Containing Malice, page 14
“The cyborg ship doesn’t arrive for another planet rotation.” Malice’s reply dashed that hope.
A planet rotation was too long a duration to wait. Alarm cascaded over her. Too much could change.
“The Humanoid Alliance knows you’ve freed yourselves.” She gripped his shoulders. “They’ll take action, try to retrieve you.”
All the sacrifices, the pain, the killings would then be for nothing.
That couldn’t happen. She frowned. They had to delay the enemy’s arrival.
“We could launch the tracking devices into space…somehow.” She didn’t know yet how to do that, but she would figure it out. “That could confuse them, might give you the planet rotation you need.”
“They won’t retrieve us.” Her warrior’s words were sharp with bitterness. “They’ll destroy us, target the lab with missiles and blast us into bolts.”
The Humanoid Alliance might do that.
There was only one way she knew to stop that possibility.
She could inform the enemy that she had succeeded where many of the previous medics had failed—she had formulated a functioning nanocybotics booster.
Her stomach twisted.
That sharing of information would result in the Humanoid Alliance having a greater reason to re-capture Malice and Valor. And it could potentially give them an advancement that might destroy entire civilizations…if they used it incorrectly.
Which the Humanoid would do. They were fixated on universe domination, would do anything to achieve that. The nanocybotics booster injected in the Resurrected would be that anything.
Illona met Malice’s gaze.
She could do nothing, could leave it up to chance, hope the cyborg ship landed before the Humanoid Alliance vessels did. That would risk her warrior’s lifespan, his friend’s lifespan.
Or
She could tell the Humanoid Alliance she had perfected the nanocybotics booster and gamble that she, Malice, and Valor would be either dead or gone before the enemy arrived. That would risk countless lifespans, cause deaths of millions of innocent beings.
A good medic, a medic like her mentor, would choose the first option. Help as many beings as you can, Medic Anahit had told Illona. Not harming as many beings as she could was its equivalent.
But when she was with Malice, she wasn’t a medic. She was a female who would do anything to save her male.
Her cyborg narrowed his eyes at her. “Whatever you’re planning, Medic, the answer is no.”
She frowned at him. “You don’t know what I’m planning.”
“I don’t have to process what you’re planning.” He bracketed her face between his large palms. “I see the damage in your eyes. The answer is no. I forbid it.”
“If I told the Humanoid Alliance I had successfully formulated the nanocybotics booster, they wouldn’t blow us up.” She presented her case. “They would seek to retrieve us.”
“No.” Malice scowled at her. “If you tell them you have a formula they want, they’ll hunt you for the rest of your lifespan.”
Her gaze shifted from his. “They won’t hunt me if I’m dead.” She muttered that reply under her breath.
“No.” Her cyborg almost deafened her with his roar. “You’re not dying.” He pressed his hands harder against her cheeks. “You’re not fabricating deals with the Humanoid Alliance. You’re my captive and you’ll do as I say and only what I say.”
Why would he reject her solution to the situation? It was logical, practical, should work.
She studied him.
“You care for me.” She tossed that wild idea into the universe.
“I-I-I…” Her warrior spluttered.
It was a reaction she didn’t realize cyborgs could have.
And it was one she would have never expected from him. She blinked once, twice. “Do you care for—”
“Fraggin’ hole.” He threw up his hands. She missed the contact with him the moment his palms left her skin.
He paced around the chamber.
“You will fry my circuits, you impossible female.” He shot her a dark glance. Her warrior was angry. Again. “I should strap you to a sleeping support while we wait for the ship. That would keep you out of trouble.”
She pictured herself naked and bound, her cyborg standing over her, his eyes blazing, his cock hard. “Yes, please.” A shiver of delight rolled over her.
“Aargh.” Malice paced faster. “I need to kill or breed or my systems will shut down.”
Illona grinned. She liked how he dealt with his frustrations. “You said Valor had killed all the other beings in the lab.”
“He did kill all the other beings in the lab. Blast him.” Her cyborg skidded to a stop. “That leaves breeding.”
He turned and stalked toward her. His brilliant blue eyes blazed with energy. His cock bobbed as he moved. A dab of pre-cum glistened on its tip.
Illona’s smile widened. “That leaves breeding.”
She spread her thighs, eager to cure her cyborg of all his vexations.
Chapter Fourteen
His female was determined to trade her lifespan for his freedom, believing that would help him.
A shift later, some of Malice’s anger over her plans remained. Her death, the grand sacrifice she proposed to make, wouldn’t benefit him. At all.
It would destroy him completely.
He would watch over her, would keep her safe—from herself and from their enemies. That required leaving the chamber and the lab, relocating her to somewhere the Humanoid Alliance couldn’t touch her.
Malice cradled his little medic in his arms as he surveyed the arsenal Valor had sourced for them. She slept. Her breathing was deep and level. Her eyes were closed.
His human’s systems were suboptimal. His lips twisted. She needed his protection.
And she needed his care. She was clad in her white jacket, a replacement flight suit, and her boots. He’d polished her footwear and cleaned the jacket. They had been a mess.
