Cronus

by K. A. Finn

  'I don't get it,' Milla says. 'Why not just kill you? No offence.'

  Creed laughs. 'None taken. I asked myself the same thing. I've kept track of Gryffin as much as I could over the years and realised I was the exception. Well, except for you, Chayse. Didn't know why until three years ago.

  I was on a small colony where I'd gotten a job and was putting some credits aside. Things were going well until I go to the market and there he is. Aleena had brought Gryffin to the colony. Wanted to get more on side with the Nomad. Build up their numbers. I didn't think he recognised me but I was wrong. After work I went back to the room I was renting and he was waiting for me.

  'Thought my cards were marked. I had one hand on my knife, not that it would have done a damn bit of good against him, but it made me feel better. He didn't even look at me as he said, 'I was never going to kill a Nomad just because Rayde told me to'. Then he said I looked shit. Cheeky fucker. Anyway, he treated me to a slap-up meal in my room and handed me a bag of credits. Just shy of fifty thousand. I asked him what the catch was and he said he wanted to hire me.'

  'Hire you? For what?'

  Creed shrugs. 'Didn't say for what at the time. Just told me to stop looking over my shoulder and start living again. Said no one was coming after me. I was safe.' He laughs and shakes his head. 'I'd been living from day to day since he kicked me off Ares. Can't tell you how much of a relief it was to hear I could take things easy for a while.

  ‘He stayed for an hour or so before he headed back to the ship. He gave me a comms unit so he could get in touch if he needed to.'

  'For what?' Chayse asks again.

  'Like I said, no clue at the time. I'm sure you're familiar with Gryffin's fondness for explaining himself. I packed up my things and came here. Bought this place using half the funds he gave me and did exactly what he told me to do. I started living again. Found myself someone to be happy with. Things are good now. Never thought I'd be able to say that.'

  'Did you hear from him again?' Milla asks as she tucks into her stew.

  'From time to time. It was strange. He'd send me reports. It was like he was keeping me up to date with what was going on in the group. Didn't know why until you delivered that message.'

  'So why does Gryffin want you to reveal yourself now?' Chayse asks.

  Creed focuses on the fire again. He runs his hand over his beard, lost in thought for a few minutes. Eventually, Milla reaches the end of her patience. 'Ah for feck's sake. The suspense is killing me! What's his big plan.'

  'According to Gryffin's message, he's just made me High Commander of the Nomad fleet.'

  18

  DIXON SPACE STATION

  Terra knows she should be in bed getting some well needed rest, but she can't. There's no way she can sleep until she's seen Gryffin for herself. She nods at the pair of Nomad standing guard outside his room. 'Is it okay to go in?'

  The shorter of the two opens the door for her. 'Sure thing, Commander. Desyl just checked on him. He's gone to get some shut-eye. Shouldn't you be doing the same?'

  'Probably.' She closes the door behind her and looks over at Gryffin. He's barely visible under all the wires and screens, but there's one noise that reassures her. The system monitoring his heart is beeping softly in the background; slow and steady unlike her own which has been racing since the alarms went off on Ultar.

  She jumps as someone places their hand on her shoulder.

  'Oh dear, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to scare you.' Evie moves over to the side of Gryffin's bed and readjusts a few of the wires. 'I need to make sure he's still on track.'

  'Is he okay?'

  Evie nods and smiles. 'So far so good.' She tilts her head to the side as she examines Terra. 'You're going to be no good to him if you're worn out. You need to look after yourself too.'

  'I know. You're not the first person to say that to me. Time is short...' She leaves the sentence unfinished.

  Evie nods slowly. 'Have you been checked over yourself. You look like you've been blown up.'

  'I sort of was. I'm fine though.'

  'Can I suggest a shower and sleep?'

  'I just need to be with him. Please. I promise I'll get some sleep in a bit.'

