by Cynthia Sax
“That’s your body armor. You should wear it.” It would protect him.
“You remain mostly human.” Vector removed his boots. “And our warriors continue to fight the Humanoid Alliance officers. One stray projectile could end your lifespan.”
“Cyborgs can be killed also.” She pointed out. “You aren’t invincible.”
“I know that.” His grim expression told her he was thinking about his brethren on Furud One. “But I would rather risk my death than yours.”
His gaze met hers and she sucked back a gasp, the torment in his eyes slicing into her heart.
“When the missile struck the ship, I thought…” Her big, tough cyborg’s voice broke.
She blinked back tears. “You thought I had died.” She covered his hands with hers.
He turned his palms upward, linked his fingers with hers. “It was the worst moment of my long, death-filled lifespan. I…I couldn’t process it. The thought of you dead, of losing you…”
He shuddered, his broad shoulders shaking.
Vector had seen his friends eaten alive by Furudian fire burrowers yet the possibility of losing her had been the worst moment in his lifespan.
He loved her. Kasia searched his face. He must.
“I didn’t die.” She softened her voice.
“You didn’t die,” he repeated that as though he was struggling to believe it. “You’re alive, here with me. I’m touching your skin, smelling your scent, listening to you breathe.” His grip on her hands tightened. “I have a future again.”
Was that what he had felt – there was no future without her?
She felt that way also, couldn’t imagine her lifespan without him.
“I won’t jeopardize our future again.” His jaw jutted.
He released her hands, slipped his boots on her feet. They were huge and served no purpose. Her feet hadn’t completely healed, her fractured bones remaining fragile. She couldn’t walk, couldn’t support her own weight.
“I can’t wear your boots.” Kasia glanced pointedly at his bare feet, indicating the other reason she couldn’t accept his offer. “Warriors might see you.” They’d uncover the secret he’d been concealing for solar cycles.
Vector followed her gaze, looked at his shiny metal toes for one long moment. “Let them see.” He shrugged, dismissing that concern. “You are my priority. Now and forever.”
He scooped her into his arms. Both his hands were occupied with holding her. She would have to defend them from the Humanoid Alliance.
“I’ve never shot a gun.” Kasia tried to extract one of the weapons from a holster on his body armor, the effort zapping her strength. “But I’ve viewed training footage.”
“As you viewed footage about flying a warship?” Vector’s tone was dry. “Not everything can be learned from observation, my clever little human. Leave the gun in the holster.”
Unable to remove the weapon, she had no choice but to comply with his order. Kasia resigned herself to gripping Vector’s shoulders, covering as much of her cyborg’s bare form as possible with the body armor she was wearing. “Don’t be reckless with your lifespan, warrior.”
“You are telling me not to be reckless.” He laughed, that joyous sound filling the space. “You amuse me, female.”
Kasia smiled against his chest, proud of that accomplishment. Not much amused her grim captain.
Vector carried her through his ravaged ship, their destroyed home. He jumped out of the vessel, his feet smacking against the docking bay floor, and Kasia winced at the jolt.
Vector’s males were waiting for them amidst the debris.
Chuckles stared at her, his body mangled. One of his bloodstained cheeks sported a single track mark, running from his right eye to his jaw, his gray skin visible through the gore.
Kasia’s eyebrows lifted. It almost looked like the dour warrior had been cry—
Chuckles turned away from her before she could confirm her suspicions.
Truth strode forward to greet them. He had suffered some projectile damage but nothing that appeared to be lifespan threatening.
“Is she fully functional?” The male nodded at her.
“She sustained damage.” Vector’s voice was curt. “We require pain inhibitors from the medical bay.”
He sustained damage and required pain inhibitors also. Kasia bit back those comments. Vector wouldn’t want to reveal weakness in front of his males.
“I didn’t access the enemy’s systems quickly enough.” Truth bowed his head as he kept pace with them, his tone apologetic. “They were heavily encrypted.”
