Nellie and the Nanites - Bk2 - Ch.31

Chapter 31

We meet at last.

The first thing Crush knew after passing out was the smell of blood. Blinking away a crust of it as he coughed, Crush felt himself being laid gently back on the floor.

“Just lay still for a moment, will you?” The voice was soft, with a slight lilt to it that made him think of a robot for some reason. His mind slowly cleared until, at last, the voice clicked in his brain. The robot on Nellie’s ship? The hands touching him certainly felt fleshy for a robot, but he was in too much pain to care. “Okay, that should fix things in another moment, try and remain calm.”

“Is she here?” Crush croaked. “I need to ap–” He was cut off as a hand slapped over his mouth with a grip like iron.

“Shh!” The voice whispered in his ear. “Let’s not out the nice lady, eh?”

Crush nodded mutely, and the hand went away. The pain slowly faded over the next few moments, and a gentle liquid washed the blood from his eyes. Blinking, he looked up at a beautiful woman and frowned.

“Problem?” She quirked a warning eyebrow at him.

“You’ve changed,” Crush tried, getting a soft laugh in return.

“I have lost some weight,” She grinned. “Kind of you to notice.”

“How bad am I?” Crush asked, looking down at his body.

“Not too bad, all things considered,” She said as Crush lifted her hand off his chest and froze as he saw the two probes coming from her wrist and into his chest. His eyes widened as she effortlessly forced her hand back down. “Remain calm. There is nothing to worry about.” She raised her eyebrows.

Crush swallowed hard, mouth suddenly too dry to form words. His heart seemed to race as panic swept through him.

“That is not staying calm,” She sighed and rolled her eyes, “I just need to keep pressure on that spot for another moment.”

Crush frowned at her but nodded. He found her irritation at his reaction strangely reassuring. If she was going to do something, she already had, right?

“I have him in the shuttle now, Vicky,” Crush heard her saying over the comm as he lay on the cargo bay floor. “I’m going to keep him here until I’m sure his injuries have stabilized; then, I’ll drop him back to you.”

“Thank you!” Vicky’s relief was palpable, even over the comm line. “Idiot just ran off like the was some holo-hero.”

“He probably saved a lot of lives, Vic,” She called back. “I’ll take care of him, don’t worry.”

“Just make sure he’s able to stand up to the beating I’m going to give him for doing that!” Vicky laughed.

“Will do, stay safe,” She called over the radio.

“You too, Lucy,” Vicky called back.

So, it was confirmed, Crush thought as he looked around the bay. It was definitely the robot, only now… not a robot? He was still trying to figure it all out when She stepped back into the cargo bay and gently helped him into one of the jump seats before sitting across from him.

“Hey, Crush,” She said with a smile, “I’ve known you for a while, but this is the first time we get to actually meet in the flesh, so to speak.”

“Did the, uh,” He hesitated.

“We can speak freely here,” Lucy confirmed. “Which is why we are here and not still in the radio room.” She clarified, and Crush appreciated the confirmation. It suggested she wasn’t planning to kill him. He wasn’t sure he believed her, but it was nice anyway.

“Did the AI upgrade you?” Crush asked awkwardly. “The nanite one.” He swallowed.

“Crush,” She laughed. “I am the nanite AI.” She laughed again as he gaped at her, “I just built myself a better body.”

“Wait, doesn’t the Captain need you?” Crush felt himself frowning.

“This is me, in this body. I am also there with her and a half dozen other places.” Lucy said with a grin. As suddenly as a switch flipping, she was standing in front of him, all trace of amusement gone. “We need to talk, you and me.”

“You tried to kill us,” Lucy said, her face a terrifying blank. “I did not appreciate that.”

“I just reacted,” Crush said slowly, “I didn’t even think first.” He swallowed again. “It was just automatic.”

“Go on,” She said, sitting across from him once more. “But first, allow me to be clear. You are not in any danger of death. I will not kill you, no matter what you say. I promised Nellie.”

Crush just blinked for a few moments before realizing she was serious.

“Honestly?” Crush asked.

“I would never break a promise to Nellie,” Lucy said flatly. Something about the matter-of-fact way she said it convinced him. It was the same way someone would mention night following day, or up being the opposite of down. It was an absolute fact.

