1.24
It was a day like any other. Cameron awoke with a start, bathed in a cold sweat from the nightmares that had ran through his mind the night before. He couldn’t remember which one it had been to jolt him awake, as there had been a revolving selection of past regrets and twisted memories these last few months since he’d left Ketris. He shook his head, clearing it of the fog that sleep brought on, and looked out the porthole to see if he could tell just where in the galaxy they were. His eyes widened as they were met not with the lonely void of deep space, but with the bright lights of spaceships. Thousands of them, from the smallest shuttle to the giant, city sized colony ships from the mother planet, all converged onto a single Asteroid that was about half as big as a standard planet, and wrapped tightly with a shield of shimmering purple energy.
“Woah…” He said breathlessly, watching the comings and goings of the various spacecraft as they docked at the asteroid, dipping inside the purple energy shield before a long tube rose from the rocky surface, likely functioning as an airlock or transport system. He continued to gaze for a few moments longer before a knock at his cabin door pulled his attention away, looking up just in time to be greeted by Logan, offering a slight smirk and pointing out the porthole.
“Well, what do you think?” He asked, taking a few steps inside the room.
“I'm still trying to figure out just what the hell it is,” Cameron said, his gaze returning to the asteroid once again. “Is it some kind of spaceport?”
“Not just a spaceport, Kid,” Logan said, clapping Cameron on his shoulder as he came to join him at the porthole. “That’s Arsius Station. It’s the largest port in Free-Space and the seat of power for the biggest GACs in the galaxy.”
This gave Cameron pause. He blinked and shook his head, almost as if he was unable to understand what he’d just heard. Then he turned to Logan, raising in eyebrow, “Wait, I thought there wasn’t any ruling power in Free-Space. Isn’t that kind of the point of planets being free?”
Logan’s smirk grew wider, and he shook his head, chuckling as he did so. “You got a lot to learn, kid. Which means I have a lot to teach you. Get your clothes on, we’re going shopping.”
It took a while before they could get the Fenris docked high above the asteroid and inspected by Arsius Station’s port authority, but soon enough, Cameron along with Logan and Aurora were allowed to exit the craft. Sure enough, one of the tubes Cameron had seen before rose up from one of the many craters on the surface and connected with their ship. There was a whiny hiss that echoed throughout the interior of the tube, and after a moment, a series of steps jutted out from the bottom, slowly lowering themselves like the escalators of ancient earth. The trio stepped on, allowing the gentle sloping descent to usher them down while Logan finally explained to Cameron the ins and outs of Free-Space.
“So, here’s the breakdown,” He began, leaning against the railing, “Free-Space came to be a long time ago, when corporations from Earth ventured out here, laid down roots in their respective systems and used prisoners as early colonizers right?”
“Yeah…” Cameron said slowly, unsure of where the man was going with the history lesson.
“Well,” Logan continued, “Seeing as how it’s basically human nature to fight and die over the dumbest shit, A.R.M.S. manufactures grew the most out of every type of corp out here. Dealing death was their business and business was ‘a-boomin’. However, while they had the method, they didn’t necessarily have the means. See, there was a time when threaded pilots weren’t as rare or… independent as they are today.”
“What do you mean?” Cameron asked, looking back at Logan as they slow approached the bottom the moving staircase, stepping into a long tunnel of stone, dimly lit by a series of wall lights drilled into the wall on either side, and spaced out every few meters.
“I mean,” Logan said, stepping off and taking the lead next to Aurora, looking over his shoulder as they walked down the tunnel, heading to entrance for the station proper, “That being a pilot used to not be a choice. Corps would often take the youngest and most fit of their workforce, graft uplink threads on them, and send them off to fight… casualty rates be damned.”
“What the fuck?” Cameron said, unable to stop himself. “That’s horrible!”
Logan simply nodded, speaking louder as the sounds of conversation and trade met their ears the closer they got to the end of the tunnel. “Yeah, the pilots thought so too. So, they unionized. Now at first the Corps didn’t care. Demands for better pay and working conditions were met with laughter and feet-dragging. So, finally having enough, the pilots left. They became the very first GACs.”
“But wait a second,” Aurora said, chiming in for the first time since they left the ship, “The companies just let the leave? Just like that? With all those suits?”
Logan shrugged, “I don’t think ‘let’ is the right word here. They didn’t really have a choice. When I say shit was bad for pilots, I mean bad. You really think they were going to run the risk of making more units and pilots to try and get their shit back, just for those same guys to leave too?”
