[Junk XIII] Brain-Jacked (S 6-9)

Rich

Stitch,

It's afternoon when you finally catch up to Svenja. You find her with Chunky, the two of them are working security at The Bay. The place is crowded, and tensions feel high. Is Metro with you?

Oh and by the way, Janco was in a really good mood when you left to find Svenja. She left the infirmary to take a long lunch and you left when she came back. She was, well, almost giggly.

So there's Svenja. She hasn't seen you yet. She's chatting with Chunky, but her eyes are on a pair of guys ahead of them pushing through the crowd. It's loud, the smell of human sweat is heavy here.

What do you do?

Genevieve

No, I don't take Metro to the bay with me- too many people, too much chance of violence, especially lately.

Good for Janco- she works almost as hard as me and that's not healthy. If she's found a way to blow off steam, I'm happy for her.

I hang back for a moment- I don't want to distract either her or Chunky if they are watching some folk.

Rich

It doesn't take long. The chubby guy slips aside into a kind of alley, while his balding friend hangs back. Then balding guy tries to hustle a lady towards the gap between tents.

Chunky hangs back while Svenja charges up. She shoves balding guy down, starts berating him while kicking him a couple times, then she reaches for an arm and twists it behind his back.

The chubby guy tries to slip up behind Svenja, thinking he can help his buddy. But Chunky has the drop on him. She's got her rifle out, she just might shoot the guy.

What do you do?

Genevieve

I'm not high on shooting people- I still carry the stunner around with me when I leave the infirmary sometimes- but it's not my call. If the guys are dumb enough to mess with Ascendant guards, I don't have anything in me to speak for them.

I step forward a bit so Chunky and Svenja can see me, but I don't say anything.

I should have brought somebody to relieve Svenja, but there's nobody who can do the job like she can.

Rich

Yeah, Chunky shoots the chubby bastard in the leg. Svenja jumps back, looking over her shoulder. She didn't expect Chunky to shoot the guy! You think she spots you, too, but she turns back to balding guy, kicks him a couple times to make him stay down.

Chubby guy, he weighs maybe three hundred pounds, mostly fat. He has like the neck fat thing. He was shot in his left calf, bleeding bad. Chunky's still got a gun on him, but he's wailing in pain. People are freaking out, moving away fast, a few bump into you, there are a couple screams. Its on the edge of chaos.

What do you do?

Genevieve

Crap. I didn't think she'd actually shoot him, either.

Before I even realize it, I'm down on the floor next to Chubby, tearing a strip of his shirt off for a makeshift tourniquet. It's not the smart move, but I can't help it.

OOC: Read a sitch incoming.

Genevieve

OOC: Read a sitch. Roll+sharp.
(Rolled: 2d6+3. Rolls: 4, 2. Total: 9)

Genevieve

OOC: What should I be on the lookout for?

Rich

Chubby is actually ScottTowel, you recognize him now, Stitch. You've given this guy an exam during the sweeps a week ago, you inoculated him. He sees you, and even though he's scared about the blood, well, he knows you're a doc.

You should keep an eye out for an opportunistic thieves while the crowd is moving and attention is focused on you. If Chunky spots one of them, she may just shoot them, too.

Genevieve

I tie the guys leg tight. "It's gonna hurt, but it'll slow the blood down." I tell him. "Stay down and don't say a frakking word." My face is stern. I'm pissed.

I stand up and shout. "Everybody stop!" Practically at the top of my lungs. I hope they'll listen to me- this could turn into a bloodbath fast. "Trigger finger here is gonna shoot anyone that seems suspicious, so I suggest you calm down and let me take ScottTowel to the infirmary." I jerk my thumb over to Chunky.

Rich

When you speak to the mass of humanity in The Bay, roll +Hot
On a hit, they get the message and you choose options.
On a 7-9, they grumble and moan about it, take -1 Forward in The Bay for "being bossy" and whatnot. On a 10+, yeah, sure, they do what you say.
On a miss, they completely misunderstand, or do the total opposite because they don't trust you.

