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2593-28

Eric wasn't listening. The net was all around him, all he had to do was find a communication node in range and-there! Now he could-

The signals vanished.

Eric searched for them, anger rising. He'd almost done it.

The kangaroo was holding a box. Was that a quarantine generator? Eric had expected them to be larger. Maybe that was a portable version.

Hands grabbed his shoulders and pulled him to his feet. A bear and a thin white wolf were holding him.

There was a shuttle behind the kangaroo, a large model, something used to give tours, by the clear sides. Behind it, pale gray buildings with lights stood tall.

Eric looked over his shoulder, trying to understand how he hadn't seen them. They were outside, and he thought he saw a post fifteen meters away on one side, and five or six on the other. He couldn't see anything between them, but in the dark, it didn't mean anything. It might also be shutdown, now that he's cross the boundary.

He looked from a post to the building, and he thought he knew what it was, although he couldn't believe it.

"Is that a holographic wall of some sort?" he asked the kangaroo.

"It is."

Eric whistled, impressed. He'd never heard of someone making a model that works with only two emission point. The lowest number he knew of was three, a hundred and twenty-degree angle seemed the be the widest that produced a realistic image. More emitters meant a more realistic image. The rooms on his ship, setup for holography, had seven emitters.

"Vanguard gave you the tech, didn't they? There's no way Independents came up with something like this."

"You seem pretty sure of your superiority."

"You expect me to believe a bunch of loners who want to have as little to do with technology as they can made this? Not buying it. Coming up with something like that takes more than smarts, it needs processing power and you made it clear you won't use the best tool for that. No, this is Vanguard tech."

The kangaroo shrugged. "You really are a sicko, aren't you?" he pointed to Eric's crotch.

Eric didn't have to look down. "Everyone copes with stress in their own way. I do by wanting to have sex. If you don't want to see a hard on, you shouldn't have kidnapped an Orr. Hard cocks are our stock and trade."

"You're all perverts."

"Hey, you don't want to see it? Have one of your guys drop his pants and give me fifteen minutes."

The bear edged away from Eric.

"No, I have more important things to do to you. Bring him."

His guards pushed Eric ahead of them. He glared at them, using the time to check how they were arms. A handgun at their belt each. One wore a light jacket with shiny black pants, leather, maybe rubber. The other was in canvas pants and shirt. He couldn't tell if their clothing was reinforced.

Until Brack had explained how it worked, Eric had thought protective clothing was bulky plates linked together. But the mule had explained the army and law enforcement use visible designs to discourage being fired on and because they tended to face larger yield weapons. Protection against most common hand-held weapons could be woven into ordinary clothing.

As he'd expected, the shuttle had small benches on each side of a central aisle. The pilot's chair was visible in the front. Yeah, a tourist shuttle. He hoped the kangaroo wouldn't start narrating what they flew by. The wolf forced Eric sit in the center of the shuttle. He and the bear sat behind him.

Now that he was off his feet, Eric felt the soreness on his limbs and his back. He wanted to take care of his hard on and then sleep. Neither was going to happen if he could help it.

"Here." The kangaroo offered him a bottle. "I wouldn't want you to turn to dust on me at this point."

Eric took it and sipped it. As thirsty as he was, he had enough willpower left not to down it in one gulp. He wished he had a chemical detector in his mouth, that way he'd know if the water was safe to drink. He'd have to wait until the water entered his system for his implant to detect if it had extra chemicals.

It took five minutes seven seconds for his implant to detect the slight rehydration. Only water, with a few impurities, the iron content was higher than Orr water. It was safe to drink. He still forced himself to drink slowly, now wasn't the time to make himself sick.

The shuttle had taken off while he waited for the results. Now that he had some height, he could see where he had been was a farm field. That made the buildings warehouses. Looking out the side he saw lights in the distance, lots of light. A large city. If this was Soromis, as he thought, Gerald might know which city it was.

"Can I get another water bottle?" what he'd drunk had only made him thirstier.

"Give him another one," the kangaroo said, from the pilot's seat. "And give him a sustenance bar."

The wolf took a bottle and a wrapped bar out of a locker at the back and handed them to Eric. While he drank, he read the ingredients list on the bar. Amino acids, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and a bunch of other stuff that belonged in there. There was no telling if they had tempered with it, but at this point he needed the energy. He wouldn't be able to make his escape if he doubled over in hunger.

