Chapter 33
A whole new Nellie.
“How’s our passenger doing?” Nellie called over her shoulder as the Indomitable lifted off the Caldera's surface at long last.
“I am doing very well, thank you,” Robot replied.
After much discussion, they decided not to choose a name for themselves. Too much was unknown, and they wanted to experiment a little first. So, for now, it was Robot.
“Glad to hear it,” Nellie smiled to herself. “We will be hitting some bad turbulence as we punch out of these clouds of ash, so make sure you are strapped in.”
“I am well secured,” Robot replied smugly.
The transfer had not been exactly smooth. Even with all the nanites in the world, which she did not even remotely have access to, it was difficult to use the remains of the four cents to build a new, complete body. That didn’t even take into account the need to connect sensation and sensor feedback to an actual spinal column.
Luckily, Lucy had completed her repairs before they were necessary. With her help, things had improved quickly. For a start, Nellie had planned to put the brain in the head. It only made sense, right?
Wrong. The brain was now encased in a double-shielded and armored sphere in the upper right chest. Why have something so vulnerable on top of a meat stick where anyone could blast it off? It was something she had not, until now, considered.
The end result had been slightly bigger than the cents, and Lucy had added an extra pair of arms. Even better, everything could be snapped on and off as it wanted—something to remind it of the accomplishments it had made.
They, not it.
No matter how long it took to set in, Nellie promised to remember that.
“Here we go, everyone!” Nellie warned and shot forward.
The Indomitable was not quite fully repaired, she discovered. There was a slight wobble in the right thruster, and that caused them to clip the edge of an ash jet. Still, all things considered, Nellie thought it was pretty well done.
“Shields to full; communications should clear soon,” Nellie told Lucy.
“I’m monitoring the signal constantly,” Lucy replied smugly. She was more than a little cheerful now that she had fully recovered and reintegrated with Nellie and the Indomitable.
Robot’s story, harrowing as it was, had given Nellie an idea of what it must have been like for her. They had already started the process of shielding the nanite orb in the alloy to ensure it could never happen again.
Coating Nellie herself was going to be a longer project, especially considering she had to move and breathe, for example.
“CONTACT!” Lucy called. “Ship off the starboard bow!”
Nellie fired up the weapons just in time to see the N.S.S. Legacy appear from the ash clouds.
“Ostie,” Nellie muttered to herself. “These clouds are a nightmare.”
“Legacy to Indomitable,” Baz’s voice came over the comm line. “We were just on our way down to check on you.”
“Indomitable receiving. It was an interesting trip, and we lost the cents in the process. Repaired and on our way out now.” Nellie smiled into the comm. “We managed to secure the relay orbs from the cents so that they won’t lose anything.”
“Roger that, Captain,” Baz said happily. “Permission to escort you back to the Bly?”
“Granted, Legacy,” Nellie responded. “Let Paren know her smiler did well and is fine.”
“Relaying the message now,” Baz replied as he maneuvered into position on her left wing.
As they emerged from the clouds, Nellie looked up at the looming black and felt an immense sense of relief.
They had made it, but somehow, Nellie felt like more had changed than just a new person on board.
===<<<>>>===
Nellie walked into the conference room on the Bly and smiled to see all her people gathered together. The entire bridge crew, along with the senior staff of the Bly’s Rest, had been summoned to this meeting. Banjo was joining the conference from the new receiver at the Embassy, and even Paren had been convinced to come.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming,” Nellie opened, feeling slightly stiff and formal, but the situation called for it. So much had changed down at that facility. “I called you all here to inform you that the immediate priorities of this group are changing.” She let that sink in for a moment. “Until now, we have been happy enough to be making slow and steady progress toward the exploration and eventual protection of this system. I had hoped to find allies and establish a stable base for us going forward. Slow and steady was the plan.”
Everyone was nodding along except Paren, who was already looking bored.
“Down on the planet, we triggered a weapon designed and built for a single purpose: To destroy nanites in all their forms.” Everyone was suddenly paying a lot of attention. “Fortunately, we were able to escape permanent damage and death, but it was a very close run thing. Very close. Only one of our number was unaffected by the blast, the Smiler Heavy Crawler. The alloy dampener on the chitin plates was highly effective.” She turned to a smug-looking Paren. “I will send you all the information we have. Figuring out defenses against this weapon is now your most important task.”
“I’ll crack it as fast as I can,” Paren promised.
“While we are on the subject, I want a crawler unit with every team and ship that leaves the station from now on. Also, send at least six down to Banjo, along with a second detachment of Centrum units.” Nellie ignored the surprised looks and tried her best to ignore the happy tears in Paren’s eyes. “Salem, if you can find some people willing to become drones and work with Paren, I’d appreciate that.”
