and die the first minute of it's life."
"Oh man," Mercir muttered. He leaned down and rubbed the girl's shoulder. "Come on, honey, everything's goin' to be alright." He patted her on the shoulder. "Alright, Craig, you know how to handle this, right?"
Craig gave the still slimy female a couple of quick, overly firm pats on the back. She continued coughing, bend double with her head hanging down, her forehead nearly touching the floor. Craig grabbed her by the hair to keep her from flipping over, while whacking her back. A couple of moments later all of the fluid was drained from her lungs, and she was breathing heavily. "We could give it some rest, or take it to surgery right away. Whats the schedule, Albert?"
"Give her the euthanasia. We'll be putting the first cranial cybernetics in in about two hours, so make it a big dose." Mercir shook his head, "Boy, I wish we didn't have to do this kind of thing to her. It's kind of sad." Fresk nodded and stared on at the girl.
Craig rolled his eyes, before staring at Mercir. "It's not like she feels anything. Not more than your regular veggie salad." He began to rub the 'newborns' body dry, since she was already shivering from cold. With most of the goo off her torso and out of her hair, he pulled her arm to lay across his shoulders, and nodded to the other two. "Take the other arm, and we'll lay her on the table over there." She blinked a few times, curious, hazel eyes looking over the men present and the lab.
"That's your cue, Ted," Fresk spoke up. The lab tech got the girl's arm and pulled it over his shoulder. "Alright, we got a designation for her?" "Yep. Project A-2." "Alrighty then. Craig, let's move." Ted began pulling towards the table.
Craig dragged A-2's feet across the floor together with Ted for a few meters, until she realized she could walk, making it all easier. At the table, they turned her around and made her sit down on the edge. "Wait here." Craig said, slowly, looking into the eyes he would take out later, the same evening. She waited, maybe understanding, or just because she didn't know what else to do. Craig began to prep the anesthetics in the meantime. Her eyes didn't stay long on Craig, since he turned his back to her, instead tilting her head, looking to Albert and Mercir instead. Slowly, she raised her hand to her mouth and popped a finger into her mouth, to suckle on. "Remember the directives. We are not to become attached to it. The project might get terminated before even running it's full course."
A loud chirping noise played somewhere in the lap. "Ah damn..." Mercir reached to his belt and looked at his datapad. "Alright... Veles wants me back on Rok'Veru. I'll be seeing you guys in a couple months. And Al, take it easy on the poor girl, alright?" The Nepleslian Cadet turned and left the room.
Craig sighed and slowly shook his head, as the cadet left the room. "it's not a poor girl. it's the next supersoldier, comparable to the ID-SOL." Craig came to grin at his last words. His ego was rapidly inflating, with dreams and hopes that were quickly running out of proportions. He turned back to the table, pulled the hand out of A-2's mouth and pushed her to lay down. She began to sob, eyes starting to water up. "Someone assist me, maybe? Aren't you done staring yet?"
Ted picked up the needle, made sure it was filled with tranquilizers, and slowly held the needle to A-2's arm, directly above one of the major arteries. "Alright, this won't hurt." He slowly began pushing the needle into the skin.
Craig held A-2 firmly down, holding her by the shoulders. She was trying to see what was going on, but Craig blocked the view, correcting Ted. " You are not supposed to pamper her with words, it will make her wimpy and weak." she seemed to already forget about losing her temporary pacifier, listening intensely to the sound of Craig's voice instead. Luckily for him, she didn't know she could easily break free and wrestle him down. Her tears quickly dried, instead she tried to repeat after Ted "Aaighhh..."
Ted simply sighed and pushed the chemicals from the syringe into A-2's bloodstream. "Doesn't matter now. She'll be under in a minute."
Quite accurately, A-2 dozed off half a minute later, becoming limp. Craig didn't waste any time, starting to prepare for the surgery by beginning to wash her face with anti-septics. " You have seen the schedules of the procedure, right? First, we take the eyes out and proceed to the first cranial implants, through the eye sockets. The rest will be done through the back of her throat."
Ted nodded, grabbing a number of horrific-looking tools off a nearby shelf. "Don't worry, I saw it. Albert said we should have those eyes out within two hours." He took one of the tools, a drill-like instrument with a weed-whacker type implement on the end and inserted it into her eye. "This is going to be some messy work, Craig."
