Assessing Survival by Viola Grace Page A

the spikes of volcanoes in the distance.
    “Where the hell are we?”
    “Alpha Base. It was decided that since the Earth was protected, we should set up a little further afield. We don’t know if this place has a name, but we aren’t giving it one.”
    “Where is Omega Base?”
    “Another habitable world where they can work on what still needs to be done.”
    She looked out at the unfamiliar world above her. She could have sworn that they were still near home. She was a little relieved to be wrong.
    Her people were safer if the Splice were attacking the cyborgs here.
    She walked and scuffed the silver dust of the soil upward. “Can we breathe here?” Her atmospheric readouts were saying yes.
    “We don’t know what kind of bacteria are in the air. You would be quarantined the moment that you got back to the base.”
    She nodded. “Right. Well, this is what I wanted to see. Do you mind if I run a little?”
    “Feel free. I will keep pace with you.”
    Stitch nodded and set a goal at what appeared to be a few kilometres away. She started at a light jog before she poured on the speed.
    Her interaction with Niko had already turned a little. She could feel his unease, and she was guessing that her strength was what was cooling his jets.
    She sighed and kept running. When her oxygen got down close to fifty percent, she turned and started walking back toward Niko. She saw the distance she had covered and upgraded her pace to a light jog.
    Niko asked, “Giving up so soon?”
    “I use more oxygen than you do. More blood, less metal.”
    “Right. Should have known that.”
    She chuckled. “You don’t have to. I have to; it is my body that I am dealing with.”
    “I would like to learn a few of the things that you take for granted.”
    She drew even with him, and he turned to pace her on the way back to the base.
    “Like what? You know a ton of crap that I would never guess at.”
    “Like what?”
    “I have no combat training, can’t hit the side of a barn with another barn and have miserable social skills with folks on an even social standing.”
    “The Alguth have an interest in you.”
    “Simply because I am the only female and therefore the alpha female on this base. They refer to such females as queens, so I am guessing they have a hive mentality with a prime drone servicing the alpha female.”
    There was outrage in Niko’s voice. “What?”
    “Yeah, they engage in competitions to prove who is alpha, and the winner has the best chance with the queen.”
    “I am going to beat that wingless bastard’s ass.”
    She paused. “Why?”
    “Never mind.”
    She shrugged and returned to jogging back to the base.
    Niko kept at her side. “So, why the running?”
    “Because if I do it in the base, folks stare at my ass and boobs the whole time.”
    He chuckled. “They are fun to watch.”
    “Perv. I am going to burn it back to the base. Is that a problem for you?”
    “Nope, just more fun to watch.”
    She snorted and put on the speed, watching the metre as the readout slowly dropped and she had five percent of her tank left.
    Niko was at her side in seconds, which was good as she had forgotten to take into account the amount of time it would involve to get back into the base.
    She entered the code, and when the door opened, they stepped inside. The air was sucked out, and the sterilization kicked in.
    She was seeing spots when it came to the second lock, but she made it through.
    The second sterilization protocol kicked in, and she was out of oxygen.
    “What is it, Stitch?”
    “Out of air. Just hold me up, and I will open the lock.”
    He sighed, and she felt him pin her to the wall while he fiddled with her oxygen unit. He clipped a splitter onto her breather, and she breathed deeply.
    He was still pinning her to the wall with his lower body.
    “Thanks. I am out of practice.”
    “You are right. There are things I am better at. It seems that keeping you alive is one of them.”
    He kept an arm around