The Sound of Silence
06:04, 16 August 2021Hello darkness, my old friendI've come to talk with you againBecause a vision softly creepingLeft its seeds while I was sleepingAnd the vision that was planted in my brainStill remainsWithin the sound of silence- Disturbed
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Long Island, NY; 16 December, 1991
The brisk, nighttime air bit at the areas of Tesla's face that were exposed to the wind as she flew through the darkness of the evening. Her suit kept most of her warmth against her flesh, and the muzzling mask did what it could to spread her warm breath out over that bit of skin, but the area of her forehead and eyes currently stung. Even still, it was nothing compared to a Siberian winter.
Fine, blond hair whipped behind her head like a wraith in the night while the woman kept pace with the light tan Cadillac driving down the gravel road beneath her. They were almost to the rendezvous point where Tesla knew her Solider was waiting for them.
Pushing herself to fly faster, she outpaced the car by a half mile and took hold of the electricity flowing through the light poles. She gave her signal by blowing that one bulb just ahead of where The Winter Soldier was waiting on his motorcycle in the trees alongside the road. It was there she hovered high the dark, watching the car's approach along the road.
As the Cadillac eased along the road next to The Winter Solider, he turned on the power to the bike then triggered the ignition. With skill, he eased out onto the road and followed. Once both the car and the bike had reached her, Tesla began to follow overhead.
There was a sudden forward lurch of the vehicle as she grasped the power source of the car to stall it just as The Winter Soldier's metal arm shot forward and loosed one of his knives into the front-right wheel. Both events together sent the car careening into the trunk of the tree just short of the pole whose bulb had been shattered.
A sudden bang filled the otherwise silent night before all went terribly silent.
There was no fire that erupted beneath the hood, no hiss of a radiator that had immediately flooded its pressure and coolant in the crash, just the sudden and absolute silence of everything around them as even nature itself acknowledged the evil that lurked from the site of that loud sound. The Winter Soldier eased back on the throttle, back tire skidding across gravel as he turned around and then came to a similar halt at the trunk of the vehicle.
Tesla shifted into a hover that slowly brought her down until she stood beside the bike. Her Soldier strode forward and lifted the trunk open with no effort, but his attention was turned aside as the white-haired man in the car tumbled out of the driver's door of the cab. Tesla leaned into the trunk, her fingers prying open the silver briefcase containing the bright blue drip bags they were sent to retrieve.
Help my wife. Please, help.
Tesla locked the briefcase back up and withdrew it from the trunk. She turned away and moved to lay their prize momentarily on the saddle of the bike.
"Sergeant Barnes...?" Howard Stark's voice was weak and carried on it a shock that went beyond that of a man who had just been in an accident. Tessa's heart constricted, her eyes flickering up to watch her Soldier's reaction. He tensed; she tensed.
Howard... Howard!
If The Winter Soldier recognized Stark from his time during World War II, it was only for a second of time. His metal hand was soon bashing the man's face in until he fell into a slump on the ground. Unable to really do much but wait, Tesla watched with her brow creasing deeply, but she never moved to stop anything from happening. Another piece of her died right there on that dark, gravel road.
Her Soldier put a dead Stark back into the driver's seat, his body slumped forward to complete the appearance that the mogul had died in the crash. Without hesitation, the Fist of HYDRA then strode with that distinctive gait around to the window beside Maria Stark. While metal had been the angel of death for Howard, Maria felt the full force of the contrasting soft touch of flesh as it wrapped around her throat and began the torturous, minutes-long strangulation that would release her from the burden of life.The Winter Soldier let his chilly gaze rest on his handler's face while he stood and squeezed the life out of the -- to him -- unknown woman. It stirred something in Tesla that would change things in the coming days. For now, the young woman forced herself to watch everything unfold. He wasn't the monster of this story; Tessa was. She should have helped him escape a long time ago. She should have protected him from the things HYDRA had made him do throughout the years.
Rage toward herself dissipated a moment later when she felt the soft ping of electricity that was wholly different than the lights at the tops of the poles lining the street. The camera was soon zapped by electricity that arced from the line to the piece of equipment. It was small enough that the arc and subsequent surge in the line should have fried whatever piece of equipment was nearby to store what was recorded.
She couldn't have known then that the camera had a micro-transmitter designed by HYDRA.
