Dog of War

Beckett remained nearly perfectly still in Camila's vines as she carried him through The Vervarium. Only the slight weight of his body and gentle breathing reminded her that he was there at all. She had carried florets that acted in much the same manner, but they usually melted into her vines, utterly relaxed. What made it strange was the tension in Beckett's body. He felt more like a lump of stone than the putty she was used to. 

 

As she hurried through the ship, she overheard a pair of Affini discuss the arrival of the ship, excited at the prospect of fresh faces in the Class-J Cafes and the strange nature of its apparent surrender. Camila was certain she'd be part of the gossip sooner than later once it came out that the Terran in question was in her care, and what exactly had occurred. Not that she had all those details herself yet, but the savage nature of Beckett's actions were sure to get her fellow Affini talking. On the positive side, she wouldn't have to worry about having to look particularly hard for another Affini to take in Beckett. They'd probably be lining themselves up once they caught wind. 

 

Thankfully, her hab wasn't all that far and the pair arrived not long after. The door automatically opened at her approach and she set Beckett down as soon as they crossed the threshold, the door shutting behind them. Beckett stretched, arms above his head, hand in hand, leaning to one side and then the other. He stretched his legs as well, extending them behind him one at a time leaning to the opposite side, grunting slightly as his joints cracked again. "Much better. Thanks for the lift, but let's avoid doing that again unless it's necessary, yes?" He looked around the Hab as the AI kicked the lights on, letting a whistle, "Do you really get all this to yourself? I heard the habs were large but this is borderline palatial." 

 

"It's a fairly standard hab for one Affini, the units for Affini pairs and groups are much larger." If anything it was substandard; she had hardly decorated . There was a couch, a pile of pillows and a TV in the common area, the bare basics for pet sitting- oh dirt, she still had a pet bed in the guest room from when she was watching Cordelia's floret! She would have to replace the bed tomorrow when she could use larger compilers. It was already starting to get late and she wasn't going to leave a feral alone. Hopefully Beckett wouldn't mind for tonight. 

 

"You don't say... What about standard units for Terrans?" Beckett asked. 

 

Camila raised an artificial eyebrow at the Terran, still covered in no small amount of blood. "About the same, in case the sophont in question is having an Affini over." Not that you'll have to worry much about that, she thought to herself.  "For now, we both desperately need a bath, let me show you to the bathroom. Hab, could you get the bath running?"

"Right away Miss." The Hab chirped. 

Beckett's body language tensed up immediately, mumbling to himself, "Ah, yes, my informants did say there were AI units standard in the habs." He took a deep breath before slowly exhaling, relaxing his posture. Or at least releasing the extra tension. Camila doubted the little one had ever truly relaxed his body.

 

"Does the Hab's Artificial Intelligence make you uncomfortable little one?" Even if he wasn't gonna stay with her long, she'd hate to make him needlessly distressed. 

 

"I-" Beckett looked at her with widened eyes. He took another slow breath, seemingly his go to self calming exercise, "That's a long story, and not something to discuss here. We can talk about it later, elsewhere. For now I would appreciate that shower."

It certainly seemed like a sore point but she was willing to drop it, for now. Something better left for his future owner to unpack perhaps. "Yes of course, it's this way." She led the way, opening the door to the bathroom. 

Beckett whistled once again, examining the large tub full of soapy, steamy water, "I've seen pools smaller than this in the homes of billionaires, and not half as fancy, very impressive." 

Was it really that impressive? "It's a fairly standard tub, little one."  The only custom thing was the waterfall in place of a spigot and that was also a fairly standard piece of customization. "It's due time we got you cleaned up though, you can either wash yourself or I can wash you."

 

"I can handle it on my own." Beckett stated, kneeling down and untying his boots. Stepping on the heel of his boot he pulled his foot out, then the other, then pulled the socks off in a similar manner by stepping on excess fabric around the toes. He unbuckled his belt and unbuttoned his pants, letting them drop. He then tossed off his jacket onto the pants and pulled his shirt over his head and... By the Everbloom... She figured from the state of his arms elbow down that there were more scars underneath the clothing but that didn't prepare her for the sheer amount. 

