by K. A. Finn
Gryffin picks his arm off the floor and reattaches it. 'The Foundation are here?'
'Well, no. That's the weird thing. They claim they're working independently of the Foundation. Jada works with the cyborg, Nova, that Garvan encountered on Earth. Jada wants to talk to you. She says she can prove they’re on our side.'
Without being asked, Creed lays Gryffin's leg on the bed and helps him slip the connectors in place. 'Is it a Foundation ship?'
'Yes and no. It's Infinity.'
Gryffin stares over at him. 'Infinity? They've got my father's fucking ship?'
Creed nods. 'Yeah. They've surrendered to us and handed the ship back. But she's insisting on talking to you. It's your call, Gryffin.'
'Where are they?'
'In the cell on Talos. I didn't want them too close to you just in case they got in your head. You on for talking to her?'
'Might as well.'
Creed stands up and nods, but doesn't look thrilled about putting a group of cyborgs together on his ship. 'Fine. No offence, but I'll be putting a few security teams in with you. And they stay in their cell.'
Trace, Dante, and Boone are as uncomfortable about meeting Jada and her team as he is. He can feel their unease as they take a transport over to Talos with Creed and Desyl. Bray, Chayse, and Milla are going to meet them there, but he's been told they're just going to make sure nothing happens.
He's not sure whether they just mistrust the Foundation cyborgs or if himself and his team are included in that. When they're met by a six-person security team he realises it's not just Jada and her team they don't trust. He walks with the others to the detention area and steps up to the first cell.
The woman at the front steps closer to the bars, ignoring the security team who raise their weapons as she approaches him. 'I'm Jada.'
'No designation?'
'You would prefer I call you Thirty-Five?'
'No. What do you want, Jada?'
'We're not here to harm you. You must believe us.'
'You've got two minutes to convince me before we take down as many of you as we can.'
Jada steps forward and something hits Gryffin as he gets a better look at her. She's sad. Which doesn't make any sense. The new cyborgs have their emotions under the control of the implants. No human emotions should be showing. 'You've broken through the programming.'
She nods. 'We all have.'
'How the hell is that possible? They improved the design.'
'Yes. They learned a lot since your design was finalised. Fortunately for us, it is still flawed. Some of us have been able to fight the modification.'
'How were you able to bypass the programming?'
'Nova managed to break through. As we are all linked to each other, she taught the rest of us how to do the same.'
'You were part of the team that attacked Ultar?'
She nods, but her face drops a little. 'We tried to lessen the casualties, but there are only a few of us in control of our thoughts. The Foundation's hold on the others is too strong. I know you lost someone close to you—'
Gryffin slams his fist against the side of the cell, denting the metal. 'Don't say another fucking word.'
She nods and looks away for a moment. 'It will mean nothing, but the team member who killed Roman was going against Nova's orders. Nova made sure both Roman and the Nomad found a little way from him were buried in the town graveyard. She left the graves unmarked so they would be undisturbed.'
Gryffin reigns in his anger as her words sink in. 'She did?'
'Of course. He defied the Foundation. He deserved respect.'
He agrees with her on that point. 'What do you want?'
'We need your help, Gryffin.'
'You work for the Foundation. The only help I'll give you is to take you out of the fight - permanently.'
'More than anyone else in the Sector, you know first-hand how the modifications feel. How the implant pushes you out of your head, out of your thoughts. You know what it's like to be used by the Foundation. You know what the need for revenge feels like.
'We are done being used by the Foundation. The Council will not be happy until everyone in the Sectors bows in front of them. I don't want to be a part of that. None of us want to.' She moves forward, taking small cautious steps. 'I know you have little reason to believe us, let alone trust us, but we don't know what to do. We have a grip on ourselves, but if they find out their control is slipping, I dread to think what they'll do to us.
'The Foundation believes we died on Ultar. Our tracking devices were removed before we left the surface. Perform any test you wish. Do whatever you must to satisfy yourself that we are allies.'
'You want to join with us?'
'Yes. We want to fight with you. All of us do. But there is more. The other members of our team are still working for the council. They will maintain the ruse, stay within the Foundation until we need them.'
'How many more?'
'Seven, including Nova, our leader. She is the one who sent us to find you.'
Gryffin leans against the wall and crosses his arms. He's torn. Having seven additional cyborgs on their side would be a damn useful asset. If they could be trusted. Which is the problem. Too much of this relies on him trusting a group of cyborgs.
He glances up at Jada and a little of his doubt fades away. They've been through what he has, minus the mad scientist and filthy station. None of them asked for this. The Foundation decided their fate and they had no choice but to go along for the painful ride.
Gryffin examines each of the cyborgs in turn. They're all so young - early twenties to mid-thirties at the most. The Foundation clearly picked them for their youth. No doubt they were given combat training at some stage either before or after the mods. Garvan was right. They're a formidable group.
'Let me link with you,’ Jada says.
Gryffin can feel everyone in the room tense at her suggestion. 'I don't think that's a good idea,' Bray mutters from behind him.
