Rowdy Dead Productions

By David C. Daoust

Dakota could tell as soon as Suzanne entered the small cluster of rooms, that made up Dakota’s chambers, that it was the actual woman and not her holographic projection that Dakota had become accustomed to witnessing the past few days. The biggest giveaway was the strong smell of familiar perfume that wafted into the chambers with the woman. Dakota was standing at the mirror in the bathroom, having just redressed after her shower. Freshly showered, in clean clothing, the good doctor was now staring at the small handgun that sat on the counter in front of her. She wasn’t sure what to do with it.

“Did you get a shower?” the mottled woman asked from the sitting room. “I can see about getting some food in here…” she then added somewhat wickedly, “I just had the most fantastic peach.”

Dakota wasn’t sure what to say to the woman, who had less than an hour before, barely acknowledged her existence. She instead reached over and slammed the bathroom door shut.

“Oh, Dakota,” she heard the muffled reply, “Don’t be like that.”

The hand gun was Colin’s. She imagined she should return it to him. Though where could he be? She’d witnessed the man collapse into nothing right before her eyes. He was clearly more than a hologram, especially the way his armor dropped in a heap, revealing the small device left behind. The device itself self-destructed when she’d handled it. The tech was amazing; Dakota was tossing ideas around in her brain, as to how to recreate such a device, ever since. A solid light lattice like that- was more a work of art than merely a cast projection. Ultimately, working with solid light, would halt her progress, but not for long. That was really only half the puzzle though. What the hell was he doing with that tech? and on Twin Crown?

“Dakota?” Suzanne could be heard through the door. “You can’t ignore me forever.”

That just pissed Dakota off more. Ultimately interrupting her debate as to whether or not she should destroy the weapon or what… She scooped up the hand gun, and let it reattach itself up her sleeve. The gun retracted to its hiding spot just as Dakota swung open the bathroom door.

“Oh, I’m ignoring you?” Dakota seethed at the mottled woman. “I don’t even know where to begin!”

“Begin about what?” Suzanne said hands out as if… as if!

“Oh!” Dakota was red again, perfectly aware that the amount of gripes she had against Suzanne had compiled into a heap she couldn’t possibly voice in one go, “Let’s see! I mean, you can’t give me straight answer about anything…” then listed, “nanites, black lung, meds, Red Faction bots,” she shrugged inexplicably as she repeated and emphasized, “-BOTS!-” then continued with her rant, “Consortium Intelligence Agents, correct me if I’m wrong but that’s Seaguard? YOU? SEAGUARD??”

“Really? You’re going to complain about that?” Suzanne asked, also angry. “Seriously, I’m a successful Exec. How do you think these things work? It’s the Consortium! Did you think all that money was just going to keep flowing at us for no reason?”

“What?”

“God, Dakota, I swear!” Suzanne swore hands clenched like talons as she cast her gaze skyward. “You’re the one that wants to hang out in your lab, watching movies. Who do you think was paying for it? You really think the Consortium was going to let you see another dime, without a place at the table? Someone had to keep working!”

“Oh, I haven’t been working?”

“Work’n at screwing up my operations maybe!” Suzanne exclaimed as Dakota visibly deflated. “How the hell did you end up on Twin Crown to begin with?”

“I found a small cargo ship to take me,” Dakota answered.

“Why?”

“Because…” Dakota felt like she was losing ground so grasped at the most dramatic aspect, “People were dying!”

“You can’t save everyone Dakota,” Suzanne said simply, she’d clearly come to terms with her guilt, “People make their own decisions, no matter how much you try to include everyone… you just, can’t!”

“I had proof!” still Dakota clung, “You could have saved dozens of people, wiped the nanites out as easily as I did! Instead, you chose to profit off their misery.”

“You’ve been watching too many movies, Dakota. I didn’t want to hurt anyone,” Suzanne explained. “I was trying to minimize the damage. Maybe I made some bad decisions… Maybe if you weren’t working against me, things might’ve gone another way. You should have come to me first.”

The two woman stood in silence for a long while.

“Well, I’m sorry,” Dakota apologized, almost completely out of gas.

“Me too,” Suzanne agreed as she put an arm around the Good Doctor’s shoulder.

“Why were you being such a bitch?” Dakota asked as she let the woman embrace her.

“I’m the boss,” Suzanne said with a snicker and a shrug. “I can’t let them peons see me waver.”

“Peons?” Dakota laughed uncomfortably, outraged that someone would be referred to in such a way, though in too forgiving a mood to make protest. She gave the woman a hug in return.

“Now,” Suzanne pulled away and looked Dakota sharply in the eye, “how’d you like to know what’s really going on??”