"I'm not Mona. I'm Vivian." Vivian felt her face getting hot.
"Once you hear this story, you'll know the truth." He glared at her. "So the doctor sent you all on a trip to the mountains."
"Wait, no he didn't. That trip was a gift from my parents." Noah's voice rose.
"No, it wasn't. Lars wanted you to think that." Al-Tomlyn snickered. "While you two were in the mountains, Lars drugged you both to get Mona’s vitals to start creating a chip for her. Remember how well you slept on that trip, Noah? I think you even said it felt like you had slept for days."
Noah sat up taller. "You can't be serious. Lars experimented with us in our sleep?"
"No, just Mona. You know Lars always has a thing for the ladies. " Al-Tomlyn raised his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. "Shortly after your trip, maybe a week or two later, you got the report that Mona and her students had all died in a terrible training accident. "
Noah’s bottom jaw hung down.
Al-Tomlyn shrugged his shoulders. "Never happened. Lars kidnapped Mona after her class and gave up his own money to keep you in a privileged lifestyle."
Noah shook his head. "That's impossible. I would know if the woman I'm sleeping with was a cyborg." He pointed to Vivian. "I would know if she wasn't the same."
"You keep telling yourself that. Lars altered Mona so that you would not be able to readily recognize her." Al-Tomlyn pointed to different body parts on Vivian. "He put in a chin implant to elongate her face, made her ears smaller, gave her an almond-shaped eye, thinned her nose, and gave her breast implants."
"You're a monster for what you did to, uh, Mona." Vivian refused to call herself by someone else's name…even though it looked like she was the mysterious Mona.
"Let's get something straight here. I didn't do anything to you. Lars Urlean did all of it."
"And the male sexbot made only a couple of years ago?" Noah asked.
"Yes, that was me. I had found Lars's specs on how he crafted each one. I wanted to try it. Too bad that trigger-happy Ionta shot him before he could show off what he could do in battle."
"You're a sick man." Vivian shook her head.
"Get over it. We're all being watched here and everyone is a guinea pig in someone's experiment." Al-Tomlyn crossed his legs. "Anyway, so Lars wanted to experiment. He made half of her skeleton into a standard cyborg skeleton. Actually, it's more than half, maybe about ninety-five percent."
"What percentage isn't?" Noah asked.
"Did you ever find it strange that in our cyborg examination handbook that it states specifically to check the cyborg's left hand and arm for a titanium skeleton?"
Noah blinked. Vivian assumed he knew exactly what Al-Tomlyn was talking about. Vivian lifted her right hand. She made a fist and splayed her fingers as thought she had been given a brand new appendage.
"That doesn't make any sense. Why would Lars let her keep a part of her human bone structure but alter the rest of her body?" Noah brought his knees up closer to his body.
"So that she could go undetected."
"But if she didn't know her power, she couldn't help in battle." Noah shook his head.
"It was never the plan to have her fight in the war. Actually, had I not gotten hurt by that sexbot, I would have gotten to Mona first. With her hair in her face, I didn't know we had captured her."
"Why do you keep calling me Mona? I'm Vivian." She wanted Noah to see that she had nothing to do with this plan if this was all real.
"No, your name is Mona. Once your body healed, you were put with a family that was supposed to just watch you. They renamed you Vivian so that you couldn't easily link yourself to the past. When you were integrated back into society with a new identity, we kept you as far away from Noah as possible. That was the real reason for your reassignment, Noah" Al-Tomlyn faced Noah. "We couldn't let the real Mona come home, you may have gotten suspicious about things that had changed like her memory loss and her slightly altered sexual appetite." He winked at Vivian, who felt sicker at that gesture than hearing that the life she knew it for the past few years was a lie.
"You said that she was and wasn't the chameleon. What did you mean?" Noah nodded his head toward Vivian.
"She was actually the prototype. We wanted to see if it was possible. So can she destroy the human race and blow up planets? No. She doesn't have that mechanism inside of her."
