Unit 77_Broken Read online

  “Lie down or I’ll make you lie down,” she hissed suddenly, losing her temper with damn stupid males and their egos. “I spent hours patching you up and if you die, it’s not just your ass on the line. It’s mine as well. So you’re not going to do anything that puts my life at risk… and if you do, I’ll pump you so full of drugs you’ll spend the next month playing with the fairies. Understand me?”

  “Damn, Doc,” 80 whistled. “I can understand what the boss sees in you now. You’re gorgeous when you’re mad.”

  “You,” she ordered shortly, in no mood for his cheek. “Find me a bodyboard. Now.”

  78 blinked at her, his expression blank, and then he looked sheepish as 80 threw her a salute and disappeared.

  “Yes, Doc,” 78 replied, as meek as a kitten. Then his expression shifted a little.

  “What?” she demanded, hands on her hips.

  “If you’re giving out good drugs… can I have some later?” The wounded cyborg asked, a little smile playing with the corner of his lips.

  She arched her eyebrow. “If we get out of this alive, I might just bloody join you.”

  Chapter Six

  The sounds of battle reached them just as she’d gotten 78 secured on the sheet of nearly flat wood 80 had managed to procure from somewhere. Given the raw edge on the underside, it looked like he had literally ripped it from the inside of one of the impromptu corridors.

  She hid her shiver at the sheer strength it would have to have taken to rip it clean away like that, intuition telling her that 80 had done it without help.

  And Drew was the biggest of them all, the little voice in the back of her head pointed out and she realized it was correct. Of the twenty or so rogue cyborgs, her Drew was the biggest built.

  She paused at that thought, her hands stilling as she checked over the straps that held 78 in place on the board. When had he become her Drew? For that matter, when had she stopped thinking of him as 77 and he’d become Drew again in her mind?

  Ever since he held you down and made you come with his mouth, made you climax all over his lips and tongue… the little voice was off again and nothing she did shut it out. Ever since he fucked you with his fingers and you wanted his cock inside you instead.

  “Sorry to hurry you, Doc,” 80 said from the doorway. “But we really need to move. NOW!”

  She gasped as a couple of cyborgs rushed into the room, one of them throwing 78 a rifle as they lifted his makeshift stretcher onto their massive shoulders.

  “Wait… what? You can’t use that!” She argued, following them out of the medbay area.

  78 just shrugged, the big weapon held easily in his hands. Even strapped to a board, he still looked dangerous. “My arms work just fine. If all I can do is cover our backs, Doc, that’s what I’m gonna do.”

  “Nuts. You’re all nuts,” she whispered and then squealed as the sounds of gunfire and violence broke into the room with them. Cyborgs crashed through the walls, smashing through the wood, and one look at their faces was all it took to tell her that these weren’t friendly units.

  Their set expressions and soulless eyes told the tale of computers directing their movements. 80 shoved her down behind a small knot in the wood, protecting her with his own body as he fired back.

  She crouched down into the tiniest ball, hands over her ears as wood splintered and flew all around her. The air was alive with smoke and laser blasts, the smell of burning flesh and fried circuitry heavy in the air.

  This wasn’t normal combat. She’d seen that before… had ended up caught in a firefight with an enemy that wasn’t where the intel had said they’d be. Back then it had been the same smoke and lasers, heat and the smell of blood. But there had also been shouted orders and screams of pain. The sounds of warfare and death, not just the sights and smells.

  But there were no sounds and screams now. The cyborgs, both sides, moved in silence, obeying orders that only sounded in their own heads… and they died just as silently. A cyborg shot by 80 slid down the opposite wall, the entire side of his head gone and the light fading from his eyes as he died.

  For a second time, she realized.

  “Up! Move!” A hard hand under her arm hauled her to her feet and she realized Drew had rejoined them.

  His armor was covered in blood, his face set and her heart froze, but none of the blood appeared to be his. She let out a sigh of relief, but that relief was short-lived as the rogue cyborgs escaped their treebase.

