Page 14 of Cyborgs' Origins

Simone pressed herself against the wall, her heart pounding as Tiberius traded vicious blows with Vorn. The mercenary commander was a whirlwind of precision and power, his fists and feet finding their mark with devastating accuracy.

Yet Vorn matched him blow for blow, his cybernetic enhancements granting him unnatural strength and speed. He’d clearly been to the outer rims, where she’d heard rumors of experiments and researchers who didn’t worry about things like ethics. His enhancements were crude but far too effective. A vicious backhand from his metal claw caught Tiberius across the face, drawing a crimson arc through the air.

Izzy cried out, her voice laced with anguish, but Simone remained transfixed, unable to tear her gaze away from the brutal spectacle unfolding before her.

Tiberius staggered, his lip split and blood trickling from a gash above his eye, but he refused to yield. With a feral snarl,he launched himself at Vorn once more, the two combatants grappling in a deadly dance of violence.

Simone’s knuckles whitened as she gripped the laser pistol, her mind racing. She couldn’t let Tiberius sacrifice himself for them. Not when they were so close to unlocking the secrets of the biocircuit interface, to changing the course of human evolution forever...and when she loved him with all her heart.

Her gaze darted around the command center, searching for anything that could turn the tide. They settled on a control panel, its buttons blinking ominously. Without hesitation, she scrambled toward it, ducking a stray laser blast that scorched the wall beside her.

“Simone, no.” Izzy’s voice was a strangled cry, but Simone paid it no heed.

Her fingers flew over the controls, inputting the emergency override sequence she had memorized for just such a contingency. With a final keystroke, the room plunged into darkness, the only illumination coming from the flickering emergency lights.

Vorn’s soldiers faltered, their laser sights sweeping wildly through the gloom. Seizing the opportunity, she darted toward the melee, her heart in her throat.

Tiberius and Vorn were still locked in a brutal clinch, their bodies glistening with sweat and blood. Simone raised the pistol, her aim steady as she sighted down the barrel.

“Tiberius, get down.” she shouted, her voice ringing with a conviction she didn’t feel.

He didn’t hesitate, dropping to one knee and exposing Vorn’s back. Simone squeezed the trigger, the laser blast searing through the air and slamming into Vorn’s upper back with a sickening hiss of scorched flesh, leaving a ragged two-inch hole that would have killed anyone not enhanced.

The Sventian leader bellowed in rage and pain, staggering backward as smoke curled from the charred wound. His gaze found Simone, burning with hatred and promised retribution. “You’ll pay for that, bitch,” he said harshly, clutching his ruined shoulder.

Tiberius surged to his feet, placing himself between Simone and Vorn once more. “Leave, Drekar,” he said, his voice laced with menace, “Before I finish what she started.”

For a long, tense moment, Vorn held Tiberius’s gaze, his jaw clenched in a rictus of fury. Then, with a curt nod to his soldiers, he turned and stalked away, his boots ringing against the metal floor.

Simone sagged against the wall, her legs trembling as the adrenaline ebbed from her veins. Izzy rushed to her side, enveloping her in a fierce embrace. “You saved us,” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. “You saved all of us.”

Simone could only nod mutely, her gaze fixed on Tiberius. He stood motionless, his chest heaving, blood streaking his face and matting his dark hair. Then, with agonizing slowness, he crumpled to the floor.

The medbay was a flurry of controlled chaos as Lancer and Hawk rushed Tiberius through the doors, his limp body cradled in their arms. Simone’s heart raced, her mind reeling from the violence that had erupted mere moments ago.

“Over here.” A medic waved them toward an empty biobed, her face grim. Lancer gently laid down Tiberius, and Simone gasped at the extent of his injuries. His face was a mask of blood and bruises, his left hand a mangled ruin of shredded flesh and splintered bone.

Izzy’s hand found Simone’s, gripping it tightly as the medics swarmed around Tiberius, their voices a litany of urgent commands and grim assessments.

“Multiple lacerations...severe blood loss...”

“Crushed femur, possible arterial damage...”

“Prepping for emergency surgery...”

Simone’s gaze locked onto Tiberius’s face, searching for any sign of consciousness, or any flicker of recognition in his half-lidded eyes, but his expression remained slack, his features devoid of the fierce determination that had burned within him mere moments ago.

A medic approached, her expression solemn. “Dr. Wiley, we need to stabilize the commander before we can proceed with surgery.” She gestured to a nearby monitor, its display a jumble of flickering vitals and diagnostic readouts. “His injuries are...extensive. Even with our advanced technology, his chances of survival are slim.”

Simone’s breath caught in her throat, her vision blurring with unshed tears. She blinked them back, her jaw set with grim resolve. “No,” she said, her voice trembling but laced with steel. “We’re not losing him. Not after everything we’ve been through.”

Izzy’s fingers tightened around hers, a silent show of support.

Lancer stepped forward, his expression etched with concern. “Simone, the medics know what they’re doing. You have to let them—”

“No.” Simone cut him off, her eyes blazing with determination. “I won’t accept those odds. Not when we’re on the cusp of a breakthrough that could change everything.”

Comprehension dawned on Izzy’s face, her eyes widening. “The biocircuit interface...”

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