Cutlass Sharpened (49 page)

“
What is wrong?”
Sparky came running into the med bay searching for
what caused her to fear so greatly. Seeing nothing, his body dimmed
to shiny forest green.
“Renee? Speak to
me!”

His mental shout jarred her out of shock and
she stumbled for a few words before settling down into her desk
chair. “Why now?” she asked herself. “Why did it do that to my chip
and not before?”

A Drake hissing is a sound
one cannot ignore and she looked up to a last take notice of his
presence.
“Talk. Now.”

“
If you read me it will be
faster.”

He did and took a few
moments before saying
“Your device must
work like Oliver’s. His did something similar in one of Stephanie’s
experiments. You wanted to see what it did to you, but you didn’t
use your chip before you slept for such a narrow requirement. For
something solid”
His talon flicked the
black bracelet which clinked like solid metal
. “to pass through your skin means it had to be broken down to
the micro level. Your need to see what it did inside must have
known your chip was inefficient to show conclusive proof of its
ability. Take the coms he’s made. They are much smaller and have no
limit reach, even Jessica and all her skills can detect an end.
Your object did the same with your chip. I can see through your
eyes and never has your chip been so clear. The zoom function alone
can see atoms in the scan. It must have fully integrated your own
brain’s processing power into a cohesive melding of human and
technology. Look there in the synaptic response, the crystal
particles work like organic neurons to pass along the synaptic
firing.”

“
I see it, now that you
point it out.” Her gaze narrowed. “So you’re saying it would have
left my chip alone had I not desired to see how it colored my
face?”

“
Far as I can
surmise.”

“
I can handle that. Sparky,
keep me calm while I do a few things.”

“
Very well. Sit on my arm
and lean on me. It always helps us both to touch.”

Renee go up and sat on his arm as he laid
down. Renee closed her eyes and enjoyed the connection she and
Sparky shared, plus the lasers from the hovering ball were annoying
her sight. She detailed the scan to her own face to realize
“Sparky, it increased the blood flow around my lips to darken them,
but the blush and eyeliner were darkened by the dermis in the skin
itself. Like a tattoo of sorts. It just reprogrammed the cells
coloring in those areas.”

“
Attempt to remove a single
freckle to find if it is dermis altering.”

“
How about I break up this
big one I’ve always hated on my right shoulder. If I can make it
smaller like the rest is sprinkled it’ll be less noticeable as a
birthmark.” Renee willed her long sleeve to open around her right
shoulder and felt the change. She looked at it and found the lasers
scanned the freckle and around it. Another series of lasers were on
her bracelet that soaked back in and traveled up her arm. Before
her eyes she watched the largest birthmark on her body seemed to
break apart like continents and turn to tiny, cute freckles. “It
did alter the dermis. It acts like nanites, but these are so tiny
and responsive… I don’t know how to explain it away. Hold on… look
at my bones.” Her focus went to the anomaly the scan picked up. Red
highlighted areas throughout her entire skeletal
structure.

“
What is it?”

“
I think… no way. Look, some
of the bracelet pieces are making the outer wall of my bones more
dense and even made an outer hollow ring. Look, that is my marrow,
but there is a widening gap those things are making. What the hell,
the outer layer’s bone density is twice my normal…”

“
Netul explained you’ll be
able to store cures and poisons. It makes sense to store in bone,
outside marrow which produces blood and is safeguarded from
fracturing. The object’s programming must be highly advanced to do
what it is doing inside you without intent. Are the hollow areas
storing anything?”

Renee altered scan parameters and levitated
her injector to pierce the bone and gain a sample which she didn’t
even get up to get analyzed. It only took a minute and she said
“Raw plasma without my DNA… How can that be?”

“
You’ll be making universal
solutions to patients. No DNA means no rejection to the patient’s
system. Try imagining through the chip the chemical makeup of
endorphins and see how it collects.”

