Post by Lissa on Nov 16, 2018 17:14:22 GMT -5
"That was one of the sensors, wasn't it?" the voice said. It was distant. Disembodied. Rhetorical. "Let's go get him."
No, he thought. Not me.
On some level, he registered thoughts and words. He had awareness... He was cold. He was stiff. He was naked. He was in an enclosed space... It felt like it was damp. Moisture was heavy in what little air there was in here.
On some level, he registered that he should have emotion... That he should have memory. When he opened his eyes, it was only to see pitch black darkness.
"Unlock it," said the voice. It was closer now. Less distorted. There was a distinct click, followed by the hiss of hydrolics.
Move, he thought. Move, damnit! It was harder than he'd have ever thought possible. Hard... At first, a pinky finger. Then the flexing of his hand. As the first slivers of light were seen through the cracks of the 'tank', there was a sudden rush of adrenaline. Fresh air swooshed in, stale air pushed out. It was invigorating. Even though it hurt like a thousand needles stabbing his brain and every muscle, he knew he had to move. Knew he had to fight. It was basic instinct. It was familiar...
They'd kept him locked up. Sedated... He still didn't remember anything, but he had a feeling he wasn't supposed to be here. It spurned anger in a way that felt familiar, too.
He shoved hard against the 'tank' lid, pushing it open as fast as he could. The light was blinding for just a second, but he had just enough vision to make out the outlines of the two people in the room... Leaping out, he shoved the first person aside. Hard enough to drop him to the floor. It was a split second assessment. The first one was no immediate threat, but the second one might be. The second figure didn't have much time to react, except to give a small outcry and crouch down and was trying to curl into a ball, as if afraid of being hit... But there was a part of him that simply did not care... He grabbed the second man by the throat, shoving him against the wall as hard as he could. It was with a ferocity that he began to punch him in the solar plexus and ribs. After about eight punches, he registered something right... These people were not his enemy. He let the man go, watching him slump to the floor. He backed away from him, breathing heavy, looking down at his hands. It was a delayed response, but he was vaguely aware of a third person coming into the room.
Then, there was the soft pew that came with the sound of a small caliber weapon being fired... And then the sharp pain and a stinging sensation... He didn't know how, but he knew he'd been shot before. This was not like that... This was different. His knees buckled out from under him before the realization set in that he'd been hit with a tranquilizer. He sat on his knees for a few seconds before the rest of his body went weak and he collapsed to the floor. Unable to move, he finally relaxed against his will to allow his eyes the moment of clarity they needed to see properly. What he saw was the man he'd been pummeling. A human man... And the one he'd shoved aside-- a yellow skinned male twi'lek. The third-- the one who'd shot him-- was a zabrakian female. All were dressed in simple, black uniforms of some kind. It was a massive contrast to the stark white of the room's walls and the cold metallic floor.
Before the oncoming darkness took him, he heard them speak.
"Bristow warned us," the twi'lek said. "He said they might be violent the first time."
"Yes, well, I don't think Henry will be sticking around for the next time..." The Zabrak said. "Lets follow procedure... And do restrain him this time, please."
* * * * * * * * * * *
When he came to the next time, the room was dim. No longer did his body hurt... It felt sore, but didn't really hurt. He was vaguely aware of the straps that kept him tied down. They weren't too tight, but when he attempted to move, he found his tethers to be quite short. Limiting almost all movement. The only thing he could really do was sit up a little-- able to look down at himself and around the room. He saw he was dressed this time-- his feet were bare. He had tried to rock the bed, but found it was quite firmly secured to the floor... So he settled for taking assessment of himself. First, wiggle of the fingers, then toes. He didn't see any wounds or bandages. Couldn't feel any, either. He checked to see if all of his teeth were there. And they were... His field of vision didn't seem to be limited.He listened, but didn't hear anything at all except the gentle hum of equipment around him. He could feel his hair touching the back of his neck and shoulders-- unusually long for him, but he didn't know why he knew that.
Amnesia... That was the word. He hadn't missed the midddle aged human man sitting in the corner, watching him with a stoic expression. And when the man stood up, his body tensed in reaction... Here he was-- helpless... Or nearly so. He didn't know why, but he felt like he was always armed in any situation. So the possibilities were going through his mind. He could grab the man's balls if he got close enough. Bite him. Spit at him. Try to intimidate him... But eventually, the wait and watch tactic won out.
"How are you feeling?" the man asked as he approached. He had a light, shining it in his eyes to see pupilary response. "I saw you doing half the work for me to test your movement... I'm assuming you understand what I'm saying?" he asked. Kel'dan simply nodded once, eyes narrowing on the man. "How much, if anything, do you remember?" he asked next. To that, Kel'dan shook his head. "Mmm... Something to work on, I suppose... This is a work in progress, after all." The man was speaking to him in Basic... And he knew that wasn't his native language. But he understood it and how to speak it just fine.
"Mmmsph umm suh... Wah um fa?" Kel'dan said. What he'd tried to say was-- May I have some water? See? He could be civil.
