The Girls From Alcyone (14 page)

Most of the other girls were already gathered in the reception area; Sigrid observed as one by one the girls were called inside while the other girls waited for their own turn in silence.

Sigrid was the ninth to be called. Dr. Garrett did not greet her as she came in. Dr. Garrett always had a friendly word for Sigrid, ever since the very first time they'd met at her parents' apartment on Earth. The fact that she said nothing set alarm bells ringing in Sigrid's head. Sigrid swallowed hard.

Seated behind the polished stainless steel desk was Shinji Kimura, Deputy CEO of the Kimura Corporation. She'd never met the man before, but her optics scanned him, displaying his ID from her database. Shinji did not appear much older than Dr. Garrett, although she knew his age to be forty-two. His face was sharp and angular, and his eyes were narrow and a dark shade of brown. He sat stock still, facing her with a blank stare. She could tell he was studying her. He may not have had her bionic optics, but she could see things registering in his eyes, calculating, collating.

Two men with equally humorless dispositions stood to either side of him. No one had said anything as either greeting or introduction. Sigrid wasn't sure if they were waiting for her to speak. An uncomfortable minute passed. She decided to bow in greeting; she would at least be polite.

Sigrid was in mid-bow when she saw the man on Shinji's left shift his weight on his right knee. The motion was subtle and swift, but the threat registered instantly in her PCM; the motion was calculated, the solution presented to her. This was the
Master Control Program
at work. Not controlling her actions, but feeding her vital information and sending her systems into action, reacting to her instinctively.

Even before the
shuriken
left his hand, Sigrid was already moving. Her optics registered and tracked the weapon, her PCM calculated the velocity and trajectory of the small but deadly
Ninja Star.
Sigrid reached up, slapping both hands together as she caught the razor sharp throwing knife between her palms, eight centimeters from her face. She'd already anticipated her next action; her weight was already shifted forward, and she hurled the
shuriken
with all the deadly force she could muster back at her assailant. The knife hit him squarely in the chest and the man keeled over, face first, dead by the time he hit the floor with a sickening thud.

The man to Shinji's right drew his sidearm.
Too slow.
Anticipating the first shot, Sigrid sidestepped, and rolled under the trajectory of the next one before he'd even fired. She came to her feet in front of him and swiftly kicked up, sending the man's pistol flying upward before bringing her heel down hard on his neck. The force of the blow sent the man crashing down. Sigrid was on him, ready to strike, calculating different ways she might deliver the next blow:
lethal, paralyzing, maiming…?

"Stop!"

Sigrid froze. Shinji Kimura stood placidly, holding out his hand to her. She was still in combat-mode, not quite certain what had transpired, but the man's body language read calm, his pulse and respiration even and measured. He carried no weapons and seemed to present no threat—even though his goons had just tried to kill her.

Sigrid looked to Dr. Garrett for direction. The woman gave her only the slightest of nods. Not knowing what else to do, Sigrid took the Deputy CEO's outstretched hand.

"Very good, Ms. Novak.
Most
impressive."

Sigrid stumbled slightly backwards. "This was a…test?"

"Of course."

"Your test is trying to
kill
me?"
Had he done this with all the girls?
Sigrid couldn't believe it. "What—what if you'd killed me?"

"Then, you would have failed. If you can't dodge a simple knife, you would be of little use to us."

Sigrid felt her blood rise. "And the other girls? Did they…
pass?
"

"Most," he said. He sat back down in the chair by the desk. "But only
you
attacked, Ms. Novak. Your solution was…most unique. While your fellow students all chose evasion, you chose to attack. Where others chose defense, you chose aggression, and with deadly force." He turned to Dr. Garrett and said, "You may tell the other girls to leave, Dr. Garrett." His eyes fell again to Sigrid.

"Pack your things, Ms. Novak. You will accompany us to Aquarii, immediately."

* * *

February 23, 2348

"You're going!" Suko cried. "Now?" She was clinging to the back of Sigrid's uniform, clutching at the fabric. Sigrid was doing her best to pack her duffel—trying her best not to look Suko in the face. She couldn't bear it.

