When I grew up, there weren\u2019t many cybers around.\u00a0 We were a vacation community, a place to get away from all the hectic worlds.\u00a0 Part of the charm was really limited computer networks.\u00a0 I met my first cyber on a school trip to the Minnesota State Capitol.\u00a0 She said that we\u2019re all human.\u00a0 We\u2019re all created equal.\u00a0 We have the same rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t understand back then, but I think I do now.\u00a0 I try to let that understanding lead my actions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Avenger\u2019s cockpit locked shut, sealing Jack into the home his fighter had become once again.\u00a0 It was odd.\u00a0 Before Yosemite he\u2019d never set foot in a real fighter.\u00a0 He\u2019d played simulations of course.\u00a0 Who hadn\u2019t?\u00a0 But now that he\u2019d lived the real thing, he recognized just how limited those were.\u00a0 For one thing they lacked the two people that had enriched his life for the last two years.<\/p>\n
Betty and Jasmine flickered into existence atop the console, their uniforms already fading away.\u00a0 A sundress came into focus on Betty and Jack took a moment to smile as the color registered.\u00a0 Pink.\u00a0 Then Jasmine\u2019s grey jeans and blue tank top appeared and Jack\u2019s smile grew.\u00a0 So this was going to be an experimental day.\u00a0 He gave them two thumbs up and got down to business.<\/p>\n
\u201cRecovery<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s coming in now,\u201d Betty answered and looked to the side as another form began to appear.<\/p>\n The name Emily came into focus first, followed by a soft face topped with brown hair.\u00a0 Then her torso, arms, and legs came into focus.\u00a0 The standard white and black British naval uniform snapped into existence in time with the scowl that covered her face.\u00a0 \u201cCaptain Hart,\u201d she said, her tone frosty. Obviously she was not happy about the recent briefing.\u00a0 Well that was going to make this a harder sell, but he figured he could do it.<\/p>\n Jack gave her best winning smile and spread his arms out wide.\u00a0 \u201cAh, you\u2019re just the ship I need.\u201d<\/p>\n The cyber\u2019s eyes narrowed in suspicion.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy, only your expertise.\u00a0 I hear you\u2019re the best.\u201d<\/p>\n Emily crossed her arms over her white uniform shirt, recognizing the flattery for what it was and not trusting him at all.\u00a0 \u201cI do not have all day.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack swallowed and sucked in a deep breath.\u00a0 She was not going to make this easy.\u00a0 Oh well.\u00a0 If it was easy anyone could do it.\u00a0 With that thought filling his mind he dived into his attempt to save a friend.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve got a cyber that lost her pilot.\u00a0 She\u2019s still kicking, but without something to make her want to stay she won\u2019t much longer.\u201d\u00a0 The other cyber nodded in pained understanding.\u00a0 \u201cCan you build her an android avatar for me?\u201d<\/p>\n Betty and Jasmine gasped on either side of him and Recovery\u2019s<\/em> cyber frowned.\u00a0 \u201cDoesn\u2019t that go against American regulations?\u201d<\/p>\n Jack shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cTechnically, maybe.\u201d\u00a0 He sighed at her knowing look.\u00a0 \u201cLook, her pilot is dead.\u00a0 That opens up all kinds of contract loopholes for her.\u00a0 And besides.\u00a0 You\u2019re British.\u00a0 You don\u2019t have to follow American regulations if you don\u2019t want.\u201d<\/p>\n Emily\u2019s frown deepened.\u00a0 \u201cSo you let Wyatt give us the heave ho when you don\u2019t need us and now you ask me for a favor?\u00a0 Why should I help you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re not helping me<\/em>,\u201d Jack answered quickly, hoping to stave off her decision before it was made.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re helping a fellow cyber recover<\/em> from a soul-wrenching loss,\u201d he said, making sure to emphasis the name of her ship.<\/p>\n The emphasis was not lost on the cyber and she pursed her lips at him.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t like him using her name against her, but he could see her thinking about it.\u00a0 So Jack played another card.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019ll die without you.\u00a0 Will you help me save her?\u201d\u00a0 Jack paused a moment to gauge her reaction and then played one more.\u00a0 \u201cPlease?\u201d<\/p>\n Emily\u2019s suspicious eyes locked onto him, gauging the sincerity of his words.\u00a0 He looked right back at her so she could see that he really meant it.\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 An American was humbly asking for help.\u00a0 He would let her chew on that for a moment.<\/p>\n Emily shook her head in resignation.\u00a0 \u201cVery well.\u00a0 Give me her information and I will do what I can.