Read Geared Up for Free Online Page B

can do it.”
    Homik said quietly, “You said you can only do this once. What happens to you?”
    “I will just need a nap. Possibly for a few days. I am currently part of this machine, the power source.”
    “That doesn’t sound good.”
    “Yeah, and it is about to get worse. I will be binding this armour to the transport in order to lift it.”
    She decided not to explain. She took a look at the vehicle and watched the lines of mobile folks file inside. When the entryways were clear, she leaped to the top of the transport and linked her hands and feet to the metal. She reprogrammed her com system and yelled, “Going up.”
    She pulled upward, reinforced her link to the metal and hauled the transport up and over the wreckage, picking up speed as she got her charges to the edge of the hole. She hauled them to the nearest triage centre and set them down.
    “Last stop, get off the transport.”
    She didn’t need to tell them twice. She uncoupled from the transport and flew back to the disaster. At the far edge of the hole, she could see other Guardians at work. She used the navigation systems from the riot runner and pinpointed the nearest folks trapped in their vehicles.
    She ripped off doors, broke plexi and opened as many of the confined as she could before she began to stumble. “Guardians, this is Wyfirth, I am out of juice. I have to get out before I get stuck.”
    Tauron answered. “Get out, Wyfirth. You have done enough.”
    She ripped off one more door before she took off and headed for the mobile base that the local Guardians had supplied.
    She landed, stumbled and the metal parts flew off her body as she staggered toward the small, private quarters left for the Guardians to recover.
    She nodded to a few of the other Guardians sitting around a table and having a meal, walked into the sleeping area, identified the highest and quietest bunk and climbed up, tucking herself in.
     
    * * * *
     
    Tauron came in an hour later, his muscles aching and the second team in full action seeking out the wounded. “Where is she?”
    “The mechanic? She’s up in the top level of the bunks. She came in and passed out.” Demsiac rubbed his hands together.
    “Did you check on her?”
    “I couldn’t find a pulse in an earthquake. She’s on her own.”
    Tauron hauled himself up the ladder and peeked in on Wyfirth. He cursed and pulled on her shoulders, easing her against him and coming down the ladder.
    “Who is on medical duty?” Tauron snapped.
    “What is it?”
    “I have no idea.”
    “Let me take a look.” Demsiac insisted, and Tauron nodded, easing his burden down to where the healer could see her.
    “Holy—That isn’t something you see every day.”
    Skin and metal were bound together. Wyfirth’s body was slowly taking over and ejecting the metal, but it looked like a painful process.
    “I don’t think she should get to a healer. Keep an eye on her and make sure she is still breathing.” Demsiac stared. “I don’t want to interfere with whatever is going on there.”
    Tauron held her and settled in a corner of the common area. There was no other space for them.
    He watched as her body slowly rejected the metal and wire. Occasional sparks came from her skin, but the progress was definitely made.
     
    * * * *
     
    Her body was on fire, but it was a familiar feeling. She squirmed and paused when she came to the realisation that she wasn’t in the bunk.
    She opened her eyes to see Tauron’s bowed head next to hers. Oh, darn. He had seen her geared up. It wasn’t a sight for the faint of heart.
    She shifted, and his arms clutched at her.
    He opened his tired eyes and smiled. “You look better.”
    She blushed. “Ah, yeah. That particular thing wasn’t on my application.”
    “What was that?”
    “My instructors at the Citadel said it was mechanical fusion. I stay in contact with a controlled machine too long and it and I fuse together.”
    “It sounds painful.”
    She shrugged. “It lets me do