by Eve Langlais
A signal that he wouldn’t have noticed if his hands hadn’t fiddled, without any kind of conscious command, with the various monitors, enlarging the one so that it spotted the strange signal. Then plotted it. Whatever emitted it was moving erratically across this portion of the galaxy. Dipping and weaving. Leaking energy and tickling with familiarity.
Had he accidentally found one of the missing drones from Snype’s workshop? What a coup that would be.
The Solar Eclipse trailed it, cutting a straight course through the zigzags, shortening the distance between them. Drawing near enough that he got a visual on screen.
“Computer, enlarge.” The image zoomed, and he grinned as he noticed the distinctive drone. “Come to Zakky,” he muttered.
They entered a small asteroid field, not currently mapped on his charts. A good thing he had his computer to help navigate and keep an eye on the drone, or he’d have missed the fact it smashed into, rather than avoided, one large, misshapen hunk of rock.
The fact that it stopped moving made it easier for him. “Computer, prepare for object retrieval.”
His ship slowed to a hover over the rocky ride that had caught the drone. He could see it, a spindly metal leg jutting.
The mechanical arms projected from his ship, reaching for the drone, only the asteroid suddenly shifted. The pincher poked the rock, missing the drone, and digging not into rock but flesh.
Irritating the space behemoth. An eye opened, a rather large, glowing green orb with the drone sitting on the edge of its eyelid.
It wasn’t just Ray who sometimes took risks. “Computer, grab the object, and then get us out of this asteroid field.” Which wasn’t actually rocks. An alarm went off as more eyes opened and gigantic bodies rotated, stretched, going from somewhat sphere-shaped to…
“Holy leaking seal. Is that a herd of space pslawths?” Ray asked as he entered the bridge.
“Yeah.”
“Do you really think it’s a good idea to poke one in the eye?”
“No. But I found a drone.”
Ray didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he shrugged. “What do you need me to do?”
“Watch and learn how to spite death.” Zak flung himself into his seat while Ray stood and monitored the drone.
“We’ve got it. No damage to the pslawth’s eye, but I’ve got this feeling it’s not happy.”
“Then we should take our leave.” Zak began to retreat from the pslawth, knowing he couldn’t just streak off, not until the ship’s arms had safely stored the prize.
“We’ve got company trying to surround us.”
The great space beasts were converging, hemming the Solar Eclipse in a ring of bodies that tightened.
“Just a few more tiny ticks of a cog,” he murmured. The moment the hatch sealed behind the drone, he slid his fingers to rev the engine and then, with the heel of his other hand, had them moving away.
“Computer, get us out of here as safely as possible.”
Because if you didn’t specify, she’d take the most direct route, even if it was dangerous.
There was nothing they could do but brace themselves. Fighting small, sentient planets wasn’t feasible, not when they could crush you.
Instead, his ship waved among the slow-moving bodies, flashed past wide glowing eyes, and evaded an open maw before slipping past ragged stumps of teeth, between which remnants of less lucky travelers were caught. They navigated through the dangerous maze and shot into clear space, which led to a cheer.
“We frukxing did it!” he crowed.
“And we got a prize. Let’s check it out.”
The drone in their hold proved less than impressive. Zak had much better robots on board. But what it held in its belly…
They lay the brassy-colored cog on Zak’s bed, eyeing its intricate beauty. Neither of them daring to touch it, which seemed odd. Usually they took turns fondling their treasures before deciding if they’d keep or sell it.
“Definitely a piece of the God Gear,” Ray confirmed. He flashed up an image of the completed set that he’d managed to capture before Snype broke it apart and sent it on a merry adventure. “What do you think it does?” Because each piece controlled a different part of the flesh.
“I don’t know. And I’m not tempted to find out.” Ray frowned. “There’s something off about it.”
“You feel it, too.” It reassured Zak to know Ray felt the same thing.
“Whatever it is, its next owner can deal with it. I’ll put it in the safe until we find a place to sell it.”
Once it was out of sight, Zak breathed a tad easier. There truly was something bothersome about the cog.
Lucky for him, he found distraction in the fact that Nema had finally woken. But this time, he didn’t immediately speak to or join her. As part of his new plan, he’d decided to wait until she called for his presence. By realizing her dependency on him and Ray, she’d be more amenable to helping them.
With that thought in mind, he let her roam the room they’d placed her in. Watched as she stroked her hands over the walls, sometimes palming it for several ticks of a cog. Only once did she try to leave. The door remained locked, waiting for his or Ray’s command.
When it failed to open, she raised her gaze and seemed to stare right at him. Impossible of course. The camera in the room was cleverly disguised.
She didn’t try to leave again. Nor did she call for them. She did, however, closet herself in the cleansing chamber for a good while, where the camera chose to malfunction, to his grumbling dismay. But probably for the best. He really shouldn’t spy when she did her ablutions. Besides, what kind of mischief could she really achieve locked in that space?
Upon emerging, she discovered the built-in food dispenser and ordered a beverage and meal. When it popped out on a plate, still steaming with heat, she sniffed at it suspiciously and took a tiny nibble before trusting it and consuming it all.
