Darwin's Soldiers: Disruptive Selection

Noname · **Reply #260 on:** February 13, 2010, 04:55:37 AM

Thomas Stern would not let this pass. Walking over to another one of the couches, he sat down gently, straightened his back, looked Aimee in the eye and had some words with her. "Oh no, I couldn't do that. You are clearly more tired than I am, and you've been walking around barefoot all day." The Corporal wasn't going to let Aimee sleep on the couch. He'd much rather sleep on the floor before letting that happen to her. How she could offer him the bed was beyond his understanding.

MrDrake · **Reply #261 on:** February 13, 2010, 05:02:39 AM

There was a pause before Aimee stood up "Thank you, if you do insist, I'll take your offer, so, thank you again" she glanced over to the shower before looking to Stern once more "But I believe I'll take a shower, I don't think I've had one in a while" she spoke again as she walked over to the shower and turned it on.

She closed the door behind her as well as she took off the bandages from her feet before getting out of her clothes, placing the handgun onto the sink before getting into the shower.

Noname · **Reply #262 on:** February 13, 2010, 05:15:26 AM

Stern waited for a few minutes, listening to the sound of running water as Aimee took a shower. Stern turned to leave the room for a moment, not wanting to intrude on her privacy. He wondered where she had put that gun he had given her. He couldn't find it in the room, and he didn't have it on him, so Aimee must have taken it into the bathroom with her, something the Corporal found to be most unusual, and this was coming from a man who regularly slept with a gun under his pillow!

MrDrake · **Reply #263 on:** February 13, 2010, 05:29:29 AM

As Aimee remained under the shower, images flashed in her mind again, but not of her past as much, but of what had happened to her in the facility she had come from.

She let off a small little growl as she clenched her fist and punched the wall of the shower, shattering some of the tiles that could be heard from where Stern was once the tile fell to the ground and shattered.

She stayed under for a bit longer before she stepped out and turned off the shower, grabbing a towel and started to dry herself off as she looked into the bathroom mirror with a small sigh. She stared into it for a few moments before closing her eyes, as if she had seen something and actually punched the mirror as well before breathing a bit heavily and shaking her head.

Aimee pulled on her shorts and put her shirt back on before grabbing her gun and exiting the bathroom and walking over to the bed to sit down on it with a sigh again before looking over to Stern, but yet, just kept quiet for the time being.

Noname · **Reply #264 on:** February 13, 2010, 05:41:55 AM

Stern needed no training to tell that something was wrong. He looked at Aimee. Her appearance was little like the happy, fun girl he had once met back when he was a private. Her face, once soft and relaxed now gave away the signs of distress and anger, and her arms were a pair of hideous robotic appendages.

Sitting down on the bed, stern looked at the female. She gave no signs of objecting to his being there. Not saying anything for a while, all the Corporal could do was to look at her, and she at him. Time had wrought many changes, and with them, many sorrows. Thomas Stern was not sure where to begin.

"So, Aimee, how was your shower? You seem to be upset about something. I'm willing to bet it had something to do with those reptoids. They've already done so much to you. Poor girl. I'd hate to think that they continue to bother you." He looked down at her feet; her paws were still sore from her escape. While Aimee and Stern were not close in the way they could have been if they were both the same species, there was some amount of affection between them. Aimee used to like the way he would soothe her paws after a long mission. He had done it many times before. He took her right foot paw in his hands, to no objection from her. Feeling the pads on her foot, Stern could tell that she had been though much more than he had ever seen her go through. The skin on the foot was reddish and sore, which was really bad, considering the normal color was black. No wonder she was in a bad mood; every step she took must have been painful. Poor Aimee.

While she was still sitting down, Thomas Stern began to rub her foot, being careful not to apply too much pressure to her sore padding. The Corporal made sure that the gun he had given her was safely placed on a shelf first, with the safety on. He hoped that she would enjoy herself, as she had done so many times before.

MrDrake · **Reply #265 on:** February 13, 2010, 05:56:56 AM

The young vixen let off a bit of a sigh before she answered him "It's just that, what they did to me, it's still in my mind, I just can't get it out of my mind, it just....continues to haunt me still" she spoke with much frustration as well.

However, she did give off a small smile to Stern "I just....I...don't know what to do really, I mean, what you guys are doing, I didn't want to have to burdern anyone else with my own....problem I have, and I guess that I also didn't expect to see you at that camp either, someone who knows me better than I know myself at the moment"

One thing she didn't mind was how Stern was handling her paws, wincing a little bit from the touch of them, considering that they were rather sore, however, she was actually still enjoying it, trying to ignore what pain was on her paws.

