Read Liquid Compassion for Free Online

opened.
    She turned to Mala, “Does it seal the same way?”
    “It does. It also opens the same way. The girls had a good idea with that one. The extra features involve defense mechanisms.”
    “Nice.” Bits backed into the suit, and it closed around her, fitting like a glove. “It fits better than the other one does.”
    “I have been checking on your med scans. You are getting fit.” Mala grinned. “The panels of this armour will actually slide to give you more room as you continue to fill out.”
    The armoured wrists extended into loops that became fingerless gloves. Bits checked out the back of the gloves, and there were small holes. “I am guessing that this is the defense item?”
    “It is. Your weapon is your own sweat. There is a pump system connected to the collection filter, and from there, a fine series of tubes brings that liquid to the gauntlets were you can spray an attacker from twenty feet away.”
    Bits blinked. “You are kidding.”
    “Nope. I have set up a series of screens so you can do some target practice. The suit is loaded with a slightly pink water.”
    Bits walked over to the targets and lined her feet up with the first line. The target was at five feet away, and she extended her hand.
    “How do I trigger it?”
    “Flex your forearm. It runs the mister.”
    Bits flexed her forearm lightly and a cloud cascaded out, touching the target with a slight caress. “Nice.”
    Bits flexed her forearm a little more deliberately, and the cloud became a stream of what appeared to be steam.
    “Next target.” Mala was watching closely and making notes.
    Bits cut the stream and stepped to the next target line. This time, the beam of mist shot out and tinted the target in under a second.
    “Next.”
    They kept going until Bits was facing a target fifty feet away.
    “I haven’t been able to make it work at that distance yet, but you are welcome to try.”
    Bits smiled and put both of her fists together, aiming upward at a thirty-five degree angle. The two streams arced out and raced together until the apex, where they combined and continued to the target.
    Mala was staring with her mouth open and her rainbow eyes wide. “How did you do that?”
    “I used to water my mother’s lawn, but we had a short hose. I know how to cross a span.” Bits grinned.
    “Apparently. Can you do it again? I want to record it.”
    Bits aimed, and once again, the streams tumbled into the target after a three-second delay.
    “I will have to boost the speed of the pumps. Hop out of there for a moment.”
    Bemused, Bits opened and stepped out of the suit while Mala jumped in and started working. She hummed as she worked, and it left Bits wandering around and looking at things. She looked at a scrap of wood on the floor and picked it up to start carving. Mala had a good selection of tools, and it made things easy as Bits got to work.
    When she realized what she was working on, she sat up straight.
    Mala looked over her shoulder. “Wow. That is quite the likeness.”
    “Can you turn it into something else, please?”
    Mala scowled at her. “Why? It is really stirring.”
    Bits looked down at the miniature of Turnari, and she was embarrassed. “Please. I didn’t mean to do this. It is embarrassing.”
    Mala sighed and put her palm out. “Fine.”
    Bits watched as the portrait of the Dhemon disappeared under a layer of wood.
    She breathed a little easier. “That was inappropriate. I just share mind time with him. It must have spurred some kind of weird subconscious event.”
    “Yeah, that must have been it. He is kinda hot once you get used to the horns.” Mala smirked.
    “Hot or not, his people have different traditions than mine do. We are not compatible.”
    “Don’t close your mind to the possibilities. If I wasn’t open to possibilities, I wouldn’t have my family. I would still be out fixing pirate ships on a space station. I think you would agree that while I couldn’t predict this, this is