Carbon Life

by HR Ringer

  Xiùlán was bent over; after gently washing up between her legs, she finished by washing her legs and feet. "Just a while ago," came the answer. "He says there's no hidden damage, but I'll be doing classroom work for the next week or so. It'll give me time to file a complaint with the AG's office." She stood and rinsed her body front and back, then grabbed her hair and rinsed it thoroughly by encircling it with her fingers and running them down the length of it several times. When all the soap was gone, she turned the water off with a sigh, grabbed her stuff and walked over to her locker for a towel.

  Traynor followed suit, drying herself while standing beside Xiùlán as she toweled herself off.

  "You seriously think you can win against Joesiar?" Traynor asked. "He has protection… friends in high places. I know… I've complained about him myself. He's a damned little racist. 'If it ain't white, it ain't right' is his motto. Thinks I should be back on my colony world, working in the fields, milking cows, making babies for some farmer." Her expression had changed to one of intense dislike, her dark eyes smoldering with barely contained hatred.

  Xiùlán studied Traynor for a minute as she finished toweling off and began using the second towel for her hair. "Where are you from, Samantha?"

  "Horizon, Iera System. And it's Sam to you… or maybe…" she added with that shy smile Xiùlán had seen when they first met, "…Sammy. Anyway, Horizon… beautiful world. Parents used to live in London back on Earth, but prefer life on a colony world… fewer restrictions. That's where I was born." She wrapped the towel around her shoulders and sat on the bench.

  "Sounds like you don't want to get married or have any children…?" Xiùlán stood, grabbed her robe, shrugged into its silken embrace then pulled her hair out from under, spreading it with her hands to fall across the back of her robe.

  "Children? Not interested, at least, not in the traditional way. Marriage? I'd like that, I think, if I could find the right…," she looked straight into Xiùlán's eyes, as if challenging her, "…woman. I'm a lesbian, Xiùlán. Not something I share with just anyone… only people I trust… people I'm comfortable with… like you." 'Shit! You're in for the whole shootin' match now, Traynor!' Her eyes anxiously searched Xiùlán's face for… what? Disgust? Rejection?

  Xiùlán looked at Sam as if seeing her for the first time. "Samantha… Sam. Just so I understand, you…," she paused as she sat on the bench next to Traynor. "...you saying you're interested in… me… as a partner?"

  "I'm sorry, Xiùlán. I did not mean to make you uncomfortable, to…" cool fingertips gently touched her lips, interrupting her apologies.

  "I am… flattered, Sam. I never thought of you… in… that way." Xiùlán stood and grabbed Sam's robe from her locker. Motioning for her to stand, Xiùlán slid the robe onto her arms from behind, then turned her around with a hand on her shoulder. Sam met her eyes, her expression neutral, waiting to see what Xiùlán would do.

  Xiùlán grabbed the collar of Sam's robe with a hand on either side of her neck. "I need to think about this, Miss Traynor. Give me…" she paused as she slid her hands down the collar, gently pulling the terrycloth together as her hands brushed Sam's breasts and stopped at her navel, "…a bit of time to think. I have never given… myself… to anyone, Sam. I'm a virgin…" She reached around Sam's waist and brought the ends of her sash together in front, which she gently tied after overlapping the edges of her robe. "…and certainly never expected anything like this. Give me a bit of time to think." She pulled Sam towards her, kissed her on the forehead, grabbed her towels and bath supplies and left.

  Chapter 2: Getting to Know You

  There's no debt. There never has been. We are friends - Davis Bunn, Lion of Babylon

  * * *

  *** ALLIANCE LUNA BASE • 79/01/10 ***

  Yuán Xiùlán left her morning class with a headache centered at the back of her head, along with a knot between her shoulder blades. She guessed it was a result of late night studying and an empty stomach…her early morning tea and toast was but a distant memory. Once in her quarters, she relieved her bladder before downing a couple of aspirin with a portion of a bottle of water. She had been thinking about Samantha Traynor since their 'collision' on the day of her arrival here, their brief conversation yesterday, and off and on all morning. Remembering Sam's request that they get together for lunch or dinner prompted her to activate her omni-tool; she looked for and found Traynor's extranet address, sent a text note asking Sam to join her for lunch and waited to see if she'd receive a response.

