Peter Prellwitz - Shards Book One

She made to throw me off. But I was already vaulting free, which made her movement clumsy and ill-timed. She regained her center and twirled around quickly, but I had already anticipated that and put a foot to her head. Had I been my original size, it would have snapped her neck, killing her. But I still hadn't adjusted fully, so it only grazed her head, bloodying an ear. I looked at her eyes again and saw the anger, and the pain. And now I saw fear, and knew I had won. All that remained was to kill her. I had made the proper adjustments to my weight and had decided first to shatter her right kneecap, then crush her windpipe in the few seconds she would be debilitated by the pain. I went to my attack crouch, anticipating her defense, which she took.

"ENOUGH!? I heard Lt. Sanchez's voice cut through my coldness, striking a chord in my heart. I recognized him as an authority. I struggled with the beast and myself, trying to force an end. I prayed Susie made no attack. I could still kill her.

But it was over. I saw her relax, dropping her hands and leaving herself defenseless. It was a sight that settled me very quickly. I felt my own muscles ease and slacken. I sank entirely to my knees and covered my face with my hands. Hot tears came to the surface, and I was crying. I could have killed her.

Susie came to me, also crying. I pushed her away, angry.

"You idiot! I was going to kill you! Why did you do it? Why?"

"Because she was told to, young lady.? Lt. Sanchez stepped up to me, but made no effort to help me to my feet. He looked down at us.? Susan. I want both of you cleaned up and in my quarters in half an hour.? He turned on his heel and walked off.

It was a very quiet thirty minutes. We went to sickbay to have our wounds attended to. Dr. Barrett didn't say much, which was just as well. The cut on Susie's ear required a couple of stitches, but stitches were gone forever in medicine. Instead of sewing up the still bleeding wound, Dr. Barrett used a type of instrument that both stopped the bleeding and half-completed the healing. Like the inducer, it was based on sound. He used a similar, but more powerful tool on her broken middle fingers; apparently my hit had snapped two bones, not one. Again, it speeded up the healing process enough that she experimentally flexed her finger with little pain after only several minutes of treatment.

The doctor checked me for broken ribs, but found only some bruising. It was slightly painful to breathe, hardly worth noting. I mention it only because after a dose of the sounder, as he called it, I felt no pain at all. I had an idea now why Susie played so rough; all you needed to do was survive, and modern medicine could patch you up pretty quick. The problem Susie had was she hadn't known she was going to survive. I'd been worried about that, too. I wanted to say something, anything, to get her talking, even looking at me again. But I held off, knowing now that she'd been under orders to provoke me. Why, I didn't yet know. That would be changing soon, if I guessed right.

We cleaned up and reported to Lt. Sanchez's room just as the half-hour passed. Susie had stayed silent, avoiding my attempts to get her attention. I felt awful at first. Then I was angry, because she was the one who brought this on. Then I felt smug… oh, I must have gone through a half-dozen different emotions in that thirty minutes, all of them intense and unshakable, until the next one washed over me. I was a very confused girl. Which probably made me normal, I thought glumly. Life, I decided, had been a great deal more straightforward as a guy.

Susie knocked on Lt. Sanchez's door, and he told us to enter. It was similar to Dr. Barrett's office in that it was a combination office and living quarters. He was seated at his desk as we entered. There were two chairs for us to sit in, but when Susie stayed at attention, I figured I should, too.

He went straight to the point.

"Recommendation, Counselor."

Susie snapped even more rigidly to attention and spoke very precisely.? As of this day, November 16, 2676, as counselor of Rescued Ripe 1845, John Wyeth, I recommend and urge continuation. Her new name is Abigail Wyeth."

My ears perked at the sound of my old name, and I looked at her. She kept staring straight ahead, but I saw the corners of her lips curl up a little. Lt. Sanchez noticed it, too.

"That pleases you, Susan?? She relaxed from her attention when he used her first name.

"Of course it does, sir! Any time a counselor can recommend…"

"…the continuation of a Cue,? he finished, a trifle impatiently.? Yes, yes. But you've really put more into-Abigail, is it?-you've put more into her than any other Cue, haven't you?"

"Well, she's unique. And fun. And…"

"Uh, hey, people!? I broke in.? I may be unique and fun, but I'm also standing right here. And I'm a little confused, so could we cut to the chase? What's continuation mean? And what was reason for that fight? And why all the-? Sanchez held up a hand.

"I'm sorry, Abigail. We shouldn't talk around you. Let's take care of that now.? He looked at Susie.?

You're absolutely sure, Susan?? She nodded, openly smiling now. Her whole manner seemed a total reverse from only ten minutes ago. That I was out of my depth would be an understatement. I wasn't in over my head, I was on the ocean floor, tied down with weights and sinking deeper. Sanchez nodded.

"All right. Abigail, come here, please.? He stood up as I stepped around the desk. I did it only because I had no idea what else to do.

"Attention!? he barked, and I suddenly became rigid. His authority and ability to command were incredible.? As commander of this, the Third Regiment of the Resistance, I hereby confer onto you the rank of private, second class. Welcome aboard, and may God have mercy on your soul.? He tapped me twice on my right shoulder.

I'm not sure what he was expecting me to do or say. I thought about this sudden turn for a few moments, then said,? Uhh… Don't I have a say in this?"

"You will address me as Lieutenant, Lieutenant Sanchez, or sir. And no, Private, you don't. Now that you're going to be with us for at least the next three months, you are under the same conditions, dangers and restrictions as every other man and woman under my command. If you have to share in our troubles, you may as well share in the authority and benefits. We don't have civilians travel with us, so for the duration of your stay, you're a private. What class is up to you."

That made eminent sense. I snapped to attention and said,? Yes, sir!"

He smiled.? Very good. Now, Abigail, let me show you the reason for everything we've done for you, with you, and to you. It's time you saw the puterverse.? He swung his chair over to the computer terminal and offered it to me. Hesitantly, I sat down and examined the terminal. It looked almost like the ones of six centuries ago, except that the viewing surface hung flat against the wall, perhaps thirty centimeters square and no thicker than a sheet of onionskin. It was dark. The keyboard had a nearly identical layout as the now ancient QWERTY keyboard, but it also was paper-thin and seemed to be part of the shelf in front of me. I had to admit to a certain disappointment. I would have thought computer interfaces would have come further than this by now. Maybe the Spartan environment and frequent moves pushed this more prosaic type of access onto them. Still, you'd think that…

Lt. Sanchez leaned forward and said,? Access."

And the world disappeared. The thin film monitor quivered and suddenly exploded, coating the walls, the ceiling and floor, even the air, with its version of reality. Sound came from everywhere, yet it wasn't noise. Glowing, human-shaped forms were standing near me. One turned and looked at me. I yelped, jumping from my chair, and the whole thing collapsed and I was suddenly in the room again. I looked quickly at Sanchez and Susie, who seemed to be enjoying my disorientation. I smiled weakly and sat back down, sliding back into the wild reality. Sanchez leaned close to my ear.