Tron: Deliverance

<SLEEP> NOT FOUND

Alan had been in a sleep cycle - asleep- for the better part of a cycle. Or for nearly a full day now in User terms.

Last Quorra had checked, the older programmer was stable. His vital signs reasonably healthy. But the code around his heart was still shaky.

Sam, Tron and Jet stayed with Alan through the night. The three mechanic programs, Beck included in this count, and the three security programs all rested in the command hub as well.

Now, she stood on the command bridge. The former ISO viewed the slightly dimmed lights of the city in their night-cycle and skimmed through the city's data analytics. The energy of the whole system was still trending down, bit by bit. She released a shaky sigh.

"Are...you ok?" A low voice came from behind her. She jumped and spun. Paige had entered the command bridge silently. It sent Quorra's heart thundering against her ribs. That was something she still wasn't used to, a heart. She felt it now more keenly, having seen what it was to watch one fail.

She slapped a hand over her chest, feeling that rhythm for a moment.

"I'm fine"

Paige glided in further "Somehow I doubt that"

Quorra's hand formed a fist over her heart. "Did you need something Paige?"

The lady renegade hesitated for a moment, seeming to run her next statement over in her processes a few times. Checking its validity.

"I'm no use down there. I figured I'd be more use up here, keeping an eye on the city"

"But you're a medic. Why wouldn't you be of use?" Quorra cocked her head quizzically. Paige half-smiled, not a bit of happiness in the expression.

"Ive found my medical skills to be pretty useless more times than they've been useful. It's the great joke of my life"

"Somehow I doubt that" Quorra responded, echoing her words from a moment before.

The forced smile faded from Paige's features. She crossed her arms over her chest and moved forward, so she could see out of the enormous window.

"Why aren't you resting?" Quorra asked.

"Why aren't you?" Paige responded in a nearly accusing tone.

Quorra processed the query for a moment.

"I tried, but I couldn't rest. And, I didn't want Sam to see me worrying. Hes got enough to handle right now"

"So you're hiding up here while they deal with Alan-One's condition?" Paige asked flatly.

Quorra shrugged again.

"Im better at understanding how User physiology interacts with code. So Ill need to go back down soon. But I just needed a break. It's been a long time since someone Ive cared about has been hurt like that...It brought up bad memories"

Paige nodded slowly.

"Will you all leave? When he gets better?" she asked hesitantly, but there was a chilly edge to her question.

Quorra's eyes shot up from where they rested on the horizon. But Paige wasn't looking at her. The program's face was pointed stubbornly towards the window.

"Why would we leave? We haven't fixed the Grid yet"

"Then will you leave after you've fixed it?"

Quorra regarded Paige for a moment. Feeling the chilly air around her. She didn't have passive sensors like a security program. But Flynn had taught her to see beyond binary.