Cyberella: Preyfinders Universe (24 page)

“When I find a doc for you, to check out your ankle, you make sure he gives you a proper check over. Okay?”

Her ankle! She’d almost forgotten. Just thinking about it made her wonder. She’d not seen whatever Torgeir had found. She twisted her leg so she could see the outside. The spot seemed to be in the same place, though perhaps larger and darker in color. “Okay. But I think I’ll go to Dr. Miro. He helped me when I was poisoned.”

“Sure. I was worried about you last night when you were sleeping so soundly. I couldn’t wake you. I think the boys got in contact with him.”

Inside she felt a niggle of panic. Her body had changed, not just her memory. The spot may have grown. Going to a doctor could mean finding out what it was. If it had been somewhere else, she wouldn’t have worried. But it was the spot they’d warned her of and associated with how the Bak-lal had altered her. Maybe she was imagining it? There might be a simple cause.

She searched for something else to talk about. “I’ve not asked about what you’ve been doing.” So true. She was being selfish. “Did you say something about Nephelle? Did it go well?”

His whole body tightened.

An idea leapt into her head. He’d been in battle. Something terrible had happened.

“I’m sorry.” She turned and rested her cheek on him. “Bad?”

“Yes. We lost Nephelle. Dresdek is...devastated. They were getting close but we were ambushed on landing and she was knocked out and dragged away. We only sorted that out after, on the battle surveillance vids.”

“Dead?”

“We think so. Yes. Most of the planet is clean of those...” He’d said some swear word she couldn’t translate. “But we’re going back to mop up the rest.”

“Ah. I see.” He had to go back. The raw anger in his voice frightened her more than anything done or said today. His hatred of Bak-lal ran deep. “You be careful.”

“You know I will. We’re restocking, getting a few more warriors, then going back. But before we do.” He made her lift her chin and look up at him. “I’m getting you a bodyguard or two.”

She frowned. “I don’t want you wasting money you need for the ship. Or men you need with you, fighting with you.”

“Shhh. We’re being well paid by Concer command. I can do this. I
will
do this. Let me find some men to protect you.” His stare said it was futile to argue.

A resentment, a burning anger was rising in her now that she’d had some time to adjust. How dare whoever it was attack her and hurt so many people. She was the target but she had no real idea why, except that some perverted person wanted her so much they’d tried three times. Wanted her brain dead even. Disgust crawled in with a twist of nausea. How dare they? With the tragedy of Nephelle as well, she was simmering and ready to do something to someone in revenge. Not justice, revenge. Whoever it was needed to be dead. There had to be some way to find them?

“Okay. Under protest, though.”

“This is for your safety. I won’t compromise that again. One mistake is enough. I’m locked into a contract with my ship and men to return to
Jorburr 5
. I won’t take you into a battle zone and there is no way in this ’verse that I’ll leave you unprotected again. None. Be good or else.”

“Huh.” She pulled loose from the hand on her jaw and cuddled in. Having some hulking men following her about all day would get tiresome fast. He was right, though.

“I think I need to tie you up and remind you who is in charge.”

She grinned and couldn’t resist. “Me?”

“No more of that.” The following silence seemed ominous.

She huffed but said nothing more. She listened to his heart beating under her ear and wondered what he was thinking. After fifteen or so heartbeats, he gathered a handful of her hair before holding her in place to kiss her. It was a fine way to end an argument, she decided, wriggling against him.

“There’s something I want to do for Plito.”

“What is it?”

“You saw the leg I’ve been working on? On the table?”

“Yes. Can you fix it?”

“I have. It came together so fast. Gears repaired some. Mimi did some. The rest just...happened. I’m getting good at this. ”

“I like that you’re doing something for him. Those boys are...”

“Astounding? Awesome?”

“Great friends and yes, they’re awesome.”

“Torgeir, I want to go and look for a second leg for him, today.”

“Then I’m coming with you. Where do we go?”

“You’ll see.” Describing the dump might make him say no and she had to do this. Now that she was more confident in what she was doing, the possible matches expanded. There were ways to adapt she could just
see
when she looked at parts.

