“Look at me,” she asked as she pulled his face towards hers. They both stared into each other’s eyes, the intensity of their movements increasing spasmodically, as their temperature rose to a boiling point. Avi felt like her body was going to explode as Exonyie buckled on top of her and they cried out in unison. Avi dug her nails into Exonyie’s back and clung tightly until it passed. As she felt her heart rate return to normal, she realized that this was actually one of the best nights of her life. Exonyie kissed her on the forehead as she laid down on his chest. Her rubbed her head as she fell asleep.
Chapter 6
Exonyie excused himself after Avi had fallen asleep. He couldn’t believe what Authority Figure 718 had done to Avi’s brother! Could she really be telling the truth, or was she just giving him a story to make herself look better? Then he remembered what she said. What did she really have to gain from all of this? The answer was simple: nothing. She had had to leave her family behind and didn’t even know if her brother was ultimately okay. Exonyie stormed into the hold where Zen and Timick were standing guard over Krug.
“Leave us,” he yelled to his two crew men who scampered away. They must have heard the anger in his voice and were loathe to be in its proximity. Exonyie knew that he was an imposing figure, but it still caught him off guard when others fled from him in terror.
Krug chuckled, “The big bad commander. I guess you told them, right?”
Exonye grabbed the bars of the hold and shook them. He wanted to slap that smirk off of Krug’s face. After the story that Avi had told him, he was irate and needed to take his anger out on someone. The new recruit seemed like an excellent option.
“You disobeyed my orders, Krug. What where you thinking?” Exonyie demanded.
“Your orders asked us not to harm a murderer. Those are the worst type of criminals! She would have gotten what was coming to her, if you hadn’t of stopped me. That stupid, weak, human,” Krug barked. Exoyie took the keys from his pocket, opened the door to the cell and slammed Krug’s face into the wall before he could think twice about it.
“You would harm your own kind—over her!?” Krug yelled at Exonyie as he spat blood.
“Criminal’s get what they deserve, right? Since, you violated code 5403, and harmed a human without the consent of the Authority, you are now classified as a criminal,” Exonyie spewed.
“That’s okay. As soon as we get back to Zethron, that woman will get what she deserves. She will be tried as a murderer, found guilty and then convicted. I will make sure that she gets the full punishment eligible for her crime: death. After my testimony, they will gladly abide by my reccomendation, especially when they hear that my commander not only harbors feelings for this fugitive, but that he has harmed one of his crew in order to protect her,” Krug snarled.
Exonyie threw Krug’s face into the wall again and watched him crumble to the floor. He couldn’t help but think that Krug was right. No matter what, Avi was going to be convicted as a murderer, even though she had just cause for her crime. But he knew the Cyborg Authority wouldn’t see that. They would just see a woman who had killed one of their own, regardless of the circumstances. Taking her back to Zethron was no longer a viable option. He needed to get her out of here.
***
Avi sat straight up as Exonyie bolted through the door. He knew that they didn’t have much time. Zen and Timick would find Krug out cold on the floor of the hold and come to find him. He needed to get Avi out of here before they made that discovery.
“Exonyie, want’s going on?” Avi asked as he threw her body suit to her.
“Put this on. I need to get you out of here,” he instructed.
“What? Why?” Exonyie turned towards her.
“You trust me, right?” Avi nodded her head. “Okay. Then trust me when I say this. I know that you are not a murderer, but the Authority on Zethron will not care. They will almost certainly convict you and I cannot watch that happen. I have sworn to protect you and that is what I’m going to do,” he explained as he grabbed her hand and led her towards the pod compartments.
When they got into the room, Exonyie opened the top of the first emergency pod and sat Avi into it as he started configuring the machine for travel. “You’re a good navigator. So, when this pod takes off, I want you to lay in a course to the nearest planet. You will have to figure it out from there,” he finished.
“Wait. You’re not coming with me?” Avi asked.
