The Girls From Alcyone (12 page)

"Fuck…"

The door to her room glided open almost silently. She grabbed up the discarded blanket and covered herself quickly. But it was just Suko. She poked her head in cautiously and entered the room once she knew Sigrid was awake, closing the door behind her.

"I couldn't sleep," Suko said. Her long black hair flowed down around her shoulders, shimmering in the dim light. She wore only the small T-shirt and briefs she normally would for bed. Sigrid moved over to make room as Suko slid onto the bed next to her.

"I can't sleep, either," Sigrid said. "I don't think I'm used to all this quiet." What she didn't say was how strange it felt not having Suko next to her.

"I know." Suko stared up at the ceiling. "I was just thinking about tomorrow."

"Me too. I keep wondering what it will be like."

Suko frowned. "Dr. Garrett said we'd be
better
after the
final phase
. But it's not like I feel sick."

Sigrid crinkled her nose in a frown. "I don't think I like the sound of being
Activated.
What does that even mean?"

"And, better? Better than what? You'd think it'd kill her to explain something for once. They never tell us anything."

"That would make too much sense—nothing they do here seems to make
any
sense."
Sigrid leaned her head on the pillow next to Suko, touching the tips of Suko's fingers with her own. "And then, I guess they'll send us away."

"I was
trying
not to think about that." Suko poked her playfully.

"Sorry." Sigrid chuckled softly. "When they do, I hope they send us to Crucis—maybe they'll send us to the Naval Academy. That's what Chesna thinks. That might not be so bad. Maybe we'll all go."
As long as we go together—
she didn't have to say it.

Neither of them spoke for a while, both were lost in thought. Sigrid didn't know what the next day would bring, but for the moment, Suko was next to her and that was all that mattered. She began to feel she might finally get some sleep and succumbed to the softness of the mattress…

Suko leaned on her elbow. "Well, I should get back—I just wanted to…" She was looking down at Sigrid, her hair hanging loose over her face, brushing against Sigrid's. "I just wanted to see how you were doing."

Suko made it halfway to the door before Sigrid stopped her. "Wait. Stay. I don't think I'll be able to sleep in here by myself."

Suko's relief was accompanied with a smile. "Me too. I mean…if it's all right…unless you think we'll get in trouble."

"Come. There's room." Sigrid lifted the blanket and patted the mattress beside her.

Suko stared down at her; she paused, looking almost shy for a moment, but then she pulled off her T-shirt and slipped in next to her.

Sigrid flinched as their bodies met under the covers. She laughed. "You're
cold.
"

Suko laughed back. "You're
warm
."

Sigrid covered them both with the blanket and wrapped her arms around Suko, pulling her closer. This was much better than being alone in her empty room. They lay there facing each other, eyes open. Suko brushed the loose hair from Sigrid's face, tucking it gently back behind her ear, stroking the soft hair of her neck with her fingers. Sigrid breathed deeply and felt her eyelids grow heavy. She was almost asleep when she felt Suko's lips touching hers; kissing her softly, Suko whispered, "Goodnight."

There wasn't much room in the small bed. Suko was perched slightly on one elbow, her other arm rested between them, which Sigrid could feel pressed up against her. Suko still felt cold so she pulled her closer, sharing the warmth of her body. As she moved, she felt Suko's hand slip between her thighs; her fingers were ice-cold and she shivered at the touch. The two girls stared at each other, eyes wide open, barely breathing.

"Goodnight," Sigrid whispered back, finally returning the kiss. She let her lips linger there, not pulling away. Her mouth parted slightly and she felt the tip of Suko's tongue flick over her lips, then a kiss on the tip of her chin and the soft spot on her neck. When her lips found Suko's a second time, her mouth surrendered to the open intensity as she felt Suko's tongue dart deeper into her mouth.

Sigrid slowly lifted her leg, freeing Suko's hand, but Suko didn't pull away or withdraw it. Slowly, nervously, Suko inched her hand higher, pausing as the tips of her fingers brushed the seam of Sigrid's underwear.

