Tabula Rasa Roleplayers

((This story starts 6 months after the events of Sniper Time))

Gerin stirred back into consciousness. He remembered being on patrol, he remembered skirting Atta territory as he always did these days. Then he had... He couldn't remember. This was odd. His memory, while not photographic, was usually pretty good. He had been skirting a low hill...

He tensed, he wasn't alone... He didn't open his eyes, or change his breathing and the presence faded. Then the world did. His last conscious thought was I hope Sara is okay...

<Nearby- A little later>
This is an incorrect translation- It does not translate well into English. However, this is a close approximation of the conversation that took place.

Are- certain?
Is- same
What- happen- now?
Repair- Heal
If- awaken?
Imperative- attempt- communication- keep- apprised
Yes- Majesty

<At almost the exact same time, Foreas Base HQ, Concordia Divide. AFS Special Ops division.>
Sara was almost out of patience. She knew, didn't think, knew that something was very wrong. Gerin hadn't come back when he said he would. This in and of itself was not cause for alarm. He had repeatedly said that his jobs took him strange places and she knew about delays. But he NEVER missed a check in... he could be sneaking around inside a Bane base and he would call to check in. Now he had missed two. And this cursed desk jockey would NOT take her seriously. Probably it was her size. Again she cursed the stupid doc that had cloned her incorrectly. The fact that she was as strong and capable as an adult mattered little when she was the size of a child. At least in the field... This idiot insisted on treating her like a kid. She had shown her ID, she had stated her problem and all he would say was “Run along and feed the Skitterins now.” WITH AN INANE SMILE ON HIS FACE. She finally had enough. Gerin would be mad with her, but...

Ten minutes later an almost painfully nondescript man came into the office. He showed his ID to the man behind the desk and the man jumped to assist.
“What did she want?” The newcomer asked.
“Who?”
“The girl who was just here.” The man at the desk shook his head.
“You are the first to come in since noon, sir.”
“There was a girl here, Forean hybrid. White skin, blue tattoos.” The man behind the desk checked his records. Then he shook his had.
“No sir. No one like that has come in today.”
“Oh, boy...” This is gonna go over SO well at Tantalus HQ

Sara crept through the darkness. She wasn't in Gerin's class at sneaking,and she knew it. But she shared a bunch of his memories, so the skill was there... she just had never practiced. Now she was putting the skills to the test, as well as others. She knew without thinking about it how he would have moved through this terrain. She stopped where he would have to scan the area before moving on. As the terrain was rocky, tracks were almost impossible to find. He always preferred that kind of terrain. But he wasn't perfect and she smiled as she saw a faint imprint of a boot in a shallow dirt covered spot. Then she froze. Carefully, she turned her head and looked at what had caught her eye. She didn't move, but inside she quailed a bit. Three figures out of a nightmare moved through the gathering gloom. 4 legs, 2 arms, insectoid body.

Atta... Oh no... They don't see me... Stay still Sara...

The alien patrol moved off and she relaxed, but just a little. Being a medic she was no stranger to the horrors of frontline combat. But she had seen what happened to a team of AFS who had strayed into Atta territory... She had been on the team sent to find them, and they had. What was left of them anyway.

Then she saw something that made her cringe even more. A scrap of black cloth caught on a rock. She looked closely at it.

AFS stealth armor... He would have been... here... and then...

She drew a quick breath in horror. Even with her limited tracking ability, she could see the impact marks from Bane artillery. Her breath caught as she saw the low depression where a limp body had been thrown by the blasts. So far behind enemy lines the AFS emergency network wouldn't have been able to teleport him out. She saw marks that her numbed mind interpreted for her. Something had taken the body... something with 4 legs. She snarled to herself and turned towards the Atta colony in the distance.

“She did WHAT? Wait...” The nondescript man waited nervously as his boss fiddled with controls and then they both relaxed as the bug scanners came up clean. Not that clean meant much in such a super spy haven as Tantalus Base.
“The clerk has no memory that she talked to him. This has been confirmed with hypno and drug interrogation.”
“How did she do it?”
“I don't know. Not only did she make him forget that she was there, but she made him erase his hard copy and computer records of whatever she did.”
“How long did you wait outside?”
“Five minutes from when she left.” The man at the desk sat back in shock.
“That's impossible. Video?”
“She stood there. She didn't say anything. She stood there for three and a half minutes, then left. The clerk wiped his records after she left.”
“I don't like where this is going agent.”
“Me either, sir.” the Director of Penumbra sat back in thought, then waved his agent back to work. He remembered the last time he had seen Gerin face to face, what he had said, what GERIN had said...
This is NOT a good thing...

