Shadow Of The Past Trilogy ∞ THE DISPLACED

109 ∞ the need-to-knows

Day Twenty ∞ Wednesday afternoon

DANNY EXPECTED TO SEE the neck hold to be halted by an instant shield. Instead, Lora spread right thumb and fingers apart and palmed McDonnough's wrist down toward her left shoulder as his right fist lashed at her chin. Her left hand deflected it over his left arm in a circular sweep toward her right side. In three blurred moves, her right hand pushed his left arm under his right armpit while pushing his right hand further to her right, then released his left wrist to grab his right wrist and push his arm down over his left arm, trapping it.

Incredulous, the man froze, staring alternately at his own arms and at hers. Then with a furious roar, he struggled to free his arms.

With quick, fluid motions, Lora released him, her right hand formed a handgun with the thumb hidden in her palm and darted, fingers hitting him above his right then left armpits, then on his solar plexus before she stepped back.

The fist on the way to her stomach collapsed to his side in mid-strike. Face in blank surprise, McDonnough stood with only his eyes roving around—muscular arms swinging like useless flags without wind.

Danny gaped and Jagg jumped to his feet. "Damn! Did you see that?"

Tillman and Muzzy froze halfway out of their chairs, while Eckstein and Atlas remained seated, watching in amused disbelief.

Lora reached for McDonnough's chest, opened his suit, and removed a small black object. She held the flat electronic device up for everyone to see before taking it to Mickmi. Mickmi barely glanced at it before passing it on to Danny. He inspected it. There wasn't much to see on it except for a switch. He pushed a small button sideways before sliding it in his vertical waist pocket. Hopefully that would turn it off. As the thought crossed his mind, he registered the fact that there had been a stop to frequencies emitting through his hand. Intrigued, he looked at his hand and flexed his fingers. It seemed like the Medibots were sharpening his sensitivity.

"What did you do to him?" Atlas sat forward without taking his eyes off the breathing statue. "Is it another one of your magic tricks?"

Lora returned before the group, lips curled but her expression was grim. "I was forced to use Fajin to strike at some Acupuncture spots. I studied Martial Arts." She eyed Tillman and Muzzy as they sank back into their seats, exchanging bewildered glances. "Your colleague will be paralyzed for a few hours. He is not in pain... nor has he suffered any damage. He just cannot move his body." She studied McDonnough. "Since he is much stronger than I, I had no choice. He will be alright after he recovers." Turning her back on Atlas, she returned to her position next to Selina.

"Let me sit him down," Eckstein said, getting up from his armchair.

"Let him stand. If you change his position, he will topple over." Mickmi strode before them and faced McDonnough. "You will not need the suit."

She nodded at Artemae who came over and touched the man's arm. The suit cracked open on both sides of his neck ring, to the front of his shoulders, down his inner arms, sides, and outer legs, exposing his bare, hairy chest and sports trunks as it fell away. Before long, the pile at his feet shrank in height, the ship absorbing it into the floor. Then the man's seabag slid out from beside his chair to halt in front of his feet as if it had taken on a life of its own. Danny realized it was Deymos activating the floor into raised millipede feet that rippled the bag along.

Live, living tech... The entire floor was made up of layers upon layers of quadrillions of interlocking cells that could change configuration, structure, and even chemical constitution on demand. The ship was almost like a living organism. It had been manufactured not by traditional building methods, but by growing it.