Synthesis, p.41
Synthesis, page 41
Their banter fell away as they stepped into the shipyard, levelling their weapons and scanning around for threats. Unlike the rest of the headquarters, the walls, ceiling, and floor were all made of the same silvery metallic substance as the Broken Shackle had been. It was a single empty room, shaped like a rectangle with a ceiling 100 meters above them. It extended forward approximately 500 meters, and was about 100 meters wide. There were more doors on either side of the room, which Kayden guessed were locked.
They cautiously moved forward. It didn’t look like any shipyard that Kayden had ever seen before – there was no heavy equipment, no piles of material, nothing – just a large empty room.
Mostly empty. Kayden corrected himself, looking forward.
At the end of the room was a large door which Kayden guessed led to the aforementioned tunnel. In front of the door was a single man standing in front of a workstation. He was turned towards them, and from that distance Kayden could make out the man’s mop of black hair.
“That’s Malachi Black.” Kayden said.
Before he could say anything else both Selina and Dawn turned and fired at him, emptying a magazine each. Their energy rounds sizzled across a powerful energy shield, but nothing else happened. Kayden held up his hand to stop them. “I don’t think it’s going to be that easy.” He said.
Dawn shrugged, reloading. “Had to try.”
“Ali, how is this a shipyard? I don’t see anything that could be used for shipbuilding.”
“The ships are built using nanobots.” Ali replied. “There is a large swarm which can be emitted from microscopic openings in the floor, ceiling, and walls.”
“Must be a hell of a swarm.” Kayden said. “Can I control them?”
“I will attempt to contact the swarm. I require control of one of your nanobots to do so. However there is a risk it will overload your neural link if you attempt to control them.”
“Do it.” Kayden said. “I won’t use it unless I need it.”
They continued forward through the room, stalking slowly towards Malachi Black and the workstation. He did nothing to stop them, his hands clasped behind him as he waited patiently. His outfit was black – from his black combat boots to his black pants, his black turtleneck sweater, and his black overcoat. He appeared to have some sort of backpack on, but Kayden couldn’t make out its function from where he stood.
“Spread out.” Kayden said as they neared the energy shield. “This feels like a trap.”
“Very good.” Malachi Black responded, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Yes, this is a trap. Did you think you got this far on your wits alone? I have allowed you to come to me.”
“Why?” Kayden asked, never lowering his weapon.
“You are something unique. I can command this entire facility with this workstation, but you… I’ve seen your abilities. With that neural link, you can control it. You understand it.”
In response, Kayden fired an energy round directly at Malachi Black’s head. It splashed off the shield, as he grinned. “Don’t even try. This shield is powerful enough to absorb rounds from the main cannon of a starship. You won’t even make a dent.”
“Face it Malachi, you’re done.” Dawn replied. “Your fleet is gone. You’re not getting out of here alive. Your best bet is to surrender now.”
“Oh, is it?” He said, mockingly. “We’ll see about that. In the mean time, I’d like to tell you about your immediate future.”
The doors on either side of the room opened, and Black Company guards started to pour in by the dozens. They quickly surrounded their small group, rifles pointed at them. Malachi Black examined his fingernails as they did, as if bored by the whole event. “While your little fleet out there burns, I am going to dissect you.” He said, looking at Kayden. “I’ll make your women watch as I peel back the layers of your brain, and determine exactly how your neural link works.”
[“Kayden, I will have control over the nanobot swarm in 30 seconds.”]
How many are there?
[“2.2 Trillion.”]
“Kayden!” Ashley’s panicked voice came through the radio. “The entrance to a hidden tunnel just opened, and they’re launching kamikaze craft from it! We need to retreat and regroup!”
“Do it Ashley!” He replied. “Fall back. We’ll take care of things here.”
“Oh will you?” Malachi Black asked. “Tell me how you’re going to do that.”
[“15 seconds.”]
Kayden grinned savagely. “First, I’m going to kill every guard in the room. Then, I’m going to take down your shield. Finally, I’m going to kill you. How does that sound, fuckstick?”
