His hand was shaking. His breaths were deep as he tried to steady himself. He didn't think he'd be so nervous about tying up loose ends, much less over something he fantasized about for months.
But he finally did it. He finally killed "himself". He was now the one and only Dr. Isar Archer. Him! Not this copy whose corpse was bleeding over the floor, in what was supposed to pass for some... professional clinic? It would have been offensive were it not another line in a long list of grievances upon his person.
It had taken some time to put himself back together in a sufficient manner, after his original crew had opted to betray him and give him another breathing hole in his skull. Of course, those idiots forgot basic anatomy and only damaged a single lobe, taking his collapse and shock as a sign that he was deceased. They also forgot that they left a renowned augmenticist like him in a decommissioning station for old drone units, during his maiden voyage as a S.C.R.A.P.P.E.R. Two marks against them for being so blind, but one mark against him for thinking corporate politics translated to on-site operations.
Unfortunately, the time he took was also time his doppelgänger had run amok; those bastard pirates even had the audacity to sell off his identity and samples of his spilled blood to make a quick buck, and some enterprising psychopath opted to his his good name to run wild! All his work, all his efforts... gone because someone wanted to ride on his coattails as long as they could. After all, it's his reputation on the line, not theirs!
Well. Fool me once, as they say.
He didn't even realize he was grinning until his comm-link started to beep. Of course, he was still grinning when he saw the message:
ETA: 24 minutes
Dock: Alpha-16
Advisement: Xenos vessel
Activate comms in event of snag
[Frequency Attached]
What wonderfully impeccable timing from his arranged transport! All of this was running like ancient clockwork, and was only more affirmation that he really did have what it took for this life. He just... had a mishap. Yes. Everyone stumbles the first time around. He just needed to get out of here, board this alien vessel, and a life of adventure awaited him!
...okay maybe a clever one-liner. He earned it. As a treat. He turned back to his double's cooling corpse and smoothed over his lab coat. "Well doc, if nothing else the diplopia's cured." Oh he was going to be chuckling over that one for a while. But there was one last thing he needed to do before he left. He gave a whistle. "Franklin! It's dinner time!"
A large, colorful creature walked in from the hallway on four legs, giving a deep grumble as it casually hopped over the desk. Oh, Franklin. A valued Ares creature, with his personal touch applied to increase its ability. To the average person, you couldn't even tell Franklin even had any augmetics, which was only a further testament to his expertise. As a bonus, Franklin was also an adorable cuddlebug. His best friend.
And right now, he was giving Franklin a treat. He was fairly certain the low-quality meat wouldn't upset the Ares' stomach.
It was... an experience watching a mirror clone of himself being devoured by his own pet. Seeing 'himself' being jerked around as the animal next to him tore off entire chunks and soaked the floor in so much blood. The lifeless gaze matching his own.
It could have easily been him in that position, when the pirates had their laugh at his twitching on the metallic floor of that facility. It was only his burning will to live and his unparalleled genius that allowed him to escape that fate. It made him think deeply on what he wanted to do with his life. Was the risk worth it? He could have found a safer vocation.
No. That would have been just as good as death. That feeling he felt when that ship took off the first time. His excitement when they went over the mission briefing, that sensation of having his own destiny in his own hands! He had felt like he was finally alive, like a man experiencing color and only then understanding how blind he was. He wanted that feeling again. He would have that feeling again.
This vessel he had contacted. This Neophron... it accepted his offer. He would regain that feeling aboard that ship.
It took roughly sixteen minutes for Franklin to fully devour the corpse. During that time, he opted to do everything he could to dismantle any chance of someone picking up where his copy had left off: Raiding the safe, deleting all the files on his workdesk, stealing all the identification, the works. While the idea of needing to build up his reputation from scratch was painful, it wouldn't be as painful as needing to rebuild himself from the brink of death. He'd deal.
There was a close call with a secretary asking for him, but he managed to ward her off by letting her take the day off. Her look of confusion and relief made him worried about what else his copy might have done wearing his face. Ah well, no need to worry about future slights anymore. Not after today.
He exited the office, turned around and slid a small needle into the door's control panel as it flashed gibberish. A second later, the door closed and the panel shorted out. Good. This would buy time before anyone discovered the pool of blood and a missing doctor. He gave a whistle as he spun on his heels to go down the hallway. "Franklin! Let's go."
The creature had been waiting outside the office after its meal, but wordlessly got up to follow him as he exited. He was so happy he even did a skip once in a while. "I'm telling you Franklin, things are looking up! Just our ride, and it's the wild life for us!"
