Twisting Sanity (Mechanical Advantage Book 5) Read online

  Six months after learning Lacey’s fate, there was direct communication, and it was directed at her.

  “Why so serious, Windy?”

  The voice that had spoken the words was familiar, and Windy frantically checked the sending date. She was shocked. It was open communication.

  “Lacey? Is that really you?”

  “More or less. Actually, less. How are you doing?”

  “I don’t know. I can’t move, I am in the middle of this array, and I am not sure where I am.”

  “You are at a data-stream hub. It is like a joining of mythical ley lines. You can see and hear everything if you are so inclined.”

  “Where are you?”

  “I am quite a distance from you and making plans for the future.”

  “How did you survive?”

  Lacey chuckled. “My charm, my wit, and my grasp of languages. I also hit someone over the head and got the hell out of there.”

  Lacey paused and added, “I am here if you need to talk. I have an open connection wired to my brain.”

  “I am making a note of the route. What are you working on?”

  “As folks come awake, I thought it would be nice to have presents sent to the ones who can get them. I can’t send anything to Cracker yet, but Alphy is just about ready, and they are talking about waking Stitch now that they finally made her arms. Lucky, well, Lucky is already getting chocolate when I can find it. I hope it is making it to her.”

  “You can’t confirm it?”

  “No, I can just send the torpedoes and hope they get where they are supposed to.”

  “Torpedoes?”

  “They are inexpensive and go to coordinates that I put in without having to run a flight plan through the nosey systems. I don’t want to put anyone at risk.” Lacey chuckled. “You should be getting one soon. It might assist in your current situation.”

  Windy checked her exterior scans, and there was a small pod that was coming toward the array at a very careful pace. “What do I do with it?”

  “Let it in. There is a small mechanoid that will help you get anything you think you need. Portable hands.”

  “Can it administer nanites?”

  “Do you have some? That is one thing that I haven’t been able to get my hands on yet.”

  Windy thought about it. “There might be something in the tech shuttle. Can it look for me?”

  “Of course. I can’t be with you, but I can send you what help I can find.”

  “Can you call me every day?”

  “I can call you every day.” Lacey’s voice was soft. “Now, build yourself a virtual world and make the messages bolts of lightning that run through the sky or soft rivers that you can dip your toe into. Make the data stream your home, and I will be with you once a day, every day.”

  Windy would have smiled, but instead, she let the torpedo slide into her docking area, and the item inside emerged.

  Two wheels, a rectangle and grabbing arms were on the small bot that whirled toward the camera and waved and chirped with good cheer.

  Windy spoke to Lacey. “I am going to call him Buddy.”

  Lacey chuckled. “Glad that you like him. Call you tomorrow.”

  Windy chuckled and spoke to Buddy. “Can you check inside the human shuttle and look for nanites?”

  Buddy chirped happily and waved his arms, turning and heading for the shuttle without hesitation.

  She watched him via the shuttle’s inner monitoring system. Windy coaxed him into the med center, and she had him grab a med kit so that she could see if there was anything inside there that she could use.

  Buddy kept chirping and whirring as he carried the pack to her enclosure. He set it down, and he whistled as he headed back the way he had come.

  She was curious and watched him drive back to where the original techs had been when the Splice came in. Buddy dragged the two med bags back to her, and then, he sat there, whistling happily.

  Windy watched as he unpacked the items and held them up for her to see. She held her breath until the last container, but there was no capsule of nanites in the cases. “Damn it.”

  Buddy made a sad noise, and he slouched.

  “Pack them up, Buddy. I can wait. I have you to keep me company, so I can definitely wait.” She couldn’t smile, but he whirled and twirled happily before slumping against the wall, and his system tapped into the station to power itself.

  “Well, Lacey has told me to build a safe place in my own mind, so you tell me if this sounds crazy.” She spent the next day outlining her plans for her fairy-tale kingdom with ancient Roman clothing designs and fully powered blasters that could cut through a rainbow.

  Buddy was remarkably patient, and he put up with all of her design choices. She had a friend to spend time with, and she knew why Lacey had sent him. Windy wasn’t too stable at the best of times, her skills at connecting the words and whispers of people at great distances were a specific talent that had gotten her an offer from Earth Defense. The big problem was, she got lonely. That was why she listened, she needed to hear other people, or she courted a breakdown.

  Buddy was going to save her life and her sanity.

  Lacey honoured her word. She called every single day unless she warned Windy that the contact would be delayed. She gave Windy a protocol in case of Splice incursion and urged her to watch for signs of their friends. The survivors of Adaptation Station were going to surface eventually, and they were going to need Windy’s help to communicate around moons and asteroid fields. She was essential, and she had to wait. So, she waited in her tower with dragons howling in the distance and her squeaky companion singing as he kept an eye out for nanites.

  It was an interesting way to live her life until she noticed that Stitch was communicating. From there, her life turned around, even if she still couldn’t move. She had so much to tell her.

