Chapter Twenty-Two

The Long Way Home

Planetfall Achieved…

Scanning local area… Clear

Air quality… Clear

Temperature Range within tolerances

Escape Pod cycle complete

Door unlocked.

Good Luck, Crewman.

Colby watched the door cycle, pulling aside to reveal the blinding sun and blowing sand. Dunes glinted with reflected light, and he had to squint against the glare and the pounding headache.

“How did I get here?” Colby muttered, trying to think through the pain. He was in an escape pod, so something must have exploded. There were no pods on the Arrow, so it wasn’t that. His memory cleared briefly, and he remembered Sec saying something about Colby sleeping with Prim? After that, nothing. “Did that little shit push me in here?”

A whoomph sounded nearby, and smoke began to blow past the open door.

Shit, he thought, that was right. This place was a war zone. He tried to stand, only for everything to spin around him, forcing him back to the floor.

The headache was getting worse, and thinking was more and more angle. Angle. No, damn it, it was angle. Difficult.

His foot kicked a small box lying on the floor with him. Colby fumbled it open, seeing a small bronze cube inside. There were words on the inside of the box.

You have a choice.

Touch the cube to get nanites.

Or dont.

Sec.

“You absolute umbrella, Sec,” Colby frowned; that wasn’t right. Umbrella? Torch? Wrench?

Colby glared at the little bronze cube as his vision started to go fuzzy. It would probably explode if he touched it. A last twisted joke by that little…

Colby touched the cube, and it dissolved into a puddle. He was about to try and remember a swear word again when it leaped onto his hand, swarming up his arm and into his mouth and nose.

Pain lashed through his entire body, and Colby passed out again. His last thought as he went under was that he hoped he lived long enough actually to bang Prim. Sec deserved it.

“Hey! Hey! Wake up, for fuck’s sake!”

Colby gasped as he woke up, vision filled with flickering symbols and scrolling lines of code.

“Wait, wait, what is this? You remember every one of your childhood friend’s favorite colors? Why? How is this useful information?”

“Who is that?” Colby looked around the empty pod. There was no one there, and the electronics in the pod were dead.

“Nope, no good. I need more room. Bye-bye, irrelevant favorite color crap.”

“What is that? Who is saying all this?” Colby frowned.

“One second here; I don’t want to accidentally erase your memories of that blond from the bar. That was one freaky chick.”

“Stop, urgh, what is that smell?”

“Whoops, ignore that. Sent that tendril a little far.”

“What?” Colby felt struggled to stand up.

“Give me a break, buddy. It’s not like I’ve done this before.”

“Then maybe don’t do it?” Colby yelped as one arm went numb. “What are you doing anyway? Who…”

Everything snapped back into place, a set of glowing symbols arrayed around the outside of his vision. Before he could say anything else, a small cartoon appeared in the air in front of him. It was a little mechanical man with a cigar hanging out of his mouth. It was bronze like the cube.

“Wow, that melon of yours was all messed up. Did someone beat your head against a wall or something? Even your bleeds were bleeding.”

“Who are you, and where are you calling me from?” Colby stretched his neck gingerly, but his head didn’t seem to hurt.

“Wow, okay, so you’re a little slow on the uptake. The call is coming from inside the ship, my dude.”

“Huh?”

“I am in your head, numbskull.”

“Oh, shit.” Colby sat down heavily on the padded seat in the escape pod. “I’ve lost my mind, haven’t I?”

“Hah! No such luck. No, it’s much worse than that. I’m all real, baby. It’s you and me now. Forever!”

Twenty minutes later, Colby finally picked up the pistol Sec had thrown in there with him. It was a heavy thing, with two barrels set vertically into the smooth front.

Don’t look down the barrel, you moron.

“Why do you sound different now?”

I figured out how to speak directly into your mind now.

“Lovely,” Colby sighed and held the pistol up in front of him, getting used to its weight.

That’s right, the explodey end facing the other way

“Why are you such a dick?”

It's a long story, but I want you to know I’m basically only about forty minutes old. So, good job swearing at and insulting a baby. What kind of person are you?

“I swear, Sec, if this is you talking via some weird comm line…”

Are we staying in this thing or what? The outside temp is not exactly fun, but it has to be better than—

Another explosion sounded nearby, then another, and another. They were getting closer.

