literature

WHIPLASH: Chapter 3

Deviation Actions

Digital-Skitty's avatar
Published:
1.8K Views

Literature Text

The morning they were supposed to depart for the badlands, Sonya was upgraded to her third state nivedidus for the first time. Nathan hadn't completely gotten over the pain of the last one, although he had learned to live with it, so he was cautious this time. He planned on asking the doctor if it would hurt for anyone involved, and if so, how much. The feeling at the base of his skull had receded to something like an itch or a tickle, but the fact that it hadn't gone away, even a month later, worried him a bit.

The slight worry developed into a full worry when instead of prepping Sonya for the nivedidus transfer, he called in Nathan instead.

"…Why me?" he asked once the door was shut behind him. Even Sonya had looked surprised at the move.

"Because you're her Tego. Sit down, please." Nathan sat. Sometimes, even he thought he was too well trained. "Nathan, do you know what exactly the nivedidus is for?"

"It's for sensing, sir," he replied, a little unnerved by the question.

"…That's putting it in the most basic sense," the psychologist replied with an uncertain smile. He leaned back in his chair and pointed with a pen at Nathan. "If it was only a sensor, don't you think we would just give them to the Tego, the soldiers, to use? They're more qualified and better trained, don't you agree?"

"Yes, sir, but the Tego are only trained to protect the Inven. The Inven are the useful ones."

"Oh, that's not completely true. Tego can often double as soldiers, and it's always useful to have more personnel out in the badlands," he said absently, tapping the pen against his lip. "But I digress. Nathan, Tego and Inven are a very valuable unit because they fulfill different roles. Tego are protectors, Inven are searchers. These days, your primary mission is to locate and rescue refugees, and it's a team effort. The Inven locates the refugees and befriends them, and you escort them all safely back to civilization."

"…Yes, sir," Nathan replied. He still felt as if something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it yet. He knew all of this, though.

"And yet, the Inven is the only one with the nivedidus."

"…That is… That is because they are the searchers, sir?" he guessed. He honestly had no idea where his psychologist was headed with this, unless it was to explain the purpose of the nivedidus. Even so, shouldn't that be Sonya's field of interest? He said so himself; Nathan was the Tego, and he didn't have a nivedidus. Sonya did.

"Very good." Great, now he was just humoring him. Nathan grimaced. "Inven have them because they're the searchers. It would make sense for the searchers to have sensors, don't you think?"

"Yes sir."

"But how do you think the nivedidus works?"

"…I don't know, sir." Wasn't that the point of this conversation? Nathan wasn't even sure anymore.

"The nivedidus is the wonderful device that connects the Inven to his, or in this case, her Tego. It still has potential to grow, of course, but essentially, it is a link between the two. It is a sensor in the fact that not only can it quickly process what the Inven sees, hears, smells, and feels, but also in the fact that it can get a rudimentary feel of what the Tego is doing, seeing, hearing, et cetera. It gives the Inven a bit of a sixth sense. This, in combination with their training, creates the searching skill that is necessary to their job."

"So she can see what I see? Sir? That doesn't-"

"No, not at all," the psychologist interrupted, not impatiently, but with a profound patience instead. He gestured at Nathan with his pen again, smiling slightly. "Sonya's nivedidus is the link between your brain and hers. Are you following me so far?"

Nathan nodded, still feeling lost.

"Because it is located on her head and primarily connected to her brain, it is used primarily by her brain. It takes all of her senses and fine tunes them, in addition to allows her to process these stimuli that quicker. You may have noticed that she has very quick reflexes?"

He had noticed. Yes, even he, with years of Tego training, had noticed that a little girl had managed to react to things quicker than he had. He nodded again.

"That's chiefly the purpose of the nivedidus. It does, however, have added purposes and features. It can take a basic poll, if you will, of what your brain is doing and add that in with the data she collects via her senses. She does not see what you see, or hear what you hear. But if you suddenly hear a loud noise that she, for some reason, doesn't hear, chances are she'd still jump and look around. She doesn't know why and most Inven never fully realize the extent of the link between their brain and their Tego's, but it doesn't mean it's not there."

