Dog of War

They awoke from a dreamless sleep to the sound of their alarm. Wait... This wasn't The Valiant... This bed was far too soft and warm.

"Good morning, cutie." Miss Verdun greeted them with a sweetness in her voice. Right, they had already betrayed the ship, and were in the compact now. Had Miss Verdun replicated their alarm after yesterday?

They stood up, "Good morning, Miss Verdun."

"I have already compiled breakfast," Miss Verdun smiled down at them, "It's ready for you once you are dressed. I also picked out some clothes from the ones you liked yesterday, they're at your bedside. Your hat and boots are where you left them. I'll be waiting for you in the kitchen." Then she left. 

 

It seemed she had gotten over the event last night- that was good. It was a bit concerning that she had picked out their clothes, but examining them they couldn't find any issues. Khaki cargo pants, white tee, light green jacket- they would have likely picked it out themselves, or something similar. 

We're losing ground every day.

They couldn't defend every inch though, they needed to prioritize. The important stuff, the key pieces, that's what they needed to focus on. That's what had to be fortified and fought for. They sighed and got dressed, heading out into the kitchen.

"Would you like help up, Beckett?" Miss Verdun asked.

Another piece of ground they couldn't afford to defend, "Yes, if you would please." They did their best to not tense up at the contact. Thankfully it was brief and they were set in the chair shortly. It seemed breakfast today was some sort of... oblong tan something.

"It's a breakfast burrito. My apologies, but I didn't make it myself. Once we've fixed your sense of taste however, I'll gladly start cooking for you again." She smiled warmly.

They eyed the 'burrito' cautiously. It did smell rather good... "Can you really do that? Fix my sense of taste, that is." Such a thing could become detrimental if they had to escape and go back to synthcubes, but it was impossible to deny the allure.

Miss Verdun seemed to think for a moment, "I imagine so, or at least I don't see why we wouldn't be able to. Our biotech is extremely advanced, as you likely know. You should see what our Class Gs are capable of."

They took a bite of their breakfast. It's true that the reports had indicated some rather impossible sounding feats. Class G... Which was that again? As were things that inebriated, Cs were things that made you feel affection for anything, Ds were truth serum, Js were much like As but much more severe, Es were anti-anxiety, Hs were the hypnotics, Zs were sleep aid... "I'm afraid I don't recall what that particular class does.

"They're Xenodrugs that help cute little sophonts get bodies they feel comfortable in!" Miss Verdun waited until they swallowed before continuing, "Actually, that reminds me, we need to talk about your gender identity issues, little one."

Their what?! It was a good thing she had waited until they had swallowed, they likely would have choked otherwise, "I do not have issues with my gender, being male is fine." They took another bite.

 

"Well that's sort of the issue dear. It's not exactly normal to feel indifferent about your gender." Miss Verdun explained.

What was she even getting at? "Don't most people? I can't imagine most people feel happy about being whatever."

Miss Verdun looked worried now, "I- goodness little one, I'm not even sure how to answer that. Yes, people enjoy being the gender they identify as, that's why they identify that way."

What a preposterous notion. "So just because I'm not excited to be a man, I'm not a man? That's ridiculous."

"Well, that's, oh dear..." Miss Verdun seemed to fret for a few moments before speaking again, "So, uhm, moving past that for now, is there something you would enjoy being? Do you see yourself in any particular way?"

Well they definitely weren't going to say how they saw themselves. That was ground they couldn't afford to cede. "Not really. People see me as a man and that's worked out for me so far. I don't really care about it."

Miss Verdun hummed, "Well, what if people saw you some other way?"

They thought about it as they chewed on the burrito. It was hard to think that anyone would see them as anything else. "I'm unsure, I suppose that would feel the same."

Miss Verdun tapped a finger to her chin, "Well I could try using a few different pronouns until we find one that you enjoy, if you like." She offered.

"This is hardly a conversation for this early in the morning." They needed to shut down this line of conversation quickly, it had gone on long enough as is.

Miss Verdun sighed. "I suppose we can discuss this after your appointment."

Right, that was almost certainly going to dredge up all sorts of other things they'd rather keep buried. They finished off their burrito, wondering how much the Vet would be able to uncover. 

 

"Would you like some help down, Beckett?" Miss Verdun 'asked.'

 

They merely nodded, still chewing the final bite. She gently cradled them as she set them down. It was rather infuriating that it was in fact much nicer than jumping down themselves. They swallowed. "So, we're heading out now?"

"Yes, go get your boots on while I tell Mr. Aurelius that we're on our way. I'll be out shortly." She smiled.