Valor had retrieved the flight suit, along with containers of beverage and a handful of nourishment bars from her chamber. The warrior had forgotten her hair fasteners.
Malice had to send him back to the chamber to retrieve those.
His female’s visual system was limited. He couldn’t allow it to be further impeded by her long locks of black hair. And his medic preferred to be tidy.
He perused the array of guns and blades. We arm ourselves with the best weapons. He held his tiny female with one arm, grabbed a dagger with his other hand, slipped it into a sheath built into his body armor.
Valor had located those protective garments also. They had been stuffed into a container in a storage chamber.
The E Model didn’t choose a weapon. He had a dazed expression on his face.
Valor. Malice barked at him through the transmission lines.
Oh. The male jerked. There are so many transmissions. He’d destroyed the blocker. And we’ve heard silence for solar cycles. The constant streaming of communications is…distracting.
It was blasted irritating. Malice grunted.
Most of our brethren have been free for solar cycles. Valor grasped a dagger similar to his. And they are…whole. He gazed down at his purely mechanical hands. The good roles have been filled. They might not have a need for us.
Malice didn’t give a fraggin’ hole if their brethren had a need for them.
But his friend cared about that. Very much.
They have a high-ranking Captain with mechanical feet. He had sent Valor the specs about Vector, the permanently damaged and very much esteemed C Model. That Captain has a female.
His friend was concerned about that also. He worried he wasn’t worthy of a female.
The male was malfunctioning. Malice shook his head. Having mechanical arms and legs hadn’t hampered Valor’s fighting skills. He had downed the beings in the lab like a C Model.
He achieved Captain status before his damage was revealed. Valor sheathed the dagger.
That revelation didn’t cost him his role or his female. Malice scowled at his friend. The E Model was emotionally damaging himself for nothing. The Humanoid Alliance has sent a ship to annihilate us. That information had been conveyed over the enemy’s systems. Focus on remaining alive now. We’ll chatter about roles later.
He preferred to never chatter about it. Knowing his talkative friend, that wasn’t an option.
Malice selected a gun, looked along its barrel, tested the feel of it in his hand. It was adequate. He holstered the weapon.
The Humanoid Alliance’s monitoring equipment is deactivated. Valor choose a gun also, spun it on his palm, slid it into a holster. They could sweep the structure first, try to retrieve their test subjects. We could pick them off one by one as they move through the lab.
We’re replaceable machines to them. Malice chose his next weapon, a small gun for his female.
Because of her fabrication of her nanocybotics-booster formula, she was much more valuable than they were. But the enemy didn’t process that, viewing her as a disposable female.
He slid the lever to the stun setting because he didn’t wish a projectile in the groin. And he slipped the gun into one of her pockets. The Humanoid Alliance will use missiles.
I was referring to the rotting beings. Valor’s tone was dry. He selected a blade. They were savage and challenging to kill.
The Resurrected, as Illona called them, were the reason his female wanted the lab destroyed. She was convinced the beings were the Humanoid Alliance’s next great weapon.
Malice couldn’t project how reanimated humans could kill anything. Humans were easy to defeat even when they were fully functional.
He chose another blade. We’ve already set up trip lines in the lab. Valor had attached those wires to explosives. If they enter it, they’ll die. We’ll wait outside the structure and commandeer their ship if they land.
Vengeance was good. Vengeance and a means of transport was better.
Valor chattered about the path they had to take out of the lab, the placement of the trip lines, the thin air on the planet, other things. The E Model was hopeful their brethren would arrive before the Humanoid Alliance did.
Malice had no such optimism. They hadn’t heard from Cadet. The transmission line previously utilized no longer existed. They couldn’t determine the order of the approaching ships, and he wouldn’t base his female’s safety on luck.
A gun in his hand was more reliable.
He rested his chin on top of his female’s head, breathed in her succulent fragrance, as he listened to Valor’s flow of words. They filled all the sheaths and holsters on their body armor. The weight of the weapons was familiar, comforting. He was a warrior again—not a captive, not a test subject.
Illona stirred in his arms, pressing her slight curves against body armor-clad muscle.
The movement excited his body. He had to force himself to concentrate on their escape, to not become distracted.
“Malice.” His female gazed up at him. Her gaze was soft, unfocused. “Is it time for you to leave?”
“It’s time for us to leave.” He hefted her high against his chest and stalked toward the chamber door. “Valor, you cover the rear.”
“I usually do.” The E Model’s tone was edged with excitement. “This is just like old times.”
Malice huffed his disagreement. He didn’t have to worry about protecting a fragile human female during those old times.
“I can walk.” That human female wiggled in his grip.
“You will remain still and silent.” He slung his little medic over his right shoulder and smacked her ass, seeking to end her protests. “We’re moving at cyborg speed.”
The structure should be devoid of living beings, but he wouldn’t take any risks with her. She was delicate and his and no one would damage her.
He raced along the hallways with her, passing dead bodies, severed limbs, destruction. Valor followed him closely. The aroma of gunfire and death mixed with Illona’s enticing fragrance, the combination exciting Malice’s primitive soul.
An explosion rocked the structure. His female gasped but didn’t say anything, obeying his command to stay silent.
