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  Alphy grinned. “There had to be something.”

  “What is the fight looking like?”

  “Major ruptures to Khiron Station, but our guys are getting all of the personnel.” Alphy had a faraway look. “One Splice ship has been disabled and boarding parties are in place. We are waiting on reports for incoming wounded.”

  “Is Stitch in medical?”

  “Nope. She is on the third reclaim vessel. They are going through the Splice ship and killing anything that is made of more than two parts.”

  Lucky blinked and looked toward the docking area. “She can do that?”

  “She didn’t ask permission. Those are her men, and she is in command of them.” Alphy shrugged. “I am just the warship.”

  Alphy lifted her head. “Sixteen humans, nine Alguth coming in. All checked for explosives and in need of treatment. Can you manage the repair unit?”

  Lucky stood straight. “I can. If they can get them into one of these three machines, I can work them all.”

  “Good. There are two more machines on the way for initial triage. What else do you need?”

  “Priming inoculations for the Alguth, as well as nanite loads for the machines. How long do we have until they arrive?”

  “Six minutes.”

  Lucky started cramming ration bars into her mouth and guzzling water. This was not going to be a fast day.

  Alphy had control of the area. Bots cruised in and delivered equipment and food stations. Everything was prepped when the first of the ships arrived.

  Lucky grabbed her bag, and she waited on the other side of the oxygen screen. The moment that the screen dropped, she took a deep breath and sprinted out to the opening ship.

  Stitch was at the side of the first of the gurneys, steering it in. “Alguth. Needs a primer.”

  Lucky handed over the first cylinder for injection, and then, she sprinted into the ship where Alguth were keeping their countrymen calm during the most terrifying moments of their life. Another alien race had come to tinker with them. Liakon and the others were speaking to them, and it seemed to be working.

  Lucky winced when she saw that one of the men had been taken down to the torso. Solouk was with him. “Tell him that I am giving him the shot that will let us replace his limbs.”

  Solouk looked at her grimly. “He wants to die.”

  She looked at the man who had resignation on his features. She leaned in and slapped him hard across the face. “Idiot! Did he feel that?”

  Solouk blinked and spoke to the man. The outrage on the face made her smile.

  “He felt it. He wants to know what kind of crazy queens your species has crafted.”

  She grinned and used the injector. “If you can feel pain, you can feel pleasure; if you can feel pleasure, you have hope; and if you have hope, you have life. He can smack me back when we put arms on him again, and once he is flying, he will be able to drop things on my head if he is still resentful.”

  Solouk smiled and translated.

  The man’s expression changed from outrage to hopeful.

  “Get Stitch to measure for limbs, I will be out once all of your men have their primers.” She patted Solouk on the shoulder and kept moving down the line.

  Getting the men who were not stable into the machines was the priority, but making sure that the new men had primers was key. If they didn’t have the first round of nanites that would allow for further adaptation, the repair machines could kill them.

  One of the humans with a battle adaptation grabbed her arm. “Why are you going to them first?”

  She crouched next to him and smiled sweetly. “They don’t have nanites to stop them from bleeding out. They need the primers that you got before enlisting.”

  He held onto her, and she frowned. She had other things to do.

  “Let me go.”

  “Not if you are helping them.” He snorted. “They are useless.”

  “They get better when they have their wings back.” She smiled tightly and gripped his wrist, slowly crushing his adapted wrist with her right hand.

  He cursed and tried to fight free, but she just continued until his hand went limp.

  Niko stopped next to them. “Is there a problem?”

  Lucky stood up. “Not on my account. He has a wrist injury. It wasn’t in the initial catalogue. Now, two more injections and I can start the repair units.”

  She walked over to the gurneys with the Alguth on them and gave the bemused men the injections. Their minders explained what was going on, and when Lucky had finished the primers, she headed for Stitch.

  “Do you have a triage order?”

  “Yes, is it easier to keep the Alguth in dedicated machines?”

  “It will be better to have the initial pattern locked in. Ready to start this show when you are.”

  Lucky set up two of the machines and linked them to one terminal, setting the other three upon another unit.

  “Ready. Let’s get this started. I will keep the machines going if you two can keep the parts coming.”

  Alphy nodded. “I am on it. The manufacturing centre is online and ready to adapt standard stock.”

  “Bring ‘em in.” Lucky stood and watched the Alguth being loaded into the machine and settled in. She ran the scans and got the parts shipped to the repair unit, settling in as the sliding plexi arch moved to seal the aliens in and rebuild them.

  The humans were an easier fix. Their bodies had already had a chance to adapt to the primer, and a few had control modules for larger adaptations. The more tech that was already there, the more survival protocols their nanites had to keep them alive.

  Lucky kept her focus on the readouts of the repair modules, trying to get things fixed as efficiently as possible. She ended up using one of the Alguth units for major repair while the other was replacing arms and wings. There wasn’t time for the new wing design. These men just needed to become whole as fast as she could get them there. Getting fancy with the adaptations was something she could do on a case-by-case basis.

