Ravana's Shadow (17) (Patreon)

It took a few hours to get everyone briefed on the operation of their suits. They separated into two groups, with the guys stepping into the showers and relying on Jay to supplement what Kit could explain. Lucky for them her assistant had studied their suits, even if he never had to wear one of his own.

Once all but Sadie and Emma were dressed, Kit explained the basic properties of the suits—how they shared the body's existing systems, extending how long they could stay in various environments and generally improving their capabilities.

Of all her students, one barely needed any help with the equipment. She had the interface in place without Kit offering much explanation, and even opened the outer suit entirely on her own.

Maddie still listened to Kit's explanations, albeit with a bit of eager enthusiasm. She sat back with her tail swishing sharply back and forth, obviously itching to move. When the lesson was finally winding down, and all the others stripped rapidly out of the uncomfortable suits—she was the first to approach Kit.

"Hey Kit, think we could do my second lesson like... now, maybe?" She held up the outer suit, beaming. "I don't really need you to tell me stuff. Everything I forgot over the last dozen centuries or so I've picked back up watching you."

She turned the suit around, showing she'd already opened the seals all the way down the back. Even so, the process was much easier when there was someone else to help. "Please?"

"You knew this once?" Kit guessed. "Most of the other kids in the Institute..."

"They don't have to worry about it," Maddie agreed. "But in the old days, we didn't have as many drones. Everyone had to pull duty outside. I used to have this cool set of armor I walked around in that made me twice as tall... remember, Morgan?"

The brown-haired ermine appeared on Kit's other side, watching intently. "The exoskeleton. I remember Aster's considerable frustration designing a child-sized set of powered mobility armor. An... unacceptable waste of resources, he called it."

Maddie giggled. "Yeah. Good thing I don't need to be tall anymore." She held the suit towards Kit again. "Can we? I wanted to see how construction was coming along. The fuel refinery and fab domes are using that ice construction we talked about at the last meeting... I'd love to see it in person!"

Emma moved past her into the open hallway. "I can't tell you when I'll be ready for a new body, Kit. I hope you know how big this is. What you're asking..." She looked between Kit and Maddie, then hurried off. 

The others followed one by one. Chase gave her one last polite wave before vanishing down the hall. Abel took one look at the suit Maddie was holding and stuck something else into her hand—a tablet. "Check the pressure seals along these junctions. I'm skeptical the layered ice composite will hold hydrogen."

Maddie took the tablet in her mouth, voice muffled. "Smmure thmmm! If she lets..."

"We can go. Morgan, can you get her started? I think the others want to talk to me." 

Sadie did, anyway. She waited in the doorway, arms wrapped around her chest and jumpsuit in front of her. Though she was too polite to interrupt, her constant glance at Kit made her desires clear enough.

Kit walked over, on the pretense of grabbing her own outer suit from the locker. "Sadie? Need something?"

The cat squeaked nervously, scampering over. Her tail curled tight around her leg; ears flat. 

Finally, she spoke, words coming out in a rush. "I think I'd like to go now."

Kit raised an eyebrow. "With Maddie? You couldn't even fit in your suit. I think she already knows most of this. It's just a refresher for her."

"No, not that. I mean... I'd like to get downclassed now. The best time would've been a few months ago, when I had the most time to adjust. The next best is... right now. Hopefully with enough time to get used to it before Forerunner needs me for department coordination."

She blushed bright red, taking one of Kit's hands in both of hers. "I'll be much worse as a security officer. You have no idea how intimidating a full template can be when you're 80%."

Kit raised an eyebrow. "Cat. Where we're going, the ones we need protecting from are going to be twice our size. They'll be much stronger than anyone in the Institute, and they won't care about being sprayed. I want your help for the coordination and logistics anyway, not fighting."

Sadie whined, prowling in a tight circle around her. She took the spray-bottle from her belt, tossing it up and down in the air. "If not me, who? They're baseliners. No Mara templates, no cognitive filters..."

