Cronus

by K. A. Finn

  He can feel Erin staring at him long after Evie and Felix have gone back to the bank of screens. 'What?'

  'Why would you do this to yourself knowing it could be a one-way thing? I don't get it.'

  'You don't have to get it. It has nothing to do with you.'

  Erin laughs harshly. 'Yeah. I forgot. We mean nothing to you.'

  He gives her the look that usually has people backing away from him, but it has no effect on her. Stubborn woman.

  'Glaring at me now? Really? Maybe there is more of Daegan left under all that than I thought. You gave me that look a lot when we were kids.'

  Gryffin stands up again. He needs to get away from Erin. Needs her to stop talking to him. Thinking about what he did to her mother on top of everything else isn't going to do him any favours. But Erin isn't done. She follows him across the room and puts herself in front of him again.

  'You can't keep walking away from me. You're going to have to talk to all of us at some stage.'

  'No. This is the last time I'm saying this to you. Daegan is dead. There's nothing left of him.'

  'Is that what you really believe? Cause I don't. Once all the cybernetics are removed—'

  'I'll be Daegan again? Is that what you think? I'll be human again. Part of your family.'

  Her face drops and she shakes her head. 'No. That's not what I meant. It's just... I don't want this for you, Gryffin. I hate seeing you like this.'

  He takes a step back from her as the pain in his head ramps up. 'Get the fuck away from me.'

  Gryffin doesn't know if it was his tone, or his expression, or the fact he was clenching both fists tightly, but she gets the hint and walks away. He's having a hard enough time dealing with his new mods without every fucking person on the station questioning what he did.

  He leans against the table in the centre of the room and watches the Dixon's as they mutter to themselves at the console. If he wasn't watching them so intently he would have missed the look that passes between them.

  'What?'

  They look over their shoulders at him then back at each other before Felix spins his chair around. 'Heath has just sent a message. The team has met with heavy resistance. The farm is surrounded by cyborgs.'

  'How heavy?'

  'A few dozen.'

  Gryffin looks at the screen, not understanding any of the words. That's too many for the team to deal with. They need help. Terra needs help. She needs him.

  'I'm going to Earth.'

  43

  EARTH

  Terra peers out from behind the barn and targets another cyborg. They'd managed to get back as far as the farm before the met with the cyborgs. At least if they engaged with them here, it would keep them away from the transport until Heath can get Garvan and his family safely onboard.

  Rua fires from beside her and takes another cyborg down.

  'A few more shots like that would be great,' Terra says as she ducks behind the barn again.

  The Rogue smiles as she continues to fire. The woman seems to thrive in battle. Terra targets the next cyborg and takes her down with a clean shot to the optic. Rua curses as a round slams into her shoulder. She switches her gun to her other hand and continues firing without pausing.

  The Dixon's transport appears above the trees. Heath leans out the hatch, his gun in his hands. His shots pepper the ground behind the cyborgs, temporarily distracting them.

  'Terra!'

  'Bit busy here, Bray,' Terra shouts in her radio

  'Get inside the house and go upstairs. There's a window in the spare room. It opens to the roof. Heath will be able to pick you up from there.'

  Terra glances over at Rua then back at the house. There's a good stretch of open ground between them and the house. Jake and Zeke appear from the side of the building.

  'We've got you covered,' Zeke says.

  She peers out the barn and spots Bray crouched down behind a large drinker in the corner of the adjacent shed. 'Okay Rua. Plenty of cover. Let's make a run for it.'

  Keeping low, they burst out of the barn, the sound of accompanying gunfire helping to spur them on. Without stopping Rua barrels into the backdoor of the house. They race upstairs, both pausing at the top when they hear heavy footsteps behind them. Terra lowers her gun when she sees Bray charging up the stairs followed by Jake and Zeke.

  Bray pushes past them and opens the door at the side of the corridor. They follow him inside the attic as he opens the window.