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExcellent.\u00a0 We\u2019re on the way over right now,\u201d Jack said with a nod towards Betty.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat a second,\u201d Recovery\u2019s<\/em> cyber said in surprise.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re a real life saver,\u201d Jack said over her objection and Emily\u2019s jaw nearly clicked shut.\u00a0 Her eyes narrowed as the Avenger slipped out of Los Angeles\u2019<\/em> hangar bay.\u00a0 He\u2019d boxed her in with that comment and they all knew it.\u00a0 Still, she wasn\u2019t done.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t fit inside my hangar bay,\u201d she pronounced with finality.\u00a0 She sounded and looked like God, pronouncing a law of nature.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll walk over,\u201d Jack rejoined with a smile, dodging the law she laid down.\u00a0 The Avenger vibrated around him as the main engines came to life, and they accelerated away from Los Angeles<\/em>.<\/p>\n She crossed her arms again and raised an eyebrow.\u00a0 \u201cIf you walk over here, I will have an android avatar ready for her by the time you arrive.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSounds like a date,\u201d Jack answered and smiled at Betty.<\/p>\n Betty just rolled her eyes and swung them around Adams<\/em>.\u00a0 She weaved their fighter between Mendoza<\/em> and Vargas<\/em>, and the engines came to full standard power, shooting them towards the three British ships at the end of the formation.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t see you walking yet,\u201d Emily said, head cocked to the side.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t say I\u2019d walk the whole<\/em> way,\u201d Jack returned as they passed Eclipse<\/em> and Assault<\/em>.\u00a0 The engines reversed, sending blue flames ahead of them into hyperspace, and the Avenger slowed to match speed with the medical frigate.<\/p>\n Emily frowned at him.\u00a0 \u201cYou tricked me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI did no such thing,\u201d Jack returned, his voice filled with innocence.\u00a0 Betty smiled on the console and brought them around to match course with Recovery<\/em>.\u00a0 \u201cAnd now, I do believe it is time for me to walk,\u201d he added, examining the outside of the frigate.\u00a0 She was tall and narrow, like most British ships, narrowing to points fore and aft.\u00a0 Her thick middle section would be where most of her living quarters were, and one of her hatches should be just\u2026about\u2026there.\u00a0 He smiled as he saw it.\u00a0 \u201cBetty?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n She nodded and spun the Avenger so he could look straight \u201cup\u201d at the hatch, and he heard the air sucking out of the cockpit.\u00a0 The force field linking his cowboy hat with the collar of his uniform snapped into existence, and he took in a deep breath of canned air.\u00a0 It smelled stale.\u00a0 Even the best uniforms money could buy couldn\u2019t get rid of that smell, unless they resorted to perfumes that one Jack Hart was not prepared to entertain.\u00a0 A man had to put his foot down somewhere after all.<\/p>\n Once the air pressure in the cockpit read zero, the canopy opened him to space and Jack smiled for a moment.\u00a0 Then he disengaged his harness, swung his feet around to brace against the bottom of his chair, and kicked off.\u00a0 Betty gave him a boost from her gravity generator and hyperspace opened around him.\u00a0 He was alone in hyperspace, drifting with no ship around him.\u00a0\u00a0 The roiling waves of gravity filled his view until they faded away in the distance, even making Los Angeles<\/em> indistinct at the head of the formation.\u00a0 He flew towards Recovery<\/em> and once again wondered why they called it space walking.\u00a0 He certainly wasn\u2019t doing any walking at the moment.<\/p>\n He felt Recovery\u2019s<\/em> gravity generators grab him, slowing his approach towards the target hatch, and he smiled.\u00a0 The hatch opened, he slipped in, and it closed as he stepped lightly onto what the warning bars told him would be a wall in a few seconds.\u00a0 Gravity disappeared and he kicked off the wall, spinning with care to place his feet on the future floor.\u00a0 When gravity came back on, he hit the floor with the balanced stance of a man accustomed to flexible definitions of up and down.\u00a0 The sound of air rushing into the airlock came through the force field, and it shut down a few seconds later.<\/p>\n Jack pulled in a deep breath of Recovery\u2019s<\/em> air and nodded in appreciation.\u00a0 Every ship had a different smell, some pleasant, some not.\u00a0 He had to admit that this one was not the worst.\u00a0 He could pick up the taint of disinfectants and other medications in use.\u00a0 She was a medical frigate, so that went with the territory.\u00a0 But he also picked up the smell of true, living flowers and other plant life designed to mask the hospital odor.