Vict

by Jessie Rose Case

  “Do you know how long before they are here?”

  “Not long. I hear them. My brother is clearing the way from the doorway to this room. He was lucky to not to be in the direct line of fire.” He told her.

  Mina nodded feeling very tired. “Stay awake Ambassador.” Mina smiled.

  “Not sure I can. Your name Warrior?”

  “Bane.” He told her.

  “Bane nice to meet you, I’m Mina,” she panted, breathing becoming difficult, “you’d better …..get that foot back or …I’ll be …very annoyed,….sorry……. I have…….. to sleep …. now. She heard his voice telling her to stay awake and felt the tapping of his hand on her face trying to keep her awake. Mina tried to focus but it wouldn’t come. She just needed a nap…..

  ***

  Vict’s neuro net pinged. I have the Ambassador, she has a head injury I am applying pressure, she also has her leg and arm trapped. She was coherent but has now passed out. I am unable to keep her awake.

  Affirmative. Your injuries? He asked.

  My legs were crushed. I have some damaged ribs and a head impact. I removed the debris, but my foot was pinned. I had to remove it to be able to get to the Ambassador.

  We are close.

  The Admiral cut in over his net. We are coming in from three sections. Protect the Ambassador.

  Vict and his team worked their way to what was left of the corridor where Mina’s door would have been. The left side was completely gone. I need props on that ceiling and these walls, he called out over his net as he pulled at pieces of wall and furniture and passed them back, moving ever nearer. Her doorway was gone but the area surprisingly clear. His security Cyborg hobbled into the gap. He had blood on his face and legs.

  I have eyes on them. Vict nodded and slowly moved towards him. An intense sense of relief hit him. He didn’t understand why. His emotions were turned off, it was not logical. He reasoned it was his sense of duty, that propelled him forward, his need, to reach his goal.

  By the time Vict entered what was left of Mina’s apartment a clear trail of blood led to several large pieces of ceiling broken on the floor. The scent of Cyborg blood strong in the air. Mina’s scent was light, he could scent her blood too. Vict measured the layout of what was left and realised the walls to the living room were gone, part of her corridor wall was still up which would have led to the bedroom. That area was blocked. Completely crushed. Vict realised Mina had to have been in the bathroom when the building exploded. There was some solid equipment in that room. It would have taken an impact, offered some protection. Crouching below a beam, he crab walked slowly towards his Cyborg from the corridor. He was crouched by a gap in the debris. Prop up that wall. Get a brace in here. He called out over his net.

  Can I get to her? He asked.

  No. Not enough room with Bane in there.

  How bad is she? Vict badly wanted in there.

  We need to get her out now. Bane is not good either. He’s bled out pretty badly, but still holding down her wound. The problem is the beam holding her down. Her arm and leg are crushed under it. Once it’s lifted, feeling is going to come flooding back and it’s not going to be good. She might lose them Captain. Victs chest constricted.

  She’s alive, that’s all that matters. He told himself.

  The wall behind Mina collapsed and day light flooded in. Vict shielded his eyes against the sudden glare as several Cyborgs came into view with heavy equipment. Drilling, hammering and removing anything in their way, they braced larger pieces against falling. He recognised the medic getting to Mina. Several others were putting winching gear on the pillar. He had no role here and should leave. He was of no value to Mina or his man, but he couldn’t make himself leave.

  Hearing the orders being sent out of their neuro nets, he knew they were going to lift the barrier and pull her free. Vict agreed with the action. It was the best and quickest way, to get her and Bane out. He heard the ship move in above the building, could see parts of it through the gaps in the debris. The metal cable descended towards them. The medic put something around Mina’s neck, wrapped her head wound, as another medic moved in next to Bane.

  Vict heard the ‘go’ over his neuro net. Several things happened at once. The cable started to lift the pillar from Mina, several Cyborgs moved in to manoeuvre it away, a board was brought forward, and Mina was placed on it, they pulled her out, then Bane after her. He heard the order to fall back. Vict turned grabbing his Cyborg who’d stayed by his mate’s side helping him back to the corridor. She was safe now.

