by Viola Grace
“At least I am wearing black today,” Cracker muttered back.
There was a cackle from Stitch’s station, and the work kept coming.
By the time they were down to the capture repairs where no one was missing parts but the skin had been shaved off so the Splice could find compatible donors, Cracker was exhausted, but her work was done. She helped Stitch load people into the repair units, and when the last one was done, she looked over, and Hammer was leaning against the wall by her station. He had a container of juice in his hand, and he beckoned her over with a hand covered in blood.
“Hammer, are you okay?”
“I am fine. No injuries. One of the survivors began to haemorrhage, and I had to apply pressure. They made it. I think we only lost two out of the three hundred.”
She sipped at the juice. “Did you find out anything about the teens?”
He groaned and leaned back against the wall with a thud. “Since they have had no Splice attacks for three years, they are starting to take tours outside of their safety dome. They were on the eleventh school trip to go on a short excursion into space. The Splice were behind the moon.”
“Oh, gods. Well, we are going to have to find occupations for them here. We can’t take them home.”
“I will leave that to Alphy.”
Cracker turned and looked at the chair where Alphy was seated.
“Alphy!”
Alphy nodded slightly. “Lack of life signs confirmed. All shuttles are accounted for, and now, I am pushing back the Splice ship and allowing the countdown to continue.”
There were a quiet few seconds, and then, a tremor went through the asteroid.
Cracker blinked and touched Alphy’s shoulder. “Good job, Alphy. You stopped it at one second to midnight. Thank you.”
Alphy blinked and rubbed at her eyes. “I think I need to ask Lexo to give me a lift.”
The man who had a stunning resemblance to Stitch stepped forward from his position near but not touching Alphy. He calmly picked her up, and they left the disaster zone of the med station.
Cleaning bots and medics were clearing up the debris left behind. Stitch was collected by Niko, and Lucky left with Solouk.
Cracker walked back to Hammer. “I think that is my cue to find a shower.”
“May I stay? It... I had forgotten what they did and how they did it.”
She nodded. It was an understatement. The Splice were brutal. They were always brutal. They might be struggling for their own survival, but they didn’t have to take other species apart to do it. That was the path they had chosen, and humanity was choosing to fight back.
Chapter Twelve
The shower began innocently enough. Cracker was exhausted, and her muscles ached. She ran the water, and it flushed pink, taking the blood from her skin. It had soaked through the clothing and tried to bond with her.
She shuddered and leaned against the wall, her new whips flat against her skin, all the way down to her ankles before they wrapped up to her knees.
Hammer stepped in behind her, and he began to slowly stroke her back. She sighed and looked up into the cascade of clean water while he gave her a slow but effective massage, and then, she turned under his touch and looked up at his calm features. They had both had a very rough day. She smiled. “You can take the spray. You need more coverage.”
He smiled. “It is hitting me just fine. You don’t take up any room.” He reached behind her and kept stroking her back and shoulders.
She pressed her forehead against his chest, and they stood together, letting the water rinse away the immediacy of what had just happened. Three hundred humans, including a dozen young women, had been fixed up and turned back into functional people.
“The girls are going to be horrified when they come out of it.”
Hammer kept stroking her back with slow circles. “Why?”
“They have been told that cyborgs aren’t human anymore, and those girls are now definitely cyborgs.”
“They will adjust. We had to, they will as well.”
“But they are so young. They should never have had to face the Splice.”
“You are right, but that wasn’t our error. Their parents let them go, their government said it was safe, and their chaperones gladly lined up for the experience.”
“How do you know that?”
“The chaperones was chatty while he waited. He was so happy to see us that he filled us in on what was going on back home. Fear is keeping people quiet, but the fear will wear off. The relief that they felt when they got the barrier up gave them a rush of superiority, which led to their cutting us off. They didn’t need reminders of humanity’s vulnerability.”
“But they can’t pretend that the universe is out there and now it knows about us.”
He chuckled. “They can pretend, but that will wear off. The Splice will get bolder and return to Earth to begin a harvest. If we are not ready before that, our people will cease to exist as we know them.”
She groaned, and her hands curled into fists. “Damn it. I hate this.”
He didn’t speak as she quivered with fury, he just kept rubbing her back.
They finished their shower, wrapped each other in towels, and crawled into her bed. Hammer tucked her against him, and he held her close. Sleep wasn’t too far away.
Cracker woke when she felt Hammer twitching against her. She stroked her arm over his and held it under the covers. Not knowing what else to do, she started to hum some of the classical music he had played while she was recovering. His breathing deepened, and he relaxed back into a deeper sleep.
She smiled and sighed as she thought about how right this particular moment felt. Hammer pulled her in closer, and she found her own peace that let her close her eyes and not see the results of the Splice’s handiwork.
Cracker and Hammer were laughing together over breakfast in the commissary and planning their next date.
There was a murmur, and the folks in the commissary were all turning to look at new arrivals.
