Allison, Aryna and Tyler were waiting for the bus. Allison shuddered when she heard Trixie’s voice.

“Oh, the bus? Where are you going?”

Allison sighed when Aryna turned around and spoke.

“We’re going to the commerce center; Would you like to join us?”

Tyler was in the middle of shaking his head when Trixie hopped over and wrapped her arms around Allison’s left arm.

“Sure, but let’s not take the stinky bus. I have my car.”

Aryna smiled.

“Perfect.”

Trixie started tugging Allison with her. Allison felt like she had no other choice, so she let herself be dragged to Trixie’s very fancy car. Allison had seen it advertised on the Alliance-Net. She found it ridiculous her parents had shipped it here. It must have cost a fortune. They all piled in. Trixie made sure Allison was in the passenger seat in the front. Trixie’s hand drifted to Allison’s thigh. Allison shifted her leg away.

“Hey, maybe both hands on the wheel, please?”

Trixie sighed.

“Why? It’s not like a car crash will hurt you.”

Allison blinked a few times.

“No, but it will hurt you and them.”

She motioned to the back seat. Tyler and Aryna didn’t follow any of that and Aryna reached for Allison’s shoulder. Allison pulled away. She’d had enough touchy feeliness to last her a second lifetime. Aryna quirked her head to the side. Tyler adjusted his glasses and looked out the window. Trixie glanced at Allison.

“That computer program sure picked perfect partners for the Welcoming thing, didn’t it?”

Allison sighed.

“I can see why it did.”

Trixie smiled and motioned to Allison’s wrist.

“You got any music on that thing? Mom refused to hook the car up to the Alliance-net. She’s so paranoid someone will hack it cause it happened one time to some corpo shmuck.”

Allison was happy to put music on and waved her hand at her AR HUD music player. Then she swept her hand toward the radio. Her military grade attack program broke into the radio and started playing music from when she last stopped it. A dark beat thrummed through the car as a song from the twenty-first century filled their ears. It was a cover from a movie Allison had watched once and liked. Trixie smiled.

“Oh, I recognize this, Alona loved this one, Carfax Abbey, Cry Little Sister. So perfect for you.”

Aryna was moving to the beat. She smiled at Allison.

“This is amazing. Is all of your music like this? Everything on Celestia was soft and ethereal. This is so dark and the beat I can feel it in my soul.”

Allison shrugged and didn’t answer. She was happy everyone was just enjoying the music instead of talking or touching her. The song flowed into another dark song. This was her I want to brood play list which she felt like after her fight with her mother the night before. This one was slower. She bobbed her had to the slow dark beat. Trixie glanced at Allison.

“What is this one?”

“Video Kid, by The Birthday Massacre.”

Trixie turned up the music.

“I love it. You need to share this play list with me.”

Allison shrugged.

“Sure, whatever.”

Trixie pulled into the parking lot for the Commerce Complex and parked on one of the middle levels. Everyone piled out of the car.

The Commerce Complex, or Center was the 30th century version of a mall. While most things could be 3D printed at home, if you wanted specific name brands or styles you had to purchase it from a corp. Either you bought it already fabricated or you had to buy a single use license. Mom and pop shops were a thing of the distant past. Every single store in a Commerce Center was corporate owned and operated. Whether you went to one on Eden Prime, or Majorus Six the only thing different would be the staff and likely a selection of specialized items specific to the local colony culture that were in a corner of the store. Here it was African, Middle-Eastern and Indian styled articles. Each Commerce Complex was an identical design, making them easy to prefab and drop onto a planet. The central hub was a food court style area. They were a pre-made social center. They were tailored to appeal to the human condition. Like everything else on the colony worlds they were designed to build community and manipulate people into setting down roots. System’s Alliance would always be true to its roots. A corporation centered money-making machine.

Allison did her best to use Tyler as a shield from Aryna and Trixie. After the whole washroom fiasco with Trixie she was not in the mood for being touched by anyone and Tyler seemed to be touch averse. Their first stop was the food court.