"Is that why I have to wear the headset when you upgrade, sir?" Nathan couldn't help but ask. Things were starting to make sense-except, of course, why he was the one sitting with the shrink instead of Sonya.

"Yes, exactly." The psychologist beamed at him. He stared levelly back. "And, you may or may not have noticed that this is not a one-way link."

Nathan narrowed his eyes slightly, studying the man before him. "That… I may have noticed that. Could you elaborate, though, sir?"

"You get the very short end of the stick on that subject, but at least you have a hand on the proverbial stick. You do not get any sensory information like she does, since it is focused on her in that aspect. You will, however, get feelings. We're still working on improving this process, but you will possibly feel some slight reflections of what Sonya is feeling. Now, don't give me that look-it's more useful than you think. Tego have reported that the strongest feelings they receive are pain and fear. See its usefulness now?"

He reluctantly nodded again. "Yes… Both of those feelings likely mean the Inven is in danger, sir. Which means that the Tego is needed."

"It's another sort of sixth sense. This is why the nivedidus is so important. Not only does it greatly help the Inven, but it has an additional benefit for the Tego as well. This is also, unfortunately, why the Tego will die if the Inven dies, but why an Inven can survive if his or her Tego dies. Their brains are linked, but more so on the Inven's end."

"I understand, sir." Was this another warning? He wasn't sure, but he was taking it as one. Later today they were to leave for the badlands, which was why Sonya was getting her third stage nivedidus. This was just another warning and appeal. No one wanted to see a Tego and Inven die, but especially not on their first mission.

"No, Nathan, you don't. Not quite. The reason you are in here instead of Sonya, at least first, is because of today's importance. Now that you understand the nivedidus a bit more, and since you already know that there are three stages, you should know that each stage of the nivedidus is a more concentrated version of the prior one. The first one is harmless and can be removed with little harm to the Inven."

"But the Tego…?"

"Yes, for the Tego, it is slightly more dangerous. This is because the nivedidus is, once again, connected to the Inven instead of the Tego. An Inven can survive for a short time without a nivedidus, properly or improperly removed. A Tego cannot, not as easily," the man warned, mouth set in a serious line. Nathan swallowed thickly. He was afraid he knew where this conversation was going now. "You may have felt discomfort or even slight pain when the first one was removed and when you were connected to the second one."

"Yes sir, I did."

"That was before the nivedidus was even properly connected to you. You were connected to the second one, and the second one was connected to the first one. This is why it is the Tego who has to remove the nivedidus. While the Inven is not connected, the nivedidus will search for that connection, even secondhand like that, and can temporarily latch onto the Tego instead. It cannot connect with anyone it hasn't already linked with. So for this procedure, you will have to remove the nivedidus again. But since the second one has already been linked to you, unlike the first…"

"This one will hurt," Nathan surmised grimly. It was the psychologist's turn to nod.

"Yes, unfortunately, it will. But it still has to be you to be the one to remove it. If anyone else did, especially a second stage one, you could both go into shock and even die. A third stage nivedidus… Well, thankfully, Sonya and you both will have already connected to the second one, and downgrading is always easier than upgrading. It's the first time for each of them that is the most difficult. After this, it will become easier."

"Sir… If I may ask, if it gets worse each time you take it off, won't it hurt the most when I take off her third stage to go back to the second stage when we're done with the mission?" he asked, hesitantly. He almost didn't want to know.

"No, because you will be connected to the second stage one during the procedure," the psychologist replied. "Because you will be holding the third stage and the second stage will be connected to you through the headset, it will be easier than you are probably imagining. Downgrading is always easier than upgrading, trust me."

Nathan allowed himself to relax a bit. This would be the hardest part then, but after this one procedure, the rest of them would be easier. He could deal with that.

"Of course, this is almost a footnote at this point, but do not allow anyone or anything to remove Sonya's nivedidus in the field or in any situation aside from these in the hospital. Without the second nivedidus and the headset to mitigate the feedback, the shock of it would easily kill you both."

"…Yes sir. I understand, sir."

