Stories tagged “Guardian”
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My Sister the Car
“But…what happened? He threw you in the trunk, and then…all that blood…” James trailed off. “Um…where are you?” “I’m in the car,” Sera’s voice said, coming out of the stereo speakers. James looked...
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Transformation
“Right now? Put as much distance between the body in that alley and us as possible,” Sera said. “I think I have an even better idea,” James said, and turned a corner. “I think the first thing that we need to do is change y...
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Open Up and Say Ahh
“Jamie…I don’t think it will work.” Sera sounded disappointed. “This thing only looks like a car. It has more in common with a tank. I don’t know if it even has a VIN.” “Well…we can still change the color, ...
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Big Cars Don't Cry
Sera’s voice faltered. “Actually, I…I think I want to be alone for a while. Just drive, OK?” “You got it, sis.” I can’t count the times I’ve driven my sister crazy, James reflected, but I never thought I̵...
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An Answer, and More Questions
James climbed out of the car to meet the newcomer face to face. She was young—about the same age as he and Sera—with long brown hair, wearing a red leather jacket, slacks…and a gunbelt. James said the first thing that came to mind: “Who are...
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Realization
Sera growled. “Yeah, they had all the first responders on the force take some extra booster flu shot, lot of good it’s going to do me now.” “Sis, unless I miss my guess, that shot is probably the reason you’re still talkin...
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Hobson's Multiple Choice
“You’ve got two choices. Well, three, I guess.” The girl ticked them off on her fingers. “You can come with me back to Aegis regional HQ, you can try to fight us, or you can try to run away.” She frowned. “I can̵...
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Decisions
James looked to Sera. “You’re the one who’s got the most at stake here, sis, I’d say that it’s your choice.” “Way I see it, we’ve got no choice, we go with Lisa here,” she growled. “If we try ...
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The Aegis Base
A few minutes later, they pulled onto a private road with an armored gate and security checkpoint. Lisa and Fur stopped and talked with the people in the booth. James slid lower in his seat as impassive faces and cameras swiveled to examine them. Final...
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No Disassemble!
“Congratulations, I’m surprised,” James deadpanned as he took it all in, noting makes and models for future reference. “This kind of tech isn’t even supposed to exist yet.” “There are more things in heaven and ...
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Project Sugar
Lisa was already out of her car and addressing the labcoats. “…can’t believe the nerve of you bastards!” James heard as he got out of the car. “Project Sugar is supposed to be in the experimental stages. Who gave you the right...
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One Step Closer
There comes a time when every shy geek must break, and these times are frequently heralded by inspired, polysyllabic speeches in the fashion of Jean-Luc Picard, had he spent more quality time with Leonard H. McCoy. James, for one, had seen more than en...
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Wake-Up Call
Lisa’s voice: “Good, he’s coming around.” James blinked his eyes open and looked blearily around. The room swam into focus. He was lying on a bed, in pajamas. Lisa was sitting in a chair by the bed. “Wha’ happened?&#...
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Learning to Walk
“What, and miss the chance to make themselves look like even bigger asses?” Lisa said, rolling her eyes. “Bro… those nanobots, they can be mixed in with just about any injection, so long as there’s enough of the liquid to ...
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A Brief History Lesson
“Great. So. Can you please tell me what the hell we’ve gotten ourselves into? Aegis…Marauders…car robots that…absorb people?” Lisa sighed. “It’s like this. A few years ago, someone finally cracked the AI problem. Not...
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More Lessons
He nodded, looking thoughtful, “I guess that makes sense, sort of, since a turbine will run on anything that’ll burn. I… Uh, I’m not all that certain I want to hear any more about it, though.” “Good, I didn’t w...
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Training Montage
“This is a Sig-Sauer P226. It will be your standard-issue sidearm. I won’t tell you you’ll eat, sleep, and make love with it, but you will want to keep it close to hand…” “This is a TASER. You’ll carry it when you ...
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Going For A Spin
He really tried to keep a straight face, but James was never the best at poker, and had to bite his lip to avoid a fit of giggles as they pulled up once the course was completed. Sera coming to a stop within a few feet of him was slightly unnerving, bu...
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The Caving Club
“So how is it,” James asked as he spun the wheel, “that you have a hard time driving even now that you are a car? Shouldn’t it be as easy as walking now?” “You’d think so, wouldn’t you?” Sera said a...
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Wandering, Wondering
“But why would they want to know about the steam tunnels?” James asked, wrestling the wheel over to navigate a dip filled with sand. “Don’t ask me, you’re the one who interns at the university IT department, you should kno...
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Major Malfunction
Finally, the truck pulled up back at the starting line to the obstacle course. The drill instructor climbed down from the bed, and nodded. “Hmph.” “Well, how was that?” James asked, leaning out the window. “Those Maurauder...
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Intuitive
James had refused to hear any more than that, and shortly later, they were back at the paved section of the track, and Sera and Fur were lined up parallel at the start line, James at Fur’s wheel, with Lisa at Sera’s. Fur, being a Lotus Elis...
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A Trickle of Water
They finished in a tie, with James hanging out the window and laughing. “See? I knew all you needed was the proper encouragement.” “If you ever pull that crap again, I’ll…I’ll run you over,” Sera growled. James gri...
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Put One Foot in Front of The Other
“But I don’t know how to use them!” Sera moaned. “Just relax!” Lisa advised. “You just have to learn to stop thinking about it and let your instincts take over. You’ll be fine. But now let’s see how you m...
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Getting the Hang of It
The smirk on Sera’s face was unmistakable even on a mechanical face. Fur righted himself, looking outright embarassed, and glanced to Lisa, who just nodded. He once more pressed his attack, stepping into combat more carefully this time. Sera fell...