The surgery was just the first in a line of body alterations A-2 would receive. With the artificial components taking over parts of her thinking, at first mostly visual information, but later even her logical thinking, she slowly changed. Craig never referred to her as anything else but A-2, or simply "it", and showed no other feelings towards her except his own splendence, for making the surgeries such a success. A-2 went through mental training while recovering from surgeries, training that Tom, Craig and Albert wouldn't be present to watch.
***Two Months Later***
Ted took a sip of his beer, looking over at A-2. "I gotta say one thing, Craig. We got a lot done." He pulled another can off the six-pack he had brought and held it out to his fellow tech.
Craig claimed the beer, emptying the can in one long, single sweep. A-2 sat on the examination table, her arms covered in bandages up to her shoulders, wearing a wife beater and hospital type light blue pants. She was watching the two idly from the corner of her eye, following their conversation, but without interfering. Craig crushed the empty can in his hand, just barely, not quite strong enough. "Soon, it's done and I'm going to be filthy rich. Maybe I'll even get myself a real woman to spend time with. What are your plans, after we're done with the project?"
Ted shrugged. "Whatever Veles tells me to, I guess. I'm signed on with these guys for a while, anyway." He smiled at the cyborg. "Heh, you think she'd party, man?"
Craig grinned wide, crossing his arms over his chest. "Hey A-2. Want some beer?" The cyborg turned her head when addressed, tilting it slightly. her hair came to cascade down her shoulder, and her bangs slipped over the pale face. "Do you want me to want beer?" She replied, shifting a little to face Ted as well. "Should I 'party' ? "
Ted chuckled a little. "Hey man, I was kind of joking. I don't think Fresk wants our pretty little friend to get shit-faced."
Craig's grin turned to a playful smirk. "A-2, no, go back to watching the wall." Just as told, she turned to plainly stare at the white, tiled wall. Craig leaned closer to Ted, both to claim a beer and to whisper to him, since he knew the cyborgs hearing was rather limited. "You think she's pretty? Maybe i should leave you two alone?"
Ted sighed. "Hey man, I got a girlfriend. We're not supposed to touch her anyway, remember?" He looked back to A-2. "Besides, with all the shit in her at the moment, I doubt she'd react well to any of that kinda thing."
A-2 did no longer listen, going through the newly installed databases instead, finding them interesting. The incisions healing beneath the bandages itched, idly she let her right hand roam and idly scratch the covered parts. Craig downed another beer, looking to A-2 drunkenly. " well i don't have a girlfriend. Lets go to a bar before i break the contract."
"Man, you drunken bastard." Ted laughed before standing up and heading through the door. "I'm driving. I wouldn't trust you at the wheel."
Craig followed, picking the remains of the sixpack and some empty cans on his way out. He kept the door open with his foot while slipping through the opening. An empty can fell and wedged itself between the door and the door frame, as the door swung to close, but failed to lock. Craig didn't notice, whistling a happy tune and singing to himself. "Take us to a titty bar, thats where I want to be."
A-2 almost immediately noticed that the door didn't lock, despite the fact that she was half-busy reading the database. She thought they would return and lock the door, since it never remained unlocked for longer periods of time. The more time passed, the more curious she became. Nobody told her not to go there, on the other hand, they didn't tell her to go there, either. she debated with herself for half an hour, to the point where the artificial logical core could no longer argue with her childish, immature and curious, human counterpart. She stood up and pushed the door open, silently leaving the room she had been confined to, most of the time. her bare feet made barely any sounds on the floor, as she moved through the first hallway.
Sneaking round the corner, the first camera spotted the run-away 'borg. At least if someone was actively monitoring it, but on a late Friday evening, everyone seemed just to be thinking about going home, or the nearest pub to relax. She didn't think much of the stationary camera, as they never posed any harm before. The dimly lit hallways filled the unexperienced cyborg with tension and anticipation. She managed to sneak past the coffee machine by a lounging area, heading towards, as a sign said, restricted area. She eagerly continued, heading towards the arms and munitions part of the building, now caught on several cameras.
The sound of the heavy boots of two squads of ID-SOL Military Police was unmistakable for anyone who had ever heard it before. The squads were coming towards A-2's position, one on each side. As they drew closer, yelled orders became more distinct, the most easily heard was "DO NOT KILL THE SUBJECT!"