"Thank you for your time, Nathan. Send Sonya in, would you please?"

While he was left waiting in the stark white room, he couldn't help but wonder how much of that speech she was hearing. It was probably true that as an Inven, she knew most of that already. Or did she know all of it already? None of it? The more he thought about it, the less he actually knew-about Sonya, about Inven in general, about nivedidus. He had barely learned anything about her in their month together. He knew much about Sonya the person, but little of Sonya the Inven.

"Relax, Mr. Loar. This will only be your first mission, will it not? It will be nothing but a practice run for you. I doubt you'll even come across any threats or refugees," the doctor said kindly, jarring Nathan out of his thoughts. Nathan smiled gratefully at him. The doctor gave him one in kind, but ruined the moment when he asked, "Are you still smoking?"

"Yes, I am, sir."

"You know what I'm going to say here."

"Yes, I do, sir."

"You should quit. Especially since you have Sonya to care for now. Soldiers are smokers, not Tego."

"I know, sir. I'll try to stop," he said, though they both knew it was a lie.

At that point, Sonya came back. Nathan couldn't help but feel thankful for her reappearance, if only because it saved him from more discussion about his health. She had a serious look on her face, but she didn't look nearly as shaken as he had felt after his talk with their psychologist.

"Are you ready?" she asked him, fretting with the bottom hem of her shirt. He nodded and helped her up onto the examination table. She ran her hands over the nivedidus on her head, glancing reproachfully at the third stage laying oh so innocently on a computer scanner, just feet away.

Nathan took a steeling breath and settled back against the wall as a brace, one leg on either side of the table. Sonya sat in front of him, facing him, in a similar position. He was fitted with the headset and they both looked over to the doctor. "Just a moment…" he murmured, typing away on the computer.

"Nervous?" Nathan whispered, catching Sonya's attention again.

"No, of course not. Are you?" she asked in an equally hushed tone.

He shrugged lazily and offered her a smile he was not feeling. "Nah. Why would I be?"

"…He told me that this would hurt you," she said, eyes suddenly downcast. His smile vanished and he leaned forward worriedly. Sonya raised her head again, locking gazes with him. "But you're strong. You'll be strong, won't you, Nathan?"

"Of course."

"Good. I believe you then." Behind them, the computer dinged, signaling its readiness. Sonya flashed him a smile and hastily leaned forward, kissing him on the tip of the nose. Nathan chuckled dryly and, after glancing at the doctor over her shoulder to check, hooked his fingers underneath her nivedidus. After the smallest of moment's hesitation, he lifted it up away from her hair.

-.-.-

"Well, this ain't somethin' I seen very often." Sonya hardly glanced up at the man. She finished lacing up Nathan's right boot and moved onto his left. The knot was a little sloppy, but at least it was tight. "An Inven fawnin' over a Tego. Not somethin' I see very often at all," he added, trying to elicit some sort of reply from her.

"Mmhmm," she grunted, working on his boot. It came out neater than the right one, much to her annoyance.

"This yer first mission together, right?"

Sonya spared him a look. "…Yeah, it is." She didn't know how it was obvious, though the man certainly acted knowledgeable. And judging by the fact that he had a girl about Nathan's age perched on the railing wearing a nivedidus over her straw blonde hair, she guessed that they were a Tego and Inven pair. An older pair. An experienced pair. Still, did that mean that they were that easily picked out as newbies?

"Don't look so worried," the man said with a laugh. "We ain't gonna eat ya, pretty little miss."

"It is obvious you are new because he is unconscious," his Inven added solemnly.

"He is not unconscious," Sonya spat, glancing at Nathan. "He's just… a little tired."

"Which is how you are obvious," she replied. It might've been the lighting, or it could have been that she had the faintest traces of a smirk.

"First-timers are always tired. They ain't used ta upgradin', ya know? Takes a pretty hefty tax on the body," the man said. He leaned back and did his best to nod knowingly, tapping his temple.

