by Melissa Good
“Good place to start.” Jess headed for the pair.
The TeeGee and Dev exchanged looks then followed her over. The bio alts around them realized they had entered. Activity slowed. Bodies straightened up and turned to watch them go by.
A mech supervisor realized it as well and started to hurry over.
Jess came to a halt next to the yelling man. “Hey, what’s your problem?”
The man turned and then took a step back away from Jess’s tall form. “Who the hell are you?”
“Jesslyn Drake,” she responded amiably. “So listen. If Dan Kurok said to do something, you should let them get on with it.”
“Hold on here,” the supervisor said. “I don’t think you understand...”
“I understand if you don’t let them start fixing things, I’m going to kill you. So get the fuck out of their way.”
Both men stared at her in silence.
“Seriously,” Jess said. “Leave them alone and come with me because we found something you need to fix right now.” She grabbed them by the shoulders and turned them around, shoving them toward the door. “Move it.”
Given little choice, the two men complied. “Get things moving, Devvie,” Jess said as she kept hold of her hapless captives. “I got this.”
The TeeGee folded her arms. “Are all downside natural borns like that?”
“No.” Dev headed for the cluster of bio alts. “From what I have observed none of them at all are anything like Jess. She is unique.”
“As are you.”
Dev paused and smiled. “Yes, that is true. But I am unique on purpose. I think that’s just how Jess turned out.”
“Hello, NM-Dev-1,” one of the ArBees said. “Are things nominal?”
“No, the upper grid is offline and the transmitter is blocked,” Dev said. “That is where my partner is taking the two supers to. We will need to get it fixed.”
“Yes,” the ArBee agreed. “It is known to central. It will need external work, but they refused to assign any of the externally trained mechs to it. I do not know why. It is necessary.”
“I have the programming,” the TeeGee said, confidently. “We know about the suits. I can go with you to assist in this.”
The ArBee turned to look at the central station then turned back after a hesitation. “May we do this?” he asked Dev. “It seems like good work.”
“Yes,” Dev responded. “Can you proceed? There is an urgency to get the transmitter working again.”
“Yes.” The ArBee picked up his backpack. Two others of his set came over, watching Dev alertly. “Should we wait for the supers to come back?” the ArBee asked. “They were having a difficulty in assignments.”
“No,” Dev said. “I am sure it will be fine. This is necessary and good work, and Doctor Dan knows about it.” She added for good measure.
The ArBees nodded and got kitted up. “You will come with us?” one asked the TeeGee. “We do not have programming on outside.”
“I will.” The TeeGee agreed. “I am looking forward to using this programming. I enjoyed getting it.”
Dev felt the tiniest pang at that, remembering suddenly that she would no longer be able to experience that moment of pleasure. That exploration of new depth and knowledge that came with being given programming to do good work.
It made her sad, a little. For her, more than most, the programming had been necessary and critical. “Do you have comms?” she asked. “If not, we will get you one so you can advise on progress.”
One of the ArBees held up an earpiece. “We are Mech three.” He inserted it into his ear, and the group started off, heading for the door, just as one of the other mech supers came around the console and hurried over to where Dev was standing.
Casually, she put a hand out to stop him. “Please wait.”
He stopped, but more in shock than anything else. “What did you say to me?”
Dev regarded him. “Were you going to delay the mech team? They are doing important work.” She lowered her hand to her side. “I don’t want them delayed.”
His jaw dropped. “You don’t want them delayed? Who are you to assign them?” he spluttered. “You are nothing but one of them!” He looked around. “Where are those other damn supervisors?”
“My partner took them to see the arrays that need to be fixed,” Dev said. “I am NM-Dev-1. I am assisting Jess in achieving this. It would be good if you do not try to prevent it.” She paused. “Please do not cause me to have to attempt to stop you.”
“I’m calling security.” The man retreated and headed for the center console. “This is nuts.”
Dev remained standing where she was, hands clasped behind her back. One of the ArBee mechs came over to her and regarded the supervisor. “He should not do that,” he said. “It will prevent the work.”
“Yes.” Dev sorted out her options. “Let’s see if I can persuade him not to.”
Chapter Ten
JESS SHOVED THE two mechs up against the plas. “There.” She pointed up at the array.
“We know,” the supervisor said. “We could tell that from back there. We didn’t need to see it. We know it’s down.”
“So why aren’t you fixing it?” Jess asked. “Seems like that’s an important piece of your biz.”
To her surprise, they both shook their heads. “No, not really. Lot of more important stuff to check first, like grav and life support.” He watched her warily. “Why is it your business, Agent?”
“Yeah. You’re just keeping us from getting onto it,” the second man said. “But hey, you know what’s going on? Mind letting us in on it?”
Jess regarded them, her bright gaze moving from face to face, allowing her senses to take in their body language and scents. Her nostrils flared a little, and she flexed her hands, waiting a moment to see their reactions.
Rough edge of truth. “The other side’s shuttle locked on. They wanted some merchandise someone here promised them.” Jess said. “Didn’t care what they wrecked getting it.”
Both were expressionless for a long moment. “Fucking Doss,” the supervisor finally said. “Scum sucking whore pig would sell his liver to anyone for a brownie point.”