  Other ships arrived, and she kept working. Stitch and Alphy got the parts ready and measured for their recipients as well as the spare nanites needed to replace soft tissue.

  The first Alguth to come out of the healing unit with new wings rapidly generating on his back had a stunned expression as he stepped out to where he could extend his wings and watch the membranes making their way into his wide dragonfly forewing.

  The second Alguth went in eagerly when he saw the wings growing where the gaping wounds had been before. He knew a good idea when he saw one.

  The second machine had a twenty-minute turnover for wings and upper limbs. The lower limbs took longer to connect. The first machine wove the new muscle together while implanting a control module into the centre of the torso near the spine. The nanites acted in place of nerves for the new limbs.

  Lucky hummed and kept an eye on the bio-signs that the equipment was recording. The humans knew what to expect, but the Alguth didn’t.

  Solouk or Liakon spent time speaking to the new Alguth on the ship, keeping them calm while the weaving of new tissue continued. They and the other inhabitants of the warship also went into the arriving vessels and administered the priming injections into the Alguth.

  Stitch came up to her and murmured, “How is it going?”

  “We are processing the humans at a rate of one per machine every ten minutes. The Alguth wing replacements are going at half an hour, the full limbs are taking ninety minutes.”

  “How are you holding up?”

  “I am keeping on top of minor programming changes on both sets of patients.”

  “Good. Do you need anything?”

  She glanced at her friend. “Some hot tea and more ration packs.”

  “What about a comfort break?”

  “Nope. It is a little icky, but this suit takes care of that. The nanites are on the ball, so to speak.”

  Stitch nodded. “I have heard about those suits. Glad Alphy was able to get
one together so quickly.”

  “I concur. It feels like I am naked in a warm room. Are quarters being arranged for the Alguth?”

  “Yup. Alphy is on that, too. I am so happy that we are getting the survivors back together. We are going to kick ass.” Stitch grinned.

  “After my tea, please.” Lucky kept her head down and focused on the readouts, monitoring, and tweaking the path of the nanites so that each man got the best repair she could manage. They were going to need every man on those ships to bring the fight to the Splice. The Alguth was a valuable asset to the fight, and getting them back in fit condition was a priority.

  Her day took on an endless pattern. She ordered more nanites for the machines, kept the bots whirring for parts, and organized the upcoming implants to save time. She had two days’ worth of work in front of her, and she was trying to shave off as much time as she could.

  The last machine released the final Alguth with his new wings generating on his back in an iridescent web work of tiny scales and hex patterns.

  Lucky stood and groaned, stretching and looking around. The landing bay was empty except for Liakon waiting to take charge of his new crewmember.

  The man was smiling and opening and closing his wings. Liakon spoke to him softly, and the smile grew wider.

  “You just told him that he has plenty of space to fly in within the ship.” She chuckled.

  “Very good. You are picking up on our language, Captain Lucky.”

  She nodded. “I think I am. It is just another cypher for me. I think I am heading to my quarters for a nap.”

  “Solouk is on his way to assist you.”

  She shook her head. “I am fine. I will be fine as soon as I get some rest.”

  Surprisingly, she managed to walk through the dark portions of the ship and make it back to her own quarters without incident. She dropped into her bed and passed out with her tablet clutched in her hand. It was a good sleep, and she knew her new face was smiling.

  There was every reason to smile. She had been doing what she loved, and she now had another thirty Alguth to tailor wings for. She really enjoyed having something to do.

  Keeping Lucky busy was keeping Lucky happy.

  Chapter Eight

  She was being carried through the halls, and her eyes were too heavy to lift. The scent of the man holding her was familiar, so she asked, “Where are we going?”

  “You were asleep in your office. The captain has prepared proper secure quarters for you. You will be safe there.”

  She flexed her fingers. “I still have my tablet.”

  “I could not get it out of your grip.”

  “You sedated me.” She kept her voice calm. Her fingers were moving on the pad, and she was hoping that someone got the signal.

  Harkon spoke cheerfully, “You needed deep sleep.”

  “Uh huh. So, where are my new quarters?”

  “I have chosen a secure position. No one will harm you there. You will be completely free of any demands on you, and you will be safe.”

  Her pad pulsed under her fingers. Someone was on the way.

  Harken wasn’t moving with any urgency. He was completely calm and confident that he would not be stopped.

  She opened her eyes a slit and saw darkness around her. Wherever they were, it was not illuminated.

  “Were you in the battle yesterday?”

  He chuckled. “If you could call it that. Team One barely left anything for us to do.”

  Team one was Stitch’s team.

  “So, you were on Team Two?”

  “Team Three. We took care of the station.”

  She nodded. “I worked on a few men from the station. They weren’t badly injured.”

  “We did our jobs.”

  She heard a whirring sound in the darkness.

  “So, you don’t think that the folk on the ship will miss me?”

  “You have repaired hundreds. You have done enough. Now, you need to rest.” He was focused on whatever he was doing.

  Harken had ocular enhancements, and she really didn’t want to use her override on him. It was a secret that she had held onto during her entire time in the military.

