Day 59: Meeting Room 1

[damned_soldiers]

Major Cartwright had spent the latter half of the day speaking with patients, but as dinner time came she had someplace else to be. As did three specially chosen patients. Everyone seemed convinced that this would go smoothly, but as the female soldier stood there with some sort of electronic bracelet in hand, she couldn't help fiddling

Comments

[madeinthehrl]

Soma had spent her afternoon taking a nap in the Sun Room. It was highly unusual for her, but after the last two nights spent exploring the medical wing, a few extra hours of sleep seemed like paradise.

Now she followed her escort out of the Sun Room, expecting to be taken back to her room. But he shook his head and tapped her shoulder as she began to turn right with the rest of the patients, and she frowned in faint confusion.

"Not tonight," he said, gesturing instead to the stairs to the second floor. "You've been chosen for a special assignment."

Soma's frown deepened, but she didn't resist. What would be the point? She followed her escort up the stairs, her thoughts racing. Was it something she'd done? Some test she'd unknowingly passed? Was it the conversation she'd had with the soldier at lunch? What kind of mission--and how could they be sure she'd cooperate?

Rapunzel, she remembered suddenly. Rapunzel had been selected for one of these missions, too. Soma suddenly regretted not having the time to ask her for more details. They were headed through some more hallways now, and she took a moment to memorize her surroundings. She didn't come up here often--most of her Arts and Crafts assignments had been to map the outside of the institute. And that brought up another wave of thoughts. She'd been scheduled to meet Kairi and Sonia tonight. Would they know she'd been taken?

She hesitated a fraction of a second as her escort opened the door, then stepped through. There were two soldiers sitting in front of her, and a third leaning against a wall. Judging from the uniforms, another patient had already arrived. A group mission, then?

With a faint nod and something that was very nearly a smile, her escort departed. At a loss for anything else to do, Soma succumbed to instinct, clicking her heels together and standing silently at attention.

[damned_soldiers]

Travis righted his posture now that one of the patients had finally breached their silent bubble. Not long after another appeared. It was a woman, but judging from the file he had read previously and the fact that the patient and Cartwright seemed to gravitate toward each other rather quickly.

So, his was late. Wonderful. The man did his best not to look putout as he stared at Cartwright and Blithe briefly. Eventually, the last patient came in. He wasn't sure what to expect of the woman, this Maria Medvedeva. Yeah, he was going to try really hard to not pull out her name unless absolutely necessary. It wouldn't do to embarrass himself and thus embarrass them all in the process. But now, looking at her, looking at her strict posture... Well, maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

Standing up from the table, Travis raised his hand and motioned for her to come forward. Like the gentleman he truly wasn't, the man pulled out another chair for her to sit in if she wished.

"Since you'll be missing your usual dinner, we brought you something a bit more high-end for your troubles. If you would," he beckoned smoothly with a gesture toward her seat and her warm plate of teriyaki and tempura. "then we can begin."

[madeinthehrl]

One of the soldiers gestured to her, and Soma approached obediently. Despite the guns in the room, the officers didn't look openly hostile. That was a start. Besides, she had to admit she was too curious to put up a fight.

She supposed she was one of the few people in the institute who honestly didn't care about the pink gruel--the rations they got in space were only slightly more flavorful--but she couldn't deny that the food in front of her looked delicious. It was an unusual way to start a briefing, but she wasn't about to complain. She seated herself and picked up the knife and fork, still watching the soldier expectantly.

"I was told I'd been chosen for a mission," she said, cutting into the teriyaki in a show of compliance. Her mind was still racing with questions; hopefully this man could answer them before she had to ask.

[damned_soldiers]

Once Maria had taken her seat, Travis took his own. He noticed she was waiting for his lead and so he quickly corrected that.

"Please. Don't wait to eat on my account." He sure as hell wouldn't. And for a moment, the man watched her silently as he folded his hands together on the lacquered table top before he began to speak once more.

"Yes, you are correct. My name is Major Travis--" There seemed no reason to give his full name to a patient. This, he hoped very fervently, wouldn't be a repeat occurrence and so a last name would suffice unless he was told otherwise. "--and you and I will be a team together this night." He let that sink in before continuing. "As far as I know, we will be on the look out for Martin Landel and the man who calls himself Marc. Our orders are to apprehend them on sight." Which was such a shame, really. He enjoyed those mysterious little radio calls of his. Always made him laugh, they did!

"The General himself can give you more details when he arrives..."

[madeinthehrl]

Soma listened attentively as she ate. The food was good, and it disappeared quickly from her plate, but she found what the major had to say far more interesting.

So they were out to hunt down Landel and the man from the radio? It was an important mission, and she had to wonder why she'd been chosen for it out of all of the other patients in the Institute. No wonder the General himself was coming--though to be honest, she hadn't expected that. Once again her thoughts went to the conversation with the soldier this morning. Had they interpreted her words as a willingness to volunteer?