  Evie squeezes her arm and walks away, leaving her alone with Gryffin. Terra brushes the tears from her eyes and wipes her nose. The tears won't stop coming. Part is down to exhaustion and part is down to worry. As desperate as she is to collapse onto her bed and give up the fight to stay awake, she doesn't want to be alone with her thoughts. At least if she's here with Gryffin, she won't have to worry about whether he's deteriorated while she's been asleep.

  Terra shuffles closer to his head and rubs the side of his face, careful not to knock against the tube disappearing down the back of his throat, breathing for him. She doesn't know a lot about his implants, but she does know none of his organs can function without help from them. Until they can get that side of Gryffin online again, he needs the life support systems to keep him alive.

  She dreads to think what would have happened if they hadn't come to the station. Gryffin would be dead. No question. He barely looks alive right now. His skin may not have the grey pallor of death, but it's not far away. She reaches out and takes his hand in hers, hoping for even the slightest increase in pressure, but there's nothing.

  What the hell is she doing? It's not the first time she's asked herself that question and it probably won't be the last. Being with Gryffin is probably the most difficult thing she's ever done. What he is, who he is makes having a relationship with him nearly impossible. The longer she's with him, the more she gets to know him, the more she begins to come around to his way of thinking.

  Perhaps they can never work long term. Gryffin may not even have a long term. At the moment, he can only go from day-to-day. That's no basis for a happily-ever-after. If anyone else was telling her these things, she'd advise them to get the hell out of the relationship. There's one big problem with that though. She loves him.

  Terra had been in love before, or so she thought. But this is so much different. It may not make sense but she is deeply in love with him - flaws and all. He's rude, argumentative, moody, difficult to talk to, and tends to throw himself in front of a gun without a second thought to anyone else, but that's part of why she loves him.

  Instead of grumbling and complaining about something, he takes care of it. He reacts. If he's angry, he's angry. Plain and simple. That's why she knows if he's spending time with her, when he's making love to her, it's real. When he looks at her like no one else exists, it's because, for him, at the moment, no one else does.

  Not a lot of people see that side to him, and that makes it all the more special. He may not have ever said he loves her, but she hopes he does, in his own way. He certainly doesn't pay anyone else the same attention he pays her.

  It's not like he hasn't had plenty of opportunity. Wherever he goes, Gryffin demands attention. His implants and his sheer size help him stand out in any space, but it's the other looks that initially helped the little green-eyed monster in her to creep out.

  He certainly isn't aware, nor does he care, but he is incredibly attractive. He sees scars and metal where others see a breathtaking man. His touchable dark hair which used to partially hide his deep blue eye, a strong jaw that looks equally good cleanly shaved or with a few days stubble on it, and those lips take him to a whole other level of breath-taking when they break into a rare smile.

  But what he's been through over the last few weeks has affected him. His broad chest has lost some of its muscle definition. His ribs are too visible, the metal plating sinking in his flesh. His strong jaw is sharper, his eye unfocused, and his hair cut short to help ease the fevers racking his body.

  She hates seeing him like this. He worked so hard over the last few months to get himself back to where he was before her father took him again. Now he's pretty much back to where he started when he escaped her father a few months ago. Terra closes her eyes and leans back in the chair, not letting
go of his hand. As selfish as it sounds, she doesn't know how much more she can take.

  Her father started all of the pain and suffering Gryffin has endured and is still enduring. Is it too much to ask for him to get a break? For them to get a break? She would give anything to take him away from all of this. To bring him to a safe colony, somewhere no one knows who they are. Somewhere they can have a danger free, med bay free life - just the two of them.

  Deep down she knows that will never happen. No matter how this ends, Gryffin will die at the helm of Ares. She knows that much. Whether they're together or not, he will never leave that ship. She's just kidding herself if she believes otherwise.

  'Hey. It's me. I don't know if you can hear me.' She runs her thumb across his hand but there's no reaction. 'Okay, so I owe you an apology. I had no right having a go at you like I did. It's your body and your implants. I guess... I was afraid. When you mentioned upgrades I thought the worst. I thought of the Foundation and my father and what they did to you. I know that's not what you meant. I know you're just trying to figure out the best way to fix all this.'

