by Regine Abel
Jarog and I weren’t in love with each other yet, but something magical had sparked between us from day one, and strengthened every day since. I knew my future was currently embracing me. And thankfully, when being presented with other opportunities, he had chosen me.
My arms tightened around him, and I gently kissed his chest before resting my head on it again.
I choose you, too.
We didn’t see Loreus for the rest of the evening. Yelena had been assigned to him… but for what? The Cyborg wasn’t hard on the eye, and like Haelin, she certainly had noticed, too. However, I doubted monkey business was the reason for his absence.
Haelin had gone all out with the defenses surrounding Satos. A part of me considered it overkill, while the other agreed with an excess of cautions. The local residents displayed signs of nervousness. Some of the visitors had hauled ass overnight or early this morning. I couldn’t blame them. With the city and its leader in the crosshairs of Grellik, those travelers understandably had no desire to get caught in the crossfire.
When Jarog announced to Haelin that he would be staying here if she would have him, I couldn’t say whether he or I was more shocked when she squealed and pulled him into a bear hug. Despite her far more delicate frame compared to Jarog, the Narengi female possessed an impressive amount of strength.
But the grateful glance she cast my way when she released him made no mystery she believed I’d been the reason he’d decided to stay. I wasn’t the only reason, but it still tickled me pink that I’d played an important role in it.
“I have a meeting in a few minutes,” Haelin said apologetically. “We can discuss more in detail the kind of role you two will want to play here, as well as more permanent living arrangements. I mean, you’re welcome to remain in the suite, but if you would prefer a house of your own, we can arrange that. Just think on it.”
“Thanks, Haelin,” I said with gratitude.
She winked and headed back up to the executive lounge. Jarog and I exited Perdition and walked less than a block away from the nightclub to the fitness center. While I came here to train every other day, Jarog used the shit out of these facilities every day for a couple of hours. Considering the diligence with which he performed every single one of his routines confused me into thinking he was a fitness freak. But I discovered that my man didn’t particularly enjoy training. However, it remained a necessary chore for him to maintain the muscle mass required to operate the heavy components of his enhanced body.
We were just concluding our warm ups when Loreus arrived. His presence shouldn’t have surprised me. After all, as a Cyborg, he also needed daily training. He smiled at me in greeting, and nodded at Jarog, then proceeded to perform his own warm ups. The atmosphere shifted in the room. I wouldn’t call it tension—as there was no animosity between the two men—yet I felt in the presence of two predators assessing each other.
Jarog picked up two twenty-five pound dumbbells before getting on the treadmill. I got on the one next to his. In no time, Jarog was in a fast jog—more akin to a run for me—with a dumbbell in each hand. He was magnificent to behold with his perfect posture, his lean and muscular body, and graceful movements filled with controlled power. I didn’t miss how Loreus discreetly studied my man while finishing his own warm ups.
Once done, Loreus also picked up a pair of dumbbells before getting on the treadmill. My chest constricted as he began to train, quickly working his speed up to match Jarog. Both Cyborgs were examining each other through their reflections in the floor to ceiling mirror in front of us. At first, I’d thought this was merely some healthy competition between two prime specimens. Now, I realized this was an audition. They were pushing themselves, each adjusting to the other, their movements falling almost into perfect sync. The sight amazed and terrified me.
Last night, Jarog had committed to us. In my happiness, I’d jumped at the opportunity. But deep down, I’d wondered if he had been too hasty in his decision, influenced by his sense of guilt and the wrong assumption that he wouldn’t be wanted for having been a loyalist. Was he reconsidering?
I gave up on the treadmill long before they did, moving on to the resistance machines. I tried not to let jealousy and fear overtake me as I watched them doing free weights, assisting each other when needed. Over the past couple of weeks, Jarog and I had taken to occasionally sparring during our training sessions. But today, he did so with Loreus. I’d thought our fighting had been epic, but seeing the two of them going at it was a painful eye opener. I could never rival their speed, strength, or the complexity of techniques and combat styles they mixed and transitioned to in a blink in response to the situation.
