Tell Me More About Yourself, Adam

[Bhaltair Dhimani]

"There's not much to tell, sir," replied Adam Pasiano. Bhaltair arched an eyebrow before reaching for and tossing a file folder in front of Adam.

"I'm afraid, Mr. Pasiano, that you and I both know that's just not true." The contents of the generous folder mildly spilled out in front of Adam, offering a peak at the official, compiled history on one Adam Pasiano. He leaned back in his chair and tried to get comfy before saying, "Look, I know the official jargon and I'm aware of what many people think about you. However, I'm not one to quickly agree with others, so I want to hear things from your side. You, of all people, are likely more qualified to tell me the truth of your life."

Adam went quiet and his brows continued to remain furrowed in frustration. Part of him fumed at another person holding all the cards and the other part of him was getting upset as the bad bits of his past started to resurface all at once. Sensing Adam's discomfort, Bhaltair placated him.

"Look. I'm not looking for all the juicy tidbits, just the truth. Why don't you start by telling me about SpecForce. I heard you were, and likely still are, the best of the best?"

It was a statement, more than a question, but he needed Adam to open up if he was going to count this interview as a success. Adam seemed to suddenly become much more interested in watching as he flexed the sinews and veins on his right wrist. Based on the psych report, Bhaltair knew that Adam would be stubborn, but would see reason, drop the wall and talk it out. Either that, or, as unlikely as it would be, he could just up and leave...He hoped it wouldn't come to that, though. He needed a single man and this one was where all of his money was on.

Finally, Adam seemed to relax (or, at least, attempt as such) and he said,

"It all started in SpecForce headquarters, in Quantico, on planet Malikeb..."

 

[Bhaltair Dhimani]

The office is so hot, Adam didn't understand how they could expect the people in this building to think straight, let alone get through their daily workload. A lone fan serves to shove the muggy office air around and disturb stacks of paper, but it's still, sadly, better than leaving the small oscillating fan off. This morning was when the maintenance issue had been noticed and reported, so it would likely not be for at least another day or two that it got fixed. Good ol' city budget and the politicians who plan it...

When the deployment orders came through, most everyone was actually relieved in that small regard, despite the dangers that were always present on the job. The technicians and hard paper pushers were the only ones left to keep griping about the air while the majority of the force was rolled out on a 473 in Little Big Town.

________________________________________________​

"Another Aug incident, Kenny? What is that? Third time this month?" asked Adam.

"Four, if you count Benny Killik," replied Kenny.

"I don't. That addict was so hopped up on Neuropozyne, he couldn't even count to four. The boys down in lockup told me he even tried to."

"Neuropozyne: Not. Even. Once...Unless, you're like most of the Aug population and need it to cope with those freaking failed models that Dyna Corp tried to push last quarter...."

"Ain't that the frelling truth. Things may not be this bad if the company would pay up for all the Neuropozyne needed. Too bad the CEO was a scum bag and ditched out with most of the cash...If I ever find that schutta---"

"I'll save you a leg, Pasiano. The rest is for Ma, God rest her soul."

___________________________________________________________________​

​

The kid had to only be 15 years old. 14 and a half, even. He could even see the acne on the kid's face as he sighted the hostage taker down the scope of his tactical sniper rifle. Adam and Kenny were the first and only ones to get into clear firing position. All other sniper nests did not have a clear line of sight and there wasn't enough time to re-position in the flashpoint that had just developed.

They had been tailing the reported Aug who had been going on a vandalism rampage. No deaths, yet. It was a crime of passion, seemingly without the intent to kill, but one stray bullet or damage support strut could change all of that in a heartbeat. Now, civilians had run ahead of the Aug kid and locked themselves in some sort of closet/maintenance room. The Aug was trying to bust in. For whatever reason, no one knew, but it was evident that he was still armed.

The order was to take him out. Immediately, Adam knew this wasn't right. Yet, he wasted no time affirming commands.

"You've gotta' take him out, Adam. Orders are orders."