“I need to take care of my men,” Exonyie said with conviction.
“Exonyie, you just swore to protect me. How could you make that oath and then leave me to take care of myself? Please come with me. I need you,” Avi begged. Exonyie looked over his shoulder, towards the front of the ship, but he knew that he had already made his choice. There was no going back now, no smoothing things over. He loved this human and he couldn’t live without her, let alone let anything happen to her.
“Fine. Scoot over. I can pilot this thing better than you can, anyways,” he muttered as he slid in next to her, closing the top of the pod and taking off. Exonyie knew that he could never go back, because he had just committed a crime. The ultimate crime. The crime of protection.
I’m a fugitive now, he thought as he looked over at Avi. But he couldn’t imagine running from the law with, or for, anyone else.
Chapter 7
Avi glanced over at Exonyie as he flew the escape pod away from his own ship at top speed. She took the hand that was resting on his lap into hers. She couldn’t believe that he had sacrificed himself for her. No one had ever done that, let alone a cyborg. He was completely different than all of the other cyborgs that she came into contact with.
“What?” Exonyie asked as he noticed her looking at him.
“I just want to thank you for the sacrifice that you made for me today. You have no idea what that means to me,” she said to him. Exonyie brought her hand to his lips and kissed it tenderly.
“When you told me the story about what happened to you and your family, I knew that there was no way that I could take you back to Zethron, knowing what they would do to you. It is my job to protect you, after all.”
Guilt started to rumble about in Avi’s chest. She knew the reason that she was on the run; she had murdered a cyborg to save her brother’s life. In the eyes of the law, there was no self-defense. No matter the circumstances, Avi would be given the death penalty for what she did. The Cyborg Government couldn’t stand for an insubordinate human in their midst and they would make an example of her. Avi was sure of her fate, should she ever return to Zethron. But Exonyie had gotten caught up in this mess because of her. Now that he knew her story, he had sacrificed his whole life for her, which was against the law. Not only was he harboring a fugitive, but he left his post to be with a human. If they were both captured, they would make an example of him—a traitor in their eyes—as well, and Avi couldn’t let him do it.
“That is what I love about you,” Avi said in shock. Exonyie smiled. “Well, that’s a first for me.”
“What? Admitting that you love a cyborg?”
“Admitting that I love anyone at all,” she admitted. “Hey, you’ve been driving since we left the ship. Why don’t you switch places with me and I can take over? You deserve to get some rest. I’m gonna need you fully alert when things start heating up out there.”
“Are you sure you can handle this thing?” Exonyie asked, laughing. Avi punched him in the arm playfully.
“Are you kidding me? I flew my own ship for the past twelve months. I think I could handle a little emergency pod.”
“Okay, suit yourself. I could use a little nap,” he said as he switched places with Avi, closing his eyes in the chair and falling asleep within seconds. Avi sighed in relief. She knew that if she had told Exonyie her plan, he would have talked her out of it, and she needed to do this. Not only for him, but for her own sake. Avi steered the emergency pod rimward and made a subspace communication.
Calling Zethron Authority Council! Cal
ling Zethron Authority Council! The screen rang in front of her. The call connected and a woman answered.
“Hello, Avi Mitchell. We have been expecting your call.”
“Hello, Prime Minister. I presume you know the reason for my phone call?”
“You are calling to request a deal from us. Continue,” the Prime Minister urged. Avi took a deep breath before she continued. She needed to remember who she was doing this for.
“As you probably know, the bounty hunter that was hired to retrieve me has helped me escape and is now protecting me. I will turn myself in, if you promise me that he will go free. No punishment. He is adamant that his job is to protect me and that is exactly what he’s doing,” Avi explained.
“Yes, I’ve heard of Commander Exonyie’s actions from his crew member Krug. He has brought it to our attention that the two of you are engaged in a special kind of relationship—not only is that unethical and morally reprehensible, it’s also strictly illegal. You are asking me to not punish him after he has clearly broken the law?”