The man standing there picked up a pitcher of water and poured a glass. Holding it up to him. He pointed at Kel'dan. "If you bite me, I'm going to sedate you again." Kel'dan glared at him, but nodded. As he drank the water offered him, the man continued to speak. "My name is Bristow... To make a long story short-- you were hurt very badly and we have helped you to recover... But-- there are tests we must do to test your strength, reflexes, cognizance, etc. To make sure you're fully recovered... If you can promise me that you won't attack my people, I'll take those restraints off."
Kel'dan glared his defiance at the man. Seriously? Sedate him again? Make promises? Run tests? He didn't know how, but this was not his way... Finally, after clearing his throat, he said-- "I can't make that promise, Bristow... As long as there's no sedation involved, I'll keep the peace. You sedate me, all bets are off."
Bristow seemed to think about it for a moment, then nodded. "Agreed... You will be weak for a while. There is much recovery to be done, even if you are not wounded. Rest when you need to. Eat when you need to. But we cannot allow you to leave until your Amnesia has resolved itself."
He curled his lip in an automatic response. "Fine. Untie me."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Two weeks had gone by... And only some of those memories had returned. The first week, he'd been weak. He'd needed naps, unable to stay awake, even with the voracious appetite... Week two, things were evening out. He'd done their stupid tests. Math. Science. History. Knowledge of the galaxy at large. Reflexes. Strength... By the end of the second week, he was working out again, trying to get some of his strength back up to where it was before.
He'd learned many things since first waking up. These people had been commissioned to take care of him... He was allowed to roam the facility, but some places were restricted.
He remembered his name. His family. His clan. He remembered he was Mandalorian... He remembered how to fight. But what he was lacking was the memory of what had caused him to be here in the first place. He remembered being shot... but no longer had the scar. There were a lot of little things like that. But also, big gaps in his memory. Entire years were gone.
Day 15, Bristow came to see him.... Bristow did not grace Kel'dan with his presence often, but when he did, it was meaningful.
"I want you to come with me... We've been patient about you regaining your memories, but we've decided to try and trigger what you're lacking..."
There was just something about that man that rubbed him the wrong damn way... Bristow. High and mighty. If this place were a military institution, he'd be the General in charge of everything. But while his scientists were respectful in his presence, they didn't like him. Kel'dan had heard them talking behind his back. So with that standard lip curl that Bristow had gotten used to seeing, Kel'dan followed him out of his room...
The place that he took him to was in one of the restricted areas. They passed labs of impressive size and equipment... Finally, arriving in a room that looked almost exactly like the one he'd first woken up in. It was larger, with three tanks set up instead of one. He approached the tanks with some hesitancy, looking over the monitors and displays... While the tanks were solid metal, there was no windows or anything to see down into it, there were cameras placed within the tanks... And what he saw triggered a headache. At first, it was small as he looked at his eldest brother... Ker'dan. Then Ken'dal. Then Kor'id... All of them in stasis of some kind... But he was the only one awake. As the headache grew, he retreated to a seat in the corner of the room. And, at last, the headache grew so bad, he blacked out from it.
When he woke, he was still in the same room. He was laying on the cold metal floor. Again.... AGAIN. He blinked away the remnants of the headache. And realized-- he remembered. Remembered everything. Remembered the deal he and his brothers had made. The last few battles they'd been in... The most recent memory-- being here, at this facilty, with Bristow-- allowing them to do... something... that they said would give him his memories back.He probably laid there for a good ten minutes in silence, staring at the tanks.
"How did I die?" he finally asked. Bristow crouched down beside him.
"I wasn't given many details, but from what your brothers said... You died from a lightsaber wound."
He jerked his head to the side, closing his eyes. "Why were we fighting a Jedi?" he asked.
"They never mentioned a Jedi," Bristow said softly. "Only a lightsaber."
Kel'dan stood up from the floor abruptly, turning to go out the door. "I'm leaving."
Bristow caught him by the arm. "No, you can't go yet! We have to run tests now that you have your full memory back!" Kel'dan saw the moment when Bristow had revealed the syringe he'd kept in his robe and pocket... He knew what it was. He knew what that meant... And Bristow's eyes widened when he realized he'd made a critical error. Kel'dan caught him by the arm, knocking the syringe out of his hand and clattering to the floor. It didn't take much to overpower Bristow. The man was weak in almost every way. The only real power he had here was authority... And even that was a joke.
CRACK! Bristow's eyes rolled back into his head and Kel'dan dropped him like the dead weight he was... And he walked, calmly, back to his room. Along the way, he found the twi'lek from before.
"Call my brothers, please. It's time for me to go."
"Where's Bristow?" the twi'lek asked, looking around.
"Gone."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
He came to from that particular memory with a sigh... He hadn't thought about Bristow in a long time... But he was thinking.
He'd been doing a lot of that, here on Hapes. It had been enlightening... And there was a lot of things he'd forgotten about. Going through-- reliving certain memories... It had given him perspective on who he'd been once upon a time. The differences were staggering... But that memory-- it was the first time. It had been the first time he'd been cloned. And thinking of how he was then and how he was now gave him some sort of comfort. He was tired of being indecisive. He was tired of being a pawn to some greater force he didn't really understand... To hell with it. To hell with all of it.
Ten minutes later, he had given notice of his vacating his room... And was headed back to the space port. He'd taken enough time. He was going home. Again.
