by Drew Avera
Chapter 27
Kara held the gauntlet and moved it in her hands and looked at it. She knew exactly what it was and precisely what it meant to wear one of these. She had been the one person who had beaten that reality into my head when I had first been recruited by the Agency. To be perfectly honest, if it were not for Kara I most likely would have killed myself when I had gotten the news of my recruitment. Just the idea of giving up everything that I loved in order to be a murderer for hire was almost more than I could bear at the time.
I was engaged to marry Laurel. I was still recovering from the loss of my parents and trying to take care of Kara. Simply put, the love that Kara had shown to me during that time had kept me alive. Unfortunately that was the same love that drove us apart a few years ago. I guess it must have been too much for her to handle, with the way the training and the job had changed me. I was a different person than I had been when we were kids growing up. A part of me had died and it had been replaced by someone who lacked the emotions of someone who could care for someone else. When she saw me she only saw the brother who had died.
As I looked at her now it seemed that she was willing to embrace the kind of life I’ve been living for her own. I had seen her kill a man already, and I knew that she was able to rebound from it emotionally. It was a scary thought, but it was necessary to the success of the mission for her to stand by my side against the Syndicate.
"Are you sure that you want to do this?" I asked. My heart was fluttering at the thought of my sister becoming someone like me. I wasn’t evil, but I was damaged. How could I drag her into this kind of life?
"I told you, Serus that I want to make a difference. I'm done with watching things happen around me, to me, and not being a force to stand up for what I think is right. If making a change requires a sacrifice then I'm fine with that."
I was shocked by her determination. In less than a week she had gone from a timid scientist who I felt that I needed to protect, and now she had grown into a force to be reckoned with. "I just want to make sure that you know what it will cost you."
"Everything and nothing," she said in a hushed voice.
"How do you figure that?" I asked.
"Look, Serus, I'm not part of the Agency. I don't have to follow their rules and restrictions on my life. I’m a free person and I plan on staying that way. I’m not afraid of them and I don’t have to bow before them anymore than you do now," she said.
I thought about that for a moment. It was true that I no longer worked for the Agency. My soul purpose in life now was to bring down the Syndicate, the governing power that forced me to be alone in this life; they were the ones who forced me to go without believing in my dreams and following my desires. I was now free to do what I wanted.
I had a moment of realization that had not occurred to me before. I had not felt any tendencies from the programming in two days. I had not experienced a single stuttering thought that tried to lead me away from my own endeavors in those two days. I really was free, both mentally and physically.
"You know, you're right. This is the perfect chance for us to start over. If we succeed in taking down the Syndicate then there will be no one to run our lives and force us to do what we know is wrong." That idea instilled a sense of hope in me. I hadn't known what freedom felt like during my adult life, at least not true freedom.
"See? We don't have a choice not to act. We have a responsibility to do so," Kara said. "Now I just need you to teach me how to use this thing." Kara lifted the gauntlet up and looked at it again.
"Do you remember what I had told White when he put it," I asked.
"Do you mean the part where you said that there would be a sudden sharp pain from the sensors entering your body?" She asked.
"Yes. Also you need to make sure that you keep the laser turned off until you want to use it. Most people have accidental firings occur when they leave it on," I said.
"I do remember you telling him that," she said as she opened the gauntlet. She placed it over her right wrist and latched it closed. The gauntlet made a click sound when it was locked. Kara remained quiet, but I could see in her eyes her reaction to the pain caused by the sensors entering her skin, seeking the nerve endings in her arm. The sensation must not have lasted long because she soon eased up the tense look on her face.
"Are you alright," I asked.
"Yes. The pain has subsided," she said as she rubbed her arm above the gauntlet.
"That's good. Why don't we just have you wear that around for a little while and get used to wearing it until we can find a place suitable for you to practice using it?"
"That sounds alright," she said. Kara looked down at the silver gauntlet wrapped around her wrist. She now had the same power as I did against the Syndicate. She had both the weapon and the will to use it.
There was a sudden vibration of the transporter that caused both of us to look up in alarm. A man’s voice came in over a speaker system in the room to tell us what was happening and there were some beeping sounds that followed. The man was apparently the one who was commanding the transport. He spoke very concisely and told us to remain calm and to stay in our state rooms until we were out of Mars' atmosphere. Once he stopped speaking the vibration started getting worse. I did not think we were off the ground until there was a sudden moment of feeling like we were falling. There was a lurch and another falling sensation. I grabbed hold of Kara's hand, but the sensation soon passed.
The launch sequence seemed like it lasted several hours, but in reality we were out of the atmosphere within a half hour. The falling and lurching sensations happened about a dozen more times before the transport seemed to finally stabilize. We were confined to the state room and starred at each other. I could only imagine what Kara was thinking. I don’t imagine that it could be anything good based on what I was thinking. I was afraid that we were going to die. Wouldn’t that be a sweet irony? Luckily everything settled down a bit and the launch was a little bit more enjoyable, despite my fear of crashing.
Once we were out of the atmosphere the buzzing noises and the vibrations quieted completely. The transport commander came in over the speaker system once again and welcomed us to outer space, our new home for the next several months. I wished at that moment that we had a window to look out into the vast darkness. I would love to be able to look down at our home from several miles away and watch it grow smaller and smaller. Maybe we would have a chance to view it later.
Kara and I sat in the state room for another half an hour before we decided to venture out and explore the transporter. It was enormous, and we needed to figure out where we needed to go for food and other daily errands. Kara pulled out the pamphlet she had gotten when boarding and unfolded it. There was a map drawn on the back that showed where the galley, restrooms, and stores were located. I stood up and reached out to Kara. She took my hand and stood up beside me, together we walked out of the state room to experience whatever may come our way. At that moment I was hoping for a hot meal and some fresh clothes.