Taunting Krell (17 page)

He backed away from all his emotions, closed them off completely and separated them from Cyan. He did his job and that meant analyzing data and her plan. It was a solid one with a higher chance of success than a ground attack. Her odds of dying were excessively high, the probability of her winning a battle facing off against eight androids even with her enhanced body was slim. She did have a good likelihood of crippling the interior of the shuttle if they allowed her entrance.

She’d die if the Markus Models attacked her. Emotions rushed back through him, striking as if someone punched him in various parts of his body. He waged his own battle silently. Hundreds of cyborg lives were on the line, more of the androids were on their way to the planet and time wasn’t something he had much of. He’d have to make a decision now. He’d either have to trust her and allow her to execute her plan, one he had to admire for sheer courage, or he’d have to believe she wasn’t a sentient being.

Krell stared into her eyes, saw pain flash inside them and knew with every fiber of his soul that she experienced true emotions. She wasn’t just a sexbot some computer technician had programmed to act human. She was Cyan, his female, and it came down to allowing her to risk her life to save the lives of hundreds of cyborgs. Emily Pleva’s body had changed but she had not. She was willing to save them once again.

He wanted to refuse, to strip her of the weapons on her belt and toss her over his shoulder to carry her off and restrain her to a bed. It wouldn’t keep her safe though. They were trapped on the planet’s surface, all but captured, and a quick death would be preferable for her than the horrors that awaited them on Earth. He’d read Councilman Zorus’ report of how humans were fascinated with cyborgs’ lack of aging. They’d planned to cut him apart while he was still alive. Cyan didn’t age either and she contained advanced technology they didn’t possess. Earth would be just as cruel to her, if not more so. She’d lived amongst them for decades without their knowledge and humans would take that as a high insult to their intelligence over being fooled.

Regret and shame filled him. He’d brought her on this mission, put her in danger, and now she’d pay the price for his mistake. He’d never forgive himself if he survived and she didn’t. He would never recover if he lost her. They stared at each other and his weapon lowered. He turned his head to glare at his men.

“Holster your weapons.”

The cyborgs hesitated but followed his order. He turned back and stared at her, wanting to memorize everything about her. Cyan slowly stepped forward, staring up at him. She reached for his face but he jerked back to avoid the brush of her fingertips on his skin. He didn’t deserve her touch. He’d failed her and all he could do was make sure she succeeded in her mission, even if that happened to be allowing her to die. It was an honorable and worthy way to do so for the beautiful soul she possessed.

“Get both ships ready to lift off.” Pain rolled through Cyan at Krell’s rejection as her hand dropped to her side. “Is the
Vontage
able to fly yet?”

“Yes. The repairs are finished.” Krell’s voice sounded harsh to her.

She nodded. “They didn’t say when the other Markuses are arriving. The important part is they don’t get your people. It’s been nice knowing you if I manage to blow up their shuttle.”

His mouth clenched. “Your plan might work. It is insane enough to be considered genius.”

She dropped her gaze and inched past him. The burn of tears nearly blinded her. He didn’t completely trust her but he was allowing her to leave the
Bridden
to meet with the Markus Models. That had to count for something. She passed more cyborgs who had probably overheard her transmission and rushed to stop her from giving away Garden’s location. She hadn’t ever checked the shuttle’s logs to try to trace it and wouldn’t be a security risk if the Markus Models attempted to torture the location of it from her if she were captured.

She paused at the cargo doors and checked her weapons before glancing around. She found an ugly black tarp that would work as she tied it around her waist to hide her thighs, making a horrible fashion statement with the skirt and leggings look that clashed with her boots. One more deep breath and she walked out of the hold of the
Bridden
, purposely moving her limbs stiffly to appear less human.

The sight of the scarred Genesis Four shuttle hovering between the
Vontage
and the shuttle she exited made her hold back a smile. She’d dented it a bit on the belly—deep blemishes ran the length of it after their tussle in space and scorch marks showed near one thruster. The shuttle lowered slightly, about eight feet closer to her but kept away from the ground and the lower docking door opened. She waited and realized they issued their first test. Ten feet separated the glassy ground from the bottom of the ramp.

