Sanctuary Base (Shattered Stars #20)

Chapter One

Will held her grandfather’s hand as he smiled at her.

His voice was whisper-thin. “We made it.”

“We did.” Will pressed his wizened hand to her cheek.

“I created something amazing.”

She chuckled. “You did. The Terran repair nanites are amazing and work so well to repair and replace. Nebel is really impressed with your inventions.”

“I am glad. It is good to leave you with a legacy. You know what to do?”

“I do, Grandpa.” She kissed his hand. “I will do it as soon as I am sure you are gone. To do it before would just be rude.”

He chuckled and smiled. “My little third. I love you more than anything.”

“I know. And I love you enough to stay with you through two years of hell and eighteen months of being on a world with mostly naked people. You didn’t have to go native.”

He grinned. “It was fun.”

“I know, Pop-pop. And I wanted that fun for you.”

“You need silence.”

“Solitude. There is a difference.”

“Your mother was like that. She loved quiet, and my boy was all mouth.”

“Well, that’s how I got here.” Will smiled.

“And you haven’t been paying attention to how kids are made,” he whispered.

“I read the pamphlet.” She chuckled. “I chose to disregard it as implausible.”

He smiled. “My Third. I have always been proud of you and your stubborn streak.” He cupped her cheek with a hand gone icy. “Will you miss me when I am gone?”

“No, because you are going to be with me all day and every day.”

He sighed and leaned back. “Good answer.”

He exhaled and inhaled slowly. It repeated, and she listened to that slow sound for an hour and a half. Eventually, the man she had spent her life supporting exhaled a rattling breath, and his heart stopped beating.

Will leaned back and folded his hands over his chest. She leaned over and flipped a switch, sending a notice across Bellen that William Armitage had breathed his last.

She took the vial around her neck and held it until Nebel and Lily came in. Nebel said, “His time here was short, but there was a tremendous impact on the population. His approach to nanomachines was inspired.”

Will nodded. “Yes, it was. Thanks to your use of his designs, he will live on.”

Lily smiled, her gold skin gleaming. “The basic repair is being used on several worlds already as a test. It is doing well. Humans are finally getting straightforward medical care that can undo what some of the more rural repair units have done.”

Will smiled. “With your permission, Nebel? I will finish his dispersal.”

The overlord nodded. “Thank you, Will.”

Will uncorked her vial and poured a fine sand over her grandfather. The body began to glow, then it went transparent, and then it was gone. The original nanites returned to the vial, and she closed it. “Thanks, Boss.”

Lily looked at her. “Boss?”

“My nanites. The ones I programmed. Bio Organic System Security. They do what is asked of them and no more.”

Nebel frowned. “You programmed?”

“Sure. My grandfather was the mechanical inventor, and I was the programmer.”

Lily checked her records. “You are not declared as an inventor in the files.”

“I know. I was registered as his caretaker. Now that he is gone, my contract indicates that I need to leave. I am going to find a quiet bit of silence with no people in the middle of somewhere inhospitable.”

Lily frowned. “You can stay here.”

Nebel brought the contract up on his tablet. “No, she can’t. The caretaker requirement means that after her charge no longer needs her, she has no value to our people and must leave the planet within ten days.”

Lily blinked. “You can go to the station and come back.”

“No. I can’t. I don’t want to be here. I don’t like warm weather. I don’t like naked people everywhere, and I don’t like the domes and mandatory housing. Plus, if I stay here, I have to get tested as a new arrival, and the compatibility issue comes into play.”

Lilly looked at Nebel and said, “Oh.”

“Not him, Lily, but he would start to look for a match for me because he thinks it’s fun. And he’s a bit of a jerk.”

Lily snorted. “Ah. You aren’t wrong on all counts.”

Nebel shrugged. “It is fun to tease my brothers with what they cannot have. I would make sure you have a good match, Will.”

“I am sure you would think so, but I need to grieve. Standard time is about a year. I can’t do it here. Too many people look like they escaped the festivities of Mardi Gras.”

Lily grinned. “Okay, there is some resemblance. Do you need help packing?”

“No. I have two suits, and they are already packed.”

“What about your formal outfits?”

“The sparkly tissue paper? Unnecessary.” She waved it off.

Lily sighed. “Take it with you. It doesn’t take up much space.”

“Why? How many trackers are in them?”

Nebel smiled. “Eight per outfit. We will worry. You have suffered a loss and are heading for unknown reaches of space. Take it as a favour. We need to know where you are.”

