Page 52 of Bonded

“Yes. Now. Double quick,” I said in a series of claps. “The bots need my help.”

I intended on scurrying after them, but Ruzan scooped me up in his arms and kept pace easily beside Vryek, who led us to a quiet part of the ship.

I swore to myself that I would explore more the ship so that I knew where things were as confidently as everyone else. As if sensing my thoughts, Ruzan pressed a kiss against my temple.

The bots glowered in a series of harmonic tones that I translated as angry robot noises. Ruzan placed me on my feet, but insisted on holding me back until Vryek was able to observe inside first.

When I was finally able to go, I rushed in to see that Gizmo, Minion and Dash and few of the sidewinder bots corralled the intruder into a corner. For its part, the intruder was holding its own despite being outnumbered.

It had a piece utility arm, like Gizmo did, but it used one end of exposed live wire to zap at any bot that approached too closely. “How dare you!” I said, indignant that this stowaway would hurt my bots.

“Priya, stay back,” Vryek warned, keeping me away. “There is no telling what voltage that is kept at. Let me retrieve it.”

Ruzan draped a hand on my shoulder, as if half expecting me to charge through regardless of Vryek’s words. I was tempted, sure, but getting zapped didn’t sound like fun.

Vryek reached up to find a non-conductive container, and scooped the bot into it. It did not like being contained. The ship’s suspicions that this bot could have somehow triggered an unnatural heat cycle within me lingered in the back of my mind. I needed to make this quick.

I knelt down to address Gizmo. “Hey buddy, you doing okay?”

“Yes, Pilot-Priya. We have found the anomaly.” Then, he said a series of numbers and letters that I assumed was the intruder’s designation.

“Good job, Gizmo. I am proud of all of you. Say, would you happen to know how to make this bot go to sleep? As in, would you know how to make it, I don’t know, think it’s still doing its job without it actually doing anything?”

“Do you mean if it goes into a self-diagnostic mode?”

“Sure, that sounds good. How long would a good self-diagnostic mode take?”

“A few hours. Now that Pilot-Vryek has a hold of the bot, I would be able to override its default systems for you.”

After a few minutes, and a few attempted zaps, Gizmo was able to put the bot into a self-diagnostic mode.

“Good job guys, thank you.” They zoomed around, and headed off toward yet another system that needed their attention. Hopefully, now that this troublemaker was contained, they’d be able to fix the little sabotages throughout the ship’s systems.

Ruzan and Vryek’s faces were expectant, waiting for me to explain. “So the ship told me a funny story earlier. Spoiler alert, you’re not gonna like what I have to say.”

I was right. They hated every aspect of it, especially the part where the ship suspected that this bot could have triggered me.

“I want this filth launched into space,” Ruzan snarled.

“Until we know what information it gathered, it is best to keep it onboard,” Vryek countered.

“Exactly,” I agreed. “I don’t want to tip off its handlers that we know we carry a spy.”

Ruzan pressed his lips into a grim line. “That is a great point. After we decide its usefulness, then we shall crush it.”

“Of course,” I said, patting his arm reassuringly. “You can crush it into very satisfying bits.”

He huffed as if to say,I completely intend to.

“Okay, well, now that you all know, I need to tell the captain before he suspects something is wrong.”

A rumbling tremor rolled over the ship, shaking the walls. Ruzan grabbed me and held me against his body. I wrapped my arms around his torso, clinging to his steady presence. His footing was sure as he rode out the quake.

“You are safe, my Priya,” he said, a large hand protecting the back of my head.

With his heart beating beneath my cheek, nestled between both Ruzan and Vryek, I believed it.

Pilots: Report to the foredeck.

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