Assessing Survival (9 page)

He got to his feet, and she took the tablet, looking at the wide dragonfly-style design and the data included as to dimensions and structure.

“Good. Let’s see what the mechanic and the programmer do with this.”

She wrapped it up and sent it through the data burst with a note for Windy.

“Now we wait.” She smiled. “Feel free to run off with your men and see who can out-punch me.”

“I would like to ask you a few questions.”

“Certainly.”

He cocked his head and smiled slowly. “Do you think you will tire of Captain Nikolai?”

She blinked in surprise. “Um, I hadn’t given it much thought. I might, or he might tire of me.”

“Commander Liakon would be an excellent choice for you, Queen Stitch.”

She held up a hand. “What did you call me?”

“For the Alguth, a woman in your situation is a hive queen.” He smiled encouragingly. “It is important for you to have a mate that matches your power.”

“I am fine with Nikolai. I will make sure to keep you posted.”

“If you insist. They will fight it out eventually, I am sure.”

She was left confused and stunned as Solouk left her with a concern she hadn’t imagined before. Aliens at the gate and they wanted in her underwear.

Four hours of answering data missives and getting replies to the requisitions later, she realized she was hungry.

Stitch headed to the dining hall, and she rubbed the back of her neck as she walked. It was nice to be on her feet again, but the back tension of the office chair was tremendous.

After lunch, she was going to go exploring. She wanted to get into her bio suit and see what there was to see.

The dining hall was in full swing, so when Stitch had her meal, it took her a while to find a spot to sit down.

Niko was sitting with the Alguth, and he got to his feet as she approached. There was one seat across from him, and she slid into place with a sigh.

She winked at him. “Wake me if I fall asleep before I eat again.”

The Alguth chuckled and welcomed her to their table.

She nodded her thanks and attacked her meal.

Five minutes of silence ruled over the table, and when she finished her cutlet, potatoes and vegetables with the fruit cup she had slammed down like a shot of whisky, the men at the table were looking at her warily.

“Apologies for the hurry, but I only have a few more hours before the data burst comes in, and it might contain those designs I am waiting for.”

Niko bracketed her legs with his. “What are you going to do for a few hours?”

“Put on my suit and head outside. I want to get a feel for where we are.”

Niko frowned. “Are you sure you should be doing that? You are in charge of the base.”

She grimaced. “Consider it my time off, Mom.”

He blinked, and a slow smirk crossed his features. “That is something I have never been called.”

She grinned. “I have an entire arsenal of names for you. I plan to bring them out one at a time.”

The Alguth men smiled. Apparently, this didn’t alarm them.

She looked at the empty tray, sighed and got to her feet. “Well, gentlemen. I will see you later.”

Liakon rose. “Do you need someone to accompany you?”

Niko stood as well. “I will go with her. You and your men are not yet cleared to leave the base.”

Stitch grinned. “Well, if you are coming along, you had better move it. It only takes me six minutes to get suited. Meet you at the exterior hatch.”

He blinked at the challenge. “So, you will leave without me?”

“Damned straight.”

She turned and brought her tray to the drop point. Niko was right behind her.

Long strides had him passing her as she walked down the hall toward her quarters. She didn’t rush. She simply unhooked her bra as she walked.

When she was inside her quarters, she stripped and pulled her boots off. The inner liner was hanging in the closet, and it slipped on easily. It was soft and fleecy. She enjoyed using it as pajamas when she needed them.

The outer suit was a tougher skin, and she hopped into it with a wiggle that she thought she had forgotten. Stitch wedged her arms into the sleeves and pulled the suit forward, arching to settle it into place.

A zip, a gel seal to close it and the boots on and she was ready to grab her helmet and go play outside.

She tucked her helmet under her arm and headed for the exterior access, checking on her helmet and the pressure system as she walked.

The breather system provided her with a tank, and she hooked it to her helmet.