  She pauses and slides her chair closer to the head of the bed. Taking care not to dislodge the wires hooked to his ocular implant, she rests her hand on the side of his face. 'I just want you to be okay, Gryffin. Roman and Lucan are dead. I don't know where you sent Milla, Chayse, and Aleena, or if they even got away before the colony was attacked. All our friends are missing. I can't lose you too. Please, Gryffin. Don’t give up. You need to keep fighting.'

  ULTAR

  Nova sits on the bench beside the Ultaran lake and concentrates. Over time, working with and controlling her implants is getting easier. Being linked to the other thirty-six members of the team is confusing and unpleasant. After a few minutes she manages to whittle the number down to fourteen. The fourteen members of her original team. The fourteen other cyborgs who are able to, at times, override their programming.

  'Have we secured the hangar?'

  'Yes, Nova. The other team is still searching the village.'

  'And the two ships?'

  'Both are undamaged.'

  'One has called me back to Earth. Thirty-Five has crossed the Port.'

  'How is that possible?'

  'I don't know. I need to go back. I can't find a way out of it. I need you to take the ship and leave the colony. I'll signal when it's safe to take off. It will take me a few minutes to mask the signal from the system in the control room.'

  'What will you say?'

  'That you perished. You will need to cut your link with the rest of us. Go to the coordinates and wait for us. If everything goes to plan, we should join you in a few weeks.'

  Nova gets up and walks back towards the base. Infinity may have begun life as a Foundation ship, but she had received some Nomad upgrades since then. After a quick check, one of Nova's team was able to confirm she had Nomad cloaks installed. It will be those very cloaks that will help the ship to slip off Ultar undetected.

  Nova steps out of the sunshine into the cool base and signals to all the cyborgs on the surface. It's not unusual for her to call a debrief such as this. She's leaving the surface so she needs to ensure everyone knows what they are doing.

  She waits until everyone has gathered, pleased to see the members of her team she had told to leave are not present. 'I am returning to Earth with the remaining members of my team. One wants the rest of you to stay here. Reinforcements will arrive from Earth in a few days. Lock down the surface and do not let anything leave or land after my ship had departed. This colony is under Foundation control. Do you understand?'

  'Yes, Ma'am,' they reply as one, their voices echoing in the empty base. 'Before I go I want a full inventory of weapons.'

  They leave her alone in the control room. Nova waits until the door has closed before she turns to the screen behind her. She securely connects with the women on Infinity. 'Are you ready?'

  'Yes.'

  Nova keys in a few commands and the departure alarms and sensors shut down. 'Now.'

  She watches on the camera as the large battleship leaves the underground hangar a few miles away from the base. Thankfully, the tremors from the ship are masked by a series of well timed, residual explosions from the downed Nomad vessel outside. Styx had put up a valiant fight but her demise had been met thanks to a savage attack from the other team. No Nomad had survived the landing.

  More unnecessary deaths thanks to One and his ridiculous plans for dominance.

  As soon as Infinity has left and is clear of the sensors, Nova re-activates everything. Half of her team are gone. That's something at least. All she can do is hope they can find Thirty-Five before the Foundation does.

  19

  DIXON SPACE STATION

  Desyl stops at the doorway to Gryffin's room and glances down at Evie. 'How long has Terra been here?'

  'Too long. The poor thing needs a proper sleep in a real bed.'

  'You don't have to tell me. She's been refusing to leave his side since he malfunctioned a few weeks ago.'

  Evie pushes her hat back and tries to smooth a few stray locks of wiry hair. 'She's going to run herself into the ground. He'll be up and about and she'll be in that bed instead of him.'

  'I got this. Thanks for calling me. Any change with Gryffin?'

  She shakes her head. 'Nope. He's stable. Until we get his implants back online we won't know if he'll wake up.'