  “Release the captain, Harkon.” Surprisingly, it was Liakon’s voice that came from ahead of her.

  Her abductor froze and gripped her tightly. “Alguth.” The tone he used dripped with venom.

  “Correct. The captain is aware of your actions and has sent troops to retrieve the programmer.”

  “I will wait until authorized personnel arrives. I am not going anywhere with you, freaks.”

  “Gunner Harkon, this is warship commander Captain Dexter, you have been charged with abducting with an attempt to imprison an essential crewmember. The penalty is death.”

  His hands gripped her tighter to him. Lucky used her nanites to push back.

  “She’s mine. For three years, I have kept her safe.”

  Lucky blinked in the darkness. “Three years?”

  Alphy’s voice came through the speakers again. “Perhaps some light on your situation.”

  The warning was welcome. Lucky closed her eyes, and Harkon was so shocked at the flare that he dropped her. She clutched her pad to her and rolled rapidly away from him. Solouk helped her to her feet and kept an arm around her.

  She looked around, and to her surprise, there were two Alguth and eight crewmen surrounding Harkon. All of the men were armed.

  He looked at her when his vision cleared. “I just want to keep you safe!”

  Lucky cleared her throat and said softly, “I am not here to be safe. I am here to do a job. I volunteered to leave Earth, knowing that coming home was unlikely. When the explosion happened, I was almost sure I was dead. Waking on Khiron Station and resuming my work was painful and awkward, but it was my work, my job, my duty. You have no right to interfere with that. Your obsession has cost you, and it might have cost some of these men their ability to move, to function, and to feel completely whole again.” She looked at Solouk. “Can you help me back to my office? I have work to do.”

  Solouk looked down at her and nodded. “You don’t wish to witness the sentence?”

  “I have the images of the pieces of a thousand men already in my mind. I can skip the one that will be dead because of me. It is a memory I don’t want.”

  Solouk nodded again and led her away.

  They walked for several minutes when she heard a soft voice from the nearest speaker. “He’s gone.”

  Her legs buckled, and Solouk held her gently but loosely. “You are still sedated.”

  “I am. Three years?”

  He nodded. “Alphy and Stitch have informed us that your original accident occurred three years ago, and also that most of you were placed in stasis during the early stages of your recovery.”

  “They didn’t tell me.”

  “You did not check the chronometer in the ship’s systems.”

  Lucky glared at him. “That is a little too accurate.”

  He smiled. “I am glad your ordeal has not soured your mood.”

  She winced. “I didn’t want him dead, I just wanted to break his obsession with me.”

  “He fixated on you, and there is nothing else that could be done. Attempts have been made to stop him, but he would not let his fixation go. You kept calm and requested assistance. You did well.”

  Lucky nodded. “I hoped that Alphy was listening.”

  “She was, but we were already on the way. He tripped an alarm when he took you, but we had to make sure that he made his intent clear. You were not in any danger.”

  “I beg to differ. His grip on me was definitely dangerous.” She swallowed. “There are vids of him sedating me and touching me from Khiron Station. All the commander did was send him around with another crewman.”

  Solouk nodded. “You did well to remain calm.”

  Her head wobbled a little as the sedation tried to pull her under. “Thanks. I would have been able to enact an emergency move, but it would have kille
d him on the spot. Since I had no idea where I was, that would have been dangerous.”

  “I am glad you had a means of attack.”

  She chuckled and dozed on his shoulder. “So am I. Can you stay in my office until I wake up? I need to write another subroutine, and am a little nervous.”

  “I can stay on guard.”

  “Thank you.”

  “It is the least I can do for your efforts on behalf of the wounded.”

  She chuckled and let herself drift off, dozens of levels below her quarters.

  Lucky woke with a jolt. She was nauseated and sweating. The suit took care of her bodily functions, and now, it was trying to purge the sedative.

  Solouk stood up from his crouched position at the foot of her bed. “Is something wrong?”

  “Just getting rid of the toxin. It isn’t pleasant.” She grunted and got to her feet, staggering into the outer office to sit at her terminal.

  She brought her own file up on the screen and included the baseline chemical scans. When she was sure they were within standard tolerances, she began to reprogram herself.

  Her baseline chemistry was going to be what the nanites looked for. If anything altered that chemistry, they would just flush it, bypassing her kidneys.

  When she finished, she held her cup of tea and sipped slowly as the patch was generated. “When did I get tea?”

  Solouk chuckled. “When you finished your third ration bar. It is nice that you can eat and work.”

  She sighed. “It is. Thank you for watching over me.”

  “Thank you for trusting me. I will return to the new Alguth now and make sure that they all have your language. Aluak has arrived to act as your guard for the interim.”

  “I don’t know that I need a guard.”

  Solouk smiled. “There is a lineup of warriors who wish you to engage in a little fine-tuning. They have waited for you and hope to ask you for adjustments to their alterations.”

  She blinked. “The guys from the ships? They got the best I could give at the time.”

  “Now, they wish to mark themselves. They have arrived with artwork.”