Eighteen months into training, Tessern declared Kaine ready for her second hunt.
She was nine years old now. Had spent a year and a half rebuilding boundaries, strengthening compartmentalization, developing weapon-skills while maintaining person-skills. Had practiced switching between aspects thousands of times. Had learned efficiency techniques that reduced kill-time from seventeen minutes to projected four minutes.
Had prepared as thoroughly as possible for second predator.
"This one is smaller than your first," Tessern explained, projecting data about the target. "Dead Zone Keth-7. Four billion unconscious beings. Predator age: eighteen million years. Relatively young. Less distributed than the one you killed. Should be easier target for second kill. Should build confidence while adding manageable scar."