  She didn’t know what she’d expected, maybe some kind of rope ladder for them to climb down. Instead, Drew simply grabbed her around the waist, pressing her face to his shoulder as he urged her legs up around his waist…

  Then he jumped.

  She cried out in surprise and panic, closing her eyes and clinging closer to him. He hit the ground running, the air thick with laser bolts as their enemy fired after them. She had a brief glimpse of hard faces, the rogue cyborgs all around her as they ran with a vengeance now.

  Why where they running so fast—

  She got her answer when the massive tree behind them exploded like a star going supernova, sending fire up into the sky like a volcano.

  They didn’t stop. The cyborgs ran until Claudia’s eyes dropped and she fell into a strange, uncomfortable half-sleep against Drew’s shoulder. She tried to keep her eyes open but she’d been kidnapped, worked for hours in surgery in a damn tree to save a man’s life—because she couldn’t see 78 as merely a machine anymore—and been yanked out of what little sleep she’d had… so the rhythmical movement as Drew ran lulled her into sleep.

  “Doc… wake up.”

  His deep voice roused her from her half-sleep and she pouted, wanting to slide further into sleep, not come to full wakefulness. She shook her head, nestling closer, but he shook her slightly, his voice firm.

  “No. Wake up, Doctor.”

  She blinked as she opened her eyes and found herself set on her feet. The rogue cyborgs were clustered around her, some a few steps away, kneeling with their gazes firm on their surroundings. Keeping watch, she realized, turning her attention to the men in the middle of the rough circle.

  They were stripping down, hauling off their body armor to reveal solid bodies with carved muscles. She yanked her gaze away to find Drew looking at her. He’d stripped to the waist, arms out as 80 ran a diagnostic wand over him.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, frowning as she looked around. It looked like they were searching for something.

  “They knew where we were.” His voice was flat and mechanical again, but she caught the flash of anger in his eyes. “They came right for the tree. No deviation. Someone has a tracker on them.”

  “A tracker? That can’t be… well, you all have internal trackers but Pike said you’d burned them out so he couldn’t get a lock on your position.”

  “We did,” Drew growled, nodding to 80 as he finished the sensor sweep. The tall cyborg bent down and started to check over Drew’s armor. “But somehow he found us, which means someone picked up a tracker somewhere.”

  “No,” she shook her head, her mind already picking over the possibilities. “It can’t be that. Your cybernetic systems would have picked up any outgoing signals and warned you.”

  Her gaze caught on 80, still crouched down and checking over Drew’s armor. His own, obviously already checked over, was in a little pile next to him.

  Her eyes widened as she put it all together. 80 had been back to the base after Drew had taken her… he had to have been tagged then.

  “80 went to the base,” she said suddenly. “Pike’s had nano-water wires installed. If he tripped one and got sprayed, the tracker could be on his skin. They’re virtually undetectable once on the skin.”

  80 shook his head. “A child could have spotted those wires, never mind one of us. It was a clean in-and-out job.”

  Drew started to buckle on his armor again, looking to the men around them. One by one, they shook their heads. No one had found a tracker.

  “W
here is it?” Drew demanded and then his gaze fell on Claudia. “You… You’re the only new element. They found us after we brought you into the camp.”

  “No…” she backed up, scared by the hard look in his eyes. “I-I didn’t… there’s no tracker on me.”

  He should know. He’d seen her naked. Held her in his arms.

  “Check her,” Drew ordered, nodding 80 forward with the scanner. “If you’re not our traitor, Doctor, then you have nothing to fear. Do you?”

  She shook her head, standing her ground as the grim-faced cyborgs surrounded her.

  “Arms up, Doc. I’ll make it quick,” 80 said in a low voice, and she did as she was told, shivering as she stood in her thin blouse and skirt.

  He ran the scanner over her, less than an inch from her skin, and then over her head and through her hair. Finally, he shook his head and stepped back.

  “She’s clean, boss. Nothing on her.”

