Now everything was different. There was no more military, and his life had changed.
For the first time in a long time, he was thinking of something else. A future without his pod mates and the military, but with Suni. And he didn’t want to disappoint or hurt her.
“I’m ready,” Taun said.
Raint glanced around the group with a sinister smile on his lips. “We’re going to find out each other’s deepest and darkest secrets now. Are you sure that you want to know what’s in my head?”
“Besides rocks?” Vril asked.
Zema chuckled nervously. “Thinking that he has rocks in his head would be generous.”
Taun chuckled as well. They were all nervous. It wasn’t hard to discern. Sharing a closed network was intimate and reserved for pod mates, those who were trusted with your life. For that very reason most pods were formed at the beginning of the cyborg program and ended with retirement.
“Let’s get this over with,” Vril said.
Taun tried to steady his nerves. He didn’t have anything to hide, but being that open with another person was invasive. Every emotion, thought and memory would be laid out on display to be judged and questioned.
“Alright,” Taun said. “Opening in one, two, three…” Taun initiated a search of available connections on his closed network. As expected, there were three. He allowed access. Each person’s mind was like a folder, he could sift through or download the files. He downloaded and reviewed the information as he was sure they were doing to his as well.
Raint was feeling charged and primed. Ready to fight. No, hoping and wanting to fight. Aggression fueled him and he reveled in the feeling of the tumultuous storm that came with it. He was fully aware what others thought of him—that he was a powder keg waiting for spark. He was also a rebel which surprised Taun. He hadn’t been certain if any of them had been a Shui supporter, but if anyone was, Taun was sure it was Raint.
He had thought Raint wouldn’t have a problem with displacing the people of Bionus if it meant following Shui’s orders. But no, Raint’s pod had been active in locating Bionus resisters, informing them when their cover was blown and helping them to relocate.
Vril was one of the earliest rebels. He had used his position to coordinate information and kept the network off the mainframe while supplying information regarding drop points between different pods. He had gone by an alias that Taun himself had interacted with. More than before, Taun was grateful to now be under Vril’s direct command.
Zema…
Taun inhaled a sharp breath.
“What the fuck?!” Raint growled.
Zema cringed under the weight of their stares. Out of all of them, Taun hadn’t expected Zema to be a Shui supporter.
“No judging,” Vril said. “We know how this works and what the outcome might be.”
“How did you end up on the transport?” Taun asked although he could sift through her memories to find the information. He needed to know now.
“I had a change of heart.” Zema’s voice was flat, almost devoid of emotion.
“After what cost?” Taun asked her.
“A heavy one.”
Raint cursed and turned in a circle. “So, you’re going to turn us in?”
Zema shook her head. “The days of me turning in other cyborgs are over. I was on that death trap just like the rest of you.”
Raint snorted. “Only after your usefulness ran its course.”
Taun glanced at Vril. “Is it wise to trust her?”
Zema stood with hands clasped behind her back and chin raised. “I knew what you all would find, and I opened myself anyway.”
“You could have told us beforehand,” Taun told her.
Zema gave him a short nod. “True. I guess I was prolonging the inevitable.”
“I don’t like this,” Raint growled.
“You have access to all my thoughts and feelings. You’ll know my intentions before I voice them.”
“We need to know that you’re a part of this team now,” Vril said.
Zema raised her chin a little higher. “This is my pod too now.”
“That’s all I need to hear.” Vril slapped his hands together. “Let’s go get Tayan back.”
The interior transporter bay door opened. Everyone turned in that direction. They had told Saph and Suni what they were doing and that they required privacy to discuss anything that came up—mainly one of them being a Shui supporter. Taun expected to see Suni or Saph, eager to have them on their way to rescue Tayan. What he hadn’t expected was the over nine-foot-tall, gleaming metal of a figure ducking to enter.
“X-9, I presume?” Vril asked.
“At your service.” The voice that replied was one Taun had heard over the communication system before.