A-2 initial instinct was to flee. In order to flee, she would have to go through a squadron of yelling men. it wasn't the best of choices, but in a rush, she decided to bowl through them like kingpins, starting to run towards the group that approached her from the front. A chicken race, unless someone wanted to catch her with their bare hands.
They did. One of the massive supersoldiers smashed into he with all his might, with the other men in his squad forming a tight-knight line behind him. By this time, the other squad had entered the same hallway and were quickly able to block it off completely.
A-2's ram was inefficiently high, she didn't form into the tight knit ball she would need to be, in order to make any impact. She made only light contact with the first man, although him adding to the punch sent her spinning- but not backwards, to the side. She diverted her own trajectory to 'roll' by the first soldier. going by the next one in the same manner would be impossible though, instead she tried to grab him by the head and pull it down- to try to climb over him instead.
The ID-SOL reacted to his head being grabbed rather simply. He picked up the cyborg, lifted her above his head, and threw her ten feet down the hallway. The other squad of ID-SOLs quickly closed around her, truncheons at the ready.
A-2 tried to roll the fall out, although landing on the newly operated shoulder was less than convenient. the stitches underneath the bandages broke, letting the titanium covered bone show through. She didn't whine though, she growled, her face contorting in artificial anger. Squatting on the floor, she stared up at the squad of ID-SOL's hissing at them between clenched teeth. "Warning: move or I will use force." As moving aside would be an answer good enough, she slowly straightened out, creeping towards the nearest soldier.
The soldiers didn't like being threatened. As a matter of fact, they quite hated it. And so, three of them swung their heavy rubber truncheons at the young girl, with every intent on smashing her. The man who she had been closing on simply took a step back and unholstered his heavy service pistol, which he aimed and fired at her knee.
A-2 tried to maneuver the first nightstick aimed at her not to hit her, instead trying to grab the wrist of the ID-SOL and twist it, to disarm him. The other two easily hammered her body, knocking the wind out of her. It didn't sink her though, she wasn't ready to fold yet. Not because of stubbornness, but out of misguided self-preservation. She was just about to aim a swift uppercut to the ID-SOL's in front of her chin, when the bullet went through her knee and embedded itself into the metal plated bone. her legs bent beneath her and she collapsed, looking almost surprised.
As A-2 went down, a boot came flying straight for her head. "GET THE BITCH DOWN!" Yelled one of the hulking soldiers that surrounded her. They closed into a tight circle and quickly began sending flurries of kicks into her head and torso.
Instinctively she curled up into a ball, with her arm protecting her head, neck, and face pressed against her legs to cover the eyes. Silently A-2 shut down the artificial components, after her biological self became unconscious. Her unfinished body wasn't built to handle much damage, so unconsciousness crept over her quickly. Her limbs went limp, making her slowly unfold, exposed.
***Several days later***
Mercir was enraged. It was obvious on his face. He paced back and forth across the lab, doing his best not to kill both the incompetent scientists. "How... did you let her escape? We give you almost unlimited funding for this shit, AND SHE ESCAPES?!"
Craig's expression was the same as after biting into a lemon. Sourly he glared at Ted, like if he was the one to blame for it, exclusively. "He brought alcohol to the lab-" Craig begun "- and suggested even we have a 'party' with the subject."
Craig cowardly pressed himself against the back of the chair, to the point that the chair began to tilt. " What?? No, no.. I couldn't have made such an error. Are you certain?" Craig almost whimpered. " it was handled.." he added meekly. "No real damage done then.."
Mercir drew his pistol and aimed it at Craig's face. "No... damage done? You stupid fucker."
Craig's facial perspiration ran down his temples, soaking his jet black sideburns. He yelped at the sight of the gun with a girlish tone of voice, tilting the chair even further backwards. His hands were gripping the seat so tightly, that his knuckles whitened. "I beg of you, please calm down Mercir! You know I'm vital for it's.. Her! Her development. You can't replace me!"
Mercir pulled the trigger, sending the .45 round through Craig's forehead. "Yes, we can."
The chair flipped backwards, together with Craig in it, cross-eyed and with a hole in his forehead. The thud was accompanied by a sickening sloshing sound, when the dead matter hit the floor. Craig still held on to the chair for a couple of seconds, like if that could somehow save him. Too late Craig, too late.
