SC - Fugitives

[Keira Kelly]

The confusion of emotions that Ava sensed after telling Miranda that she was a psionic too staggered the ghost and Ava struggled to reinforced her own mental barriers, only then realizing that she had let them become lax. Control of those had not been something she had a lot of practice in over many years. It would take some time to get used to having to keep her mind shielded again. Something though that she couldn't deny to herself was that ever since the visions.. no, the connection with her sister, had begun, Ava's own powers seemed stronger and far more reliable. She had sort of noticed it during the trip to Kalisti, but now with the inhibitor gone, it was far more apparent.

Now, as they congregated around the tea, the thoughts around Ava were once more stable, as stable as they could be anyways. She watched Miranda studiously as the doctor prepared her own tea before looking down at her own cup. The liquid was very dark. Slowly she raised it up, sniffing at it. It smelled somewhat bitter. At Miranda's suggestion, she cautiously, she took a sip, not only confirming the bitterness but that it was really quite hot. She grimaced, putting the mug back down on the table, then tried to add a bit of sugar to it as the doctor had. Unlike Miranda though, Ava wasn't keen on how hot the tea was and decided some milk would be required too and proceeded to add some of that as well. She tasted it again, finding it much more pleasing. With the milk, it had almost a silken texture as she drank it and the sugar really tempered the bitterness well. She found that she liked this tea! Though she enjoyed it, she drank it sparingly, savouring it slowly, seeing the other two were doing the same. She turned her attention to the conversation the other two doctors were having now.

Byrne sighed heavily. Ten thousand credits. He shook his head. "No, we can't afford that." he answered. "Most of what is mined here goes directly into keeping the heat going or for other means of survival. Kalisti is not very resource rich. Sometimes I wonder why the colonists even bother to stay.. I think they just like the hardship. The living day to day without worry of politics or anything bigger than that." he explained. "I'm only still here because they need me. They need a doctor." He frowned when Doctor Jade hinted there might be another way though and gestured for her to continue. He would never do anything illegal of course but.. saving lives was important enough that he wouldn't hesitate in toeing the line.. as long as it didn't put others at risk.

He stared at her disbelievingly as she explained. "You can program them.." he repeated, realizing just what kind of people he was dealing with finally. These two women were not common but in fact very rare types of people. It was almost lucky that they fell onto his doorstep... for the colony and for them maybe.. He took a breath. "Five thousand may be on the high side. I'd have to get approval from the council, of course. We generally have a budget and a not-insignificant portion tends to go to equipment and repairs... The medical budget per year tends to be about half what you think it will cost but.. the council may see the light when I remind them that keeping a handful of workers alive each year could make up that cost..." he replied.

He scratched at his head, thinking about how much a meeting would go. Only last week, they had lost the brother of one of the council members in a mining accident. The man could have been saved with nanobots like this... That might be enough to sway them after all. Finally he nodded. "I couldn't tell you how much I would appreciate it if you could look into it and get a definite price for me that I could bring before the council, Doctor." he said sincerely. "We don't have a big population and every life here is priceless."

As Ava listened, she could.. feel the male doctor's thoughts, his emotions, even if only on a surface level. It took more work to scan non-psionics and he was surely not one of them, but she could pick up more than enough. His sincerity, his.. near- desperation at trying to keep these colonists alive and healthy and Ava felt.. something for him. She felt bad that he felt desperate. What was this? Sympathy? That sounded about right, she thought. Suddenly, Miranda's thoughts intruded. No, it was more than just thoughts. She was sending to Ava, and though it was a bit weak, it was clear enough to the ghost. She could sense the gravity of the other woman's speech so Ava waited, listening, giving only a slight confirmation that she was indeed receiving it.

The flood of emotions that came with the admissions were almost too much for Ava to deal with. She tried to refrain from showing it outwardly but her fingers clenched her mug, her knuckles showing white at the strain of trying to not be dragged down into the dark hole that Miranda had been dwelling in. Finally regaining some control, Ava turned sympathetic, sad eyes to Miranda, cocking her head ever so slightly to the side. These.. emotions were.. odd, but at least they were filling the hollowness which had been within her for so long. 'You saved my life, Miranda. I can do no less but see that yours is safeguarded as well.' she replied telepathically. 'We will stay as long as you need to. Besides, we both must be healthy and in top working order to take our vengeance, yes? If it's safer to do so here, then here we will remain until you are fixed.' she added. The concept of addiction was not something Ava was clear on but.. Miranda had said the medication could kill her without help so.. that was all she needed to know.

