From the quality of the light and the sound of vehicles and voices outside the window of her cell, Shuqba estimated it was some time between 8 and 9 a.m.
The cell held a metal-framed bed, an aluminium toilet and a sink. Shadows stretched along the ceiling above her head as the sun rose in the sky. The bed creaked beneath her as she shifted her legs to a more comfortable position. She hadn’t slept. She’d spent the night going over and over the incident with Officer Peete and the Demi boy. She’d considered every other choice she could have made and every other action she could have taken. None of them ended satisfactorily. Perhaps she hadn’t been paying as close attention during training as she’d thought. Perhaps she wasn’t the officer she’d believed she was.
Officer Peete had been wrong in her actions. She was sure of it. Yet a Sapien officer was always right. Without question. That was something repeated endlessly at the academy. Sapiens were beyond question. Nevertheless, the thought of letting Officer Peete hit that child again still felt contrary to her mission to protect LeaderCorp and all Sapiens to the best of her abilities. She rolled over and gripped her roiling stomach. It didn’t matter how many times she went over it, she never got closer to any kind of certainty and she was still in a cell awaiting consequences.
She tried to clear the racket in her head. City 1’s wall is ten metres high. There are four gates in the city wall. Twenty androids patrol the battlements.
The door beeped and opened. Shuqba swung her legs off the bed and leapt to attention. Commander Rayne entered, closing the door behind her.
‘At ease, Shuqba.’ Commander Rayne sat heavily on the bed. ‘Please have a seat by me.’
Shuqba sat. The bedsprings creaked under their combined weight and dug into her buttocks. Shuqba turned away from the commander’s frown, resisting the impulse to hang her head. She would be professional to the end.
‘I can’t say I’m not appalled and surprised to have to discipline you after only one shift in the city.’
‘My apologies, ma’am.’ Shuqba’s voice came out croakier than she expected. She coughed into her fist to clear her throat.
‘I know you, Shuqba. I know you’re a better officer than this. I pulled all sorts of strings to bring you here with me.’
Shuqba nodded. She wanted to apologise, to fall on her knees and beg the commander for forgiveness.
Commander Rayne leaned forward, her elbows on her knees. ‘Now, I’ve reviewed the security footage and consulted with my superior.’
Shuqba swallowed. Soon she would know. There were only two possible outcomes: a second chance or medical research. She’d never known a Neo who’d been given a second chance after breaching protocol or committing an infraction.
‘It does seem that Officer Peete employed excessive force in the handling of that Demi.’
Shuqba’s heart lurched with a spark of hope. Still, she waited for the but.
‘Relations with the Demi-Citizens are at an all-time low. My supervisor has described the Demi-Settlements as a powder keg right now. The Demis require sensitive handling.’ Commander Rayne leaned back against the wall.
Shuqba held her breath.
‘I campaigned for you to have a second chance.’
Shuqba exhaled. Commander Rayne had been so good to her. The parent she’d never biologically had.
‘However, my superior felt your transgression should not go wholly unpunished.’
This was it: the words every Neo feared would soon be spoken aloud. All her training and adherence to the rules, her abandonment of her one love, had been for nothing more than a short path to medical research. Karain could still be there, at the medical research facility. It wouldn’t be the same as when they were at the academy; they wouldn’t be able to sneak into each other’s beds at night or press their thighs together under the canteen tables or sneak off to the forest lookout together on their fortnightly recreation day. Still, it would be good to see her again.
‘I was able to convince him that a stint at a LeaderCorp Hub in the Demi-Settlements would teach you some humility and gratitude and would remind you of your Security Force training,’ Commander Rayne continued.
Shuqba blinked. A stint at a LeaderCorp Hub. Not medical research.
‘You’ll start tomorrow.’ Commander Rayne pressed Shuqba’s hand, smiling briefly. ‘What do you say?’
‘Oh, thank you, ma’am.’ Shuqba blinked away tears. She had another chance. She wouldn’t be sent for certain death. And she wouldn’t be seeing Karain.
‘This is the last time I can defend you though, Shuqba.’
Shuqba nodded, blood rushing to her cheeks.
‘I can’t risk my career for you.’
‘No, ma’am.’
‘No matter what a Sapien officer is doing, no matter how unjust, stupid or cruel, you stand by and let them do it. You are never to question a Sapien officer. Understood?’
The Demi boy’s blood-stained face came to her. She wasn’t sure she could stand by and watch that happen again. Following Commander Rayne’s advice and believing in the principles of LeaderCorp was the version of right she’d put all her faith in. She wasn’t completely sure about it anymore, but she had no other belief system with which to replace it.
‘I asked if you understood. Don’t make me regret defending you.’ The commander withdrew her hand and stood over Shuqba.
‘Yes, ma’am. Understood.’