 

It looked as though he had been ripped to pieces and stitched back together by one of those angry doctors common in Terran media. Burns from laser fire, scars from what she could only guess to be from shrapnel and other sharp implements, bullet holes- just about every type of wound she had learned about in her How to Care for Terrans class seemed present. Two wounds in particular caught her attention above the rest however- one between the shoulder blades, notable for being perfectly rectangular. Another one, a starlike mark on the neck that she couldn't quite place. Something between a burn and a blast? It wasn't too dissimilar from a gunshot wound where the muzzle was close enough for the flash to burn, though much larger. She felt a pang deep in her core, a need to make sure that Beckett never suffered anything like... Whatever it was that had happened to him. 

 

"Admiring the patchwork?" Beckett smirked up at her, throwing his hat onto the pile, now fully nude and striking a pose. "A thousand victories etched in my skin. Quite the sight, no?" 

 

"Does it hurt?" Her voice was soft as she spoke her thoughts aloud without meaning to.

 

Beckett paused for a moment, averting his gaze before he answered, his voice matching her soft tone, "Rarely. It's nothing I can't handle." 

 

That made her injectors itch like crazy, Camila fought to keep herself from drugging Beckett into a blissful stupor then and there. Ripping out all the hurt and making sure he never worried about anything or felt pain ever again. She couldn't, she wasn't right for him, she was far from experienced with this level of apparent trauma. He needed an owner with at the very least a few more blooms under their belt, if not a few florets and expertise in Terran psychology. She calmed herself and made a resolution- She was going to find a proper owner for this sophont if it was the last thing she did. 

 

"So are you intending to watch me bathe or what?" Beckett asked, breaking her concentration. 

 

 "Well," she began, "I also need to bathe. I suppose I was thinking we could share the bath."

 

Beckett folded his arms, "As long as you keep your vines and xenodrugs to yourself and let me wash up on my own I have no objections." 

 

"That is fine by me." It's best not to let the little one get attached anyways, she thought as she got into the tub. Beckett may need domestication but he was far from what she wanted out of a floret. Perhaps there was someone from the ship for her still? There were quite a few Terrans aboard, maybe she could find a nice and docile one when the pet cafes got them in?

 

Beckett hopped in himself, mounting over the tub's rim and landing in the water with a splash. He stayed underneath the surface for a few seconds before emerging on the opposite end of her. He puzzled over the selection of bottles for a moment, "which ones of this are which?"

 

Right, all the labels were in Affini. Reaching around him she quickly reorganized the shelf, naming each one as she set them down, "Body Wash. Shampoo. Conditioner." She set a loofah in front of him as well. 

 

He gave a curt "Thanks" as he took the loofah and put a modest amount of the indicated body wash on it. His approach was methodical, starting with the face, then the chest. One arm, then the other. One leg, then swap. Lastly, the private areas. Dunking himself down into the water to wash off the suds after lathering up each time. Finally he put a bit of shampoo on his hands and scrubbed it almost furiously into his scalp before dunking himself below the waters' surface and rinsing it out. Repeating the process with conditioner he exclaimed "Done." as he surfaced. 

 

This was a far cry from the doting, half hour to hour long baths Camila was used to. This was a purely utilitarian washing. It was over in seven minutes. "I'm sure you wanted to clean up, but there wasn't a rush." 

 

"I see no reason to linger either." He retorted, as he got out of the tub and grabbed a towel off the nearby rack. "Are you done yet? Or did you need a minute?" Beckett asked as he began to dry off. Roots and mulch, she had been so transfixed by the little one's fastidious bathing she hadn't even started. 

 

"Just stay there one moment." She broke down her form, becoming a mass of vines and forcing water through the tangle, drawing herself back together on the other end. The sticky blood that had found its way off Beckett and onto her vines was gone. 

 

Beckett was wrapping a towel around his waist, having dried off the rest of his body. His hair remained damp, slicked back with the remaining moisture. "And here I thought I was efficient, quite impressive." He walked over to the pile of his clothes, picking up the hat and jacket and examining the blood stained items. "I hope you have a change of clothes for me," he sighed as he dropped them back onto the pile, "I don't think these are usable any longer." 