"Then who does?" Vivian asked.
"That, I can't tell you."
When Al-Tomlyn laughed, it was enough of a trigger to propel Vivian to her feet and use the super speed and strength that Al-Tomlyn said she had to race to him, snatch the gun from his hand, and knock him to the floor. The swiftness at which she moved shocked Vivian. He had told the truth. She was part cyborg. At that moment, she felt like such a fraud.
With her foot on Al-Tomlyn's neck, she peered down at him. "Let's try this again." She turned to Noah and tossed him Al-Tomlyn's gun. He fumbled it a couple of times before finally securing it in both hands. "Who's the chameleon?"
"Even if you knew, there's nothing you could do about it." Even with her bare feet slowly crushing his windpipe, Al-Tomlyn let out a menacing laugh. "We're all going to die."
A laser shoot zipped through Al-Tomlyn's leg. Vivian turned and found Noah getting to his feet with a smoking gun in his hand. So he did know how to use that thing.
"Fuck! Are you crazy?" Al-Tomlyn tried to reach down to touch his injured leg, but Vivian wasn't letting him move.
"Yep, crazy enough to kill your ass if you don't tell us who this chameleon is so that we can stop it."
Al-Tomlyn laughed again. "You think you can stop it? Fine, I'll tell you. It's the High Commander."
Vivian thought she heard both her jaw and Noah's crash through the floor at the same time. "That can't be true. She's led our forces to fight against Cerillions and Starkeens. She's done nothing but protect the humans."
"Is that why she's blowing up the moon?" Al-Tomlyn finally stopped laughing to ask that serious inquiry.
Noah split his attention between Al-Tomlyn and Vivian. "Vivian, we have to go. Can you tie him up or immobilize him somehow?"
Without question, Vivian gave Al-Tomlyn a sharp kick to the side of his head that knocked him unconscious. It was interesting to have powers like these, but also scary. Would she know how to control them?
Both Vivian and Noah tied Al-Tomlyn's limp body to a chair and gagged him.
"Come on." Noah reached for Vivian's hand but she pulled it back.
"Are you sure you want to keep going with someone, um, like me? I'm not exactly human anymore."
Noah approached her slowly then cradled her face in his hands. "But you are the woman I love. I told you I'm not leaving this place without you."
He kissed her softly but it was enough for Vivian to know he meant every word he just said. She would follow him to the ends of the universe. She just hoped that this wouldn't be it for them.
Chapter Thirteen
Within minutes, Noah saw what Al-Tomlyn meant about it being impossible to get to the High Commander. Noah wasn't even sure if she was even on the moon. For all he knew, she could have been transmitting from anywhere. But he had to appeal to her.
"If we can't get to her, what are we going to do?" Vivian followed Noah into the communications room.
The government should have never given him so much access and freedom. "If we can't find her, we're going to have to fight her."
Noah punched in several codes to get to her when finally the screen populated the communications room where the High Commander normally did her transmissions. Her chair was empty.
"High Commander! Where are you? We need to talk to you." Noah stared at the screen, waiting for her to show.
"We should leave." Vivian pulled Noah's hand as she headed to the door but he wouldn't budge.
"Not until we have some answers." Noah knew how to get her attention. He sent out a distress call that sounded several alarms throughout the building.
With that don
e, he kept his gaze on the large screen ahead. Within seconds, the High Commander lumbered to her chair and assumed her seat. It was the first and probably the last time he'd ever seen her walking. All of the other times, she was already seated when the transmission had gone out.
Once her gaze connected to the camera and she must have seen Noah and Vivian staring back at her, she blinked. "What's going on here? Why have you contacted my office? Are you two the ones who set off the distress signal a day before the moon is to be destroyed?"
Noah stood up taller. "Yes, ma'am."
"And who are you?" She pointed to Noah as though she was standing right in front of him.
