110962-rocios-story-the-hero-of-farside

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Previous chapter: https://forums.wildstar-online.com/forums/index.php?/topic/108442-rocios-story-the-battle-of-kerregs-ridge/After a 2 week break, Rocio's Story is back and ready to start a brand new Arc! Rocio must now contend with a new aspect of his Augmentation and reconnect with his lost heritage to move forward and start taking control of his life. What challenges will he face on this journey? Stay tuned to find out!Chapter 17: The Hero of Farside***************Rocio woke up slowly.He heard the steady beep of the monitors attached to him -- familiar sound, given his months staying in the Alchemist Guild’s containment ward. In the distance, a public address system called someone to the sick bay. He opened his eyes a crack, letting the light seep in and his vision focus. Tears formed. He blinked them away. Looking down the length of his body, he saw his leg in bandages, elevated in a sling. He wiggled his toes. No pain. He shifted his arms then turned his head. He was okay -- Groggy, but okay.He sighed and tried to clear his head. How long had he been here? Where was here? He looked up and saw only lights and ceiling tiles. To his right was the door opened into a hall. To his left was just a wall with a few chairs. No clock, no indications of where he was.Rocio pulled himself onto his elbows. It made him dizzy and he closed his eye, swaying with vertigo.“Oh, you’re awake!”Footsteps hurried to him and two hands pushed him back to the bed. A female human nurse said, “Try not to exert yourself.”“I’m fine. Where is this? What day is it?”“You’re in the sick bay and we’re preparing to take you back down to Planetside to recover.” She took his pulse and blood pressure, scribbling them into her datachron.“How long was I asleep?”“You came here unconscious but it’s been 20 hours since your surgery….”Rocio’s gasped in alarm. “Surgery?”“Yes to remove the remaining shrapnel and start repairing all the muscle tears. To be honest, we’re shocked that you were capable of doing that to yourself. Most soldiers would have fainted for the pain.” She smiled. “But we have some amazing young people fighting for us.”Rocio’s hand flew to his face where he was relieved the patch and half mask were still there.She chuckled. “Don’t worry, we were told in no uncertain terms that your mask was to stay on. Those Black Hoods folks took over your ward the minute you arrived. Oh… and speak of the Black Hoods…” She looked over her shoulder and then stood back, speaking to someone he couldn’t see from the bed. “He’s all yours but only a few minutes. I have to finish prepping him for the journey down.”Nikolai came in to view. Rocio swallowed nervously.“I’ll keep this short.” The Mordesh said. “It was your first mission so mistakes were expected. But your mistakes were especially unfortunate given the circumstances and the, frankly, simple instructions you were given, which you blatantly ignored. Had you not tipped off FCON to Sata’s presence in the region, we may have had the chance to take her out before the troops arrived. But as it was, we have the deaths of scores of soldiers and two of our own.”Rocio’s face paled. “No… I… I didn’t mean for…”“You displayed a lack of basic understanding that even Thresh had difficulty explaining away. You have disappointed us all, Recruit.”Rocio knew “I’m sorry.” wouldn’t cut it. “It won’t happen again…” he said.“Your application as a recruit has not been revoked. You did display an uncommon bravery, taking out the Daggerclaw. And in the end the mission was completed.”Rocio nodded. “… but… who died?”“That information is classified.”Rocio’s ears drooped over his head.Nikolai leaned over, pulling one ear upright and growling into it. “For your next mission, we will be sure to keep you on a very short lead.” He walked away. “That is all,” he said to the nurse.She watched him go. “I swear I don’t know why we allow them to push us around so much.” She returned to Rocio’s bedside. “What did he say to you dear? You look like someone shot your dagun.”The mention of a dagun reminded him of Malinea and his eye filled with tears. “It’s my fault…”The nurse bristled. “He told you that? Of all the blasted hogwash…” She squeezed his arm. “You listen, here and you listen good. Nothin’ that happened out there is your fault. Everyone was there, everyone was fightin’ and we won. Don’t NOBODY blame you, you understand?!”