“What weapon?” Destiny demanded sharply.
“The one on the new Bakkarian stellar station that will bring the Confederation to its knees. The Bakkarians were pleased with the cyborg information I gave them but soon their interest turned to you. It seems your special skills are a bankable commodity and I plan to cash in. Take my advice, stay useful as long as possible. I hear their experiments can be deadly,” Bronsten answered simply.
“Traitor!” Destiny turned on him and struck him in the face with her fist. Before he could react, she landed a second blow that made him stagger.
“Enough! Tame your pet, Bronsten,” the Bakkarian hissed. “We must go.”
Colonel Bronsten slapped her again and this second hit was much harder than the first. “You will treat me with respect, Lieutenant. You will not behave this way.”
When Destiny’s head snapped back for the second time she felt the optical lens shift across her eye. She blinked furiously but she couldn’t move it back into place. The Bakkarian quickly stepped forward. He grabbed her chin with his long hard fingers and forced her to look up at him. “What is in your eye?” he hissed.
How did he notice the lens? Destiny didn’t answer as his fingers bit into her chin. She hoped at any moment the Marauders would burst into the Colonel’s quarters and save her. Where was Jevlen?
The Bakkarian pulled out a scanner and quickly waved it over Destiny. “She’s wearing monitoring devices,” he rasped. “I need to leave immediately.”
The Colonel jerked Destiny around to face him. She could see he’d lost all interest in her sexually. “Remove the lens and any other devices you’re wearing, or I will do it for you and it won’t be pleasant.”
The last thing she wanted was for him to stick his fat cruel fingers in her eyes so she reluctantly complied. The Colonel took the pair of lenses from her and crushed them in his fist. Hopefully the admiral got a good look at what was going on before the device was destroyed. “What else are you wearing?”
“Nothing,” Destiny retorted. She hoped the Bakkarian wouldn’t scan her again and prove her a liar. Colonel Bronsten gripped her shoulders and jerked her this way and that as he searched for any additional surveillance devices. There was no way he would spot the tiny listening device in her ear canal. As it touched her skin, she could sense that it was functioning well on her end. She imagined the vitals sensor readings were off the charge. So why hadn’t the soldiers stepped in yet? Maybe the admiral ordered them to stand down because he wanted to gather as much evidence as possible before apprehending Colonel Bronsten. Which meant she was on her own. Great.
“Bring her,” the Bakkarian ordered as he strode to the back of the room. Destiny was puzzled until she saw the thin silver disk on the floor.
“You transported him directly to your quarters?” She hadn’t realized the technology was portable. Perhaps the Bakkarian provided the means.
“Get over there,” Colonel Bronsten growled as he shoved Destiny toward the disk. She nearly plowed into the Bakkarian but his molecules dissipated before she touched him. “Now you.” When she refused to move he pulled out a phaser pistol. “You’re too valuable to kill but I wouldn’t mind maiming you.”
Destiny threw him a dirty look as she approached the disk. Before she stepped on it she demanded, “Tell me where I’ll reappear. Surely you’re not going to the main docking bay. Your Bakkarian friend will be discovered immediately.”
The Colonel sneered at her. “Do you think I’m stupid? I cordoned off an old cargo depository a year ago. He’s been coming and going under the Confederation’s nose for a long time.”
“You’re not going to get away with this. You’ll make a mistake and the Confederation will learn of your deceit.”
“By that time I’ll be long gone. Besides, your little spy toys are useless here. I’ve got a signal scrambler in my quarters. You aren’t transmitting anything incriminating.” Destiny wondered if that was true since she couldn’t detect a scrambler. If that was the case, the Marauders wouldn’t be able to protect her.
He waved her onto the disk and she reluctantly stepped on it. Before it could activate she allowed her energy to flow through her body and out the soles of her feet to disable the device. Several times the Colonel tried to use the handheld control module but it failed to activate.
“Stop it!” he growled once he figured out she had disabled it. “I will shoot you and you’ll never walk normally again!”
