Twisting Sanity Read online

  Lucky rubbed her head. “Yeah. Is that in there all the time?”

  “All the time. I am never alone now, and frankly, I am not very upset about it.”

  “How are you getting along with Doros?” Lucky smiled.

  “He’s a good friend.”

  “Ouch. Nothing else?”

  “Lucky, until half an hour ago, I looked like a walking, talking pretzel. I wasn’t feeling good about myself, and I would really be suspect if anyone had an attraction for a body that gave me such agitation.”

  “Ah, I feel yah there. I used to have a stalker that liked my acid-burned body. I was not happy about that, and when he tried to kidnap me, I was even less than impressed.”

  “What happened to him?”

  “The act of kidnapping essential personnel was witnessed, and he was sentenced to death. I was put back where he found me, and I slept off the sedative.”

  “Bleah. That is nasty.”

  “It was unsettling but far worse for him.”

  They left the central building, and Windy walked her up to the second floor and showed her the spots that had been selected. “This corner, the corner behind, and the spot on my right are taken. The other three apartments on this level are empty.”

  “Good. Solouk and I will take the front corner closest to the central tower.” Lucky walked over to the room she had picked, and she tied some fabric that she withdrew from her pocket on the door handle.

  “You just had that with you?”

  “You have no idea when something like that can be handy. Have you given thought to taking up some kind of combat training?”

  Windy blinked. “Where did that come from?”

  “Well, I am pretty much dipped in nanites, so I was able to program them to do a few neat things, including moving my body for combat. You aren’t in the same position, but you could definitely learn how to move and strike when necessary, just in case.”

  “I have a sound attack.”

  Lucky blinked. “Oh. Right.”

  “I know. It is just me using my mouth, or the com links, or the nanites in my attackers, but I think I have self-defense covered. I can also always call for Buddy if he is nearby.”

  “I haven’t seen him yet. What is he?”

  Windy smiled. “He was a present from Lacey. I tried to enhance him with nanites earlier in the year, and it didn’t end well. Well, I mean, he isn’t short and adorable anymore, but he can definitely get a lot more done.”

  They wandered out and into the main courtyard where men were carrying packages and parcels back and forth, the medical transport was being unpacked, streams of men unloading the last of its equipment.

  “This is happening fast. Good thing that Lacey got it ready.”

  Lucky looked at her. “Have you seen Lacey? No one seems to know where she is. They sent a tracker to find her.”

  “Ah, like Doros. No, I haven’t seen her, but I have spoken to her, and she seems to be in good spirits, considering.”

  “Considering?”

  “I am pretty sure she was tortured and experimented on. I know about her lack of primer, and I know about mine. We were the only two who were behind in our upgrades.”

  Lucky nodded. “We figured that out too late.”

  “Yeah, well, it is fine. We have both survived.”

  “Do you know what happened?”

  “I was the most damaged, so I was sold to the Splice for use as a conduit in their array. Lacey was intact, so they sold her off to the Splice for experimentation. That is a guess, but I think it is a pretty good one.”

  Lucky shivered. “I am starting to think I had it pretty good.”

  “Just because my situation sucked doesn’t mean that yours or hers sucked less. Different but equal.”

  “Equally sucky.”

  “Precisely.”

  They chuckled and looked over the humming of men unloading box after box. Lucky glanced over at her. “Why am I thinking of heavy furniture. I really want some heavy furniture right now.”

  Windy grinned as Doros walked past carrying several hundreds of pounds of supplies like it was nothing. “Yeah. Furniture is what I am thinking about.”

  Stitch’s voice came through the data stream. “We are heading out. Everybody back.”

  Windy spoke through every com system in the area. “Shuttle lifting from the center court. Take cover.”

  The men moved with precision and sought cover. Stitch lifted off and was soon away and heading back up through the atmosphere.

  Windy stepped out and looked at the wide expanse that was flat, open, and perfect for opening her arms and twirling.

  The Alguth were moving in and among the humans with very little signs of nervousness.

  “Why are the Alguth so calm? I thought this city was cursed?”

  “This was the city where they were taken. It has changed, and it is empty. They accept the changes in themselves and in the world around them.” Lucky nodded. “Xzechar is the name of our new home, but it is a different name for different people.”

  “Is that what this place is called?”

  “It is Alguth for Cursed City.”

  “That makes sense.” Windy’s tone was wry. She looked around and found a bench, sitting down to watch the hive of activity that moved around them.

  “So, why is Cracker here if you have decided to make yourself at home?”

  Lucky chuckled. “I am here because of Solouk. He needs to come to terms with what his people did, and putting the surviving Alguth into a position of protectors is going to help them feel like they have a bit of revenge over the queens that gave them to the Splice. Sure, they were allowed to fight, but it was no contest.”

  “Yeah. I can see that. Their ships are aggressive, and their air-to-ground submission techniques are legendary.”

  Lucky rubbed her chest. “I remember.”

  “Oh. Right. Shit. Sorry.”

  “It’s okay. Anyway, these Alguth here are going to defend their brothers, sisters, and if they have to, the queens, but the city we are in is first and foremost their concern. We are now the heart of the Alguth survival, and they know it.”

