Lesson number 9

                The good thing about being on a mission is that you don't have time to slow down and think. No matter how unbelievable the last 10 minutes may have been, the task at hand needs to be completed before you can take measure of the things you've seen. If your companions die, grieve for them after the action, finish your goal, just don't let them die in vain. I used to wonder how my uncle could just pick me up and run away from the rest of the family, leaving them behind.

          As I grew older I had to learn the hard way; you can't save everyone. So I've come away from that focusing on who I can rescue; and vowing to make my enemies pay back every drop of blood spilt, with interest.

          So watching my dad walk out of my life, and into certain death, just strengthen my determination.

          "Marla, that was the former Governor of Isle." I turned to face her. "Is our package ready?"

          Her mouth still hung open from her earlier inquiry. "Uh, yeah," she replied with a visible shake. "Lancer's guy, Maximillian Von Tummy, was able to find the assassin's physical location, catch him and interrogate him. He's being held at the maximum security facility in sector 73. Von Tom says he can get us in sneaky style, but I told him to focus on getting us structural plans on the building, we'd do the rest. He didn't seem to care about it one way or the other. I told him to expect a call at the restaurant you specified."

          "Good." I tapped my wrist, activating my communicator, "Time to go with the flow." Having given the order to initiate phase two of the mission, I lead the way out.

*                  *                  *

          "We are in queue for planet landing in three quarts." Trevor calls out from his console. "The Cloud Nine Tour alias was accepted. That cruise ship seems to have successfully stymied our capture of the Hawkins heir. There is news that Henry Hawkins has cut his vacation short and is en route to Cuvette Petit, where the cruise is scheduled to disembark."

          "So only father dearest knows something is up. Thankfully his pride wouldn't let Hawkins put a price on my head. He likes keeping things personal. Even if he finds out we have his boy, he won't know where we are. The second assassin wouldn't expect us to go to the first, so we should be in the clear on Chimera Moon."

          Marla and Jean-Pierre undo the straps securing them in place, then head off to collect their gear. April, at the console next to Trevor, pulls a container off the ground.

          I disconnected myself from my amended dentist chair. "Crew Status?"

          "May and June are prepping the Instruments. Ralph is setting the escape, and back up plans in place. Mad Max is contacting the blokes we were scheduled to pick up next. Dr. Tuan is prepping surgery, he said he's familiar enough with the questioning procedures of most corporations, that he wants to be completely prepared."

          "And how are our guests?"

          "Geoffrey an Horace are in the gym, working off steam. Oh, boss lady, the old man said to give this to you and ask that you meet him in the gym." She lobbed the small object through the air. I caught it easily, and began to open it.

          "Wait," April continued "until you get there, he said."

*                  *                  *

          From the hallway in front of the training room I could hear the sounds of rigorous practice. The doors parted to reveal young Hawkins, back to the door, following the same drills I did as a youth. He stood feet apart, arms raised, knife held blade down in his left hand. He made a series of slashes, turning his wrist as he did. The knife, the same blade Geoffrey had presented for his oath, had stylized hooks along the back edge; when twisted in flesh, the hooks had a tendency to pull and twist whatever tissue was nearby. Horace continued his routines, focusing all his attention on his movements and balance. I walked across the room to where the elder gentleman stood watching.

          "Has he been training long?" I asked.

          "No, and yes. I've just given him the Söz knife and shown him two techniques this morning. However, his father, and bodyguards have been teaching him various fighting styles over the years."

          "Is he good?"

          "He is mediocre." Until now, we'd been watching the lad, but now Geoffrey turned to me. "His skill has been limited by his training, which was undisciplined and sloppy." His face contorted on the last word as though the very memory of those previous training sessions left a foul taste in his mouth. " I was hoping, that along with his history lessons, you'd consider fighting lessons as well."

          "I'll think it over. I've always had a crew that could handle themselves, so I've never taught anyone anything. The way things stand now, we don't even know how much time we have before..." I trailed off as I wondered how to word killing Horace's father.

          "Yes, well, I shall see to whatever I can for the boy." He quickly filled in the gap. "I know you have many things to set right." He smiled softly.

          "I, and my crew, will help however we can. Just don't expect a proper schedule, or anything like that."

          "Of course, my lady. If you have a few moments, I'd like to start now?" I nodded yes and we walked over to face Horace.

          "Your blades, for a moment, please." Geoffrey asked of the boy and myself. We complied and handed them over.