Was he bored this whole time we trained together?
In that instant, I realized how keeping him with me would hold him back. I couldn’t offer him what his brothers could. Even though both Cyborgs had that usual, neutral expression plastered on their faces as they battled, Jarog had never seemed more alive. He’d mentioned missing the special connection with another Cyborg through their closed neural network. Loreus and his pod could give him that. Should I selfishly let Jarog ‘settle’ for me because he had hastily pledged himself to me… to us?
The city-wide alarm going off put an end to my dark musings. The men immediately stopped sparring. Jarog cast a glance towards me, a silent communication passing between us, and all three of us broke into a run. The Cyborgs nabbed their towels in passing, wiping the sweat off their faces as we raced towards Perdition.
Outside, the Narengi troops—which also included non-Narengi soldiers—were rushing to their respective battle stations around the walls and towers defending the city. The reinforced doors, blocking the access to Satos, closed with a hissing sound, followed by a series of loud clanks. The sky overhead seemed to shimmer as the energy field of the city’s protective dome formed above us.
Yelena and Lanish came running out of Perdition just as we were about to enter it. Both of them held a pair of strange-looking staff-like sticks that seemed filled with electricity.
“Suit up and grab some weapons,” Yelena ordered. “We’ve got massive air and ground attacks incoming.”
Without waiting for our response, they hurried outside. Jarog and I raced to our suite to put on the armor Haelin had provided us, while Loreus went up to the room she had assigned to him. I didn’t know where it was located, only that it was in one of the upper floors of Perdition. We came back to the main floor to find the Narengi leader in full battle gear, a hovercart next to her laden with the same type of lightning sticks Yelena and Lanish had carried. Around the dance floor, every giant screen was on, displaying the feed of the different surveillance cameras of the city in a mosaic.
By the time we closed the distance with her, Loreus was coming down the stairs, and hastened to our side.
“Looks like Grellik is even more pissed off than I thought,” Haelin said with a hardness in her eyes that made me shiver. “Judging by the number and type of troops he’s got incoming, he doesn’t want revenge, but to raze this city.”
“With all the Dalirium?” I exclaimed.
“He’s past that,” Haelin said. “He wants to make an example out of Satos so that no one will ever dare challenge him again, and likely to save face. The airstrikes are not a threat. They’re purely a distraction that will never get through our defenses. Their land troops are the true menace, or more specifically, their Burrowers.”
The Narengi leader gestured with her head at one of the giant screens. Using the remote, she set one of the camera feeds to full screen then zoomed in on a series of not particularly remarkable tank-looking vehicles.
“These shits look like inoffensive transport tanks, but they are infiltration devices—trojan horses if you prefer,” Haelin ground through her teeth. “Grellik knows he can’t get through my walls from above or through the front door. So, he will do so from below. The nose of these vehicles transforms into a fairly nasty drill. As per its name, it will burrow underground, and drill a path ins
ide the city before unloading the troops it carries. They have a capacity of fifty men.”
“Judging by these camera feeds, it looks like there’s at least a dozen of these Burrowers,” Jarog said in a tense voice. “They intend to overrun us from within.”
“Yes, which is why we need to stop them with this,” Haelin said, lifting one of the lightning sticks to show us. “Using these ultrasonic blasters, we can force them back up. You only need to place them on the ground and aim the base at your target with the holographic interface. Once you’ve got it in your crosshairs, fire away, and the blaster will emit a focused ultrasonic wave. On top of damaging their equipment, it will make the passengers extremely sick, and will eventually kill them. They’ll have no choice but to come out if they want to have a chance to fight back, or they’ll be buried alive.”
“Won’t it affect the structures above?” I asked.
“Although it will weaken the ground, I do not expect much damage from that,” Haelin said with a frown. “It’s where the Burrowers will come out that could get messy and wreck some buildings. But that damage can be repaired, so it’s no big deal. It’s the troops those tanks carry that I want eliminated before they can harm my people.”
