Free Liquid Compassion by Viola Grace Page A

charged up and a crackling took place as it locked against Bits’ touch.
    “Leave it to me, Abitika. I will manage the arrangements to get you off Jrinka and into the Citadel.”
    Bits gave her a thumbs-up, and she left the room.
    The matron scowled at her, but Bits ignored her and headed back to her master’s workshop. She had plenty more work to do before she was allowed to exchange the air in the suit through a filter.
    Her punishment had been calculated. Each day, she was given enough atmosphere in the suit to get her through her scheduled tasks. If she wasn’t suffering from oxygen deprivation by the end of the day, they would know that she had cracked the suit.
    “What did the matron want?” Master Weran glanced at her as she returned to her bench.
    “The Citadel recruiter is here, and she had the matron remove my helmet. I am telling you in case it wasn’t on record.” Her suit also had a camera in it, but she never mentioned it. No one wanted to know that they were being watched.
    “I will log it. How long was it off?”
    “About five minutes? Not more than seven.”
    Weran made a note and had one of the other apprentices sign it as witness. It confirmed that neither of them had physical contact with Bits while she was out of the suit.
    The matron hated her. Hesko was her nephew, and in her eyes, the young man could do no wrong. The fact that he had seduced Bits’ sister and then dropped her didn’t matter. Tampering with him had given Bits an enemy for life.
    The matron wouldn’t hesitate to haul her in front of the colony council.
    In her mind, Bits pushed away the worries and focused on the work. She was crafting a jewel box that would have a clockwork inset at a later time. It was her apprentice project, and completing it properly would make her a journeyman.
    The small box had plenty of drawers and inlays. She worked well into the night to finish her piece. Master Weran came into the workshop, and he saw her putting the final touches on it.
    “Well done. I will examine it in the morning.” He took it from her and moved it into the safe. It had been something they had learned in her first few weeks as his apprentice. All of her work would be destroyed by morning if they didn’t hide it.
    Bits nodded and put the decoy box onto her workstation. It would be obvious that she had been working all night and no one knew that Weran had been out except her. It would be assumed that she had been so tired that she forgot to put her work away.
    Master Weran locked up the workshop, and he headed for bed.
    With heavy steps and a distinct lack of breathable air in her suit, Bits headed for home.
    Her vision was greying out as she stumbled across her threshold and up the stairs to the air-exchange station.
    She heard her parents calling her through the roaring in her ears, but she crawled to the station and plugged into it. Nutrient injectors hit her and the cleaning cycle started. Her air was scrubbed and the status of her suit was recorded.
    Her mother was in front of the station. “Why are you home so late?”
    “I had to finish my apprentice project.” The air in the suit was still thin.
    Her mother blinked. “Did you finish it?”
    “I did. It gets judged tomorrow for proficiency.”
    Her mother smiled. “Good girl. Well, if you are fine, I will see you in the morning.”
    “Love you, Mom.” She turned her head and watched her mother disappear down the stairs.
    If the Citadel took her, she would miss her parents, but they would be free of the stigma of having her in the home. Her sister had moved across the globe to avoid being associated, though it was her need that had started this entire mess.
    Bits settled back to let her body and her suit recharge.
     

Chapter Two
     
     
    Master Weran looked at her workstation. “Good call on the decoy.”
    The tiny shreds of wood that were left showed a great deal of rage.
    Bits took out her brush and dustpan, clearing the shattered pieces.
    Master Weran went