The Mechanic Part III

Axel glances at the navigation panel, watching the girl's precise movements. A faint smile crosses his face as he decides to break the silence.

"So," he drawls, "you got a name? Or should I just call you 'hey you’ for the rest of this trip?"

The girl's hands remain steady on the wheel. She turns her head slightly - just enough to acknowledge his existence, but not enough to meet his gaze.

"Names aren’t necessary."

"Come on, can't have a proper conversation without introductions. Mine's Axel - professional pod-poker and certified metal man." He waves a Gull arm with theatrical flair.

"This isn't a social gathering."

"Ouch. And here I thought we were becoming friends." He places a mechanical hand over his heart in mock hurt. "At least tell me what to yell if we start sinking."

The girl's expression doesn't change, but something in her posture shifts. "The ship won't sink."

"That confident in your sailing skills?"

"Yes." Simple, direct, devoid of pride or boasting.

Axel then studies the girl's breathing - steady, natural, with no telltale mechanical wheeze of a bionic lung.

"So what's your secret? RespirX? Some fancy custom model I haven't seen before?" He taps his own chest. "Because I've got to say, breathing this sea air without one - that's quite the party trick."

The girl’s hands remain steady on the wheel, her gaze fixed ahead.

"Let me guess - you've got the premium package. All the bells and whistles." Axel's metallic fingers drum against the railing. "Must have cost a fortune. Or did you charm some rich benefactor into funding your seafaring lifestyle?"

"I breathe. That's all."

"Everyone breathes. But most people need help these days, especially folks who spend their time huffing toxic fumes for a living." He gestures at the mist rolling across the waves. "I mean, I've seen dock workers last maybe a year before their masks give out. You're out here playing water taxi through hurricanes."

"Perhaps I'm already dead."

"Ah, so you do have a sense of humor! Though I've got to say, that's a pretty dark joke for someone so..." He waves his hand vaguely.

"Not a joke."

"Right, right. The mysterious ghost captain thing again." Axel leans against the cabin wall. "Well, dead or alive, you're still breathing better than half of Caspia. Some of us had to work our fingers to the bone for that privilege." He flexes his Gulls meaningfully. "Or other body parts."

Silence.

Axel shifts his weight, metal fingers tapping against the railing. "You know, I heard interesting stories about you from the guy at the booth. He says you run more than just a ferry service. Black market goods, contraband tech..." He watches her reaction carefully. "Even heard whispers about passengers who board but never reach their destination."

"Should I be worried?" Axel lets out a short laugh. "Planning to add another notch to your belt out here where no one can hear me scream?"

The girl's eyes flick to him for just a moment. "Depends."

"On what?"

"How much you talk."

"Fair enough. I'm just a humble mechanic, after all. Wouldn't dream of crossing you, captain."

"See that you don't," she murmured.

The ferry suddenly lurches, sending Axel stumbling against the cabin wall. His Gulls click as they compensate for the sudden movement, metal fingers scraping against the steel surface.

Dark clouds have crept up while they talked, turning mist into a roiling mass of shadows. Lightning flashes in the distance, illuminating waves that have grown from gentle swells to angry peaks.

The girl’s hands move across the controls with practiced efficiency, adjusting their course as another wave rocks the vessel. Her shirt whips in the strengthening wind, but she remains steady, as if the storm's fury means nothing to her.

"Might want to hold onto something." Her voice carries over the howling wind.

The storm looms before them, a wall of dark clouds and lightning. But instead of turning away, the girl steers directly toward its edge.

"Are you insane?" Axel shouts.

"The eye wall's weaker on the northwestern edge. We'll slip through there."

The ship crests a massive wave, hanging suspended for a heart-stopping moment before plunging down the other side. Axel's stomach lurches.

"There." She points to a slight break in the storm wall. "Our window."

The engines roar as she pushes them to full power. The ship shoots forward, riding the surge of another wave, and emerges on the other side of the storm front.

"Captain," Axel calls out, his voice barely audible above the storm.

"What?"

"Never do that again."

