Break the Mold Read online

  Harkon blinked furiously. “I am not fixated. I helped you.”

  “You were assigned to me. Anyone could have done what you did, and for my first eight months there, they did. The ones who helped me were there when I arrived and assisted me in growing the scarred tissue that protected the raw meat that was my body. You assisted with maintenance on the leather that replaced my skin. That is all.”

  “I helped dress you.”

  “Because mechs couldn’t. There were others who could and did assist me. Don’t forget that my presence at Khiron Station let all of you use your implants to the fullest. Everything that your standard nanites could be convinced to do was done. I made you.” She gave him a grim smile.

  Solouk appeared, and he had two trays in his hands. He slid one in front of her with the ration pack on it with utensils and placed the one containing more beverages carefully within her reach.

  “Gunner Harkon, your attendance with Captain Hesker is no longer required.”

  The gunner stood. “Who are you to give me orders?”

  “I am Medical Officer and Biologist Solouk of the Alguth, assigned as an assistant and monitor the captain during her recovery.”

  “Assigned by who?”

  “The captain of Alpha Base and the captain of this vessel. The other female humans on this vessel. They feel you are not having the best interest of Captain Hesker at heart. If you have an issue, take it up with them.”

  Solouk flicked his wings, and they bracketed his shoulders, gleaming in the light of the ship.

  Harkon cursed, slammed his fists down on the table, and left the commissary.

  Solouk turned the chair around and settled across from her in the vacated spot.

  He looked at his wrist. “Begin eating, when you have stabilized, we can return to testing my wings.”

  She nodded. “Fair enough.”

  She dug into her favourite ration pack and sighed happily. “So, what did your people ask you?”

  “They wanted to know if the process was uncomfortable and how long it took. If we can’t be part of our society, we will at least defend it.”

  “What do you mean, you can’t be part of your society? You are whole.”

  “We are not. Flesh and bone make an Alguth, not nanites and programming. Our laws do not have provision for folk who have lost their ability to fly and then regained it.”

  “Odd. Our technology was born of vanity and came in handy to keep our people acting as our people during war.”

  He smiled. “I am aware of that, but it is not the way of the Alguth. We know that we have been cut off by our people. We knew it the moment our wings came off. There is still hope but not much.”

  She prodded at her meatloaf and frowned. “That sucks.”

  “Your world is closed to you as well. What will you do?”

  Lucky shrugged. “There were millions of us in the stars. I will travel as I can to find those who have been left functional but not all they can be, and I will help them by refining the programming on their nanites until their bodies are completely under their control again.”

  He smiled. “As you have done with me.”

  “Yup. It is my job, my duty, and my calling.” She finished the tray and started to consume fluids.

  Solouk nodded.

  “One more question. Your friend, Liakon...”

  “My commander.”

  “Oh. Right. He didn’t seem upset by the cut.”

  “Ah, we learn to control our wings on the bodies of our companions. The wing blades harden as we mature. By the time we are adults, they are under our control.”

  She nodded and sipped at some iced tea. It made sense that they would have to practice with them. The standard Alguth wing could be deadly. She had just taken the could out of it. Solouk’s wings were deadly if he used them wrong. Training was important to getting mastery of the new toy.

  She finished the last cup and looked at him. “How are my stats?”

  He checked. “You are stabilizing, but I will still carry you.”

  “No. I will walk slowly with you, but I am not cargo, nor am I a proper test of your wings. You want to be able to carry your own fighters out of an altercation with the Splice, so I am not even a good sample. You outweigh me by one hundred percent.”

  “Ah. Yes. I am sure my companions will cooperate.”

  “Maybe one of the more adapted humans. They can be up to one hundred and fifty kilos. Definitely a good test.”

  He nodded. “I will. I will also arrange for cut trials. Now, let’s walk you back to your office, and while you are working on the requests for your skills, I will be testing my wings to their fullest.”

  She nodded and got to her feet, carefully carrying her trays to the clearing station. When that was done, Solouk offered his arm once again, and they were on their way back to her office.

  Flying had definitely been faster.

  Chapter Six

  She called herself seventeen types of stupid when she sat in her office and remembered that the first days of adaptation for soft tissue repair tripled the caloric intake. Food was her friend.

  While she worked at designing her own skin, she kept track of Solouk’s energy output. He was having fun, and based on impact recordings, he was putting the saw edge on the wings to the test.

  She analyzed the information of resistance before the cut commenced. The slight snag was appropriate to the blade. A slice from the battle edge of his wing had a different signature.

  Lucky leaned back, and she pulled up her secured file. She had been working on it for months, and she had only waited for the nanites before kicking the idea of her super-secret project around.

  Lucky lifted her hands and used the enhanced vision that her synthetic eyes gave her to check herself out at the cellular level. For this to work, she would need a surplus of nanites, and for that, she would either have to steal some, make some, or take some.

  A knock at her door brought her back to the current time and place. Alphy was leaning in her doorway. “Are you up for some lunch?”

  “I just ate.”