It didn't really matter. This wasn't a mission she was about to refuse. There were patients here who wanted to see Landel back in power, but Soma wasn't one of them. Not when the military was so much more straightforward--but they had to allow her to perform. She swallowed a bite of tempura.

"Will I have my abilities back?"

Kratos had mentioned knowledge of a device that suppressed powers, but it would be unwise to mention that now. What would be the point?

[damned_soldiers]

Major Travis was about to answer her question when suddenly from on high, Blithe added in her two cents that, yes, they assumed the patients would receive their abilities back and that, yes, there would probably be restrictions. Great.

"Yes, thank you," he felt compelled to say politely for their audience. Blithe was the only one that needed to know he hadn't meant it in the way of courtesy. But when the topic of the bracelet came up, the man took her lead and brought out the one for Maria as well, unfastening it.

"If you would stick out your arm..." He waited for her compliance before Travis held it out to adjust it for Maria. "I would like to assume I don't have to tell you not to take it off or try modifying it, but... Don't take it off or try modifying it." He made sure to catch her strange golden gaze with his hard brown just to drive home the point.

[madeinthehrl]

"There isn't much to restrict," said Soma, glancing across the room at the other soldier. But that was reassuring--apparently they trusted her enough to slacken their hold on the reins a little. On second thought, wasn't sure whether or not that was a good thing.

She hesitated as the major brought out a bracelet, but the other soldier was telling the man next to her that it was a tracking device. Nothing unusual, then, if a little primitive. She held out her wrist.

"I assume this means you aren't giving me a mobile suit tonight."

[damned_soldiers]

As he was fastening the strap loosely to her proffered arm, the sudden and sarcastic comment ripped a short "Ha!" from the seemingly stoic man. The sound, genuine and loud, came out of Travis before he could put a lid on it. He hadn't expected to encounter a woman with a sense of humor and, while he didn't appreciate being proven wrong, it spelled good things for the night ahead of them.

Taking a moment to compose himself, he looked at Maria when he said,"No, that seems... highly unlikely...."

The man was glad when the door opened and changed any curiosity from him to the Gen--

Nope, Harrington. Travis sat back in his chair with a soft sigh that concealed the screams of "Goddamnit" that invaded his mind. He wanted this night to start now. This waiting was making him antsy. Travis didn't do well under antsy situations.

"Alright," he said once he was done with the patient's electronic band. "That's all I need from you right now. The General will be here momentarily to tell you more."

[madeinthehrl]

Soma blinked for a moment, trying to identify what had been so amusing to the major. Had he thought she was joking when she mentioned the mobile suit? But she hadn't been; it only made sense to give her a weapon she knew how to use.

That was probably why it was amusing. As if they'd trust her with something that could take out the Institute in seconds.

Even so, the comment seemed to endear her to him somewhat, for what it was worth, so she offered a faint smile in return. Withdrawing her hand, she glanced at the door as it opened. The new arrival's voice was familiar, though it took her a moment to place it as the one over the intercom. Still, he wasn't the general, and it didn't seem any more details were forthcoming for the time being.

"Permission to ask a question in the meantime, sir," she said, withdrawing her arm. "What do you specialize in? I suppose I should have a general idea of your abilities before we begin the mission."

[damned_soldiers]

Again, he remained silent for a beat before relenting. Technically, she had a point and it would likely come up later; it might as well be now when they had the time to casually chat. Ha, shooting the shit with a patient! He never thought he would see this day.

"Surveillance, mostly. I double as a sniper when necessary." Both jobs usually kept him far from other people, and Travis was just fine with that. He was pretty sure his peers were just as happy with the arrangement as well. His brown eyes lost their focus as they lingered on something or someone in the background behind Maria.

"You are probably used to more interesting fare at night." The girl may have been relatively normal in comparison to some of her fellow patient's, but it was unlikely she had not teamed up with those who excelled in more unique talents than military-issued combat training. "I may not be able to shoot fire out of my--" He quickly rephrased his statement before all of his polite etiquette went down the drain with one word. "--self, but we normals can achieve our goals just as effectively..."

[madeinthehrl]

Soma nodded, offering a faint smile at the major's timely save. He didn't have to try to be so restrained; she'd spent the last year of her life living in various barracks, and there was probably very little she hadn't heard by now. Still, the attempt made her relax a little, for what it was worth.

"...I think it's better this way, actually," she offered after a moment, sensing she could probably afford to be a little more casual now. "I probably do work with more interesting fare at night, but 'interesting' isn't necessarily what I want in a straightforward mission. I've spent much longer fighting with soldiers who don't have unusual talents. I'd much rather work with abilities I can understand and rely on."