  He heard the loud creak behind them, the twist of metal and the falling wall, Vict threw them both, towards the corridor as what was left of the ceiling fell in on the place where Mina had been. Vict turned back to look at it. That would have killed her. He dragged them both forward as his men took over, aiding them both out. The medic moved in and tended the Cyborgs wounds. Vict had cuts and abrasions that his nano’s were dealing with. He didn’t need a medic. They waited until the medic was satisfied, then moved out.

  ***

  Rage, Dark and Pain were waiting for him. How many dead? He asked approaching.

  15. 22 With injuries. It could have been worse. Pain told him. Vict nodded. His logic told him that too. They’d been lucky to be so close and get support in when they had.

  Do we have any intel on who did this? He asked. Pain nodded.

  We have an ID on the scent your man picked up. We’re tracking it down now. The bomb was on the floor below the Ambassadors apartment, outside the lift. It took out that whole section causing the floor to blow out and the building to collapse. We think the Ambassador was the target. Her being in the bathroom probably saved her life.

  Where’s Mina now? His logic unable to hold back the question any longer.

  On my ship with Mac. She’s in good hands. Dark told him.

  Permission to come aboard. He asked. Dark gave a nod.

  Granted.

  When you find this fucker, I want him. Vict told them. He didn’t need to explain. They all knew what that meant.

  Affirmative. Rage told him. Vict headed for his off-worlder. He needed to see Mina. The Admiral would deal with this disaster.

  ***

  Vict continued to watch over his mate. Mina had been in the med bed for days. First it had scanned her injuries, Vict remembered reading that. He’s emotions turned back on, it had nearly killed him. They’d loaded the nutrients it needed to fix her and set it to work. It had been slow going. The bed scanned the worst damage and got to work on the lifesaving damage first. Then on to less urgent damage. It took time. They’d finally taken her out of the med bed, a couple of hours earlier. She was lucky to be alive, Vict reminded himself yet again. He’d been doing that a lot, saying the same thing over and over. He couldn’t seem to stop. He looked at her in the hospital bed. She looked like she was just napping. Her skin showed no sign of the trauma she’d been through. Her skull, that had been broken into several pieces, now whole and in once piece again.

  The damage to her head had been bad but with their technology fixable. Her arm and leg had been worse. They’d had no choice but to use nano’s and cybernetic replacements to both. Her own limbs beyond repair in places. Mina had no family, he’d had to make the decisions. The lump in his chest was suddenly back. His anger and fear crawled through him.

  He tried to think of something else. Anything, not to think about what Mina would think of that. They’d found the culprit for the bomb. He wasn’t even on their radar. Just an ordinary male who was messed up, who lived down the street, who’d seen Mina and Vict coming and going, and realised who she was from the media coverage.

  Vict had been there when the male had been picked up. He’d wanted his right as a mated Cyborg to deal with the male himself. One look at him, told Vict the male wasn’t worthy of his time. The male was weak, ill, not right in the head. Punishment had been quick. It had been all over the vid screens. The man had confessed and been tried by his own people. His death had been
meaningless. It did nothing to take away his anger. Vict didn’t feel any different knowing the male was now gone.

  He’d turned his emotions back on that first morning. Everything he’d been through came flooding back. His fears, anxieties, his need for justice. His worries for his mate, once again, over taking him. Every instinct in him, told him she was his mate and needed him. He was wreaked with unwanted thoughts. The part of him that was illogical, was also telling him he’d failed her. He knew there was nothing he could have done or foreseen, but the thoughts remained. Could he have done more? Could he have prevented this?

  The fact that she had needed the med bed more than him, had held him back from pulling her from it and holding her. So he’d spent his energies doing the only thing he could, he’d found her a new home and gone about his business, knowing she wouldn’t wake, until her body was fully healed.

