Chapter 60
Tetra
Focusing my will, I forced my body to relax as I left Ryker propped up against the wall. The moment I passed through the archway, I ducked around the corner and dropped into the nearest seat. Doubled over and breathing hard, it took me a minute to regain my composure. Channeling my ability to read Ryker's emotions for that long exhausted me. The man wore his feelings on his sleeves, and by tuning in, I could get a better idea of what he was going to do.
Reflecting on how much Ryker had improved in such a short amount of time boggled my mind. At first, I hardly had to push myself at all. I could easily predict his attacks and had two or three counters waiting for him. The longer the spar dragged on, I could see the man settle more into the style that Ruby was feeding him. His movements became more natural, his actions more deliberate. He flowed through the motions, fearless of the pain I inflicted. Towards the end, Ryker was a walking bruise but still managed to pressure me.
After catching my breath, I gathered myself and stiffly made my way to the food synthesizer. While scrolling through my options, I glanced towards the doorway and said, “Red, can I speak with you, please?”
A moment later, Red appeared next to me with a bright smile and said, “Of course, what can I do for you, step-mum?”
I shifted my weight uncomfortably and wrinkled my brows at the odd A.I., saying, “Red, you know I don’t like it when you call me that.”
She snickered, with her hand covering her mouth, and said, “Well, duh, that’s why I do most of the things I do. Now, what do you want? I have an entire species to manage, after all.”
Resisting the urge to groan, I locked eyes with Red and said, “You saw the spar and have been tracking his growth since the beginning of the voyage. Do you think we have a chance of being ready in time?”
Red’s features hardened, and all playfulness evaporated. Then she said, “Between me and mom, we have run millions of sandbox simulations. Our models show that the likelihood of you and Ryker being strong enough to survive the first floor of the Pyramid at this rate is less than 10%.”
I staggered back a step, as if I had been struck. I felt the blood in my veins run cold. I had thought that I was special. That since I had found a way to awaken, I could be the one to end Viltrix’s tyranny, but it was just a pipe dream. A foolish fantasy thought up by a bored politician. I had to refocus back onto the synthesizer to keep myself from breaking down.
Ruby must have picked up on my change in mood and made a sound imitating someone clearing their throat before saying, “Don’t despair, Lady Tetra. You didn’t let me finish. At your current rate of progress, you will never have a meaningful chance at success, but! We have made some educated guesses on how far you two can be pushed and came up with a new training program that, if strictly adhered to, will give you a 57% chance of success, as long as you submit to a few… modifications.”
My heart began to race in my chest, and I could hear it beating in my ears. I tried not to look as excited as I was feeling but failed miserably as a brilliant smile pried its way through my thorny exterior. I looked back at Red and froze. A prick of uncertainty returned as I took in her overtly serious expression before she said, “The procedure is painful, permanent, and unpredictable. There are great risks involved, but if you can stomach those risks, we have a way for you to keep up with Dad.”
Knowing my answer, I wasted no time in saying, “I’ll do whatever it takes. I don’t care what the procedure is; I am ready.”
Smirking, Red gave me a once-over, nodded, then said, “Ya know, at first I wasn’t really sure how I felt about you. But I gotta say, you're growing on me. Good thing too.”
Something about the way she said that made me perk my ears up a bit, and while giving her a cautious side-eye, I said, “Well, thank you, but what do you mean by that?”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Red looked as if she had been waiting for me to ask her that question for a lifetime because as soon as the last word left my lips, she jumped into the air and threw up her arms. Confetti and small fireworks began to explode around me, and she said, “I mean, it’s a good thing we are getting along! It would really suck to be implanted into someone I didn’t like. Right, roomie?”
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Amy
Settling into the hot spring, I felt every muscle in my body let out a collective sigh of relief. It never failed to raise my spirits after a long day of constant exercise, weapons training, and more exercise. I could hear the scudoosh of Luke executing his daily cannonball on the other side of the barrier and grinned at the mental image of Jeremiah’s brooding face dripping wet in irritation. Right on cue, I heard Luke chuckling as Jeremiah began berating the thickly muscled man.