There was the standard African and Indian fair for the colony of course there was other food available. Allison went for a curry and rice dish. It was something she didn’t generally get at home. Tyler bought a burger and fries. Aryna bought what Allison bought, and Trixie went for pizza. They all sat down together. Allison sat beside Tyler making him visibly uncomfortable. She made sure Aryna sat across from her. This provided her maximum distance from Trixie. The majority of the meal was taken up by Aryna asking what seemed like endless questions about the Commerce Complex, what the various foods were like, why they still used money, and who the people with grey hair were. This one got Allison’s attention.

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“What do you mean who are the people with grey hair?”

Aryna pointed at an elderly couple who had likely been in their late sixties when they moved to the colony as the colony had only existed for twenty years and you had to be pretty young to get authorization and support to move to colony.

“They’re old people. Probably in their eighties to nineties. Likely born before the latest genetic engineering pass. And don’t point it’s rude.”

Aryna looked at them again then back at Allison.

“Oh, so humans don’t leave their bodies before they reach ancient status?”

Allison almost choaked on her curry.

“You mean you guys euthanized people before they got old? Why would you do that?”

Aryna shook her head.

“No, they chose to leave their physical forms behind so they would not be a burden. A physical body is just the first stage of life. For a normal citizen two thousand years is more than enough to prepare for the next life. For royals… it could be as long as ten thousand. We’ve never had anyone last long enough for their age to become a burden.”

Tyler was listening to the conversation, looking completely fascinated. Trixie had to interject.

“You know, vampires are immortal, but they do hit a point where they’re just tired of living and go to sleep and never wake up. But their body never decays. Maybe it’s the same thing.”

Aryna shook her head.

“No, when a Qual’sa choose to move on they’re body is converted into energy. It is a beautiful moment. Unfortunately, in war or other violent deaths… most have not reached that point in their evolution and do not move on.”

Allison dropped her fork.

“Wait, you… are energy beings?”

Aryna smiled.

“Of course. Our physical forms are just… like a cocoon. Once we have grown beyond them, we cannot be contained. Some physical forms are more durable than others.”

Allison wanted to ask more but realized she would be stepping into classified territory so she shut her mouth and ate the rest of her curry in silence. She glanced at the countdown clock that was running at the edge of her AR HUD. Realizing that time was running out before she had to head to Earth she stood up.

“It’s been fun and all but I have to work in three hours. So can we get that backpack, clothes and tablet for you Aryna?”

Aryna nodded and stood up. Tyler and Trixie joined them. After disposing of their garbage they moved on.

One thing about the 30th century human culture was that littering, and waste was considered abhorrent. Everything was recycled. Everything that could be reused, was reused. Surviving an apocalyptic ice age with limited resources had deeply ingrained a culture of frugality within humans. Dome living hadn’t been any different. Now that they were moving to colonies it might change but this generation was still very familiar with living by the motto, RRR. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Don’t like your old school bag, that’s fine, but you resell it, repurpose it, or you recycle it so the matter could be used in something else.

The group made their way through the complex going on a shopping spree fueled by the System’s Alliance Xeno-Diplomatic Corps. Allison knew the budget and made sure they used it up. Not that she needed anything personally. Her parents made sure she had anything she ever wanted. Others might call her spoiled, but she never asked for anything she didn’t need. She got a part time job for that, SASNR. System’s Alliance Space Navy Reserves. They would also pay for any post-secondary education she wanted. What she wanted was really a motorcycle, something fast enough to do something stupid with. She didn’t stop Aryna from spending money on Trixie and Tyler though. She called her mother when they finished.

“Hi Mom, Aryna is finished shopping, I got called in to work tonight, and I need to get Bit to pick me up, can you pick her up at the Commerce Complex and give her and our friend Tyler a ride home?”

Her mother looked skeptical on the video chat until Allison flicked her orders from System’s Alliance Command, then she just look pissed.

“Earth? Why can’t you just communicate via holo?”