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Washington, D.C.; 18 December, 1991
The silvery briefcase was slid onto the dining table of Alexander Pierce by the Asset himself. He took a sip of water as ice blue eyes rose to regard The Winter Soldier and Pierce's beautiful Tessa. He had assumed that Tess would present the findings to him, would take that credit as her own since she was the creator of the mission and the handler on scene for what played out. Tessa refused to allow her father the pleasure of disregarding the man before him.
Instead, the Asset clicked open the case and raised the lid before spinning it around so Pierce could look inside. Then he stepped back into line beside his handler and letting his hands fall at his sides. Tessa was gripping the top of the chair back between her body and this side of the table.
Pierce took in a calm, deep breath, but his gaze remained intently on the contents presented to him. It was almost too good to be true, honestly. For one, Howard Stark and his drive to believe S.H.I.E.L.D was already compromised was finally out of Pierce's hair, and five perfect super soldier serums were now firmly in the hands of HYDRA.
With a small smile, he drew his fingers along the overlapping edges of each drip bag until, right in the center, he parted the space between the third and fourth container. Hidden beneath the third was a vile that looked like it housed a half-dose of a similar serum.
"Do you know what this is, Button?" He questioned his daughter, caught the vial between two fingers and raised it up out of the cool casing of the briefcase.
Tessa didn't and shook her head to signify that.
"This... is a serum almost identical to that given to America's first super soldier," he replied, a twinkle in his eyes. "All the power, a quarter of the serum needed and, because electromagetism lives in you naturally, no need for any more Vita Radiation. This..." he raised the vial briefly before nestling it back into place. "This is your reward for putting this together and making it go so smoothly."
Tessa knew who her father was referring to, and she also knew that none of his names could be brought up around her Soldier just to be certain that he didn't have a moment of remembrance that might return memories to his brain. The idea of becoming as strong as Captain America made her give a subtle tilt of her head.
"For me?" her voice was almost deadpan right then. "Why do I need a super soldier serum when I've already mutated?"
"To make you even stronger, Button," he explained as he returned her vial to the briefcase, shut it and allowed its internal micro-cooling unit to kick in to chill the contents once more. "We know what you can do with your abilities, and it's astronomical, but this will heighten your latent physical strength, durability, reflexes and senses and bring you at least to the same level as the Asset in that department. With this, you will become our ultimate Asset, Button."
The way he worded the last part made Tessa uneasy, and that was understating things. If she became their Asset, what would happen to her Soldier? She couldn't even begin to believe that they would just get rid of him after so many years of faithful service to HYDRA's cause.
"Do I have to?" She arched a brow and regarded her father, but she already knew the answer he would return.
"Of course," it was a simple, blunt statement. Pierce stood from the table and pushed the case back across toward Tessa rather than her Soldier. "Take it to Vasily. I will send the order to have you altered. Once you've done so, then you can take control of Operation: Winter Soldier and guide Karpov to make our new, perfected Soldiers. You will have their case files waiting for you on the transport to Siberia."
"No," she simply said. It made Alexander's brow arch upward, but she continued soon after. "I will lead the Operation, but I am taking these others to Vasily and he will handle the new Soldiers. This -- him -- this is my Winter Soldier."
Her hand rose and rested on the metal shoulder of her comrade who was standing at her side. The Winter Soldier didn't know why Tessa had distanced herself from the program, but he felt his stomach lurch oddly when she staked her claim on him.
"If that's what you want," Alexander stated, and Tessa knew for certain that he would punish her if she gave away that opportunity and Vasily succeeded with the new Winter Soldiers. She'd take the punishment any day.
Alexander took no initiative to move around and hug his daughter. Tessa couldn't remember the last time he'd done so. With the smallest bit of spite fueling her actions, she calmly took up the case, assured it was locked then handed off into the care of her Soldier rather than accepting the burden itself from her father.
"It will be done," she said simply, turning and heading toward the front door.
There was a part of her -- that still-innocent, naïve part -- that hoped that he would tell her he loved her before they walked out, but the words never came.
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Siberian Facility, USSR; 19 December, 1991
There hadn't been much time to linger in D.C. once they left the meeting with Pierce. By the time they got back to the transport, it was fueled and ready to go back to Siberia. There was still no privacy between Tessa and her Soldier, though there were several more times when they caught each other's gaze and held it for the span of several seconds while she was looking over the candidates for the new Winter Soldier Program.