She took a deep breath, walked closer until she was under the opening they’d created and she dropped into a one-kneed crouch. Her legs tensed, her fingers flexed, and she stared up, calculating. She pushed up hard and fast, every muscle strained and she leapt. Her hands caught the thick metal edge of the ramp, gripped hard, and she pulled her body higher. No human could do that.

She managed to get her upper body high enough to lift her leg, hooked her knee on the ramp and climbed onto it. She straightened to her feet, stiffened her spine, and lifted her chin. Two Markus Models stood in the shadows watching her with interest. She noticed they stayed out of fire range of anyone on the ground as she purposely cocked her head at an odd angle, slowly advancing on them.

“Brothers.”

The ramp under her started to lift to close and she kept advancing. Her gaze swept the cargo area, verifying they were alone. Six of them weren’t present. The two Markuses approached as soon as the ramp sealed closed. They marched in unison to stop a few feet in front of her. Both of them watched her with dead eyes. It scared her but she hoped she hid her fear.

“Sister?” They didn’t sound certain as they spoke at the same time, identically.

They sound as creepy as hell.
“Should we give you proof?” She remembered to talk in the plural, not to give herself away.

“Yes,” they both stated.

She smiled, wondering how they’d react at her next words. “I brought you a puppy to play with.” The second the words were out, she launched a physical attack. One hand shot out to hit the one to her right in the face, aiming for his eyes with her clawed hand since they were made out of organic material and would blind him, while she targeted the other with her leg to knock him back to give her precious seconds. Her hand tore at the skirt, ripped it away and jerked her gun free from the holster.

Cyan fired, shooting the one she had clawed, and dived to the left, her other hand going for her second gun as her back slammed onto the cargo deck when she flipped in the air as she fell. It seemed to stun them that she could move that fast since she was able to sink bullets in both of them before they recovered. She opened fire with the energy gun, nailing one of them before the twin model grabbed her. She pressed the muzzle of the weapon against its body as it landed over hers and pulled the trigger. She shoved it away when it convulsed.

She climbed to her feet, shot both of the downed, still twitching units and the smell of burning wires filled her nostrils. She figured the other six Markuses were more than aware she’d just taken out two of their brothers and she wasn’t what she had claimed to be. Her gaze frantically searched for something to damage that would cripple the shuttle. No targets were visible.

The cargo doors to the interior of the shuttle didn’t slide open and they didn’t attack. That worried her but she didn’t have time to ponder it. They could target the
Vontage
and
Bridden
with the shuttle’s weapons
.
She rushed for the doors to seek them out first.

She encountered the first set of Markuses a few feet from the door. They stood immobile, staring into space, and she fired a bullet into each of their faces. Glee hit her. The damn things were motionless because they were analyzing her as she’d hoped would happen—they had frozen in the process.
I just might make it out of this mess alive after all
. She nailed them with two energy shots that left both crumpled in a smoking heap of tangled limbs. She had four more to find and had to work fast, before their analysis completed and they regained function.

The third set stood motionless in an open lift, probably on their way down to greet her, and she took them out easily. She checked her bullets, wishing she had more as she searched the lower deck. She dragged out the destroyed Markuses and prepared for battle as the lift took her to the upper deck of the shuttle.

The last two Markuses were seated in the pilot seats. They didn’t move at her approach and she didn’t give them time to recover. She fired two shots to the back of each head, exposing the metal. She was happy to introduce the energy shots in rapid succession. The things smoked bad, making her wave her hand in front of her face and choke a little on the smell of burning, artificial hair. It stank nearly as bad as the real thing.

She grabbed each body and dragged them away from the seats. They were fried, their eyes turning white, and she dropped into the pilot seat. She hurried to set the shuttle on the ground, cut the engines, and took the shuttle’s weapons offline. The urge to get off their ship fast gripped her strongly. She’d leave the bodies for the cyborgs to deal with. They could cut the Markus Models up into tiny pieces for all she cared or abandon them with the shuttle on the surface when they fled.

She moved quickly to rush to the lift, the fear finally hitting her hard at what she’d done, and all she could think about was Krell. She wanted to hug him, show him that he could trust her, and now he’d have to know once and for all that she wasn’t the enemy. She’d just saved a lot of cyborgs from the Markus Models.

