by Anna Hackett
“Mal, get his shirt off.” Eos bustled back to the shelves, grabbing medical equipment.
Right. Mal found the fastenings at the shoulders. The black fabric fell away, baring dark-bronze skin stretched tight over a muscled chest with a light covering of dark hair. Mal drew in a sharp breath.
He was covered in enhancements.
A row of round, silver implants—that looked similar to the cogs on his uniform insignia—curved along his left collarbone. His left arm was entirely silver-gray, all the way to the shoulder joint. Unable to help herself, Mal touched his forearm. It felt like skin, felt warm, but was really smooth.
More silver implants circled his right wrist. Under his gorgeous skin that she couldn’t help but want to touch, she saw a faint neon-green glow in his veins.
What had they done to him?
Unlike cyborgs from other parts of the galaxy, there were no ugly scars, no Frankenstein-like mishmashing of parts. No, the Centaxian scientists prided themselves on aesthetics and perfect work.
Then she noted the jagged slash on his side. Claw marks. Stars, he’d been bleeding the whole time on her ship!
“We have to close this wound. He’s lost a lot of blood.” Mal grabbed a steri-pad from Eos and jammed it against the wounds.
Eos let out a frustrated noise. “Scanner’s not working. But from the look of that bruising, he’s probably got internal bleeding as well.”
If he’d been on Centax, he’d have expert doctors with equipment to treat a cyborg. Mal’s jaw clenched. He couldn’t die. “Nik, go get my portable diag-comp. Now!”
With a nod, her cousin ran out of the room.
“Eos, hand me the medscope.”
Eos obeyed, even as she shook her head. “Mal, it’s useless—”
Mal gripped the tool, the metal smooth in her palm. When Nik returned, she took the diag-comp that she usually used on her salvaged engines and ship computers and went to work.
He was part human, part machine. They couldn’t help him with equipment designed just for the human side. She tapped the screen of the diag with one hand and slowly swept the medscope over Xander with the other, studying the results and attempting to circumvent whatever was stopping the medscope working. There. The diag screen showed the program running, no doubt from some implant deeply embedded in his brain.
She refocused, set the medscope down to tap in commands on her diag. Come on. Come on. Her attempt failed and she swore under her breath. She noted his seizure had stopped and he was still. So still.
No. “I’m not going to let you die, damn it!” She worked the code again. The diag beeped. Got it. She snatched up the medscope, flicked it on again.
Blue light bathed his skin. The cuts started to knit before her eyes.
Eos grinned. “You did it!”
Mal’s shoulders sagged. “Can you put the medscanner over him? Let’s get that internal bleeding fixed.”
Her cousin-in-law hurried to adjust the larger machine and set it to diagnose and heal.
Xander’s chest rose steadily now. His body more relaxed.
“That was close.” Dathan moved closer, gripping the edge of the bed. “Nice work, Mal. Should have known you could work on a cyborg just like a ship engine.”
“Dathan.” Mal let a warning note fill her voice. “He’s still a man under all of this.”
Her cousin watched her with a steady blue gaze. “You sure?”
She turned back to Xander. Under the pretense of checking him, she pressed her palm to his forehead. He moved a fraction, pushing into her hand.
She pulled her hand back and this time was drawn to the medallion that hung on a silver chain in the center of his chest. She flipped over the circular pendant. It was warm from his skin. It was the same cog design as on his uniform.
“He’s a CenSec, Mal,” Dathan said. “He might have started out human but I doubt there’s much left under the machine.”
Mal fingered the medallion. “He’s human too. And his name is Xander. Xander Saros.”
“Saros? You can’t be serious?” Dathan cursed.
Mal frowned. “What?”
It was Niklas who answered. “Xander Saros isn’t just a CenSec. He is Centax Security. General Xander Saros, head of Centax Security. And the deadliest CenSec ever created.”
