by Regine Abel
“You heard her come in?” I asked, feeling stupid the minute the words came out. He’d just said as much, hadn’t he?
Thankfully, Jarog spared me the embarrassment of mocking me for stating the obvious.
“Mmhmm,” he replied as we took a seat at the table to start eating.
A holographic disc sat right next to our food, making it impossible to miss. Jarog activated it.
“Good morning, sleepyheads,” said a small holographic projection of Haelin. “Once you’re done with your morning routine, meet me upstairs in the lounge.”
The message ended there. I exchanged a look with Jarog.
“Well, that should be interesting,” I said, trying to sound casual.
“I believe she will either offer us some incentives to remain here, or give us a mission,” Jarog said.
“The captured Cyborg?” I asked.
“Mmhmm,” he replied.
“Will you do it if she asks?” I insisted.
“Probably, depending on her intentions for him, and the plan she has in mind,” he said matter-of-factly.
“What makes you so sure she already has a plan?” I asked, curious to hear his reasoning, although I also believed she did. Haelin was always two steps ahead of most people, which was why she headed this powerful cartel.
“She doesn’t want her rival to have a Cyborg in his ranks,” Jarog replied. “If I remain here, it evens the odds. But if I help lure the other one here, and she convinces both of us to stay, she further strengthens her position. Cyborgs are on the run. Finding a safe place to stay where we won’t be exploited—at least in theory—holds an undeniable appeal.”
My heart skipped a beat, wondering if I was understanding correctly what his words implied. “So… are you saying that you want to stay here, now?”
“In the short-term, it is the wisest course of action for me. The next few days will help me solidify my plans,” he said with a shrug.
I nodded, forcing myself to take a bite of my food before speaking so as not to appear too eager. “Well, I’ve been thinking about it all evening. For me, going anywhere doesn’t really make sense. There would need to be a major—and I mean MAJOR—incentive to leave the safety of Satos.”
“Indeed. You leaving would be illogical. Haelin’s behavior towards you expressed protective feelings. Until you can be reunited with your kin, remaining here is your wisest course of action.”
My mind knew it as well, but for some strange reason, hearing him state it out loud only made it even more obvious. A heavy weight lifted from my shoulders now that I felt like my decision had been made.
“Well, I guess that means we’re stuck with each other for a little while longer,” I said playfully.
Jarog smiled. “I can think of worse fates.”
I snorted, then turned my attention back to my plate. We finished our meal in a comfortable silence, although my mind was working overtime. We hadn’t addressed the situation between us. Technically, we were just fuck buddies. I wasn’t looking for a relationship and highly doubted he was either. Thankfully, there had been no awkwardness between us. With luck, it would go on that way until we had everything figured out.
However, it troubled me that deep down, I hoped he would stay here as well, if not for the safety that Satos offered, he’d do so for me. That totally contradicted my no-strings stance. I’d never been the dependent type of chick. If I didn’t want him to stay out of romantic attachment, the only other logical explanation was my fear of being alone. That didn’t sit well with me.
Our empty plates put an end to my troubled musings. We headed out of the room and up the elevator to the main floor. Although the lift could have gone directly to the executive lounge, it required a security clearance that we didn’t have. During the day, the club had a completely different appearance. Gambling tables now covered the dance floor, and patrons were already testing their luck. Similarly, more gamblers crowded the first balcony.
The hostess who had escorted me yesterday greeted us outside the elevator. After Jarog’s comment about her being an assassin, I looked at the female with new eyes. It struck me then how I’d been fooled by her beauty, sexy outfit, and provocative strut. Her cordial hostess smile didn’t reach her eyes that seemed to look everywhere at once, keeping track of every potential threat. Even her feline gait had something lethal about it. I berated myself for how lax I’d become of late. The trauma of our arrest, escape, missing friends and family, and being on the run was no excuse for me to be this badly off my game. Now more than ever, I needed to keep my shit together if I didn’t want to become a statistic.
