Schultz had never been successful in erasing her memories entirely. They were too embedded in her mind, but Schultz and Schmidt had scared her, and she’d been smart enough to hide that she remembered almost everything.
She was six years old and had just started school when terrorists carrying guns boarded their bus. One of them had a bomb strapped to his body. Within moments they had taken over the school bus filled with children from age six to twelve, all on their way to school.
The terrorists had killed the bus driver and the security guard, then taken the bus on a wild ride through the city and then onto the highway while negotiating some deal that ended in no success.
The other children on the bus had all been terrified and screamed and cried. The men had slapped several of them and even threatened to shoot them if they didn’t stop. They had shot their weapons at the floor of the bus to frighten them. She’d been scared stiff, too, but had just sat quietly, crouched in the corner of the last seat at the very back of the bus. She had hoped if she stayed hidden, the men wouldn’t notice her. It was during those terrifying hours she’d decided, that when she grew up, she’d become a policewoman or a soldier, so she could fight such bad people.
Images flitted through her mind like mini holographs—blowing out the candles on her birthday cake, her tall father picking her up and swinging her in a circle, the comforting arms of her mother holding her. Though the faces in her memories were blurred, she knew she had a name, a mother and father, and a little brother and sister. She was Olivia Fitzgerald. Her birthday was on June sixth. She even remembered their phone number. Her mother had drummed it into her. Her brother and sister’s names were Robbie and Vera.
She clung to those memories as if they were a life preserver.
They’d lived in a nicer section of the city. Her father must have had a good job. What it was exactly, she didn’t know, but her family had been better off than most of humanity although she didn’t realize much of that at the time. From what she could recall, they were a happy family. She felt loved and safe... at least until the bus drama. She was never told what had exactly happened, just that she’d been in a bad accident. When she was older, she realized the man wearing the bomb must have set it off, and somehow she had survived the blast, though she had been badly hurt.
Months later, she had woken up in the sterile room. The only people present were a nurse and Schultz and Schmidt. Her family... her mother and father were not there. She’d asked for them, but Schmidt told her they had died, and she’d been chosen to live in the Institute. That she would be trained to become a soldier. She’d been happy about the soldier part, but the loss of her family had left a gap in her heart, a wound that never healed. She’d asked about her brother and sister and received no answer.
At first, she’d shed many tears, but when she got older, she hadn’t believed that her parents were dead. Wouldn’t that be just too much of a coincidence? She was seriously hurt in the bomb blast, and suddenly her parents died, too? And her siblings had vanished? And what about her grandparents? All these years her bitterness had grown, her hatred of everything bad, but especially her hatred for Schmidt and Schultz. She’d trained hard, pushed herself to the very limits, all with one goal in sight—to get out of the Institute and find her family. And now Schultz had blown all that to hell. Instead of getting sent on a mission and being able to settle somewhere on Earth, they were sending her to Brevona, an alien planet. To make it worse, the portal was a one-way ride. She would be stuck on Brevona after her targets were eliminated.
Schmidt arrived, snapping her out of her thoughts. A young man followed him. “Twenty-four, this is Ninety-one. He’ll be your partner.”
Twenty-four nodded at Ninety-one, though he didn’t bother to acknowledge her at all. Maybe he felt the same and didn’t want a cohort. She’d protested against having a sidekick. Hell, she could take on an army by herself if she had to. Thirty or more upstarts was nothing.
She studied him a moment. He was quite a bit taller than her. Dressed in a blue cybernetic suit, similar to hers, his blue eyes met hers. They were chisel hard, like blue chips of ice, one of them bionic. The color was almost the same as the other one, but she could tell it was an implant. He looked unfriendly, angry almost. His blond hair was very short, a buzz cut, at least what she could see of it. Like hers, a good portion of his face was cybernetic, but not his ears or his scalp.
Well, he might be more useful than Bobo.
Recruits like her were called cyborgs—part human, part machine. It was obvious that Ninety-one was part machine as well. Schultz and Schmidt had transformed several of the women that had suffered severe accidents. They must have done the same in the male division of the Institute for some of the recruits who’d had a serious mishap either before they got there... or after.
Schultz walked back to join them. “Ninety-one, Twenty-four has been briefed and is in charge. Here are your weapons.” He handed them each a phaser. “Twenty-four, this wallet contains some of Brevona’s currency should your mission take longer than a day, which I suspect it might. Though you will stand out on Brevona in those suits and we do not want to draw attention to you or the mission. You may have to resort to theft to obtain clothing, although that will not cover up your face, Twenty-four. Maybe a shawl around your head if you can find one? Your first objective is to locate the resistance cell. Their last known position was near the beach we are transporting you to. Remember to activate your implants upon completion of your task. Good luck.”
“You expect me to wear a shawl to hide my face, too?” Ninety-one commented.
“Right, you have cybernetic implants, too.” Schultz stroked his chin absentmindedly as if his thoughts were focused elsewhere.
Twenty-four pocketed the wallet, stuck the phaser into its holster, and stood ready. Schultz’s reminder and Twelve’s warning note playing heavily on her mind.