This is not a good thing. What am I doing? Sara thought to herself as she approached the huge edifice that was the Atta colony.
It isn't their fault. They are just being what they are. I'll try not to kill any. But I will not leave him to be eaten...
She activated her personal shields just in time as a rock came flying out of the darkness. It glanced off and she raised her injection gun. She set the toxin level to paralyze an Atta sized target and strode to meet her attackers.

The warning rang out through the Atta colony: Invader! And the Atta swarmed to their colony's defense. Almost immediately following, the consensus was: W T F?

Sara marched into the colony, firing steadily with her injection gun. Behind her a long line of Atta frozen in positions of rage and attack. Her paralytic serum would keep them that way for at least two hours so she wasn't worried about attack from behind. And the ones in front... She maintained her shields and it was almost comical as the bugs tried to claw her, only to have their claws slide off an unseen shield. Every so often one of them would spit acid at her, but she kept up with her detox abilities. They just could not touch her.

Invader entering Inner nest...
Stop
Query?
Invader no kill
Strong query?
Warriors not slain, unable to move, none slain. Why?
Unknown
More information required, must aquire
Wrong
Obey
Reluctant
Understand, obey

Sara paused in reloading. The Atta were retreating?She automatically reloaded her weapon and checked her shields. They were still strong. She stepped carefully into a new chamber and stopped cold. The Atta surrounded the walls, most out of her range. She could hear more coming in from behind her now, but none approached. Something whispered at the back of her mind and she could almost hear... music? She cocked her head to the side and then smiled almost against her will. It was music, it was coming...
Her thoughts broke off as an Atta queen appeared. Huge and fearsome, but at the same time, it, she, whatever, seemed hesitant. The tune became louder and she realized she was humming something.
The two females locked eyes. And then Sara was elsewhere.

She stood on a featureless plain. She was armored and armed as she had been. But something was very different. She could... feel... the gaze of... something on her.
She looked up and yelled with all her might

“GIVE ME MY BROTHER BACK YOU BASTARDS!”

Sara came back to herself. None of the Atta had moved. Sara started humming again, but this time she broke off as the Atta queen raised her claw in a simple series of gestures. She knew those gestures, er, no SHE didn't... GERIN had... but from... She started laughing. The Atta stepped back at her laughter and she broke off. Then she hummed the tune again, louder, with more confidence. Five tones. At each tone change the Atta queen changed her claw position. Sara raised her empty hand and, continuing to hum, mimicked the moves.

I hope Steven Spielberg never hears about this...

Sara could not believe this. Everything she had been told about the Atta, how dangerous they were, which she knew from personal encounters as well, how viscious... Nothing had suggested that they were sentient. Nothing. She shook her head bemused. Then she knelt in a comfortable position on the floor and opened her mind. She was quickly back on the plain she had been before. But this time... another figure appeared... it was a human, female, old, dignified and suddenly Sara understood. She bowed her head.

“You are the queen.”
“As your kind say, yes.”
“You have read my mind.”
“Every being in this hive heard what you said.” Sara blushed. She hadn't been kind.
“I apologize for discourtesy. I...” She broke off.
“The being you call brother lives.” Sara froze.
“How? He was struck by artillery.”
“We were in time. He is in what you call stasis. We could not heal his wounds.”
“I can.” The queen looked at her.
“The warriors you... paralyzed is the word?”
'Yes, they will recover mobility shortly.”
“Why did you not kill?”
“I don't like to kill.” Sara's voice was small but the queen heard her.
“You could have waded through the bodies of my people. None of us, myself included, could have stood against you.”
“I thought... I thought you were animals.” Sara hung her head in shame, and was surprised when she felt a touch on her shoulder. The hand grasped her chin and pulled it up. She looked into the kind eyes of the Alien queen.
“We thought the same of you. No longer.”
“No longer.” Sara agreed.

Sara came back t herself and was only mildly surprised that the Atta hadn't moved. She had no idea how long she had been kneeling, but her legs were protesting. She got up slowly, and nodded to the queen. The queen started out of the chamber and all of the Atta made way for her. Sara followed a short distance behind.

