“Natalie Shrike. Female. Estimated age Twenty-two. Estimated Psionic potential ranks you somewhere between eight and nine. Shown the ability to control the zerg like hybridized creatures created by the Confederates. During her entrapment developed emotional attachments to the creatures, reacted violently when one, in particular, was killed in front of her. Active ability to take hold of another's mind detected, Ghost countermeasures employed.” I threw the little docet onto the table between myself and the young woman in question.

She had finally stopped screaming about twenty minutes ago. She had begun screaming a few moments after being woken up, and that had gone on until I informed her I would put her under for an hour for every minute she screamed. I didn’t like threatening the kid, but the screaming was giving me a migraine. Stone and Pierce were in the room while cloaked, creating a continuous psionic barrier so she couldn’t latch onto any of my people with little to no defenses against her unique set of abilities.

Them being cloaked did little regarding hiding their presence though, judging by how her eyes continued to flick toward their respective corners in the room. Fernando wasn’t present for this little conversation either, not physically at least. The talk detailing the dangers had been long when I had made that call. I felt it was needed though. I coughed lightly, tapping the docket on the table and the girl turned to glare at the paper, and my finger, with all the intensity of a pissed off animal. “This is information we were able to extract from that facility. Is it all correct?”

She turned that glare onto me, and I sighed again, leaning forward to rest my chin on the palm of my hand. “Listen, kid. We didn’t put you in that place with those monsters. We brought you out of there. We can’t let you out of here until we know everything though.”

I watched her. The glare intensified when I called the creatures monsters. Interesting, she didn’t see them as monsters. How that could be was likely something involving them all being survivors, if you could call those things that, of the Confederates experiments. At least this kid still looked Human though. I saw her lips move a little and I waited.

A soft voice, long hoarse from screaming and disuse. It made her seem even younger than she was. “Killed...friend.” I rolled my eyes at the girl.

“That was a monster, a creature that no matter of pitiable and pathetic, was no longer Human.” She glared at me again.

“Just...like...them,” she whispered, and then she shut herself down completely. It was easy to tell based on how her eyes dimmed, and she slumped into herself. I frowned, she was saying I was exactly like the people that had performed those mutilations on children. I wasn’t, but she now believed it to be the case. Maybe I should have had Fernando handle this? One of the women, Green perchance?

I shook my head and left the room after attempting to get answers for about three minutes. Pierce and Stone would remain behind until another team of Ghosts could arrive and take over. The fact that an entire fireteam of Ursine Guard was in the hallway ready to fill that room full of holes if she so much as twitched was an added measure by Fernando. I didn’t disagree with it, but if she got past the Ghosts, she might take over their minds. Then we’d have real problems. A worry for another day though, I’d trust the Ghosts to handle the matter for now.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Fernando met me as I was leaving the Barracks and handed Leo over to me in silence. The puppy was even quiet, sensing something was off and behaving for once. I looked at Fernando a moment before walking toward the Medical Facility under Greens control. He followed me.

“You should have killed her, removed the potential threat.” I glanced at him briefly and shrugged.

“She’s a kid, Fernando, one that went through hell and survived. She may even prove useful against the Zerg. Think of her as an asset, if it helps you, but do not think of her as an obstacle to remove. Not yet at least.”

I heard the big guy sigh but saw the sharp nod before he broke off, moving toward a knot of running soldiers in casual dress being screamed at by an Officer. I grinned, the image bringing back memories of secretly planning to murder my own CO for all the shit he had my squad do during training.

The grin faded when I looked at Fernando one more time. I’d need to have a more detailed conversation with him. He was the sort of man to already have a plan in place to kill any perceived threats. The kid was far too important in the long run to kill off though. I had plans for her, using her to help in the more difficult Zerg missions and dealing with the fucking Zerg that would be coming here soon.

Making my way to the Facility, that thought brought on another worry. I’d only just obtained the month-long reprieves for the Campaign Maps and the war with the Confederates, but I wouldn’t be able to stick to it for both. I’d need to cancel one out so I could keep getting new shit. It was obvious which one it would have to be as well, and I hated that. Fucking time limits with those Campaigns made shit difficult.

I’d deal with it in a few days though. That would give me time to get the people I would be bringing with me squared away, orders for Fernando to carry outdone, and see a few things I’ve been putting off. The ‘Follower Store’ among them. For now, though, seeing Nova was my primary objective.

I still hoped that when I opened the door to her room, I’d walk into her awake and healthy. As opposed to the bundled up woman with more wires that I could count coming out of her. The only good news was that Green had confirmed her body was fully healed, it was just a matter with her brain. The Facility was helping with that, to a degree, but she had to be the one to wake up in the end.

I set Leo down on the ground, and he started running around, playing. It made me smile as I sat down beside her bed, taking her hand and detailing everything that had been happening over the last day, again. I chuckled a bit at that. It made me feel like I was Green, talking and talking without ever taking a breath. The idea was horrifying, of course, but still funny.

I spent maybe an hour doing that. Then it went off into piddly shit like what Leo was currently doing to my booted foot, which was an attempt to gnaw it off. I shook my foot a little, laughing. “Stop that! Those are my toes!”

I was about to get up and leave, taking my hand from Nova’s when I felt the smallest little twitch in her index finger. I looked at it, pretty fucking sure it was just me moving away when it happened again. I froze, unsure on what to do for a second before turning toward the door, running for all I was worth, and screaming for Green, Andy, somebody to get their ass’ in here and do their job!

I was excited, hoping she was waking up. I doubted it all the same, but hope yet lived.