 

Right. Clothes. She could fabricate those fairly easily. She drew her pad out, noticing several new messages. The first was from the away team. They had finished transferring all the Terrans in the cargo hold and left, a forensics team had taken their place. The second was from the forensic team, letting her know they would be in touch. There was one from the captain as well, asking for her to contact Xem after she got Beckett in bed for the night. And... About a dozen from Cordelia alone. It seemed she had heard about the events of the day. 

 

Well that would all have to be handled later. For now she needed clothes. She quickly typed in 'Clothes for a Male Terran' and picked the first option that wasn't some form of companion dress and sent it to the compiler. An inoffensive white shirt and blue jeans. "I have some clothes ready for you in the kitchen, are you hungry? I could compile you some dinner as well."

 

Beckett hummed, closing his eyes momentarily, "I could eat, yes." He flourished his arm with a flick of his wrist, motioning towards the door, "Lead the way, Miss Verdun."

 

Camila switched to a search for 'Terran Dinners' as she moved to the kitchen and picked something that looked rather delicious. A rather exotic looking dish called 'Lasagna'. Upon reaching her destination she retrieved the clothing and handed them to Beckett.

 

He took the clothes and eyed them for a moment, "These are acceptable but...no underwear? Am I expected to wear jeans raw?"

 

"Ah, dirt." She knew she was forgetting something. Quickly working on the compiler she made a fresh pair of the same briefs she observed him wearing earlier and handed them over. "Satisfactory?"

 

"Very, Thank you." Beckett dropped the towel and began to dress himself. 

 

Camila used the compiler one more time to make the 'lasagna' she had found earlier. She pulled out a chair for the little one with a vine as other vines went about setting the table and she retrieved the freshly compiled dinner. She started to reach out to help Beckett into the chair but he simply planted a hand on one corner and jumped up, landing firmly in the seat. So she pulled the chair back into the table and set the meal in front of him. "It is called 'lasagna', it's from an old Terran region known as 'Italy'." Camila beamed, watching Beckett intently, Terrans always made the cutest faces when they ate. Surely even the stoic mercenary wasn't immune to a good meal.

 

Beckett eyed it before silently taking a fork and digging into a corner of the rectangular slab, taking a bite. An interested 'Hm.' was the only reaction he gave as chewed and swallowed it. "That is quite good, much better than field rations. Thank you, Miss Verdun." He said as he dug out another forkful.

 

Camila fought off a frown, it wouldn't do to let Beckett know she was disappointed, but she had never met a sophont so... so consistently uncute!  Was there nothing that would get a genuine reaction out of him? 

 

It occurred to her that this might be a good time for some brief questions about the Terran while he was seemingly in a good mood. Or at least a good a mood as he was capable of. "So did you work as a mercenary long?" 

 

Beckett stopped altogether for a moment, before finishing chewing and swallowing the bite he had been working on. He took a drink of water and cleared his throat, "All my life, just about." 

 

No wonder the little one had so many scars. "Why did you become a mercenary?" She followed up. 

 

"... Born into it, I suppose. Payed well, so I stayed." Beckett took another bite. 

 

Had his parents been mercenaries? Or was he pressed into it at a young age? Goodness the thought that Beckett was engaged in... such unpleasantness from a young age made her flowers start to wilt... No wonder he was so distant. "Apologies, I didn't mean to dig up something so unpleasant."

 

Beckett wiped off some of the sauce building up at the corners of his mouth, "It's fine, it was a long time ago. Though if you want to repay me, I have a question for you."

Now that was certainly a surprise, "Of course, what's on your mind little one?"

"Your last name," he began, as he cut into the remaining lasagna and prepared his next bite, "'Verdun', is very interesting. How did you choose it?"

Huh? She had expected... Well she didn't know what question she had expected, but certainly not one about her name. "It was fairly close to the Terran words 'Verdant' and 'Verde' and I liked the sound of it I suppose."

The little one hummed for a moment as he finished swallowing another bite, "So it is a coincidence. That's quite funny."

"Coincidence?" She asked, worried. She had made sure it wasn't a slur but she hadn't looked much further than that. 

