by Viola Grace
Windy whispered, “They have started sending tours up. Teenagers. They get caught and are never seen again.”
Doros scowled. “How do you know that?”
“Alphy just adopted twelve teenage girls and their chaperone. They are seventeen. It isn’t much of a guess that those girls were a sacrifice to keep the Splice away.”
Doros was silent for a moment. “So, we are going to hide on Alguth?”
Lacey shook her head. “No, we are going to regroup on Alguth. The people of that world have been emotionally drained by the Splice, as well as their population has been literally decimated. They are low on supplies, medicine, and morale. We can offer them all three.”
Windy cocked her head. “Alphy has that many surplus supplies?”
“No. That is my new project. I am going to be providing the supplies for the two armies to become one.”
Doros cocked his head. “Do you think they will agree?”
Buddy’s faceplate turned toward him. “They already have.”
It felt weird to be getting into a shuttle with Buddy—now back to himself—and Doros. The alert had been disabled, and she was able to sit in the cargo area with all her worldly possessions—Buddy and the suits.
Doros kept communication with her as they left her home and prison with the slow hum of the shuttle engines.
Alguth had been pretty from above. Crimson, blue, brown, and black all swirled together to make the landmass. The oceans were an aqua so bright it hurt her eyes.
She held Buddy’s hand as they left the array, and she could feel the distance growing by the second. She could sense space around her, but the signals were still strong.
She buried herself in the data streams, and she heard about herself properly for the first time. She whispered to Buddy, “They are calling me the mad witch of the array. It is a catchy title.”
Doros’s voice came through the coms. “It is not very flattering.”
“Hey, this is a species-wide mention of me. I don’t hear you getting mentioned as a threat to Splice-kind.” She snickered.
“They are saying that?”
“Yes, the voice that can twist sanity and bring madness. Aww. They noticed.” She grinned as she continued to scan the stream. “This is really impressive. I am some kind of Splice boogeyman. The Baba Yaga of the array.”
She was chuckling. This was hilarious. “I suddenly feel taller.”
Doros snickered. “You are not, but if you think so, feel free. What else are they saying?”
She grimaced. “They noticed that the array is gone. Do you think we should have left a note?”
“What? Gone to muster an army... back in ten minutes?”
She laughed, and the good mood kept her occupied while he worked through the landing protocols and brought them through the Alguth atmosphere.
They were going to start something new, and it would definitely take longer than ten minutes.
Chapter Nine
Her first steps on the alien world sent an echo into her mind of the first words a human said when their feet had come in contact with their own moon.
Doros looked at her awed expression, and he smiled. “One small step for man?”
“Yeah.”
“Enjoy it. There is nothing like the first moment of contact.”
She glanced at him, but his attention had turned back to unpacking the shuttle.
“Are these coordinates right?” Windy took a few steps toward the iconic but empty ruins.
“They are. This is the city that Lacey has indicated is ours to use. I confess it is larger than I imagined.”
“It feels a little weird, knowing that there are living Alguth somewhere on this world who might want their city back.”
Buddy nodded as he carried some of their supplies out. “It was negotiated for by Lacey. The nearest six Alguth queens all agreed to your presence and that of any forces you can bring. They wish to be protected from further Splice raids. Their populations are dangerously low within their cities, and the males that remain are all pregnant. The queens do not wish to risk them.”
Windy nodded. “Okay. Cool. There have been moments in human history when moving in next to a culture that was not as advanced as ours has had disastrous results. I just wanted to make absolutely sure.”
“If we defend Alguth, we can stay in the Cursed City.”
“Right. Okay. Can we do that?”
“The array can defend any area it is pointed at, and Lacey has arranged for additional supplies and equipment. Oh, and personnel.” Buddy nodded. “She says Alphy has the personnel on the way.”
“Wait, you are talking to her now?”
“No, Windy. She is giving me her manifesto and a copy of the tenancy agreement, in case it is ever in question. You have all the names of the queens who have agreed to our presence. Five out of the thirteen remaining have been contacted and agreed, but all of the five have contact with this territory. The others do not. Apparently, time was a factor.”
Windy lifted her head, she felt Alphy pinging.
“Yes, Alphy?”
“Are you down on Alguth?”
“We are. We are just unpacking in the Cursed City.”
“Excellent. There is a team of our altered Alguth coming down to assist you with the locals. Some humans as well.”
Windy smiled. “How many are you sending?”
“Two hundred. More or less. Nine shuttles, a warship, two supply ships, and some ground-to-air ordinance.”
Windy chuckled. “I didn’t get you anything.”
“Oh, and the medical setup you wanted, along with someone to run it. Even a few tanks of nanites just to make sure you have what you need.”
“Wow. That is one helluva housewarming present.”
“You deserve only the best. So, keep me posted, and let me know when everything shows up. If you need anything else, I am just a short contact away.”
“Thanks, Alphy.”
