i'm a goddess of vicious precision

[autokinetic]

Because there are so many fewer diversions on this station than on the previous one, Aegis takes to those that are offered with more of an open mind than she might have done before. For instance, she stays after personal combat sometimes, to watch Sue sparring with Howlett. Now and then she takes a turn herself. Today she's just supervising.

Comments

[autokinetic]

That gets him a hiss and his head knocked into a bunk, too. "Bet you she's dying. I'll let you run her to the infirmary to save her and make up some story about how you hurt her yourself if you quit - fighting - me -"

[pythbox]

Maybe she is, but this guy's word isn't worth a chunk of puke.

Sue doesn't do anything different, here in his room. He still fights like a cornered rat. But he also reaches out to the infirmary - he knows it well enough to find the minds that belong there - and he touches one, and sends a pure-informational message: Aegis hit her head on her bunk and she's not moving and they should send someone to check her out.

[autokinetic]

The doctor he alerts is going to send someone along at once.

Pity they're on the opposite side of the station.

"I'll tell them it was her and you fighting, and I heard you and that's when I came in, and you hurt her, and even if she wakes up she's got a head injury, who'll she believe?"

But he's slowing down now, just a little, favoring one shoulder.

[pythbox]

He cuts the link to the doctor and finds another soft place to sink his teeth into.

[autokinetic]

"Little fucker - all I ever did to you was give you what you wanted anyway -"

But Sue's winning, now, the balance has tipped just enough to add up to his advantage.

[pythbox]

Sue pushes, with stark clarity, I want you to die.

[autokinetic]

Sue's new best friend has a little problem with his jaw now, but as long as they're linking -

Oh, you think so, but you're always gonna think about it, gonna wish you'd let me one last time - kill me now and who'll ever want you? It'll get around, he killed the last guy who so much as touched him, not even desperate guys gone space-gay will look twice at you unless they want to get with your little friend when she grows tits - you'll die alone, little friend when she grows tits'll have her pick and there's no way she'd want a freak like you -

[pythbox]

He fills the link with the extensive depth of how much he does not care, and jams his elbow into the older boy's throat.

[autokinetic]

Sue's new best friend chokes.

He has no clever rejoinder.

[pythbox]

Sue does it again.

[autokinetic]

Sue's new best friend cannot breathe. He strikes out, but he's just flailing, now, eyes unfocused.

[pythbox]

And it's easy, now, to pin him to the floor.

And wait. Just wait. That's all.

[autokinetic]

There are three minds in this room.

Sue's new best friend gets in a parting shot, dripping with malice. You sat there while I trashed her. She'll remember that.

Now there are two.

[pythbox]

Sue sits down on the floor, leans against his bunk, and waits.

[autokinetic]

The medics arrive, and they split up to check each of the three bodies in the room, and declare Sue's new best friend to be Sue's dead best friend, and they load Aegis onto a stretcher and carry her away.

"You need the infirmary too," says one of the medics, looking Sue over. "Can you walk?"

[pythbox]

He pulls himself to his feet and immediately stumbles, catching himself on the wall.

"Kinda," he says distantly.

[autokinetic]

"Need another stretcher over here," says the medic, and Sue is loaded onto it and carried down the hall after his - friends.

[pythbox]

He spaces out a little on the way. There just doesn't seem to be anything to think about.

[autokinetic]

Aegis wakes up before they get there.

bird?

[pythbox]

He pushes her everything. What happened, what he felt. What the other guy said.

[autokinetic]

my head hurts, she replies, and she can no longer bird, the wall goes back up.

[pythbox]

Sue goes back to his nothing.

[autokinetic]

They're adjacent to each other in the infirmary. The other guy is in the makeshift morgue; he's not the first person to die on the station, although they don't have enough population to have a permanent setup for it.

They're treated for their injuries.

Aegis regains the ability to bird again after about an hour. you okay?

[pythbox]

no

[autokinetic]

he hurt you?