Noname · **Reply #266 on:** February 13, 2010, 06:04:48 AM

Aimee was repeating herself. Normally this would be no cause for concern, the vixen was never the brightest speaker, but now, it was about a far darker subject matter than Stern had even dealt with. She wasn't human, but what they must have done to her was inhumane. Her memory had more holes in it than a piece of Swiss cheese, and worst of all, the Aimee he once knew might be lost forever; the kind, gentle Aimee who was wonderful to her friends and merciful to her enemies, and yet could get the job done anyway. Losing that Aimee was a tragedy. The Corporal prayed it was not so.

"Do you remember anything they did to you, Aimee?" Stern continued massaging her feet as he spoke. "I hope they didn't- oh, never mind. Just relax for now." He stroked her paw, trying to warm it up, then he squeezed her paw and rotated her foot a few times in either direction. "How's this feel? Am I squeezing too hard?"

He knew that her paws could take a lot of pressure during good times. She would come to him for a foot rub many times back in the day, sometimes to soothe her pains, but also because it felt so good. Of course, he never had to deal with her in such a painful condition before. Stern didn't want to accidentally hurt her. It was unfair that her race couldn't wear shoes like humans. While her own padded feet could go much farther barefoot than a human could, even the best natural padding was no match for a pair of army boots.

MrDrake · **Reply #267 on:** February 13, 2010, 06:12:42 AM

"Remember anything?" Aimee seemed to think for a second, having drowned out what else Stern told her, closing her eyes for a second to actually think, but all she could recall was rather horrific images of what had happened, even on how they had put the arms onto her.

Her eyes shot open again with a quick gasp, not from the pain in her feet of course, but from actually remembering what they had done to her, looking to Stern "Um, yeah, it's uh...good...." she decided to say whilst breathing heavily a bit too, trying not to let him worry as much about her as she gave him another bit of a smile too.

Noname · **Reply #268 on:** February 13, 2010, 06:18:04 AM

By now, Stern was working on her toes, trying to avoid the sole of her paw. "I know something is wrong, Aimee, and it isn't just your sore feet. I won't pry further today. You need some time to recover. If there is anything you need, I'll help you out. Don't be shy; whatever it is, I'm sure I can arrange for it."

She had already told him quite a bit for the first day that he had seen her again... seen her like this, in such a sad condition. Maybe once she got some rest she would be better. No, she would never be fully better; her arms were gone, and the reptoids did something to her, they harmed her in a way that might never be fully fixed. Stern was not going to let them get away with this.

MrDrake · **Reply #269 on:** February 13, 2010, 06:26:23 AM

"Yeah, thanks....Stern was it?" Aimee asked him, just to make sure anyway "But you're right, having a rest would probabally be the best thing to do at the moment, and again, I want to thank you for what you have done so far for me"

She lay down onto her back with another towards Stern as she gave off a stretch "Sorry, I'm just, well, I would like to get some sleep now, perhaps that will help clear my mind a bit at least, and who knows, I might even remember some stuff overnight too"

Noname · **Reply #270 on:** February 13, 2010, 06:37:20 AM

Stern got up from the bed and left the room. "Have a nice rest, Aimee." The Corporal was kind to her, far kinder than he had ever been to the other members of his team. Before he left the room, he took the gun from the shelf and put it back in the holster he had taken it out of in the first place. If Aimee were to remember something too shocking, it might compel her to use that gun against others, or herself!

Lying down on the couch, the Thomas Stern thought about all the good times he and Aimee once had. One time was the officer exchange program with her people, the Vulpines. He had spent six glorious weeks with her people, learning about their customs, eating their food, marveling at their dancers and gymnasts, and and enjoying all the hospitality of a very friendly, open, outgoing group of people. Yes, people. It didn't matter so much that they were not human, or that they didn't wear shoes, or that they were covered in fur and had bushy tails. Aimee and her race were still people, even if they were very much unlike Stern.

MrDrake · **Reply #271 on:** February 13, 2010, 06:45:11 AM

Aimee layed down on her side, not getting into the coveres herself, but instead, laying down on top of the covers instead, her eyes still wide upon as she let off a sigh again, running a finger lightly along the covers as well.

She moved onto her back again to stare at the ceiling. She was tired, but for some odd reason, she just could not get to sleep at the moment as one arm was behind her head with her other arm across her stomach giving off a heavy sigh too.

I guess one could say that she did not want to sleep at the moment just in case more of those horrific images flashed in her mind as well.

Noname · **Reply #272 on:** February 13, 2010, 07:12:17 AM

Stern thought back to his times spent with Aimee. During a break, they went on a week-long trip to a town belonging to the Vulpines, a pretty little place called Greenspring, in southwest Colorado. It was a settlement of about 5,000 souls, mostly of Aimee's kind. The Corporal had always been a very rough-and-ready sort or man, the kind of soldier who would rather walk a mile in the mud than go a foot in a fancy suit. The Vulpines were even less formal than he was; they would show up to their many parties unshod and dressed in whatever they could be bothered to put on. None of them were upset or even seemed to notice or care when partygoers showed up clad in their shorts and nothing more, or when the drunkenness level got out of hand, which Vulpine parties had an unnerving tendency to do.

