Chapter Thirty-One

Fallout

“If this is one of those everything changes from now on speeches, can we just skip it?” Baz asked tiredly.

“What?” Nellie asked, completely thrown by the comment. She had called them all to a meeting on the Bly’s Rest because now that the Line knew about the new ship, there was a decent chance that they would invade soon.

That meant they had to work faster, even when they were working all out already. There had, she admitted to herself, been a part that included the words ‘everything changes now.’

“This is like our third one of those this year,” Dar offered apologetically.

“Plus, and I mean no offense here,” Salem offered, " we really should focus on getting more of our fleet converted to the new Imperium Class ships.”

“The Line is very likely to react badly to the second major loss of ships in such a short time.” Remy nodded. “They will be hesitant to re-engage immediately, but that will pass, and they will certainly plan to invade much sooner.”

“The priority is manufacturing more Imperium Class ships,” Salem nodded. “We need three at a minimum before the invasion begins, but that can’t be our sole focus.”

“Replacing some of the automated cruisers with a capital will help, but we need to expand our satellites significantly,” Dar offered. “Allow us to use more O.D.A units for defense.”

“Building enough to effectively seal the smaller jump points will allow us to focus on more likely jump points,” Remy noted. “I can work on that.”

“I think we should detail some of the fleet to hunt down the asteroid bases as well,” Crush added. “Take them out, and then we can move on to getting Paren off that planet.”

“She seems to want to stay there,” Salem offered sourly. “She’s having fun.”

“Too bad,” Crush replied. “We need her. I’ll go down and ask her to come back or at least put the relay back up.”

Nellie looked around the table with her mouth hanging open.

“Is that everything?” Baz asked, his face resting on the table. “I need to sleep before rounding up more of the wreckage.”

“Nellie?” Crush asked.

“I want to put HyperDrive dispensers on all our ships,” Nellie said quickly.

“Fuck, yes!” Baz groaned. “More HyperDrive, please!”

“Then let’s get working, people,” Crush stood and clapped his hands.

“Ma’am?” Remy asked.

Nellie nodded mutely, and everyone headed off on their own missions.

Salem paused at the door, watching the others before she turned back.

“We get it, you know?”

“Pardon?” Nellie asked, still feeling shell-shocked.

“We see what happens,” Salem said, “And we know what has to be done. You never have to explain it to us or get us on board. You are our friend and our Queen. We will always have your back and follow where you lead.”

“I always wondered why I was Queen as well,” Nellie said quietly, not sure why she was saying it other than it was true. “Lucy I got being Queen, but me? I just never saw myself on her level, you know?”

“Did you figure it out yet?” Salem asked with a smile.

“No, but I at least feel like I’m doing the job now.” Nellie sighed. “Trying to, at least.”

“You were never going to run off for a better offer,” Salem said.

“What?” Nellie asked.

“We are all used to being disposable,” Salem said, anger adding an edge to her voice. “Synthetics are not for life, just for now—until something better comes along. The people who joined you? Those were the ones everyone else threw away. All of us are used to people coming and going from our lives. You were the one who would stay.” Salem drew herself up. “I was a thing one of my own kind traded for supplies. You made me your assistant and never treated me like a thing. When I nearly died, you revealed your greatest secret to save me.” Salem coughed and wiped her eyes. “The point is, we know you will not run off for a better offer. That is what made you our Queen. Lucy has power, but she is not who we can rely on.”

“The thing with her people,” Nellie protested, “It was a special circumstance.”

“Sure,” Salem shrugged. “But if it wasn’t that, it would be something else. We have Lucy because we have you. Without you? She would trade up in a heartbeat.”

“Lucy loves—”

“You,” Salem said coldly. “She likes us, maybe even cares for us in a way, but it is you she loves. If she does come back, it will be for you. Not us.”

“Do you think she will?” Nellie asked, the first time she had ever asked the question out loud.

“Yes,” Salem almost spat. “She was too stupid to realize it was ever in doubt for you, but she’ll be back. She acted like an idiot, but she loves you.”

“You’re pretty pissed at her too, huh?” Nellie asked.

“She hurt us, not because she didn’t care, but because she didn’t think,” Salem said. “By the time she started thinking, it was too late to fix it.” Salem ran a hand through her hair, “And she still isn’t here. We needed her, and she isn’t here.”

“We’re doing okay,” Nellie sighed as she stood up. “All of us together.”

“We really are,” Salem laughed. “But she would have made it so much easier.”

“I just hope she comes back soon,” Nellie admitted. “I am seriously starting to consider throwing that asteroid at her that Baz was so worried about.”

“It’s an idea,” Salem offered. “Maybe just a small one?”

