Cyborgs 1 C791 Eve Langlais

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support system is active but on the lowest setting.”
A flicker of hope made him straighten. “Come alongside and ensure the craft is aligned with the bay
doors.”
“What are you doing?” Solus demanded, fol owing him as he strode from the control center.
“I am going to yank the pod into the bay.”
“By yourself? Are you completely defective?” his friend yel ed.
Joe did not want to waste time arguing with Solus nor did he want to stop to think what the listless
pod could mean. He ran, but the heavy footfal s of the other cyborg shadowed him.
Entering the bay, he immediately went to the wal panel and punched in the code to seal the area from
the ship. Standing at his side, arms crossed over his chest, Solus didn’t speak as the mechanical
apparatuses in the wal clamped the door into place. Another series of keystrokes, and the outer doors
shuddered as they reeled open, the chil of space immediately creeping in.
The quiet between them held as they quickly donned some space suits and helmets. They technical y
could endure the rigorousness of space, but why tax their nanos more than needed? They clamped
security harnesses around their body, knowing firsthand how easily a body could drift in space. They
each grabbed a spare coil of metal cable, which was attached to a winch. Taking a spot at opposite
ends of the bay opening, the pod in their sights, Joe final y acknowledged his friend and flicked his
fingers in a countdown. Three, two, one… In a move they practiced countless times during their
training days, they ran at the gaping opening and leapt.
Their momentum took them to the spinning craft, hitting it with a jolt. Joe grabbed hold of it with one
hand and then cal ed on his magnets to activate, securing him to the pod. He proceeded to tie the
coiled cable to the vessel, knowing Solus did the same on the other side. Done, he used his hands to
pul himself back along his tether until he reached the solid floor of the larger craft. Solus joined him a
moment later. He unhooked his harness, strode to the winch and activated it. With a squeal born of
disuse, the winch began to turn.
Solus came to stand beside him. “What wil you do if she did not survive?”
“She is cyborg. She lives.” Anything less he refused to process.
“I hope for your processor’s sake she does.”
His piece said, his friend fel silent again, and they both watched as the listless vessel was dragged
into the bay. Solus helped him engage the pod’s footings via use of the manual levers so that it
wouldn’t rol when the ship moved. Anchored, they closed the bay doors and engaged the
pressurization routine.
Joe hated the wait. Hated knowing Chloe lay inside of the pod, possibly in need of his aid. But,
knowing her nanos weren’t as powerful held him from tearing the door open and seeing her status for
himself. He couldn’t risk harming her.
When the ship’s computer final y announced they’d reached the minimum threshold for human life, he
went to work, pul ing apart the bolts that held the pod’s escape hatch closed. Solus worked with him,
and in mere minutes, they opened it.
But Joe hesitated.
“Why are you not entering?”
“What if she’s dead?” he whispered.
“Definitely a possible outcome.”
“Thanks for your support,” Joe snapped.
“Since the concept distresses you, I wil look first.” Before Joe could accept or refuse, Solus
clambered into the opening, Joe on his heels.
A gasp was al the warning he got before he saw it. Blood. Everywhere. It covered everything in a
slick, red sheen, and Joe fel to his knees, feeling his heart stopping, his processor shutting down…
“She’s alive!”
His head snapped up, and he scrambled to where Solus crouched. His friend drew aside so he could
see Chloe, curled in a fetal position, a layer of sticky blood covering her. At first he thought her
injured, then he saw, just beyond her, the outline of a body. It took him only moments to decipher the
clues. Somehow, Chloe had broken the commands the general must have used to control her. And
when she did… The general didn’t survive the attack of a woman wronged and, worse, the attack of a
cyborg bent on revenge and survival.
With the general dead though, it seemed their quest for answers would have to wait. Not that Joe
cared. Chloe lived. That was al that truly mattered.
He slid an arm under Chloe and lifted her against him. Her head lol ed, and a protest slipped from her
lips. Then he heard the sweeter sound of his name, whispered with such longing he couldn’t help
tightening his grasp.
“I am here, little one. You are safe now.” As if she heard him, she turned her face against his chest.
“You wil take care of this mess?” he asked his friend.
“I have it. Tend your female,” Solus replied.
He intended to. Striding back to the room he’d commandeered, he went straight to the bathing unit
and, without disrobing, stood under the warm, needling spray as it rinsed the blood from her frame,
the pink water swirling down the drain. He tilted her face into the cleansing shower. With a sputter on
her lips, her eyes flew open.
“What the heck? Joe?”
“Hel o, little one.”
She blinked at him. “But how? I thought…”
“You didn’t real y think I’d let you go?” He could see on her face she did, and it hurt him.
“Why would you want to keep me after what I did? I shot that cyborg.” [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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