Healed by the Cyborg (Cyborg Protectors Book 4) Page 2

  Chapter Two

  It took longer than Hallam would have liked to get the underground facility ready to accept the stasis tubes. He’d become uncharacteristically distracted, which made the planning and coordination with Rykal slower and more frustrating than he’d expected. The itching, while an annoyance before, was now a prominent force that he couldn’t help but fixate on. There had to be another explanation for what was happening, another cause for the physical manifestation of this itch that he could discover and cure.

  The explanation that a woman from another race who’d come across the galaxy to be with him wasn’t something his logical brain could accept.

  “Hallam?” Aerin, one of his cyborg technicians strode across the facility, her face filled with concern. “There are twenty-five stasis tubes, but we don’t have enough power to run all of them. Not without risking degradation of their life support systems.”

  While their facility had been once the best that the Grus had built, the subsequent years of lack of use had led to some of the systems falling into disrepair. “How many units will we need to have offline in order for the systems to hold.”

  Aerin pressed several buttons on her data pad. “Two should be sufficient.” She looked up at him, frowning. “I don’t understand why we don’t wake them all. If this is their intended destination, then there should be no harm in bringing them to the final step in their journey.”

  Rykal had insisted that none of the other Fallen be told of the significance of these women, especially as the others wouldn’t have a mate of their own. They couldn’t be sure of the impact that would have on their society and it was best to understand what they could about the women and the impact on the Fallen first. Still, that didn’t mean Hallam enjoyed misleading his staff.

  Straightening as much as he could, he leveled his gaze at Aerin. “Rykal has given us a directive, and I don’t intend to question his reasons. Upload your calculations to my systems. We’ll need to confirm everything and decide which ones will need to be woken.”

  “Yes, sir.” Aerin blinked, the only indication that she’d been caught off guard by his tone. She connected to his matrix and within a nanosecond, the data had been pushed to him. “Please let me know if there’s anything else you need.”

  “Thank you.” He watched her leave, wishing there was some way he could tell her what was going on.

  Rykal might be frustrating, but in this instance, he was correct. Hallam hadn’t accepted what he was being told, despite the evidence before him. He knew that others would also have concerns and doubts as well. The smaller the circle of people who knew the truth until they were able to work out the details, the better.

  Now they had to sort through the issue of needing to wake two occupants from their slumber.

  The next hour passed quickly as Aerin and the other technicians finished the preparations for the stasis tubes. Hallam tried to keep his focus on the data and scans that flowed into his matrix, but the itching continued to be a distraction.

  “Krak…to…allam.” Rykal’s voice crackled through the communication system, interference making it difficult to decipher the words. “…ak off…five min…”

  The valley where the Kraken was currently stationed emitted natural radiation that dampened all signals that came in and out, making coordination challenging. But Hallam didn’t need to be told when the ship took off, making its approach to the medical building. No, it was easy enough for him to know because the itching in the back of his brain instantly grew stronger.

  She was getting closer to him.

  It became next to impossible to focus on anything as the maddening sensation increased. A tremor in his hands began, forcing him to set down the data pad he’d been holding, for fear someone would notice. He took a deep breath, then another, but nothing seemed to help calm the rising tension inside him.

  “Sir?” Aerin called out, waiting for him to look her way before continuing. “The ship is on approach. It will arrive shortly.”

  She was on board and Hallam wanted nothing more than to pull her free from the stasis tube and into his arms. “Everyone out.”

  Aerin frowned as she turned toward him. “Sir?”

  “I want the entire docking bay to be empty. Out!” The technicians scurried away as Hallam’s voice echoed throughout the space. He reached out as Aerin passed, gently holding her back. “Except you.”

  While he wanted to keep the human women far away from the other cyborgs, the increased itching and his growing irritation was so much that he doubted he’d be able to do this on his own. She frowned at him once more but made no additional move to leave. Hallam waited until the rest had left before letting out a shaky breath. “You know about the alien women in this ship, but there’s something else you need to be aware of.”