Lily nodded. “Please. There will be a few other things that you can sell if you get into trouble.”

Will cocked her head. “I don’t need anything.

This is a fresh start. I took care of him before the end, took care of him during the time of clouds and shadows.

He had a wonderful knack for machinery and kept the power on for our town.

I helped him then, and I have legally been with him since I was fifteen, but living with him since I was eight.

So, for the last fifteen years. I am tired and need to rest.”

Nebel stiffened. “No.” He was radiating tension, and his gaze looked militant.

Lily patted him. “Sorry, Will. That’s a phrase used by consorts who want to let themselves die.”

Will looked at the Hmrain, who was broadcasting intent to lock her in a room somewhere. “Oh, well, in that case, I want a vacation where I don’t have to look after anyone else. Looking after myself is something I want to try.”

Nebel gradually relaxed. “You will keep in touch?”

“Sure. I will even continue programming for some of your inventors. I am very good with coding.”

Nebel nodded. “Thank you. I liked your grandfather. He was charming and good with people.”

“I am neither. I just want somewhere quiet for me to think about what I want to do next. I have picked a list of ten stations and bases that are automated and silent. I have planned routes to one of them.”

Nebel looked at her and smiled. “Take one of our shuttles. They are automated and can get you anywhere you need to go. It will also keep other Hmrain from messing with you.”

Lily nodded. “And come back here if you like. We can get you a nice air-conditioned dome with no one around. Promise.”

Will smiled. “You will miss me?”

“You are the best and brightest human I have met since I left. I see suffering and hope in your eyes in equal measure. If you need time away, take it, but consider us an option for a permanent home.”

Will nodded. “Thank you. Are you sure about the long-range shuttle?”

Nebel grinned. “I am. You can take out one of the prototypes and see what it can do.”

“Covered with trackers.”

“Of course.”

Lily hugged her again, and Will took it. Her suit’s fabric was tight enough that it wouldn’t mess with the nipple piercings that were obvious through the light fabric of Lily’s costume.

Nebel frowned. “Are you willing to program as you travel?”

Will grinned. “I am.”

“Do you mind being a contract employee to that effect?”

She looked at the tall metallic creature, who was trying to find ways to protect her when she left his home. “I will enter a remote work bond contract with Bellen.”

Nebel grinned. “Okay. Let’s go to a record centre. Your bond will be two million.”

She sighed and nodded. “Allow me to share how delighted I am.”

Lily sighed. “Sarcasm.”

Nebel nodded. “Understood. You can get out of the bond at any time by returning half of it.”

“Really? Cool.”

Nebel chuckled. “Come on, Will. Let’s get you protected.”

She nodded and walked out of the room with the vial back around her neck. Boss was back where he belonged.

Will couldn’t believe how much Lily had packed into the shuttle. She had enough stuff to make a trader blush.

“I don’t need all this stuff.”

Lily looked at her and smoothed her hair. “You need reminders that you are loved, you are wanted, and you have a home to come back to. That is what this is. This is an invitation to come home from Nebel and me. Not an ultimatum, just an invitation.”

Will looked at the woman, who was a study in gold.

“This was my grandfather’s dream. His home.

That was made possible by you. Your insisting to Nebel that humans could be useful into their later years.

Your offering him a new leg so he could get around again gave him a new lease on life, and he was able to keep creating here.

He loved it here. Loved the tech that was available, the community, and the thrill of having a creation approved for testing.

” Will sighed. “That was him. I came to help him cross the century mark and saw joy in his expression over these new chances and new ideas that flooded his mind. I helped him move his projects forward, and now, his last project is over. That was his life. I don’t know what my life is.

Boss is the start. He’s registered with the local council and confirmed mine. My little programmed nanites.”

Lily paused. “Could you reset me to human?”

“Nope. You are not human at the base level anymore. It wouldn’t work on you.”

Nebel wrapped his arms around Lily. “Good. I love her just the way she is.”

Lily sighed. “I was just asking. There are others who have been—”

Will held her hand up. “It only works on you while you are solid human. Or mainly human. The Hmrain transformation is done via nanites. It doesn’t reverse. They just rebuild you the way they want you all over again. If it isn’t a nanite transformation, I can fix it.”

Lily grinned, and Nebel snorted.

“What?”

“Shushing the consort is a punishable offence.”

“Can I opt for banishment?”

Lily hugged her again. “You can.”

“Why do you keep hugging me?”