“That’s better than working for the Bakkarians!” she retorted. The Colonel raised the phaser and aimed for her leg. “You wouldn’t!” In answer, he sent a short blast that burned into her thigh. She would have crumpled to the ground but he quickly propped her up.
“Don’t mess with me. Only you stand between me and the greatest fortune ever possessed by a Confederation citizen. I won’t let you ruin this.”
Again he pressed a button on the handheld control module. This time Destiny allowed the command to pass through to the device. She felt it activate beneath her feet and immediately her molecules were transferred to the receiving station.
As she rematerialized on the second silver disk the Bakkarian was waiting for her in the cargo depository with his phaser raised. She didn’t doubt that he would blast another hole through her if she gave him reason. Other than the Bakkarian, the narrow bay was empty. She wondered where his ship was.
“So tell me about this weapon you think I’m going to help you with,” she insisted as she stepped off the transporter disk. She didn’t like the idea of cozying up to the enemy, but knew if the admiral was still monitoring the surveillance data he would want to know everything she could find out. “Where is it located?”
The Bakkarian’s dark eyes narrowed suspiciously. “I do not trust you. Nor do I wish to have conversation with you. I personally do not perform any of our invasive experiments on other species, but if you give me any trouble I will hand you over to our scientists.”
“Then who will operate your weapon since apparently you can’t find anyone else to do it?” Destiny knew she was pushing her luck but she figured she didn’t have anything to lose. She wanted to believe the Marauders were waiting for the right moment to rescue her but then again, maybe she really was on her own. They may have lost her when she was transported to the cargo depository. There were probably dozens of such bays located all over the station. She could probably direct the tiny auditory surveillance piece to transmit her coordinates to the receiver but that would require concentration. She didn’t want to cause further suspicion or take her attention off the Bakkarian. And what was taking the Colonel so long to arrive? “Where is the Colonel?” she asked sharply when he still failed to show. She didn’t like or trust him but he was better than being handed over to the Bakkarian.
“I have not disposed of him yet – if that is your concern. Once we leave Confederation air space, his usefulness will be over. Now get in the ship. This is taking too long,” the Bakkarian rasped. Destiny could see he was getting nervous. Maybe if she helped delay the journey she would survive this mess.
She was about to ask him where the ship was since the narrow bay was empty. But her question was answered when he uncloaked the Bakkarian vessel. It was a sleek, high-speed fighter that would outrun anything on the base, thanks to all the technology the Bakkarians had stolen. Destiny couldn’t allow it to leave the cargo depository. She’d heard reports of the Bakkarians’ love of torture – which would come after they used her to destroy the Confederation.
The Bakkarian waved his phaser pistol, motioning for her to board the vessel. “If you do anything to disable the ship, I will kill you,” he hissed.
Suddenly the Colonel materialized on the transporter disk. “What took so long?” the Bakkarian rasped.
Bronsten’s look was smug. “I had to take care of a little complication. Apparently our cyborg has gone rogue and needed to be decommissioned. The technicians are in the process of dismantling him now.”
“NO!” Destiny cried.
She rushed toward Bronsten but was stunned in the back by the Bakkarian’s phaser. The pain was excruciating for only a moment before everything went black.
***
Jevlen felt his processors overloading and forced himself to remain calm, yet it was impossible to stop the flow of rage coursing through his body. He shouldn’t have trusted the technician. Rooka, Destiny’s best friend, had approached him outside the admiral’s office and told him where to find Destiny. He’d blindly followed her into the Colonel’s trap. Now he was strapped to a table and hooked to dozens of electrodes and sensors. Last time they did this, he received a three year mind wipe. This time, they would incapacitate his processors, effectively terminating his life.
He resisted the temptation to fight against the restraints. He couldn’t give the technicians a clue that he could bust out of them until the right moment. He needed them to lower the force field holding him in the room. As soon as a technician stepped through the door, he would break free. He just couldn’t allow them to switch off any of his processors before that moment.