          He held up, side by side, so that the raised edge of one fit into the engraved lines of the other. "These two blades were forged to work in concert. One is for attack, and the other for defense. Together there is almost no battle that can be won against the person who wields these, if they can handle them properly.:

          "Uh, why did you say almost?" Horace asked.

          Geoffrey then flipped the knives with a nice little flourish, and presented them, hilt out, to the boy. "Because there are three ways to finish a battle. Win, loose, or offer peace. Likewise there are three kinds of people in life. There are weapons," he handed my knife back to me, "there are shields," he then handed one to Horace, "and there is the olive branch."

City of Walls:Ch. 14

   I did not realize it's been since the end of September, since Ch. 13 came out. I had a few illnesses, busy times, and just plain feet dragging with this chapter. It's a little boring, so feel free to make recommendations, or criticisms.

         The wind whipped my hair behind me, as we cruised down Henderson. I should get it cut, probably have  split ends. In the air two meters ahead, and two above the pavement, a bright neon red arrow pointed the way. It had been ages since I'd used anything other than a podtran¹ to go anywhere, so using my netlinks² directional guide seemed like a good idea. Sonj followed a bit behind me on her personal bike, a little purple number with plenty of places to latch things on. I pedaled the cherry red one, that had turned out to be the newest addition to the city's inventory, its seat was comfy, and it wasn't too tall. Hopefully Pablo can give me some time to rearrange my financials. Now that I'm working in the neighborhood, it'd be nice to have more options than just my feet.

          A block ahead of us was the hexwall³, just past the Tarrant County College's Downtown Campus, and before the bridge over the Trinity River. The roadway, as well as the MagRail⁴, was wide open and clear. I double tapped my lipmic⁵ with my tongue, initiating the short range communicator. Sonj responded, "Yeah?"

          "The turn is right after the bridge, then it should be about 3 minutes to the place."

          After a pause I heard a beep from my ocular receiver, then a response from Sonj. "Kay, then what are the plans for after that?"

          We came to a stop at the light just before the wall. "Well it's about 3:30 right now, and I figure assembling the bot could take a few hours. Grab a bite then head back to the spot where I ran into with the modrpunks⁶?" If we finish by 5:30 we can beat the rush to La Familia.

          A pause, then a beep, "Sounds good. Do you know what's good in the area?"

          "I've got something in mind." The light turned green and we passed through the opening in the northwest face side of the Downtown Hex⁷.

          We had encountered little traffic of any variety on Henderson; what little movement there was raced by overhead at the height of 38 meters. That all changed once we crossed the bridge and turned on White Settlement Rd. Physical & Digital Storage, our destination, was at the edge of a light industrial region, and was just few blocks from the border with the Cultural District Hex.⁸ Here older model hybrid trucks, electric cars, and bicyclists occupied the traffic lanes. It's a good thing my netlink** monitors distance. I'd probably get in another bikers space and cause a wreck. I think I was 12 the last time I rode a bike. The remainder of our trek was easy and without event.

          We pulled into the parking lot beside the storage facility, which took up easily half the block.

          "Mmm, something smells good." Sonj said as she chained both our bikes to the cyclone fence.

          "Yeah, that's Angelo's. Good BBQ, but a bit on the spicy side."

          "Spicy? Uh, never mind, I tend to prefer my sauce sweet, not spicy."

          "Come on, we got work to do." I led the way into the store.

          We entered a room not more than one meter squared. A counter ran from the left to the right side of the room; behind it on either side of the room were two doors leading to the rest of the building. When the door closed behind us a small bell rang, after that a woman in her forties entered from the right door.

          "Welcome, how can I help you?" She asked, laying her hands on the counter.

          "Hi. I'm Tara Harris. I have some things here." As I spoke her fingers flexed across the surface of the counter, and her eyes unfocused for a moment. "I was wanting to take a few items out."

          "Of course dearie." Her eyes once again focused on us, "Ms. Harris, I'll need to see some ID."

          I detached a pearl from one of the bracelets on my left wrist. Handing it over I said, "There's a certified ID document from the Russian Embassy on that storage pearl." She took the proffered gem and placed in on the counter top between us. With a tap of her fingers, a bright light flashed from the counter. Once the scan was over she handed the pearl back, and resumed massaging information from the computer embedded in the counter top.

