by Viola Grace
She laughed. “We have time.”
“Every time I go out on a ship, there is a chance I will not return. I do not wish to risk that, so I will use what skills I have to gain your trust.”
She nodded. “Fair point. First, the nanites then exploration.”
“Are you comfortable out of the suit?”
“Not really, but it has been less than a week in this condition, and I am missing quite a bit of time.” She grimaced. “I can’t believe they lied to me like that.”
“They created a logic pattern and held to it.” Solouk shrugged. “Our queens did the same.”
She sighed and nodded. “They make decisions, and we get to live with it if we are lucky.”
He chuckled and slowly spiralled downward. “It is a good thing that it is your name. You always have it close to you.”
She smiled. “Yes. I carry it with me.”
He landed softly and set her on her feet. “Shall we go and pick up your parcels?”
“If you want to remain and fly, that is fine with me.”
Solouk shook his head. “I am on duty until you dismiss me, and then, Aluak will take over until you summon me again.”
She nodded. “Right. Until Alphy has a chance to go through all the personnel from Khiron Station.”
“Correct. So, shall we?”
She smiled. “Sure. Let’s go. Did you have fun with Aluak?”
“Flying is always fun. I wish you could try it.”
She linked her arm with his, and they headed to the security desk. “Oh, I will be able to if I want to. We just need to get Cracker back. She is the artist.”
“Artist?”
“Yes, she can figure out how to sculpt a body and body parts that can act as part of the whole. Stitch refines the fit and the attachments, and I write the code to make it take final shape.” Lucky smiled. “If I ever get wings, she will have designed them for me.”
“Do you know where she is?”
“No, but I am guessing that Alphy has a record of her transfer somewhere after the explosion.”
He nodded. “If anyone has information, it would be her.”
Lucky didn’t answer that comment. Alphy was wired into the complete archive of human existence. Everything that a human had ever known was filtered right through the warship that looked like an asteroid.
She collected her parcels, signed, and scanned for the tube of nanites that she needed for her own project, a man-sized bodysuit, and the packages that had come in the courier pack.
She wanted to think that it was just like her birthday, but she settled for Christmas. It was a much safer event for her.
Chapter Twelve
Lucky was exhausted. The ship had begun to head off to a destination that Alphy had in mind. They had gone through two Splice attacks, and Lucky had processed as many Alguth and human wounded as she could manage.
She finished her adjustments for the day and rubbed at her eyes.
Solouk murmured. “Time for bed.”
“You are not my mom.”
“I sincerely hope not.” He smiled and held out his hand.
She groaned and got away from her desk, taking his hand and letting him help her to bed. She was able to use a regular bodysuit now, and she eased out of it before crawling into bed.
Solouk stripped and crawled into bed next to her, pulling her in close. She wasn’t up to sex yet, but the small intimacies of being wrapped in his arms were particularly nice.
“Are you going to the gym again tomorrow?”
She smiled and nodded. “I am. I am really making progress.”
Her masculine form could now lift over five hundred pounds and punch hard enough to dent a heavy metal panel. It made her feel far more secure to have that other form at her beck and call.
She smiled and settled against Solouk, enjoying the moments when she could just let her guard down and be in contact with another living being without fear.
The all-hands alarm went off a few hours into her rest. Solouk shot out of bed and was dressed in a few seconds, kissing her quickly before he bolted to his station.
Lucky reached for the com and asked, “Alphy, what is the situation?”
“Three Splice warships have targeted us. They have enough incursion ships to have some land on the station. We need all hands to their stations and you to the dark levels. The fighters in stasis need protection, and I do believe that you can manage it.”
Lucky was already shifting and reaching for the larger uniform she kept under the bed. The new suit was designed for a few other adjustments she had made to the larger body, and the moment her boots were on, she was heading to the dark levels where they were storing the dangerous humans who hadn’t yet been repaired to the point of normal function. They might be monsters by human standards, but right now, they needed protection.
Lucky connected to the ship’s systems and watched the area around her charges.
The Splice vessel had bored into the side of the ship, and she had incoming intruders. Lucky flexed her hands, and the swords manifested.
She watched the Splice approach the door that she guarded and analyzed how they moved.
Three figures came at her, lurching and swinging their limbs. They had firearms, but they weren’t using them. She stepped forward, and their focus changed from the room behind her to her armed and ready stance.
The monster charging her had one green eye and one rainbow. He was made of at least seven different skin tones, and one of his shoulders had an Earth tattoo. That had to go.
She settled into her artificial body, and she carved chunks off the Splice until his companions were slipping in his blood.
A fist came at her head, and she ducked, stabbing upward into the torso of the body over her. She heard a shriek that reminded her of the battle cry that had preceded her grandfather’s death. With a twist of her blade, she pulled it out sharply and then stabbed inward again.
Lucky freed herself from the dying Splice and turned to the one that had bypassed her in favour of working on the door systems.
Lucky lifted her short swords and plunged them through the monster’s back, and she sawed down hard as she pulled them free. The creature staggered back. His very human eyes were mismatched but expressed his pain. A quick slash cut his throat, and two more opened major arteries.
The Splice fell to his knees and pitched forward.
Lucky cleaned her blades off and pushed the bodies into the canister she had prepared earlier.
She resumed her ready stance and waited for the next batch of Splice to make it to the vault. There were two more groups, and she was ready for them.
This new body kicked ass.
Alphy’s voice came through the com system. “Ship is secured, Splice vessels ejected, and seals in place. Lucky, we need you at the repair station. Those were big ships.”
“Keep talking to me. I am on my way.”
The hall coms kept pace with her as she sprinted with the swords sheathed on her back.
“We have found a lot of Alguth. Liakon is estimating it as half the fighting population. It looks like they are an endangered species.”
