Marine's Lament (Mr. M & Marie Massacre)

[Mr Master]

Power corrupts, and the more power one has, the more corrupt one can get. It’s not universally true, but it’s a greater force than most honestly anticipate.

When one has power over a nation, that’s a great potential for abuse. When it’s an entire planet, that’s a staggering temptation. And when it’s a far-flung network of settled systems and colonies, all joined through quantum-tunneling gateways and ruled by a single small council of Governors under the auspices of the sociopolitical “alliance” (as it would not do to call it “empire in all but name”) known as the Interstellar Governance (or IG)… well, that kind of power is only obtained by those already black-hearted and soulless enough to murder and blackmail their way into the halls of authority better than anyone else.

Of course, corruption of that level can’t be publicly proven, and even when it can, there are large protective systems in place. And even if evidence were to get out, there are very important areas where it wouldn’t even matter. For example, large governments are traditionally accused of maintaining control and solvency through the extortion of the military (most of the accusers being the disenfranchised and paranoid, but regardless). However, the formal military nearly always has a strong tradition of honor and loyalty, and likes to maintain the belief that they would refuse to carry out corrupt orders. Which is why military personnel are traditionally protected from the general media and fed positive propaganda. Even honorable people may serve a corrupt system, if they do not perceive it as corrupt.

But for every evil bureaucrat and misguided soldier, there may be a freedom fighter. Or for every hard-working public servant and loyal protector of society, there is a misguided terrorist. It all depends on your point of view. The difficulty with controlling vast territory is that traditionally, people don’t generally like to be controlled. And the more you tighten your grip, the more star systems slip through your fingers. Or they try, at least. That’s where the aforementioned military comes in.

The rebellion on Davis’ Peak was much like similar resistance organizations all across the IG territories: malcontents meeting in secret, trying to share anti-government information and perhaps mounting protests. Like a percentage of those organizations, the groups on the Peak mounted more active protests, such as sabotage and media incursions and destruction of governmental property. And like a percentage of that percentage, IG crack-downs led to a shooting war.

It was a brushfire conflict, in the greater scheme of things, but the local IG commandants took such things seriously, even if the Governors didn’t care too much. That’s why they sent in the marines in full battle dress. Ten-foot tall armored suits strode through the streets, onboard targeting systems painting any possible threat they came across. Just the sight of the huge armored battlesuits sent civilians scurrying, and there was very little that most rebellion cells possessed that could put a dent in one of their hides, whereas the firepower built into even one of the suits could have taken out an entire battalion of conventional troops. That’s why the guerillas didn’t use conventional troops. Like any group fighting a superior force, they used stealth and trickery and, on occasion, a surprising weapon, when they could find one.

Davis’ Peak was an outlying colony, the conflict upon it a small annoyance to IG’s Council of Governors. No one could have predicted that the fight on the Peak would be a turning point for the IG’s entire future.

 

[Marie Massacre]

Lillith Rionan was one of those suits of armor. But even without the said suit of armor, she was still nearly unstoppable. A super soldier, created solely for the purpose of shutting down terrorists and rebels. She's hadn't always been this way. She was once jsut a normal private. Until her superior scores in both the physical, and the metal field prompted the IG to take her in as part of an experimentation process. One that had all but failed in turning hundreds of space marines into super soldiers. Most died from the experimental drugs and procedures that were adminstered. But she lived. For whatever reason. Now, at a rank that few achieved as a space marine, due to death. She was leading the soldiers at Davis' Peak.

The experiments had left her with enhanced hearing, sight, strength, and other added abilities. When she was in her suit of course, her powerss and abilities were null and void. It didn't matter. Because she was a walking tank. She her men walked down the streets she began feeling uneasy. It was far too quiet that morning. "Keep your eyes out boys. It's too damn quiet out here and I don't like it," Lillith said over their coms. She had her weapons ready should something happen. Watching every alley that was darkened. Not sure if she should be worried about an attack. As they were in their suits. They were untouchable. Or so she thought......

 

[Mr Master]

Her instincts were sharp as always, and she was the only trooper not surprised at the hissing whoosh that suddenly rushed toward them. It was a missile, something unexpected in this little stub of a war, but something she was trained for. The men reacted with only reasonable level of panic, and leapt to the sides of the alley, as the missile impacted right where the knot of them used to be marching. Civilians were always surprised at how nimble the power suits actually were. As fragments of missile casing and chunks of pavement and building rained down around them, the squad charged their suit weapons and veritably demolished the building where the missile's vapor trail came from.

