Cores were less than that.
Cores were created—born for a purpose.
They had different purpose within the lives of the rich, even though some of the wealthiest had personal Cores only as status symbols. Quiet dolls, there to serve as personal walking computers for entertainment. Because of that knowledge, Requiem’s palms were sweaty, his heart was beating like a hummingbird’s wings, and his mouth was dry. He had no idea how to make his body cease its reaction.
When it was time to finally exit the shuttle, Juni yawned and groaned the entire way out of the ship, but the moment his feet touched the docking bay, he was wide-awake and smiling as normal. “Ah! Fresh air!”
“It’s still filtered and generated by scrubbers,” Damion muttered as he watched well-dressed men and women greet other well-dressed individuals and people overlooking their new “workers.”
“Yeah, I know, but it’s where I grew up. Come on, Mom will be waiting for us with a big meal. But don’t worry—she didn’t cook it. Woman can barely open a protein pack.” Juni laughed good-naturedly. “She’ll be happy to see you.”
“Then shut up and move.”
108 and Requiem stayed close to their Fighters, keeping their heads down and their mouths shut. Some people, mostly workers, looked at them with curiosity, and one girl even gave them a shy, warm smile. But then there was the upper class that made up a large portion of the population in the terminal. Requiem tried to ignore the glares, turned-up noses, and jealousy in the eyes of passersby. There were mutters and people quickly stepping out of the way so that they didn’t have to touch the Cores, even though they were in between Juni and Damion.
If this was humanity, Requiem wanted nothing to do with it.
Juni waved down one of the public transport vehicles, and the driver got out to load up their three bags. It was tight in the vehicle, and the Cores were sitting in their Fighters’ laps, but it was only a fifteen-minute ride to the front of the family apartments. The accommodation block was clean, shiny, reflective steel made so that as Lunar cycled through its thirteen-day rotation and the surface heated up to past 695 degrees Celsius , the heat that wasn’t collected by the protective dome would bounce off the buildings. During the thirteen and a half days of night when the temperature dipped down to negative 240 degrees Celsius, the dome would release the heat that it had collected during the two Earth weeks of day to keep the colony warm.
Juni got out, handing the man a few credits before Damion and the others followed, grabbing their bags. “They’re on the tenth floor.”
“It’s busy,” Damion commented, looking around the crowded streets and airways. “Noisier than I thought it would be.”
“The buildings dampen most of the noise,” Juni explained as he led them forward. He pulled out his citizenship ID to get past the scanner in front of the desk and the automaton that sat behind it.
Requiem’s gaze flicked up and then back down, taking in everything in a split second. Without really thinking, he reached out and ran slightly shaky fingers over the ID scanner, almost lovingly. The feeling of electricity and the familiar buzzing of circuits jumping back and forth in the system beneath his fingers helped ground him and made him relax marginally. Despite that, he walked close to Damion, practically stepping on Damion’s shoes.
108 was stiff as he walked but seemed to have put his complete trust in Juni to keep him safe. And Requiem was sure that Juni had talked about his family at length to 108, helping allay some of his wariness. Requiem merely had Damion, who did a quick debrief on Juni’s family. The Fighters gave the impression this interaction was common and simple.
They stepped off the elevator, and Juni led them to one of the only four doors on this level of the building. He happily rapped against the door, and it quickly opened. An older woman, probably in her early fifties, stood there smiling. He had heard of women, and men, taking part in expensive skin treatments. Her face showed that her years had been spent serving instead of living in the lush seat of higher citizenship and so she would have been unable to afford such treatments.
“Master Juni, welcome home.”
“Hello, Matha.” Juni dropped his bags and hugged her tightly. “Is Mother home?”
“Of course. She is waiting for you and your friends in the study.” The servant laughed, giving Juni’s back a small pat. “You’ve grown strong.”
Juni let her go and took a step back. “Yeah, they kicked our asses in boot camp.”