Adam gave pause, enough to have Kenny start tossing him curious and, slowly, upset glances.

"Adam!"

"The orders are wrong," said Adam as he pulled back his sniper rifle and slung it behind his back.

"WHAT!?"

"Command, I cannot take this shot, over?"

"Like hell you can't, Pasiano! Take the fething shot!"

"I said NO! N-O! You do it, if you think orders are right."

"Damn you, Adam! This isn't some story where you get to pick and choose the good ending!"

"No, but this IS real life and I've made my decision. Now, make yours."

That was the last of the conversation before Adam turned his back and walked out. He could hear the angry and desperate radio chatter coming through from both his and Kenny's comm units. A few seconds later, the sound of a gun shot signaled a grisly end for the flashpoint. That was the last Adam had ever seen much of Kenny.

 

[Bhaltair Dhimani]

"Disobeying a direct order during a flashpoint? No wonder they tried to bury you."

"Yeah..." was all Adam replied with. He didn't want to keep mucking about with that particular piece of personal history. There was a pause before he thought of something else he wanted to say. "...The flood gate was dropped as soon as I left SpecForce. Every bit of dirty laundry was dredged up, made official and aired for every potential employer to see. Even stuff that was supposed to be dead and buried."

"Well, to be honest, a lot of those extras seem like a large collection of small and petty detractions."

"Agreed, but there are enough black marks in there to make any security business with a reputation to protect to not hire me on...No offense, Mr. Dhimani."

"None taken, Mr. Pas--You know what? Let's not do the last name game. How about I just call you Adam?"

"Then, what exactly do I call you? Can't call you Boss, yet--"

"How about we try that, actually? We'll see if both of us like the ring of it and that should help the interviewing process."

"Okay, Boss..." A ghost of a smirk touched the right corner of Adam's mouth. Bhaltair clasped his hands together as he tried to gather his thoughts and continue on with story time.

"So, what did you do to survive and make a living, after SpecForce?"

"I believe the more correct question for that is: 'What wasn't I?' I was a courier, hired muscle, bodyguard. I was even a..."

 

[Bhaltair Dhimani]

"Spy? You want to be my spy? What the hell would I need a spy for, anyway?" the drall asked with furrowed brow.

{Dr. Alban Hauxsh. Drall scientist. Shady as hell. In need of a spy.}​

"Let's cut the crap, doc. We both know your medical license is in dire straits. If that dirt that Damon Goodwin has on you comes to light at the next board meeting, which we both know he plans on doing, then you are out of a job and into a jail cell. Now, I'm not personally willing to risk the domino effect coming around full circle to land my shebs into the cell next to you. You KNOW that we're both undesirable people willing to do undesirable things to get what we desire. So, what'll it be? Employ me to help the both of us or make me go on the run and leave you to rot in jail?"

This was it. All the months of undercover work would either come to fruition or sour fast.

The drall rubbed his chin thougtfully...and then glared up at Adam.

 

[Bhaltair Dhimani]

"So, let me get this straight...You infiltrated a high security complex, hacked into Goodwin's files, collected dirt on both Goodwin and Hauxsh and came out ahead of a Trandoshan in close combat?"

"Yes to all of that...I mean, the Trandoshan was more a matter of luck. Who knew they hated cold so much?..." Adam's voice trailed off and that ghost of a smirk shimmered into view once more. Adam kept talking. "Those are all of the preening details of Operation Blackwall that weren't in my file. I worked independently and at my own risk, so you don't have to worry about me having to kill you for revealing 'such confidential matters'."

"As your potential employer, that's comforting...kind of." Bhaltair's reaction reflected a more awkward reaction to Adam's off-color joke. Adam grimaced inwardly, not betraying his poker face, and he made a mental note to not repeat a joke like that again...at least, in front of Dhimani.

Bhaltair looked up from the papers before him and took a few moments to collect his thoughts. Then, he pushed off from the table and walked around to sit on the table in front and to the left side of Adam. He propped his right ankle on top of his left knee and clasped his hands together in front of him. Then, he spoke.

