Chapter 6

When I came to, I was in a bed. My eyes burned, my hands ached and I felt strangely empty. I had no recollection how I got here, or how I got out of my clothes.

The room was dark, and I searched instinctively for a light switch, but hit just more bed. Had to be king size, or even bigger. It took me a moment to remember the low light option of my eye augments, but then I could see the bedside lamp.

After I had turned it on, I could see my clothes on one of the chairs. While I dressed again, my stomach told me that it was likely a few hours since I had last eaten. A short look at the clock told me I was out for a bit over three hours. I was not happy about that, as time was at a premium in my, well, our situation. But on the other hand I simply could not muster the energy to be overly concerned.

When I walked into the mess hall I was greeted by most of the people I freed, and sudden silence. That Ernie was missing was not unwelcome. The other two that wanted to leave were also not in this room.

I was a bit at a loss for what to say, so I kept it simple.

“Hello.” That seemed to break the spell, and the blonde, whose name I still did not know was by my side in a few steps.

“Hello yourself. How do you feel?” Good question that. “I don’t know. Empty? Numb? Do I feel anything? And definitely hungry.”

That made her laugh. It was a warm and kind laughter.

“Yeah, that I can understand after the way you barfed all over the place.”

“Oh. Sorry about that. And sorry that I lost my control.” The black haired man was the next to talk.

“Don’t fret. The asshole had it coming. And, honestly, it made you more human. The way you behaved before ... I was not so sure you even had emotions.”

I let that sink for a while, before I answered.

“Emotions are a weakness. I never could afford to show any weaknesses. I did my best to keep them down.” I felt the tension in my shoulders and my neck increase and a bit of pain came from my temples. I used both hands to massage them for a moment, before talking again.

“Not that this isn’t an interesting topic, but I think we should introduce our selves. The only one of you whose name I know is Marc. So let’s begin. I’m Veronica Sinclair. Before you ask, the name is new; my old one is a bit too hot for my liking these days. I am a computer specialist, programmer, electronics designer and street cyber surgeon.”

The others looked a bit surprised. It was the brunette that answered me this time.

“You know you don’t look old enough to be even one of these, not to mention all of them, right?”

A heavy sigh later I tried to explain.

“You look at it from a Mongrel point of view. As stuck up as its sound, there is a reason that the Pures control the most stable and technologically advanced nation of the planet, despite everybody hating our guts. Fact is we simply are better in many things. Technology, R&D and learning are among them. I had my advanced degree in computer science at 15, and the nano electronics degree at 17. And that is par for the course for a Pure. That is also the reason why there are two school systems in the commonwealth. Normal humans simply can’t keep up with Pures, and the typical dynamic of the Jocks keeping the Nerds in check won’t work as the Jocks are as smart as the Nerds, and the Nerds are as tough as the Jocks. The only ones being lower on the social totem pole would be the normals. But I still don’t know your names...”

“Oh, yeah, sorry, I am Natalie Reynolds. I am responsible for information gathering and also work as sniper for our group.” Then she gestured at the blonde, “that is my big sister, Christine. Infiltration and martial arts. Marc’s name you know already. He is basically our fire team. ‘Jack of all trades and so.” Then the Mute “This is Kate McIntosh. She is our close range specialist. Obviously our best tracker and a very good shot.”