The female led us to the empty executive lounge. She kept walking to one of the closed business rooms at the back. She went in first, ushering us in. To my shock, the conference room of old had been transformed into some sort of medical clinic. Judging by some of the furniture stacked in the back, it appeared to have been a quick setup for temporary use…
They put this together specifically for us.
Haelin was standing by the examination table with a Kirsian female.
“Ah, there you are!” she said in greeting to us before turning to the Narengi hostess-assassin who had brought us here. “Thank you, Yelena. You can leave us.”
Although the female complied, and in spite of her cordial expression, I could sense her reluctance. Without Jarog pointing out her true nature, I probably would have been none the wiser.
“Tamryn, Jarog, meet Claudia, our local surgeon,” Haelin said. “She has advanced degrees in xenobiology and cybernetics. She’s going to have a look at those brands on your faces.”
“Wonderful!” I exclaimed, my heart soaring. “I can’t wait to have that damn thing gone!”
“Well, I can’t promise anything,” Claudia said carefully. “First, I need to assess the nature of the brand. Emperor Shui may be a power-hungry bastard, but he’s not an idiot. He wouldn’t have made these easy to remove.”
“She is correct,” Jarog said in a somber tone. “I have already performed in-depth self-diagnostics. It will not be possible to remove this brand on my cheek without carving out half of my face.”
I stared at him, gutted. As far as I knew, the same process had been used on all of us. If Cyborgs, created to fully heal from essentially any non-lethal injury, couldn’t get rid of the scar, a normal individual like me didn’t stand a chance.
“I’m sorry, Tamryn,” Jarog said in a sympathetic tone. “Maybe the doctor can give us better news, but you shouldn’t get your hopes up too high.”
I swallowed hard and gave him a stiff nod.
“Well, there’s no point borrowing trouble,” Haelin said with a troubled expression. “Let Claudia do her thing, and we can take it from there.”
We started with me. Claudia made me lie down on the examination table before running a scan over my face. She then used a wand-like probe that hid the longest fucking needle in the world. The damn thing sank far too deep into my face. Frankly, I expected the needle to come right out inside my mouth or poke at my sinuses. But the surgeon was sticking me at an angle. The wand wirelessly transmitted the data to the monitor next to the table. Judging by Claudia’s face, the results didn’t bode well. She pulled out the needle a few times, shifting the angle at which she inserted it. By the time she called it quits, my face felt like it had just undergone a brutal liposuction.
She gestured for me to sit up. I complied and braced for what would follow.
“So… you want me to lay it on you gently or—”
“Just say it, doctor,” I interrupted. “I already know it’s going to be bad.”
Despite how much bitterness constricted my throat, I felt proud of the firmness of my voice.
“I can try to remove it, but any way I cut it, you will remain marked for the rest of your life,” Claudia said in a commiserating tone. “Your friend’s assessment was correct. The chemical and the process they used makes the brand act almost like a living organism with regenerative abilities. If y
ou try to carve out the brand, some of the chemicals preventing the healing process will burrow deeper into the tissues to prevent it from being excised. We would quite literally have to carve out half of your face to take it all out, and even then, your face will still be scarred...”
“Well, can’t you devise some antidote or counter agent to neutralize it before operating?” I asked with a sliver of hope.
“That’s specifically the problem,” Claudia said in an apologetic tone. “Before performing the surgery, we would want to try to neutralize it as much as possible. But that chemical is meant to have a nasty reaction if you tamper with it. It will wreck your face. No amount of plastic surgery will fix it. You will retain a nasty scar.”
“So, I’m stuck walking around with that bastard’s brand like a fucking cow for the rest of my days?” I asked bitterly.
No sooner did the words leave my mouth than I felt guilty for snapping at the doctor. This wasn’t her fault.