"I want to take some time to 'sleep on it', Adam, but I have a very strong feeling that I'm going to be giving you a happy holo call tomorrow. Congratulations." Bhaltair unclasped his hands and extended his right hand to Adam.

"No. Thank you, boss," replied Adam with a satisfied smirk on his face.

 

[Bhaltair Dhimani]

"Hi, Adam!" came the informal greeting. Adam turned his head to the left to catch a glimpse of the smiling Ms. Pendleton.

"Hey, Kara..." was all he offered back as he continued on his way. Kara was nice and all, but she was just a pretty face for the company front, as far as he was concerned. Sensing Adam's lack of desire for social interaction, Kara merely shrugged and turned back to filling out paperwork. Even though she would have liked a distraction from her current, monotonous task, she understood why he might be feeling reserved.

The World's Fair was set to take place on Mandalore and the company had plans to leave tomorrow morning. Adam was likely nervous. Not only was this Crescentia's first big thrust into the major web that made up the cybernetics market, it was also Adam's first huge assignment that had a little to no margin for error. She looked down at her paperwork and actually smiled. Sometimes, she was actually quite thankful for the job she had compared to other jobs that others had to work, especially for young females her age.

_____________________________________________________​

​

"Don't get me wrong, Faith. I'm all too aware of the field I've chosen to work in and the implications therein. However, I simply must agree to disagree. There are some things you are just NOT supposed to do to the human body."

Color started to touch Faith's cheeks as her "fighting spirit began to rise".

"And who decides that? You? People should reserve the right to choose what they want to do with their body and it's our job to give them the best and safest opportunities to do so."

"Just because everyone may have unalienable rights does not mean that they should have the right to unchecked power. The more we stray into developing more and more powerful defense contracts, the more we arm the galaxy to tear itself apart. These plans you're talking about---"

"---Of course there needs to be supervision! I didn't mean that...Oh, hi, Adam."

The two of them looked at Adam. It was uncharacteristic for Faith to interrupt others like that, but Adam let that one slide for now. He had plenty of other problems on his mind. David Tesleff had noticed Adam when he first stepped within peripheral vision of them, but he hadn't made the move to address him, as his conversation with Faith Tucker was more important in his mind. However, now that Adam was officially part of the conversation, David wanted to know how he weighed in on the subject he had clearly been listening in on.

"Yes, hello, Adam. What do you think about all of this?"

"I think," replied Adam. "That I need to talk to Faith in private, Dr. Tesleff"

"Cold shoulder, Mr. Pasiano, sir?" It was more a statement than a question and there was an emphasis on the formal titling he threw Adam's way. At this point, David was able to tell when Adam was purposefully being formal rather than informal with him...David moved away without waiting for a response, leaving Adam and Faith in privacy. Private, relative to the fact that no one could really hear what they were saying over the sounds that were going off in the lab as people worked diligently.

Faith turned to Adam and smiled warmly.

"What's up, Adam? Come to make sure I'm secure?"

A little piece of Adam's heart fired up, but he was still worrying and fretting too much over every detail.

"Just wanted to see if you needed any help."

"Like, with what?"

"Oh, you know..." Adam himself didn't even know. He was mostly here to try and cure his uneasiness, as Faith was one of the few people who gave him strength beyond that of his two biceps and sharp mind. "...Just in case you needed a refresher on our plans or if you needed me to...carry anything for you."

She laughed at that last part.

"Oh, Adam. You know we've gone over the plans at least a dozen times. I'm also certain that the loader droids would be of much more use to me, despite how impressive you look when you flex those muscles. What's bugging you?"

First, Adam offered a smile, but then he simply turned to lean on the railing and shrug at her. Before he could start to voice his thoughts, she continued.

"I get it, though, Adam. I'm feeling pretty nervous, too...In fact, there's something I should probably tell you---"

Adam Pasiano. Please report to your office. Adam Pasiano, please report to your office. Thank you.​

​

"That's the bell, sweetheart. I'll see you later."