“Oh, and I have sent some crew members there to make sure that the setup goes smoothly. Once they are done, they will head back to base.”
“Weird. Why the warning?”
“You can’t keep them.” Alphy chuckled.
“Fine. I will settle for the two hundred males you are sending.”
“Good. If the setup goes smoothly, we will start transferring tech down to the planet.”
“What?”
“Lacey suggested that this is a good home base, and as we can defend the Alguth, I agree with her.”
“Once we are settled, I will go and meet the neighbors. If they agree to our presence, I will let you know.”
“Good. I have high hopes for Alguth as the main outpost. I think it would be nice to have food, water, and sunlight again.”
“Even with scary radiation?”
Alphy sighed. “We will have it checked out. You were soaking in it.”
“I know. It wasn’t like I had a choice. Well, at least Doros isn’t repelled by my radioactivity. He might be turned off by my flat chest and pixyish figure but not by the radiation.”
“You used to be all curves.”
“We can’t all reform our bodies from nanites. Mine needs fat.”
Alphy snorted. “Right. I will send you some desserts in the next shipment, or you can send me something.”
“I will see what this world has to offer. First, I need a room or something. Some privacy. I have been bunking with Doros and Buddy for what seems like forever.”
“Well, go stake out a place to stay before my guys get there. Their ship’s on the way down.”
“Right. Thanks for adding a level of urgency. Talk to you soon.”
Alphy’s laugh ended the contact.
Windy looked at the city, looked at Buddy, and nodded to Doros. “Time to find ourselves some private quarters. I like you guys, but I need the option of some alone time with the thousands of voices in my head.”
Doros
nodded. “Understandable. Let’s go take a look.”
Windy smiled and walked on the pale grey stone pavement.
There were no signs of the people who had lived here, and Windy knew that this was the sacrificed city. The Splice had taken every one.
“I wonder if they knew that the Splice were coming or if they were caught unaware,” Windy mused as she moved past shops, and they all appeared to be completely clean as if someone had scoured them before the humans had arrived.
Buddy filled in, “If you are referring to the lack of marks of violence, Lacey had a cleaning crew scour the city. It was part of the agreement. It was made ready for you. The water is potable, there is no bedding, but the furnishings that are still in place are usable.”
“Ah, that would have been handy to know. Right. I think I would like to get a space near the big building.”
Buddy kept pace with her. “Sensible. Why not in the big building?”
“I would like it reserved for community events and medical treatments.”
Doros chuckled. “As long as we can get spots close to you, I am fine with wherever you like.”
Buddy perked up. “I get my own room?”
“Yes, Buddy, you get your own room.”
Buddy looked excited or as excited as his facial display could get. “Let’s go.”
Windy grinned, and she picked up the pace. She wasn’t up to running yet, but she could walk at a good clip.
The city was clean, pristine, and eerie. The businesses and buildings were ready for inhabitants, but none of the locals would dare. It was a good thing that humans had more guts than brains.
They walked for half an hour before they made it to the center of the city where the huge stone building was. There were smaller buildings to either side, and she picked the one on the left. Inside, there were large open spaces on the main floor and six bedchambers on the second floor.
“I call the corner.” She walked into the corner space and looked out the two walls of windows that the room had. The electronic seals on the windows matched the ones on the other cities. The cities of the Alguth were covered in force field domes that protected the inhabitants. Unfortunately, from what Windy knew about the Splice, they could easily carve through them at will. They had found Earth and were focusing on the more easily manipulated flesh of humanity. Well, it was easy until the nanites got involved. After the cyborgs began being produced, the Splice had a fight on their hands. The cyborgs were not suitable for harvest, the nanites burned when separated from their hosts. Once they bonded to a host, they were in for life.
“Okay, so this is a good building, all the power is still running through the walls, and I can sleep on a cot.”
She was speaking to herself. Doros was checking out the room behind her, with its own two walls of windows. And Buddy was on her right, trying to figure out his colour pallet for design.
She grinned. “I am just going to gather my clothing and move my armload of possessions into my place.”
She walked down the stairs and began the long walk toward the shuttle. It was going to take some time, and she was glad that she only had one bag.
Buddy came sprinting past her. “I will get your stuff. You are going to need to greet the newcomers.”
She looked at the slow trickle of ships, and she found the first one. “Greetings from the surface. What is your cargo?”
“We have medical equipment.”
“Land as close to the large building in the city center. We are using it as a communal feeding center and as the medical facility.”
“Understood.”
Windy smiled. “Welcome to Alguth.”
She continued on, separating out the supply vehicles for the same destination as the medical, and the rest were asked to space themselves around the edge of the city, in a good takeoff position in case of an incursion.
It was fun to try and design a city and to organize those who just wanted to turn a war down for a while.
