Spaced Out

Dreams Feel Real While We're In Them

Lily was keyed up and had nothing to do for a whole ard. She ended up in the recreation lounge in front of the console podium. The manual controls were in catani and she couldn't shift them to dense. Almost half and ard went by before she found the combat programs Gen mentioned. There wasn't time for a full basic bakai tutorial, but she could practice the tertiary hold on a Verakian HOptic model. Once she pecked out the correct commands onto the console, the blue form of a Verakian man appeared on the activity floor. She changed the setting to static so the model wouldn't defend against her movements. Approaching the projection, she arranged her fingers like Gen taught her and practiced.

Correct hits with the correct pressure and timing generated a yellow circle over the blue Verakian's head. Incorrect placement, pressure, or timing produced a red X. The goal was a perfect chain of yellow circles which wasn't happening. Every red X knocked her back to sequence start. Cheeks got hotter and hotter. Skin prickled under her clammy barriersuit. On her final attempt, she punched through the static model and screamed through clenched teeth.

This was impossible.

She couldn't get more than three circles in a row. With her back to the projection, she bent and rested her hands on her thighs. Her talk-round crackled. Muffled voices fought through the tape on her speaker/receiver. She peeled it back. Reesa's voice came through.

"—she made anything else? I'm starving."

"I don't believe so," Vortrand answered. "The Pashmi has us full up on stock. You should be able to find something in the units that's not a nutration bar."

They were in the kitchen. Lily retreated to the far end of the activity floor so they wouldn't hear her.

"Did you get any information on recent Thorn activity from Artemi?" Reesa asked. Sounds of rummaging overlaid her question.

"You mean did I ask if you and Goshan were on their active agents list?"

"That works too."

"I did."

Chatter ceased for so long Lily thought her pirated feed cut out until the lieutenant-technician spoke again.

"And?"

"Your name didn't come up."

"See? Can you tru—"

"Goshan's did."

A loud clatter came over the speaker/receiver.

"Goshan was a Thorn?"

"He was." Vortrand's words sounded hard to say. "I don't know how he could have...We'd been together since our first year at LanceAcademy. How could I not see it?"

"You were too close. Goshan was your first casual partner wasn't he?"