Beckett finished the last bite of his meal and took a long draught of water before he responded, "'Verdun' is  the site of one of the Bloodiest battles fought during the first World War a bit over six hundred years ago. At the time however, it was called 'The Great War' or 'The War to End All Wars', though it was obviously far from the last war." He wiped off his mouth and placed the napkin on the plate before continuing, "The Battle at Verdun lasted nearly ten months, the longest of any during that war. More than three hundred thousand souls were lost. I am surprised you didn't know this, though I did find it odd that an Affini would knowingly name themself after such a famous battle. I figured it was perhaps a reference to the chemical warfare that debuted during the war. I've heard Affini prefer chemical weapons, though of a far less lethal variety." Beckett leaned back into the chair, watching her.

Camila had never felt so sickened in her life. All those poor sophonts, and Beckett thought she had willingly named herself after such an event? She could feel all her flowers close and wilt, she regretted asking for clarification. "I- By the Everbloom, no!" Her biorhythm was growing discordant, she needed to pull herself together. It wouldn't do to fall apart in front of her charge. 

"Sorry," Beckett apologized, snapping her out of the spiral, "I didn't mean to disturb you. I should have figured that wasn't the case." Was that a hint of actual remorse in the little one's face? "Or at the very least warned you that the information was disturbing before sharing it. Perhaps a change of subject, ask me anything about myself and I'll do my best to answer." 

Maybe she had Beckett wrong. He clearly kept his emotions at a distance, but it seemed he was at least capable of caring about others, in his own maladaptive way. There were a few questions that came to mind, namely the strange scars she had been intrigued by earlier... but she didn't want to sour the fragile mood again. She suddenly recalled his reaction when they entered the Hab, "What is your history with Artificial Intelligence?"

Beckett tensed up momentarily, "Are you sure that's wise given, well," He nodded towards the ceiling, "The present company?" Was he concerned about the AI listening in?

"I can disable my audio receptors for a few minutes if you'd like, cutie." The AI chimed in, Beckett tensed up again at the sound of the robotic voice. Goodness, the AI really seemed to put him on edge. 

Camila spoke up herself, "I'm not sure what your history with AIs is but I assure you, it only has your safety and comfort in mind."

He held up one hand in a motion Camila recognized as 'stop' as his body relaxed. "No, it's fine." Beckett seemed fixated on the remaining water in his glass, swirling it, "It's just... A rather long story. The short of it is before I was freelance, I worked with a mercenary company specializing in fighting rogue AIs and technologically enhanced soldiers. I've seen the things AIs are capable of when they get loose. I'm sure it couldn't happen with the AIs in your Habs but I'm afraid that knowledge doesn't help much." He downed the remaining fluid as he finished his answer. "Now we have both made each other uncomfortable once, so let's call it even."

That was definitely indicative of a malignant view of social interactions. Camila was handed another mysterious piece to the puzzle that was Beckett that only seemed to raise more questions than it answered. That was the short version. It was the Hab AI that broke the brief silence, "Well I don't know what happened with those other units, but I promise you no Affini made AI is capable of bringing harm to any Sophont." 

Beckett laughed. Actual genuine laughter that warmed her very core, covering his smile with a hand as he practically giggled. It was positively adorable. "Well, why didn't you say so! I feel much better now." The downplaying of his trauma wasn't so cute, but something in her had needed to see the little enjoy, well, anything really. "An AI, with jokes, Mr. Turing would lose his mind over this."

Camila took up the dishes and fed them to the compiler, smiling gently down at Beckett "l told you no harm would come to you here and I meant that. You are safe here ." She inflicted the last part with a moderate amount of hypnotic influence. She wasn't going to let any Sophont in her care feel like it was in danger. It would be shameful as an Affini.  " You can relax ." 

"Hmph. 'Safe' seems like a very difficult thing to prove." Beckett said as he hopped down from the chair, "If 'safe' is the absence of danger, you would first have to prove a negative beyond doubt. A very difficult task, even for the Affini I imagine. That said," He spoke up as he continued, "My name is Joshua Beckett, I go by Beckett. Do you have a name, or is it just AI?"

"Oh, Miss Verdun always called me 'AI' or 'Hab', but Miss Daisy calls me Jess when she stays over." When had Cordelia's floret give her hab's AI a name? 