Niko skidded into the room and stopped. “How did you get into that suit so fast?”

“Practice. The fashions were a little snug in the capital. I had to get used to using gravity to get me in.”

He grinned. “That sounds intriguing. I should try it.”

She laughed. “Right. Well, if you are ready, we should get out there.”

He called for a charged tank and grabbed his helmet. “Ready when you are.”

She put her helmet on, clicked it into place, checked the pressure and read the display. “Can you hear me?”

“Affirmative.”

“Any idea which way we should go?”

“Pick a direction. It is all good.”

It was less of a direction than she had wanted, but she led the way into the first of the three airlocks.

Each door had a code lock, and she entered her passcode on every pad.

“How do you remember all that?” Niko was right behind her.

“Practice.”

They cleared the final lock, and the press of wind made her step back a little. Niko’s hands came up to support her.

“Is something wrong?”

She chuckled through their com line. “I just haven’t felt the touch of wind in a few years. I forgot how it felt.”

She stepped out through the door, and when Niko was through, he closed it. She heard the hiss, but she was too busy staring at the huge planet that they were orbiting and looking at the expanse of greenery with the spikes of volcanoes in the distance.

“Where the hell are we?”

“Alpha Base. It was decided that since the Earth was protected, we should set up a little further afield. We don’t know if this place has a name, but we aren’t giving it one.”

“Where is Omega Base?”

“Another habitable world where they can work on what still needs to be done.”

She looked out at the unfamiliar world above her. She could have sworn that they were still near home. She was a little relieved to be wrong.

Her people were safer if the Splice were attacking the cyborgs here.

She walked and scuffed the silver dust of the soil upward. “Can we breathe here?” Her atmospheric readouts were saying yes.

“We don’t know what kind of bacteria are in the air. You would be quarantined the moment that you got back to the base.”

She nodded. “Right. Well, this is what I wanted to see. Do you mind if I run a little?”

“Feel free. I will keep pace with you.”

Stitch nodded and set a goal at what appeared to be a few kilometres away. She started at a light jog before she poured on the speed.

Her interaction with Niko had already turned a little. She could feel his unease, and she was guessing that her strength was what was cooling his jets.

She sighed and kept running. When her oxygen got down close to fifty percent, she turned and started walking back toward Niko. She saw the distance she had covered and upgraded her pace to a light jog.

Niko asked, “Giving up so soon?”

“I use more oxygen than you do. More blood, less metal.”

“Right. Should have known that.”

She chuckled. “You don’t have to. I have to; it is my body that I am dealing with.”

“I would like to learn a few of the things that you take for granted.”

She drew even with him, and he turned to pace her on the way back to the base.

“Like what? You know a ton of crap that I would never guess at.”

“Like what?”

“I have no combat training, can’t hit the side of a barn with another barn and have miserable social skills with folks on an even social standing.”

“The Alguth have an interest in you.”

“Simply because I am the only female and therefore the alpha female on this base. They refer to such females as queens, so I am guessing they have a hive mentality with a prime drone servicing the alpha female.”

There was outrage in Niko’s voice. “What?”

“Yeah, they engage in competitions to prove who is alpha, and the winner has the best chance with the queen.”

“I am going to beat that wingless bastard’s ass.”

She paused. “Why?”

“Never mind.”

She shrugged and returned to jogging back to the base.

Niko kept at her side. “So, why the running?”

“Because if I do it in the base, folks stare at my ass and boobs the whole time.”

He chuckled. “They are fun to watch.”

“Perv. I am going to burn it back to the base. Is that a problem for you?”

“Nope, just more fun to watch.”

She snorted and put on the speed, watching the metre as the readout slowly dropped and she had five percent of her tank left.

Niko was at her side in seconds, which was good as she had forgotten to take into account the amount of time it would involve to get back into the base.

She entered the code, and when the door opened, they stepped inside. The air was sucked out, and the sterilization kicked in.

