Gadget Read Free

back of her neck. “Wow, the Dark Fairy suddenly got all fancy without me doing a thing.”
    Frisk smiled. “It is an elegant ship. Are you fully wired to it?”
    “I am. The Nyal will do a full cyborg setup while the Alliance won’t. It wasn’t too big a decision when my body had never been mine to use before I got here.”
    “Did you want to go for that caf?” Frisk smiled. “We can let the Guardians get acquainted.”
    Gadget grinned. “I would love to. Is there a place nearby?”
    “There is. Come on.”
    Shatter was standing next to the ramp, and he blinked as Gadget passed him. “Where are you going?”
    “The last time I was here, Frisk offered to take me for caf. I am just obliging her.”
    “She will be back, Shatter. Don’t worry. We just need some Terran girl time.”
     
    An hour later, they were sitting at an outdoor café in Feural, and Frisk asked, “What kind of genetic disorder was it?”
    Gadget flexed her fingers. “Okay, it was misleading to call it genetic. I suffered from dystonia. I would try to move my hand and my foot would jerk, or try to write and my arm would shoot out. All of my wiring was crossed.”
    “You were fixed when you came out here?”
    “Of course. The Nyal were willing to go along with all changes that I requested and even suggested a few extras that had never occurred to me. I am a fully functioning cyborg with defense and attack capabilities.”
    Frisk sipped at her caf. “Isn’t it amazing that out here we can say things that would have sounded insane back on earth?”
    Gadget laughed. “I think that every time I link with my ship and prepare for a mission. It is all so surreal, but then, so is having my body obey my commands.”
    “Are you happy?” It was a direct question, and Frisk looked very sincere.
    “I am happy. I like my life, but then, it is so different from life with braces, crutches and whatever else they thought to strap me into, I can’t help but enjoy it. Out here, I get to live , but back home, I just existed. My parents supported me, but they couldn’t afford everything I needed to make my life resemble normal. I was glad to leave and take the burden from them, I just wish they could see me now.”
    She was wistful. Every time she clenched her fist without her hand jerking, she wanted to tell her parents. Each effortless stand or walk that she took, she wanted to tell her parents. It was lonely out here, but she had friends. Four other ladies from earth who had similar stories to her own were each wired to their transports in a symbiotic relationship. They even had a clubhouse at a tiny space station out in the far reaches of space where their ships were repaired and their own maintenance was carried out. Having circuitry inside living tissue made for regularly scheduled check-ups.
    Frisk nodded. “I know that feeling. I wanted to introduce Lance to my parents but that is impossible. I never minded the contract until this one thing came up.”
    “The one thing being the love of your life?”
    “Yup.” Frisk sighed and stretched. “Well, they are probably going insane by now, so we should get back to them. The prince is patient but only to a point.”
    Regretfully, Gadget got to her feet. It was time to return to her ship and her life among the stars. The odd thing in this case was that she would not be going alone.
    She wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but she had time to work out her feelings. Space travel was rarely quick.
     

Chapter Three
     
     
    Prince Naroz was in quiet conversation with Shatter when Gadget and Frisk returned to the Dark Fairy. They both looked up suddenly as the women approached.
    “Transporter Morris, how lovely to see you again.” Prince Naroz Garrz took her hand and bowed over it.
    “Thank you, Your Highness. I am gathering that you are my new guest and that Shatter is your bodyguard?” She smiled at him fondly.
    Nitza’s younger brother had met her over a year ago when she visited her dispatcher