“Prime Minister, you have been trying to arrest me for almost a year now, to no avail. I am now offering to surrender into your custody and you are worried about a cyborg that was faced with a moral dilemma?!” Avi yelled at the Prime Minister, hoping that she didn’t wake Exonyie up.
The Prime Minister thought about it for a second. “If you plead guilty to murder in the first degree, you have my word.”
“Fine. I will see you in a few days, Prime Minister,” Avi said as she redirected the emergency pod towards Zethron.
Avi ended the communication, and made another call.
“Avi. Avi, is that you?” a woman on the other line sobbed.
“Yes, mom. It’s really me.”
“How are you? Are you okay?” her mother asked desparately.
“Mom, I’m fine. I need you to do something for me... Can you call Deborah?”
“Avi, why do you need to speak to Deborah? You’re not coming home are you?” her mother whispered in agitation.
“I can’t run forever. I need you to call Deborah and have her call me back at this number. I’m going to need a lawyer when I get back to Zethron,” Avi said as she hung up the call.
“Do you want to tell me what you think you’re doing?” Exonyie said as Avi hung up the call. She knew that she was going to have to tell him her plan eventually, but she wasn’t ready to tell him now. At this point, she had no other choice.
“We’re heading back to Zethron,” Avi began.
“What? You’re joking right?” Avi looked at him and shook her head. “Dammit, Avi. I sacrificed everything to get you away from that place, and now you want to go back? I don’t get you!” he yelled.
“Yeah, well you don’t have to live with that guilt. I can’t let you throw everything away for me. I can’t have you running for the rest of your life. That’s no way to live,” she said as she walked up and put her hand on Exonyie’s face.
“Avi, I gave up everything because I know it’s the right thing to do. I can’t protect you from what they are going to do to you. I can’t watch you die,” he anguished, with tears in his eyes.
“You won’t. Trust me. What I need from you, more than simple protection, is your support. I have a plan, which just might work, but I need you to be one hundred percent on my side.”
“Fine,” said Exonyie, sighing. “Tell me what you need from me.”
Chapter 7
“Good Morning, Prime Minister,” Krug said as he strolled into the Prime Minister’s office. Prime Minister Tamod looked up from her screen with a scowl.
“What can I do for you Krug?” she asked as Krug sat down in one of her high, lifted chairs reserved for imperial guests. Prime Minister Tamod’s office contained all of the basic amenities, but with a little class. Her desk was of the finest oak, imported from Earth, and her woodworkers had carved the seal of Zethron – a cyborg’s boot using Earth as a footstool—into the top of it. Her floating screen was the latest technology. Since she often worked with security-sensitive information, her computer screen would immediately hide the data should anyone else gaze upon it. There were three regal chairs that airlifted off of the ground when needed. There was no decoration in the room, save for the walls gilt with pure gold—another commodity that was imported from Earth—and the vast waterfall that could be seen through the window behind the Prime Minister. The view of the water, reflected off of the walls of the room, bathed the room in a beautiful luminescence of blue and gold. The national colors of Zethron.
“I heard that the murderer turned herself in and will be back on Zethron in less than a week?” Krug began.
“Yes, that is the case. Why is that of concern to you? We already recieved the information from you that we needed. You should be de-briefing your part of the mission to my staff and explaining why we found you detained in the prison hold in the first place,” the Prime Minister reminded him, none too kindly.
Tiny beads of sweat started to form on Krug’s brow. “I told you that Exonyie had me arrested because he knew that I understood what his motives were with the captive. He didn’t want me to get in the way, so he put me in the hold. It doesn’t matter though; his motives came to light anyway,” Krug hastily explained.
“Yes, they did and we thank you for your loyalty to the empire, but again, I digress, what does Ms. Mitchell’s surrender have to do with you?” the Prime Minister asked, somewhat irate now.
