There were so many medical supplies that it took her several minutes to find what she was looking for; an emergency nanobot kit. The kit asked her a few questions: What are you treating? What state of consciousness is the patient in? Is the patient on a flat, stable surface?
The answers were multiple choice, and she was surprised when, after answering them accurately, the nanobot linked with her scanner and identified every piece of shrapnel in Gavin's body. The injector flashed; READY, and she placed it onto his bare chest, where a grey gel emerged from the tube then passed through Gavin's skin.
There was an army of millions of nanobots and the shallower pieces of shrapnel were surfacing after only a few seconds as they were carefully pushed out. She opened his suit and watched as the nanobots cleaned him from the inside out, closing wounds after they were used to remove foreign bodies then becoming anti-inflammation, anti-infection, and recovery medication as they dissolved. "Better than the nanobots we used in training," she said as she watched, amazed.
It was over minutes later, and her hand scanner flashed a message: YOUR PATIENT WILL AUTOMATICALLY REGAIN CONSCIOUSNESS IN TWENTY STANDARD MINUTES. ALLOW ONE MINUTE FOR PROPER WAKING. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REVIVE HIM EARLIER.
A knock at the hatch was all the warning she had before it opened. Skylar drew her stolen sidearm and leaned over Gavin's body, sealing his suit back up and shielding him with her body. "Stay out there!" she shouted. "I'll shoot!"
A figure in mismatched black and green camouflage armour was already descending the ramp at speed, and she fired, catching him twice across a metal plate hanging on his chest. "Hold on, hey?" he said, his voice muffled by a full-face rebreather mask that was still dripping. "Pretty-pretty doesn't want to die over a little ship and a few supplies, does she, hey?"
"Get back!" she howled. There was another invader, her armour matching the colour style, but assembled from pieces of different suits of armour, most of them looked found, not made for her.
To her surprise, the man, no taller than she was, leapt forward. Her last shot grazed the side of his head, but then another pair of hands were on her. The woman's hands were on her too, not fighting to get the pistol away, just dragging her by the belt. "You don't need her, hey, just toss her and her boy over, hey."
A third set of hands grabbed her at the hatchway, and she was off her feet. There was an attempt at pulling her handgun from her hand, but she held on for dear life, and squeezed the trigger, only burning the ceiling. "Leave the burner, hey!" shouted another male. Whoever these people were, they had a lot of practice ganging up on people and removing them. They knew how to work as a group, but they weren't necessarily the brightest. She struggled, kicking out and catching one of them in the gut, swinging her free hand, latching onto the edge of one of their masks. "Let me go!"
"Stop fighting, hey! We just want your ship!"
"Fuck off!" Skylar growled as her fingers hooked into the woman's mouth under her mask and she gripped her jaw. Her open-mouthed screams filled the cabin as she panicked, letting go and grabbing Skylar's wrist as the grip grew tighter, crushing the delicate flesh under her tongue. "Leave me alone and I'll let go!"
A fist smashed Skylar across the side of the head, then straight down onto her nose. The glove her assailant was wearing must have been hardened with metal plates, or some kind of weighted fabric, it felt like being hit with hammer. Tears blurred her vision and blood ran down her face, filling her mouth with a coppery taste as she struggled to regain her senses.
They dropped her beside Gavin and their backpacks, and as two of them dragged her by her legs up the ramp she tried to loop her arm through one of the pack's straps only to have it kicked. The water was cold, and the shock of the pressure change made her nose ache furiously. "Fucking bitch! Broke my tooth, hey!" shouted the woman as Skylar surfaced. Her suit inflated small pockets across her body, increasing her buoyancy. They tossed Gavin, his suit closed, thankfully, off the back side of the ship. "Here's your man, bitch!" the female screeched. "Lucky I don't burn you, hey!" She had a narrow face that was a little too toothy to start with, and spiky black hair.
