rikas marauders 06 - rika unlreased by M. D. Cooper

Author:M. D. Cooper [Cooper, M. D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Wooden Pen Press
Published: 2018-10-04T04:00:00+00:00

CHIPPED

STELLAR DATE: 12.23.8949 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Chusa District, Cerulean, Malta

REGION: Iberia System, Old Genevia, Nietzschean Empire

Alison heard random words fade in and out before her mind fully returned to consciousness. At first, they didn’t make sense, but after a while, she was able to piece them together.

“Active defenses…make…. Different. Maybe SMI-3? Found…port. Try…pline?”

The words twisted around, nearly forming meaning, then not, then coming back again.

Suddenly Alison realized what was happening, and tried to sit bolt upright, only to find that she couldn’t move. Seconds later, a voice came into her mind, sounding soft and gentle, but tinged with a note of humor.

<Shhhh, it’s OK. If you’re hearing this, that means someone tried to put a Discipline chip in you. Of course, that’s not gonna do bupkiss, but they’re gonna think it’s got you under their control.>

Now that her mind was mostly in order—barring the throbbing headache from what she suspected must have been an EMP of some sort—Alison realized that the person talking was Finaeus, the Transcend scientist who had upgraded the mechs to their Mark 4 versions.

<OK, on the lower right of your HUD, you’re going to see a new visual gauge.> As the recitation played, a caricature of Finaeus’s face appeared and winked at her. <This is your pain-o-meter. You can use my lovely mug, or you can just use a numerical gauge. I hope you use my face, that’d be hilarious.>

The words stopped for a moment, and Alison wondered if that was all, but then Finaeus’s recording said one more thing.

<You’re probably in serious shit if you’ve been chipped. Remember, you’re one badass mech, and whoever did this to you is gonna suffer bigtime. But play it cool. Make them think they have you under their control, and get the lay of the land before you make your move. OK, I’m done now, you can move again. Good luck.>

Alison wondered what she would have done without that gentle admonition to play it cool. She told herself that she probably would have, but she still appreciated Finaeus leaving the message to calm her nerves.

Like all the mechs in the Marauders, her greatest fear—the one she never spoke of—was being chipped again.

Stars, I sure hope he did this right.

With Finaeus’s message complete, she considered the ramifications of being captured by someone with the means to chip her, until she realized that speculation was pointless. She began to focus on the sounds in the room around her.

There was no telltale hum of a starship, but there was the sound of air movement. It didn’t seem like it was coming from a ventilation system, and as she concentrated, it became clear that it was the sound of wind blowing outside a window.

OK, I’m planetside.

After cycling her helmet’s optics a few times, she realized the reason she couldn’t see was because something was over her head. It was more than just a simple covering. It was blocking all EM, though, strangely, not sounds.

Of course, the secondary pickups on my arms…. That’s how I’m hearing.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.