"Good to know," Ton says. "Now how about those boots?"

"Of course," Worm replies and a drawer slides from the wall over next to the door.

"Thanks," Ton says as he slips his feet into the boots. They automatically cinch up around his ankles without him having to touch them. He gives the wall a kick with his left foot then his right. "Tighter on the left down by the heel please, Worm."

The adjustment is made and Ton kicks the wall once more.

"Perfect. Thanks."

"My pleasure, Lieutenant," Worm says. "Will you be leaving your quarters to retrieve Canine Unit Snorts?"

"Yep," Ton says, waiting by the door. "Open up so I can go get my bug hound."

The door slides open and Ton steps into the hallway. The door slides closed behind him and a thick mist fills his quarters, sterilizing every inch of the metal surfaces.

2.

A tail-wagging, mass of black hair and muscle greets Ton as the door to Milo's quarters slides open.

Canine Units, or bug hounds to GenSOF operators, are trained military dogs, designed from the genes up to sniff out deadly bacteria, while also protecting their individual operator. They will kill anything to keep their operator safe, or die trying.

A genetic soup of dog breeds, bug hounds are clones that pull their quick intelligence from the German Shepherd, their single-minded determination from the Pitbull, their undying loyalty, as well as quiet stealth and thick fur, from the Chow Chow, and their unquenchable work ethic and problem solving ability from the Border Collie. With a little of this and that thrown in for genetic stability and health.

All pitch black fur with black tongues, black eyes, and even black teeth, a CU is impossible to spot in the dark. Their only distinguishing individual feature is the infrared ink muzzle tattoo that each has listing their name and squad number. But for an operator, it's no problem telling them apart. Just as one person knows their own hand from another person's.

"Hey, girl," Ton smiles, crouching down to rub behind Snorts' ears. "How's my hundred pound killing machine?"

"She's got gas," Milo says from the corner of his quarters. "Or that could be me." He lifts a glass of purple liquid. "Probably me."

GenSOF Sergeant Courier Class Milo Kailua is seated cross legged in a form fitting chair that's connected to the wall where his bunk was earlier that morning. Wearing only a tank top and boxers, his muscled bulk of 265 pounds looks out of place in the cramped space. An identical dog to the one Ton loves on sits next to Milo, his eyes watching the lieutenant and his bug hound.

Milo reaches out and scratches the dog's ears and he lies down, but his attention never leaves the man and dog by the door. While Milo may be facing Ton and Snorts, his attention is on what is being projected directly onto his retinas via his IRIS- Intraocular Retinal Infrared Screen. His eyes are completely black and he's busy swiping the air with one hand while taking reluctant sips from the glass with the other. From Milo's perspective, he sees the pages of the latest mystery novel by superstar author, Coretta Belfour.

"Good book?" Ton asks. "Something I'd like?"

"Hold on," Milo says. He swipes the air one more time, continues reading until he finishes the page, and then shakes his head. "IRIS off."

The images leave his vision and he blinks a couple of times to orient himself.

"What? Oh, the book? Nah, not your stuff," Milo says. He stands and the chair slides back into the wall, replaced by two smaller chairs next to each other. "Grab a seat, man. You look like shit. I thought the whole point of me watching Snorts was so you could sleep in."

"Worm had other ideas," Ton says. "Apparently my bacterial count was off ratio due to my alcohol intake last night."

"The proper-" Worm starts.

"Shut up," Ton scolds.

Milo smirks and motions to the chair again.

"Nope, can't stay," Ton says. "Gonna go make sure the rest of the squad is up in case we get called on to deal with that crap down there." One of the chairs slides back into the wall.

"CCPD has it already locked down," Milo says. "It was about free movement credits after all. Looks like the Mayor's office has reduced the amount of people allowed on the street at one time. Folks are getting stir crazy."

"Well, fuck them," Ton says. "Try being GenSOF. We go from barracks to transport, tower to Sicklands, and back. They'd go even crazier if they weren't allowed any movement."

"But we get the Sicklands all for ourselves," Milo smirks. "Scorched earth, dead trees, Cooties trying to kill us. Eden, man, Eden."

Ton stumbles a bit as Snorts shoulders against him, pushing towards the door.

"Okay, we're going," Ton says. "Has she eaten?"

"Yeah," Milo says, nodding to the identical mass of black hair and fur lying in the opposite corner. "Almost finished Gorge's food too."

Ton looks at a third dog that is curled up like an unmoving lump in the corner. He shakes his head. "That dog never eats unless Blaze feeds her."

"Whereas yours will eat anything in sight," Milo laughs. "But Worm scolded her and she backed off."

Snorts gives a low growl.

"Worm? Are you scolding my dog now?" Ton asks.

"Meals are precisely calibrated for optimal health," Worm replies. "Whether for humans or Canine Units, proper nutrition, in correct proportions, is essential to survival."

"Proper nutrition speech?" Milo asks, looking at Ton. "He's not in my ear."

"Exactly."

"Want some of my proper nutrition?" Milo asks, holding out the glass. "I can't drink anymore of this crap." Milo pauses then sighs as he cocks his head.

"Worm scolding you now?" Ton smiles.

Milo rolls his eyes then taps his left ear. "What was life like before we had a babysitter in our heads?"

"Peaceful?" Ton wonders. "Got mine at eighteen. That's twenty years of AiSP voice. I don't even remember what an empty head was like."

"Almost makes you envy the civvies down on the street," Milo says then waves at Ton. "Get going before I rip another one, man. It's gas from the Purple. You really don't want to be here." Tequila sniffs then glares up at Milo. "See? I'm pissing off my own dog, man."

"Thanks for the warning," Ton says. "We still on for tonight?"

"You know it," Milo replies. "Poker?"

"What else am I gonna do with her?" Ton laughs then walks from the room, the door sliding shut behind him. He looks down at Snorts. "Ready?"

The dog gives a quiet huff and the two move down the hallway, their blurry reflections shining from the gleaming metal walls.

AntiBio is available from Amazon here.

end.