“B-but…”“You are a HERO! Everyone is down on Nexus waitin’ for you to show up so they can have a party!”The strange surroundings, the flood of information, and the rapid swings in his emotions left him disoriented. He looked at her stupidly. “A hero…?”She grinned. “Well, yeah! You weren’t awake when they broadcasted the show but… Here let me show you.” She pulled out her Datachron. “Remember that photographer that was with the group? He took some really nice pictures of our Heroes.”She flipped to her image viewer and showed him. Across the top of the window were the words, The Heroes of Farside and a link to download the podcast. There were videos, already watched over a million times and shared more often. There were pictures of all the ones he had met there at Kerreg’s Ridge. Even Barrentree. Rocio took her Datachron in his hands, still struggling to absorb what he was hearing and seeing.“They had a whole 2 hours long show about how you guys fought the Dominion with determination and courage.” The nurse explained. “How you rescued the Ikthian prisoners and the Explorers. After the show ended, the amount of people navigatin’ the news site crashed the servers for about four hours and the pictures were posted on other image sites for downloads and then those servers crashed.” She laughed. “Your photo was one of the most popular… and you can see why.”Rocio realized that he still hadn’t accepted what had happened on the moon as reality. It all seemed like a dream. As he turned to photo after photo, the memories began to come back to him. The photos confirmed his memories as reality, but he still felt numb.Rocio flipped to his picture. He didn’t remember anyone around when it was taken. He was leaning on his rifle, struggling to stand up. It didn’t look like it was really him. His teeth were bared; his eye glittered with a dangerous glare.She stroked his hair. “You’re a hero to all of us, sweetheart. Don’t let nobody tell you different.” She gave him a sharp pat on the back. “At any rate, we gotta get you down there before the welcomin’ crowd gets too impatient! Get as much rest as you can and be mindful of your leg. But good luck with that… you handsome devil you.”Half an hour later, Rocio was wheeled out of the sickbay to board the huge cargo ship that was going to transport the injured back to Nexus. He heard someone call his name. Kam ran up to him. Before Rocio could say or do anything he gave him a hug. “Koss told me everything. Thanks for watching out for my brother.”“I’m sorry about Tahm… and Malinea… I’m so sorry…”Kam shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. It’s all part of war you know? Koss, he… he and Pasha are taking comfort in each other. I’m caring for Marina myself… We’ll be okay… eventually.” He blinked rapidly and let out a little laugh. “Anyway, I’m glad I got to see you. Before you left.”They hugged again. The all-aboard sounded. “Hey Rocio, if we meet again after this, I’ll be sure to trust you. No matter what.” Kam saluted him.Rocio gave his own awkward salute back.The cargo ship was filled and they took off, back toward Nexus. The ship’s internal gravity was maintained, but a video monitor displayed to the passengers what returning to Nexus meant for them. Rocio was warned that he would feel strange on the planet for a few days due to his time on the moon and he was to be extra careful to avoid potentially crippling falls.As soon as they got within range on the planet, his datachron rang. It was Thresh. Rocio picked up.After silence on the line for a few seconds, Thresh said, “…not even a hello?”“…sorry.”“You haven’t put in your report yet. I’ll reserve judgment until then.”“You’re not mad?”“Not yet.”Rocio didn’t respond.“I know I trained you better than what Nikolai’s implying. I also know that there’s not much you could have done to help that situation.”“I’ll put in my report now.”“Good. You remember how.”“Yeah.”“You’re not crying are you?”“No!”“Good. I’ll be looking for your report.”Rocio’s datachron went quiet. He logged into the Black Hoods network and began putting in his report, careful to leave nothing out or add anything either. He made sure it was just the facts, no opinions, no conjecture. Thresh’s phone call made him upset as the words of Nikolai finally began to settle in. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling or why, but he got the hint that Nikolai might not be his best friend right now. Rocio completed his report just as they were beginning to lock down for re-entry. Rocio sent it out and closed his datachron. There was nothing more he could do. From the start, no one believed him and listened to him. He tried to warn FCON about Sata, they ignored them. That battle was their fault. Not his.The loudspeaker came on. “This is your captain speaking. Looks like we’re going to have quite the welcoming committee down there.”The monitors showed a crowd gathering at the landing and launch pads in Thayd. “I guess word got out that we have Heroes on board.”A cheer went up in the shuttle. Rocio suddenly became anxious, ducking his head. His photo had been popular. Thresh hadn’t said anything about the picture that was circling around on the internet. He scrambled to find his datachron but then remembered that the internet was disabled for the drop-down. He swore repeatedly under his breath. Did the picture list his name? Did it show him as a Black Hood?