She was seeing spots when it came to the second lock, but she made it through.

The second sterilization protocol kicked in, and she was out of oxygen.

“What is it, Stitch?”

“Out of air. Just hold me up, and I will open the lock.”

He sighed, and she felt him pin her to the wall while he fiddled with her oxygen unit. He clipped a splitter onto her breather, and she breathed deeply.

He was still pinning her to the wall with his lower body.

“Thanks. I am out of practice.”

“You are right. There are things I am better at. It seems that keeping you alive is one of them.”

He kept an arm around her, and he entered his own pass code into the pad. They entered the final lock and waited for the scans to confirm they had been scoured.

Niko waited with her until the lights were green and they could enter the base once again. She released the seal of her helmet and inhaled fully.

Niko dropped the used tanks into the recycler and unsnapped the splitter from her helmet.

He picked her up, and she tried protesting.

“I am taking you to medical, Stitch. Any personnel who have had any cognitive dissonance outside the base must report to medical. That currently means you.”

“I can walk.”

“It is either me or a gurney. Take your pick.”

It wasn’t that she didn’t like being carried; it just wasn’t a gesture that she was used to. “I will take you.”

He grinned. “Glad to hear it.”

When they arrived in the medical centre, Captain Blue was there, and he raised his brows. “Is there something wrong?”

Stitch scowled at him. “No, I just thought that Niko needed the workout.”

Niko bounced her a little. “She ran out of oxygen on our way back through the airlocks.”

Captain Blue was suddenly all business. “Right. Set her down on the scan table.”

Niko set her down, and Captain Blue gave her an injection. He paused. “Oh, damn. I should have had you remove your suit first.”

Stitch sighed. “You are enjoying this.”

“Only a little. Captain Lukai, if you would help? I am assuming that you have experience getting out of a suit.”

He gave Captain Blue a dark look. “Yes, if you give me a sheet for her, that would be appreciated.”

Captain Blue suddenly got the expression that she remembered from waking up with him ordering her hand around. He considered her a toy to play with.

He left and got a sheet.

Niko stripped her as efficiently as possible and pulled the sheet over her as soon as it was feasible to do so.

The scan was quick, but Captain Blue actually took on a serious expression when he stared at the results. “What was your previous lung capacity?”

“Not great. I spent years running to increase it. I grew up with serious lung issues.”

“Your lungs have been restored to their genetic state. That means that you can’t properly exert yourself without passing out. You are just not efficient at processing oxygen. I am amazed that you were admitted to the armed forces.”

“I wasn’t really. I got along with my mental requirements. That is what was needed, a planner. Someone who could look beyond the wounds and turn them into weapons. The doctors couldn’t or wouldn’t do it. You should know; I designed you.”

He blinked. “What?”

“I was a consultant on your case. I suggested the micro control unit to help you in surgery, and Lucky wrote the program for it.”

“Oh. Well, thank you.”

“It was my job, and I take my job very seriously.”

“Well, due to your genetics, avoid running. Your nanites will keep repairing them to the current state. You will be starting over every day.”

She tried to make a fist, and her body slowly reacted.

“Great. Can you flush the paralytic now?”

“Sure. Of course. If you suffer any more lightheaded episodes, let me know.”

He held a small device to her neck, and her hand was released from stricture.

Niko picked her up again and carried her to her quarters.

She rubbed her head. “I just want to rest.”

“So, rest. I will be here when you wake.”

He tucked her into bed before he peeled off his clothing and crawled into bed with her. He wrapped her in his arms and rubbed his chin along the crown of her head.

She sighed and relaxed in his arms. The time in the machine might have been supposed to keep her up, but her body wanted what it wanted. Right then, it wanted sleep.

“Niko?” She rolled over, and the sheets were cool where he had been lying.

“Well, if he can’t be here when I wake up, as he promised, I will just kick him out after sex.” She didn’t know who she was talking to, but it made her feel better.