“For the time being, I’m afraid there is no good solution,” the surgeon said in a gentle voice. “However, I can make you a very nice prosthetic. It will be seamless, and you will be able to wear it for a couple of weeks at a time before having to remove it to clean both the prosthetic and your skin, and then reapply it. It’s very easy and takes minutes. You won’t even notice the difference with your own skin.”
“But?” I asked, suspiciously. “There’s always a but. Like you said, Shui may be an ass, but he’s no fool. He wouldn’t make it that easy on us.”
“There is indeed a but,” Claudia said with a sigh.
“It won’t fool scanners, will it?” Jarog asked. Although he worded it as a question, it was in fact a statement.
“Correct,” the surgeon said with sympathy. “At least, not an advanced scanner, and especially not one that knows what to look for.”
“So, we’re fucked,” I mumbled.
“Not necessarily,” Haelin intervened. “On most planets, and especially on Xyva, people don’t scan others for that kind of stuff. We scan for concealed weapons. Even if the scanners pick up the chemical in your cheek, they will ignore it as not being a threat, because it isn’t. Plenty of the mercs and hunters have all kinds of fucked up toxins in their bodies, ranging from doing too many shitty drugs to lingering poisons from various injuries or encounters with lethal beasts.”
“I still wouldn’t let my guard down,” I said pensively. “The local population knows a couple of escape pods have landed here.”
“I made sure the people of Satos were aware you two were here and under my protection,” Haelin intervened. “I assure you that the word has already spread far and wide.”
“Didn’t that put a target on our backs?” I asked, as confused today as I’d been yesterday when she’d exposed Jarog for the whole world to see.
“No, I’ve made you safer,” Haelin said. “They know how well-defended this city is. Anyone who tries to fuck with me will pay dearly. However generous the bounty on your respective heads, they would lose far more than they would stand to gain. Although everyone knows Grellik has the other pod that survived the journey, they do not know that it contains a Cyborg.”
“But he hasn’t made it public knowledge, like you did,” Jarog stated. “I can only surmise that it means the Cyborg is indeed damaged.”
“That makes sense,” I said pensively. “Knowing that you ‘have’ a healthy one, he wouldn’t want to brag about having his own in case Doc Timmons is unable to repair him.”
“That is also my guess,” Haelin replied. “And I would like to make sure he never gets to make that announcement.”
“You want to prevent the Ferein from mending the Cyborg?” Jarog asked, his voice hardening ever so slightly.
Haelin smirked, not fooled in the least. “Relax, Cyborg. I wish no ill to your kin,” she said in a taunting voice. “If he can’t be repaired, then this all becomes a non-issue. But if he can be, I want him either freed so that he can go rejoin whatever pod brothers he still has or preferably start working for my team instead. Either way, it benefits me.”
The look she gave Jarog made it clear that included him as well. Jarog merely nodded, not giving away his thoughts. Right now, I’d give anything to be part of his closed neural network to be able to communicate with him and ask him how he felt about the whole situation.
“However, we can discuss things more in depth after Claudia has finished with you guys,” Haelin said. “Meet me in the room next door when you’re done. Claudia will show you.”
We nodded and watched the Narengi leader walk out.
For the next hour or so, Claudia proceeded to create and apply the prosthetics for both Jarog and me, all the while answering any question we had. To my relief, she wasn’t kidding when she said it would be seamless. If I didn’t know it was there, even I would doubt there was something patched on my face. The best part was that it could maintain its perfect appearance regardless of everyday interactions our skin might encounter, from touch, to heat, and cold. A slap or punch also wouldn’t mess with it, but severe punishment would damage it the same way it would our skin, except in this instance, it would tear it off… at least partially.
To my shock, Jarog hesitated about getting the prosthetic. To him, it was a statement that he was a proud Cyborg, and that Shui had fucked with the wrong man. However, and to my great relief, he decided that until we had our situation better under control, being cautious felt like the wiser course of action.
