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Mike sat next to the bed looking at Sophia, fiddling with some parts and not really trying to do much of anything other than keep his hands busy.
"You okay Mike?" Sophie stretched, wincing as she did so. "You've been playing with that stuff non-stop."
"You're awake?" He looked up and blinked. He lokoed horrible, as if he hadn't slept at all. A stack of coffee cups sitting next to his notebook on the table confirmed it. "How're you feeling?"
"I have a headache . . . and I feel like I've been beaten with a stick." She smiled slightly, and reached up rubbing a bruise on her cheek.
"Yeah, well . . . that's my fault." He looked at the piece of electronics in his hand. "At least, I think it was . . . I remember swinging and then seeing my hand all bloody and you falling . . ." He rubbed at his eyes.
"I don't remember." She paused, "but don't worry about it Mike. Even if you do remember that, it wasn't your fault."
"Well, I suppose I can let you off the hook this time.." She winked. "But don't ever ever do that again young man!" She changed the tone of her voice for the last part, mimicking their mother.
He laughed a little and rubbed his eyes. "Hmm. I just thought of something." He reached into a pocket and withdrew a small notepad, scribbling something down. "X-Com had to have faced the possibility of mind control, so how did they solve it . . .?"
"I don't know.."
"Something to go looking for." He closed the notebook. "Anyway, I'm glad there's no permament damage. I mean, no more than I could expect." She laughed weakly and dropped back onto the bed. Mike moved next to her bed and patted a hand. "Rest up, sis."
Mike left Sophia's room for his own room, and stopped when he saw Kroytla standing there with his usual expressionless face. "You know, I never said thank you."
{You did. Just not in words.} The Sectoid's large eyes blinked and Mike nodded. {What is it you wished to ask?}
"I . . . oh, right, telepathy." He nodded. "You don't happen to know what sort of methods the X-Com teams used to keep mind control out?"
{No. That is something I did not encounter.} The Sectoid blinked again. {Do you think they had a way?}
"There's no way they were able to get as far as they did if they hadn't have had something. I heard a little about it but never really thought I'd need to put up with it."
"Their best weapon and you think they'd fail to use this?" A voice came from behind him. Poole was standing there. "Come on, runt, Wychin sent me to get you . . . he wants to ask a couple questions." Then the two of them left, and Mike wandered on to his room.
The next morning he was awakened by a shake. He groaned. "Not yet."
"Yes, yet." Wychin's voice said loudly. Mike sat straight up and knocked his head on the bunk above him. "That was smooth."
"I'm a force ten disaster area when I'm still waking up." Mike said apologetically. "What's up?" He pushed aside a stack of schematics he'd been drawing up for those weird rifles McManus and him had located. He almost was able to get one together without improvising pieces . . . so that meant he was about a week from a working model.
"I'm making sure you're ready to go out again. That your brain isn't scrambled or something."
"No more than it usually is . . . God, I had too much coffee." Mike groaned to himself.
"Well, just be ready in an hour." Wychin pointed a finger. "Sophia's fine, she'll be coming along."
"What are we going to be doing?" Mike asked, leaning back onto the bed.
"Wait until briefing." Wychin replied, then left.
Written on February 24th, 2000 by "Mike Thornside" and "Sophia Thornside"