by Regine Abel
“Would you want to rescue him?” I asked.
He hesitated, reflecting on my question. “Do you mean rescue the captive generally speaking, or specifically rescue the Cyborg, if that’s what that person is?”
“Both,” I replied.
“If that person is just a random rebel stranger, I would only take that risk if there was a relatively safe way for me to rescue them. Otherwise, no, I wouldn’t,” Jarog said honestly. “If that person is a Cyborg, even one I don’t know, I would be a lot more inclined to take greater risks to rescue him.”
“Why?” I asked, frowning. “Cyborgs are just enhanced people. What makes your life more valuable than mine?”
“It isn’t,” Jarog said with a shrug. “But I have no hero complex either. There are lots of people currently enslaved or being abused in many of the mercs cities and compounds on this planet. Once you reach Satos, are you going to volunteer to go rescue those complete strangers? Of course not,” he accurately replied on my behalf. “As much as you wish they could be freed, there’s nothing in it for you to put your life on the line. It’s their own battle to fight.”
As much as I wanted to argue with him, he was right. Outside of my military missions where selfless sacrifice was expected, I wouldn’t randomly go out of my way to rescue someone I didn’t know, especially not if it meant possibly forfeiting my own life or freedom… unless I stood to gain from it somehow. If I’d been told one of the most charismatic leaders of the rebellion against Shui was trapped in that pod, I’d bend over backward to try and save him so that he could continue to help advance our cause. But some random other grunt in the movement? Not so much.
I didn’t like what that said about me and people in general.
“You’re right,” I reluctantly conceded. “However, I thought you said there was little trust between Cyborgs. Why would you consider risking your freedom for one?”
“There is suspicion right now between Cyborgs, but it doesn’t mean it can’t be mended. You have little trust in me as well, and yet you intend to stick your neck out on my behalf should Haelin show aggression towards me,” he countered.
“I have good reasons to be wary,” I mumbled, feeling put on the spot.
“No need to get defensive,” Jarog said with a smile. “You would be foolish not to keep your guard up. I’m not just a stranger to you. I was always a loyalist. And yet, we’re working together and getting to know each other. With time, there could be trust and friendship between us. If my suspicions about my pod brother are accurate, then I am all alone in this universe. Other Cyborgs will be the closest thing to a family for me to belong to. So yes, I have a personal incentive in rescuing that captured rebel, if it is a Cyborg. But I would also rather not have one of us join the ranks of the Ferein Cartel. On this planet, he could do a hell of a lot of damage, and the Ferein are ruthless.”
I felt myself soften as my heart constricted for him. I couldn’t imagine being all alone in the world. Even if the worst had happened to my brother, my uncle, and father, I had other relatives and friends I could turn to. Jarog literally had no one.
“You’re not alone,” I said softly, stunned by the words spilling out of my mouth. “If you are as honest as I want to believe you are, then we could indeed become friends. While we wouldn’t want the Fereins to get a Cyborg of their own, my rebel group would be more than happy to recruit one. As you may recall, my brother had been trying to sweet talk some of your peers into joining us.”
It was his face’s turn to soften. He smiled in a non-committal fashion then resumed eating. I didn’t know how to interpret that response. A part of me believed there’d been a glimmer of relief in his eyes, but that wretched man was so hard to read.
After finishing breakfast, I used the replicator to refill the cooling boxes with food for our lunch break later. In the meantime, Jarog was checking our speeders to make sure they were still in good working order for the last leg of our trip. We’d been pushing them hard. Lucky for us, they used power crystals as energy source instead of fuel, and multiple solar cells on various parts of the vehicles allowed them to store additional energy throughout the day.
As we mounted our speeders to head out, I felt an odd sense that a chapter was closing. The new one starting came with no small amount of uncertainty and anxiety. It shouldn’t. Haelin wouldn’t screw me over. So, why couldn’t I shake this sense of doom?
Thanks to Jarog’s perfect planning and his clever use of the snitch, we completed the rest of the journey without incident. It had almost been too easy. Was that merely the calm before the storm? My stomach fluttered in a rather unpleasant fashion as the silhouette of Satos finally rose on the horizon. We could have been there at least an hour earlier, but Jarog had slowed us down to allow the sun to begin to set before our arrival.
In the next few minutes, their surveillance systems would pick up our presence. Without a stealth shield—and even then—there was no way to sneak into town. By the time we reached the city gates, their security guards would have an incredibly detailed profile on both of us. Well, at least they would have one on me. While I kept my face as exposed as possible so that their facial recognition systems could easily identify me, Jarog did a phenomenal job at ‘inconspicuously’ keeping his head lowered and at an angle that would make it harder.
It made sense to the extent that we wanted them to focus on me, not him, so that they could quickly warn Haelin of my presence. I’d been here a couple of times before for a short stop. The last time dated back at least a couple of years. But the place had grown by leaps and bounds, not to mention their defenses and security systems. Satos had effectively become a fortified city with massive titanium walls that would be impossible to breach. Multiple towers and turrets lined the walls, providing both lethal air and ground defense. While the entrance to the city sat wide open, a series of reinforced doors and barbed gates could seal off its access in no time.