The lifepod nearly dumped her into the water as it lurched forward, and she returned inside, closing the hatch behind her shouting; "I was still out top, hey!"
Skylar tucked her sidearm into an empty pocket in her suit. To her relief, Gavin's suit bore him up to the surface, and he was fine, other than being in stasis. As the ship lifted off and started flying unsteadily, she pulled him into her arms. She couldn't remember being so angry, and her nose was throbbing, sending a slow red flow down across her lips. With Gavin against her, she checked her scanner for the shore with the lowest number of humanoids, and finding a broad section with none, she started kicking her way there. "I've seen you, I'll remember this."
Forty-Three
"Now this is a proper station," Frost said as the Sector Jumper set down inside a large hangar. Several of the ships on the deck were wrecked, half-slagged and turned towards the main doors.
Spin could see that Hal was already scanning them, his inquisitive nature seemed to serve the crew well, it was surprising how often he already had an answer or workable theory about something when questions came up about it. "Those ships have been there awhile, no signs of life, no chance they're getting up off the deck without serious work."
"They're from the first group of scientists and workers who were trying to escape. The logs showed that a few of them made it," Sophia said from Spin's side on the small bridge. She looked even better in a fitted vacsuit that the Sector Jumper produced using a small water and raw material fed materializer. The protective white suit was as good as the most expensive under suits Spin had ever seen, and the ship made it in seconds.
"The station's docking systems seem to be happy to have us. I'm getting a services list and fuel cost chart," Hal said, as amused as he was surprised, scrolling through a holographic list.
"Don't sign us up for anything. Any chance you can get them inside?"
"Sign us up for a tour, that'll get us through the airlock and then we can see if there's anyone inside to communicate with, or use our codes to break in," Spence said. He was in the same suit as his counterpart, Sophia, and had the physique of someone who had been sculpted by a master.
"All right, good luck in there. I'm staying here this time, just in case things get complicated. Hurry up," Frost said.
Spin led her group - Sophia, Spencer, Boro without Leaper, Dori and Aldo - off the ship. The only ones not in heavy Haven Shore armour were Sophia and Spencer. They crossed the pockmarked deck, moving between blasted ships and the corpses that populated them wordlessly. Aldo and Dori were at Spin's sides, looking around while Spin focused on Sophia and Spence, who were in the lead. Several drones were imbedded in the hulls of downed ships, and the few corpses laying around were preserved thanks to the vacuum of space. The entire bay looked like a moment frozen in time; the failure of a mass escape preserved for everyone to see the desperation and waste of the day the virus infected artificial intelligences in the Geist system.
Over her shoulder, the sleek, dark shape of the Sector Jumper looked out of place. Pristine, its glossy hull unblemished and turreted guns moving a little, her friends sitting ready at the turret controls just in case. When the double doors of the main airlock came into view, Spin decided to break the silence. "Is this the only Flesh Tech facility in the system?"
"There's one on the ground under contract by Citadel, it's been there for about seventy years from what we could tell. The contract involved so many facilities in orbit and spread so much money around that they renamed the solar system after it. From what I can tell, a lot of that research went into us, but we couldn't get any information about what they were trying to accomplish. The main facility is still functioning down there, so they actively prevented us from getting into their system. We thought we could get help at first, but they just blocked us after a while."
"They didn't care that there was stock up here,
waiting for them?" Spin asked.
"No, whatever they're doing down there's a big secret, more important than us," Spence replied. "The Aspen Control had a theory that it was worth killing a few billion Issyrians over, so we didn't look into it."
Sophia's hand twitched, bumping Spence's as though he'd said something wrong, and that only piqued Spin's curiosity. "Aspen Control, what was that?" The group stepped through the airlock doors, a holographic sign appearing between them saying: WELCOME, PROSPECTIVE BUYERS.
"She was…"
"Don't, it's too much." Sophia stopped Spence.
"I'm going to tell her. No more secrets, remember?" Spence said.