“I want to be assigned to her guard detail. As someone who is well-acquainted with her actions, having following her around for a year, I think that I would be an asset to your team,” Krug said suggested, but this wasn’t his entire motive. He wanted to get that murderer back for everything that she had done to him. A weak human should never have been able to exercise so much control over a cyborg’s life and Avi Mitchell will pay for what she had done to him and all other cyborg’s that she had hurt.
“I will look into your request. Please head back and talk to my staff until I contact you,” the Prime Minister said and went back to her work, indicating that their meeting was over.
***
The emergency pod reached the Zethron atmosphere. The GPS tracking system recognized their pod and pulled it towards the landing area, where Avi and Exonyie would be met by the guards who were to arrest her. Avi released the wheel and let the tracking system guide the craft in. This would give her time to reflect on the plan that Exonyie had drilled into her head over and over again. When they landed on Zethron, they knew that they would be met by guards and would immediately be separated from one another. They anticipated that they both would be arrested, but Exonyie would eventually be released—if the Prime Minister kept her word. Then Exonyie would enact the rest of the plan and Avi would work on staying alive and unharmed for as long as she could before her trial.
“Are you ready?” Exonyie asked her as he sat up and took her hand.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she whispered as she stared out the window, watching the yellow landing tarmac come into view. Anxiety started to flutter in the pit of her stomach and she began to feel nauseous. She knew that this was her only chance, but she was about to walk into hell, and that would terrify anyone.
Exonyie must have noticed her fear because he stroked her hand. “It’s going to be okay. We will get through this, I promise you and then we will go and start our life together on a planet that will not judge us,” Exonyie said.
Avi looked at him with tears in her eyes and nodded. “Okay.” That was the only thing that she could say at the moment, as she felt the pod glide to the ground and the door open. She turned towards Exonyie and kissed him passionately; this was the last time that she would be able to touch him freely for a while, maybe ever. They both sat in their seats as they heard footsteps approaching. Avi remembered the last time she had heard footsteps approaching—how she wished that it was Exonyie and his men who were coming for her again! But the imperial guards were another story all together.
T
he footsteps stopped right outside the door and an officer yelled to get their attention. “Avi Mitchell and Commander Exonyie, please come out with your hands up,” he ordered. Avi and Exonyie got up and walked out on the tarmac hand in hand. They would continue together as a united front until they were pulled apart by the oppressive Zethron guards.
***
The Prime Minister had decided to grant Krug’s request to guard the prisoner. Krug was very pleased. He had arrived at the prison house in ample time and was waiting for his orders when he spotted her. Another guard had brought her in, hands cuffed behind her. Her hair hung sleek down her back, complementing the Zethron bodysuit that hugged her body and showed off every one of her curves.
“Officer Krug? Officer Krug?” a young female cyborg was trying to get his attention.
“Hmm, yes?” he answered distractedly.
“I’m Officer Qua. We will be working together to guard the prisoner. She is just being processed as we speak. Are you ready?”
Krug nodded in consent.
“Great. Follow me.”
Chapter 8
Exonyie massaged his wrists after the guard took the handcuffs off of him.
“The Prime Minister has dropped all charges of treason against you. You may go,” the guard said as he walked away and left Exonyie alone. He walked out of the prison house and into the Zethron air.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the address to Deborah’s office and hailed a cab. Avi had explained that Deborah was her only hope. As a human activist, Deborah had been conducting research on hundreds of cyborgs for over thirty years. Avi had told Exonyie stories that her brother had shared with her from his years of working for Authority Figure 718. Her brother had knowledge that Authority Figure 718 was stealing imported gold to finance some of his personal business interests. Through exposing Authority Figure 718’s disloyalty to the empire, Avi could prove that she didn’t murder anyone, but had instead saved the empire from financial constraints. It was a much better defense than any other involved party could come up with, and it was her only chance at survival.
The Crime of Protection Page 4