Major Rionan knew better. Any rebel cell able to put their hands on an anti-suit missile would know better than to give away their position. It was probably an automated emplacement, remotely triggered, from a building farther on down... there. Movement on the roof of the shop across the street, glint of metal, evidence of more weaponry. Most available weaponry wasn't capable of penetrating suit armor, but there were a few heavy-gauge rifles that could do the trick. If they could get a missile, who knows what else they could manage to obtain.

 

[Marie Massacre]

"Men, take to the roofs!" Major Rinion shouted. They quickly took to the roofs, half on one side, half on the other. She kept her eyes out for any sign of weapons or anything else that could pose a threat. She was what some would call hyper vigiliant. But it had saved her ass and theirs on more then one occasion. Most of the others were still, despite what had happened, being very lazy. Thinking that would be the one thing they had. She looked around. Trying to figure out where their hideout could have been. She hushed the others. Putting her enhanced hearing to use. She heard whisperes near by, they were definately those of some of the rebels. She silenced the men and they went into a stealth mode, sneaking up on the small group of rebels. She had unwittingly led them into a trap. She cursed at herself when rebels surrounded them. She knew these rebels would be no math for their suits though. She charged up her weapons. Ready to fire should something or awry. She kept them charged just for that reson. She kept her eyes moving from one individual to the next. Not wanting to linger on one for two long.

 

[Mr Master]

As she had sensed, there were indeed rebels all around. As the squad had moved into position to assault the perceived threat (the “bait”), they’d come out of protected hiding spaces (the “switch”). The Major had heard their movements over her suit pickups well before the other troops, but it hadn’t helped too much. All it really meant was that she was more prepared when the rebels started to lay down suppression fire.

They knew they were up against power suits, so they didn’t even try to use smaller arms. A handful of high-caliber sniper rifles, both energy and projectile, worked to keep the soldiers pinned down. It had been a goodly while since the armored troops had needed to take cover, but they still remembered how. And they returned fire with their armor weapons, pulping emplacements, revealing the hidden armor underneath that kept the snipers protected. The sizzle and bang of armaments rang out from all sides; if the civilians hadn’t fled the area before now, this was a clear signal for sensible people to get gone.

Something wasn’t right, though. It was odd; they were shooting at the troops, yes, and were trying to hit them, but they really didn’t seem to be trying all that hard. The Major’s training had drilled tactics into her brain until she practically breathed strategy and sweated field orders. That’s the only reason she realized there was something off. It was almost like the snipers were just trying to keep them there, on the rooftops on both sides of the street. But why? The rooftop beneath her creaked as she ducked her helmet out to get a quick glimpse of one of the sniper emplacements, still trying to guess her opponent’s reasoning.



(Sorry if I wrote an action for her; I was trying to work in various details and that seemed a natural action that she would likely take anyway, and it won’t create any complications; it’s a freebie. Give any orders you want, and of course internal narration is welcomed. But do me a favor and don’t describe any of said orders completing? I’d like something to happen before everybody gets off the roofs, if you don’t mind.)

 

[Marie Massacre]

Major Rinoan looked at the snipers nests. Trying to figure out why they were keeping them pinned here. It wasn't like they couldn't still easily take them out. And theit shots were doing very little damage to their suits. But yet they kept them under fire none the less. Keeping them pinned where they were. Her tactical mind would not let her comprehend why they woudl be doing this. It had to all be part of the bigger picture of things. There had to be something else. Some reasoning behind this.

Now, she had heard the roof creak, but she ignored it. Not really factoring it in as part of the big pictures. "Men, stay alert! They have to be pinning us down in this sport for a reason! keep your eye's sharp, don't let them surprise you or it'll be the end of us!" She commaned over their coms. She was glad her men were well enough trained to still take cover when needed, sure, it wasn't often that you needed to take cover in their suits, but when needed it was a skill that was good to have. She bit her lip, then it hit her. They were keeping them pinned in one stop for some kind of larger strike that would take out their suits. "Men, get off the roofs! Get of the roofs damn it! They're pinning us for a larger attack!"