  Windy exhaled. “Right. I keep forgetting that this isn’t all about me.”

  Lucky clapped her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. You are still critical to this. We are going to visit every one of the thirteen queens and give them a hands-free broadcasting unit. If the pulse of the Splice engine happens near their city, we will be alerted, and we can act.”

  “That sounds kinda cool.”

  “And you will hear them all.”

  “Crap.”

  Lucky grinned. “That sounds more like you.”

  They snorted and chuckled. The guys kept sorting the supplies, and finally, Lucky and Windy were able to make their way to the new food station and get some coffee from the dispenser.

  With the coffee and a negotiated-for pastry in hand, they walked to the highest peak of the med building, and they looked out over their new home.

  “Why is Cracker here?”

  Lucky sighed. “She is here to fix any damaged Alguth that were left behind. We are here to heal them all and get them ready for combat again. This is mercenary, but it has to be done. We need an army.”

  “What happens if we win against the Splice? Two armies with nowhere to go.”

  Lucky nodded. “Lacey says that she has it covered. She says that no matter how many cyborgs we make, they will have somewhere to go. Well, that is according to Alphy.”

  “Alphy is correct. There are places for everyone. Heal the wounded, treat the injured, and take care of yourselves. There are places and supplies for all.”

  Windy didn’t even turn her head. “Hi, Lacey. Did Buddy finish his heavy lifting?”

  “He did. Doros would like you to come down to the main space. Our first visitors have arrived. Nice to see you again, Lucky. You have really filled out well.”

  Lucky’s mouth was open, and she closed it with a snap. “Lacey?�
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  Buddy’s voice shifted. “No, miss. She has left again. She just wanted to make sure that we had arrived and checked in.”

  Windy got to her feet and patted Buddy’s metal arm. “Thank you, Buddy.”

  Lucky kept looking at the bot. “He is just a bot, right?”

  “Lacey programmed him so she can project into him. It was her way of keeping me sane when I was stuck in that tank.”

  They walked down the stairs and through the common space on the main floor.

  A wall of Alguth backs kept Windy from seeing what was beyond, so she cleared her throat and tapped the arms of the men in front of her.

  They stepped aside, and she saw her first natural Alguth.

  Windy frowned. “Damn. They really messed you up.”

  Weapons were drawn by the visitors, and Windy had to keep the men around her from attacking. She stepped forward and looked at the young man supported by his friends. His three friends were whole. He was not. There was an eye missing, a wing, a leg, and a hand at the wrist.

  Cracker pushed through her crowd a few meters to the right. “Get him in here. We will heal him.”

  The injured man was scarred up, and his injuries were weeks if not month’s old. “I don’t want to become one of those freaks.”

  Lucky came forward, and she said softly, “Why a freak?”

  “They are made of metal and flesh. It is obscene.”

  Lucky smiled. “I am made of the same stuff. Metal and flesh. I am still a woman, and I am still a queen.”

  Solouk came to her right hand, and she took his arm.

  Windy watched as Solouk spoke earnestly to the young man.

  The words flowed in Alguth, and she unashamedly listened in.

  “You are useless to our people in that condition.”

  “I was preparing to be a consort. I will not give that up to become a machine.”

  “Do you still have your sexual organs?” Solouk was blunt.

  “I do.”

  “Then, as your body regrows, you will become more flesh and less metal. They are not here to use us, to mutate us. We have asked for them to make us efficient at defense and fearsome on the attack. They have offered it to us. Watch.”

  Solouk’s face took on a strangely striped mask, and his body did the same. It cleared in a wave.

  “That is a gift given to me by my Queen. She commands the machines that move the metal. The other queen to the side, she makes the bones that fit your body, so you feel whole immediately.”

  The young man flicked his hand at Windy. “What about that one?”

  Windy inclined her head. “I listen so that there are no misunderstandings. The Splice broke me, shattered me, and put me in storage, now I stand before you months later. My skin is blue, but it will return to normal, and my mind is now for me to use to keep the people of Alguth safe.”

  The young man snorted. “Where were you six months ago?”

  Windy stepped forward, and she whispered, “I was in a tube in a space station, unable to move, my spine broken in three places, my body atrophied into a living skeleton, and wires running through my brain to aid Splice communication. My friends sent help, and that got me to the medical assistance I needed. Your friends here have brought you for help. You can either accept it now, or you can just head back to the hole where you have been hiding. You have twenty seconds to make up your mind.”

  She stepped away from the young man and smiled as the time ticked away.

  She turned and walked back to Lucky’s side. Solouk gave her a look of amused respect as he stood next to Lucky’s other side.

  At a mental count of eighteen, the young man nodded. “Please. I would like assistance.”

  The Alguth cyborgs helped the young man into the med center, and Cracker put her thumbs-up before she headed inside to prepare the limbs she needed to give the young man the best chance at adaptation.

  They were back in business.

  Chapter Eleven

  Thanadon was sitting and flexing his hand seven hours after arriving at their city. “I cannot believe it.”