  “Clearly, it’s proximity is having some sort of effect on you.”

  “Not the ship, but one of the occupants.” He couldn’t stop from reaching up and pressing his hand to the back of his head. “I…might not be myself for a bit. Take directions from Rykal. Do exactly what he says, and things should be fine.”

  “I don’t understand – ”

  “Just do it!” Hallam’s body shook as Aerin scurried away. He knew he’d need to apologize to her later, but sympathy wasn’t an emotion he felt much of these days, let alone in this moment.

  The itching had morphed into something else, a painful desire to move. He began to pace, unable to look away from the docking bay door where he knew the ship would be entering at any moment. There was a tiny part of his mind that was still lucid, logical and questioning why this was happening. He was more cybernetics than flesh, having died when the building was destroyed and fell on top of him. Both his arms and one of his legs were enhanced, as was a portion of his spine. Aidric had once commented that he was the closest thing they had to a walking AI; a concept Hallam hated.

  The air in the docking bay changed the moment the energy barrier was lowered, and the ship dropped in from the sky. Hallam’s gaze locked onto the ship and he tried to get his internal systems under control. The code that regulated his remaining biological elements was working overtime to keep everything in check. If he didn’t know better, he would have thought he was excited, anticipating meeting a woman whose existence he’d been unaware of mere hours earlier.

  Aerin marched over to the shuttle when the ship’s door opened and Rykal jumped out. He didn’t need to hear what she was saying to know she was informing Rykal of Hallam’s lack of control. Rykal looked his way and nodded, saying something to someone inside the ship, before heading his way.

  The moment Rykal got into range, Hallam felt him reach out through the cyborg neuro net. Brother, you’re feeling the effects of her presence.

  Mine. He gave his head a shake and tried to shove down the possessive feeling. We need to bring two stasis tubes offline. We don’t have enough power in the facility to maintain all twenty-five units.

  Rykal stopped close enough to him that Hallam knew if he tried anything, Rykal would physically restrain him. Aerin mentioned that. It would seem we need to wake up your mate.

  Gods, the idea of having a mate felt perfectly right and horribly wrong at the same time. I’m not worthy of a mate. I’m not capable of anything she might need.

  Rykal reached out and gave his shoulder a squeeze. You don’t know that. Let’s find her and then you’ll understand. She’ll be able to help you in ways you can’t anticipate.

  Hallam let Rykal guide him over to the ship. Each step closer he got, the stronger the need to take and possess grew. His heart pounded, despite his matrix’s attempts to regulate the muscle, and he couldn’t relax his hands. I don’t want to hurt anyone.

  You won’t. “Lena?”

  The small red-headed woman stepped into the opening of the ship. “Yup?”

  “We need to wake two of the women. The facility doesn’t have the power to operate all the stasis tubes. I’m going to go with Hallam to find his mate. We’ll make a determ
ination of the other one after he’s finished.”

  Lena cocked her head to the side, a slight frown on her lips. “No problem. Is he okay?”

  “He appears to be responding stronger than the rest of us did.” Rykal didn’t release his hold on Hallam’s shoulder. “I’m going to stay with him to ensure everything is okay.”

  He was vaguely aware of the look the couple shared before Lena moved away from the ship to stand beside Aerin. It became difficult to focus on anything beyond needing to get inside the ship and find her.

  Even if the very idea of it terrified him.

  Fear wasn’t an emotion he’d felt since his rebirth; most of his emotions had disappeared since the matrix had been introduced into his body. Feeling something, anything, now was nearly as overwhelming as the thought of having a mate. It didn’t stop him from stepping into the ship and making his way down the narrow corridor toward where he knew the stasis tubes were. Rykal trailed closely behind him; his presence was a combination of annoyance and reassurance to Hallam.