  “Three hours ago. Solouk sent me to make sure you ate. He is having to do full endurance testing by carrying his buddies around the oxygen farm.” Alphy grinned. “I have encouraged it as they need to find out what your alterations can do.”

  Lucky stepped out of her support chair and flexed her fingers. “Speaking of that. I was wondering if I could request some additional nanites for research purposes.”

  “Sure. We have a generator for them here. Unlimited supply, thanks to the mineral shipments that always find us.”

  They looked at each other and smiled. “Lacey.”

  Alphy stepped aside, and they walked out of Lucky’s office and headed along the increasingly familiar path to the commissary.

  “So, how long have you been awake, Lucky?”

  “I never slept. I was rushed to medical, stabilized, given the basics, and sent to Khiron Station. Once I had enough skin on me to move me around, I was set to work.” She smiled slightly. “Anything for Earth Control.”

  “Yeah. Well, that is how I ended up as a brain in liquid metal. Oh, and a bit of a spinal cord. I look amazing in a swimsuit.”

  Lucky laughed. “You and me both. Take off the hard shell, and I am hollow.”

  Alphy grinned. “Once we collect Cracker, I can start to heal in earnest. Stitch is working on a skeleton design for me with built-in defense systems.”

  “And once you get the metal, the tissue can be generated.”

  “Correct. I am going to want all kinds of mods once that is ready. I have a list.”

  Lucky laughed. “Me too. I have a list of programs that I want to try as long as my arm.”

  They continued walking, and Lucky started feeling hungry. She waited until they were seated across from each other with meal packs steaming gently. “So, you are basically a bag of nanites?”

  “Pretty much. A bit of brain and brainstem with a trail of spinal cord
are still healthy. Why?”

  “Have you ever read anything about superheroes of the twentieth century? I think we could have a bit of fun with our current states.”

  “Tell me more.” Alphy wagged her eyebrows.

  Lucky shared her knowledge of popular fiction and the ways in which the current tech could be twisted into a similar format. With the right candidate with the right alterations, they could make someone that would make the Splice tear themselves apart.

  Lucky finished her meal and sat back with her tea. “So, we have to give up on flight.”

  Alphy smiled. “Why?”

  “What?”

  “Well, we have the templates from the Alguth. Based on wing design, lift, practicality, and the flexibility needed for fighting in a hallway, we could totally design a set of wings that could be grafted onto one of the members of the Earth forces.”

  Lucky stared. “It would have to be a volunteer, and we need Cracker for designing wings like that.”

  Stitch could balance a human body, she could match limbs to the best bet for the most natural fit, but Cracker could craft the metal works to replace the missing bone. She could sculpt a limb that would mimic the one that was missing so exactly that the fit was like a plug in a socket. Cracker was an artist with amazing medical skills. And while they knew she was alive, they didn’t quite know where. Earth Control had a distant reach, and keeping their specialists apart seemed to have suited their purpose. It was almost like the bombing had been meticulously planned, or their orders to separate the specialists were simply waiting for an opportunity.

  Alphy nodded. “You are right. It will be safer.”

  Lucky looked at her and snorted. “Like when has safer ever been a true concern? I suppose I could make some for myself.”

  “No. Not a freaking chance. You are not going to do any direct alterations to your physiology.”

  Lucky shrugged. “It was worth considering. I have a few private projects that I am working on anyway.”

  “Tell me more.” Alphy grinned.

  “Nope. I am keeping this to myself until I get it working. I mean, when it is ready, I will have to requisition some extra nanites from you, but it is my first attempt at concealment via nanites, so I am going to have to work on it for a while before I am ready to test it out.”

  Alphy blinked. “Concealments?”

  Lucky leaned forward conspiratorially. “I have already said too much.”

  They giggled and got back to work on their meals.

  When Lucky returned to her office, there was a lineup of Alguth waiting for her. She smiled. “Fine. Who is first?”

  The man from the morning stepped forward. “I am Commander Liakon, and I will take the first position.”

  His eyes were similar to Solouk’s. The rainbow of colours in his irises was unmistakable as those belonging to the Alguth.

  “The procedure is going to take four hours; I will need access to all your medical records, and you will have to be here for the last two hours. Now, while I am working on it, did you want to do anything with your skin?”

  He blinked slowly. “My skin?”

  “Certainly. I can create any pattern in your skin via the nanites. The humans restrict the designs to their implants, but the patterns can appear anywhere.”

  Liakon scowled. “That sounds like it could become ridiculous.”

  She nodded and walked into her office. “Yes, but it is a decision that you have to make at some point. Our ancestors were addicted to cosmetic alteration. That is what created our nanite technology. It spread across the world, and the face of humanity changed for decades until it was restricted to limb replacement and eventually settled into nothing. But the tech existed, and when we needed to do the kind of repair that we do on a daily basis, it was revitalized and used to keep our people alive. Now, we are back at the marking our body phase again. Everything comes around.”

  She settled in her chair and brought Liakon’s file up. “Right. What modifications were you after?”

  “I want to move like Solouk can in the sky.”