"Can I get another more?" Eric asked.

The kangaroo shook his head. "I don't need you well fed, just not dying."

"Where are we going?"

"Not far. Since you're not giving me access willingly, we're going to try something else."

'Not far' could mean anything, so he had to prepare himself. He couldn't do anything about how fast the bar was digested, but he could adjust his hormone levels to maximize his awake state. He just had to hope he'd get his chance before he did damage. He didn't relish having to stay on Earth while that was repaired.

When the shuttle began its descent, Eric couldn't see anything below them. Then he made out the outlines of a building, four stories tall, many of the windows he saw, when they were close enough, were broken. There was nothing around, not even a pad for shuttles, or places to park fliers. Dried up tall grass all around the building and for as far as he could see in the darkness.

"Welcome to your new home," The kangaroo said. Landing the shuttle.

"You should talk with the housing department, this doesn't meet any of the requirement for a home."

"Just like a corporate lackey to think everyone has a choice of what they live in."

Eric eyes the kangaroo. "You know, if housing is that much of a problem for you, we can talk about having you become an Orr citizen, so long as you're willing to work we guaranty housing, food, and clothing." He looked at the building. "I can promise you something better than this, if nothing else."

The kangaroo rolled his eyes. "Bring him."

His escorts grabbed his shoulders and forced Eric to follow. Outside Eric considered running. Brick had taught him some hand to hand fighting, which included how to escape holds. The way he was held he didn't think his guards expected him to try.

The problem was where could he go? His agoraphobia was quiet for the moment, but he knew that the moment no one was holding him, he'd panic. Since he couldn't see the sky he might have an easier time staying in control, but he couldn't bet his life on it. The kangaroo forced the door open and in they went.

The hall was cramped, barely space for two people to walk side by side. It smelled of dust, dirt, old urine and old feces.

"You live here?" Eric asked. "You should buy a cleaning bot, they have to make some that don't need to talk to the network to work."

"Stop talking." The kangaroo said.

"My offer still stands. Our houses come standard with an auto cleaning system. It isn't perfect, but it wouldn't let things get this bad."

"Just stop talking. You know damn well this isn't where I live. No one in their right minds would life in a place like this."

"You refuse to have an implant, that puts in question the rightness of your mind."

The wolf chuckled and Eric glanced at him. The wolf shrugged and tapped the side of his head. He had an implant? Wasn't he also an Independent? Maybe these two were locals the kangaroo had hired. He tried to contact the wolf's implant. Nothing, right, he was still under the quarantine field.

They past intersections, doors. Went up two stairwell, through a handful of doors, more intersections, then the kangaroo opened the door and the lights inside came on.

The room was large, at least fifteen meters on each side. It didn't have any windows or other doors. The walls and floor were stained, but Eric could tell someone had cleaned it, no dust anywhere. In the center of the room was a table with something on it. Various sized boxes he thought, set next to another, and on top of them. Three high.

The kangaroo went to them, did something, and lights came on on the boxes. He pulled out a chair from under the table and set it before it.

"Have a seat, it takes it a while to start up."

With the lights Eric could now see wires coming out of the machine, resting on the table. They all ended with sharp points.

Eric tensed, he had no idea what it was, but it couldn't be good. He didn't move.

"You can belittle us as much as you want for not having your oh so amazing implants, but that doesn't mean we can't come up with stuff of our own. Or do you think my employer gave me that too?"

Eric had no doubt Vanguard hadn't give him that machine, it was far too crude. Cruder than what he'd imagine an Independent creation might look like.

"You know," the kangaroo continued, "not all Independents are born as such. Quite a few actually came over from corporations. Over the years it's given us a lot of implants to experiment with."

Eric stared at the kangaroo. "You force them out of them?" He couldn't even imagine that. He'd gotten his implant at eight, it had grown inside his brain as he'd grown, it was an integral part of who he was. Would he even be able to function if it was taken out?

"Force? No, we didn't have to force anything. They'd realized how the machine was using them and they came to us to gain their freedom. Get him here, it's almost ready." The kangaroo turned to the device and adjusted something.

Eric didn't move. The bear pushed him lightly, but the wolf didn't. Eric looked at him, concern was etched across his white fur. Eric though he even saw fear in his eyes.

The bear pushed him again, and Eric moved.

