Assessing Survival Read online

  “So, do you want command of the base?”

  The blunt question surprised her. “Ask me after the enhancements are in.”

  He leaned back in his chair. “How do you know so much about the enhancement program?”

  “Ah. That. My parents were both scientists working with nanite programming, my brother was an alteration historian, and my sister was a micro mechanic.” The message from Cracker was listed between the lines of code that she had sent over.

  Glad to hear you made it.

  This should give you an extra boost.

  Let’s get this party started.

  A slow smile spread across Stitch’s lips. “You could say that I trained for this.”

  “Why did you volunteer?”

  She looked at him and cocked her head. “Why did you?”

  “To defend my world. I have parents, sisters and brothers, nieces and nephews. I wanted them safe.”

  “Same here. Well, no nieces or nephews that I know of, but my family is brilliant, and I was the only one of us fit for duty. When the conscription tried to pass us over, I jumped in the truck.”

  She wanted nothing more than to communicate with her family, but she would need the code to send a secure message through the shielding. How fortunate that she was with the man who had the access to get her that code.

  Sure, Cracker had sent it to her in thirty pieces, but getting the code out of Nikolai was going to be fun. She needed a distraction.

  Nikolai growled. “So, you knew all about the implants.”

  “I did. I do. Only the theory though. I know how they interact with the human body and how the nanites bridge the gap as long as they have enough staff to do the job.”

  “If you aren’t a scientist, how do you know all of this?”

  “My family likes to talk. A lot. An extremely large amount. Some of it had to stick, and when the defense team took my family in to work on the first cyborgs, I went with them. I was like the Carter family mascot. I got coffee, tea and kept the reports flowing through the research department.”

  “And you picked it up as you went along.” He nodded as if he had put it together.

  “I did, and with every one of my guys that made it back into battle and stayed there, I got better at knowing what to put in the mix to keep them balanced and make them as whole as possible.”

  He chuckled. “Impressive. Who knew that the basic medical systems installed to keep humans youthful would result in something that could save their species? The vanity of humanity might just save us all.”

  She nodded. “There is one thing I haven’t gotten access to.”

  “What is that?”

  “Records of deployments. I have no idea how you actually fight the Splice.”

  He shivered a little. “That is part of our weapons system. You have to cut them and burn them out. Their bodies are caricatures of the species they have destroyed, and when you first see it, you get sick when you recognize human flesh. Men you have met and known are now embedded in monsters.”

  “Damn. Oh, Nikolai, I am so sorry.” She had never thought of what happened to the dead fighters. It was something she didn’t want to think about.

  He nodded. “We get used to it, or we go mad.”

  “That isn’t an option I want to think about.” She wrinkled her nose.

  “We have methods of working through things. Usually, we fight it out, but we keep others watching in case we go squirrely.” He shrugged.

  “I haven’t ever seen a squirrel. Is there any wildlife here?”

  “No, though there is an ancient city.”

  She sat up. “Seriously?”

  “Yeah. We don’t know how the atmosphere can be so compatible, but it was apparently the same thing as what was needed by the previous inhabitants.”

  “This isn’t canned air?”

  “No. We run it through a biological filter, but it is the same air that we have outside.”

  Her hands curled into fists, and she forced herself to relax them. “Can we go outside?”

  The excitement in her system at the thought of being out on the surface of something that didn’t have cables and monitors all over it was a wave of adrenalin she wasn’t prepared for.

  “I believe that you have an appointment with the medical staff. Based on their comments, they are excited. The coding that has come with the designs is ground breaking.”

  Stitch smiled. “It looks like Cracker isn’t the only one awake.” The coding was Lucky’s strong point. It was a relief to know she had made it through. The head injury had been intense, and the visible damage was terrifying.

  “I have to say, I have never heard of an administrative team with so many nicknames. That is usually left to the men of action.”

  She snorted. “That is sexist.”

  He shrugged. “It is true. So what’s the deal?”

  “It is sexist. Since the guys have nicknames, they have to take a step back when they can’t just call us by our first names. It produces a barrier that removes sexuality from the equation.”

  Nikolai nodded as if it made sense. “So, where did Stitch come from?”

  She made a face. “On my second week at Adaptation Base, I had a patient who came out of cold sleep, and he started crashing. His mind was trapped in the battle, and his body was missing a lot of parts. He needed a jolt to wake him up, so I climbed on a gurney and started using a stitch gun on his wounds. It was painful, but it was an action that his training accepted as a path to healing. He stabilized, and I was pulled off him as they went to put him in pre-assessment.

  “I came back in later, and he didn’t remember me, but he remembered someone cursing at him and giving him stitches. So, I became Stitch.”

  “You mentioned Cracker?”

  “She had a repair on her table with a malfunction. He kept grabbing her ass, so she grabbed a hammer and cracked his fingers open.” Stitch grinned. “She then fixed him, but he stopped being grabby and spread the word.”

  “So, the names are a defense.”

