Page 53 of Human Reclaimed
I broke into a run, scanning the jungle floor for any sign of her. Fallen leaves, disturbed earth, broken branches—anything that might indicate which way she went. The sunlight that filtered through the thick canopy cast shadows that played tricks on my eyes.
“Talia!” I shouted again, abandoning caution. My heart hammered violently against my ribs. Where was she? Had the pirates taken her? Was she hurt?
The thought of her injured or captured squeezed something inside my chest painfully. When had protecting her become more important than my mission, my responsibility to the colony?
I couldn’t lose her. Not now. Not after everything.
“Sage,” I called into my comm, trying to keep my voice even. “Any sign of Captain Reed on your scanners?”
“Negative, Commander. Last visual was at your position approximately four minutes ago.”
Four minutes. She could be anywhere in the dense jungle by now.
A new irrational fear gripped me. What if she’d run? What if, in the chaos, she’d seen her chance to escape? The thought brought a different kind of pain—sharper and deeper.
No. She wouldn’t. I refused to believe it. We have something special. She wouldn’t just walk away from that.
“Talia!” I called again, pushing deeper into the surrounding foliage.
TWENTY-THREE
TALIA
A gloved hand clamped over my mouth out of nowhere. My scream died in my throat as I was yanked backward, away from the fallen log where I’d been taking cover. My boots scraped against the jungle floor as I thrashed, but their grip was like iron.
“Stop struggling, Captain Reed,” a familiar woman’s voice hissed in my ear. “Unless you want a plasma bolt through your pretty little head.”
I felt the cold press of a plasma blaster against my temple and stilled instantly, my tactical mind calculating my options. Two men flanked us as the woman—tall with the chillingly familiar cybernetic eye implant—dragged me deeper into the jungle, away from the battle. Away from Rune.
“I’ll take her, Captain Delia,” one of the men reported, his voice low.
“Good. Get her to the extraction point,” Delia ordered. “Admiral Voss wants her intact.”
My heart hammered erratically as they forced me through the dense undergrowth, the sounds of battle growing fainter. Ten miles northwest, I heard one of them mutter—dangerously close to Rune’s secret oasis. The thought of them desecrating that pristine sanctuary with their capital ship made my blood boil.
“You know,” Delia said conversationally as we trudged through the jungle, “this could be much easier for you. Admiral Voss is prepared to offer you full immunity.”
I snorted despite my predicament. “How generous.”
She yanked my blonde braid hard, pulling my head back. “Don’t play coy. We know you were forced to help these machines. All we want is information—their defensive strategies, their protocols.” Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. “Where they’re hiding the pregnant cyborgs and their… offspring.”
Something cold slithered down my spine. The way she said “offspring” made my skin crawl. These weren’t just pirates. They were slavers, harvesters. I thought of the pregnant women I’d met in the medical bay, of their hope-filled eyes when I promised to help protect them.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said flatly. “I’m just a prisoner here.”
Delia laughed, the sound utterly devoid of humor. “Please. Our intelligence suggests you’ve been designing their entire defense network. You know exactly where they’re keeping them.”
As we continued our forced march through the jungle, I felt the two small tracking devices Rune had stuck against my palm that morning.
Just in case you get captured. Wait to plant them on your captors until you get near their ship. They will activate once you’re aboard. Then, I’ll get to you as fast as I can, he’d said, his eyes intense as his fingers lingered against my skin. The memory gave me strength.
“If I’m so valuable,” I pushed, stalling to give Aeon and Olivia a chance to save the affected cyborgs, “why not just question me here? Why risk moving me?”
“Orders,” Delia replied curtly. “The admiral wants you brought to him personally.”
The jungle canopy thinned ahead, revealing the sleek, predatory silhouette of their capital ship. It crouched in a clearing like a massive black insect, its hull still steaming from atmospheric entry. My window of opportunity was closing fast.
I stumbled deliberately, falling to one knee.
