Somnambulance [Retconned]

[Toaster]

The Lich rumbled as its engines came to life with a deep growl. Olivia sat in the pilot's seat, breathing hard and staring into the darkening sky above her.

She was caught between feeling sick at what she had done and being frustrated with herself for fleeing the scene of the murder in a near panic.

This isn't like you, she tried to encourage herself. You've dealt with worse.

But, ever since her return from the Omicrons, her mind and feelings had been a jumbled mess, and she found herself confused and afraid more often than ever before. She kicked herself mentally for not at least remembering to close the medical files that were still on display on the laboratory's computer. Now, whoever discovered Doctor Macintosh would know immediately that she was responsible for his murder.

But what was done was done. She couldn't risk returning to the scene now. No, she had to get out of the system and get back to her apartment immediately, before the doctor was found. So, she punched her ship's throttle. It lurched off the rooftop and shot into the sky.


- - -


Olivia hurried down the long corridor from the elevators to her apartment. The flight to Manhattan had been easy, no one trying to impede her. She smiled, despite her bleak circumstances. At least something was going well. As she swiped her keycard through her flat's door's lock, she felt a vibration from within her jacket. Striding through the opening door, she reached in and pulled out her PDA, glancing at the notification that had popped up on the small screen.

She paled.

It was a public bulletin from Liberty Police Inc., not an uncommon sight for her. The name on the header, however, made her breath catch in her throat. She opened the bulletin and quickly averted her gaze as a picture of herself stared up at her from the display.

"Sh*t."

So much for things going well.

Her heart beating faster, she pocketed the datapad and hurried across her apartment into the bedroom. If the police already believed her to be the prime suspect, they would dispatch units to her apartment, leaving her with only a few minutes to grab the most necessary items and make her escape.

Olivia ran to her bedside dresser, tearing open the top drawer with enough force to almost send it hurtling across the room. From within, she grabbed a single sheet of paper. She let her eyes wander over it for but an instant.

Miss Olivia Sable, If you are reading this, you have survived against substantial odds..., it read. She quickly folded it up and shoved it into her jacket's inside pocket. Then she turned to her bed and leaped up onto it. She leaned against the wall it stood against and with one hand reached up towards the ceiling. A perforated metal plate was embedded into it, covering a ventilation shaft. With the other, she reached down to her left thigh, feeling for her sheathed knife. She found it empty.

"Sh*t."

She remembered leaving the blade behind on Fontana, lying in a pool of blood between the two bodies she had woken next to.

Getting anxious, she reached up with both hands and tried to get a hold of the metal plate. Her fingers searched its edges, looking for any protrusion she could latch on to, but it was flush with the wall.

"Come on," Olivia growled in frustration. Angrily, she struck the plate with the ball of her hand. It rattled against the wall. She struck it again, harder, and was rewarded with a metallic pop as one corner came loose from its fittings. Impatiently, she grabbed at the sharp metal, ignoring the pain of it digging into her fingers' skin, and pulled, hard. The plate bent before coming free with a loud bang. Olivia fell, sprawling across the bed, and the plate went flying across the room, crashing against the far wall. Shaking her head, the mercenary got to her feet again and gazed at the now open ventilation shaft. Tucked inside was a black crate.

Olivia let out a sigh of relief at the sight of it and reached up, pulling the heavy box out. She teetered briefly under its weight, then cautiously set it down on the bed, crouching before it. Taking a deep breath, she pressed her thumb against the biometric lock on its front side. With a quiet hiss, the lid unsealed, and Olivia flung it open. Blue light washed over her from within and she smiled as she beheld the crystal orb that lay within the container. Immediately, a wave of tranquility washed over her, sweeping away the fear and frustration that had built up inside her mind.

Olivia closed her eyes, giving herself a few seconds to enjoy the peaceful respite. Under better circumstances, she would have gladly spent hours sitting before the strange, blue crystal, letting it calm her jumbled thoughts and suppressing the migraines that were ever-threatening to torture her. But, sadly, these weren't better circumstances. Breathing deeply, as if to inhale the relaxing blue light shining over her, she closed the crate's lid again, sealing its contents from the outside world. Hoisting it up into her arms, she dropped off the bed and hurried back into the living room.

It was as barren as ever, Olivia never having gotten around to decorating it. Luckily, this meant that there was little she had to worry about taking along on the flight. She strode towards the small table that stood close to the apartment door and grabbed a belt, holster, and sidearm from off it, placing them on top of the crate. Then, giving the room one last glance, she strode out of the apartment and down the hallway towards the row of elevators.


- - -


The Lich jumped into the sky, accelerating quickly away from the apartment complex. Olivia scanned the airspace around her, looking for any signs of police activity. Flashes of blue and red caught her eyes, a group of police air cruisers approaching in the distance. She pulled hard on the control stick, turning away from the incoming police units and shooting off into the opposite direction.

Trying to leave Manhattan through the orbital docking ring was out of the question. If the police were already looking for her, docking control was sure to be scanning passing traffic for her ship's transponder. If she tried to get through, a wing of police ships would be sure to intercept her in orbit.

So, Olivia kept climbing through the planet's atmosphere, in the direct opposite direction of the docking rings. It was risky, but she would have to attempt an unassisted orbital ascent and try to get clear of Manhattan without being caught by law enforcement.

She took a deep breath as the clouds passed by her ship's canopy and the blue Manhattan sky grew darker and darker around her as she climbed into the upper layers of the atmosphere. She tried to think clearly, to formulate a plan for how to escape the police's pursuit, escape Liberty if necessary, but she found it hard to focus. Her mind was a mess of questions.

What was causing her to blackout? What was making her kill people? Where could she go, where could she find answers?

She shook her head.

One problem at a time, she thought to herself.

---

Olivia Sable