A Whisper in the Ear

I spoke to her in direct neural interface. A text or audio message might have sufficed, but there could be no mistakes today, no misunderstandings. I refused to analyse my motivations further.

The link pushed dark chunks of conceptual meaning between our thoughts.

Urgency.

Danger.

Peace, end of.

Death, mass.

Death, personal.

Mission, current, target, second party (you).

Mission, current, objective, safeguarding.

Instruction, immediate, stay close.

If she was alarmed by my sudden proximity to her mind, she didn't show it. Her thoughts blurred into unreadable fractals, not that I was interested in them. That way pain lay.

Calmness.

Acceptance.

Readiness.

Request, armament, personal.

In the distance, two of my units clicked. They fired into the crowd, inflicting four civilian casualties to neutralise a target that had exceeded the 10% possibility-of-harm limit I had mandated. There were screams.

Response, armament, personal, negative.

Instruction, immediate, movement.