Image by Ulrike Bau. from Pixabay

Nariel staggered through the city streets, her hand pressed to the back of her head. Her port was sparking and she needed to have it replaced. But now that MegaTek had fired her, where could she go?

She knew the answer to that, of course. One of the jump doctors. The problem was they charged an arm and a leg – in her case probably literally, given her level of tech – and she didn’t have the funds to pay them. But she needed her port so she could work.

She tripped over some trash and went down, the servos in her leg giving out. She began to swear. “Problems, little lady?” an urbane voice asked. She looked up into a pair of mischievous brown eyes under an unruly mop of black hair. “You seem to be malfunctioning on several levels. My friend is a jump doctor and could be of assistance to you.”

“I don’t have the funds available to me at the moment to utlize his services,” Nariel said, before remembering she wasn’t supposed to use corp speak anymore. “Uh, I mean, I’m broke. I don’t have the cash to pay for anything.”

“Now, my friend is willing to take trade, and he could use a hand around his shop,” the man said. “I’m sure something could be worked out.”

Nariel was wary of accepting the offer, but she needed help before her entire system shut down. “Okay,” she said. “Can you help me up? That leg’s gone and died again.”

“Let me do a fast patch job, free of charge,” the man said. He pulled out some tools and patched her knee so it would work to get her wherever the hell they were going. “I’m…Michael. What’s your name?”

“V-Nariel.”

“Well, Nariel, let me take you to Jaryk’s shop. He’s not far. He’s mobile, so he sets up in a new place every day,” Michael said. The young man helped her limp along. Nariel wasn’t sure what she was getting herself into, but in this wasteland of steel and glass, cyborgs couldn’t risk malfunctioning for too long if they didn’t want to get recycled. She’d take what she could get and hope for the best.