"Try not to over work yourself, babe."

"I have to. They have cameras everywhere and they'll catch me if I don't."

"Don't you control the cameras, Mr. Security Man?" was the last thing Adam heard before he was out of the labs. A smile touched his face.

________________________________________________________​

​

Adam was sifting through his work emails when something caught his eyes on the system feedback monitor. Red lights started to light up the monitor here and there at an alarming rate. They were all centralized on one level...Faith's lab. Soon enough, a warning sign appeared across the top of the screen saying, "Environmental Breach Warning---Fire Hazard Detected"

A comm line came directly from the Big Boss and Adam opened it up quickly.

"Adam! Something isn't right in Faith's lab---"

"---I spotted it, Boss. Is the fire big?"

"No and it doesn't appear to be spreading, but comms coming out of that floor are staticky. There's either been a cascade failure of sorts or this could be something much more malevolent, especially since it's the eve of the trip. Something doesn't feel right, Adam. I need you to investigate. Load up just in case this is an attack. I'm enacting Level 2 safety protocols, so get down there quick and use the service elevator."

"Got it, boss."

Adam grabbed his assault rifle and made his way back down to Faith's lab.

 

[Bhaltair Dhimani]

*tsst!*

The service elevator doors slid open. The noise of a fire alarm sounded from afar at a regular cadence. He readied the stock of his assault rifle against his shoulder, but kept the barrel pointed downwards. He quickly made his way through the halls. Besides the alarm, the only other sounds were that of fires that had erupted in different areas and labs. He spotted a trail of destruction that gave him a chill. Bullet holes and blood stains paved the way ahead of him. It was long before he came upon two mangled and shot up bodies of scientists he was vaguely familiar with. He crouched down beside the bodies to check for a pulse, just in case...However, there was not a single beat to be found.

He tried to key his comm unit straight up to Dhimani's office, but was only met with the despairing sound of static. Oh, that's right thought Adam. The door ahead of him hissed open and a sweating male scientist ran through the doors. He only got a couple steps out the door when gunfire erupted from the room behind him and brought him down. He was screaming, but otherwise still alive. Adam rushed forward, grabbed the man and dragged him out of view of whoever was in the room. He gave the man a once over and found that he had been shot in the shoulder. Fething painful, but not his immediate concern.

He took up position to the left of the door and then the fight was on.

___________________________________________________________________​

​

They wore black armor and carried a wide assortment of typical military hardware; pistols, rifles, shotguns, etc. His rifle training from SpecForce kicked in, but he also employed the environment to his advantage. He took to the dense cover of worktables and office cubicles and tread lightly to gain an advantageous "drop on the enemy". He swept through the labs, taking down goon after goon. He had left the scientist behind. He wasn't equipped to heal him, the man wasn't coherent enough to provide answers and he didn't have enough time. He turned the corner into a room and what happened next changed his life forever.

 

[Bhaltair Dhimani]

The world existed for the sole purpose of being a fever dream playing in Real D4D for Adam. At least, that's how Adam felt in his semi-conscious existence in the time after the attack on Crescentia Industries. Half the time, he was sifting through whatever his drugged and wounded consciousness was able to glean as the doctors worked on him. The other half involved him swimming through his dreams and nightmares.

Eventually, he reached a point in recovery in which he wasn't drugged up and hazy. He was relaxing on a lounge couch with an icy scotch in his left hand. Except, it wasn't his left hand. It was a whole Mod VI Cyber Arm. He numbly stared at this new revelation, but, instead of feeling angry, shocked, awed, his mind simply refused to feel anything.

Time for another sip.

______________________________________________________________________​

​

Bhaltair Dhimani sat behind his desk and quietly regarded his moody head of security. Of course, Adam was currently in the official role. They filled the role temporarily until they could determine whether or not Adam could handle the responsibility once more. Adam had chosen to stand before the grand window looking out upon the cityscape. The sunset was beautiful at this time, but Adam had more on his mind than just the scenery.