  “One of many. We can all look up your files, and we know where your implants start and end. The right jab to the right pressure point and you are down for the count.”

  Nikolai smiled. “It is a good thing to remember, but I trust that no one on this base has made you feel uncomfortable.”

  She grinned. “Things are fine. What most men don’t seem to understand is that it is a fine line between discomfort and fear. When that line is crossed, there isn’t any going back. The woman either pulls back or attacks. We agreed to attack.”

  “Who is we?”

  “The women of Adaptation Base. We had a meeting.” She laughed.

  A chime sounded from somewhere in his desk. “That is medical. They are eager to get started.”

  She nodded. “Right. I still want to know if I can go for a walk outside when this surgery is finished.”

  “We will see if we can find some exterior gear that fits you.”

  Stitch got to her feet and smiled. “I have a suit in my quarters. Just in case. Am I dismissed for my surgery?”

  He nodded. “You are dismissed. I am curious to see what could possibly be so different about the coding your nanites have been given.”

  She grinned. “Lucky has a knack for putting the right code together. I am pretty confident about this.”

  One last look at Nikolai and she was out the door, heading for the med lab where every doctor on the base was waiting to participate in her alterations. The funniest thing was the adaptations were all going to be administered by the automated surgeon. The doctors just wanted to watch.

  It felt surreal to be giving the briefing while she stripped behind the privacy screen. “The adjustments that are going to be implanted today are to increase my quality of life and make the implants I have more effective.”

  “Why are you opting for the automated surgeon?”

  She wrapped a thin cloth around h
er like a towel. “Because I have existing implants, the automation can work faster with the multitude of limbs it has. Keeping me splayed open for that long with a human surgeon would probably kill me.”

  “How will the automation minimize the problem if you are being opened all at once?”

  “Shorter sedation period and my nanites can be set to numb my nerves. Now, if you want to watch, feel free, but don’t interfere. The coding is very specific. Don’t fuck with it.”

  She smiled brightly and climbed into the machine. Peeling away her wrap, she settled her tailbone against the calibration tab. The sharp stab of the sampler registered her identity, and the calibration began.

  Bands held her limbs, and she was relieved that the machine knew that she had all parts intact.

  She lost feeling in her limbs and the skin of her scalp, and the machines whirred to life. Sterilizing mist washed over her, and the blades and injectors came out. She could have closed her eyes, but she watched.

  It would not be one of the moments that she sent home to her family if she was ever allowed to send a data packet home, but the details were needed to find out how the machines were behaving.

  She couldn’t watch as the upgrade port was added behind her ear. The drilling through her skull had her passing out from sheer self-preservation.

  When she woke up, she was in the recovery centre, and there were flowers of several different varieties next to her bed. The doctors were deep in conversation, and her detailed stats were on the monitors all over the room. She was the only patient in the space.

  She scooted up in the bed and stroked the flowers. “How long was I out?”

  Captain Blue came to her side and checked her vitals. “Three days. The nanites kept you out, and the communication with Omega Base said it was completely normal.”

  She could see that he doubted it. A quick check below the sheet showed her what she had hoped. Each of her limbs now bore a silver line that indicated the reinforcement she had wanted. She tucked her sheet against her and raised her hands. Her arms were balanced.

  “Do you feel any different?”

  She grinned. “I feel balanced. Where is everybody? I thought that at least Nikolai would be here when I woke.”

  “He is off on a mission. There has been an incursion into our space, and the base is on minimal staffing.”

  Stitch sat up fully. “So, the entire base is evacuated?”

  “No. All the fighters are gone. The medical staff and administration are all that is left.”

  Stitch flicked him a glance. “Can I get a wrap or something?”

  “I have your uniform.”

  He turned and opened a cupboard next to her bed, bringing out her folded clothing and setting a pair of boots down on the floor next to the bed.

  “We will leave you alone to change.”

  She snorted and flipped the sheet away. “Right. Like this whole area isn’t crawling with cameras. I can see three of them from here.”

  She could see colour in his cheeks, but he turned his back anyway. She grabbed for the shirt with the shelf bra built in and adjusted her boobs when the knit fabric was on. Centuries of technology and they still couldn’t make a brassiere in a shirt that didn’t give her a uni-boob.

  She slipped her feet into her panties and pulled them up over her new racing stripes. She felt a little tired, but by the time she was dressed and her hair was up in a bun, she was all business.

  “Is there an ETA on the return of the troops?”

  Captain Blue looked at her and did a double take. “No. Not currently. They will signal the amount of wounded and estimated injuries when they are on their way back.”

  She could feel that he was looking at her change of appearance and bearing. “Captain, am I clear for duty?”

  “Uh, yes. All of your scans are good and your nanite communication is solid. While your physical capabilities are unknown, there is nothing to stop you from regaining your administrative duties.”

  She nodded. “Excellent. I will just get settled, and we will prepare to accept incoming wounded.”

  Blue frowned. “I beg your pardon?”