It seemed to take forever as she tapped her thigh, waiting for the cargo door to open at ground level, her eyes on the two downed Markuses, and they freaked her out. They were fried but she hoped to never see the things again. She rushed down the ramp as soon as the door hit the hard ground and came to a shocked halt.

“No!” Her legs collapsed under her and her knees painfully slammed into the glassy ground.

She couldn’t believe what she saw but the view didn’t change. The area around her was empty to the tree line surrounding the large, open space. The
Vontage
and
Bridden
were gone. They’d lifted off the surface and had left her behind. Krell had abandoned her.

Chapter Thirteen

“Cyan!”

The deep rumble of Krell’s raspy voice jerked her head up and she gaped at him in astonishment. He moved fast, rushed at her from the side of the shuttle and she took in his appearance.

He had various weapons strapped to his body, including a miclo twelve slung by the strap over one broad shoulder and a grappling-hook gun gripped firmly in his fist. Surprise at the sight of him immobilized her until he crouched before her, his free hand cupped her face and his dark-blue eyes searched her wide gaze.

“Where are they? Are you well?”

“I thought you left me.” Her voice broke and she had to clear her throat.

He frowned in response. “I ordered both ships to lift off the planet while you distracted the Markus Models but once the
Bridden
is certain the
Vontage
gets away without hindrance, it will return for us.” He dropped the grappling gun. “I no longer need that. I planned to use it to attempt to gain access to the shuttle to help you.”

Tears filled her eyes. He had stayed behind to try to rescue her. She reacted by lunging at him, throwing her arms around his neck, and nearly knocked him over in the process. He managed to catch her weight and keep his balance. His strong arm hugged her around her waist.

“Are you injured? Where are the Markus Models, Cyan?”

She sniffed against his throat, her nose pressed there. The grim cyborg had ordered his men to leave him behind on a hostile planet for the slim chance he might be able to break into a shuttle and fight at her side. It was suicidal and irrational, the worst plan ever for an analyst to make, yet he’d done it for her.

“They are all dead aboard the shuttle,” she informed him, attempting to pull her frayed emotions together. “Fried and smoking, just the way they should be.”

“You’re certain?”

“Yeah.” She nodded against him, hugging him tighter. “You didn’t abandon me.”

His arm tightened. “I wouldn’t do that. You’re my female, Cyan.”

She hoped he hadn’t hatched his crazy scheme out of some sense of responsibility as her assigned male but she was more than willing to take a leap of faith that she meant more to him than that. His plan had been flat-out irrational, the odds of it working were downright silly, but he’d stayed behind anyway.

A distant roar interrupted their reunion and Cyan released him. “Sounds as though the natives are recovering and possibly thinking of coming at us again.”

Krell eased his hold on her while they separated. “Yes. We should lift off if the shuttle is operational and wait in orbit for the
Bridden
to return. They can dock with this to pick us up.”

“Forget that. We don’t need to be picked up.” She glanced at his handsome face, feeling pure happiness that he was there with her. “We’re now the proud owners of a Genesis Four shuttle. Do you know how bad I wanted to get my hands on the controls of one of these babies? Let’s dump out the trash and lift off before those creatures decide to rush us.”

Krell slowly released her and stood, pulling her to her feet in the process. He gripped the miclo and held it out to her. “You keep watch and I’ll deal with the remains of the Markus Models. I don’t wish to take them with us.”

“That’s the trash I was referring to. They give me the creeps. Two are in the cargo area, you’ll find four more on your way to the lift, and the final two I dragged out of the piloting seats.”

He hesitated, stared into her eyes and nodded. “I’ll hurry.” His gaze left hers to search the surrounding area. “You’ll be fine and I’ll work with speed. I’d prefer to leave their remains on the surface as well.”

“Please hurry.”

He ran up the ramp and Cyan kept her gaze roaming the tree lines, her feet sensitive to any ground movement since those things were heavy enough to cause it to quake when they moved. Another roar came from a new direction and she wished Krell would work faster. The idea of taking on more of those beast creatures wasn’t something she wanted to do twice in a day, especially since she didn’t have extra shells to fire at them.