She was sincere in her answer. She was more than willing to remain at Miranda's side for however long it took, but a small part of her wondered what would a ghost do on a world such as this for up to two months. She really only knew one thing: killing, and that wasn't likely something that would be needed on such a small world. Perhaps.. She scanned Doctor Byrne's mind quickly, looking for certain information. Ah, there it was. Yes, there were creatures on this planet. Some large, nasty furred carnivores that could be dangerous.. and were sometimes used for meat and fur. Perhaps Ava could hunt these creatures for the colonists and perhaps get some kind of payment in return so they could get food and lodgings and anything else they needed. She would let Miranda make the first move on that but it was something she could then volunteer for.

[rivaan]

"Well... nothing to be done on that. Healing nanobots are somewhat of a pricey and especially high tech commodity." Miranda stated and looked at Dr Byrne." I will reach to my black market contacts and see who can deliver it at what prices. There shouldn't be much difference from the 5000 I said, maybe a little bit more or a little bit less." She explained without much fuss on the subject.

Miranda smiled and looked up at Ava. She was really thankful for the ghost. Towards that younger woman Miranda felt a familial love. Maybe it was because both of them had lost everything else even their families, but through the years that Ava was assigned to Miranda, the doctor had taken the best care of her. Eventually despite the barren interraction, because of Calan back then, Miranda had taken a liking to the younger woman. Treated her like family and it seems her feelings weren't mistaken and misplaces. Ava was a good person underneath the inhibitor. To Miranda it felt like having a family again. Ava felt like a younger sister at times. Especially now that she seemed oblivious to so many common knowledge things. It was fun though and a lil bit cute. Though the way Ava used the word 'fixed' made Miranda snicker.

'Thank you, Ava.' She sort of projected her thoughts to teh ghost. It was more of making them really easy and open to read though. She was too weak to perform proper telepathy. In this close vicinity to Ava they would be like flashing signals to read... hard to miss. Maybe with time it was going to turn even easier for them to communicate when they get attuned to one another's psionics... that is if Miranda was ever going to learn to harness them even a little.

"Doctor Byrne..." Miranda suddenly called and looked at the man." We are planning to stay for a few weeks on Kalisti... I need to get clean of the Periferixilin..." She said to him with serious voice." Chances are the withdraw will be devastating, I've been taking it for couple of weeks now, since the fall of Tarsonis. Way more than it's ever been intended to be taken for... With the massive depression that's going to acompany the withdraw, it's quite likely I might not be able to hold onto my sanity through the process for a while... I've read about people who suicided during the medical testing of the drug when they cut off their supply." She said and took a few sips to calm down a little." I will require medical attention and observation during the worst of it... maybe even to be tied down for a little while there..." Miranda said to the doctor." I would like for you to monitor my condition during that time... I know it's going ot be messy... I've dealt with drug withdraws before as a doctor. But I cannot know what side effects might follow if I continue to take it for much longer. Will you help me?" She asked the man.

This was also a great chance for Ava. At a colony like this with numbers that were way lower density than most worlds or even cities, it was the right place for the newly freed ghost to get used to not having an inhibitor. To learn to cope with the overwhemling presence of other people's minds as a telepath was a hard thing, but luckily Ava seemed to be mostly faring qutie well so far.

For now she coudl only hope that Ava wasn't going to change her opinion of her too much after this. People going through withdraws like these often found themselves crazed. Words were spoken that weren't ever really entended or thought... and you weren't really in control of your own actions sometimes.

[Keira Kelly]

Byre reacted in surprise to Miranda's request. Addiction had been something that he had encountered commonly before coming to Kalisti and.. sometimes even here, though it was much harder to get hold of addictive compounds, other than alcohol, on this barren world. Still, some of the worse ones did make it through from time to time and with the hard lives the colonists led, it wasn't surprising that some eventually fell down the dark hole. Very few though would admit to the addiction. Very few. Then again, Periferixilin was a special case, leaving the addict quite capable of reason still, so that made some sense.