<\/p>\n The inside hatch opened, and Jack stepped in to see Emily waiting for him in all her full-sized glory.\u00a0 A quick glance proved it was her true android avatar, not a holoform, and Jack smiled.\u00a0 It seemed he rated her personal attention.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m here,\u201d he said, spreading both arms wide.\u00a0 \u201cHow goes the avatar-creation process?\u201d he asked, waggling both eyebrows at her.<\/p>\n \u201cFaster than you ever thought,\u201d Emily returned with a pointed look and turned to lead him down the corridor.\u00a0 \u201cI have an avatar on the bench now.\u00a0 All I need is her specifications to begin the final personalization phase.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWow.\u00a0 You are<\/em> quick,\u201d Jack said, making sure to sound approving.\u00a0 \u201cBetty?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n Instead of nodding she looked to the side with a worried look.\u00a0 Jack followed her gaze to see a holoform flashing into existence in time to a slight increase in the hum coming from his uniform\u2019s holoemitters.\u00a0 Black hair appeared first, followed by a disapproving face.\u00a0 The rest of Natalie\u2019s form came into focus and Jack pursed his lips when he saw that she was most definitely not<\/em> in uniform.\u00a0 Casual black pants and a floral-pattern blouse covered her frame, clashing with the harsh face.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, Jack,\u201d were the first words out of her mouth.\u00a0 \u201cI know what you\u2019re trying to do and the answer is no,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n \u201cOh come on,\u201d Jack mollified with raised hands, but continued to follow Emily.\u00a0 \u201cI have faith in you.\u00a0 You\u2019ll get the hang of a new body right soon.\u201d<\/p>\n Natalie shook her head as her holoform walked with him.\u00a0 \u201cNot that.\u00a0 That\u2019s easy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen you\u2019re halfway to recovery.\u201d\u00a0 Jack waggled his eyebrows at her in amusement.<\/p>\n Natalie shook her head at the bad pun.\u00a0 \u201cI was born to be with him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d\u00a0 Jack let out a long breath and proceeded to give her serious advice he doubted she would like.\u00a0 \u201cMove on.\u201d<\/p>\n Natalie\u2019s lips pursed into a thin line.\u00a0 \u201cYou have no idea how hard that is.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cActually I do,\u201d Jack corrected.<\/p>\n Natalie lowered her eyebrows at him in doubt.\u00a0 \u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n Jack looked away for a moment, gathering his thoughts.\u00a0 \u201cWere you alive when the Shang attacked?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 It was a simple statement but Jack remained silent, waiting for her to elaborate.\u00a0 Finally she sighed and continued.\u00a0 \u201cLouis volunteered after the strikes.\u00a0 But my mother told me everything.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack sighed.\u00a0 \u201cI saw it.\u00a0 Live and in full color.\u00a0 Me and my dad were fishing when the missiles started raining down on Washington.\u00a0 And I watched the missiles striking Yosemite Yards.\u00a0 My dad couldn\u2019t see so well, but I got eagle eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n Natalie nodded.<\/p>\n Jack cleared his throat.\u00a0 \u201cI watched Yosemite fall.\u00a0 Pieces of it at least.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t actually see it hit California of course, curvature of the Earth and all, but I could see not all the pieces were going down.\u00a0 They were spreading out before falling, and I saw them coming our way.\u00a0 I lived in northern Minnesota.\u00a0 One of the bigger pieces landed in the Boundary Waters, not far from my hometown.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d Natalie whispered.<\/p>\n Jack shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not finished.\u201d\u00a0 He met her gaze and held it.\u00a0 \u201cMe and dad got home as fast as our boat could take us.\u00a0 We got there before the wreckage hit.\u00a0 Barely.\u00a0 I opened the storm cellar and mom, dad, and me went down.\u00a0 We almost made it down.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack cleared his throat and looked away to see that Emily was standing in front of an open hatch.\u00a0 He wondered how long she\u2019d been standing there, and how long they\u2019d all been filling the corridor.\u00a0 She smiled at his confusion and motioned for him to enter.\u00a0 He followed her request and stepped into a small robotics bay with a single table in the middle.\u00a0 An androgynous android lay on it, an unfinished robot waiting to be completed for the intelligence that would fill it.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t need to continue,\u201d Natalie said, shaking her head.<\/p>\n \u201cYes I do,\u201d Jack corrected and looked back to her.\u00a0 \u201cI saw the wave of water rip the front of our house apart.