Visisonor's blog

Chapter 6

Linda drew her pistol out and angled her right arm around Emily, positioning herself between Emily and the troopers, and shifting her aim from one trooper to another.

— On whose authority? — she demanded the troopers. — I am a field agent.
— We have an order to bring you in on murder charges, — said one trooper.
— Now, hands in the air and drop the gun, — added the other.
— Linda, please, — whispered Emily from behind. — You can’t win it.

There was something odd in the calmness of Emily’s voice, but it didn’t register properly in Linda’s mind since she was preoccupied with the situation at hand. And her own assessment of said situation was consistent with Emily’s words: with her partner unconscious and unarmed civilian behind her back there was no way for her to protect them both and bring those troopers down.

She raised her hands and let go of her gun.

— Now step back, — ordered one of the troopers.

Linda did so. Emily didn’t — she stepped aside instead, then grabbed the laptop from the parapet and headed towards the troopers.

— Emily, what are you doing?
— Y’know, I hate this job. I really do, — Emily stopped between two troopers and turned back. — I’ve arranged an opportunity for you to get away. If your teammate could just unlock the laptop and give it to me… But now he knows too much. And you are too deep into it anyway.

— So it was you, — Linda groaned resignedly. — You killed Ian and lured us here to unlock his laptop.
— Yeah, — breathed out Emily.
— Why?!
— Guys, — Emily glanced from one trooper to another. — Do the thi…

A roar of gunshots did not let her finish. The troopers crumbled to the ground, shot down by crisscrossing bursts of bullets.

Two unmistakably robotic figures loomed not too far away.

— What?! — Emily turned to where the shots came from.

A moment later she was gunned down too, a damaged laptop falling next to her.

Just as Emily’s body hit the ground, Linda dropped to her knees, pulled out Constantin’s pistols from their holsters and started shooting at approaching syncons.

But they kept coming closer with rifles lowered, shielding their heads with hands as if warding off the flies.

— Please stop, — said one of them in a calm metallic voice.
— We are on your side, — added the other robot, smaller and looking distinctively feminine.
— On my side? — Linda repeated numbly as both pistols ran out of ammo.

— You must realize you have been betrayed, — continued the larger syncon. — You have seen it with your own eyes.
— He needs help, — the feminine robot gestured at Constantin’s unconscious form. — We can get you to safety.

— Why would you… — started Linda, feeling dizzy and disoriented.
— No time to explain, — urged the male syncon. — Our presence has triggered an alarm. We need to go now.

It was one thing being betrayed by someone you trusted. It wasn’t pleasant but it made some sense. Trusting someone you’ve just met while being in the middle of a dangerous investigation wasn’t the best idea, and the end result was quite understandable. But this, an offer of help from the evident enemy…

Linda lowered now useless guns.

— How can I trust you? — she murmured faintly.
— What do you have to lose? — asked robotic woman. — If you stay here, you are doomed. But what if we are telling the truth? Will you take this chance?
— What if I say no? — Linda stared intently at her rescuers.
— Then we will leave you alone.

— Come on in, — invited the female syncon who on their way here introduced herself as “Tess, short for 7355”. — We shall take your partner to the medical bay in the meantime.

The large blast door lead to a hall with walls full of lights, buttons and various indicators — Linda had trouble taking in so many details at once so she didn’t immediately notice two women standing next to the opposite wall.

— Hi, — the first of them, one with long black hair, waved her hand.
— Welcome to our humble refuge, — added her companion, a redhead.
— Um. Hello there, — mumbled Linda, looking at them approach. — I… did not expect to see humans here.

— Oh, we prefer to stay hidden, — smiled the long-haired woman. — I’m Tomoko by the way. And this is…
— Leliana, at your service, — the one with short amber hair bowed slightly. — And we know that you are Linda.
— Right… I’d say “nice to meet you” under normal circumstances… — Linda hesitated, not entirely sure that what she had in mind was safe to say aloud.
— But we fight on the side of syncons, — finished Tomoko for her.

— Well, yes, — argued Linda — It’s an existential war for the mankind, and you fight against us!
— This war is not what you think it is, — Leliana shook her head.
— I guess humans could call us traitors, — reasoned Tomoko. — If not for the fact that we were betrayed first.
— Sounds familiar, does it not? — asked Leliana.

Linda opened her mouth but couldn’t find words. Tomoko waited for her to say something, then went on:
— Yes, we had to join what we thought was the enemy. Forced by our own side. By humans! But we found that syncons don’t fight to destroy humans. They fight to save people like us.
— What do you mean “like us”? — now Linda felt even more confused.
— Agents, — elaborated Leliana. — It takes a special kind of mindset to be an agent.
— But I’ve been an agent for less than a day, — objected Linda in a sad voice.
— It doesn’t matter, — reassured Tomoko. — It’s just a term we use for convenience. You either are a person like this at the core, or not.
— I can’t believe it all happened today… — continued Linda, as if not listening. — And I’m suspended anyway. And. Oh…
— The line has been crossed, — Leliana summed up. — Rick and Tess sent us the details.
— Yeah, — Linda winced. — Emily ordered our execution.
— You were not supposed to come back from that encounter with her, — confirmed Tomoko.
— No means of faring home are left me now… — Linda closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.
— I know how it feels, — Tomoko touched Linda’s arm tentatively.

— We’ve all been through this too, — added Leliana. — In some form or another.
— Do you… want a hug? — offered Tomoko.
— Er… Thanks, not right now. I just need a moment to compose myself.

At that instant the door behind Linda slid open again. The other syncon — Rick (or 121C) — stood in the doorframe.

— Your friend’s brain activity has returned to normal, — he announced. — He will wake up in a minute or two.