Raint whistled low while tilting his head back to get a good view of the A.I. “I like it.”
Zema took a step back. “I didn’t expect it to be so big.”
“I hope your little mind sharing session was successful,” Saph’s voice came over the intercom. “But if you all don’t mind, I would like my sister back.”
* * *
“Where is my sister?” Saph spoke in a hard clipped tone, all business.
Saph, Suni, Ised, Aesh and Yovit waited on the bridge, anxiously expecting confirmation from Vril that they had safely boarded Kenzi’s ship. The air hung thick with tension. Yovit and Aesh sat off to one side, his chair giving a light hum. It needed another tune up.
Suni couldn’t sit. There was too much at stake and anything could go wrong. She leaned against the far-right wall, on a rare slab that didn’t hold a storage or control unit. While Suni hugged her middle, trying to stop her shaking, Saph paced the length of the room, from one end to the other. Her heavy boots knocked against the floor, adding to the tension.
“She’s safe,” Kenzi replied with a laugh.
Suni whirled to face the transponder. “She better be or I’ll—”
“This meeting would go smoother if we were able to speak with the child.” Ised eased into the chair closest to the transponder. When Suni shot him a look that could melt steel, Ised held up his finger. Suni narrowed her eyes at him, but she tightened her lips.
They had already been decided that Ised, a skilled diplomat, would take lead on the negotiations. While he kept talks open with Kenzi, Taun and his pod would locate Tayan and rescue her. Hopefully without Kenzi being the wiser.
“I’m inside their security system,” Zema’s voice crackled over the microphone earpiece that both Suni and Saph wore. The link and constant updates were the only thing keeping Suni from losing her mind.
“The child is fine,” Kenzi replied. He clicked on the video connection.
Kenzi was handsome, there was no mistaking that. As with most in this sector, he was humanoid. His red hair fell in thick dreadlocs, framing a dark, lean, yet muscular face with strong, bold features. Dark splotches, specific to his species and known as rosettes, were splashed across his forehead and outlined his hair line. Large expressive eyes gleamed with sadistic humor. Full lips hid sharp teeth.
“The charges are ready to go in three, two, one.” There was a popping noise then a low whistle. “Everyone in,” Taun continued.
The first part of the plan had gone off without a hitch. After the initial scan of the jumper, Kenzi and his crew dismissed the vessel. The second and third steps were now underway and seemed to be working as planned. Zema had disabled Kenzi’s security system which allowed for the others to break into one of the hatches without raising an alarm.
Suni kept worried eyes on Kenzi, looking for any reaction that showed he was aware of what was going on. Suni had never met Kenzi or his twin sister Katara in the flesh, but killing children wasn’t something she saw them doing. Dropping Tayan off half-way across the galaxy and leaving Saph and Suni to find her and get her back—yes.
Kenzi leaned forward in his chair, causing the leather outfit he wore to creak under the strain of muscles. “Ah, Saph. You’
re looking as beautiful as ever.”
“After we secure Tayan I might pay him a personal visit,” Vril said.
“Focus on Tayan’s safety,” Zema replied.
Saph sneered at Kenzi’s image. “Why did you kidnap her? She’s just a child!”
Kenzi shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s nothing personal Saphyra. You are competition, and the competition needs to be eliminated.”
“Your real name is Saphyra?” Vril asked.
“Focus!” Taun said.
Saph ignored Vril’s query and kept her focus on Kenzi. “That’s stupid. The scavenger hunt has over a hundred teams participating. We aren’t your only competition. Eliminating us won’t do much.”
“She’s got a point there,” Raint said.
“Are you all usually this chatty?” Suni said under her breath so only her communicator would pick up.
“Sometimes,” Taun replied.
“I have Tayan’s heat signature located in the last room on the second deck,” Zema said. “Make a right, past the next hallway, then left at the fork.”