\u00a0 We were still on the stairs when it hit us and shoved us into the cellar.\u00a0 I broke some bones but I remained conscious.\u201d\u00a0 Natalie nodded once more.\u00a0 \u201cSo I was awake to see my dad take his last breath.\u00a0 And then\u2026over the next few days I watched my mom die a piece at a time, because she just couldn\u2019t imagine life without the man she loved.\u201d\u00a0 Natalie blinked and Jack nodded.\u00a0 \u201cShe went to sleep one night and just never woke up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe coma,\u201d Natalie whispered.\u00a0 \u201cIt wasn\u2019t because of physical wounds?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t,\u201d Jack affirmed.\u00a0 \u201cAnd she\u2019s never coming back.\u00a0 They can keep that body alive as long as they want to, but she\u2019s gone.\u00a0 She doesn\u2019t want to live without him, and as much as I\u2019d like to I can\u2019t blame her for that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut you did.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack looked over at Betty and she just smiled at him, a calming presence in the whirlwind of his memories.\u00a0 \u201cYeah.\u00a0 I did.\u00a0 I screamed at her.\u00a0 I shouted horrible words.\u00a0 I think part of me wanted her to wake up so she could wash my mouth out with soap.\u201d\u00a0 He laughed with a dark humor and shook his head again.\u00a0 \u201cI did not have a good bedside manner.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou were stressed,\u201d Natalie said.<\/p>\n Jack shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI was broken.\u00a0 Just like you feel right now.\u00a0 The doctors were ready to call the shrinks on me, but a couple friends took me away and put me back together again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cT&J?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n \u201cJulie and Alex,\u201d Jack corrected with a wry smile.\u00a0 \u201cI knew them long before they used that name.\u201d<\/p>\n Natalie nodded very slowly.\u00a0 \u201cSo you really are<\/em> their Jack?\u201d<\/p>\n Jack\u2019s cheek twitched.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t belong to anyone,\u201d he answered reflexively.\u00a0 He sighed in response to Natalie\u2019s raised eyebrows and brought a hand up to rub his forehead.\u00a0 She was right of course.\u00a0 A part of him would always belong to them.\u00a0 \u201cBut yeah, I\u2019m that Jack,\u201d he moderated.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd what are they to you?\u201d Natalie asked, the seriousness of her question filling her tone with compassion.<\/p>\n Jack set his jaw against the flood of emotions and just breathed in and out.\u00a0 Then he cleared his throat, removing the lump from it so he could talk again.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re the friends that saved my life,\u201d he said, dodging the deeper question she\u2019d asked.\u00a0 She gave him a look that said she knew he was dodging and he continued before she could ask again.\u00a0 \u201cThey cut their tour short to do some benefit concerts and picked me up along the way.\u00a0 They forced food into me when I didn\u2019t want to eat.\u00a0 They forced me to put on clothes and walk around like a human being.\u201d\u00a0 He chuckled at the memory.\u00a0 \u201cThey even forced me to get up on stage and sing with them a few times.\u201d\u00a0 Jack stopped and looked at Betty again.\u00a0 She held his gaze and nodded very slowly.\u00a0 He swallowed, feeling the shame of what he\u2019d done again.\u00a0 \u201cAnd they did the single greatest kindness they ever did me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d Natalie asked.<\/p>\n Jack turned to meet her gaze with a sad smile, and admitted to doing one of the few things in his life he truly regretted.\u00a0 \u201cThey didn\u2019t believe me when I said I hated them.\u00a0 When I shouted at them to leave me alone.\u201d<\/p>\n Natalie\u2019s eyes opened wide and he nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been about as low as a man can be and still stand back up again.\u00a0 I thought I lost everything that mattered.\u00a0 In a way, I did.\u201d\u00a0 He shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cI lost myself.\u00a0 But they didn\u2019t let me go through it alone.\u00a0 And I won\u2019t let you go it alone either.\u00a0 I\u2019ll walk beside you if you let me.\u00a0 And I\u2019ll carry you if you can\u2019t walk,\u201d he finished with a fervor he hadn\u2019t realized he felt.<\/p>\n Natalie smiled.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve read that poem, you know.\u00a0 It\u2019s beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, it is,\u201d Jack answered and smiled at her.\u00a0 \u201cIt was about a beach, of course I had to learn it.\u201d<\/p>\n She was silent for several seconds, and Jack wondered what could possibly be holding her attention for that long.