“The code must have been clean.” She envied him the opportunity to hack it.
“You would consider their systems beautiful, female.” Truth didn’t meet her gaze, the rarely serious cyborg’s words uncharacteristically subdued. “The code was concise and—”
“Warrior,” Vector barked, interrupting the male’s musings. “Give me a status update.”
“Yes, Captain.” Truth straightened. “There have been no cyborg casualties thus far. 91.2% of the enemy ship has been secured, the humans killed or restrained. Dissent and his team utilized the other docking bays to enter the vessel.”
“Has the route to the medical bay been cleared?” Her C Model lengthened his stride, increasing his speed, as they entered the hallways. The walls blurred around them.
The fast motion unsettled Kasia’s stomach. To battle that queasiness, she concentrated on Vector, her constant in the universe.
“No active fighting has been reported near the medical bay.” Truth’s graveness contributed to her unease. “We’ve completed a walk-through but the area hasn’t been thoroughly scanned.”
“Redirect additional warriors there.” Vector’s face grew hard.
Truth snapped to attention. “We won’t fail her a second time, Captain.”
Kasia stifled a sigh. Vector blamed himself for her injuries. Truth was also taking personal responsibility for the explosion.
She looked over Vector’s shoulder. J Model cyborgs followed them. They all appeared solemn, their gazes shifting left to right and back again. They gripped guns in both of their hands.
Kasia shook her head. She was surrounded by overly responsible warriors.
“I caused my own damage.” She wouldn’t allow the warriors to chastise themselves for the incident. “I had no experience, have never shot a gun, can’t run quickly, am regrettably human.” She listed her faults. “I shouldn’t have insisted I be included in this mission. That was rash of me.”
She gazed up at Vector’s face, expecting him to agree with her. He constantly told her she acted before she thought.
“I’ll teach you to shoot a gun.” He surprised her with that offer. “We’ll source body armor for you.”
“Your female is very small.” Truth expressed his skepticism.
“She’s as tall as many human males.” Vector defended her height. “We’ll find body armor that fits my female and train her. Constantly.”
Kasia’s excitement over that announcement was tempered with trepidation. The cyborg training program was grueling.
“I’ll be part of your crew.” She would be one of them. Kasia liked that.
“You’re already part of my crew.” Her warrior’s voice was gruff.
Truth nodded, confirming that fact.
This mission wouldn’t be her last. Kasia glowed. She was a permanent part of the team, had a family of sorts.
Vector stopped in front of a set of doors. “There are two humans and one J Model cyborg inside the medical bay.” He glanced at her. “Maybe more beings.”
She doubted his lifeform scanner was being blocked, but having no proof that it wasn’t, she remained silent.
The doors opened. Vector stepped back and turned, shielding her with his body. The other warriors aimed at the opening.
“Now, this is a welcome party.” A male laughed. “It will take all of you to capture me.”
Kasia looked around her cyb
org’s big form. A J Model with wild hair and laughing eyes spun daggers in his hands. A silver-colored armlet encircled one of his body armor-clad biceps.
“We have no interest in capturing you, Mayhem,” Vector drawled, shifting to face the newcomer.
“No?” The warrior’s forehead furrowed. “I’m the council’s most wanted warrior, C Model. They might forgive you if you brought me in.”
Kasia had heard talk of Mayhem over the transmission lines. The cyborg had been ordered to return to the Homeland by their council.
Mayhem’s female, however, was not only a Retriever, but the leader of those highly trained human and humanoid hunters. They had recently rebelled against the Humanoid Alliance.
She refused to leave her females. Mayhem refused to leave her. They had evaded capture, thus far, by both the Humanoid Alliance and the cyborg council.
“I’m not bringing you in.” Kasia’s warrior was too honorable to consider trading their freedom for Mayhem’s and his female’s freedom. “We require the medical bay.”
