Bess was running away, fleeing from the bounty hunter in a car she stole from a civilian. What was she doing? Stealing a car was wrong. So was running.

She braked and the steering wheel started to turn in her hands, as if the decision to return wasn't a choice but a part of her. No matter how vulnerable Bess's injuries made her, or whatever the bounty hunter did to her, she wasn't going to let him hurt Lance and Kathy.

The electrical poles and grazing goats flew by a little slower on the way back. Now that the adrenaline had burned off, it felt like she hadn't slept at all. The sun rose higher and she started to sweat and shiver in her seat. Bess needed a plan. The Academy was coming but she didn't know the ETA. The bounty hunter was already there, and she didn't have weapons or backup. The best she could do was to lead him away from Lance and Kathy.

The motel came into view just as an Academy SUV appeared in her rear window.

At last! She slowed and pulled over.

A loud hailer hurt her ears. "Get out of the car. Stand with your head on the trunk, hands behind your back where we can see them. Legs spread."

Bess got out and followed orders. A couple of cyber security officers, semiautomatics unholstered, swaggered up on either side of the vehicle. She didn't need to look behind to know what they were. She'd grown up with guys like these, and she didn't like the way they shoved her onto the trunk, laughing and joking as they zip-tied her hands behind her back. They walked her to the driver's side of the 6-door SUV, driven by a well-scrubbed man wearing a prefect armband.

She spoke through the open window. "They captured me. I called the Academy as soon as I could get away."

He narrowed his eyes at her, mouth shut.

"I need a medic. They removed the signal when they captured me."

He thumb-gestured to the cybers to put her in the back of the SUV.

"Thanks for rescuing me," she said before they could slam the door in her face.

She tried the handle. Locked in. The prefect smirked at her in the rear-view mirror.

"I was kidnapped." The mesh and glass barrier caging her in didn't quite meet the roof. They could still hear her.

No answer.

Bess's vision fluttered dark, like she was going to pass out. She let her head fall back against the side of the SUV and took a deep breath. Could they be under orders not to speak to her? She was in trouble, but at least at the Academy she would see Cherry again.

She forced a smile and sat up to the barrier. "So, what's happening at the Academy? I've been out of the loop since they captured me."

Her attempt at conversation went ignored.

"Am I in trouble?"

The prefect didn't take his eyes off the road. "Of course not. We give all AWOL grads a hero's welcome."

"I didn't run away. If you want to catch a real criminal, there's a bounty hunter at the hotel, looking for me. He could hurt civilians. Why don't we go back and pick him up?"

Bess used her superior hearing to assess the prefect's reaction. His breathing remained steady and she didn't notice any increase in body temperature or pulse.

Bess's heartbeat, on the other hand, thundered in her ears. She was having trouble staying calm. She was caged up like an animal, despite being the one who contacted them. "What's with the silent treatment?"

This question made the rock heads in the backseat chuckle.

The prefect sighed. "Anything you say in this vehicle will be recorded and may be used against you. Anything you say to undergrads when we reach the Academy will be considered a corrupting influence. They will assign you a representative before your tribunal. In the meantime, shut up."

They drove silently for hours. The Cybers in the back were so quiet, Bess guessed they were playing virtual reality games in their heads. She envied their boredom, although she used to complain to Cherry about it. Playing games via signal was how grads coped with typical Academy hurry-up-and-wait. They were killing time just like any other day. Lucky them.

Each village they passed brought Bess closer to judgment but the trip still seemed long. She hadn't realized how far the mine was from Bedabun City, probably because Lance's farm was north to begin with. They drove for three hours before the prefect pulled into a gas and charge station. He pulled up to the charger and plugged in the SUV before the cybers brought her into the store.

The clerk stared when they walked her to the door of the facilities and snipped off her zip ties. Bess finally got a look at their faces. The tallest cyber was blond and spotted with acne. He looked about seventeen, with a rapid heartbeat and sweaty palms, more keyed up than a citizen kid on Christmas.

The other cyber was dark and self-composed. Bess figured he was twenty-ish. There weren't many security cybers over twenty-three in the Academy. Cybers were assigned active duty or sent to protect dignitaries in the NUS. It made sense he was working for the prefects if he was still here.

Bess had been trained in all sorts of scenarios, including being captured by EA insurgents but it was no use. She had to stop thinking about escape scenarios and start thinking about what she would say to the headmaster. If she ran, they'd shoot her. To these men, she was a cyber gone AWOL, and therefore a coward worth less than road dust.

As she re-emerged from the bathroom, the way the blond cyber spit in her path confirmed it.

"I'm not a traitor," she stood, hands on hips.

The pimply blond scowled.

His smooth-faced comrade slipped behind her and secured her wrists. In other circumstances, she might have admired his glittering green eyes.

The prefect had done some snack shopping, judging by the bulging plastic bags he carried. The cybers signed thumbs up at him but she couldn't eavesdrop on their signal conversation.

They put her back into the cage while the prefect checked on the batteries. "All charged."

When they pulled out onto the highway, they seemed to forget about her.

"Give me the chips." said the blond.

His black brother-in-arms asked the prefect how long the drive back would take.

"Hours, but what's the rush?" The prefect was interested in talking about the countryside. "Out here, you don't suffer food shortages because they have goats, pigs, corn, even cows. I bet they do more barter in these villages than the night market."

"I'd be bored after the first week," said the blond.

"I'd be in heaven. Say the electricity goes out, or the water. Farms have wells and wood stoves. When I retire, I want a place like this in the NUS."

"You could live near the beach or in a big city. Why pick a farm?" asked the older cyber.

"I've seen enough nightlife." The prefect smiled.

Bess figured him for thirty-five, but she was no judge of age. At the Academy, the only old people were a few teachers, the headmaster, and visiting dignitaries. Citizens typically looked old to Bess, but they were aged by hard living.

The landscape sailed past at 130 K an hour, eventually changing from pristine farmland to weedy lots ringing the city. There were no more trees, just high grass and scrub where trees had been taken for firewood. In patches, roadside grass was mowed short by goats. With food shortages, everybody who could, kept small animals.

Approaching the city proper, goats gave way to pigeons and coops of chickens.

Bess's mouth watered. She would gladly eat chicken or pigeon right now, although she doubted they would waste meat on a prisoner. She had to do something before they threw her into a holding cell and forgot about her.

"I have to speak to the headmaster. I can understand why the Academy might get the wrong idea about me, but give me five minutes and I'll clear it up."

"Don't worry," said the prefect, "you'll get your day in court to give your excuses."

The two cybers didn't react. They were busy eating cheese puffs. The smell of powdered cheese made her stomach growl.

She would get no sympathy from these men. She was their prisoner and they were just following orders. It made her wonder what the headmaster had told them. Did he know about the baby? Why didn't Cherry testify for her? Anybody who knew her could've told him how proud Bess was of earning her first command. It wasn't something she would've walked away from, not for anything.

She looked down at her hands, zip-tied at the wrists. She nervously gripped and un-gripped them in her lap. Zip ties. She could get out of them in seconds and the prefect knew it. It was a test, to see if she would submit.

She became aware of another irritation. A sound in the background was growing and fading. For kilometres this had continued, until it got loud enough to draw her attention. She checked the side mirror surreptitiously. There it was, a car following at a distance. This close to the city there was traffic so the vehicle could tail them unremarked. She had only noticed it because the engine made a distinctive whine, now closer, now further away, now dropping back out of earshot but always returning. Should she tell her captors?

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