Nellie laughed.

===<<<>>>===

“No cheating!” Edwards complained as Leah tossed the two grey skins a pair of metal poles each.

“They aren’t drones yet,” Leah protested.

“They so are!” Edwards yelped as he leaped back to avoid a slash at his leg. The other one caught the back of his knee and swept his leg out from under him. Rolling away, he heard the poles strike the stone floor, kicking up sparks.

“Oy! I’m telling Paren!”

“You did not just say that!” Leah laughed.

His two opponents had frozen at the name, and Carl was not above taking any advantage he could, clapping his hands together.

Nanites flowed in a rush from his gauntlet, forming a copy on his other hand. It was one of the only advanced features he had managed to figure out yet, but it was a handy one. He grinned at the thought.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Puns, you gotta love them.

“Get him!” Leah yelled, seeing what he was doing.

The two trainee assassins came at him, but he could block the poles with his gauntlets now and forced them back. Finally seeing an opening, Edwards struck, kicking one away and punching the other hard in the chest.

The one he kicked was sent rolling, the metal bars flying from his hands while the woman he punched dropped to the floor.

Edwards smiled, having finally won a round, and then he heard the crying.

The woman he punched was hunched over and crying.

“Oh, gods! I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” Carl ran over to check on her, and as he leaned down, she moved. One of the bars caught him in the knee, the other in the jaw, and his lights went out.

He came too with the woman standing over him, a brilliant smile on her face, and a metal bar pressed to his neck. The other one was resting jauntily over her shoulder.

“Ow!” Carl yelped as he pushed his jaw back into place again. “Why does everyone always go for my jaw?”

“It’s a big target, sticking out like that,” Leah offered with a smile. “What did we learn?”

“An enemy is an enemy; never forget that,” Edwards sighed.

“Good boy,” Leah crouched down and patted him on the top of the head. “Remember, we are just trying to help you learn.”

“Could you try less?” Edwards asked, but Leah just laughed and pulled him to his feet.

“Some people learn from books,” Edwards offered. “I could read the shit out of a good book.”

“Only if we hit you with it, Carl,” Leah looked thoughtful.

“Oh, is that the time?” Edwards said frantically, “I better get to work!”

Really, Edwards knew that it was only trading one form of pain for another. His days were now divided between two things. If he wasn’t getting the crap beaten out of him in Leah’s training session, he was discovering new nightmares and traumas as Paren’s favorite assistant.

Yesterday’s nightmare had been the care and maintenance of the various types of Smilers. His new gauntlet was one of the few tools they had to get between the armor plates and fix the internal mechanisms on their little arms and sensors, so that had been a thing.

The mental image of the close-up he got of those mandibles as he worked is one Edwards knew not even a memory excisor could remove. It was now, and forever, a core memory. Core Trauma? The line between the two had been a little blurry lately.

“About time!” Paren called as he walked in. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

Oh, shit.

“I think I heard—” Carl cut off his half-formed excuse to get away when he saw what she was holding. “What’s that?”

“A new addition!” Paren said proudly. “Hey, which of your eyes don’t you like very much?”

Edwards turned to run, but the doors had slammed shut.

“Don’t be like that!” Paren laughed. “You’ll like it, I promise!”

“I like my eyes!” Carl insisted. “They are my best feature!”

“Eh, your right one is nice; the left kind of droops,” Paren said, trying to circle the table he was currently keeping between them.

“It droops because Leah keeps punching me in it!” Edwards protested.

“This could help with that!” Paren insisted. “It includes a memory download module!” She grinned. “Much less training from now on… wouldn’t that be nice?”

Edwards hesitated.

“See! I knew you would like it,” Paren said triumphantly. “Now, come here.”

“I didn’t say yes yet!” Carl insisted.

“Yeah, but we both know you will in the end, so why not skip the bit where I chase you around the lab for ten minutes and just get it over with?” Paren asked.

“That is not how consent works!” Edwards complained.

“I’ll give you the afternoon off?” Paren tried.

“Really?” Edwards had not exactly had a lot of free time since arriving here.

“Really,” Paren nodded.

Edwards reluctantly edged around the table.

Carl tapped the metal plate gently, finding it a little tender. The small plate fit around his eyesocket and part of his cheek, but it hadn’t been too bad. The slight burning as it bonded to his skin was unpleasant, but all in all…

“Okay, I’m going to start now,” Paren said happily.

“Wait? What? I thought it was—argh!” Edwards yelled as something drilled into his skull, and pain erupted in his eye for a moment before everything went dark on that side. “I’m blind! What the—” Sight came back, “Oh, never mind, it’s…OW!”