“I’m so screwed.” He whimpered. “What am I going to do now?”The landing was soft and as soon as he could, Rocio found his full face mask and slipped it on. As they were exiting the craft, Rocio was greeted by cheering crowds and balloons and “Welcome back!” signs. Rocio just ducked his head and didn’t look up as he was pushed down the ramp. The information video was right. Nexus did feel strange: The bright sunlight, the thicker air, the heavier gravity, the louder sound. Everything felt more intense. No wonder they insisted on pushing all the patients around in wheelchairs. Even with crutches Rocio would have fallen over immediately, overwhelmed by the jolt to his senses.From within the crowd, the only person who recognized him was Nani. Listening to the radio broadcast, her heart had dropped to her stomach and bounced back in her throat when she had seen his picture in the line-up on the Internet. She was so happy, she couldn’t stop crying. She had given him up for dead months ago, yet here he was, hunched over in a chair, trying to be invisible. She smiled and pushed her way through a barrier. She was dressed in a flight suit and fit right in; no one stopped or questioned her. Waiting for Rocio was an ambulance transport that was to take them to their medical facility, but she hopped inside before anyone could stop her.She looked over at Rocio, his face was covered but he could see his big eye. She hugged him. “Welcome home!”“Nani!” Rocio hugged her back enthusiastically. After so long without real affection or touch, hugs he received were finally waking his old spirit. “What are you doing here?”“Shhh! I’m supposed to be here to see you right?” She winked at him.“Oh! Right!” Rocio mentally kicked himself. “I’m sorry I never called you or wrote. I couldn’t…”“It’s fine! I know how it is. I tried to apply to the Black Hoods before remember?” Nani sat down and strapped herself in and the truck began to move. “I really missed you.” She took his hand, sliding her fingers across his.“What about Storrs and Hiir?” Rocio could feel is face growing warm but instead of stuttering nervously and pulling away, he put his hand over hers and gave it a little squeeze.“They’re fine…” Nani’s pink cheeks turned even pinker at his demure gesture. He’d never shown the slightest outward attraction to her. Maybe it was the excitement of coming home but her heart grew hopeful that he had not forgotten their friendship. “I’ve become a pilot while you were gone.” She proudly displayed her pilots license dangling from a clip on her collar.“Wow, that’s great, Nani! I bet Storrs is really proud of you!”“He is… We have a lot of catching up to do!”“I can’t wait!”The transport stopped and the double doors opened and Rocio was wheeled down a ramp. The medical facility was organized chaos but Rocio was ushered away by Mordesh scientists and lab techs as soon as they entered. Separated, Rocio looked back at her and shrugged sheepishly, but Nani was concerned so she followed to where Lucy Lazarin was waiting for him. They pushed him into a room and Nani was immediately blocked from following by two muscled guards. “Hey! I’m with him!”“You’re not listed as next of kin.” Lucy said coldly, slamming the door in her face.“Hey! It’s fine! Let her in!” Rocio protested, as he was lifted from his chair and onto another gurney. “Ow! Stop it!” A needle was jabbed into his arm. He snarled, his hair rising in a ridge on the back of his neck. “I told you I’m not a slank!” he hissed loudly at Lucy who was looking at the display monitors as the results were coming in. While Rocio was gone, the Alchemist guild had advanced by leaps and bounds in studying Eldan Augmentation. With their most promising sample back with them, they would waste no time updating their results.“The nanites show recent activity. Less than 72 hours ago, “ An assistant declared.“Did you encounter Eldan technology on Farside?” Lucy asked, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. “Did you experience any other type of activity in the nanites?”Rocio felt an abrupt rage building inside him. “I’m not telling you anything! Stop touching me!” He lashed out at a nurse, his claw catchin her sleeve and tearing it. “Let Nani in!”Nani watched him struggle through the door window, horrified. “Rocio,” she whispered.She’d never seen him act like this. He was baring his teeth and claws at the staff! She looked over at the guards. “Please just let me in there. I’ll calm him down… Hey! Let me go!” The guards walked toward her, grabbed her by her arms and began dragging her down the hall. The only thing Rocio saw was her hand trying to grip the edge of the window.