The area within the metal portal began to glow, sharp flashes of electrical impulses darting across its surface. A mass of colorful plasma appeared. It swirled and danced within the oval.
Twenty-four stepped through first, followed by the bot. She experienced a spinning sensation, then what felt like a strong wind, and within seconds, she stepped through onto Brevona’s soil. Soil? Water. They had landed right on the edge of an ocean. When she turned around, the bot stepped out of the portal, followed by Ninety-one, and the almost transparent blue ring and plasma faded.
Chapter Four
“You realize you stand out like a sore thumb in that white suit of yours.” Ninety-one scanned her from head to toe. “Our targets will spot you a mile away.”
She scrunched her nose at him. “Yours isn’t much better. It’s an electric blue. But I have a remedy for mine. I don’t like to use it because the dark color stands out so harshly against my skin.”
She jabbed at the button located just above her pelvic bone, and instantly her suit and all cybernetic implants changed to a charcoal gray. Her natural skin was quite light compared to some of her fellow recruits. Against the dark suit, she looked almost deathly pale. Though she hated the darker color, the suit at least covered up her cybernetic leg and arm, and it was actually quite nice... when it was white. Not that it actually mattered that much. The arm and leg looked quite real. But in her mind, they were different. Vanity... Thanks to no mirrors in the Institute, she couldn’t really tell whether it was that obvious that she had a fake arm and leg. It was probably all in her mind.
The only thing that bothered her about the suit was her exposed abdomen. Why they had designed it that way, she had no idea. It left that area of her body vulnerable to attack. Luckily for Ninety-one, his suit covered him completely. She wondered if he, too, had bionic body parts hidden beneath the suit.
He curled his lip at her. “Trust a woman to be vain.”
She wanted to slap the condescending look off his face. “Shut up, asshole. Your suit must have the same capability.”
She moved
closer to him and inspected his suit from top to bottom. She found the button at the base of his spine and pushed it, pausing just long enough to admire his well-formed glutes.
Ninety-one might be a jerk, but he was powerfully built. She’d already seen his muscles ripple beneath the material of the suit, his strong arms and muscular legs, broad chest and those washboard abs. It wasn’t as if she’d never seen a man. The two scientists and many of their assistants were male. But they didn’t look anything at all like this man, nor did they cause the strange fluttering sensation in the pit of her stomach like Ninety-one did when she gazed upon him.
She shook the thoughts off as his suit changed to black. She shifted to stand beside him and peered up at him. “I can’t believe they never told you that the suit can change its color.”
His jaw clenched, a look of disgust crossing his features. “They never told me a lot of things. I imagine it is the same for all the recruits, including you.” He turned his attention to the beach. “I never expected to be sent to an alien planet, let alone with a woman.”
“Sorry to disappoint you. For your information, I am more cyborg than human.”
He shrugged. “The only part I see that is cyborg is your jaw, your ears, and the top of your head.”
“The suit covers the rest. You?”
“My body is whole. My face got it in the fire and resulting explosion.”
She didn’t tell him about her arm and leg and didn’t ask him for further explanation about what had happened to him. It was really none of her business, or her details his. They had a mission to complete. The sooner they annihilated their targets, the quicker she would be free to pursue a life.
“We’re wasting time,” she grumbled.
She studied her surroundings. The tide was coming in, and the water was up to her ankles now. It was the first time in her life she’d been near an ocean. Sure, she’d seen images, but this was real. She breathed its briny scent in deeply, almost tasting the salty water on her tongue. It was incredible. The two suns turned the surface into molten gold. The sky was a pale orange-gray color.
“The suns look like they’re going down. It’ll be dark soon.”
Twenty-four began to walk to the huge boulders that surrounded the beach. Ninety-one and the bot followed her. After the lubrication of its creaky joints and gears, it now moved smoothly and soundlessly.
Twenty-four was thankful that Schultz had insisted they bring the bot. It shifted and moved the large boulders with ease. With the bot’s assistance, they were able to climb most of the rocks. When they finally reached the top, she motioned for them to stop. “There is a clearing below.”
Ninety-one drew up beside her. “Keep an eye out for any movement. Our targets were last seen on this beach.”
The suns had gone down, and a large moon hung heavy in the sky, its soft glow illuminating the sand below. Twenty-four had enhanced vision, so she could see well, even if it was dark. Ninety-one could probably see even better with his bionic eye.
She studied the large section of sand. It was surrounded by boulders the size of small hills. The surface of the sand had been churned up, and she could see fragments of charred wood, indicating there had been a campfire. “This must have been the encampment.”
They climbed down and cautiously approached the remnants of the fire. Twenty-four bent and held her hand close to the bits and pieces of coal and ashes. “It’s still warm. They can’t be far away.”
“I wonder what spooked them?”
“We aren’t the only ones hunting the insurgents. The king’s army is, too. It makes sense that they would move their encampment every few days.”
“If the king’s army is hunting them, why did Schultz and Schmidt engage us to hunt them down and kill them?”