“Fair point..” She said.
“Indeed. So now you had a bunch of freelance pilots running around, pulling jobs for the highest bidder. No shit pay or corporate fuckery to deal with, no decade long contracts of work, and no lack of mental of physical health services. Pretty soon, the remaining Corp pilots wanted a piece of the action, so they left too. Cue a couple decades of negotiations and contracts between the GACs, Corps, and EarthGov, and now you have this…”
The tunnel finally ended and opened up into what could only be described as a mech utopia. The first thing that Cameron noticed was just how massive and populated the interior was. Repair shops and parts merchants lined the walls, going up what must have been a dozen levels and wrapping around a slow-moving sidewalk, stretching far off into that distance which must have been kilometers away. Neon lights bathed the space in a series of pinks, purples, blues, and yellows, and Cameron couldn’t tell if it was from the storefront signage or from the twinkling artificial stars that hung suspended in the middle of the space, slowly drifting up and down a large shaft that was the centerpiece of station itself.
Words had left him at this point, he could only stare out in slack-jawed wonder.
Logan, on the hand, had no such qualms with speaking, clapping Cameron on the shoulder and proclaiming in a proud, grandiose tone, “Welcome home.”
There was a generous reprieve of about thirty seconds, at which Logan allowed Cameron to take in the grandeur that was Arsius Station, before enough was enough.
“Alright enough gawking,” He said, grabbing Cameron by the sleeve and pushing in off towards one of the branching pathways off to the right. “Let’s get going. We have an appointment to keep.”
A short while later,after crossing through a maze of back alleys and through unused retail spaces, the trio came to a stop at what looked to be a simple two story clinic. It sat in the far back of an alley, situated snuggly between two dilapidated warehouses, and provided the only illumination, save for the gentle glow of the main street a few hundred meters behind them. The sign that hung above was worn and flickering with neon light, with a few letters not illuminated at all. Even still, Cameron was able to read the name with relative ease.
“Marco’s clinic?” He asked, turning towards Logan, who nodded in the affirmative.
“The only place I trust with my medical issues. Which now includes your medical issues.”
“What medical issues?” Cameron asked, raising an eyebrow. “Last time I checked I was healthy.”
“You sure about that?” Logan said, “Nothing wrong whatsoever?”
“Uh… Yeah? What are you getting - Ow!” He exclaimed, feeling Aurora’s hand meet the back of his head as she walked past the two of them.
“You’re here to get threaded, you idiot.” She said, without hardly a glance back. She made her way all the way to the front door, opening it as the sound of a welcome bell sounded, before she looked back at Cameron with expectantly raised eyebrows. “Now are you gonna stand there or head inside so we can get this shit over with?”
Cameron blinked then turned to Logan tossing a thumb in Aurora's direction, “Did we really need to bring her?”
Logan couldn't help but to laugh and shake his head, clapping Cameron on the back before making his way to join the young mechanic, “Come on, it's gonna be a long process and the faster this is done the faster we can get to the fun stuff.”
It was surprising how streamlined the intake process was. Within only a half hour since the trio had walked into the clinic, a sleepy eyed nurse wearing too short a skirt and too much makeup had taken Cameron in, ran a basic physical, and ushered back into a room lined with bandages, sharp instruments, and a table cut out in the shape of a person which was situated in the middle of the room. There were several cut outs where one could rest their arms and legs, as well as a headrest, tilted slightly up and possessing a hole just under the nape of the neck.
“If you would be so kind, as to strip down to your underwear and climb onto the threading board. The doctor will be in shortly.” The nurse said, giving cute little giggle, before taking her leave.
Cameron looked at the table, running his hand over the cracked, worn leather that would support his body. Three holes were spaced equidistant away from each other, around the level of where his spine would be. His eyes fell on the cut outs where his appendages would go. They were boxy, coffin-like constructs made of steel and possessed three holes that ran the length of each. He gulped silently, feeling a sour taste building in the back of his throat.
“I… Didn’t realize how many uplink points there were.” He said softly, not taking his eye off of the slab.
“Yeah,” Logan said, matching Cameron’s muted tone, “But luckily the arms and legs are smaller threads so they go by pretty quick. The spine and the neural uplink are the ones that take the longest.”
Cameron chewed the inside of his lip, looking over his shoulder to where Logan was standing, leaning against the wall next to the door, arms crossed, and staring intently at him.
“Does it hurt?” He asked, sounding more like a scared child than he expected too.