 

[Mr Master]

No sooner had she shouted out her orders than there were sharp snaps from inside the buildings they were on, and the roofs of the two buildings facing each other on opposite sides of the street caved in, providing no purchase from which to leap, and no solid handhold to grab to keep from falling inward. She lost sight of the other team, and had to focus on her own situation.

It seemed the entire inner structure of the building had been rigged for collapse. Each floor barely held for a split-second before collapsing to the next one below, and each time, more and more debris and material piled on. They couldn’t hope to damage the suits, although the falling was indeed bouncing the troops inside their armor, to some ill effect, but the mass of the materials they were falling into would act as quicksand to an unarmored person, a morass of junk that would slow them down, entrap them as surely as any net. And even though her weapons were charged, she’d have a devil of a time digging herself out even if the rebels were to leave her alone the entire time.

They finally landed in what had been the basement: the building was a shell now, all its internal floors and pipes and cables and what have you all more or less piled up on Major Rinoan and half her squad. The command report corner of her suit’s Heads Up Display had a lot of blinking red; the other troops had not weathered the fall as well as she had, and a few were unconscious within their suits. But the HUD also showed her that none of the rebels were down at their level; they were still all up on the roofs. They might have an opportunity to get on their feet, at least, if she hurried them along…

 

[Marie Massacre]

((OOC: I'd imagine she'd feel about like I do right now. PT kicked my butt yesterday. Lol. I can barely move, lol.))

Lillith groaned as she looked at her heads up display, the flashing making the headache she'd recieved on the way down all the worse. She turned it off in an attempt to lessen her headache. "Men, I know that was rough, but we need to get up, the rebels are still on the roof, we have a little time to try and dig ourselves out," she said over her com. Her body ached inside the suit aas she began pushing rubble off of herself. She didn't hear many responses, may two groans telling her they were consious. Which she was glad, but that left over 10 men that were completely unconsious. She began clearing rubble off of herself a little faster. If nothing els she needed to get her men out of there. She didn't care what land they lost, she needed to get them out of there. They had not been properly prepared for this mission. They were sent in blind, only to find that the rebel forces knew they were coming and were prepared for them. She cursed as she saw a pipe had dented the chest of her armor. Her armor was now covered in dents between the fall and rubble. She had always doubted the efficiency of these damned suits. But she wouldn't say anything. She finially managed to clear most of the rubble, standing back to her feet. She groaned as her muscles cursed her for moving.

 

[Mr Master]

It wasn't until she had mostly cleared off the rubble from her armor and was struggling to her feet that she saw them. Strange coils of metal and crystal, mounted on the walls of the basement, under overhangs that had protected them from the falling rubble. This wasn't a trap just to immobilize them; they had been dropped straight down into the line of fire of some experimental new weapon.

The suits were rated against electricity, most thermal, sonics both ultra- and sub-, and even electromagnetic pulses. If the suit could take a direct EMP, it could handle pretty much anything. So the fact that the components of the coils were already glowing when she noticed them, and grew even brighter as she took them in didn't worry her overmuch. It was more worrying how organized and and well-planned this attack had been.

The coils finally reached their threshold, and energy crackled around them. It was hard not to smirk, expecting the suit to weather the discharge effectively. And it did -- because the energy wasn't directed at the suit. No, these coils weren't projecting anything; they were attractors. As they crackled, she could feel herself suddenly growing weaker, abruptly and alarmingly, as if she was experiencing a sudden sugar crash from before her treatments. She could hear moans over the radio, as well, as everyone seemed to suffer the same thing.

The suit's automatics weren't enough to keep her upright; she found herself falling to her knees as her vital physical energies were drawn out or suppressed. Her HUD kept throwing up emergency telltales, telling her her troops were passing out one by one, and soon she was the last, barely clinging to consciousness.

Noises roused her from her daze, as if snapping her out of a daydream; people climbing, rubble shifting, voices talking hurriedly. Her suit's power was cut, somehow, so she was trapped in the inert bulk; the noises she was hearing were filtering through her helmet, audible only because her natural senses were so sharp. There were clanks she could feel through her padding, and then her armor's torso started to shift. She could hear someone saying "Okay, lift it, lift it off..." And in a moment, she was freed from the armor, looking at a group of scruffy technician-type people and a few armed mercenaries who seemed shocked and amazed that she looked at them with alert eyes.