  Bray gestures for Rua and Terra to climb out. 'Keep low and to the left. There are four old chimney stacks. You can take cover between them until Heath is clear.'

  Terra climbs out and carefully makes her way around the side of the roof. The tiles are old and covered in moss which doesn't give her much grip. She crouches between the old stacks and Rua joins her a moment later.

  Unfortunately, the cyborgs on the ground notice their attempted escape and target Bray. Terra peers over the edge and smiles when she sees a tall figure methodically working his way through the cyborgs on the ground.

  Dante's attack is savage. Each strike is meant to kill and it does. Using his knife and gun, Dante targets the ocular implant on each of the women, leaving a path of bodies behind him.

  She shields her eyes as Heath brings the transport down to collect them. Garvan reaches out of the door and grabs Rua's hand, pulling her in the transport first.

  Terra ducks behind one of the chimney stacks as the cyborgs spot her and decide she's an easy target. Bray and Rua lay down cover fire as she makes a dash for the transport again. Garvan reaches out for Terra's hand but then things take a serious turn against her.

  Her foot finds an unsecured tile and before she can compensate, she loses her balance and slides towards the edge of the roof.

  EARTH

  Gryffin gets to his feet as the transport nears the farm. Even from this distance he can feel the other cyborgs. And there's a hell of lot more than he thought there would be.

  When he suggested that he should go to Earth with Trace and Boone, he'd been expecting an argument. Instead, Erin had offered to pilot the Dixon's other shielded transport.

  Felix and Evie didn't argue either. Felix had fitted each of them with a block that should prevent the other cyborgs from getting into their heads. In theory. The last thing they want is to have the three of them fighting for the opposition as soon as they land.

  Erin points out the window and Gryffin leans over to see what's caught her attention.

  'Fuck’, he mutters as he gets a proper look at what’s facing them.

  'There must be dozens of them.'

  At the very least. The main farm building is surrounded as is the house. 'The others must be trapped in the buildings. No way out.'

  'So what's the plan?'

  He looks over his shoulder at Boone and Trace, but the two men are already on their feet, checking their weapons. 'Get a little lower and open the hatch.'

  'I don't think there's anywhere I can land.'

  'We don't need you to land. We can jump.'

  'Are you kidding me. It's too high.'

  'Just open the hatch.'

  She does as he tells her and drops the back hatch. Gryffin, Trace and Boone walk to the edge and look down at the group gathered under the transport. The women are focused on his team in the transport. Might give the others a chance to break free.

  They drop from the back, landing on the ground in the middle of the group. Gryffin, Trace, and Boone stand back-to-back, facing the circle of Foundation cyborgs. He hears a few of them muttering the word prototype. Seems his reputation precedes him.

  'No holding back,' Gryffin says in his head to the others as the circle of cyborgs tightens around them. 'Dante?'

  'Yes, sir. I'm by the main house. Terra is on the roof.'

  'Stick with her. Keep her safe.'

  'Will do.'

  Instinct or programming or a mixture of the two kicks in as the first women get close enough to deal with. Like a well-oiled machine, Gryffin, Boon
e, and Trace attack.

  Gryffin is one hell of a fighter, but being linked to Boone and Trace brings that skill up a level. He can see what they're doing even though he's not looking at them. Every move either man makes, every kill, it all registers with him.

  They’ve all been hit. The three of them are bleeding, but the pain isn't registering. The only thing on their minds is taking out their targets.

  44

  EARTH

  Bray stares in horror over the edge of the roof and relaxes when he sees Dante lower a very much alive Terra to the ground. He watches Dante as he grabs Terra by the arm and pulls her towards the relative safety of the trees.

  'She good?'

  Bray nods at Garvan. 'Dante has her.'

  'Well fuck me!' Garvan says as he leans out of the transport. 'Looks like big brother has arrived.'

  Bray looks where Garvan is pointing and can't quite believe what he's seeing. Gryffin, Trace, and Boone are in the centre of a group of cyborgs. Three against a dozen or so isn't great odds, but that's not stopping Gryffin and his team.