          "OK Ms. Harris. According to our records your sector just had its monthly cleaning. I'll grant your visitor a guest pass. Just one moment while that gets processed." She turned around and a portion of the wall behind her turned transparent, revealing what looked like a slot, keyboard, and a scanner. She held up her right wrist, with a bar-coded bracelet, to the scanner. When a small ping sounded from behind the wall she typed on the keyboard. Her actions were rewarded with a small silver card emerging from the slot beside the keyboard. She took the card and turned back around when the returned to its original opacity level.

          "Alright then ladies, if you'll just follow me." She said as she handed over the card. She then opened small door built in the counter at the left side of the room. We followed her through the door and down a long hallway, finally stopping in front of a door marked 258.

          "Here we are, the key-card will let you in. When you are ready to leave, there are arrows on the wall pointing you back to the main office. The ladies room is two doors to the right. There is also an intercom in the room if you need anything." Her duties complete, she started walking back down the hall.

          As I unlocked the door, Sonj spoke.

          "It's not gonna be like some freaky old time lab with sparks flying, and cobwebs everywhere is it?"

          "It's just a storage room. Sides, the lady said they just cleaned, so no cobwebs." I open the door to revel a work bench on the left side of the room, space to maneuver in front of it, and boxes filling the other three walls. A peg board lined with tools hung on the wall above the workbench.

          "I hope you know exactly where your little robot is." Sonj said as I closed the door behind us.

          "Don't worry," I said as I grabbed a clipboard hanging beside the wall, "There's an inventory of everything."

¹Powered Transportation; latest iteration of the "smart car". Runs on bioelec energy supplied by the user, or purchased with credit. Travels overhead on magnified rails.

²Personal Computing Accessory; highly customizable, jewelry like device which uses biological electricity converted from the user to sustain itself. Basic units consist of a synthetic data crystal, conversion chain, ring emitter, and gyroscope ring. Additional components include inner ear and occular ear receivers, conversion arm ring, bracelets, power storage bracelets, and specialized gems.

³The side, or "face" of one hexagonal dome.

⁴Magnified Rail System. Located at 35 m above ground, and following all major roadways.

⁵Lip ring with microphone jewel; a typical component of a netlink set.

⁶A cultural movement pertaining primarily of young peopled aged 16-26, using modified, "hacked", nannites.

⁷Region, or neighborhood of a city covered by a hexagonal dome. Specifically, the Downtown District of Fort Worth.

⁸ Region, or neighborhood of a city covered by a hexagonal dome. Specifically, the Cultural District of Fort Worth.

The Colour of the Past and the Shape of the Future

         Featuring poetry by Chad Mullens. Thanks Chad!

Before humanity began its conversion into a space-faring race, the Uni-Net was born. Much about the origins of the largest interplanetary communication system has been lost to the sea of time. Some histories put the creation as early as 2088, while others as late as 2200. Lancer tells me it was somewhere around 2132, but a few years before a probe on Barthus confirmed that the upgraded "internet" had ansible qualities. The science behind the system is known as the "Heim/Stein Principal", named thus for bridging the gap of Burkhard Heim and Albert Einstein physics. It's said by some that the Uni-Net harnesses the power of the collective minds plugged into it. They also say that if every human left the "mental" dimension, we'd lose the ability to tap into it again.

          Why is this all important? I don't know.

I don't know how this Virtual World my mind travels through works.

I don't know why time has no meaning here.

I don't know why the Corane refer to it as the "spirit plane", but mean something different from their religion's soul space.

I don't know how, but I'm sitting across the booth from my father, who died when I was eight.

          "Ma'am?" He doesn't recognize me. Of course not, last time he saw me I was an eight year old girl. "I'm not sure who you think I am, but we have some things to discuss."

          I motion to Jean-Pierre to put away the viral injector."You are Bert Sinmoral, form..." I could feel a lump in my throat rising, "Governor of the Isle of Van Solaria, most powerful man on the planet Nuevo Pluto."

          "I'm just an honest man looking out for some folks on a speck of dirt. Look, I know a guy whose outlook on things in general is a lot more sinister." He pulled a flat, rectangular piece of paper out from his coat pocket. One side seemed to have some writing on it, while the other have a picture of the Governor's Mansion on it. He laid the paper, picture side up and slid it across the table to me. I hand it over to Jean-Pierre, who begins downloading it to the Cutlass.

          "I'm glad to see you trust me already. That is a control program. It will override any other programs commands and give you full access to any system it finds itself in. The code for unleashing this puppy is 'High Times."

          "At the Nines." I finished for him. It was what he'd always say to mom when he spoke about the good ole days.

