by Viola Grace
Niko crouched next to her. “Full sentences, fill me in. What array?”
Stitch explained what she had learned, about the Splice array, about the methods used to wire Windy into it, and about the condition her body was in. Something was maintaining it, based on the images that had been sent, but if it wasn’t nanites and there wasn’t human-run maintenance, what was running through her veins?
Niko nodded. “This isn’t good.”
“No. I have to tell Alphy and get Lucky to work on a subroutine to see if we can embed the primer without the small unit under the skin to encode them.” Stitch got out of bed.
Niko nodded and got to his feet, pulling on his uniform as she pulled hers on.
She glanced at him. “You don’t have to come.”
“Yes, I do. You are stressed and freaked out. I am going along to make sure you have anything you need.”
Stitch sighed and walked up to him, giving him a quick kiss. “Thank you. It seems that the closer we get to the last two, the wilder the situations become. I feel like my nerves are raw.”
“The last two, Cracker is accounted for?”
Stich nodded. “We found her, and this ship is on the way to the arena. We are going to be taking a lot of new recruits on board.”
“New recruits?”
“Personnel left to fight for survival. A few thousand. We are going to be strained to organize them, but Alphy is already on it.”
“Of course, she is.” He rubbed Stitch’s back. “Have you ever given thought to what we are going to do after this is all over?”
She grinned as they left their quarters. “I have several plans. I will run them all past you, and you can pick the one you like the best, but my favourite is finding another world to live on and helping their population recover from the Splice raids.”
“That one sounds nice. What is one of the others?”
She chuckled. “We break back into Earth and steal an island to be ours. Then, we get a procreation program and make a bunch of babies.”
Niko grinned. “Sounds dangerous but intriguing.”
“Those babies then grow up to take over the world.”
“Of course. I expected no less.”
Alphy met them in the hall, and Lucky was standing next to Solouk, still sleepy and wearing her pyjamas.
Alphy nodded. “The boardroom. I will order up some coffee and snacks.”
Lexo joined them, and they all took up seats in the boardroom. Stitch got coffee for herself and Niko, while Solouk got tea for Lucky.
Alphy didn’t have anything, so Lexo got some coffee for himself.
Alphy sat up. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have a puzzle. Not only does Windy not have a nanite primer, but she has a broken spine and is on Splice-related life support.”
Lucky looked up. “Did you look at the full data pack provided by her bot?”
Stitch frowned. “What? What bot?”
Alphy smiled. “Lacey sent Windy a pet. A companion bot to help keep her mind on an even keel. He has been monitoring her medical situation since he came out of his container.”
Stitch whistled. “Lacey is a much more tricky fish than I imagined her to be.”
Lucky chuckled. “She always managed to get us whatever we needed. She even got Cracker a load of processed limb blanks after Earth Defense had ceased to supply us. She is always one step ahead of things.”
Alphy looked around. “Aside from the occasional gift, has anyone heard from her?”
Stitch shook her head. “No. Have you heard anything?”
Alphy shook her head. “Not recently.”
Lucky smiled. “She contacts Windy every day. Even for a few minutes. I have looked at the files and tried to triangulate, but she switches from world to world without any hesitation. There is a general area but never the same location twice. It isn’t just bounced signals either. The terminus of the signal is always in a different place.”
Stitch blinked.
Alphy closed her eyes for a moment, and then, she whistled. “How did I miss that?”
Lucky sipped at her tea. “My life is in the details. Now, since she is moving, we will assume Lacey is safe for now, and Yurik can find her.”
Lucky brought up the display of the naked Windy, and she used her keyboard to highlight the damage points.
“It looks like she flew back into the wall and broke her spine in these three positions.” Lucky inhaled. “Now, at some point in the last few years, some nanites have literally been dumped in the tank with her.”
Stitch looked at Lucky with amusement. She was really taking charge.
Stitch nodded slowly. “That might have been for the best.”
Alphy gave her a long look. “Really? She is in desperate need of a full recovery.”
Lucky nodded. “Right, but with the nanites injected into her and the filaments in her brain, any code that we manage to send her is going to be broadcast straight to the Splice. I think, and I hate to say it, but I think someone was bribed to put her in there... as bait.”
The room went quiet for a moment, and Solouk nodded. “They have done this kind of thing before. They captured one of our queens and offered to return her to us if shield codes were offered for our cities. The queen ordered us to refuse, but soon after, the shield walls dropped, and they killed her, dropping her body back in the main city.”
Those gathered nodded slowly, and Lexo spoke quietly, “Then, we just have to make sure that it doesn’t happen.”
Alphy nodded. “Okay, ideas?”
Lucky put her hand in the air. “I propose a time bomb.”
The room went quiet before it burst into folks shouting. Stitch wanted to know what Lucky meant, but everyone was tense.
When they went quiet, Lucky sighed. “As I was saying, there is one thing that I can put in the code that won’t work with any other person.”