Two chambers later, the queen stopped. Sara came up beside her and gasped. Gerin lay inside a pod of some kind. Just looking at him she could see the white of frost on his body. She looked at the queen and received a kind of mental nudge. She nodded, pulled out her healing tools and started to work. She sobbed to herself as she saw the damage he had taken, then steeled herself with her training to do her job.

I'm a healer, not a killer...

When Gerin woke this time, he smiled, he could smell her. Coolness spread through his limbs, chasing the frigid feeling he had barely noticed away. He sighed.
“Don't open your eyes.” He grimaced but complied, he had learned not to argue with her when she was in full medic mode. He tried to talk, couldn't. After a few moments, he managed to croak out a question
“What?” not very coherant but Sara understood. She always did.
“You were in stasis. I'm not sure if they are intact. Let me check.” he felt the strange tingling of a scan over his face.
“You are ok.” He snorted, he HURT...
“I don't feel okay... I feel like I was hit by a truck...”
“You were hit by Bane artillery. Square.”
“Then how am I...” He broke off. “How long have I been out?”
“Three days. You were hurt...” She broke off and he could hear her sobbing quietly.
“Sara, what happened?” She hugged him tight.
“Our world just changed Gerin. I thought I lost you. I...” She broke off and he could feel her moving away from him a bit. When she didn't speak he became worried and tried to sit up. His body couldn't do it however. He opened his eyes and the world around him blurred and spun. And he sank back with a groan.
“Idiot. I didn't go anywhere.” He felt a cool cloth across his forehead and then the tingling of micromech as she put more on him. He felt better immediately.
“I'm sorry Sara...”
“It's not your fault. You didn't CHOOSE to have that Bane shell land on you. But now we have to go on. And...”
“And?” he prompted. Strong hands sat him up and brushed him off. This time when he opened his eyes he could see clearly. He saw his clone sister, dirty, smelly ad more lovely that any angel ever could have been.
“You need to meet someone.” With that she stood and moved aside. He froze. And then he stiffened further when a voice came from the Atta queen. No her mouthparts didn't move, but it was a voice nonetheless...
I am pleased to make your acquaintance.
He looked at Sara in shock and she nodded sadly.
“You were not kidding. Our world just changed.”
“Yeah.”

<1 week later>
"Why can't we tell anyone...?" Sara broke off as Gerin grimaced. He stood up, moved stiffly to another seat and winced a bit as he lowered himself into it. He still wasn't up to speed yet. And their living quarters were not exactly conducive to human comfort... A cave. While they had managed to make it somewhat comfortable, it was still a cave. The temperature had taken some getting used to, as their hosts preferred warmer temps than humans, but they had both acclimatized quickly. They had both spent time in harsher conditions and the food, while not 5 star, was at least more edible than some of the AFS ration packs. He straightened his limbs and tried to get comfortable. Sara looked at him and he shook his head. He refused to let her 'waste' her limited supply of micromech on him again. Pain was nothing new to him. And they might need her supplies for other things...

“First of all, we would be laughed at. I mean, think about it. A bug talked to you without talking.” He waved an apology to his host who sent a feeling of amusement, tinged with concern. Sara motioned for him to continue.

“Second... Sara, AFS command isn't a unified structure. You know this.”

“And?” Her tone made it absolutely clear that she thought he was stalling.

“Any of the factions would love to gain power over any of the others. If we throw a new sentient species into the mix, well, feeding frenzy comes to mind...” His matter of fact tone belied the worry underlying his words.

“Gerin, we can't do this alone. Yes, I can talk to them.” She nodded to her host who gave an impression of nodding back. “Yes we have learned more about them, Areki and the Bane here in the last week than the AFS has in the whole time it has been here. But.. We CAN'T do this alone...” Gerin sighed.

“The only people I could have trusted to keep a lid on this would have been Special Ops, but now...”
Sara winced. That was her fault. If only I hadn't...

“Hey.” His tone gentled. “It was going to come out sooner or later, Sara. And if you hadn't done what you did, I'd be dead or still on ice.”

“But now Penumbra knows...” Sara broke off as Gerin's face went blank. The Atta also moved back a step, almost instinctively.

“And they know what will happen to them if anything happens to you.” His voice was cold and hard and against her will Sara shivered. “I'm sorry.” He said in a much more normal tone.

“No, don't apologize for being what you are. It isn't easy to deal with sometimes. But I much prefer you and your honesty to the backbiting I saw every day at HQ.”

