1.9|Noble venue

 

1.9|Noble venue

 

The past few months had turned into a serious of tumultuous dark nights. Protas would go through her days, finding herself visualizing the void where the great entity had approached her. Her disassociation would come and go, the memories of those she'd seen flashing in her head, overtaking her own in wild fits of identity displacement. Treatment on Raelyn continued with lengthy sessions, often being interrupted by Protas's daydreams.

The swirling memories and hallucinations, the experiences of those lives, they haunted her each time she closed her eyes. She dreaded to wake up and feel like she was a different person. She found herself going to great lengths to stop the dreams and memories from taking hold of her, sometimes resorting to drink, other times to smoking, or sometimes both. The more she resisted, the deeper the depression settled into her. Their latest session came to a close, as the screams and contemplating thoughts of El-Lin swirled in her head, she had to remind herself again that she was Protas. "Proto, you okay girl?" Her girlfriend asked, sitting on the couch.

There was a knock on the door. "May I come in?"

Raelyn could hear the man's soft, yet authoritative voice, but she could not see his face. She went and opened the door, seeing a silver metallic man with a hard haul. "A synthetic bioroid?" She turned her head curious.

"My name is Noble Reeves. It's very nice to meet you both." He bowed, with a gentlemanly demeanor.

"It’s my understanding that a few months ago you were brought back from Llavalite captivity." He said.

Protas pulled her blouse straight and folded her arms. "Yes, that's right. It's on the public records. What's it to you?" She'd never seen a synth like this in all her years of service. Noble nodded his head. He checked briefly in the halls to see if anyone was listening in, then slowly shut the door leaving them alone. "You were left a little present weren't you?" He said.

Their hesitation turned to concern, Raelyn already taking a cautious stance, knife in her jacket. "No need to worry, I'm with R.I.N.G. We represent the means to liberate artificial machines from the yolk of oppression. But more importantly, that Llavalite left you a disc, did he not?"

"Yes, he did," Protas replied, confused.

Noble looked at her. "Do you know what the disc is?"

"An invitation to the R.I.N.G. and their allies," Raelyn answered plainly. "And

become military traitors in the process to the state of Xi."

"Yes, but no. You know and I both know that's not what it is." Noble put both his hands behind is back. "The encrypted hail signal. You couldn't read its location, but you knew there was a signal attached." Protas' eyes flashed with an anger to which she'd never seen before. "Noble, how would I have known that?" She asked. "Please, let's not play games with me."

"Protas, please," Raelyn tried.

"Noble, do you have proof?"

"Proof of what?" The synthetic answered.

Protas's anger turned to panic. She looked at Raelyn, then back to the artificial. "Look at your computer." He said. He pointed to the right corner of the room. Protas went over, pulled the disc from her bra and put it into the slot. Noble came and sat down, rapidly typing away. "I can crack the encryption, one second.. done." He pointed. "There."

The screen turned to camera footage of a space outpost by Mintaka, otherwise known as Delta Orionis. "W-what? That's impossible. There's nothing in that region, it's a deadzone. The Llavalites.."

"Have kept this hidden off Xi's radar for some time, atleast most of them. It was left under the watch of the Courtier, after the Grand Magus of the Elder Dragon commissioned it."

"Grand, Magus?" Raelyn asked. "There's no such position! That's pure nonsense."

Noble ignored them, tapping his metal fingers against the screen and zooming into the security footage. Protas covered her mouth. "N-no.. it cannot be." Inside was a large chamber, full of glowing green tubes with figures floating inside. "It's, just like that one time.." Memories came rushing back, all the people she'd flashed by, Grahim, this strange lab.

"This is a time capsule of sorts of everything that happened before you and I came together. It records your birth, your childhood, your adolescence, your training, everything. I've been looking for you since I became a synthetic. Your disc holds every clue you have about your origins. You've no idea how valuable that is. I just don't know what to make of it all." Noble turned back to the screen. "This is also where Project Rosenite has been conducted. You might be interested in that, Miss Porter."