((now might be the perfect time to post that inspiring image... lol))

 

[Marie Massacre]

Lilith snapped back to reality, having woken up her energy was back. She jumped back to her feet. Some of them were armed, but so was she. Even without her suit she was a killing machine. She managed to fight through at least half of them before she was taken down. Still fighting them even as they had her on her stomach with her arms pinned behind her. She still managed to knock a few out with elbows. But they had her down now, and she was, for the most part, at their mercy. One of them pushed her face to the ground with his foot. She fought angrily against this, was not about to let them think they were in any way superior to her. But the dead weight of the suits lower half held her down even more so then they did. She tried to move, but she wasn't going anywhere. She didn't like being at these rebels mercy. God knows what they would do. Especially since she only wore undergarments under her suit. She over heated if she wore anything more. So she was in undergarments and a pair of military issue combat boots.

 

[Mr Master]

((forgive me if I wax a bit more wordy ... I hope you'll enjoy))

The men and women around her fell beneath her swinging arms, as her strikes were laser-like in their precision. One of the mercenary types came in with a rifle to club her on the head, moving fast like the trained professional he was, but Lilith sensed him coming up behind her and managed to lean back, completely under the blow like a limbo dancer, avoiding it and grabbing the rifle with one hand. Her other was neatly placed for an accurate rabbit punch that dropped the merc, moaning and clutching his family jewels.

The dead weight of the suit’s lower half held her down, and without power, she could barely move it, so she writhed out of it, turning her escape from the dead powersuit into a kick to the face to another mercenary that came up on her. She was still bruised, half-dazed from her descent, and dressed only in her skivvies and boots, but she made a beeline for the street side of the basement, arrowing for freedom. If she could get out of this basement, she might get away. Other mercs tried to stop her, but despite her revealing outfit, her movements were not hesitant in the least, and the soft-looking limbs cloaked muscles that might as well have been made of durasteel cable.

She mowed through half the contingent of rebel fighters by the time she reached the wall. Others were shouting, calling to each other, some strident, some professional, but she couldn’t be bothered sorting it out, she was focused and hyper-alert. Unfortunately, she wasn’t as protected as she had been in the suit. A shot found her: thankfully, it was merely a projected taser, a globule of crackling energy that hit the middle of her back and electrified her nerves, making her feel like her limbs were on fire. She fell back to the rubble, bruising herself some more, but forced life into her arms and legs again, struggling to her feet amid disbelieving shouts along the lines of “Fuck! How is she even conscious after that?”

Battered and half-out-of-it from the taser hit, she still fought back, but it was only at the level of a normal person, and that’s where numbers won out. She was finally knocked to her stomach on a flat piece of what was once a wall, many hands pinning her arms behind her. A merc’s combat boot pushed on the side of her face, mashing her head to the surface while she struggled. She could feel cuffs being put on her wrists, then another pair, then another; having seen her work, they weren’t taking any chances.

Another voice cut through all the others. “Let me through! Let me through! Don’t hurt her!” She couldn’t see, with the foot on her face and her arms pulled up so high, but she could hear the owner of the voice coming close, setting something down. “There’s no need to hurt her,” he said, sounding like he was opening a case and fiddling around with some gear inside. “Didn’t you get the memo on trying not to kill if we didn’t have to?”

“She’s too dangerous,” a deeper, rougher voice growled, surely one of the mercs.

“The situation… does require reevaluation. But you don’t have to be animals about it!” There was a hiss and a point of coldness on her armpit that started to spread across her body. “The sedative will take care of it. We’ll question her… only questions, Carter!”

“You’re the boss, Mr. Drake…” the rough voice said with a keen edge of sneering sarcasm, just as unconsciousness robbed her of her ability to fight.

--

She was groggy, the next time she came aware of herself. Groggy, and alone, and moderately chilly. And within a cage, something akin to a large dog kennel, but durable, sturdy enough to withstand even her enhanced strength. She still had her undergarments, but her feet were bare. She was also in complete darkness, and silence, but for the noise of her own movements. That was good; that meant they hadn’t given her a sensory limiter, either by injection or implant – they weren’t cutting off her brain’s reception of her senses’ input, they had just put her in a dark, quiet room. With the latter, the silence would be interrupted when someone walked in. With the former, they could be preparing for God knows what and she’d never know about it until she felt the first touch… if they didn’t block her sense of touch before they started…

No time to think about such disturbing thoughts. Better to consider what she might to do escape.