'Direct your weapons at me. If I try anything kill me. I just want to show you that I'm telling the truth. The only way you'll know for sure is if you link with me,' Jada says.
Gryffin turns to face a less than happy group of people. Only Creed seems to be on board with giving it a shot. 'You good with me doing this, Creed?'
'Me. Yes, but I don't know one end of an implant from the other. Probably not the best one to base your decision on.'
'She could control you,' Bray says. 'I'm not on board with this.'
'She's right though. It's the only way to tell if she's telling the truth. And we need this. We need more cyborgs on our side.'
Bray crosses his arms and stares over at the cell as he slowly shakes his head. ‘I’m not liking this, Gryffin.’
Gryffin grabs two pairs of restraints from the wall and hands them to Bray. 'It'll take me a few minutes to get out of two sets. Enough time for you to take me down if anything goes wrong.'
Bray glares at him then grabs the restraints from his hand. 'I really hate you sometimes, you know that?'
'Yeah. You've said.'
Bray secures Gryffin's arms behind his back then steps back as Gryffin faces Jada. 'They will kill you if you do anything you shouldn't.'
She nods once and steps closer to him. 'I have no doubts about that.'
Bray removes the signal block from Gryffin's ocular implant and gestures to the cell. 'You're good to go.'
The link with Boone and the rest of his team is strange, but something he's slowly getting used to. This new link is like a thump to his gut. He stumbles back as Jada pushes into his head.
'There's something wrong!' Bray shouts from somewhere behind him. Gryffin shakes his head, stopping anyone from shooting her.
'It's okay.'
'Gryffin—'
'I said it's okay.' The pressure in his head reduces and he slowly straightens again.
'I apologise,' Jada says. 'I am used to linking with a much larger group. May I try again?'
Gryffin m
anages to nod without throwing up.
'Try to relax, Gryffin. If you hold me back it will just cause you more discomfort.'
Easier said than done. He doesn't want anyone else in his head. There are enough people poking around in there already. Gryffin concentrates on not blocking her and little by little the discomfort eases.
She's telling the truth. He sees everything play out as she said. Sees her with Nova when she gives the order to bury his father and Lucan. Sees Jada and her team escaping on Infinity. Then he feels her pain, her fear. She's a victim as much as he is. All the new cyborgs are.
Jada breaks the link and Bray quickly reattaches the block so she can't sneak back in. 'Well?'
Gryffin nods. 'It's all true. Looks like we just increased our cyborg army.'
Outer Sector
Gryffin leans back in the chair and looks around the table. He never thought he'd be sitting at the same table as Creed and Hardy. Hell, he never thought he'd see either of them again.
The Hunters, Rogues, and Nomad are flying together as one... for now. He's already spoken to Creed about what happens next and the new High Commander is set to fight whoever he has to in order to secure the future of the Nomad. The new ships were being prepped for battle and, if all went to plan, they'd be moving back through the Port in a few days.
'Gryffin?'
He looks up at Creed only noticing then that everyone is staring at him. He must have zoned out again. 'What?'
'What do you have in mind?'
'What?'
'Do you have a plan?'
'Yeah. I want to open the Port, both sides.'
'You mean like open wide for everyone to come through?' Sayber asks. 'Wide open so everyone with a ship can pop over. Are you out of your god-damned mind?'
Gryffin looks over at Sayber. He can see the same doubt on the faces of everyone else at the table. 'Thought you'd be up for it? Bring the fight to them for once.'
'I'm not saying I'm not a tad unstable, but going up against the Foundation in Foundation space, on Foundation soil, is nuts even for me.' Sayber looks at Bray, sitting to his left. 'You agree with big brother's plan?'
'I'm not a fan of agreeing with him, but to hell with it. I'm in. I'm done running and hiding. My family deserve to be able to go home. And if we manage to open the Port, we could have quite a bit of back up ready to come through.'
Hardy claps excitedly from her seat at one end of the table. 'I like this plan! It's about time we take the fight to them.'
'Should have guessed you'd support this,' Sayber says. 'You're even crazier than the Nomad.'
Hardy wiggles her eyebrows. 'I choose to take that as a compliment.'
'What a surprise,' Sayber mutters under his breath.
'So, you do know if we open the Port it's not just the good guys that will come through,' Milla says.
Gryffin nods at Milla. 'Everyone on this side is against the Foundation. That's all that matters. The Foundation have controlled that area of space for too long. Time to end that. See how brave they are against an army of pissed of Outer Sector ships.'
'So we're all agreed,' Creed says. 'We're heading back with our claws out. When are you thinking of launching this attack?'
'It's your call, High Commander.'
Creed smiles at Gryffin. 'I guess it is. We'll need another few days to finish with the ships. Could do with a hand, Sayber.'
The Hunter nods. 'I suppose we could help out. Cronus could do with a bit of a face-lift too. What do you reckon, Bray? She's your ship. You good to look after that?'
'Hold up. She's mine?'
'Of course. Even Gryffin would agree, right?'
Gryffin nods. 'You took her. She's yours.'
Bray opens and closes his mouth, completely lost for words.
