In Ebony's Room
Jay was grateful to find Ebony's room deserted; she was acting strangely, and he didn't feel like dealing with her. What had happened to her? When they had been together before, she had seemed to be softening; he had watched the ice begin to crack, and had seen a glimpse of the caring woman beneath the tough-girl facade. Now, however, Jay was beginning to wonder if he hadn't simply been tricked. What if this was the real Ebony, and her previous sweetness had been just a lapse in judgement?
He frowned. At least things were better with Ved, he told himself; his little brother might still be different than he'd been before the Technos, but he was at least on decent terms with him again. The Technos.. Jay's gaze fell down to the zapper on his wrist, a farewell gift from an old friend at one of the bases he'd visited in his search for Ved. Jay no longer knew what he was, at least in Tribe terms; he was no Mallrat, but he was certainly no longer a Techno. God, that had been a mess... He glanced about the room. He was safe here, he reasoned; he had no need for the kinds of weapons that become the sole focus of the Technos. The Mallrats were good people, he knew. They had worked for a hospital, for schools, for all of the other things that Jay had joined the Technos for in the first place, and there was no need to alienate them by flashing a zapper in their faces. He had no intention of getting rid of it altogether, as there may come a time in which Ebony or the others would need a more advanced form of protection from an outside threat, but for the time being, he felt safe taking it off. There was no safe place to hide it here, however, he realized. He would have to keep it on for now.
His mind was still a mess, he realized; everything was complicated, and he couldn't seem to focus. Years of training with the Techno army had taught him that the best way to clear the mind was through physical activity; you couldn't be too concerned about your problems when your body required your full attention. He nodded vaguely to himself, and pulled his shirt back off. He did a few stretches to make sure that everything was loose enough to work out with, and then dropped to the floor for a rigorous set of push-ups. He could worry about Ebony later, he thought, trying to focus only on the movement of his muscles and maintaining proper posture. He could worry about all of it later.
He frowned. At least things were better with Ved, he told himself; his little brother might still be different than he'd been before the Technos, but he was at least on decent terms with him again. The Technos.. Jay's gaze fell down to the zapper on his wrist, a farewell gift from an old friend at one of the bases he'd visited in his search for Ved. Jay no longer knew what he was, at least in Tribe terms; he was no Mallrat, but he was certainly no longer a Techno. God, that had been a mess... He glanced about the room. He was safe here, he reasoned; he had no need for the kinds of weapons that become the sole focus of the Technos. The Mallrats were good people, he knew. They had worked for a hospital, for schools, for all of the other things that Jay had joined the Technos for in the first place, and there was no need to alienate them by flashing a zapper in their faces. He had no intention of getting rid of it altogether, as there may come a time in which Ebony or the others would need a more advanced form of protection from an outside threat, but for the time being, he felt safe taking it off. There was no safe place to hide it here, however, he realized. He would have to keep it on for now.
His mind was still a mess, he realized; everything was complicated, and he couldn't seem to focus. Years of training with the Techno army had taught him that the best way to clear the mind was through physical activity; you couldn't be too concerned about your problems when your body required your full attention. He nodded vaguely to himself, and pulled his shirt back off. He did a few stretches to make sure that everything was loose enough to work out with, and then dropped to the floor for a rigorous set of push-ups. He could worry about Ebony later, he thought, trying to focus only on the movement of his muscles and maintaining proper posture. He could worry about all of it later.