 

[Marie Massacre]

Lilith's tactical mind began to go into overdrive. She was alone, for the most part. She had heard someone come in. But it didn't worry her. Even with her cuffs on she could still kill and enemy with her legs. Quite easily. She had a plan to get out of this. She would wait till one of them care near. To open the cage, if they were going to. And once they did, she'd let her legs do all the work. A kick to the knees, that would sufficiently take them down to her level. And then once they were on the floor, it would be all over. Her legs wrapping around their neck, and letting the fragile bones snap. She listened for any footsteps or signs of movement in those that had come into the room. But she could unfortunately hear none. This meant they were not moving. That was good but at the same time bad. Worst case scenerio, they wouldn't come to the cage at all. Best case, they would come, and have keys to the shackles that held her powerful arms. She closed her eyes, trying to focus more on her hearing. Waiting to hear even the slightest sounds of movement or speaking.

 

[Mr Master]

After her long wait in silent, dark solitude, someone had indeed entered, in the dark, and stayed silent for long minutes. There were some quiet clicks, just barely audible. Then there were footsteps. It took a moment, but her sensitive eyes picked up a glow, and someone, a human male, stepped around a corner, gazing at a hand-held computer that cast just enough ambient glow for him to navigate the basement area, or wherever she was.

He wore old-fashioned spectacles, and had shortish hair, growing out a little unkempt and shaggy, for all its brevity. As he came around the corner, he looked up, blinking in her direction.

“Oh, right,” he said, and touched the screen on his hand computer. Lights came up, shedding a dim illumination on the room. It looked for all things like an ancient boiler room, all the useful machinery scavenged out, and her cage installed. She could get a look at her container, now: thick bars, welded in place, bolted to the floor with industrial-sized rivets. Under her own power, there was no way she could get out of there, unless there was some serious undetected metal fatigue in some of those bars.

“I’m sorry about this. It wouldn’t have been my choice to set you up like this, but our more military-minded individuals insisted. I can make you a little more comfortable, though.” He touched a few keys, and there was a series of little clicks from her cuffs. The bonds on her wrists loosened, remotely deactivated. Normally, that kind of thing was only effective within a police station or military stockade, but they had apparently set up the appropriate transmitters here.

“I also have some ration bars and a canteen, if you need them. But, uh, I understand if you don’t trust them.” He sighed. “My name is Drake. Caleb Drake. I’m… I’m not a fighter, by training, but I’m kind of the leader of this active cell. I used to be an IG Navy scientist, though, and that’s why I know you’re not the average run-of-the-mill soldier.”

 

[Marie Massacre]

(OOC: Sorry if my post is a bit short today. I'm feeling absolutely terrible. I have a skull splitting headache. And I'm sick as a dog.)

Lilith groaned and closed her eyes as the lights came up. She looked at the young man who had walked in. She mentioned being from the IG Navy. She gave him a somewhat disgusted look. "If you were in the Navy how can you honestly support these radicals?" Lilith asked softly. She felt the cuffs fall off of her arms. "And I don't need to eat, but water is appreciated." She heard his introduction, sighing. She figured she might as well introduce herself, "I'm Major Lilith Rionan. And no, I'm not your average run-of-the-mill soldier. I used to be. But then they did some experiments. Procedures that made me into a super soldier. That's why I could take out so many of your men before they could take me down."

 

[Mr Master]

(we're in dialogue, anyway, so posts are naturally shorter at times like this, regardless. Sorry to hear about your headache! )

When she said she could use the water, he held out the canteen at arm's length, edging forward until she could reach it through the bars. He was being careful not to get close enough for her to grab.

"I figured you were one of the experiments. And I support these radicals specifically BECAUSE I was in the IG Navy. I know what they're doing, to people, to their own soldiers. Stuff you won't even believe, I know, until you stop believing what they've drilled into your head." He sighed, and ran his free hand through his hair. "Like... your treatments. I bet they told you they were trying something new, to make a better soldier, and they needed you to volunteer for the tests? But they didn't mention how the experiments have been going on for near 50 years now. And the success rate hasn't gotten any better: it's been 90% losses the whole time through, but they don't care, long as they keep getting the volunteers."