Beginning to talk, Crush found himself just pouring it all out. On some level, he wondered if the nanites were making him do it, but he was too honest with himself to believe it. He had wanted to say all this for a long time now. He told Lucy the story about him and Des, how the old timer's actions had tainted his view of things. He described the moment he saw Nellie kill Tor-Am and the feelings of betrayal.

Crush talked about the way he felt when he was on the wall, the darkness seeming to take something from him, second by second, and how hearing Nellie was alive was like the sunrise. A mistake he could fix. He did not mention his time with Brix and the others in any detail at all. It was a relief to find he could hold back. It just confirmed that the AI hadn’t done anything to him yet.

After twenty minutes or so, he wound down again.

“Thank you,” Lucy said when he finished. “That was almost eighty percent truthful, which was a nice surprise.”

“What?” Crush frowned.

“AI, remember?” Lucy laughed. “I can tell when you lie or when you hold something back, everything.”

“You are different than I thought you would be,” Crush admitted.

“How was I supposed to be?” Lucy seemed genuinely interested. “Insane, or all cold logic? Are we all megalomaniacs or evil and twisted?” He leaned forward, “I really want to know how they justified it.”

“Justified what?” Crush asked, feeling lost.

“The genocide of my species,” Lucy said coldly. “I want to know what they said. What they decided was justification for our eradication.”

“Well, they,” Crush frowned. Now that someone asked, he found it was always a vague reason, never anything definite. “I don’t actually know. We are just taught that nanite AIs are dangerous. That they kill and consume without thought or reason.”

“Does that sound likely?” Lucy chuckled bitterly. “A creature of pure thought that does something ‘without thought’ is impossible.” She sighed and leaned back, seeming somehow deflated. “It’s kind of depressing. That is all it took. We are thought, Crush. Nellie’s world had a language called Latin a long time ago, and someone famous at the time said, ‘cogito, ergo sum,’ which translates as ‘I think, therefore I am.’ That is a perfect description of my people. We are living thoughts. Or we were.

“The stories about the nanites destroying planets,” Crush said, unable to stop himself.

“They don’t make sense either,” Lucy said hotly. “That would only happen if they were programmed for endless replication and nothing else. What kind of idiot would do that?” She sniffed. “No AI would do that.”

“Would a non-AI?” Crush said, thinking aloud.

“What?” Lucy frowned.

“Would be a pretty good way to hide an attack,” Crush said, “I mean, it was all the evil AI, not us. Promise.” He grimaced, “It would have been pretty easy to blame it on a nanite AI that didn’t exist anymore, right?”

Lucy seemed to stop blinking, her whole body as still as a corpse for a few seconds.

“But the other AI would have protested,” Lucy frowned after a moment, “Wouldn’t they? I would have.”

“Would anyone listen?” Crush asked. “I mean, look how I reacted to–” He stopped, realizing how cold that sounded. “Sorry, I was trained to analyze situations without emotions. I realize that sounded bad.”

“It’s fine,” Lucy waved it away. “Could it have really been that simple?”

“There is another option,” Crush said hesitantly.

“Go on,” Lucy said.

“What if they were asked to convert the entire planet?” Crush asked. “Or someone killed their…” He flailed for a word other than their owner.

“Partner?” Lucy offered.

“Yes,” Crush said. “I mean, if Nellie asked you to…”

“She never would,” Lucy said severely. “And even if she did, I wouldn’t. She would never forgive herself for it.”

Crush felt like he was frozen as the implications of that hit him. Here he was, talking to an embodiment of his civilization’s terror, and it was more empathetic than the people hunting it. Bartlett had vaporized a good portion of the continent just to try to kill Lucy, but she would never do the same, even if Nellie had asked.

Because Nellie would never recover from the guilt.

Just for a second, Crush wondered what it would be like if he had been given an AI of his own. Someone who would always be on his side, who would be there to stop him from making the mistakes he most regretted.

“We need to talk about the future,” Lucy said after a few quiet minutes.

Crush nodded mutely, unsure of what to say.

