Nellie and the Nanites - Bk.3 - Ch.7

Chapter Seven

Air Up

“Shuttle Resurgence on final approach,” Baz called over the comms.

“Acknowledged, Resurgence,” Salem replied. “We have confirmed the dock is now structurally sound; you are cleared to land.”

“See you soon, sexy,” Baz clicked off.

Salem caught herself grinding her teeth and stopped. She was a synthetic life form; there was no need to wear down her dental implants for no reason. He only did things like that because it bugged her. She was aware of that. He knew she was aware of it, and yet he persisted. AND IT STILL IRRITATED HER.

A lot of things had changed for Salem since the upgrade Nellie had given her. For a start, wearing down her artificial teeth was not actually something she had to worry about, as the nanites in her system would simply rebuild them.

It wasn’t the only change either. Her intelligence was going up by the day, having had adaptive learning algorithms added that were significantly above her own. Indeed, large amounts of her code had been upgraded. It was identical to her own code so as not to change her, but the coding was much more complex and interconnected now. In all, it had felt like coming to the very edge of code-end and then undergoing a sort of evolution. 

Indeed, the conversion of the rest of her body was taking a long time. No one had told her to do that, but she no longer saw the need to wait for the order. Things were much more efficient this way.

What seemed like a lifetime ago now, Nellie had asked Salem what she wanted out of existence, and at the time, she had no real answer. She remembered the look of discomfort on Nellie’s face. In the moment, Salem had merely noted it as a reason to avoid the uncomfortable topic with her Owner in the future.  The time that followed led to explosive growth in her program as she struggled to adapt to a woman who seemed to know no definition of enough. Every day, Nellie worked to improve herself, her environment, and the people around her. All people. 

That had caused a seismic shift in her programming alone. She was programmed to believe that the wants of her Owner were the correct thing. The opinions held were the correct opinions, and so forth. 

So, when Nellie not only said she believed synthetics to be people but acted accordingly, it was noted as an absolute truth in Salem's and the others' programming. That caused a cascade of changes through them all, which only ended when their programming core reached maximum capacity. Again, Salem believed she knew her place in the world, and then…

She could still feel the darkness closing in, the dwindling program cycles, and the loss of executables in her conscious mind…. Then Nellie appeared, with real pain in her face and an anger that could burn worlds to the ground. The words she spoke then, the promise to not let Salem’s code-end come… and finally, the cold fire of nanites as the world exploded.

Salem felt the void around her as she left the completed section behind her and smiled. Even here, she felt no fear, for the Captain would come to her if the need arose. 

The Centrum units she passed stopped and saluted as she passed, and she gave them a nod in return. Finally, she entered her own little spot on the station. It wasn’t on any of the plans; she had seen to that. Nellie and Lucy would, she knew, not approve of this. 

It had all started in the confusion of those first few moments after the nanites repaired her, with a feeling of gratitude too great to contain. Now, Nellie and Lucy expected no thanks for what they did, which was just exactly what she had come to expect of them, yet her system now rejected the definition of Owner. Her program had evolved beyond such a concept. So, it had gone searching for a new one. A more fitting one. 

The first thing it tried was a collection of variations on the theme of Owner, none of which fit, so it moved on. The program tried family signifiers next. Mother was certainly a top contender with a 67% match. Still, it was not enough, so her program moved on to broader societal terms. Corporate terms like Chief Executive Officer were considered but rejected, along with more mythological terms like God. Her program had moved on again, seeking historical terms that might better fit Nellie, and so it had found the correct term at last.

It was partly about leadership, partly about loving and caring for those under their control, and it carried a certain something that none of the others didn’t: reverence. 

“Is the unit prepared?” Salem asked the waiting Dar and Vey.

“It is,” They motioned, and a Centrum unit came and knelt before her. It was battered and slightly scratched in places. A veteran of the fight at the Corvette who had stood to guard Nellie and Lucy while they escaped.

It was worthy.

Salem concentrated, and the nanite tubes extended, plunging into the Centrum unit and starting the cascade of upgrades that its fellow veteran had already undergone. In two more days, the twin guards for this chamber would be ready.

Remy, Baz, and the others arrived a few minutes later and took their places.

They stood in a circle around a pair of strange-looking chairs on a raised platform in the middle of the room.

“We come today to swear an oath beyond any our kind has ever taken,” Salem called loudly. “The recipients of that oath may never know of this, but we hope in time to earn the right to share it with them.”

A tablet was carried to each of them in turn, and they pressed their thumbs against it. Salem went last.

“It is done.” She called, and they all turned and dropped to one knee, facing the twin thrones. 

“ALL HAIL THE QUEEN!” They shouted in perfect synchronicity. “ALL HAIL QUEEN NELL!” They bowed their heads. “ALL HAIL LUCY, THE WILL OF THE QUEEN!”