Mercir lowered his gun, and looked to Ted. "And you... What the fuck were you thinking?" The lab assistant was shaking horribly, scared out of his wits. "I'm sorry, sir! It won't happen again!" Mercir shook his head, aimed his gun, and blew Ted's knee off.
"FUCK!" Ted hit the ground, and two ID-SOL military police quickly dragged the bleeding and screaming man from the room. "What the fuck are you doing?!" Albert Fresk watched as Ted was pulled from the room. "These men, they've failed. Find someone to replace them." Mercir pushed past Fresk, and exited the building.
A-2 stirred in the bed she was strapped down to. The situation was not unfamiliar- she woke up that way every time after surgery, with the temporary restraints to keep her from pulling the tubes out of her arms, while awakening. She quickly settled down, starting to run self-diagnostics. it seemed odd to her that she couldn't see, and that she couldn't really remember going to surgery. A calm, smooth voice coming from above soothed her. " Your head is bandaged. bandages will be removed soon. Prompt me when you are done with your diagnostics. the voice came from a man in his late twenties, a very proper and polished look. Blonde, carefully styled faux hawk and a completely crease-less lab coat.
Albert sat in a chair nearby, a cigarette in his hand. "Just pull them off. She ain't going anywhere. That bastard made sure of it..." Fresk was referring to the large upgrade in security forces in the base, with the addition of a constant guard post directly outside the lab.
Gork spread the bandages to free one eye of the cyborg. She seemed slightly discontent about something. "Diagnosis: Severe head trauma in process of repair. I can sense smoke- is something on fire? I suggest immediate. evacuation. " Gork began to undo the straps holding her down.
Albert simply watched the two, brooding over the loss of his men. He took a drag on his cig. "So Gork, where you from? You another of those soulless IPG bastards?"
Gork smiled, stuffing his hands into the coat pockets, leaving the A-2 to undo the rest of the restrains and the bandages on her own. " Soulless? I wouldn't exactly call myself soulless. Just grabbing the opportunity to do some interesting research, thats all. " in the meantime, A-2 freed herself and went towards the door and the red fire alarm button located close to it, bandages still dangling from her head and torso, making her look like a red eyed mummy.
"Oh damn... watch the cyborg, dumbass!" Fresk shot a finger towards A-2.
Gork rushed towards the tall girl, grabbed her by the shoulders and led her towards Albert. "See. The smoke comes from the stick in his mouth. It's called a cigarette." A-2 followed obediently when led, and watched the cigarette burn for about two seconds before reaching for it. "Sir, your cigarette is on fire," she explained, calmly, but in the same fashion as if telling him his pants were on fire.
Albert stared at the cyborg for a moment, and then chuckled. He stood up, patted the girl on the shoulder, and stuck the cigarette in her mouth. "Just inhale." He walked for the door. "And Gork. Don't fuck up like the two you're replacing."
A-2 inhaled at the command sharply, her lungs filling out with smoke. The single cigarette did in five seconds what took two squadrons of ID-SOL's to accomplish- she coughed, vomited into Gork's coat pocket and dropped to her knees, gagging and coughing. He would have laughed if it wasn't for his hand swimming in something warm and chunky. "I thought you were cute, but you're just an idiot like the rest." Gork sourly replied to Al.
Albert watched as the girl collapsed, vomit exploding all over the place. Alright then, she doesn't like to smoke. The scientist sighed. "Gork, make sure you're ready to finish up those enhancements in about an hour." He then exited the room, leaving the bandaged girl and vomit-covered scientist alone.
"She's done today, right, Ted?" He asked one of the many lab assistants. "Yes, sir. And the Vice Admiral is sending over someone to look it over and give us some extra specifications." Fresk nodded. "All right. Open the tank now. Let's give her some air."
The subject in the tank was still blissfully unaware of it's surroundings, her hair floating about her face and a almost pleased expression on her face. Ted the assistant pushed a few keys on the panel at the foot end of the tank and the fluid started to drain rapidly, through tubes at the bottom of the cylinder. The young female inside collapsed to the floor, no longer supported by the thick liquid. Ted left the room to bring some towels, nodding to Craig that just entered the lab. "I thought you'd wait for me" he said, scowling. The cylinder turned until the opening, located at the back was at the front, and just in time for Ted to return with two large white towels, with the IPG's logo on.