I agree. You are very different from most of the minds we have touched of your people. This came from their host. It was easier for them to talk to Sara, but Gerin could 'hear' them just fine, especially so close. If only I could 'talk' to them so easily he mused.

“I did what I had to do. I gave my word.” Sara nodded, but the next 'words' came from the other.

To an unknown. To someone from a species you had fought, bitterly. He nodded, lost in memory.
Yet still, you kept your promise, even believing with all your heart that we would slay you when you had done it.

“I gave her my word.” He repeated quietly. Both of the others remained silent for a moment. Then Sara spoke.

“And that is why we can't stay here. They know this was the closest colony to where you disappeared. They will have tracked me... I'm not in your class on sneaking, and I didn't think to cover my tracks.”

“Sara, you didn't think at all. Come on... Walking into an Atta lair ALONE?” He was angry now, but still coldly controlled.

“I wasn't afraid.”

“And that is why I worry about you. You don't when to be afraid. Like me now...” his anger was gone, now he was just... afraid...?

“What? You're never afraid...” She broke off as Gerin laughed outright. He turned towards their host and smiled.

“Tell her what I am feeling right now, Please.” He felt something wash over him, leaving a faint tingling in its wake.

Fear... Your fear is strong, as strong as your anger... I cannot continue... I am sorry.. your emotions are too strong...
The Atta broke off and moved back a step. Gerin winced.

“I'm sorry. I should not have asked that of you.” Sara looked at both of them in shock. She had never been able to read Gerin, probably because they were clones.

“I... you're afraid...?” her voice was quiet.

“All day, every day. Every day I have to fight to continue. To fight myself before I can fight the Bane... Anyone who is not afraid, while doing what we do, is crazy, Sara. Are you?”

“I... yes. I'm afraid. I'm so scared....” She replied in a small voice and he gathered his childlike sibling into his arms.

“I don't know what will happen Sara. But I do know that anyone who wants you will have to go through me.” The Atta stood straight.

Us as well

“And that is why we must find another place.” Gerin stopped as both Sara and the Atta turned to regard him. When he was sure he had their attention he continued. “If the Bane realize what has happened here, they will launch an all out assault on this place. They can not allow two such powerful forces to ally against them. You would not be able to stand against an all out assault. Tell me I lie.”

You do not And sorrow came from the Atta.

“If the AFS or worse, Penumbra, realize we are here, you will not wake up one day. They will gladly wipe all of you out to gain any advantage at all. Never mind that doing so would lose them strategic advantages. Most of them don't think long term, they can't do it. They are too focused on the here and now.”

“Then we have to.” Sara stood up and looked at her brother. He struggled to manage his emotions.

“There are places we can go, places I know of where we can hide. Some even have facilities.”

We will aid you Came from thier host.

"But... If they find out you are helping us..." Sara broke off as amusement came from the atta.

This colony cannot help you for the reasons you have stated. but WE as a race can. Grin looked at Sara and they both looked at the Atta with confused expressions. The Atta might not be able to read their expressions, but the feelings... those were easy to read. Follow
Bemused they followed the Atta out of their temporary home.

The queen led them deep into the nest. Deeper than either of them had realized the colony went. Finally the queen stopped at the entrance to a chamber and waved them in. As they crossed the threshold, they both stopped in amazement. This wasn't an Atta chamber. In fact... they froze in amazement at the sights that greeted their eyes.

“Greetings children of Earth. Have no fear, come forward.” The voice came from the other side of the chamber and they walked forward slowly. Gerin had heard a similar voice before so was only somewhat surprised when a tall, lean form emerged out of the mists of energy that filled the room. They both walked to a courteous distance and then... Sara curtsied and Gerin saluted. The being smiled and motioned for them to sit. They did.
“I have been assisting these beings in their fight against the wayward brethren. You wish to do the same?” They both nodded, neither trusted their tongues at the moment.
“You fear if you remain here, the Bane or your people, the AFS, will attack.” They both nodded again. “You are undoubtably correct. But we can help you in many ways.” They both stiffened. “We cannot aid you overtly, but we CAN aid you.” He waved again and a form came into the room, but... it wasn't the atta queen, er, not the SAME Atta queen. This one was much smaller, and... the queen walked up to Gerin, knelt in front of him and spoke. The words came from a box on her thorax.

“I owe you my existence Gerin of Earth. I am Ecien. Together we can build a bridge of communication between our peoples.” Gerin looked at the young Atta queen, at the Eloh, then at Sara. He nodded. Time to get to work...