[b][color=00aeef] [:: Natalie TreVayne ::] [/color][/b] [sub]( Part 1 of 2 )[/sub] [i] The sulfuric stench assaulted her senses ten fold, as the tightly strapped gas mask was torn from her face, exposing lungs to the permeating radioactive chemicals her system hadn’t become accustomed to. Not like those who lived here in the rot and wastes of what was once the Russian capital. They’d developed an almost inhuman way of dealing with the constant threats of poisoning, the fallout from a war long passed, but the scars and massive devastation never went away no matter how hard you scrubbed. It was in that moment that her mind desperately wanted to leave her body, as the cold steel of the high caliber handguns muzzle was pressed firmly against her temple, the awful sweaty stench of the Brotherhood terrorist and his sadistic words in her ear, and the lone man they fought against. Natalie's heart pounded, her head hurt like hell, and the only thing keeping her alive at the moment was the supposed cooperation of a man she'd never met. A man who'd once been one of them. Shots suddenly fired, and the woman was sure she was dead, until the one who held her at gunpoint staggered from a hit, giving her the opportunity to grab his weapon and shoot her captor point blank in the head. She quickly scanned the room and yet saw nothing, her mysterious savior vanished. Natalie had been through this already and she knew it, once for real, and in countless recurring nightmares. But what changed? Where is he? Something told her to turn her attention back to the bloodied man on the floor…. No! [/i] “Gavon!” Emerald eyes shot open, startled from her own voice and the nightmarish sequence that had repeated itself during her sleeping hours as though it were on a relentless loop. The sights, smells, and momentary feeling of helplessness were all there, tangible even. It was over ten years ago when that scenario had been real, her life hanging in the balance, one trigger pull away from never knowing what the future held, never moving on in her career, never falling in love and marrying the man who saved her fragile life. [i]Just a single bullet is all it would have taken…[/i] Natalie -realizing she’d fallen asleep in her quarters- looked over instinctively, hoping that her husband would be there, back home and safe, but the empty bed and unruffled pillow said otherwise. She sat up and pivoted herself on the bed until her feet touched the floor, noticing then she was still in uniform from her long shift hours ago. It wasn’t the first time, nor would it be the last, as sleep -uninterrupted or otherwise- just came when it did, and a few hours was better than none at all. She placed both hands on either side of her forehead, attempting to massage away the tension built up, and the migraine that she felt developing like a sleeping giant waiting to emerge. It was only the icing on the cake as far as she was concerned, as even her muscles ached and neck felt stiff from a day of work-related stress, but moreso her anxiety of Gavon’s mission. She thought it silly that she'd miss him so soon, less than twenty-four hours if she recalled, and yet a nagging feeling in the back of her mind didn't want to let it go. Had something happened? Should she contact the Admiral for more information? A series of questions surfaced, but eventually she snapped herself out of foolish and paranoid thoughts, and resolved to head to the refresher, clean herself up, and relax both physically and mentally. The ambient lighting, followed by flickering-turned-solid illumination of the large vanity mirror over the sink, came to life as she entered the refresher station, wincing at the stark contrast. “Dim lights fifty percent.” She finally said, not wanting to contend with the artificial overhead and wall lights, that slowly and subtly dimmed to a more bearable level as her vision readjusted accordingly. “You look like shit, Nat.” She mused at the sight of herself in the mirror: disheveled short, dark hair, tired eyes, and streaks of black mascara that had run down her cheeks while she slept, caused by tears that welled up and had no other direction to go than down the sides of her smooth visage. Her eyes closed momentarily as she took a deep breath in through her nose and out her mouth, doing her best to clear the shit from her head, as she reopened only to stare back at the same person she’d seen moments ago. The medicine cabinet directly under the mirror slid open at the touch of a button, and Natalie reached for the aspirin bottle, pausing for a moment as her eyes shifted to the smaller bottle of [b]painkillers[/b] prescribed to “G. TreVayne” which were slightly hidden behind a few other