He nodded slowly. "We can do that. We have beds and restraints we can use, and we can make sure to keep you on IV for hydration and to help push the remnants of the drug out while you detox, Doctor. I've monitored other detoxes before, perhaps not this drug in particular but.. I know the general symptoms of withdrawal and how to deal with it." he explained. He shrugged slightly. "When is medicine not messy? But we trudge on, dedicated to helping those in need. Of course I will help. When do you want to get started? Right away, I assume?"

While the doctors were discussing, Ava took a seat nearby on a couch, putting her half-filled mug on a small table beside it and propping her gear up beside her. This room seemed some sort of.. lounge or waiting room. Considering the size of the building, it was likely both. Subconsciously, she had a hand over her head, where she knew the incision must have been but could find nothing. No, that wasn't true.. A slight channel where some of her hair had been snipped back, just from what had been the edges of the incision but now the skin was smooth and the hair would grow back. As it was, the rest of her hair covered the shaved area more than enough to hide it for now.

None of that really mattered though to her. What mattered was that the inhibitor was gone and for that she was glad. That was something she had missed: being able to feel happy. Happy, but she was still feeling overwhelmed too. Miranda's tumultuous mind was straining Ava's still new mental barriers, though the ghost refused to say anything. Miranda needed her support, not complaints. Ava would deal with it, though she would also need to take time each day to practice. Her powers and ability to protect her mind were like a muscle that constantly needed to be exercised and for the latter potion of that, she was sorely rusty at it. At least.. she had stopped being pulled out to her sister, she was fairly sure. No more 'visions'. She hoped.

She put a hand to her forehead for a moment. A familiar headache, the strain of keeping out minds. There was one mind in particular, not Miranda, not Doctor Byrne. It was someone she didn't know. Someone on this planet and they had a fairly strong psionic talent. Someone that had gotten missed by wranglers or others seeking psionic individuals, it seemed. She wondered if they even knew they were psionic. She felt a brief, undisciplined mental touch, one that didn't get through her own barriers sweep past. They had sensed her presence but.. they were untrained, most definitely. And young. A teenager, it had felt like. A young teenage girl. Hm. Ava would have to see about finding this psionic child during their stay and.. perhaps helping them find ways to avoid wranglers in the future. She didn't wish her own life on anyone else.

( Detoxing from this probably should take about 72 hours for the worst symptoms. It will take a while after that for Miranda to start really feeling normal again, but we can say 72 hours for the worst reactions where she will have to be tied down. During the worst part of the detoxing too, AI think Ava's is going to have to leave and go outside for a bit. Miranda will probably be broadcasting all kinds of stuff mentally and I don't think Ava could deal with that yet. )

[rivaan]

"This is not going to be anything like you've experienced during detox before, Doctor Byrne..." Miranda replied to the man and sighed." Anyways, you have my thanks and I wish to apologize to you in advance... I'm not going to be in my right mind when we begin and the withdraw starts... I will probably say things and attempt do things that might seem extreme even for someone like you who has experience in this." She said and finished her cup of tea." Let's start tomorrow morning." She said. Even with the constant snowstorms, it was obvious a lil when it was day and when it was night. The difference was the ambience... dark snowstorm and white snowstorm. It was currently night already." I will reach my contacts tonight and tell you the details tomorrow when I arrive for the procedures." She explained and stood up, looking at Ava who appeared in thought.

Miranda wondered what the ghost was thinking about, but shook her head. Let's leave it for now, she was going to say it if and when she was ready. Unlike Ava, Miranda couldn't read her mind after all. She could barely feel presences right now. Maybe in the future, but not now." Ava, let's go." She called out to the ghost and went to pick up her hat and jacket. Yeah she needed some better cold weather clothing from now on. For now this had to do though." Thank you for the help, Doctor Byrne." Miranda said again to the man and went to the device that read credit cards and waited until he imputs the prices and stuff so she could pay.

When that was done she walked to the front door." Ava, let's go grab somethign to eat." She said to the ghost with a smile." I recall where the bar/club/tavern thing is from the map that youngster at the port showed us. Might as well grab a meal before returning to the ship for the night, no? We've been eating protein bars and drinking normal water since we got onto the ship." Miranda explained as she opened the door and walked out into the blizzard. She had actually slightly underestimated the hindrance this mighty storm was to visibility, but luckily the streetlights served as beacons even in this stormy night and each building had well lit up signs to make it even easier.