“There are eight top teams. I don’t have to eliminate one hundred, just the few in sights of winning.”
Suni and Saph exchanged a look. They had worked hard to retrieve as many items as they could, no matter how many points were associated with it. Some teams only retrieved the higher point value items thinking to jump ahead after only a few items. Suni and Saph believed every item counted, and even though they didn’t have all the items, that game plan had worked so far.
“There has to be another way,” Ised said. “Where is the honor in winning that way? You can’t possibly kidnap someone from every team.”
Kenzi shrugged. “Kidnap, conspire, lie, cheat or steal. It doesn’t matter to me. All I care about is winning and claiming the prize.”
“Taun!” Suni’s heart slammed against her ribs at hearing Tayan’s voice.
If Saph heard Tayan she didn’t let on. She sneered at Kenzi. “At any cost necessary.”
“Time to go,” Taun said. “Let X-9 carry you until we’re clear.”
“Hurry,” Suni whispered to Taun.
“We’re on our way back,” Vril confirmed.
Kenzi chuckled. “We would really make a good team. That’s if I needed the extra help.”
“There’s not one circumstance I can think of that would make me team up with you,” Saph said.
One side of Kenzi’s mouth lifted into a smile. “Or, I could keep your sister, make you find some of the items for me and win that way.”
Saph slammed her palms on the counter and leaned forward to glare at Kenzi. “Never.”
“Clear. Bring us back, Zema,” Vril said.
Suni pushed off the wall and paced. Tayan wasn’t safe until she was back on The Renegade and off Kenzi’s ship. Anything could happen between now and then. Kenzi could re-gain control of his security system and trap them onboard his ship. He could find out what they had done and shoot down the much smaller jumper, killing everyone.
Or he could turn his powerful guns on The Renegade.
Kenzi tilted his head to the side in thought. “I think I like that idea. Hm, maybe we should change our plans, Katara.”
His twin sister Katara came into view. She looked like a prettier, softer version of Kenzi. The females from their species were considerably smaller than the males. She leaned over his shoulder and smiled into the projection. “We don’t need help from them. Have them sign the contract opting out of the game, give them back their brat of a sister and let’s be on our way.”
“We made it to the jumper,” Taun said.
“Opening up the transporter bay,” Zema said.
“You have it all worked out, don’t you?” Saph asked Katara.
Katara smirked, revealing her pointy teeth. “Always. That’s why we’re a step ahead of you and the competition.”
“The package has landed,” Zema said.
“Let’s get out of here,” Vril said.
Saph returned Katara’s smile. “You’ll always be two steps behind us,” Saph said. “Bye, Kenzi and female Kenzi.”
Katara’s eyes burned with fiery rage. If she could spit venom the screen would’ve been filled with it. “What did you call me!” Katara’s voice was cut off as they ended the communication.
Saph straightened. “X-9. Jump the ship.”
Chapter Sixteen
Suni and Saph ran down the hallway, following behind Yovit who could cover more ground in his hover chair.
“Tay!” Suni screamed as she rounded the corner and saw Tayan coming out of the transporter bay in X-9’s arms.
Yovit was the first to reach her. He adjusted his chair to rise the extra six feet and held out his arms. X-9 deposited Tayan in Yovit’s arms and Tayan immediately let out a small cry as she hugged into Yovit.
Yovit gathered her to his chest and held her tight, closing his eyes and resting his head on hers. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if something happened to you.”
“I wasn’t scared.” Her voice was muffled against Yovit’s chest.
“Of course, you weren’t. You’re your mother’s daughter.”
Suni and Saph reached them at the same time. Saph grabbed Yovit’s foot and brought him down so they could fawn over Tayan too.
“Did they hurt you?” Saph asked, running a hand over Tayan’s thin hair.
She shook her head, still not lifting it from Yovit’s chest.”
“You don’t have to be afraid to tell us anything,” Saph continued. “You do know that I will hurt anyone who messes with you, don’t you?”