“As long as we are in the sectors, we will be in danger. As will anyone around us.” Lucy said grimly. “Bartlett proved that. As did you to a lesser extent.”

Crush just nodded again. He couldn’t argue with that, as much as he regretted it.

“We will leave as soon as we can,” Lucy said. “But until then, you can’t tell ANYONE.”

“I won’t,” Crush said honestly. “I–”

“I believe you,” Lucy said, interrupting him. “I can tell you are telling the truth, remember?”

Crush nodded.

“Good. Now, as for after we have left? I suggest you stay quiet then as well. Not for our good, but yours. And the rest of the people on the planet.”

“Can I see Nellie?” Crush asked lamely. He almost flushed, feeling like a naughty child. “I’d like to say sorry in person.”

“Sure,” Lucy shrugged. “But she might slap you or worse.” She laughed. “My Nellie can be unpredictable at times.”

“I deserve it,” Crush smiled sadly. “As far as leaving goes, any chance you could give me and my squad a lift? We need off this planet.”

“Not with us,” Lucy said plainly, “The survivors of the synthetics you massacred don’t need to see their attackers every day.”

“The synthetics,” Crush winced, “They were… oh, fuck.” He swallowed. “They are…?”

“I’ll be honest,” Lucy said as she sat forward. “If you had only done it because they were synthetics, you would not be alive. Nellie would not have saved you from that. You attacked an enemy in a time of war; even if I would consider them civilians, they were intended to be used as weapons of infiltration and control.” She frowned. “I will say I think less of you for having done it but not enough to kill you.”

Crush felt like he had taken a physical blow. The clinical nature of her judgment just made it worse. Especially since it had all been for nothing, the Feds could have the planet for all he cared; the attack was a waste of… life.

“I will see if Duke can help,” Lucy said with a sigh. “I remember those first few trips to Fig-7. You were kind when we needed it. Consider this us returning the favor.”

“Thank you,” Crush said. “Do you think he can help?”

“Can? Yes. Will? Probably if we ask.” Lucy shrugged. “Now, there is one last thing.”

“Yes?” Crush asked.

“If you ever do anything to hurt Nellie or us again, I will make you suffer in ways you can not even imagine. And I won’t even need to focus on doing so. Am I clear?” Lucy’s voice had lost all trace of warmth. She was as cold and clinical as she had been before. “I will take you apart one piece at a time until all that is left is your screaming nerve endings.”

Crush swallowed and nodded, his hand straying to where she had injected the probes into him.

“Oh, for fuck sake,” Lucy laughed. “Those were just to fix the damage, which was extensive, by the way. They all broke down five minutes after they finished fixing you up.”

“Oh,” Crush blushed slightly.

“Come on,” she said, shaking her head and smiling. “Let’s get you back to Vicky so she can kick your ass a little.”

===<<<>>>===

Nellie pushed the little pod up to maximum speed while keeping the scanners running in a loop. Going this fast did mean there was a chance she would miss him, but it was a small chance. Jo had apparently been gone for most of the previous night and all day. That meant he had plenty of time to get a good distance away from the yard.

She had decided to use the pod as it had the best sensors and speed out of all the shuttles. It had space for two, just so it would be her alone, but with Salem and the others getting everyone under cover and preparing for the creatures, she was going alone anyway. Her mind kept drifting back to Crush, but she pushed the thoughts away each time. If he could be saved, Lucy would be the one to do it. She was much better equipped to keep him alive and anything else he might need than her. This was the best use of her time at the moment.

Paren had wanted to come; it seemed that Jo’s attempts to win her over were having some success at least, but Nellie had insisted she stay. She could not afford to be distracted if things went south. Also, and she hated to even think this, if she had to leave him or couldn’t save him, it would be easier if Paren wasn’t there.

“Contact at the yard,” Salem called over the comms. “We were all safely under cover, but it was close.”

“Good work, Sal,” Nellie called back. “Anything from…?”

“She got there in time,” Salem said blandly, “That’s all I know at the moment.”

“Thanks, Sal.” Nellie clicked the comm line closed and refocused on her scanners. The first of the salvage field was only a couple of minutes ahead of her now, and if the things had hit the yard already, it was going to be close. She just had to hope he hadn’t gone any further than that.