“Language, master.” She frowned at Juni and picked up the bags he had dropped. Then she offered to take Damion’s as well.
“Hey!” Juni frowned.
She turned her attention to Juni and raised a brow. “I cleaned your backside when you were just a babe.” Then she redirected her attention back to Damion and extended her arms to accept his bags.
“Ah, no thanks.” Damion shook his head, holding on to his and Requiem’s luggage. “I can get it.”
“She’s stronger than she looks!” Juni laughed at Matha’s frown before reaching out and taking hold of 108’s hand. “Come on, don’t you three stand here like you have red rocks in your shoes.”
Juni tugged 108 forward and led him into the large apartment. The place was huge. It had at least five bedrooms, a study, a full kitchen, a dining area, and right when you walked in through the door, there was a large living space.
Damion blindly stumbled after Juni through the immense apartment.
There were thick, vibrant area rugs with patterns, which had originated in the Venus Artistry Institutes. Requiem had done research and such patterns were not available in the open markets on Mars, or Mercury, or even Saturn. As they all followed the excited Juni through the apartment, they passed the kitchen. It was three times bigger than Damion’s entire bunk and had a real cooktop and even an instant food fabricator for produce.
“Juni! Juni Mathis! You’re home!” a high alto voice shouted from inside the room ahead of them.
Juni let go of 108’s hand and laughed as he hugged and spun around a woman who didn’t appear a day over thirty, Requiem judged. Either she had had Juni at a young age or she partook of some of the new antiaging surgeries and supplements. Requiem noticed Damion’s smile and deduced that Damion found it rather endearing how tightly the woman in the thousand-dollar outfit clung to Juni. Juni had his mother’s light blonde hair—the one thing that didn’t look altered on the older woman—and even her height.
“You’re so thin!” She patted Juni’s chest before pushing her hair back, looking as if she were expecting something more from her son.
“They don’t serve good food there like Matha cooks us.” Juni kissed the top of her head. “And they keep us busy.”
His mother tsked. “All that hard work. You should have gone to work with your father or at least taken a station as an officer.”
“I’d be bored, Mother.” Juni’s happy face turned sour for a moment, and then he looked over at the other three people in the room. “Oh, Mom, these are my friends. This is my mom, Daulee.” Juni went over and put an arm around 108’s shoulders first. “This is my Core. He flies with me in the Hermes.”
“Oh dear.” Daulee wrinkled her nose. “I mean, how nice. I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were going to bring home your servant. I thought you were bringing home a girl.”
“He’s not a servant, Mom. He’s my Core,” Juni said in a near-chastising voice. “This is Damion and his Core, 47.”
“Hello, ma’am.” Damion bowed halfway, feeling awkward. “Thank you for letting us stay in your beautiful home. It is more than generous.”
“Well, Juni has talked a lot about you since he left.” Daulee brushed back her perfectly done hair in a flirtatious manner, seeming to suddenly forget about the Cores.
“He helped me get through basics.” Damion stood up straight and gave her a smile.
“Him? He basically carried me through the flight simulations!” Juni laughed, still not letting go of 108’s shoulders.
“Well,
go settle in. Your father won’t be home for another few hours, just in time for dinner as always.” Daulee sighed, folding her hands together and looking back and forth between Juni and Damion.
“As always.” Juni stepped forward to kiss the top of his mother’s head again. “I’m going to give them the tour. Go back to your primping.”
“The study is not for primping.” Daulee giggled to cover up her embarrassment and tucked her manicured hands behind her back before stepping sideways to block their view of a tall bottle of wine and an automatic cosmetic bot on the floor.
“Of course not.” Juni winked and then turned 108 around, waving a hand for Damion and Requiem to lead the way out of the room.
Requiem was silent until the door closed behind them, and then he leaned closer to Damion. “I do not think it was wise to bring 108 and myself here,” he stated at a volume only Damion would be able to hear. “Our presence is disturbing to his mother.”
