Z9 received her food and ate it mechanically, moving the food from the plate to her mouth and chewing and swallowing without tasting it. A minute after she had eaten she couldn't have told you what it was that she ordered and ate. Her mind was going into a complete shutdown, with too many faces swimming around in the soup that was being formed inside her skull. Maybe it was soup that she had eaten?
She carried the plate to a small hole in the wall and placed on the platform, tapping the Halo-Core by the side. A shimmering energy wall covered it for a moment like a magician holding a cloth over a box, and a moment later the plate was gone.
She decided to turn in for the night, early she knew, but perhaps an early night was what she needed. She got changed and clambered into bed.
She had barely closed her eyes when her Halo-Core buzzed into life. Suddenly it started shouting at her.
That's from the maintenance bay down below, she thought. That's the hidden microphones picking that up.
And then the gunfire started.
Z9 threw herself out of bed and put on a loose-fitting jacket, sliding guns inside the pockets as she practically jumped into her shoes. She threw open the door and ran down the hallway at full speed. It wasn't even nine o' clock yet.
YOU ARE READING
Claustrophobia
Science FictionZ9 returns for her second novel. After the events of Thunder, Z9 is given the opportunity to redeem herself. Boarding the new Star-Cruiser Helios, to keep watch of a ring of dangerous underworld masterminds. People start to band together, loyalties...
