by Cynthia Sax
Taking Vengeance
Cynthia Sax
The only force stronger than their hate is their love.
Vengeance hates all humans. They killed every being he ever cared about. When the huge C Model cyborg is told he’s genetically compatible with the enemy, he makes it his mission to capture the female and use her to expel all humans from his home planet. That should be disappointingly easy. She’s a weak, fragile human.
Then she blows up his ship, blasting to bits his preconceived notions about the enemy.
Astrid, aka the Buoir Berserker, hates all cyborgs. They killed her entire clan, including her baby sister. The warrior female has vowed to hunt down and destroy the enemy. When a savage cyborg arrogantly puts his hard, sexy body within her reach, she does the only thing a female can do—she peppers his muscular physique with projectiles.
The more passionately they fight, the stronger their attraction becomes. Neither of them will relent on their missions, yet they can’t keep their hands off each other. Their battle will either end in love to last an eternity or in death.
* * *
Taking Vengeance is Book 12 in the Cyborg Sizzle series and is a STAND-ALONE story.
It is also an enemies-to-lovers Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, often violent universe.
Taking Vengeance
Copyright 2018 Cynthia Sax
Ebook design by Mark's Ebook Formatting
Cover Design by Amanda Kelsey at Razzle Dazzle Design
Discover more books by Cynthia Sax at her website
www.CynthiaSax.com
All Rights Are Reserved.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this story are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
First edition: April 2018
For more information contact Cynthia Sax at
www.CynthiaSax.com
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Other Books by Cynthia Sax
Dark Thoughts - Excerpt
About Cynthia Sax
Chapter One
Humans were their enemies.
Vengeance glared along the horizontal support at Power, his nemesis on the cyborg council.
Some warriors had forgotten that. They had forgiven thousands of solar cycles of killing and abuse just because a handful of human females had given cyborgs offspring.
Offspring could be manufactured as he had been manufactured—in a vat. And they could never compensate for what had been done to his brethren.
Cyborgs had been created by the Humanoid Alliance to fight the humans’ wars. When they faltered, were injured, or were deemed obsolete—replaced by newer models, the humans had callously decommissioned them.
An early C Model, Vengeance had seen that death sentence given to almost every warrior he trained with, every male he cared for, every being he loved. He’d watched the humans laugh and chatter as they sliced his friends to pieces, dissecting the males while they were alive, removing every salvageable part. The humans had given the warriors prolongers. That prevented the cyborgs from losing consciousness due to the pain, ensuring they felt every cut.
Friend after friend had suffered the horrible fate, their deaths transmitted. He shared their horror as they watched their guts scooped out of their frames, heard their screams as their limbs were severed. The agony seemed endless, every sight and sound broadcasted.
While the humans smiled and joked.
He would never forget that, would never forgive the humans.
Power argued that the human females were different. They weren’t responsible for the deaths of cyborg brethren.
Vengeance’s lips twisted. The E Model was wrong.
All humans, male or female, were the same. They were cruel, couldn’t be trusted. Given the opportunity, they would betray his brethren, enslave them once more, sentencing them to endless torture and death.
He couldn’t allow that to happen.
“As we decided during our last meeting, ten levels will be added to Structure 539212,” Power relayed. “That space will be manufactured to accommodate human and humanoid females.”
“That was not decided.” Vengeance straightened. “The levels should be designed for cyborg usage only. Our warriors are the Homeland’s only permanent residents.”
Two council members nodded.
Five solar cycles ago, every representative would have agreed with him.
But the enemy had infiltrated their ranks, influenced the warriors. His gaze shifted to Death and that warrior’s human female.
Vengeance had earned his place on the council, had been awarded it after a lifespan of battle and a bloody escape from the Humanoid Alliance. The puny female had been given her spot. One of their enemy now sat at the horizontal support as though she were his equal.
He curled his top lip. It was a disgrace, dangerous and disrespectful to all of his fallen brethren.
“Human and humanoid females will soon be permanent residents, with full rights,” Power argued.
“Giving humans full rights will endanger every warrior on our planet.” He would fight that ruling with every resource he had. “The enemy should be expelled, not welcomed.”
“The females aren’t our enemies.” Power’s dark eyes flashed. “They’re our future.”
“They’ll destroy our future, a future we’ve fought hard to achieve.” Many of their brethren had given their lifespans for the freedom the survivors now enjoyed.
That sacrifice had to be honored, the cyborgs’ liberty protected.
“That is your projection.” Power tilted his head upward. “My model predicts a more optimistic result.”
The E Model’s processors were malfunctioning. The Humanoid Alliance had manufactured cyborgs to serve them. The humans would never forget that, would never allow him and his brethren to be truly free.
