Junker's Remorse

[Shush Muppet]

BARRIER GATE STATION, CORONADO SYSTEM
INDEPENDENT SPACE, 10.01.823 A.S.

The cool sensation of metal against her cheek made Ari open her eyes. In bewilderment, she stood and surveyed her surroundings. She was on board a ship. No, THE ship; the transport that had shot her. The cold metal of the deck felt uncomfortably dirty under her feet. Her brow furrowed and she looked down.

She was wearing her trademark bulletproof vest and rough slacks, though oddly her combat boots were missing. Now that she thought about it, where was her spacesuit? And who had helped her change?

A shiver ran down her spine as she realized this was a man's living quarters. The ship's bulkhead seemed to groan slightly in sympathy. Then... Ari felt a presence behind her. Turning, she saw a figure cloaked in white. The man's eyes were a piercing and unnatural bright blue. Everything else about him was pale and sterile. Then he spoke to her.

"You should not be here."

"Uhh, sorry? I thought I was rescu-"

"You should not be here." The figure interrupted. It suddenly occurred to Ari that he was speaking telepathically. His mouth had not moved once. But that stare...

"N-now wait just a moment. I was dying-"

"State your name and function or face deletion." The figure's voice had only serene peace behind it.

"Ah... Ari Kova? Lane Hacker? Nice to... meet you?"

"Hacker. You are malware." The figure concluded.

"Huh?! No, hold on! What are you talking about?!" Panic began to grow inside her chest as the blinding figure stretched his hands toward her like a bizarre mage.

"Delete." He stated calmly. A searing burst of white light shot from his hands and struck Ari in the heart. She flew back against the far wall, breaking several framed pictures free of their zero-gee mountings. She slumped over, torso smoking.

As the figure watched, Ari surveyed the damage to her body. There was a large gaping hole where her ribcage and heart should have been! Yet... no blood. She began to feel light-headed, but the fear helped. She stood on shaky feet, bracing herself against the wall. Anger roiled inside her.

"Why... why did you do that?"

The figure gave no answer as he raised his hands again. Then a thought struck Ari. This thing was a computer of some sort. And she... she was a Lane Hacker. She wasn't dead yet, for some odd reason.

"This must be a dream," she thought. "Huh. Well now that I know that, I suppose I can change the rules."

Just as the figure released his second attack, Ari mentally imagined the sequence for a redirect command. Then to her surprise, the figure's light bounced harmlessly into the wall, mid-flight. Oddly, the figure did not seem troubled. He brought both of his hands together and spoke the word, "Quarentine".

Ari's arms slammed into the sides of her body as if they were made of dark matter. Try as she might, she was once again immobile. Worse yet, her thoughts were incredibly dull and confusing.

The stranger's light attack came again. Ari barely managed to think of the script for force-stopping a program. And then everything simply froze; the figure and his attack just... floating there. Ari raised her arms and spoke a single word that shook with rage.

<"Delete!">

To her astonishment, blue light shot from her hands and stuck the figure in the chest. Then he simply... dissolved into thin air! Her legs began to shake as fatigue swept over her. In the corner was a well-used cot. Perfect.

Ari fell hard onto the bed, and for once was not afraid. She didn't know why, but somehow she knew there were no more threats anywhere on the ship. Just like she knew the gaping hole in her chest was now healed.

"What a strange dream..." she mumbled, as she fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

---

Characters:

Cory Walsh - Unknown
Ari Kova (Yaroslava Ivanov) - Active
Declan "Owen" Quinn - Active
Agent 1854 - M.I.A.

"Junker's Remorse" Feedback Thread