"I never asked for this, boss," stated Adam. Bhaltair furrowed his brow and grimaced inwardly. He knew that. Adam definitely knew that. Bhaltair was only partially justified for making the decisions that he did. Adam had never been in a position to make legible decision after the attack. Since it was his facilities that were used to save Adam's life and bring him back to full health, he had made some questionable decisions. For instance, they could have afforded to save more of Adam's arms and legs than they had decided to. However, in Bhaltair's mind on a short time table, he had come to the conclusion that it would be far more efficient to remove what was left of the arms and legs and simply operate whole cybernetic arms and legs onto his body.

Bhaltair sighed with exasperation and partial regret.

"I know, Adam...I'm sorry, okay. I made a decision when I was presented with a problem and you didn't have enough time for me to dilly dally. Besides, are you really upset over losing a few pounds of flesh that could have been salvaged, but would cause a hindrance for cybernetic replacement? I know you, Adam. You're efficient. I figured you would have done it yourself, if you were in your right mind."

"That's not the only problem, boss. You didn't just set me up with the bare necessities, here. You purposefully added many extra features and systems. Now, I'm not one to sneeze at these expensive and highly useful upgrades, but just try and tell me with a straight face that you weren't going behind my back when you decided to 'pimp my ride'..."

At this point, Adam was leaning over the boss' table and Bhaltair was standing and leaning forward, to stare back at Adam, from his side of the desk. His features darkened momentarily, but then he stood up straight and conceded the point to Adam with a tired look on his face.

"You're right, Adam. I'm sorry. Okay? I'll take the blame for it. I did this to you. Just...please tell me this isn't a problem? I really did have your best interests at the forefront of my mind. I wanted you to be able to thrive after this terrible accident. If you want to leave and go elsewhere, I'm not going to stop you. I'm not going to act like I own you. I just really hope that we can move on and get back to more important things, like finding Fa--"

"--That's enough for one night. I have a lot to think about and I want to go home." He turned his back and started walking out of the office. Bhaltair became worried about what Adam was going to decide. Then, Adam turned his head and said, "See you later, boss." A hopeful smile graced Bhaltair's previously troubled features.

 

[Bhaltair Dhimani]

Now, whenever Adam wanted to exercise, he felt as though he were cheating; as if he wasn't getting anything out of it other than the ability to show off.

His apartment had always been similar to a man cave, but, now, it looked like three men in sumo suits had a wrestling match. Adam was still himself; still prone to outbursts of anger and frustration when left to his own thoughts in isolation. The only difference was that, now, he could inflict more damage with ease around his apartment.

The mirror in his bathroom now held a mighty crack that started as a gash of a circle in the middle and spider webbed out every which way.

Despite committing vandalism on some of his least notable possessions, something was different about his own demeanor, this time. He stopped his tirade shorter than he usually would have. He came to realize that he wasn't truly fully of rage, which would normally warrant a apartment roast. He realized that he was just falling into line and committing that familiar action more out of tradition then the actual need to break.

He considered getting utterly smashed on the booze in his fridge, but that idea suddenly didn't appeal to him, either. He felt the need to just...sit down, relax and think to himself.

_________________________________________________________________​

​

10 months later. Another fething attack.

This time, it was at CI's manufacturing plant. This time, it wasn't the men in black. Rather, gangers had decided to take the place over, hostages and all. It had been a long time since Adam had last dived head first into a shoot 'em up hell hole. This made him a teensy bit nervous and anxious while he listened to the sitrep that his boss was giving him. The transport landed and he was let loose upon the rooftop of one of their manufacturing complex's buildings that hadn't been occupied. The sunset had nearly passed fully, allowing the city a few last rays of sun from beyond the horizon before everything would be plunged into darkness.