That pleased him.
As he entered a stretch of space, he slowed his pace.
Someone is here. Malice warned Valor. He detected three lifespans in front of them.
His nose twitched. He smelled them also. They stunk.
Three forms shuffled around at the end of the hallway. A naked rotting male bumped repetitively against a wall. Another male fed on the third form, chewing on the armless female’s shoulder.
The first male turned toward them. He snarled, baring yellowed teeth, and he ran at a surprisingly fast pace toward them.
“It’s the Resurrected.” Illona drew her gun.
Before she could find the trigger, Malice shot their attacker. Multiple times.
That slowed but didn’t stop him. The other two beings joined the lead male.
“Frag. There’s more of them.” Valor drew both his guns. “Shoot them multiple times in the head.”
Malice blasted the male’s skull with four projectiles, blowing what was left of his brains out. The male fell. Malice took aim at the armless female to the right, downed her.
Valor shot the other male, leaving his brains plastered against the wall. “No lifeforms appear on my scans. They should be dead.” He peered at their motionless forms. “But they didn’t appear on my scans the last time I downed them either, so I could be wrong.”
“They were dead when you scanned them last time. And they’re dead now. But they’ll resurrect if they have sufficient brain cells to heal.” Illona shuddered in Malice’s arms. “We should go.” She waved her gun at him.
Malice snatched the weapon from her fingers before she accidentally stunned him. “You don’t need this.”
His clever little medic clearly hadn’t stored any information about guns in that big brain of hers.
“I’m your warrior. I’ll protect you.” He returned the weapon to her jacket pocket.
She frowned at him. Her lips parted.
“Because you’re right.” He tightened his grip on her. “It’s time to go.” He ran with her, leaping over the bodies, propelling them at cyborg speed toward the exit.
Valor trailed them, chattering about the Resurrected he’d previously downed.
Another explosion shook the structure. Two more followed in rapid succession. Debris fell from the ceilings. Walls crumbled around them.
“The Resurrected must be triggering the explosions.” Valor said what Malice was projecting. “They’ll destroy the entire structure.”
“I hope they destroy themselves also.” Illona’s voice was soft. “That would be a kindness. They’re in continuous excruciating pain.”
She had asked him to level the lab, to ensure nothing was left of it, had told him that would honor her deceased friend, the being who had sacrificed herself to free them.
He carried his medic through the hallways. Valor moved behind them.
Malice accessed the Humanoid Alliance systems and activated the cleaning bots. “Run.” He opened the exterior doors, rushed through it with his female in his arms.
His systems adjusted instantly to the lower light and the thinner air.
His little human had more difficulties. She panted, her chest heaving against him.
Malice continued running. The booms behind them grew louder and louder until they merged into one auditory-system-stressing roar.
A force hit his back, the heat of it felt through his body armor. He fell forward, covering Illona’s form with his. Shrapnel shredded the back of his skull. The agony took his breath away.
Then there was silence.
“Are you damaged, female?” He braced himself over her. Concern twisted his stomach.
“Other than a bit of trouble breathing and blurry vision from the thin air, I’m fine.” She wiggled onto her back, squinted up at him. “Fuck. You’re a mess.”
She gently smoothed a flap of skin back over his right cheek. The caring in her eyes warmed him all over. She wasn’t looking at him like he was her patient, her test subject. There was no coolness in her expression. She was gazing at him like a female might gaze at her male.
He pushed his face into her palms. “I’ll repair.” His tone was brusque with emotion. “Valor?”
“I’ll repair also.” The E Model jumped to his booted feet, looked behind them at where the lab was once situated. “There’s no putting us back in those fraggin’ chambers now.”
Malice stood and looked in that direction also.
The site was a giant hole carved into the rock. Smoke billowed above it.
“We’ve left nothing for the Humanoid Alliance to retrieve, to use.” He modified words his female previously shared with him. “That won’t fully repay Medic Febris for her sacrifice.” He scooped Illona in his arms. “But it honors her bravery.”
“Thank you.” His little medic’s eyes glistened with unshed tears.
Malice grunted, pressed her to his chest.
They relocated next to a giant boulder. It wasn’t ideal, but there was no better place to hide. The lab had been situated on a large rock spire in the middle of a massive acidic sea. The top of the spire had been sliced off to create a flat landing pad and the site of the lab.
Their exposure made Malice uneasy. He hunched over his female, seeking to protect her with his form, to conceal her from view.
And he waited.
Several moments later, Malice heard a ship’s engine in the distance. He drew his guns.
Valor stopped chattering to Illona, did the same.
Malice’s female extracted her gun also. Judging by how gingerly she was holding it, she wouldn’t hit a fraggin’ thing with it.
Malice huffed, said nothing.
Her gun was pointed away from them. The probability of being stunned by his little medic was 3.2359 percent. And she wouldn’t be battling any enemies. He would safeguard her, would do most of the fighting…if fighting was necessary.
The ship broke through the cloud cover. He perused it, looking for markings, for any indication of its owners. The vessel bore no symbols, no letters. It had originally been a freighter. But it had been heavily modified. Guns and other weapons had been added to its frame.