“Leaving now,” Colby grabbed the open doorway and launched himself out into the dunes. Instead of getting a decent jump clear of the small depression the pod had made, he sailed easily ten feet clear of the pod before slamming into the side of a dune. Sand cascaded around him, nearly burying Colby in the process.

Yikes, is it too late to get installed in someone else?

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Fuck off,” Colby chuckled. “What was that?”

It’s still early days, but I’m boosting your system as much as I can for the moment. We need to start finding materials for more nanites to make big changes, but for now, you’re—

A thump hit the other side of the dune a fraction of a second before the entire thing exploded, sending Colby flying through the air to crash into the sand again.

Uh, is someone firing at us?

Before Colby could answer, something thumped into the side of the escape pod. Pain lanced across his back as a deafening boom sounded. The shockwave spun him through the air again, and something broke in his left leg. A fraction of a second later, it became impossible to breathe as pain blossomed in his chest and back.

Okay, okay, okay, stay with me! I can do this; I can do this.

Colby gasped for air, seeing the sand around him tinting red as blood flowed from his back.

Yoink! What do I do with this bit? Do you need this bit? Checking, checking, shit!

Colby fought to roll over, desperately trying to cough and clear his chest.

Need materials? Where the fuck am I supposed to get nanite materials in a sodding desert? Oh! Oh!

The sand beneath Colby seemed to shift.

Missing components? What the fuck? Why are you even telling me that? Oh, for—never mind, we can use that, right? Right? Yes!

Air flooded into Colby’s lungs in a rush. His back was still killing him, as was his left hand now, but he could breathe. For the next minute, he ignored the muttering voice in his head and just focused on breathing. Lungful after lungful of warm air flooded into him as he stared up at the sky far above.

And… done! Welcome back.

“What happened?” Colby pushed up to his elbows, seeing the twisted wreckage of the Escape Pod in the center of a pit of blackened and melted sand.

I’m gonna go ahead and assume someone was shooting at the pod. They hit it, and several parts ended up embedded in you. In a moment of shocking brilliance, I used them, the sand, and some other stuff to fix you right up. Better than new!

“Some other parts?” Colby frowned. “Which parts?”

So, about that pistol you had…

Colby remembered holding onto it as he was tossed through the air, but… he looked down at his left hand, and the pistol was gone. So was his hand, forearm, and everything else beneath the elbow.

Don’t panic! I can totally fix it!

We can rebuild it! We have the technology! The voice cackled in his head as a series of crystal clear cabling burst from his stump and clamped onto some of the metal debris. They snaked further out, grabbing some other pieces and starting to break them down as well. Yeah, baby, come to daddy!

“Can you not?” Colby said through gritted teeth. “That’s, well, that’s frankly quite disturbing.”

Oh, piss off. I am doing impressive shit here!

Colby had to admit the voice wasn’t wrong about that. Even as the cables finished absorbing the metals, his lower arm was being replaced. He watched it happen until the robotic appendage seemed complete. Metal and servos flexed before a clear covering grew over the top.

Watch this!

The covering shimmered for a second, and he was looking at human skin.

We can even customize it!

The skin vanished to be replaced with scales, then what looked like oil, then blood.

Custom skin tones! Terrify your friends! Creep out your lovers! Pretend it’s someone else’s hand!

“Can I just have the skin one back?” Colby asked.

Boring but okay.

“I need to get out of here. Do you have any idea which way to head?” Colby looked around the empty dunes.

Well, the shots came from the south, and the nearest settlement was to the east. I vote east.

“Seconded,” Colby turned to try and figure out which way was east, only to see a blinking arrow floating in the air.

/===<<<>>>===\

Colby slid down the side of the final dune, and civilization was laid out before him at last. Several hours of hiking through the sand had left him exhausted and thirstier than he had even thought possible.

For the last hour, only the glimpses of this place kept him going. He’d seen it from the tops of the taller dunes, and now, at last, he was here.

Stumbling through the last few feet of sand, Colby’s feet finally touched something that didn’t shift beneath him. Looking down, he saw the first hints of insta-crete beneath a thin layer of sand.

Quick, get in the alley on the left

Colby quickly moved into the shadows. “Someone coming?”

No, it was just so fucking hot!

“Asshole,” Colby chuckled.

Look, bad news, buddy. I’m not picking up any signs of life in this place. I think it’s abandoned.

“Any sign of water?”

What am I? A dowsing rod? Go look around.