The moment of relief proves short-lived. The wind shifts, a violent change that sends loose items skittering across the deck. Axel grabs the railing, metal fingers digging into steel.

"Something's wrong." The girl's voice cuts through the growing roar. Her hands fly across the controls, but the ship fights against her commands.

A massive section of metal plating, ripped from some forgotten vessel, hurtles toward them. Axel's Gulls whir to life, servos spinning up as he calculates trajectory. His left arm extends, the hammer mechanism deploying. The impact reverberates through his frame as he smashes the debris aside.

More fragments rain down - twisted pipes, shattered hull pieces, remnants of the world the sea claimed. Axel's arms become a blur of motion. The hammer alternates with quick jabs, pulverizing smaller pieces before they can reach the bridge.

But they can't dodge everything. A jagged shard of steel, thin as a blade and moving faster than the eye can track, slices through the rain. The girl turns a fraction too late. The metal catches her across the face, and blood sprays across the control panel.

"Capt!" Axel calls out, but his voice is lost in the howling wind.

"I'm fine," she said, her voice strained. "Keep your head down and stay out of my way."

Through the chaos of the storm, Axel watches the girl with growing unease. Despite the blood covering half her face, she moves with impossible precision. Her remaining eye stays closed against the stinging spray, yet somehow she dodges every piece of debris that comes hurtling toward them.

The mechanical whir of Axel's Gulls mingles with the howling wind. Fear of the storm recedes, replaced by a cold suspicion that crawls up his spine.

***

Minutes stretch like hours until finally, the wind begins to die down. The massive waves gradually smooth into gentler swells. The girl guides them into calmer waters, where the toxic sea lies flat and grey beneath an overcast sky. Axel releases his death grip on the railing, his Gulls creaking as he straightens.

Axel pushes himself off the railing and approaches the girl at the helm. Her hair hangs like a curtain, obscuring the wound he'd seen minutes ago.

"That eye needs treatment."

"Not necessary." The girl keeps her face turned away.

"Come on, captain. Can't have you piloting half-blind." Axel steps closer. "Head wounds are nasty business."

The girl shifts, maintaining the angle of her hair like a shield. "I said I'm fine."

"At least let me check for debris. Metal fragments can-" He reaches toward her shoulder, but she flinches back.

"If you want me to get you to Olrog alive, stop prying," she snaps, stepping further out of reach.

"I'm just trying to help."

"No." The girl’s tone hardens. "You're just trying to satisfy your curiosity."

Axel circles to her left, attempting to catch a glimpse of the wound. "I mean, anyone who can pilot through that mess with a face full of steel deserves a little professional interest."

"Back off." The warning in her voice is clear, but Axel notices something else - her hair shifts slightly, revealing smooth pale skin where the gash should be.

Axel freezes, his Gulls clicking softly. "That's not possible. I watched that hit you. Saw the blood." Axel's mind races, connecting dots he'd rather leave scattered. "Unless..."

His mind drifts back six months. During a maintenance shift, he’d stumbled on corrupted data-genetic code hidden under layers of encryption. He’d brushed it off as failed research, another dead end in CryoCore’s preservation experiments.

But now, watching the girl’s skin mend itself seamlessly, those fragments resurface with chilling clarity. Failed test subjects, secret budgets, encrypted files-it all points to something far beyond cryogenics. Something darker.

"What are you?" The words slip out before he can stop them.

"Someone who values privacy."

"That kind of regeneration..." Axel's voice drops. "CryoCore's been trying to crack that code for years."

"Careful. Curiosity has consequences."

Axel's mechanical fingers tap against the railing. "Information like this could be worth quite a bit to the right people."

"Your point?"

"Just thinking about my employer. Gilmore's been missing for days now. Interesting timing, wouldn't you say? A CryoCore experiment gone wrong, perhaps?"

"I'm not CryoCore’s little experiment."

"Your healing power says otherwise."

"You think CryoCore invented genetic modification? They're children playing with toys they don't understand."

