Chapter Text
Storch or Starch
Disclaimer: I do not own Signalis
Chapter 9
POV: Roland
I woke up in a daze. My memory’s fuzzy, and I felt like the world was spinning like I had been rolled down a steep hill. I didn’t risk opening my eyes right now. I’m certain if I did, I would throw up. I wasn’t sure why, but something I couldn’t quite remember gave me a feeling that it would be a bad idea.
I took several slow, deep breaths as the nausea faded away. I heard muffled foot traffic outside of the room, but the room was silent otherwise.
I cracked my eyes open a little and immediately closed them with a wince. The bright fluorescent lights still lit up the room. I was confident the Nurses turned the lights off before I went to sleep after the Protektors… interviewed me. It wasn’t anything like the interrogations I had been in before.
“Oh, right.” I heard an alarmingly familiar voice mutter in the direction of the door to my hospital room. A moment later, the lights in the room shut off. I could have sworn the voice was Kilo’s. While most Storches sound the same, Kilo has a deeper tone than most.
I waited a few seconds before opening my eyes again. The room is nearly pitch black with light only coming from the slight gap underneath the door, and the three pairs of blue eyes around the room. All three of the Replikas are standing, and their height had me immediately assuming they are all Protektors. Two Stars and one Storch if I had to guess.
“Kilo? Is that you, or am I hearing things?” I squinted to try to see more of the room in the dark. Replika’s with their light amplification can probably see just fine. I have to look ridiculous from their perspective right now.
“It’s me, Roland. Hearing my voice without me being here would be a major problem.” Kilo snarked, and I assumed she was grinning.
“Agreed.” I glanced around at the Stars before refocusing on Kilo. “I thought I was already questioned?”
Kilo’s eyes bobbed up and down in what I assumed was a nod. “You were. We’re not here for that.”
I narrowed my eyes at that as memories started to clear in my head. Kilo visited me and… then what? Did something happen while she was here? I doubt anything I said would have set Kilo off. She’s surprisingly level-headed. However, she is still a Storch.
I took a deep breath. Nothing felt worse than it did before I somehow passed out. Fell asleep? Aside from the headache, but that was expected.
“What’s going on, Kilo?” I asked quietly. Despite being… more than amenable to her presence, Kilo wouldn’t be posted in the hospital, in my room specifically, without good reason.
Kilo closed her eyes and took a deep breath before responding, “A Cadre of Stars performed a preliminary search of your quarters yesterday.”
A jolt of irritation rose in me, but I forced it back down. Getting irritated wouldn’t help me right now. Even then, searching my quarters wasn’t the worst outcome. Unless they found something incriminating, I didn’t think any of the books I brought here would be banned or criminalized.
“What did they find? It can’t have been something small if you have been assigned to keep an eye on me.” I lay my head back down on the hospital bed's pillow, but kept my eyes on Kilo. Even lying down, I could still see Kilo’s eyes.
Kilo hesitated before answering in a completely deadpan voice. “They found an explosive rigged to a pressure plate under your bed.”
Kilo’s words hung in the air as I processed them. If they weren’t from Kilo, I would have asked if it was a joke, but Kilo doesn’t do jokes.
“Who- who the fuck did I piss off? What did I do to piss someone off?” I felt panic surge through me. Nowhere was safe! I started breathing faster. My hands got clammy as they started to shake. Adrenaline made my headache feel better, but I knew panic would only make the headache worse in the long run.
“I don’t know. For either one.” Kilo growled out. Her eyes drifted to the side before snapping back to me. I barely noticed.
My Quarters were larger than most, not only because of my position, but also my record in the Eusan Nation Revolutionary Army. The set of rooms had turned into my fortress. Having a Protektor’s Search was annoying, but having an explosive planted there? Terrifying. To say the least.
Someone was able to get into my room, plant the explosive, and get out without being noticed.
“Roland.” I heard Kilo speak, but didn’t react.
I already knew and accepted that Protektors could get into my quarters without issue, but what motive would a Protektor have to assassinate me? Especially when they could just cover it up with a long list of possible reasons from insubordination to being too weak to handle a ‘love tap’.
“Roland!”
Was the explosive placed the same day as the first assassination attempt? Or were they placed while I’ve been in the Hospital? Had my office been compromised as well?
“ROLAND!”
I lurched forward into a sitting position, nearly slamming my head into Kilo’s. When had she gotten so close? I opened my mouth to apologize, but only a gasp made its way from my mouth. My dry throat was almost turning the gasp into a rasp. I snapped my jaw shut as a wave of nausea washed over me.
“Are you back with me?” Kilo stared directly at me from her new position next to me. The concern was evident in her bright blue eyes. A rare thing, but a welcome one.
I nodded. Not trusting myself to get a word out. I focused on taking deep breaths as I attempted to bring myself down from a panic attack. I haven’t had one of those this bad in years. Unless I had one earlier, too?
“Do you need one of the Doctors?” Kilo’s voice had an uncertain edge to it.
I shook my head slowly. “Just- just give me a minute.”
Kilo stared at me for a long moment before turning her head to the side slightly. Her eyes never looked away from me. “Mercy. Do you copy?”
“Kilo, I-” I recoiled as a coughing fit I had been holding back forced its way out.
“This is Kilo. Roland’s awake.” Kilo moved back a bit as I coughed. “Yes, that’s him coughing… No, I didn’t do anything to him… I just told him what happened, and he didn’t react well.”
Kilo scoffed at who I presumed was Mercy. “And what? Lie to him? That would end well… Very well, we’ll be here.”