Something more was lingering there now, something far deeper than anything they'd shared since he was taken from stasis this time around.
The Winter Soldier was well aware of what Pierce thought of him just by the way he had hardly regarded him the entire time they were in his home. While his attention was brusque toward Tessa, at least he acknowledged her as more of an equal. The Soldier was just an object to him, something to be used as a tool to further HYDRA's agenda. That Tessa went out of her way to bring attention to the Soldier as a human and not just an asset showed some amount of care that certainly wasn't common to the man.
At least, not that he could remember.
Once the transport landed at the Siberian base, the crew got ready to immediately refuel and return to where the transport was kept elsewhere in the area. While that happened, the guards helped Tessa and The Winter Soldier in unloading the cargo that had been taken, sans the motorcycle. That had been left at the tarmac in Long Island to be scrubbed and scrapped.
As the last of the actual work unfolded in the cargo bay of the base, Vasily decided to finally make his presence known. Tessa could already tell a bug had crawled up his ass, and she knew the exact species almost as soon as she saw the sour look on his face.
"I'll be ready for the serum tomorrow," she said before Karpov could even say anything about the orders sent to him. "I want my Winter Soldier there to oversee everything."
Her Soldier paused briefly in his task as ocean blue eyes lifted and pivoted toward his female handler, the new lead on the his project.
Karpov's jaw tensed, but he nodded his head regardless and remained silent for the time being.
"I've read over the files on the candidates for the program," she informed him, her eyes unsettling him as she made eye contact fully. "Pick the five you think would be best for the new serum."
It was clear that Vasily had not been expecting the words that she gave to him right then. He opened his mouth to say something but managed only a small grunt of sound followed by a single, more certain nod of his head. It momentarily brought amusement to The Winter Soldier who was soon getting back to work.
"Yes, Miss Pierce," Vasily offered a verbal response as his sudden shock began to clear. "I'll have the lab readied for tomorrow."
Tessa gave a brief nod then stood in place as Karpov moved to walk away. After about thirty seconds, she felt a familiar warmth against the back of her left arm as her Soldier moved up beside her. His arms were laden with a footlocker that would go to the armory they used for their missions together.
"I think you might have stunned him less had you put him through the chair," her Soldier offered with a small, amused smirk that reminded her so deeply of James that it made her stomach clench.
"I think you might be right," she returned the gesture before giving the smallest laugh, a sound meant only for him. "Now that things will be different, I'm going to have a new room made up for you."
He didn't know why she would do that, but The Winter Soldier nodded his head. He had no complaints about his small, meager quarters. He didn't spend enough time in the room to really care at all. That she cared enough meant something, though.
"I'll make sure it's ready tomorrow," she gave him a nod, a brief smile then turned and moved off to shut up the cargo bay now that the transport was pulling out to relocate. The very cold winter chill wasted no time in reaching her bones even though she was only standing by the bay door for a half minute.
Winter in Siberia... They should sell tickets, she thought wryly, hating this place as deeply as the cold chilled her bones.
Her Soldier turned to watch her for just a moment before he set himself back to task. It would be the last time he saw her for the night, much to his displeasure.
The following morning, Tessa set events into motion that would find most of the workers in the facility being drawn into work they weren't typically given. A handful had been brought in to hunt down a spare bed that was then moved just down the hall from where Tessa slept every night. Another group was asked to fill out the rest of the room where her Winter Soldier could have his own table and chairs to go over his briefings when they were given to him.
While he was held outside of cryostasis, he would be treated like any other human working in the facility. Vasily didn't like it. Pierce didn't like it. Neither of them had much say on the matter. Tessa was leading things now and she had chosen the direction she wanted the Program to go. Unless it was absolutely needed before a mission, they were going to see how the Soldier handled actually working for HYDRA on his own instead of being controlled.
That was the plan, at least. Whether it would work or not would be up in the air for a bit.
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Siberian Facility, USSR; 20 December, 1991
Come afternoon, Tessa was in the lab, her back against the lifted head of the bed she was situated in. One of HYDRA's lead scientists had already been called in before they got back from the states, and he was currently prepping the dose of serum that was soon to go into her body. She idly picked at a thread of the loose pants she wore.