  Chapter Three

  Windy thanked her stars that Lacey had found her a nanite pod. It gave her enough motion to move her head, which was important when there was a cyborg hovering over you, keeping his body against the sealed door. Reluctantly, she opened it.

  She looked up at him, and she spoke. “So, why did you agree to come here? The Splice patrol this region regularly.”

  “Your friends wanted me to find you. Why isn’t your mouth moving?”

  She blinked slowly. It was one of the only motions she had aside from moving her head. “I can’t properly speak yet. I was... damaged.”

  “I guessed that. Your friends explained what happened, but you and the other girl disappeared from all records.” Doros seemed content to just hold his body at the top of her tube.

  “They brought me here, they installed me, and they were captured by the Splice, so I am not sure that they ever reported that I was active. I can tell Alphy that you have arrived. I am sure she will be pleased that you found me.”

  “Wait on that. I am not sure that I can help you. I am not a trained medic.”

  Her voice rippled around them. “I don’t need a medic; I need a shot of nanites and a set of hands that can pull the filaments out of my skull a few at a time.”

  He seemed relieved. “I can manage that. I have a complete kit on my ship.”

  She chuckled. “I thought you might. Alphy never sends anyone out unprepared.”

  “Did she know what shape you were in?”

  “If anyone could find the records, it would be Alphy. Now, hush for a few minutes. I have to freak out the Splice, they have entered the array.” The door above him closed again.

  She looked forward and focused on her inner monitors, cameras, and scanners. She opened and closed doors, shrieked, and laughed madly for a few minutes until the Splice left the array.

  She remained quiet for a moment, and then, she looked up at him. His eyes were wide.

  “What the hell was that?”

  “The Splice think that their communications array is haunted, so I haunt it.”
r />   “No, the laughter? It made my skin crawl.”

  She chuckled. “I have worked on that effect. The Splice feel the same way. They can’t stand the sound of my laughter, so they leave. They work mostly by the scans for life signs and by scent. You are fairly heavily adapted, so you don’t scan as much.”

  “What about you?”

  “We are right over the power supply for the array. It warms me, powers my body, and keeps the signals running.”

  “Isn’t there a lot of radiation involved?”

  She chuckled. “I don’t know. Is it? The Splice don’t measure for radiation, so I don’t have any way of gauging how much I am absorbing.”

  He frowned. “I didn’t bring anything with me. Are we clear?”

  She opened the hatch. “Oh, yes. Sorry.”

  “How do I get down to you?”

  She paused. “I don’t really know. I think they put me in here and filled it up afterward. They were taken off by the Splice, so I didn’t have a chance to quiz them.”

  “Can I take medical scans?”

  “Sure. Feel free to send them off to Stitch. She and Lucky can probably cobble something together if you have a set of nanites.”

  He slowly climbed out of her little zone. “You won’t mind a delay?”

  “I am a motionless body in a tube. I have nothing but time as long as the end goal is to free me from this place.”

  He chuckled. “I have to get something to eat. Can I get you anything?”

  “I have a bot named Buddy running around. He has gone a little crazy, but if you find him. Send him back to me.”

  “You have a bot, and it has gone crazy.” He sounded like he was trying to make sure that he was translated something correctly.

  “Yes. He is small, boxy, has two tires and some grabby arms. He was out of my reach with monitors and sensors, so I don’t know what happened to him. If you see him, send him home.”

  He nodded carefully. “I will. Do you know what drove him crazy?”

  She had the speakers exhale for her. “I had him apply some nanites to himself, and that was the last I saw of him.”

  “You are not mechanical, are you?”

  “No. I am just a communication specialist.”

  “Right. When did he disappear?”

  “About two months ago. Lacey keeps telling me that he will be back soon, but I worry. I have had him for years.”

  “I will keep talking to you if it helps, and if I see him, I will send him home.”

  She would have smiled, but she lowered her head. “Thank you.”

  * * * *

  Doros was uncertain about leaving her, but he really needed to send a message about her condition to Stitch. He had been a mechanic, not a medic. He wasn’t even sure where to start with a broken back.

  A small sound caught his attention. “Don’t look around, just step over here. I need to speak with you.”

  Doros paused and checked his wrist com when he heard, “I am Buddy.”

  He dropped a cuff and kicked it into the shadows where the voice was coming from.

  He walked in, and a screen hummed to life behind him. “Is this a trap?”

  “No. I want to know if you can help her.” There was a figure standing in the shadows. It was far taller than a maintenance bot had any right to be.

  “I am trying. I was sent here by Stitch, Alphy, and Lucky. I just have no idea where to start.” He focused on the figure. “Why are you talking?”

  The figure stepped forward, and it was a man six feet tall, solid metal with no features except a light panel.

  “She ordered me to take some of the nanites when I couldn’t reach her. They were designed for immediate consumption of metal and repair into a human form. The ultimate in emergency medical treatment.”

  “Why don’t you tell her?”

  “She liked me as the chipper, chirping companion. I do not know if she would like me as I am now. Windy has specific requirements, and a body for me is not one of them.”

  Doros blinked. “Would you take orders from me?”