There it was. Dock Alpha-16. There was the ship Dr. Archer's contact had mentioned (clearly just landed on the planet, judging by the blatant unease of all the dock workers), and the sight of it was making his heart race. The organic shape, its sleek black exterior, the lights that seemed like luminescence... the vessel was almost like a living creature of some alien ocean rather than a star-faring vessel. It fit none of the standard patterns in the Augustine Sector, and somehow a person managed to jury-rig enough human technology to get it operational? Oh, the things he could learn!
Even better, security hadn't raised a fuss just yet. It would appear that his doppelgänger's demise had either yet to be discovered or they were trying to keep things on the lowdown... that or they really didn't win any favors with anyone. Regardless of the reason, it meant he bought enough time to get out of here without incident.
"Hey! That you, doc?"
And as if the world could read his thoughts... he turned to face whoever spoke behind him. He didn't recognize any of the four figures behind him, but he did note their shoddy augmetics. They looked bad. Really bad. Judging by the irritated skin on some of the exposed connection ports, there were also rejection issues. But more importantly, all of them looked angry. He did his best to give a disarming smile. "Gentlemen! I'm afraid I don't know any of you. Have we met?"
The lead figure, eyes replaced with optics that had one lens cracked, spoke up. "What, no recognition? Don't remember putting this junk on us, then? We're going with that story then?" The frown on the man's face only deepened. "I'm shocked, doc. After you sweet-talked me into this half-baked chrome! Or do you swindle too many of us to keep track?"
Oh. Oh that insolent, reputation-ruining, incompetent... no. He was too close to trip on the finish line. He had to defuse this. "Oh. Um, well you see, that wasn't me. I would never give out such low-quality products. I'm afraid we're all victims here, but if you give me some time I could give you functional replacements-"
He was cut off by one of the other figures pulling out a handgun and aiming it at him. "We had a different idea in mind, doc." The other three pulled out various weapons of their own, followed by at least half a dozen other men coming out of cover with assorted blades and weapons. Two of them even had shotguns.
SHIT.
Franklin growled loudly, quickly looking ready to pounce. The doctor had to make a motion for his companion to not jump just yet; he was certain Franklin could kill them all, but killing them before any of them could take him out? Risky at this range. Worse, if he made a move to grab a gun then any one of the others could take him out before he managed it. He needed a distraction. Something to give him enough of an opening to make a break for the ship.
The ship. The comms, that's right. His contact seemed the type to be prepared. He'd just have to hope they were smart, too. He turned on his comms-link so the ship could hear his words. A twisted irony that he didn't need to feign a tone of fear. "Listen-gentlemen, listen. If you kill me, who's going to replace your broken augmetics? I can do it! Just give me a chance, we can get a med bay. Killing me won't solve anything!"
There were a few murmurs among the group before the leader shouted. "SHUT UP! No, we talked about this!" He walked up to Archer and pressed the barrel against the side of his head, eliciting an uncontrolled whimper from the memory of his wound. "This right here, doc? This fear? This is what I wanted. You sweet-talked me. You used me. You used us to make a quick buck, and dropped us in the street like broken drones! No. No you're done 'fixing' things. Now I'm gonna fix you." He heard the hammer of the pistol being pulled back. "Later, doc."
Then a deafening sound rung through his ears, shutting his eyes in panic. For a moment he thought he was shot again, but it quickly became apparent he was still alive. But when he opened eyes, he saw everyone around him looking terrified. What in the world wa-
"НЕЛЬЗЯ НАВРЕДИТЬ ДРУГУ!"
What in the world. Even he thought that was a robot at first that exited the Neophron, but then it hit him that the augmetics of that behemoth was just that old. Who would torture someone like that?!
"БЕРЕГИТЕ ДРУГА В БЕЗОПАСНОСТИ." The behemoth's voice sounded like a monster's roar filtered through a broken speaker. But a second later, the figure charged towards the closest figure at a greater speed than someone of that size should have. The shrieking of the armed men were drowned out by the sound of gunfire, only for that to be drowned out by a nightmarishly loud roar as the cybernetic being tore them apart like wet tissue paper. Their optics shone even through the splattering of blood on their chassis.
Wait. No, this is his chance. The man with the pistol was distracted.
He quickly elbowed the man with one arm, using the other to grab his pistol and immediately put two rounds into the nearest armed combatant. Franklin instantly followed up by lunging at one of the men with a shotgun, squelching and tearing noises silencing his screams. Panic firing took out another of their allies. He could use this panic.
