Rae came down to the garage again that evening. “Are you doing okay? I’m sorry…Mom and Dad won’t let me keep you in my room.”

“I’m fine now. Especially since you took off the interlocks. Hey, what’s this thing?” Vi pointed at the large mechanical device in the back of the garage.

“That’s a microfactory,” Rae said, stepping forward. “It’s what we use for repairs, or for making small vehicles into ‘mechs. Like the scooter you’re in.”

“That’s about what I thought.” Moving lightning-quick, Vi carefully grabbed the back of Rae’s head.

“Hey! What’re you—” Then Rae’s voice slacked off and her eyes stared blankly ahead as Vi began the “memory dump.”

She wasn’t sure she liked doing this to a friend—even one who had betrayed her—but she couldn’t see any way around it. Rae had the technical knowledge Vi needed, but Vi was the one with the processing power to find solutions fast.

She glanced over at the factory. And when it came right down to that, the “real” Violet owned a motor scooter, too.