Visually she saw a three dimensional
representation of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers and
euphoric drug. A shaving that the human eye could not detect on the
bracelet entered her body and traveled up into her pituitary gland
to gathers the chemicals, took a vein to travel to the nearest
bone, her skull, and an opening allowed the collected to pass into
the plasma solution. But Renee and Sparky watched through her
readouts as the particles started doing something to the
endorphins. She then began to see how the solution condensed and
started gathering in one place. “It’s concentrating my endorphins
by over a thousand percent. I’ll only need one one-thousandth the
same quantity I’d normally synthesize and it’s still gathering
gradually.”

“
Try seeing how far it can
multitask. Go to the adrenal glands on your kidneys.”

“
On it.” A few more shavings
did as the previous. “Sparky, do you mind being a test
subject?”

He gave his consent and bit
his own tongue. Renee took what endorphins already been gathered
and a needle thinner than the eye could see stabbed the tongue from
the bracelet.
“My entire tongue has gone
numb. Perhaps you should collect all the solutions you know of and
test their strengths on animals. Preferably mice I may enjoy eating
if you accidently kill them.”

“
Sorry about the tongue.
I’ll whip up a counter for it. You do have to admit, this can come
in handy. I won’t lose it without the entire arm being cut off and
I can keep making more.” She got up and synthesized a counteragent
so his tongue was no longer numb.

They talked about it, but Renee let her chip
show every medical cure’s composition flash by and her bracelet
sent an adequate amount to start gathering and storing without the
fear of taking too much her body needed to thrive on. When every
known cure and combination was shown, six microns of her bracelet’s
thickness was constantly inside her working nonstop. Volatile cures
were stored in separate bones of her body so as to not combine with
others and damage her own physiology.

Oliver returned about fifteen minutes later
with her breakfast and told him all about how she learned her
bracelet did and he was glad she was so excited. No matter the
situation, she’d be ready for any emergency. The only thing she
added into herself was extra nanites, but not before her bracelet
took hold of them first and made them better.

“
My, don’t we look sexy
today?” Jessica sauntered in to find Renee finishing her breakfast,
sitting between Oliver’s legs.

Renee winked. “Watch this.” She got up and
her clothes transformed to a sexy blue dress with a short skirt,
and classy high heels. Then she altered the shape and color as well
as her heels adding fishnet stockings.

She put on a quick fashion show.

“
No fair!” Jessica stomped
her foot in outrage. “That’s SO cheating! I want one set to change
to the occasion!”

Renee ran her hand over her curvy body. “I’m
so sorry.”

“
You whore.”

“
Skank.” Renee sneered right
back.

“
Cunt.”

“
Tramp.”

“
Bitch.”

“
You insufferable little
harlot.”

“
You say the nicest things.”
Renee changed back into pants and a shirt. “Good morning,
Jess.”

“
Bah. So aside from cheating
in
every
way
possible, I take it you had a good night?”

“
The best. The first date
wasn’t a fluke. So are you coming?”

“
Where are we going?”
Jessica took a seat Renee dropped from the ceiling.

“
Back to Galicom to get the
visa renewed.”

Jessica sputtered as she let
it sink in. “Like hell you’re going back! Jake said you’re keeping
your freckled ass on this ship. You worried us greatly
already.
Forget
it.”

“
Oh, I’m definitely going
back. I’ve got a score to settle, but I’m not going alone this
time. Sparky and Rose already plan to accompany us. Besides, you
need more therapy to get used to the alterations done to your
body.”

“
Jake said…”

“
Papa said to get me back
aboard and I am. You know how I get when I leave business
unfinished. I’m just as stubborn as the next Dorgen.”

“
Speak for yourself.
I’m
hardly
stubborn. You get it all from Jake, not me or your grandmother
on my side… But I do need more therapy though.” Jessica knew
fighting would not solve anything and gave in, but not without a
compromise. “I’ll go on the condition Steph and Stone tag
along.”

“
Stone’s back?” Oliver
asked.

