\n Ioborne Chapter Seven

\n It was a few hours later that Bridge came back online. Duke was asleep beside him.

\n "Bioscans are coming back now," Bridge announced, "Oh my."

\n "What is it? What's wrong?"

\n "You're pregnant."

\n "What?!" Gunner couldn't contain his voice, waking the newfoundland.

\n "W-what's wrong?" Rockstead stammered.

\n "I'll let you know in a minute," he waited for Bridge to respond.

\n Bridge continued, "I've discovered a colony of nanobots that have been diligently working inside of you for months. The nausea, the elevated hormones, it makes sense."

\n "How can nanites be in my body without your knowledge?"

\n "Medical grade nanobots, they're organic and communicate differently, in order to prevent them from being hacked. They are all preprogrammed to do their job then purge themselves from your system."

\n "Wha-How did these get into my system?"

\n "Hypodermic spray. Intravenous. Ingestion. But you can narrow it down by the last time you saw a medical professional."

\n The last time he saw a doctor was the medic, but the medic didn't do anything except with check with Bridge. The nanites at the orbital station? No because they were part of the same upgrade to Bridge. Then the recollection of sitting at Madigan, requesting fertility drugs. They must have prescribed for Maggie.

\n "That could explain why it took so long for it to work. Those bots had a lot of work to do. They even managed to evolve over time. They are carefully nursing the embryos as we speak."

\n "There's just no way that I could be pregnant," Gunner said.

\n Duke couldn't help but interject, "Wait, what's going on?"

\n "My VI is telling me that I'm pregnant."

\n "How would your VI know?"

\n "Well, part of my upgrades had been a bio-scanner."

\n "I-is that why you've been throwing up?"

\n "No, I refuse to believe that I can get pregnant. It's impossible. I need a second opinion."

\n Though, he said the same thing about AIs running rampant in his wetware.

\n ***

\n "Twins?!"

\n The medic pulled a three dimensional scan up on the holo display. He zoomed into the new organs that were constructed by the nanites. "You can see here, two embryos. There's a time period of two weeks since conception where an embryos splits into two. Who's the father?" The medic smiled at Rockstead.

\n Rockstead had remained utterly silent. They both knew who it was.

\n "This is absurd," Gunner yelled, more at the situation than the medic.

\n "You should read warning labels on what you're taking."

\n "I thought he was giving me a placebo. You know the military, they usually just give you Motrin and send you out the door."

\n "Now that you're expecting, I also don't recommend taking Motrin."

\n Gunner stormed out of the Sick Bay, his mind chaotic with thoughts. He probably should have asked how they were going to get them out when the time came. Duke caught up with him as he opened the door to his room.

\n "You're keeping them, aren't you?"

\n "I--"

\n "They'll be all I have left of him. You said yourself that you wanted to be a father, that you wanted pups. Now you're having pups with someone who truly loved you, died defending you," his voice trailed off.

\n Gunner held Duke. "We will always have his memories, and his pups will know the kind of hero he was."
\n  

\n Ioborne Epilogue

\n It had been sixteen years between when the first of the 91st Corps of Engineers arrived on Io and the next. The war over Luna had taken a much heavier toll than anyone could have estimated. The economy crash in the wake of the war meant that they were grounded for five years.

\n EnGen Corporation was charged as guilty for destruction of Europa at the end of the economic crisis.

\n They landed outside of the floating city of Jamestown. Population 154.

\n Io was more inhabitable than Luna and Mars combine. Lush hanging gardens. Underwater forests. Even the sulfur smell was gone.

\n Nine months after Gunner's men touchdown onto Io, EnGen corporation came to claim Io. Gunner was well prepared for their arrival. The nineteen arrivals gave no fight, and had no allegiance to a corporation that sent them into an ice shroud killing over two dozen. They only had small fire arms the corporation gave them, meant for them to take out any opposition.

\n A year later, EnGen supply crates hit atmo, the satellite network tracked them all down. To include plenty of equipment designed to create terraforming machines.

\n One supply crate caused Gunner's ears to perk up, one containing medicines. Including, but not limited to fertility drugs.

\n  

\n The End.