Although the Vulpines lived in American and foreign soil alike, they had colonies scattered throughout the world, and were recognized as one nation, with their own military, laws, traditions, and customs. An international agreement at the UN confirmed their status as independent, yet only able to exert control over what land their host nations wished to grant them. In spite of this, there was a Vulpine military, local police forces, and even a congress which would meet once a year in a rotating location to discuss matters which concerned their kind.

It worked well for them to an extent. Vulpines were lovers of all things physical and sensual. As such, they liked perfumes, fine food, jewelry, alcohol, massages, dancing, music, incense, scented oils and candles, and 'helping the species.' Alcoholism was common, unemployment was high, and educational attainment rates for Aimee's people were low. The vixen had joined the military in no small part to get an education, as the Vulpine military paid for all those costs. It was sad that she could have easily lost it all, had she not escaped.

MrDrake · **Reply #273 on:** February 13, 2010, 04:20:02 PM

As time lingered on, Aimee had indeed, fallen asleep as she tossed and turned in her sleep, more images flashing in her mind, which in turn, caused her toss and turn even more before she darted awake, sitting up to catch a deep breath before breathing heavily.

She looked around for a bit as she continued to breath rather heavily before sitting onto the side of the bed. She however, just kept quiet, not saying a word to herself as she then got up and left the room to the kitchen, but still kept quiet as to not wake up Stern who was sleeping on the couch.

She grabbed herself a cup and got some water before she begun to drink it, yet, she was still feeling rather angry as she tightened her gip on the cup, which in turn, caused it to shatter before just pounding down upon the kitchen bench, cracking it quiet a bit.

Her eyes did widen a little bit at what she did as she finally spoke to herself "I....I need some....fresh air or something...." she said rather quietly to herself as she walked over to the door to their room, glancing at Stern once more before she walked outside.

Serris · **Reply #274 on:** February 13, 2010, 11:38:30 PM

Zachary entered his room and turned on the lights only to find it completely empty and with an enormous dent in the wall. The blankets were on the floor as well. He examined the room and noticed that the security chain had been torn from the wall.

"Holy [censored]," he muttered.

He then headed to Cobalt Squad's room.

"Hey you see James any where?" he asked.

Cobalt Leader shrugged. "Try Aisha's room," he replied.

Zachary did so and headed up to Aisha's room where he knocked on the door.

Nick22 · **Reply #275 on:** February 14, 2010, 01:44:44 AM

Aisha opened the door with a bleary look on her face ' her face told of the tired state she was in? " Whats up Zachary? Is something wrong?' She yawned..

MrDrake · **Reply #276 on:** February 14, 2010, 01:54:33 AM

Aimee walked down to the loby area and had a glanced around at what they had, sitting down at one of the tables for the time being and let off a groan, placing her head down onto her arms.

However, she lifted her head up upon seeing some computers, thinking for a moment before getting up and walking over to one of the computers before starting to type at it, trying to find out what information was available on the Trinity Facility she had come from, but so far, there was nothing on it.

That's what frustrated her as well as she continued to search online still. But still, she found nothing "No, there has to be something to do with it on the internet, there just has to be...." she muttered to herself as she continued to search still, but the attempts were becoming futile with each passing second.

And that's when she did it, after a few more moments of searching, and out of pure frustration, she grabbed the monitor of the computer and tossed it aside, completely destroying the screen of it as she got up, kicking the chair over as well with a slight growl as well. Perhaps searching for the facility wasn't the best idea at the moment.

Nick22 · **Reply #277 on:** February 14, 2010, 02:27:42 AM

hey! the clerk yelled , coming over and looking at the mess Aimee had made " do you have any idea what it will cost to fix that Computer? look.. just go back to your rtoom! Alright? just.. go!' He pointed up the stairs.

MrDrake · **Reply #278 on:** February 14, 2010, 02:31:41 AM

"Look, you have no idea on what I have been through lately, no idea what so ever" Aimee just snapped back at the clerk, pushing a finger upon his chest as well.

She looked at him for a long hard second before she turned and walked off, she wasn't going to go back to her room just yet, but instead, was going to go for a walk down the road for the time being.

Serris · **Reply #279 on:** February 14, 2010, 02:32:53 AM

The clerk at the front desk debated whether to call the police or not. In the end, he decided not to call the police.

--------------------

"James's room was completely trashed," Zachary said, stepping into the room and closing the door.

"Ah, Zach, I see you made it back in one piece," Neville said. The shotgun was leaning against the wall next to wooden luggage rack he had used as a seat.

Dr. Zanasiu was sleeping on the pull out sofa bed. Dr. Landon was sleeping in one of the 2 beds. And Dr. Bailey was sleeping in the recliner

Zachary yawned. "I did but what the hell happened to our room?"

"Long story. I'll tell you later," Neville replied.

Zachary sat against the dresser and was soon fast asleep.