Page 9 of The Alien's Private Redemption

"I would like to think my previous sessions with Private McBride haven't been wasted," Doctor Phillips said. "And I think, as long as we can avoid triggering the self-destruct, that continued sessions will be helpful, yes."

"What were you trying to do with your sessions, Doctor Phillips?" Zoric asked. He did not like the woman, did not like how she'd treated Angela, but he had to respect the Colonel's decision to use her for the process. From what he was learning, people did not end up in positions like Doctor Phillips without some proficiency.

"Her initial interrogations tried to get information about her co-conspirators. As those proved fruitless beyond proving there was more than one trigger for the self-destruct, my sessions were to find the rest of the triggers and gain more context for further interrogations. We are not trying to kill her."

That last statement was directed at Ae-cha who gave her a dubious look.

"What kind of context are you trying to get?" Zoric asked. "Is it something a more in depth background check could provide?"

It was a stupid question but he had to ask it. Everybody in the room seemed to have a better idea of how everything worked than he did.

Colonel Schuh was the one who answered him. "It would if there was anything to check. I've seen ghosts with more documentation than her. No social media, few friends and family, and nothing beyond a few official documents have been digitized. It took sending someone to her original home address from when she signed up to even verify that her home town existed."

"Did she wipe it deliberately?" Ae-cha asked.

"She grew up outside," Zoric said. "Hiding in the forests and caves of the mountains."

"I'm not sure her childhood home actually has power," Colonel Schuh added with a nod. "She graduated from a school that doesn't have a senior class every year and only exists because there's enough families willing to send their kids."

"Which tells me a lot about some things and almost nothing helpful in the immediate situation," Doctor Phillips said. "Any answers we're going to get have to come from her. And she has to want to give them."

"It will be safer to just let me remove the command," Ae-cha said.

"If there's only one," Zoric said. "And you can convince her to help you find it without torturing her."

The lizardwoman hissed at him and Colonel Schuh raised an eyebrow.

"I was going to suggest that, as a course of action," the Colonel said. "Are there complications I need to know about?"

"There are always complications," Ae-cha said. "Every brain is unique."

"If Angela- Private McBride, fights the process, there is a chance it could trigger the self-destruct command," Zoric explained. "And if she has any kind of bond with the person who placed it, she's likely to fight it. Since there is more than a single word or phrase for the trigger, it's likely that there is more than one command. Failure to remove all of them makes it more likely to trigger the ones that are left."

"It sounds like they created a minefield in her brain," Doctor Phillips said.

"Yes," Zoric said with a nod. "And every effort to remove it makes it more dangerous."

"There may only be one command with multiple triggers," Ae-cha argued. "I've seen that more often with some of the women we've rescued."

Zoric turned and hissed at her. "Those were not commands, those were bonds, and you did more damage removing them than if you'd left them."

"Put there against their will while they were traumatized," she hissed back.

"They were as traumatized by their supposed rescue as anything else." Zoric felt the scales along his neck and shoulders shift to stiff plates while his muscles tensed to leap.

"Enough," Colonel Schuh shouted before they could attack each other.

He waited until they'd settled down before he continued.

"Obviously, there is some history here that is going to be relevant to future attempts at interrogation," he said. "However, it is not relevant to this discussion right now. Before we go any further, I want a full report on how the procedure will work, any risks associated with it, and how to mitigate them as much as possible."

"I'd like to review that," the doctor still leaning in the doorway said.

Ae-cha bristled but nodded. "I have a preliminary report ready because my people anticipated that you'd want something like that. I'll expand it as necessary."

"And send it to Doctor Torres when it's completed," Colonel Schuh told her.

"If I can, I'd like to see Private McBride when she is up to receiving visitors," Zoric said.

---