by Simon Cantan
Kyra stared into the space Manik had occupied. None of it made any sense. The whole thing had been to get a signature on a piece of paper.
She walked to the chair in front of the monitors and sat, her mind whirring. The station takeover had forced Darshan Kant out of hiding. The papers had to be something devastating. Otherwise, people wouldn't commit suicide over it. It had to be something about the war. Kyra knew firsthand that they weren't winning, but maybe people back on Earth didn't know that yet. A triple suicide with a long note might convince them, though. Convince them it was only a matter of time until the Xenomigrants would kill everyone.
Kyra shook her head. Conspiracy theories weren't getting her anywhere. She got to her feet and walked to her combat suit.
***
Kyra sat in her chair in the cockpit, watching the retreating station on her ReadyNet. Ten missiles spurted from the side of the station and rocketed out into space. They flew out a few kilometres, and then arced back towards the station. Her display turned white as they hit. When her vision cleared, she could only find whirling debris.
Kyra closed her ReadyNet and levelled her gun at the pilot. "If I'd waited for the shuttle..."
The pilot looked at her, sweat streaming down his brow. "Well, erm, it's kind of good you didn't. Can I pull my trousers up now?"
"Nope," Kyra said. "Take me to Kemke."
AUTHOR'S NOTE
I love eighties movies. I love how dumb they are. I love the endless over-the-top violence. There's something immensely entertaining about an Arnold Schwarzenegger or Jean-Claude Van Damme film, or lately Jason Statham. It's fun to just shut off your brain and let the ridiculousness wash over you.
I started writing this novelette with that goal in mind. To create a silly book with groan-worthy lines after each death. Hopefully, I've achieved that. Writing about Kyra Sarin was certainly a lot of fun. There's something incredibly liberating about a person like that, that really doesn't care about anything much, other than her survival and her daughters.
The novelette was meant to be a self-contained story, but Kyra and Baltasar had other plans by the end. As happens so often when I write, the characters trashed my plans and announced that they were going to do something else entirely. Recently, I've begun work on the sequel, so we'll get to see just what that is.
Simon Cantan, May 2014
ALSO BY THE SAME AUTHOR
Everyone and their Grandmother has a ReadyNet implant.
Without them nothing works. Doors won't open. Cars won't drive. There aren't even any signs; why bother when you can tell peoples' implants to draw them in? And every implant comes with the "hardwall", a filter that guarantees no-one can edit what you see and feel without your permission. It's been completely unhackable... until now.
Chris and his friends have found a way past the hardwall, and now they can do anything. Chris can render himself invisible. Erika can tell you anything she likes and you'll believe every word. Max can tap you and you'll think you've been punched by a heavyweight. Hailey can flip a switch and you'll be asleep before you can blink.
All they want is to get one up on a rival gang, but today's prankster is tomorrow's threat to society. And it's hard to prove you're innocent when other people start changing "reality" too.
Grab your copy today.