  With each step he took deeper into the ship, the clawing painful itching grew in intensity. Strangely, the pain helped guide him into the ship’s loading bay, the location of the stasis tubes. The small part of his mind that was still able to think logically was appalled at the disrepaired nature of the medical setup. How had they survived travel from the valley to the medical building, let alone having spent any time in space? The computers were old and not of a sufficiently advanced technology to ensure the safety of all the occupants.

  “This place is horrendous.” He ignored Rykal’s chuckle and moved close to the tubes.

  “They traveled a great distance with nothing to protect them. By rights, they shouldn’t have survived.”

  Ignoring the drive to keep moving, Hallam paused next to the closest tube to examine the person inside. “These humans are foolish.”

  “No. I’d say they’re more determined. Though a certain degree of foolishness would be required to undertake a journey such as this.”

  Hallam ignored the woman inside the tube, knowing it wasn’t his mate. He could feel her sleeping, knew that she was off to the left near the back close to the wall. She’d picked that chamber out specifically because of the wall – though he didn’t know how he knew that – and that she was resting comfortably.

  “You can feel her now.” Rykal moved down the small passageway between the rows of tubes. “Is the itching unbearable?”

  “Yes.” He wanted to hold himself back, try to show some of the restraint and calm that he’d become known for.

  It was impossible.

  Hallam turned sharply and marched over to the stasis tube he knew she was in. His heart raced and the anger and itching rose to a level he couldn’t handle. Placing his hand on the tube, he pulled in a sharp, shaky breath. “This is her.”

  Rykal moved quickly and was by his side before Hallam could do anything else. “Lena will have to wake her. They don’t understand our language and we’ll need to inject her with the nanobots. The process is painful for them and we’ve learned its better for Lena to walk them through where they’ve landed and what’s happening before we introduce ourselves.”

  Yes, that all made complete sense to him.

  Instead of moving away, Hallam looked down at the computer for the stasis tube and was able to understand the basics of the controls. It only took him a moment to press in a sequence that brought the stasis tube to live.

  “Hallam, stop!”

  He ignored Rykal and waited as the systems churned to life. There was no way he’d let another person do anything to her, not even one of her own kind. He was the greatest medical mind that the Fallen had on this planet and he’d do what he needed to do to wake her up.

  Gods, he hadn’t even seen her face properly yet.

  “Hallam, step away from the tube. You’ve woken her up. You did what you needed to. Now let Lena and her people do the rest.”

  He moved forward, hesitating for a moment before looking down into the window revealing his mate.

  Her face was round, surrounded by a mass of black curly hair. She had full lips and a thin nose that gave her delicate look. But anyone who’d undergo this type of journey had to be strong to survive. Hallam wouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating her abilities.

  “Hallam?”

  The stasis tube hissed and churned as it came to life. He had no idea how long it would take for it to wake her up, but Hallam would wait until that eventuality. The pain in his brain was still increasing, and as her mind rose up from the depths of her unconsciousness, he could feel it sharpening.

  “Lena! I need you in here!”

  Hallam couldn’t look away from her, even as he knew Rykal was moving around him. Don’t touch me. Leave us alone. She’s mine and you can’t have her.

  “I don’t want her. But we must make sure that she’s okay, that there haven’t been any problems.” Rykal hesitated. “Lena is here. You need to move so she can look after her passenger. Then we’ll give you time to get to know one another.”

  The redhead was beside him, looking down at the stasis tube. “I don’t know how, but he appears to have triggered everything properly. Ina should be waking up shortly.”

  Hallam didn’t know what happened, but in a blink, he had his hand around Lena’s throat and pressed her small body up against the wall. “Leave her alone!”

  Rykal was on him in a flash, yanking him hard as he slammed his cybernetic arm down on Hallam’s. “Let go of my mate or I’ll rip every cybernetic implant from your steaming corpse.”

  Rage flowed through Hallam, but he didn’t know if it was from him or Rykal; maybe both. It took several beats before he was able to get a handle on the surge of anger, the mix of possessive desire and fear that he hadn’t felt ever in his life or rebirth. With effort, he released his grip on Lena and stumbled backward away from them all. “I’m sorry.”