We significantly slowed down our speeders as we entered the busy city. Nobody tried to stop us. Nevertheless, I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that we were being observed, many guards ready to intervene in a blink, even though I couldn’t see anyone tailing us. This time, Jarog yielded the lead to me. Despite the many changes Satos had undergone since my last visit here, I remembered well the way to Perdition—Haelin’s nightclub and casino where she handled most of her affairs.
Satos had come a long way from the dusty little start up city it had once been to the high-tech metropolis it had blossomed into. The clean, well-maintained streets, the sleek surface of the gleaming buildings, and the fancy lights adorning them screamed of opulence. And yet, the people traipsing about couldn’t have looked more common, some even rather rough around the edges.
As I’d hoped, most people didn’t pay us much attention, but a handful did a double take when their gazes landed on our faces and undoubtedly noticed the brand on our cheeks. I hated the sense of helplessness I felt right now. If all went well, Haelin could help us get rid of the mark. Thankfully, no one bothered us.
We pulled up in front of Perdition—which I barely recognized due to its spiffy new façade. As soon as we dismounted our speeders, a male and a female came to take our vehicles and go park them on our behalf. I didn’t like that one bit. Even Jarog didn’t seem too thrilled about it, but he also didn’t make a fuss. Frankly, I’d expected them to deprive us of a quick getaway method the minute we’d crossed the city gates. But disguising it as the standard valet service of the club was even smoother.
A pair of burly Narengis greeted us as we entered the premises. The bipedal species resembled satyrs with their goat legs and humanoid upper bodies. However, they had very little body hair, other than their long manes, crowned by a massive set of horns that varied greatly in shape and size, from goat-like to antler-style. Their angular faces and large eyes gave them a rather attractive otherworldly look. But these guys were also on the very muscular side. They stood directly in our path. Although not menacing per se, a single loo
k from them sufficed for us to understand we were to unload our weapons.
That, too, had been expected.
In similar venues, especially where alcohol flowed freely, you didn’t want people having an easy access to their blades or blasters. You’d be shoveling corpses out on a daily basis. Once again, we complied. The guards placed our weapons into two separate boxes before handing each of us a token so that we could recover them later—I hoped. Neither of them stared at our brands or even blinked, confirming my suspicions that they had thoroughly studied us as we approached.
While they both looked familiar, I didn’t actually know them, or any of the staff. We’d always just passed through here, and my uncle had done all the talking. To my surprise, the guard didn’t pat us down once we were done handing over our weapons. I doubted trust motivated that choice. They likely had some sort of scanner confirming we were good to go. Then again, their natural ability at detecting deception had likely told them we weren’t trying to pull a fast one.
They stepped aside, clearing our way only for a beautiful Narengi female in a skimpy—but tasteful—outfit to stop in front of us.
“Follow me, if you please,” the female said in a sensual voice.
Without waiting for our response, she turned around and strutted her way inside the club. The fact that none of the guards escorted us didn’t mean we weren’t being closely watched by a slew of them blending in the crowd, ready to intervene at a moment’s notice.
We stepped into the large central area packed with people dancing. On the sides, wealthy patrons enjoyed drinks and finger food in the many VIP booths. Above them, two rows of balconies on the sides offered gambling tables and machines. Straight in the back, a DJ was set up on a good-sized stage. Dominating all of this, the executive lounge—the boss’ box—which could be accessed by an ornate staircase. You couldn’t try to sneak up there without everyone seeing you. The railing also offered no cover whatsoever. If you tried to make a dash for it, you’d never even make it halfway up before someone shot you down.
When we reached the base of the stairs, the Narengi female turned to Jarog.
“Please wait here,” she said, gesturing gracefully at a small table with four chairs right next to the stairs.
It looked like a spot a guard would usually occupy. Jarog glanced at me, an unreadable expression on his face. My stomach knotted, fearing for a split second that he might argue. But to my intense relief, he complied, choosing the chair with its back against the staircase so that he could have a commanding view of the room.
The female gestured for me to follow her as we climbed the stairs. I could feel every eye in the room on me as we headed for the exclusive box where only the elite and the most valued customers and business partners were given rare access. That vast balcony could have been a private club in and of itself. A sectional couch, a couple of plush chairs, and various embroidered poufs surrounded a convertible table in the large seating area. A wide bar occupied one corner of the space. The barman manning it possessed the broad frame of a bouncer. A couple of doors in the back led to closed business rooms. As was common with the Narengis, the overall color scheme of the club and the executive lounge played in black, dark greens, and pale gold.
Sitting like a queen in the middle of the sectional couch with a tall glass of a bright red drink, Haelin watched me approach with an unreadable expression. To my surprise, my female escort went to join the handful of other people—all Narengis, unlike the patrons that were of various species—who hung around in the executive lounge. However, they all remained at enough distance from Haelin to give us some privacy.
The Narengi leader waved at the chair across from her. Her gaze openly lingered on my cheek where the R had been branded while I settled in the chair.
“I had heard of a handful of escape pods landing on Xyva, but I never expected you to be among the survivors,” Haelin said as sole greeting.