The guards around him shifted nervously at his statement. Malachi Black’s eyes narrowed. “Take them, now. I want them alive though.”
[“The swarm is ready.”]
Kayden grinned. It was like his consciousness was expanded – he could feel every one of the trillions of nanobots around him – crawling underneath the walls, ceiling, and floor. He could see through their eyes, ‘feel’ through their sensors. They responded to his orders, moving in exactly the way he commanded.
Tendrils of nanobots swept up from the floor, knocking the guards from their feet and restraining them. Several of them fired into the mass, only to be quickly overtaken and their guns wrenched from their hands. Kayden watched with grim satisfaction as the nanobots ate through their metal armour, then their bodies. Within 30 seconds, there was nothing left of the guards.
Malachi Black’s face turned to rage as Kayden sealed the doors of the shipyard, preventing more guards from entering. With a thought, he located the shield generator and used the swarm to eat through that too – destroying it completely. At that moment though, white-hot pain lanced through his body and he collapsed onto the floor, screaming. It felt worse than it ever had before, like someone held 1000 knives over an open flame for an hour and was now using them to stab his brain.
Anna, Dawn, and Selina collapsed their formation around him protectively as he writhed in pain. Seeing the opportunity, Malachi Black’s backpack deployed outwards, revealing 7 armoured metal tentacles. Each of them were 2-3 meters long, and were tipped with the barrel of a rifle or a grasping metal claw. He began firing at the women as his claws propelled him forward in long, loping steps.
They returned fire, but couldn’t do anything but absorb his shots as they stood protectively. He reached them and swept them aside with his tentacles, tossing them across the room like ragdolls. Seeing that they were far enough away not to interfere, he pointed all his weapons at Kayden and watched him writhe for a moment.
[“Kayden! You are in danger!”]
He heard Ali’s voice through the pain, and did his best to latch onto it. Ali, help me!
[“Deploying adrenaline now!’]
Instantly, the pain cleared. Kayden’s eyes shot open just in time to see a grasping claw racing towards his face. It moved in almost a comical slow-motion, but it was still advancing. Kayden’s arm shot out and grabbed it, shoving it to the side. The force of the blow caused the tentacle to become embedded in the floor.
Selina rejoined the fray at that point – Kayden thought she was moving slower than normal, but she was obviously still faster than Malachi. She grabbed hold of another tentacle and fired several energy rounds into his torso, damaging his personal energy shields. The tentacle tried to wrap around Selina but she was far too fast and too flexible – she easily wriggled out of its grasp and acrobatically flipped around it, keeping up a steady stream of fire from her pistol the whole time.
Dawn was the next to join. As tentacles tried to grab her she shifted in and out of her corporeal form, causing them to pass directly through her. Her eyes pulsed yellow and Malachi cried out in fear, causing every tentacle to stiffen as he temporarily lost control of them. Selina was quick to take advantage of it, emptying the last of her magazine and draining the rest of Malachi’s shields.
Not to be left out, Kayden struck out with his foot and kicked Malachi between his legs. His armoured boot met an armoured codpiece, but with Kayden’s enhanced strength he cracked it open. Malachi went cross eyed as he began to fall backwards.
Finally, Anna was the last to rejoin the fight. She levelled her pistol directly at Malachi’s head, and with a look of determination she pulled the trigger. The round went cleanly between his eyes and through his skull, killing him instantly. Kayden’s adrenaline rush wore off as they all watched the body fall to the ground with a thud. Anna wasted no time, advancing and standing on his chest before emptying her magazine into Malachi Black’s face, turning it into a bloody pulp.
“Anna!” Dawn said as the gun clicked empty. “You can stop! He’s dead!”
Anna spat on the mess of blood, gore, and bone which used to be Malachi Black’s face. She turned to see the faces of Kayden, Selina, and Dawn – each of them surprised. “Was that…too much?” She asked.
“No. You did good.” Kayden responded quickly. “Everyone okay?”
