Taunting Krell

  “Either way, I’m so screwed,” she whispered. She needed to return to her shuttle if they hadn’t already entered it. She cursed the age of the Blarney again. No way would she be able to outrun one of the newer shuttles the androids had stolen when they’d fled Earth. She rubbed her leg, the energy shots a bumpy mass inside her pocket, to assure herself she wouldn’t run out if it came down to a battle. Dread twisted inside her belly, knowing she’d have to retrace her steps to reach her shuttle.

  She eased into the main hall, kept close to the wall, and her gaze darted around, watching for any sign of movement. She inspected each body on the floor before she passed it. She didn’t want one to rise up—an android using the dead to fool her—and continued to head for the section her shuttle had docked to. Hope flared that she might make it out of this mess alive.

  She reached the final corridor and glanced around the corner where her shuttle awaited. One look made her teeth clench. The door to her shuttle was closed. She’d left it open.

  Screwed, she mouthed silently.

  Scenarios formed inside her mind. They were either waiting on her shuttle to kill her there or they’d sealed it from the outside to trap her when she tried to enter. She glanced behind her to make sure nothing sneaked up. The corridor remained clear of movement.

  She took deep breaths, hated the way her mask fogged under her nose, and knew she had to do something. She peeked around the corner again. Large crates were stacked near the far wall. They could be hiding behind them.

  She glanced back and knew she was trapped either way. They could come at her from both directions if they’d split up. She decided to do something nuts. It might work. She knew they’d tried to negotiate with Earth Government to have their line of android Models released. They called each other brothers, as if that made them more real.

  “Earth Government sent me,” she called out loudly. “We want to negotiate.”

  Silence greeted that statement. “I’m their ambassador,” she lied. “That’s why I came alone if you checked my shuttle. I’m here to talk about settling our differences peacefully.” She paused, trying to think up something they might want to hear. General Vargus would have a heart attack if he knew she’d stated this bullshit but he’d sent her on the mission alone. She wanted to save her own ass since he’d been determined to get her killed. “I have the authority to make a deal with you.”

  They didn’t respond. So much for that plan. It was crazy, she admitted.

  “Throw down your weapons,” a deep male voice commanded. “We will negotiate.”

  She hesitated. “Okay. I’m just a woman. That’s why they sent me. I’m only five foot three.” For once it seemed a good thing she’d ended up so short. “I’m no threat,” she lied.

  It hurt her to toss her weapons. Both of them slid on the metal floor before she took a deep breath, blew it out and lifted her hands over her head. She made sure they could see her palms and spread fingers. She stepped out slowly, her gaze darting around the docking bay.

  Two of them stood from behind the crates and the door to her shuttle opened. They’d been waiting in both places. She didn’t even flinch when she heard boots strike the floor behind her. They’d even managed to creep up behind her. She’d had no chance whatsoever. She did frown as she stared at the full pressure suits they wore that shielded their faces with reflective glass. Markus Models wouldn’t need space suits yet they wore them.

  One of the men approached her and she knew she paled when she got a bead on his height. He wasn’t just a hair under six feet tall the way Markus Models had been designed. He had to be six foot three, at least. She lowered her attention to his feet, hoping for a platform heel under his boots, but they seemed standard. She jerked her gaze to the tinted, mirrored shield covering his features. She saw her reflection staring back at her.

  “Wow. I look pale, don’t I?” She knew the humor would be lost on whoever they were but they weren’t her missing Markus Models. She wasn’t sure how much trouble she’d just landed in but whoever they were, it boded well for her. She could fight pirates hand to hand. “And this mask isn’t too attractive, is it?”

  The suited-up male stopped just short of walking into her. “You’re from Earth Government?”

  “Yes.”

  She’d already stated that and her assumption they were pirates grew. The uniform she wore should have told him she was a soldier if he was familiar with Earth. Most pirates had left the planet decades before to live on ships that leaked radiation and made them breathe stale recycled air. It mutated them in a matter of years. Insanity also ravaged their kind. She decided to speak slower since the guy had asked her what she’d already told them. His memory obviously wasn’t good.