Once done, Claudia made us practice how to remove and reapply the prosthetics on our own and how to care for and maintain it. The products needed for it would be placed in our room. She then escorted us to the neighboring door, in the second boardroom. This one looked exactly like I remembered with a giant conference table eating up most of the space. A giant screen filled the back wall. I wondered if the ornate panels covering the left wall still hid the most insane weapons’ cache I’d ever laid eyes on.
Haelin was already inside, having a discussion with the Narengi female assassin she called Yelena earlier and one of the Narengi guards from last night whom she had called Lanish. Claudia smiled in goodbye as she watched Jarog and me enter the room, then closed the door behind us.
“Come in, come in!” Haelin exclaimed, waving us forward. “Yelena, Lanish, and I were discussing ways of recovering that precious cargo.”
She quickly proceeded to the formal introductions. As Jarog had accurately guessed, Yelena was an elite operative and Haelin’s head of security. Lanish was her right hand and just as lethal a warrior.
“Now, as you can guess, you are here because I would like your assistance in retrieving that Cyborg,” Haelin said, her face taking on a serious expression. “However, before we dive into any of this, I want to make it clear you are under no obligation to do so. If you do not wish to take part, you can walk out of this room, no hard feelings. And it will not affect the protection I have given you.”
“No strings?” Jarog asked, his tone slightly dubious.
“Tamryn is extended family,” Haelin said. “She is literally my guest for however long she desires. You, on the other end, are a refugee to whom I have granted asylum, but I do not run a charity. Should you decide to stay, you will need to earn your keep.”
I slightly frowned upon hearing those words.
“Ahh, there it is…” Jarog said mockingly.
Haelin snorted. “It is not what you think,” she replied. “There are many ways you can contribute, and it doesn’t have to be by performing missions on our behalf. The computer in your head allows you to process data and information better and more sensibly than our most advanced artificial intelligence. You could help with such administrative tasks. You are also a seasoned warrior. You could provide training to our militia. Your enhanced eyes and hearing make you an excellent candidate as a bouncer for the club or pit boss for the casino… to name a few. So, if you do not wish to be an operative, there are plenty of options for you, which we can discuss later.”
&nbs
p; “I am pleased to hear it,” Jarog said.
“You would make a fine secretary,” I said mockingly, unable to resist. “You have the perfect level of stoicism for a desk job, and it’s so much more relaxing than getting shot by bad guys and constantly fighting for your life.”
“When you put it that way, it does sound quite enjoyable,” Jarog deadpanned. “I might just go for it.”
Watching the faces of the three Narengi fall in shock made me burst out laughing. It took them a moment to realize Jarog had made a joke. He was so damn stoic, you couldn’t tell whether he was serious, despite their sixth sense about people.
“On a more serious note, I am naturally interested in freeing that Cyborg,” Jarog said. “However, I would like to get a better understanding of your situation with the Ferein. Your rival sent an assassin here to kill you.”
“I was quite eager to find out more about that, too,” I added.
“Fair question,” Haelin said. “As you probably know, Grellik covets my Dalirium business. But he can’t do it without taking over my city. Satos is built over Xyva’s only extinct volcano. Over the decades—if not centuries—the primitive, slug-like creatures that lived on the periphery of that volcano have moved in. The unique environment has not only caused some mutations in the aspians, but the slimy secretions they produce to move about has also become a literal haven for bacterial colonies that dwell below. This unique combination of events and circumstances has given rise to the growth of aspian sponges.”
“The mushrooms used to produce Dalirium,” Jarog said, in understanding.
“Correct,” Haelin said.
“So, killing you is the only way he can appropriate your business,” I said pensively. “Chop off the head and the others will flee.”
“Exactly,” Haelin replied.
“But why don’t you kill him first?” I asked. “You could take over his territory which, as I understand it, is quite vast. And if you’re not interested, it would at least make whoever takes over the Ferein Cartel think twice about messing with you again.”