"Mr. Fresk. I'm glad to see that your project is on schedule." The scientist jumped a bit and turned to see a heavyset, smiling Cadet Third Class. His name tag stated his name as Mercir. Albert nodded. "Yep, this is her. Veles said something about some 'specifications?'" Mercir nodded and pulled a package from one of his pockets. "Info's all there, buddy." "Excellent." Fresk opened the package, revealing a datapad. He turned it on and clicked through several pages of text. "Quite some stuff he wants shoved in there," Albert whistled, looking to Mercir. "We'll see what we can do."
Craig blinked a couple of times, surprised to see more people joining them at this early stage of the project. He was about to spill out something moderately intelligent to the man with the datapad, but got cut off by the girl sitting on the floor, as she began to cough and make gurgling sounds. he kneeled down, quickly wrapping the towel around her. " Can that wait for a minute? We don't want it to choke and die the first minute of it's life."
"Oh man," Mercir muttered. He leaned down and rubbed the girl's shoulder. "Come on, honey, everything's goin' to be alright." He patted her on the shoulder. "Alright, Craig, you know how to handle this, right?"
Craig gave the still slimy female a couple of quick, overly firm pats on the back. She continued coughing, bend double with her head hanging down, her forehead nearly touching the floor. Craig grabbed her by the hair to keep her from flipping over, while whacking her back. A couple of moments later all of the fluid was drained from her lungs, and she was breathing heavily. "We could give it some rest, or take it to surgery right away. Whats the schedule, Albert?"
"Give her the euthanasia. We'll be putting the first cranial cybernetics in in about two hours, so make it a big dose." Mercir shook his head, "Boy, I wish we didn't have to do this kind of thing to her. It's kind of sad." Fresk nodded and stared on at the girl.
Craig rolled his eyes, before staring at Mercir. "It's not like she feels anything. Not more than your regular veggie salad." He began to rub the 'newborns' body dry, since she was already shivering from cold. With most of the goo off her torso and out of her hair, he pulled her arm to lay across his shoulders, and nodded to the other two. "Take the other arm, and we'll lay her on the table over there." She blinked a few times, curious, hazel eyes looking over the men present and the lab.
"That's your cue, Ted," Fresk spoke up. The lab tech got the girl's arm and pulled it over his shoulder. "Alright, we got a designation for her?" "Yep. Project A-2." "Alrighty then. Craig, let's move." Ted began pulling towards the table.
Craig dragged A-2's feet across the floor together with Ted for a few meters, until she realized she could walk, making it all easier. At the table, they turned her around and made her sit down on the edge. "Wait here." Craig said, slowly, looking into the eyes he would take out later, the same evening. She waited, maybe understanding, or just because she didn't know what else to do. Craig began to prep the anesthetics in the meantime. Her eyes didn't stay long on Craig, since he turned his back to her, instead tilting her head, looking to Albert and Mercir instead. Slowly, she raised her hand to her mouth and popped a finger into her mouth, to suckle on. "Remember the directives. We are not to become attached to it. The project might get terminated before even running it's full course."
A loud chirping noise played somewhere in the lap. "Ah damn..." Mercir reached to his belt and looked at his datapad. "Alright... Veles wants me back on Rok'Veru. I'll be seeing you guys in a couple months. And Al, take it easy on the poor girl, alright?" The Nepleslian Cadet turned and left the room.
Craig sighed and slowly shook his head, as the cadet left the room. "it's not a poor girl. it's the next supersoldier, comparable to the ID-SOL." Craig came to grin at his last words. His ego was rapidly inflating, with dreams and hopes that were quickly running out of proportions. He turned back to the table, pulled the hand out of A-2's mouth and pushed her to lay down. She began to sob, eyes starting to water up. "Someone assist me, maybe? Aren't you done staring yet?"
Ted picked up the needle, made sure it was filled with tranquilizers, and slowly held the needle to A-2's arm, directly above one of the major arteries. "Alright, this won't hurt." He slowly began pushing the needle into the skin.
Craig held A-2 firmly down, holding her by the shoulders. She was trying to see what was going on, but Craig blocked the view, correcting Ted. " You are not supposed to pamper her with words, it will make her wimpy and weak." she seemed to already forget about losing her temporary pacifier, listening intensely to the sound of Craig's voice instead. Luckily for him, she didn't know she could easily break free and wrestle him down. Her tears quickly dried, instead she tried to repeat after Ted "Aaighhh..."