  A sigh of relief escaped her, her knees suddenly weak and threatening to dump her on the ground. She forced them to lock and cleared her throat to cover her reaction. She’d been worried… really worried there for a moment that Pike had somehow managed to get a tracker on her.

  When it came to that asshole, she was paranoid, making sure her mandatory medicals were handled when she was at one of the larger bases rather than leaving it to one of the base medics. They were all on his payroll, so she didn’t want any of them making medical decisions for her or injecting her with anything. Not even a freaking flu shot.

  She wouldn’t have put it past him to try something, a slow release truth serum or something to make her more susceptible to his suggestion. Chills crawled over her skin at the thought of being at his mercy. Fuck that. She’d shoot herself in the head first.

  “The medical kit…”

  It was 78, still strapped to the makeshift body board, who spoke, his voice wavering but still firm.

  “80 brought the medical kit back from the base. She used it to treat me.”

  Oh shit.

  Her heart sank. The blood felt like it was draining from her body and into the soil beneath her feet as three cyborgs surrounded the two big bags Unit 80 had recovered from the medical shack. As soon as the sensor wands got anywhere near them, they lit up like Christmas trees.

  “I knew it,” Drew growled, grabbing her by the upper arm and hauling her close. “How long have you been working with him?”

  “I haven’t! I swear! Please, Drew, you have to believe me. I’m not. I wouldn’t ever work with Pike! I promise,” she whispered, her hands on his chest.

  77 stared at her long and hard. He could see the pleading in her gray eyes but he hardened his heart against it and refused to let any softness seep into his expression. She had to have known, damn it! She’d expressly asked for the bag of supplies. She’d even told them exactly where to find it. She must be working with the CO.

  “Please, Drew…you’re hurting me.” Her voice was tight with pain. Looking down he saw that he was holding her upper arms in a punishing grip that was sure to leave marks—especially on the left because of his metal arm and hand.

  With a low curse, he pushed her away. Claudia stumbled and would have fallen if Unit 80 hadn’t caught her and set her gently back on her feet.

  “There you go, Doc,” he murmured. “Take it easy. It’s okay.”

  Things were pretty fucking far from “okay” as far as 77 was concerned but he didn’t have time to do anything about it now. Turning to the rest of his unit, he made a “wrap it up” motion.

  “Time we were heading out. Everybody back into armor and let’s move.”

  “Where…where are we going?” Claudia asked, her voice faltering.

  77 gave her a hard stare.

  “You think I’m going to tell you that after what we just found?” He spat on the ground. “We ought to leave you here for the hoppers. It would be the most logical thing to do.”

  Her face went pale.

  “Drew, please—”

  “I’m not going to leave you,” he interrupted because the fear in her voice did something to him—squeezed something inside him even though he didn’t want it to. “We need you—at least until Unit 78 is up and running again. But we have to move fast and I’m not carrying you anymore.”

  80 stepped forward.

  “Hey, boss, I don’t mind carrying the doc.”

  “No!” The sight of the other unit (the other man) holding Claudia in his arms back at the tree base was still fresh in 77’s mind. He hadn’t liked seeing that—not one damn bit. “Unit 85,” he barked, motioning for a tall Cyborg who was silent and brooding to step forward. Harper—he used to be called Josh Harper, whispered the helpful little voice in his brain.

  “Cap?” 85 (Josh) stepped forward, his voice little more than a growl.

  “Carry Doctor Chambers—on your back,” he specified. Even now that he knew she was a traitor he couldn’t stand the thought of another man holding her in his arms.

  “Yes, Captain.” 85 growled again and turned to Claudia. “Ma’am?” he said, crouching low so she could clamber onto his broad back.

  “Thank you,” she murmured, her voice still shaky. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears, but 77 refused to let himself notice them. She’d made her bed—now she could fucking well lie in it.

  Turning, he motioned to his unit.

  “Head out!”

  Chapter Seven

  77 was headed for an abandoned base in the Hastian mountains. It had been the first outpost they’d built when the Space Corps sent them to protect the colonists on this little world, but it hadn’t lasted long.