  Vict gazed across at her. He hoped she liked her new place. He and his men had salvaged what they could from the old one. Anything they found with her scent marker had been placed in a box and taken to her new home. It was surprising how much was still intact.

  A news reel silently ran across the vid screen catching his eye. It was an image of people being taken out of Mina’s collapsed building, the Court hearing and decision, then finally, the moment Mina had been carried from it. His optic allowed him to miss nothing. He could see how damaged she was. His chest ached. There was little doubt looking at it, she had been close to death. He shuddered.

  “Are…. you…. cold?” He heard her voice whisper to him. Vict moved quickly to her side.

  “I am not cold female. I am worried for you.” He told her unashamed at the emotion in his voice.

  “I …..feel…. tired …..but I’ve… no pain. I… have ……memories of being….. in pain. Of being….. moved. Laying ……in something. A…… buzzing sound …..from time to time. How bad was I?” Her face carried her confusion. Vict watched for signs of any pain and saw none.

  He reached out and grasped her hand, folding it in his. Touching her calming his emotions. “Maybe you should wait for Mac, the doctor for answers.” He told her not wanting to cause her anymore emotional pain.

  Mina gave him a slight smile. “No. I’m good. Tell me.”

  Vict told her of the bombing. The state of the building. How many died and how many they’d got out. He told her of the injuries to both his men and how they had tried to reach her. That Bane had a new foot, his system repaired. Then he realised he couldn’t put it off any longer.

  “It was bad,” he gently told her, “the bathroom saved you. If you’d been in any other room ……” Vict couldn’t say the words, it was still too real. He focused on the events. “It was the tub primarily. It prevented the metal pillar from crushing your skull entirely. We think it knocked you sideways as it fell and clipped your head. You a nasty head injury on the way down and the pillar managed to trap your arm and leg in the process. Do you remember Bane getting to you?” She gave a nod.

  “We got to you shortly after. Winched off the pillar and brought you out to the med bay on this ship. Darks mate looked after you. She’s our medical director at the Space Station. The err, med bed did the rest.”

  Mina squeezed his hand. “That tells me …….. what happened ……. not really how bad I was.” He couldn’t look at her. He rubbed her hand against his chest.

  “It was bad Mina. You had a nasty gash in your skull. It was a wonder you were able to speak and awake for as long as you was. Your arm and leg were more complicated.” He saw her glance down and check she had two arms and two legs. He felt her looking back up at him. Why did it feel so hard to tell her? They’d done all they could to fix her. His logic supplied the answer, he feared what she would do. Feared, she would reject it and him.

  “We had no choice,” he blurted out, “but to replace parts of them, if you were ever to be able to walk or use the arm and leg again. You have cybernetics implanted in both of them to aim mobility and nano’s, to help with the healing. Also new muscle tissue and connectivity. New skin has been grafted over it all. You can’t tell the difference it’s so good. No one will ever see it.” He watched as she turned over her arms and checked them, then try to move her foot up and down. It didn’t seem to happen for a while, then moved. Vict knew that was a good sign.

  He hesitated to tell her the rest, knowing he had no choice. “You also have a number of data chips implanted in your brain that will function on command. It will take time for you to get used to it. I’m sorry Mina, there was no other way.”

  She didn’t say anything for a while. Vict just stood there holding her hand. Hoping and praying she took it well. He didn’t know how to help her with this. He feared her horror and the rejection of their technology and devices. But he feared her rejection of him more.

  “Water and medical data pad.” She asked quietly holding out her good arm. Vict let her go, got her some water, then walked to the foot of the bed, picking up the data pad, he handed it to her when she’d finished her water.

  He stood waiting for the axe to fall, waited to be dismissed or kicked out. His nerves frayed. He watched Mina run through several things on the pad. Her attention was all on the information she was pulling up. He had no doubt, she was checking her injuries and what the prognosis had been and the treatment. What she would do when she found his electronic signature on the cybernetic procedure, he did not know. He wasn’t sure whether to stay or go. He was about to leave when she put the pad down and looked up at him.