“Anything in this world worth having hurts, kid.” Logan said, not taking his eyes off the boy, “But to be blunt, yes. When I got threaded, it was one of the most painful experiences of my life.”
“Oh… great.” Cameron said sarcastically, before taking a deep breath to try and psych himself up. He stripped, removing a white tunic and black trousers he’d taken with him from Ketris, and tossing them to the floor. Aurora, uncharacteristic of her usual standoffishness, reached down and gently picked up the heap of clothes, folding them neatly and pulling them up under her arm.
“Hey what are you doing?” Cameron asked, but she ignored him, turning to Logan and speaking in a rather subdued tone.
“I’ll get a hotel over in the rust-belt district. Nothing fancy but it’ll be close to where we’ll be looking. Might make it easier on him anyway.”
“Hello? Aurora?” Cameron asked again, and again it was like he was invisible with Logan responding to the girl with a shallow nod.
“Sounds good. Make sure you grab Marcus from the ship and show him around. Take some silver out of the safe to grab some food and him some new clothes. I got Cam.”
“Roger that. Keep me posted.” She said with a nod turning to walk out of the room.
“Hey fucker I’m talking to you! Where are you taking my shit?” Cameron said, shouting now in irritation at Aurora.
She stopped, her hand still hovering over the door knob and turned to look at Cameron. There was no animostiy in her eyes, no irritation or annoyance. If anything, the look she gave him could have best been described as… pity.
“Good luck Cam,” She said, turning the knob and stepping out, “Remember… It won’t last forever.” With that, she closed the door behind her leaving only the two men in the room.
Cameron blinked once, twice, turning back to Logan with a raised eyebrow. “What the hell was that about?” He asked, slightly concerned.
Logan merely shrugged, looking at him. “Don’t worry about it. You’re not gonna need your clothes for while. Now, hop up on the table and get comfy.”
“But I-”
“HOP UP… and get comfy,” Logan interrupted, raising his voice to tell Cameron this wasn’t a request.
Cameron shut his mouth, eyeing his mentor for a hard while, before complying. He climbed onto the table, positioning his arms, leg, spine, and head into their proper places just as a knock came from the door, opening before either man could speak.
“Ah! Logan!” An elderly male voice said, though Cameron couldn’t see who it was.
“Hey they Marco,” Logan replied with a chuckle, “Long time no see.”
“Indeed, and for such a special occasion as this,” The man known as Marco said. “And just who might this young man be?”
The voice got closer and finally, Cameron was able to get a look at what was presumably the man who was going to thread him.
He was small, his head barely peeking over the table, and bald. His wrinkled forehead creased further as he smiled at Cameron, eyeing him through a pair of thick gold-rimmed glasses.
“Hello there, young man.” He said, a thick white curly-q mustache bouncing with every syllable, “My name is Marco Correra, but you may call me Marco, Mr. Correra, or simply Doctor. Whichever is more comfortable for you.”
“Umm… I think I’ll just go wtih Marco.” Cameron said, looking at the doctor with a raised eyebrow. He came off slightly… odd. Not concerningly so, but enough to give him pause. It was slightly unnerving to see someone so polite and warm in a place such as Arsius Station. Despite that, he kept quiet and let the man continue speaking.
“Wonderful. Well, I’ll be performing your surgery today. I will make sixteen incisions into your arms, legs, spine, and brainstem. From there, I will implant fifteen threaded divots and a synaptic uplink module. This process will take around four hours, and I need you to be as still as you possibly can during the procedure. I’m telling you all this because once I begin I will not be able to stop. Do you have any questions for me?”
“Um… no?” Cameron said, feeling a sharp tingle of apprehension creep up his spine.
The doctor nodded giving another warm smile, before pulling out a small button from inside his coat and pressing it. Before Cameron could react, restraints popped up from the table, wrapping around his wrists, ankles, and waist, much to his rapidly increasing panic.
“W-What the hell?!” Cameron exclaimed, struggling at his shackles, but a gently touch from the doctor helped to calm him slightly.
“Easy my boy. They’re for protection and to further facilitate your stillness during the procedure. A simple precaution. That’s all.”
“Oh… okay…” Cameron said, laughing nervously, “Any other surprises I should know about?” He asked jokingly.
The doctor looked off in the distance as if he was trying to remember, “Oh yes. This process will need to be done without anesthetic.”
Cameron’s face dropped instantly, “Wait what?”
“Let’s begin.”