A dragging sound drew her attention and she turned her head just in time to watch Krell shove two bodies off the side of the ramp at the top where the cargo bay opened. The limp Markus Models thudded on the ground. Krell disappeared from sight and she glanced at one of the bodies to see a hole in the back of its head. He’d gone after the ones in the piloting area first.

Krell was strong, dragging the androids two at a time, until all eight Models had been dumped on the barren surface of the planet. Cyan rushed into the shuttle, eager to lift off, and Krell closed the ramp to seal it. They moved together, side by side, with her nearly running to keep pace with his longer legs.

“I totally get to pilot, right?” She stared up at him when the doors of the lift that would carry them to the upper level closed. “Come on, Krell. Say yes.”

He smiled. “You may pilot, Cyan.”

She grinned. “I would have wrestled you for it.”

His smile faded and his eyes narrowed. “You deserve to do whatever you wish. Your plan was effective and you saved my people.”

She’d take gratitude at that moment if it meant getting her way. The second the lift doors opened, she rushed forward to drop into the pilot’s seat. Krell took the one next to her and she studied the console.

“Oh man, this is so awesome. Top of the line.”

“Cyan?” Krell motioned to one of the monitors. “Please lift off.”

She followed his finger and grabbed for the controls. One of the creatures had started tossing trees their way. They landed far from the shuttle but the fact that it was trying to hit them wasn’t lost on her. The inhabitants were leery to enter the barren area after losing their initial battle but they hadn’t called it quits. She turned on the engines, powered up and engaged the thrusters.

“This may be a little rough.”

Krell reached for his belts. “Why?”

“It’s one thing to fly these in space but another to break through an atmosphere.” She grinned. “I’m kidding. I’ve got this.”
I hope.
She kept that part to herself. After walking into a shuttle manned by eight Markus Models, adjusting the speed and trajectory not to avoid shaking apart or burning up when leaving a planet should be a breeze.

She punched the thrusters and the shuttle shot upward at an accelerated speed. Krell softly muttered something.

“Sorry. The controls are pretty touchy. I’ll get the hang of it.”

“It would be awkward to die breaking atmosphere after what we’ve just survived.”

She laughed and shot him a glance as she steered the shuttle higher, learning how to handle it as they rose through the green clouds. “Yeah. It would be.”

He smiled as their gazes met. “I trust you.”

She had to look away to watch the monitors, hated that the shuttle only had exterior cameras, and held back tears. It really touched her that he’d said those three words.
Now if I could only get him to say three more wonderful words.

That thought sobered her. She was in love with him. No doubt about it. Krell had gotten under her skin, through her defenses, and it wasn’t a great mystery how he’d done it. He knew what she was and he still wanted her. For once in her life she belonged to someone. When they touched it was more than sex, and while they had a lot of issues, she wanted to work them out.

The shuttle vibrated as she steered them into space. She breathed out a sigh of relief when they safely made the transition. Her gaze instantly sought out the monitor to make sure they were alone and cringed when it registered two dots.

“We’re not alone. The question is, are they heading toward us or away from us?”

Krell leaned over, studying the same monitor. “Approaching.”

“Shit! They are too far out to identify but I’m guessing it’s not the
Vontage
and the
Bridden
.”

“No.” Krell sounded grim. “The
Vontage
is making a run for Garden and the
Bridden
was going to escort it a safe distance to make sure it wasn’t being pursued before they return.”

“I’m not good at remote hacking. Can you handle the shuttle’s onboard computer in case they try to gain control of it?” Cyan pulled up the space charts to discover their location, found it, and studied where they were. “I think I can lose them in that moon cluster if we can reach it. Send out a warning signal to the
Bridden
if you’re able to tell them not to return for us. I don’t want them flying into a trap. They are out of range of our radar but their coms should be able to pick it up.”

“I’m on it.”

Cyan full-burned the thrusters to gain speed, turning the shuttle away from the planet toward the distant moons. They worked together in silence as he monitored the shuttle’s systems for any attempts of a hack and she piloted. The two shuttles followed.

“How do you plan to lose them inside the cluster?”

She took a deep breath. “We’re in luck. Look at the weapons inventory. We have hull busters.”

“I’m not familiar with them.”