  “That’s amazing. You did that for me?” She grinned up at him. “Thank you.”

  Vict wasn’t sure he’d heard right. “You’re ok with it?” He asked needing confirmation. He’d convinced himself she would throw a fit at the very least. He frowned. She was too calm. Too ….. happy. Something was wrong. She hadn’t heard him right.

  “More than ok, it’s incredible. Mirror, I want to see myself.” Frowning Vict moved to the clean up area and picked up a mirror bringing it back to her. She looked at her head and checked her hair. Satisfied, she looked at the other side of her head, feeling for something. He wasn’t sure what. “How does it work?” She asked him.

  Vict was lost. Not sure what was going on. “How what works?” He asked confused.

  “The med bed thing, how’d it fix me?” Vict went through the process for her.

  She looked down at her chest and sighed. “What’s wrong?” He asked, concern eating away at him.

  “It didn’t fix my boobs.” She told him.

  Vict had no idea what she was talking about. Her ‘boob’s’ were perfect. “There was nothing wrong with them.” He told her.

  “They’ve always been to big for my frame.” She told him as if that was an answer he’d understand. He didn’t. He leaned in and touched her face, lifting it up to look at him.

  “I tell you I agreed to have cybernetics implants put in your body, computer chips and a connective system and your worried about your ‘boob’s?” Mina shrugged.

  Vict didn’t understand the female. “There is nothing wrong with your body. Not before the accident and not now. It was beautiful then, it’s beautiful now, and if you were well enough and wanted me, I’d be buried so deep inside you right now, you’d never forget it.” He lightly brushed his lips over hers.

  Mina now looked up at him confused. “Why would I not want you? You keep telling me you are my mate. Have you changed your mind?” He could taste the sadness in her voice, it gave him hope.

  “You do not blame us for being injured?” Mina looked at him shocked.

  “Why the hell would I blame you?” She asked.

  “The male blew up the building because of us.”

  Mina slowly shook her head, “if he was as ill as they say,” she pointed to the vid screen, “it might have been anything that set him off at any time. That was not your fault.”

  Vict felt he needed to be clear with her. “But if we’d never come here ……” Mina cut him off, “we would still be under a
police state with people going missing. Abusing visitors to our world and a small group of us, fighting for justice fearing for our lives. This was not your fault. But, if you wish to go, go. I have no hold on you.” She picked up the data pad and started looking at something.

  Vict was sure he heard a crack in the back of his head. She had no hold on him? Had she said that? Did she not realise how he could not be with out her? That nearly loosing her, had nearly killed him too?

  He let go of his fear, mentally connected to the medical computer and locked the door to the room. He started stripping. As his jacket hit the floor Mina noticed. She watched him confused, then open mouthed. He bent down and pulled off his boots, one, then the other, then pull his top over his head, dropping it to the floor. “What are you doing?” She squeaked out looking at the doorway. Vict pulled the data pad from her hands and threw it across the room. As it crashed, she jumped, turning to look at him.

  “I’m showing you, you have every hold on me. That I cannot, will not, be without you and if it requires,” he undid his trousers and scented her desire in the air, “a reminder,” he told her, his eyes flaring, “I’m going to give it to you.” He yanked down his trousers and stamped out of them, stroking his cock. He stood there naked before her. Vict watched her eyes move from his cock to his eyes and back to his cock he was stroking. She licked her lips. A heated smile slowly crept across his face.

  “I told you Mina, my mate. You’re it for me. Now and for our lifetime, and if I have to prove it to you every day of my life, I will. Pull back the blanket and remove your robe. Your mate wishes to gaze on your beauty.” Mina slowly pulled back the blanket and looked down at her legs. They were perfect and whole. That seemed to wake her up. She shimmied out the wrap and pulled it off. Vict took a sharp intake of breath at the vision before him.