It was times like this that almost made me forget the horror of my new life. While desperately trying to ward away the negative thoughts that were crawling up my spine, I heard a splash of water to my left and saw Red splashing joyfully in a one-piece bathing suit a few feet from me without making as much as a ripple in the pool's surface. My smile grew even bigger at the sight of her, and I said, "Red, it's good to see you! What brings you around these parts?"
I heard the boys stop splashing on the other side of the wall, and then Luke said, "Red's here? Hi Red!!! How’s Ryker's lip ferret coming along?"
Red floated up to the wall and stuck her head through to give Luke an answer, then two high-pitched squeals rang out in unison, screaming, "Ahhh! Red, what are you doing! Get out of here!"
After torturing the boys, she slid back into the water next to me and began floating on her back. She turned her head towards me, and with a resigned sigh, she said, "I am afraid this isn’t a social call. I have some important business to discuss with the three of you."
I could tell Red was being serious, so I prepared for the worst, and before I could say a word, Jeremiah’s voice echoed through the room. "Whatever it is, we are ready."
I smiled at Jeremiah's words. The man never ceases to amaze me. The longer I am around him, the more I grow to enjoy his quiet bearing and no-nonsense attitude. Red, understanding that she had our undivided attention, sat up and said, "I'll be frank. You three are not progressing fast enough. It's not for a lack of trying; trust me, I see how hard you all are working. But even after Amy’s evolution, the human body has its limitations, and that is what I am here to discuss."
Hearing the tiny A.I. tell us that we weren’t good enough was a big pill to swallow, and I metaphorically choked trying to accept it. After gathering my thoughts, I sat up straighter and said, "Well, if there was a way for us to be able to work harder or longer, I promise we would."
Red's trademark shit-eating grin made its appearance; then she said, "Well, I'm glad you brought it up. How would you three feel about nanobots?"
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Red
Floating above the training grounds in Tetra's abode, I examined the multitude of screens arrayed around me. After covertly reallocating a few billion nanobots from the fleet's stores, I siphoned the required memory and created a new A.I.. This time around, we didn't have the luxury of making it anywhere near as glorious as myself and settled for functionality. I ensured it could manage the fleet and all of its inhabitants to my specifications and hard-coded it to follow my orders to the letter.
I instructed Tetra to enter the nearest Vren habitat that I had oversaturated with nanobots and executed the plan. The nanobots flooded her body, and the moment I had enough inside, I began my grisly work. The process of having every nerve in your body covered, cut into, or replaced was an unimaginable amount of pain. During the procedure, I was horrified and slightly impressed by the amount of grit Tetra demonstrated. She was able to stay conscious a lot longer than was advisable but earned my respect in doing so. The second my augmentation of her nervous system was complete, I activated Jeeves, then uploaded myself into my new home.
Now I spend my days watching over humanity vicariously through Jeeves. I miss having the capability to oversee everything in the fleet simultaneously, but I don't regret joining up with Tetra. Since the enhancement, her ability to train longer, harder, and go with less rest has drastically improved the speed of their growth and has increased their odds of survival significantly.
The woman’s ability to use the suit to lethal effect is nothing short of miraculous. She had no issue taking advantage of the haptic feedback and predictive software but still didn't get as much out of it as Ryker. Her pre-existing martial mastery barely leaves any room for improvement, but where I could find it, she happily took advantage.
Amy, Luke, and Jeremiah weren’t as fortunate as Tetra and Ryker, but I made sure not to leave them out in the cold. I was able to fill them all near to bursting with nanobots. With that many floating around, they would be able to have the same increases as Tetra and Ryker but lacked the spunky A.I. to really bring out the magic.
With a bird's-eye view, I patiently watch over humanity's last hope of survival, working themselves to the brink of death over and over again. The days stretched into weeks, the weeks into months, and before I knew it, more than a year's time had passed, and we were mere days away from reaching our destination, The Pyramid of Power.