  Xiùlán never had an interest in developing a relationship with anyone, male or female, since joining the Alliance, but especially not with a man. The few men she had dated in the past had always…always…seemed interested in nothing more than discovering how fast they could remove her shirt and bra before getting into her pants, as if there was not enough blood in their bodies to support their brains higher cognitive functions while simultaneously stiffening their cocks. She counted herself fortunate she'd never needed to say anything more than a firm 'NO!' when any of them had tried to unfasten her top...just what in hell was it with males and their never ending fascination with female breasts?

  As there always seemed to be other things needing her attention, be it studies, physical training, or just quiet time to meditate alone, she had virtually quit saying 'yes' to the numerous invitations to dinner, lunch, breakfast, vids or drinks at the various clubs near whichever base at which she happened to be stationed, even when urged on by some of the friends in her unit. She had always found occasional masturbation to be all she needed to keep her libido in check. And now, there was Samantha…Sam…Sammy. Funny. She had never envisioned becoming interested in a woman as anything but a friend. Certainly not a…what?...companion?...`love interest?..., nor had another woman ever expressed any interest in her. Thinking about Sam as something more gave her warm sensations…because she was lonely? A bit of an 'outsider'? Maybe both…?

  The tingling on Xiùlán's wrist indicated an incoming text. She opened her omni-tool to find a reply from Sam: 'lookin fwrd to it! On my way…' Xiùlán closed the tool, grabbed her shoulder bag and headed for the mess hall.

  * * *

  *** MESS HALL ***

  Xiùlán still had two and a half hours before her afternoon class in 'Advanced Omni-tool Techniques', something that sounded like an easy 'ace'; she suspected it would be anything but easy, as she and her classmates would be receiving new state-of-the-art omni-tools, highly classified new tech from Serrice Council that promised better functionality and security. There was even a rumor the damn things could be turned into weapons with just a thought! Probably just wishful thinking. She had an appointment at the AG's office before class, one reason she'd decided to have lunch early today. She gingerly touched her chest as she walked, wincing as she inadvertently pressed a bit too hard. Thanks to Joesiar, it still hurt like bloody hell to take a deep breath, though not as bad as last night…even hurt to reach over her head to put on a sports bra or shirt.

  Visible bruise had spread up and across her chest, so even the bottom edge of her bra was an irritant. She quickly put Joesiar out of her mind; her headache had virtually disappeared…no need for it to return because of that miserable little Hùn zhàng [混帳 - bastard].

  She entered the student's mess hall, noting its layout and appearance looked all too reminiscent of her secondary school cafeteria back home. She spotted Sam, just taking a seat at a table in a quiet corner of the room. Picking up a tray and utensils, she moved down the food line; it had surprised her to discover Chinese dishes were a regular part of the cuisine here. Xiùlán was not one to waste an opportunity to eat food that reminded her of home…today she chose the Shanghai style stir-fried rice cake. It was made without the pork, but had plenty of cabbage, bamboo shoots, spinach, bean sprouts and carrots, all mixed with a dark soy sauce. She thought 'Zhè kàn shàngqù hào chī!'[這看上去好吃！- It looks delicious!] as she added some thick sliced bread and a water bottle, then headed across
the room to sit with Sam.

  "Hi, Xiùlán! How are you?" Traynor gave Yuán a big smile as she sat down across from her, then asked, "Why not sit beside me?"

  "Easier to eat and chat when we're face-to-face," Xiùlán replied. "Salad and soup? Looks tasty."

  "Yep. Not sure what you're having, but it smells wonderful. Is that soy sauce?"

  "It is…Shanghai style stir-fried rice cake," she replied as she dug a pair of elaborately decorated black lacquered bamboo chop sticks from her shoulder pack.

  "Custom chop sticks? Damn, Xiùlán…you came prepared to do battle," Traynor snarked.

  Xiùlán returned the grin as she started eating. "Right tools for the job," she snarked right back.