“Gonna have some bruises in the morning, but yeah.” Selina responded. “I’m good.”
“I’m good too.” Dawn added, putting her armour back on.
“I’m fucking great!” Anna finished, grinning.
“Alright. Ali can you fix my neural link? Then lets get the fuck out of here.”
“I am unable to fix the link as intended Kayden.” Ali replied.
Kayden’s heart sank. “What?”
“Controlling a swarm that size has melted elements of the link, fusing them to your brain stem. I am unable to remove them without performing a lobotomy. Additionally, their use has significantly reduced your life expectancy – you will be dead within the next 24 hours.”
Kayden looked at the ashen faces of each of his women – Dawn’s yellow eyes watering, Selina’s ears twitching in shock, and Anna’s green lips trembling. Numbly, he stumbled towards the one workstation and connected his control cable to it.
At least we can blow this fucking place up. At least they’ll be safe from the Black Company.
“Kayden, there may be another way.” Ali announced.
“What?”
“I am searching the Vrul archives now. The fundamental problem with your link is that you are trying to control too many connections at once – which is causing the overload. If we add an intermediary platform to relay your control signals, that platform could control the swarm on your behalf. The platform would be able to better handle the load and leave you with only 1 connection, which your neural link is capable of controlling without the risk of overload.”
“Why didn’t you mention this before?” Kayden asked.
“I did not possess this knowledge before you plugged yourself into the console.”
“Okay, so how do we make this platform?” Dawn said hopefully.
“I can do so using the nanobots in this facility. It requires a highly advanced intelligence to control though. One that can handle trillions of connections simultaneously. I know of only 1 such intelligence in our possession – me.” Ali replied.
“Wait. Dumb this down for me. What do you actually need us to do?” Anna said, waving her hands.
“I will bring in the Broken Shackle through the tunnel – it appears the kamikaze craft have cleared for the moment, chasing the fleet. There are no other ships in the vicinity. I need you to connect directly to my data center. I will handle the rest.”
Kayden nodded. They waited impatiently for several more minutes, daring to hope that this might solve the problem of his neural link. None of them said anything, but Dawn, Selina, and Anna each stood close to him. He wrapped them in a tight embrace, kissing the tops of their heads as they held onto him.
The door opened in front of them, revealing the Broken Shackle hovering in the tunnel. A set of nanobot-created steps extended from the floor to the open cargo bay, and they raced aboard. Kayden was quickly ushered into the main computing room where he saw a connection port waiting for him.
He pulled his control cable out of his arm and plugged in. Instantly his vision whited out as a swarm of nanobots entered the ship from the still-open doors behind them. Anna, Dawn, and Selina backed away as the nanobots encased Kayden, pulsing different colors as they did. The pulses came faster and faster until Kayden cried out in pain and they shone a bright white, before going dark.
He dropped to one knee, panting as he recovered. The nanobots swirled along the floor in front of him, solidifying into a pair of feet. They continued to move upwards, coalescing into a pair of legs, then hips. Kayden blinked in disbelief as a torso formed, followed by a pair of arms and a head. The undeniably feminine body in front of him smiled as he gaped at her.
Her skin was made of the same shimmering silver metal as the ship itself, but with a few darker lines tracing up and down her body which shone with an electric blue light. Her eyes pulsed with the same blue light behind a pair of grey irises, and her face looked like it had Dawn’s nose, Selina’s eyebrows, and Anna’s cheekbones – all blended perfectly together. Altogether she stood somewhere between Dawn’s and Selina’s height with surprisingly perky breasts and wide hips.
“Ali?” Kayden managed to croak out.
“Yes.” Ali replied, her face breaking into a wide smile.
“Holy shit. When you said platform, I didn’t think you meant…this.” Anna said.
“I chose a form which I believed the 4 of you would find aesthetically pleasing. Did I choose correctly?” She replied.
Dawn’s tongue practically hung out of her mouth. “You could say that again. Holy shit she looks hot.”