The day passed, and not once did she speak aloud.
Surely, he’d not thought she would make it easy. Ray arrived as she readied for bed.
“She’s awake. What did she say? Will she help us?” Ray asked, preparing to take over the next shift on the ship. They’d opted to alternate their time so that they weren’t both sleeping at the same time if something happened.
“She hasn’t said a word.”
“Silent treatment?” Ray asked, his fingers sliding over screens that he quickly perused, catching up on their location.
“I guess. She’ll soon learn we’re in charge.”
He hoped. With Ray at the helm and nothing better to do, Zak left to get some rest with the admonishment to his friend to wake him if something happened.
After way too many turns of the minor cog of uninterrupted sleep, he took over from Ray.
“She still hasn’t said a word,” his friend informed him before departing to take his own rest.
The day dragged as Nema continued to putter around the room, eating from the replicator, spending some time immersed in the holographic movies from the extensive library he’d collected. He’d spent a fortune updating the playback capabilities so that it felt as if you truly were amidst the action. His next big purchase would be adding scent to the experience. And a heated gel pool. He’d soaked in one recently and never felt so relaxed.
As his shift ended, Ray entered the command area of the ship and caught him watching the live footage. “Still hasn’t begged for our attention, I see.”
“Shouldn’t she have made some demands by now?” Zak asked with frown.
“Such as?” Ray queried. “She has everything she needs. A comfortable bed. Clean clothes.”
She’d found a stash in the guest room cupboard that Zak kept on board for Ursy, although Nema chose to clean and re-wear her form-fitting one-piece suit that molded her lithe frame and showcased her figure.
“She even has access to some of the best food recipes the universe has to offer.”
“Are you saying we need to take it away?�
�� Zak asked.
“I don’t know how you expect her to come around if she’s relaxing in the lap of luxury.”
“What would you suggest then? That we lock her in a barren room?” The idea didn’t sit well. “That doesn’t seem very nice.”
“Nice?” Ray snorted. “Have you forgotten that, according to her, we kidnapped her?”
“She’s just confused about our rescue.”
“Give your gears a shake. She hates us. Think of it, she is locked in a room with no access to outer ship communication, and you’re waiting for her to break and ask for an audience. She’s a prisoner. No way is she cooperating.”
The starkness of Ray’s declaration had Zak pressing his lips tight. “We haven’t harmed her.”
“No, but we are infringing on her rights.”
“How else are we to get her agreement to help?” he asked.
“Maybe by asking her?”
“I think we’ve gone past that point,” Zak muttered darkly.
As if sensing they talked about her, Nema turned her head slightly, and her gaze appeared to stare right at them. Her lips curved into a smirk.
Ray shrugged. “It can’t hurt to try.”
“Since when are you the voice of reason?”
“Since your tough bolt method didn’t work.”
“Confrontation it is. Who’s going in?”
“I say both of us. Show a united front.”
“Is that the best idea?” Zak asked. “What if she attacks? Weren’t you the one who shot her claiming she posed a danger?”
“That was before I had a chance to watch.” Ray leaned over his shoulder and pointed. “Not once has she tried to turn anything in that room into a weapon. She even recycled the knife the replicator provided during her last meal. She’s not dangerous.”
“When should we confront her?”
“Why not now?”
Now. Zak took in a breath and released it. Why did the thought of getting close to her rattle his cogs? “Let’s do this.”
The ship, a large pleasure cruiser, had numerous levels and required them taking a lift to the right floor. On the way, they encountered maintenance bots. Vacuuming. Repairing. Zak enjoyed his modern amenities.
At the door to the guest room, they paused, and for some reason, despite the thick walls and doors, Zak whispered, “Do we knock or walk in?”
Ray tilted his head. “Definitely knock.”
Three firm raps thudded against the portal.
Then they stood waiting until Ray muttered, “Did she answer? Maybe we can’t hear her. Or maybe she didn’t hear you knock.”
They both eyed the door until Zak asked tentatively, “Do I knock again?”
“Can’t hurt.”
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Nothing.
Ray rubbed his chin. “Should one of us go check a camera feed to see if she can even hear us?”
“I’ll do it one more time, harder.”
Bang. Bang. Bang.
With each tic of a cog where they heard nothing, Zak’s glare deepened into a full-blown scowl.
“She’s definitely ignoring us. I’m going in.” He placed his hand on the portal and barked. “Open.”
The portal slid open with only the slightest suction of air. Walking in, he immediately saw the seer seated in a chair, holding a holo pad, gaze intent on it. She didn’t even lift her head once to look at them.
Pretended they weren’t there at all.
Stomping toward her, the plan to negotiate fading as his irritation heated, he cast a shadow over her and growled, “I know that you know I’m here.”
Slowly her chin lifted, and Nema eyed him. She placed the holo pad on her lap, freeing her hands to grasp at her ears and remove a pair of ear buds. “Are you always so rude as to just come into places uninvited?”
She dared to rebuke him? “I knocked. Several times.”
“And when no one immediately answered you thought it appropriate to just barge in.”
“It’s my ship.”
