Red Balloon:
I was overseeing some outdoor work one afternoon, about a week later. I was thinking over my time here, it'd been what, 15 years now? I was glad I'd stayed on, though. I enjoyed my work. The phrase "learn something new every day" certainly applied at Manticore more then any other place I'd ever been!
Some of the older trees needed trimming, and I was seeing to that when I saw the X5 group. They were standing at attention for Lydecker. He was in X5-599's face about something -- I moved closer.
"Tell me soldier -- why did you kids name each other?"
"It just...happened, sir."
"Want to tell me how?"
"I don't know, sir. It just happened."
"Don't repeat yourself! It shows weakness," Lydecker snapped, "And why wasn't I filled in on your names?"
"We thought you would disapprove, sir." X5-599 was standing at attention in front of the group -- his face was blank, staring behind Lydecker. The rest of the group seemed frozen in place.
"And what am I to do with you now, soldier?" Lydecker growled in his ear.
"That is not for me to speculate, sir." A learned response if I'd ever heard one.
"You're damn right it's not." Lydecker passed in front of them.
"Tell me your names," he ordered. "Oldest," his eyes swept down the line, "to youngest." His gaze rested on X5-452.
No response. Lydecker raised his eyebrows in a 'well?' glance at X5-599.
"Zack, sir."
"Tinga."
"Eva." They continued through more,
"Ben."
"Jace." There were a few more I couldn't hear very well,
"Zane."
"Brin."
"Jack." On down the line to,
"Syl."
"Krit." On through the whole group, till finally, the last two:
"Jondy."
"Max." The usual, calm, controlled expression on her face.
Lydecker's glare swept over all of them -- you could almost see his mind working to find a solution.
"Very well, then. 8 laps around the perimeter, then report back to TAC leaders for test runs and a live ordinance drill. Go!"
They took off running. Eight laps, that was somewhere between 16 and 20 miles. Whoa. The amazing part was that they pulled up 45 minutes later, winded, but not exhausted. I was still outside tending the property -- I had stayed to catch glimpses of them running by. They stuck together in a tight little pack, not letting anyone fall behind. The TAC leaders swept in, giving orders and handing each X5 an air rifle to begin the test runs.
"Pair off. There are 21 targets on the property. Find them, tag them, and return. Now GO! GO! GO!" A TAC leader yelled, in proper drill sergeant fashion.
X5-599 and X5-452 were paired together. I watched them run over a ridge and disappear. I walked to the top of a hill so I could watch a bit. At times you could see no one. The forest looked empty. But then, out of nowhere, a little soldier would appear -- and then promptly disappear back into the brush.
A glimmer of red caught my eye -- I looked up. A big red balloon was floating on the breeze -- I hadn't seen one of those in years! How the hell did that get here! I wasn't the only one who saw it. The X5, more in a group now, were crawling on the ground in the underbrush. X5-452 stood up and pointed to the balloon. She and the others looked at each other, curious. They'd obviously never seen a balloon before. For a moment, a glimmer of the little kids the really were showed through.
"Where'd it come from, Zack?"
"I don't know Max -- somewhere, not here."
"But where? All we know is here."
X5-599 glanced at his little sister, "I don't know Maxie, another world, maybe." With that, he climbed up a tree to grab a hold of the string. The other X5s gathered close around, touching the balloon as he brought it down. Sharp yells interrupted:
"Group! You will give me that contraband or we will head to the training area!" Instead of listening, X5-599 retaliated, kicking the guard unconscious. I saw X5-452 glance up, and I tried to see what she was looking at. Lydecker was glaring at them. The little soldiers glanced at each other quickly. A few hand signals were exchanged. Then, they all promptly vanished back into the brush from which they'd come. The red balloon rose up higher on the wind and popped on the branches of the trees.
I was overseeing some outdoor work one afternoon, about a week later. I was thinking over my time here, it'd been what, 15 years now? I was glad I'd stayed on, though. I enjoyed my work. The phrase "learn something new every day" certainly applied at Manticore more then any other place I'd ever been!
Some of the older trees needed trimming, and I was seeing to that when I saw the X5 group. They were standing at attention for Lydecker. He was in X5-599's face about something -- I moved closer.
"Tell me soldier -- why did you kids name each other?"
"It just...happened, sir."
"Want to tell me how?"
"I don't know, sir. It just happened."
"Don't repeat yourself! It shows weakness," Lydecker snapped, "And why wasn't I filled in on your names?"
"We thought you would disapprove, sir." X5-599 was standing at attention in front of the group -- his face was blank, staring behind Lydecker. The rest of the group seemed frozen in place.
"And what am I to do with you now, soldier?" Lydecker growled in his ear.
"That is not for me to speculate, sir." A learned response if I'd ever heard one.
"You're damn right it's not." Lydecker passed in front of them.
"Tell me your names," he ordered. "Oldest," his eyes swept down the line, "to youngest." His gaze rested on X5-452.
No response. Lydecker raised his eyebrows in a 'well?' glance at X5-599.
"Zack, sir."
"Tinga."
"Eva." They continued through more,
"Ben."
"Jace." There were a few more I couldn't hear very well,
"Zane."
"Brin."
"Jack." On down the line to,
"Syl."
"Krit." On through the whole group, till finally, the last two:
"Jondy."
"Max." The usual, calm, controlled expression on her face.
Lydecker's glare swept over all of them -- you could almost see his mind working to find a solution.
"Very well, then. 8 laps around the perimeter, then report back to TAC leaders for test runs and a live ordinance drill. Go!"
They took off running. Eight laps, that was somewhere between 16 and 20 miles. Whoa. The amazing part was that they pulled up 45 minutes later, winded, but not exhausted. I was still outside tending the property -- I had stayed to catch glimpses of them running by. They stuck together in a tight little pack, not letting anyone fall behind. The TAC leaders swept in, giving orders and handing each X5 an air rifle to begin the test runs.
"Pair off. There are 21 targets on the property. Find them, tag them, and return. Now GO! GO! GO!" A TAC leader yelled, in proper drill sergeant fashion.
X5-599 and X5-452 were paired together. I watched them run over a ridge and disappear. I walked to the top of a hill so I could watch a bit. At times you could see no one. The forest looked empty. But then, out of nowhere, a little soldier would appear -- and then promptly disappear back into the brush.
A glimmer of red caught my eye -- I looked up. A big red balloon was floating on the breeze -- I hadn't seen one of those in years! How the hell did that get here! I wasn't the only one who saw it. The X5, more in a group now, were crawling on the ground in the underbrush. X5-452 stood up and pointed to the balloon. She and the others looked at each other, curious. They'd obviously never seen a balloon before. For a moment, a glimmer of the little kids the really were showed through.
"Where'd it come from, Zack?"
"I don't know Max -- somewhere, not here."
"But where? All we know is here."
X5-599 glanced at his little sister, "I don't know Maxie, another world, maybe." With that, he climbed up a tree to grab a hold of the string. The other X5s gathered close around, touching the balloon as he brought it down. Sharp yells interrupted:
"Group! You will give me that contraband or we will head to the training area!" Instead of listening, X5-599 retaliated, kicking the guard unconscious. I saw X5-452 glance up, and I tried to see what she was looking at. Lydecker was glaring at them. The little soldiers glanced at each other quickly. A few hand signals were exchanged. Then, they all promptly vanished back into the brush from which they'd come. The red balloon rose up higher on the wind and popped on the branches of the trees.