"Fine."
Spence went on, turning to Spin. "This might be hard to hear, but every one of us here is an experiment, essentially. The ones that are sold, the ones that stay here; the company treated every one of them as a source of research data."
"A good experiment requires a control," Spin said. "So there was an Aspen here."
"An Aspen and a Larken, that, along with most of their generation were very well liked by everyone. Over ninety models altogether. They did light work on the station, had fairly neutral exposure to information and experiences, perfect nutrition and a balance of exercise and rest. That sounds sort of clinical, but they were treated well," Spencer explained.
"Very well," Sophia added, nodding.
"Then the virus hit, and one of the last control subjects, a Skylar model, broke out of the section of the station made for controls like her. She was one of the first ones to talk to Nadir, and, along with Aspen and a few others who couldn't get out of the control section, they helped us survive. By the time we were free, Aspen, Larken and her generation were old. We watched them die before we left. They were isolated in the section of the station reserved for Control Subjects, not even Nadir could free them, there was nothing anyone could do. That was the company's intention: for the Control Subject versions of all their models to be made before everyone in their line, live an uncomplicated, moderated life, then die as they were designed to do. The data collected would be compared against the reports people who owned Aspens, Larkens, and all the other models filed as part of their purchasing agreement."
The environment finished equalizing and the inner airlock doors opened, revealing a posh corridor with padded purple and white walls. "Perfectly scientific," Spin said, feeling a pang of grief at not being able to meet another Larken, or even an Aspen. It wasn't nearly as sharp as the guilt and loss she felt before.
"If it makes you feel any better, Aspen and I were friends, even if it was through a pane of transparesteel. When I met her she was old, but so smart, so charming. If you're anything like her, I can't imagine how amazing you'll be as you live on and surpass her."
"Thanks, I'll try to live up to that," Spin replied.
A sing-song voice greeted them; "Welcome to Flesh Tech Station Beta, where all the original models you know and love, and new models of dolls are born. I hope you enjoy the tour and take refreshment when it is concluded." Soft blinking lights directed them up the corridor and to the right.
"We need a panel," Sophia said, feeling along the padded wall. After a moment she found a seam and pulled, taking a tall triangle of plating off and setting it aside. A control panel was beneath that showed them where they were, that they'd all been scanned and accepted as visitors. "The station's systems have been really dumbed down, so if you know what you're doing, there's nowhere you can't go except for the Control section."
"What was that like?" Spin asked.
"Oh, it looked comfortable, with work areas where the dolls could help with moderate challenges. Some of the newer models were even allowed to have social gatherings, but a few of them said it got boring, especially after the scientists left. I still don't know how Skylar escaped, but she lost her counterpart doing it. Her and Gavin were standout models, two who were based on real people because the Lux Royal Family wanted copies."
"Who were they based on?" Boro asked.
"I never found out much. All I know is that they were copies of royals who were very distant from the throne, not celebrities at all. It was a touchy topic, I think," Spencer said.
"Spin," Frost said over the communications system in her helmet. "There are more raiders coming in, and some military outfit called the Dasian Union coming in with more firepower than we can take on. We're pulling out of the guest docking bay and cloaking until you're ready for pickup. Hurry up."
"I hear you," Spin said, remembering meeting a Dasian. They were humanoid, almost human looking, in fact, but were characterized by having three fingers, shallow noses and broader bodies.
"Who are Dasians?" asked Spencer.
"A human like people that the Lux Royals and most of the other houses have been keeping out of the Core since they were discovered. They used to send traders to the Estate to do business and to feel us out, see if we'd show them anything they could steal. They're probably here to raid the station for slaves and whatever tech they can find. I've never seen one in person, I wasn't allowed to."
"I got us a clear path to the spawning floor," Sophia said as she finished working at the panel. Spence helped her put the cover back on. "It's on the other side of the station, but we have a clear shot there."
