Page 71 of Scars & Starlight
CHANCE OF SUCCESS AGAINST TWO MILITARY-TRAINED PERSONNEL: 19%.
I wasn’t asking you, just talking to myself, but thanks, that’s super comforting.
YOU ARE WELCOME.
Ugh.
Do you know the plans for this building and what’s around it? Could you guide me to freedom?
ALL ON-OR-OFF WORLD SCHEMATICS TO MILITARY STRUCTURES MUST BE UPLOADED TO THE CENTRAL KNOWLEDGE BASE. ALL INFORMATION FROM THE CENTRAL KNOWLEDGE BASE IS KNOWN.
Okay. So far, so good.
Do we know if the general added features he didn’t report?
UNKOWN.
Great. Lovely.
I’m in,I tell my little tenants.Let’s do this.
We waitfor what my nanites tell me is evening and my daily nutrition shake – who knows how long I’ll be in the wild, foraging whatever the tiny robot mites tell me is safe for me and my baby. I eye the aliens who bring me my food. They look bored and sluggish. I bet they resent being posted here, having to keep an eye on a captured pregnant human woman. If they show any signs of being uneasy that I’m their new princess, I’m missing them. Pricks.
Once it gets a bit later and the day shift is surely done, I stand up and suit up. My shiny new armor covers every inch of my skin below my throat, and I wish I could’ve used it sooner. I didn’t want to tip my hand, though. Chances are that they don’t expect me to have military-grade nanites. A visor lowers over my eyes, displaying an overlay of stats I can’t read.
Any chances you could translate that?
The symbols shift into letters and numbers that make more sense to me. They even translated the measuring units into ones I’m used to.
Perfect. Let’s fry this bitch.
POSITION YOUR HAND OVER THE LOCK.
Right, right. I aim the aperture on the palm of my armor at the fancy-looking lock on my cell bars, made of an alloy similar to the Talon’s exterior.
UPON REBOOT, YOU WILL HAVE TWO HUMAN SECONDS.
Two seconds to open the door, get out, and close it back up? No biggie.
Understood.
I see the voltage climb with my stylish new glasses, going up into levels that make me wish I were standing further away. The smell of ozone permeates the air as crackling sounds come from the mechanism. Finally, the lights on the keypad blink twice before shutting off completely.
NOW.
I push the bars and scramble out of the cell that’s been my home for the last unpleasant few days, then close it behind me.
INCOMING HOSTILES. TWO AVAREN MALES.
My heart beats wildly at the prospect of violence, even though I expected it and thought I was prepared. But for my baby and my future with Kairen? I’m willing to bare my teeth.
As soon as the two males burst into the holding area, I’m on them, waiting next to the door in an ambush.
Only knock them out!I instruct my nanites.
STUN SETTING CONFIRMED.
I mimic Kai’s signature move, moving my palms to the side of the first male’s head, taking advantage of the element of surprise. He just starts turning when he goes down, almost bringing me with him. This gives the other guard time to realize I’m outside of the cell and raise his own weapon, and I let out a juicy curse. His eyes widen when he takes in my armor, and I duck and ram into him, a move hethankfully didn’t expect. We both go down, his back hitting the wall first, then his head, and I narrowly escape being headbutted on the recoil. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I use the guard’s dazed state to my advantage, placing my hands at his temples and ordering the nanites to knock him out.