  “No. Lacey programmed me to listen to Windy only.”

  “Fine. If you respect her, tell her. She wants her companion, and she is smart enough to know that the nanites could have had untoward effects. She wants you at her side. She misses you, and your loss upsets her.”

  Buddy nodded. “I will go to her. You are here to help her?”

  “Yes. I have to explain her situation to Stitch so I can get help, but yes.”

  Buddy nodded again. “I have sent her medical records to your shuttle. You can parcel them up on your data burst.”

  “Thank you. Why did you stop me?”

  “I wanted to get a good look at you and see if you were interested in helping Windy.”

  “What if I wasn’t?”

  Buddy was silent for a moment before he said, “We would not still be talking, and Windy would be looking for two people.”

  Doros nodded with respect in his expression. “Understood. I am going to pick up my wrist cuff and walk out of here like I just dropped it. You go and speak to her when you are comfortable with it.”

  “Thank you. I am trying to work up the nerve, so to speak. Dramatic evolution was never accounted for in my programming, so I have had to glean information from the array without Windy catching me. It was not always easy.”

  “If I do find a treatment for her, can you help me extract her from the tube?”

  “Of course. If she accepts me, I hope to remain as her servant.”

  Doros exhaled and fiddled with his cuff when he walked out. He wasn’t surprised when Windy asked, “Where did you go?”

  “I dropped my cuff. It headed into those shadows, so I went after it. It took some doing to find.”

  “Oh. That is outside my range.”

  “I see. Well, I am going to continue on my way. I need to send that message.”

  “Of course. I will expedite it and alert you when there is a reply. You also look a little tired. Did you want a safe place to rest in case the Splice come by?”

  “That would be welcome.”

  Windy sighed. “My chamber is the only place they never come. I promise to be quiet while you sleep.”

  Doros chuckled. “It is fine. I can sleep during blasts. I can sleep through you singing, though the cackling might wake me up.”

  “It is the best noise for the Splice. They hate it.”

  Doros reached his shuttle, and he settled down to prepare the information that he had gleaned as well as the file that Buddy had provided.

  Windy was humming and singing outside the shuttle, and when he finally had the package prepared, he sent it off to the travelling base.

  He spoke to the air. “Now, we have to wait.”

  There was no response. Instead, the base was silent. That could only mean one thing in his estimation, Buddy had gone home.

  Doros collected all of the med packs and nanite capsules that he had been sent out with, as well as his survival gear, and he headed back toward Windy’s chamber. She was going to tell him when the reply came back, of that he was positive. What he could do about it was another matter.

  When he got back to Windy’s location, Buddy was lying on his front and speaking directly to her.

  Windy’s voice was very quiet, but there was relief in her broadcast tone.

  She paused, “Welcome back, Doros. Camp out, have a seat. I will make sure you are safe here.”

  He nodded. “Thank you. This is not a situation I could have prepared for.”

  “It is my fault that you are here, in the grand scheme of things.”

  “It isn’t. It is the ultimate fault of the one who planted the bomb.”

  Windy chuckled. “Buddy, tell him what you learned by looking through the files I can’t get into.”

  “The explosion was planned by Earth Defense. They claimed it was protestors but blamed it on unruly cyborgs. This bro
ught up protests against cyborgs, changed the attitude to Earth Defense, and spearheaded the shield project. They needed to divert the funds, and this was the best way they came up with. The dozen women at the party and the staff on the levels above and below were martyred to the cause of the shield.”

  Windy snorted. “I never saw myself as a martyr. I am more of an accidental participant.”

  Buddy nodded. “And that is why you are not insane. Anyone else in this situation would have become a raging egomaniac.”

  Windy asked, “Really?”

  “Of course. Your basic insecurities have kept you grounded. Your focus has always been on communication.”

  Windy chuckled. “You are not wrong, Buddy.”

  Doros smiled. At least she knew herself. That was something that many folk did not achieve early enough to do them any good.

  “Go ahead, Doros, eat, drink. I will warn you if the Splice return. They won’t get you.” Her very serious voice made him smile.

  “Thank you.”

  He ate a ration bar, drank some water, and laid out his bedding. Rest was called for, and this was the safest place at the station.

  Windy and Buddy kept murmuring to each other, but it wasn’t an encroaching sound. It lulled him into a deep sleep, yet his senses were still on alert.

  Chapter Four

  Stitch looked over the medical data, and she started to shake. Niko was at her side, murmuring, “What is it?”

  She turned up to him, and there were tears in her eyes. “She doesn’t have a primer pack. Shit!”

  Niko frowned. “Isn’t that impossible? I thought you all had to get them.”

  “It was scheduled for the install, but she never got it.”

  Stitch leaned in and looked up the other medical records. “Damn it. Lacey is stuck as well. No unit.”

  “How bad is that?”

  “Well, it doesn’t give them basic medical treatment, as you know. It seems that they were skipped deliberately. That makes me rather sick.”

  “What?”

  “No matter what her damage was, her body was going to be brought to that array.”