KETTY'S SUBDIVISION Wattys2017

Chapter 24-Part I

After Ketty was gone, Lindy smacked Bakes on the back of the head and motioned for the others to follow. "Let's get going, guys, but if you ever pull a stunt like that and try to kill yourself," her throat tightened as Bakes made eye contact, "I will rip your heart out."

"Yea, sorry 'bout that, it was a rookie mistake." He was a little embarrassed, but soon they were threading their way through complex corridors and elevator shafts with Rayjack and Sizy in tow. Suddenly a loud crashing noise came from behind them and they turned to see a solitary bot had smashed into the wall and fell on his face. It was the one Bakes had bonded to, following like a lost puppy.

"Looks like these bots will need some training," said Bakes as he helped the clumsy machine to his feet.

Lindy thought about that. "I hope we can accelerate their training because we don't have a year to prepare them."

"Ketty will fix it, I'm sure of that," Bakes said confidently. Occasionally they passed a window where they could look out to the robot floor, and now that they had reached the living quarters, they were almost on the roof looking straight down. The rooms stretched on, with kitchen, living quarters and exercise stations spread out in a spacious area that could house a hundred people. Bakes took Sizy and his bot off to the side and set them up doing sparring exercises while Lindy stretched out on a bunk.

"This place is nice, don't you think?"

Scott wasn't so sure, but at least Lindy was talking to him again. She probably felt sorry because of his face, but it almost seemed worth it, if only Rayleen would forgive him. "We're in the middle of nowhere with robots for friends. I can't wait to get out of here, and I sure don't want to spend a year training bots." He saw the look on Lindy's face change, that mischievous look he knew would get them in trouble. "What?"

"Have you noticed how there are so many restricted areas and locked doors?"

"Yea."

"It dawned on me, we need to see if there is a spaceship we can borrow."

"You mean hijack, don't you?"

"If it belongs to Ketty, and were her friends, then it's not stealing."

Scott liked a challenge. "We could get Rayjack to breach the security protocols and do some more exploring."

"What an excellent idea, Scott, I'm glad you thought of it," like she would blame him if anything went wrong.

"That's it! Great job Rookie," Bakes yelled from across the room. They looked to see Sizy pinned to the ground and shouting uncle. He ran over to them. "Did you see that?"

"Yea, so what?" said Lindy.

"Who's Rookie?" asked Scott.

Bakes beamed with pride. "My bot. I named him Rookie to remind me of my mistake. He just learned to outsmart one of the best fighting bots in the Subdivision, and it only took him thirty seconds."

"Big deal, let's see him do it again," said Lindy. "I'm sure it was dumb luck." They watched as Rookie maneuvered around Sizy who dodged and weaved, then went in for the kill shot, but the new bot pushed her head down between his legs and put a scissor hold on the back of her neck.

"Break," yelled Lindy. "Ok girl, pretend he's a Baird and don't let him win, do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," was her short answer before she jumped over Rookie's head, came down behind him while trying to lock up his legs, but he saw it coming. Had he calculated every possible move, read her thoughts, or just gotten lucky? He reached down, between his legs before she even hit the ground and pulled her through by her arms. Then, when she was halfway through, he dropped his butt down hard on her back and put her in a choke hold, pulling back so hard, they could hear the spinal joints cracking.

"Rookie, heal!" shouted Bakes, which made them laugh.

"He's not a dog, you idiot," said Lindy as she checked Sizy's repair subroutine to make sure she wasn't hurt. "Was that your best?" she whispered in her ear.

"I'm afraid so, ma'am."

"So these bots are better trained than we expected."

"I'm afraid they have no training yet. It seems they're quick learners," Bakes smiled, standing over Lindy's shoulder.

"We have to show Ketty. Let's finish scouting the asteroid by circling around the other side so we don't miss anything."

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