  Bray is mesmerised watching them. Every single blow is hitting home with deadly accuracy. They're actually holding their own. More importantly, they're keeping the majority of the cyborgs occupied.

  'What are you doing standing there?' Garvan shouts at him. 'Get your fucking arse on the ship.'

  Bray's eye zooms in on a blonde-haired cyborg climbing through the window, taking her out of the equation with one shot.

  Bray leaps onto the ship moments before Heath pulls away. 'What about Dante and Terra?'

  'They're on their own for a minute. No way to land.'

  Bray wipes his face and looks over at Rua. She's holding a bandage to her arm, stemming the flow of blood. 'You okay?'

  'Clean shot. Went right through.'

  Bray reloads his gun and looks out the door at his childhood home. The place is peppered with bullet holes. They'd underestimated how much the Foundation wanted them out of the way.

  There must be at least twenty cyborgs lying dead around the farm grounds. The Foundation was willing to risk a lot of credits to get them. A lot of innocent women have just died for no reason. At least they weren't living with the modifications any longer.

  'Dante? You read me?' Bray asks.

  'Yes.'

  'You both okay?'

  'Terra is ahead of me. I had to hang back. I've got company. I'm trying to keep them away from Terra.'

  'Where is she?'

  'Heading back towards our initial landing site. Pick her up from there.'

  Bray relays the information to Heath and peers out the door, watching Gryffin and the others fighting the remaining cyborgs.

  EARTH

  Nova stands in the shadows of the trees and watches Gryffin and the other two men fight. One talks a lot. It was easy to believe quite a bit of what he said was utter nonsense. But perhaps when it comes to the prototype, he is correct to fear him.

  Nova has never seen a team work so efficiently together. They duck and dive around each other, avoiding blows and dodging kicks. She would be proud to fight alongside him.

  But she can't.

  If even one of the cyborgs loyal to One saw her help in any way, One would find out she's malfunctioning. That she's defective. If that happens, she'll be taken apart again.

  The pain receptors may mask the effects of the last few days, but they had been turned off while the doctors examined her. One's punishment for letting Gryffin escape had been brutal. And excruciating. He wanted to show her that defying him was not an option.

  All he had done was prove to her that she must be defiant. Gryffin has done nothing but defy the Foundation. He's survived. He's thriving.

  Gryffin pauses as a round hits his arm, then returns fire, taking down his attacker.

  She continues to watch Gryffin and his team as a message comes through her comms. Another team is in pursuit of two people. She looks around her and spots the dark-haired woman and her cyborg protector racing through the trees.

  It's Gryffin's woman. Nova looks over at Gryffin again and smiles. Soon. She just needs to wait a little longer, then she can fight side-by-side with him.

  Until then, saving his woman will definitely help put her in his favour. It's going to be hard enough to get him to trust her. Might as well start with this gesture.

  Nova draws her weapon and sprints through the forest after the woman.

  EARTH

  Terra races through the trees, trying to put a bit of distance between the house full of cyborgs and herself. She can hear Bray and Dante shouting in her ear, directing her towards somewhere they can pick her up.

  Dante can feel the other cyborgs and is keeping her clear of them. She pushes through the undergrowth, making her way back to the clearing where they'd hidden the transport when they first arrived.

  'Terra! Company dead ahead. Go left.'

  She doesn't question Dante's instructions, using a tree to shove herself to the left without breaking her momentum.

  'Faster, Terra. There's a cyborg coming after you.'

  'Where are you?' She forces her legs to move her through the forest. She risks a quick look behind her. 'Shit.'

  'What is it?'

  'I can see her, Dante.'

  'I'm coming. I need you to veer left again. Another two ahead of you.'

  Terra does as she's told. 'Dante.'

  No reply. 'Heath? Bray? Anyone hear me?'