"W-Well, it's not his fault. He got here when he was awake, and now he's just sleeping because he didn't want to have to spend the ride with you two-"

"No need ta get so worked up over it. I'm sorry if I offended ya or anything, just tryin' ta make some conversation. And it's just so… What would ya call it, Betsey?" He turned to his Inven. Sonya scooted closer to Nathan protectively.

"Cute," the straw-haired Inven replied with that same unnervingly blank expression.

"It's just hard. You said so yourself. It's not cute or weird or anything. Nathan's just tired, and I'm helping."

After switching the nivedidus, he had nearly passed out. He ended up taking half a dozen aspirin and they had to wait half an hour before he could stand again, and he needed help getting into the rest of his uniform. Sonya was more than happy to help, of course (especially since it involved taking his shirt off), or at least help with what he allowed her to. By the time they were loaded into the truck, in uniform, prepped, and more or less ready, he had finally fallen asleep. Or fainted. Sonya still wasn't sure which, so she had knelt beside him and finished putting on his boots for him, making sure she was in between her unconscious Tego and the two strangers in the truck with them.

She didn't know how long the ride would be to their destination. Nathan had gotten the mission briefing; she hadn't. She looked him over again, and, satisfied that he was mission-ready, settled in beside him. She stared evenly at the other two, trying her best to seem like she was perfectly at ease with the situation-which she was not. Nathan's sudden weakness worried her.

"Yer a spicy little thing, ain't ya? Relax."

"Relax," Betsey echoed.

"We're just on a mission ta the same area. We're the senior pair in this region and as such, it's our job to check up on certain things," the man told her casually, "We just managed ta snag the same ride out there."

"How long have you two been together?" Sonya asked with great reluctance. She didn't want to give them the impression that she wanted this conversation.

"Goin' on six years now. You two must be brand new. It's gettin' ta be newbie season, ain't it?"

"Newbie season?" Sonya repeated, confused.

"Well, since the Tego and Inven classes graduate at about the same time, and since there's the minimum amount of time before they'll let ya out inta the wastelands-they've upped that recently, haven't they? Used ta be they had ya know each other for a week then chucked ya out inta the wild ta fend for yerselves-it means that the same time each year the newbies come out. An' lessee here…" He held out his hand and his Inven produced a clipboard out of nowhere, handing it to him. He scanned over it, glancing up a couple times at Sonya. She pressed harder against Nathan's side.

"Sonya Karahalios and Nathan Loar," the other Inven said, pointing at a spot on the paper. "Reporting for duty at Site 34 at 1500 hours. First mission, will be a week-long one. Reconnaissance."

Sonya knew that, or at least the site number and the fact that it was their first mission. She hadn't known that they were supposed to be there at three, however, or that it would take a week. She didn't know which was more distressing; if they were to report at three, it meant that they had at least four more hours of driving, and a week out in the wastelands? She had only ever been there once before on a field trip, and that had lasted an hour… "Does it really say all that on the clipboard?" she asked guardedly, eyes narrowed.

"I didn't make it up, if that is what you are insinuating."

"Now, there ain't nothin' wrong with a first mission. Everyone has one. Just make sure ya don't go and make it yer last, okay?" the Tego broke in, glancing between the two Inven with a nervous smile. Sonya hmphed and scowled.

"Of course I won't."

"That's good ta hear. You make it out there, okay, Sonya?" She didn't particularly like how he pronounced her name, though it was sort of endearing at the same time. His accent was too laidback and smooth to dislike that much. She nodded and fretted with Nathan's belt to give herself something to do with her hands. "Yeah, me an' Betsey goin' on six years now. Ya better make it ta that mark, at least. We don't need no more newbies, especially young ones like yerself, dyin' out there."

"Um, we won't. This is an easy mission, isn't it?" she asked uneasily. She glanced up at Nathan, who was still sleeping soundly, despite the conversation and bumpy ride.

"Of course. But eventually, they'll send ya out into the real badlands. That's where it gets downright nasty. And ya take care out there, okay? Watch out for them monsters that's been appearin'."

"Especially the Prissies," his Inven added, tone flat. She glanced over her shoulder, reflexively moving to brace herself better as the truck started slowing down. Sonya had unconsciously mimicked the action.