She leaned down to pick up her meager belongings; a picture of her parents, the stacks of letters from her mother, and the small, stuffed rabbit she'd managed to keep with her all these years.

"You can't go! Not after…" Suko wrapped her arms around her from behind and pulled her away from the duffel and her packing.

Sigrid hugged Suko's arms even tighter around her. "It's not like I want to."

Suko's eyes were raw and red with emotion. "Tell them to take me!"

"I did—I asked. He's only taking me."

"It doesn't make any sense—just because you killed one of his men…?"

"I know!"

Suko's eyes darkened and her body tensed. "Tell them I'll meet with them—I'll kill the other guy. I'll kill him
.
"

"I wish you could."

Suko sniffed. "What's going to happen to the rest of us?"

"He said…Mr. Kimura just said I'm to go to Aquarii. He said they're going to present me to the Board of Directors for evaluation. Then…they'll decide what happens with the rest of you." Sigrid groaned. "Of all the girls, why pick me?"

Sigrid felt dizzy and sick. She leaned heavily against Suko, who stroked her hair and shoulders. Everything was happening so fast. If only she could stay. But it was already time to go.

They were waiting for her.

It took all her force of will to free herself from Suko's embrace. She didn't look back. She couldn't. Sigrid grabbed her duffel and strode toward the door.

Suko darted past her and backed up against the door, blocking Sigrid's way. "You're
not
walking out on me like that." Suko was crying. "You
can't.
"

Sigrid threw her bag to the ground. "It's not like I have a choice, Suko. Don't make this harder than it is."

"Well, I'm not going to make it easy. I'm not letting them take you. I won't." Suko grabbed Sigrid by the shoulders, her eyes were wide and desperate. "Sigrid, let's get out of here. Let's leave."

"Leave? Suko…?"
What Suko was saying—it was impossible.
"But,
Kimura…they'll never allow…"

"We can try. Sigrid—don't go. Come with me."

Sigrid's heart beat faster.
Could they really run away?
For a brief moment she allowed herself to contemplate Suko's outlandish proposal. But her heart sank just as quickly. It was impossible.

"Suko, it's crazy. Kimura would track us. We'd never get off the planet."

"You don't know that!"

"Suko…" Sigrid slumped on her bunk, holding her head in her hands. "You're just making things worse." How could she leave? The answer was simple: she couldn't. They wouldn't let her. Even if she did, even if by some miracle she and Suko managed to escape, her family would be
ruined.

Sigrid rubbed hard at her temples. Her head throbbed as a wave of nausea washed over her. Suko sat next to her. She sobbed as she leaned her head against Sigrid's shoulder and pulled her close. Sigrid wanted to stay more than anything, but how could she? The decision had already been made long ago. Kimura owned her and her family. They would take her away and there was nothing she could do.

"I'm—I'm sorry, Suko."

For a moment, Suko just stared back, her face a mixture of hurt and confusion. Suko wiped her nose with her arm. "Then, you're…you're really going?"

"What choice do I have?"

Suko looked down, staring at her feet. "I would never leave you."

"That's not fair! What you're asking me…it would destroy my family."

"The
family
that sent you here."

Sigrid heard the anger in Suko's voice—anger at her, or Suko's own family, she wasn't sure. She put her hand on Suko's arm. "Suko, I know how you feel about your family—"

"And I know how you feel about
yours
." Suko pulled away from her hand so abruptly that Sigrid gasped. Suko's eyes were redder still, and her nose was running freely. "But I guess you don't know how I feel about you."

The words stabbed at Sigrid, but this time it was Suko who couldn't look at her. Sigrid reached for her, crying, but Suko turned away, shrugged off her touch and ran for the door.

"Suko…!"

Suko darted out into the hall, bumping into two Mercenary soldiers coming the other way.

"Suko! Wait!" Sigrid was up and running after her, but the two Marines at the door blocked her way.

"Time to go, Ms. Novak," one of them said, holding up his hand.

Sigrid staggered back and fell onto her bunk. It was too late. Sigrid knew she'd never see Suko again. She lay back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, unable to move. Moving would mean leaving, and leaving would mean that this was real, and not just some terrible nightmare.