"Oh, but I think they did." Axel steps closer, his tone light but the threat unmistakable. "How about we make a deal? Your secret stays safe, and you tell me what happened to Gilmore."

"Or?"

"Or CryoCore learns about their wandering experiment."

"So that’s your choice. Blackmail." Her face remains impassive, but her eyes betray a flicker-disappointment, perhaps, or something colder.

The word lingers in the air, heavy as the mist curling over the waves.

"I thought you were different," she says softly. "For a moment, I even considered..."

"Considered what?" Axel presses.

"Trust." The word drops from her lips like a stone, each syllable cutting. "Foolish of me. You’re just like the rest- seeing people as nothing more than pieces to trade."

The girl takes a step closer. Axel tenses. He needs to act fast - if he doesn't strike now, the girl would surely kill him for what he knew.

The air crackles with tension. Axel's Gulls hum to life. No warning, no hesitation - he launches forward, the hammer attachment in his left arm swinging in a deadly arc toward the girl's head.

She shifts, fluid as water, the blow whistling past her ear.

Axel’s hammer smashes where the girl's midsection should be. But she's already gone, ducking under his arm and pivoting away from the controls.

"Poor choice."

The ship rocks beneath them as Axel presses his attack. His Gulls give him reach and power, each strike lethal. The hammer swings again, catching the edge of the girl's shirt, but finds no flesh beneath.

"Stay still and die!" Axel snarls, both Gulls striking in a devastating combination.

"Make me."

The words barely register before pain explodes across Axel's chest. He staggers back, looking down to find three deep gashes torn through his shirt. Blood wells up, bright against the fabric.

How? He hadn't even seen her strike.

His Gulls whine as he steadies himself, recalculating odds that grow worse by the second. The helm's metal walls seem to close in, and for the first time, Axel realizes he's trapped himself in here with her.

Axel staggers to his feet, blood trickling from his chest. His mechanical arms click as internal mechanisms shift and realign. The right Gull splits apart, plates sliding and rotating until the barrel of a gun emerges from within the metal housing.

The gun barrel locks into place with a final click. Axel's heart pounds in his chest - he only has a few bullets, and at this range, he can't afford to miss.

Axel fires shot after shot. She twists and turns, her lithe form evading each projectile with unnerving accuracy.

Axel's heart races, panic setting in as he watches his precious few bullets disappear into the air, his gun clicking empty. Axel then lets out a guttural cry and lunges forward, his desperation fueling his attack.

In one fluid motion, she sidesteps Axel's frenzied strike. She grabs his wrist, her grip like iron, and with a swift twist, sends Axel's Gulls clattering to the floor.

"Enough," she says, her voice sharp. "You've had your chance."

Axel stares at her, his chest heaving, his eyes wild. "What are you?"

"I told you, that's none of your concern."

"The hell it isn't!" Axel spits, his desperation giving way to a rising fury. "You're not human, are you?"

The girl's grip tightens, and Axel winces in pain. "You ask too many questions," she says, her voice laced with warning.

Axel tries to fight back, but the girl's onslaught is relentless. He feels his strength fading, his vision blurring. Desperately, he lashes out once again with his Gulls, but the girl easily evades his attack.

With a final, powerful strike, the girl sends Axel crashing to the floor of the cabin. Axel feels his RespirX sputter and wheeze inside his chest. Each breath comes shorter than the last, metallic taste flooding his mouth. His vision blurs as the mechanical components strain to process what little air he can draw in.

His Gulls twitch and spark, the delicate circuitry damaged from the fight. The right arm doesn't respond at all now, hanging limp and useless at his side. The left one jerks sporadically, metal fingers scraping against the cabin floor.

Blood trickles from his chest, mixing with the copper tang of internal bleeding. The calm clouds spin above him as his oxygen-starved brain struggles to maintain consciousness. His lungs - his precious, expensive lungs that cost him years of careful scheming - are failing.

Through dimming vision, he sees the girl standing over him. Axel knew that this was the end. He saw something he shouldn't have, and now he would pay the ultimate price.