“I have a couple of options in mind,” Salem said, apparently summoning a clipboard from nowhere. Where did she even carry these things? “I also have a promising candidate among the recently upgraded units.”
“Whoever you and Paren think is best,” Nellie nodded. “Now, onto the reason for this meeting. The I.E.S. is a far greater threat than I had ever imagined. The things they did down on that planet are… an abomination. I’m sorry; there is just no other word for it. Moreover, they appear to have a problem with nanites.” Nellie took a deep breath, not quite believing what she was about to say, even if she knew it was the right thing to do. “As of now, we are on a war footing. The battle with the I.E.S. is inevitable. We have to be as ready as possible. That means the plan to secure this system is a lot more important. Urgent, even. Production of ships, securing resources, everything is now marked as urgent.” Nellie stood back and waited for the reaction.
“Allies will be key,” Remy noted after a moment. “Can I suggest we pursue a friendly relationship with anyone we encounter as a matter of official policy?”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Absolutely,” Nellie agreed. “We will not become a scourge on the galaxy in an attempt to fight one. Friendly, kind, and open to everyone we encounter. Always.”
“But not forgiving,” Salem added.
“Not overly forgiving,” Nellie agreed.
“We will need more battleships,” Dar said, getting a nod from Vey. “Crews will not be a huge problem, thanks to the cents.”
“Agreed.” Nellie fought not to smile at how quickly that term had spread.
“I’ll let our new neighbors know we would like to start the training exchange shit,” Banjo added, ruining the professional atmosphere but also cutting the rising tension a little.
“Thank you, Banjo,” Nellie smiled despite herself. “On the subject of our new neighbors…”
“We are open to recruitment?” Salem guessed.
“Only if they are willing to become drones,” Nellie said, not liking the idea much. “Otherwise, we will have spies in the ranks in less than a week.”
Salem nodded, and Banjo gave an enthusiastic thumbs up.
“Let’s turn to particulars,” Salem leaned forward…
After the meeting ended, Nellie finally visited her official apartments at Bly’s Rest. Honestly, it was simply the best place to be alone, and for the moment, that was exactly what she needed.
“Are you okay?” Lucy asked the instant they were alone.
“Tell me I am not making a huge mistake,” Nellie said, falling back onto the oversized bed.
“The things we experienced on that planet,” Lucy appeared in her old holographic form, sitting on the edge of the bed. “They changed more than the situation. They changed you. Deeply.”
“I know,” Nellie sighed and ran her hands over her face.
“You can talk about it if you want,” Lucy offered. “Or if you need to.”
“It wasn’t almost dying,” Nellie said, having been dying to let the thought out. “That’s the crazy thing. It wasn’t that I almost died. That would almost have been easy. I’ve done ‘almost dying’ before. It was you.”
“Me?” Lucy frowned.
“I lay there, barely able to even move, and I saw your face. You weren’t moving; you didn’t answer me, no matter how much I screamed and begged.” Nellie felt tears start to fall. “Before Wasta showed up, I thought you were dead. That their weapon had killed you. Dead. Because of a decision I had made.”
“Trapped inside the orb, I was thinking exactly the same thing. That I had gotten you killed. My predictive algorithms put your death as a 100% certainty.” Lucy sighed. “It was the best choice. It really was.”
“Something changed in me as I looked at your body. Or started to. I realized that I hadn’t really lost anything before. Not even when the I.E.S. abducted me. The truth is, they were right. My life wasn’t worth much. It sounds awful to say, but it’s true. I was alone, unemployed, and broke. I’d have traded it all for you in a heartbeat if I had known. Not that it makes what they did right, but it meant that I didn’t hate them. Not really.” Nellie sat up, wiping her eyes. “That changed down there. For a few moments, I really did hate them.”
“You don’t hate them now?” Lucy asked, sounding surprised.
“No,” Nellie shook her head. “I don’t. They are evil. That terrible, awful, impersonal, uncaring evil that comes when a corporation gets too large to be controlled. When it gets too successful to be stopped, and can do whatever it wants, to whoever it wants. It doesn’t care; it doesn’t love or hate; it just exists and eats and consumes and grows like a parasite. Everything it touches, it absorbs until there is nothing left. You don’t hate something like that. You just kill it, every part of it, until nothing is left.”
“Like excising an infection,” Lucy nodded.
“Exactly,” Nellie said with feeling. “But to do that…”
“We can’t just be traders,” Lucy agreed.
“Just promise me one thing,” Nellie sighed as she cracked her neck. “Don’t let me become the bad guy.”
“Never, Nellie,” Lucy promised. “Never.”
