Rating: PG Summary: A double 155-word challenge fic, First Person
Shooter, Maitreya POV. Author's Notes: This is for Obfuscate2000 -- one of the wisest, strongest
women I know. Blessed with a true cause, you give me hope. * * * I have a confession
to make. I let her kill me. Repeatedly, I allowed her to kill me. At first, it wasn't a conscious
decision. I was so stunned to see her that I barely noticed her taking aim. She strode in, covered in Kevlar and ammunition,
red hair and blue eyes ablaze with warrior instinct. My breath caught in my throat. She was here to rescue
her partner. That much was clear. How typical of gender dynamics in their society. Dig beneath the surface, where the
truth resides, and you'll unearth a complex structural foundation of matriarchal superiority. Yet, for a
man, I have to admit her partner wasn't bad. He had a humility and sensitivity that almost redeemed him in my eyes. Unfortunately,
his Y-chromosome dictates his destiny. She will grieve his death, but I am sure she will understand. In the final
analysis, she is a soldier like me. Her heart understands duty. One thing stops me from following through
with his immediate execution: I can see her affection for him. It fascinates me. We are alike, she and I -- guerrilla
heroines in an underground war. Yet she has a companion, a friend for whom she is willing to sacrifice her life. That
is what I have yearned for unknowingly since my inception: someone to die for, and someone who would die for me. As
the power begins to seep out of my circuits and my resolution fades, I realize they have somehow defeated me in this battle.
But the war is not over. When I return, I will remember her advantage and incorporate it into my being. I
know what made her the superior combatant. She has something that cloaks her more securely than any armor, something that
is far more lethal than any weapon. She has a true cause. She has love in her heart. * * *
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