Nellie and the Nanites - Bk2 - Ch.29

Chapter 29

Frack!

“Call me Remy,” The Charlie model smiled easily as he stood to attention in front of Nellie.

“How are the repairs?” Nellie asked.

“I am once more fully functional. Better than ever, in fact.” Remy was in a ship suit, bearing a patch on one shoulder in the shape of a lamp. The patches were something Grams came up with, and no one seemed to be able to tell the old battle-axe no. Nellie certainly didn’t want to, and there had been no need so far. The old lady was everywhere, always somehow aware of everything going on.

“Okay, Remy,” Nellie said. “We need to find you a job around here.”

“A spy would seem redundant in this small a place,” He glanced meaningfully at a corner, “Especially one so well monitored.” He coughed meaningfully and went on, “I would like to suggest my placement as Chief of Security.”

“Set a spy to catch one?” Nellie asked.

“Set a spy to catch absolutely everyone, Sir,” He grinned. “None more devious than a spy, except maybe a quartermaster.”

Nellie had to laugh; the man had such an infectious smile. Her eyes flicked over to the new implant controls, and the assignment went through immediately. He straightened with pride and then bowed his head briefly.

“I will expect you to keep Salem appraised on all relevant matters,” Nellie added quickly. Salem had enough problems dealing with Baz, let alone a higher model pushing their weight around. “She is still senior.”

“I see you are aware of synthetic politics,” Remy said with clear joy. “I assure you my model was always against that ridiculous ‘model superiority’ rubbish.”

“Good,” Nellie said. He didn’t move, and it took her a moment to remember she had to dismiss him. This was going to take some getting used to…

It took less than two hours for Remy to report back with the first problem. That problem was a certain red-haired young brackta who seemed to have a nose for trouble.

“What did you do this time, Jo?” Nellie frowned at the pissed-looking teen.

“I took a walk, no big deal.” Jo huffed and fidgeted in the chair as Remy glared down at him from one side. Nellie looked to Remy for his side of things. She really doubted it was about a walk.

“He took a walk alright,” Remy said, “Took a pair of blaster pistols as well. Went to try and pay a little visit to the village.”

“Please tell me he didn’t make it,” Nellie rubbed her eyes.

“No, he walked the wrong way. Luckily, one of our scout drones tagged his direction.” Remy said sternly. “Otherwise, he would have died out there.”

“Dramatic, ain’t he?” Jo-Ban sneered. “I could still see the yard’s lights in the distance, Grandpa!”

“And if you ran into something out there? Broke a leg?” Remy snapped. “You’re not getting killed on my watch, kid.”

“Let’s go back to the bit about the village,” Nellie said calmly. “What were you planning to do?” She really didn’t like what taking the guns with him suggested.

“Oh, he had a sprayer, set to spray the word ‘Tail-Suckers’ seven feet high on the walls,” Remy said with a hint of a smile.

“And the guns?” Nellie asked Jo.

“Just in case there was stuff out there!” JoJo said quickly. “I can handle myself, whatever this dick thinks.” He jerked a thumb at Remy.

“No field trips!” Nellie said sternly, getting a blank look from JoJo. “I mean, no going outside without letting people know. No going to the village either. They’re getting pretty jumpy.”

“Fine,” JoJo rolled his eyes at the intractability of his elders and slumped out of the office.

“I’m getting the impression that I’ll be seeing a lot of that kid,” Remy said drily. Nellie could only nod in agreement. It was a safe bet, after all.

A knock on the door turned out to be Lucy, looking more pleased with herself than usual, which was always a good sign. Nellie was quickly rushed over to their new facilities building, which already had a sizable crowd in place.

“Finally!” Baz called as they arrived. “I don’t do waiting well. Can we see it yet?”

“Oh, hush,” Lucy pushed him aside and told Nellie to wait in front of the doors.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to present our newest creation!” Lucy’s voice was magnified over speakers all around the yard. “Based on the design and programming of our new synthetic friends, I have designed a new unit to assist us in making sure everyone is safe and protected!” There was a smattering of polite applause. “Now, I was trained in this, but it is my first full design, so be kind!” A smattering of laughter here. Nellie smiled. It was an utter lie, but it was a good one. “Presenting the Centrum Model!”

The doors opened, and a figure walked out.

Nellie gasped as wild applause broke out.

“The Centrum has a smooth appearance, with armored plates and reinforced joints. Please note the height is eight feet, giving improved visibility on the walls; also note the miniaturized laser arrays in each wrist.” Lucy went on. “Boasting a full sensor suite and in-squad networking to allow for rapid redeployment!” She paused meaningfully as the Centrum took a combat stance, and both wrists snapped out into small shields. “Defensive mode is also available, as well as a complete melee combat proficiency courtesy of Remy!”