“My female is hunting in the medical bay.” Mayhem’s gaze lowered to Kasia. He slid the daggers into the sheaths on his body armor, his mood turning somber. “But she has restrained her target.” He stepped aside, waving one of his hands, gesturing for them to enter the chamber. “Your female should be safe.”
“Should be,” Vector muttered, hunching over her, covering her form with as much of him as possible. He carried her into the medical bay.
“You killed all of them already?” A human female with long straight black hair stood with her back to them. She wore a silver-colored armlet that matched Mayhem’s, signaling she was the J Model’s female. Her booted feet were braced apart. The daggers in her hands dripped crimson. “That was fast.”
She faced Commander Alakai. The human male’s wrists were bound, his arms stretched upward, the restraints looped around a ceiling beam. His uniform had small tears in it. Blood soaked the fabric, puddled on the floor around his feet.
Two young Tau Cetian females were positioned against the far wall, their bodies pressed together, the tiny daggers in their brown and green striped hands trembling. The children were prepared to defend the older female.
“The warriors didn’t want to fight me.” Mayhem scuffed one of his booted feet against the tile. “They need the medical bay.”
“They can use it.” Mayhem’s female threw her daggers into the air and caught them, her movements fast. “I only require this section of it.”
“You don’t require this section. You could kill me quickly.” Commander Alakai’s voice was high-pitched.
“You didn’t teach me how to kill quickly, Commander.” Mayhem’s female rushed forward and nicked the male’s arm with her dagger. He shrieked. She bounced backward. “You taught me how to end lives slowly, very slowly. You forced me to watch as you tortured my neighbors, my loved ones. I begged for mercy as your males sliced my baby cousin’s face to pieces. Do you remember that?”
Commander Alakai stared at her.
“Of course you don’t.” She flicked her blade over his other arm, ignoring the human’s cry of pain. “You’ve tortured so many beings over your lifespan. You can’t remember them all.”
Mayhem’s female removed a sliver of flesh from his right thigh, her assault on the commander calculated. The male was helpless to stop her.
“Cheskka was a chubby-cheeked, sweet little baby, had barely seen two solar cycles when you captured her.” Love for her cousin softened the Retriever’s voice. “She endured one full planet rotation of torture before bleeding out.” She paused. “I wonder how long you’ll last?”
Vector watched Mayhem’s female as she sliced Commander Alakai again and again, torturing him with her blades, taunting him with her words. Kasia saw the yearning in her warrior’s eyes.
“Take your vengeance.” She encouraged him. Commander Alakai had orchestrated the deaths of his friend and his friend’s female. Inflicting pain on the human might give Vector some closure.
Mayhem’s female glanced at him. “You want a turn?” She pointed one of her daggers at the commander. “I used a prolonger on him.”
A prolonger would ensure Commander Alakai remained conscious yet wouldn’t dull his pain. It was originally designed to keep warriors alive on the battlefield, allowing them to return to base camp where medic supplies were available.
“Give him a light flick of the blade only.” The female flashed her weapon, demonstrating the movement. “He captured me, killed my mom, my younger sister Jae, my baby brother Geo, all of my family.”
Her harshness toward the commander was warranted.
After Kasia had hacked that first Humanoid Alliance database, she had been forced to leave her family but she knew they were alive. They were happy.
Mayhem’s female had lost everyone. The human male had taken her loved ones from her.
“We’ve been tracking him for a while.” The female’s eyes glittered. “I won’t end the bastard’s life quickly. His death will be savored over planet rotations.”
“That bastard was responsible for Tau Ceti.” Vector glanced at the two small females pressed against the far wall and Kasia’s heart squeezed. Being Tau Cetian, they must have lost their families, all of their loved ones, when Commander Alakai blew up the planet. “My friend and his female died there.”
“Gap and Nymphia.” Mayhem’s female nodded. “My male was part of that mission. I didn’t realize, until I saw the image of Commander Alakai, we were hunting the same male.” A sad smile spread across her scarred face. “His fate was set with that revelation.”
“I’m the best warrior in the universe.” Mayhem contributed to the conversation. “My female is the best Retriever.”
