by Viola Grace
“Not on its own. No.” She turned and opened her quarters.
She stepped inside as Hammer was rushed from behind. Two men were waiting for her, and her tether unraveled from around her waist and wrapped around their necks as she moved to the object that would stop it all.
She struck the registry plate that marked her as locked in for the night. A low chime rang, and the men she was strangling went limp.
She looked at them and said, “How much did you lose?”
They were both grim. “We are not allowed to apply to the arena for the next six months.”
She nodded and used the tether to walk them to the door and shove them out past Hammer. Two bodies were lying in the hall, and they weren’t moving.
She let the ambushers go and nodded to the bodies. “They aren’t alive. I can’t help them, get them out of here.”
The tether unraveled and let them drop. They lay next to the corpses, and the other men in the hall started moving to remove the dead men.
Cracker eased Hammer into her quarters and went to get a wet cloth to remove the blood from his hand.
“Is your chamber bugged?”
She shook her head. “Well, yes and no. They keep trying, but I am a mechanic, and I have devices that stop the broadcast of sound without the properly linked microphones. I am not wearing one. Are you?”
He shook his head.
“Sit.” She nodded for him to sit on her work chair.
He sat and lifted his hand to her.
She carefully removed the blood and flicked a look at him. “Can I examine your arm?”
“Sure. Don’t you need a scanner?”
She wrinkled her nose. “No, I can tell by touch if you don’t mind.”
He gestured for her to do what she wanted. “I am finding this interesting.”
She began at his fingertips. The metal structure was finely articulated. She moved up each joint and connection, stroking along the silver skin and moving to the knuckles. This was the part of his hand that took the brunt of the damage, and she felt the reason why as her touch moved to the long bones of his hand. The locks were here as well. She found them in the wrist and elbow and shoulder. His arm was designed to lock, and as she touched the scapula, she could feel the hum in his generator.
“You really focus.”
She was in his lap, and his words made her look up in surprise. She jolted and blushed, moving to back away. “I am sorry. I just haven’t felt much of Joinin’s work before. I studied it in my training.”
“They stopped using his transformations. They turned men into monsters, and the fear factor created hostility in the altered fighter.” He sighed but kept an arm around her waist.
“We lost the connection to the men we fought with, and they displayed fear. That made us antisocial and dangerous. It caused us to lose respect for life. Any life.”
His hand took up half her back, and he eased her toward him.
“So, when you met Stitch and Alphy?”
“I was surprised that women had entered the war and even more shocked that they were commanding a deadly force with high morale. Lucky provided me with a subroutine that I could use to attach to people. It is coming at the disassociation from the other side.”
Cracker was close to him now. The faint scent of chocolate was coming from his lips.
“So, is there a reason you are inching me toward your face?”
He smiled. “Yes.”
The kiss was soft and slow. Cracker took in the nuances of the angle of his head and how he was gripping her back and the back of her thigh.
Her body felt a rush of warmth, and she felt both completely safe and definitely in danger.
When his tongue touched hers, she tasted him and pressed a little closer. He held her carefully and securely as their first contact continued on and on.
She didn’t notice when his hand slid around to press against the join of her thighs, but when his long digits stroked back and forth with delicate focus, she pushed away from him.
She was about to call a halt to their activities, but her clit throbbed, her eyes closed, and she hung onto him while her body flexed in sharp spasms of enjoyment.
He continued to stroke her slowly, and he kissed her temple softly. No laughs, no giggles, no mockery. Just easing her down to her reality again.
When she was finally relaxed against him, he sighed. “That was lovely.”
Her face was so hot her nanite generator started sending cool cells to her skin. “That was a surprise.”
He didn’t reply, he just continued to rub her back and cup her hip.
When she was less shaky, she leaned back, and he slowly opened his eyes. He smiled. “I believe I should be going.”
She inhaled and exhaled slowly. “I think that would be a sane idea.”
“Do you have another idea?”
“Yes, several. But none of them sane.” Her blush started all over again.
“There will be moments for us when you are back with your crew. I am filing a request for another date right now.”
“Granted. As soon as I get the cable out of my leg. It is doing a number on my self-esteem.” She sighed, and the cable slithered back into place around her waist.
He frowned. “Can’t you just remove it?”
“I just got control of it, and it is my best distance weapon right now. I don’t have the benefit of superior strength.”
“Ah. That is a fair point.” He slowly eased her back, and she stood up.
He got up, and she blinked at the difference in their heights. Her eyeline was just slightly above his nipples. It was a considerable difference in height.
“I think I should have kept the longer leg.”
He grinned. “I ate everybody’s veggies when I was growing up.”
“So, the piano portion of your education?”
“My mother wanted something to counteract the sports that I was always being drawn into.”
Cracker chuckled. “I can see that. I was always into assembling and taking things apart myself.”
“Yes, I have seen you in action. You snapped through Achilles’ back in under a minute.”