Stitch frowned. “What?”
“Her DNA. Alphy has all the data on file, and the original entry scan data when Windy entered Earth Defense. As long as those two things match, we are good to go. If not, we need to find a relative of hers for comparison. I know three of her brothers enlisted. One might be here on the ship.”
Alphy nodded. “Or down below. Got it. Get you the code, and you can write a repair protocol that will only work for her.”
“And once she is fixed, it will cease to work. It will burn out. She will need proper processing at a proper facility to engage in any kind of additional repair.” Lucky smiled. “And she will be broadcasting a virus to anyone looking for the nanite files.”
Stitch looked at the file. “There is something weird about this, though. With those injuries, she shouldn’t be alive, let alone conscious.”
Alphy focused, and Niko did some quick work.
Niko murmured, “I have seen scans like that before. A body patched when it shouldn’t move.”
The room went silent as the image of Windy, motionless in her suspension tube slowly rotated. They all knew what it meant. It was the signature of the Splice.
* * * *
Windy listened to Doros’s pronouncement. “That explains a lot.”
He looked down into her tube, and he said, “You aren’t upset?”
“Not particularly. I can’t move, and they are working to fix that, even if it is Splice tech keeping me conscious.” She chuckled. “It does explain quite a lot.”
“You are handling this very well.”
She lifted her head and looked at him. “I don’t have much choice. As long as they are working on something to get me moving, I am over the moon... or inside the array. Whatever.”
“How long do you think it will take for your friend to write the code for you?”
“A day, two. I don’t actually know. I didn’t hover over her when she worked. I usually had other things to do.”
Doros asked, “Can you feel the data running through your head?”
“Sure. Just li
ke Alphy can get a hold on all of the Earth-based communications, I can listen in on the Splice. Their language is weird but not indecipherable.”
“Do you hear any other worlds?”
“Sure. I hear the Knoron, the Alguth, the Terrinor, the Padku, and Mor-ach. Their languages are all different but definitely distinct. They don’t like the Splice very much.”
“Can you hear every transmission?”
She lowered her head back into its neutral position. “Of course, I can. It’s my job.”
“Tell me about the most entertaining conversation going on right now.”
She chuckled. “There are the normal long-distance romances, weddings across the stars, and right now, there is a teen who has stolen a small ship and tried to leave their system but who has forgotten to bring food or enough fuel to accomplish her goal. Her father is out there coming for her.”
“Is her father close?”
“Yes. He is singing to his daughter. Their language is harsh, but the rhythms are pretty. Did you want to hear it?”
“You can do that?”
“Of course. It’s my job.”
She let the sound of the alien song fill the station. “He is singing to her about holding her as she learned to walk, her four legs going in every direction. He helped her balance to become a great hero to her people.”
She sighed. “It is a very nice song.”
“What does your mind sound like?” Doros asked, and he waited.
She played him all forty data streams at the same time, and through the monitors, she could see him clasping his hands over his ears. She didn’t have the heart to tell him that it went along her nervous system as well.
She stopped the sound, and he kept his hands over his ears for a moment before he rolled and looked down at her. “I am sorry.”
She chuckled through the array’s systems. “Don’t be. This is me. I have always listened to multiple information sources at any given time. I need it to stay calm.”
“So, silencing them would do more damage than leaving you connected?”
“Yes, but don’t worry. I am fairly sure that my mind is going to continue routing the data streams after I am unplugged. The nanites that Buddy did dump into my tank treated the filaments as part of my brain.”
She paused when she analyzed the concern on his features. “Don’t worry. I am sure that Stitch and Lucky would pick it out. Cracker definitely would, but I don’t think she is on their ship yet.”
“Have they found her?”
Windy chuckled. “They have. They were staging to get her and the entire population of the arena up onto the base.”
He frowned. “Does any information every leave here that isn’t part of the data streams?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Can you check? Something feels wrong right now.”
Buddy sat up. “I will check.”
He went to the wall and plugged into the array. “There is a trickle of data that is coming directly from her brain, and a small broadcaster is sending it out on a Splice frequency.”
Doros stood up. “Where is it?”
“External hull, under the main receiving array. I will go and get it.”
Doros shook his head. “I will get it.”
Buddy turned and was going to resist, but he stopped and inclined his head. “I will guide you via the coms.”
Doros nodded. “Thank you. I will just get my EVA suit and be right back.”
He walked away down the hall to his shuttlecraft, and Windy whispered, “Thank you for keeping quiet, Buddy.”
“It isn’t a problem, Windy, but why?”
“Humans need to help others now and then. Not being able to hurts them. He knows what I am now, and how I am being kept alive with the systems I am hooked up to, and he can’t do anything. He is frustrated and now happy to be able to do something. Anything.”
“Did you know about the data leak, Windy?”
