Anywhere
Tamar March
Federated Commonwealth
11 March, 3050




     Fiona had long since lost track of time. Her hospital bed had subtly changed into an interrogation bed, drugs softly slipping into her reality and changing all manner of perspective. It was subtle at first, she noticed her surroundings seeming to change as she stared into them. At some point she had started hearing voices. She didn't know if she answered them or not. It was as if she was floating in some other plain of existence, and every time she thought she was getting an understanding of her surroundings, they changed.

     Over what seemed like a lifetime, her random floating consciousness changed, flipped, dove, and exploded. At times she was acutely aware of her body, intense pain flooding over every cell of her being, and at others, she felt disconnected, as if she had no physical ties to the universe.

      Slowly, she became aware of the nothingness around her. She felt naked, floating in total blackness, and for what seemed like the first time in forever, the sensation didn't change. She lay there, seeing nothing, feeling nothing, hearing nothing. Then she heard a voice. It was soft and distant, but she felt somehow grounded in reality.

     "I am confident we have uncovered everything we will get from her mind. It is all in the summary report. Her scores on most of our aptitude based queries were very high, especially for a freebirth. She could easily take a place in the scientist caste if you wish."

     Then came a voice she believed to be Lovvins, but she could not be quite sure. "Neg, I do not wish a scientist. I need a warrior for my plans. Is there a problem?"

     "Neg, I believe she has the potential to thrive as a warrior from a psychological standpoint. Physically she will need to improve, but that can be achieved with training and supplementation. Do you wish her released to your charge now, Star Commander?

     "Neg. Not until she understands that her former cohorts have been destroyed. I will supply you with the required recordings and battleroms."

     Then the silence and emptiness returned. Again, she had no idea for how long. She drifted in and out of sleep, hearing faint sounds in the background, as if a battle were being fought in some far off place.

     Then suddenly she was jolted awake. She was standing, naked, in a large cavern. As light came up, she realized she was in a mechbay. In fact, she was in the ad-hoc mechbay that the militia had been using as their base of operations. Suddenly, from every direction, people flooded in, tech, Mechwarriors, medics, and all manner of other staff. They ran past her in various directions as if she were not there. She tried to talk to them, but no words came.

     Suddenly, time seemed to slow to a crawl, people moving as if they were in water. Then from every corner of the cavern came the shapes of the huge hulking armored infantry troopers. There were hundreds of them, seemingly one for every person running though the bay. Slowly, they began to open fire on the crowds of unprotected people.

     It was then that she became aware of the fact that up until now, she had heard no sound. Suddenly, the world exploded in the sounds of gunfire, screams, clanking metal and the hiss of lasers. The sound seemed disconnected from the visions around her. The rattling of machine guns and screaming of people in pain were in real time, yet in her vision, people were being torn apart slowly and laboriously, in intense detail. She tried to scream, but again, no sound came to her lips. It seemed to go on forever.

     Until suddenly it stopped. Her eyes snapped open, her lungs gasped for air, her arms tugged at restraints holding them at her side. There was blinding light, and her eyes darted around for anything to grab her attention. She settled on a face. It was a young woman, looking into her eyes with a look that she could not quite define. She was beautiful in spite of her stern expression, her dark hair pulled back into a loose pony tail while seeming to have not a hair out of place, her uniform crisp perfection, as if she just walked off a tri-vid recording set.

     "I see you are awake, eyas. I suppose it is time for this unpleasantness to begin. There is a uniform at the foot of the bed. I will be outside. You have five minutes."