At no point in time could Kaidan have ever said that he enjoyed BAat, but he could say, without a doubt, that he liked it a lot more than when Vyrnnus took over as the instructor. He (meaning the resplendent Commander Vyrnnus) even went so far as to combine different groups together to where there were an even twenty students learning how to control their ever expanding powers.
The following six months had gotten worse as Vyrnnus settled into his position. In that time, six kids had been hospitalized for everything from broken bones to persistent nose bleeds. Kaidan had lost meal privileges another five times and had even been given a restriction of liquids- and once had been denied sleep for two days. Nevertheless, he refused to show weakness to the smug, vindictive Turian.
During those times the he wasn’t allowed to have things that his body so desperately needed, Vyrnnus liked to push him harder- he did the same for every other student in similar circumstances. Almost every time, the other students would break down into tears at least once- beg him for some small, kind act of mercy.
But not Kaidan.
He was pretty sure that he was figuring Vyrnnus out. The Turian respected strong biotic power- especially in circumstances when it should be faltering. He respected confidence- but demanded submission…pliability.
It was a thin line to walk- hence the reason why Kaidan had been denied food and water a few times-, but he was slowly figuring it out.
“The new implant will be available for use in the next two weeks,” a woman informed the gathered group, not looking up from her datapad. “I’m thinking January 14th will be the day we begin the amplifier surgeries. I would prefer subjects to be at least sixteen.”
The gathered group- mostly human, but the Turian mercs that Conatix had hired as teachers were there as well- all nodded their heads appreciatively.
“And the expected results?” one of the men asked, raising his eyebrows.
“We estimate a 215% increase in power output as compared to the L1 configuration.” At her words, every single person nodded appreciatively.
The man who asked the first question- the one in charge-, looked to the Turians with raised eyebrows. “I believe that the student’s lunch hour is over- I believe it’s time that they were back in class.”
The Turians nodded their heads before standing and taking their leave.
Once gone, the man turned his attention back to the woman. “We expect results,” the same man informed the woman. “We would like to train them to take the place of soldiers in the Alliance.”
The woman finally looked up, her eyes wide. “Excuse me?”
“Why should we ask our men and women to fight and die for the Alliance when we have biotics that can go in and wipe out an entire platoon of enemy combatants?” At her stunned stare, he continued, “I’m not saying we fill the ranks with these people- we wouldn’t want them in the higher ranks, of course-, but what other practical use is there of them?”
The woman looked over the others gathered, and was even more stunned to realize that none of them disagreed. “They are human beings as well as you or I,” she murmured.
“Mark my words, Doctor, within the next decade- maybe two-, the Alliance will have biotics on the frontlines on ground units.”
“Is that how you teach these children?” she demanded, looking helplessly from face to face. “Are they taught to think their only use is on a battlefield? If the Alliance knew-“
“Ah, but they won’t,” the man smirked, standing. “Remember that you signed a confidentiality agreement when you were hired to Conatix. You would not be the first to try to bring the Alliance’s attention to our doorstep. We have side-stepped it once, and we can side-step it again. Now, there is only one question left to be answered.”
“What’s that?”
The man walked to her. “Do you continue to work here, or do we let you go?”
They stared at each other for a long time before she bowed her head in submission. “I want to be the one to do the first implant surgery.”
The man snapped his fingers and a woman almost instantly jumped to her feet with a datapad for the other woman. After she had taken it, he informed her, “I figured you might. His name is Alenko- we want him to be the first. He shows an uncanny ability that isn’t present in the other subjects.”
Part of her wanted to scream out, He’s a teenager- not some subject in a damn experiment, but she did no such thing.
“Have him ready at 0800 on the fourteenth- I’ll send a checklist over in the coming days.”
“Good. You’re dismissed.”
The woman held her datapads to her chest and scurried from the room with as much dignity as she could. She felt as though she had just darkened her soul by agreeing not to inform the Alliance and she would spend the rest of her life trying to erase the taint.
It had gotten cold.
She had not thought ahead far enough to anticipate the cold.
Her group looked for her for guidance- despite the fact that she was younger than most of them- and she was damn sure going to deliver.
Running her fingers through her short, blond hair, she eyed the shop on the other side of the street. It had been closed for three hours, but she wanted to wait at least another hour- let midnight come. Mimi- Jo, she reminded herself viciously- had watched the police patterns on Ninth Street and there was a patrol that would come around at 11:30- and she didn’t want to risk the cop seeing her shadow in the shop.
“Hey, JoJo,” Toby greeted her- startling her actually- as he wrapped his arm around her slender waist.
“What are you doing here, Toby? I told everyone that this was a solitary mission,” she snapped.
He gave her an exasperated look as he rolled his eyes. “And how, exactly, are you going to carry so many coats by yourself? You walk slow as it is, no offence- you’d be positively snail-like with all that extra weight.”
This was a point when she had to decide if what he had said was an insult or not.
On one hand, even without a bad leg, given her size, she would struggle under the weight of thirty coats. On the other hand, she couldn’t afford to show weakness.
With that, her decision was made.
From the back of her jeans, she pulled the small pistol she had managed to commandeer from one of her missions and pressed it to Toby’s temple. Leaning forward, she eyed him as though he was something dirty. “I didn’t ask- nor do I need your help, Finch,” she hissed, making a show of turning the safety off. “Do you know what the trigger weight is of this pistol?”
“No,” he gasped.
“Do you wanna find out- I’m not too sure either.”
“Okay, okay, okay,” he whimpered, raising his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry- I didn’t mean in offence or to sound like I was questioning your abilities.”
Narrowing her eyes, she lowered the pistol and turned the safety back on before putting it back in its place against the small of her back. “Good,” she said simply. He hadn’t expected her to apologize, and she wasn’t planning on it.
She wouldn’t have really shot him.
Honestly.
Well…at least that’s what she told herself.
“Well, since you’re here, you can stay and help. It’s not time yet, but you can stand watch. Our friend in police blue shouldn’t come back for a second scout, but you can’t be too careful with those law bastards.”
“Thank you, Jo,” Toby murmured.
She wasn’t sure whether he was thanking her for his life or for letting him stick around. And, at that point, it really didn’t matter.
“Let’s just go get those damn coats,” she muttered, unwilling to answer his gratitude.