“You betrayed your best friend,” he accused as he met Rooka’s gaze through the protective window. “She trusted you. Now she’s being handed over to the Bakkarians and you’re helping them. You will face a court martial in the least. Perhaps it would be better to choose voluntary termination. You will live in a worse state than Destiny has for the past two years – no home, no identity. No credits to live off. No one will ever trust you again. And this is after you spend most of your life in prison. You will be an old woman with no one to support you because you turned on the closest friend you ever had. Do you think she will forgive you for decommissioning me? I am her mate. If she knew of your betrayal, she would kill you herself.”
Rooka’s face paled and Jevlen knew his words got through to her. “She’s been gone a long time. A lot has changed since she left,” the young woman retorted.
“Meaning you’ve changed. Did you succumb to the Colonel? Become his lover? You never would have done his bidding before.” Now a spot of color filled her cheeks and Jevlen knew he guessed right. It disgusted him how the Colonel preyed upon the young officers under his command and how Rooka had given into his persuasion.
He felt a current of electricity flow directly into his processor. He expected to black out at any moment but nothing happened. His gaze locked on Rooka. She didn’t look pleased. Now the current was stronger but still his processor functioned properly.
“It’s not working. Something’s blocking the wipe,” he heard Rooka mutter. He could only think that Destiny had placed protective measures within his processors to keep the Colonel from harming him again. Bless his mate. A third charge of current pressed into his processor and a plan came to mind. He knew how to escape.
He started twitching like he was having a seizure. Protocol required the technician to call a medic to the lab. When the medic arrived, they would lower the force field. He wasn’t sure the same procedure would be followed during a decommissioning but he figured it was worth a try. He continued to twitch, forcing himself to lurch against the restraints without breaking them.
He heard Rooka call for a medic and had to hide his smile of satisfaction. She was easily led which is why she fell for the Colonel’s seduction – it was too bad since she was Destiny’s friend. Within a minute the force field was lowered and a medic stepped into the lab.
Jevlen didn’t waste any time. He easily snapped free of the restraints and jumped from the chair. Before the force field could be activated again, he was already at the door and pushing the medic out of the way.
“Stop! You must not go!” he heard Rooka call through the com-speaker but he didn’t spare her a glance. Destiny was in trouble. Hopefully he didn’t waste so much time that the Colonel was allowed to harm her.
NINE
Jevlen was met by a handful of his Marauders in the corridor outside the lab. Apparently they would have freed him if he hadn’t escaped on his own. He felt a surge of pride and respect for his men.
“Updates,” he ordered brusquely as he fell in line with them. “Where is Destiny?”
“She’s been taken to Cargo Depository Twenty-eight. We have confirmation there is a Bakkarian on-site.”
He leveled a hard look at Gage. “You were supposed to guard her.”
“I’m sorry, Sir, but the admiral –“
Jevlen shook his head as he fought to control his rage. Security had grown sloppy on the base if a Bakkarian could boldly gain entry without notice. And now his mate was in danger. He didn’t know how the Colonel got his hands on her, but he had a feeling the admiral was using her to get information, damn him. “Twenty-eight is on the other side of the base.” He didn’t bother with orders or explanations. He took off running and no one could keep up with him. His powerful legs ate up the distance like an Old Earth missile. Thankfully no one blocked the corridor; they would have been injured if they got in his way. For once he was thankful for his enhancements. Being a cyborg meant nothing could stop him. A cynical smile twisted his lips as he thought of how much Destiny hated the classification. She always argued that he was more man than machine, but right now he was glad to be a machine.
He reached Depository Twenty-eight and heard the sounds of engines firing. The sensor pad on the door wasn’t functioning so he shoved his fingers between the panels and pulled them apart. He felt the flesh tear from his steel fingers but he didn’t feel any pain. Once the opening was wide enough he forced his way through. Inside the small bay was a sleek Bakkarian fighter and it was preparing for lift off. The bay doors were starting to open. Thankfully Jevlen could tolerate atmospheric reduction. But he couldn’t survive being sucked into space. He charged toward the operations console and slammed his fist into it. Sparks shot out as he left a gaping hole in the equipment. He glanced up to check the bay doors. Destroying the command center stopped them from opening completely. He could feel the powerful drag toward open space but it wasn’t strong enough to lift him off his feet.