Genevieve

OOC: Speak to the Bay. Roll+hot. +1xp rolling highlighted. +1forward.
(Rolled: 2d6+1. Rolls: 5, 5. Total: 11)

Rich

The crowd recognizes you and they start to clear out, moving to other parts of the bay. du Maurier was nearby, and he and a couple of his thugs are heading this way. You can hear du yelling at people to shut up, move out, and do what doc says.

Chunky's there, she looks skittish, like maybe she didn't mean to shoot the guy. Svenja leaves balding guy and comes over, "You want some help moving him, Stitch?" She's reaching down to help pick him up.

Genevieve

"Yeah, thanks Svenja." I tell her. "I'm sorry- I might have spooked Chunky."

I lower my voice to barely a whisper. "Can you come up to the infirmary with me? The thing that happened before Boomtown... I might have a problem."

Rich

"I'm not spooked!" Chunky insists, but Svenja is on your side.

She hauls the guy up with your help right as du and his pair of ugly mugs come up. du says, "This frakker causin trouble? Want to give him the big drop, Venger?"

"Chunk shot his ass, he was tryin to roll some lady. Stitch wants to fix him up." Svenja says.

du comes up to you, looking down, "Stitch, you oughta fix people what need help. This frakker's a lowlife, he needs to be taught a lesson."

What do you do?

Genevieve

"If I don't fix him up it'll get infected, then he's a risk to everyone around him with compromised immune systems. Don't you think being shot is enough of a lesson?" I ask du.

OOC: Read du incoming.

Genevieve

OOC: Read du. Roll+sharp.
(Rolled: 2d6+3. Rolls: 5, 4. Total: 12)

Rich

du looks at ScottTowel and asks, like he's talking to a disgusting child, "You learned your lesson yet? How many times you tried to steal in The Bay now? Four? Five? Why do you think Venger was tailing you, asshole?"

Genevieve

I hate du. I didn't like him from the moment I met him- asking Kiddo to suck him off in front of Nezzy. Seeing some of Amelia's memories... du should be the one being judged. And I don't judge people very often. This guy deserves to be in prison. Or worse.

OOC: What is du's deepest, darkest secret- the thing he won't even admit to himself, much less others? (1/3)

Rich

du was abused by his mother. Physically and later, sexually. You see, in his head right now, the things he did to Amelia, were done to him. A cycle. It's why Santi dominates him the way she does, why he tries to find some female he can have power over.

And the shame and fear of his own mother, the loathing of her, the sickening love for her, that's his Achilles heel.

Genevieve

OOC: Is there any good left in this man- any tiny sliver of kindness buried deep down? (2/3)

Rich

We could get all mamby pamby and set conditions or say in certain situations that anyone can be "good" or talk about the "greater good" he serves by hunting down folks as evil as he is.

But I get what you're asking. He has no kindness in him. He will hurt others as long as he can get away with it, it's his only source of feeling good about himself, having power over other people. Especially women.

Genevieve

OOC: What is the least suspicious way of killing du? (3/3)

Rich

You could easily poison him if you got him back to the infirmary. Sapphire could kill him, and there are a host of folks who'd be much more suspected than you.

This is one thing you cannot tell Metro. You know he'd try to talk you out of it, even stop you.

Genevieve

Something inside me hardens. I should feel bad for even thinking about it, but I don't. I feel bad for Amelia, and want to make sure she never has to see him again.

Unless du is gonna stop us, I take ScottTowel back up to the infirmary with Svenja.

Rich

Svenja nods to your whisper, says to Chunky, "Chunk, they got The Bay right now, head on up to the Clubhouse and take a rest, bitch."

She's ready to take your patient up, see whatever you wanted to talk about, too.

Genevieve

We take ScottTowel up to the infirmary. I'm not particularly sympathetic with the man- right now I'm just using him to get Svenja into my workspace. If he moans or whines or bitches, I may actually tell him to shut up.

Rich

He does. You do. Svenja chuckles.

The lift opens up on your floor, Rinso comes out pretty quick and hauls him off, which surprises Svenja, of course.

Oh and by the way,Rinso looks pretty hot in white, in his cute orderly clothes.

Janco takes over with the patient if you like. Svenja's still here, willing to listen to what you've got to tell her.

Genevieve

I let Janco take over. If I believed in a god I'd thank him for her. Maybe I noticed how Rinso looked- so what? I have eyes.