They marched into the living room, first putting on their hat, followed by their boots. They still had an appreciable shine from the other day. They pulled the laces tight, before working their foot inside to loosen it just a tad. Wrapping the laces around the top of the boot twice before using a square knot to tie them. They stood up, testing their footing and found it satisfactory, smiling at their expertise.

"Aww," Miss Verdun coo'd, incensing them. There was nothing cute about their boots, they were professional! "Well, if you're ready, Mr Aurelius is waiting."

Beckett followed her out the open door. The ship was as massive and impressive as yesterday. The sun hung low in the artificial sky, stimulating dawn. Many Affini were out, only a few with their pets. Best to stick close to Miss Verdun, so the other Affini didn't think they were lost.

They entered a tram and accepted Miss Verdun's help onto the seat. There were several Affini on board today, all of which were focused on them. One of them approached Miss Verdun and had a brief conversation. They had studied the language for about an hour after they had gone to bed, before a pop-up saying 'cuties need their rest!' interrupted and shut the pad down.

The other Affini was asking something about petting and a floret. Miss Verdun said something about domestication? Was that the future tense or negative form? It was hard to tell, hopefully they could get more time to familiarize themselves with the Affini language soon. The other Affini smiled at them, and thankfully returned to the place they had been sitting previously.

It was a few more stops before Miss Verdun helped them down and they exited the tram. They could see the Hab units in the distance, easily a few kilometers away. Affini transit really was something else. They followed her closely, hoping the other Affini walking by would leave them alone.

 

Miss Verdun stopped suddenly, stopping them from bumping into her with a few vines. "We're here," she cheered, opening yet another large door.

They entered the building to find what was largely a standard waiting room. It was, as everything else in the compact seemed to be, far larger than its Terran counterpart. It had few seats; the area largely consisted of piles and pits full of cushions, much like Miss Verdun's pet bed.

Miss Verdun approached the desk, where a spaced out Terran sat. They couldn't place its gender;  perhaps neither? It also wore one of those offensive collars, a far different design than Daisy's had been. It was several shades of steely gray, striped, with what looked like engraving. They couldn't read it from where they stood, but it doubtless read similar to Daisy's nametag. 

Miss Verdun gave it a pet to get it's attention, "Hi sweetie, could you let your owner know Beckett is here?" 

 

"Oh, umm, yah... Lemme jus'..." It's voice didn't help place it either as it typed on the pad. "Ogey," it smiled, "Master said he'll be out in a minute." It leaned over the desk and looked directly at them, waving, "Hiii, um, I'm Alex Aurelius, 4th floret, They/Them."

 

Well that settled that matter at least. "Beckett, He/Him." They stated. 

 

"Umm," Alex scratched their face absentmindedly, "just Beckett?" 

"That's what people call me, never been much for first names." They shrugged. All this questioning about why they preferred to use last names was starting to get a bit tiresome.

"Ohhh, okay." Alex smiled, "You're one of those . Well you'll figure it out eventually I'm sure. The Affini are great at helping with that sort of thing."

They were about to demand what exactly Alex was getting at when the door to their right opened to reveal what to be the Vet. He stood maybe a head above Miss Verdun, and had a large makeshift beard composed of flowers and a mat of moss. There were four arms, comprised intertwined vines in the vague shape of arms.

 

 

Was Miss Verdun on the short side for an Affini? Most every one they'd met was slightly-to-significantly taller. 

Mr Aurelius spoke, a deep rumbling sound coming from within, "Ah, you must be little Beckett. You know I've been quite busy treating all those sophonts you dragged here."

 

Ah, maybe he was upset with them? "My apologies."

Mr Aurelius laughed, "Goodness, no, I do adore treating ferals. So many problems to fix. I've been looking forward to meeting you actually, especially after Miss Verdun sent me the medical information from your monitor." 

 

Oh, this is going to go extremely badly.  

"Ah, where are my manners?" He reached down a vine, "Xander Aurelius, 11th bloom, He/Him." 

They took it and gave it a shake, returning the introduction, "Beckett, He/Him. Pleasure to meet you, Mr Aurelius."

Mr Aurelius smiled, "Well little Beckett, let's see what we can do for you."

He led them into a room, not too dissimilar from the medic bay on the Valiant , but far cozier. Plants they'd never seen abounded, the examination table was extremely cushioned, and none of the medical devices were recognizable. They fought back the rising anxiety. Maybe he would be so preoccupied with their old wounds he wouldn't notice?

 

"Alright, would you like Miss Verdun or myself to help you onto the examination table?" Mr Aurelius asked. 

 

Well a choice between an Affini they were familiar with and one they weren't was easy enough, "Miss Verdun, if you wouldn't mind?" they turned to face her.