She looked back at the clean lines of his handsome face. The deadliest CenSec ever created. He might be that, but Mal knew in her gut there was more to him. She was certain of it.
Eos checked the scanner. “He has some internal bleeding. Nothing too serious.” She lifted a pressure injector. “Can I give him something for the pain?”
Mal frowned. She knew a little about Centaxians and nothing about CenSecs. “I think he has filters that can block the pain but they weren’t functioning after he was hit by the energy weapon. I have no idea how a cyborg will react to drugs.”
“Better not risk it.” Eos set the injector down. “Another twenty minutes under the scanner and he’ll be good as new.”
Mal gave into the urge to touch him. She brushed a lock of dark hair off his forehead.
Those amazing eyes opened again. The neon green was gone, leaving only stunning emerald interspersed with rings of gold.
Mal snatched her hand back but he reached out, inhumanly fast, and grabbed it.
“Where am I?” His voice was raspy.
She tried to keep her voice steady, cool. “Xander, thank the stars. You’re safe.” But she saw he wasn’t focusing, his pupils were dilated and the green luminescence was leaking back in.
Suddenly, he sprung off the bed.
The medscanner crashed to the ground. He grabbed Malin and yanked her around so her back was pressed against his body. His strong arm circled her neck, restricting her air.
Mal scrambled to stay on her feet as he pulled her backwards, her hands gripping the unyielding muscles in his arm. “Xan…der.”
“Hey! Let her go.” Dathan’s hard gaze was glued to Xander.
“Stay back.”
The ice-cold voice in her ear made Mal want to shiver.
He kept moving backward. Toward the door, she realized.
“Look, let’s all stay calm.” Dathan held his hands up. But Mal saw the anger burning in his blue gaze. “She—all of us—we’re just trying to help you.”
Mal felt Xander’s arm flex but he didn’t release her. Her own fingers dug into his skin. He was so strong. He might kill her before he got his bearings.
Xander pressed his fingers to the side of her face. “I have bio-electrical implants in my fingers. I can kill her in an instant.” The words held no inflection. Nothing to show one way or the other that he cared about taking her life. “Stay. Back.”
With another fast move, he yanked her through the doorway. Then he was pulling her into the large cavernous hangar, deeper into the shadows.
The hangar was filled with her salvaged scrap, all set in neat piles, and larger items her cousins had brought back from treasure hunts.
She heard the others coming, Dathan swearing. Nik was saying something about reaching the weapons locker.
She tried to tug Xander’s arm away. “Can’t. Breathe.”
His hold loosened a fraction.
“Xander? Do you know where you are?”
He went still, suddenly he spun her around.
His eyes were still glowing but she saw the green flickering, knew his systems still weren’t functioning correctly.
Then he swung her into his arms. With a squeak, she clung to his neck.
Dathan, Eos and Nik came around a corner, all three of them armed with laser pistols.
“Let her go.” Dathan’s voice was low. Pissed.
“No. No…stay back,” Mal choked out.
Xander gripped her harder, then bent his knees.
And leaped high into the air.
Mal swallowed a scream. They flew up so high. She had a dizzying view of the hangar below and her cousins’ shocked expressions.
Xander landed on t
he mezzanine platform that ringed the warehouse. His boots echoed on the metal mesh floor.
He raced across the mezzanine and into the adjoining, smaller warehouse.
All Malin could hear was the thunder of his footsteps and the roar of her heartbeat.
***
Where was he? Who were these strangers?
And why were there so many blanks in his memories?
Xander knew something was wrong with his systems. The first sign was that he couldn’t pull up the retinal display that would overlay tactical information on his vision. A small countdown at the bottom of his right eye’s vision told him the system was rebooting and would be back online shortly.
The second sign was that his enhanced senses were offline. Usually he could switch to thermal imaging or zoom his view. All he had now was his regular vision. Same for his auditory and olfactory senses.
The third sign was the pain. It was…unpleasant, but until his filters were back up and running he couldn’t block it.