“It is the only way to replace a shattered nanite generator.”
The change in topic was welcome. He took her hand and raised it to his lips. “I look forward to a proper date without a battle at the end of it.”
“Oh, sweetie, I get the feeling that battle finds you.”
He winked and then walked to the door. “I will see you when I am next wounded.”
“Don’t do it to yourself just to see me. That smacks of mental instability.”
He grinned. “Us first-gens are all insane, didn’t you know?”
The door closed behind him, and she closed the door firmly from the inside.
She exhaled and leaned against the cold metal, waving her hand to cool herself. An actual date with a bit of foreplay, after she had strangled two cyborgs with the tether. It was a banner night all around.
Time to get some sleep. She knew that she was going to get a lot of nagging the next morning. As long as she hadn’t gone out with anyone, she was safe, but now, she had been seen with the champion, and that meant she was fair game. She rustled the tether. She was just going to have to fix that particular game.
The first three patients came and went without any trouble the following morning.
The fourth patient came in, and he sneered at her as he was helped to the med bed. His left arm was crushed above the elbow and right thigh above the knee. Neither had previously been adapted, so he was going to take a while.
“So, what do I have to do to get an adaptation like Hammer’s? Do you want me to go down on you?”
She paused and then continued ordering the parts for him.
“I am guessing that he was the one who did this damage?”
He grumbled but didn’t say what had happened.
She sent the request for the parts. “I am going to have to remove the shattered bone. Did you want to
be awake for this?”
Fear flicked in his eyes. “I would prefer to be knocked out.”
She chuckled. “Of course, you would. Cowards always love to hide from unpleasant realities.”
He grabbed her wrist, and the tether snapped out, shattering his radius. “Oh, dear. Now you need a new radius. Please keep it up, and I will scoop you out like a melon.”
His hand was limp, and she tucked it back against him.
Her tether rose up behind her like a snake ready to strike. “Do you have any more insults or innuendo to get on with before I start? I would hate to have to order more parts over and over.”
He shook his head. “I apologize.”
“Good. Hammer arrived with his implants. All I have done is patch up soft tissue. He was made by a medic with far different skills than mine.”
The man swallowed, and she put him under. His radius was held in place until his nanites sealed it, and then, it was time for the big show.
The first limb arrived, and she went to work on his thigh. It would take the longer amount of time to heal, so it was best to get it in with a nice boost of nanites.
She hummed along as she continued to work on him, detaching and reattaching with the ease of long practice. She had replaced over nine hundred limbs since she had gotten started. She had lost count when she closed in on four digits.
She sealed the thigh and watched the nanites take over, blooming in his body. An IV supplement was summoned, and it helped his body replace what it was taking to make the nanites.
Cracker was slicing into the man’s arm when there was a knock at the door. “Come in, but it’s gross.”
The broken femur was on a tray next to her, and she was using her laser to open the arm to get all the tiny bones out.
“Medic, you have been summoned to the arena. Now.”
She glanced at the guard, who was not looking her way. “I am here for nearly an hour. Go back and say that I will attend at that point. If someone is dying, bring them here.”
He blinked. “But it’s an order.”
“This man’s humorous is in sixteen pieces. Unless you want to pick them out, get lost. I have begun the surgery and am not stopping until it is finished.”
She switched to her gloves and tweezers, loosening the tissue around the bone as she worked it free.
The door opened and closed again.
Humming to herself, she worked to get the humorous out and the new metal one in place.
When a bone was in more than three pieces, a replacement was the best option. If she could just set the break, they were usually fine. This was not that case.
The sealing was being completed, and the silver line of his repaired skin showed high activity in the area. Once the boor was done, she took off her gloves and removed her coat, wrapping her tether around her waist again.
“Right, take me to the arena.”
Chapter Eight
She popped back inside and grabbed her med kit, just in case. With the kit over one shoulder, she followed the arena guard back down the hall and toward the ongoing fight.
The guard led her right to the dais where the generals were seated with their alien companions, and the investors were watching in the hopes of seeing one of their fighters take over the higher-ranking slots.
“General, we have brought the medic.”
He was sitting in his throne, and there was a smirk on his face. This boded ill.
She stood, didn’t salute, and looked at General Thorn. “I have patients waiting. What is it?”
“Egothan is having problems with his penis. He would like you to have a look.”
She could feel the attention of the crowd.
Egothan was the repulsive alien that she had seen the previous time in the arena.
He was sitting in his chair, and he spread his legs. “My companion used her teeth last night. I would like your expert opinion.”
She didn’t move. He was within her reach.
“Fine. Disrobe. I am not a tailor nor a maid. Remove your clothing.”
He smirked, and a solid twelve inches flopped against his spotted thigh.
She could see the abrasions on the member, but they were minor. “You have been scratched. The tissue will heal in a few days.”
“I would like you to verify the damage with your own hands.”