          "How did you?" As he sat gaping at me, I pulled my necklace out from under my shirt.

          "You told me to take this with me where ever I go, no matter what. I do. Even here, where we're surrounded by ones and zeros. You found out from someone, probably Lancer, that the Scarlet Slash is the person who'd get the job done for you, right?" He nodded. "Well that's who I am. After my family was killed by the forces of Henry Hawkins, I was brought up by the Bernatelli Family. They taught me how to fight, and to survive, but it was my father who taught me help others survive too. You told me, never give up. Gotta learn everything you can, so that you can understand whatever it is you're looking at. It was a few years before I understood what this necklace was. A steel/titanium hybrid, enclosed in carbon nanotubes. Incredibly flexible, amazingly strong, yet soft. It won't slice through skin, no matter how hard you pull, but if you twist, it'll leave a mighty indian burn. " I tilted my head up to reveal the scare I received from my first clash with Henry Hawkins.

          "Nica? How? I mean, family was kil..." the words poured out of his mouth, uncontrolled, meandering, while his mind worked furiously to make sense of it all.

          "What did they tell you about using the Uni-Net?" I pressed a call button on the top of the table; which pulled up the Nines service menu. Help files and FAQs appeared on a the tabletop.

          "It's not my first time into the hive. I know time has no meaning here. My first time into the Nines I meat a young man who was a member of the first crew of the asteroid ship, "The Pebble". That was one of the first generational ships in 2250. But understanding that my little girl is the Terror of the Five Territories?" He paused for a moment. "Was it at the Spring Gala?"

          "Yes. Hawkins somehow found out about the safe room, staged some kind of emergency, and had men waiting there when the family fled for safety."

          "But you?"

          "Uncle Vic grabbed me and ran away from the mansion. He..." Father raised his hand to stop me.

          "I knew I could rely on Victor. He came to me about two weeks ago, with some problems. I also had a bit of suspicion. My worries alone was just paranoia, but coupled with his... We made plans, I was going to oust Hawkins and have him removed from Committee. We completely changed out the security force, gave our previous group a nice vacation to the Cerulean Shore. It was the replacement group wasn't it?"

          I nodded, "Now that you know, will you do anything different?"

          "No. I've already done everything Victor or I could think of. Undoing anything I've done would just tip my hat to Hawkins. If he were to figure out that I knew about his attack at the Gala, he might be able to do worse."

          We sat there for a few moments in silence. "How many days until the Gala for you?"

          "Two. You may remember I just came back from a conference." I nodded in reply. "As usual I have gifts for everyone, yours being that necklace. A Corane half-blood gave it to me. Remarkable gent, supposedly 200 years old, and he barely looked a day over sixty. Said I should give it to a child of mine who was of a fiery heart. That it would mark her, in more ways than one. I'll be sure to remember to tell you that now, that's for sure."

          Jean-Pierre leans over to whisper in my ear. "Just got a notice from Trevor, looks like the program was a back door into the asteroid ships. Marla checked on our package, and everything seems in place for our next rendezvous."

          I nod, then to my father, "I wish we had more time, but you have no idea how timely this info you've given us is. There's something we need to do and the clock is ticking."

          "So you really are a Space Rebel? Streaking across the galaxy in a hot rod ship, blasting away all the corruption?"

          "Sir," Jean-Pierre speaks up, "You may not know me, but I know you. My father and uncle were on your security squad, the ones that went on vacation. They told me everything they every knew about you, and the things you did. It's been an honor working with Nica, and it's an honor getting to meet you. Don't worry about your little girl, they have a saying about her merry band of outlaws. Scarlet is red and bruises are blue, mess with the band and they'll mess with you...

          "Ha!" My father slammed his hand on the table. "That's how it outta be! Say, "he asked Jean-Pierre, "was your father Henry Renal?"

          "Yes."

          "Well. I know you're in good hands." My father then unlocked the booth and we all stepped out. We hug goodbye then he heads for the door. In the back ground someone turned on the old fashion Juke Box, and a song by late 20th century band, The Foo Fighters, starts to play. Marla walks from my bar to my left side just as he turns to wave before shutting the door.

          "Was that, who I think it was?"She asks as Dave Grohl sings out the first line of the chorus:

          There goes my hero

          watch him as he goes.