He spun, grabbed the gun out of the bear's belt and shot the machine. Or tried to, nothing happened. Before he could think about what he'd done wrong the bear swung at him. Eric moved, but not fast enough to avoid the blow. His shoulder hurt. he lost his balance and ended up on the floor, scrambling to get up without the gun.

There was a flash of light, then sound of sparks. Eric glanced behind him as he headed for the door. The wolf was holding his gun, the machine had a hole in it, sparks flashing out of it. The kangaroo had a dismayed expression on his face.

Eric was out and running, using what was in his buffer to retrace his steps. Screams of pain came from the room, then the door slammed against the wall and footsteps sounded behind him.

A bolt of light passed over his shoulder, close enough he felt the heat through his fur, and it made a hole on the wall ahead of him. Another one, and he had to duck left, when he'd intended to go right.

He had to hope he'd be able to get back to that intersection, without knowing the layout of the building he had to get back there. He didn't have time to think, at the next intersection he went left again.

Their steps slowed for a moment, in the lightless hall, they couldn't be sure where he'd gone, and he was barefoot. It didn't bode well for catching some sickness out of the gunk on the floor, but it made him quiet. The steps came again, but slower, and only one set.

This hall was long, and at the end he could only go left. There was light at the end, from a doorway. He was back where he'd started. He sprinted and stopped before the door to peeked left. That hall was empty as far as the light let him see. He'd expected one of them to have come back this way.

In the room he saw the wolf on the floor, bleeding and unmoving. A gun was near the wall. He went for it, grabbed it and turned, facing the door. No one there yet, so he looked at the gun. Why hadn't it fired before.

The safety. It was the first thing Brack had shown him. He'd forgotten the damn safety. He flicked it off in time to hear steps approaching. He crouched down and aimed at the doorway. A large form appeared in it and Eric fired half a dozen times at it. It fell back loudly.

Staying against the wall he moved closer. It wasn't moving, not even twitching. It was the bear he saw. Three holes in his chest, one in his shoulder. He'd missed twice. Brack would be happy that he'd hit him at all.

Now he had to be careful, he didn't know there the kangaroo was. He didn't hear anything, which meant he was either further away, or not moving. The likeliest scenario was that he'd gone to the exit, to catch Eric there. With the machine destroyed, Eric wondered if the kangaroo would try to kill him.

He didn't have a choice, he didn't want to stay here and he didn't feel he could risk moving around randomly hoping to find another way out, not without knowing where the kangaroo was.

He slowly retraced his steps, stopping at each intersection to check ahead. His headache was coming back, and his stomach was complaining. But his forced alert state was still holding. He was going to crash hard soon.

He went faster, he couldn't afford to crash before he escaped. His plan was to take the shuttle and fly away, call for help the moment he got out of the quarantine field.

He made it down to the ground floor without encountering the kangaroo. He also wasn't hearing anything. He slowed, he was sure where the kangaroo was, and that's where he found him, a meter before the outside door. Eric went around the corner gun raised and aimed. He didn't think he could hit the kangaroo at this distance, but looking menacing couldn't hurt. The kangaroo raised his gun in response, but he didn't shoot.

"So I guess you still need me alive," Eric said.

"My job hasn't changed because the interface was destroyed. I'm just going to have to bring you to another one."

"You have a lot of them?"

"A few. They aren't easy to build, but we've had years to get the parts. There are enough your corporation couldn't find them all."

"I don't care about them. You people want to live without an implant, that's your problem. Citizens go to you to get theirs taken out. Fine, none of my problem. So long as I don't find out you've been forcing it on Orr citizens, like you were planning to do to me, You can go on living your primitive little lives in peace." Eric kept his eyes fixed on the kangaroo. "Now, I'm leaving. I'm going home to my family, to my children, to my crew. You can either get out of my way, or be shot down."

"I don't think you can hit me from where you are. I'm surprised you know how to handle a gun, but you can't be that good."

Eric didn't say anything. He didn't have to.

"He can't," the mule standing behind the kangaroo said, "But I can blow your head clean off if you don't drop your gun."

The kangaroo held Eric's gaze for a moment, then lowered it and his weapon. Eric sighed in relief. Brack grabbed both of the kangaroo's arm as William ran around him.

"Eric, are you okay?"

The tiger nodded. "Brack, you have him?"

The mule nodded.

Eric looked at William. "You're going to want to catch me." He let his hormones go back to their normal levels, and within a second, the world turned blacker than it had already been.