A breaking point

kuriboh
ZMF

Registered Newtype

Is Miang. Maybe.

Posts: 1,738

A breaking point May 20, 2010 0:21:36 GMT -5

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Post by kuriboh on May 20, 2010 0:21:36 GMT -5

Herrn Doctor, I believe we have a problem.

He'd been getting good at avoiding Lilja lately, but the sudden assignment to defend and assist a newly-build mining operation meant that there were suddenly no places to hide from her. Blatant ignorance of her presence was another option - a feat that he'd found easier with time. Somehow her pressure didn't seem so horribly overwhelming anymore - but that too proved difficult. The lack of 'background noise' against his mind meant that her pressure stood out like a patch of blood on a white carpet.

0531 is still responsive to all commands and keys, but his personality seems to be regressing. He no longer affords me the respect he should with his level of conditioning, and has grown broody, aloof and skittish in the last several weeks, and particularly resentful of my presence, to boot.

Florian felt, however, that he had some shielding in his silence. He was never tempted to run his mouth at her. Given what he knew of Lilja's temper, that very well may have saved him a clobbering. Not that he would have cared too much - if she ever pushed him too hard, he'd start pushing back.

I can't tell if it's battle-stress or something else, but regular maintenance isn't working. I know my hold on him has always been tenuous at best, but his growing aggression is not something I can ignore anymore.

It was bad enough already, he thought, what with her managing his life every second she could. Telling him what to eat, what to do, when to sleep, when to clean, what to think. He was almost fed up, and yet he could never bring his hand or his mouth against her. It never seemed worth the effort. There were other things to worry about - Emil's stability was something that weighed on him quite heavily. Just as he was sure the other boy wanted to protect him with everything he could muster, so too did Florian want to do everything in his power to keep Emil safe.

And yet this damn woman kept getting in his way when he wanted to visit him. To make sure he was okay. To let him know that his efforts were so very much appreciated. Florian wanted a friend, and Lilja wouldn't let him have one.

Precognitive awareness has never been a strength in my tests, but I cannot help but feel a sense of dread these days. I'm sorry, but I need to take initiative.

Emil wasn't here now, so Florian didn't have to worry too much about him...there wasn't a lot out here to worry about. Suddenly, convincing Lilja to back off seemed much more pertinent...

I will send you a full report when I no longer feel my life, or the lives of others are at risk.

-Lilja

kuriboh
ZMF

Registered Newtype

Is Miang. Maybe.

Posts: 1,738

A breaking point May 20, 2010 0:22:03 GMT -5

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Post by kuriboh on May 20, 2010 0:22:03 GMT -5

Transport shuttles are very small things. Then again, a Gwazine might have been too small in this situation. There wasn't really an infirmary on board - just a well-stocked first aid kit and what supplies Lilja had had the foresight to squirrel away in her luggage. Like a pack of small syringes and enough sedative to put a grown man in a coma. She filled one with a half-dose, attaching a needle to the tip, but not removing the cover just yet. Stowing the small weapon in the inside breast pocket of her uniform jacket, she hoped she wouldn't have to use it.

~

Why had the bothered to give him a sidearm, Florian wondered. He was able to use it well enough, but it seemed more of a token gesture than anything. Or an oversight. Who would give a 12 year old a loaded gun, after all?

It was a very nice gun, though. Plain, utilitarian, effective. The recoil was a bit heavy, but it wasn't made for an underage shooter. That was understandable. He was used to it. He'd just need to brace against something and he'd be alright. He'd checked the clip - Full, as always.

Florian stood and stowed the weapon in it's usual holster. He put his hands in his pants pocket. It would be easier to draw from there. He fully expected he'd need to.

kuriboh
ZMF

Registered Newtype

Is Miang. Maybe.

Posts: 1,738

A breaking point May 21, 2010 9:08:38 GMT -5

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Post by kuriboh on May 21, 2010 9:08:38 GMT -5

They met as though by mutual agreement near the storage bay where the Weiss was being held for the time being. Odd, but Newtypes had the tendency to do that. Lilja noticed Florian's hands in his pockets. Florian noticed her unbuttoned uniform jacket. Neither relaxed.

All the talk of a Newtype's empathy had always been lost on Lilja. She'd never had a knack for other people's emotions, except for fear. Florian was fairly closed off at the best of times. Right now, he was a completely blank slate to her. That was frightening - normally, her presence cowed him to some extent. Not so much, now.

Florian, on the other hand, had no trouble picking up strong emotions from people. Like now. While she looked calm and collected, internally, Lilja was shaking. This gave him a bit of satisfaction. He didn't know why, but it did.

Lilja broke the silence. She sounded to herself like she was speaking underwater.