“Could be,” Jess said. “He’s got a lot of lucrative stuff to offer up here.”
“Got the board chasing his ass all rotation,” the second man said. “Bios ain’t selling so good these days. Looking for cred in other places.”
“Who told you that?” The other supervisor demanded.
The man shrugged. “Heard it in the dayroom.”
Truth. Not truth. Jess regarded them. Truth.
“So what’s your piece in all this?” the second man asked Jess. “What’s Interforce all up in our business about?”
Jess felt her nape hairs lift as her body detected approach from behind. She affected relaxation though, crossing her arms and leaning against a support strut. “We’re customers,” she said. “You’re growing some techs for us.”
“That’s not really true is it?” the supervisor asked. “I heard that in the dining hall, but I don’t believe it.”
“Sure it’s true.” Jess felt her breathing slowing down and she focused on keeping her body relaxed, every sense tuned behind her. “My partner’s from here. She’s kickass.”
The supervisor studied her. “The developmental unit?” he said in a surprised tone. “Kurok’s little project?”
“Dev.” Jess watched him shift as the air pressure changed at her back, and she felt her instincts cut loose. There was no need to decide what to do, her body did it for her automatically, turning and dropping to one knee as a dagger came past her shoulder, hitting the mech supervisor as he gasped and staggered backwards.
“Bad luck.” Jess brought her blaster up and braced her hands. “I’d fall down if I were you mech buddy,” she called over her shoulder. “There’s more where that came from.”
The other man had already dived behind a console and was caterwauling into comms. Her opponent was
a small man, dressed in dark clothing covering his entire body, including a hood on his head. She could see his eyes watching her, his hands held out to either side of his body, waiting.
“What’s another death to you, Drake?” he asked, in a mild, almost mocking tone.
“Nothing,” Jess answered in the same vein. “Pointless question. What brings you here, Hector?”
“Killing you.” The man smiled at her. “Shuttle left me behind once they realized you were here.”
Jess knew Hector. They’d been stuck on an island together for three of the longest days of her life, and even now, watching him, she could smell sea washed rock in the back of her throat. Hector was a hitman, a loner, the kind of operative who simply sat and waited with a finger curled around a trigger or with a dagger in his fingers.
Or with a dart in a pipe.
She actually sort of liked him. He had a slice of honor, in his own way, but not enough to have stopped him from spending those three days alternately trying to screw and then kill her.
Hadn’t succeeded in either, and she’d mutilated his genitals on that last day before she spotted a watcher craft coming over head and decided to swim for it.
Forty cold, turgid miles breathing water, evading their search until they’d convinced themselves she was dead, not seeing any bubbles or signs of life.
“You haven’t changed any, Jess,” Hector said. “Kind of disappointing.”
Jess stood up and put her blaster back in its hard point. She then extended her hand out. “Ya never know, Heck. Maybe I have.”
She caught him completely offguard. He took a step back, lifting his hands again as though his body wasn’t sure what to do. He was a little younger than she was, with thick, curly black hair and a copper tan colored skin.
There was a thunder of bootsteps on the metal grid flooring. “Better decide quick.” Jess’s blue eyes twinkled a little. “’Cause there’s going to be a bunch of mad space dorks with zappers here in a minute, and they already know I’m a lot better friend than enemy.”
Hector exhaled then scrunched his face up and extended a hand to hers, clasping it with all the jerkiness of a man testing a hot plate to see if it was really hot.
The guards came around the corner with a group of bio alts wearing medic jumpers, hauling up when they saw the two black clad figures shaking hands.
“Relax boys,” Jess said, releasing Hector and turning to face them. “Just a misunderstanding. He ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.” She indicated the mech super. “Took a knife meant for me.”
“You need to come to central, Agent,” one of the guards said. “It’s ordered.”
“No I don’t.” Jess said. “Don’t even think about it unless you want to be dead, too.”
The medics started to work on the mech supervisor. The other mech had disappeared, and the guards looked undecided, hands shifting from their stun sticks to their comms.
“Let’s let them do their thing.” Jess pointed down the corridor. “See ya.”
The guards’ bodies shifted, but they ended up staying quiet and letting them pass. From the corner of her eye, Jess saw an airlock at the apogee of station where she could see some activity.
“So, Jess.” Hector walked at her side, every muscle tensed. “Tell me how you got off the island. Been the mystery I’ve wanted to ask you about for years.”
Jess chuckled. “I can breathe water,” she said. “I swam out of there and got to Drougas point.”
“Asshole.” He shook his head. “You grow fins, too?”
“Takes one to know one,” she responded in a mild tone. “Did you stay back on purpose just to kill me? Really?”
“I can breathe water,” he sniped at her.
The irony of it made her laugh, and then a moment later they were grappling as he swerved and got her in a hold.
The corridor was empty, and they thumped against the wall, fighting in silence save the scuff of boots against the metal and the rasp of the heavy fabric they wore against the walls.
Hector yanked himself sideways, slamming his head into her ribcage with sudden force, and Jess got her elbow down against the side of his neck and pushed away keeping his teeth from clamping down on her.