The sound of distant explosions outside had all of our heads jerking towards the monitors on the walls. Fortunately, it was merely the anti-ballistic missiles countering the ones launched by the Fereins against the city.
“Yelena and Lanish are assigning units to canvas the city, and neutralize them,” Haelin continued, drawing our attention back to her. “As you are the best fighters we have here right now, I would like you guys to assist in that effort.”
“Of course,” I replied, while the two Cyborgs nodded.
“I’m sorry you’re being dragged into our war,” Haelin said to Loreus in an apologetic tone.
“Considering liberating me played a part in Grellik’s anger, I’d say it’s my war, too,” Loreus said in a gentle tone.
“And even more so after what we’ve seen in his lab,” Jarog added.
Just as he spoke those words, the nose of the first Burrower located east of the city suddenly elongated into a drill. The tank tilted at a 45° angle, and a laser beam shot out from the tip of the drill as it began to burrow into the ground like a hellish giant bug.
“Let’s go teach Grellik a lesson.”
We spread out, syncing our coms to the combat channel. To my delight, the troops were disciplined, keeping all chatter to the strictly required sharing of information. The interface of the scanner integrated in our armbands indicated the position of the other people equipped with ultrasonic blasters scattered throughout the city. The pulsating red dot displayed the first Burrower digging its way underground, as tracked by the city’s deep scanners. Yelena called it and nearby troops closed in on her position to provide assistance. Moments later, two more pulsating dots appeared. Lanish called one, Jarog called the other.
With my man in the lead, we ran towards the city wall of 4th Street as the current path of our Burrower indicated it would cross under our defensive walls around that location. Jarog placed his ultrasonic blaster on the ground and pressed it downward, activating the device. A holographic display immediately appeared at the top end of the staff. The electric tendrils inside its length took on an ominous red tinge. Focusing on the display, Jarog tilted the staff, moving it to try and get the Burrower into its crosshairs. The reddish hue of the electric coils grew paler, the closer he got. For a moment, I wondered why he seemed to be failing to get the perfect aim on it, then realized the tank was still a little too far as the axis on the interface began to shift.
Then the coils on the staff suddenly turned green, its base pulsating in a clear sign that the ultrasonic signal was being sent to the target. My jaw dropped when the number of souls onboard the Burrower and its integrity percentage appeared on the holographic interface of the blaster. That weapon wasn’t just lethal, it was freaking brilliant. The Burrower accelerated, the crew likely hoping to get through before they sustained too much damage. And at this new speed, they would.
Struck by an idea, I placed my staff on the ground a meter from Jarog’s and cast an inquisitive glance his way. Understanding my intention, he nodded his assent. I activated it, quickly getting the Burrower into my crosshairs. As soon as my beam turned green, the tank’s integrity percentage on both Jarog’s and my interface started dropping at an exponential rate. The Burrower slowed, stopped, and then reversed course.
I immediately communicated this strategy to the rest of our troops through the com. Although Yelena approved it, she also warned of the greater risks of terrain collapse, and to therefore be careful. Moments later, the pulsating dot of two more Burrowers appeared at the edge of our armbands.
“Finish him off,” Loreus ordered. “I’m catching the west one.”
Jarog and I nodded. For a split second, I considered pulling to go catch the second incoming dot currently unattended but changed my mind. With my blaster’s power combined with Jarog’s, we had a real chance of completely obliterating the one we were attacking, and the other Burrower was still far enough for us to get to it.
With malicious glee, I watched the number of troops onboard start going down along with their vessel’s integrity. Then it suddenly went from 37% to zero. The green beams inside our staves turned back to whitish-blue electrical coils, and a ‘Target Destroyed’ message appeared in the center of the holographic interface. On my armband, while the dot of Burrower still showed at the last position it had been while trying to retreat, it no longer pulsated and had taken a greyish hue. The ultrasonic waves had likely weakened its hull so much that the pressure of the ground all around it had crushed it, killing the remaining crew on board. A horrible way to die…
But now wasn’t the time to waste my pity on our would-be invaders.
