Trinity

Waiting Game

The SecOps team sat in the small bar on base alongside some of the scientists who couldn't stand to be in the lab anymore. This specific bar was meant for military personnel only, but considering the circumstances Quaritch really didn't care. They weren't able to wait around the Avatar compound comfortably, at least not for as long as they potentially needed to wait.

All they could do now was wait. None of them separated for long, Mansk only left long enough to grab a shirt since his became a bandage. Lyle refused to leave despite needing to be in med bay. Ja finally just took care of his leg since they actually had supplies.

Quaritch leaned against the wall, arms crossed tightly as he glared at nothing in particular. He knows he looked infuriated, but that was his default look, in reality he was distraught. The woman he loved might have just died in front of them and there's not a goddamn thing anyone could do. He wanted to pace the room, yell, beat the shit out of something, anything. Anything but just torturously wait to see if the link reformed.

He craned his neck and leaned his head against the wall, trying to gain some semblance of control over his anger. Quaritch was ready to come out of his skin, this was probably what Mansk and her felt like when they were overstimulated. If it's like this, fuck he gets why it's exhausting, debilitating, he wants to rip off his fucking skin.

He was mad about the lie, not what it was but that she didn't think he would still love her... After everything how could she think that? That fear in her eyes, the fear he saw that night, made so much more sense. The loathing and self hatred that radiated off of her in surging waves, made sense. He didn't care that she was a Paragon, it changed nothing. Not how he felt about her, made or born she was who she was and he loved her.

The General showed up at the bar earlier and got an earful from the Colonel. He demanded to know why the General didn't inform him of what she was when she joined the team. That was knowledge he had clearance for, there was no reason to not tell him.

"Tenera spent her entire life keeping it a secret, it was my decision to allow it to continue so long as she still followed orders, I saw no issue with it."

"She thinks she's worth less than any of us, that she's sub-human. That she isn't a person."

"She's not a person, she's a Paragon." Quaritch was getting an idea of where some of this shit came from. "No matter what emotions she's capable of, she is not a person. She's property of the RDA."

"How can you know her and say she isn't a person? No one would have guessed she was a Paragon, that's how much of a fucking person she is. No one knew." The general held his hands up placatingly.

"I'm not denying that, but in the eyes of the RDA she is not a person and she knows that. The RDA's view of her doesn't change who she is or what she's capable of. There is not a goddamn thing in any world that will stop that girl from doing something she has set her mind to, it's why I assigned her to your specialized team against your wishes. I wouldn't have bothered if I didn't view her as a person. Nor would I have allowed your relationship to continue."

Quaritch was still fuming about the conversation, he doesn't believe that asshole. The way he talks about her, the tone of his voice, he viewed her as the RDA's property. He tried to push it out of his mind as they waited for any word from Augustine. Since she passed out before the pod was fully operational, there was a chance she was gone. They could only wait. He kept seeing it play over and over again, the moment her eyes stopped glowing as the last energy store ran out and her eyes closed.

The door to the bar opened quietly as Graced walked inside, every head in the room looked to her. Quaritch unfolded his arms and walked towards her, but each second she remained silent, chipped away at his resolve and what little hope remained. Her eyes were bloodshot and he was swarmed with soul crushing dread, his hand lifted slowly like he could stop the words from hitting him. But they never came, couldn't block what didn't come, what wasn't said. She shook her head as more tears fell. And by the time she did speak, all of his defenses were lowered.