  “Are you hurt?” Rykal swiftly pulled Lena into his arms before checking her over. “Do you need a medic?”

  “I’m fine.” She let out a strangled cough before waving Rykal away. “I still need to make sure Ina is okay once she wakes. You’re going to have to get him out of here so I can do my job.”

  All he wanted to do was stay and ensure that his mate was healthy and breathing, but Hallam knew he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from surging at Lena again if he was here. “The system still needs…another one of the passengers to be revived. I…can look at the records in my office.” He chanced a glance over at Lena, hating to see bruises already forming on her neck. “There’s a medkit close. I’ll have Aerin bring it to you.”

  With another possessive surge threatening to spill over and wipe away what little control he had left, Hallam turned and fled.

  Chapter Three

  One moment, Ina was dreaming about fields of green grass, fresh air and clear blue skies, and the next she was flooded with a rush of cool liquid in her veins and flashes of bright lights. She’d been under cryo sleep enough times to recognize the signs of waking up far sooner than most of the other passengers would have. The part of her mind that knew what was happening, helped her body relax into the sensations, knowing that it would speed the process.

  The moment she was able to blink, Ina did so. Her vision was still blurred, but that had more to do with her degenerative vision problems and less with her waking up. She swallowed several times, trying to bring the moisture back into her mouth so she could say something to whoever was waking her up – most likely Lena.

  “I slept in, didn’t I?” She smiled up, blinking a few times more. “Sorry mom.”

  “Lazing about, being all drugged and stuff.” Lena’s voice. “I bet you’re now pretending like you can’t see or something stupid.”

  “Never.” Ina let Lena help her sit up, bracing herself for the inevitable headrush that would happen. “So, we didn’t blow up in an asteroid belt somewhere. That’s awesome.”

  “We did not. In fact, we made it to our
destination mostly in one piece.” There was an odd note in Lena’s voice that Ina hadn’t picked up on initially, her brain still sluggish from the cryo sleep. “We’ve found ourselves a new home and a whole lot more.”

  “That sounds like a story you have to tell me. But I think I could use a drink before we get into it if that’s okay?”

  “Sure. Ah, one moment.” Lena gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze before stepping away from the stasis tube.

  Shit, they’d actually made it. When Ina first heard about Lena’s plan to take a ship out to the middle of the unknown, she’s initially laughed at the insanity of it all. A group of humans on a ship with little to no shields or weapons heading out on a one-way trip into the unknown? The thought of success was distant at best. But the longer she considered it, the more Ina realized that she needed to go. Despite her misgivings, despite the foolish nature of what they were setting out to accomplish, she knew in her heart that if she didn’t get on the ship and willingly put herself into stasis, she’d regret it for the rest of her life.

  This wasn’t about her losing her position with Earth’s engineering corps, or even her diminishing eyesight; though both of those factors had certainly help her make the final decision. She wasn’t able to afford the laser surgery needed to correct her retina deterioration – God, only the richest families on Earth could afford such luxuries – and she couldn’t work or else risk her retina detaching completely and losing her vision going for good. The chances that she’d end up someplace where her impairment wouldn’t be a liability was slim. Ina had even told Lena as much when she’d finally approached the captain about booking passage. Thankfully for her, Lena was up for the challenge.

  Hopefully, she was as well.

  “Ina? I have that water for you. I’m also here with someone who has a medkit.” Lena’s face was clearer now as the remnants of the cryo sleep agents were working through her body. But the flashes and floaters still made it difficult for Ina to see. Lena handed her a bottle of water and nodded toward a woman who most obviously wasn’t human. She was taller than Lena by several inches and her short blonde hair was slicked back to reveal a cybernetic implant on the side of her face, and glowing brown eyes. “This is Aerin. She’s a medic and is going to look you over.”