personal hygiene products. Gavon had never been one for taking medicine, especially indicated by the nearly full bottle of pills, and he hadn’t needed those since a training injuring six months ago, resulting in massive shoulder pain for a week. Yet, considering his stubborn streak and putting his position and crew first, he’d continued doing his job for that time period, with or without the narcotic. “Fuck it.” Natalie said plainly, needing something stronger than the over-the-counter pain reliever. She opened the bottle and poured out two of the round white tablets, double the prescribed dosage, and popped them in her mouth, chasing them down with a couple of handfuls of water. “Shower temp one-oh-five degrees Fahrenheit”. The stainless steel head opened up, as water gently cascaded into the empty shower stall, giving it time to warm up while she peeled off the layers of her [i]Ark Sec[/i] uniform. Natalie was never particularly fond of uniforms, even though she'd been wearing them most of her life, even through various private Catholic schools as a child. Although, in retrospect, that may have been the cause of her aversion. She turned to the taller mirror and examined her naked body, running a free hand down to her torso where the scar tissue remained, just below her belly button, from a surgery years ago that would remind her of just how broken she was. Four months into her pregnancy, she lost the child that she'd never even had a chance to know. Both she and Gavon had names picked out for either gender, and only on that terrible day did they find out that their little girl developed a cancerous anomaly that caused irreparable damage to the fetus, killing the unborn within days after. Her index finger traced the edge of the eight inch long partially-faded scar, yet she hadn't cried this time, knowing their child was safe from ever having to endure the universe as they currently knew it. [i]Why would anyone want to be born during a time such as this?[/i] Natalie stepped into the warm, steam filled shower and stood there with her head bowed and eyes closed, allowing the water to run down her body and [i]hopefully[/i] wash away the emotions that never seem to disappear no matter how hard she tried to repress them. The heat slowly began relaxing away the day’s tension, her neck and shoulder pains dulling, and soon enough the pain killers would do the rest. Yet thoughts and memories spanning years in the past continued to flood in all at once and she wished in this instance that her brain could be switched off for the rest of the day so she didn’t have to think or feel. [i]Gavon.[/i] She felt his strong hands caressing her bare skin, his warm kiss on the back of her neck that made her spine tingle, and could hear the right words whispered in her ear that brought a smile to her face...but she knew he wasn’t really there. Instead, he’d been a series of memory flashes, those times when she needed his comfort, his voice, his scent, his touch. Those moments when she couldn’t be strong on her own and she needed him there, with her, for her. “Dammit Gav.” Was all she could muster up under her breath, as though she were blaming him for abandoning her. But this wasn’t the case at all, as she was well aware of his responsibilities to the ship and the mission, but it didn’t change the fact that she’d worried about him. But why shouldn’t she as his wife? Wouldn’t it be more alarming [i]not[/i] to worry about someone you love? By this time, as with any mind-altering narcotic, the inevitable wave of euphoria was creeping its way into her system, and the relentless flood of thoughts seemed to become more absurd as impaired judgement became a slow burn. Natalie washed, and let her mind wander, knowing she will most likely not get much sleep in the next few hours, but rather needed a distraction from all the nonsense rolling around in her head. There were a handful of girlfriends she could call, some who were less judgemental than others, but still good company nonetheless. But, company isn’t exactly what she wanted, but rather [i]ambience[/i]. A slight grin formed on the corner of her lips as she thought of the one place where there was plenty of that… The Hub. --------------------------------------------------- Along with a half dozen citizens, most appearing to be ending their work day, Natalie sat and waited at one of the countless transit system’s stopping points within the Ark, deciding she’d take the public routes to her destination rather than the usual, and more efficient, “Security Access” which ran on a different set of lines and were for official use only, cutting down on unnecessary people traffic and delays. Dressed in her dark