Torgeir had looked at the dump as they pulled up in the hovercab and cocked a derisive eyebrow, but they were still here. He hadn’t dragged her away.

The pile of parts hadn’t shrunk despite the constant scrape and crash in the background as great shovel-loads were removed at the periphery. The meager sunlight made it seem like some dreary wasteland lost in time, apart from the odd red or blue blip as a tiny light went on and off in one of the lower mounds.

“I’m sure it’s there somewhere.”

“A leg?”

“Yes.” She marched in, past the lazy gate bot, giving it a wave without looking.

“Can I help?” Torgeir asked as they scaled the sides of a mound.

“Yes. Find legs. Lots and lots of legs.”

They dug for over an hour and a half and managed to line up ten different legs, none of which were a match. She walked along the line, muttering, thinking of Plito’s specs. She kneeled and put her hand on one, turning it over. It was all shining metal, of course. Artificial skin was for the super-rich, or the lucky, like her. That part would go there and was the right size but the cry-conduits were lined up wrong, but the one next to it had the wrong wiring and right cry-conduits.

In her mind things toppled into place, if you removed
that
,
this
and
this
could be transferred to
that
position, solving the problem.

“That’s it,” she whispered. “I can merge the two legs. Gears can do the larger fitting and I can do the rest.”

“You’re sure?” Torgeir squatted beside her.

“Yes. Oh, yes.” The excitement filled her words, her mind. She could give Plito his two legs. She stood up and dragged Torgeir to his feet too, jumping as she yelled, “I can do it!”

“Yay!” He jumped with her, once. “Not sure what you’re doing but if you’re happy so am I.”

“Can I call you a dork?” She went up on her toes and kissed his nose.

“Only if it’s a compliment.”

Grinning, she placed her hand over her heart. “I swear, it’s a compliment.”

“Hmmm.” He eyed her suspiciously. “Let’s get these legs out of here and bought before I feel compelled to spank you with a dead cyborg arm.”

It was still morning when they arrived back at Horuk bearing the two legs under their arms. An enormous crowd was outside in the square before the entrance they used to enter the pyramid, only it wasn’t the normal crowd. People were milling with purpose, flourishing weapons from guns and knives to metal bars, yelling at three law officers they’d encircled. An overturned police hovercar with shattered windows said the violence was escalating fast. The police activated some sort of low siren.

“Let’s go around this.” Torgeir took her hand.

“Wait. Listen.”

Screamed words echoed.
When are you catching the fruit murderer? Yer callin’ it cyborg on cyborg? No way. Give us justice!

“It’s to do with me. They’re angry because of the poisoning.”

“Still not yours to fix.” He tugged harder.

“No. It is.” She could feel their anger and yet it was misdirected. She doubted these few officers had anything to do with the investigation or that her nemesis could be easily found.

An awning to her left had boxes piled nearby.

“Wait. I’m just looking.” She handed him the leg she carried then indicated the awning and climbed the boxes. At the top, she crawled out onto the metal awning to see over the crowd.

The lawmen were calling for back-up from the looks of it and in the distance she could see airborne vehicles arrowing in. More guns were being drawn and gestured with by both sides. The incoming vehicles would be the law from the lights flashing on their sides. They might not stop to count who was good or bad. She’d heard rumors of massacres.

Ella stood, held her hands up above her head, and waved. “Stop!”

Nothing happened. A red, eye-scalding laser-line went
zumm
overhead as someone resorted to firing.

This wasn’t working. People were going to die any second and it was because of her.

Her head, her hands, seemed to buzz with a strange potential. She waved again and put everything into it. “
STOP”

Silence. Her ears held a tinny continuous sound that dispelled slowly.

Heads turned and people looked at her. Her. She’d begun this.

“Everyone. This is wrong!” She looked around, counting, knowing, assessing. Some were here for kicks, some genuinely angry over the poisonings, some were caught up like her and Torgeir.

The knowledge settled in her mind though she couldn’t figure out how she knew this. She could tell, mostly, who thought what, though the law officers were blanks. Even they stared at her.

“You don’t need to punish these officers. This was the fault of someone targeting me and I apologize deeply for bringing any harm to anyone.”