A wave of delight mingled with terror swept over Sigrid, and her heart pounded, sending butterflies coursing through her body. Both girls froze, stared at each other. And then Suko kissed her again, tracing her fingers over the soft material of her briefs. Sigrid's whole body trembled under the delicate touch. She pushed up against her, and,
finally,
she thought, Suko reached into her underwear, touching her very softly with the tips of her fingers.

Sigrid took in a sharp breath as she felt Suko's fingers slip inside her. She wrapped her knee around Suko's waist, squeezing her gently.

Suko stopped; she looked at her anxiously and withdrew her hand. "Are you okay?"

Sigrid nodded vigorously and whispered, "Yeah—more than okay."

Sigrid reached down and quickly pulled off her underwear before redirecting Suko's hand. She covered Suko's hand with her own, guiding her with her own fingers. As Suko began to caress her with more urgency, Sigrid felt the warmth blooming within her, a tingling that stretched from her spine to her toes. Her arms coiled around Suko's neck—she kissed her deeply, pressing her body hard against her. Sigrid moaned softly and shuddered as her orgasm surged quickly into a rushing, sweeping climax. She flopped down into the mattress, fighting to steady the excitement in her breaths.

It took a moment for her head to clear. She was still grappling with what had just happened—she hadn't realized anything could feel so wonderful, so intense, so sweet. She wanted more.

Sigrid sat up and nudged Suko onto her back. She kneeled over her, tucking her hair back behind her ears. She felt the softness of Suko's skin beneath her hands, the curve of her breasts. Suko shivered as Sigrid drew her hands slowly down the length of her stomach, pausing just below her belly-button. Suko raised her hips to help Sigrid as she pulled her underwear off. She kissed the tips of Suko's knees, her lips traced a line up the inside of her leg; her cheek brushed against the soft warmth of Suko's thigh. She kissed her lightly, first with her lips then her tongue, until Suko responded in ecstasy, shuddering softly against her.

As they gathered their senses and breath, Sigrid became very aware of Suko staring at her. Suko beamed brightly, her eyes twinkling like never before.

"What?"
Sigrid asked; suddenly feeling quite self-conscious. Blushing, she held the edge of the blanket over her.

Suko laughed. "What do you
think?
"

Sigrid blushed hotter still. "Oh…right."

Still flush with excitement, Sigrid lay back down next to Suko, pulling the blanket over both of them. They shivered, as if suddenly cold, then held each other close.

"
Now
—I think I'll be able to sleep!" Sigrid said, snuggling fully into a much warmer Suko.

"You…you don't suppose anyone
heard
, do you?"

Sigrid looked around and pounded the hard stone wall with the back of her fist. "I think we're safe."

They kissed again—a brief struggle with the blanket ensued as they fought playfully to get the blasted thing to cover their toes. Within minutes, they were both snoring soundly.

* * *

February 22, 2348

Suko had been gone all morning; she'd been called to the Treatment Room to be
Activated
, as they called it, leaving Sigrid to pace the lengths of her tiny quarters while she waited for her own name to be called. There was no schedule because the doctors were not entirely sure how long the procedure would take, but that only fueled Sigrid's anxiety toward the whole affair.

Finally, her turn came. An orderly showed up at her door and led her to the Treatment Center. Dr. Garrett greeted her and waved Sigrid to a padded chair surrounded by an array of terminals and displays.

Dr. Garrett smiled warmly. "Hello, Sigrid. How are you feeling today?"

Sigrid was too nervous to answer, but Dr. Garrett, focused on preparing the procedure, didn't seem to notice. She brought the data-uplink module over to hook up to Sigrid, who flinched and pulled away.

"It's all right, Sigrid. This won't hurt."

"I know, ma'am, but…" She swallowed. "What
will
it be like?"

Dr. Garrett considered the question before answering. "The clinical term might be, a
heightened situational awareness
." Sigrid heard a pronounced
click
as Dr. Garrett slipped the data-uplink into her access port
.
Dr. Garrett smiled. "You're going to feel
great.
"

Sigrid gulped.

"Now, I'm going to put you out for just a moment," Dr. Garrett said. "Can you count back for me?"

Still not quite convinced, Sigrid nodded and began her practiced count backward from ten. She remembered getting as far as seven this time, and then nothing. As with her other treatments, it felt as if only a moment had passed when she blinked her eyes open. Doctor Garrett was leaning over her, looking at her expectantly.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"I feel…" Sigrid was about to say
fine
, but she suddenly became acutely aware that something was very,
very
different.