She felt cold, but at the same time she didn't mind it. Her nightmare was almost over... the living nightmae she lived in for nine years that only intensivied the last few months. Granted she was going to have to face her pain head on from now on, but she was ready to do so now. She managed to save Ava, she didn't left the younger woman suffer the same fate as her son. The feelings she had developped towards wanting to protect Ava, also made her feel a lil bit happier inside. The ghost was like her younger sister she never had. Or was it daughter? it was all going to depend on how exactly Ava adapts to normal life. Miranda was either going to be the helpful big sisterly figure or the really careful looking after motherly figure. Only time was going to tell, but anyways, Ava was safe and sound for now.

[Keira Kelly]

Byrne's request for the nanobots was put to the side for a moment as the more monumental.. and immediate task of putting the poor woman before him through detox the next morning overrode his request. The nanobots could save lives down the line but.. dealing with withdrawal for an addiction this severe, a life WOULD be on the line and that's where his focus would be until it was done. "Tomorrow morning it is then. I'll have everything ready for when you arrive." he replied. "You should get as much sleep tonight as you can, Doctor. The next few days will be very stressful to your body and you will need what strength you can get." he advised.

When Miranda called to Ava, the ghost looked up, taking a moment to realize what had been said. She had been deep in thought about other things. "Yes, Doct..." she began by rote but paused, wincing to herself. "Yes, Miranda." she amended. Though the inhibitor was gone, it would still take her time to be able to.. think for herself really, to not immediately respond to commands. She had been trained for all of her life to do so and it wouldn't be easy to break out of it. As she stood up, she gathered her gear, beginning to don it again. They were going to have to go back out into the storm and it would just be easier to wear her armour under the coat than try to carry it all. She slung her rifle on her back once more, putting the coat back over it.

As they began to leave, a thought struck Ava as odd. She was leaving the same as she had come: a ghost with armour and her weapons. Outwardly, there was no difference, no evidence of anything different but.. inside she felt very different. But she was still a Ghost. Somehow, in all the years, she had always almost felt it had been the inhibitor that had made her into a ghost. It had been with that device that she had stopped fighting the training... But now, with it gone, she was still a Ghost. Not just a psionic, but an assassin, a trained killer. She really didn't think that was something that would ever change though now.

It was only when Miranda mentioned food that Ava realized that she was quite hungry. The surgery had taken hours and their meals during the journey here had been.. rationed to say the least. She nodded, frowning slightly. "I.. think I could use a meal." she agreed. Meals had never been a choice for her before. Food was brought at specified times of the day, and she ate it... or starved. It had always been a simple as that. The freedom over choosing when to eat was.. new.

She winced as they pushed through the door back to the storm outside and the ice and cold bit into the flesh of her face and hands. It was night outside now, the space beyond the small town's lights was pitch black, the blowing snow and clouds cutting out any ambient light that a night time sky could emit. One could almost believe in monsters in that level of darkness. Then again, Ava knew there were worse monsters.. somewhere out in the universe, even in the light. Even so, she reached for her knife when a long howl managed to pierce even this storm. When nothing appeared after, Ava relaxed and began following Miranda again, though she kept one hand under the coat, on the handle of her combat knife just in case.

They made it to the front entrance of a building without issue though, and Ava followed the doctor inside. The rush of warmth was as welcome as the sudden mental noise was overwhelming to the ghost. The building was quite packed, with seemingly a good chunk of the town spending their off hours here. That being said, they instantly spotted newcomers and the crowds went silent for a moment as all turned to look at the strangers. From the looks they received, while unsurprisingly some showed suspicion, far more appeared to either discount two lone women as a novelty or.. more so the younger males, took keen interest in new women in town. Ava wasn't so sure she liked some of the attentive looks they were receiving. Still, she would follow Miranda.. and they did need something to eat and a place to stay. The headache from all the mental noise wasn't very nice though.

[rivaan]

The pub was just about as she had imagined it to be. Reminded her a little bit of the town she was born and grew up before moving to Tarsonis to study medicine there. As usual on these backwater worlds, the pub was the place people gathered after all the tedius work during the day. To talk and meet and having some cheery atmosphere after work was part of what kept places like this able to survive this long despite the hardships that these people faced every damn day. Naturally she also understood a lot of the glances and what they meant even if she couldn't quite read their minds like Ava did. She had the benefit of experience over the ghost on this.