“A handful?” I replied, taken aback. “We saw that a second one has been captured by the Ferein Cartel, but a handful?”
“Two of them actually crashed,” Haelin clarified. “Their passengers were long dead. The pods had sustained severe damage in space, probably from the explosion of the vessel. A shame really to have made it to a pod, shot out into space, and still die.”
She’d spoken the words matter-of-factly, her dark gaze never straying from my face. The Narengi leader was studying me to detect any sign of deception. Although I had a clear conscience coming here, it still unnerved me.
“I am pleased to see you appear unscathed,” she continued. “Tell me everything, from your escape to you arriving here at Perdition.”
While she spoke in a gentle, almost casual voice, the imperious command behind it couldn’t be mistaken. I complied and gave her a detailed accounting of the past three days. She especially drilled me about Jarog rescuing me after I’d gone unconscious, abandoning me in the desert, and then coming back for me.
“An interesting companion you have,” Haelin said when I completed my recap.
“He is,” I said with a nod, my pulse picking up as I braced for what would follow. “He did an excellent job putting us on the safest route. He made the journey far easier than it should have been.”
“He’s a Cyborg. Only the best of the best are allowed into the program,” she countered dismissively. “A lesser performance would have been quite disturbing. But are you aware that your Major Kaijo is a loyalist?”
My stomach dropped. I had hoped to be the one to ease her into that knowledge. Controlling my facial expression, I gave her a stiff nod.
“Yes,” I said in a firm voice. “He admitted as much to me that first day.”
Haelin raised a surprised eyebrow. I couldn’t tell if she was more impressed or baffled by this.
“Interesting. Why would he confess to such a thing knowing what you are?” she asked.
“I asked him the same question. He says he doesn’t lie,” I replied before launching into a recap of his response to me at the time.
My irrational need to convince her that Jarog was a good man could be heard in my pressing tone and the countless ways I emphasized how his word and honor defined him. By the slightly amused smirk Haelin gave me, she could clearly see it as well. However, that amusement didn’t reach her eyes that remained as hard and unyielding as ever.
“Do you trust this Cyborg, Tamryn Vakan?” Haelin asked at last.
Knowing she was still reading me, I took a moment to reflect on her question.
“Logic dictates that I keep my guard up around him because he was a loyalist,” I replied carefully. “So, I do pay close attention to what he says and does for signs of deception. But my gut feels very differently and implicitly trusts him. I hope you will be able to confirm that. And then, I intend to try and convince him to join the rebellion with me.”
She stared at me for a moment longer. I barely resisted the urge to squirm in my seat.
“Well, let’s meet this Cyborg of yours. For both of your sakes, I hope he lives up to the trust you bestow upon him.”
“Both our sakes?” I asked, proud that the fear crawling in the pit of my stomach didn’t reflect in my voice.
“You want a metal head in the rebellion,” Haelin said, amused that I thought she’d implied I might come to harm. “But if he’s a snake, I will have him dismantled in the most painful ways.”
Chapter 7
Jarog
I couldn’t figure out what game the Narengis were playing. While I understood Haelin’s desire to speak with Tamryn alone to get all the juicy details about me, having me sitting here in plain view of all the patrons made no sense. The table I sat at naturally drew many eyes to me. The moody lighting of the club only provided the intimate type of darkness in the VIP booths alongside the walls, but definitely not alongside the executive lounge staircase or its base.
With the brand on my face, I felt like bait, flaunted by our host to dare the foolish and the reckless into doing something stupid. M
aybe that was in fact their goal. The presence of two rebels in Satos, one of them a Cyborg, would be spreading like wildfire either way. Exposing me publicly could be Haelin’s way of warning the locals that—at least for the time being—Tamryn and I benefited from her protection.
Moments after Tamryn disappeared at the top of the stairs, an androgenous-looking human male, wearing nothing but skin-tight leather shorts and a harness of the same black leather over his bare chest, placed a colorful drink on the table in front of me. It was quite impressive how each colorful layer didn’t mix, even when I stirred the drink. Obviously, I hadn’t ordered it. As the man who had brought it clearly worked here, I could only presume he had done so at his boss’ request.
Is this an act of courtesy or a test?
I leaned towards the latter. Courtesy would have been bringing me a glass of water then asking me if I wanted something a bit stiffer, on the house. This was a message: her house, her rules, could I submit to them?
I picked up the glass and pretended to take a big sip. However, I only let a few drops on my tongue and directed the nanobots flooding my system to analyze them. It took less than a minute to complete, the result popping up in the heads-up display of my retinal implants. To my relief, my drink hadn’t been spiked. While I resumed sipping it, I nevertheless paced myself so that its strong alcohol contents wouldn’t affect my reflexes. Granted, the nanobots would quickly handle any excess I might consume, but I liked being as much in control as possible when in a hostile environment.
Aside from the distance that separated me from Tamryn, the loud music blaring and the just-as-loud crowd talking and shouting made my enhanced hearing useless. Instead, I made use of my enhanced vision to first examine the place for the locations of all the exits, cameras, and defense systems. I also checked for the weak spots that could be exploited or any object—decorative or otherwise—that could be leveraged as a weapon or to my advantage.