She felt a rush—a surge of sensation, a hyperawareness of…everything; smells, noise, the touch of the fabric on her skin…color…she could
smell
color. When Sigrid looked at Dr. Garrett, she could feel the woman's heart beating. The sound was deafening. Her PCM fed streams of data to her, displayed in her HUD: pulse, heart-rate, respiration, perspiration. She could even smell the woman's breakfast on her: orange juice, coffee, two slices of rye toast—and something else…

"You had
sex
," Sigrid said. Then looking at Dr. Mitchell, she said. "With
him.
"

Sigrid giggled, but the laughter shook her violently inside. She could feel the blood moving through her veins—and count the corpuscles. Her skin, her hair; everything
crawled.
She could see her entire self; not as a whole, but as every individual composite. Heart, pancreas, brain, bionics; even the billions of nanomites that scurried through her system. She could identify each one individually. "Hello, little robots," she said and laughed, as if tipsy with sensation.

Her attention was drawn to the two orderlies in the corner; the men fingered their stun batons, eyeing her suspiciously. They registered as
minimal threat
. One of them leaned on his left foot, as if wondering if he should attempt to restrain the girl. Sigrid had already calculated seven ways she could take him down and incapacitate him if he tried as much.

The walls had been recently painted; the stench of its solvent filled her lungs. Worse were the acrid aromas of sterilizers and cleaners, all mixing into a toxic stew, along with Dr. Mitchell's cologne. Sigrid threw up what felt like an endless gushing stream. In slow motion, she watched as particles burst from her mouth; she found herself analyzing the content of each particle as the memories of her breakfast came flooding back.

Dr. Garrett was holding her by the shoulders, shaking her. Sigrid could see that she was talking, but the words hadn't yet left her mouth. The Doctor's stress levels had elevated dramatically. Sigrid didn't know why this was so—she felt fine. In fact, she felt so good, she thought she'd go tell Suko.

In a flash, Sigrid was at the door of the treatment room. This seemed to increase the general state of agitation in everyone around her. Two of the technicians lunged to grab her. Much too slow. She tripped one and knocked the other on the head, causing them both to fall into a heap. She burst through the door and into the hallway. Four security officers were rushing toward the Treatment Room—
toward
her
. Sigrid didn't know what they wanted, but they clearly had something on their mind. She braced to strike before they could bring her down.

Then came a stabbing sensation in her buttock. She spun and saw Dr. Garrett holding an empty syringe. She felt the cold lorazepam enter her bloodstream. Sigrid wondered why she'd done that. As she pondered the question, she felt the nanomite swarms coursing through her system, already working their magic to break down the drug and nullify its effects.

Sigrid laughed. She couldn't remember ever feeling so good. She was about tell Dr. Garrett how wonderful it all was, when one of the security guards hit her with a shock-round. What a curious sensation. "Hey!" Sigrid protested.

"Sigrid!" Dr. Garrett grabbed her shoulders, shaking her. "Sigrid! Can you hear me?"

Sigrid's ears were buzzing and her rear smarted from where the guard had zapped her, but, yes, she could hear her now.

"
Ow
," she said.

She felt the euphoria recede, her control flowing back. Her senses were still being bombarded from every which way, but she could make sense of things now. It was a question of focus—she just needed to
focus
.

As her vision cleared, she became aware of everyone gathered around her, staring at her. The ties on the back of her hospital gown had come loose during the melee. She reached around to hold the gown closed.

"Are you…okay?" Dr. Garrett asked.

Sigrid thought, and nodded, "Yes." She took a few careful breaths, feeling the air rush through her lungs before blowing it out in a long exhale; it sounded like a gale-force wind in her head. "Is that…normal?"

Dr. Garrett didn't need to answer; Sigrid could read the woman's body-language and biochemistry easily enough; the way she gripped Sigrid by the shoulders told her this certainly wasn't normal.

"Your reaction was rather…extreme." Dr. Garrett said finally. Her eyes were darting all over Sigrid, as if worried Sigrid might freak out again. "How do you feel?"