Doc was below, in the crowd. He’d walked to the front, looking up at her. Others came forward. People she knew were clients of the Hack and Slash. A flight of robot birds swooped past and landed on the edge of the awning. Blue birds she’d repaired?

This was getting too much. She put her hands on her hips, ready to chastise whoever had engineered this.

Then she saw that the lawmen had managed to dodge out through the thinner crowd at the rear. Two of the small police shuttles landed humming and the men clambered on board. There were weapons on those vehicles and the muzzles tracked across the crowd as the gunners turned them – no doubt waiting for orders to fire if this got uglier.

She began again and decided to simply explain. “I’m going to find out who did this. I promise you this. I will have them punished, one way or the other. Put down your weapons, please. Go home. No one will be helped by doing violence, this day.”

A giant of a man in dented and mismatched red space armor, minus the helmet, stepped up to just below the awning. He reinforced her plea. “She’s right. Go home! This is the woman who has treated so many of us, fixed us. You know her. Please go. Before someone dies.”

Did she know this man?

How many had she helped in the fumbled, foggy days before Torgeir returned, before her memory rebooted?

To her astonishment, the crowd turned away and began doing exactly as she’d asked them to – to disperse. She waited on the awning until the police vehicles rotated and swept into the sky.

“I don’t know how you did that, but it was well done.” Torgeir was atop the boxes beside the awning. “Come.” He held out his hand. “Let’s go home too.”

*****

The turnaround time for Torgeir was short once again. He spent those days arranging for her guards as well as coordinating his ship’s and crew’s needs. The night prior to the departure day arrived too soon. They’d made love many times, talked for hours, but it would never be enough for either of them. She had five guards who would be dogging her heels. Her freedom would be limited to where they thought it safe for her to go. Maybe she could get them to form a knitting circle and then she could duck out the back while they were busy?

As he often did, Torgeir brought her out to the balcony under the dusk sky and sat her in his lap. Whorls of rising smoke drew a multi-colored veil over the stars as they twinkled to life. Faraway skyscrapers added their own tiers and beads of light. A huge spacecraft made a
thwuum
sound as it maneuvered toward the spaceport and flocks of smaller craft darted about, over, and below it, as if ushering a bigger member of their pack. Strangely beautiful.

She wriggled on Torgeir’s lap, her cheek against his chest. His heart bumped reassuringly beneath her ear.

“I wish your bondmating mark had risen.”

“Me too. It wasn’t fair that you refused to make love yesterday.”

He laughed softly. “You know I want to be here when it happens. Your body is a bit confused but it’s getting there. I’m happy your nipples and pussy are fully red.”

“I noticed. You spend half our naked times examining those.”

“Exactly as it should be.” He drew a finger down her arm. “Make sure you keep yourself safe while I’m gone. Keep close to your guards. Don’t go anywhere that isn’t essential.”

“I’ve got to go to work and there’s a doctor’s appointment too.” She sat up and turned to him.

“That’s fine. I meant that dump, for one. Message me about the doctor, when you see him. I’ll still be in the system late tomorrow night.”

“I will.
Brrr.
” She shivered, hugging herself, and happy to have the lap of this man of hers to sit on.

“Cold?” He smoothed his palm up to her nape, then his fingers through her hair, sending a frisson of delight through her.

“Yes. A little. There are so many stars out tonight.” Surely she’d never seen so many on Riptide?

“That’s the fleet of ships coming in. Those are artificial lights. There’s supposed to be a megastructure world with them too.”

“What’s that?”

“There are different types but this one’s a vast strip of created land that meets up in a circle, like a big ring in space. In the center of the circle is an artificial sun. I’m not certain of the size but you can get ten or twenty thousand people on those. Add in the fleet of ships that tag along and I’ve heard you’d have a half a million people.”

“The lights are so beautiful.”

“Yes, they are. The man who owns the megastructure ring, a man called Verok, has built a replica of an Earth building. A castle. He’s taking the fleet all the way to Earth. They’ve dubbed it the Meek Crusade.”

“Why?” Whatever would her planet do with a huge fleet of aliens? Ella shivered again.