With a casual move of her hand she reached and pulled off her hat, turning her head sharply a few times to make her hair flow properly again. She then put the hat away in the pocket of her jacket and quickly started walking deeper into the place without nary a hit of nervousness about her. It was like she was doing this every day or something. She unhurriedly walked to a table that appeared empty, feeling the eyes following her and Ava. That said the eyes of hte younger boys was mostly focused on the ghost, though she herself did get her fair share of male eyes too. Anyways she acted like she paid them no attention, after all she was long past getting affected by something like this.

Miranda then calmly sat down, leaning her back on the chair and rested her hands on the table in front of her, waiting for Ava to join her. She smiled at the ghost as she looked at the bar. The place seemed normal enough with a few rows of different bottles being lined on shelves behind the barkeep. A younger woman quickly hurried to come over to their table. She was dressed in casual clothes and had a rough leather like apron on top of htem to protect them while she was serving meals or was cleaning table. Well Miranda was rather approving of using something like leather as an apron. It was a hell of a lot easier to clean than cloth was in case something got spilled.

"What would the two of you like to order?" The young woman asked as she pulled a small writing pad. Miranda threw a look around and at Ava, making a quick thinking expression, then throwing a look at the black board on one of the walls that had the menu written. It was somewhat sparce, but it was fair given hte location. She more or less spoke everything on the menu.

" Two green salads, 2 steaks with mashed potatoes, 2 slices of pie." She said before throwing a look at the avaible drinks." I will take a beer. Ava, you want one?" She asked, throwing a look at the Ghost.' It's a low alcoholic content beaverage.' She put her most forward thought and since she was closest to Ava right now and her mind was easier to read, she was pretty sure the other would pick on it.' Some people like it, others do not. Treat it as a learning experience.'

Frankly Ava was going to have to get used to a lot of things which was going to happen over the following weeks and even months. Miranda was pretty sure that at the academy they had at least given them some rundown on alcohol. After all it was useful as an antiseptic which was a great thing to know in emergency situations when a ghost might be required to clean her own wounds. Though she doubted they've ever tasted beer and the like.

That said the two of them still held the attention of the people around. She was going to bet the moment Ava was forced to lean her canister rifle next to her, because there was no way she was going to sit down with it strapped on her back, they were going to be even more of hte center of attention. Luckily there were more than a few people who used canister rifles out there. It was a high powered weapon after all. Some marines used it instead of gauss rifles sometimes even. It was also good for hunting, but once more granted a ghost canister rifle was way better than the ones usually aviable on the market. Unless you were well versed, most probably wouldn't be able to notice the difference though. Miranda herself was also still armed with her trusty handgun tucked away in her clothing.

She then thought about the subtle expression Ava was making. She was being almost overwhelmed by the mental noise it seemed.' We are going to be resting in the ship... in the next few days while I'm with Doctor Byrne, you should rest there at night too. It's at the edge of the colony so the noise will be less.' She was really concerned about Ava's wellbeing after all.

[Keira Kelly]

Ava was decidedly uncomfortable being the focus of so much attention and it didn't help that she was having trouble blocking out so much of the mental noise of the place. The type of attention was something she had never before experienced; the academy had not been the type of place for those kinds of interactions. To be honest, Ava barely understood the meaning of it all, so far was it outside of anything she knew or had been taught. All she knew is the feelings she could pick up from the minds of those focused on her were.. intense and it made her decidedly uncomfortable.

Taking her cue from her benefactor, she followed Miranda, watching cautiously around the room but at the same time, refusing to meet any of the eyes following her. They stopped at an empty table, one of the few around and Ava sat down, still following the other's example. Sitting though wasn't easy with the rifle still under her coat but.. she didn't really want to take the risk of people seeing it. A canister rifle wasn't a commonplace weapon and people would get suspicious so she sat there, slightly off-kilter, still wearing the heavy overcoat, uncomfortable both physically and mentally.

It wasn't long at all before a woman came over to ask their order. Ava froze, not knowing how to answer but was glad when Miranda ordered for both of them. She frowned though when the doctor asked if she wanted a beer. She picked up Miranda's silent explanation of what beer was and then shook her head. "Just water, please." she answered, despite the doctor's urging. She had never tried alcohol before but.. she had been told of its effects, and more than once Lt. Calan had come to her while inebriated. He had often been far more violent in that state so Ava did not have a very good opinion of the substance.