The door of the room opened finally to permit Vasily entrance. He was followed shortly by The Winter Soldier who held a bit of concern in his eyes when he glanced toward Tessa that first time. The expression didn't last; in fact, she watched it dissolve from his eyes the instant Vasily or the doctor could have spotted it.
Like a good soldier, he stood nearby the bed, ready to protect the woman who guided almost every moment of his life now. Karpov was just there to watch. Perhaps it was closure for a man whose career was being overtaken by a girl much younger than him, or perhaps he was curious on whether or not Tessa would be killed during the process. With any luck, she would turn into the bad apple that everyone thought lived in the core of her heart and soul. Of course, only James knew who she really was deep within.
"We're ready, Doctor Lindemann," Tessa offered once everyone was there and the door had snugly shut them away from everyone else in the base.
The sixty-something Lindemann eyed the metal-armed Asset at the foot of the bed, his fuzzy gray brow raising almost imperceptibly. When he spoke, his English was heavily broken by the German that was his first language. "Must he remain exactly there?"
Karpov smirked and raised his gaze as if the question was going to make Tessa falter in the words she gave as a response.
"He must, Doctor," she stated without even a glance toward her Soldier. The look given to the doctor was almost serene on her pale features. "He is here to kill you should something happen to me."
With the fear of The Winter Soldier put into him, Doctor Lindemann nodded his head slowly and moved back to assure the monitors were all set up properly and that the IV catheter was in the vein well and secured. Nervousness painted itself across his features when he went for one of the arm restraints and got a hard, glaring look from the Asset.
"It must be done, Soldat," she responded to his glare with a gentle voice and a nod of her head. "Otherwise, I could harm myself."
Steel blues lifted toward her face and he gave a single nod of acknowledgement, but that didn't take his attention away from everything the doctor was doing, either. Should something happen, Vasily and Lindemann were dead men, and both of them knew it.
Tessa's icy colored eyes watched The Winter Soldier as her wrists and upper arms were secured to the bed. When Lindemann went to secure her ankles, he was stopped short by mismatched hands that moved to gently secure the straps around her ankles. Karpov didn't miss the way the Asset touched his handler. It made his brows hitch upward a small bit, but he wisely remained silent as the grave right then.
A nod was first given to her Soldier followed by one given to the doctor. Tessa tried to ease her body down a bit and let it relax against the bed while she was still able to do so. Karpov shifted in his seat as Lindemann started the flow of saline fully and added in a shot of penicillin to at least keep her system from illness.
She twisted her head a little bit as if attempting to pop her neck or loosen her muscles, but the act didn't remove the tension she felt right then. Eyes remained on Lindemann as he carried the rectangular vial around the table to the IV stand and began to prep the port and vial so that he could draw the bright blue fluid into his syringe. In moments, he had the needle inserted into the port and was injecting the serum into the the line already in her arm.
Once that diluted blue reached her catheter, he shut off the saline and depressed the plunger to shoot all of the serum into the line. She tried to watch passively, but the sight of the darker blue moving down the clear tube almost sent her into a panic. That anxiety of her erratic heart could be heard by the keen ears of her Soldier, but he set his chiseled jaw and clamped his teeth together to keep himself steady.
Then Lindemann opened the line on the saline again.
In a way, it was a blessing once the serum entered her vein at full strength; at least she didn't have to worry about policing her panic to remain in charge of the moment. On the other hand, the pain pushed through a threshold she hadn't been sure she'd had before it was exceeded.
With her veins immediately on fire and pouring that blue lava at breakneck speed throughout her system, Tessa bucked against the table, pressed her head back and screamed in sheer reaction to the process. Had she not been restrained, she probably would have hurt herself, either by yanking the catheter from her vein or thrashing about in agony.
The Winter Soldier stood stoic, but his hands gripped Tess' ankles as if trying to help hold her still. In fact, he needed to comfort himself by taking that gentle hold on her legs. He wasn't breathing, though the way she fought her restraints certainly physically jostled him about enough that it wasn't entirely clear that his respiration had ceased.
Inwardly, he was in his own state of panic, though it was on the opposite end of the scale than what Tessa endured, and he had no way of explaining why it terrified him so to see her in such anguish. Had he not been addressed about the restraints, he would have already killed the doctor and his former handler just to alleviate what his fearsome goddess was going through. Everyone in the room knew when Tessa's Vita Radiation was emitted; it built up that static charge then caused an audible pop of sound. Anything electrical in the room was ruined.