"You couldn't get the automated defences going?" Spence asked her.
"Not from here," she replied.
A map of the station appeared on Spin's in-helmet tactical display with a path marked on it. "We have a run ahead of us," she said, urging everyone to move.
Distant thuds and vibrations underfoot were enough of an indication that ships were landing in the hangar behind them, she didn't need the tactical display to show her the five-armed personnel carriers, but it was good to be sure. They were minutes away from being outnumbered.
To her surprise, the first two personnel carriers were bashed open by well-placed railgun shots, and the rest were pelted by heavy anti-fighter fire as the Sector Jumper finished withdrawing from the hangar. It started cloaking as soon as the decimation was complete, leaving wreckage and gore settling in its wake. "Bought you some time, but there are more coming, and they're going to be pissed," Frost announced.
"Me and the gunners bought her some time," Hal corrected. "Good luck in there."
Forty-Four
There were birds somewhere nearby, or someone playing recorded bird song. Their chirping sounded like a warning, then almost combative before calming down. Gavin's olfactory was flooded with the smell of damp, black soil and old fish. No sound was as loud or as important as the one that became clearest as his chest began to burn. It was the sound of Skylar breathing heavily, and when he took his first, startled breath, she was there.
"You're rousing from stasis, try to relax and breathe," she told him, her face hovering over his. She was soaked, he was too, somehow the suits they wore didn't protect them from the elements the way they were designed to. They should have sealed over their heads to protect them. "I know," he gasped, trying to slow his breathing. "Thank you."
"What's the last thing you remember?"
"On the lifepod. I was pushing the soldier out the hatch and there was a flash before the door finished closing."
"You took a lot of micro shrapnel, I had to use a nanobot kit to clear it and heal the damage," she explained. "How do you feel?"
Gavin was starting to catch his breath, and the rest of the world was starting to come into focus. Something happened, something serious enough for them to be on a swampy shore amongst a thick growth of weeds, under the branches of twisted trees. The birds were real. Small black things chirped threats at each other until a group of four or five dove down then back up, some with full beaks, others robbed of their purchase by other birds who got in their way, diving after them. "The birds are real," Gavin said. Skylar smiled at him and he responded in kind. "I feel normal, great, actually. What happened?"
"I put the ship down in the bay, thinking that we would be far enough from anyone to give
me some time to take care of you, but by the time that was taken care of, three people with rebreathers and some kind of aqua packs overpowered me and tossed us over the side. The only thing that worked in our suits were the floatation pockets, but it was enough for me to swim you to shore."
"You hate deep water," Gavin said, sitting up then pushing a lock of Skylar's blonde hair out of her face. It was curling into ringlets as it started to dry.
Skylar nodded, smiling weakly. "I thought my time learning to swim in training got me over that, but this place brought all that anxiety back. It's like this whole cove, the swamp is alive, there are ten times as many little life forms in the water than there are on land, and when my feet finally touched the ground, it was mush until the shoreline." She shuddered then turned her gaze inland. "We have to find a place to make camp, somewhere dry. I don't think there's much daylight left, maybe a couple hours."
"You saved me again," Gavin said, unwilling to let that pass without some show of gratitude. "Thank you."
"I love you," she said. It was always said because it was true, and worth saying aloud, but Gavin was often amused when she used those words to shut him up. He couldn't count the number of times he'd thanked her for something that most married couples took for granted, and she was often at a loss for how to respond, but it was one of the ways he countered the times when he grew distant, deep in thought, so he'd never stop thanking her.
"Love you too," he looked down at the scanner in her hand, and she held it up so they could both look at it clearly. She had it set to detect moving machinery, humanoid and larger sized creatures. In the distance was a large group of oval buildings that looked like some sort of processing plant, and there was a man-made lake on the far side, isolated from the swamp around it, the contents were some kind of thick algae. "Is there any solid ground between here and that settlement?"
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