As he turned to the ship, unexpected weapons fire opened on him. He tried to duck behind the damaged console but one of the phaser pulses caught him in the arm, disintegrating his limb from the elbow down. He growled in anger at the inconvenience. They wouldn’t stop him so easily.
Using his good hand and the remainder of his dismembered arm, he ripped the front panel off the console to use as a shield. The console was designed to withstand high temperatures and hopefully direct impact.
Without a second thought, he charged toward the ship. Phaser pulses blasted against the shield, pounding it into Jevlen, but it didn’t disintegrate as his arm had. The blasts became more intense the closer he got to the ship but then he was able to duck out of the line of fire. He tossed aside his shield and began ripping outer panels off the plane. He then punched a massive hole through the wing. The craft wasn’t going anywhere.
He circled to the hatch, carefully avoiding the ports where weapons fired. The hatch contained an electrical force field that shocked him when he touched it. He ignored the powerful charge that coursed through him and tried to disable him. Having one hand was inconvenient; it slowed him down but didn’t stop him. He soon had the hatch ripped open and lifted himself inside. Colonel Bronsten and the Bakkarian were waiting for him. He felt the two phaser blasts as he climbed inside, but their weapons didn’t hinder him. He charged into the small cabin; his size overwhelmed the space. He found Destiny unconscious and strapped to one of the seats. He immediately noted her respiration and breathed a sigh of relief that she was alive.
“I order you to stand down, Commander,” the Colonel declared. He straightened to his full height within the cabin, but he didn’t reach Jevlen’s chin. A pompous look crossed the smaller man’s face as he waved his phaser pistol. “I see you refused to be decommissioned as I commanded. Apparently you’re a stubborn cyborg who won’t obey orders. I’ll have to put this in my report.”
Jevlen gave a derisive snort. The idiot was talking about repo
rts? He was about to die! But then Destiny gave a soft moan, drawing Jevlen’s attention. Once he saw she wasn’t in immediate danger, his attention swung back to the Colonel.
“She was entertaining, just as I expected,” the Colonel stated with an arrogant sneer. “I wanted to take her against the wall but that wasn’t convenient so I bent her over the table. She tried to fight me but in the end I won. She likes it rough, doesn’t she? She told me she prefers men over machines. We natural men have a certain finesse that cyborgs lack.”
Jevlen didn’t bother to suppress the Ronoshian response that coursed through his veins. With a growl of rage he gripped Bronsten by the throat. Bronsten’s eyes suddenly bugged with fear. Apparently he just realized he wasn’t in control.
Jevlen leaned in close and sniffed. His olfactory processor did not sense any of Destiny’s fluids and he was well familiar with the fragrance. All he smelled was the Colonel’s perspiration upon the man and it was the stench of fear. “You should not lie, Colonel,” he growled softly. He released the man’s throat enough to allow him to speak. The Colonel gripped Jevlen’s steel fingers as his feet kicked ineffectually.
“Release me at once, cyborg! You will be decommissioned for this insubordination! I order you to stand down.”
“You do not have authority over me, Colonel. I am Commander of the Dark Marauders with permission to eradicate all threats to the Confederation through any means necessary. You, Sir, are a threat and must be exterminated. You have violated your oath to serve the Confederation. You have with the enemy. And you have abducted my mate. You will die.”
The Colonel’s squirming increased as did his heart rate. He knew he was in trouble. “You can do nothing to me! I won’t allow –“
Jevlen was tired of the Colonel’s blustering. He’d already wasted too much time on him and needed to tend to Destiny after eradicating the Bakkarian. With a small squeeze, the Colonel’s life was forfeited.
Captured by the Cyborg: The Dark Marauder's Mate (The Dark Marauder's Mate Scifi Series Book 5) Page 9