  Lucky nodded. “Right. You have different base injuries, so it is going to take another hour to craft the design. Step on the scanning plate, please.”

  She had the plate rise from the floor, and the scanning module descended from the ceiling. It was fun to be able to work on her tweaks in her own office instead of lurking around medical or the surgical bay.

  Lucky hummed, and when she had the current scans, she nodded to him. “Come back in a few hours. I should have something for you then.”

  “You will include the saw blades at the edge of the wings?”

  “I will. They will be the match of Solouk’s within the scope of your own modifications. Is that acceptable?” She glanced at him over her shoulder.

  He nodded. “It is.”

  “Good. I will get to work. You head off and do whatever it is that you do.”

  He blinked, paused, and then, he bowed. She could see him in the reflection of her screens. “Thank you, my Queen.”

  She sighed. “I am not a queen, I am a captain, and right now, I am a programmer. Shoo.”

  Lucky set her mind to the task and began fitting her existing superstructure of coding to his personal configuration. It took ten minutes to do his fit, and then, she grinned and stepped out of her chair to run her own body scan.

  Once she had her baseline scans, she returned to her chair and began to design an exo-suit for herself that would stop her from feeling helpless and vulnerable when she was dealing with other crewmembers.

  The time she had before Liakon returned was used for a design that had been in her mind for months. It was fairly simple, but she had to grab a few patterns from different males who had had catastrophic tissue losses. She rummaged through the medical files and got what she needed then designed a suit that would look familiar to anyone who saw it.

  She was smiling when Liakon arrived with Solouk two hours later. He bowed. “Is it ready?”

  She chuckled. “Yes. Please straddle the chair, and I will prepare your programming pack.”

  Solouk helped to get him into place, and when Liakon was looking at her with a nervous expression, she smiled at him. “Don’t worry. If anything goes wrong, I can fix it in minutes. It isn’t permanent unless I die.”

  She had the small pack in her hand. “I will be placing this programming pack on your back above your wing struts. The nanites will integrate themselves into your wings, bulk up your muscles to lift more weight, and harden the edges of the larger wings. You will have a razor-sharp saw blade there if you tilt your wings just right.”

  Liakon nodded. “Will it hurt?”

  She shook her head. “It shouldn’t, but let me know if it stings. It should just tingle a bit.”

  He nodded and braced himself. With careful positioning, she put the small pack on his back with less stroking and more prodding to find the right muscle group.

  When the unit was in place, she sent the activation code, and he jerked slightly.

  “It feels warm.”

  She quickly checked on her code, and then, she relaxed. “Your muscles are tense; it is relaxing you before the build can start. Just breathe deep.”

  Solouk spoke to him in a strangely hoarse but liquid language. Liakon nodded, and he unclenched into the changes that his body was going through.

  Liakon was getting stronger and more flexible tendons throughout his body to go along with the wings. He had enough muscle mass, but he needed more flexibility. The scar tissue that the Splice had created would restrict his motions with gradual tension if she didn’t act now, so she did.

  Solouk was telling him what his body was doing while they watched. The display that monitored the progress was lit up where the nanites were active.

  Lucky stayed at the controls and made tweaks in the program where existing nanites didn’t want to take to the new programming. It was an antibody situation, so she addressed it as such by locally removing the sensitivity
and then reprogramming all of the area nanites with a viral subroutine.

  His wings had just begun their hardening up when she heard a sound that she hadn’t been free to answer in a very long time.

  Solouk looked up. “Splice alarm. We have to get to duty stations.”

  She nodded. “Yes, you do. I will grab some ration packs and head to medical with my emergency booster packs.”

  Her patient gave her a look. “Can I go?”

  “Don’t fly, but go. Your wings will be able to support your weight in about twenty minutes.”

  Solouk nodded. “I will carry him.”

  Liakon blinked and slowly smiled. “Yes, that is best. Let’s go.”

  Lucky packed her kit as they left, and she followed at a steady pace, heading for the departure and landing bay. Whatever came home would come through there.

  Chapter Seven

  Lucky nibbled at a ration bar while she waited. Alphy was nearby, and she smiled. “You are looking better, Lucky.”

  “I love to be useful. So, what is going on again?”

  Alphy sighed. “The Splice have entered this area and are attacking Khiron Station. We are still close enough to help, so we are helping.”

  “The ships that went out?”

  “They are engaging the Splice. Our guns are taking out anything that isn’t Earth-based.” Alphy smiled. “Lexo is at the guns.”

  “If he is at the guns, who’s flying the ship?”

  “I am. For all intents and purposes, I am the ship.” Alphy grinned. “They are using your regen programming on me. Under this magnificent skin, I am building a body.”

  Lucky blinked. “They are using that program?”

  “They are. If it works with me, the rest of the archive will be offered the opportunity.”

  “So, they are real.”

  “Yup. Don’t worry. You won’t accidentally fall into their tank. The renovation that occurred has kept them in a nice safe place.”

  “Ah. Good to know there are some things that I am not authorized for.”