  Evie wanders away and Desyl turns to Terra and Gryffin. She's asleep on the side of the bed, one hand against Gryffin's face. Desyl slowly moves her hand out from under the wires hooked into Gryffin. Once she's untangled, he slips his arm under her legs then carefully picks her up, holding her tight against him. He's not surprised that she barely stirs. Terra was exhausted before they left Ultar. Staying up to look after Gryffin isn't going to improve that.

  He stops at the door and gestures to one of the Nomad security. 'Get another team over here. I want four men on him at all times.'

  'Expecting trouble, sir?'

  'Our commander is being kept alive with Foundation equipment on a Foundation ship in Foundation space. Of course I'm expecting trouble.'

  He makes his way from Cronus across the dock to Ares sitting at the far side of the station. One of the Nomad guards walks ahead of him and opens the door to Gryffin's quarters. Desyl lays Terra on the bed and drapes a blanket over her then sits on the chair against the wall and scrubs a hand over his face.

  What a fucking mess. He can't see a happy ending for any of them. Gryffin will either die or need to have his implants upgraded. No happy ending for him either way. Terra will have to deal with his death or the fact he won't be the man she fell in love with. No happy ending for her. And he'll be left in command of a ship and a crew of Nomad. Not the ending he was hoping for either.

  Serving on Ares under Gryffin is what he wants - not being in command of Ares himself. He's not a captain. There's no way he can do what Gryffin does. He's not built that way.

  He might not have a choice though. Whatever happens to Gryffin, the odds are he won't stay in command of the ship. Desyl can either step up and try to be the captain the crew deserves or leave and go somewhere else. Not exactly a move that would put him in Gryffin's good books.

  It's all hypothetical anyway. Desyl disobeyed Gryffin's order. He left Ultar during a fight and brought the ship to Earth. That action alone could mean he'll be kissing his career - possibly his life, goodbye.

  DIXON SPACE STATION

  Gryffin opens his eye, blinking as he tries to get his head in gear. He frowns at the smooth white metal ceiling peppered with small lights. This isn't his cell on Ultar. He's pretty sure he's not even on Ultar. He tries to swallow, but there's something down his throat. He looks down and can just about make out a tube coming out of his mouth and trailing off somewhere to his right. Machines beep and wheeze in the background, one sounding with every beat of his heart. He tries to move but doesn't manage that either. It feels like his wrists and ankles are restrained t
o the bed.

  He tries to pull free but his arms have other ideas. He can feel them but that's as far at the relationship goes. He opens his mouth to call for help but the damn tube blocks the pathetic whimper that comes out. He wants out of whatever this is. Now.

  His messed up lungs join the party, adding to the panic by deciding to fight against whatever the tube is doing for him. Panic quickly sets in as his lungs push air out of his body at the same time the machine tries to pull it in. A shrill alarm screams in the background bringing hurried footsteps and shouting, but he doesn't hang around to see who is coming to his rescue.

  When Gryffin wakes up again, he's still restrained but the tube is gone from his throat. He's also breathing so his implants must be back online.

  'Lie still and I'll lift the head of the bed.'

  Gryffin turns his head to the side and finds himself nose to nose with a woman in a large, bizarre looking hat. He tries to shuffle up the bed but the restraints keep him firmly in place. 'Who—' He clears his throat and tries again without the croak. 'Who the hell are you?'

  'It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I'm Evie Dixon. There are plenty of ears in the room,' she whispers, looking up at the personnel working in the med bay. 'We must speak in private later.' She winks and sits beside his bed with a long, deep sigh. 'So, how are we feeling, Captain?'

  'I'm on Earth?'

  'Good gracious, no.' She makes a face and shudders. 'Why would you say something so horrible?'

  'What do you want?'

  She clasps her hands on her knees and smiles up at him. 'To, what's the best word, to ogle you.'

  'What?'

  'You know, to gape, stare, rubberneck. Then again, I believe gaze would better suit this situation.' She shuffles to the edge of her seat and wiggles her eyebrows at him. 'You are quite a sight, aren't you?'