“Why…does she have nipples?” Selina asked.
“I wanted to make the form as anatomically correct as possible.” Ali replied, turning to Selina.
Kayden tried to ignore the way her body bounced when she moved. Somehow, she had made metal react like real skin. He shook his head, resisting the urge to lean forward and touch her to see how it felt.
[“It’s okay Kayden. You can touch me. I don’t mind.”] She ‘said’ to him in his mind.
You can still talk to me like this?
[“Yes.”]
Dawn grinned. “They’re talking mentally. Kayden’s making that face he makes when they’re talking with their minds. Guess we know that still works!”
Kayden shrugged. “Did it work though? Should I still be planning a funeral, or…?”
“Yes, it worked.” Ali said. “You should have full functionality to control the Broken Shackle and nanobot swarm, but it will no longer burn out your neural link. You are safe.”
Kayden grinned, leaping forward and hugging Ali. She was surprisingly light and warm, and he picked her up and spun in a circle. Dawn, Selina, and Anna joined their embrace, and there were more than a few tears of happiness shed between them.
After several happy moments, Kayden took a deep breath. “I guess we should get out of here. I still want to blow this place up.”
“It seems like a waste.” Selina mused. “All those nanobots, all the materials here… do we really have to blow it up?”
“Absolutely.” Dawn replied. “Unless we want to spend our lives guarding this rock, if we don’t blow it up it'll just become a target for the next tyrant. Now that the word’s out about it, it won’t stay a secret for long.”
“I have a suggestion.” Ali said. “I can use the nanobots and remaining materials here to expand upon the Broken Shackle’s form, creating a larger ship. It will consume much of the nanobot swarm, making the facility easier to destroy with the Broken Shackle’s guns.”
“Good idea.” Kayden agreed. “You should also download all the information you possibly can from the Vrul databanks here though. Cassie would kill us if that went to waste.”
Ali nodded to Kayden. “Done. I have the files downloaded. Would you like for me to upgrade the Broken Shackle as well?”
“Do it Ali.”
“Understood. Shall we proceed to the bridge?” She asked.
She led the way, with each of them following behind. Anna kept looking up at Ali’s new form, then back at Kayden. “Is it bad if I want her to be our robot girlfriend?” She asked, finally finding her words.
“No.” Kayden replied. “But you’re going to have to ask her first. She is her own person.”
“I would not mind.” Ali interjected as they reached the bridge. “I have been studying the recordings of your lovemaking, and I believe my body would be well suited to that task – among other pleasurable activities.”
“Yes!” Anna shouted.
“Later though.” Kayden replied, grinning. “Lets get out of here first.”
The view screen in front of them showed a swirling storm of nanobots for the next several minutes. There were multicolor flashing lights, and the workstations on the bridge continually flickered on and off. Finally, the lights dimmed before coming back to full strength, and the screen in front of them cleared.
“Upgrade complete.” Ali announced. “Would you like to review the list of upgrades?”
“Holy shit!” Selina said, sliding into a chair in front of one of the workstations. “We’re…the size of a destroyer now! With a lot more guns.”
“And rooms!” Dawn added, looking at another view screen. “We’re going to need a bigger crew.”
“First thing’s first. Ali, target the shipyard. Blow the hell out of it.”
“Yes Kayden.”
The ship shuddered as the new, more powerful guns loosed their first barrage. Kayden watched with satisfaction as the ceiling of the shipyard buckled, then collapsed. Chunks of the asteroid fell everywhere, crushing the sole workstation and any remaining nanobots completely. Selina powered up the engines and they shot through the tunnel, firing wildly at the tunnel walls and collapsing it behind them.
When they finally emerged back into space, Kayden exhaled and smiled. For the first time in months, he felt like he didn’t have a guillotine hanging over his head. He kissed each of his women deeply, then turned to Ali, taking her hands in his. “You did an amazing job.” He said.
“Thank you Kayden. Malachi Black was correct about one thing though: he could only command the Vrul base. You could understand and control it.”
