Recovery of Rez 12

Taking full advantage of his control over the identifying code in his implant, it was cat and mouse for the next two days. If she was using the tracking system in the building, she would always know where he was just before he left, because he would send the images from an inspection as he was walking away. That was the only time his ID was reported with a location. He also wired a second camera to his head mount and used a split screen on his display, always watching what was going on behind him. Twice during that time he spotted her brightly colored hair, a fairly unique plumage visible over the heads of the crowd, and took evasive action.
The bulk of his work was done. More importantly, he’d had enough of the game, and was about to close the contract and leave the planet. She caught up with him down at the loading dock.
One of the most interesting inventions of his time was the Neutron Bubble. Not that anything could actually be constructed purely from subatomic particles having no charge, but there was a peculiar substance found in one star system which, when carefully processed, produced an extremely strong, light material, transparent only in the visible light spectrum. The “neutron” nickname came from the highly nonreactive nature of the product. It’s first use was on tourist ships which left the atmosphere with passengers to show them some visual spectacle somewhere. They could see it in real vision without having to worry about other forms of shielding from particles and radiation.
Because it was incredibly light weight, it quickly found use in freight containers. The stuff was insanely expensive, and the cheapest and quickest process was to form it as rounded orbs of different sizes. Most common was about a meter in diameter. This became the predominant means of handling freight which came in quantities too small to justify landing a ship on a planet. Simply pack it into one of these orbs, all of which had a hyperspace tracking device embedded on the inside, and let the ships pull them in from an anchor point as it passed nearby. Then they were approved as a means of moving single passengers, and many of the bubbles came with an embedded seat of sorts and an air re-generator.
After paying for the equipment he wanted to keep, Rez figured he could just about afford to pay for himself to be sucked up onto one of the next ships passing through that part of space if he could find a spare passenger bubble. He logged into the terminal in the shipping bay, hoping he could finish the business before that fembot could find him.
She must have have had someone tailing him, because in his reflexive glance at the heads-up display, he caught sight of her plumage. It was the first thing he noticed as she strode quickly toward the doorway. That’s when he noticed she was not wearing her normal social prosthetics. What he saw was obviously military grade hardware.
He estimated the time factor. He had already spotted an empty passenger bubble, and had just enough time to finish booking his departure. It had been pre-logged on his personal device, and it was simply a matter of transferring the data and electronic credits. As soon as the terminal made the tone to signal it was confirmed, he sprinted past the random clutter of devices, equipment and so forth, making maximum use of his enhanced coordination. He pulled a muscle when making one totally unnatural move, landed next to the bubble and opened it all in one swift motion. She burst through the doors behind him just as he closed the lock. There was no external latch handle on this bubble.
Not a moment too soon, because she simply jumped over all the clutter, landing right in front of him. It was so completely inhuman, he caught his breath seeing it. She raked the surface near the seal with her prosthetic claws, but to no avail. The voice in her frustrated howl also seemed inhuman, as was the apparent rage. He spotted on her upper arm a device he had only heard about, and believed until that moment to be a mere legend. It was a highly specialized torture implement. When used properly, it forced a male erection, even while rendering him immobile. Guys called it the Man Rape Tool; feminists had hailed it as the great equalizer.
Hidden in his left hand was a laser cutter. He was praying he wouldn’t have to use it, but knew he would if anything happened to expose him to her fury.
Something nibbled at the edge of his awareness. As the noise and fury of her assault on the bubble only intensified, he found it strange he would recall at that moment the schedule for his departure. It was only a few seconds. Then he remembered what happened when people stood too close to something yanked into hyperspace. The sudden vacuum was no big deal, but the energy exchange was generally fatal at close range. Somehow he didn’t regret it when everything outside the bubble, including the mad clawing monster, faded into darkness.