Freddie’s hands and tools danced over the joints of her limbs with a practiced ease. It took only four days to get Karla into what he called ‘fighting condition.’ She had watched him with her senses intensely for the first day or so, ensuring he wasn’t doing anything funny, but he was honest, and a damn good tech. Despite his work not being as delicate and evolved as Olivia’s work, Karla could tell he wasn’t an amateur by any means.

Still…

“Why is your place so empty? With skills like yours, you should have a line out the door for doing at least basic gear work.”

Freddie finished a thin weld down her calf and flipped up the dark-lensed goggles he was wearing. “You know, I thought the same thing when I ran down here. But getting gear in the South Sector damn-near impossible. The sectors in the north are the ones with the most access to good shit. You’ve been inside a hab, right? You’ve seen the gear they wear?”

“No? I’ve been on the streets underneath, but not actually inside of one.”

“No shit? Well each one is like a city holding up to ten million people, their work, their homes, and their graves. I never left my hab before I was hired as a technician. Even then I stayed in their corporate headquarters located in another hab.”

“So what does that have to do with gear down here?”

He shrugged. “There are no habs down this way, only factories that pump out tons of pollutants and use the locals as cheap labor. Who has enough cash to buy gear? On the streets up north, most people have really cheap shit, too, right? Only those higher up in a corporation or working security for one can afford anything decent.”

“You make the habs sound like some kind of promised land.”

“Once you see inside of one, you’ll understand. It’s like a paradise. Nobody goes hungry, nobody goes without the latest in tech, the most stylish of gear. The limbs you’re wearing are something you’d see on celebrities and high-level CEOs. Life in a hab is… good, damn good, but easy to lose your spot. If you don’t produce enough, or achieve enough, you and your family will eventually end up on the streets, in the old town underneath. Eventually you’ll be pushed south to die a slow death drinking toxins and breathing all the pollution from the factories.”

“Or leave the city entirely…”

“Ha! And face a quick death!” Freddie snapped the goggles back down with a huff and continued his task.

After several days of work, Karla found herself with two new lower legs, one new eye that was at half the resolution of her old piece, a com unit, and a number of stitched, welded, and bonded pieces that reinforced and wrapped over her limbs.

“They won’t last forever, you’ll still need new limbs or a factory overhaul eventually.” Freddie stepped back, admiring his handiwork. “But you should be able to move better now.”

It was night, though the sound of motorcycles and aircars hummed outside in a constant ambient. “Will it last through this fighting I’m about to see?”

He nodded. “Should do. And like I said, I’ll be able to get you something a bit better after this is over. You have me at a bit of a short notice right now. I’ll at least be able to get you a set of proper, working limbs that won’t fall apart on you.”

There was a knock on the back door, and Freddie hobbled off on stiff legs to answer it. Karla took a moment to look herself over in a full-length mirror that was propped up against a wall. She looked… scrappy. Multiple types of steel glinted around her shins where old military-grade legs had been bolted on. She had thought military-grade meant strong and tough, in reality they were the cheapest and simplest pair of robotic feet she’d ever seen. They worked though, despite hurting like hell. Freddie was surprised when Karla shouted in pain. “Cyborgs don’t feel pain.” he had said. She cursed him to just keep going and finish the damn job.

Karla suspected Olivia had made a test subject out of her, though at least the pain was lesser, not like how she remembered her body feeling. Her thoughts were interrupted by Selena carrying in a small crate.

“Kept you waiting?” Selena beamed, she’d been absent for a few days. “Dad wasn’t as up for it as I originally expected, old man’s gone soft, I think. But! I got you some goods in the end!” She dropped the crate on the floor. Inside were various ammos, magazines, and weapons.

“What is that?” Karla had expected something less, jumbled… and maybe less rusted.

“These, my dear Kitty Kat, are all pieces and parts that won’t lead you back to us. Pops was worried you’d fail and implicate us. He only agreed to help if I took only unmarked parts that we didn’t make anymore.”

Freddie carried in a second, much larger crate. He dropped it onto the floor with a huff. “And what the hell is all of this?”

Selena grinned. “Wildcards!” The crate was filled with what appeared to be numerous blocks of ancient plastic explosive, some anti-tank warheads, a few demolition charges, and a warhead off of something big and nasty.

Karla looked over the first crate. There were two rifles inside, one with a destroyed chamber, another with a smashed receiver, a few pistols, a sword, and a good mix of ammo. All of it was aged and rough-looking.

“What am I supposed to do with all of this?” Karla asked.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

“That is for me to deal with. With the help of my trusty assistant Freddie, I’ll have a nice set of equipment for you before you know it! Oh, that reminds me!” She turned and ran back outside, past Freddie who was still staring at the explosives.

“Half of these are probably unstable...” He scratched his chin. “With this we could maybe make the biggest improvised bomb seen on this side of the South Gate in years…”

Selena ran back in with some clothing in her arms. A plate carrier weighed her down on one side, and a belt with many pouches in the other. She held them out with a grin. “Tada! You got some fashion on the outside, now some function on the inside! Try these on!”

Karla took both happily. She had wanted some kind of armor, and extra pockets would never be unwelcome. With the plate carrier and pouches full of magazines strapped on, Karla thought she looked slightly scary.

“You look fucking terrifying.” Freddie looked her over. “If you had shown up looking like that I would have ran away.”

Karla chuckled as she adjusted the straps and buckles. The coat had a lot of use, but with some armor this plan was looking more and more doable. She sat down and watched Selena as she got to work.