"Hooray for the military, right?" He shook his head. "I have a couple hundred other facts, just like that or worse. It got bad enough, I couldn't take working for them anymore. So I joined the Rebels." He fell silent a moment. "But I think I've talked enough about me. I... need to ask you some questions. Professionally, that is." He sounded a little embarrassed about it, too.

 

[Marie Massacre]

"I knew all the risks. I was told that the procedures had a very high risk factor. That's odds were I would die during of after the procedures. But I didn't. I knew I was strong enough on my own to handle it. I managed to overcome the odds and before one of the best damn Marines out there," Lilith said. She couldn't help but notice him getting flustered and embarrassed by the fact that he had to ask her questions. She wondered what could be so awkward professionally that it was getting him flustered. She had to admit, it was almost adorable how flushed her got. But she wasn't here to help them, but she would answer his questions ad comply. "I will answer your questions, but I want answers when I'm done." Her mind had been racing. So many things could happen. She knew if her men were dead she would be blamed. But she also wondered why she had been kept alive. There was a large risk of her escaping and killing every one of them, she was a threat. Tactically it would've been best to kill her.

 

[Mr Master]

"You only knew the risks they told you about, I'm afraid," he said softly.

~~~

"Well, I'll be as candid with you as you are with me, I'll promise you that much," he said, half-smiling. Then he cleared his throat and looked at his hand computer. "Okay, so, I have a list, let me just read them off to you..."

For all his "just a normal guy" demeanor, the questions he was reading were the usual military stuff. "Where are you stationed?" "What can you tell me about troop movements in the next week?" "Who is your commanding officer here on the Peak? Where is that officer stationed?" and so forth, entirely standard sort of rebel questions. He seemed terribly uncomfortable having to ask, but it was pretty clear this was part of his job.

~~~

When he was done, and regardless of her answers or lack of same, he touched a few keys on his hand computer and then sighed. "Okay, well, that's all I was asked to ask. It's your turn, Major Rionan."

 

[Marie Massacre]

"Well, I'm afraid all the troops sent were slaughtered by your men today... So troop movements here in the Peak are null and void. I am the commanding officer of all operations at the Peak. And I am stationed here, at the Peak. But things change, obviously," Lilith said she sipped on the water. It was all she needed to keep going. Due to the experiments, she no longer needed food. She looked up as he finished, not having expected to few questions. And not expecting them to be of a militaristic persuasion, but only because of his uncomfrotableness at first. She heard him tell her it was her turn. "What do your men have planned for me? Are they just going to keep me locked up? And you're aware, the moment someone opens that cage door, I'll kill everyone of those bastards that killed my men!" She knew if anyone attempted to open the cage she would be heavily sedated first. Sure, she was a super soldier, but sedation still put her down, just like everyone else.

 

[Mr Master]

He faltered when she mentioned her men being slaughtered, but read through the rest of the questions dutifully.

When he was done, he listened to her tirade, then held up his hands, placatingly. "Okay, don't worry, don't worry. Your troops weren't killed. Some of them were in a bad way, but we didn't murder anyone. The device was designed to knock everybody out, so we could steal the power suits. Even if we can't get them to work, they're still expensive to replace, and your effectiveness is hampered without the armor."

"The only reason we captured you is because you fought it off. I knew right away you must have been enhanced, and possibly a useful test subject. I also knew you must be the unit commander, so at least I was right about that."

"As for what we plan to do with you, I don't have any specifics at the moment. I have no intention of executing you, so you don't have to worry about that. If the war ends amicably, there's always a prisoner exchange, I'd be quite open to that. I... really don't want to see you get hurt." He looked away, and if Lilith didn't have enhanced vision, she wouldn't have been able to tell he was blushing.

 

[Marie Massacre]

Lilith let out a soft sigh of relief when he told her that her men weren't killed. Sheheard that she would make a udeful test subject and she glared at him. "I'd like to see you use me as a test subject. Because the moment this cage is opened..." she trailed off. She couldn't help but notice that he was blushing about having said he didn't want to see her hurt. She found it a little odd that he was this friendly. He certainly didn't seem the type that would have her executed for who she was. She was glad for that. That at least partially promised her safety. Though, it would certainly be an entertainly thought of having one of them try to execte her. Her skin was harder them most normal military grade armor. She was as strong as twenty soldiers. She was faster then some cars. And she was agile. They had truly managed to make a super soldier in her. She hasn't sure how'd she'd made it through the procedures with the odds extreme that she would die.