“The plans for the new levels have been transferred to you, Death.” Power returned to pandering to that warrior and his human female. “Give us your insights by sunrise.”
Death disappointed Vengeance. The warrior had been formidable on the battlefield. Once. Now, he was weak, a shadow of a cyborg, betraying their kind by bonding with the enemy.
He represented the human females, was aligned with them, ensuring their wishes and needs were taken into consideration when the cyborgs made decisions.
The humans had brutally killed their brethren, and now warriors worried about whether or not they were happy. The cyborg council had been taken over by the enemy. Vengeance looked around the chamber. Did no one else see that?
His gaze returned to Power. This was the emotional E Model’s doing. With the talk of offspring and companionship, he’d swayed many lonely warriors to his side, the side of the human females.
He would never sway Vengeance.
“Push me too far, E Model, a
nd I will push back.” He curled his fingers into fists, frustration-fueled anger coursing through him.
Cyborgs didn’t fight cyborgs. If they did, he would have put Power in his proper place long ago. The E Model would be following his lead.
Fighting was what Vengeance did best.
Not that he fought very often. He hadn’t battled a worthy adversary face-to-face since the cyborgs had claimed the Homeland as their planet. The training battles didn’t count. They had no real consequences and had become predictable.
He spent most of the planet rotation stuck in a chair, the inactivity feeding his disgruntlement. The metal groaned a protest as he shifted his weight. C Models took action. They didn’t chatter about it.
“There is no need to push back.” Power met his gaze. “My duty is to represent the majority of warriors. When your views mirror the majority’s, I will listen to them.”
Unlike the deceitful humans, cyborgs couldn’t lie. Power would listen to his views. The challenge was to convince the majority of warriors the human females were their enemies.
That would be difficult to do. Many warriors believed the genetic bond between a cyborg and his female couldn’t be resisted. They also believed it was unbreakable, linking the fates of those two beings together for all eternity.
He had to show his brethren the truth—the connection wasn’t as strong as they perceived. Power, a warrior more skilled with words, would attempt to prove the link couldn’t be severed.
“That concludes the decision-making for this planet rotation.” The E Model finally ended the meeting.
Restless, requiring movement, Vengeance stood, eager to leave. He’d return to his private chambers, gather some of his favorite weapons, and venture to the training chambers, seek a mock battle with a warrior or two or five.
That would utilize the excess energy surging through his circuits, allow him to focus on the dilemma facing him.
Vengeance, Death transmitted through a secure line. We need to discuss a matter with you. Privately.
Vengeance had nothing to discuss with the traitor. He stalked from the chamber, moved along the corridors at cyborg speed.
The fraggin’ warrior followed him. According to Vengeance’s monitoring system, the human female traveled at the same pace.
Death must be carrying her. Humans were slow.
Males straightened as Vengeance passed them, giving him the respect a council member was due. He was responsible for those males, each and every one of them. They trusted him to make the right decisions for them, to keep them safe.
If the humans recaptured his brethren, if those warriors were then decommissioned, if their countenances, currently hopeful, twisted in pain, Vengeance would be the being to blame. He couldn’t live with that knowledge, wouldn’t ever fail them.
He entered his private chambers, leaving the doors open. It was a large space, with plenty of area to move around. There was a C Model-sized chair, a horizontal support, and wires to re-energize with.
There was no sleeping support in the chambers, as cyborgs didn’t sleep. The human females would complain about that. As they would complain about the weapons hanging on the walls. The fragile enemy didn’t want cyborgs to be surrounded by guns and blades.
Vengeance turned toward the entrance, bracing his booted feet apart, preparing to face his opponents.
Death entered, cradling the human female in his arms. That left him with no hands free to wield weapons. The warrior foolishly put himself at risk, accommodating their adversary.
The J Model glanced over his right shoulder. “We require privacy.”
The warrior required a boot to his ass. Vengeance closed the doors and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Power is the council member you should speak to. I’m not interested.”
“Power doesn’t want us to speak with you about this.” The human female dared to talk to him.
Vengeance kept his gaze locked on Death. He wouldn’t listen to her. She was the enemy.
Death sighed. “I’ll lead this conversation, my female.”
“Because he won’t speak to me.” The human female shook her head. “He’s more arrogant than Power. Are you certain Astrid will change his stance on humans?”
“Yes.” Death set the human female down. She was short and soft and weak, requiring constant protection and care. Vengeance didn’t see her appeal. “You changed my stance on humans, didn’t you?”
“Nothing will change my stance on humans.” Vengeance narrowed his eyes at Death. “They’re the enemy, should be destroyed, not embraced.”