Restless Slumber

Whilst I lie in restless slumber,
I can hear the distant Mumbler.
Calling for whom, I do not know.
It is for me?,
is it for you?
I hear the urgency in the voice.
Quickly I must make the choice.
Draw the dagger, don the bow,
which will save me,
I don't know.
Stealthy comes the hidden one,
seeking out its rivals spawn.
Searching for easy prey,
instead he finds,
me, prepared to slay.
Steel sinks deep,
blood begins to seep.
Mark this hour, from now on,
a child alone,
in bittersweet song.
-


Dreams can be tricky things, even when they are not nightmares. Memories can be clarified, or twisted. The subconscious weaves dreams however it wishes. Sometimes I dream about that day, the last day my family lived, and I see more details than I used to remember. I see the hitman, dressed as a caterer, walking around the large ballroom carrying a tray loaded with cheese. But things are not as they appear. He bears a plastic shell covered by a few bits of food. Within the shell lie his implements of choice, throwing daggers. He has no guarantee he'll get close enough to the targets for his usual tactics, but all that's required of him today is to disrupt the celebration.
If things went according to plan, half-way through the festivities my father was going to make some kind of announcement. As a child of 8, I had no idea what his plans were. Even my oldest sister, Rochelle, who had come home from the university for the announcement didn't know. She, my Mother, and oldest brother James were listening to a representative from the Johnson Corp. A few paces away my older brother Ferris demonstrates his skill at rifle twirling to an older gentleman and my Father. Wen, my next oldest sister was talking to the son of a wealthy resident of the Isle. I was a few more paces away, trying to decide on how to convince my Mother that it would be best if I was allowed to go to my room. Eventually I decided a grounding would be the quickest bet. I singled out the caterer heading straight for my father, and made a bee line for his feet.
In my dream, I see my mother watching me from the corner of her eye. The corner of her mouth turns down, and her jaw tightens. She's unhappy about the approach I'm taking. I trip and stumble at the caterer's feet. He trips, tumbles over me, the tray clatters to the ground, and knives spin through the air. Ferris, at the startling sound, turns about and swings his training rifle behind his back in one swift, fluid motion. When he sees the metallic glint in the air he immediately moves to cover Father. The security forces, who'd been a few paces away from every member of the family, began the tasks of relocating their designated responsibility to the "safe" room and eliminating the danger. A guard each grabs Mother, Father, Rochelle, and Wen. James joins Ferris in the security screen coving the retreat. A smoke cluster is lobbed through the air from somewhere behind me. A strong pair of arms pick me up and carry me the opposite direction of the rest of my family. Through rents in the smoke I see faces filled with fear. A familiar voice calls out.
"I have her, Sir! I will keep her safe." It my uncle Victor, Victor Bernatelli. He was my father's Intelligence Officer, and closest friend. He puts me over his shoulder, in a firefighter's carry, and runs. My view is filled with smoke, running figures, and shinning metal. Far to the left of the ballroom, is a lone figure.
Over the years I've puzzled about that figure. Who was it, and why were they just standing? Sometimes I can make out the color of the clothes, the style of hair. I'm almost certain it is a man. Once in my dream, I had a close view of the face. I remember seeing a soft double chin, plump nose, small ears, and a sweaty forehead. But his eyes were shadowed from me.
"Nica." Another familiar voice calls to me. It has a comforting quality to it, but at the moment it sounds very tense. I could feel a slight vibration near my head. The odd sensation coupled with the troubled voice stroked my instinct. I ducked, rolled, and flung out my arms, unsure what direction the danger would come at me from.
I hit the floor in a tangle of sheets, and a blast of air brought me back to reality.
"Please tell me that wasn't from an External Breather Kit?" I asked Trevor as I started to rise from the floor.
"Naw. You should know better from me." His voice quiet. "I brought one of my air compressors from my shop." He walked over and pulled the blankets away from my legs. Smiling down at me, leaned in for a quick peck on the cheek. "Bad one tonight?"
The dreams had been a part of life as far back as I could remember, but I never knew until recently that I reacted to them physically. Trevor had been the first that I'd allowed to stay in my bunk the full night, and we'd learned the hard way that it wasn't safe for him to stay nearby. "Yeah. I saw his face again, but not in full detail. Mother was mad at me." I reached for the trigger device that Trevor had made for the occasion, while he tidied up the bunk. "I don't mind water."
"You know that's wasteful, and messy."
"It get my shower started early."
"Hey, are you gonna be ok for the uplink? We got less than an hour to make rendezvous with your contact on Chimera Moon."
"I'll be fine. You worry about me too much." I leaned up.
Trevor purposely stayed clear. "I worry because we're using hack headsets and open access docks. You are merging your mind with a multi-consciousness without protection."
"But what we're doing..."
"Is important. Not just for you, or Nuevo Pluto, or other 3rd tier planets in the colonial region, but for all those who're trapped on the asteroid ships. I understand that, but you, are important to me." He kissed me fiercely.
Everything else is just something to fight for. I'm a fighter, it's what I do. But he, he is what I now want to live for.
* * *
We emerge in a cramped room in an alleyway just off the upper rim of the Atrium. This time it's just Jean-Pierre, Marla and myself. Hastily we make our way the wooden red door of The Nines. Once inside, Marla heads upstairs to check on our "package" while Jean-Pierre and I head for the bar.
"Ms. Scarlet! How delightful to see you again. I must say that I am both saddened and gladdened by the absence of your crew." Lancer cheerfully greeted.
He's been my most trusted informant for more than a decade, and has never once called me Scarlet. My body guard immediately activates his scanners. Somewhere, back with my body, Trevor starts prepping the emergency logg off software.
I respond to my old friend in kind. "Sup, Lancelot?" The slightest of winks, then a nod to the privacy booths.
"There's someone I'd like you to meet." He leans over the countertop, and quietly whispers. "Trust me on this, you will be safe, but you won't believe it. He's in number 5."
We head over, then duck into the booth, Jean-Pierre with a viral injector at hand. The mood lights in the booth are turned low.
"Lancer says I can trust you. I'd like to see you to confirm that for myself." The lights brighten, and before me sits a figure I saw in my dream, just this morning.
"Daddy?"

