Raw!

[proficient]

Fox couldn’t believe that Bird had passed certification. She looked at the mask that Bird’s face carried and knew what it hid. Bird suffered a stroke a month after stasis pod debriefing. The tech heads touted that the scientific engineering couldn’t have missed a defect. In a way that’s the only thing that saved Bird. The elders felt the time spent in preparing Bird for recon didn’t justify a reprocessing. That was a nice way of saying we’re not going to grind you up into a reprocessed enorphine drip. The stroke took away Birds ability to fire a weapon due to her twitch so instead they educated her in a lost art of the ninja. They retrained her reflexes to handle edged weapons and to their surprise she surpassed expectations. Bird became a type of savant and a pet to the elders. In some respects her mind became underdeveloped and simplified. Fox took her under her wing and showed her the ropes of getting along for the sake of getting along. It ended up being Bear who really reached her. She would follow him to the ends of the earth. Fox felt a bit of jealousy when she watched the way Bear and Bird interacted. There ended up being something pure about the relationship. That never sat well with Fox. Oh sure, she had Bear on a number of occasions but every time he felt distant. She could feel it in his caress. It’s like his mind was always somewhere else. Maybe thinking about his little bird. Fox’s memories began to fast forward. The world around her changed and her body fell through the kaleidascope of memories until she softly landed in Bear’s bed.
Fox’s hand lazily caressed Bear’s muscular chest and she gently kissed his nipple. Bear stroked Fox’s hair. “I thought you were taking Bird out for her eighteenth birthday?” asked Bear.
Fox ignored his question and began to kiss his chest. She smiled and gently bit Bear. “I did. I took her over to the commons party. If those boys can’t make her a woman then she’ll never be one,” laughed Fox as she moved down Bear’s chest with her eager mouth.
Bear sat back then pushed Fox off to the side. “You did what!” exclaimed Bear as he jumped out of bed.
Fox slammed her hand on the bed and reached for Bear, “Oh c’mon let her live a little.”
Bear cast Fox a look of disgust and quickly tossed on his jumpsuit and strapped on his boots. “Not like that! How could you!”
“Oh, give me a break!” shouted Fox, “what? Let me guess you’re the one that wants to give it to her.”
“Just shut up!” yelled Bear as he bolted out the door of his quarters.
Fox cursed under her breath and slammed her head on Bear’s bed, “Bear! Wait, damn you! I didn’t mean it!”
Fox rolled out of bed and got dressed as quickly as she could. “Bear!” she yelled but it was to late. Fox began half running as she fumbled with her boot strap. “Bear!”
By the time Fox made it to the commons party she could see the wake of her words. A few lowlifes lay on the ground with bloody noses and black eyes. Fox made it to the backroom and saw Bird in Bears arms. Her mask had been ripped from her face and her top unzipped down to her waist. Birds breasts sat atop Bear’s forearm as he comforted his friend. “Did they hurt you?” asked Bear his tone gentle and comforting.
Bird sobbed in his strong arms and a common thug lay on the ground doubled over in pain and a stream of blood pouring from his nose. Fox looked at the blood on Birds jumpsuit and smiled a bit. Looks like your heroics are a bit late Bear. They made a woman out of her after all.
Bear looked up at Fox in disgust. “This is your fault Fox!” shouted Bear.
Fox put her hand on her hips and squinted her eyes at Bear. “Here, let me. She needs a woman now,” said Fox.
Bear stood up and his broad shoulders towered over Fox. He could of acted on his impulses but instead walked past Fox in disgust. “Bitch,” mumbled Bear.
Fox smiled and laughed a bit, “You’ll be back. You always come back.” Fox couldn’t help but smile and her relationship with Bear cemented what she knew. Now that your little flower has been picked you’ll be back she thought.
Bird looked up as Bear walked away and Fox moved over to her friend. “There there Bird. Let’s get you cleaned up. I’ve got a ton of things to talk to you about,” said Fox her inner smile beaming ear to ear, “you’re a woman now honey.”
Fox helped Bird up and zipped her jumpsuit. Bird put her arm around Fox and the two made their way back to Fox’s quarters. “Let’s get you a nice hot shower,” said Fox as she tapped Bird on the nose. Bird picked up her mask and with the help of Fox placed it back on her face to hide her disfigurement.
Bird sat in Fox’s shower for a good half an hour. The remainder of the blood has been washed away from Bird and when the water stopped she handed Bird a fluffy towel. The two sat in silence for what seemed an eternity. Fox could hear Bird clicking her tongue underneath her breath and new she had something to say. Fox gently put an arm around Bird’s shoulder and drew her closer to her chest. “Don’t worry Bird,” said Fox, “it get’s better.”
Fox leaned back and offered Bird to do the same. They held hands for a bit and began laughing again. “Do you remember the time when you found me in the back alley?” asked Fox as she glared at Bird’s image in the mirror. She couldn’t believe Bear had a thing for Bird…
Fox’s memories began to fast forward. The world around her flashed by in clips of images and voices. Inviting words seemed to call out to her and she found herself standing in front of an observation window in preperation for her first jump.
The red light that shined from the safe house and masked it’s presence from the entities that swam within the tank. Fox always wondered why they named it that. She liked to visit this window and peer into the darkness. One day I may see a ‘Rig’ she thought. Fox squinted her eyes and tried to penetrate the darkness. Somewhere past the red light they swam. Lurking in the darkness waiting for their time. Fox thought back to the dossier file she read about the ‘Rigs’. Something that existed before us and before the monsters on the surface. She cringed at the thought of monsters. Binary cell mutation according to the dossier, monsters if you asked me thought Fox. She could see the tiny entities fighting amongst themselves in the darkness. Most of them couldn’t hurt the safe house let alone get near it. It’s always been the ‘Rigs’ that we feared…
Fox could hear the words of Old Hat before he spoke them almost. She’d sat through enough of the pilot training courses to basically memorize what he would say to her. “Please enter the staging area for pilot training,” chimed the soft computer voice as the light above the door to Fox’s left turned green.
As Fox walked away from the observation window she cast one last glare into the darkness of the tank. In the distance she could feel something watching her almost waiting. Fox moved her hand to her side pocket and caressed the dice that she carried with her.
“Final call to enter the staging area for pilot training. Any tardiness or no show will result in disciplinarian action,” chimed the soft computer voice.
Fox quickly entered the staging area as the steel door shut behind her. She walked to the last chair available in the back and waited for the presentation to begin. Old Hat made his way to the podium in a wheel chair. He looked over the crowd and begun his dissertation.
“I am here to talk about the perils of tectonic travel. I see some of you have been here before but that’s good. There is no such thing as too much good information.”
Old Hat’s words began to run together and Fox struggled to maintain her focus. She could feel the watchful eyes of the elders upon her through means of the camera’s that littered the official areas. Keep it together she thought. Her eyes perked up as Old Hat began to move his dissertation to the topic of the ‘Rigs’.
“As you can see here from this photo the size of a ‘Rig’ is almost immeasurable. Factor that with the speed that they can navigate the waters of the tank make for a formidable foe.
copyright Nov 1 2011
written by Jamie Horwath
That creativity happens once in a generation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO4BF67pvsc