Suburban Cyborg

by Gloria Martin

  Exonyie sat up from his bed and ran his hands through his unruly hair. He had thought of cutting it, but it was one of his features that attracted women to him. As a bounty hunter, any type of sex appeal he could harbor was important It was a lonely life in space, and there was nothing better than falling into bed with a beautiful woman after a long day. He’d thought about marriage, but it was not really an option when his job kept him away from home so much. What woman would want to be married to a man like that?

  Exonyie got up from the bed, dressed and put his boots back on. He grabbed his gun and walked out the door towards the equipment room. This was the area where all of his crew would be at while they were chasing their next lead. He knew, as well as anyone else, that they all hoped that this was it for them. All the men had an itch to get this girl Avi Mitchell and bring her back home. They had all been aboard on the ship for way too long and were tense from it. They hoped that the woman would put a good up a good fight, because then they would have the justification to release some tension. Once they completed this job, they could go out and celebrate; head to a distant planet, drink, and meet some girls. Exonyie couldn’t wait for some much needed relaxation himself. He hoped and prayed that this lead would pan out.

  “How’s it going?” he asked his first officer, Astoroth. “Any news yet?”

  Astoroth looked up at him and beamed. “I think we got her,” he said.

  “Explain,” Exonyie replied as he sat down in his seat.

  “Well, we found an unregistered ship that was floating by an asteroid field.”

  “Like it was in hiding?” Exonyie interrupted.

  “Correct. And, when we asked the ship to identify itself it kept dropping our call. So, as we got closer we realized that the ship had previously been registered on Zethron,” the first officer explained.

  Exonyie sat up in his seat. He was actually starting to get excited. This could be it.

  “So, what do you propose?” Exonyie inquired.

  “We’ll force the ship’s system to respond to our call. This way we can get a good look at the pilot and determine if it actually is Avi Mitchell, and how many other people are there on the ship with her,” the first officer informed him.

  “Do it,” Exonyie said as he watched his first officer hack into the small ship’s system and access the router that would force it to answer their call. “We’re in,” he said. The rest of the room cheered. Exonyie had no idea that all of the crew was standing by waiting for the outcome of this lead. His crew was just as excited as he was to end this. They had been really loyal to him during this mission and he would have to remember to reward them when this was all over.

  Their call screen lit up as it rang the other ship’s system. On the third ring it answered and caught the young woman off guard. She jumped from her seat and tried to turn off the screen that totally dismantled her privacy. Enxonyie’s ship’s computer snapped a picture of the young woman, still trying to switch off the screen, and compared it to the picture from her wanted poster. It was a complete match. Everyone on the ship sighed with relief knowing that their mission was soon to be over.

  Exonyie turned towards his crew and yelled, “Let’s go get her boys!” as the room erupted in cheers.

  ***

  The present…

  Avi heard a rustling on the other side of room as she rubbed her eyes. How long had she been asleep? The smell of bacon and eggs filtered through the vents and right into her nose. Her stomach growled in protest and she swore because she might have given herself away. That was the one thing that she hadn’t thought about last night, food. How much longer could she survive in this room without eating? Why hadn’t she stocked some basic necessities in here? She could hear her mother now. Avi and her brother Aric had been drilled in survival skills since they were infants. Life on the colony was always a struggle and children were forced to learn survival skills before they could walk. And, now Avi had forgotten the most important part of survival: food and water.

  The rustling in the room came closer and stopped right in front of the door. Avi picked up her gun and pointed it towards the door. A piercing sound startled her, causing her to drop the gun and put her hands over her ears. The door flew open and an imposing figure stood over her. He was six feet tall with dark scarlet red hair and freckles. He was dressed in a black shirt, cargo pants and boots. Avi tried to make out the color of his eyes, but she couldn’t get past the electronic gadget that covered his left eye. It was flesh colored, as though it were meant to blend in with the rest of his body, but it actually did the exact opposite. It was 2 inches in diameter and contained a small screen, across which flashed text and images. The cyborg greeted her with an open-toothed smile and Avi’s heart fell in her chest.

  “Avi Mitchell. You are under arrest for the murder of Authority Figure 718. Please leave your weapon and come with me,” he said as he pulled her up by the arm and started to drag her towards the exit.

  “What are you going to do with me?” Avi asked, fearful for her life.

  “We will bring you back to Zethron to face trial. Now, let’s go get you some breakfast,” he growled as he walked her towards the upper deck. Avi didn’t know whether to feel relieved or terrified.

  *****

  Exonyie set the prisoner down at the table below deck and set a plate of food in front of her. The smell of bacon and eggs was mesmerizing and Avi’s stomach growled so loud that everyone at the table could hear. She looked down in embarrasment, but didn’t touch her food. Exonyie sat down next to her and pushed her plate closer.

  “Eat,” he said.

  Avi looked her captor directly in the eyes and spat in his face in defiance. Zen jumped up from the table in an attempt to put the woman in her place, but Exonyie put his hand up and indicated that he should sit back down.

  This woman was really going to try his patience. He thought to himself. He wasn’t going to let her get him all riled up. He picked up a napkin and wiped his face with it.