  Nothing but static. Damn cyborgs must be blocking the transmission. She skids to a stop as a tall black-haired cyborg steps out from behind a tree and smiles at her. Terra tenses as another joins the first one. Where the hell is Dante?

  She flinches as the second cyborg shoots the black-haired one in the ocular implant. The first cyborg turns to face her and Terra recognises her. It's the cyborg Garvan fought on Alpha before Bray stole her.

  'You need to go that way,' she says, pointing behind her. 'I've cleared the way for you.'

  'What?'

  'Go that way. Now! More will come for you and I won't be able to take them all down. Run!'

  Terra doesn't need to be told twice. She weaves through the trees, smiling in relief when she hears a transport overhead. She follows the sound and bursts into a small clearing, skidding to a stop when she sees the transport. It's not their transport.

  The hatch opens and a dark-haired man steps out. He holds his hands up in front of him. 'Hi. You look like you need a lift.'

  'Who the hell are you?'

  'A friend,' he replies before pulling out his gun and shooting something behind her. She spins and watches as a cyborg drops to the ground. 'We have to go.'

  'My friends—'

  'Your friends aren't here right now. We're surrounded and they're under orders to take you alive. They think they can use you to get to him.'

  'What?'

  'You know who I mean.' He curses and launches himself at her, knocking her to the ground as a hole appears in the tree where her head was a second ago. He gets up and pulls her to her feet. 'Sorry about that.'

  She tries her comms again but there's still nothing.

  'They knocked out my comms too. You need to come with me. I can keep you safe.'

  'I need to find my friends.'

  He curses and reloads. 'You want to tell that to those cyborgs?'

  Terra has no interest in going with this man, but he takes the decision out of her hands. He grabs her arm and presses a pressure syringe to her skin. 'I'm sorry about this, but if we stay here and argue we're both dead.' He throws her over his shoulder and races back to his transport, but Terra is already asleep.

  45

  EARTH

  Gryffin wipes blood from his eye and faces the woman who threw the lucky punch. She smiles at him, the knife in her hands coated in blood. 'Thirty-Five.'

  He really fucking hates that designation. Gryffin looks at his opponent and knows he's going to have a job taking her down. She's tall and well-built, but that's not what's bothering him. It's
the look in her eye.

  He's seen it so many times when he fought new recruits on Ares. It's over-confidence. He saw it in recruits who thought they could play up to the crowd by taking the captain down. Earn themselves a reputation from the start. No recruit had ever taken him down, but a hell of a lot had tried.

  This cyborg is going to do the same. For some fucked-up reason, she wants the glory of being the one to destroy him.

  Gryffin ducks, dodging her initial attack but her blade swings around as it passes, tearing through the back of his t-shirt into his flesh. His warm blood pours down his back but he can't feel the pain.

  She smiles as she turns the blade in her hand. 'You're no match for me. I'll take you a piece at a time if I have to.'

  Gryffin isn't interested in having a chat. She lunges at him again, her thick arms swinging for his chest. Gryffin grabs her arm, twisting it sharply, breaking her elbow, but she doesn't slow down.

  With her arm now useless, she kicks out, catching him in the side of the leg. Her metal arm strikes his stomach temporarily winding him. Gryffin takes a breath, trying to get back in control of the fight, but she doesn't give him the chance.

  She barrels into him, driving them both to the rough stone yard. Gryffin tries to dislodge her, but she wraps her legs around his leg, locking them together. Her blade moves towards his face, but a blow to her broken elbow changes her mind.

  She screams at him in frustration then drives the blade into his flesh arm, burying the metal through his lower arm and into the compact stone surface of the yard.

  Her metal fingers grip the edges of his ocular implant and she smiles at him, her teeth coloured with blood.

  Gryffin grabs her wrist, trying to stop her from tearing the implant out of his skull. She snarls down at him, dripping blood from her mouth onto his face.

  There's something seriously wrong with her programming. None of the others had fought like this. He can feel her metal fingers digging into his face. If he doesn't do something, the crazed bitch will remove half his face.