  “You came to negotiate with us?”

  “Sure.” She forced a smile. Her clear mask showed her every facial expression and gave her a bit of a blurry view of what was going on behind her. She envied him the mirrored shield. “That’s what I said. What are your demands? Do you want a puppy?”

  He turned his head to glance at another suited-up person. The sound of boots on the deck stopped behind her. She had been aware that two of them flanked her. Five in all surrounded her. He looked back at her.

  “A what?”

  “A puppy. You know. They are cute little animals and are good company. Real loyal. Speaking of which, is this all of you? You didn’t, by any chance, take the only survivor off the station, did you? Is she with you?”

  “Perhaps the sight of the horror here has traumatized her,” the guy from her shuttle muttered as he drew closer. “Or her mask is low on oxygen. The smells are too overpowering from the dead for her to have removed it. She could be suffering confusion from hypoxia.” He paused. “You are the only female we found. We just arrived here.”

  The male who seemed to be in charge answered Cyan. “No, we don’t want a puppy. What is your purpose here?”

  She kept her smile in place while she glanced at the three in front of her. They weren’t carrying weapons. That left the two behind her who could be armed. She didn’t dare glance at them.

  “Well, Belta Station sent out a distress signal and we knew how scary and super impressive you guys are. Earth wants to surrender to you. We give up. You win.” Her body tensed. “We’re waving a white flag.”

  The second the words were out, she blindly threw her leg back where she knew one of them stood—from the sound of their breathing—and plowed into the crotch of the suited man in a lucky estimation that he stood the same height as the others. Her hand shot forward when she kicked back, shoving hard at the guy in front of her. He stumbled, clearly caught off guard, and Cyan spun. She barely registered where the second man who’d been behind her was located before she leapt at him, did a roundhouse kick, and her booted heel connected hard with his chest. He roared out and flew backward.

  Cyan dived for her weapons on the floor. Her fingers curled around the handles but a massive weight crushed down over her. The breath exploded from her lungs as it was knocked out of her and two gloved hands tore at hers. The weapons were ripped away.

  It shocked her that one of them had gotten the drop on her. They moved super fast to do that.

  “Did you see that?” Another male voice gasped. “That was nearly beautiful. She’s quick and effective.”

  “Tell that to Onyx. Are you well? It appears she didn’t miss your scrotum.”

  Someone wheezed. “No. She did not. That hurts.”

  The crushing weight on top of her sighed. “She’s an accurate fighter without even having to see her target. Earth is training humans much better these days.”

  He shifted enough for Cyan to breathe and her starved lungs appreciated it. She pushed suddenly, knocked him off her back and rolled away. She flipped to her feet and spun, her fists going up. She glared at the five men.

  “I don’t suppose you guys are into fair, are you? You know, just fight me one at a time?”

  They stared at her silently. At least she assumed t
hey did since all five masks faced her. She studied her reflection in their mirrored face shields. She looked small and not very threatening.

  “You should have agreed to the puppy.” She rolled her shoulder that ached from the heavy guy who’d nearly flattened her. “Now you’re just going to have to settle for some serious ass whippings.” She winked. “I’m kinky that way. I hope all of you are male because I am not into women.”

  “Is she serious? She wants to fight?” It was the guy she’d nailed in the nuts.

  “I believe so.” The one who’d crushed her onto the floor moments before spoke. “I am Ice and you do not want to do this. We don’t wish to harm you. That’s why we aren’t drawing weapons. You may surrender without fear of death.”

  “So polite for a crazy nut job. I heard you pirates were whacked out of your heads. Kudos to you for remaining sane.”

  One of the men chuckled. “I like her.”

  “Did you understand what she said, Sky?” Ice’s voice carried an annoyed tone.