\u00a0 Her mind ran at the next best thing to lightspeed, using distributed processing that allowed her thousands of thoughts at once, and yet here she was, thinking in silence.\u00a0 It had to be big.\u00a0 Finally she opened her mouth.<\/p>\n \u201cWould he really do that for me?\u201d\u00a0 Her lips actually quivered, and he felt the need to comfort her.\u00a0 But he wouldn\u2019t lie.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not the best person to ask,\u201d Jack answered with a shake of his head.\u00a0 \u201cI haven\u2019t done the whole religion thing in a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut you used to,\u201d she asked with pleading eyes.\u00a0 \u201cDidn\u2019t you have an answer then?\u201d<\/p>\n Jack shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI had more questions when I was done than when I started.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n Natalie place a hand over her heart and aimed an anguished look at him.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve calculated every possibility I can think of, and all I see is pain and loss ahead of me.\u00a0 If you want me to try this, you need to give me something more.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack met her tear-filled eyes, and knew there was nothing he could say to stop her.\u00a0 He just wasn\u2019t the right person for this.\u00a0 And for a moment, he felt profoundly guilty about that.\u00a0 He shook his head to tell her that he had nothing.<\/p>\n \u201cJesus loves the little children,\u201d he said instead.\u00a0 He frowned as the words to the song came into his mind.\u00a0 And then he recognized the message in it.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d Natalie asked in confusion.<\/p>\n Jack smiled, realizing that maybe he did<\/em> have the right words for her after all.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a song I learned as a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n Natalie cocked her head to the side in thought.\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u00a0 I know the song now.\u00a0 Why do you quote it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRed, brown, yellow, black, and white,\u201d Jack recited carefully, meeting her questioning gaze.\u00a0 \u201cThey are precious in his sight.\u00a0 Jesus loves the little children of the worlds,\u201d he finished with a smile.<\/p>\n \u201cI am no child,\u201d Natalie mused.<\/p>\n Jack rubbed his jaw.\u00a0 \u201cTrue,\u201d he admitted with a shrug.\u00a0 \u201cBut Christianity is chock full of allusions and round about ways to say things.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTrue,\u201d Natalie echoed.\u00a0 \u201cSo what does it mean to you?\u201d<\/p>\n Jack pulled in a long breath as he considered the words again.\u00a0 He was pretty certain his first feeling was right.\u00a0 \u201cThe original song came from long ago, back when races of man were divided by skin colors.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh,\u201d Natalie whispered and frowned in thought.<\/p>\n \u201cExactly,\u201d Jack said with a smile.\u00a0 \u201cNow we are Terran, Peloran, or Cyber.\u00a0 But we are all human, isn\u2019t that what you always preach?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d Natalie said very slowly.<\/p>\n Jack nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI read the whole Bible from beginning to end when I was young, and I think God would agree.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut you don\u2019t believe,\u201d Natalie whispered, her tone asking why it should make a difference.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what<\/em> to believe anymore,\u201d Jack corrected with a shake of his head.\u00a0 \u201cBut if he\u2019s real then he loves you.\u00a0 And that\u2019s the best answer to your question I can give.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf,\u201d Natalie said with a shake of her head.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s a big word to spend a life on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPeople have spent a life on less than that,\u201d Jack returned and shrugged.<\/p>\n \u201cI just don\u2019t know if I can.\u201d Natalie said after a few seconds.<\/p>\n \u201cNeither do I,\u201d Jack returned, his tone frank.\u00a0 Natalie blinked at him in surprise.\u00a0 \u201cLife is strange,\u201d he continued with a smile.\u00a0 \u201cSome people become stronger under pressure, under questions that shake the very foundations of life we believe in.\u00a0 Some people fall apart.\u201d\u00a0 Jack shrugged, indicating himself.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t cover myself in glory there.\u00a0 Jasmine stood up and did good though,\u201d he added and Jasmine flickered into existence to the side so she could nod towards Natalie.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if I can follow that path,\u201d Natalie whispered.<\/p>\n \u201cNeither did I,\u201d Jasmine returned before Jack could come up with a response.\u00a0 \u201cBut Drew made me promise to try.