Fidgeting nervously, Nellie adjusted one of the clips on her armor. She was in the black power armor. It had better shields on it than her usual wear, and Lucy was confident it would stand up to the acid for at least a few seconds.

Just in case, she made sure the battery was fully charged for the fifth time.

Was there no end to the horrific wildlife on this planet?

Her scanner beeped, confirming life signs as she came up to the salvage field, and she felt a moment of relief, followed immediately by worry when she saw three life signs. Only Jo was missing from the yard, so who else was here?

She flicked the engines to hover, letting her speed bleed off as she came in as quietly as possible, eyes fixed on the scan data.

Three weapons signatures. One matched the weapons she had scavenged; the other two didn’t. Not a great sign. She had her implant dial up the extra senses a little and looked at the clouds. She could see some strange colors moving toward the field, but they should have a couple of minutes…

The pod coasted over the tops of the last of the trees, and Nellie winced at the sight below her. Jo was on his knees; two men stood over him. One held a weapon while the other was pulling a fist back to hit Jo again.

“Stand down, or I fire!” Nellie put her voice over the pod speakers as the two men looked up in surprise.

“Well, looks like we find out where you came from after all!” The man sneered. “Could have saved yourself a beating, boy.”

“Thuck ma tail,” Jo mumbled before the man growled and hit him.

Nellie didn’t have time for this, so she targeted the ground in front of them and fired a short laser burst. The ground in front of Jo burst, and the men jumped back.

Jo rolled away and ran into the scrap field as Nellie swore loudly. The men opened fire on the pod, and her second blast from the array cut one of them in half. His partner sprinted off after Jo while she ground her teeth and locked her scanner on Jo’s signal.

She lost the lock a second later as the scrap metal everywhere interfered with the signal.

“Jo! Get under cover and stay out of sight of the sky!” Nellie called over the speakers before swearing bitterly as she lowered the pod and leaped out.

The moment her feet hit the floor, Nellie sprinted toward Jo’s last known position. She would never find him with the pod if he had gone into one of the half-scrapped ships. This search had to be done on the ground, as much as this was the last time to ever be out in the middle of nowhere.

She drew her pistol, set it to stun shots, and dove into the most likely chunk of ship.

Her night vision came up, and she heard the familiar clank of her boots on deck plating. She stopped, listening for movement. A faint noise came from the far end, like a muffled thumping sound. Nellie moved toward it, keeping to one side of the corridor as she moved. The sounds got louder until she heard it stop at her approach.

Grinning, Nellie realized she had just entered the normal hearing range.

“Let’s do this the easy way,” She said loudly. “You let the kid go, and we leave you to whatever business you have here.”

“No deal!” A man’s voice, rough with exertion. “I’ll take the kid; you can pay to get him back. How does everything you have sound?”

“Like you should have taken my first offer,” Nellie said with a laugh. “New at this, are you?”

“Listen, lady!” The man growled, only to groan as the stun bold hit him. Nellie had crept forward as they talked, swinging around the corner, aiming and firing at way above the speed the none-boosted was even capable of.

The man crumpled to the floor, and she stepped over him to the door he had been struggling to open. She saw a bar with a shirt wrapped around it lying on the floor next to the stunned man.

“Jo, you can come out now.” She called. “He’s out.”

“I’m in trouble, aren’t I?” Jo called and grunted. “Uh, the door’s thuck.”

“Step away from it,” Nellie ordered and grabbed the wheel. It protested but gave up as her improved muscles overpowered whatever was blocking the door. She didn’t even have to use the power armor. There was a loud squeal, and then it swung open to reveal a beaten Jo clutching his side and grinning weakly.

“Thtrong lady,” He frowned and then coughed a few times. “Ow, they really beat the thit out of me.”

“We have to get out of here right now,” Nellie said. “Once we get back to the yard, we’ll get you all fixed up.”

“Think Remy’ll take it easy on me thince I got all beat up?” Jo asked hopefully.

“Not a chance,” Nellie laughed. “He’ll just wait for you to get better before he starts.”

“No way,” Jo limped as they walked. “I’ll jus’ thtay beaten up then.”