“Where are you taking her?” He shrieked, fighting against a dozen restraining hands. “What are you doing?”“You bring this on yourself.” Lucy shoved something against his neck. There was a sharp prick and he was suddenly paralyzed. All the clinic workers relaxed, let him go and went back to work.Rocio could do nothing as they ran the full gamut of testing on him, even as he lay there feeling everything. Lucy managed to avoid his gaze until the very end when she glanced over at saw his dark eye trained on her. “If looks could kill,” she muttered to herself and turned away again with a heavy heart. He had every reason to hate her and she was about to give him another one.Lucy left the room and walked over down the hall to the private room where Nani was being held. Behind her and unseen by her or anyone else, an invisible projection of Rocio followed. It was armed with a sharp blade, which it rested right at her neck. Rocio’s mind was still free despite his paralysis. If Lucy did anything to Nani, he would kill her.Lucy approached the guarded entrance nodding to the sentries who left their post to return to where Rocio was being held. She opened the door and walked up to Nani who was sitting and weeping.Nani dabbed at her eyes, adding one more tissue to the growing mess around her chair. “Where’s Rocio? Is he okay? Please just let me see him. I won’t get in the way. I promise!”“He is resting comfortably and doing well. But I need to ask you some questions. About your relationship with him.”The girl nodded and sniffed. “Okay.” Nani answered as best as she could as embarrassed as she was about the questions.“Since you two are not formally together, then no further questions are needed. You are aware of his condition?”She nodded again.“Are you also aware that he is contagious?”Lucy watched Nani’s expression change to a look of shock. “Wh… what?”Rocio, back in his room, let out a gasp. His eyes wide, staring into the room were Lucy and Nani were speaking by means of the projection.“You then understand why we must take great precaution with him. Even his blood can transmit nanites. Because his nanites are… altered, we cannot predict the outcome of their transmission. So we formally request that you cease all contact with him. Immediately.”Nani’s heart sank and did not rise again. She stared down at her hands. “Can I at least say goodbye?”Lucy considered. “If you write him a letter, I will give it to him. But it will be your last one.”Nani covered her eyes with one arm and began to cry.Lucy left the sobbing teen where she sat, stomping down her feelings to that secret place in her heart where she kept them. She removed the latex gloves about her hands and tossed them in a biohazard bin on her way back to Rocio’s ward to put in one last entry into his chart before she closed out for the day.But there was a commotion going on at the end of the hall! Breaking into a jog, Lucy pushed her way into the room. “What’s going on?” she barked to the nearest assistant. They were hurriedly applying gauze to her patient’s neck where a deep and long claw mark was oozing blood on to the white sheets.“We’re not sure! We heard the alarms from nanite activity and came in to this!”“Nanite activity….” No, the nanites at this point would not harm Rocio. But she nodded and watched as the clinician’s quickly healed the wound with resonators. Rocio was conscious but not moving, despite the fact that the paralysis serum she had injected should have no effect on him at this point. She waved the clinicians away once the wound to his neck was healed. After they all left the room, she pulled up a chair next to him.“Rocio…? Can you hear me?” She pulled out her portable light and shined it in his eyes. His pupils constricted, but he didn’t blink. She stood up and moved to the machines that monitored his overall nanite activity and printed out a reading. The moment Rocio injured himself, the technology reacted to stop him. “That’s what set off the alarms...”It was a new behavior, one previously unobserved by an augmented subject. She began to take more readings.Rocio was dreaming. He knew this, even as he shifted his hands through the soft grass of his Arborian home land. He could smell the dense moss and the honeyflowers around him. He could hear the buzzing of the flies, the songs of the birds. What gave his dreamstate away was that he could see through both of his eyes, in normal vision. He touched his face. He wasn’t wearing a mask.Rocio stood up. His leg was no longer in bandages. A dense fog was rising up from the wetlands making it hard to see. But there was a figure there, standing in the mist. It then disappeared. “Rocio…”He didn’t recognize the voice but he followed it anyway, until the wet ground began to squelch through his toes. The wind picked up and spun the fog into a vortex and at the edge of it stood an Aurin, a matria, judging from the Dreadwood staff she carried. “Mother?”Two wings – spectral wings – spread out from her back. She pointed the staff at him. “Abnegation. Communion. Sincerity.” Her hand made the motion of drawing back a bow and her staff bent, though there was no string and no arrow. “Contentment. Forgiveness.” Her fingers released the invisible bowstring. Birds, his tribal symbol for life, in a flock as dense as an ocean wave swept around him. “Remember these, practice them. And you will forever be happy.”