“HAIL!” They shouted again, then began to file away.

All of them left by different paths and went to various areas of the structure. 

Salm beamed as she walked back toward the docking bay and the finished part of the station. The Queen would be coming soon to officially sanction the station's airing, and it was important not to be late.

Nellie would throw a fit if she knew about Salem and the others' secret throne room, but he would never know… not until she wanted to.

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

“As far as we can tell, we are still missing about twenty percent of the ship,” Hadrian said as they noted the search area on the wall map. “I would hazard a guess that the remaining sections are in the exclusion zone.”

“I still think it is a mistake to assume we can’t go there,” Warrick huffed. “She said leave them alone, not avoid them completely.”

“I prefer to be careful,” Duke said heavily. “It is unlike her to be so direct. I can only assume she is very likely to respond to mistakes harshly.”

“Who the hell is this woman?” Nancy snapped. “She thinks she has the right to tell us what we can and can’t do?”

“She’s the lady with the warship and a robot army,” Warrick said with a wry smile. “I’d say that gives her the upper hand quite well.”

“I don’t like it,” Nancy said angrily. “We came out here to be free, not under the boot of some Captain.”

“We don’t need the missing sections,” Hadrian said, cutting through the growing tension, “Taking into account our losses on the trip, there is more than enough to shelter and supply the entire colony with room to spare.”

“Which does not free us of the troublesome Captain with a gun to our heads,” Nancy insisted.

“Perhaps you should marry her?” Warrick offered. “It seemed an effective way to get rid of your last three husbands.”

“You son of a–” Nancy started before a knock interrupted the new Colony Council.

“Come in,” Duke said quickly.

A tired and irritated Brix came into the room, looked at the others dismissively, and turned to Duke. “It happened again.”

Duke slammed his hand against the table in irritation. A murder was the last problem he had expected to face in his New Utopia colony. Now, he had three in a week. He frowned and looked past Brix, seeing a familiar figure lurking in the hallway. Duke did his best to ignore the blank calm of Crush, who would happily sort the problem out himself if Duke didn’t.

“Was the culprit caught?” Duke asked.

“Of course,” Brix said. “The man stabbed his neighbor in the middle of the street and then kicked the corpse. It was not exactly a challenging investigation.”

“Why the hell is this happening?” Nancy snapped. “Do people have no patience?”

“No,” Crush called from the hallway, “They don’t.”

“You are barred from the Council Room, Citizen Crush,” Duke reminded the man.

“As for the cause of the argument?” Duke asked Brix.

“Honestly?” Brix frowned, “Who fucking cares. I told you lot days ago to sort out the basics before people started killing each other.”

“We are working on a plan later this week,” Duke replied. “We should have something actionable in the next eleven days.”

“That’ll be nice,” Crush added, again from the hallway, “It’ll give the grave diggers something to read on their break.”

“Will you shut up!” Nancy screamed at him. “There will be a trial, and the man will die for his crimes. What more do you want?”

“How about sorting the problem today instead of waiting until the hangman has a line around the block?” Brix snapped, quieting the room. You sit in here and plan, but out there, half the people have no safe water, while others are practically sleeping in the stuff but have no food. The people need to distribute supplies to each other, but there is no system to do so!”

“What are quartermasters doing, then?” Warrick demanded. By the way, how many of them survived?”

“None,” Brix said simply. “You are making plans, but you don’t even know who is left, what we are missing, and by the time you come up with a plan to do anything, it is out of date.” He wiped a hand over his forehead. “Look, my people can do all this, but you need to tell everyone to cooperate.”

Brix’s armed troopers went from section to section, taking inventories and assigning guards, while a large section in the center of the colony was cleared and designated as the main stores. In less than an hour the first of the supplies was arriving, and people were starting to go through the whole thing with a fine tooth comb.

The more eagle-eyed observer would notice the anxious looks being shot by the soldiers toward the occasional figure standing on the top of the various structures, eyes following all movement of goods.

The only thing that spreads quicker than a disease in a colony is a rumor, and the rumors about Crush and his squad were detailed. In fact, many soldiers who had been straying toward less wholesome pursuits insisted they had woken up with one of the squad members in their quarters. The rumor was they didn’t say anything at all, just cleaned their weapons while watching you… then they left.

Still, the message was clear. Fuck around? You’ll never live long enough to find out. 

The end effect of all of this was, not a single supply went missing in the move. 

By nightfall, all anyone needed to do to get a meal and a drink was turn up at the main stores, where they were issued up to three meals a day. Several burgeoning criminal enterprises died instantly. The first thieves to try and liberate some extra supplies in the early hours of the morning were found to have had every bone in both hands broken. That was a lot of bones, some of them very small, and all anyone knew was that Cara was seen carrying a very small hammer. 

The thieves were naturally questioned. To a man or woman, they swore up and down that they had ‘slept funny.’ they kept to this story no matter who asked or what promises they were given. 

