01-22-2019, 01:30 AM
Black hour extended due to being moved, Amelia Pond was but a gentle metronome of warm breath on Tenzen’s back during the trek. Her head still leaked blood, though unfortunately on her kind mule now. Sharing was caring. For once she was the model traveling companion, neither protesting, stirring or making a peep at being handled. First time for everything. Last time too. The couch became her new home and her head continued marking its territory. At least the leather would be easier to clean than clothing.
Then, finally knit back together again, Satan's nanosnakes released a concentration of epinephrine into her system with absolutely no preamble. As if a massive switch was thrown, Nika went from zero to a thousand in a fraction of a second. Her inert form snapped awake and was combat ready seemingly faster than humanly possible. There was no flight in her being; Nika was all fight and always had been. Some people were just hardwired like that. The training fine tuned it. God, the things they used to do to her...
She was standing nearly in the hall now, by the front door, having shot there like a cat thrown at water. Her pupils were huge from the explosion of adrenaline, the hormone reduced her to the most basic of her conditioned responses. Her split-second assessment of the people around her was clear if one knew how to read it between pounding heartbeats. Who they were didn’t matter. There were only two options. Threat level, who was armed, order of execution...all at a cold glance. 1-2-3.
A blink brought her up from base mode. Feral Nika stood down, bi-colored eyes now hooded and wary. She could reroute the adrenaline to energy for something else, like not falling over. This only from a lot of previous experience. Several deep breaths did just that. Silence from her as she regarded the women around her. Nika knew them, or at least they were familiar but she couldn't quite recall names. She was able to put two and two together though and figure out they were responsible for her being here post-bioraptor battle. The how though...that could wait until later.
She was shaking imperceptibly, but that would change. How quickly she didn’t know. There were not-so-tasty gelatinous cubes of post-procedural nutrients she should be taking right effing now. Those were in her medkit which clearly she did not have. Not that she was bitching. The detonator cylinder could tell her how long she had too before exhaustion would make life exceedingly more difficult. That was also missing. Everything would be best-guess then. Seat of the pants. Alright.
Her handlers, the priests, used to tranq her and leave her in random places as part of her E&E training. No idea where she was, no resources to start off with, naturally in hostile environments both populated and otherwise. It was a year before the first time she’d made it free and clear; they were superb hunters. She’d learned a lot about being captured and mistreated during that time too. It was no wonder she’d never gotten close to them, come to think of it. Assholes. Still, it certainly set a firm foundation for situations like the one she found herself in currently. Easy peasy. Just had to focus.
Her new, non-lethal expression could have meant anything. The corner of her lower lip curled under an exploratory tongue. She was thinking. Calculating. Running numbers and probabilities then turning the answers around and around from every angle for vetting. The conclusion was that she had to get herself to the medroom. Now. It would never occur to her to ask for help. It was not even a concept in her mind. You either pulled yourself along by your bootstraps or you died...saved yourself; figured it out. Endure and survive.
The two free fingers of her casted hand rose to her dark-stubbled hairline and came away red. The cut was still leaking and had become a steady line down the side of her face now she was upright. She’d glue it later or stitch it up, whatever. That made her glance down though and the glance became a mildly alarmed closer look. She was covered in blood. Right. Her own, she knew. The puddle. Damn it. She didn’t bother to run the new numbers.
Then, finally knit back together again, Satan's nanosnakes released a concentration of epinephrine into her system with absolutely no preamble. As if a massive switch was thrown, Nika went from zero to a thousand in a fraction of a second. Her inert form snapped awake and was combat ready seemingly faster than humanly possible. There was no flight in her being; Nika was all fight and always had been. Some people were just hardwired like that. The training fine tuned it. God, the things they used to do to her...
She was standing nearly in the hall now, by the front door, having shot there like a cat thrown at water. Her pupils were huge from the explosion of adrenaline, the hormone reduced her to the most basic of her conditioned responses. Her split-second assessment of the people around her was clear if one knew how to read it between pounding heartbeats. Who they were didn’t matter. There were only two options. Threat level, who was armed, order of execution...all at a cold glance. 1-2-3.
A blink brought her up from base mode. Feral Nika stood down, bi-colored eyes now hooded and wary. She could reroute the adrenaline to energy for something else, like not falling over. This only from a lot of previous experience. Several deep breaths did just that. Silence from her as she regarded the women around her. Nika knew them, or at least they were familiar but she couldn't quite recall names. She was able to put two and two together though and figure out they were responsible for her being here post-bioraptor battle. The how though...that could wait until later.
She was shaking imperceptibly, but that would change. How quickly she didn’t know. There were not-so-tasty gelatinous cubes of post-procedural nutrients she should be taking right effing now. Those were in her medkit which clearly she did not have. Not that she was bitching. The detonator cylinder could tell her how long she had too before exhaustion would make life exceedingly more difficult. That was also missing. Everything would be best-guess then. Seat of the pants. Alright.
Her handlers, the priests, used to tranq her and leave her in random places as part of her E&E training. No idea where she was, no resources to start off with, naturally in hostile environments both populated and otherwise. It was a year before the first time she’d made it free and clear; they were superb hunters. She’d learned a lot about being captured and mistreated during that time too. It was no wonder she’d never gotten close to them, come to think of it. Assholes. Still, it certainly set a firm foundation for situations like the one she found herself in currently. Easy peasy. Just had to focus.
Her new, non-lethal expression could have meant anything. The corner of her lower lip curled under an exploratory tongue. She was thinking. Calculating. Running numbers and probabilities then turning the answers around and around from every angle for vetting. The conclusion was that she had to get herself to the medroom. Now. It would never occur to her to ask for help. It was not even a concept in her mind. You either pulled yourself along by your bootstraps or you died...saved yourself; figured it out. Endure and survive.
The two free fingers of her casted hand rose to her dark-stubbled hairline and came away red. The cut was still leaking and had become a steady line down the side of her face now she was upright. She’d glue it later or stitch it up, whatever. That made her glance down though and the glance became a mildly alarmed closer look. She was covered in blood. Right. Her own, she knew. The puddle. Damn it. She didn’t bother to run the new numbers.