"HEY! HE'S GETTING A-" There was a loud 'THUD' as the man suddenly disappeared under a cargo crate. The doctor could see the giant savior was no less angry. Even though he could hear all the servos and creaking of the machinery as they kept charging the screaming men, it seemed like all the small arms fire were utterly useless. He wanted a distraction, sure. But this was chaos.
His comms-link flared to life as a woman's voice spoke. "Reef's allies will cover you. Go."
Didn't need to tell him twice. He gave a whistle for Franklin to follow him, before going into a dead sprint towards the alien vessel. Any time he thought someone was even so much as glancing his way, he fired off a couple of shots. At the door of the Neophron, a Loni and a Zorga jumped out and charged at a crate, attacking someone who was apparently hoping to catch him by surprise. More odd creatures. It appeared the vessel was just full of surprises.
It didn't take long before the Loni and Zorga were running alongside him, making sure he and Franklin got to the ship before hopping in themselves. He leaned on a wall to catch his breath while looking to see how the cyborg was doing. He got his answer with the giant picking up one man and using him as a club against three others. The sheer amount of red from the impact told him everything.
"Cycling. Пeтp, come back." There was the woman's voice again, no doubt the 'Spinner' he had contacted. But sure enough, the moment she said that the behemoth turned around and ran at the ship so quickly he almost forgot he was saved by them. It was more shocking that the giant hopped through the door and managed a dead stop. "в!"
The door didn't shut so much as quickly closed like a wound healing, and before he knew it the ship was moving. It didn't jerk or shake like a car starting up; the movement was too fluid. Like Franklin chasing prey. What in the world was this ship?
Any further thoughts were derailed from the giant patting his shoulder with a finger. "Друг в безопасности. Хороший." Despite the creaking of the servos and the groaning of the weight, that pat was surprisingly gentle. He didn't think anything so large and brutish was even capable of that. It was... astonishing. It only piqued his curiosity even more. The construction of those augmetics were almost refined, in a grotesquely crude way. Like the person was treated as a component rather than a recipient.
The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to work on them. Not just a matter of pride, but as a matter of basic decency.
"Doctor Archer, I presume? Welcome to the Neophron." The voice distracted him as he turned around, and for a moment he wish he hadn't. It was a young girl in silk clothing of pink and white, but the frills on her outfit didn't hide her slave markings. Despite this, she was giving a curtsy and one of the most polite smiles he had ever seen. "It's an honor to have one as achieved as yourself with us. Can I get you anything?"
Oh no. Oooooh no no no no. First that cybernetic job straight out of an old horror film and now a slave? Was he tricked? What den of depravity did he step into?
The quizzical look on her face made him realize he was showing his emotions, so he cleared his throat to steady himself. "Ah, no. No, I can get refreshments myself. But thank you for the offer. Is... Spinner available to talk?"
"Of course, Doctor Archer. If you would follow me?" Oh no, please not that. Just give him directions and make this less awkward, please. But it was too late, and she had already turned to guide him. The Zorga and Loni quickly hurried to her side before keeping pace with her. She must have been Reef, then. To his surprise, there was barely any signs of genemodding on the girl. No augmetics of any kind, either. That was rare in this age. Akami Syndrome? But then again, there were those who liked keeping their slaves 'pure'.
No. He needed to settle this now. "So. Reef. Your master, Spinner. Is she... nice?"
She chuckled as if she was told a joke. "Oh, no. Spinner is not my master. The Rownett Association holds that prestige, but I am here by choice. Spinner has requested that I refer to her as my pilot, or as a friend."
That could mean anything; some masters loved their sick little roleplay. But if that was true then maybe he could talk her out of the Rownett Association as well. Better to ask Spinner about it. "I see. And what about... Pyotyr? I think that was his name?"
"Oh, you mean Пeтp? He is Spinner's first friend. I understand she found him in a cryo-tube, and they have worked together ever since."
That made him pause a bit. Super outdated augmetics, cryo-tube... "Wait. Are you suggesting that Pyotyr is some kind of ancient human?" The suggestion caused Reef to stop as well, looking thoughtful. "You know, Doctor Archer, I did not consider that. But Spinner spoke highly of your knowledge, so it would seem she was correct. Well done, Doctor. She will be most happy to see you."
Guh. He hated that kind of talking. Reminded him of robots.