Noah had forgotten that he changed his appearance dramatically. He rubbed his bare chin. "Dr. Noah Wiit, ma'am." Even though he suspected she was this chameleon, he couldn't let her know that. Not right away. He still had to give her respect.
"You look different without all of the hair. Much better. What's going on here?"
Noah took a deep breath before speaking. "Some news has come to light about the whereabouts of the chameleon."
The High Commander sat up straighter. "Really? And what have you discovered?"
"You think she really doesn't know?" Vivian whispered in Noah's ear.
"Ma'am, where are you located right now?" Noah needed to establish some things first before blurting his findings. It wouldn't do to have her disappear before they could stop her.
"I'm in my command center outside of the moon. Why?"
Noah swallowed. That meant she could escape or easily blow up Earth and Mars if she wanted. He had to handle this delicately.
"Ma'am, your service to us humans has been exemplary. You've led us through many battles against opposing forces to keep us safe. It's apparent that you want what's best for us."
"That's very nice of you to say, Dr. Wiit. Why do I feel like you're eulogizing me instead of telling me your findings?"
Noah took another deep breath. "Dr. Luc reported that the chameleon we've been seeking is actually you, ma'am."
Noah had expected the High Commander to slam her fists on her desk again and admonish him for saying she was something she wasn't. Instead her face remained calm. As she had done many times before, she interlaced her fingers and placed her hands on her desk.
"Dr. Wiit, it takes either a brave or stupid man to confront me with news like that." The High Commander's voice remained cool and even.
"I understand that, ma'am." He stood up taller.
"I'm landing on the moon in about an hour. When I get there, I don't want to see you," she turned to Vivian, "or her or the fighting cyborg forces you have assembled or any civilian humans, understand me?"
Noah didn't at first, but when she started spouting transmission station codes needed to escape, Noah finally understood her motives.
"I can help you, High Commander. I can either come up with a drug to regulate whatever is happening inside of you, or I can create a new chip. With a little time—"
"I don't have that much time, Doctor. And neither do you. If I find you there, you will be punished. Everyone will be."
"If I can be so bold, ma'am. How did this happen? "
"I took the same route as Lieutenant Adam B'Luven’s father. I knew he had volunteered to become a fighting cyborg. When he perished, Dr. Lars Urlean convinced me that it wasn't his fault B'Luven died and that a stronger person like myself could make it." The High Commander smiled. "After the operations, Lars admitted what he did to me. It was then that I banished him from Earth and when he aligned himself with the Cerillions. I'll pay for my stupidity, and rightfully so."
Noah understood the implications. "You don't have to do this."
"You have a team to lead, Doctor. They will be in very good hands." She nodded her head.
"Ma'am, it has been my pleasure and honor to serve under you. Your bravery and valor will live on." He gave her a bow.
It was the first time he had seen any sort of emotion from the High Commander. She wiped away a tear before disconnecting the transmission.
Noah meant every word he said. He would never forget the High Commander. Had she been the vindictive machine the chameleon had been reported to be, she would have blown up the moon a long time ago. Here she was helping him, Vivian, and the salvageable cyborgs to escape. He had to take advantage of the opportunity.
"Come on!" Noah pulled Vivian down the chaotic hallway.
People scurried around, trying to figure out why the distress alarm was going off. Noah navigated through the throngs of people until he got to the section with the new fighting forces. He entered the room and found the cyborgs—a mixture of men and women—milling around.
"Okay, listen up!" Noah raised his voice, grabbing everyone's attention. "We need to leave here now. Grab as many weapons as you can and meet me in Transfer Station One."
"What's going on?" a female cyborg asked.
"I've learned that the destruction of the moon will happen a lot sooner than expected. I need you all to get on that transfer station now."
When the group slowed to move, the last cyborg Noah approved to be a part of the Federation Army came forward. "You heard the doctor! Grab your gear and let's go!"
"Thank you, um—"
"People just call me Block." He bowed. "Proud to serve you, sir."
Vivian squeezed his hand.