"Jess it is then." Beckett nodded, "I hope we can get along for my time here."

"Of course cutie! Don't hesitate to ask me for anything, okay?" The AI- no, Jess- replied. 

"Will do."  Beckett stretched and let out an adorable little yawn, "Do you have a bed for me or am I sleeping on the couch? I've had a very long day."

Ah. Right. The bed. "Well you see, there is a bed but, well... It's the one I use for when I pet sit." 

"Well any bed should be fine, I've been sleeping on a slab for two and half years." Beckett grunted as he cracked his neck, producing a loud crunch. "Lead the way, if you would."

Camila did so, worrying all the short walk from the kitchen to the guest room. The door opened to reveal the plush bed with high plush sides. A myriad of blankets pillows filling the dish like bed. 

Beckett looked dumbfounded, remaining silent for several moments before snapping out of it, and covering his mouth again. Was he smirking? "Right. A pet bed. For when you pet sit. Of course." Beckett sighed, placing both hands on his hips. "I suppose I've suffered worse indignities, and none of those were a soft bed. It will do for now." He undid the button and let his pants drop to the floor, stepping out of them and taking off his as he walked towards the bed. Stepping over the rim, pressing the plush material down with his left hand and walking to the center before kneeling down, beginning to arrange the blankets. 

It was quite adorable to see the little one setting about making appropriate nesting for himself. Even seeing the multitude of scars he bore couldn't sour the sight. If anything it just made her want to dote on the poor sophont even more. Camila could resist no longer, she reached down and gave Beckett a light pet, ruffling his hair a little. 

She had never seen a Terran flinch like that. He shot back to the edge of the bed and whipped around wide-eyed. His body tensed and poised to take action. Upon meeting her gaze he relaxed a bit, closing his eyes as he did the breathing exercise she'd observed before. A few moments passed before Beckett pointed up at her, "Please don't touch me without at least a heads-up. I don't like surprises."

Camila chided herself, of course the little one is touch adverse. It'd be stranger if he wasn't, considering. She bowed her head, "My apologies, I'll make sure you are well aware of physical interaction before it happens in the future." 

"Thank you." Beckett sighed. He finished getting the nest of blankets to a spot he found acceptable and lay down, drawing one of them over himself and pulling a nearby pillow under his head. He adjusted his position for a few moments. "This bed is outrageously soft." Beckett adjusted his position to face her, "Do people really sleep in this?"

Camila smiled down at him, "Yes they do. Did you want me to get the lights? I could also give a Class Z to help you sleep if the bed is an issue." 

Beckett readjusted his position to be laying down once again, "I'll pass on the Xenodrugs thank you, but the lights would be nice." 

Camila took out her pad and moved to the door. "Goodnight little one." She bid as she turned off the lights. 

 

-_-_-_-

 

"Goodnight, Miss Verdun," they returned. They heard  the door gently closing. Alone and able to collect their thoughts. Finally.

Well, almost alone. There was that infernal AI, watching their every move. For their "safety". If they decided to stay in the compact they'd certainly have to find a way to remove such a thing from their Hab. Though it was starting to look like they might have to use one of the contingency plans.

It seemed as though Miss Verdun trusted them just about as far as she could- actually she could probably throw them pretty far, couldn't she? Nonetheless, the prospect of actually attaining an independent status were starting to look bleak. It was obvious she saw them as some sort of injured animal. 

Not exactly an unfair assessment of us though, is it? 

...True, they had been through the ringer. More times than they would care to count. But that  only made them stronger! They've always come out on top! Surely the Affini could recognize their strength and that they merely wish to be left alone. They've earned that much at least. 

The only thing we deserve is to be destroyed. And they will destroy us. We both could feel how she was practically sizing us for a collar in the bath.

No. No, they had survived too much bullshit for it to end like that. They've done all sorts of things even they considered impossible beforehand, surely finding out what they need to do to remain independent, or at the very least uncollared, couldn't be half as hard. No matter what. No matter what. They repeated the mantra mentally, until they drifted off to sleep.