  “Now, you have two choices,” he said as he picked up the fork on Avi’s plate. “The way I see it, you can either eat or your own or I’m going to feed you myself and I will make sure that you eat every bite. My orders are to bring you back alive and well, and that is exactly what I’m going to do. So, what’s it gonna be princess?”

  The woman glared at him as she grabbed the fork out of his hand and started shoveling food into her mouth. Her eyes never left his, challenging him. Exonyie knew that this woman wasn’t going to make this easy for him. She wouldn’t give up without a fight, no matter if she was captured or not.

  “Zen.”

  “Yes, boss?” Zen said as she stood up.

  “I need you to go back to the ship and get room 200 ready for our prisoner. Make sure that you do everything that we discussed.”

  Zen’s eyes widened in surprise, but he didn’t argue with the commander. He was well aware of what happened to crew members who question the commander in public. “Right on it boss,” he said as he exited the room and headed back towards the ship.

  “As for the rest of you, head back up to the ship onto the bridge,” said Exonyie I will meet you all up there in a few minutes. I want to talk to our prisoner alone.”

  Everyone filed out. As soon as they had gone, Exonyie tuned to face Avi.

  “Now, that wasn’t so bad was it?” he said as he looked down at her empty plate. Avi looked up as her eyes burned right into him. He could feel the hate radiating from her body and all he could do was laugh until tears were falling from his eyes. “You don’t talk much do you?” he asked as he waited any type of reply or sound to come from her lips, but none came.

  “I try to think that I am a pretty fair and just man. I believe in giving people choices and hope that they make the right one, but I can see that I’m not going to get any any word out of you. So, you can just listen to what I have to say. I don’t like this situation any better than you do, but here we are. My crew and I have been hired to capture you and bring
you home. We don’t care if you commiteed the crime or not. And, we don’t care if there was a good reason for what you did. We aren’t paid to care. Therefore, we are going to set a few ground rules until we get back on Zethron. First of all, I am you jailer and you are my prisoner. You will do as I say, when I say, or there will be consequences. You will not speak unless spoken to and you will not speak to any members of my crew unless they have orders to speak to you. You will eat the food that I give you without complaint or you will be force fed, but you will eat. Any questions?” Exonyie asked.

  Avi was still glaring at him. However, she didn‘t even utter a sound or seem to react to what he said.

  “Since we are in full agreement. Let me introduce you to your new home.” Exonyie said as he grabbed her arm and let her down to his ship and closer to Zethron.

  ***

  Zen had almost completed sterilizing room 200. He was still confused as to why Exonyie would want to house the fugitive in the room that adjoined his and not in the hold, where they usually housed all of the fugivites and prisoners that they capture. It wasn’t his place to ask, because the commander probably had a good reason to keep her there. The commander probably thought it was best to keep an eye on her at all times, and not have to worry if she could get into the heads of the men that were posted to watch her. Yeah, that must be it.

  Zen was just finishing up when he heard footsteps in the hallway. The door opened and the commander walked in holding the arm of the young woman firmly. Zen watched her out of the corner of his eye and realized that she couldn‘t be much older than he was, and pretty. Long, black hair, pale white skin, round breasts and high, firm buttocks. Looking at her, he remembered yearningly just how long it had been since he had been with a woman. He gulped, and excused himself from the room, before his erection became noticeable.

  ***

  Avi hurled the ceramic cup across the room and watched it shatter as it hit the wall. She was fuming.

  Who the hell does he think he is? she asked herself. Giving me a choice? How funny. He must really think that I’m stupid or something. This isn’t some sort of vacation for me, this is my life we’re talking about. This cyborg is trying to see if I will buy into his ‘let’s be friends and be civil mentality.’ I’m his prisoner and I will do whatever it takes to get my freedom back, even if that means killing everyone on this ship. I will find a way because I’m never going back to Zethron, not until it’s safe.

  Rule number # 1 of survival training: Calculate your surroundings and formulate a plan. Avi sat down on the bed and started to memorize every part of her room, inch by inch.

  *****

  Exonyie was preparing himself to talk to the crew and set up some ground rules for the rest of the mission. The men were probably all questioning his reason for putting the prisoner in room 200. If the prisoner had been male, in any form, he would have locked him up in the hold and threw away the key. But the prisoner happened to be female, and Exonyie knew that the men were getting frustrated being so far away from home, or any type of civilization, for that long. Being the only female on a ship of men could not only cause a world of trouble for him, but could cause a world of harm for her. Exonyie was sworn to protect her and bring her back to Zethron healthy and alive. He would do whatever it took to make sure that those orders were followed.

  He could hear animated voices and laughter wafting from the bridge. Exonyie let out a sigh of relief, releasing all of the tension that he had been holding inside for the past few months. Hearing his men laughing and joking totally lightened his mood. Exonyie walked in with a grin on his face.

  “Hello everyone,” he said as he strolled into the room. All of the laughter and joking subsided as all eyes followed him walk towards the front of the room. “Don’t stop what you were doing on my account. I’m just as excited as you are. We are finally at the tail end of this mission and only have to bring the prisoner home safe and sound, and then we can all take a much needed vacation.” An uproar of cheers filled the room.