"What are Prissies?" Sonya asked. She knew what prissy meant, but somehow, it didn't fit the warning. She half-wondered if, half-hoped that they were just messing with her, since she was new and they probably thought she would scare easily. Not that she would. Of course she wouldn't. It didn't stop her from worrying about what Prissies were, though.

Betsey reached back and tied her straw-colored hair back. She fluidly moved to adjust to the decreased speed once again, whereas her Tego and Nathan were gracelessly jostled around. Nathan slid down and fell over onto Sonya, jerking awake. "What-? Are we-where are we? Sonya?" He drowsily groped around until he managed to grab her shoulder and pull her against him. He blinked a couple times, eyes slowing focusing on the pair across from them.

In front of them, the truck slowed down further, and the driver rolled down the window. A blast of loud music hit them, causing Betsey, who was nearest, to wince. "Hey, we're almost at your stop. Site 19, right?"

"That's right," the older Tego called back. He hummed along with the song for a moment with a lazy grin. "That's that new band, right?"

"Uh, yeah, sir. Daydreamer Syndrome. It is popular with you soldiers, isn't it?" the driver replied, a little wonderingly.

"We're not soldiers," Nathan muttered, rubbing at his eyes. He yawned and let go of Sonya in favor of a stretch. "Damn it, I need a cigarette…"

"So he finally awakens. Ya smoke, boy?"

"Yeah, I do, sir."

"Ya brought cigarettes with ya for the mission?"

"Yes sir."

"You will run out one day early," Betsey announced. She stood up as the truck rolled to a stop. With the motor's noise suddenly dying down, the music seemed louder; they could now hear snatches of lyrics. "You always will."

"It's true. Hate ta admit it, but it's always true. Get used ta the cravings now and it'll be a whole lot easier for ya." The man stood up as well, dusting himself off. Betsey stepped up over the side of the truck and hopped to the ground easily, skirt fluttering around her legs. Her Tego got out a little less elegantly.

"I think I brought enough for the mission, sir, but thanks for the warning," Nathan said, leaning against the tailgate. The man grinned and laughed.

"You just keep thinkin' that ta yerself, okay? See ya both around. Don't go dyin'!" With that, the truck roared to life once more. Sonya barely had time to take in the tent marked with a large, white 19 before they rolled away and dust obscured them as they left them behind. The music was abruptly cut off as the driver rolled his window back up.

"How long was I out?" Nathan asked, eyes still lidded and staring off in the direction that they left the other two in.

"Pretty much since I upgraded. Are you okay? You still look pale."

"I'm fine now. The nap helped." She wasn't sure if he was lying or not, but after a brief internal struggle, decided not to pursue the topic. He turned back to her and asked, "Who were they?"

"Another pair who were getting a ride in the same direction. They said they're the seniors in the area, and they had a clipboard with our names and mission information and stuff. Nathan, what are Prissies?"

"Prissy means… It means sort of like snooty or snobby," he supplied after a moment of confusion.

"No, not that kind. They told me-both of us-to watch out for Prissies out there." She nodded towards the wastelands, which were visible in the distance, on the other side of the perimeter. "I think it's something that we actually have to watch out for."

"Hmm, then I don't know. I've never heard of the term before." He stretched and rubbed the back of his head, wincing. Sonya felt a pang of sympathy for him. "Hey, did you tie my boots?"

"Yeah, I did." Sympathy gone, replaced by pride. She grinned up at him, gesturing to the knots. "I helped get you into your uniform and everything. You were pretty out of it… You sure you're better now?"

"I'll be fine. We still have awhile to drive, don't we? Calm down and take a nap with me. It'll be awhile before we're guaranteed this sort of security while sleeping." He caught her before she could escape and pulled her against his side, settling back against the tailgate again. Sonya whined and tried to get out of his grasp, but he held her tight, so she was forced to stay there.

"Someone has to stay awake. Keep an eye out-"

"Not until we get into the badlands you don't. Get to sleep. We woke up early this morning and it'll probably be a late night," he said shortly, closing his eyes.

"I'm not tired!"

"You were this morning."