Ray cleared his throat.
“I mean, our ship,” Zak corrected. “I can go where I cog damned please.”
“So I am a prisoner then.”
The remark slapped his mouth shut. “No.”
Ray hastened to add, “You’re our guest.”
“With a locked door.”
“For our safety. Can’t have you roaming around until we’ve set some ground rules.”
She blinked at him. “You don’t get to tell me what I can or cannot do.”
The conversation was not going as planned, yet Zak forged ahead. “We just want to make sure nothing bad happens to you.”
“If that were the case, then why take so long to come speak with me?”
“You never asked us to,” Zak retorted, only to have her turn a stern gaze on him.
It took Ray exclaiming, “You idiot!” for him to realize his mistake.
“You’ve been watching me.” Triumph in her gaze. She knew. No point in making excuses for it.
“Despite how it looks, you are our guest,” Zak insisted.
“No, what I am is a prisoner, kidnapped against her will, and now being taken…” She tapped her lower lip. “Where exactly?”
“You’re the seer. You tell me,” Zak snarled, realizing he’d lost any advantage he might have had coming in. Which wasn’t much to start with.
“Ah yes, the seer thing. Is that why you were so eager to get your mechanical hands on me?”
“Only one hand is upgraded,” Ray protested, holding up the appendage question. The dull glint of his cog knuckles was visible where they emerged from the skin.
She recoiled. “Don’t touch me with that.”
“Ray won’t hurt you. He’s good with the ladies.” Another set of words he wished had never left his mouth.
“I don’t care how he is. I’ve no interest in being touched by someone like him. Or you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Zak demanded.
She eyed them, arms crossed, looking unimpressed. “It means, as a race, you’ve stooped low. I’d heard rumors your kind considers the taking of metal parts as evolved. I see now the falseness of that statement.”
“Is this because we tried to buy you? We weren’t planning to keep you as a slave or make you do anything gross. We’d masturbate before we ever forced someone to have sex.” Zak kept sinking deeper and deeper into a verbal pit of oily sludge.
“Shut up,” Ray said with a sigh. “Let me have a turn doing the talking.”
“If you’re going to indulge in a monologue that will do little to change my mind, then I’m going to leave. I think I need to wash my hair.” She flicked a dark strand over her shoulder, her expression haughty.
“Listen, I realize we majorly frukxed things up, but that can change. Will change,” Ray stressed. “Surely there’s a way we can help each other.”
“Help? I don’t see what you have to trade,” she said.
Zak had the answer to that. “A free ride in the lap of luxury.” He extended his hand. “Observe the first-class accommodations that are yours to enjoy while we travel.”
“I can purchase a berth on another ship. I don’t need your charity.”
“If you feel a need to pay for your passage, then perhaps we can come to an arrangement,” Zak interjected.
“Give me access to a communication portal, and I’ll have some funds transferred.”
Ray snorted. “Why? So you can call some friends for help? We’re not stupid.”
“Then how am I to pay for my passage? And if you say on my back…” Her lips pursed.
Funny thing was he’d not even thought of Nema in terms of a lover, but once she put the idea in his head, he could suddenly picture it. In color. His hands dropped, and he turned as he said, “We don’t pay for sex. I was thinking more of an exchange.”
“An exchange of what?” She uttered an elegant snort. “I have nothing.”
“It doesn’t have to cost you a thing
,” Zak hastened to say. “Just a tiny detour on the way to wherever you need to go.”
“A detour where?” Her gaze narrowed.
“To a place from our past. Help us find one of the ancient Mecha god planets. Lead us to one of their temples, and then we’ll fly you wherever you like.”
Her reply?
Laughter.
7
The offer was brazen and predictable. It also happened to mesh with her plans. Fate truly must guide her steps, given it had her run into the impure ones, those who chose to pollute themselves with sentient metal, corrupting their biology.
For some reason, after her encounter with the repulsive cog, she’d pictured the Siyborgh as monsters. Raving lunatics with crazy mechanical parts that would prove irrational and in need of decommissioning.
Instead she ran into a pair of males who managed to intrigue her more than any other man she’d met before them. And they didn’t look anything like monsters.
But she shouldn’t forget the taint in them. Totally unsuitable, yet that didn’t mean she couldn’t use them.
“What makes you think I can guide you to one of your ancient temples?” And what exactly did they mean by temple? There was so much she didn’t know about them. Could they even lead her to the origin of the sentient metal?
“You can see the past, which means you would know where they were built.”
“You assume much. For one, I’m not a seer. That was just a misunderstanding.”
“What are you then?” asked Ray. He leaned against the wall, his dark arms crossed.
“I’m probably what your people used to be before they began that ill practice of taking cogs.” Her nose wrinkled.
“You’re saying we’re related?” Zak cocked his head.
“Given the resemblance of our kind, I’d say it’s very possible.”
“Possibly a splinter colony who obviously didn’t keep in contact when the first Mecha Temple was discovered and the wonders within revealed.”
“I doubt there is anything holy about those ruins you’ve been finding.” Her lip curled. “Are they the reason your kind started implanting metal into your bodies?”