 

-_-_-_- 

 

Camila opened her messages. She still had some business to tend to before turning in herself. The Captain should still be up, and was by far the easier of the two conversations. Cordelia was... Excitable. She had sent another four messages since she just checked. 

 

[Cpt_Flynt]: Miss Verdun

[Cpt_Flynt]: Please contact me as soon as it is convenient.

[FrequencyFlower]: I just put the little one to bed, I'm available now. 

 

Camila waited a few moments before a reply came through.

 

[Cpt_Flynt]: Ah, well how did it go with your little Terran? 

 

Camila spent a few moments and sent a brief summary of the events, making sure to emphasize the important ones. His reaction to the AI, her touch, the food, his scars. 

 

[Cpt_Flynt]: I see...

[Cpt_Flynt]: What do you think of Beckett? 

How could she sum up the little one? Beckett was still largely an enigma, and one that was hiding a lot of hurt. She started, erased and restarted her reply several times before hitting send.

[FrequencyFlower]: He's very hurt. I'm not sure if I can provide the care he needs. He seems willing to do pretty much anything except open up. Even when he does, it's so vague as to not be of any real help.

[Cpt_Flynt]: I think you should give Beckett a chance to warm up. If he's being cooperative, he should come around in time. It's only been a day after all. I also think you should have a bit more faith in yourself, you seem to have handled him quite well. 

[Cpt_Flynt]: Also, I would like you to bring him by tomorrow afternoon so I can conduct his interview personally.

[FrequencyFlower]: Of course. I'll see you then.

 

[Cpt_Flynt] has disconnected

It was nice that the Captain believed in her but she still had her doubts. Another messaged *dinged* as it hit her inbox. Xe had also left her with Cordelia. She scrolled past the slew of messages and began to type.

[FrequencyFlower]: Sorry for the delay, I was a bit preoccupied

[ComfyPlamnt]: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[ComfyPlamnt]: GIRL YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE ME REBLOOM

[ComfyPlamnt]: I HEARD YOU GOT YOURSELF A TERRAN!!!!

[ComfyPlamnt]: WE GOTTA HAVE A PET DATE!!!

[FrequencyFlower]: I am merely watching Beckett for the time. I don't plan on keeping him. 

[FrequencyFlower]: I don't think bringing Daisy by would be a good idea, he's well behaved but quite feral.

[FrequencyFlower]: Also, can you please stop typing in all caps.

[ComfyPlamnt]: BOOOOOOOO

[ComfyPlamnt]: Okayyyyy I'll stop being fun for The Big Important Bridge Officer.

[ComfyPlamnt]: Also what do you mean "I don't plan on keeping him."??? You got upset when I had Zeri pet sit Daisy instead of you!

[ComfyPlamnt]: I think you'll probably EXPLODE if you don't get your vines on a cutie of your own soon.

[ComfyPlamnt]: You can't borrow Daisy forever!!

[FrequencyFlower]: Hardly. I just don't think I would be a good fit for his owner. He's also far from what I want out of a floret.

[ComfyPlamnt]: Geeze I didn't think you were this dense

[ComfyPlamnt]: You gotta help them become the pet you know they can be!! You KNOW Daisy took a lot of work

[ComfyPlamnt]: and I know YOU are quite capable

[ComfyPlamnt]: I really really wanna meet ur lil Beckett though

[ComfyPlamnt]: We can come over! It'll be fun!

[ComfyPlamnt]: Besides, meeting florets in a controlled space is super good for ferals!!!

[FrequencyFlower]: That's actually a good point.

[FrequencyFlower]: I was gonna take the little one to his induction interview with Captain Flint after lunch, I'll let you know when we finish and you can both come over. 

[ComfyPlamnt]: YAAAAYYYYYYY

[ComfyPlamnt]: IT'S A DATE!! See you then!!!!

 

[ComfyPlamnt] has disconnected

 

Camila placed the pad down on her desk as she slumped into her chair and let her form degrade. Cordelia was always a vineful.  She was also one of her only friends. She was looking forward to seeing Daisy but she'd probably be too busy with Beckett to play with the delightful cutie. 

 

Camila dragged herself into her Alcove, tomorrow was certainly going to be busy and she needed her rest.