Raelyn looked at him incredulous. "What do I have to do with this?"

He rubbed his metallic chin. "Why do you think the Llavalites wanted you so bad to send a Carrier into military territory, just to capture and take you back?"

She raised her fist. "Isn't it obvious? I've been busting their heads for a decade now! I popped a soldier good right before my incident. My unit destroyed their whole compound, I must be high on their radar!"

He chuckled. "Cute. But wrong." He changed the surveillance feed on the screen, showing Llavalites working in the far end facility.

"They knew where you were. They know who you are. They know what you can do." He then stared at her for a moment, trying to convey the truth.

"You can thank me, or you can kill me, or do whatever you want. What you decide to do with me is entirely up to you, but what you do in the next five minutes will define your fate. So, I'm going to leave it up to you, you'll either free my people or you'll continue down your destructive path." He told them.

Protas looked at Raelyn.

"You'll be free, no matter what I do, there's no turning back now."

She looked at Noble. "What is it you want from me?"

"Your disc," he answered.

"It contains the location of the Grand Magus's handiwork. What do you want,

Mrs. Prosaic?"

She hesitated, wanting to make sure her next words were ones she truly meant. "Just, the truth. I want to know what's happening to me, why I'm like this. I don't know how Raelyn is involved but if she's in danger, I definitely want her protected."

He grinned, offering his hand out. "Then give me the disc, and come with me."

Protas' anger vanished. She took his hand, putting his metal one on top of hers, giving it a squeeze. "Thank you, Noble." She walked over to her lover and hugged her, pulling her close. "There's something I need to ask you, and I know you'll tell me the truth." She placed a kiss on her cheek.

Raelyn's thoughts turned to a life without Protas, without her best friend. She'd been gone long enough from her own life, the dark nights had kept her from her own happiness.

"Yes, anything." Noble responded.

"Who was the man?" She asked.

Raelyn knew she shouldn't be asking it, she knew why she was curious.

 "What man?" She asked, but her mind already knew.

"The Courtier! The one who watches over this facility we're seeking."

Protas tapped her foot at Noble, awaiting answers.

"He was a man. A man like any other. He was a man who did many things,

and many things he had yet to do. He's a person like you and I."

Raelyn's hand moved towards her belt, unbuckling the buckle. She quickly withdrew a short blade, looking for Noble's neck. "You have no idea how long I've waited for this moment, R.I.N.G. It's your move." She held the blade to the weaker, thinner areas in his armor plating.

Protas stopped her. "Is he responsible for what's happening to me? I saw him.. before. When I was flashed away, when I saw the other girl's lives, he was there. He's always been there behind the scenes, so what is he?" The knife started to dig into the outer layer of his shell.

Noble took a step forward. "Please, don't, Mrs. Porter. I'm not going to do anything but show you what you've been looking for, for a long time now." He reached behind his back and removed a short metal gun with a needle on the end, pointing it at her face. Raelyn stopped her attack, putting a hand up. She sighed, releasing her weapon. "Alright, fine."

With a heavy breath, she sat back in her chair.

"Take us to that place, or whatever."

Raelyn placed her hands on her hips.

"Won't, we be breaking military protocol? Is that place secure?"

Noble shook his head. "As far as the military is concerned, that outpost does not even exist. From the outside, it appears like a dead zone. There's nothing to be worried about. You won't even have a problem finding it." He pushed a button on his chest. "But before we leave, I'll need to make sure we have your cooperation."

Protas threw her arms up. "Well, you have it!" She spun in her chair as if snubbing him. "We'll go with you. I still don't really trust a synthetic working for R.I.N.G, but if you have no qualms with that, we're going with you."

Noble nodded, moving closer to her. "Thank you. I'm glad to see that you can forgive me after everything I've put you through."

She smiled, a little confused by that statement. "We just met! I still hate you."

He chuckled. "It's true, but I think we can put that to rest." Raelyn and Protas stood and followed him out the door. The synthetic watched them leave, and then snuck out himself.