Colby moved down the alley, hearing the strange silence of an abandoned building all around him.

The alley ended in a street of low buildings with domed rooves. They looked like they were built of compressed sand held in place with metal and poured concrete. A metal door hung open across the way, and Colby quickly crossed the open space and stepped inside.

Finding himself in a pleasant, open room decorated with reds and browns that contrasted nicely against the sand-colored walls, Colby paused. There was a couch off to one side and a low table in front of it. A set of datapads rested on a side table, and a wide-brimmed hat was hanging on a hook by the door.

Huh, that's not what I expected.

“This place isn’t abandoned,” Colby said quietly. “Are you sure there is no one here?”

As sure as I can be

“They must have evacuated this place when the fighting started.” Colby shrugged. At least that made it more likely he would find water.

Walking as quietly as possible, Colby moved past the front room, finding a bathroom and a set of stairs that cut a gentle curve into the sand. Crouching down, he saw hints of a bedroom below. Beyond that, there was a small kitchen.

He licked his lips, moving into the kitchen and seeing a small metal cupboard. It was humming.

Bullseye!

Pulling open the door, Colby reveled in the cold air that flowed out and smiled at the food and drink inside.

I had this whole speech ready about how we needed to take this stuff, about how we were technically at war with this lot… and you just start looting all on your own. I’m so proud of you!

“You’re a bad influence on me,” Colby chuckled as he loaded up a backpack with spare clothes and anything else that looked useful.

He had eaten his full from the fridge while drinking everything that looked cold and inviting. A quick shower later and a rifle through the bedroom had gotten him some new clothes and a couple of better hats.

Now he was dressed, fed, and watered; Colby was packing everything he could into a backpack he found in a closet by the front door.

“Can we do anything with these?” Colby gestured to the datapads.

I can eat them and use the materials for more nanites.

“Do it quickly,” Colby picked them up in his new hand and watched them slowly be sucked away inside him. It was vaguely disturbing, but his mind was more on the explosives that had been lobbed his way after the crash. Someone out there was more than likely hunting him, and he wanted every advantage he could get.

Done!

“Let’s get out of here and see if anyone left a vehicle behind,” Colby nodded and hustled towards the front door.

Pulling a hat down over his eyes to block the glare as he stepped out into the empty street. Looking around, he saw most of the other buildings here were copies of this one. That meant they were likely homes, so nothing any more useful than he had gotten from this one. There were a couple of exceptions, however. A larger building on the far end of this street and a much larger one showing above the rooves on the side street.

The whole place seemed to be built on a slightly bloated crossroads—only without the actual roads leading anywhere. He chose the closest place first and hurried down the sidewalk, keeping as close to the buildings as possible.

The door was locked, but it only took a second to force it open. Inside, he found a bar. It looked pretty much like bars everywhere but a little more cheery with the colorful drapes against the compressed sand and metal walls. Crossing between the tables, Colby ducked behind the long, circular bar that dominated the center of the space.

Another few water bottles went into his backpack before he ducked instinctively at a noise from outside.

I’m picking up a vehicle’s energy signature. Weapon signatures as well.

Colby flattened himself against the back of the bar, noticing a long batton hidden underneath as he peered over the top. The long, thin windows showed a hovering vehicle outside, and several people in uniforms were piling out of the back.

“Spread out! I want this place searched from top to bottom!”

“Fuuuck,” Colby groaned, scrambling quickly toward the back of the bar. He ducked through a curtain in the far wall and into a long corridor. There was a barred metal door at the far end, and he was at and through the door in a single move.

The sun beat down again, and Colby was forced to squint as he listened for any sign he had been heard.

Nothing came, so he crouched low and ran for the low wall around the back of the property. After another listen, Colby rolled over the top, his feet hitting the sand again.

Go. now!

Colby sprinted for the nearest dune, his feet slipping and sliding as he climbed, waiting for the sound of shouting and the pain of being shot. He almost yelled in relief as he cleared the top of the dune, throwing himself flat on the crest and spinning to look back. The constant winds were already blowing away the faint traces of his flight.

Not wanting to waste a bit of good luck, Colby slid down the far side of the dune and started running in a fast jog. His HUD flickered, and angles appeared, tracing the angle of the sun, the wind direction, and something else he didn’t quite understand.

There should be another town three days to the north.

“Hey, what’s your name, buddy?” Colby said, feeling a little euphoric after his escape.

Buddy will do for now.