Characters are named and gendered but literally everything else is generic asjhfsd
CW: Conditioned whumpee, (temporarily) oblivious caretakers
Naia started heading back to base after getting out of a one-on-one meeting with a higher-up. Apparently one of the other branches in their organization had recently been shut down. It was a messâbut not her mess, thankfully. Most of the branches were fairly independent and separate, so hers could just do their own thing while the more central powers dealt with this.
However, they also had several people whoâd been victims in this issueâpeople who might require a lot of care. The investigation into the full details was still ongoing, Naiaâd been told, but the organizationâs core wasnât certain whether they alone could sufficiently care for all the victimsâ issues while also dealing with the rest of the disastrous case. That was where she came in, and what the meeting was for. They were looking for teams that were willing and able to take in one of these people for the time being, at least until the worst of it had been sorted out. It was on a volunteer basis, so if she needed to Naia could refuse without any other consequences than a weight on her conscience.
She said sheâd get back to them. If it were just her affected sheâd have said yes right away, but she had other people to think about. Making changes without running them by the team wasnât her style. Sheâd check with them, and agree if they were okay with it; they werenât very busy currently and easily had the time and resources for one more person.
Now she had to talk to her team about it. She figured theyâd all want to help; they were a good lot.
Naia called a team meeting the next day for that very purpose. She briefly explained the situation as she understood it. âI told them I had to consider it. Itâs not required, so Iâll only accept if itâs okay with you guys. But if it is, I think we would be a good team to take one in.â
âWhat exactly are they victims of?âÂ
âI don't know. I've heard rumors of human experimentation and involuntary recruitment, but all I've had confirmed for certain is that they got shut down for ethics violations.â
âIâm down for it,â one team member said. Several other agreements sounded from around the room. No one was against it.
This was why Naia loved her team. They were good people. âAlright. Iâll tell them weâll take one.â
They were expecting someone traumatized. Maybe someone who lashed out. Maybe someone who fell apart at the slightest issue. Maybe someone too terrified to function.Â
They weren't expecting someone soâŚcalm.Â
The man they received from the organization seemed collected and unharmed, as far as a surface-level inspection could show. He seemed to respond normally to questions and directions, with a level-headedness that suggested the rumors of horrors in the terminated branch were unfounded. He was very polite, if a little withdrawn.
âJust one more thing, and then weâll get you settled in your new living quarters.â
Naia covered the last question she needed to, then called another team member over.
âAlright, letâs get you settled. Ariel, will you show him to his room?â
Ariel took their new guest to the quarters the team had gotten ready for him. They showed him around it, pointing out all the amenities theyâd prepared for him to use so he wouldnât have trouble finding anything he needed. They told him if he needed anything else he could just ask anyone, but ideally Naia since she was the one in charge. He was polite and attentive the whole time, and they never needed to repeat themself.
âAlright, is there anything else you need now?â When he answered in the negative, they responded, ââkay. Naia will probably check on you soon, go ahead and get settled in in the meantime. And see if you think of anything else youâll need, we wouldnât want you to go without.â
There seemed to be no problems, so they left him to settle in in private.
Once she was finished with the paperwork and official business regarding receiving him, Naia went to check on the new guest. She knocked and stepped inside the room. âHey, you doing all right? Got settled in and everything?â
âGood. Is there anything you need that we havenât gotten for you yet?â
âOkay. If anything comes up, let me know. Or anyone else on the team if Iâm not available.â
âGreat.â In all the hustle and bustle of getting things arranged and doing the official work, Naia hadnât gotten to know the newcomer at all or even learned his name. Time to rectify that. âWhatâs your name?â
âI mean your real name, not what the other branch designated you in their records.â
âIâm not sure what you mean, maâam.â
Oh dear. There was a lot more at play than simple politeness. She double-checked to make sure she was interpreting this right. âYou mean you donât have a normal name, like aâhuman name?â
âNo maâam. I am 28515.â
This was not a good sign. She and the team were going to have to reassess some assumptions theyâd made when they first brought him in. âOkay. Well is there anything else I can call you?â There was no way she was going to dehumanize him like that and call him a number.
âMy call sign is Aquarius.â
âAquarius? Why, are you a January birthday or something?â
âI don't understand the question, ma'am.â
Right. Of course those people who did this to him wouldn't celebrate his birthday.Â
âSorry. Nevermind that.â
âI like Aquarius.â She liked it better than a number, anyways. âIs it okay if I call you that instead?â
âYou can call me whatever you like, ma'am.â
She worried he would say that even if he hated what she was calling him. Itâs not like she had many options, though, she wasnât a mind-reader. âAlright. Iâll call you Aquarius for now, but thereâs something else youâd like to be called, tell me, okay?â
The âmaâamâ hit differently now that Naia had a better idea of where the deference was coming from. Still, this much of a better idea might not be enough. She had to really know what she was dealing with if she was going to be able to help him well. âWhat, exactly, was your role in the group that had you before us?â
There was no hesitation or doubt in his answer. âIâm a weapon.â