Kit caught the bottle out of the air in front of her. With the same movement, she slid up behind Sadie, pressing four fingers into the small of her back. Not a weapon exactly, but she still pressed as though it was, baring her slightly oversized buck teeth. "I'm a dangerous barbarian, remember? Who says I need protecting?"

Sadie’s tail jerked upright; her ears suddenly alert. Her whole body froze, shivering with actual fear. "D-Director, how did..."

Kit pulled back, holding out the bottle. "That wasn't real fighting. Just a little aggression, and a little keeping my eyes open for a good opportunity. That isn't how we'll make this work. If Ravana was a fight, we would just let Forerunner do it. It's about negotiation. I decide whether we win or lose at the bargaining table. If we're fighting, we already lost."

Sadie wrapped both arms around herself in a hug, taking a big step back from Kit. After a few quiet seconds, she whispered, "I didn't know anyone could still do that. Are you still a... I thought we were—" she sniffed, wiping her face against one arm. 

She's that delicate? Kit dropped the bottle, holding out both arms wide for a hug. "Sadie. I do like you! I was just... just trying to show you it was okay to be small. I'd never hurt you or anyone else. You're my friends!"

The cat whimpered, rocking back and forth. Finally, she threw both arms around Kit, squeezing tight. "Good. You're always so nice, Kitty. How could you..."

The cat's heart raced; her grip tight. She might squeeze the circulation right out of Kit's arms if she held on any tighter. 

"I didn't know," she said, squirming. "I'm sorry! I'll never do it again, promise!"

The cat let go abruptly, wiping the last few tears from her face. "Well, I... I'm going to Medical. We can do my training when I feel better."

She scampered off the way she'd come, leaving her spray bottle abandoned on the floor.

That only left Jay, lingering near the empty ice-cream cooler, along with Maddie and Morgan. The fox was already most of the way into her armor, with Morgan helping her with the pressure seals on her gloves and boots. 

Even so, her attention was fixed on Kit, eyes intense. 

“Be kind to your older sister,” came Wren's voice. Despite the smaller body, her words still sounded more mature, as though the old Director were still with her. “Your siblings know only their loving family. None have threatened another here in a very long time.”

Kit shuffled over to her own suit, removing it from the hook and unzipping it down the back. Unlike Maddie, she needed very little assistance to get dressed. Only the new tail sleeve gave her any hesitation. "I wasn't threatening her," Kit thought back. She couldn't move at the same time as Wren did, and instead froze completely while she spoke, eyes fixed on the floor. "I didn't want her to worry about protecting us. Sadie can't keep the colony safe against real dangers."

Morgan actually smiled, a little too wide. Maddie didn't notice, she was too focused on getting the zipper up on her own. But Jay saw, looking away almost as quickly. “You think you can?”

Jay scampered over to her, stepping between them. He turned the tablet towards her, showing the schedule on its surface. "I don't want to tell you what to do, Director. But you have an appointment with Sawyer—"

"Tell him something came up," Kit said. "Then... could you help me get my tail into that opening? It's so narrow, I can't quite move it far enough." 

The mouse grunted with frustration, then set the tablet down on the ground beside them. "You know how Sawyer gets. You sure this is a good idea?"

Kit shrugged. "I'm sure it's efficient. I wanted one private lesson with everyone—kinda thought it would take a whole day. If Maddie is ready right away... sure saves us the time."

He dropped to his knees behind her. Suddenly his hands were on her tail, easing it through the opening in her suit. There was a brief moment of discomfort, then relief as her huge tail settled into position. "That looks good. Let me..."

He tightened the seal, before zipping up her back in the usual way. The suit clicked, then puffed out to full size with a little burst of air. Kit turned, stretching her tail out behind her. 

Her tail brushed against the suit, and the suit responded, joints and servos repositioning at almost the same speed. Kit grinned, lowering the tail as far as it would go. The suit moved with her, until it clattered against the locker-room floor. "I can't believe I've gone all this time without a real suit!" Kit exclaimed, grinning wide. "Remind me to thank Rich for the design! This is perfect!"