“Ah, shit. That isn’t good.”
Alphy sighed. “You’re telling me. What did you do with your combat practice remains?”
“In a storage container, as promised. I cleaned up after myself.” Lucky headed for the industrial lift. If she were needed in a hurry, she would simply have to risk blacking out for a moment.
“How many in total?”
“Eight Splice came in. They knew exactly what they were looking for. No doubt about it.”
Alphy sighed through the com, though her voice was being projected. “Fuck it. You know what that means.”
“Yup. We have a leak, or there was one on Alpha Base. Either way, not good.”
“Are you taking the service lift?”
“I am.”
“I will slow it down slightly. Are you going to change before you get to the bay?”
“Do I have time?”
“No.”
“Then, no. I will be there in two minutes. Have my station ready. Oh, and will I be working on human and Alguth?”
“Stitch can handle the human. You can patch any of the standard programming later. For now, we are going to work on the six hundred souls who were awake and aware in the Splice labs. The other two thousand were in stasis, thankfully.”
Lucky exhaled and triggered the lift call. She stepped onto the magnetic plate and knelt as it shot upward toward the level where the action was still going on.
The light from the passing levels was a flicker, and when the cargo lift stopped, Lucky tumbled free and got to her feet.
Jumpy crewmen whirled and challenged her. “Who the hell are you?”
“Programmer Hesker. I have been summoned to the repair bay.”
One of the crewmen contacted Stitch and was blasted for the delay.
“Get his ass up here! I am swamped, and more keep coming. Every delay is going to cost you a minute in decontaminating one of the Splice ships.” Stitch’s voice was a tense but controlled shout.
The guards nodded and escorted Lucky at a full run to the repair units.
Stitch nodded at Lucky and waved her to the Alguth units. There were five of them now and a line of Alguth medics standing by with gurneys.
Lucky looked at them and asked in Alguth, “Have they all had the primers?”
The men were shocked, and they nodded.
“Excellent. Give me their initial scans and load them in when the unit opens. We are going to stop the pain and address the wing structure. Since speed is a concern, we will worry about flight capability when they have healed. All right?”
The medics nodded.
“Well?” She extended her hand coated with the blood of the Splice and shrugged. She could shower later or order the nanites to clean her up. Either way, she was on duty and would be for hours, if not days.
The re-assembly line began, and she focused on the monitors. This was her world now.
Solouk came up to her after she had been working for three hours. “Where is Lucky?”
She flicked him a glance and kept working. “Behave, or I won’t let you keep being the big spoon.”
Solouk stared. “Lucky?”
“Working now. Can you have someone grab me a compression suit? This body is getting a little heavy for me, and I need to be alert for the next few hours.”
“I will do it now. Why are you covered in blood?”
“I will explain it later. Stop being nosy.” She smiled slightly and nodded.
He left her, and she continued to drive the repair units as fast as they could go without stressing them. Stitch was doing the same on the human side.
Twenty minutes later, Solouk was at her side with the suit, and she made sure that the machines were all occupied before she shrank, burning off the Splice blood and absorbing the blades. The extra weight was compressed into the hollow of her body, and she shucked out of her boots and suit, grabbing the compression garment and stepping into it while the Alguth in the area stared.
Solouk lifted and extended his wings to give her a bit of privacy, but by the time he did it, she was sealing her suit. He handed her some shoes, and she stepped into them, flipping her hair back over her shoulders.
She smiled and gave him a quick kiss. “That’s better. Now, back to work for me.”
“Do you need any food?”
While she saw him out of her peripheral vision, he checked the monitor display that he said he was going to have removed.
Lucky chuckled. “Usually.”
“Someone will be here with the food in a few minutes.”
“Thanks. Can you help soothe those who are waiting?” She glanced over at the line of Alguth on gurneys waiting for their turn. She was met by dozens of pairs of rainbow eyes. “Uh, why are they staring?”
He smiled. “Two reasons that I can fathom. The first is that you spoke Alguth to them and the second is that you changed sex in front of them. That is not something we are familiar with.”
She chuckled. “Okay, I can see the point. You calm their nerves at dealing with freaking aliens and let them know that I am the only one who can do that particular trick.”
“I will.”
Lucky focused on a slight wobble as the intrusion of nanites caused a rupture in the left lung of one of her patients. She moved quickly to slow his breathing, capture the blood, and move it into muscle tissue. This was why she was needed. The machines were excellent at the repair, but they were machines and tears and breaks could happen in borderline tissue. A monitor was needed to make sure that didn’t happen.
She listened to Solouk’s mellow voice as he explained her to his people.
“She is a female who can use the same technology that will regrow your wings in hours to make a body for herself and for the defense of this ship.”
She smiled and kept working but paused when she heard, “I am also her chosen male. I sleep in her bed every night.”
The statement caused a murmur of surprise and admiration to run through the Alguth. Solouk had just grown a few feet taller in their estimation. Lucky muttered in her own mind about men being able to impress and kept her mind on her work.
The population of the ship had just increased by over two hundred percent. Repairs would take weeks, and they still had three specialists to find. Lucky wondered where Alphy was going to take them next and who the hell had squealed about the monsters in stasis?
Lucky prided herself on her patience, but some questions really needed fast answers.
Author’s Note
With slight breaks for a new superhero series at Devine Destinies, I am trying to finish the Mechanical Advantage series off back to back. I want these ladies back together, and I want the team up with the Alguth to take the fight to the Splice.
Yes, that’s right. It’s all about me.
Thanks for reading,
Viola Grace
About the Author
Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.
An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around, and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.
In real life, she now is engaged in beekeeping, and her adventures can be found on the YouTube channel, Mystery Bees Apiary. Just look for the cartoon kittens.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Author’s Note
About the Author