 

[Mr Master]

At her outburst, his eyes widened. “Oh, no, no… not that kind of test. Nothing… invasive.” He shifted from foot to foot. “Okay, look, I’m not… I’m a scientist. I’m doing what I believe is right, but I’m not a warrior. I’m not meaning things in warrior ways. So maybe I mean different things when I say certain words.”

He sighed. “Hi, Lilith. I’m Caleb. I mean you no harm, but we’re… in an odd situation, here. Not exactly the best of circumstances.” He looked around, then sat down on the floor in front of her cage. “You’ve been as helpful as could be expected in your situation. I want to… I guess reward you? I want to do something for you, if I could. I just don’t know what to offer. I mean, I can’t let you go, not yet, or let you communicate with someone. But beyond that?”

 

[Marie Massacre]

"Well Caleb, there's not much you can offer me in this cage. I'm in a cage, alone. Separated from my men. With no communication with superiors....." Lilith said. She was just waiting on one of the militaristic minded men to interrupt them. She knew it wouldn't be long before he would have to stop being so kind to her. He was being gentle with her. Something she wasn't used to, even with her superiors, they were rough on hre because her body could withstand much more abuse then other soldiers. But that didn't matter to her, she didn't mind the rough treatment, it didn't hurt her much. Her pain threshold was much higher then that of a normal person.

 

[Mr Master]

"Well... I was... thinking... like... chocolate, or something." Caleb managed to get out, flushing. "Okay, this was a bad idea. I'm sorry. I'll... I guess I'll leave you alone." He got to his feet, and shut down his hand computer. "I'll check back with you later, see if there's something I can do for you then."

As he spoke, there was the sound of a door behind him. He turned, and saw three rough types coming around the same corner he had come. "Carter, what is this? I told you I'd handle it."

"Yeah, and you handled it piss-poorly," said the leader of the three, a man with "mercenary" written all over him, to Caleb. Lilith recognized the voice from her capture: the man who thought she was too dangerous to keep alive. "We'll handle the interrogation at this point."

"No, you won't. You seem to forget, I'm in command of this cell," said Caleb, a note of iron in his voice. "And I determine if you get paid. Doing this without my authorization isn't a good way to get your cash."

Carter looked at him a long time, but Caleb stared him down. Finally, he turned, motioned to his men, and walked away. Caleb turned back to Lilith. "I'm so sorry. I'll keep him out of here."

 

[Marie Massacre]

"It's ok Caleb, it's not as though I couldn't kill every one of them. Even with my bare hands. I am still a deadly weapon. Armor or no....." Lilith said softly. She was more then correct. She may not have had her armor. But her body, her hands, her feet, she was a dangerous weapon all on her own. And now that the effects of the drugs had fully worn off. It mattered little how many of their men came for her. So long as she could move enough to fight, she would be able to escape their rough treatment. Besides, it wasn't as if she hadn't been tortured for information before. She'd been torture by far worse then those three mercenaries that had come walking in. They were child's play for her. She could handle their light torture. She had handled some of the worst torture possible by enduring the procedures they had done on her. Needles bone deep inside her body, and far worse. She could handle anything thrown at her in the field.

 

[Mr Master]

“As you wish… Lilith.” Caleb shook his head. “I’d rather not render you into their imagination, anyway.” He didn’t voice his thought, that there were more than just physical ways to torment and torture a captive, and even ways to circumvent her own physical enhancements; he figured she would either realize that, or she was better off believing herself safe. “Well, if there’s nothing I need to ask or answer, and nothing I can do for you… I suppose I’d best leave you in peace. I’ll arrange for some food and drink to be brought.”

He didn’t want to leave, necessarily, but he didn’t have a good reason to stay. And what could he say about his desire to stay? That he felt sympathetic for her relative helplessness? That he found her calmness in the face of captivity interesting, that she seemed… he didn’t know. The fact that he was attracted to her, despite (or perhaps because of) her caging, was a factor, of course, but if anything, his embarrassment over that attraction was pushing him out of the room.