Miss Verdun seemed rather happy, "Of course! It's no trouble at all, little one," she beamed, gently picking him up and placing him on the large cushion. 

"Alright," Mr Aurelius spoke, reading off his pad, "you have an atrophied biorhythm, chronic pain, a complete lack of taste and several other anomalies to take a look at." Of course Miss Verdun told him that, it seemed every Affini talked to one another. He pulled out some sort of device that made a click as he pointed it at them.

 

"Scan's done, let's see..." Mr Aurelius murmured several things in Affini they couldn't quite make out. "You have quite a lot more scarring than I suspected, and there's still a fair bit of shrapnel in several areas... Little one, who did your extractions and stitches?"

"I did." They were fairly simple procedures, and It's not like they could trust a doctor anyways.

There was a stunned silence in the room for several moments before Mr Aurelius spoke again, "I'm sorry, but did you just say you performed surgery on yourself?"

 

"I  was a mercenary, and I typically operated alone. If I didn't patch myself up, I would have bled out." There were times that wasn't the case, but he hardly needed to know that. 

 

"In all my blooms..." Mr Aurelius mumbled, "Little one, some of these scars would indicate you did more damage to the tissue than the shrapnel did. You are extremely lucky to be alive."

 

They shrugged, "I've always been pretty lucky. Skill only gets you so far in my line of work."

 

Mr Aurelius sighed, "Well, I'll have to move my next several appointments so we can get all of that out. Let's move on to the physical."

They blinked, "Get it all out? Today?" Doing such a massive scale medical procedure at the drop of a hat seemed preposterous, even for the Affini.

"Of course," Mr Aurelius said, smiling proudly, "it's no wonder you're experiencing chronic pain with this much shrapnel in you. We'll get it all out and get you some Xenodrugs that will let the tissue heal properly; it might not completely fix your pain issues, but it should help them."

"I was expecting a physical, not major surgery," they balked, fighting the resurgent panic. 

"Well, I'd hardly call it 'major'," Mr Aurelius chuckled, "You'll be back in your hab with Miss Verdun before lunch. I'm not going to just leave it in there if it's causing discomfort." He took out a small rubberized hammer, "Now, let's start with your reflexes."

 

Unwilling to protest further, they followed Mr Aurelius' instructions as he tapped the hammer against several places, eliciting a reaction. "You have rather good reflexes, Beckett. In fact, outside of the scarring and shrapnel, you're in some of the best physical condition I've seen in any Terran!"

 

They couldn't help but smile and preen a little, "Well I was in charge of running drills and physical training on the Valiant, one must lead by example in such cases." 

 

"Yes, in fact, I think you deserve a lollipop for taking such good care of yourself!" Mr Aurelius smiled, retrieving said treat from within and offering it to them.

They eyed it cautiously, "You know I can't taste right? I'm afraid such a thing is rather wasted on me."

The look Mr Aurelius gave them sent a shiver down their spine, "Oh I'm well aware, but it isn't optional dear. Go on, you've earned it."

Oh that thing is absolutely drugged.  

They... didn't have much choice though, did they? The best play available was to willingly take it. All other actions would have the same result and likely be used as a demerit against them when they got to their trial. They sighed as they took the lollipop and placed it in their mouth.  "You know it's obvious this is drugged, you could just-" They began to object. Like someone had hit a switch, they fell unconscious.

-_-_-_- 

Camila caught Beckett as he fell limp, gently easing him down. The cushion was thick enough that he wasn't in any danger, of course, but she still felt the need to assist.

"Well, let's start the proper examination, shall we?" Mr Aurelius said, taking out several devices that would let him check Beckett down to the molecular level.

Camila sighed, taking the opportunity to stroke the Terrans hair while he couldn't object. He seemed so peaceful while he slept. Or was he a they, perhaps? Maybe something else entirely? The little one certainly had something going on with his gender. She'd have to press him on it again later. She stopped petting and moved aside. "Okay, Mr. Aurelius."

He gave her a reassuring smile as he approached the table, "Don't worry dear, he'll be shape shipped and in your vines soon. Also, please, call me Xander."

It was impressive to watch the Vet work. Several powerful monitors were attached to various points while blood was taken and analyzed. He used his pad to display Beckett's vitals on a screen over the little one.

"Hmm, this is..."

He brought up different sections of Beckett's vitals on various screens around the room, furrowing his brow as scanned through them all in tandem. "I see... And the... Hmm... I haven't seen something this severe since the Hurkín..." 

 

Oh dear, was there something wrong with Beckett? 

Xander turned away from the panels to face her. "Miss Verdun. Beckett has been extensively modified at the genetic level. He's essentially his own sub-species."