Having recovered from her run in the heavy gravity Su’Zi buckled in as the automated hatch closed. Su’Zi engaged the drive, and the machine sprang to life, all four wheels scratched the deck as Su’Zi mashed the accelerator, the double airlock doors used to protect the camp from the frigid cold barely had time to operate as Su’Zi raced through them clearing them with mere centimeters to spare as they opened.
Su’Zi is an excellent driver. She had competed in and constantly does well in the numerous “emergency supply” races that each sector “practices” on a regular basis, often inviting participation from other sectors.
A massive annual event is held to crown the champion driver of Dadr’Ba. The competition is fierce with competitors coming from Ol’Tn garages, T’Bm’s and their supporting camps, and betting on the results is popular. Su’Zi even made the finals one year but had to drop out at the last moment due to a mechanical failure on her specially equipped U’Tl.
U’Tl racing is officially prohibited by the CA but treasured by the Mi’Nr’s. The races are held in secret, and part of the preparation is clearing the course of CASS surveillance devices and screening the spectators.
Knowing Jm’Pr as well as she did, Su’Zi bypassed the safety controls programmed to provide a ten percent safety margin to protect the machine and its critical systems. Operating manually Su’Zi pushed Jm’Pr’s safety margins down to nothing, and occasionally exceeded them, but was careful to back off afterward allowing the systems to recover.
She first crawled up from the lower levels of zone three. With each level, the gravity decreased, and Jm’Pr began to behave more like his name. Su’Zi chuckled to herself that Vas’Tu referred to Jm’Pr a “her,” she always thought of Jm’Pr as a “him.” wishful thinking on both of their parts, or so she guessed. She pushed Jm’Pr through a depression and felt the momentum press against her bottom, then as Jm’Pr surged out of the depression felt the shoulder straps securing her to the seat squeeze tightly against her body.
Su’Zi enjoyed driving Jm’Pr hard and felt exhilarated by the sensations she was in control of, she gunned Jm’Pr to the top of another rise feeling the momentary weightlessness, then the press of the landing that marked the point where the T’Bm that created the tunnel had angled down to the next level of borings.
Again and again, Su’Zi pushed through the levels getting a little more air with each until she had to back off to keep Jm’Pr’s landings stable on the uneven tunnel floor and prevent hitting the tunnel roof. Making good time Su’Zi was soon at the unmonitored cross-sector utility airlock between sector two and three.
Jumping out of the U’Tl Su’Zi quickly disengaged the manually operated latch, and nudged Jm’Pr through the opening, the counterbalanced hatch swung closed behind her. Now it would only be minutes to get to sector three’s Ol’Tn, where she’ll meet P’Ko in person.
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P’Ko, uncertain if Su’Zi left Vr’Chm to get ready and go to the Hn’Gri Bo’R or not, got ready to go there himself. Going there and not finding her would be a small consequence opposed to not showing and standing her up. Perhaps there had been a malfunction or problem with her TaC-B connection or she got called away. He resolved to go Hn’Gri Bo’R and if she wasn’t there wait a little while then leave.
P’Ko thought as he was getting ready to go that Su’Zi must know, or at least know of Mi’Ka. He would have to ask her.
He swapped out his TaC-B for his stealth TaC-B. P’Ko guessed that Ma and Ba must know about his stealth TaC-B, he’s been sneaking out for years now, and there had even been a few close calls. But he’d never been caught outright or got into any trouble, successfully avoiding any run-ins or warnings from the CA. So his parents let him have his little secret.
P’Ko was supposed to be home studying for the final graduation exams but was so confident in his knowledge of the material that he’d been exploring Vr’Chm instead of studying. Now he was going to be off to Ol’Tn on a ‘date’ and not just an ordinary date, like the ones he’d had with other To’Ta’s, but a date with a full grown, strikingly beautiful woman, one that he shared a mutual attraction with.
He put on his mechanic’s coveralls and covered his bald head with the mechanic’s cap and completed his disguise by shouldering his tool bag, then walked out the door, glancing at himself in the mirror as he passed. He thought he looked good, in spite of being a dressed up clone, and thought with a false sense of bravado, that maybe he could take Su’Zi by his side job at the D’Po, Lu’Gs would be so jealous.
