Chapter Ten

“So, there is a theatre?” Lexo smiled at her as the last of the bodies were dumped into space, their empty vessels still attached to the ship.

“Yup. This was a fully kitted-out facility, which is funny considering the guys can’t do anything.” She tried wiping the blood off on her suit, but there wasn’t a clean spot to work with.

“It is a little odd. So, do you want to clean up now or deal with the ships?”

Leave the ships. We are dealing with the signals. Onic’s voice was grim.

“They say to leave the ships. They are dealing with them.”

Lexo shrugged. “Right. Well, I think a shower is in order.”

“You and me both.”

“I was offering you the use of my shower and sharing water to conserve resources.”

Alphy blinked. “Wow. That is... sure. To your quarters then.”

He grinned, and they walked through the halls, leaving bloody footprints all the way to the crew quarters.

Peeling off the suits was a relief that both of them expressed the moment that they hit the floor. “Ahhh.”

Alphy grinned and turned on his shower, stepping inside when the temperature was where she liked it.

The blood was sticky, and it grudgingly rinsed off.

“Turn around, and I will help you get your back.” Lexo was in the shower next to her, and a large, foamy scrubber accompanied his offer.

She nodded and turned her back, working at her breasts and belly to get herself as clean as possible with her own hands while her hair dripped with diluted gore.

When she was clean, she returned the favour, scrubbing the muscular mix of man and nanites until all the places she was willing to reach were clean. He grinned and took care of the rest.

Wrapped in towels, they left the bathroom, and he gestured to his couch. “Care to sit? I believe we have a few things to discuss.”

She grimaced and took up a perch on his couch. “So, what do you want to discuss?”

“Well, you seem to react very calmly to the energy whips I used.”

Alphy shrugged. “You did mention that you had defensive weapons. I assume that that is what those were.”

“Yes. Stephanie had them installed. I hadn’t used them yet.”

“Well, you looked like a natural.”

He smiled slightly. “Thanks. It felt very natural, but I guess, that is what my sister does.”

Alphy smiled slightly. “She is good at it.”

“Right, now, what exactly are your adaptations?”

She frowned. “I told you, some brain and spinal alterations. That is all that is in my file.”

“You definitely have had other replacements done. I don’t know of anyone who could crush a Splice with their bare hands.”

Alphy looked down at her hands, and they looked like her hands. There was no silvery tissue to let her know that she was a cyborg, but then, she hadn’t really had a medical check in the last three years. “I think I need to go to medical.”

Three voices in her mind screamed, No!

She clutched her skull as they continued to shout that she was fine, she didn’t need a check, she should not use the scanners.

Lexo was at her side, his hand on her knee. “What is it?”

“The Triad would like me to not go to the med centre. They are saying that you are insane and that I am fine.”

He gave her a sober look. “Do you believe them?”

“No, but I can also feel their worry for me.”

Lexo sighed. “Do you want to know what actually happened to you?”

She thought about it before she nodded. “I think so. I am guessing I am ready to face whatever actually happened, now.”

“Was there ever any doubt?”

“Of course. A sense of revulsion ran through me every time I thought about checking up on what implants are actually in my body.” She wrinkled her nose. “It was probably a subroutine to keep me from looking.”

“Likely. Now, do you want to get dressed, or is wandering around naked on the table again?”

Alphy laughed and got to her feet. “I will be right back. Find some pants.”

She checked to make sure that her towel was in place and walked over to her room. Alphy left the door open as she dropped the towel and went in search of clothing. She could almost feel Lexo’s attentive gaze on her, but she wasn’t going to check to see if he was looking. She just assumed that he was.

The suit that she put on was her favourite, and it would be scanner friendly.

The more she thought about the scans, the queasier she became. Since the Splice were being cleaned up around the ship, there was no reason for the nausea.

When she had been on Adaptation Base, it had been standard to be scanned every three months. She hadn’t had a scan since she arrived on this vessel. That should have been a huge clue that something wasn’t quite right. Her being able to crush the Splice was just a confirming factoid. No one who didn’t have implants should have been able to do any damage to the armoured limbs of the aliens. That meant that there was more going on under her skin than she was aware of. The only way to find out what was going on was to make her way to medical.