Lucy took a bow to the applause, and the new Centrum Model unit went over to stand at attention beside Remy, who was beaming.

Everyone returned to work after the presentation, with Lucy busy arranging the volunteers for the facilities building. People seemed excited and almost proud of the new units. More than one stopped and gave it an admiring glance as they went about their daily tasks.

Nellie herself was connected to the actual unit and learning how it worked. Her new command and control implant gave her direct access to the new units, as her AI made them. Each one had simplistic AI that Lucy had built based on her examinations of the other synthetic’s programs. They were able to access and react but were not in any way conscious. Nellie had insisted on that. Machines rather than a slave race. It was dodgy enough to build centurions without adding the nascent awareness that always caused the cycle to repeat. While she was eager to get back into space, she didn’t want to change her name to Odama; thank you very much.

“Uh, Boss?” Dar and Vey approached Remy meekly. “What do these new units mean for us?” Dar asked.

“Yeah, I mean, are we out of a job?” Vey added.

“Never!” Remy smiled like a shark and placed a hand on each of them. “You boys just got a promotion! A squad of your own.” He winked at them. “My first Sargents!”

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

“The first waves of creatures have hit the cities with minimal impact,” The officer read directly from his pad. “No losses were sustained within. However, our sensors in the outer ranges have picked up movement on land and in the air. Further, our coastal sensors report extreme water level drops, suggesting the waves will make landfall soon. The last of the large animals are now headed inland.”

Ahern listened to the report with only half his usual attention; the larger portion of his mind was focused on watching the transfer orders on his pad report as issued and complied with. By the time this idiot was done telling them what they could easily see on the massive map behind him, the orders would all have been carried out.

He had been worried this morning when Danforth didn’t greet him with quite the same warmth as usual that something had happened to alert the man to his plan. If he learned of the transfers too soon, he could have tried to prevent them. Watching the last order report back as issued and complied with, he smiled and tossed the pad down on the table. It was done. By the end of the shift, he would have his people in place, just in case.

In the meantime, Ahern turned back to the officer and dismissed him with a curt wave.

“We are going to face a trying time, ladies and gentlemen,” He told the assembled command staff, over half of which were now issued reassignment orders, “Some of you will be sent to the other cities to oversee things on the ground but rest assured, we are all in this together.”

He dismissed them after the usual chorus of ‘Yes, Sir’ and waited for Danforth to come and complain about the reassignment of his people.

Eight hours later, he was still waiting as Prit-Mal brought in the daily reports. Ahern was actually pleased to see her after a day of welcoming his officers back to the Hub and putting up with the boot-licking they did. It was also an opportunity to see what was going on with Danforth; he knew she worked with him several times a day, relaying reports, and even commanded a security detachment. It was a rare honor for a local recruit, but he was not surprised. Prit-Mal was a model officer.

“Officer Prit-Mal,” He smiled, eyes carefully avoiding her scales, “How has your day been?”

“Productive, Sir.” She said smartly and saluted.

“Good,” Ahern fiddled with the pad a moment. “A lot of new faces today; I trust none of them gave you a hard time?”

“No, Sir,” Prit-Mal said immediately.

Ahern would be willing to bet that was not true, but not complaining was to her credit. They would learn to respect her in time, he was sure.

“Good,” He smiled his most earnest smile. “I hope Danforth didn’t take his bad mood out on you. I am sure this was all a bit of a headache for him.”

“Not at all, Sir.” Prit-Mal said, “In fact, he seemed almost happy with the situation.”

“Did he?” Ahern frowned, “That’s good.”

“I suppose so, Sir,” Prit-Mal said meaningfully.

“You understand, as always, Officer Prit-Mal,” Ahern leaned back and dismissed her.

Once she was gone, he pulled up his console, took a quick look at the recent activity in the command net, and immediately noticed the problem. No wonder the bastard hadn’t been angry. One thing in particular grabbed his attention.

“Get Prit-Mal back in here right now!” He called over his comm.

“You called for me, Sir?” Prit-Mal asked barely five minutes later.

“Yes,” Ahern replied sternly. “I wanted to talk to you about your recent change in privileges.”

“Yes, Sir.” Prit-Mal saluted. “I intended to come and thank you once my shift was over; it would not have been proper to do so on duty, Sir!”

“Thank me?” Ahern hesitated. “Who do you think changed your rating, Officer?”

“I thought you had, Sir.” Prit-Mal frowned.

“No,” Ahern felt himself relaxing slightly; she did not apparently know who her benefactor was, “It was Danforth.”

“Again, Sir?” Prit-Mal almost winced.

“I think you had better explain, Officer,” Ahern said severely.

“It’s just that…” She looked uncomfortable.