Juni was too much in the land of happiness to even attempt to hear Requiem’s words, but 108 must have caught them because he looked toward him, nodding slightly. They continued to follow Juni down a long hallway with expensive paintings and other priceless collectibles adorning the walls. But scattered throughout were painted portraits of the family who resided here, giving the home an aura of warmth and not the usual professional-decorator coldness that was common in so many other homes of the wealthy.
“He told me it would be fine. I forgot the part where he can be a complete idiot,” Damion agreed.
“I do not say that I understand how normal humans think. But perhaps he was merely too excited about the thought of his family meeting you that he repressed the fact that his family may not want to meet 108 and me. I am not saying that Fighter Juni is a selfish person, merely that this time his own emotional wants got in the way of sense,” Requiem replied softly, stepping away from a doorway quickly but elegantly as a servant exited it.
“Yup, sounds like him. At least they don’t seem like complete snobs.”
“This will be your room, Damion. Uh, yours too, 47.” Juni opened the door right in front of them. “There is a full-functioning drink replicator, and you have your own bath and vid screen—”
“Holy shit.” Damion’s jaw dropped open.
Requiem remained polite. “This will be more than adequate. Thank you, Fighter Mathis, for your hospitality.” Requiem bowed his head slightly even as his gaze stayed on the openmouthed Damion. “However, are you quite sure we are welcome here? Your mother did not seem pleased.”
Juni shrugged. “Mom will be fine after she moves her things into the bedroom and gets herself cleaned up. They might come off as a bit, well, stuck-up, but really they’re not that bad.”
Damion put his bag down on the huge bed, still looking around in amazement. “She seemed surprised to see the Cores.”
“She wants me to get married.” Juni sat down on one of the extra chairs and gave a full-body sigh. “They don’t understand why I joined the Armed Forces Division of the Corp. And after they figured I wasn’t going to change my mind, they sort of gave up.”
“I’m surprised they didn’t threaten you or cut you off. I’ve heard of some people breaking away from their rich families and losing all support. I didn’t have any financial support to lose in the first place.” Damion patted Juni’s shoulder.
“I think Dad thought about it, but I’m the only child, so Mom probably talked him down.” Juni turned to the table behind him, and to Requiem’s startlement, shouted out, “Make me a Hairy Balls.”
Juni smirked at Damion’s raised eyebrow. “You can teach the Drinkologist 250 to make whatever you want and then name it too.” Juni chuckled and picked up the drink the moment he heard the beep of completion.
“What’s in it?” Damion asked as he walked over to look at his friend’s idea of a unique drink.
“Would you believe me if I told you I forgot?” Juni laughed, handing Damion the glass tumbler before asking the computer to make another. “I was plastered after one of my dates, and I thought it up.”
Damion looked down at the liquid. “Looks red and fizzy.” He pulled in a sniff of the drink and cleared his throat before speaking. “I believe you, sadly, and it just smells like it would burn my throat.”
“I dare you to shoot it down.” Juni sipped from his glass.
“I won’t take that dare, and I think you’re crazy.” Damion sighed, shaking his head and looking at the Hairy Balls in his hand. “I suppose it’s better to have some social lubricant in me than none at all, since I’m bound to put my foot in my mouth eventually.”
He took a sip of the drink, he tensed, and he sucked in air through his teeth.
Juni laughed before turning to give 108 a warm smile. “Want to taste?”
108 sniffed the drink and all but wrinkled his nose. “No, thank you. I will leave you to enjoy your beverage on your own.”
Damion went over and ruffled Requiem’s hair since Requiem still seemed a bit tense. Both of the Cores did. “Just stick to the golden rule: stay close to me and it will be okay.”
Requiem leaned into the warmth and security of Damion’s touch. “I trust you, so I believe in your words. And I will do as you ask.” He took solace in Damion’s warmth.
“Think you can make it another week without being plugged in?” Damion asked seriously.