She gagged and put her hair up in a ponytail before heading to the hall.

Lexo was leaning against the wall outside his door, and he smiled. “Ready?”

“Yup, but I warn you, I may puke or faint. I really don’t want to go, but I want to go if you know what I mean.”

He nodded. “I do. I will make sure that you get into the scanner.”

“Good. I don’t know what is going to happen, but I figure you should be prepared for anything.”

Lexo chuckled, and they started walking toward the med centre.

Alphy felt sick then spots swam in front of her eyes and then everything went dark.

 

The hum of machines was all around her when her senses returned to her.

The scanner was working her over, and she could make out the shadow of Lexo on the other side of medical.

The sense of the Triad was with her, but they weren’t talking, they were waiting.

The scanner finished its final pass, and the mechanism swung aside to let her out.

Lexo was seated in a repair station, and he smiled at her from a bruised face. “I managed to get you here.”

“What happened?”

“I am guessing that an automatic protocol kicked in. You fought with more strength and dexterity than I imagined you possessed. I confess to being envious of your alteration, though not that enthusiastic about the autopilot.”

Alphy tried to access the Triad to get a view of the internal scans, but they weren’t talking to her yet.

She went into first aid mode and got a nanite stimulator for Lexo. It would help supplement the work his nanites were already doing.

The shot had to go into tissue, so she pressed the injector to the side of his neck, and it hissed as its payload entered his system.

“I am so sorry. I didn’t...”

“It is fine. Your eyes went silver, and it was obvious that you were not driving.”

She blinked. “Something took me over?”

“Check your scans. I think they explain it.”

Alphy turned and headed to the readout. The displayed result was impossible.

“That can’t be right.”

Lexo flexed his arm and got to his feet. “It does explain your situation, but in all my family’s research, this extensive an adaptation hasn’t been seen. That you are moving around is a miracle.”

Alphy started at the display. It was there if she was willing to accept it. She was the most extreme cyborg that she had ever heard of. The only parts of her that were natural human tissue were her brain and spinal column. Everything that housed the brain and spine was made of nanites.

She looked at her hands and focused on her skin. Her vision sharpened, and she could actually see the mechanical micro-bots that made up her body.

Alphy curled her hand into a fist. “I am not human.”

Lexo put his hand on her arm. “You are as human as I am.”

She looked up at him. “I beg to differ. You are only forty percent nanite and implant. I am a metal skeleton with delusions of humanity.”

He pulled her to him and held her.

“You can feel my arms around you; your brain processes the information just like your body did. We don’t know why you are such a massive adaptation, but the Triad has to have the information somewhere.”

She could feel his heart beat in his chest and the hum of his blood as it rushed through his veins, accompanied by the nanites that were fixing the damage she had done.

“I am sorry.” She mumbled it against his chest, slightly appalled at the amount of information she could get from him if she just let her senses out to play.

“It is fine. You are just a little more highly tuned than you thought. I am curious to find out how you are keeping yourself together and how the Triad got you here.”

She rubbed her head against the front of his suit. “You and me both. They currently are not speaking to me.”

“I believe that they are afraid of how you would react. It can’t be a comfortable realization.”

“It really isn’t. Why aren’t you freaking out? I am a woman made of nanites.”

He chuckled. “My family designed them, and your brain is all you. A human is more than the body it wears; it is the mind, the soul, and the consciousness of society that creates a human. You are still you, Aria, no matter what your body is composed of.”

“Thanks. It is nice that you were willing to haul me in here.”

Lexo sighed and stroked her back. “I will think of a way that you can make it up to me later.”

Her laugh startled her. “Thanks again. I will think of something suitable. Now, do we want to confront the sullen three?”

“You go ahead. I am going to head to the command deck and make sure we are still on course.”

She stood in his embrace for a few more minutes. The warmth of his body relaxed her, and the silence helped her formulate a plan.

The Triad wanted them there for some kind of transformation, but she wanted answers first.

First and foremost, she wanted to know why the Splice had targeted her. Their behaviour had gone against everything that she knew about them. It should have been both of the humans or attack to destroy. Anything else was outside of the observed behaviours.

Shit was getting freaky.