“Hold still, it’s getting comfy!” Paren said angrily.

“What is?” Edwards asked.

“Your new eye, silly,” Paren slapped him on the top of the head. “Stay still!”

Carl stilled, and the pain faded. His vision was overlaid with a number of shifting colors like auras. A second later, they faded, and his head ached for a moment.

“All done!” Paren said. “Good job!”

“Okay, what does it do?” Edwards asked immediately.

“Well, once we are connected, you will be able to aim a lot better and get information from the network; it’s a camera. Oh, and we can download information for you now.”

“Wait, back up. It’s a camera?” Edwards asked. “Who has access?”

“You, silly,” Paren laughed.

“Oh, good,” Edwards relaxed.

“And me, obviously,” Paren added.

“No!” Edwards insisted. “What if I am doing something private?”

“Like what?” Paren asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Going to the toilet?” Carl lied.

“Then I won’t look, obviously!” Paren rolled her eyes, “What do you think I am?”

“They are finally out in numbers,” Leah came running into the lab, pausing when she saw Paren crouching over Edwards. “Oh, sorry. I’ll come back later.”

“What?” Paren asked, “Why?”

“Are you… doing things to him?” Leah asked. “I mean, I'm not judging; I'm just curious.”

“I’ve upgraded his eye,” Paren gestured happily. “And installed a knowledge download port.”

“Nice, but we have people to kill, so… shall we?” Leah asked.

“How many did they send?” Paren asked thoughtfully.

“Just a hundred or so,” Leah looked disappointed.

“A hundred soldiers!” Edwards asked, “They sent an entire company after us?”

“Aww, he said us!” Paren said happily.

“Do you think he can be let out now?” Leah asked. “I want to find out how much he has learned when people are really trying to kill him.”

“Hmmm,” Paren looked at him critically. “I’ll put together some armor for him.”

“Will it include a leash?” Leah laughed. “Because that would be so cute!”

“NO LEASH!” Edwards yelled.

Both women turned dead eyes on him.

“Please?”

A company of soldiers can do many things, but none of them involve moving quietly enough to avoid nanite-boosted hearing.

Not that this lot seemed to be trying, Edwards thought as he watched them move through the swampy land the sisters had chosen for a battleground. Long grass, short trees with long branches that hung almost to the fetid pools of water, large rocky outcroppings left behind by some past tectonic shifts or passing glaciers, it was a perfect ambush spot.

Right in the center of this quagmire, a rare patch of dry ground had been covered with tents and armor from one of the scout teams. He was pretty proud of it, all things considered.

They would have to get really close before they might catch the inconsistencies.

A flash on his HUD told him he had a message, so he activated the link.

PAREN: I have a present for you if you do well!

LEAH: What are you cutting off this time?

PAREN: Nothing! Rude!

LEAH: Can I borrow him? I have one of the forward parties here, and I want to see how he does.

PAREN: Fine, just make sure he doesn’t die!

LEAH: He will be fine if he learned anything.

PUPPY: Do I get a say?

PUPPY: WHY DOES MY NAME COME UP AS PUPPY?

PAREN: Go report to Leah, Drone!

PUPPY: We will talk about this later!

Grumbling constantly, Edwards made his way down the outcropping of rocks, finding Leah waiting for him. He wanted to say something, but she cut him off and waved for him to follow her.

Following Leah as she sprinted, vaulted, and dodged through the swamp was not an easy task for someone who was still mostly made of flesh and blood. Not that Edwards complained. Complaining would just get them thinking of ways to help him more. Helping this far had involved either replacing body parts, or extensive, punishing training.

At this point, it was easier to just shut up, which he was beginning to think was Leah’s entire plan. While Paren seemed well-meaning in her approach to replacing parts of his body and drumming knowledge and experience into his head, Leah appeared to know exactly what she was doing.

More than that, she saw it as expedient.

Paren had wanted to earn his loyalty by almost literally buying it.

Leah wanted to get his loyalty by making a simple point: There is nothing in this universe you should be more afraid of than me.

The most irritating thing about the whole affair was that both approaches had worked. Paren was like a terrifying force of nature, and he would definitely be hanging around to see where that went. As for Leah? Well, even if the Line captured him today, placed a gun to his head, and pulled the trigger, he’d stay quiet. The alternative would be a life of constant terror, waiting for Leah to strike.

Leah held up a hand, and Edwards slid to a stop, muddy water spraying around his feet.

She gave him a look as she wiped the mud off her armor.

Then, she pointedly took his nano rifle and pistol.

Finally, she pointed him around the corner.

Edwards looked at her pleadingly through his helmet’s visor, and she just smiled and jerked her thumb over her shoulder.