“Sorry. About five years ago they invented them on Earth. We’re going to drop six of them in our wake when we hit the cluster. I’d drop more but that’s all there is. They are a weapon with a four-minute timer once deployed. They blow apart and leave a big debris field of sharp metals designed to breach a hull. That should slow those bastards down or they’ll have to fly around the entire cluster to avoid the mess. It will buy us enough time to get out of their radar range to lose them.”

Krell stared at her. “I’m proud of you.”

She wasn’t sure what to say but her chest tightened over the compliment. “Thanks. I feel the same way when it comes to you.”

His gaze drifted away. “I put you in danger. I should have left you on Garden where you would have been safe.”

Irritation flashed through her. “That’s bullshit. They would have tortured the location of your planet from at least one of you if those metal heads had captured your people. They would have gone there next.”

His silence wasn’t exactly an agreement but she let it slide. They hit the sector of small moons and she released the six weapons, leaving them in their wake, and changed direction, steering around the moons until she passed through the cluster.

“Where do we go now?”

Krell hesitated.

It hurt. Cyan released the controls and stood. “Fine. I’m going to go somewhere else. You have the helm since you don’t trust me enough to tell me how to reach Garden.”

She refused to meet his gaze though she knew he watched her as she spun away and marched toward the lift. He didn’t call out to stop her and she hadn’t expected him to. Krell only trusted her up to a certain point. It sucked and it hurt her feelings but the important thing was they’d escaped. They’d reach Garden alive.

Krell snarled and took the helm. He wanted to set it to autopilot but couldn’t trust it since the Markus Models had previously had control of the shuttle. He needed to monitor it closely to make sure it wasn’t programmed to send out any signals to the other androids’ shuttles. He should have told Cyan the coordinates to Garden. Trust didn’t come easy to him but she’d earned it tenfold.

“I’m an ass,” he muttered, wishing he could go after her. He would apologize when she returned.

Part of him wished they didn’t have to return to Garden immediately. The idea of spending time alone with Cyan was a pleasant one. The council couldn’t issue any orders regarding his female and he wouldn’t have to deal with other males wishing to gain Cyan’s interest. The moment they reached orbit he’d have to issue a request to meet with them, order Mavo to attend to verify her previous human identity, and argue for her to be given special concessions.

He hoped the council would take Mavo’s word that Cyan had once been Emily Pleva. He’d call on Councilman Zorus as well to help sway them to approve his demands to give her human status on Garden despite her body’s origins. The male owed him a lot of favors and he’d call in every one to prevent Cyan from having to take other males into their family unit.

She may not even want to stay with me
. That haunting thought made him snarl. His fingers wrapped around the controls tighter at the idea of losing her. He had to make it right with her and indecision tore at him again. He wanted to seek her out and apologize. He always seemed to screw up when it came to her. He’d spent too many years alone, didn’t have friends for a reason, and he’d lost his ability to communicate well.

I need to try harder
, he admitted.
I need to tell her how much she means to me.

* * * * *

Hours had passed and Cyan hadn’t returned. It worried Krell but internal sensors confirmed that she remained on the lower deck in the crew sleeping quarters and he hoped she at least rested well.

The coms alerted him to a signal and he opened a channel to listen. Silence greeted him but then a soft beep sounded.

He smiled, recognizing the signal for what it was. “This is Krell. I am piloting the Genesis Four.”

The com remained silent for a moment. “Prove it.”

He flat-out grinned. “You’re an asshole for nearly dumping my female onto her ass just because she proved you are incompetent at reading her, Gene.” He paused. “Where are you hiding?” His gaze drifted over the radar, impressed with the
Bridden
’s abilities to cloak, avoiding being detected easily by sensors.

“What happened to the Markus Models?”

“Cyan killed them and we left their remains on the planet surface.”

“All of them?”

“The eight Models who were previously on this shuttle have been deactivated. We encountered two more shuttles when we broke the surface of the hostile planet but she lost them.”

“Continue on. We’re in range.” A blip suddenly showed on the radar screen, but only for a second, and Krell grinned. The other shuttle flew portside, pacing him, and had purposely revealed its location.

“What is the status of the
Vontage
?”

“Safe and ahead of us. We backtracked, searching for you and to verify it wasn’t a trap when we received your original transmission that you were traveling in the attack shuttle. We didn’t believe it.”