  Windy sat next to Doros, and she smiled. “It is impressive. You look normal. Lucky’s program for skin tone does wonders.”

  Lucky smiled. “You look good in blue, and it is working on your radiation issue.”

  Thanadon looked at the three women and the hulking cyborg, and he asked, “Are you all able to bear children?”

  Cracker nodded. “Yes, Windy will be as well, but she has to wait until her radiation protocol is over.”

  “Do any of you need a protector?”

  Lucky snorted, and Solouk set his tray down next to Thanadon’s. “Lucky is not looking.”

  Cracker held up her hands. “I have a guy. Hammer is just finishing up some of his duties in medical. I have him moving heavy stuff.”

  Windy blinked. “Um, as for me, I have just gotten my body back under my control. If I wanted to hand that control over to anyone, I would have to trust them with me, no matter what I looked like. I already have a male like that.”

  Doros smiled and kept eating like someone was going to take it away.

  “Keep me in mind if you simply wish to take a lover, my Queen.” He smiled slyly at her.

  Windy exhaled, and then, she realized that he was probably older than she was. She just felt ancient. “I will keep it in mind.”

  Solouk smirked and decided to be helpful. “You might want to consider it. All Alguth males who have been approved for consort candidacy have gone through intensive training at giving pleasure.”

  Windy really hoped that her blue face didn’t blush. “Good to know.”

  Lucky smiled politely. “He’s not wrong. I mean, we are close to the same physiologically. The learning curve doesn’t take long.”

  Cracker cackled and nearly fell off her chair.

  Windy covered her eyes and whispered, “I can’t even look at you now.”

  Lucky chortled. “I know. But since I am the only one of us who has taken an Alguth as my partner, I am the only one who can speak to the truth of the statements.”

  Windy glanced at Solouk, and the Alguth was looking at his partner with a very smug expression on his face.

  Windy asked, “Is he pregnant yet?”

  “No, we are waiting until after the Splice war is over, or at least until we are here permanently. No sense risking a pregnancy during space travel.”

  Windy blinked. “You are going to do it?”

  “There is no reason not to and no one that I would rather have a child with than Solouk.”

  Lucky was smiling across the table, and Solouk was looking less like a skull-crushing alien with rainbow eyes and more like a man in love.

  Windy didn’t comment. She finished her meal and got to her feet. “It has been an eventful day, so I am going to bed. Have to look fresh for visiting in the morning.”

  Doros followed her, and she felt his presence as she walked up to their quarters.

  “Were you referring to me by any chance?”

  She glanced over her shoulder on the stairs. “Yes. There are few people that I can trust, but you have seen me at my worst and didn’t flinch.”

  “That is... interesting logic.” He walked up until he was even with her on the steps.

  “That is my logic. Women choose lovers for excitement, safety, or offspring.”

  She linked her arm with his. “You are the first two.”

  “You don’t want children?” He murmured it as they headed down the hall to her quarters.

  “I do, but not until I am no longer blue.”

  “I might not be able to help you there.”

  She smiled. “Don’t worry about it. There is a floor in the base where Alphy holds court and each and every cyborg has a genetic deposit on file. If your body doesn’t issue sperm, there is some on file.”

  “I don’t recall that.”

  “Do you remember the primer insertion?” She smiled and opened her door.

  “No.”r />
  “Exactly.”

  She looked at him. “Would you care to come in? The cot is narrow, but we might fit.”

  She could see him weighing the offer.

  “I think you have had a stressful day, your body is exhausted, and you probably need uninterrupted rest.”

  She beckoned for him to come down, and he leaned in obligingly. Her kiss was slow, and she smiled as she rested back on her heels. “Thank you. Have a good night.”

  He nodded and backed away, so she eased the door closed. She sighed heavily and walked to her bedroom, curling up on the human-cyborg-sized cot that had been provided. There was room for three of her on it.

  The light sheet and small blanket were pulled up and over her, her head on the huge pillow. With a deep breath, she tried to give way to sleep and let the nanites do their jobs.

  Tomorrow was another day, and she was going to travel around and meet some of the queens of the Alguth. It was going to be a very interesting day.

  Doros was flying the shuttle, and they landed near the first city.

  Their group consisted of Doros, Windy, Lucky, Solouk, and the newest cyborg, Thanadon.

  Windy was wearing her black suit, her white hair was arranged in a crest that fell to the middle of her back, and she definitely felt like she was in charge.

  A tiny headset, been offered by Cracker, was in place. It provided Windy with the means to broadcast to a large area.

  Walking up to the electric dome over the city, Windy spoke, “Greetings to the Alguth from the new inhabitants of the Cursed City. We have come to speak directly and to meet with your representatives.”

  There were cameras trained on them. They had deliberately landed where they could be observed.

  It took three minutes before a doorway opened and they were allowed to walk inside.

  Windy analyzed the wavelength as they passed through it, the hum was familiar.

  She sighed and realized that the Splice had been saving them for later. The frequency was so easy to override, she could probably do it with her headset.

  They didn’t speak to each other, but the Alguth with them guarded their rear. This was a dangerous situation.