Except for her Soldier's arm. It returned with a calibration and shift of titanium plates that extended from his shoulder to the tips of his fingers. They would later learn it shorted out the trackers implanted in the deltoid of their left arms; HYDRA would waste no time in replacing them.
It seemed like forever to Tessa's addled brain, the pain and the screaming and the thrashing in response. She didn't seem to be able to do much of anything else, and that lack of control was not something she was accustomed to enduring in her every day life. Even after the serum was fully inside of her veins, she continued to hurt to such a degree that any touch on her skin inflamed it almost immediately.Her Soldier wasn't pleased when she begged him on a cracked and trembling voice not to touch her, but he backed away two paces and clasped his hands behind his back. To the others, he looked like he had fallen to parade rest, but behind his back his hands were clinging to one another in a firm grip that would make a regular man's arms shake frantically.
When she finally stopped trembling, Lindemann moved in to release the straps, but she was almost immediate in her words.
"Please don't," she begged, her voice sounding like it was partially caught in her throat. She had shredded her vocal chords. "Just go for now. I will have the Asset release me when I'm ready."
Until then, she just couldn't handle someone touching her at all. The request didn't perplex the doctor; instead, he gave a nod and turned to make his way out. He would retire to his office until fetched.
Vasily really didn't think much of the request, either, though he didn't move from where he sat just yet. He had begun taking notes on what to expect when the superior serum was put into the candidates he'd chosen for the five other Winter Soldiers he would build. They were his last real chance to take his power and title back from Tessa, and he would do everything in his power to remain relevant to the Program.
When he finally did leave, he instructed The Winter Soldier to fetch him when the doctor was brought back in. Then he exited, watching through the reinforced glass slit in the door for only a moment before turning and moving on to his own duties elsewhere.
When Tessa felt like they were safe and alone, she finally let tears push from her eyes to roll down over her cheeks and back into the hair just above each ear. Her Soldier blocked any view from outside as he remained there at the foot of the bed. His eyes were stricken though, pity creasing his brow as he watched her. He had felt from the very beginning that no harm was to ever befall this woman, even through memories he couldn't bring to the surface right then -- memories of her as a child, her as his diligent student, his goddess that parted the fog and burned it away.
He appeared to be breathing normally, but each breath that he took in and exhaled was thick and heavy with concern. A quarter hour passed before Tessa was finally able to address her friend directly again, and the lack of strength in her voice was enough to set a monsoon of concern loose within The Winter Soldier.
"You can unfasten me now," she said softly, her head turning from one side to the other slowly and her eyes still shut against the light overhead.
Wispy, near-platinum hair stuck in darker strands to the sheen of the sweat on her face and neck. Her breath was feathered with pain still, but she felt she could endure his touch, at least.
Her Soldier eased back up to the foot of the bed and moved both hands to the left ankle restraint. His touch was soft and only against the leather holding her in place. He was very careful not to brush against any piece of her that might make the pain flare back up. To an onlooker, there was such reverence -- worship -- in the interaction that his loyalty to her was unquestionable. He would do anything for her.
Once her feet were free, he moved up to her left hand and unfastened it in much the same manner. It was when he reached her right hand that he chanced a delicate brush of his flesh and blood fingers along her wrist. She took in a hiss of breath, but she didn't scold him for the pain. Instead, she waited until he had removed the last restraint then reached up gingerly to offer a loose hold of her fingers around his for the time being.
"I'm okay, my Soldier," she said with a husky rasp to her voice. "Thank you."
He shifted nearer her bed and slowly, steadily eased the position of his arm until he could properly hold her hand inside the bigger grasp of his without hurting her too badly.
Tessa knew they were being watched, likely by her father all the way in Washington, but her Soldier was reacting as he should. It wouldn't be abnormal for him to want to protect her. As for her reaction to him, she was holding back a great deal. She would take the small comfort without further words to spare James from being buried deep within his own brain all over again.
It was a full hour later when she finally felt up to the task of letting him go fetch the doctor and Colonel Karpov. Neither of them uttered a word the entire time they were there. He never tried to touch her more -- or less, for that matter. He stood at her side, his eyes watching her while his insides tore themselves apart over seeing the strongest woman he knew succumb to the procedure.