  They spent the next twenty-five minutes or so chatting about this and that, leisurely enjoying their food and each other's company in equal parts. Xiùlán finished her rice cake by wiping the plate with the last of her bread and popping it in her mouth. "Gāisǐ de, that was good. Think I can actually hold out until dinner now." Dampening her napkin with water from the bottle, she discretely wiped her chop sticks clean, then returned them to her pack as she continued, "It's nice to have someone to talk to without worrying about 'afterwards', Sam. Haven't had any close friends since basic…stopped accepting invitations from guys for all the obvious reasons."

  Traynor nodded as she replied, "I know what you mean. In their defense, if I were a guy, I would be hitting on you for sure, Xiùlán. You are absolutely beautiful."

  Xiùlán could feel herself blushing. "Haven't heard that from anyone 'cept my parents, Sam… certainly not from another woman."

  "I'm serious, Xiùlán," Samantha said quietly. "I don't pass out complements casually…anyone that cannot see your beauty is simply blind, in my opinion."'…and your body is to die for!' came the unbidden thought. '…there I go again…she said she's still a virgin…loved the way she used her arm, pushing her boobs up to show me her bruised chest…oh, and those legs!…I know they end at her bum, but damn if they don't look like they go all the way to her neck!…shit! shit! shit!…quit dreamin' 'bout her, Sam…you can't have her!'

  Sam's eyes were open, unfocused, but Xiùlán could see they were looking in the direction of her own chest. "Sam!"

  Traynor blinked as her thoughts evaporated. "Huh?"

  "I said 'we need to go'. I have an appointment before my next class. Don't you have a class as well?

  Samantha thought for a second before answering. "Yeah, I have a class in hacking alien comm systems. Got my new omni-tool this morning. Damn thing is really amazing! Dinner later?"

  "Of course. We can kick back, have a beer or two." Xiùlán grabbed tray and shoulder pack as she stood. "I'll text you when I'm done with class…ought to be about 1745 or so. Meet at your quarters?"

  "Sounds good," Traynor said with a grin. '…might be able to get to know you better in private.'

  * * *

  *** OFFICE OF THE ADVOCATE GENERAL ***

  'Serviceman 1st Class Yuán Xiùlán. Please report to office twenty-two delta.' Xiùlán thought, 'Guānyú tā mā de shíjiān![關於他媽的時間！- about fucking time!] How much more time would I have had to wait without an appointment?' as she grabbed her shoulder pack and marched down the hall to the indicated office. A balding man, wearing old-fashioned, gold-rimmed glasses, stood to greet her as she entered. "Serviceman Xiùlán," he said, extending his hand.

  "Actually, family name is Yuán…Serviceman Yuán." She grabbed his hand, a pudgy mass of cold, squishy flesh with fat fingers, seemingly devoid of life. 'Wǒ xiànzài yào xǐ wǒ de shǒu!' [我現在要洗我的手 - I now want to wash my hands] she thought silently.

  "Sorry, Ma'am. My mistake." Looking at one of a number of datapads on his desk, he said, "So, you're here to file a complaint about…" he adjusted his glasses as he studied the datapad, "…Serviceman 2nd Class Joesiar, is that correct?"

  "Yes Sir. Actually, several complaints."

  "All are related to an incident or incidents on live-fire range Charlie-Seven, are they not? I know what the report says, Yuán. Why don't you tell me what happened."

  Xiùlán spent the next ten minutes relating Joesiar's racist and misogynist comments and her reactions.

  "These are pretty serious charges, Serviceman. What proof do have of these allegations?"

  She pulled an OSD from a thigh pocket and set it on the desk. Keeping a fingertip in the middle of the disk, she leaned forward as she said, "This is an audio/vid of the live-fire exercise. It's a copy. There are others, ready to be shipped in unmarked packages, should this one go missing."

  "Just what the hell are you suggesting, Serviceman?" The man was getting a bit red in the face.

  Xiùlán slipped on her best 'innocent me' look as she replied, "Nothing. I'm suggesting nothing, Sir. However," her voice took on an edge as the innocent mask slipped just a bit; it would have frightened most anyone possessing any common sense. "Serviceman Joesiar has a highly placed uncle…a Major General Bradley Joesiar. It seems the Major General always finds out what trouble his nephew has gotten up to and gets him cleared of whatever charges are brought against him."