Allison didn’t want to go into details.

“Look mom, I’ll be back in time for bed and if I can’t be I’ll stay at a barracks on Earth and be back in time for school. I’ll make sure you’re kept in the loop. A lot of the stuff that’s happened is too sensitive to talk about over comm channels.”

Her mother sighed.

“You send me a comm when you reach Sol system and when you reach Earth. Same when you’re on your way home.”

Allison rolled her eyes.

“Ugg mom, I’ll be fine, I’m sixteen.”

Her mother wagged her finger.

“I know what I was like when I was sixteen. I’m on my way to pick them up.”

Allison walked with the group to one of the nearest commerce center exits. Her mother showed up shortly afterwards. Allison helped Aryna and Tyler put their purchases in the car. Her mother got out and leaned over the roof of the car.

“Allison, remember what I told you.”

Allison sighed.

“Whatever mom.”

Apiyo narrowed her eyes.

“Don’t you dare whatever, mom, me!”

Allison waved.

“Bye mom, love you.”

Apiyo shook her head and got in the car. Allison tapped her quick comm link button to Bit and opened a channel.

“Bit, do you have our flight plan?”

She smiled when she heard Bit respond.

“Yes, Ensign, I’m already enroute. Your new armor is in the cargo hold.”

Allison moved up to the landing pad on the roof of the complex. It wasn’t used much on Eden Prime. They didn’t have any of the civilian air cars that were common on Earth. The vehicles that did utilize it was emergency medical teams, Colony Security forces and military. Trixie had followed Allison up much to the latter’s consternation.

“You can go Trixie; I got a ride. Thanks though.”

Trixie smiled.

“I figured I could keep you company until you left.”

Allison pointed at a dot that was rapidly closing in on them.

“That’s my fighter, she will be here in less than thirty seconds.”

Trixie clutched onto Allison’s left arm. Allison sighed.

“Trixie, I’m not a vampire.”

Trixie smiled up at her.

“Sure, sure.”

Bit landed on the pad and her port cargo bay revealed itself as her armored liquid metal hull oozed out of the way. Allison pressed her hand on the security pad after extricating herself from Trixie. Inside was a black bundle of what looked like rubber. She pulled it out and stretched it.

“Bit, I think they mistook my request for a new suit of armor for a wet suit.”

Bit spoke through her translator.

“It is new technology. Programmable matter armor. Same armor your Dark Mother wore. It forms plates as required. I am unsure who authorized its delivery, but it was delivered yesterday and placed in your locker. I had it transferred to the cargo hold.”

Allison shrugged and started pulling off her school uniform. She had forgotten about Trixie who was watching her with a sly grin. Allison started to stuff her uniform in the cargo hold.

“Ensign, perhaps you should put that away neatly in case you need to wear it tomorrow.”

Allison rolled her eyes sometimes Bit was less partner in crime and more second mother. She folded it neatly and slipped it into the nylon bag that was used to stow sensitive items. She pulled out her other kit. She was surprised to see her service pistol had been replaced with the Qual’sa weapon. This prompted Trixie to comment.

“Oh, you get a gun? Just when I thought you couldn’t get any sexier. And that bodysuit is doing you a lot of favors.”

Allison glanced back at her and blushed when she realized Trixie had just watched her strip down to her underwear and pull on the skintight armor. Allison slipped her vibro knife into a sheath that formed on the armor. She wasn’t really sure what to say to Trixie.

“You know my weapon has way too much charge for you to be saying stuff like that.”

Trixie laughed.

“Now that’s what I call flirting. See you tomorrow at school.”

Allison just shook her head and climbed into Bit. She started plotting her atmospheric exit trajectory then she realized her armor had no helmet.

“Uh bit, regs say I can’t fly without ready access to full environmental body armor. Where is the helmet?”

Bit sounded amused when she responded.

“Ensign, the armor will form one when you require it. It syncs up with my systems, and your holo-phone. We are clear for launch.”