Banished Worlds Read Online Free

my motion and temper. The shower, however, helped with the motion. I dried off and got dressed in fresh clothes. My old stuff was tossed into the trash recycler. I didn’t even get a minute to get my belonging out of my pockets before my old clothes were destroyed. I was informed that I would not be able to take them to the planet with me anyway.
    My escort, hands off, guided me to the mess hall. It happened to be empty, other than two cooks. After serving me, they too left. I did not ask if it was by design that we were alone, or if it just happened to be that way. I walked over to a table and sat down. It was a long table, but narrow. My escort stood a few feet away.
    “Look, I’m not going to hold it against you that you tried to break my shoulder. Nelson trained you, and I know how he is. I was trained by him too. Sit down, we’ll start again. You can even tell me your name.”
    “I’m fine with how we started. Eat, and I will show you to Agent Nelson.”
    “Sit down, tell me your name, have a bite to eat,” I offered with a smile. “I promise not to make you use your armor on me again. Surely, you can sit.” I picked up my knife and fork and started cutting my steak. “This is the first syn steak I’ve had in eight years. The only meat on a prison planet is from real cattle, pigs and chickens. They’re all bloody and gamy tasting, but people love’em, let’s say they prefer them.” I took a bit of my food and chewed, enjoying the rich flavor of the synthetic meat fiber. “Not me though. Give me a good syn steak any day of the week.” I looked up at my escort, held up a piece of steak, and motioned her to sit down. “I promise not to bite you. You don’t even have to tell me your name yet, we’ll just talk.”
    Slowly, she moved to the table and sat down across from me. “So what do you want to talk about?”
    I chewed another bite of my food, and swallowed. “Energy,” I said and pushed my plate off to one side. I glanced off to one side of the room.
    “What?” she asked looking from me to my plate. I could tell from the tilt of her helmet that direction.
    I was ready for her this time and grabbed her left wrist just long enough to slip the fork into the control pad that powered the armor. One minute she had full power to the armor, the next it was just so much heavy clothing. I dragged her across the table and smashed her helmet-protected head down hard several times. It stunned her. I was very tired of armored agents having the upper hand and my escort gave me an opening. I unsnapped the latches of the helmet and pulled it off, then pressed her unprotected throat against the hard edge of the table with my weight on her head and back. “You move, and I break your damn neck, clear?”
    “Yes.” She struggled, but not enough to try to get free.
    “Good. Now, what is your name, Agent? And make it fast.”
    “Roberts, Agent Roberts.” She coughed from the pressure I held on her throat.
    “Good, don’t make me ask you anything twice when we get on the planet, or this will have been the best part of our relationship, clear?”
    “Yes.”
    “What? What was that, Agent Roberts?” I pushed down just a little harder.
    “Yes, sir, Agent Danbeu.”
    “God, it’s been a long time since I’ve heard anyone call me that. Thank you for your cooperation.” I leaned back, pulled my fork out of the control circuit, and let Roberts go.
    She jumped back the instant I released her, stabbing at the reset to the control pad.
    I watched her as I pulled my steak back over in front of me. “Half an hour and it will reset. You will have full power again and be able to again kick my backside.”
    “You two don’t have that much time.” Nelson stood in the doorway to the mess hall.
    I had seen him out of the corner of my eye when I was holding Roberts pinned to the table. She could not have seen him from her position, and he did not stop me which made me very curious. “Can I finish my steak?” I asked