Ten minutes and fifty-one seconds until reboot completion.
The woman’s scent tickled his nose. She smelled like starship fuel and coconut. For some strange reason he liked it.
She was soft under his hands, her small, compact body pressed against his. The heat of her, the strength of her, the smoothness of her skin—it all overwhelmed him. Then he frowned. Even without his enhanced senses, he detected her racing heartbeat. She was afraid.
He didn’t like that. He felt a bewildering and overwhelming need to soothe her fear, to protect her.
That was the final sign that he was not functioning correctly. He felt.
Xander gentled his grip on her fine-boned wrist and slowed his pace until he reached the end of the walkway. Another walkway lined the adjacent wall, spearing off into the darkness. There was a five-point-three meter gap between them.
He gripped the woman securely and leaped across the space.
She dug her fingers his shoulders, turning her face into his bare chest. They landed safely and he was happy to hear the voices of their pursuers fading into the distance.
Eight minutes and thirty-three seconds until reboot completion.
Xander found a shadowed alcove and crouched in the darkness, setting the woman down. “Are you okay?”
She blinked up at him. Her face narrowed down to a pointed chin and ink black hair was cut sprite-short around her face in a choppy, uneven style. Her mouth was a little too wide for her face. Her eyes were a brilliant purple-blue. For some reason, he wanted to stare into them.
Xander frowned. He must have sustained some damage.
“I’m fine. What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Those purple eyes sparked. “You’re injured and need more time under the medscanner.”
Xander blinked. This woman…she was…berating him. On Centax, people were afraid of him. They followed his orders without question. No one reprimanded him.
No one except this spirited little pixie. The indignation on her face made him want to…smile? Shock reverberated through him. Normally, his emotions were dampened to the point where he felt nothing. Too many implants, too many filters. They helped make him the perfect cyborg, the perfect CenSec, the perfect protector of his planet.
Six minutes and three seconds until reboot completion.
“Hey—” she snapped her fingers in front of his face “—are you listening to me?”
He tilted his head, fascinated that she had no fear of him. “Yes.”
“What’s with the superhero tactics?”
“I’m…not fully functioning.”
“No shit. You were hurt.” Her hand slid up his mechanical arm.
Xander stared at the slim fingers resting on him. Receptors in the arm meant he could sense her touch, but it wasn’t as deep a sensation as on his real skin. He lifted her hand and placed it on his human arm.
She paused for a second, but kept her touch there.
Three minutes and eleven seconds until reboot completion.
“You like that?” she said quietly.
“Yes.”
Her fingers curled into his skin. Her calluses scraping against him.
She winced. “Sorry, my hands are rough—”
“They look strong to me. Competent.”
Her eyes were wide as she stared at him.
The reboot completed and all his systems flashed up. Online and functioning normally.
Xander blinked. “Malin?”
“Xander?” She let out a huge rush of air. “You’re back?”
“I…yes.”
“You were hurt. That giant merc shot you on Centax, and clawed you, and then our ship was shot at. It scrambled your…” she waved a hand at his head.
“I remember. I also remember you faced down that merc with more bravery than a team of CenSecs.”
She smiled. “Well, after you’d saved me, I felt compelled to return the favor.”
At her smile, he felt something unfamiliar deep inside. No one ever smiled at him. “My systems had gone offline. They’re back now.” Emotion rose up, made him want to cup her face in his hands. “I may have sustained some damage, however.”
Because even with his filters functioning, emotions were still running through him in a liquid rush. Dizzying sensations raced across his skin.
All centered on the small woman in front of him.
Chapter Five
Watching Xander’s face, Mal knew most people would think it was the perfect mask of calm and control.
But she noted the slight flicker of his eyelids, the tightening at the edge of his eyes. Something was bothering the cyborg.
“Do you remember where you are? How we got here?” she asked.
He blinked and his hand fell away from her. “I remember.”
He really didn’t look good. “Are you okay—?”
