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A century ago, our AI benefactor, Moses, disappeared, taking mankind's future with him. The dream of the stars is dead. Earth is silent and the colonies of the solar syst...
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The next morning Abigail got up early, checked over her armor, and ate a quick breakfast. She suited up and went to the train station. The grey pre-dawn light filtered over the hills and a chill breeze blew through the border town. She was met by a deputy who escorted her to the secure train car. Looking like an ordinary passenger car, it floated a meter above the magnetic track. Inside was another matter entirely. It was armored like a tank and had four barred prisoner cells.
There was only a single deputy present. He shook her hand, nervously, and introduced himself as Captain Stanley.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms., uhh... Shield Maiden. I've read a lot about you and respect your work."
Great, she thought. A fan. She smiled graciously, "Yes, well, we're all here to do a job." She gestured to the empty cells. "Is our guest on schedule?"
Stanley straightened and nodded vigorously. "Yes, Ma'am. James Hawthorne will be arriving via armored car in just over one hour. You are welcome to take a seat until then."
Abigail laughed and with a metal palm slapped the thigh of her suit, making a loud noise. "I don't exactly tire. If it's all the same to you, I'll just stand."
"Yes, I umm... Of course."
She smiled at his awkward response, enjoying one of the pleasures her earth-tech suit afforded her. Waiting around for the next hour was not among those pleasures, but they had decided it would be better if Abigail weren't seen stomping onto the train. Hence the early morning.
Sometime after the sun rose, Abigail heard the roar of a personnel carrier pulling up outside, Eight deputies and James Hawthorne in an orange prisoner coverall boarded the train. He was a man of average height with a sandy beard. Nothing much to look at, but he was apparently an outlaw leader with a penchant for murder. Shows how you could never really judge a book by its cover.
Hawthorne startled when he laid eyes on Abigail. As he passed her, she looked down at him and laughed. "That's right. Whatever your little men have planned is not going to work."
He spat at her and was wrestled into a cell by the deputies. Captain Stanley laughed. "You ought to treat a lady with a little more respect. I get the feeling she could rip you limb from limb."