City of Walls: Ch 13

         

          "Let me get this straight." I rubbed my eyes with my hand as I stood over the kitchen table. "You left out all the anti-energy siphon code."

          "The programming protocols for interaction with nannites dictates that the AI would ignore the nannites and proceed as if they didn't exist. I figured I didn't need to bother with the extra code." Sonj interrupted.

          "But you allowed it resource commandeering!" I retorted hotly.

          "Only under specific circumstances!" She slumped back into her chair. She threw her arms up over her head "How was I supposed to anticipate some punks illegally accessing the program with hacked nannites?"

          "There's a reason for safety protocols. The end user hacks around the safeties because they're too restrictive. The programmers leave some out because the product wasn't intended for that kind of interaction. Where does it end?" Why do so many people feel the need to change things? Why aren't more content with what they have?

          "Hey! The resource commandeering was simply meant to be a protective measure. Seraph¹ would use the assailant's tools to protect his charge."

          "Then why didn't he just take the modrpunks nannites? Why did he go after them?"

          "Blasting O!"²

          "Watch your mouth please." I replied with an exasperated sigh.

          Sonj quirked her left eyebrow as she turned to look at me. "Wh... Oh snap. I mean sorry, habit." She scrolled the document in the holo³ back towards the beginning, and stopped at the second set of rules. "I'd forgotten that I'd given him a drive for justice and vengeance."

          "Oh man." I shook my head and began to pace. "Maybe instead of focusing on what went wrong and fixing it, we should find your 'Seraph' before he has his justice."

          "Ok then. How do we find a pack of altered hoodlums? I don't think they'll be hanging around the scene of the crime."

          "The city is under quarantine, right? They couldn't have gotten very far." I stopped my pacing in front of Sonj. She looked up at me and frowned. "The hexes⁴ are locked down tight right?" I could hear my voice rising in tone.

          "Girl, you don't pull any news feeds, do you?" She snapped her fingers and her own holo popped up in front of her. She tapped the screen a few times then pointed to me. My ocular receiver⁵ beeped softly in my ear, alerting me that my netlink⁶ had just received some new data.

          "These are highlights from the Star-Telegram and Dallas Morning News, those should catch you up to speed on all the developments on the nannite situation." She snapped the fingers of her other hand, shutting down the netlink. "Which brings us back to your question. The Fort Worth half of the Metrodomes⁷ is locked down. You can't even get to the mid-city area. But inside of the city, all the hexes have open access. That way people, like them modrpunks, can get to a hospital."

          "What about the other smaller cities, like Saginaw, Lake Worth, or River Oaks."

          "They're suburbs of Ft. Worth, so they can still travel in. Especially since they don't have any hospitals of their own."

          I huffed. How are we going to find them? "We might need help to find them." I began pacing again, I think I know what might do the trick.

          "We can't call the authorities, Tara!"

