Chapter Five

The fabrication scanner was set up for her, so she quickly got her exercise gear made, and then, she stepped aside while it generated.

“Have you used one of these before?”

He nodded. “At the Alpha Base.”

“Just relax and don’t tense up. As long as your feet are lined up right, the exercise suit won’t interfere with your junk.”

He snorted and locked his heels against the stops designed for that purpose.

The scanner hummed and took in all of his contours, top to bottom.

While he was being scanned, she collected her suit and wandered around the corner to the changing area. Her baggy uniform was discarded, and she pulled on the form-fitting, sleeveless exercise suit.

She was dressed and pulling her hair up into a restraint clip when he came around the corner.

Lexo paused. “You... look like you are in good shape.”

She glanced down and had to crane her neck to see her feet. “I try to be. A healthy body goes a long way to keeping you able to act in whatever means necessary.”

“You definitely look healthy.”

She grimaced. “Right. I will see you on the workout floor.”

Her enthusiasm for her new companion paled at his obvious shock. Her curves were a throwback to a previous era when women were designed to attract at a glance, rather than through the online brokers that matched folks based on goals and genetics.

Her uniform usually camouflaged her body. It was baggy and turned her into the same block as the delicate women of ethereal construction that were so popular on contemporary Earth. If the Splice hadn’t snagged her, she would still have been destined to be alone. Her body type was dying out strictly because it was unfashionable in the global market.

She set up a boxing station and started to work on the heavy bag, remembering that it was what had made the Adaptation Base feel like home. Most of the women there had the same exaggerated curves that she did.

“You have a good form.”

Alphy screamed and whirled to face him. Her mind recognized him and told her to stand down. She leaned forward and put her palms on her thighs. “Damn. I forgot you were here.”

He blinked in surprise. “Sorry. You really have been here for quite a while on your own.”

“Yeah. For six months, I pretended that this station was haunted, just so I could talk out loud.” She pressed her hand to her chest to calm the thundering beat.

She inhaled and straightened. “Right. Where did you want to start?”

She stared at him, surprised by the smooth silver skin that marched along his arms as well as the extent of the silver skin down his right side. From what she had learned, most modern cyborgs enjoyed turning their nanites into tattoos using a subroutine that Lucky had crafted.

“I think I would enjoy a bit of wrestling if you can show me how to set up the unit.” The silvery skin of his arms flexed.

“No problem. This way, please.” She smiled politely and led the way to the projection unit.

Alphy showed him how to calibrate the unit, and he was far too close to her while she did. The heat coming from him was amazing, and she fought the urge to lean back against him. He was her pilot, nothing more.

Once he was sure of the controls, she left him to get to work and returned to her pummelling the heavy bag.

She could blank her mind when she was working out, and even the Triad couldn’t break in.

When her arms were humming from the exertion and she was coated in a sheen of sweat, she paused and held onto the bag while looking toward the wrestling mat.

Lexo was facing off with the solid-light hologram. His skin was glowing with sweat, and he had obviously taken a few trips to the mat.

The program was using the most recent of Lucky’s programs, and it looked like she had done one helluva job.

Lexo rushed forward and collided with his projected opponent. The nanites in his system forced his muscles to treat the projection as a real being. The calibration that set the machine also set Lexo.

The bulge of muscles was impressive, and Alphy watched as the real and the projected man grappled and fought for the upper hand.

As she watched, he was lifted, turned, and slammed to the ground. The scoreboard totalled the current tally at three wins to the projection and one to Lexo.

Lexo fought for air and slowly levered himself to his feet, returning to the start position and waiting.

Alphy wanted to step in, but she waited until the next bout of attack and retreat ended with Lexo on the ground again, pushed out of the ring.

“I think that you need a bit of training before you set it to expert again.” She walked over and crouched next to him.

Lexo grimaced. “That is one hell of a simulation.”

Alphy grinned. “Yeah, it is one of her best. I don’t get beyond amateur in most of her simulations, but the wrestling program has me at beginner and still kicks my ass.”

He groaned and sat up. “You know the designer?”

“Sure. She worked with me and Stitch. Lucky is the best at writing code that works with nanites. The machines here compensate for your adaptations and give you human reflexes and strength, or it reacts like you do. It gets stronger to make up the difference.”

He gave her a long look. “You don’t know how it works, do you?”

She shrugged. “Not one hundred percent positive. Since I can’t ask Lucky any questions, I have to guess by the application of the programs.”

“What is the reason that you can’t communicate?”

Alphy chuckled. “Ah, this is the repository station. I can’t send anything out for fear that the Splice will trace it back and learn all of humanity’s secrets.”

Lexo leaned his arms on his knees. He held up his silver hand and flexed it. “Are we still human?”

“I think so. I still want my world to survive, even if they changed the locks.”

He grinned. “Sound thinking. Yeah, I want the rest of my family to live long and happy lives, even if I can’t be there.”

He got to his feet and wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.

“What other delights are there to experiment with?” He raised his brows.

She led him to the control panel and showed him the options. Now that he had been calibrated, he just needed to do a palm scan at the station he wanted, and the machine would configure itself for him.

Alphy went for a cardio workout and started a light sprint that turned into a run. With her adaptations had come increased reflexes and the urge to keep fit. It wasn’t something she had dealt with before, so she chalked it up to the changes after the explosion and did as her body requested.

She would probably have an answer as to why her repaired body had an agenda of its own, but she needed to be able to speak to someone for that, and the guys weren’t forthcoming as to what precisely had happened to her body when she was injured. She had a good idea, but she couldn’t be positive until someone told her the truth. No one seemed interested in that information.

Exhausted, she headed to her quarters while Lexo continued to work out. The change in satellite feeds that she could sense was a good sign. They were passing through monitored space, and that usually meant that humans had been somewhere close.

In a matter of days, she would be with her own people again. Stitch was going to be hugged to within an inch of her life.