Alphy was looking serene, but there was a flash of relief when she saw Cracker. She waved her over.
Cracker got up, kissed Hammer on the cheek, and headed over to where the students were standing with their surviving chaperone.
“Yes, Alphy?”
“I was wondering if you could give this group a tour of the commissary and other facilities they might need. They already have quarters.”
One of the girls huffed and said, “Yeah, we have to share space. It isn’t fair.”
Cracker gave Alphy a glare as the woman grinned and took off.
Cracker looked at the group and kept her face deadpan. “Have you all gotten your ident chips?”
The girls lifted their hands. “Yes.”
“Good. It will save your preferences once you set them.” She nodded. “We have some fresh food, some rations, and plenty of water. You are welcome to whatever you need.”
One of the girls raised her hand. “Miss?”
She sighed and said, “Just call me, Cracker.”
The girl looked at her arm and frowned. “Why did you do this to us?”
Cracker blinked. “What?”
The girl screamed, “Why did you do this to us? We can’t go home! We are freaks.”
Cracker grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up. “Folks are having breakfast, have some respect for the people who saved your miserable and entitled little life.”
The girl choked and was kicking.
Hammer put his hand on Cracker’s shoulder. “What she means is that we didn’t do anything but rescue you from a ship wired to explode, and then, the med team put limbs back into their proper places. I am sure that they can remove them if you choose to return to your pure human state.”
Cracker set the girl down. “No problem. I can remove the cyborg parts. It isn’t an issue. Would you like to go now? I think amputations are easier on an empty stomach.”
The girl opened her mouth and closed it before she burst i
nto tears.
Cracker shrugged. “Right. Everyone hungry, come this way. I will introduce you to a few of the people who ran into that ship, knowing that it was going to blow if our commander lost her focus for a moment. She kept that focus to keep you safe, and she held it for twelve hours while you were delivered to safety.”
She led them to the buffet and showed them where to get the trays, how to pick their food, and where to get their beverages.
Hammer and one of the other men had created a long table for the group to eat. He came up to Cracker and gave her a quick kiss. “I will see you later. I have to go and give my report on the state of the Splice ship.”
“Thanks for the change of direction, Hammer.”
Before he was out of earshot, the annoying girl whined, “Don’t any of you have normal names? What kind of a name is Hammer, Cracker?”
Cracker smiled. “Haven’t you ever had a nickname?”
The girl sneered. “Of course not.”
“Right, well, when you have friends, you will find that they give you a name that suits your personality, occupation, or another characteristic. Alphy has a prime family name with nearly every letter in the alphabet within it. Hammer is a play on his name and the adaptation that he was given when he lost his arm in the first defense.”
The gathered group gasped.
“I am called Cracker because I work with joints, bones, and precision in design. Not great but the name is similar enough to my actual name that I answer to it.”
One of the other girls was nibbling at an apple. “Why do you specialize? Can’t the repair modules just fix anything you put in?”
“Good question. Yes, and not really. The density that bones have is far harder for the nanites to fix. To speed up the recovery and turn around, I take measurements and have bones machined to match the originals so that the patient is never out of balance. That is where Stitch comes in. She works with internal organs and the weight balance in the finished limbs. Those of you who lost one limb were counterbalanced by Stitch.”
The whiny girl was sulking.
Cracker cleared her throat. “You. The pouty one. What is your name?”
“Alissia. Alissia Morning-Well Halberton.” The girl raised her chin.
“Well, when you have decided to be friendly to the people around you, I can introduce you to the last member of the surgical team. Lucky. She is the programmer who leaves the door open for you to change the colour of your implant once it is sure that you are accepting it.”
One of the crew walked up to them and stood next to Cracker. She winced and looked up. “Were your ears burning?”
The man was handsome enough, but Cracker knew the gleam in Lucky’s eyes when she saw it. The voice was masculine as well. “I will explain it to them later. You can bring them on tour.”
Cracker grinned as her friend walked away. “Right. That is one of the medical team. That isn’t her regular skin colour.”
The chaperone cleared his throat. “That wasn’t a woman.”
Cracker grinned. “If you say so.”
She dragged in a deep breath and explained how the ship was run. She told them about the Alguth, and that made them look around.
“We will stop by the oxygen farm. They fly there. You actually had a few of them mixed with you on the Splice ship.”
One of the girls raised her hand. “What happens if we weren’t given any nanites? Can we just go home?”
“Ah, well, you were missing a large piece of your back. The Splice use that to test compatibility.”
The girl reached behind her and pulled up her shirt. “What colour?”
Alissia whispered, “Silver. So, they weren’t holding us for ransom? They said if we ran into anyone that they would pay a ransom.”
Cracker sighed. “No. From the moment the Splice caught you, you were never going home in one piece. I am guessing that your shuttle held forty-eight? Your pilot is gone, as are the other chaperones. There was no chance for you. You were sent up as propaganda for the folk on the world below. The fact that you are all female is sort of odd, but I am guessing that they imagined the Splice wanted warrior bodies for their purposes, not that of little girls.”