Adam passed by SWAT without a word. These were no longer his people. The hard workers, scientists and friends that he met everyday at Crescentia were his people, now. He was in this for their interests. He had only ever visited this place once in person. Every other time had been whilst reviewing holo security footage. His mini map and building layout feed gave him the path he needed to blaze through the facility. Along the way, he had to resort to all manners of covert op tactics and overt combat techniques.

He would try to be sneaky and silently take down goons who were isolated. That tended to prove moderately successful, but then he would almost always get sniffed out and be forced into a firefight. His body could twist and move so freely and easily. He always felt in control, no matter how many guns were going off against him. He could pick up metal storage bins with ease and toss them at his opponents. He sneaked from cover to cover so quickly, the goons would think he was still behind the cover they were shooting, only to realize that he was now firing from their left side. When he closed the distance, his fists and legs went to work to quickly incapacitate and utterly break his enemies. There only came one time in which he had to use his Tsunami system, which dispatched the goons that were about to overcome his poor cover positioning. When he found security terminals, his brain implant allowed him to hack with much more ease and comprehension. However, he was too inexperienced to hack the higher functions available. It sure would have been helpful to get a security turret or two on his side...Regardless, not even the locked doors and access ways could prove to be too much of a difficulty for Adam.

When the screams died down, the smoke cleared and all that was left was the sharp and sickly smell of battle, SWAT came in and took all the glory without a single casualty. But, that was okay. Adam was satisfied in knowing the truth. If anything was left sticking in his craw, it was the fact that he still didn't know the real reason behind this attack. Why here? Why them? Why any of this at all? Were these gangers paid off by a rival company; by the people behind the attack on CI? Too many questions and no answers. This line of thinking made his victory feel shallow.

____________________________________________________________________​

​

​

"You did an amazing job today, Adam. It's a shame that so many had to die, but I respect your decision to handle things pragmatically. Check in with Frank. We've got a lead on who was behind the attack."​

 

[Bhaltair Dhimani]

"Well, if it isn't Attila the Hutt back from the kill. Reach a new high score, Adam, or did you forget to save your progress?"

"I know that you think your half-assed jokes are God's gift to mankind, Frank, but I'd rather you NOT trivialize the lives I took last night."

"Oh, as if you don't find the act of mowing down people with your guns to be trivial! That's rich. I bet it's all instinct by now, without a need to even consider a man before you put a bullet in him."

Adam leaned menacingly over Frank's desk and glared at the smaller man.

"Every time I pull that trigger, I know I'm taking someone's son, someone's father, someone's friend. But, if I don't take them down, they'll each take down four more people before SWAT can get permission to open fire."

Frank's eyes narrowed in return. He wasn't entirely convinced of Adam's attitude towards violence, but he also no longer felt like fighting a sticky subject matter.

"Mm hmm...Well, besides from your usual check up, you're down here to hear the news: we have a lead. There was one particular terrorist present during the attack that the police tried to cover up."

"How do you know this?"

"I have my sources and you have yours. I'll send you the nitty gritty in an email, but for now, just trust me. They're keeping a body in the morgue. It's the body of a hacker, unlike any of the other terrorist gangers there. Exotic tattoos, not from around here, that sort of thing. It's not concrete, but our best bet is to get that man's neural hub and sift through what he knew; see if it leads us back to a source. Only problem is...that body is buried under a fire blanket of red tape and nearly no one can get close to it. We need that hub, but can't access it through...normal means."

"Are you in, Adam?" interrupted a familiar voice through Frank's computer's sound system.

"I was just about to ask him that myself, boss," replied Frank. Adam shook his head, leaned over the table and spoke towards where he knew the microphone would be.

"Well, if I'm to get this right, you seem to be wanting me to do something quite illegal, boss."

"If we had any other way, Adam, we would have taken it. We have little time and no other options. Do you have a problem with our solution?"

"No. I just thought I'd point it out."

"Great. Welcome back, Adam. I'm so glad to have you back in the fold."

"Just try not to get folded again if we ever catch up with the people I'm thinking are behind this..."