When I came to, I was in a bed. My eyes burned, my hands ached and I felt strangely empty. I had no recollection of how I got here, or how I got out of my clothes.

The room was dark, and I searched instinctively for a light switch but hit just more bed. Had to be double-size, or even bigger. It took me a moment to remember the low light option of my eye augments, but then I could see the bedside lamp.

After I had turned it on, I could see my clothes on one of the chairs. While I dressed again, my stomach told me that it was likely a few hours since I had last eaten. A short look at the clock told me I was out for a bit over three hours. I was not happy about that, as time was at a premium in my, well, our situation. But on the other hand, I simply could not muster the energy to be overly concerned.

When I walked into the mess hall I was greeted by most of the people I freed and sudden silence. That Ernie was missing was not unwelcome. The other two that wanted to leave were also not in this room.

I was a bit at a loss for what to say, so I kept it simple.

“Hello.” That seemed to break the spell, and the blonde, whose name I still did not know was by my side in a few steps.

“Hello yourself. How do you feel?” A good question that. “I don’t know. Empty? Numb? Do I feel anything? And definitely hungry.”

That made her laugh. It was a warm and kind laughter.

“Yeah, that I can understand after the way you barfed all over the place.”

“Oh. Sorry about that. And sorry that I lost my control.” The black-haired man was the next to talk.

“Don’t fret. The asshole had it coming. And, honestly, it made you more human. The way you behaved before… I was not so sure you even had emotions.”

I let that sink for a while before I answered.

“Emotions are a weakness. I never could afford to show any weaknesses. I did my best to keep them down.” I felt the tension in my shoulders and my neck increase and a bit of pain came from my temples. I used both hands to massage them for a moment, before talking again.

“Not that this isn’t an interesting topic, but I think we should introduce ourselves. The only one of you whose name I know is Marc. So let’s begin. I’m Veronica Sinclair. Before you ask, the name is new; my old one is a bit too hot for my liking these days. I am a computer specialist, programmer, electronics designer, and street cyber surgeon.”

The others looked a bit surprised. It was the brunette that answered me this time.

“You know you don’t look old enough to be even one of these, not to mention all of them, right?”

A heavy sigh later I tried to explain.

“You look at it from a Mongrel point of view. As stuck up as it sounds, there is a reason that the Pures control the most stable and technologically advanced nation on the planet, despite everybody hating our guts. Fact is we simply are better at many things. Technology, R&D, and learning are among them. I had my advanced degree in computer science at 15, and my nanoelectronics degree at 17. And that is par for the course for a Pure. That is also the reason why there are two school systems in the commonwealth. Normal humans simply can’t keep up with Pures, and the typical dynamic of the Jocks keeping the Nerds in check won’t work as the Jocks are as smart as the Nerds, and the Nerds are as tough as the Jocks. The only ones being lower on the social totem pole would be the normals. But I still don’t know your names…”

“Oh, yeah, sorry, I am Natalie Reynolds. I am responsible for information gathering and also work as a sniper for our group.” Then she gestured at the blonde, “that is my big sister, Christine. Infiltration and martial arts. Marc’s name you know already. He is basically our fire team. ‘Jack of all trades and so.” Then the Mute “This is Kate McIntosh. She is our close-range specialist. Obviously our best tracker and a very good shot.”

Lastly, Natalie pointed at the black-haired man. “And lastly Darren Masters. He is a Psionic.”

Wow, speak about surprises. Psionics were the rarest of the human races. “A Psionic. That explains how you got Kate through the checkpoints in Seattle. I had actually wondered about that.”

I looked at the remaining woman. The good-looking dark-skinned woman was visibly nervous.

“I… uhm, I am nothing of the sort. I am just an accountant.” I did not answer and just kept looking at her.

“You… you won’t throw me out, right? I mean, you will let me stay, even if I can only help a bit? Please?”

“I don’t remember ever talking about any prerequisites concerning any mercenary work. So no, I won’t throw you out. Provided, of course, that you tell us your name. We can’t keep calling you ‘Hey you’. Well, we could, but it would become cumbersome.”

She looked like a deer in the headlight but then relaxed a bit.

“Yes, yes, of course. I am Jacqueline Mondat. Everybody calls me Jacky. So I can stay here?”

“I am way too trashed to make any jokes at the moment. Fact is an accountant is actually more valuable for me than a merc in the long run. But I will explain that tomorrow. No point trying to hack it through now. I would just make a hash of it.”

I had the synthesizer make a bowl of soup for me and stood up to get it.

“Now I have to eat something. If you have waited for an invitation, I am sorry. The kitchen is completely unlocked.”

I sat back down, and began to eat. Natalie explained “we have already eaten. But thank you.”

After a few silent minutes I remembered one last thing.

“Ernie and the other two have left? I hope they don’t loaf around.”

The others looked at each other before Darren answered.

“The other two are gone. But Ernie is dead.” That stopped my spoon in mid-motion, and I stared at him for a moment.

“Oh. I didn’t think I hit him hard enough to kill him. Unless… The E-Laser. Had he a heart attack from the shock?” Even with him maybe being the first person I killed I could not muster much emotion over his death.

“No, he was mostly fine when you collapsed. Bruised but a black eye was the worst you had done. No, he began to curse you and got one of the assault rifles from the armory. When he bellowed that he would kill you, one of the defense guns dropped from the ceiling and placed three rounds in his chest and one in his head. No warning, no fuss. One moment he is waving a rifle around, and the next he is bleeding out. We have him in the freezer.”

Did I… “Uhm, did I forget to mention that the security system is in overdrive? I thought I had told you about it.” Dang, such a senseless death. Was it my fault? Did I forget such an important point? But even then, was it my fault if he triggered the system by his aggression? My head had begun to throb while I was eating, but now I had the beginnings of a beautiful migraine.

“Yes, you told us. But still, I’ve never seen a security system react in such a way.”

“As I said, the system is in overdrive. Full invasion mode. And before I took out Frankel, I declared myself as the absolute top priority to defend. At the moment anything that it can interpret as threatening to me will be met with deadly force.”

Pain lanced through my head, and I massaged the bridge of my nose. A minute alleviation. But it had to do.

“Sorry, but I can’t take care of it now. I am simply too beat. I assume the room I woke up in is the one you chose for me? If so, I will go back to sleep.” I stood up, and it took a moment before I found my balance. My body was telling me that I had abused it beyond its ability to cope. I vaguely registered the agreeing tones from the others and stumbled out of the mess hall and back to my room.

There I managed to take off my boots and my pants and crashed onto the bed.