“Then we are really doing this,” Nellie chuckled. “We’re really going to claim this whole system.”
“For a start,” Lucy smiled. “For a start.”
===<<<>>>===
Robot sat in his quarters and wondered what he should do now. It was just so hard to decide, given that he could actually feel things. Currently, he was enjoying the feel of the chair against his new metal body.
Safe. It was a strange concept, and he did not really understand it. The lovely AI lady explained the idea three times: protection from harm and surety against pain. Was such a thing even possible?
Three times in the last five minutes, Robot had queried his system to check he was not sleeping, only to find he was quite awake. This was not all a fantastic dream from which he would awake to find the empty facility around him.
That would never happen again.
Safe. What a concept.
The door chime sounded, and he mentally clicked to accept the visitor.
“Hi!” A strange woman came through the door. She was not like the others. The four legs were a clear sign of that. Robot found that he approved. More limbs were always a good idea.
“Hello, I am Robot until I decide on a name.” The sound from the new speakers was so much clearer than his old ones. “I like your legs.”
“I’m Paren, as I have decided on my name, and I like your arms.” The woman smiled at him. “I came to ask you if you would like to help me in my department.”
“I also have a question,” Robot replied. “Can I have more legs?”
“Why not?” Paren shrugged. “Should be a simple alteration to the design.”
“I do not want to be experimented on or restrained,” Robot said carefully. “Other than that, I would be satisfied to help in any way I can.”
“You will not be experimented on,” Paren said severely. “They did something like that to me; I won’t allow that kind of thing in my lab. And no restraints on anything that doesn’t try to eat us.”
“I like you,” Robot said simply. “What will we be doing?”
“I like you too, Robot,” Paren smiled. “And we will be figuring out ways to help people, protect ourselves from the I.E.S., and then kill them all.”
“Kill them all?” Robot tilted his head to one side. “All of them?”
“All of them,” Paren smiled, and suddenly Robot knew he didn’t have to be afraid anymore.
“How did you get away from those who hurt you?” Robot asked as he stood.
“A nice lady came and made me better,” Paren said happily.
“The same thing happened to me!” Robot replied.
“Same lady,” Paren patted him on the back. “Same lady.”
Robot paused and replayed the sensation of being patted on the back. He liked it.
“Will you be my friend?” Robot asked hopefully.
Paren thought about it for a moment. “I think that would be nice, Robot, thank you.”
Robot nodded and followed Paren into a strange new world.
“What is this place?” Robot asked as he stroked the thing called a leaf. It was green and soft and cool. But it was alive. All around him, things were alive. Creatures with black shells whizzed back and forth while the walls were covered with a strange thread-like substance that waved and caressed his hand when he touched it.
Things that looked like they were made of jelly chirped and wiggled around, with colorful plants all over them. Some even had small metal legs that they used to move about.
“This is my lab,” Paren said absently as she waited for a silvery substance to form a table in front of her.
“This one seems to be struggling to move the things,” Robot pointed to a small jelly creature trying to move the little mechanical legs. “Will it be punished?”
“No!” Paren looked horrified. “It’s only playing around anyway. It might not like the legs. I have other designs with wheels, but I’m too busy to build them right now.”
Robot patted the little jelly very gently, and it grabbed on and swarmed up his arm, reforming on his shoulder.
“Is this okay?” He asked nervously.
“Hmm?” Paren looked around and laughed. “Oh, yeah. That one likes to ride on people rather than use a machine. If it starts to bug you, just point to the floor, and it will jump off.”
“It is not irritating,” Robot said absently. “It is all so wonderful.”
“I knew you would get it,” Paren nodded. “Now, why don’t you go have a look around, and when you are ready, come and join me. I’ll need to get a few ideas going before I ask what you think anyway.”
Robot nodded and started to explore this place.
Life, movement, and lights were everywhere.
Even in his dreams, Robot had never imagined a place like this.
“Hello,” Robot said, seeing the strange-looking man working on a fused panel a half hour later. “I am Robot until I chose a name.”
“Hello, Robot, I am Cix-El. I am surprised to see anyone else in this lab.” The man nodded to him.
“I have permission,” Robot responded quickly. “Paren said so.”
“Everyone is allowed to come here,” Cix-El said with a smile. “But most do not.”
“But why?” Robot asked. “It is so wonderful here.”
“Ah, I see,” Cix-El smiled again. “Paren will like you.”
“She said she would be my friend,” Robot reported shyly.
“It is good to have friends,” Cix-El nodded gravely. “May I be your friend as well?”
“I would like that,” Robot said with a strange warm feeling in his chest.
Cix-El was right. It was good to have friends.