Because writing stories at 3am and under the influence of sleep deprivation is fun!
The second moon was in full wane when I woke up one crisp day. The chill wind blew through my open window, and ruffled the thin sheets I wove around me to sleep, my sheets thin enough to keep me from overheating in the hot-time weather. My windows were open to let the breeze blow in the scents of the day, and it reminded me of harvest, of fresh tilled earth and black soil ready to give the bounty of harvest.
It would be a good day.
I rose from my bed, the sheet falling from my naked legs, and I strode to my closet to grab an outfit for the day – nothing complicated in this day and age. I hung the suit over my left shoulder and went to bathe, to cleanse the night scents off of me, and I relished the cool water which soothed me. I enjoyed the morning shower, the best part of my day in the hot season.
Outside it was warm, the grasses rippling in the early light of the dawn, the golden blades tinted pink under the distant rising sun. I let my toes flex against the grass, and enjoyed the gentle stimulation against my bare feet. The earth was kind, and the distant crops would feed many, and feed well. I was glad for this; I was doing my duty, even if I could not join into the great calling. I took a humble pride in this.
I strode forward, my limp barely felt as I strode through the grasses. A limp, it is what set me apart from the rest, though it did not stop me from my work. A limp, showing the corruption of blood that was mine to keep, my limp was a punishment to the ancestors for their hubris. I did not dwell upon It though, for there was work to be performed, and I would not be mocked for my failure to perform my duties.
“Yetha.” I heard my name. Turning my head, I looked at the tall grace of the field-maiden, who was a head taller than I. Her jaws split into a coy half smile, though scars ran the side of her face – she had seen, participated, in combat in her past. She was strong, and working the fields did much to keep her healthy.
“Maiden Aspa,” I inclined my head to her, eyes lowering from her pale gray hide, and looked away, to the machines that would require my hand. Big beasts of labor, they had once served as combat vehicles in the long past, now repurposed to the duties of field work. A noble legacy for ancient weapons, I thought – now serving the people who made them even beyond their first purpose.
“You are needed to repair the master-control of the field tractors, and then return to maintain the rest of the systems.” She was beautiful, her long fingered hands strong, but feminine. She was wed to an Ultra, one of those who lead operations against the enemies of the Sangheili people and our allies. I was envious, but I would unlikely wed in my lifetime. I would be wistful, but I did not let it interfere with my duty. “Should you have time after this, do check the new purchases for damage and repair schedules”
“Yes, Maiden Aspa.” I spoke, and bowed my head in acceptance of her words. She gave a smile and patted my cheek gently, then continued on her way. She had been a crèche mate, and when I had been refused from service for the twist of my left leg, and the tremor of my left arm, she had pleaded my service to her mother. I worked, served as an apprentice to the mechanics of age upon the grand estate farms. I owed her love, and I gave her loyalty, for every day I drew breath and awoke in a bed was upon her sufferance, nothing more. “I will, sister.”
I limped towards the service hub, which gave broadcast to the great network which was overlain upon the field and farming network. Of late, there had been chaos upon the system, possibly a fault in the base programing that made me grind my teeth in frustration. I had been patching the bug for several weeks, but every time I fixed it, it broke again, worse. I prayed not to be forced to announce a need to get a new system. I would beat it.
I climbed the circling ramp that lead the outer edge of the grand tower, and gazed through the thick panes which let me take a grand view of the fields, which stretched for kilometers in every direction. I ascended up to the top, at twenty meters from the base, and made my way to the hub, which glowed with red and green lights. It ran hot, but all machines did. I set to work on the operating system, sitting before the machine with my back to the windows.
Perhaps, had I been looking, I could have responded to the sudden sight of a ship plummeting from atmosphere, and falling apart in high orbit. I would have recognized that it belonged to a freighter, and had time to get into the security bunker beneath the estate – but I didn’t. So when the windows shattered and high strength clear aluminum flew through the room, I was caught off guard, but for a red lance of pain running through my back and shoulders, and then hot metal pounding into the back of my skull. I collapsed forward, into the machine, hard enough to crack the chassis and nearly my skull. I did not awake for many hours.
By then, it was too late.