“We don’t have… pods here.” Juni looked at 108. “Will that be a problem? I guess I should have thought about seeing if one could be installed. No way are you two going to be by yourselves in another room. You’ll just have to sleep in my bed. Don’t worry, it’s big enough to share. Uh, unless you’re not cool with that.”
“That is not a problem,” 108 replied smoothly, his gaze fixed on Juni’s face.
108 had transformed from the broken man who had been afraid of being abused.
“If I have need, I do not require a pod to jack in to the system.” Requiem looked almost longingly at the console in the room. His input points had come a long way in healing but were still a bit raw.
“It won’t be as long as you think.” Damion was attempting to distract him, futilely.
Juni was already halfway through his drink and still swiveling around and around in his chair. “If you want, after dinner we could go out to the bars and try and get a few itches scratched.”
“I don’t think I want to go back to the ship with an ‘itch.’” Damion sighed. “When did I become so boring?”
“They’re clean! I mean, well, they should be for what they cost.” Juni laughed, but stopped when he saw 108’s bland look. “Uh, guess we’d have to leave you two here, though, since it would be rather dangerous to go out with you to bars.”
Requiem didn’t quite know what they were talking about except for the fact that Damion was leaving him here. By himself. In a potentially hostile environment. He looked over at 108 and saw that the other Core wasn’t particularly pleased with the thought either. But he knew that it would come down to his decision. If he told Damion that he did not want him to leave, Requiem knew Damion wouldn’t. But he wouldn’t be the one to hold Damion back from having a good time while he was on leave.
“Of course. It would not be wise. 108 and I will be acceptable here by ourselves,” he stated, stepping away from Damion to sit in a nearby chair, separating himself from his Fighter to prove to himself that he could. Even if it was less than a meter away. “I am sure we can find something to occupy ourselves.”
“I don’t know, Juni. They will be in danger here too.” Damion gave his friend a small frown.
“They are safe here, I swear on it,” Juni said with firmness and perhaps a little hurt in his voice, holding up his hands in a placating motion.
Damion put down his unfinished drink. “I am not trying to insult you. I am just saying they’re targets.”
“And we haven’t been laid in months!”
Requiem leaned forward, reaching out to grasp Damion’s hand tightly, making Damion meet his gaze. H
e was careful to make sure his true feelings were hidden. Damion had become too adept at reading him since they had paired. “Fighter Hawk, 108 and I will be fine. We truly wish not to be a burden on you or Fighter Mathis. You promised me that I would not affect your enjoyment while you were on leave, and that is exactly what you are letting me do. If you wish, please go. We will lock the door after you, and I will alert you if anything is amiss.”
“I guess it couldn’t hurt to at least go out. I mean, I’ve never been to an upscale bar before,” Damion said slowly. He turned and fixed Requiem with a stare. Requiem was curious why, in the past few weeks, Damion had stared at him for prolonged moments of time far more often than before.
Damion glanced away from his Core and spoke to Juni. “All right, all right. I’ll go out with you. However, I make no promise to help you get any girls.”
“Like I’d need your help.” Juni snorted, rolling his eyes at the absurdity of Damion’s words. He turned his head, giving 108 a small smile. “You’ll be okay a few hours by yourself, right?”
108 looked to Requiem, who could see his true feelings—nervousness, confusion, and a bit of hurt. But all that was completely gone when 108 let his steel gray eyes meet Juni’s. “I will be acceptable. I will stay here with 47 if that is your wish.”
Requiem’s reasons for not wanting Damion to go were perhaps more selfish than the Fighter could realize. The thought of Damion’s hands touching another with the same warmth they touched Requiem made him feel… well, he didn’t know what he felt, but he didn’t like it.
“Let’s go see what Matha has cooking.” Juni suggested the distraction as he stood up from his chair. “We need to have dinner with the parents tonight yet anyway.”
“Do you wish for myself and 108 to stay here so as to not disturb your evening meal?” Requiem inquired, more an extreme suggestion rather than the plea it was.
Chrysalis Corporation Page 17
