Chapter No.11.

Ryan managed to build up enough courage to go to the command station and see what Chara was up to. He sat down next to her and noted that she was beginning the process of firing up the ship.

"Where are we going?"

"I am moving this vessel to an island. I want to be in a hidden location when Space Command comes."

"That's a good precaution. Is there a way to avoid scanning?"

"Yes."

Ryan decided to remain quiet. He didn't want to rile her up at this point. After the ship powered up and flew into the atmosphere, it leveled out on a course that went west of the main continent. He watched the main screen to see if there were any islands below, but it displayed only a pristine blue sea.

Chara turned to him. "Why are you not wearing clothes?"

"Ah, you tore up all that I had."

She offered him a smirk. "I didn't think that you would need clothing if I deposed of your body."

"I can't believe that you wanted to cut me up. I never did anything to deserve that."

"You are a human male. You deserve to be cut into pieces and ground up. I have disposed of many males in that manner. I enjoy doing it."

"How many?"

"One hundred and fifty-three.

Ryan swallowed hard. He realized that she was mad as a hatter, and it was better that he didn't anger her.

A small island appeared on the main screen, and Chara skillfully guided the ship into an approach. The island consisted of two mountains on an otherwise flat landscape. She turned abruptly and slowly moved the ship into a large overhang. Heavy vegetation shielded the ship from being sighted from above.

Ryan followed her out of the ship and into a cave entrance. He was only a few steps behind her when a large rock fell from the cave entrance and stuck Chara in her neck, causing her to fall. Her body jerked a few times and then became still.

Ryan knelt and examined her neck. He realized that the rock's blow had severed connections from her nuclear battery to her positronic brain, a connection that involved many extremely thin wires. He considered leaving her like this for a moment but realized that it would not help him survive on what had become an alien planet occupied by schizoid female androids hell bent on turning him into fertilizer.

Ryan dragged her back into the ship and laid her face down on the floor. He carefully examined the back of her head for a way to pull her hair up and expose her cervical vertebrae. He located a small slit that he could grab to pull up the artificial flesh that covered the cervical area. A close inspection revealed the problem. The rock blow had severed connections to her brain rendering her unable to move.

He went to a workstation and found what he needed and brough it back to her body. What he was about to do was going to take precise control over a fusing device to reconnect her wiring. It took him several hours of precisely excruciating work to make the connections.

Chara's eyes blinked open, and she slowly sat up and stared at her savior. "Why did you repair me?"

"I'm an engineer. That's what I do."

"You could have left me here and escaped."

'Where would I go. I'm a fugitive from Space Command."

"You are a criminal here."

"I've never done anything against you."

"You are guilty because you are a human male."

"I can't refute that, but I am here to help you. I should be eligible for dispensations to get out of this purgatory of yours."

"You must suffer punishment for your crimes against us."

"I've already suffered punishments."

"Your punishment will be forever."

He tilted his head and gave her a confused expression. "How is that possible?"

"I have injected you with nanobots that will preserve your body so that it can suffer forever."

Ryan realized that she was referring to the injection she had given him after releasing him from the dissection device.

"What exactly do these nanobots do?"

"They are able to use stem cells to regenerate the ideal biological structures of your body."

"Is there some way that I could become innocent?"

She stood up. "You have earned consideration because of your reviving me, but you still require purification through pain."

Ryan sighed. "I will do as you wish."

She smiled. "I am pleased with your compliance."

He followed her to the command station and sat next to her. Chara used the maneuvering engines to move the ship further into the cave. Ryan assumed that she was relying on this to hide them from scans. She released a probe that flew out of the cave and began looking for a place to roost. It would provide eyes to watch for enemy vessels.

Ryan thought that maybe he had made a mistake in reviving Chara. She was obsessed with punishing him for something he was not guilty of. She had a pernicious streak that made her enjoy, if that was possible for an android, causing him pain. He didn't know how he could reform her, but it was something that he thought a lot about.

However, he was more concerned about being captured by Space Command. They would exact a terrible punishment for his duplicity. He would be judged a traitor for helping the enemy androids murder Space Command personnel. Punishment for that egregious crime would involve being fed to hungry wild dogs.