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Jm’Pr lurched to a stop near the utility stair adjacent to the service elevator. Su’Zi jumped out and raced up the stair, though unlikely, given the distance she had to travel, she wanted to beat P’Ko to the Hn’Gri Bo’R.
Vas’Tu will be unhappy with the way she pushed Jm’Pr; he’ll know when he checks Jm’Pr’s trip computer how hard she drove, but it’s worth it, it translates to more time she can spend at this critical first meeting with P’Ko. She’ll just tell Vas’Tu that she wanted a practice run for the upcoming race though still months away. Vas’Tu should be impressed with her time, especially given the fact that she didn’t break anything. All she need to do is remind Vas’Tu of the times she’d been out with Vas’Tu, and he broke something on the U’Tl he was driving trying to impress her.
She smiled and waved as she passed the broken security camera laying on the deck as she raced up the stair to Ol’Tn.
P’Ko was confident as he walked down the street toward the Hn’Gri Bo’R that he would beat Su’Zi there and would have a wait on his hands.
Su’Zi had to be coming from at least twenty levels down and even with his taking his time, it would be virtually impossible for Su’Zi to get there before he did.
As P’Ko got closer, his anxiety grew, and he found himself secretly hoping that he and Su’Zi had gotten their signals crossed and would have to reconnect somehow and reschedule, he needed the time to think this through.
As P’Ko walked up the steps of the Hn’Gri Bo’R, he contemplated having tea while he waited, but couldn’t see himself sitting drinking a tea and have Su’Zi show up. He decided to wait half an hour maybe an hour, then if Su’Zi doesn’t show, visit Mi’Ka or stop by the D’Po on his way home, then look for Su’Zi on the virtual beach tomorrow.
He walked in the small, crowded restaurant looking for a table and there she was! The sight of her was totally unexpected and as their eyes met, the expression on her face changed, as she sensed and saw through his disguise, her face brightened, and P’Ko felt a powerful wave of psychic energy focus on him. It felt like a blast of warm air flowed towards him. In an instant, she was giving him a real hug. Despite being better prepared this time, her powerful Mi’Nr arms squeezed him for a moment he thought she might break or strain something on him and for an instant, his vision began to close in.
After a long moment she relaxed her embrace, P’Ko recovered and was able to reciprocate, though not nearly as strong. This time, quite unexpectedly, he felt her equally powerful psychic embrace.
This was an instant friend, no, more than a friend, love maybe? P’Ko couldn’t understand it; he didn’t know what real love feels like, he felt powerful feelings from the instant he saw Su’Zi but couldn’t allow himself to believe it was love at first sight.
Whatever this is, it marked the beginning of something profound. As all this sunk in, in just a few shallow breaths following the hug, his understanding, his intellect and his judgment began a war with his impulse, intuition, and perception.
P’Ko pushed all these thoughts aside, as he returned Su’Zi’s embrace and allowed his psyche to shoulder up to hers, noting her unguarded welcoming energy. Although he sensed that she would not have minded and would have even welcomed a psychic embrace, P’Ko had never done so with anyone before, not even his ma or ba. His parents had cradled and caressed he and his brother physically when they were Bo’Ba’s but had never shared a psyc
hic embrace. He was raised believing that such things were for mates or couples looking for mates.
P’Ko, as he felt the embrace start to wain was the first to initiate the little extra squeeze to which Su’Zi joined in on, and he felt a sub-audible hum from Su’Zi deep in his chest. Parting they exchanged an up close glance, staring for a brief moment into each other’s eyes, then walked over to the booth she had been sitting at. And sitting across from one another, ordered tea.
They discussed their shared dream, the genesis of their meeting, comparing details until they were both convinced that it was no fluke. They had been there together. P’Ko was astonished that Su’Zi had sought out Mi’Ka for advice and even more astonished to learn that Mi’Ka had diagnosed the event as a temporal entanglement. P’Ko had never heard of TE’s before, but could think of no better explanation. After sharing with each other how they met Mi’Ka, P’Ko described his part-time job and his disguise.