  “It’s slang. She’s congratulating us on not being insane.” The guy moved a little to her left. “I am Sky and we’re not pirates.”

  “Shit.” Anger stirred. “Damn scavengers. I hate you assholes. I bet your mamas are so proud you grew up to go chase disasters just to make a buck. Now I won’t feel sorry when I bloody the shit out of you. I’ll even take you home to lock you up with pretty metals.”

  Sky chuckled. “She’s adorable. She thinks we’re criminals who illegally steal parts off ships that have sustained damage. She wants to arrest us.”

  Annoyance flashed fast and furiously inside Cyan. “So you aren’t pirates, you’re too tall and suited up to be crazy androids, and you aren’t scavengers? Who are you?” She ran her gaze over their suits. “You sure aren’t from the military. Those space suits were banned ten years ago, at least. They erode too easily in open space after a few hours and the seals sometimes blow at the neck joints from rapid decompression.”

  Their leader, Ice, took a menacing step toward her and she reacted. One hand reached for the small of her back, wrapped around the knife she kept there, and grabbed hold of his suit at the arm. She jerked hard, pulled him toward her with all her strength, and knocked him off balance. He crashed to the floor on his knees and she twisted to stand behind him. The knife ended up against his throat while she glared at his four pals.

  “I’ll decapitate him if any of you move.”

  “Shit,” Sky gasped. “Who is she? She’s strong and fast.”

  “Who are you?” She released the arm of her captive, certain the pressure of the knife at his throat would persuade the guy not to struggle and grabbed the connecter from the body of the space suit to his helmet. It popped loudly and she tore it over his head.

  He’d be able to breathe but it sure wouldn’t smell pretty with the decaying corpses. She looked down at his unusual hair, mostly white with gray streaks, and she tilted forward enough to get a glimpse of his face.

  Shock made her gasp. She threw the knife down and released him. The helmet she held in her other hand crashed to the floor too. She backed up, nearly tripped over her own feet, and her entire world seemed to crash in on her stunned brain.

  “Cyborgs,” Cyan whispered.

  The one on the floor bent forward, grabbed his helmet and turned his head to glare at her. He took a breath, his entire silvery-toned face contorted in disgust, and he coughed.

  “She broke my helmet. The smell is unbearable.” He staggered to his feet, put his arm up over the lower part of his face, and blue eyes glared at her with fury. “I should rip your mask off.”

  Cyan sank to her knees, the fight gone out of her, and just stared at the tall man glaring at her. Tears blinded her that she didn’t bother to try to hold back. They slid down her cheeks freely.

  She watched the cyborg’s anger fade and confusion enter his gaze while he studied her. She sat on her legs, immobile, unable to look away from him.

  “I think she’s so terrified her mind has shut down,” Sky softly rasped. “We don’t kill women. Calm.”

  She turned her gaze to his face mask. “You survived. You’re still alive.”

  Ice dropped his arm, breathed through his mouth and slowly approached. Cyan shifted her attention back to him. She didn’t resist when he bent down, gripped her arm and pulled her to her feet.

  “Resist again and I will fight back. I won’t kill you but you will be hurt. We’ve held back so far but no more. You are obviously a soldier and not a harmless female.”

  “I’d never fight one of you.” She sniffed. “You survived. You made it.”

  The cyborg had a totally baffled look on his face. “She is in shock. I need to get out of here. I can’t take the smell.”

  “We’ll take her home to interrogate her,” the guy she’d kicked in the groin announced.

  “Yes, we will, Onyx.” Ice gripped her hard enough to bruise her arm but she barely registered that or where they took her.

  “You survived.” She said it to them as much as to herself.

  “She’s definitely in shock and has suffered mental trauma,” one of the cyborgs sighed. “Are we so terrifying to humans that this is their reaction?”

  Ice shrugged. “I assume so. At least she is being meek.”

