Harmony of matter and energy

Protector's routine - 1

Boone's return to duty is bittersweet, as he has been temporarily relieved of his duties as Da'an's protector, the office work is grueling, and his new Skrill is acting strangely. But soon his life is back on track when Da'an finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

...

"It's the last of the Gamma series," Dr. Brown said as she opened the cooler to reveal Skrill. "The newly developed Delta series is just as effective, but has lower mental feedback, making it more controllable," she continued, by mental feedback she surely meant her own consciousness. "However, Da'an has decided that you will be assigned the last Gamma series Skrill, even though it has already been designated for destruction."

Boone was sure the doctor had mentioned that because she considered the assignment of an older generation Skrill to be something of a punishment. But the opposite was true. It took a lot of effort not to smile at the memory of last night, when over dinner - there was still something abstract about the idea that Da'an had cooked and then they'd dined together, but it had certainly been nice - they'd talked about a lot of things, including the fact that Boone was going to get his new Skrill today. Of course, Da'an made sure to mention the existence of the new series and their benefits, or at least what Dr. Brown considered to be the benefits. On that account, Boone admitted that he had grown accustomed to the thought of Skrill somewhere in the back of his mind, and that he had missed the feeling over the last fortnight, just as he would have missed the Condor itself. Da'an had promised him that he would see to it that he was assigned a Skrill of the same generation as the Condor, and he had.

"If that was Da'an's decision, surely he had good reason to do so," he replied, as expected of an Implant, placing his hand on the armrest.

Dr. Brown said nothing in response, just gave him a sidelong glance before removing the Skrill from the box and placing it on Boone's forearm.

The tendrils of the Skrill dug into his arm almost immediately. The sensation was just as unpleasant as the first time, and just like then, he gritted his teeth to keep from letting out a hiss of pain. Strangely, though, the pain dissipated more quickly than the first time, and that familiar feeling of awareness immediately appeared in the background of Boone's mind. It was a confused, one might say fuzzy awareness, but it was there. And with it came relief. Even though Skrill's consciousness was vague and already obvious that it was different from Condor's, it was there, and that was comforting.

Satisfied, he stretched out his arm, now so familiarly burdened again by Skrill.

"Does he have a name?" He asked, examining his new companion.

"Name?" The doctor answered him with a question.

He looked up to her.

"Dr. Clark gave my last Skrill the name Condor. I've taken to referring to him that way."

"As you know, Dr. Clark no longer works for the Taelons," Dr. Brown replied, as if that was an adequate answer to his original question.

He didn't comment because Skrill had just come to full consciousness. He took advantage of that and sent the same vague 'hello' he'd been greeting Condor with for months. His response was one of shy curiosity. Not the familiar feeling of hunger coupled with crankiness that greeted Condor every morning, and that didn't go away until he gave him a proper breakfast by eating himself. The new Skrill was decidedly less effusive than Condor. More than that, in fact. He seemed a little too timid and unwilling to communicate.

Boone raised his hand, clenched his fist, and sent the command to charge before firing.

Skrill responded immediately. There was no problem with that, but what was missing was the question Condor would have asked, which could be loosely translated as 'where and what should I shoot at? The new Skrill acted like an animal that had been taught to obey without hesitation, not because it wanted to obey its owner, but because it feared punishment. Not like Condor, who also followed commands without hesitation, but often with vague remarks and unclear comments. Not to mention commenting on such things as hunger, uncomfortable temperatures and humidity, and unnecessary noise that bothered Condor. In fact, if Boone had let him and not purposefully ignored him, he probably would have given him an opinion on absolutely everything that was going on around him.