Crack in the Kill Code (AmpCore #2)

02 - The Class of 2310

Piper let the power ripple out of her amplifier, the implants inside her burning with pent up energy. The slim metal wand in her right hand glowed, its tip swelling with a nimbus of violent light. Twisting her body, she dropped low, almost down to one knee, and thrust out her arm like a spear.

A destructive bolt erupted forth, tearing across the space of the training arena towards her target. The other AmpCore student braced just before the blast hit him, but his barrier barely took the edge off her attack.

An explosion thundered through the training area and the young man was hurled backwards with a howl of surprise, hitting the ground and rolling several feet until he came to a halt, swirls of smoke rising from his body. A gasp arose from the other students.

For a moment, Piper thought he might not get up.

He stirred after a moment, the instructor stepping over to him and dropping down into a crouch. The woman craned her neck, speaking quietly. A moment later she took the young man by the arm and eased him gingerly back to his feet, smoke still coiling off of him. He staggered and she heard him cough, but with the instructor helping him, the other student managed to shamble out of the room.

Presumably to one of the academy med bays, she thought wryly.

"Good," Instructor Marcellus declared once the injured student was out of earshot, though his heart didn't really seem to be in it. He stepped forward from his position at the side of the duelling line, his gaze fixing on her. "Though you don't need to try and put everyone you meet in the bloody infirmary."

"Nobody took it easy on me," Piper snorted, sliding her amplifier wand back into its sheathe and ruffling a hand through her long locks of dark hair to smooth them out.

"Nobody had your headstart," he shot back.

"It's not my fault he can't hold his barrier. Did I do what you asked or not?"

Marcellus rolled his eyes, dragging a weary hand down his face. He was a gangly man, weather- and world-beaten from the look of him, his greying hair scraped back over his skull and sporting a pair of synthetic eye augments that sizzled with cobalt light. On the shoulder of his white uniform was a great globe of orange and red against a spherical backdrop of fire, with the letters PROMETHEUS HAULAGE following the circumference.

"You've been here for a while now, Russell," he told her icily. "You're supposed be exhibiting self control. You chose to be here, to abide by the academy rules."

Piper bristled. "It's a little more complicated than that."

"Just try and take the edge off next time, you little savage. Otherwise, you'll have more to worry about than me and my opinions. Your rankings aren't exactly stellar."

That snide remark cut into her angry facade and she felt her jaw snap tight. Her eyes flickered unbidden to the ever-present performance rankings that shimmered on the academy walls, nestled among the streams of corporate advertising that flowed through the place. Right now she was decidedly middling when it came to the rankings, her listing easy to spot as the lists scrolled, with the lack of a corporate logo next to her name.

Brute force she could do. Finesse was another matter.

"I think that's enough for today," the instructor declared, making a vague motion towards the far door with one hand.

Shooting Marcellus a black look, Piper joined the flow of students as they shuffled out, the others keeping a safe distance from her, their hushed whispers and snickers niggling at her like a cloud of smoke.

For now, she ignored them. Most people at AmpCore were smart enough now to keep any jibes and comments to the shadows. Piper had already proved that she was a very dangerous person. Her classmates receded away as she stepped out into the passage, a thick stream of advertising on the far wall racing past, extolling the virtues of a Ness-Net holographic processing unit.