Tayan nodded. “I know. They didn’t hurt me. They were just mean.”
Suni tried to take Tayan from Yovit’s arms, but she held on to him tight. “Come on. We can go to my room and have a sleepover.”
Saph rustled the top of Tayan’s head. “I’ll even come. What do you say?”
Tayan shook her head. “I want to stay with father.”
Yovit sniffled and hugged her tighter. Then he glanced at Taun and the others. “I’m indebted to you for saving my baby girl.”
Vril gave him a nod.
“Um… Ah… So…” Saph had trouble with the words.
Saph was good at keeping them together as a family. She was a good provider and a good sister. What she wasn’t good at was apologizing. It was hard apologizing when she thought she was right about everything.
“Thank you all for saving Tayan,” Suni said. “Like Yovit said, we’re indebted to you.”
“We’re partly the reason she was abducted anyway,” Taun offered.
Suni shook her head. “No blame game. What happened and how doesn’t matter. All that does matter is that Tay is safe.”
Taun inclined his head at her.
“Are you sure that you don’t want us to have a girl’s night in Suni’s room?” Saph asked Tayan again.
Tayan shook her head again. “I’m going to stay with father.”
“She wants to go with me,” Yovit said. “What’s so hard to understand?” While he held Tayan gingerly in his arms his anger was directed toward Saph.
“Maybe I find it hard that she would want to spend time with you when she can be with us,” Saph replied.
“I like sleeping in father’s room,” Tayan said, finally lifting her head, revealing red eyes. “He reads me stories and we play games.”
Suni and Saph exchanged a glance. They had known Tayan spent some of her nights with Yovit, but they hadn’t known how often she did. There wasn’t anything wrong with it. It was that Suni and Saph had stopped deferring to their dad when their mother had died, in part because they had blamed him for her death. Tayan wouldn’t have any of the past baggage to taint her relationship with Yovit.
Suni rubbed Tayan’s head. “That’s fine. We’ll have a special breakfast in the morning, okay?”
Tayan nodded and buried her face back on Yovit’s chest. Yovit steered his hover chair down the hall and around the corner.
�
�X-9, are we safely away from Kenzi’s ship?” Saph asked.
X-9’s face while not human, was meant to appear humanoid. He could smile and frown and on occasion even fake a laugh, but mostly he chose to wear his features impassive. Now, his eyes were blank with a faraway look as he accessed the ships computer system, tracking their trajectory. “We have successfully jumped out of their range.”
“I’ll change the ship’s signature again. If they look for The Renegade, they’ll come up empty,” Zema said.
“Good idea,” Saph said.
The change in the atmosphere didn’t go unnoticed by Suni, and by the look on Saph’s face, she was aware of the change as well. None of the men replied to Zema. In fact, they seemed to avoid looking at her all together.
“What happened?” Saph asked with a frown.
“Nothing,” Zema replied. She turned toward Vril. “If I’m not needed any more tonight, I’ll take my leave.”
“Dismissed,” Vril replied.
Zema clicked her heels together then did an about face and left.
Suni watched her walk down the hall, back straight and head held high. “Did we miss something?”
“We have access to each other memories,” Taun said.
Suni turned around and faced him. “And?”
“She was a Shui supporter.”
“Well, that’s…um…wow,” was all Suni could say.
* * *
Suni lay in her bed, staring at the dingy ceiling. Was Taun going to come to her room to spend the night? Should she go to his? Was it crazy for her to be thinking that they should be spending the night together?
She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to let darkness overtake her. Instead, she was met with memories of Taun on top of her. His arms bracketing her as he drove himself deep within her core. She had felt safe. Loved. Needed. Secure.
She blew out a deep breath and opened her eyes again. Sleep was going to elude her. She turned over and hugged the pillow and stared at her door, willing him to walk through. He didn’t.
Saving The Cyborg (Cyborg Redemption) Page 13