gray workout sweats, running shoes, and a faded maroon “Texas A&M” hoodie, she did her best to simply blend in for the evening, not even bothering with the fuss of makeup and simply securing her short hair with a few small clips and a black band. It was, for all intents and purposes, an attempt at putting her position and title aside for a break from an otherwise strictly professional life. Most of the patrolling Agents wouldn't recognize her anyway, as they didn't generally work within the same department or sector, but Natalie was fine with that as she wasn't comfortable in the spotlight if it could be helped. A low hum followed by the slight high pitched tone from hydraulic brakes of the standard thoroughfare transport snapped her out of the drug induced reverie she'd fallen into as the painkillers continued to numb just about everything. A wry grin formed as the transport’s double doors opened and she noticed one of the Sec Agents posted near the rear. “Well this should be interesting.” She mumbled under her breath, musing at the thought of essentially being high while riding public transportation, a misdemeanor that could land one in a holding cell for at least twenty-four hours, as well as incur a hefty penalty. So she did what any upstanding citizen, currently under the influence, would have done. Played it cool until something stupid happened, and fortunately, Natalie could hold quite the poker face. The ride had been, for the most part, relaxing and uneventful, slipping down into the cushioned seats, she let her body go limp and her eyes focused on the various static advertisements that flashed on the viewing screens while she waited. There were several stops, residential districts mostly as people loaded and unloaded along the way, until one of the last stops of the circuit -The Hub- came up, and Natalie had completely zoned out by that time, unaware she was the only passenger left and was about to miss her intended destination. The transport continued on, rounding the bend that would bring it up to it’s final stop before looping back to the start of its journey. Natalie’s head turned to gaze out of the side window, watching as the familiar sights of the neon-lit restaurants, pubs, and smaller shops were left behind, and only a moment or two after the fact did she realize her blunder. “Shit!” She exclaimed, standing up from her seat and noticing that she had, in fact, missed the Hub. The Security Agent standing in the far corner turned his attention to the woman in the maroon hoodie, watching curiously as she pulled the “all stop” lever, causing the transport to slow rather abruptly, which resulted in her stumbling face first into the hard plastic arm of the adjacent seat. “Ma’am, are you okay?” The Agent rushed over to help the woman, pulling a small First Aid kit from the leg pocket of his cargo pants when he’d noticed a bit of blood running from her nostril to her lip. “Hold tight miss, let me grab some gauze for that.” “For what?” Natalie slurred, as she instinctively touched her lip and noticed blood on her fingertip. “[i]Ooohhh[/i]...that…” The Sec Agent placed the gauze against her nose, wiping up the blood that escaped, and holding it there for a moment. “Ma’am, tilt your head back until the bleeding has stopped.” “I know, I know.” She managed to sound less intoxicated as she leaned her head back against the nearby seat. “Just...give me a minute.” “While you wait, I’ll call in a medi-droid for you, it should-” “No!” She quickly perked up, her eyes widened at the Agent’s words. “I mean, that won’t be necessary. I’m fine really. Just help me up, please?” “Ma’am, I’d advise that you-” “Agent!” She said in a sharp tone, staring into the young man’s eyes for a moment, and quickly letting her guard down, realizing he was doing his job perfectly and she was simply being a bitch. “Look, I’m sorry, but I’ll be fine, it’s just a little nose bleed. I can get off here…no problem.” Natalie hoisted herself up, with aid from the on-duty guard, and took a moment to orient herself before heading to the exit in a somewhat hazy perspective, turning her head around slightly to focus attention on the other. “Thank you, by the way. And, um...nice work Agent.” She concluded with a coerced smile, as she stepped out onto the main walkway, the doors closing behind her and the transport continuing along it’s path. It took her a few seconds to realize that she was not far from the entrance to [b]Eden[/b], a place she probably needed more than her original idea. She checked for any more bleeding, and when it seemed to have stopped, shoved the gauze into her pocket and headed toward the inviting entryway to the massive “outdoor” green space.