Ted simply sighed and pushed the chemicals from the syringe into A-2's bloodstream. "Doesn't matter now. She'll be under in a minute."
Quite accurately, A-2 dozed off half a minute later, becoming limp. Craig didn't waste any time, starting to prepare for the surgery by beginning to wash her face with anti-septics. " You have seen the schedules of the procedure, right? First, we take the eyes out and proceed to the first cranial implants, through the eye sockets. The rest will be done through the back of her throat."
Ted nodded, grabbing a number of horrific-looking tools off a nearby shelf. "Don't worry, I saw it. Albert said we should have those eyes out within two hours." He took one of the tools, a drill-like instrument with a weed-whacker type implement on the end and inserted it into her eye. "This is going to be some messy work, Craig."
The surgery was just the first in a line of body alterations A-2 would receive. With the artificial components taking over parts of her thinking, at first mostly visual information, but later even her logical thinking, she slowly changed. Craig never referred to her as anything else but A-2, or simply "it", and showed no other feelings towards her except his own splendence, for making the surgeries such a success. A-2 went through mental training while recovering from surgeries, training that Tom, Craig and Albert wouldn't be present to watch.
***Two Months Later***
Ted took a sip of his beer, looking over at A-2. "I gotta say one thing, Craig. We got a lot done." He pulled another can off the six-pack he had brought and held it out to his fellow tech.
Craig claimed the beer, emptying the can in one long, single sweep. A-2 sat on the examination table, her arms covered in bandages up to her shoulders, wearing a wife beater and hospital type light blue pants. She was watching the two idly from the corner of her eye, following their conversation, but without interfering. Craig crushed the empty can in his hand, just barely, not quite strong enough. "Soon, it's done and I'm going to be filthy rich. Maybe I'll even get myself a real woman to spend time with. What are your plans, after we're done with the project?"
Ted shrugged. "Whatever Veles tells me to, I guess. I'm signed on with these guys for a while, anyway." He smiled at the cyborg. "Heh, you think she'd party, man?"
Craig grinned wide, crossing his arms over his chest. "Hey A-2. Want some beer?" The cyborg turned her head when addressed, tilting it slightly. her hair came to cascade down her shoulder, and her bangs slipped over the pale face. "Do you want me to want beer?" She replied, shifting a little to face Ted as well. "Should I 'party' ? "
Ted chuckled a little. "Hey man, I was kind of joking. I don't think Fresk wants our pretty little friend to get shit-faced."
Craig's grin turned to a playful smirk. "A-2, no, go back to watching the wall." Just as told, she turned to plainly stare at the white, tiled wall. Craig leaned closer to Ted, both to claim a beer and to whisper to him, since he knew the cyborgs hearing was rather limited. "You think she's pretty? Maybe i should leave you two alone?"
Ted sighed. "Hey man, I got a girlfriend. We're not supposed to touch her anyway, remember?" He looked back to A-2. "Besides, with all the shit in her at the moment, I doubt she'd react well to any of that kinda thing."
A-2 did no longer listen, going through the newly installed databases instead, finding them interesting. The incisions healing beneath the bandages itched, idly she let her right hand roam and idly scratch the covered parts. Craig downed another beer, looking to A-2 drunkenly. " well i don't have a girlfriend. Lets go to a bar before i break the contract."
"Man, you drunken bastard." Ted laughed before standing up and heading through the door. "I'm driving. I wouldn't trust you at the wheel."
Craig followed, picking the remains of the sixpack and some empty cans on his way out. He kept the door open with his foot while slipping through the opening. An empty can fell and wedged itself between the door and the door frame, as the door swung to close, but failed to lock. Craig didn't notice, whistling a happy tune and singing to himself. "Take us to a titty bar, thats where I want to be."
A-2 almost immediately noticed that the door didn't lock, despite the fact that she was half-busy reading the database. She thought they would return and lock the door, since it never remained unlocked for longer periods of time. The more time passed, the more curious she became. Nobody told her not to go there, on the other hand, they didn't tell her to go there, either. she debated with herself for half an hour, to the point where the artificial logical core could no longer argue with her childish, immature and curious, human counterpart. She stood up and pushed the door open, silently leaving the room she had been confined to, most of the time. her bare feet made barely any sounds on the floor, as she moved through the first hallway.