          "That's not what I meant." I sat in the chair next to her at the table. "Remember I used to make robots." Sonj nodded slowly. "One of the ones I made in Russia was an adaptable form and program. It's very basic, but you could do something to the code. The only thing is, it's with some things in storage."

          "That's ok. We field trip it, then head back to 7th."

          "It's just off of University. That's a 40 min walk, and I don't have the creds⁸ for a podtrans⁹."

          "You seriously need your own vehicle."

          "I can't afford it. Plus I hardly go anywhere."

          "I don't mean the powered variety. Just how do you think I got here today?" She stood up and placed her hand on her hip.

          My forehead knit in confusion. "I just thought you came via a podhop¹⁰."

          "An leave a public record of my coming here? Come on, let's head downstairs."

          We grabbed our gear and jackets then headed for the elevator. In the lobby the receptionist began waving at me. We walked over to the elderly Asian gentleman seated behind a desk.

          "Ms. Tara. I have delivery for you."

          "Is it my groceries from Satisfying Sundries?"

          "Yes'm."

          "Could you hold it in the kitchen until I get back Mr. Harry?

          "Sure! Don't forget, the kitchen closes at 10, or you'll have to wait until the morning."

          "Thanks Mr. Harry. I should by back by then."

          We continued on our way out the building. Outside Sonj walked to the corner, where a bike row was stationed. "Here it is, old fashioned, self powered, and power producing. Bicycles." Sonj cackled as she undoes the mechanism holding her bike in place.

          "But I don't have a bike."

          "Rent one." She turned around and called to a little Black boy sitting on a bench nearby. "Hey, there was an attendant here earlier."

          "He went for his break, he said he'll be back in a minute." He took a backpack off his shoulders and placed it on the ground. The kid must've just come from school. Do you want a bike? I know which ones have been here for a while."

          "I don't want to buy one, I just want to borrow it."Just then a young Hispanic man came out from the lobby. He pulled a ring of keys from his  pocket.

          "Do I hear someone in need of a ride? I can help you out, for an exchange." He winked at us as he sauntered over. "Hey, shorty-bean, thanks for not letting them get away man." He tossed the kid a piece of candy. He grabbed it in air, and ran off leaving his bag. "I bet he's got a note for his momma in there." He turned back to me. "I'll deliver that later. But as I mentioned earlier, I think I can help you out."

          "I don't have any spare creds.." I replied

          "But she lives here." Sonj cut in. "So she can pay you back."

          "You do look familiar. Lemme see your deck¹¹ key." I fish my security key and held it out for him. "OK, how's this." He pulled out a crystal, strung on a short silver chain. "For however long you ride it bike, you keep this hooked on your left ankle. That way, any excess energy you build up during that time, belongs to me. You earn enough power, I might even sell it to you."

          "How do I know this is even your bike to sell?" I eyed him carefully.

          He pulled a wallet out of his back pocket, and held out an ID card. It read Pablo Gonzales. Worker on Bike Station #57, City of Fort Worth. "I don't own the bikes, but I do have authority to sell bikes that have been here for over a year. The city also supplies each station with extra bicycles. Seeing as we are close to a TransHub, we only get two extras." He then began retrieving a few that were closest to the street light the row was anchored to. "Once you own a bike, storing it here, or any other station is free." Done with his sales pitch, he stood behind the four bikes available.

          Sonj whispered in my ear, "You should get the Cherry Red one."

¹ Designation for Artificial Intelligence Guardian. ² Mild oath, short for Basting Orifices. ³ Holographic projection from a netlink device. ⁴ Region, or neighborhood of a city covered by a hexagonal dome. ⁵ Signal receiver; worn like an ear piercing in the tragus or anti-tragus.. ⁶Personal Computing Accessory; highly customizable, jewelry like device which uses biological electricity converted from the user to sustain itself. Basic units consist of a synthetic data crystal, conversion chain, ring emitter, and gyroscope ring. Additional components include inner ear and occular ear recievers, conversion arm ring, bracelets, power storage bracelets, and specialized gems. ⁷In the year 2048 the DFW Metroplex is covered by a complex series of domes. ⁸Derivative form of the currency at the time; credit. ⁹Powered Transportation; latest iteration of the "smart car". Runs on bioelec energy supplied by the user, or purchased with credit. Travels overhead on magnified rails. ¹⁰Public Transit. ¹¹Small studio apartment. Approximately 52 per floor.