“Malin!” Dathan’s shout echoed through the hangar.
“I’m fine,” she called out. “We’re coming down.” She looked at Xander. “Please don’t hurt my cousins.”
He gave her a short nod. “I’m sorry I…frightened you.”
“You didn’t frighten me. It was that crazy-high leap. I’m not real fond of heights without a damn good railing around me or a harness.” She led him toward a set of stairs. As they started down, she felt the warm heat of him close at her back. Below, she saw her cousins with their pistols aimed behind her.
She huffed out a breath. “Enough. Put the weapons down—”
Before she could blink, she was shoved behind Xander’s hard body.
“Hey!”
He didn’t let her pass, his gaze zeroed in on Dathan and Nik.
“Dathan, he’s fine now.” She stared holes in Xander’s back. His heavily muscled, bronze, touchable back. She raised her voice. “He remembers everything. He didn’t mean to go crazy.”
No one moved or spoke. She managed to peer around Xander. Dathan’s gun was still aimed at Xander’s head, her cousin’s mouth a firm line.
She shoved her hands on her hips. “Dathan!”
Her cousin cursed and with great reluctance lowered his weapon.
When she and Xander reached the bottom of the steps, she managed a smile. “Xander Saros, I’d like to introduce my cousins, Dathan and Niklas Phoenix.” No one shook hands. “This is Dathan’s wife, Eos.”
Xander managed a stiff nod at Eos.
The woman smiled. “Nice to meet you.” She nudged her husband. “Why don’t we head to the rec area? I know I need a drink.”
Dathan crossed his arms over his chest. “CenSec, I want to know why the hell you hijacked our cousin’s ship and put her in danger.”
“There has been a coup on Centax.”
“What?” Niklas exclaimed. “Jesus.”
“Why should I care?” Dathan said, brow raised.
“I want to hire you. Those responsible have stolen the Antikythera.”
Mal gasped. “Sweet scrap.”
“The Antikythera?” Eos asked.
D
athan frowned. “Okay, what am I missing? What is it?”
“It’s an ancient Terran artifact.” Xander’s mouth firmed. “Very, very ancient.”
Eos clasped her hands together. “It’s a piece of what’s believed to be the very first computer. It would have been ancient even in Terran times. It was found on a shipwreck, covered in rust.”
Xander gave her a nod. “You’re well informed.”
“I’m an astro-archeologist. I specialize in Terran artifacts.”
Mal was worried by the paleness of Xander’s face. “Look, let’s sit down. I’m still worried about Xander’s injuries.” She also noted he was moving a little stiffly. “He needs to be back in the med—”
“I’m fine.”
The gods save her from stubborn men. “You have internal bleeding—”
“I’m fine.” He took two steps and suddenly fell to his knees.
“Damn it.” Mal dropped down beside him. His face was sheened with sweat. “Stupid, stubborn men.”
“I’m a CenSec.”
His eyes looked a little unfocused. She shook her head and propped him up with a shoulder before he hit the deck. “No matter how many enhancements you have you’re still a testosterone-poisoned man under it all.”
He turned his head, his face just inches away from hers. His gaze was so intense, like a laser cutting straight through her. Something moved in the depths of his eyes, something she couldn’t quite identify.
He slumped forward and Mal barely kept them both from falling onto the floor.
Then Dathan and Nik were there, gripping Xander’s arms. Dathan heaved a sigh. “Thought CenSecs were tough. Here I am hauling him around for a second time tonight.”
“He got hit by some strange weapon and just about killed himself to keep the Firebird in the air,” Mal snapped. “I think we can cut him some slack.”
“Whoa, Mal,” Dathan said. “Chill.”
Eos leaned closer. “He needs to be back under the scanner.”
Once they had Xander settled, the scanner humming quietly over his stomach, Mal pulled up a chair close to his bed, refusing to examine the reason why she was so reluctant to be too far from him. He was injured, that was all. He’d saved her life.