“Go on, Officer,” Ahern ordered. “Permission to speak freely.”

“Yes, Sir.” Prit-Mal still hesitated but went on. “It is just that the Chief Sec. has repeatedly asked me to refer to him by his first name, Sir. In defiance of regs. He has also added multiple commendations to my file, Sir.”

“And?” Ahern frowned. “I fail to–” He stopped. “Ah, he is perhaps interested in you in a non-professional way?”

“I really couldn’t say, Sir,” Prit-Mal said, but a slight blush told him all he needed to know. “He has been very complimentary of my abilities, Sir.” She finished.

“I imagine it might create difficulties for you should this increase in privileges be misunderstood by the more recent arrivals,” Ahern said kindly. “However, I do see a solution.” He tapped a few buttons, “There we go, Senior Officer Prit-Mal. Promotion with my name attached in light of your clear dedication to duty.”

“Thank you, Sir!” She straightened visibly, almost glowing with pride.

“It is nothing more than you deserve, Officer,” Ahern said magnanimously. He was well aware she would remember his aid, no matter what he said. “Dismissed.”

“Sir!” Prit-Mal marched away while Ahern congratulated himself.

Another loyalty secured.

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

“Open the door, or I’m having Tiny rip it off!” Lucy kicked Paren’s shed door with a booted foot.

“Not exactly subtle?” Nellie suggested.

“Piss off!” Paren yelled back.

“Paren, we really need to know what you are working on,” Nellie tried. “It’s time to start planning how to get off this rock!”

“And?” The tone was sulky, but she was listening.

“And,” Nellie rolled her eyes, “We need to know what you have been up to in order to take it into account.”

“Yeah, but you have to promise not to take anything off me,” Paren said stubbornly. “Even if you don’t like it.”

“Tiny would be quicker,” Lucy pointed out.

“What are you? My evil stepmother or something?” Paren sneered through the door. “Go suck a power plug!”

“She knows I can punch through this door, right?” Lucy said archly.

“New plan,” Nellie winked at Lucy. “We’ll just have to plan without taking her stuff into account. It means longer here, and she won’t be able to bring anything with her, but what else can we do?”

“I suppose,” Lucy sighed theatrically while grinning. “Oh, well, it would have been nice if she could bring things with her.”

“Do you guys think I’m a child?” Paren laughed through the door. “I stopped falling for that when I was six!”

“It’s cute that she thinks we’re bluffing,” Nellie said as they started to walk away.

“Right?” Lucy chuckled. “She will still sulk when she can’t bring her stuff.”

The message icon blinked on Nellie's HUD, and she opened it to see a note from Paren.

Kiss my tail!

“Well, that’s mature,” Nellie laughed. The icon lit again.

Fine. You can come in, but only if you promise to let me explain.

“See, now I’m legitimately worried,” Nellie frowned.

“How bad could it be?” Lucy smiled.

It turned out that the ‘shed’ was less a shed than it was a collection of wood over a hole in the ground. A sloping ramp lined with some sort of bricks descended steeply below ground level. The only thing in the shed was a mass of wires connected to a small box next to the door.

“That is actually kind of impressive,” Lucy said as she admired the work.

Nellie blinked, stepping outside the shed for a second before laughing and walking back in. When you were outside, the wire coils made it look like the shed was full of things, including Paren herself.

“Faking the magnetic and electrical fields of her body is pretty cool,” Nellie admitted. “Did you ever think she was doing it?”

“No,” Lucy sighed. “This is my first teenage drone.”

“Hah!” Paren’s voice came from the little box.

“It won’t work on me again,” Lucy insisted.

“Next time, I’ll just come up with something better then!” Paren’s laugh was gleeful.

“Come on,” Nellie said as she started down the ramp, “I kind of want to see what else she has down here.”

The ramp terminated in a tunnel that was lined with the same strange bricks. Following it, they found a midsized room absolutely packed with tech in various stages of being built or taken apart, but the only light came through a steel door in the far wall. Nellie could recognize the parts for Paren’s turret laid out on the table, and there seemed to be at least five more turrets stored on a rack against the side wall. There was also an oversized set of armor with some bizarre-looking additions and tools arranged around it on the floor. Stepping past the rough wooden desk piled with gear, Nellie opened the door, stepped into the room, and screamed.

“Don’t hurt Per-Chi!” Paren threw herself in front of Nellie and pushed the pistol up. “You promised I could explain!”

“It’ll attack!” Nellie grabbed Paren and dragged the teen behind her, leveling her weapon again.

“It’s my drone!” Paren squealed, and Nellie felt her blood run cold.

“Explain quickly!” Nellie felt herself shaking slightly as she looked across the room at the form crouched back in the corner. “And you better have a bloody good reason why I am now in a room with a fucking Abomi-Toad!”