  Unfortunately, it turned out they had built it next to a very active nest of hoppers.

  Little to nothing had been known about the giant insectoids when they first came—they hibernated for much of the Hastian rotational cycle, only coming out to make trouble about three months out of the year. But since a month on Hastwas twice as long as a month on Old Earth, the big bastards were active for a good part of the time.

  The base had been built during the hopper hibernation cycle and was subsequently abandoned when the nearby nest came to life. In a single night, more than seventeen sentries were found headless and half-eaten around the perimeter of the camp.

  As for the settlement of colonists a little higher up the mountain—it had been a fucking massacre. A night of terror, which the troops the Space Corps had sent could do little to alleviate. That had been before the cyber soldier program was started and since unenhanced humans were ill equipped to deal with the huge insectoids, the decision to abandon the base and move was an easy one.

  It soon became apparent that hoppers gravitated to higher altitudes, which was why the colonists now preferred to take the low ground. All of the military bases were built there now too. Let the hoppers have the fucking mountains if they wanted. It was far easier to deal with the occasional stray that happened to come down to the lowlands than a whole swarm of the damn things.

  The hoppers were still in their active cycle right now, but the abandoned base was the only place 77 could think of that the CO wouldn’t follow. He and his crew of rogues should be safe there once they got the perimeter fence working again and Pike would think twice before sending a battalion of men—even cyber soldiers—through hopper-infested territory.

  Of course, you’re going to have to run through that exact same territory to get to the base, whispered the little voice in his head. What if you run into a whole swarm of them at once?

  If that happened, they were probably fucked, 77 admitted to himself. One or two, they could handle since part of their cybernetic armor was a titanium alloy neck-guard, which made it damn hard for the hoppers to bite off a cyber soldier’s head. Still, the big bastards had been known to take off a foot or a hand or an arm and a leg if they couldn’t reach the head, which would incapacitate a soldier, even if it didn’t outright kill him.

  Just have to watch out for them and hope our luck holds, 77 told himself. Ju
st keep a sharp eye on the sky and—

  As if in answer to his thoughts, he heard 80 bellow, “Incoming! On your six, Captain—hoppers! Big ones!”

  77 whirled to see five of the monstrous grasshopper-looking insectoids flying overhead, their shiny, blue metallic hides glinting in the sunlight. Nothing as big as a fucking horse with a mouth full of teeth like a shark ought to be able to get airborne in his opinion but then, nobody had asked him.

  “Pulse rifles up,” he shouted. “Gut them in the sky. If they land we’re fucked!”

  Every man in his unit raised a rifle, and the air was filled with silent but deadly rays, the hot, burning scent of lasers hitting oxygenated air…and alien flesh.

  Garbled shrieks and squeals like a pig from Old Earth being butchered filled the sky and greasy, slimy black guts rained from above to patter on the lush blue jungle vegetation. In the blink of an eye, the monstrous hoppers came crashing down heavily around them, their multiple, serrated limbs twitching in protest.

  But not all of the hoppers were fatally wounded.

  The biggest one—about the size of a fucking Clydesdale—landed right beside Unit 85 and Claudia.

  77 saw her cringe backward as the massive animal made a snap at her, its long, curving fangs meeting just inches from her face. A protective rage rose in him then—so hot and hard he could hardly breathe.

  No, you don’t, you fucker. She’s mine! You touch her and you die!

  The rage didn’t make sense—Claudia was a traitor. He should feel nothing for her—at least, the CyBRG device at the back of his neck tried to tell him so. None of that mattered, though. The rage felt like a red curtain dropping over his vision, and it filled him with fury.

  MINE!

  With a low roar, he pointed his pulse rifle at the monster and pulled the trigger.

  Nothing happened.

  Either his rifle was jammed or out of charge—he didn’t have time to find out which. 85was trying to roll out of the way of the charging hopper but having Claudia on his back was slowing him down considerably. And it was clear that the diminutive doctor was the hopper’s prey of choice.