Bionica: The War

The Assignment

"Bye, Siren!"

"Have fun, R- Crescent!"

That was going to take some getting used to. Being called Siren, calling Rose Crescent, getting accustomed to names like Matchbox and Digit. It was all just so weird to Riley. No, it's Siren now, she thought. That's what you're going to have to tell people your name is, so you might as well get used to it.

"So," said Eclipse, taking Siren out of her thoughts, "what would you like to do for us? If anything, of course. You could just go back to the city if you want."

Siren thought about that. "No, I'll stay. I don't think I could leave my sister. What other fields do you have?"

At this, Eclipse smiled. "Follow me," she said as she walked off.

"There are seven positions on a special forces team, if that's what you want to do. Some teams have fewer than seven people if one person can do two jobs. The positions are combat specialist, weapons expert, explosives technician, reconnaissance specialist, battlefield medic, robotics technician, and my personal favorite: battle strategist. If you want to do two of those, just tell me and we'll see what we can do." Eclipse paused and Siren tried to take it all in. "So?"

Siren was a bit confused. "Umm... I'm not sure... could I maybe see my options first?"

Eclipse nodded, and they went to the practice arena. Men and women, some only just older than Siren, worked away at punching bags or human analogs. They were all muscular, and some liked to show it off. Siren lifted her arm. It's like a toothpick, she thought to herself. I could never do this!

"So, what do you think?" asked Eclipse. "Interested?"

Siren shrugged. "I don't think it's very suited to me. I'm not very strong yet."

Eclipse nodded. "Okay, then. Want to see the shooting range? Maybe weapons or explosives will fit you better." Siren nodded, and they were off.

The shooting ranges looked fun, Siren decided, but she couldn't see herself fixing weapons and doing it well. She worried that she might fix something wrong and it would cost a fighter his life. She felt the same about explosions; they were just too uncontrollable. If there was one thing Siren liked to have, it was control. They also visited a situation room and watched a reconnaissance team carry out a mission. If it was done right, Siren thought it would be fun. But if something went wrong, what would happen to her sister? Siren figured she wouldn't be smart enough for strategy, either.

"All right," said Eclipse. "Unless you want to be a techie like your sister, the only other thing left is medical work. If you decide you don't want to do special forces work, we can find a job for you around the compound."

They entered the hospital wing. Siren's heart sank immediately. So many people were inside this one section of the building. They filled up the beds, and some even lay on the floor because there was no room. The room was supposed to be white, but so much red filled the room that it was hard to ignore. Siren watched as a man was brought in on a stretcher, groaning in pain and missing his right forearm. But one patient in particular stuck out to Siren: through all the confusion, she just sat there, staring straight ahead.

Siren walked to her bedside. The girl's bright orange hair spilled over the pillow, and her green eyes, which must've been bright at one point, seemed glazed. "Hello?" said Siren.

The girl looked in her direction. "Who's that?"

Siren understood. The girl was blind. "I'm a new recruit. My name's Siren."

A smile spread across the girl's face. "Pivvot. You can shake my hand if you want." She held out her hand, and Siren took it. "How old are you, eleven?"

"I'm thirteen," Siren said, feeling a little hurt.

"Sorry," said Pivvot hurriedly. "Your hand is really small; I just assumed you were younger. I apologize if I act a little weird."

Siren smiled. "It's all right. If you don't mind my asking... what happened to you?"

Pivvot's face fell slightly. "I went undercover. I tried to help a girl who had a sick brother, and someone at the hospital reported me. They tried to kill me; I was shot in the back of the head. I played dead until the rest of my team came to rescue me. Our team doesn't have a medic, so they had to drive all the way back here for me to get treatment. I might not have been blinded if we'd had someone to help sooner. I've been here about three months, but I'm almost done with my treatment. They'll let me out in a few weeks."

"How many teams don't have medics?" Siren asked.

"I'm not sure," said Pivvot. "It's not as important a position as a combat specialist or weapons expert, so most people usually go for those."

Thinking hard about this, Siren said goodbye to Pivvot and went back to Eclipse.

"Sad, isn't it?" Eclipse remarked. "So many people injured. I think all we need is one really good team to handle the grunt work, and we'll be set."

Siren straightened her back, pulling herself up as high as she could. "I know what I want to do here."