"I think you can go get the others, Soldier," she murmured softly in Russian. Her body hadn't changed outwardly, but she could feel some differences in herself already. She could hear his heartbeat bounding against his ribs like a runaway deer, and she could smell his heightened consternation.
The Winter Soldier gave a single nod before releasing her hand as gently as he possibly could, resting it with absolute care against the plain of her stomach. When she offered only a pinch of her brow, he felt confident enough to turn around and walk out of the room.
The room was thrust into silence, but Tessa could already pick up sounds that she shouldn't be able to hear from here. She heard the rap of metal fingers against Lindemann's office door at the other end of the corridor as well as his acknowledgement of the Soldier's quiet appearance there. The analog clock hanging above the door leading into the residential corridors sounded like someone was banging on a tanggu drum.
Letting her eyes finally open, she focused on the four inch wide plate of safety glass secured in the door. She drifted her vision over the details of it, her head cocking slightly again. She could make out each diamond-shaped piece of wire laminated between panes of tempered glass beyond just the shape of each piece. She could make out the polished metal itself embedded within, right down to being able to pick out the twisted threads that made it even stronger.
Beyond the glass, she could see the concrete of the wall opposite the door into the room. She could make out each minute pit, each bump indicating an air bubble had formed beneath the planer that had been run over it to flatten the surface. It was damn near overwhelming, to be honest, and her depth perception sent her world spinning with vertigo.
"Fucking hell..." A groan was given as Tessa laid her head back against the bed and closed her eyes again to shut off the spinning of the room around her.
She wasn't sure how long she laid there before she could hear the footsteps of three others, but she knew who it was simply because of the sound of her Soldier's sauntering gait caused by the swing of that heavy arm. A sudden lurch of emotion inside of her brought her to whimper softly, but she wasn't sure what it had been until the door was opened and her eyes found the face of her closest friend for what felt like the very first time.
His neglected appearance did nothing to shield her from how truly perfect she could now see him. From the smattering of scruff across his cheek -- strands of deep red, chocolate brown, sunlit gold and a smidgen of auburn that blended the hairs together -- to the depth of stormy eyes that she seemed to fall deeper into as the seconds passed. Even with him remaining by the door, she could pick up on the unique scent that belonged only to him. He smelled of gun oil, petrichor and a very faint underlying base of fir needles and deep winter snow.
For a moment, Tessa was completely lost to her senses and closed her eyes again, her hand coming up to rest lightly against the side of her head. She was still trembling, but it wasn't as bad as it had been. Right then, she couldn't decide whether the procedure had kept her fingers shaking or if she'd been so overcome by her handsome Soldier that he'd caused it by simply returning to her company.
"Well?" Vasily gave a half-sneer, his eyes scraping down over Tessa from her head to her feet. She didn't look any different, and he was so ready to toss her under a bus that he wanted answers swiftly.
"You tell me, Colonel," she gave a growl in return then sat up faster than Vasily's vision could track.
His next thought was the fact that she had her hand roughly grasping his military cold weather coat to first jerk him close and then push him away several feet in what seemed to be a burst of very little effort from her. His boots tumbled over each other, but he caught himself against the wall before he could fall. Fury erupted through his eyes, his hands moving to grip the bottom hem of the coat to tug it back down.
A second tug was given when his center breast panel didn't smooth out the first time. Finally, he glanced down at the bulge of material and took in the sight of the metal zipper of the coat -- compact and strong -- twisted and bent where she had gripped it. Several blinks later, his fury melted away like an ice cube in a desert.
"Fuck me..." he breathed out in Russian.
"Won't ever happen, Karpov," came her reply as she eased her legs over the edge of the bed.
He didn't even smirk. Instead, he turned and made a swift exit, pushing the Asset out of his way as he scurried off. Tessa watched him go then flicked her eyes back up toward her Soldier's face. She felt Lindemann's trembling as he checked her vitals, but her attention was fully on the face of the man that she would now truly strive to free from this place. For now, she would keep up appearances.
"I must go call my father," she stated plainly to Lindemann. He wasn't going to argue. Instead, he bobbed his head up and down several times and stepped back from the bed so she could get up and leave. Her Soldier followed into the corridor as she made her way to Communications.
"Get some rest, Soldier," she stated before offering him a crooked smile. "Wake me early for training."
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Posted: 5 August, 2021
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