  “I am now the highest-ranking command officer on the base, and I want the wounded treated in the proper order.”

  Blue gave her a shocked look. “We tend them in order of their chance of survival.”

  She nodded. “And that is a good thing, but you also want to make sure that while one major surgery is occurring, the auto-repair unit is in action.”

  He scowled. “The men don’t like it.”

  “Then, it is a good thing I will be with them while the repairs are underway. I have familiarity with the unit. Not using it has crippled the base during the hours that could have had the majority of the survivors back on their feet.”

  “Are you saying that we shirked our duty? We have been here for years.”

  “And the number of cyborg virgins has dwindled. Save your skills for the full humans first and let the machines take care of the cyborgs.”

  She felt like an ass, but it was necessary. Having seen six men put ahead of Nikolai’s brother because they were sharing surgeons was stupid and dangerous. If they had the repair unit, they should be using it.

  Captain Blue scowled. “I am going to take this up with Captain Lukai.”

  “Feel free, in the meantime, have the labs and operating rooms prepped.”

  She turned and left him to take over the office. She had supplies to order and a communication link to take over. Just her average day at work.

  Chapter Six

  The alert came through, and Stitch took a look at the report. She set up the operation schedule and activated two dozen sleeper pods; it was all they had.

  She grabbed her screen and headed to the medical bay. “We have incoming wounded.”

  Captain Blue looked up from the report he seemed absorbed by. “So? You are letting the machine handle it.”

  “Did you read what is coming in?” She growled at him.

  One of the other doctors sneered. “The ship is on the way back. There were only a hundred cyborgs that were sent out. As you have stated, we can be replaced.”

  Stitch felt she should punch them one by one, but there wasn’t time. “In fourteen minutes, a shuttle is landing with twenty men who have been taken apart by the Splice. We don’t know their origins, but they are human, and you will get your asses in gear or I will rip off your arms and beat you to death with them!”

  If Stitch was honest with herself, that last sentence was a little shrill, but the men did start moving.

  Med bays were prepped, beds were readied and gurneys were rolled out. When the ship landed, they were ready.

  Hours of shouting and confusion went by. Stitch hauled the cyborgs into the repair unit and talked to them the entire time they were being repaired. Their upgrades were her little secret.

  When Nikolai was lying in the unit, she smiled and croaked at him. “Well, you are a sight for sore eyes.”

  He smiled, and his crushed left arm twitched a little. “Are all my men taken care of?”

  “Yes, and the wounded that you brought along are almost through surgery. How did you get your hand smashed?”

  He wrinkled his nose. “I held up a door that wanted to come down. It came down anyway.”

  The machine whirred as it removed the damaged segments of his cyborg arm. To her fascination, as the replacement forearm and hand was plugged into place, his tattoo crawled down over the new skin as soon as it formed.

  “That is neat.”

  “About a year ago, one of our maintenance techs found the code inside an upgrade for the repair machine. When activated with a four-digit code, it uploads a subroutine that caused the nanites to form designs.”

  “That code isn’t five-eight-two-five, is it?”

  He couldn’t stare at her, but he chuckled. “Someone you know?”

  “Lucky always bemoaned the lack of colour in
the implants. I guess she got coding when she woke up.” It made her giddy with relief that Lucky had been up for a year and had gotten straight to work. The possibility of brain injury had been high, so there was nearly tearful relaxation in Stitch’s mind.

  She now had a line on two of the survivors. The other three were still missing. Windy, Alphy and Lacey were still unaccounted for. They were still listed as alive but not officially on the books.

  Stitch continued chatting with Nikolai until the machine opened, and he slowly sat up. Somehow, him being naked was a surprise, though she had helped the other men to their feet and clothing without a second glance.

  She blindly groped for his clothing on the table beside her and handed it to him.

  “I think that comes under the heading of sexual harassment, Stitch.”

  She jerked her gaze away from his crotch as he pulled on his pants. “Sorry. Oh, in case Captain Blue complains, I pulled a coup and have taken control of the base. Just thought you should have a head’s up.”

  She looked at the machine and waited while he laced up his boots.

  His placed his hands on her head, tilting her to meet his lips as he kissed her savagely to the point where he crowded her against the wall and lifted her until his pelvis was holding her in place.

  She flushed hot, and the damp excitement between her thighs warned her that she was inches from ripping his clothing off. She pulled back.

  He was grinning. “Thank you. I fucking hate paperwork.”

  Stitch fought for breath. “Perhaps you should put me down so I can get to the office and order replacements.”

  “Replacements?”

  “Parts to replenish those used on the men that came in today.”

  The light of a thought came to his eyes. “Why weren’t you with the men who had to go into surgery for the first time?”

  “The cyborgs needed me more. Some of the guys freaked at having surgery done by a canister.” She smiled. “There was a subroutine added to the implant design module. It came with the directions for my surgery, and it was implemented in every surgical data display and calculation as of two hours before you arrived.”