He went with the motion and got her knees in a grip, twisting savagely to one side to bring her down. Jess crouched against the motion and then kicked away from the ground, taking both of them up into the air a few feet and then back down to the deck with a rolling thumping bang as her boots hit the metal.
He lost his hold and shifted quickly, rolling clear and then coming right back at her in a snakelike motion again at her knees.
Jess hopped into the air again, this time higher since she had only herself to lift, and tumbled into a somersault, twisting to the side as she landed to let him fly past her.
Off in the distance, the sound of light boots coming at them.
Jess reached up and grabbed a support strut as he turned and lunged, lifting herself up and kicking out at him, one boot missing, the other nailing him in the head. He flew backwards, slamming against the wall, and she released her hold, landing lightly and rolling forward over her center of balance as he pushed off the metal panels.
Jess brought her hands up, curled into fists. “C’mon, Heckie.” She grinned, cocking an elbow back, waiting for him to come at her. “Let’s get in a few more rounds before my partner gets here and cleans your clock.”
He paused in mid motion. “Your tech?” he asked. “Cut the bullshit, Jess.”
She chuckled. “C’mon.” She motioned him forward. “Still mad at me for cracking your nuts?”
“Bitch.”
“Oh yeah.” Jess ducked and they came together in a wrestling hold.
DEV BOUNDED AROUND the curve of the hallway and spotted the two figures fighting ahead of her. “That’s not correct,” she said to the KayBee and BeeAye with her. “That man is incorrect.”
“He is a natural born,” the KayBee said.
“He is doing damage to my partner,” Dev responded as they neared the two fighters, and she prepared to do something about it. “We must help.”
“Yes,” the BeeAye agreed. “Jess helped the children. We must help her.” He came up even to Dev as they reached the bend and jumped into the fight.
“Get that retractor,” she told the BeeAye. “I will distract him.” She grabbed Hector’s suit, hauling backwards with all her strength. He came away from his grapple and turned on her, eyes widening.
“What the h...” He twisted to get at her, but Dev just kept backing away, pulling him from behind. “Stop that you little...”
“Strike him on the cranium.” She yanked him farther, and then the BeeAye hit him over the head with a spar that had been laying against the wall.
He never even saw it coming, his eyes having glossed over the pale jumpsuits of the bio alts in a frantic bid to fend off an impending attack from Jess. “I said stop it you...augh!”
“Excellent!” Dev released him, and he went down hard. She took a step back and looked at Jess. “Are you all right?”
Jess was grinning, her hands planted on her hips. “You’re such a little rock star,” she said. “I’m fine, Devvie. We were just scrapping.”
Dev frowned. “He was not trying to damage you?”
“Sure he was. Woulda killed me if he had the chance.” Jess dusted her hands off. “But scrapping’s fun, in a twisted, psycho kinda way.”
“That was much simpler than I had anticipated,” the BeeAye observed. “Even without any programming.” He nodded. “It was excellent that you knew what to do, NM-Dev-1.”
“I have had some practice,” Dev muttered. “Please secure him with that wiring harness there so he cannot do any more incorrectness.”
“Yes.” The BeeAye put down the retractor and got to work with the wiring.
“Who is that, Jess?” Dev edged around the limp body and joined her. “Is he from the other side?”
“He is. That’s Hector Monts
errat,” Jess said. “He’s an assassin from the other side who doesn’t like me. We’re enemies from way back.”
The KayTee joined them. “That seems very incorrect,” he observed. “He could have damaged you?”
“He’d have tried,” Jess smiled, “but I’m pretty good at what I do.”
“Jess is amazing,” Dev told them. “But still people should not try to hurt her.” She folded her arms over her chest. “I have some unfortunate news about the array. It’s damaged past where they can fix it without additional parts.”
“So no messages downside.”
“No,” Dev said. “That seems to have been the purpose of the damage.”
“Uh huh.” Jess nodded. “I figured. Okay, then we need to find a way off this thing.” She regarded the three of them. “What are our options?”
Dev, the BeeAye, and the KayTee looked back at her. Then the two men looked at Dev. “We need a spacecraft,” she said after a pause. “The maintenance craft on station are not made to go downside.”
“This is true,” the KayTee said. “We pilot them. The station craft do not have the shielding needed to enter the atmosphere.” He pondered. “But we could reprogram the guidance comp to do it.”
The BeeAye pursed his lips a little. “We could add shielding. There is some in the construction bay. But I don’t think the maneuvering jets could allow us to land.”
They both looked at Dev.
Jess looked at Dev.
Dev cleared her throat. “I could probably land the craft if it survived entry,” she said. “There are planar surfaces on the maintenance models that would allow some lift.”
Jess smiled at them. “Doc should get some kind of damn award,” she said. “Seriously.”
“What?” Dev’s brows creased.
“Doctor Dan?” the KayTee asked. “He’s very smart.”
“Also kind.” the AyeBee added. “When it is time for our natal dates he always sends a treat.”
“Yes that’s true.” Dev smiled, distracted. “Usually a sweet of some kind. But what does that have to do with anything, Jess?”