Captain Rose noted that all the security cameras in the corridor in this section of the Engineering Section were blasted. She heard someone hiss at her. To her surprise, it was the Assistant Chief Engineer, Narchi, beckoning her into the Drone prep chamber. She was surprised to see Neon inside there,too. Narchi closed the door and activated a noise dampening device. She asked, "What's this all about? Why are the pick-up outside all shot?" Narchi said,"I shot them. Captain...you are WAY too trusting. We need more healthy paranoia. I am assuming the Izkibell can interface with the whole ship's system. Peria-Ko could. She's the Altha-Kromium android with Aldus Panchetta, outside. She could. Cyclops are VERY different from 'ORDINARY' technology. My personal computer is autistic. NO transmitter. I built the micro-Relative-Inertial-Frame generator for a missle, but it should work in you. I got your 'specs' from Doctor Blue. I had NO idea that those big button-like things on your shoulders and hips were super-conducting magnets on kilometer-long bucky-cable filaments! Most impressive." Rose blinked. "You're planning to implant a micro-RIF generator in me HERE? That's going to hurt like hell. Tell me what it will do while you're working. Make it fast,Please." Narci indicated a stool for her to sit on. He began by opening her right side cooling panel and opening her chest deflection shield emitter. Narchi said,"It will only have TWO modes! The default is skin following. It'll give you a form of invulnerability. Normal matter will mostly bounce off of you. You can punch through anything you could dent before. Those filament Bucky-cables become deadly mono-filament garrotes. Energy weapons will be almost useless, but powerful ones can still kill you. Other RIF fields can penetrate your frame!" "The other mode is spherical. If you are on the ground, or near something...when the field is activated, it will sever limbs and objects that the field intersects.I set it to be impossible for you to sever your own limbs. So it's it your toes PLUS 10 centimeters from the generator!" Rose was trying not to flinch while Narchi worked deftly in her chest. It hurt miserably. She asked, "So if someone was in front of me at the intersection distance, when I activated Sphere mode?" Narchi said, while connecting the her insulated power leads to the device, "They'd die. Bisected like by a giant razor, vertically! Very messy." He fell silent, working swiftly. Neon saw a tremor run through Rose's hand. She asked,"So...what do those plates do? The ones on your head?" "Female defensive weapon." Rose sounded stressed. Narchi asked,"Aren't they radar or such?" He hadn't anticipated her blood to be so organic looking. It was red and blue in a sparkling, oily mix. He kept the bleeding to a minimum, as he started sealing her up. Rose said,"It's a phased radar array, as well as active when needed. I can purge my capacitors through it when needed. From this distance, I could explode your head with it's microwave emission. I'd be drained and weak for several minutes. It only has a range of ten meters or so on a damp day, twenty in no humidity. Slicey and Hawkwing can focus it up to almost one hundred meters!" Neon asked,"Hey...are they related? I heard ...things." Rose turned and looked. She said,"Hawkwing is Thistledown's sister. Thistledown mated with myself and my sister, Daisy, when she lived." Nachi said,"I thought you two were married or something." Rose shook her head in all to human a gesture. "We don't have set contracts between mates. We share mates if it's alright between all parties concerned. There is occasional conflict when deceit is practiced by any involved. We believe in communication at all times. It helps minimize conflicts." Neon and Narchi laughed. Rose looked blank. Neon said,"Words to live by!" --TO BE CONTINUED!--