“I’m the best warrior.” His female retorted. “And the best Retriever.”
Mayhem winked at her, the love between the two of them as strong as their personalities. “Commander Alakai couldn’t escape us, C Model.” He slid daggers out of the sheaths on his body armor. “We located the Vault a couple of planet rotations before you did.”
“We monitored the space around the Vault.” Lines appeared between Vector’s eyebrows. “We didn’t detect your ship.”
“We heard your transmissions before you arrived and positioned our ship out of your battle station’s range.” Mayhem’s shoulders lifted and fell. “It wasn’t difficult for me to track your movements. Your crew is chatty.”
Vector’s lips flattened.
Kasia mentally added concealing transmission origins to her list of tasks. If Mayhem could track them that way, the cyborg council could do the same.
“We then waited for you to reveal your plans.” Mayhem continued. “When the second wave of warships exited the battle station, we joined those warriors, staying in formation, following orders.” He grinned. “Entering the Vault would have been a challenge if your warriors hadn’t opened the docking bays for us. We were grateful for your assistance in apprehending the commander.”
Vector dipped his head. “Show your gratitude by inflicting some pain for Gap and Nymphia. And broadcast that torture. All our brethren will want to see it.”
“Gap would like that tribute.” Mayhem’s smile held sadness. “He was a G model and G models are crazy.”
“He would like it,” Vector agreed. He carried Kasia to a cushioned horizontal support, set her on the clean surface.
They had a clear view of the commander, watched as Mayhem’s female gouged a chunk of flesh out of the male’s left cheek.
He shrieked and pleaded for mercy.
Vector removed the body armor from Kasia’s shoulders, arms, hips, legs. Her face heated. She was naked and the chamber was full of warriors.
“Vector,” she whispered, covering her breasts with her hands.
Her cyborg must have relayed orders through the transmission lines. The males turned away from her, a wall of wide shoulders, of broad backs, surrounding her.
Encircled by those warriors, she was the
safest female in the universe. Vector sprayed her form with pain inhibitors. And she was loved. His concern for her broadcast that.
“Use some of that on yourself.” Kasia reclined on the horizontal support.
He obliged her, sending a fine mist over his gray skin. “I have to remove the shrapnel from your flesh.”
“I believe I’ll lose consciousness for that.” Kasia decided. “The experience sounds unpleasant.” And she’d already endured enough unpleasantness that planet rotation.
Lines etched between Vector eyebrows. “You could fight it.” He spritzed her again, slicking her slight curves with pain inhibitors.
All sensation in her limbs, her torso, her face, her toes vanished. The throbbing that had tormented her since the missile exploded was gone.
“No, I won’t fight the blackness.” Her eyelids partially lowered, the numbness accompanied by the exhaustion of healing, the strain of being strong for too long. “I will embrace it, recklessly, without second thoughts, knowing you will be here when I regain consciousness, standing over me, ensuring no one hurts me.”
He studied her for one long moment. “That tactic might be best. Even with the pain inhibitors, it will damage you emotionally.”
Inflicting that pain on her would damage him emotionally. “I’m strong and this has to be done.” She moved his hand to the metal lodged in her side, the biggest piece of shrapnel. “Remove it.”
“You’re strong and brave, female.” His eyes glowed with respect. “I love you more with each heartbeat.”
“I love you too.” She gazed up at him, seeing the caring, the concern in his eyes. “You’re processing too much, warrior. I’ve relayed all the information you need to hear. Take action.”
“You’re reckless.” He pulled. Hard.
Intense agony swept over Kasia. She pressed her lips together, biting back her scream. Warmth rushed up her neck. The chamber spun.
Vector flung the piece of metal away from him, bent his head, licked at her wound. His nanocybotics bubbled, ratcheting the hurt up one more notch. It was more than she could take.
The darkness swooped down. Kasia, true to her nature, didn’t fight it. She spread her arms and allowed the void to take her.