“Go help him,” I told Jarog, gesturing at Loreus with my head who was blasting his target a block down from where we stood. “His is almost upon us. I’ll handle this one, and you all can come help me after.”
He hesitated for a split second then nodded before breaking into a run to catch up to the other Cyborg. I ran down one block in the opposite direction and started working on the new Burrower. In that instant, I realized how surreal all of this felt. The sky overhead was lit up with fireworks from the missiles our troops launched and the enemy ones that managed to pass through our defenses only to crash on the protective dome overhead. The deafening sounds of explosions surrounded us, accompanied by the battle cries of our units slaughtering the Fereins from the two Burrowers that had managed to pierce through, far to the east of Satos.
“Burrower in on 6th Street,” Jarog said through the com. “We’re taking out the crew.”
A glance down the street showed me my man, shield and blaster raised, charging people I couldn’t see behind the buildings blocking my view. Despite the sliver of worry in my heart for him, I felt confident he would wipe out his foes with the help of Loreus. On top of them being badass warriors, the crew would be severely messed up from the effects of the ultrasonic blast they’d endured.
Although the acrid scent of smoke permeated the air, I was grateful for the absence of the metallic scent of blood and burnt flesh. This shouldn’t have turned into a bloodbath. Grellik had caused it. When this battle was over, he would answer for all those innocent lives he’d sacrificed at the altar of his ego and to sate his hunger for power.
However, all thoughts of retribution needed to take a backseat. My own target still was at 80% integrity, and climbing into the city at an accelerated pace.
“I need backup on 3rd Street,” I said through the com. “Burrower coming hard and fast.”
“On my way,” Haelin said.
Heart pounding, I counted the seconds, debating how long I should go on blasting the tank before retreating. I would never survive the onslaught on my own. When the pavement on the street began to lift and crack about five meters in front of me, I finally caved in.
“Fall back, Tamryn! We’re coming!”
But I was already on the move, taking cover behind a nearby building. The worry clearly audible in his voice did weird things to me. So far, Jarog had done a great job at treating me like an equal, despite the strong protective streak I’d noticed in him. He hadn’t wanted to leave me to assist Loreus, but as he would have done it for another person, I appreciated that he’d shown me the same respect instead of coddling me. Right now, though, I couldn’t wait to have him by my side. I could see him and Loreus running towards me from three blocks away. But Haelin and four other Narengis turned the corner east from my position, reaching me just as a swarm of Fereins spilled out of the Burrower.
I threw a couple of concussion grenades before opening fire on them. The Narengis tossed a few of their own. Shields up, they joined the fray. However, as the Fereins rushed us, we had no choice but to switch from our blasters to our blades, daggers, and swords. We were fighting in much too close quarters to risk friendly fire.
Although the Burrower had still been at 68% integrity when it emerged, many of the Fereins displayed signs of injury from the ultrasonic blast. Many sported bloody noses, ears, and eyes. However, a few of them also seemed unsteady on their feet, as if slightly dizzy or out of balance. Therefore, even though they outnumbered us four to one, we mowed through them to the point that I almost felt guilty.
His movements sluggish, my opponent appeared to be moving in slow motion as I dodged his attack, slitting his throat instead with my blade. Spinning around, I stabbed another at the base of his nape as he was trying to strangle one of our allies. A Ferein attempted to grab me from behind. I threw my head back, headbutting him smack in the face, and felt his nose shatter from the strength of the blow. I turned around to finish him, but Jarog snapping his neck put an abrupt end to his shriek of pain.
A poor fool thought to exchange punches with my man, but a single one from Jarog shattered the bones of his face, dislocating his jaw in the process. His victim’s agony was short-lived as he struck him again, this time in the solar plexus, caving his chest in. The Ferein collapsed to the ground with a thud.
