(February 2, 2009)

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"To create an electrical circuit you have to have an unbroken circle." Mick took one wire and connected it from a light bulb to a small battery. Taking a second wire he secured it to the opposite side of the battery and touched the tip to the light bulb. It blinked on. "And when you break the circuit in any way-" Mick removed the wire. The light winked out.

"- the circle isn't a circle and electricity can't flow!" Brody interjected excitedly.

"Right." Smiling, Mick ruffled Brody's hair. "You're picking up on this pretty quickly."

"It just . . . makes sense, I guess." Brody glanced at some discarded papers. 'A lot more than math does.'

"Here. You can connect it if you want. Just make sure your fingers stay on the plastic and don't touch the metal tip sticking out. This battery isn't all that powerful but it still won't feel good if you electrocute yourself."

Brody hesitantly reached for the wire. Being reminded he could be shocked- albeit accidentally in this case- made his skin tingle with phantom pain from the times Ripcon or the kudabots had used electricity for punishments.

Mick saw the change sweep over Brody's face. "You saw that it didn't hurt me at all, but it's okay if you don't want to try. I'm planning on bringing this out tomorrow too for a couple more experiments."

"M-maybe tomorrow then."

Nodding, Mick collected the pieces and put them in a box. He set it in a corner and returned to his work desk. "I think that wraps up what I wanted to cover today. Can you help me organize by size the new delivery of screws? Ripcon enjoys mixing them all together to be that much more irritating."

Unsurprised, Brody walked over to the table. They began sifting through the bits of metal from the bucket and sorting them into their corresponding drawers. They fell into a rhythm, working in comfortable silence. Mick had just placed the last screw in its drawer when the door burst open, shattering the silence.

Brody flinched backward, knocking the empty bucket over. A kudabot stormed inside. On reflex Brody backed away, but it appeared it wasn't there to drag him off. Instead a second robot dragged a broken husk of another kudabot into the room. The first kudabot chattered out a sequence. By now Brody had picked up enough of their 'words' to understand the equivalent of 'fix it now.'

Brody looked at Mick, who studied the inert robot doubtfully. "I can try . . ." His tone didn't offer much hope.

They tossed it to the floor with a crash. Without further discussion the marched out of the room, slamming the door behind them.

"They really should have just scrapped him and saved everyone the trouble." Mick muttered.

Rolling the blue automaton over, Mick tugged open its back panel. Sparks shot and bits of wire flopped upward. Mick stumbled back to avoid getting burned.

"What in the world were they using it for that made it get so beat up?" Brody asked, taking in the dents lining the entire husk.

"Combat training probably. But these bots weren't made to hold up under such . . . onslaught."

Mick sighed and grabbed his tool box. "Fixing the outside won't make much of a difference. The entire inner circuitry is toast."

"So what are you gonna do?"

"I'll try but it'll mostly be for the heck of it." He slid a pair of rubber gloves over his hands and began to fiddle with the internal mechanisms.

Brody watched curiously. Once Mick noticed his gaze he started explaining each step. Most of what Mick said went over Brody's head, but he continued to listen intently.

After nearly half an hour Mick leaned back from the robot. "This whole thing needs to be rewired and even then it'll have to be reprogrammed. At this rate Galvanax is better off just having a new one built."

He stood up and started walking toward the door. Brody's eyes flicked between Mick and the robot as an idea began to take shape.

"Mick?" The word came out quiet and hesitant, but it was enough to stop Mick before he could knock on the door.

"What is it, Brody?"

"You- you said it'll need to be reprogrammed anyway, right?"

Mick turned around and narrowed his eyes. "What are you getting at?"

"I- well, uh- if it's just gonna be used for scrap maybe- maybe we could use it?"

"Shoot it to me straight Brody. What are you trying to say?"

Brody squeezed the screws in his hands. "Could we- couldIuseitasasparringrobot?"

Mick blinked and tried to decipher the string of words. "One more time, and maybe a little slower?"

Taking a deep breath, Brody stared at the floor and asked, "Could we keep it so I can use it as a sparring partner?"

Thick silence filled the room. Brody didn't look up, afraid to see what Mick might be thinking. A long sigh came from the older man.

"Brody, I'm not so sure that's a good idea." Mick's voice was soft but firm. "Not only will what happened to this kudabot need to be documented, but I don't-" He sighed again and tried to articulate his thoughts in a way Brody would understand, "If Galvanax, Ripcon, or even Odius, found out you are continuing martial arts training they're not going to be happy. But if they know you're practicing on one of 'your guards' they'd be even more upset since you'd be able to learn their weaknesses."

"I've helped you build some!"

"That won't mean anything to Galvanax!"

"I don't mean anything to Galvanax anyway!" Brody spat.

Throwing his hands in the air, Mick took a step forward. "I don't want you getting hurt!"

Brody couldn't stop the snort that burst out. His hand traced a large bruise on his left hip that had come from Ripcon shoving him into a table the other day.

Mick watched with a frown. "Okay, more hurt." His tone softened. "If they were ever to find out . . . they can do so much more than you can even imagine."

That was a comforting thought. Still Brody pressed his idea. "It doesn't take much for them to lash out anyway. If-if I can at least try and have a way to be me . . ." He didn't know how to say what he felt, but training- however it may look- was something he had to do. No matter the cost.

"Brody . . ." Mick dragged out his name.

"I know- I know it's risky, but please Mick."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Mick muttered to himself for several seconds. Finally he looked back at Brody. "I am most definitely going to regret this . . ."

Hope flooded through Brody. "You mean-?"

"Yes I'll help you with this hair brained scheme."