"Florian, come with me."

He didn't move to obey, though he did look at her in acknowledgment.

"Florian! Come here."

He shook his head and mumbled something. Lilja frowned and stepped closer, one hand moving to grab his arm, while the other reached into the secret pocked of her jacket. Florian jerked back with enough force to send him floating away. In one smooth movement he leveled his pistol at her.

"I said leave me alone!"

His voice cracked a bit. If the situation hadn't suddenly become so dangerous, Lilja might have been amused by it. Slowly she pulled her hand out of the pocket, sans needle, and opened both her palms to the boy.

"Calm down..."

"No!" He shrieked. It suddenly felt as though a dam had opened inside him, a sudden outpouring of negative emotions that were collectively funneling all the way down to the bullet in the chamber of the gun. "I'm tired of it! I'm tired of you controlling me like this! I'm tired of being alone all the time! I'm tired of fighting every day! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!"

He paused there to catch his breath, his chest heaving and his knuckles white with tension. Lilja considered her options very carefully. While the barrel of the gun was trained on her, she knew she had several advantages. First of all, her feet were still on the ground. Secondly, the boy was shaking - his aim would be poor at best...And most importantly...

Lilja bunched her muscles and took off towards the boy before he could glean as to her plans. Lilja feinted left. As expected, Florian fired...

And also as expected, having had nothing to brace himself with, the recoil of the pistol not only clocked him in the face, but sent him careeing to the far end of the room. By the time he'd recovered, Lilja was almost on top of him, a small rip in her uniform sleeve the only telling sign as to how close she was to danger.

She only had two hands though, and while one reached to grab at one of his wrists, the other was occupied by her reaching for something in her inside pocket. Florian hit her with his gun. Lilja was knocked aside, but she held onto his wrist tightly. As she recovered, he hit her again. This time she yanked as she fell, throwing the boy off balance with her. She recovered seconds sooner, and it was enough time for her to rip the cap of the needle and jam it into his arm.

Florian shrieked again, and brought his fist up for one more blow, which connected with Lilja's jaw with an ugly sounding 'CRACK', but on the follow-through, he went limp. Lilja barely caught him, but she managed to drag him back to the main fuselage with one arm, the other reaching to feel the area of her jaw that had just gone numb. She couldn't feel a break in the bone, and the joint seemed in place. Probably a bruised bone. The boy's hand looked a bit worse for wear, to boot.

Silently, Lilja strapped the boy into his seat. There were handcuffs on board in case of an emergency, and she made use of those as well before collapsing in a seat on the other side of the cabin. Florian would have to be awake before she could do what she wanted to do, and the last 10 minutes of her life had certainly cost her a few years and a few more gray hairs.

kuriboh
ZMF

Registered Newtype

Is Miang. Maybe.

Posts: 1,738

A breaking point May 23, 2010 20:49:36 GMT -5

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Post by kuriboh on May 23, 2010 20:49:36 GMT -5

Herrn Doctor,

As I promised, here is the full report. The attached document contains more details.

Lilja's wrist was broken. The boy still had his handcuffs on. There was still a full dose of sedative left - plenty to keep Florian under, or at least too muddled to walk straight, until they reached safer waters.

As I had feared from the outset, 0531 never fully accepted the reconditioning after I took over from Siobhan. Also as I had feared, he attempted to shoot me. Attempts to reapply conditioning from his status were futile. As a last resort, I broke it completely...

When Florian woke up, he would probably taste blood for a week from screaming himself so hoarse. Lilja was pretty sure He'd done more damage to his own wrists.

...and reapplied a stronger level. For now, he's incapable of independent thought outside of self-preservation. If all goes well from there, I will lighten it back to it's previous state. For the time being, however, we cannot afford doubt. As before, I apologize for having taken this step, but it benefits us all.

-Lilja.

She did feel somewhat bad about having gone to this extreme. She consoled herself with having let him keep "Cuyler" as his last name. Ideally, she would have liked to have kept him at a level that crew mates wouldn't notice a difference, but as it were, she was ready to beat back naysayers.

If this conditioning broke, however, Lilja was certain she'd be the first to pay for it.

Florian stirred a bit, and slowly blinked his eyes open. He was still, then looked up at Lilja sleepily. She looked back at him, forcing away her guilt. "Go back to sleep."

His eyes closed and his head dropped again without a word of protest.

Post by kuriboh on May 20, 2010 0:21:36 GMT -5

Post by kuriboh on May 20, 2010 0:22:03 GMT -5

Post by kuriboh on May 21, 2010 9:08:38 GMT -5

Post by kuriboh on May 23, 2010 20:49:36 GMT -5

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