Sneaking round the corner, the first camera spotted the run-away 'borg. At least if someone was actively monitoring it, but on a late Friday evening, everyone seemed just to be thinking about going home, or the nearest pub to relax. She didn't think much of the stationary camera, as they never posed any harm before. The dimly lit hallways filled the unexperienced cyborg with tension and anticipation. She managed to sneak past the coffee machine by a lounging area, heading towards, as a sign said, restricted area. She eagerly continued, heading towards the arms and munitions part of the building, now caught on several cameras.
The sound of the heavy boots of two squads of ID-SOL Military Police was unmistakable for anyone who had ever heard it before. The squads were coming towards A-2's position, one on each side. As they drew closer, yelled orders became more distinct, the most easily heard was "DO NOT KILL THE SUBJECT!"
A-2 initial instinct was to flee. In order to flee, she would have to go through a squadron of yelling men. it wasn't the best of choices, but in a rush, she decided to bowl through them like kingpins, starting to run towards the group that approached her from the front. A chicken race, unless someone wanted to catch her with their bare hands.
They did. One of the massive supersoldiers smashed into he with all his might, with the other men in his squad forming a tight-knight line behind him. By this time, the other squad had entered the same hallway and were quickly able to block it off completely.
A-2's ram was inefficiently high, she didn't form into the tight knit ball she would need to be, in order to make any impact. She made only light contact with the first man, although him adding to the punch sent her spinning- but not backwards, to the side. She diverted her own trajectory to 'roll' by the first soldier. going by the next one in the same manner would be impossible though, instead she tried to grab him by the head and pull it down- to try to climb over him instead.
The ID-SOL reacted to his head being grabbed rather simply. He picked up the cyborg, lifted her above his head, and threw her ten feet down the hallway. The other squad of ID-SOLs quickly closed around her, truncheons at the ready.
A-2 tried to roll the fall out, although landing on the newly operated shoulder was less than convenient. the stitches underneath the bandages broke, letting the titanium covered bone show through. She didn't whine though, she growled, her face contorting in artificial anger. Squatting on the floor, she stared up at the squad of ID-SOL's hissing at them between clenched teeth. "Warning: move or I will use force." As moving aside would be an answer good enough, she slowly straightened out, creeping towards the nearest soldier.
The soldiers didn't like being threatened. As a matter of fact, they quite hated it. And so, three of them swung their heavy rubber truncheons at the young girl, with every intent on smashing her. The man who she had been closing on simply took a step back and unholstered his heavy service pistol, which he aimed and fired at her knee.
A-2 tried to maneuver the first nightstick aimed at her not to hit her, instead trying to grab the wrist of the ID-SOL and twist it, to disarm him. The other two easily hammered her body, knocking the wind out of her. It didn't sink her though, she wasn't ready to fold yet. Not because of stubbornness, but out of misguided self-preservation. She was just about to aim a swift uppercut to the ID-SOL's in front of her chin, when the bullet went through her knee and embedded itself into the metal plated bone. her legs bent beneath her and she collapsed, looking almost surprised.
As A-2 went down, a boot came flying straight for her head. "GET THE BITCH DOWN!" Yelled one of the hulking soldiers that surrounded her. They closed into a tight circle and quickly began sending flurries of kicks into her head and torso.
Instinctively she curled up into a ball, with her arm protecting her head, neck, and face pressed against her legs to cover the eyes. Silently A-2 shut down the artificial components, after her biological self became unconscious. Her unfinished body wasn't built to handle much damage, so unconsciousness crept over her quickly. Her limbs went limp, making her slowly unfold, exposed.
***Several days later***
Mercir was enraged. It was obvious on his face. He paced back and forth across the lab, doing his best not to kill both the incompetent scientists. "How... did you let her escape? We give you almost unlimited funding for this shit, AND SHE ESCAPES?!"
Craig's expression was the same as after biting into a lemon. Sourly he glared at Ted, like if he was the one to blame for it, exclusively. "He brought alcohol to the lab-" Craig begun "- and suggested even we have a 'party' with the subject."
Craig cowardly pressed himself against the back of the chair, to the point that the chair began to tilt. " What?? No, no.. I couldn't have made such an error. Are you certain?" Craig almost whimpered. " it was handled.." he added meekly. "No real damage done then.."