Alissia hissed. “I am seventeen. I am not a little girl.”
Cracker smiled slightly. “I am twenty-four. I have seen things that would make you faint, but I have to keep going because every single man in this room has had medical treatment in the last six years and twenty percent of them have had me under their skin at one point. They have all stayed out here so we can continue to fight the Splice and hopefully protect the planet that banned us.”
The group was done with their meals, so she showed them where to put their trays. “No one here is on serving duty. They cook your meals and then cook the next one. At no time do I want to see a tray left on a table. Are we clear?”
The group surprised her by saying, “Yes, Cracker.”
She quirked her lips and took them on a walk.
They headed for the oxygen farm, and they stared at the Alguth engaged in their flights up ahead.
A familiar Alguth flew down and walked up to them, folding his wings across his back. “Queen Cracker, good morning. Did Lucky find you?”
She inclined her head. “Thank you, Solouk, she did. These are the new arrivals. They are the minors of our species. Students.”
Solouk bowed. “Welcome to the ship, Princesses. If you have any questions, ask one of the Alguth. What we don’t know, we can find out very quickly.”
The young girls were fascinated by the alien, and Cracker was relieved to see that the feeling was not mutual. The change in honorifics was a definite clue that he knew they were minors.
“Solouk, has Lucky mentioned the slight alterations to you?”
“She has. She has enacted them. I must say that the load-bearing is much more comfortable now.”
“Good. Well, I have to continue the tour. Have fun with the battle patterns.” She inclined her head.
His wings flared out, and he took off, heading upward with startling speed.
One of the girls whispered, “Why did you have to tell him we were minors? He’s hot.”
“All of the Alguth are hot, but they have senses that we don’t have. A queen is a woman of breeding age. A princess is the right general configuration, but she isn’t ready yet.”
The chaperone blustered, “You can’t be discussing this kind of thing with these girls.”
Cracker held up her hand. “I need to clear one thing up. Not only does this group bring the grand total of the women on this ship up to the number sixteen, but there are over six thousand men on this ship. The Alguth will protect them if they need it, but if they push anything that the Alguth know they are not ready for, the four women on this ship are going to hear about it. Your group needs to know that once they are adults, they can pick and choose their partners, but right now, they had better keep to themselves. I don’t want to be engaging in discipline because someone wants to test boundaries.”
She unraveled her whips and showed them to her group. “I can and will use these to peel off additional skin then heal it and then do it again. Do not push the limits. That said, ask whatever questions you like. If you can’t go home because you are cyborgs,” she opened her arms and waved at the men roaming the ship around them, “this is your dating pool.”
The girls giggled, and one whispered, “Is Hammer your boyfriend?”
“He is my friend, guard, companion, and hopefully, lover.”
There were a lot of wide-eyed giggles.
“And he is standing right behind me.” She turned and wrapped her whips around his waist, lifting herself until she was even with his face.
He grinned. “I don’t hate this.”
She waggled her brows. “Just wait until I take the blades off. I have silicone grips.”
He flushed and kissed her quickly. “Finish the tour. I will be waiting to hear more about your adaptations to the whips.”
&nbs
p; She grinned and lowered herself, returning to her position in front of the students and the hot-faced chaperone.
They continued the tour with her fielding questions about her social life and the whips. It was the longest time before more attacks, so she enjoyed the conversation with the students.
When they were outside the admin center, she turned and asked, “Now, would any of you like an apprenticeship in any of the professions that we saw in action today?”
Hands shot up, and to her surprise, the girls wanted to work. Three of them wanted to work in the oxygen farm, but the Alguth were fun to look at.
Alphy came out, and to her amusement, there were medics who wanted to train, programmers, and to everyone’s shock, Alissia wanted to learn how to be a cyborg mechanic.
There was a lot of research to show them about how hectic things could be, but right at this minute, there were more women who wanted to enter the world of cyborg healing, reprogramming, and repair. Things were changing.
Epilogue
Doros walked through the silent station. There was no sound, no light, and no life signs.
Everything in his body was telling him that he was in the right place, but he couldn’t see where his target was.
He walked deeper into the twisting halls of the station until he was above the power core.
He looked down, and his blood pounded in his veins. Below him, a woman was suspended in a tube of fluid. There were forty leads that plunged through her skull and trailed into cables attached to the edge of the tank.
“Windy? I am looking for Gael Kasmir.”
The head slowly moved, and the saddest little heart-shaped face looked up at him. It turned into a scowl. “Get in here and stay silent. The Splice are doing a sweep.”
He slipped inside the hole and felt the heat coming from the core. A metal seal closed over him, and a cuff of metal slid up to hide the tank.
He held himself to the outer wall of the tank and kept away from the woman in the fluid.