Page 32 of The Program

That was why I had chosen to hide away by myself. I needed to plan. I didn’t even know where they had taken the children yet, let alone how I was going to get in and out with so many kids all on my own.

Then there was the small issue of my new abilities. I hadn’t tested my control over them yet, nor did I have any information about my limits or needs in order to do what I had done in the facility again. If I was going on this mission solo, then I’d need the protection of the metal layer over my skin at the very least, but if I could somehow manage to recall that forcefield again it would make things a lot easier. I could just surround myself and the kids behind the shield to keep us all safe if we were attacked. The problem,however, was that I had yet to attempt to control my new upgrades. I had no clue if it was even possible. Last time could have simply been a fluke brought on by my nanites responding to the high stress of the situation.

It was something I’d have to play around with once I knew where I was going.

The other worrying issue was how in the hell I was going to carry over two dozen children, the majority of which didn’t know me or had any reason to trust me, out of whatever facility they were being kept in and onto the ship. And once that had been achieved, how was I going to fly away without anyone the wiser?

I’d thought my plan to go undercover at Nova Academy was insane and impossible, but this beat even that.

I couldn’t even disguise myself anymore. They would surely know my face by now, and if they didn’t then they would likely have some other way to identify me. If they’d managed to obtain the security footage of me at the Entario Waystation then I wouldn’t put it past them to have the ability to track me like that again.

Solve one problem at a time,I told myself in an effort to make things seem a little more manageable. I’d achieved the impossible once, albeit with quite a few bumps in the road, but I was successful all the same.

Deciding to ignore what I couldn’t control just yet and focus on what Icoulddo, I made a vague plan to see through while I was still planet-bound.

First, I had to fix the ship. No problem. That was something I could do easily enough.

Second, I needed to play around with my newfound abilities to determine how to use them effectively, and not just for the mission. If I could figure it out then I could protect the group long-term as well.

Third, once the ship was up and running, I could continue figuring out issue number two while also digging into The Program’s databases to determine the location of the kids.

Simplified, it didn’t seem so daunting. It also gave me a place to start so I wasn’t sitting around with my thumb up my ass like a dolt while everyone was watching and waiting for me to progress with the mission.

Unsurprisingly, they were all very eager to get their babies back. I understood their impatience. Baldr was a constant motivation in the back ofmy mind. There wasn’t a tick that went by where I wasn’t thinking about him, and he wasn’t even biologically mine.

Despite helping Libby raise him, we decided early on that I would take on the ‘aunt’ role. Yes, I was helping her raise him, but I wasn’t his mother. I didn’t want to be, either. When we’d learned of my inability to have children of my own Libby had offered to let me unofficially adopt Baldr and raise him as ours, but I’d declined. Adopting a child wasn’t exactly an unappealing concept, but my feelings on the matter were still too raw. I’d resolved to revisit the subject once I’d process my feelings, but pregnancy had always been a dream of mine.

Libby and I had spent many turns imagining our bellies rounded with our babies. Even though I now knew the likelihood was practically non-existent I couldn’t get rid of the image. It was burned into my brain after so long wishing for it.

After all the failed attempts The Program had made to impregnate me, it was clear the nanites coursing through my veins had gone rogue and were unprogrammable. The first attempt had been the most successful. For a few short days I had an embryo growing inside my womb, up until the nanites killed it. Apparently the growth was too much like the cancer they had originally eradicated so they destroyed it. After that, they learned that the semen was the cause of the growths and killed the sperm off before it could even reach the egg.

So despite my fertility, I was in possession of the universe’s most effective andpermanentcontraceptive. No babies for me.

I had been through the emotions of that discovery already. When I’d lost the baby the first time I’d been distraught, but feeling sorry for myself wouldn’t solve the problem. It wouldn’t fix me. This was my reality now. I wasn’t barren, but I may as well have been.

Shaking off my solitary pity party, I refocused on my plan. Standing back up, I patted Dave on his large, wrinkled, leathery head and thanked him for being my sounding board, then I made my way over to where Libby and Francesca had their heads bent so close together I almost felt as if I were interrupting something a little more…intimate.I said almost because I didn’t really care. I wasn’t going to take up much of their time.

‘Hey Libs,’ I called to her, grabbing her attention. She jerked away from Francesca as if they’d been doing something wrong and turned wide green eyes on me. ‘I’m off to bed. I’ll be up early tomorrow to get a start on the ship.’

‘Oh, okay. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, Francesca,’ she said to the redhead beside her.

‘You can stay a bit longer if you want. You don’t have to come with me if you’re not ready,’ I told her.

She studied me contemplatively, then seemed to come to a conclusion. ‘You sure?’

‘Positive.’

‘Okay. Sleep well, A.’

I smiled at her and gave her a knowing look. She wouldn’t miss me tonight, not with Francesca giving her so much attention. ‘You too when you get there. Night.’

I felt her eyes on me for a little while after I’d turned and walked away, but I also felt the exact moment she returned her attention to her crush. It was obvious for me to see now, and if this evening was any indication then it seemed her feelings weren’t unrequited. I was happy for her.

There was an offshoot of the cave beside the tunnel Karmella and Driselle had claimed that Libby and I had claimed for ourselves. It wasn’t a tunnel, but more like a pocket within the rocks that expanded into a large cavern that we’d turned into a cozy little living space. We’d created two mattresses and pillows made from leaves and other spongey materials we’d scavenged from the forest floor. We were in the process of drying the hides of the small animals we’d insnared and consumed which we intended to sew together into blankets. There were inconclusive discussions as a group about whether it was worth it to go back to the facility to check for any supplies, but I was on the team that was firmly against it so we were collecting the hides for clothing purposes, too.

In the centre of the room there was a slightly raised platform we were currently using like a table, and there were other small pocket-holes dotted about the walls we planned to use for storage.

There was a lot more work to be done to make it into a proper home, but it was safe, it was warm, and it was mostly enclosed.

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