  Cyborgs had somehow managed to survive in space. They weren’t extinct as all the reports she’d read had stated. Cyan made a decision not to defend herself regardless of what they did to her. She refused to ever kill one of them.

  Chapter Two

  Onyx sat across from Cyan. Only two chairs had been placed inside the sterile room and one wall of glass showed her how shitty she looked. Her waist-length black hair hung in a mess around her body and her eyes were still a bit red from crying. She’d done more of that in the past seventeen hours than she had done in over a decade.

  The cyborgs she’d surrendered to had flown her to the planet they’d settled on, and they’d taken her to some sort of holding area for prisoners. They’d built a real home, a city, and the glimpses she’d caught when they’d entered were impressive.

  “What were you doing on Belta Station?” Onyx leaned closer to study her face carefully.

  “Earth Government received their distress signal. They identified some escaped defense droids.” She leaned back against her chair, crossed her ankles and rubbed her pants just for something to do. “They are called Markus Models. They believe they are sentient but they aren’t. They have no compassion, no sense of right from wrong, and wouldn’t hesitate to kill any living thing they come across.”

  “I wouldn’t trust Earth Government’s judgment on what is sentient or not.”

  Cyan watched him for a few long seconds. “Then trust me. They are ice cold inside. I met a few of them before I shipped out to track the escaped ones. Total metal heads. They appear human, thanks to biological body shells, but inside they are machines without souls. I wanted to see what I’d be dealing with when I was ordered to go on this mission. They scared the crap out of me.”

  “That’s what Earth said about us.”

  “Cyborgs are the exception to the rule. They gave you basically human bodies for the most part, just genetically enhanced, and added cybernetics. These things are machines inside with fleshy exteriors.”

  Surprise widened his eyes. “You sound as if you’re familiar with us.”

  “You could say that.”

  “Were you looking for us?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I believed none of you had survived.”

  His dark gaze seemed to turn cold. “That’s a lie.”

  “No. I’m not lying. I won’t bullshit you.”

  He didn’t appear convinced. “One of our kind recently escaped Earth. You want to pretend not to know this information?”

  Shock reverberated through her. “No one told me that.” She sat up a little straighter. “They kept one of you prisoner for all these years?”

  He refused to answer.

  Anger r
ose inside Cyan. “My father swore none of you remained on Earth. He lied to me? Is that what you’re saying? I’d kick his ass if he wasn’t already dead.” She fumed.

  “You wanted to kill us yourself?”

  “No! I would have blown my cover and gotten them out.”

  “Your cover?”

  She hesitated. “I can’t talk about that.”

  “You will answer me.”

  “Some things aren’t up for discussion. Is there anything else you want to know?”

  He sighed. “I didn’t want to do this but the interrogator will be called in if you don’t cooperate.”

  “Scary shit, huh? Torture?” She winced. “I hate that.” She glanced at her nails. “I just let them grow out too.” Her gaze lifted to his. “Look, I stated I won’t lie but I can’t tell you some things about me. It’s not that I don’t want to but I just can’t.” She paused. “I’ve been conditioned.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I spent three years having my head screwed with. Think of it as being brainwashed until I can’t talk about what has been done to me without major migraines. I’m talking about ice-pick-to-the-head kind of pain. That’s one thing that stuck. It makes me mad they did that but they wanted to make sure I could protect who I am. My father thought it was for the best. He had this God complex, always believed whatever he did was the right thing and I know in his heart he thought it was the only way to keep me breathing.”

  The cyborg stood. “You’re trying to confuse me. It’s the puppy game.”

  She grinned. “No, but I thought you were space pirates when I said that. I heard they are nuts. I was just trying to confuse you if you’d been one of those mutated freaks. I needed you off guard to attack. You’re pretty smart to recognize what I was doing.”

  “I’m a cyborg.”

  “Right. Sorry. It’s been a really long time since I’ve talked to one of you.”

  He advanced a threatening step forward. “When did you come into contact with a cyborg?”