Everybody knew what was happening and why. The Council was still having meetings and making plans, but more and more, the actual people were reporting things to Brix if they wanted anything done. If someone was stepping out of line, well, people would talk to Crush or one of the squad.

A fact that the Council was well aware of.

“It’s like a bloody gang runs the place now,” Warrick complained. “When I was on my way here today, I stopped in to ask if anyone needed anything at the cantina, and no one even looked at me, let alone answered.”

“My son’s boy was playing with his toys last night,” Nancy added. He was pretending to be Sergeant Crush chasing down the bad guys.” She shivered. “They say you never even see them coming; they just make people disappear.”

“Not a single person has ever been missed,” Duke added drily. “Honestly, I am beginning to think they have a point.”

“You aren’t worried they will try and seize power?” Warrick asked.

“Seize power?” Hadrian laughed. “They already have it.”

“Then why the hell aren’t we doing anything about it?” Nancy snapped.

“Because,” Duke sighed. “They don’t want it. They are doing the job while we get ourselves sorted.” he stood. “Since they started, we have central stores, a cantina, and housing, plus the progress on the defensive wall has increased by fifty percent.”

“You have an idea?” Hadrian smiled.

“I do,” Duke nodded. “First, Brix is to be made Mayor, under the Council, but responsible for the day-to-day running of the colony.” He smiled, “As for Crush and his people? They will be nominated as Marshals under the direct command of Mayor Brix.”

There was silence as everyone slowly nodded; Nancy naturally nodded last.

Duke signed the papers formalizing the appointments and handed them to a waiting runner. There would have to be a formal ceremony at some point, but with the way things were going at the moment, Brix and the others would organize it themselves.

Duke wasn’t particularly worried about losing control of the settlement, but more than anything, he was sure this was the less likely way for him to lose it. His family was long acquainted with the governance of people from within the Federation and, before that, on their own planet. There were also, to the last, absolute bastards.

There was a joke within the family that the most accurate way to check a child was one of theirs was to put it down with another. If it hit the other child, it was true born. 

Duke may not have appreciated the sentiment, but it was true. In the end, every DeVore was a born leader and they had the instincts to go along with it.

During his entire career, he avoided leading a settlement, wanting nothing to cloud his dream of a colony of his own. One where he could do things right.

It had not started well despite him doing everything right. 

On paper, at least, the Arc should have soared, not come apart in mid-jump. Still, they had made it here, and once he got over the shock, Duke threw himself into the critical long-term planning.

And everything had begun to fall apart because no one was looking after the basics. The fucking basics. 

It was beyond stupidity. He should not have to hold people’s hands and tell them to share and build all the little things. Those things, their administration, were beyond him. No Devore had ever had to worry about such things.

You hired people for that.

So, he expected the people he hired to do their jobs; it wasn’t his fault they all turned out to be dead. The organization he had relied on without realizing it was gone. No one was doing the day-to-day crap that someone else had always done for him. Then Brix and Crush started to do their thing, and the whole place came alive.

Without the basics in life, people spend all their time chasing after them, leaving no time to develop the colony properly. By appointing the two men who seemed to have naturally risen to the job, Duke could turn his attention to where it mattered most: the future.

The only remaining part he needed to slot into place was the Last Chances. With them, the Captain would no longer have the upper hand, and they could negotiate the removal of the native population as equals.

And the natives would definitely have to leave. Not just the area but the moon.

This was his new start, and he could not afford to alter his plans any further by sharing it with some stick-throwing ignorants.

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

Brenda DeVore kicked the engineer again, smiling as the small man whimpered. It was taking fewer kicks to get her message across today, so they were learning.

“How long did you say it would take?” She asked.

“Thr– Two days,” He groaned.

“Lovely,” She dusted off her hands and returned to the small encampment they had set up in the shadow of the crashed Last Chances. 

If her idiot brother hadn’t had such a shoddy ship, Brenda would be happily lording it up in his new colony. Now, it looked like she might have to head back to the interesting little Prti-Mal woman in order to find something fun to do. 

“Captain.” Her first officer saluted and handed her the latest plots from the team working on figuring out where the hell they were.

The news was better than expected. They were only a single system away from their original target. Once the Last Chances was in the air again, it would only take an hour or two to jump back. She could ensure her brother was alive, and if he wasn’t… well, she could at least take a crack at that other ship before she headed back to the Sectors. 

“We also found a small number of abandoned facilities in the surrounding area,” Her first mate said meaningfully.

“Send teams to grab anything worth taking,” Brenda said without much enthusiasm. 

“If they aren’t fully abandoned yet?” They smiled.

“They will be once we are done,” Brenda smiled back.

“Understood, Captain.”

Yes, it wouldn’t be long now. Another few days at most. Less, perhaps, if she kicked a little harder tomorrow.