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 Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 7:08 pm
:::Cora sits at her InfoStation. Her eyes are wide, and glazed over. She hasn't slept soundly in a month. Her thoughts race, and the sounds around her are amplified...she's having trouble filtering the extrasensory abilities. The sound of voices makes her look over her shoulder, and fidget. Are they listening to her? Can they hear her thoughts?:::
:::She hasn't been to the brink in 6 months. The longest she's ever gone before this time was three weeks, and even that made her jittery. She couldn't stop thinking about them:::
What..!? :::She turned her head and yelled out to someone who wasn't speaking to her, and wasn't there. The others in the office looked at her, for a split second then immidiately minded their own business:::
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 7:22 pm
:::She sighed heavily and ran her fingers through her hair. It was getting bad. Every day was worse than the last. She'd lost her appetite, and her energy. Nights were spent crying, and days were spent pretending to be good at what she does. She couldn't stop thinking about them. She couldn't stop thinking about the Captain, Maggie, Bard, Tacitus...and Luke. Everyone. She even thought of all the names and faces of people she'd only met once, and wished she could see them again. She wished she could meet more of them.
What's happening to me...? Why haven't I been there in so long... She gasps. Has it forgotten me? Doesn't it want me anymore? What did I do? What did I do wrong?
She twitches. What if I never see them again? What if the Seraphim is there, right now, and they need my help!? I haven't trained the ability enough. I didn't work hard enough. What if I never see Tacitus again?? Her shoulders heave in uncomfort and dispair, as though she were freezing to death
What if I never see Luke again...?! Her hands dart to her face, and she stretches the skin on her forehead with her fingers. She sobs...audibly. Everyone heard it. Everyone knows what's happening...:::
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 7:34 pm
*Lt. Olsen watches Cora from the back of the room. His face is as smooth and and featureless as a sheet of tempered steel. His eyes remain void of expression. His years of discipline do not fail him, but he would be lying if he said Officer Serenis's current transgressions did not tug at his heart. This is a moment he feared would come, and one he does not wish to face. Nevertheless, he must do his duty. For the sake of his unit, for the sake of the citizens of Omegatropolis, and most of all, for Cora's sake.*
*He begins walking toward Cora's InfoStation.*
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 7:49 pm
:::Cora's back shot straight up, and she tore her hands away from her face. She realized what'd she just done. She tried to convince herself that everyone was doing their work and that they didn't hear what had just happened. But she knew better. She felt her stomach turn into a knot. It wouldn't be long before it was over:::
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 8:10 pm
*Lt. Olsen comes to a halt next to Cora. He clamps his hands behind his back, detesting that he must do this to an officer he has respected and admired.*
*his voice is as impassive as his face* Officer Serenis. Please desist all current activity. As your commanding officer, I must request that you accompany me.
*the request is not one, of course, but protocol must be observed*
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 8:17 pm
:::The knot in her stomach tightened. She wasn't exactly thinking that they were going to terminate her, it was more like, "I'll never see them again". But as a final show of respect for the institution, she wiped herself of emotion, and did exactly as Lt. Olsen istructed:::
Yes, Lt Olsen.
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 8:29 pm
*Inwardly grateful that Cora isn't about to offer any resistance, Olsen turns on his heel and leads Cora out the door. They enter the hall, the bright lighting doing nothing to cheer the sterile, functional brushed metal floor. Their echoes of their footsteps follow them down the corridor.*
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 8:35 pm
:::Cora knows the hallway well. She goes down it to report directly to the Chief, the Omegatropolis Commisioner, whom she'd been working under for nearly 5 years now. Prior to this moment, he'd only ever congratulated her on her progress. But now he was going to tell her that she was being released from the force, and that she'd be sent to an institution, and most likely, to her death:::
:::She showed no sign of fear or saddness:::
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 8:48 pm
*Lt. Olsen stops outside the Commisioner's door and knocks*
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 8:55 pm
((Sorry, couldn't get K dressed for this, I'll be playing the Commish))
:::A hardy, cold voice is heard from the other side of the door:::
Come in.
:::Cora advances in Lt Olsen's foot steps into the commisioner's office. The Lutenant walks over to stand beside Commisioner's desk, and Cora stood directly in front of it. She saluted:::
At ease, officer. :::He looks at her, without a drop of pitty::: I imagine you know why you are here. I also imagine that you do not know how we've come to discover the abnormalities you've experienced. :::He didn't wait for a reply from her. Instead he cued Lt. Olsen to report what he'd found.
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 9:19 pm
*Lt. Olsen clears his throat. He clasps his arms behind his back.*
Officer Serenis, for some time I have noted that your on-the-job performance has suffered. At first the deviation of your standard physical and mental performance scores showed a -.4 mean deviation from your projected optimal. This still fell well above base requirements, nevertheless, such a dramatic drop in performance is a cause of concern for the force. This alone merited deeper investigation.
However, it was also noted that you displayed a lack of focus beyond what the standardized exams to account for. Some of your fellow squad members--myself among them--felt that perhaps the strain of your duties were becoming too much for you. Naturally, I reported this to the commisioner, as is my responsibility. I was given instructions to keep you under close surveillance both on and off duty. We have watched you carefully now for nearly a year.
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 9:38 pm
:::Her knees feel weak, and her throat begins to dry. Her hands are beginning to sweat. She fears that they know more than she expected:::
:::The Commisioner cleared his throat::: Indeed officer. The most confusing detail was stumbled across when we noticed that you were restocking your belt of medical treatments, and yet you had never reported using them, nor had we seen you use them on the job. When we studied your daily samples, no trace of the chemicals appeared in the results. We can only conclude that they'd disappeared.Obviously that is an impossiblity.
You are not aware of this officer, but when annomalies such as this occur they are reported to a higher authority. Normally, those involved are quickly retrieved and relieved. But the buero requested that we inspect this further...and give you an option.
:::Cora's heart pounded. They knew that something was not right. They knew that things outside of reason existed...and they killed innocent people over it anyway. And now what...her too?:::
Officer, they are offering you a chance to survive, under their strict command and supervision. They reviewed both my and Lt. Olsen's report on your performance here and have agreed to allow you train with them. Either you comply, or you will be immidiately sent for processing.
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 9:50 pm
Offi- *he checks himself* Citizen Serenis, as an officer of Omegaforce and your former commanding officer, I wish to offer a small piece of advice.
As you have been summarily stripped of your rank and status you are under no obligation to heed or even listen to my advice. Therefore, Citizen, I ask you, shall I proceed?
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 9:53 pm
:::It was beginning to take hold of her. The rooms was slowly teatoring. She'd been stripped of her title, the people in her world...what were they? Everything was ruined..why? Why was this happening to her...?
Her mind focused momentarily, and she mustered the strength to nod at Lt. Olsen:::
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 10:08 pm
Citizen Serenis, you are no doubt aware of the ... difficulties facing an individual of your condition. You were once a very strong and capable officer, and I suspect that you might even be among the lucky few to survive processing. However, I would not wish to see you reenter life in Omegatropolis with such a reputation. I cannot imagine that an individual of your calibre would be satsfied as a common citizen, and as a citizen whose records clearly indicate a history of psychological disorder... *he trails off, not needing to tell her that she would be shunned, and perhaps forced to live among other Processed Citizens with limited contact to normal Citizens.*
I strongly urge you to take this offer. For your own well-being, as well as the well-being of Omegatropolis.
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