"Let's move, folks." Noah, still with Vivian trailing behind him, got to the station to set it up for departure. He fired up the communicator to put in a call to an old friend. When Sonjie's image appeared on the screen, he didn't waste time with pleasantries. "The High Commander is the chameleon."
Sonjie remained quiet as though processing the information. Instead of refuting the allegation, she asked, "What do you need me to do, Doctor?"
"I'm leaving on a transfer station with some fighting cyborgs. There will be another station filled with human civilians. We should be on Earth by tomorrow."
He was going to tell her that he would turn over the troops to C-A-I-N and A-B-E-L once he got there until she said, "Great. I look forward to you leading your troops when you get here. Noah, please be safe."
The transmission ended. Although his hands never stopped moving over the control panel, they did start to shake. In the last few years, no one trusted him to make simple decisions, let alone lead a massive group of people. Now here he was flying a whole station with several troops to help fight a war. Without their leader they would be even more vulnerable to the Cerillions and Starkeens.
As though she read his thoughts, Vivian put her hand on top of his to arrest his attention. When he turned to her, she said, "I believe in you. You can do this. You're an incredible leader."
He kissed her forehead then her lips. It was just the right amount of motivation that he needed.
The troops all filtered onto the station. Vivian helped them find their way to where they needed to go. When Noah turned to her, he saw Officer Ionta confronting her at the entryway.
"What do you two think you're doing?" Ionta asked.
"The High Commander gave us permission to go." She glanced at the digital clock over the door. "We don't have much time."
"If you're going anywhere, then I'm coming, too." He licked his lips. "You look like you need a man for the long trip."
Noah stood by Vivian. She held his hand and smiled.
"You're right about that. I do need a man, a good man." With a swift kick, she shoved Ionta across the room where he crashed into a wall and remained motionless on the floor.
Noah blinked. "Nice shot."
She smiled. "Are you ready to go?"
It was so wonderful to see her full face now, and not because he now knew she was his original Mona. Aside from the cosmetic surgery, there was something so very different about her now than before. It was as though he had fallen in love with a different woman, a new woman.
"Everyone, get strapped in. We're heading out." Noah fired up the engines and pulled out of the station, occasionally bumping a wall
here and there on the way.
It had been years since he flew one of these things. He needed some time to become proficient at it again. When they moved away from the moon, he kept his sights on the greenish-blue and white planet ahead of them. Within a few minutes, a jarring explosion happened behind the station.
"What was that?" Block ran to a window and peered out. "Holy shit! The moon, it's gone!"
Noah lowered his head. He wanted so much to help the High Commander. But maybe she felt destroying herself and the moon was the only way to restore salvation to the humans.
Vivian stood next to Noah. She wrapped her arms around him and placed her head on his shoulder. "Thank you for saving me, again."
Noah smiled. "Thank you for saving me. I don't know if I could have done all of this without you."
"Yes, you could have."
He shook his head. "I wouldn't have been motivated enough to save you, myself or anyone else."
Vivian peered behind her. "Noah, some of those cyborgs are ones that Al-Tomlyn picked."
That thought hadn't escaped Noah's mind. If Al-Tomlyn was the slimy dirtbag Noah suspected him to be, then he probably infiltrated the fighting forces with dangerous cyborgs. Thank goodness he died on the moon along with the rest of the garbage.
"It'll be okay." Noah nodded.
"What's going to happen when we get to Earth? Are they going to welcome us or question us?" She held him tighter.
He kissed her forehead. "It'll be okay."
She placed her hand over his heart. "And what about us? Am I Mona or Vivian? I don't know what to think anymore."
This time Noah faced her. As he held her, he gave her a slow and passionate kiss, one that would leave little doubt that he wanted her and only her, whether she was Mona, Vivian, Mary or anyone else. "It'll be okay." He smiled.
"You've said that a lot now." She patted his back.
"Are you starting to believe me yet?"
"Not yet. Maybe a little alone time will do it for me."
Noah chuckled. "Block."
Original Sin Page 28