Sayber brushes his fingers over his goatee as he leans across the table. 'If I was just handed a ship like that to captain, I'd probably make sure she looked... well, a little less Foundation and a lot more Hunter. Having her attack them flying the Hunter colours would be an extra kick in the balls.'
Creed smiles widely. 'That's sorted then. So, Gryffin. How are you and the other guys doing?'
'Our mods are all operating as they should,' Gryffin says. 'If we're to do what you need us to, we'll have to be on the ground up close and personal with the Foundation cyborgs.'
Creed leans back in the chair and examines Gryffin. 'All due respect, from what I hear they've got an unknown army of better cyborgs. Can't say I'm thrilled about sending eleven of you to your death.'
'We can handle it. Their cyborgs aren't thinking for themselves. They're following orders. That makes their reflexes a little slower as they process them. And we could use me to control them. I was able to link with Jada and her team. I could do the same to the others on Earth.'
Desyl nods. 'Yeah, but they could take you over too. And you've still got the control implant to think about. It that does what it's designed to do, you're gone.'
Gryffin stares down the table at Desyl. He's having a hard enough time convincing himself this is a good idea without Desyl pointing out that it could all be for nothing. He's barely keeping a grip of the implant. 'I'll deal with that if it happens. For now, we've got an edge they don't have. We all know how to fight. We've all faced the end of a gun or the tip of a knife. When was the last time you heard of the Foundation mounting an all-out battle?'
Gryffin pushes to his feet and goes over to the screen at the head of the table. The frozen image of the Council, each in their ornate robes and embellished masks, fills the screen. The Dixon's were still trying to find out the identity of each member, but so far this picture is all they have to go on.
He's not angry about Roman or Terra anymore. The anger had been replaced with a cold calm he hasn't felt in years. Gryffin tilts his head to the side then places his hand on the side of the screen as he examines the group in the image.
'They're calling us a threat to justify making more cyborgs. The Council is torturing innocent people because of me - the faceless monster who modified himself so he could threaten their peace. The people of Earth have no idea their beloved leaders made that very monster.'
He places his flesh fist against One's forehead on the screen and pushes until the screen shatters under the force. Blood oozes from the wound, running down One's face as he pulls his fist back. 'They're scared of me. Scared of what they created. That's good. They should be.'
Thank you for reading Cronus. I hope you enjoyed the book. There’s plenty more to come!
The sequel, Talos, is coming soon.
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K.A. Finn
Ares
NOMAD SERIES BOOK 1
Available in ebook, paperback and audiobook
He wasn't expected to survive, and for 20 years, he has managed to stay off their radar. Until now. Until her.
Gryffin was the sole survivor of The Foundation's experimental project to transform human children into hybrid cyborgs - half human, half machine. The program failed and he was sent on a one way trip into The Outer Sector where he was left for dead. He has survived for 20 years by suppressing his human emotions and embracing his machine side.
Officer Terra Rush believes in her duty to the Foundation. The Sector needs to be prepared for colonization, and nothing can stop her from doing her job... except him. When Gryffin saves her from an attack, Terra uncovers a terrible secret. The Foundation has been lying to her... and maybe they still are.
They have labelled Gryffin a killing machine, yet he acts more human than
many of The Foundation's leaders. He has awakened intense feelings in Terra that throw her loyalties into question, and even though he pushes her away, she is determined to find out the truth about the cyborg program.
Gryffin refuses to be a mindless soldier, yet escaping The Foundation's control and stopping the colonization of his home will require Terra's help. Can Gryffin overcome the machine inside and trust her? Or will getting in touch with his human emotions destroy him once and for all?
Nemesis
NOMAD SERIES BOOK 2
Available in ebook, paperback and audiobook
A part of her died when she lost him.
Commander Terra Rush has spent the last eight months mourning Gryffin, believing he died when his ship crashed. When he returns to her, broken and scarred from months of torture at the hands of the Foundation, it feels like a miracle - at first.
His unpredictable mechanical side, reawakened by the brutality he endured as a prisoner, threatens to destroy him. He's lost the trust of the colonists. Has he lost part of himself as well?
Her need to protect her ravaged heart puts distance between them when they need to depend on each other the most. If the colonists are to survive, they need Gryffin to reunite the Nomad and stand with them...and he needs Terra's help to do so. But time and tragedy have changed them both so much. Can they find their way back to each other before everything they know is destroyed?
Perses
NOMAD SERIES BOOK 3
Available in ebook, paperback and audiobook
On a mission to stop the Foundation from creating an army of cyborgs, wanted felon Brayden Sawyer is trapped far from his ship and crew in the last place he wants to be...Earth.
With the Foundation hot on his heels, Bray must ask his family for refuge - a family who always preferred his brother Gryffin over him and kicked him out of their lives a decade ago.
When his family rejects him a second time, Bray wonders if saving Gryffin - and completing his mission - is worth it. All his life, he's been second best to his brother, a brother he never really knew. But turning his back on Gryffin is out of the question and he won't let the Foundation do to others what they've already done to him and Gryffin.