“I can’t…” Rocio raised his arms to block them. Their wings were striking him in the face and pushing him back. He fell over.She smiled at him. “If any of these are lacking, then plant them in your heart. Water them every day. And they will grow.”He sat on the ground, looking miserable. “I can’t… I can’t ever be… happy.”She knelt next to him. She put her arms around him. “You have not been communing. Your connection to the Weave has grown weak. The weeds of despair have begun to strangle your heart. A great injury has been done to you, yet you have done nothing to heal this. You must adhere by the Creed. Or else your life will be short. Obey me. The one who loves you.”A sharp knock woke him up. “Rocio… can you hear me?”His vision cleared. He saw Lucy’s face. Rage flared up again and his hands jerked at his restraints. His lips curled in a silent snarl.Lucy held out her hands. “Please… I just want to talk to you. You heard… didn’t you? What I said to your friend?”Rocio’s breathing accelerated. “What are you going to do to me now? Make me so I can’t have a family? If you do I will kill myself… I will! I will!” He was sobbing now.The truth was that procedure had been considered, given the far reaching implications of actually breeding an augmented creature, but Lucy held her tongue. “No. But you need to learn how to handle yourself around others. The appearance of the girl was unplanned; we should have been ready for that. We were lucky. In reality, you are all we have to study when it comes to relatively mentally stable augmentation. That’s why we must maintain such control over your life.”“What about me? What about what I want? I don’t want this anymore! I don’t want to do this anymore!”“Where are you going to go then?” Her eyes narrowed at him. “Even if you managed to avoid the bounty hunters who would be happy to chase an augmented target, you realize that we are the only place who accepts you as you are. And in the end, we saved you. We’re trying to help you! Or did you forget, that the XAS scientists were all too prepared to end your life, as you just attempted?”“You treat me like a slank. I hate you.”She closed her eyes and rubbed at her temples. There was too much he didn’t understand and in his current state, more information would just overwhelm him. “Perhaps.” She rubbed her chin. “Perhaps having a small respite would be beneficial. Would you like to go to the Arborian Gardens to recover?”The sudden change in topic put him on edge. “Why? What’s there?”“The Queen of the Aurin has sent repeated requests to see you, which we have ignored thus far. Do you want to go?”Rocio looked at her with suspicion. “You’re letting me go?”Lucy stood up and removed the restraints on his arms and legs. “If I wasn’t I wouldn’t have asked you the question.”He nodded his head, his ears doing veritable cartwheels on his head, betraying his mixed emotions. “I want to go… but… No more of this…” He pointed around the room, indicating his desire to be left alone. “I need to go away. Clear my head.”Lucy frowned. “I will need to have some sort of contact with you, Rocio.”“I’ll report then. I’ll tell you what’s going on…”This taste of freedom on Farside had made Rocio a more difficult patient. However, while her father was technically in charge of Rocio, the fact that she was the one who cared for him exclusively would mean his discharge and relocation would likely go by unquestioned. “Report to me daily. If anything goes wrong, I am trusting you to be honest.”“I’m trusting you to relay Nani’s letter.”“I will.”“And I want to write her back.”Lucy gave him a long look. She wanted to say something but instead said, “Very well. However, if you do decide to go along with her or anyone else, you should let them know about your condition and what being infected with nanites will imply for them as they too will be monitored by our staff. If you cannot maintain this level of disclosure, and we find out about it your freedom will be revoked… significantly.”Rocio’s ears flattened. “Then it’s a deal.”
 
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