They were still there; Genom hadn't carted them away for destruction of study. Having seized his prize, the Sotai child, Mason hadn't thought the need to concern himself with the trapped Knight Sabres of their useless Hardsuits anymore.
Useless they were still. There was her own pink one, Sylia's silver, Linna's green and Priss' long eared blue. All of them split open at the seams, legs stuck in the molten hardened embryonic goop that had been Galatea's cocoon. Stuck fast and useless.
All she needed were the batteries though.
Nene put down her backpack and opened it. She didn't bring many tools: a drill, arc welder, and a chisel. She wasn't a big girl and it wasn't an easy journey to make through the earthquake collapsed warren of subway tunnels and buried roadways.
She started with her own hardsuit first, knowing it better than the others. The battery was embedded about her shoulderblades and between her cute little sensor wings. It was good that Sylia had designed for the suits to split open forwards from the chest carapace. It would have been really uncomfortable to try and pry the battery free from underneath on the slippy reformed surface.
She ignited the welder and pointed the blue flame around the top of the battery housing where the clamps were at their thinnest. Trying to burn out the battery directly would be a very dangerous thing to do. It still held a charge – how much Nene didn't know – even a small amount combusted might be enough to end her days. She didn't want to keep the welder on for too long either. She burnt and tested the heated area with the chisel. As soon as there was some give she would switch out to the drill.
Although she was underground, the air was still and the combination of the welder and her own exertions, holding the drill in place and pressing it forwards with all the mass her little body could muster, had her stripped down to a sweated-through singlet. Sylia had designed the hardsuits to withstand bullets, crashes and the crushing vice grip of rogue boomers. It was slow, hard work.
Single minded determination kept her at it until her arms were exhausted and a head ache strong enough to make her eyes lose focus. She turned off the drill and slipped down, letting the silver draw the excess heat away.
She had a few snacks inside her bag. High energy sugar laced gummies, bars, salted crackers, and a couple of cans of energy drinks. Two bars were wolfed down when she got enough breath back, followed by a loudly gulped can. There was no one around to complain about her table manners.
It had been an hour.
"This is going to take forever," she sighed.
Mackey, she had to do it for Mackey. There would be enough of a charge left in one of the batteries to wake him up she knew. There would have to be. Her plan would work.
She rested another fifteen minutes, letting the muscles stop quivering and relax. The muscles would complain quickly again when she restarted. Endurance, strength. She had none.
Nene stood up and inspected the damage that she had caused so far. One hinge area was scorched and marked with a deep channel. Using the chisel she gently pried around the small gap between the housing and the battery. The little bit of give gav her some encouragement. Just as much work on the other side and then some extra heating before she tried to pry the housing open and take the battery out. And then she would have one of the four.
Nene got back to work.
Two gruelling hours later she had the first battery free. She put it in the backpack. Three more to go. No energy left. No food left.
She continued, running purely on will power. To have Mackey back with her, teasing him, being close to him. That was all she wanted. That wa all she needed. Without it, him, she didn't have anything left did she? Priss was gone. Sylia gone, and it was all her fault anway. Linna yelling at her all the time, a wreck of stress. She wouldn't be able to live with that stress without him and his stupid voice there, his bumbling that always made her laugh.
In her own robotic, trance like state, she continued, freeing Linna's battery;
She continued, freeing Sylia's battery;
She continued, and freed Priss battery.
Her bag full.
She pulled off her singlet, a stinking, cold, wet mass of disintegrating fabric, zipped up the backpack and slipped her listless arms through the straps. Her nerves numbed the touch and weight of it barely registered. She picked up he sweater and wiped her face and chest down.
Linna found Nene face down on her bed, smelling horribly, when she came to find the girl and let her know that dinner was ready. She opened the window a crack to let in a little fresh air and closed the door leaving the young girl to her snoring.
Linna leaned back against the wall and let out a long body shaking sigh. A few more customers today. A few more sales. A little bit more in the city. She had sent another message to Priss right after work seeking a reply. To see if Priss was doing anything more about Galatea that singing about how much she hated the boomer.
She's there singing and having fun and making money and being free while I'm stuck here looking after two comas, an old man heading towards infirmity, do-nothing Nene, debt, bills and law suits and trying to keep us all fed, together and safe.
Everyone else is free except me. 'cause I'm the reliable farmer girl. Dependable. She won't back out on her responsibilities even if everyone else is.
She didn't notice the tears until they were spattering off her silk blouse. Two streams of liquid salt. The strength left her legs and she slid down the wall and crumpled on the floor.
She cried it out until there were no more tears and her throat was raw. She picked herself up, went into the bathroom to correct her run makeup, changed into slacks and a loose shirt, went up to the roof and walked towards the edge until her progress was halted by a firm grip on her wrist.
Linna's eyes grazed up the arm holding onto her.
"Nigel."