Nine Months

          I never expected to be happy with Trevor. He was only supposed to be a bed buddy that wouldn't be a security risk. With nine months of tight security, that makes this the longest adult relationship I've ever had. As I lay with my back pressed against his, all I can think about is the report from Max and the Girls.

*                  *                  *

          After the dinner celebrating my new ally, I had a private debriefing with April, May, June and Max in my private room.

          "I stayed at the main bar to scope things out." May started. "June, April, an Max brought the target upstairs."

          "Were you able to get his coordinates?" I asked as I queued star charts on the screen built into the wall.

          "Yeah, he's on Chimera Moon, Sector 73." Piped June

          "That's good," I zoomed the map to the right coordinates, "I've got contacts there that will help us slip in under the radar. Do we have measures in place to keep him... occupied, until we get there?"

          Max smiled at me. "You're gonna love this bit, darlin'. We get the bloke up to the room, and he starts spilling his guts `fore we even close the door."

          "Says he been angling for this job for a while, played up some fake blood oath against Max." Max smiled as April continued. "He says he hadn't been with the organization long. He was hoping to trade info for a spot on the ship. He'd heard of rumors about the kind of cargo that a reputable ship, like the Cutlass, would carry."

          We'd been smuggling people in and out of the different zones and planets for over a year now. "Does he know anything?"

          "Nah. Just the rumor we started. It's all over the colonized zone that we traffic skin. No one suspects that it's a humanitarian endeavor."

          "Good. That's one thing that continues to work in our favor. So what info does he have to trade?" I pull the schedule for the next few months up to start figuring where to wiggle things around.

          "He had two things that might be worth it; if they pan out." Max took a swig from the bottle that seemed to be permanently attached to his hand. "First, and this one I figure is worth it, he has insider info on the organization that was hired for this job. Including the fact that another hired gun has been dispatched to take care of you."

          "That figures. May did your spidey sense ping on anything at The Nines?"

          "Nope. There were a few tough cookies in there, but no one was out for any of us."

          "It could be a trap." April said bluntly. "He was sent after the crew of the Cutlass, either to kill us, or lead more to us. Either way, whoever paid for this gets what they want."

          "Could be, which leads me back to my earlier question. How are we keeping him in place?" I found myself drumming my fingers on the desk we were seated around.

          "Like I said, you'll love it. Lancer did us a favor." Max grinned that demon grin of his, then continued. "Seems one of Lancer's pals is on Chimera Moon, Sector 78. And it's no skin off his nose to head over and pound on a sad sack of a hitman. Especially" Max starts cackling here, "since he's some kind of police force there."

          "He griped about the paper work involved in a joint jurisdiction maneuver, but he was chomping at the bit to get the guy." June added.

          "Possibly means some kind of promotion for him." May offered.

          "Likely, the bum will spill his guts to the authorities on Chimera. Then after he gets processed, we pick him up and get the last half of his offer from him." Max continued.

          "What was that, by the way?"

          "He didn't give all the details. Mainly cause we didn't believe the first half of what he told us." Max chuckled. "Get this, he said that the slug boats from Earth, were gonna be killed off." He swigged from his bottle again. "And that he knew exactly everyone involved, plus how someone was planning to get rid of the others behind this Seawall gig." At this point the girls started laughing as well.

          I regretted letting them dinner in my private room while the rest of the crew witnessed my talk with the young Hawkins. It meant they didn't know that Seawall was the real deal. They couldn't fathom that one killer could possibly have qualms with mass murder; with genocide one the scale of a galaxy.

          I took a deep breath. "We'll drop everything and get to Chimera. He's telling the truth."

*                  *                  *

          I talked it over later that night with Trevor.

          "So, there's a conspiracy to kill off a third of humanity." He held up one finger. "There's a power play by one of those involved to wipe out the others behind the scheme." Another finger. "There's a half Corane who says he's been given some kind of important task, that somehow involves you." Third finger. "Lastly, someone in the Bernatelli family has a connection somehow to the Corane." Forth finger. "I'm still trying to decide if there's any more to add to this." He looks up at me, and I can feels the gears in his head cranking. It's at this moment that I realize he's more than a low-risk fling. "You ever heard of the ancient Chinese Curse, that most people wouldn't wish on their enemies?" I shook my head no. "It's basically, May you have an interesting life." He smiles that wide joyful smile of his. "Back when I joined your crew, I knew my life would be interesting. I never knew just how interesting it'd get."

          I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Never a dull moment. I wouldn't have it any other way."

          Nine months is a long time. That's long enough to start a brand new life, old school style.