I took a few deep breaths when my coughing stopped. I tried to sit up, but a large hand kept me lying down. Kilo’s hand? The Stars were a bit too far away to do that, and I couldn’t see anyone else in the room.
“Stay put until Mercy gets here. I don’t want you hurting yourself.” Kilo turned her head back toward me—definitely Kilo’s hand.
A few moments of silence passed. I noticed the Star’s eyes flickering between each other, Kilo, and me a few times. The rumor mill was going to have a damn field day with this.
“So you’re on guard duty for me?” I asked to break the silence. It was starting to cause my ears to ring.
“For all intents and purposes, both my Cadre and I, yes. Don’t let it go to your head.” Kilo continued to stare down at me. It was starting to make me a little uncomfortable being the center of her attention for so long.
Usually, being the center of a Storch’s attention did not end well for whoever was on the receiving end, but Kilo’s recent behavior had me wondering if there was an exception to that rule. I doubted it, but it seemed like I would be finding out whether I liked it or not.
“Wait, your whole Cadre? To guard me?” I raised my head and stared back at Kilo in disbelief as her words finally made it through my mind.
“Indeed. Don’t act so surprised, Lead Safety Engineer. It’s almost like you're important to… the base or something.” Kilo hesitated as she spoke, and I felt a sliver of unease creep up my spine.
I already knew Kilo didn’t act like most Storches, but this was stretching my understanding. The Stars glancing at each other again told me I wasn’t the only one baffled.
“Right.” I rested my head back down on the pillow and tried not to think too hard about whatever was going on with Kilo. It was solidly Future Roland’s problem.
A knock on the door, thankfully, gave me something else to focus on.
Kilo stood and turned toward the door. “Lightning.”
“Thunder.” A Eule’s voice came from the other side of the door.
The door opened, and I craned my neck to see who it was. Mercy walked into the room. One of the Stars, with a rifle in her hand, closed the door with her free hand behind Mercy. Plunging the room back into darkness.
I was reasonably confident rifles weren’t part of Star's standard kit, and I was also confident I hadn’t seen things either.
“Kilo, why are the lights off?” Mercy asked in a complete deadpan.
“I figured he would sleep better with them off,” Kilo replied as if forgetting they had been on when I woke up.
“If he was still asleep, sure. Gestalts can’t see in the dark well.” Mercy replied, and I couldn’t see either of their eyes. Kilo was probably standing in front of Mercy.
“We can see just fine.” Kilo shot back.
“Correct, but I need him to be able to see.” Mercy continued with her voice in the same deadpan.
“Fine,” Kilo grumbled, and I closed my eyes before the lights flicked on a moment later. I waited a few moments before opening them.
Mercy held a clipboard between my eyes and the overhead lights, which I was immensely grateful for. Kilo, standing behind Mercy like a looming specter of death, was somewhat of a cause for concern.
“Good to have you back with us, Mr. Blumenthal. How are you feeling?” Mercy asked with a pleasant smile as she set the Clipboard down on the room's counter. Kilo’s eyes dropped down toward Mercy with an ‘are you serious?’ expression.
I stifled a laugh. “I could definitely be doing better. I could go without the headache and general soreness.” I tried to make light of the situation, but got an unimpressed stare from Kilo.
“Understandable. It is good to see your humor hasn’t left you.” Mercy sent a small, strained smile my way.
Mercy began conducting a series of tests and checks on me over the next twenty minutes. The whole thing wasn’t unusual, but Kilo watching it carefully was weird. She watched Mercy not like a guard, but like a student. Occasionally, she tried to copy the hand movements Mercy made.
Every so often, she would snap out of it and glare at the movements Mercy made. Usually, when Mercy made any physical contact with me, it quickly reverted to a more inquisitive expression. This raised several questions I didn’t feel like asking or getting answers to.
Throughout the whole… event, the Star with the rifle glanced at me with something like sympathy, and the other Star stared incredulously at Kilo and me repeatedly. It was a bit difficult to tell with their masks covering the lower half of their face.
“You're doing well, all things considered.” Mercy took a step back, forcing Kilo, who had been right behind Mercy by this point, to do the same. “There isn’t much more we can do for you at this point aside from giving you something for the headache and general soreness, and giving you time to rest.”
Mercy looked behind her at the last bit, causing Kilo to roll her eyes.
“I can give you something for the anxiety, but I would suggest against giving you anything else until your body has had more of a chance to heal.” Mercy retrieved her pen and clipboard and started writing on it. If I had to guess, it was probably my chart she was filling out. Usually, nurses would fill it out as they went, but I guess being a Replika gave her an advantage here.
“I wouldn’t complain about that later. I do think I need to get some sleep.” I nodded to Mercy.
“Excellent! I’ll ge-” A knock at the door cut Mercy off.
Everyone turned to look at the door.
“Did you call someone?” Kilo asked quietly.
“No, did you?” Mercy shook her head.
“No.” Kilo seemed to glance at the two Stars, who both shook their heads.
Mercy looked back at me, the question clearly implied.
“Nope,” I whispered. “I don’t even think I have anything electronic on me.”
“You don’t.” Kilo didn’t even look away from the door. Kilo pointed at the Star with the rifle, then toward the door.
“Who is it?” The Star adjusted her grip on the rifle to bring it up easily toward the door.
“Nurse Jane, Ma’am. Mercy sent me to perform a check-up on Mr. Blumenthal.” A female voice from the other side of the door spoke with calm certainty.
Kilo turned to look at Mercy, who shook her head.
A sadistic grin split Kilo’s face in two as she turned back toward the door. It seemed like someone was about to become Kilo’s new punching bag. I honestly couldn’t bring myself to pity them.