I pull Svenja into an exam room and close the door. "Svenja- do you have any... weird memories? From the stasis?" I ask her.

Rich

She looks at you for a long moment, eyes narrowed like this might be some kind of set-up. "Why?" She crosses her arms, "Do you?"

Genevieve

"I did." I admit. "I... I keep feeling like I should have a wedding ring on, but I was never married. Hell- for a while I wasn't even sure if I was a real doctor."

I sigh. "I sorta went into my own brain." I hold my hand up when she goes to interrupt me. "I know, hard to explain. But I found stuff. Stuff that was put there by someone else. Either the ship or the program people or I don't know. Bad stuff- suggestions. Mental triggers. Seeds." I would hate to be on the receiving end of Svenja out of her own control.

Rich

Svenja looks at you when you admit this, at first, you see shock in her eyes, not shock that this happened to you and not her, more like, shock that you know. She crosses her arms, looks away. "No way, Stitch. Iso signals teach you life skills, that's all. Boring shit like balancin a fuckin checkbook or needlepoint." She's lying.

What do you do?

Genevieve

All of a sudden I feel my blood turn to ice. I want to rage at her, shove a scalpel to her throat and force her to tell me. Here I thought I was helping her.

"I pulled a dozen pieces of a hollowpoint out of you, Venger. You would have died if I'd waited even a few minutes or not been so thorough. The least you can do is be straight with me." I clench my jaw.

OOC: Read Svenja incoming.

Genevieve

OOC: Read Svenja. Roll+sharp. +1forward on Svenja
(Rolled: 2d6+4. Rolls: 6, 4. Total: 14)

Rich

Her shoulders slump, like you stuck a pin in her BS bravado, called her out and she's got nothing to say back at you. She looks up at you, and behind that mask of pseudo-badass, you see the bit of fear around the edges of her eyes, "Alright, Stitch, alright. Yeah, I've had some fucked up dreams, memories of some asshole talkin to me. I call him my man in black."

Genevieve

"Not somebody you knew... before?" I ask her, almost sure she'll say no. I want to ask her what he says, but it's too private.

OOC: What does she know about the iso-cube program that I don't? (1/3)

Rich

"Nope. Didn't think he was real for a long time. Thought he was some fuckin amalgam of assholes I've known." She answers clipped at first, but then the words start coming out like a rush, like this is actually easier than keeping it in.

She knows a good deal more. She signed up for the military program, you didn't. She didn't suspect you were trained in your sleep like she was. She was a loud-mouthed marine when she went under. She can build a nuclear bomb or quote military tactics off the top of her head now. She speaks thirty different languages. She's also got a dozen trigger words in her head that she didn't know about. Even now, she can't see them.

Genevieve

I nod, knowing the feeling. "I had... flashbacks. For a while. Almost panic attacks." I tell her. I feel a bit foolish- of course they put shit in our heads. We freaking signed up for it.

"I got rid of the stuff in my head- not what I learned, but the triggers and seeds and stuff. I can try to get rid of yours, if you want." I recognize she may not want me in her head. She may not even want to get rid of the stuff- not like the programmers are here to pull her puppet strings a hundred years later.

One thing I'm sure of, though- if she keeps that shit in her head, she's never coming in my infirmary again. I absolutely will not risk the life and well-being of my patients on the chance that those seeds lay dormant.

Rich

"Try?" Svenja says with a mocking tone. "I'm s'pose to let you into my fucking brain, to look around, pick and poke and prod. All so you can try to get rid of these triggers you say are in my head?"

She glares at you for a moment, "Stitch, I aint your fuckin time bomb to disarm. What the hell makes you think they did this to me, anyways?"

Genevieve

I figured as much. The problem is that she kind of is my fucking time bomb to disarm. "What if you are?" I tell her. "What if one word turns you into a mindless, obedient killer? That's what the program was, wasn't it? Better soldiers for the war. They didn't give you all that knowledge so you could do whatever the hell you wanted to with it."

OOC: What's it gonna take to get Svenja to agree to let Stitch do this? (2/3)

Rich

Svenja fumes for a bit. She opens her mouth at one point, but no words come out, like she just checked herself from what she was about to say. She closes her mouth and looks at you.