Jay scooped up the tablet, then made a few swipes on it with one hand. "I'll remind you. But I'm not gonna deal with Sawyer. You get to figure out how to explain this to the deer."

She stuck her tongue out. "You're just jealous you aren't coming out into space."

He laughed, taking a few short steps away from her. "No thanks, Director! I like being alive too much. I'll keep enjoying Mara's surface the way it was intended: through cameras. Just be careful while you’re out there. I don’t want your job.”

She joined Maddie and Morgan by her bench, already most of the way dressed. Kit watched from a few steps away.

“There.” Morgan stepped back after a few seconds, holding out Maddie’s helmet in both hands. “That should be comfortable. Tell me if it bunches up anywhere.” 

Maddie glanced once around the room, her eyes landing nervously on Jay. She shook her head once. “No more than usual. Shouldn’t be that long of a trip—we’re riding transport all the way there. Right? We’re not walking all the way to the construction site, are we Kit?”

Kit took one look at the fox’s armor, then giggled. “No, we better not. Just around the site should be enough. Forerunner, are you ready for us?”

“Transport is prepared,” came the immediate response. “Construction will be halted during your inspection, so try to keep it brief.”

She waved goodbye to Jay, then led Maddie into a nearby hallway, the one leading directly to the ring.

As expected, there were plenty of other kids out there, all waiting for a moment with her. The surprise of seeing Maddie in full EVA gear made several stumble back and stare. Others whispered to each other, pointing. Kit cleared the way ahead of them, gesturing for the crowd to part. 

They did, without argument. Soon they were in the ring, with Morgan lingering just a few steps behind. Kit stopped beside the transport, lifting an eyebrow. “Morgan? Are you…”

“Coming?” She nodded. “Call it my training mission. I want to see if I can trust the other colonists to your instruction. I’ll start with the one I know can take care of herself.”

Maddie stuck her tongue out as far as she could, then spoke in a slightly-distorted mumble. “My tongue feels like fizzy candy…”

“We’re still in atmo, Sunshine.” Morgan tossed her own helmet up and down, before sliding past Kit to the open door of a transport.

There was no mistaking which one Forerunner intended them to use—the EVA rovers had a distinctive design, packed with support equipment that took up much of the open space. Kit followed her up the steps, then waited by the door to catch Maddie.

Sure enough, the fox missed the last step, and very nearly tripped herself. Kit caught her by the wrist before she could fall, then guided her into a seat. “Careful. Harder to see where you’re walking like this. And it gets worse with the helmet.” 

She remained standing in front of Maddie, helmet under one arm. “Before we get there, tell me the rules about EVAs. I didn’t give this homework to the others yet, but I assume you already know.”

Maddie nodded, holding out her glove. With each point, she lowered a finger, counting them off in memorized order. “Your suit is your spacecraft, maintain contact at all times, plan carefully, prepare contingencies, and always obey Forerunner’s instructions.”

The rover doors shut, then they were moving. Kit twitched to one side, but her tail kept her balance with relative ease. The rovers never went very fast or changed direction much. She could stand for the whole trip if she had to.

Morgan didn’t, settling directly into another chair. She produced a tablet from somewhere and started skimming over it. But if Kit watched her, she saw the weasel occasionally look up in her direction. She was watching the lesson, just like she said.

“That’s good!” Kit said. “I’d lump the last one in with constant communication and replace it with ‘move effectively and deliberately.’ It’s bad enough on the surface of Mara, but when we’re in microgravity, it’ll be way harder. You never know how much you rely on gravity until it’s gone.”

Maddie shrugged. “I had… other lives in space. Before they instanced me here. But it’s been so long… I don’t really remember. Only so much room in one brain. I put science in mine instead.”

Kit settled into the spot beside her. “Let’s go over your suit first. We’ll start with the life support systems. Show me where…”