  The tone of Xiùlán's voice went cold as the 'innocent' mask was instantly exchanged for a chiseled 'takes no fucking prisoners' look. "I intend to see that changed. I don't like racists. I don't like misogynists. Joesiar is both. He also hates aliens. The Alliance doesn't need his brand of white human supremacy." Xiùlán produced a datapad of her own. "Now, I need your name and a thumb print on this receipt."

  "Now listen here, Serviceman Yuán. I'm not sure I care for your attitude."

  "My goddamned 'attitude' is the least of your worries right now, mister. Did I mention I don't like cover-ups? Name and thumb print, or I'm going right on up the brass chain."

  'Balding glasses' took a long, hard look at her over the rims of his glasses. Her dark eyes were intent, mouth set in a tight line. He could feel danger radiating from this woman, as if she didn't suffer fools gladly. He sighed as he concluded acceding to her 'request' cost him nothing, nodded once and initialed…, "Legibly, please," she said; …printed and signed his name, placed his thumb on the device and handed it back as he retrieved the OSD and inserted it in the datapad containing the report.

  She looked at her own datapad, nodded, said, "Thank you for your time. I'll be in touch," then turned and left. She had just enough time to make her afternoon class.

  * * *

  *** OMNI-TOOL ORIENTATION CLASS ***

  Xiùlán looked in wonder at the new omni-tool she'd just received from the class instructor, an asari tech specialist and Serrice Council representative named Mallene Calis, who spent a good deal of time custom fitting each device to its new owner's arm. Once this task had been completed, Calis cautioned everyone to be sure all the data from their old tools had been backed up on their extranet accounts before activating their new devices; any specialized applications could be done once they were all back in their personal quarters, as new pass codes would need to be generated for each program. Most amazing to Xiùlán was the glow the device gave off when activated…it was virtually invisible in any kind of ambient light. Its true colors, deep purple and ultraviolet, could be seen in a darkened area; controls needing input, text generators for instance, were delineated in glowing reds and orange.

  The unique characteristic of these new omni-tools was their ability to be personalized to each individual's biometrics…once this was done, the tool was part of its users identity and could not be used by anyone else; the identity lock became a permanent, unchangeable part of the tool's programming, making it truly the only one of its kind. When not in use, it was a thin, elaborately designed platinum bracelet, sporting a small cabochon of bio-sensitive, red banded onyx used for activation. The new tool would perform all the tasks of a standard omni-tool and could perform a few tasks that would not only make it illegal for a civilian to own but also of questionable value to a soldier. They were strongly cautioned by the asari specialist that it
must be worn at all times, during bathing and sleeping…even lovemaking, if it came down to it.

  'Jiù xiàng yǒu duōyú de shíjiān zuò'ài!'[就像有多餘的時間做愛！Like there is extra time having sex!] came her snarky thought.

  The remainder of their class time was spent learning how to employ its more esoteric functions, including its use as a stealth hacker for initiating remote computer attacks that couldn't be traced back to the tool's location. It seemed they had barely begun to experiment with its hacking ability when their class time came to an end. Mallene Calis thanked everyone for their attention and wished them well.

  Yuán approached the asari as she was gathering her equipment. "Mallene, just one question. You never told us how these tools compare to commercially available omni-tools."

  Calis looked at Xiùlán with an expression of surprise before responding. "There was a student in the morning class that asked me the same question…anyway, yes, if you are familiar with the Savant line of omni-tools manufactured by my company, these are a step up…a huge step up. Shield bonus is increased by 10, tech cool down is enhanced by 25. I think you'll be quite pleased with these and its other enhanced performance features. Here, let me show you one defensive move I did not share with the group."

  Mallene activated her own tool; Xiùlán did likewise. "Hold your arm like this," she demonstrated, bending her arm 90° and bringing her forearm up to chest level parallel to the deck. With a slight twitch of her hand, the tool generated a slimmer and longer version of the newly developed omni-blade, extending backwards from her wrist and out at a 10 degree angle away from her arm. "This can be used for a forehand slash, when an attacker is immediately in front of you," she explained. "Move your forearm in a slicing motion, upper right to lower left." She demonstrated the move in the air in front of her.