“
Yeah, Stone returned after
you two were slapping skin between the sheets.” Jessica winked her
hazel gaze and Renee smiled lazily, winking right back. “He and
Satellite came back to give Abdul something from Jake. He, Steven
and Visor are still doing something on-world, I don’t know what
exactly. But my big brother’s always been that way.”

Renee sipped on some really
strong coffee. “Sure, if it’ll make you happy. Better
change
clothes, Auntie.
We’ll be leaving in about an hour.”

“
Keep rubbing it in, Kid.
I’ll find a way to get you back. Tell me to go change clothes.
Bah!” Renee giggled at the comment and they hugged. “I’m glad all
is well, Sweetheart. I missed seeing your catty side. Oliver’s
obviously brought you back to the playful minx I sculpted since you
were born. I’ll be ready.”

After she left, Oliver tapped his ear “Stone,
you busy?”

“
Just exercising, Brother.
I’m glad you and Ms. Dorgen are safe. I’ve been briefed of your
excursion and am impressed.”

“
Well if you’re up to it,
want to head back down?” Oliver gave the details of Renee’s need to
go back.

“
It will be exciting then.
Satellite and I are in. We’ll meet in an hour.”

They ended the conversation and Oliver kissed
the flower print on her neck. “Hey, can you change your tattoo
too?”

“
Don’t see why not, but I’m
not going to right now.”

“
Just a thought.” The matter
dropped.

Stone arrived with the falcon Satellite
perched on his shoulder and immediately they found Oliver spinning
and dancing with the curved cutlass of darkness imbued with
starlight. Leaning against the shuttle was Renee playing with a
plasma ball between her fingers, eyes ever so faintly glowing.
Sparky and Rose sat watching him closely inside the open cargo
hold. Seeing Oliver practicing had Stone’s own inner warrior
awakening. His large gauntlet covered hands itched and he grabbed
his overlarge hatchets. “Brother, care for a quick match?”

“
Didn’t you just come from
exercising?” Oliver asked as he moved slow and precise, training
muscle memory into his body.

“
Doesn’t mean it’s as
beneficial as a fight to keep ones reaction time honed.”

Oliver wiped his brow and stood tall. “Sure
then. Least till Stephanie and Jessica get here.”

“
Fine by me.” Stone drew his
primary weapons and made them crackle with energy so as to not have
them destroyed in the upcoming exchange. Energy created enough of a
barrier to block the innate sharpness of the cutlass. He crouched
and tightened the grip of his hatchets. Satellite glided over to
watch from the single mast of the shuttle.

Oliver stood tall and grasped the hilt in
both hands, a snug fit for a hand and a half blade. He closed his
eyes, took a deep steadying breath and centered himself.

Ready, Stone’s helmet snapped into place and
closed the distance to chop horizontally and underhand. Instead of
stepping back like most would react, Oliver stepped into and lifted
his right foot to snap kick Stone’s elbow aside to negate the
underhanded chop as the sword knocked the horizontal strike aimed
for his middle up. Stone dropped his right shoulder and drove it
into Oliver’s middle and he fell back hard, but not before Oliver
was sending his feet in Stone’s chest and kicking the black man
over. Stone rotated and landed on his feet to find Oliver rolling
with the tackle and flipped around with an acrobatic twist. Oliver
drove the sword through the narrow space of the aquamarine hatchet
and handle to wrench it with a hard twist. Stone, in all his
strength, could not hold it being twisted in such a way without
breaking an arm in the process. But Oliver wasn’t done yet as he
grabbed the freed handle and now brandished a sword and axe. Stone
flipped a wrist and out shot a thin dagger from the sleeve.

They exchanged blow after blow and Oliver
loved how it felt to move and engage a worthy adversary. Metal
clanged and sparked in rapid exchanges, but neither went for the
obvious killing blow. Stone eventually reclaimed his stolen
hatchet, but lost the dagger.