When folk started to leave their shuttles with their supplies and bedrolls over their shoulders, she spoke through their coms. “The large building and the one to its left are spoken for. You are clear to pick any other building you wish provided that it is equipped with bedrooms. Do not make a home in a shop, for example, unless there is a bedroom over the shop. If the shops are required to open, you may be asked to relocate at that time.”
They seemed to understand, and so with all of her possessions and her bedroll already in her home, she had time to help folks figure out what the buildings did, and what they might want to be saved for.
If they were remaining on Alguth, they might eventually need a market place, a library of human writings, and a communal bathhouse. Those required specific buildings and that was what she was looking for.
Her Splice memories told her the building she was looking for was a market hall, over the marketplace. She found the low, wide, and expansive building near one side of the city where a road snaked into the deep forests that surrounded them.
Windy used her connection to the com systems to tell everyone that that building was off-limits as well. It was an upper open level, and that level was the beginning of the library.
The two hundred men and Alguth settled in quickly, and she was soon standing in the central square as the specialists finished moving in the medical repair unit that was so essential to the process.
The installers hadn’t spoken to her, but as she got close, they lifted their heads, and Windy gasped as she was staring at Cracker and Stitch. They all squealed and hugged.
Stitch parted first. “I want to get you in there for a scan.”
“Sure. Is it working?”
“It is. It wasn’t really a question. Get into the unit, Windy.”
Stitch opened the shield over the unit, and Windy lay back on the bed. She had been scanned like this before.
The bed elevated her to the center, and the scanners slid above and beneath her. When she was released, Stitch was smiling. “Well, that wasn’t as bad as I had imagined. You are shedding the radiation or absorbing and using it. If you like, we can finish your healing now.”
Windy blinked. “We can? Now?”
“Yes. Lucky created some specially programmed nanites for you. They are blue. Kinda cute, but they are impervious to the radiation and can still work on your tissues. We can have you back to your normal form in three hours if you like.”
Doros was in the background, and she waved him over. “Doros, I am going to go in for healing. Can you handle getting everybody placed?”
“Of course. Do what you have to do. Buddy and I are firmly in control.”
Windy nodded and hopped up to give Doros a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.”
He was touching his face as she turned away, and Stitch was smiling. “Ready?”
“Ready. Good, bad, or otherwise, let’s do this.”
Stitch nodded and went to one of the boxes that had arrived with the unit. The bright blue was glowing. “Here we go. You might turn blue for a while, but it will fade as your body takes over.”
“Great. I get my figure back, but I am blue with white hair. Ah, to hell with that. Let’s go. Suit on or suit off?”
“Suit off. This is a multi-site treatment.”
“Will it affect my connection to the satellites?”
“No. This is muscular tissue and subcutaneous fat only. It will also alter your skin as necessary. Hopefully, when this is done, you will be able to use your muscles fully and feel a bit more like yourself.”
Naked, Windy climbed back into the unit, and she lay back. Stitch had her face blank as she loaded the special nanite canisters into the unit. That was when Windy knew how bad she truly appeared. Hopefully, this would take care of it.
She didn’t usually care about what she looked like, but her body didn’t feel like hers anymore, and she crossed her fingers that a few hours in the med unit would make her feel more like the woma
n she used to be. Even getting closer would be enough.
Chapter Ten
“Lacey did an amazing job on these suits. They really fit whatever they are wrapped around.” Windy smiled as she sealed the suit over her ice-blue skin. “What colour did my eyes end up?”
Stitch was smiling. It was as if she couldn’t stop. “Navy blue. How are you feeling?”
Windy ran her hand over the curves that had been created to match her original form before the array. “Better. Definitely, like me. The blue will be easier to get used to than the flat chest.”
“A woman is more than her boobs.”
Windy snorted. “Says a woman who doesn’t spend most of a day at a terminal keeping snack bars in her cleavage. These appendages serve a purpose. They also slow me down if I pass out on my desk.”
Stitch cackled and grinned. “Of course, they do. I had no idea that your breasts had such a functional life.”
“They are essential to my lifestyle.” Windy patted them happily.
She was wearing the purple suit again, and it went really well with the icy blue of her skin.
Stitch hugged her. “Well, I have to head back. There is a huge line of alterations waiting for me. Lucky has been working over files for weeks, and I think she is going to need a break soon.”
A familiar voice spoke. “I thought now was soon enough. I can telecommute, and Solouk was eager to spend time on his home world.”
Windy turned, and she squealed, running toward her friend. “Lucky!”
They hugged, and Lucky looked at Windy’s figure. “Dead on. Just like I remember you, only slightly more tanned.”
Windy snorted. “Funny.”
“I thought so. How are you feeling?”
“Better. Good programming on those nanites.”
Lucky nodded. “My little fellas do good work. Getting them set to resist the ambient radiation that you are broadcasting was the tricky part. Buddy’s scans were exceedingly helpful.”
“He was definitely getting the file together without me knowing about it.”