General Thorn was laughing.
She released her tether, and it shot forward, biting through the arm of the chair and coming back with a chunk of wood in her hand.
“You are probably right. If it is infected, it should come off. I can do that from here and then suture it later. You don’t have the nanite implants, and I don’t have access to an adaptive center, so you will probably die from blood loss.” She stepped forward and pulled a set of gloves on. “Shall we?”
He pulled up his leggings, sprinted around the chair, and hid behind General Thorn. “You said she was passive.”
She looked at the general, and her tether lashed restlessly. “Things change when your one night out in four years is ruined by idiots, sent by idiots.”
General Thorn blinked. “Take that back, soldier.”
She laughed. “Fuck off. You are no more an actual general than I am a soldier. The Earth is closed! Our people have left us out here to die! This isn’t a combat training center; it is a place for Thorn to get his rocks off in a public forum! You don’t die by the dozens via training. We are out of our space, we are free, and the Splice are still attacking Earth!”
The vid copters were moving around her, and there was a murmur in the crowd.
“You guys are all out here, playing at being ancient Rome while the Splice gather to rip a hole in the defenses left at home. I have a fucking family there! Friends! Communities. People that care about whether I live or die. I am guessing that ninety percent of the men in those stands have the same.”
Thousands of masculine voices murmured.
One of the guards hissed. “What are we supposed to do? We don’t have any ships.”
“When I was brought here, there were six ships capable of travel. What happened to them?”
Thorn waved that away. “We took them apart to make habitations.”
“Not any around here. The standard quarters are still the standard quarters. So, where did all the tech go?”
The murmur got louder as the men realized that the generals had taken their only means to escape the world and had probably put hot tubs in it.
Thorn crossed his arms. “There is no one here capable of putting them back together, so this is just a bit of sound that will come to nothing.”
“That’s it. I am done.” She stepped forward, and the tether snapped forward, ripping out the throat of General Thorn.
Other members of his party rushed toward her, and she brought out the subprogram that Lucky had given her, crafting blades at right angles to her fingernails. She tore out two more throats with her tether before she slashed the throat of the neck in front of her. The man’s eyes widened in shock, and he dropped in front of her. The man behind him skidded to a halt.
“General, you can either resign your commission, or I will rip you down the center, and if I slice someone open with my fingertips, I won’t put them back together.”
He paused, reached up to his shoulder, and ripped off his rank emblem. “I resign.”
She looked at the others with her tether waving in their direction. “Everyone else.”
The remaining two generals ripped off their rank insignia. Death before dishonour was overrated.
She looked at the vid cameras. “If anyone is interested in continuing to fight the Splice, come down to the fight area and let me know. If anyone wants to get off this world under their own steam, come down here as well. We can put the ships back together.”
Cracker sighed. “All aliens, you are not in danger. We will let you go or stay as is your inclination, just do not get in my way. I am working on a plan here, and it is taking some time to get things together.�
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She heard slow applause and turned to see Lucky walking along with two large and imposing-looking aliens. The men had strange markings running across their exposed skin, but Cracker caught on to the human-manufactured clothing and accessories.
Lucky was clapping, and Cracker yelled and ran toward her, dismissing the blades on her fingertips, hugging her tight and spinning her around. “I am so happy to see you.”
Lucky grinned. “Here we came to negotiate with the generals, but it appears that it won’t be necessary. Thanks. You saved me a lot of fuss.”
“No problem. I am always looking for a more efficient way of doing things.”
“Miss, what is that cable doing?” The alien on Lucky’s left looked concerned.
“Oh, that is my tether. Just a moment.” She wrapped it around her and smiled. “There we go.”
Lucky blinked. “So that is what you meant. Damn.”
Cracker cleared her throat. “Are you going to introduce me?”
“Oh. Of course. Cracker, this is my partner, Solouk. Solouk, this is my friend, Cracker.”
She turned to the other male. “This is Liakon, commander of the Alguth.”
There were gasps from a few of the aliens who were looking on.
Cracker smiled and extended her hand to Liakon. “Pleased to meet you.”
He changed his appearance, and she was looking at what she would swear was a human but with dragonfly wings and rainbow eyes. “It is an honour to meet you, my Queen.”
A familiar voice sounded, “Oh, no, you don’t. You are not claiming her as your queen. She is mine.”
Cracker turned and smiled at Hammer as he strode toward them with a determined scowl. “I believe what you mean to say is that I am my own person and can make my own choices.”
He was close when he paused. “Yes, that is what I meant.”
“Good. Solouk, it is wonderful to meet you. Lucky needs someone stable.”
He inclined his head and bent over her hand, pressing it to his forehead. “She certainly does. It is an honour to be of service.”
Lucky frowned and smacked him before she turned to Cracker and chuckled. “When we get to the base, I have to show you my new trick.”
“I see you are carrying swords now.”