\u00a0 Did Louis ever talk to you about it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Natalie answered.\u00a0 Her lips quivered before she said another word.\u00a0 \u201cHe was going to live forever,\u201d she added with a helpless shrug and half a sob.<\/p>\n Jack looked at Betty and they exchanged a long look.\u00a0 He knew that feeling well.\u00a0 Wanting to live forever was a powerful wish for someone that didn\u2019t age.<\/p>\n \u201cYou knew him better than any of us,\u201d Jasmine continued, a melancholy inflection in her words.\u00a0 \u201cWould he have wanted you to live or die?\u201d<\/p>\n Natalie let out a long breath before answering.\u00a0 \u201cHe wanted me to live.\u201d<\/p>\n Jasmine smiled at the other cyber.\u00a0 \u201cThen there it is.\u00a0 You owe it to him to try.\u00a0 At least give it a shot.\u201d<\/p>\n Natalie shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cBut I don\u2019t know how.\u201d<\/p>\n Jasmine turned back to Jack and smiled.\u00a0 \u201cI took it one day at a time,\u201d she whispered and her raised eyebrows told Jack it was his turn to rejoin the conversation.<\/p>\n Jack reached inside his shirt and pulled the dog tags out to look at them.\u00a0 A small holo of his face snapped into being over them, his service number, name, and rank scrolling beneath it.\u00a0 His full name, not the shortened version he\u2019d earned over the years.\u00a0 Jonathan Michael Christensen.\u00a0 A name he didn\u2019t know if he could ever live up to.\u00a0 But if the name could do some good, maybe that would help.\u00a0 He took the dog tags off and met Natalie\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 \u201cWill you take these?\u201d<\/p>\n She frowned at the chips of electronic metal and silicon.\u00a0 \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause in our darkest hours we all need a reminder that other people care about us,\u201d he said, looking deep into her eyes so she would know he spoke the truth.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe this can be that for you.\u00a0 It won\u2019t stop you from shutting down.\u00a0 Hell, I\u2019ll hold your hand as you go if you choose that route in the end.\u00a0 All I ask is that you give these back to me first.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou mean, all you ask is that I face you and tell you I\u2019m giving up?\u201d she asked, a faint note of accusation in her voice.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I wouldn\u2019t put it like that,\u201d Jack said and cleared his throat.<\/p>\n She smiled, letting him know that she\u2019d caught his evasion.\u00a0 Then he saw power flooding through her holoform and felt his uniform\u2019s holoemitters flicker as she shifted her programming into Recovery\u2019s<\/em> systems.\u00a0 The ship\u2019s more powerful emitters gave her substance to match her form and she reached out to take the dog tags from his hand.\u00a0 \u201cThat would be a very hard thing to do I think,\u201d she said very slowly.<\/p>\n \u201cHarder than living?\u201d\u00a0 Jack asked.<\/p>\n She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d she answered truthfully.\u00a0 \u201cBut I think I want to find out.\u201d\u00a0 Then she looked towards the hatch.\u00a0 \u201cNow get out of here.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want you gawking at the new body I\u2019m about to get.\u00a0 At least not until I decide what I\u2019m going to wear,\u201d she added with fragile humor.<\/p>\n It was<\/em> humor though.\u00a0 She was trying.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Ma\u2019am,\u201d Jack said to Natalie, cleared his throat of what most certainly could not have been a sob of relief trying to escape, and gave her his best debonair bow.\u00a0 Then he waved a determinedly gallant arm towards Betty and Jasmine, a questioning look in his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cShall we?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n They smiled in unison.<\/p>\n \u201cExcellent,\u201d he continued and raised an eyebrow towards Emily. \u00a0\u201cMight I take a tour of your beautiful ship, my lady?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course.\u00a0 Follow me,\u201d Emily said with a smile as a holoform split away from her android avatar.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Ma\u2019am,\u201d Jack answered and followed the holoform through the hatch, Betty and Jasmine on either side of him.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t precisely a good day.\u00a0 Too many people had died for that.\u00a0 But they\u2019d survived and saved many lives along the way.\u00a0 He would take that over the alternative any day of the week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When I grew up, there weren\u2019t many cybers around.\u00a0 We were a vacation community, a place to get away from all the hectic worlds.\u00a0 Part of the charm was really limited computer networks.\u00a0 I met my first cyber on a[…]↓ Read the rest of this 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