----------------------------------------

Dawn came, and with it, yellow rays of light that slashed across the Canyons like knives. She hadn’t been able to appreciate it her first days here with her damaged optics, but now, she enjoyed watching the undulating cliff faces each morning. She watched as the fog crept up along the mountain ridges, and the shimmering heat of the underground forges that seemed to never shut off. Even the mountain Freddie’s shop was built on held multiple smaller forges that made all kinds of tools, weapons, and auto parts. To the north, she could easily see their target from here.

Steam poured out of tall, thin slots cut into the bedrock, creating a wall of white clouds that billowed and obscured the upper cliff faces. At the base was a massive vertical slot cut into the rock, a massive hauler parked inside. Several aircar landing pads were placed to the sides, and those had been busy every day with buses ferrying workers in and out.

“Oh man it’s cold!” Selena wrapped a jacket around herself as she stepped out of the shop.

“How’s progress?”

“Good, almost done with the pistols, a revolver and a semi-auto pistol in good working order. The pistol only has a single extra magazine, but I have a dozen quickloaders for the revolver for some reason.”

Karla nodded. “Any high-velocity rounds for my machine pistol?”

She yawned. “Like, ten. Honestly that kind of firepower is more than what we’re used to down here. Anyone who tried to fire that would break their arms if they didn’t have any gear. I’m surprised we had ten, honestly. The rifle might be a problem. Automatic won’t be doable, but I plan on changing the barrel out for something longer and converting it into a hand-racked marksman’s rifle. I don’t know how useful it’ll be, but it’ll be better than nothing. Oh, something special for ya.” Selena smiled as she held out a long, heavy-looking weapon. “Something dope from the second California war, just got it working again. It’s not too flashy, but it’s got a heatblade.”

Karla took the object and unsheathed it. It was a shortsword, or perhaps a very long knife. It was old and covered in nicks and wear, but it looked functional.

“Does it work?” she asked.

She nodded. “It does, though it might flicker out on you. Just hit the hilt and it should come back on.”

“How comforting.” Karla clipped the sheath to her belt and tucked it away under her jacket. “When will we be doing this?”

“I dunno. Hopefully soon. Freddie should be coming back anytime now with some updates for us.” She seemed to hesitate for a moment. “Kat, is your real name Kat?”

Karla looked at her. “Why?”

“Well, there was a wanted ad that popped up, but it wasn’t for a Kat, it was for a Charlene and Donald Lucine.”

Karla blanked for a moment, she had forgotten her odd fake name given to her when she entered the city. “Let me see it.” She held out a hand.

Selena pulled out a folded poster and handed it over, on it was a rough imaging made up from the scan of Karla and Delta when they passed through the Church’s gate. Both were wanted by City Security, both had a wanted price of twenty thousand dollars. She let out a relieved sigh. “So he’s alive…”

“I knew it. Should I call you Charlene?”

“Call me Kat. And don’t mention this.” She held up the paper before tucking it away in a pocket. She felt absolutely giddy right now. Delta couldn’t be wanted if he was dead. Karla clutched the pistol through the jacket. It never left her chest pocket now, not having a reason to take it out. But it also felt like a reminder of her destination. She was determined to bring it back to Delta, and she was sure she’d hand it back to him sooner or later. It felt like an end goal, now. Not that she knew what would happen after that.

The two stood there in silence for a few minutes when a small, white van hummed up the twisted road. It hovered, though only a foot or so off the ground, a relic from an era long past. It slowed in front of them and Freddie rolling down the window.

“I have some news! Inside, let’s speak inside.” He pulled the van forward, then reversed it into a slot cut out for it directly in the front of the building. To call it a garage would be an overstatement, more like a keyhole that just barely had enough room for this specific van.

The two went inside just as Freddie hopped out.

“Hey Freddie.” Selena yawned. “Spit it out.”

“We have to move tonight. We have the perfect chance right now while they’re currently short-staffed with guards.”

Selena woke up instantly. “Wait! Tonight? What happened?”

“It sounds like they’ve been continuing that old project of mine. All of the guards were chipped. There was some kind of data breach or corruption on their system and it toasted the chip of every guard on the production floor. Now the number of guards has dropped from around forty to five. They are planning a shipment for early tomorrow morning, on the hauler’s way back it should be bringing a replacement force to guard the place. I don’t know how much cash the corporation has right now, but they shouldn’t be able to afford a temporary hired force.”

“Only five?” said Karla.

He nodded. “Only the ones around the manager’s office escaped getting damaged. They might place some of the staff on guard duty, but they will be Canyon residents with pistols. They’ll surrender without a fight. Most of the guards are there to put down irate workers, not defend against intrusion.”

The pair looked at Selena. She sighed. “I’m so fucking tired, but fine. If you’re cool with a pair of pistols, a heatblade, and whatever ammo you can carry, then we can hit it tonight if you want. I’ll get the rifle together after some sleep.” Selena yawned and waved her hand at the pair, disappearing to the back of the shop where she’d made a small bed up for herself.

“Confident?” Karla asked.

“Very! I was worried with the number of guards, but with so many of them out, this is likely the easiest chance we’ll get. Again, you don’t have to bother with the guards, just focus on the three managers and get out. ”

“Sounds good. Let me know when and I’ll get ready to go. I want to head back outside to take the view in a bit more before we leave.”

“Huh.” Freddie cocked his head.

“What?”

“You have more emotions than most cyborgs I’ve seen. Usually the more you strip away and replace, the more robotic a person’s brain will become, no matter how organic it is.” He shrugged and gave her a thumbs up. “It’s a good thing. Trust me!”

Freddie got to work, and Karla stepped back outside. The fog had cooked off now, leaving a shadowed valley that woke up to the sound of industry.