She was surprised when Miranda sent to her again but then grimaced slightly, nodding in reply. "That will be best, I think." she answered out loud. She shook her head, closing her eyes for a second and lowered her voice. "You wouldn't believe what some of these people are thinking..." she trailed off as she saw the waitress approaching, carrying food. That had been fast. Likely they had a bunch of it cooked all at once and kept warm. For people on shift work, it would have been more efficient than cooking each separately.

A plate with an incredibly thick slab of well-cooked meat and a mountain of white mashed potatoes, slathered heavily in gravy plus a bowl full of green salad was put down before each of them, followed by another waitress who, after some confusion, set out the drinks before both customers.

"I'll bring you the pies when you are finished." said the original waitress before both the workers walked off to see to more of their duties.

Ava stared down at the meal. She'd had steak before.. though much more conservatively prepared than this.. and definitely not in any amount like this. She picked up her knife and fork as Miranda did so and began to carefully carve into the meat. "I.. don't think I can eat all of this..." she told the other woman. She supposed that the people living and working here needed the extra protein and carbohydrates in order to cope with the constant cold. Bodies in the cold needed more energy to keep warm and going, but.. they hadn't been here for long enough yet to have their bodies adapt like that. She was worried though about any of the meal going to waste. Waste had not been tolerated at the academy. Her stomach grumbled again, making her realize that, even if she didn't eat all, she needed to at least eat some. She brought a piece of the steak she had cut off to her mouth and put it in, chewing it cautiously at first.

There were.. spices and flavourings in the meat, something that Ava had never tried before. She paused in her chewing just to savour the flavours. Eating had always just been a necessity. This had been made to enjoy. She began to chew again, finally swallowing the piece of meat and looked at Miranda with wide eyes. "I... I've never had food that tasted like this, this... good!" she exclaimed. She was really beginning to realize just how isolated she had been all her life in the academy, at how different life was for everyone else in the universe. At what all those like her still at the academy were missing out on. How hard it must have been for anyone who came there at a older age than she had, who had already known different.... She had been lucky in that. The Academy ways had been all she had ever known. She proceeded to get into the rest of the food with enthusiasm, if not with the biggest of appetites. She still could only fill her stomach so much and she knew there was something coming afterwards as well and did not want to overeat.

[rivaan]

"You don't need to read minds to guess." Miranda replied with a tiny glint in her eyes." Eyes speak a thousand words sometimes. In ancient times there was a saying that the eyes were the window into the soul." She explained with a shrug." Still ignore them if you could, use the chance to practice control." Miranda quietly urged Ava after the waitress had left for the moment.' Imagine if we had the inhibitor removed when we were still on the Korhal Orbital platform? Recall the denseness of the people there?' SHe asked Ava mentally as she started eating the meal. She felt hungry enough to eat a whole cow as the old saying went.

"Don't worry about eating all of it. Just eat as you wish, you can leave some if you wish, we aren't in the academy." She said quietly with a smirk." Though you're still doing your physical training later... can't have you gain weight now do we?" She asked jokingly. A pudgy ghost, now that would have been a sight to behold! Jokes aside Miranda herself was eating fast the meal that felt incredibly tasty. It actually indeed was greatly prepared this thing, it was a good first meal for Ava, especially after days of eating protein bars in the ship. They were going to have to stock up on some base supplies and provisions for the future. Even if they couldn't eat cooked meals every day, if they stocked up on some MREs it was still going to be way better than protein bars.

"Mhm~" Miranda made a sound of agreement with Ava's food opinion statement. Hell it was good indeed, she enjoyed it very well, eating the typical 'healthy' and 'proper' meals at hte academy mess hall was also straining on her tastes. Even the doctors and other personel at the academy had to eat similar food to the ghosts a lot of the time. Granted they got the benefit of also getting other tastier things, but overall food tended to be bland and tasteless non the less." Wait till you try the sweets." She smirked and threw a look at Ava." Remember those cookies I once gave you when you were at my office?" Miranda asked." There are a lot of similar and even tastier and sweeter things out there... hehehe."

She quickly then munched down more of her steak and gravy and mashed potatoes until there was only about a fourth remaining of it and then she called the waitress to bring over the pie." Thank you." She replied to the girl and turned to her dessert. She didn't quite recognize what fruit was used on this pie, but after giving it a bite it was as sweet as she wanted and just a bit sour. She liked the combo, it wasn't overly sweet because of the sourness which kept it balanced.

