Slapdash Neural Wiring | The Murderbot Diaries | SecUnit Nine #2 [✓]

8. I set everything on fire by accident

I fell backward, then I kept rolling. Which was great because it put some distance between Hostile One and me. I ducked behind cover.

Meanwhile I panicked, which made it hard to be proactive. (It's not my fault. Most of my emotions are involuntary.)

While I monitored the temperature of the portal device and ducked behind the tank, I also evaluated options for how the hell to kill/incapacitate the hostiles without hurting anyone else in such a dangerous environment and how to secure my drones against another attack, and I still had to worry about Cyan, which was the whole point of coming to stupid Moietyin the first fucking place—when a human flagged my attention.

(Humans always want to talk to me while I'm working on like, six tasks at once.)

The dull throbbing headache worsened. Hm. I turned my pain sensors up to baseline and the pain was...pretty bad. I dialed the pain sensors back down. It wasn't ideal but I had other priorities apart from writhing on the floor in agony.

I moved toward the humans. Even before I reached them, I could hear their conversation.

Pritha said, "That explosion...I kept telling them, this place is dangerous. Unacceptably dangerous. They never listened..." Her voice was hoarse, like she'd been crying.

Bahati patted Pritha's back. "You did everything you could." Hir voice was soothing.

In a voice that was less soothing, Husni said, "Don't blame yourself. It's our supervisor's fault for telling us that turning off the klaxon is more important than the pussing air quality. And for sending three people to do a one-person job."

Husni might have been right, but Pritha was a safety specialist so Deontologic would use her as a scapegoat for what had happened here today. (Safety specialists were sacrificial employees.) I tried not to think about how I had caused all her problems today and how I was the cause of her despair.

Also, I revised my impression of them. They were not, in fact, dumbass humans. They were contracted workers. The only dumbass was Supervisor Bailer.

I bumped Plan C-0: You Have To Talk To Humans Now down the chain and placed a new priority at the top, Plan C-1: Protect Humans At All Costs.

I rounded the corner and knelt down to look at them.

Bahati looked like ze was on the brink of a panic attack. "Why are you fighting each other?"

"Come on," I said gently. "Let's get you out of here."

Pritha held her hand out, so I helped pull her up from under the grated floor. I helped Bahati. Husni batted my hand away when I tried to help.

Without turning my head, I used the cameras to watch Hostile Three, who approached on the edge of the catwalk. He had gotten out a large, high-energy piercing weapon from off his back. He was a human, though, so I didn't have much hope for his aim at this distance. Pritha stood between Hostile Three and me.

"We weren't boarded," Husni said. "That's what I thought when the fight started."

"Yeah, why are you fighting each other?" Pritha said.

I palmed the portal device. It was warm. I said, "You're safe with me. Just stay close."

Pritha stepped forward. Hostile Three took the shot.

I pushed Pritha down into Bahati and Husni. I opened a portal to intercept the piercing blast.

The weapons fire traveled through the portal and struck Hostile Three in the upper thigh.

Then the world exploded.

I threw myself over the humans before I understood what had happened. A secondary blast rattled my skull. Shrapnel hit me in the back pretty badly but the humans' injuries were non-fatal.