"That's because you woke me up at five," she said with something like venom. He cracked an eye open to look at her. Sonya glared at him. "You can't forget, Nathan Loar, that I'm not a military man like you! I'm not used to early mornings and stuff like that! You're the Tego here, not me-"

"Fine, fine, I get it. No more five o'clock wake-up calls. I have a headache, so please be quiet now," he groaned, closing his eye again. She quieted and snuggled up next to him with a frown. "If I stay awake any longer, I'll need a cigarette. And I'd rather put off opening the first pack until we're there. So please, Sonya, just be quiet and sleep."

"I won't sleep," she muttered defiantly, "But I'll be quiet for you. Goodnight, Nathan."

"Mm," he grunted.

-.-.-

Nathan had gone through two cigarettes before they were even into the badlands themselves. Security wasn't exactly tight, not that far south, but it was tedious and took too much time and effort. He and Sonya were both stiff and sore and tired from the long ride and the nap hadn't helped in the least. He still had a headache, too.

"Can't you hurry this up at all?" Sonya asked impatiently, tapping her boot in the dust.

The gate guard gave her an irritated look. "I'm sorry, but protocol is protocol. Moreover, this is your first time going through. I have to check everything."

"So it normally doesn't take this long?" Nathan asked, cutting across Sonya's undoubtedly scathing retort.

"Hell no. I'd retire right now if it did. Thankfully, it's only newbie season once a year, and there's not that many this far south, anyway. This is mostly empty territory down here. Too far away from any rebel groups, far away from other borders, not much here but wasteland," the guard grunted, handing Nathan's gun back to him.

He was immensely relieved that it wouldn't normally take this long. He didn't think he could handle it taking this long every single time. "So… It's pretty empty down here?" He was a little annoyed that he of all of the Tego had been sent to what amounted to an empty battlefield. But more than that, he was relieved. Barren wasteland meant that there was nothing there that would be a threat to either of them-but especially Sonya.

"Yeah. You guys are gonna have a real quiet first time. So don't get so antsy here-there's not much waiting for you. Also, you'll run out of cigarettes early."

"I won't. I'll ration them," Nathan replied with something that resembled annoyance. The fact that the gate guard was the second one telling him that worried him, but only slightly; he had enough self control to figure out how to ration cigarettes of all things! And while he did tend to smoke a fair amount, he wasn't as addicted as others might think. He could handle this-but he wouldn't run out early, anyway. He took a deep breath, chewed on the end of the one in his mouth, and asked, "How much longer is this going to take?"

"That depends all on you, my friend."

"Huh?"

"Your shirt's on backwards under your armor. I was kinda waiting to see when you'd notice it yourself, but since you're so impatient go to do nothing for the next week, I'll point it out. Turn it around and follow dress code, then you're on your merry way."

"Don't look at me." Sonya put her hands up defensively, though she was smirking as well. "You kicked me out of the room when your shirt came off. You're the one who put it on backwards."

"Am I to believe that you purposely kept us here longer than necessary in order to see when I'd notice?"

"Pretty much."

It was going to be a long week.
Prologue: [link]

Chapter Two: [link]
Chapter Four: [link]

Another Pronunciation Note:
+nivedidus = nih-veh-die-duhss
© 2010 - 2024 Digital-Skitty
Comments21
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Ian-Jolt's avatar
So that's the reason you wanted me to write 3 paragraphs... Anyway, you wrote this part out nicely. I didn't really enjoy the nivedidus explaination. The psychologist could have been more straight forward in his words and maybe give an example or two. Meh. That's just my opinion though.

I actually like the two seniors. I hope they come back later. They need more face time and could easily be used to show how little Nathan and Sonya actually know about the badlands and how to travel through it. Also, Sonya is cute trying to stand up for her man. lol

You keep talking about the smoking habit... I like it. It's just one of those things, like Gibbs from NCIS getting his coffee in the morning. It's a tiny detail that matters a lot to the characters personality. Also, Sonya seems to be quite a civilian. I'm guessing Inven training is more cushioned than Tego training. I wonder how she'll handle more of Nathan's military living style.