Shapes above her blurred, muted washes of green and brown shifting and twisting until, with a few slow blinks, the canopy came into focus. Sunlight poured through the gaps, lacy beams of gold cutting across the massive trunks and knotted limbs of ancient trees. A cool wind stirred the leaves overhead, masking the distant murmurs of voices.
The automatic doors to the Research and Development Department slid open with a soft whoosh. Guards stationed on either side of the entrance gave him a perfunctory nod as he entered. Beyond lay a maze of hallways lined with frosted glass and steel panels, the antiseptic hum of the facility a constant backdrop. He finally reached his department, stepping into a space alive with quiet focus. Massive windows on the far wall revealed a rain-streaked view of VulMun’s domed skyline, its neon brilliance muted by the storm outside.
When you work six days a week, sixteen hours a day, what’s an extra five minutes here and there? Lunde was lazy, and it was always more fun to bluster about deducting Akello’s pay than to actually make the effort. A delicate ecosystem of abuse. Where had he heard that? Akello smiled. Probably Sashi. That kind of thing was always her thing.
The nightmare again. Always the same. The engineers and technicians in their jumpsuits pointing and laughing.
It’s hot down here. I swing my laser axe all day, got to be careful of my range. That’s when mistakes happen. A cycle ago, I wasn’t careful.