It was around this time when Miranda finally paid attention to the old TV screen that was hanging by one corner of the pub. There was a UNN broadcast going on right now. It was Universe Tonight going on. Since it's been a few days since she completely turned the new ghost academy into a battlezone, it probably wasn't a hot live news right now. She turned her attention to the news report." More developments on the unexpected explosions that rocked the New Dominion Ghost Academy. Officials have finally spoken. Per official reports, the explosions were caused by a faulty equipment. Officials additional ensure that this was in fact NOT a terrorist attack or the actions of a rogue ghost as some have speculated the past few days. There has also been a list of confirmed victims on this tragic accident. The Dominion had declared tomorrow a day of National mourning in memory of those men and women who died. These brave men gave their lives to evacuate all the children and other civilian personel from the areas of danger when the accident happened." The reporter explained as a list of names and photos of people who died appeared on screen. As expected it was all the security personel. Not a single ghost was named or shown there.

'There we go... propaganda has started...' She thought and sighed, before returning her attention to hte ever so adorable Ava." How's the pie?" The doctor asked, curious about the ghost's reaction to the sweets. Ava was basically a grown up child... And dammit she was like her child or sister now and she was going to protect her to the best of her abilities.

[Keira Kelly]

As the meal progressed, Ava did manage to ignore the minds around them for the most part, focusing as much as she could just on the food instead. Truth be told though, the random thoughts and emotions that did get through, despite giving her a headache, was nothing compared to the constant buzzing in her brain that the inhibitor had caused now that she really thought about it. It had been maddening at times. She was definitely glad though they had chosen a lightly populated colony to remove it. The load here was about as much as she thought she could handle for now.

She frowned at Miranda's remark about becoming overweight and returned a glance with a raised eyebrow. Daily physical training had been something ingrained in her for her whole life. It had become more than habit. Even during the past week in the confined dropship, Ava had continued with her regimen of exercise, modified only enough in regards to the space available. It was not something she needed to be reminded about and she didn't quite get that it was a joke. "I always keep myself in peak physical performance, Doc... Miranda." she corrected herself again. "I can't let myself become weak. There are too many dangers, too much.. stacked against us out there..." she added adamantly.

By the time she was nearly completely full, she still had about half the food left on her plate. The portions were much larger than she was used to. At least Miranda had said it was okay to leave the rest. But she felt bad that it would go to waste. "Do you think I can take the rest with me back to the ship when we go?" she asked. She could heat it up in the small kitchen alcove in the dropship, perhaps for dinner another night. The former owner of the ship hadn't had anything in the way of food other than protein bars stowed away but there had been an area to heat up and store meals. That way, the food wouldn't go to waste in the end.

When Miranda mentioned the cookies, Ava perked up, her mouth opening slightly. The cookies had been unlike anything she had ever tasted before. It had been a rare treat for her. Doubly rare as it had been one of the very few times Calan had left her alone long enough for Miranda to have slipped her the cookies. She couldn't even imagine anything better or sweeter foods could exist.

Once Miranda had finished, the older woman called for the next course and one of the waitresses promptly delivered two plates. Ava stared at the item on the plate. Of course she had heard of pie but.. this was the first time she had seen one. Two connected crusts with a filling inside. Cutting off a piece with her fork, she brought it close to her nose, smelling it before putting the piece of pie into her mouth. She had never tasted anything like it. A mix of sweet and tangy sour, a good mix, along with the starchiness of the crust were a cacophony of flavours to her palate. She didn't say anything until after her third bite of the pie, giving another wide-eyed look at the other woman. "This.. is.. I never imagined...." she trailed off.

As she took another bite, she noticed Miranda's attention get drawn away and she heard something that drew hers as well. She turned round in her seat.. at least as best she could with the rifle still under her coat, to glance at a screen over in the corner. Her eyes were wide again, but for a different reason. She swallowed hard at the mention of the academy. They were denying her actions, her escape. That was for the best. What got her though was the reporter talking about a list of victims. The guards she had killed didn't bother her much. They would have killed her or Miranda. Simple as that. They were threat.