Before he realized what he was doing, Brody ran over and threw his arms around Mick. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Mick laughed softly and reciprocated the hug. "We've just got to be very careful how we go about this, okay?"

Brody nodded his head emphatically and bounced back over to the table. Shaking his head in amusement, Mick followed him.

"This might be a short term thing if Galvanax gets wind of an extra kudabot laying around." He held up his hand as Brody started to open his mouth. "But if this works I can see about setting up a . . . more secure way for you to continue training."

The smile that broke over Brody's face tugged at Mick's chest. There wasn't much to smile about on this ship, but if Mick could do something to garner such a response, any amount of risk was definitely worth it. However Mick had one more point he needed to make sure Brody understood before this went any farther.

"Brody," The tone he used made Brody sit still and stare at Mick. "Though I'm going to help you do this, not only do we have to be careful not to let Galvanax or Ripcon see the training, but you won't be able to try and use anything against them or the other kudabots. If they suspect you're trying to use it to escape you won't even have the small measures of freedom we get here in the workshop. Galvanax will do everything to crush you so you never try it again. Trust me when I say there are worse masters or jobs we could be doing." Hopefully he'd never have to find out what kind of horrors some of these monsters were capable of committing. "If we're to be free one day, we'll only have one chance at an escape attempt, so it has to be at the exact right moment. Does that make sense?"

Brody's face had paled during Mick's warning but he nodded resolutely. "I understand. I can't explain it, but it feels like this is something I have to do."

"Okay, Brody. So we'll figure out a way to do it. Safely."

Another smile, although smaller than the last one, tugged at Brody's mouth. "Thanks."

Oh this kid was going to be the death of Mick. But in a good way. Probably.

"Once you finish with the screws I'll need your help replacing the wires."

Brody returned to the task with renewed vigor. Watching him out of the corner of his eye, Mick pieced together a message that would allow the robot to stay in the workshop for a few more days. He'd cross the 'keeping it there' problem bridge when he came to it.

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Four days later

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Mick gave the circuit board a final once over before shutting the hatch. "We should be good to go."

Clutching the ends of his gi belt, Brody bounced on his toes. He hadn't wanted to wear his entire uniform in case something happened (i.e. the machine running rampant) but he had tied his belt around his waist for good luck. It would be a welcome change to have a friendlier sparring match with a physical partner, rather than shadow boxing or being the punching bag for Ripcon.

"I'll hold on to the remote kill switch. If this starts getting beyond what you can- or want to- take, let me know."

Brody nodded and looked over the kudabot. He and Mick had added packaging over its metal frame so that any strikes that landed on it would be slightly muffled.

"Ready?"

Closing his eyes, Brody took a deep breath. He pictured his last day at home and how he'd been snatched away without warning. Determination flooded him. His eyes snapped open and he dropped into a ready stance

Mick took that as a yes. He hit a green button on the remote in his hand. The robot whirred to life, rising from the table. It bowed to Brody and moved to a front stance. Brody launched himself at the robot, sending a series of punches to its torso. The robot countered.

Brody lost himself in the rhythm of strikes and blocks. After a minute the robot hooked its leg behind Brody's. A quick jerk later Brody found himself on the ground, a mechanical hand inches from his chest.

Brody's eyes locked on the hand and his breathing accelerated. He was no longer in the workroom but in the hallway his first day on the ship, being struck down by robots . . . He was cleaning the bedrooms and being shoved from one room to the next . . . He was being dragged before Galvanax for some infringement . . .

All at once the metal automaton disappeared, replaced with Mick's worried face. "Are you hurt? What happened?"

Brody blinked sluggishly, past and present still fighting for dominance in his mind.

"Brody, can you hear me? Talk to me."

"Wha-?"

Letting out a relieved sigh at some response, Mick leaned back a little to give Brody some space. "Are you okay?"

Was he okay? Brody mentally ran through his body. Other than his back aching from hitting the floor he felt fine. Physically at least. He gave Mick a small nod. Still Mick did his own quick assessment before helping Brody sit upright.

"What happened?"

"I-I don't-" Brody broke off in a coughing fit.

Mick jumped up and grabbed a cup from the table. With trembling fingers Brody brought it to his mouth and drank the whole glass in only a few gulps.

"Easy, easy."

Shakily Brody set down the cup and stared at his hands. Mick crouched down next to him.

"Please Brody, what happened?

"I- I was fine. It felt- it felt good even. But then it knocked me down and- and-" Brody broke off with a shudder.

"I should have figured something like that would happen." Mick sighed. "I'm sorry Brody. This wasn't a good idea."

"No!" Struggling to his feet, he ignored Mick's hand attempting to steady him and placed himself in front of the now deactivated kudabot. "I have to do this! Just because . . . because that happened doesn't mean pitch it. This might be my only chance to train with something that's not gonna beat the crap out of me."

"Brody . . ."

"Please Mick!" Brody met Mick's eyes. "It won't happen again."

"You can't promise that." Mick grit his teeth. "Triggers can take you out even before you realize what's happening."

"Then this will help me get over them." Brody planted his foot, his gaze going from pleading to glaring.

Mick studied him for a long minute. "Okay, fine. We can try again. But," His glare cut into Brody's elated grin, "if I think it's too much for you, you're going to quit and I'm going to send this thing to the scrap yard where it belongs. Got it?"

"Thank you! You won't regret it, I promise."

'Too late for that.' Mick gave a wry smile. "We'll see. But you are done for today. You can try again tomorrow."

In a testament to how exhausted he was, Brody didn't argue further. He only nodded and collapsed onto one of the desk chairs. Mick shook his head but smiled. The kid's determination would keep him afloat in this wretched place. Watching him made Mick think that, one day, they might actually have a chance of escaping. Time would tell.