Mercir drew his pistol and aimed it at Craig's face. "No... damage done? You stupid fucker."
Craig's facial perspiration ran down his temples, soaking his jet black sideburns. He yelped at the sight of the gun with a girlish tone of voice, tilting the chair even further backwards. His hands were gripping the seat so tightly, that his knuckles whitened. "I beg of you, please calm down Mercir! You know I'm vital for it's.. Her! Her development. You can't replace me!"
Mercir pulled the trigger, sending the .45 round through Craig's forehead. "Yes, we can."
The chair flipped backwards, together with Craig in it, cross-eyed and with a hole in his forehead. The thud was accompanied by a sickening sloshing sound, when the dead matter hit the floor. Craig still held on to the chair for a couple of seconds, like if that could somehow save him. Too late Craig, too late.
Mercir lowered his gun, and looked to Ted. "And you... What the fuck were you thinking?" The lab assistant was shaking horribly, scared out of his wits. "I'm sorry, sir! It won't happen again!" Mercir shook his head, aimed his gun, and blew Ted's knee off.
"FUCK!" Ted hit the ground, and two ID-SOL military police quickly dragged the bleeding and screaming man from the room. "What the fuck are you doing?!" Albert Fresk watched as Ted was pulled from the room. "These men, they've failed. Find someone to replace them." Mercir pushed past Fresk, and exited the building.
A-2 stirred in the bed she was strapped down to. The situation was not unfamiliar- she woke up that way every time after surgery, with the temporary restraints to keep her from pulling the tubes out of her arms, while awakening. She quickly settled down, starting to run self-diagnostics. it seemed odd to her that she couldn't see, and that she couldn't really remember going to surgery. A calm, smooth voice coming from above soothed her. " Your head is bandaged. bandages will be removed soon. Prompt me when you are done with your diagnostics. the voice came from a man in his late twenties, a very proper and polished look. Blonde, carefully styled faux hawk and a completely crease-less lab coat.
Albert sat in a chair nearby, a cigarette in his hand. "Just pull them off. She ain't going anywhere. That bastard made sure of it..." Fresk was referring to the large upgrade in security forces in the base, with the addition of a constant guard post directly outside the lab.
Gork spread the bandages to free one eye of the cyborg. She seemed slightly discontent about something. "Diagnosis: Severe head trauma in process of repair. I can sense smoke- is something on fire? I suggest immediate. evacuation. " Gork began to undo the straps holding her down.
Albert simply watched the two, brooding over the loss of his men. He took a drag on his cig. "So Gork, where you from? You another of those soulless IPG bastards?"
Gork smiled, stuffing his hands into the coat pockets, leaving the A-2 to undo the rest of the restrains and the bandages on her own. " Soulless? I wouldn't exactly call myself soulless. Just grabbing the opportunity to do some interesting research, thats all. " in the meantime, A-2 freed herself and went towards the door and the red fire alarm button located close to it, bandages still dangling from her head and torso, making her look like a red eyed mummy.
"Oh damn... watch the cyborg, dumbass!" Fresk shot a finger towards A-2.
Gork rushed towards the tall girl, grabbed her by the shoulders and led her towards Albert. "See. The smoke comes from the stick in his mouth. It's called a cigarette." A-2 followed obediently when led, and watched the cigarette burn for about two seconds before reaching for it. "Sir, your cigarette is on fire," she explained, calmly, but in the same fashion as if telling him his pants were on fire.
Albert stared at the cyborg for a moment, and then chuckled. He stood up, patted the girl on the shoulder, and stuck the cigarette in her mouth. "Just inhale." He walked for the door. "And Gork. Don't fuck up like the two you're replacing."
A-2 inhaled at the command sharply, her lungs filling out with smoke. The single cigarette did in five seconds what took two squadrons of ID-SOL's to accomplish- she coughed, vomited into Gork's coat pocket and dropped to her knees, gagging and coughing. He would have laughed if it wasn't for his hand swimming in something warm and chunky. "I thought you were cute, but you're just an idiot like the rest." Gork sourly replied to Al.
Albert watched as the girl collapsed, vomit exploding all over the place. Alright then, she doesn't like to smoke. The scientist sighed. "Gork, make sure you're ready to finish up those enhancements in about an hour." He then exited the room, leaving the bandaged girl and vomit-covered scientist alone.