She grunted. “No, but I suspected. The Splice have stopped coming into the array. They block the shuttle bay and send scanners in. I think they have an image of an Earth shuttle, and they are hoping that I can be compromised to spill human secrets.”
Buddy paused. “You knew?”
“I suspected. The activity changed the second that he arrived. They want me injected with nanites, but my friends are too smart for that. Whatever they come up with, they are not going to compromise their people or security.”
Buddy asked, “How can you be sure?”
“I have to be.”
Chapter Five
Windy remained on alert while Doros climbed on the hull of the array, and he found the unit leaking her personal thoughts out into the ships that kept swinging by.
She had already sent a message to Alphy that she had been compromised and the Splice knew her location. Alphy hadn’t replied, but there was a hum at the end of the signal, so the base was still operational.
She split her attention between the buzzing location and Doros. When he managed to pry off the broadcaster, she felt strange, like she had just been poked in the lower back. It was an odd sensation, as she hadn’t felt her body in years.
She watched, and her fingers twitched. “What the actual fuck?”
She heard Doros through his suit com. “What is going on, Windy?”
“I will explain when you get inside. Nothing bad.”
She watched as her fingers twitched in their suspension. It was probably nothing, but it was definitely different.
Alphy finally made direct contact. “Windy?”
“Alphy? The Splice have been tapping me. We have stopped the leak of signal, but I get the feeling that they are going to set some traps.”
“Oh, they did. They are also still swirling around Earth like sharks, waiting for the stupid. We just found a ship floating nearby, and it had three hundred living on it, including the remains of a tour. They are sending out tours! How stupid are they?”
“They are our people, and they like to listen to what their media tells them.”
“They are idiots who don’t know how dangerous it can be out here.” There was a pause. “How are you doing?”
“I am fine. I realize you have been busy, but I would really like to see if Lucky and Stitch can put anything together for me.”
“Did Doros tell you?”
“He did. I confess that I had my suspicions.”
Alphy chuckled. “How odd is it that we can converse at the speed of thought?”
“I think it is rather fun. I wish I could do it with more people, though.”
Alphy sighed. “Soon, I will be near you in person.”
Windy was surprised. “Why?”
“We are coming to get you.”
“What?”
“The signal will be sent, we will reprogram some of the nanites, but you are deep in Splice-controlled space.”
“I am aware of it, and they are aware of me. Doros just knocked the relay off the outside of the array, so they won’t be able to read me thinking about your base.”
“I think what they read was the request for assistance that Doros sent.”
Windy would have blinked. “Oh. Right. I forgot about that.”
“I didn’t. I expected them to trace our communications.”
“Of course, you did. You are always alert for that kind of thing.”
“And you can pick a signal out of empty air. We play to our strengths, and mine is looking at the details.”
Windy chuckled. “Right. Well, I won’t keep you, but I got worried.”
“Don’t worry about me. We are going to fix you. If you can think, we can craft a body that you can move around in.”
“Ah, movement. That is a dream of mine now. Talk to you soon.”
Alphy said quietly, “Take care, Windy. I will talk to you soon.”
Their communication faded, and Doros asked, “Did you say something?”
“Be safe. It’s no good hurrying at this point.”
“Coming back in. Buddy has the broadcaster.”
Windy chuckled. “Well done, guys.”
Windy was still waiting when the data burst was sent directly to her. The program for the nanites was combined with a complex web of signals that were going to have to be enacted in a precise order. It was a good thing that Windy was an expert at controlling sound around her.
It seemed that everything was kicking off at once.
Windy talked Buddy through programming the nanites, and when they were ready, Doros had to deliver the dose.
She asked him. “You know where you have to aim?”
“Base of your skull and a second shot at the base of your spine.”
“Yes, please. You are going to be in the actual tank for part of it, so please hold your breath.”
Buddy commented. “I will hold your ankles. That should get you to the correct position.”
Doros was strapping the injector to his wrist. “I trust you to get me out when I need to go, if not for you, then for her.”
Buddy tilted his head. “I will do it for her.”
Windy stated, “Once the second injection is in, pull him out. I won’t be able to talk for a while, but, pull... him... out.”
“Understood, Windy.”
Doros waved the injector with the hope for her survival. “I am ready. Are you?”
“I am. The programs are standing by. Whenever you are ready, just go.”
Doros nodded to Buddy, and they got to work.
Windy felt the movement in the fluid inside the tank. She felt pressure at the base of her skull, and she began the first protocol a moment before the second blast struck her below the tailbone.
She shrieked, and to her surprise, hands wrapped around her, and she was pulled out of the tank by Doros and Buddy.
She could still see through the eyes of the array. Her body was thrashing on the floor, and Doros covered her with a blanket. Buddy was at the door, and he brought in a med bed.
They lifted her and hooked her up to IVs.
She heard her own void through the array’s speakers. “What is happening?”
Doros nodded. “You keep up your protocols and programming. We are going to make sure that your body doesn’t go into shock.”
