Shadowmark, Bastion, Several Days Later

Coming up with the terrible plan had taken all of fifteen minutes.

Actually executing it... had been harder, especially with Becca getting called back in to do meaningless training routines half the time. But they'd gotten it done. She had several free hours, a Javelin to use, and Owen...

"Do you want to start explaining to the authorities why their star Cypher is disobeying orders and cruising her way to a burnout?" Owen asked. "Come on! Take the time off!" He beamed. "You know you want to..."

The Cypher - Mykala - sighed, eyed him, sighed again, shook her head, and finally slid out of the amplifier. "I guess a few more hours of sleep wouldn't be too bad," she admitted.

Owen gave her a thumbs-up, the stolen Cypher leathers crinkling under the motion. It was a weird, tactile feeling. He kind of liked it. "I promise you I won't crank call any other cities," he said.

"You better not," she muttered. Then she was gone.

Owen took a deep, steadying breath. He put his hand down on the seat of the amplifier chair. It had been a long time since he'd been in one, and the ones at Bronwyn had been second-hand. Not nearly as nice as this. He slid into the seat quietly, taking a moment to adjust to the way it pressed against his back, hovered above his head. The control panel in front of him. The bend of the footrests.

"Okay," he said, as he plugged in. "Now to find Becca..."

( Being in an amplifier was like nothing else. )

[[ establishy ]]