“I don’t know. We’re not allowed to ask questions.” She gave him a sidelong glance. “Unless it’s different in the male division. All I know is that the king requested help.”
“If we are to assist the king and his troops, why avoid them?”
“Fuck, I don’t know, Ninety-one.” Frustrated, she brushed her fingers through her hair. “All I know is that the Institute and our existence is top secret. No one knows about us except WLO, those two bastard scientists, and their staff.”
He took a deep breath and shook his head. “Don’t you ever question anything? Even in your own mind? Like how you ended up in the Institute?”
Yes, she did. All the damn time, and when she finished this mission she would pursue her answers. “I’ve been there forever. I don’t remember anything different.”
There was no way in hell she was going to tell him that she remembered a lot from before the Institute. When they eventually returned to Earth, he could tell Schultz that she had memories. That would result in torture, memory wipes, and endless reprogramming, as the doctors called it. Brainwashing... that’s what it was.
Deep down she’d often wondered why they had taken in a severely damaged child. Most of the cyborgs—and there weren’t that many—became so because of accidents that had happened at the Institute. From the new children and infants she’d seen, they were all whole. Would she have died if they hadn’t taken her in and repaired her? It had resulted in many surgeries until she had reached full height—which wasn’t that tall. She only stood just over five feet.
And what am I thinking? Return to Earth? It’s a one-way trip, girl. There’s no going back for us. They expect us to activate the chip.
Unless Twelve had lied to her in the note, but what reason could she have had to mislead her? Twenty-four planned on returning to Earth, even if she had to stowaway on one of Brevona’s spaceships. She was determined to find her family one way or another. Maybe there was a way to disguise her cyborg appearance...
“We need to get a move on. We are too visible here should the insurgents return to the area.” Ninety-one effectively changed the subject.
“Then we will get the drop on them. They weren’t too careful covering up their movements. Tracking them will be easy.” She hoisted herself onto one of the huge boulders, anchored her feet and reached out to Ninety-one. “Come on then.”
Ninety-one waved off her assistance and pulled himself up while the bot began moving and shifting the rocks. Before long, they had reached the top and began their descent. When Twenty-four had reached the last boulder, she jumped the last couple of feet to the ground. Ninety-one landed beside her while the bot shifted the last boulder.
He had surprised her with his questions. When she’d first met him at the portal, he looked like nothing but a cyborg with ice cubes in his head. He didn’t seem so cold now. There was a human behind that façade, one with an inquiring mind.
She studied the area looking for any signs the insurgents may have passed this way. The sand had given way to plants and greenery, and there was a large expanse of tall grasses, some of the stalks bent and broken. They made their way through, following the path that had been cut through the vegetation until finally, they came to a forest. The brush and trees were so thick it made it hard to see where the radicals may have entered.
“There is no sign of them. No tracks, broken branches... Nothing.” Ninety-one sounded frustrated. “The fact that it is dark isn’t helping. My vision is enhanced but it sure as hell isn’t x-ray. I can’t see through the trees.”
“Maybe that is a good thing.” She gave him a sidelong glance. The look on his face made her breath hitch and her skin prickle—his eyes weren’t chips of ice, but molten blue fire. Nudity didn’t bother her, but the very idea that he could possibly see through her suit made her skin heat in a very intriguing way. Focus on the mission, girl. Hell, I don’t even like the man. “You take the right, and I’ll go left. Look for signs of broken or trampled foliage. We’ll meet back here.”
She ordered the bot to stay put.
She trudged through the grass, following the tree line, searching for any sign of their targets. She had gone quite a way but had n
o luck finding anything. She hurried back to find Ninety-one already waiting for her.
He motioned for her to follow him. “This way. I found evidence of them entering the forest further down.”
“Good. We need to make as much headway as we can before daylight.”
Ninety-one led her along the edge of the forest. When they reached their destination, she could see that the resistance group had left a clear path of disturbed foliage and broken branches. They followed it until they came to a vast, open veld of mainly dirt. There was little or no shrubbery and only a few small patches of grass.
“If we cross this, they’ll be able to spot us.” Ninety-one’s gaze was trained on the field.
Twenty-four studied the veld noting a definite path of bushes large enough to hide them. “Not necessarily. It’s still quite dark, and there are shrubs here and there that will give us some cover. Unless they have cybernetic vision, they wouldn’t see us that easily. We’ll leave the bot here.”
She darted to the first bush, then turned to Ninety-one, motioning for him to follow, when he drew up beside her, the heat radiating from his body made her skin prickle and her pulse kick up a notch. What in the hell was wrong with her? Was she attracted to him? Surely not!
He peered around the bush and gestured to the ground that had been disturbed. “Why were the rebels this careless? A child could track them. A trained militia wouldn’t leave such an obvious trail.”
Twenty-four nodded. “Yes. I have a feeling it’s a ploy to throw off those in pursuit. It could possibly be a trap, but not for us. No one knows about the portal. They couldn’t know about our arrival.” She turned and pushed against his chest. “Back up.”
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