“We’re aware of your stance on humans.” Death’s tone was dry. “Power has authorized my female to find genetic matches for warriors.”
“I disagreed with that decision.” Vengeance recognized the genetic matches for what they were—part of the humans’ strategy to infiltrate the cyborg forces. Weak-willed warriors were paired with strong-willed human females. Those females then used breeding, clever words, and other psychological warfare tactics to convince the warriors they were destined to be together, that the warriors had no choice but to be with them.
Warriors had choice. They’d fought for and won the right to process situations for themselves.
“He has authorized her to find genetic matches for all warriors, except for those serving on the cyborg council, Power being the only exclusion.” Death expanded his statement.
Why would Power omit council members from the search? Vengeance frowned, his processors whirring. “If one of us were paired with a human female, we’d uncover the ruse.” That was the most logical explanation. “We’d realize there was no genetic bond.”
“There’s no ruse, you human-hating speciesist,” the human female murmured. “A genetic bond does exist.”
“Power didn’t confide in us why he doesn’t want matches found for council members.” Death ignored her. “We investigated and there is a match for you in the Rebel database.”
Vengeance scowled, insulted by that finding. “The humans think I’m weak, that I can be influenced?”
“It’s genetics, not some battle tactic humans are utilizing against you.” The human female glared at him. “Are your processors malfunctioning? Should we use smaller words?”
Fraggin’ hole. The human female was irritating.
Vengeance removed an ancient battle-ax from the weapons display on the wall. The weight felt good in his hands, familiar and right.
She stopped chattering, correctly viewing it as being the threat he intended.
“You know my stance on humans.” He repeated what Death had said earlier. “I plan to expel all of them from the Homeland. Why would you come to me with this information?”
The female who had fooled Death would be one of the beings expelled. She would be banished from the planet forever, viewed correctly as being the enemy.
“We are prisoners here.” Death’s gaze locked with his. “We were ordered to return to the Homeland, and now we can never leave the planet.”
“Being expelled would give you back your freedom.” Vengeance dipped his head, understanding that desire. He and his brethren had risked their lifespans to gain liberty. They would never undervalue it.
Perhaps the warrior wasn’t as in thrall to the human female as he had feared.
“I’ll locate this female I’m supposedly genetically compatible with, and I’ll kill her, proving to all warriors there’s no link between cyborgs and humans.” That solution pleased Vengeance. Being a C Model, he enjoyed killing. Very much.
“No, don’t do that.” The human female’s eyes widened. “Stop him, my male.” She clutched Death’s arm, wisely realizing she didn’t have the words or the skill to stop Vengeance herself.
He could chop off her head before she realized he was attacking her.
“If you kill the female, the only proof will be your recordings, which can be tampered with.” Death’s voice was flat. “Warriors will question that she’s truly your genetic match. They might specul
ate why you killed her so quickly. Did you end her lifespan because you were losing control?”
He was one of their top warriors, represented all C Models on the council. Vengeance’s grip tightened on the battle-ax. They shouldn’t question him or his control.
But Power would do exactly that, and the E Model was clever with words, might sway more of their brethren to his side.
To the enemy’s side.
“I’ll capture the human female and bring her back to the Homeland.” Vengeance decided that was a logical solution. That would be a disappointingly easy task, the female no match for a cyborg warrior such as himself. “Everyone will see she has no effect on me.”
“You’re going to fall so hard, you non-responsive single-cell organism.” The human female who’d fooled Death must have forgotten about his weapon. She was chattering again. “I almost feel sorry for you. I do feel sorry for your female. I—”
Vengeance sliced through the air with his battle-ax. Death moved in front of the enemy, imprudently protecting the human female with his own form. She gulped, her face growing pale.
Silence fell in the chamber.
Vengeance wrinkled his nose. Humans were easy to intimidate. They feared pain.
He embraced it. Pain made a warrior tough, strong, able to defeat his enemies.
“Send me the female’s coordinates and details.” He would retrieve her immediately. The faster he completed the mission, the sooner all humans would be expelled from the Homeland.
“The female resides alone on Second Buoir, a small planet now controlled by the Rebels.” Death transmitted the coordinates.
The planet wasn’t far from cyborg-controlled space.
And she resided there alone? That was unusual. Humans tended to travel in packs.
Vengeance’s muscles tensed. Could this be a trap, an attempt by the humans to capture or kill a cyborg council member? “Have lifeform scans been performed?”
“We haven’t performed a lifeform scan on the planet.” Death admitted. “But lack of human and humanoid contact was mentioned in the Rebel Command’s communications.”
Those communications could be falsified. Humans were adept at deception. “They sent a human female alone to a strange planet?” He was skeptical about that possibility.
