She let the words rasp against her throat as they came out. This would be the last song of the night. A hush had fallen over the murky bar lit only from the light of neon and the reddish orange of cigarette tips as her fingers worked the strings of the guitar resting on her leather clad thigh.
Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly…
The song kept coming and she poured herself into it — all the warmth she held inside when she walked home on cold nights down dark and quiet streets with nothing but the echo of her own footfalls for company, every lovers smile she’d ever lost.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops…
Lost and found in the song, it was why she loved the music so much as she felt the ritual quiet her soul.
Why can’t I?
As the last syllable hung in the smoke stained air she flicked a hack to the stage controls, turning all the stage lights on the crowd at once. ‘The gang was all here’. Sensing her intent change, state-of-the-art hardware activated. Subdermal augmentations seamlessly flooded her body with a cocktail of carefully tailored combat stims. In her minds eye she could see everyone in the room. Raiders that had terrorized the border for years had gathered here to trade in weapons and slaves and brag to attract new members. The op from control was simple — kill them all. Her eyes turned into black burning orbs, and her red hair felt suddenly electric, while her veins stood stark against pale skin as she unleashed a psychic attack that moved across the room like a desiccating wind.
