Page 37 of A Cyborg for the Alien Mercenary

A clean T-shirt lay folded on the covers, far too large to belong to anyone but Covak. Warmth filled her chest. He had left her his clothes to sleep in.

She slipped the shirt over her head and his scent enveloped her. It comforted her, like being wrapped in his arms. Crawling onto the bed, she sighed at the feel of the soft sheets against her skin. She closed her eyes and gave in to the bone-deep exhaustion that plagued every cell in her body.

In the quiet of her new quarters, surrounded by the faint scent of Covak that clung to his borrowed shirt, she slept more peacefully than she had in… well, longer than the eight days she could remember.

11

The stench of cordite filled Jesh’s nostrils as she crouched behind a twisted hunk of metal. Her heart pounded in time with the gunfire filling the air. She peeked out of cover, and her eyes widened at the battlefield stretched before her. It was hell. Bodies were strewn across the scorched earth like discarded dolls, their vacant eyes staring accusingly at her.

Confusion filled her. How had she gotten here? For that matter, where was here? The weight of the weapon in her hands was familiar, and her fingers curled around it with practiced ease. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear the haze from her vision and her thoughts.

A booming voice cut through the noise. “Move out! Delta formation!”

Her head snapped around toward the sound, and her eyes locked on to a towering figure. His piercing green eyes seemed to glow in the hazy light, a hard expression on his chiseled features. As he turned toward her, she saw a tattoo on his cheek. Squinting slightly, she brought it into focus. L8-10M1.Something about him tugged at the edges of her memory, but the harder she tried to grasp it, the more it slipped away.

As the squad fanned out across the battlefield, Jesh found her body moving in perfect synchronization with the others. She tried to force her body to turn so she could see them, but it wasn’t obeying her. It was like she was just an observer in her own skin, a passenger along for the ride.

Her mind reeled, struggling to catch up with what was going on. She wore armor, like the man with the tattoo, and she could feel the pressure of a helmet on her head. It should have been claustrophobic, but instead it all felt right, like slipping into a second skin.

A new presence appeared at her side, and she half turned, feeling her lips pull up into a smile. Her breath caught in her throat as she took in the dark hair, rugged features and eyes. Dael. She knew this man.

Her gaze traveled down his form, and shock rolled through her. Where his right arm should have been, a massive cannon sprouted from his shoulder, seamlessly melded with flesh and bone. He turned to her, a lopsided grin on his face. His lips moved, forming words she couldn’t hear over the din of battle. The wink that followed spoke volumes. It wasn’t flirtatious. No, the ease between them felt more like the familiar bond of siblings. Who was he? Who was she to him?

Before she could think about it anymore, something caught her attention, and she threw herself sideways as the world around her erupted in a maelstrom of fire and shrapnel.

The ground trembled beneath her, the vibrations rattling her teeth as she scrambled for better position. Her squad returned fire with deadly precision, the rhythmic thud of their weapons a counterpoint to her racing heart as she watched the drama unfold from her seat in her own head.

They pushed forward, and the full horror of the battlefield revealed itself. The metallic tang of blood mixed with the ozone scent of discharged weapons. Bodies littered the ground, some intact, others torn asunder by the fury of combat. Her stomach churned, but her steps didn’t falter as her hands remained steady on her weapon.

But one body brought Jesh to a grinding halt. The man lay sprawled on his back, half of his torso blown away. Yet where there should have been a gruesome display of internal organs and spilled guts, Jesh saw only a tangle of wires and circuitry bathed in an oily, metallic fluid. His eyes, unnaturally wide, blinked slowly as they fixed upon her. Like the man with the green eyes, he had a tattoo on his cheek. It was obscured by blood, and she watched herself lean down to wipe it away, revealing the tattoo.

J10-8M7E.

Time slowed as she reached for the knife at her belt. With mechanical precision, she watched herself plunge the blade into the side of the injured man’s head. The sickening crunch of metal and bone reverberated through her arm, making her want?—

She bolted upright, a scream tearing from her throat. Thrashing wildly, she tried to get away from the horror she’d seen. Strong arms encircled her, and panic surged as she fought against her captor. They were back. They’d found her?—

“Jesh! Jesh, it’s okay. It’s me. You’re safe. I’ve got you.”

The familiar deep voice cut through her terror. Covak. She sobbed and collapsed against his chest, burying her face into the side of his strong throat. She was on theLady’s Dream, in her quarters. Safe.

“I’m a monster,” she choked against his skin, anguish rolling through her. “I killed him, Covak. Oh my god, I killed him!”

His arms tightened around her, and he pulled her closer against the solid strength of his body. “You had a nightmare, little one. That’s all,” he murmured softly, one hand gently stroking her back.

She shook her head, her tears soaking into the fabric of his shirt. “No… It wasn’t. It felt too real. I think it was a memory.”

Covak’s chest rumbled as he spoke, the vibrations oddly soothing. “Love, from what we’ve figured out, you were a soldier. And in war, soldiers have to do terrible things to survive and to protect others.”

She nodded, a hiccup escaping her. The darkness of the room felt like a protective cocoon, keeping her safe, and letting her talk without seeing judgment or pity in his eyes. She remembered that look all too well from the hospital staff…

“Do you remember anything else?” His voice was low and gentle.

“We were all the same,” she murmured, putting the fragments of memory together so they made sense. “Dael was there. He’s like me, a cyborg.”

She looked up, trying to gauge his expression, but the darkness frustrated her and obscured his face.

“We were fighting humans,” she continued, her voice barely above a whisper. “Most of the bodies… they were human. Only a few were like the one I found.”

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