Finally, "They are all dead, Stitch. If they showed up, I would run to them, practically suck their dicks to get me the fuck off this shitty planet." She holds up a finger, suddenly, "I said practically!"

She's stubborn, Stitch. You'll either have to hold her down, knock her out, or... Well, you know one of the command words to make her obey you for a short period.

Genevieve

I wish I could be as certain as her of it not being a risk. I sort of hate myself for a second- robbing someone of their free will is a terrible violation. I don't feel like I have a choice, though it's little consolation.

"Weeping willows reach toward the sun." I say, triggering what I think is the program to make her obedient for a short while. I have to choke a sob back.

Rich

Its as if you flicked a switch, the change in her demeanor is so sudden. The half snarl on her face evaporates, just falls off her face and she slides into a neutral, calm expression. Her shoulders un-clench and she relaxes into a poised, perfect sitting position. An empty vessel. A quiet subject, bent to your will.

What do you do?

Genevieve

A tear slides down my cheek. Is it worth it? I hope so.

"Lay down on the bed." I tell her. After she does so I wheel her bed into an empty room, across the hall from the room Janco has ScottTowel in. It's the room we use for patients who may get violent- no cabinets and the door locks.

"Wait here for me. If anyone else comes in, do not speak to them. Pretend to be asleep." I wipe my cheeks. I don't know how long she'll be like this.

I lock the door behind me and take a breath in the hall. Then I go in to help Janco.

Rich

Of course she's compliant. Calm, robotic. She lays there, breathing calmly, staring at the ceiling.

Janco's finishing up the extraction of the bullet when you come in. She looks up, a surgical mask on her face, then says, "Alright, it's out. Weeta, show Omo how to clean the wound, alright? Then Omo, I'll need you to scrub this room down. Rinso can help you if you need it." Omo nods.

Janco comes out after pulling off her gloves. She pulls down her mask, concern in her eyes for what she sees on your face. "What's wrong, Stitch?"

Genevieve

"Oh. I thought you might need my help. I guess not." My brain is a million miles away. "... Uh, something from before." I tell her, hoping my tone will convince her to drop it- even if only for now.

"I've got Svenja in the psych room- she's not throwing punches yet, but it could happen. Don't let anyone else in- ok?"

Before she can reply I turn on my heel and open the psych door- which will lock again behind me. Only Janco and I know the code- though Metro could figure it out.

Once I'm in and the door is locked, I sink against it to the floor crying.

Rich

How long are you in there, Stitch? How long do you cry alone?

Svenja's body is in the room with you, but she's not. She's awaiting orders.

That makes you alone. With your puppet.

What do you do?

Genevieve

An hour, she just lays there, staring at the ceiling. I don't give her a single other order, though I want her to pull the damn blanket over her placid face.

I start to wonder if she'll ever come out of it- did I just turn her into a drone? I want to scream. Shout. Rage. Anything to get her to go back to being Svenja. But there's only her breathing.

I have to burn this out of her brain- if Nezzy found out about this trigger word... I shudder.

I wonder if I should just do it- try and take it out while she's under- but I can't bring myself to lay hands on her. I'm shaking.

Rich

There's a knock at the door You feel it against your back, since you slid down to the floor against it. You hear Rinso's voice, "Hey Stitch, you alright in there?"

Genevieve

Oh god! I wipe my face. I want to let him in, have him hold me while I look at the person I violated. I choke back a sob.

"Yeah." I say weakly. "I'm ok. Thanks." I don't have the willpower to tell him to go away, though I know I should.

How did I get here? I've become everything I hate. I know I did it with good intentions, but the end result is the same. She was only supposed to be like this for a short time.

The memory of that day back in Boomtown surfaces. The way Metro was forced to tell me to go away. What will he think of me now? I hang my head, touching my forehead to my knees. What have I done?

Rich

"Hey, Stitch," Rinso says through the door, "Let me in. Venger's my buddy, too. What's wrong with her? Let me help."

Genevieve

"I can't." I tell him, my voice weak and my head still hanging. "It's... complicated." I just can't let him in. Let him see her like this. If she wakes up and sees him in there she might actually kill me.

And if she doesn't wake up... I can't. I just... can't.