Finally one of the soldiers cleared his throat. Sigrid looked up. They were both staring down at her as she lay on the bed.

"What," Sigrid said. It was not even a question. She didn't care. Nothing mattered anymore. Suko was gone.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Agatsuma

February 23, 2348

The journey to the waiting transport ship felt like the walk of death to Sigrid. None of the girls in the halls looked up at her as she passed by them, shadowed by her mercenary escort. There was no one to meet Sigrid or see her off as she boarded the
Agatsuma
. The two mercenaries deposited her at the bottom of the staircase that reached up into the belly of the ship. As Sigrid entered, the stairs retracted behind her, sealing her in; sealing her fate, she reflected.

She was vaguely aware of the ship's thrusters firing as the Corvette lifted off. The inertial-dampers shielded the crew from the crushing g-forces as the ship blasted its way skyward. By the time a single crewman arrived to escort her down the narrow corridors to her quarters, the
Agatsuma
had already cleared the atmosphere and broken orbit. Sigrid was instructed to wait until called for. She hardly heard the crewman—so lost was she in her own bleak thoughts.

She'd held herself together so far, but as the door to her quarters closed behind her, the despair cascaded over her. More alone than she'd ever felt in her life, she collapsed on the bunk, buried her face in the pillow, and wept. She still couldn't believe Suko was gone. How could she face the rest of her life without her?

And Suko's words still stung her.
"You don't know how I feel about you,"
she'd said.

Didn't she?
Without Suko, Sigrid felt she would have perished long ago. Suko had always been there for her. Suko had protected and cared for her. When they were together, she felt whole and complete. Without her, all she felt was deep despair.

The realization hit her like a brick. She loved Suko. More than that. She was
in love
with her.
And I never told her,
Sigrid thought, horrified. She groaned and held her head in her hands. Sigrid felt sick.
What had she done…

Sigrid couldn't decide what was worse; the thought of Suko hating her, or the thought of never seeing her again. If only she could apologize, if only she could tell Suko she loved her. But she couldn't turn back time. With every second, the
Agatsuma
was accelerating away from Alcyone and away from Suko.

Suddenly angry, furious at herself and at Kimura, Sigrid grabbed the small clock from the little bedside table and hurled it at the door. Only then did she see the young woman standing there; the ensign ducked and squealed as the clock sailed past her and smashed into the bulkhead behind.

Cautiously, the ensign poked her head back in the doorway. She held her hand to her chest. "Oh my—are you all right?"

Sigrid tried to answer, but was overcome by tears again.

"Oh, my poor dear," the girl said, rushing to Sigrid's side. She gathered Sigrid into her arms, holding her close and rocking her. "Whatever's the matter?"

Sigrid's body shook as she succumbed to her grief. She had no idea who the girl was, yet she clung to her, pressing her face to her chest. The ensign stroked her hair, hushing her gently.

In time, Sigrid's trembling subsided. She frowned, suddenly embarrassed at her emotional outburst. "I'm sorry." She wiped at her eyes with the heels of her hands.

"That's quite all right."

Sigrid saw her clearly for the first time. She looked about twenty. Her long, curly black hair was tied in an elaborate series of knots and braids, tucked neatly behind her head—not a strand out of place. The smooth, dark brown skin of her face framed a pair of large brown eyes and a pronounced, dimpled chin. Her full lips were painted red, her cheeks artificially flushed; even her eyes were enhanced by the elaborate colors and lines of her makeup.

Sigrid noted the girl was an ensign in Kimura's naval forces. Her finely tailored uniform looked sharp enough to cut paper. Sigrid released herself from the embrace almost apologetically. She'd left a smear on the girl's lapel.

"Are you…all right?"

What could Sigrid say?
I've just left the woman I'm in love with
… Did people say such things to people they'd just met?

"I'm fine," Sigrid said. She wiped her nose and gave a big sniff.

The young ensign handed Sigrid a tissue and shifted herself on the bunk, facing Sigrid. She held out her hand. "I'm Ensign McTeer, and I'll be your Orientations Officer. Are you…sure you're all right?"