  Krug, a new recruit who had just joined his crew on this mission said, “Commander, the men and I have a request.”

  Exonyie smiled. “I will answer all questions and listen to all requests after you hear to what I have to say.” All men turned and gave him their full attention. Exonyie felt the mood in the room change, from that of joy and laughter to seriousness. “When I entered this room, I heard sounds of joy and celebration. You all have no idea how happy I was to hear those sounds after being so miserable for so long. We‘ve finally caught the fugitive and now we just had to bring her home. The hard part of the mission was over, so I thought, but when I brought the captive into room 200, I noticed the look that appeared on Zen’s face –” Zen’s face appeared red in embarrasment. “Which is normal, but it emphasized the reason that I put her in that room in the first place. We have all been away from Zethron – any planet for that matter – for quite awhile. As males we all have needs and as many of you have noticed, our captive is the only female on this ship and the only female that we have seen for months. Keeping her next to my quarters will not only allow me to keep her safe, but it will allow me to keep an eye on her.”

  “Keep her safe from what commander?” Krug asked him. The rest of the room nodded in assent.

  “From ourselves,” Exonyie said.

  “I don’t mean any disrespect, but isn’t she a criminal? Weren’t we sent on a mission to capture this fugitive? We shouldn’t be put in the same catagory as her.”

  Exonyie felt his temper start to rise. Was this recruit trying to justify rape or other type of immoral behavior? “Krug, we are still bound by the laws of Zethron out here in space. We are not above the law when we go out and serve it. I have made up my mind. No one is allowed to talk to the prisoner or approach her without direct orders from me. Anyone who does will be punished severly. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes, commander,” said the crew.

  “Great. I’m glad that we’re all on the same page. I will leave you to your celebrations and will attend to the prisoner. Cy-alert me if you need me for any reason,” Exonyie said, then left the room.

  ***

  “Stop scratching!” Exonyie yelled at her.

  “I itch!” Avi yelled back. Exonyie jumped in astonishment. Avi had been on this ship for three days and she hadn’t uttered a single word, but he was staring to get on her nerves. He was always around. He was there when she woke up, when she ate and when she slept. He was the first thing she saw in the morning and the last thing that she saw at night; and she couldn‘t deal with his consistant chatter. He would talk for hours. She had started to refer to him as annoy-borg. She started to snicker as she thought about it.

  “She speaks,” Exonyie said with a chuckle.

  “When there is something important to speak about, and I’m telling you that I itch.”

  “Why do you itch?” he asked the prisoner curiously.

  “Because I haven’t had a shower in three days. I’m dirty, stinky and itchy,” she snapped.

  Exonyie sat back in his chair and ran his fingers though his hair. Avi had noticed that he did this when he was thinking. “That’s very negligent of me. My mission is to get you safely back to Zethron, in good health. Keeping up with your personal hygiene is essential to making sure that you are in good heath. After I make my rounds, I’ll take you to the showers and you can get all cleaned up. Would that make you feel better?” Exonyie offered.

  “I am fully capable of taking a shower by myself thank you. I don’t need your help or your surpervision,” Avi snarled.

  “Ms. Mitchell, you misunderstand my intentions,” the cyborg began.

  “No. I think that you have made your intentions very clear. Now, let me be clear. There is no way that that I would ever have sex with anyone of your kind. I find you repulsive and frankly disgusting, with all of the cybernetic implants attached to your face,” Avi finished, contempt evident in her voice.

  “Thank you for your honesty, captiv
e. I am glad I know where we stand. However, having sexual relations with a human—a species well beneath me—was never my intention. As your captor and commander of this ship, it is my responsibility to guarantee your safety. If you think that you can take a shower safely, without my men bothering you, then by all means, be my guest,” Exonyie said angrily. Avi was very proud of herself. Her plan was starting to work. She had annoyed the cyborg until he let her out of his sight and now she would be able to wander around the ship to see where all of the emergency escape pods were stored. Once she figured out how many cyborgs guarded that part of the ship, she could work out a strategy to disarm them and steal a pod.

  “I have managed to keep myself from being taking captive for almost a year, I think I can protect myself during a simple shower.”

  “Fine. I will go grab you a bar of soap and some towels. Then I will escort you to the showers myself on my way to the bridge. Don’t argue with me,” he said as Avi was about to protest. The cyborg walked over to a cabinet and took out two towels, a bar of soap and some spray. “This is for your clothes. We do not have any extra clothes that will fit you at the moment and I know that you have been sweating in these. At least this spray will mask the smell until we get you back on Zethron where you will be given clothes that fit you,” he said as he led her out of the room and into the hallway.

  This was the first time Avi had left her room since she had been brought here. The cyborg brought her into a long hallway and locked the door behind him. He put his hand out in a gesture which instructed her to stay back as he looked around to make sure that they were alone. This gave Avi ample time to observe her surroundings and to count the rooms in the hallway, on the way to the shower. There were four major doors that they passed and she needed to know what was behind every one.

  The cyborg stopped at the last door on the right and opened it. It led into a communal shower area, which was apparently empty. The cyborg walked around the room just to make sure.