They got on the subject of P’Ko’s pending graduation. P’Ko was excited to share that his application to be a T’Bm Me’K (T’Bm Mechanic) had been approved, but his assignment had been listed as pending.
By this time Su’Zi knew the P’Ko was anything but an ordinary U’Te and though surprised at first, accepted the revelation about P’Ko’s wanting to become a Mi’Nr and work in the mines as a T’Bm Me’K.
Su’Zi had reservations, how readily would the Bo’R clans accept P’Ko? As tactfully as she could, she shared her concern with P’Ko and asked P’Ko what Mi’Ka had said about his choice of professions. P’Ko stated that Mi’Ka’s response to his job choice was strange, her response “good choice, but a difficult path.” Neither of them knew quite know how to interpret Mi’Ka’s statement. Both knew Mi’Ka well enough that she sometimes talked in riddles, and Su’Zi guessed out loud that, when Mi’Ka “see’s” some things they appear to her as riddles, and that she’s only telling it as she sees it.
P’Ko shared that his parents, especially his father had been disappointed and tried to talk him out of it. His ba had hoped to apprentice him. Apprentices being trainees are frequently exempt from the job placement process unless they are in a shortage field. Meaning, for example, that even if sector three didn’t need a U’Te mechanic, P’Ko could apprentice with his ba and work with him until his apprenticeship was complete, only then would he compete for a job placement. The fact that P’Ko was accepted as a T’Bm Me’K meant that there was a shortage.
His parents had learned by experience that once P’Ko had his mind set that it was little use to try to talk him out of it. Instead of trying to talk him out of it, they supported him, telling P’Ko that if being a T’Bm Me’K didn’t work out they’d stand behind him. They were confident that the CA would reassign him to a U’Te mechanic, and he would probably come home. P’Ko was already documented as having gone on many jobs with his ba, which would count favorably to be selected as a U’Te mechanic.
The impact on the family would be severe financially if he were chosen as a T’Bm Me’K and failed. P’Ko’s bio-mods for being a Bo’R would be reclassified as cosmetic, and his family would either have to pay for their removal or pay for their install, either way, the cost would eat up years’ worth of family savings.
P’Ko was determined though and said that he’d put up his meager savings and work to pay back his parents back if it came to that. With that level of determination and commitment, his parent’s anxiety level lessened, they wanted P’Ko to be happy, and told him, that if it came to that payback wouldn’t be necessary. P’Ko continued to insist that he’d pay them back, but at the same time insisting that it wouldn’t be necessary.
Su’Zi explained, based on her experience, that as job openings appear, unless they are immediate critical fills, they are queued to be filled at the next graduation. Job opening announcements are released for applicants and candidate selection is based first on job qualification requirements on seniority.
Being an apprentice complicates things because an apprentice is not entirely qualified and therefore can’t go right into a job. A master must accept the apprentice, and that is probably why his particular job location is pending. P’Ko will probably have to interview for the position; fortunately, the interview process should happen after the bio-mod. Like picking of players for a sports team, where he winds up will depend on how he stacks up against the competition, meaning that he will probably be the very last candidate selected for the last and least desirable position.
P’Ko asked if Su’Zi knew of any of the competition, he might be facing, which she did, mostly those from her sector. They were some of the younger underclassmen when she was in school, but many were already working alongside their mas’ and bas’, like P’Ko has been with his. She knew of no standouts and shared this info, which provided some relief to P’Ko’s anxiety. To which P’Ko said, “wouldn’t be great if we could wind up on the same crew.” To which Su’Zi, realizing all possible implications remained silent.
The thought of being on the same crew as P’Ko at first made Su’Zi happy, then as she reflected she became concerned, she would have to deal with ex-boyfriends and friends on the crew that might not take well to P’Ko, some of which treated Up’Lndrs with contempt.