What worried Ava though was she had no clue how many had died before that, during her psionic episode. How many innocents? They had shown only security personnel but Ava could attest that there were others; she remembered now that she had seen a couple of the obstacle course workers lying dead as she had run out. There had been other innocent workers. But how many working at the academy WERE innocents? There had to be some though. Miranda had worked there and she was a good person.... There may have been others, ones who didn't interact with the ghost trainees, who didn't see the abuse and captivity. How many of those had Ava killed inadvertently? That's what haunted her.

Ava had forgotten about her pie until Miranda mentioned it. She forced herself away from the past and back to the present. "It.. it unlike anything I've ever tasted." she answered, her voice still a bit haunted as she took one last glance back at the screen which had switched stories. A random thought caught her full attention though as she had let her guard down slightly while in shock about the academy, a thought from across the table. Ava cocked her head, frowning now as she considered the thought. Finally she gave Miranda a thoughtful look. "Sister." she said quietly, only just loud enough for the other woman to hear. "Older sister. I.. never knew mine before I lost her but.. you can be my older sister now, Miranda." she said. She didn't know exactly what a relationship like that might entail but.. it felt.. right. She realized as she had said it, there was a hint of a pleased smile on her lips.

[rivaan]

"Hmm!?" Miranda made a little surprised sound as she heard Ava speak from across the table. She was startled for a moment since apparently her thoughts had leaked to Ava who easily read them. Then she started laughing at little at the answer. Well she supposed that was the better option indeed." Sure, I will be your older sister from now on." Miranda smiled and looked at Ava with warm gaze." Maybe one day your blood sister could be saved, can't promise anything on that front, but yeah. I too will be your family from now on." She nodded and called the waitress. Quickly she paid the credits and the girl moved away once more." Wait." Miranda called to the waitress who was surprised.

"Can you pack up the left overs for home?" The doctor said to the younger woman who quickly understood and nodded hurrying to bring up some simple plastic containers to hold the left over food. As Miranda then hurried to finish up her own pie, she didn't leave much leftovers herself so it was mostly for Ava." There, no problem, right." The doctor said to Ava who now had boxes for the food." Will have to figure out some kind of way to keep up better meals for the ship later. Canned food, MREs and so on. Cooking in that ship just wouldn't be a good point, but there be more than enough tasty preserved foods non the less." She explained as she waited for Ava to finish up the last of her dessert and box her left over food.

Once her now younger sister was finished, Miranda stood up and unhurriedly started walking towards the exit, not minding the people's eyes. Many of whom by now had returned to chatting with their friends and minding their own business after the initial novelty of the two foreign woman sort of wore off. She walked to the front door, opened it and walked into the snow storm outside. The snow started blinding her right away, but following the path of street lights she started walking towards the landing pads. She was going to have to set up the deal for the nanobots before the withdraw procedure starts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3 Days Later
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Miranda woke up around mid afternoon. She felt straight up like she was hit by a speeding vulture bike. Frankly after the first day post withdraw initiation, everythign was kindd of a blur. She couldn't quite remember after the worst part of the withdraw struck. She wasn't sure what she did and what she said back then. What she did know was that now that she woke up, she was still restrained to the bed. Where the belts held onto her body she felt somewhat bruised which meant she was very active in her delusions. Her head hurt, her body felt weak and she was also hungry. There was also the fact that the patient gown she wore was drenched in sweat which was another part she wasn't surprised about. In fact Miranda suspected that she'd continue to sweat for a good while longer until she was back into good condition. Having passed the worst of the drug addiction withdraw, didn't mean she was completley fine now. There was going to be a good while longer until she could say that she was back to normal. Maybe a few days maybe over a week or even a month.

She weakly groaned as she turned her head around and looked about." Ughhh..." Miranda squinted as the light was incredibly irritating to her eyes." Doctor Byrne...?" She called, wondering if the good doctor was somewhere around. Her eyes fell on her IV system which was still dripping. The infusions were helping though. She had no ideas what the doctor had added to them aside the standard, but she suspected a few helpful substances to help with the withdraw side effets. Something for the throwing up and for the fever more likely than not.

"How long was... I ... out?" She mumbled to herself, in confusion. Withdraws usually lasted a few days for the worst of the symptoms and in her case she wasn't quite sure how long. Probably around 3-5 for the worst part to pass. There wasn't exactly much data on it with this medication... After the suicidal depression side effect was discovered, it immediately dropped of any testing. Who needed anti depressant that induced suicidal depression after all?" Aghh... why is the light so damn bright..." She groaned. Thinking was hard when her head was pounding like it was.