Althea woke from a light slumber. Sometime in the night, she had awoken to find her body back under her full control. Combat and functional implants had reconnected themselves when her timer expired.
Thank the gods.
Nothing about losing control of her body had felt fun.
Althea blinked into the dim light of her bunk. Unlike the previous night’s rest, this was a different room entirely. Sitting up in a light panic, Althea spotted a figure sitting in a chair in the corner of the room.
Her scream came forth high pitched, loud and automatic. It also brought Boris out of a dead sleep himself and into high alert. What amazed Althea more than anything was how he managed to stand, check out her screaming, and then spin to face the empty corner, all before he fully woke up.
“What’s happening?”
Althea laughed when she saw the final spin of Boris’s dance.
“That was fantastic! How did you learn to spin like that in place while you’re asleep?”
Boris shook his head and scanned the room. Althea recognized the gesture because she had performed the same scan as soon as she woke up. Checking with Pontikos confirmed that SLIDE had activated as part of her automatic timer.
Boris joined Althea laughing and said,
“It’s an old soldier’s trick. Mostly. You sleep so lightly that you’re almost awake. And when you have to act, you make use of that trick to respond meaningfully. And usually violently.”
Althea nodded and examined herself. She still wore the red dress from her aborted training session from the previous day. The act of checking her clothing assured her that nothing unusual or sexy had happened overnight. And it instilled a measure of respect for Boris in her heart.
Even now, while they laughed and joked, he seemed to study Althea to confirm she really did feel okay. He showed he cared about her and for a brief moment, her hormones flared. The older man’s light dusting of grey hair and his craggy face gave him a mature, but youngish appearance that hit Althea directly in the strike zone. Not that she ever intended to tell Boris that.
Still chuckling, she said,
“It sounds like you’ll want to train me again today?”
He nodded and said,
“But let’s wait until after breakfast, shall we?”
Erie, Boris, Althea and two guards sat down to eat omelets in the open air cafe of the small city. People walked by and made a point to wave to Boris as they did. They mostly ignored Althea and Erie, though many shot them clandestine, searching glances. Burning blood crept to her cheeks when she considered how out of place her red dress made her look. Especially wearing the heavy hiking boots that seemed to comprise the only footwear in the city.
But no one stared at her feet, not that she could see anyway.
Erie gnawed on a piece of bacon, broke it in half and used the half to point between Boris and Althea.
“So is this awkwardness thing between you two part of doing the nasty last night or part of not doing the nasty last night?”
Althea tried to gasp through a bite of her omelet. As a result, she coughed and choked while Boris shook his head in silence. The moment Althea swallowed and seemed to calm, he winked at Erie and waggled his eyebrows at Althea.
She rolled her eyes at both of them and said,
“I didn’t think we were being awkward. What makes you say that?”
Erie shrugged again and shoved the bacon into her mouth. She grinned through the food and seemed to ignore any further response.
Boris pointed to her with his teacup and said,
“She’s just guessing because you did not spent the night in her bunk.”
Althea’s situational awareness had certainly grown with her implant. Otherwise she would never have caught the subtle squint and twitch of Boris’s large bodyguard at his words.
Scoffing at both of them, Althea said,
“Nothing happened. Nothing at all. I woke up in bed and found a stranger sitting in the only other chair in the room. I think my violent response was fully warranted.”
Boris raised both of his eyebrows at that, but Erie and both body guards leaned in as Erie said,
“What did you do?”
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Althea looked up at Boris who shook his head and said,
“For the sake of modest and pre-adolescent ears, I am not sure I should say.”
Althea raised her hands and said,
“If Boris doesn’t want the story known, I’m his guest. I would never disparage his good name.”
Boris shrugged in response and looked at his bare right wrist.
“Well. It’s time for Ms Thompson’s daily training. I guess we’ll have to resume this discussion later on tonight or tomorrow. Or better yet, never. Bye!”
Both Althea and Boris rose as if they planned it and jogged to the dojo. Both bodyguards swore at each other while they cleaned their plates, knocked over a table and jumped the low metal fence on the outside of the cafe to catch up with Boris.
Althea was laughing so hard tears came out.
“I can’t believe they bought that.”
Boris grinned and said,
“You have no idea what you just created, do you? By this time tomorrow, I bet you someone asks to see the testicle you cut off of me.”
Althea lightly backhanded Boris’s shoulder and said,
“Pushaw. That won’t happen.”
“I bet you dinner.”
Althea opened her mouth and shut it, their friendly banter and jest had just switched over to earnest flirting. Boris used a smooth jumping on point to make the transition. And Althea kind of wanted to get to know him better now.
Once they were back in the dojo, Althea asked,
“Do I need to change again?”