P’Ko is going to be in for a hard time. He will have to prove himself. If they ended up with the same crew, she knew she couldn’t hide her feelings for him, and it would lead to problems. She could find herself in a position of standing up for or defending P’Ko, which could jeopardize or taint his acceptance and her own reputation.
As much as she wanted to be with P’Ko and work on the same crew with him, she couldn’t allow herself to be put into that position.
Being on the same crew could ruin everything, so she hedged her response finally saying it might be better to stay in sector three, closer to home, at least at first. Then after he finishes his apprenticeship move to sector one or five where he might have a chance of doing some prestigious meteorite mining. It occurred to Su’Zi that she may then be able to transfer to his crew, leave behind old boyfriends and acquaintances and start anew. She had stayed in sector two to be near her ma and brother, everyone’s getting along fine now.
Su’Zi has matured and gained confidence, and knows how to get around from sector to sector; they could see each other often. The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea of being in neighboring sectors. She started thinking how she might influence the interview process for P’Ko and how she might obtain a transfer for herself later, maybe Mi’Ka could help, she’d have to ask her.
By this time, it was getting late, so they talked about how they should stay in touch, Su’Zi shared that she didn’t like to use TaC-B’s, she just didn’t trust the CA and would explain more the next time they met.
Su’Zi said that short of meeting in person, meeting in Vr’Chm was best. Like today, they could set up a meeting schedule or perhaps leave signals or messages like what P’Ko wrote in the sand today on the beach, and that there may be a way to make meetings safe in Vr’Chm.
This peaked P’Ko’s curiosity, this sense of mystery and intrigue. They winded up settling on, that it might be after graduation before they can meet in person again. P’Ko sharing that his mentor wanted to do the training all at once and that it would take ten days.
Su’Zi was surprised; her training was biweekly sessions over the course of several months. She asked P’Ko, who was going to be P’Ko’s mentor. As soon as P’Ko replied with Z’Shi’s alias, Su’Zi choked on her tea, she didn’t know who this person was, but her name was clearly D’En, how could Mi’Ka have helped set this up?
Su’Zi suddenly grew exhausted, and she needed to go home. After another hug. This time, not quite as intense as the first, but was psychically trusting, warm and sincere. It helped dispel but not eliminate the dark cloud Su’Zi felt about Z’Shi, and after final promises to meet or leave word on the beach. They each went home.
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As P’Ko made hi
s way home, this much he knew, he could trust Su’Zi, and felt that he would have feelings for her all his life. He felt that she helped fill a void in his life and that he’s known her all his life but couldn’t remember. He was stuck with the “I think I” feeling that’s impossible to nail down.
P’Ko had felt out of place his whole life, his difficult birth, his slowness in learning to speak, his alienation throughout school. Does this have anything to do with who he is? Or was growing up to be? Or is it a coincidence, if not a coincidence is Su’Zi that perfect match? Is Su’Zi that one in a 1 billion chance? That complementary number that when combined with his, creates perfection, a perfect unity?
P’Ko’s mind was working in overdrive evaluating these options, but without more information, he couldn’t decide. For now, he was leaning towards three possible explanations; one being, it’s all a fluke that he and Su’Zi were just two random people and are just strongly infatuated with each other. The other, that he and Su’Zi are soulmates and blessed to have found each other. The last explanation, the one P’Ko resisted but was inexplicably drawn to is; that he and Su’Zi are fated to be together.
P’Ko has heard the stories about fated couples, they’ve existed throughout the mystical history of Dadr’Ba, a history that exists outside of, but parallel to the documented and scientifically sound world they live in, near the outskirts and the shadows of the official religion of Dadr’Ba. Fated couples are doomed to extraordinary hardships and turmoils.
P’Ko forced the thought out of his mind; he knew that here, now, today, this instant, Su’Zi loved him. He felt an unyielding attraction to her, not just focused on her beauty as before, though he still found her to be beautiful and attractive, but a new feeling grew inside him. Is his psychic-self coming alive? His mind refused to release control to his impulse and emotion. He felt a conflict growing inside of himself a sense that a part of himself was damaged and probably responsible for the lack of true happiness he had dealt with all his life.
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