Rich

Long pause. "Anything I can do to help?"

Genevieve

"Not... not now." I answer. Maybe in another hour, when I'm so far in my own head I go catatonic myself. "Thank you." I twist around so I can press the side of my head and a hand to the door- wishing I could hold his hand. Knowing I can't.

Rich

It's quiet. Rinso never said he was going to go, but "thank you" is sometimes a dismissive way of getting rid of someone. Especially when they work for you. Which Rinso does now, right?

After a small forever, you hear a sharp intake of breath from the bed. Svenja bolts upright, looking around with a mix of panic and fury on her face. She misses you, what with you being on the floor and all, for a minute. Then, you move or something, and she looks down at you, eyes wide.

What do you do?

Genevieve

I laugh and cry at the same time and it comes out as a choking cough. I stay on the floor- I can't move right now. I'd intended this as a point- that so long as the trigger was there, it could be exploited. Now I realize that I've shown her I can control her, that I own her in a way- since I can just say it again and have her obedient- and what would badass loudmouthed Marine Svenja do when confronted with that situation?

She'd kill me, so that I could never tell anyone the trigger.

And a little part of me thinks she'd be right in doing it.

Rich

She glares at you for what feels like minutes. Her breathing slows down, the glare fades into a simple stare. Her muscles relax slightly, still tense, but not knotted up for immediate action. "Alright," Svenja says finally. "You made your point."

Svenja the badass, loud-mouthed marine pushes herself into a standing position, walks over to stand over you. For a moment, she's just looking at you, eyes searching, seeing the tears, your posture, the worn look on your face. She offers you a hand, "Tell me how you fixed your head, and how you're gonna fix mine, doc."

Genevieve

I take her hand and stand up. "You saw how fast Rinso healed the other day?" I ask her. "It's sort of like that. I can heal people with my brain- I don't know how I can and Janco can't. It's weird. But I connect my brain to yours, and tell your brain to fix your body. I wasn't even looking for implanted triggers- I was trying to figure out my phantom wedding ring."

I key in the code for the door. Svenja can leave whenever she wants now.

"But I found them, and other stuff, jammed in there along with the iso signals that taught me how to knit and perform surgery. It's a time bomb waiting to go off- I'm sure of that."

Rich

"That's fucked up." Svenja says in a slightly fearful tone. She turns to head over to the bed again, climbing up to sit on the middle, facing you. "What all did you learn in Big Hunky's head?"

Genevieve

I lean back against the wall, thoughtful for a second. "That's the thing- I learned more about myself that time. I mean, I saw a little of the pain he tries to hide, but the rest... it's different with each person."

I'm glad I didn't learn any secrets of his- I'd feel compelled to tell Svenja the truth- to show her I can do this thing- but they wouldn't have been my secrets to tell.

Rich

Svenja chuckles, "Yeah, he's got some issues. But hell, don't we all?"

A few moments pass. Svenja grips the bed, then relaxes her hands. Grips, then relaxes. "Alright. I can't let anyone control me, you know? And this is your thing, Stitch, so I trust you. I trust you to take care of this. I mean, shit, you could have just did whatever to me. But you didn't."

She looks up at you, and you see a bit of worry in her eyes that she's trying to mask. "Don't fuck this up.... please." She turns to pull her feet onto the bed, then lays down.

What do you do?

Genevieve

"I won't." I tell her, taking one of her hands in mine. There's a tiny sliver of doubt in my mind, but overwhelmingly I want to help this woman and I'm confident that I can. I slide my other hand under her neck, touching skin.

"I'm going to use my brain to talk to yours. I'll search the neural pathways for the triggers and seeds I cleared out of my own brain. Just relax." I say in my most calm, doctorly voice.

Rich

Svenja starts to make some smart-ass remark, but then... she doesn't. She squeezes your hand, just the once, then nods.

What do you do?

Genevieve

I squeeze her hand back, and open my brain to hers, as gently as I can.

Rich

Either:
• you’re going to need a Brainer to help you with it
OR
• you’re going to have to add an Isocube to your workplace first
AND
• it’s going to mean exposing yourself (plus colleagues) to serious danger; (via a released prisoner)

--END SCENE--