Boris knelt on the ground and beckoned her down to the mat with him.
“No, you do not need to do that. But you do need to cut off your automated systems again.”
“Any advice for avoiding the seizures?”
“Erie should have taken care of that. I trust she did anyway.”
“Then any advice for standing on my own?”
Boris shrugged and said,
“You’re more adaptable than you think you are.”
He looked around the bare floor of the dojo and pointed to an empty corner.
“Before you shut everything off, go kneel down over there. Within reach of both walls.”
Althea stood, walked to where he indicated, and knelt back down.
“No, face the corner. It might sound crazy, but I want you able to stand on your own. Wall-based assistance counts. For now.”
Althea nodded and spoke to Pontikos,
“Give me the same setup as yesterday, two hour timer and cut everything off. If I seize up again, just re-engage the controls, please?”
Pontikos complied and this time Althea remained seated without toppling over and shaking. Her top and arms still felt unwieldy as she reached for the wall and fell into it, banging her forehead on the surface as she did.
It hurt, but not as much as it embarrassed. To his credit, Boris stifled his laughter and kept his mouth shut like a wise man. Althea pressed the metal of her arm to the wall and felt friction and tension between her fingers and the wall for the first time, clearly and without the interference of her implants and sensors.
Both hands pressed against the wall as Althea lifted herself slowly up to stand. Like before, she balanced like a drunkard on a miscalibrated hoverboard. Still, Boris stayed quiet while she worked her way up the wall.
“How do you know how to do this?”Althea looked over her shoulder, trying to ignore the glint of chrome from the metal. Before Boris could answer, Althea clarified, “I mean all this training and physical therapy stuff.”
Boris waited for her to slowly turn and lean agains the wall and said,
“Thing people don’t understand about most Special Forces is that we are not all front line warriors. Most of us train for roles on the front or even deep behind enemy lines. But guess what we do back there? A hell of a lot of training. And much of that training involves people with fresh cyberware who need to learn control before we teach them how to kill.”
“Oh.”
Althea dropped her head, but Boris advanced on her and tapped her chin,
“Just because you reversed the typical order doesn’t mean much. You’re not the first person I’ve taught to fight who happened to have combat implants. Heck, you’re not even the first woman I’ve taught this stuff to.”
Althea raised her head and nodded. Boris seemed closer to her than the last time he helped her. She froze a second, staring at his chest and arms and he seemed to catch her staring. They both looked to the right and he took two steps away from her.
Althea cleared her throat and said,
“Okay boss, what’s the next step?”
Boris laughed and said,
“It’s just one step.”
“And that is…”
Boris turned red and made a small noise. In response, Althea rolled her eyes and said,
“Haha, the next step is just one step? You’re a riot.”
Boris shrugged and said,
“It takes most people a few back and forths to catch on.”
Althea chuckled and said,
“My dad told dad jokes too. Now how do I do this?”
Her fingers seemed locked on the wall, like a cat who could not retract her claws. When she thought about disengaging from the wall, she swayed and shifted herself to cling harder. Boris pointed at her feet and hips and said,
“There! You found it!”
Althea looked up in shock at his outburst and then down where he pointed. At her hips.
“What are you talking about?”
Boris held his hands shoulder width apart and said,
“This is all about sinking your weight, including the weight of your upgrades into your hips. They can take it, but only if you let them.”
Althea tried to imagine sinking into her hips, but the image felt absurd. She had trouble doing that without bending over and toppling forward. When she stumbled, Boris jumped forward and grabbed her arms, pushing his body against her own to keep her from face planting on the ground. His own face came alarmingly near to Althea’s own.
She squeaked and he grabbed her hands in a firm grip. Still leaning into his chest, Boris pushed Althea away using her hands.
He said,
“Keep holding my hands and try taking one step.”
Althea hesitated and he quipped,
“This will only get harder until you try it. Don’t think it, just trust me and take a step!”
Mustering the courage was actually the hard part of her first uncertain step. With Boris’s help and her own wobbling legs doing the work, she managed to lift and replace her foot, moving her body away from the wall far enough to stand on her own.
Boris never allowed his focus to waver from Althea’s eyes as he moved to give her space. Once she stopped moving, Boris said,
“You just did it. Nice work. Do you think you can get back to the wall on your own?”
Althea shook her head so Boris moved to put her arm around his shoulders and hoisted her to the wall.
“When I was in the military, before Surge, I worked a short rotation at a rock-side hospital helping injured vets recover from trauma. This just happens to be right in the middle of my wheelhouse.”
Her hand touched the wall and she laughed,
“You haven’t let me fall over yet…”
Boris laughed back and said,
“Believe it or not, that’s an upcoming lesson.”
Althea rolled her eyes and groaned, but secretly looked forward to that training.