But walking down the corridors started to distract him as he took in the sights. Black cables pulsed as though they were arteries, and some of the walls shimmered like a mirror as they walked past. It was clear where the human technology was jury-rigged into the system, but everything else felt more alive. It was like walking inside a creature rather than a ship. It didn't even carry the usual humming of a ship reactor, making their footsteps almost deafening in the eerie quiet.
But it didn't take long before they got to the 'bridge', and Reef gave another curtsy. "Spinner? I've brought Doctor Archer. He is secured as requested. Will you be needing anything else?"
"...no, Sophia. Thank you very much for the work you put in. I think that's all I need for now." Now this. Despite the jury-rigged nature of it, this was fantastic. He could see the clear augmetics of the purple-haired woman in the chair, but to see various data cables mingling with some of the black cables of the walls! To see control tubes reserved for VR games repurposed as nodes for piloting! Even the woman's limbs were designed to bend in unnatural directions to take full advantage of motion, and the slivers of metal on her head betrayed the kind of logic processors and genemods she was equipped with.
"Very good, Spinner." Reef gave another curtsy before backing out of the room, the entryway closing in the same manner as the entrance did. A moment later, a repair drone crawled out of a steel compartment and crawled up her chair to look at him. "Dr. Isar Archer. At last we meet. I've heard a lot of things about you."
"Remarkable. You're piloting the ship and have control over repair drones? You've had a lot of work done on yourself." He reached up to try touching at the drone in curiosity, but a moment later pulled his hand back. The silent drone, ironically, reminded him of what he was angry about. "But more importantly, what the hell? You've got a slave girl and a cyborg that's practically mutilated serving you? You better have a damned good explanation."
To his surprise, the drone actually recoiled back a moment. "A-ah. It. It is complicated. The lot of it is. Sophia is of the Rownetts, that much is obvious. But she is no slave here, no matter how she acts the part. I cannot simply make her stop what is ingrained, that takes time! For now I fulfill her requests, she has some personal business I'm fulfilling and I felt bad leaving her alone!"
"I..." Archer frowned. The anger pulled out of him from that revelation. "That is true. I would not want her to be on her own. But for someone that young..."
"I know. I'm not exactly the Rownetts' number one fan. As is, all I can do is fulfill her requests and keep emphasizing that we're partners. We only just linked up, so I haven't had much time. I'm cautious about pushing too hard on a PSI as well, you of all people should understand why."
That made it all click. Both on the Rownett Association's desire to have her at that age, and why Spinner seemed nervous. Outbursts could get tricky. He gave a nod of agreement. "This is true, but what about Pyotyr? No one should have to live like that, what's your reasoning with him?"
"I'm sorry, okay?! I'm a pilot and a shipwright, not an augmenticist! I don't know the first thing about augmetics that old!" Not only did the drone shrink back, but Spinner in her chair even hunched up in nervousness. "It's all I can do to keep Пeтp's machinery working and try to give him some semblance of a life. I can't improve his suit, much less get him out of it, you're the doctor on board!"
"...alright, fair point. I apologize." Archer sighed in exasperation. So two broken people, one of whom he had a far better chance with than the other. "I saw what kind of people you surrounded yourself with and I just... I worried. I panicked. I shouldn't have done that."
Spinner sighed. "It's... it's alright. I mean I probably would have yelled too if I were in your position."
Ouch. Archer tried to guiltily deflect from that. "Well what about you? You're pretty heavily modified yourself, and this vessel is something else. I can only imagine the data transfer going on right now, surely you could use some tuning."
Spinner paused a little at that. A tilting of her head as the repair drone twitched a bit, at least before she spoke again. "There's a medical bay on board. I have a robo-surgeon, but he can only do so much for any of us. I won't say 'no' to any check-ups or tuning-up, you're the ship doctor after all. Just be careful with Пeтp if you do anything, he's sensitive around the medbay."
Archer just smiled at that and pointed a thumb at himself. "I'm always careful with my patients. Just you watch, in a week I'll have everyone here feeling better than ever. Old or new, there's no body I can't heal."
"Ah... that is good then. I'll leave you to it." Spinner nodded gently. "If you have any requirements for your companion, please tell Sophia. She likes having the work. We'll also be picking up one more person, she has the details as well."
"Then I'll make myself comfortable and set up shop. This will be your best choice yet, Spinner. Dr. Isar Archer makes sure everyone is at their best!" He gave a big grin as he waved, before turning to exit through the door that had opened up behind him. This would work. He had a good feeling about this.
After all, he almost believed his own smile. That had to count for something, right?