Free Wolf Block by Stuart J. Whitmore Page B

going to be deployed farther away than normal. Either way, it could be a nice break from the routine. Despite her willingness to serve, she had to admit the routine grew dull quickly. When she arrived at her destination, her head-up display would light up and provide whatever information would be needed, but for now there was nothing to relieve either the darkness inside her pod nor her curiosity.
    A red glow let Bunierti know that she was getting close. The light grew brighter and the color shifted toward daylight at a rate that was optimized to prepare her eyes for the destination lighting. Moments after it reached daylight level, the HUD in her helmet engaged, displaying a variety of things she might want to know. Ignoring the vital signs and similar monitors, she focused on the mission briefing. She barely had time to skim it before a sharp decrease in speed announced her arrival.
    “Terrorist sympathizers,” she said to herself after verifying her radio was still on manual mute. “Probably some sign-waving scum. Would be more interesting if it was an actual terrorist.”
    With guidance from her HUD, Bunierti moved out from her pod as soon as it opened. It took her less than a minute to arrive at the position that was designated for her. She could tell that she was part of a mesh perimeter, and she guessed from other details that they were protecting a high-ranking politician, probably a Senator. The surroundings looked residential, so she assumed they were surrounding the politician’s home. Bunierti switched her radio back to automatic and settled in to guard stance, using a combination of her own eyesight, worn sensors, and streaming data from area sensors to maximize her situational awareness.
    Time seemed to drag. Alertness was maintained primarily through training, but vapor delivered through her armor’s breathing system ensured a steady, if slight, stream of stimulant to protect against fatigue or lack of self-discipline. The chemical added a faint metallic taste and smell to the filtered air, and Bunierti believed the rumors that it was intentionally unpleasant as another way of keeping Upholders alert.
    About ninety minutes after arrival on the scene, Bunierti received the recall command. She turned promptly and headed back to the pod that would return her to her quarters. Around her she could see all but one of the Upholders doing the same. She slowed as the one stationary Upholder caught her attention. She continued moving toward her pod, but she stared in the direction of the unknown Upholder. This was clearly not regulation behavior, and that meant it was likely a threat.
    “Non-responding Upholder,” Bunierti snapped, allowing her radio to enable itself. She wasn’t sure if any of the others around her had reported it, since they did not use an open channel, and she also knew that the on-scene Supervisor should already be aware of the anomaly, but it was their duty to report it and she was not about to fail that duty.
    “Confirmed,” the response came promptly. “Continue recall with heightened awareness. Ultimate collection authorized for self-defense only.”
    Bunierti continued on to her pod, keeping a close eye on the motionless figure. The situation did not change by the time she reached the pod, and she was soon racing back toward her quarters, curious but assuming she would never hear more about the problem. There were a few innocuous possibilities, but most likely the Upholder was intentionally disobeying. The price for doing so would be so severe that Bunierti assumed it could only be motivated either by politics or a death wish, neither of which she could fully comprehend. As the red glow began on the approach to her quarters, she briefly wondered if someone like Nongma, or even Nongma herself, would find Upholding so difficult that they would choose death over it. There was no guarantee that the Upholder who did not recall as ordered would be killed as a result, but it certainly set the