Page 47 of Her Cyborg Warriors

11

Trax

I hadno fucking idea what I was doing. I was floating on a log, frantically kicking my legs and moving my arms in something similar to what I’d seen Mikki do in those comm vids. She’d propelled herself across the surface gracefully, as if one with the ocean.

I didn’t feel as in sync, but I wasn’t sinking. I was surprisingly buoyant, as if there was no gravity. The log undulated with the movement of the water’s surface, and if I wasn’t concerned about a rescue or that I might drown, it was rather peaceful. A small roll in the surf came and dipped the front of the log, and I took a bunch of water right in my face.

I shut my eyes, afraid, but realized I was protected.

Thank fuck we had to arrive wearing our helmets. Mikki was some thirty feet down, and I had to get off this bobbing tree trunk and get to her. I’d be dead in seconds without the protection—and oxygen—the helmet provided. There was no way the makers of the piece of the Coalition-required uniform thought it would be put to this kind of use. We fought the Hive in space, not beneath the ocean.

“Mate, how are you faring?” I asked, water splashing onto the glass, leaving droplets in my vision.

“It’s like a huge fan or vacuum cleaner. There’s no way I can get away from it. I’ve got my feet braced on either side, the main opening is only about three feet wide. It’s sucking in sand and water, plant life. Everything. I’m going to… I can reach a rock. I’ll try and see if I can break it.”

“Don’t move,” I shouted over the sound of the water.

“I got one.” A metallic clang followed by an awful sound came through the comms that made me wince.

“Mate!” Surnen shouted.

“I’m fine, but that didn’t do anything. And I almost lost my hand.”

“Cease at once.”

“Already ceased, mate. Trust me. I don’t want to be eaten alive by an underwater Shop-Vac.”

“What the fuck is a Shop-Vac?”

“I’ll explain later.” Mikki’s laughter kept me moving. She wasn’t hurt. I was getting closer. All I needed was time.

“No change to status, Governor.” Giram’s voice came through loud and clear as I continued to smack at the water and work my way farther from shore. Closer to Mikki.

I sensed her concern now. She was stuck. Not pinned, but a strong pull was holding her on the bottom of the water. A pull that could be tied to a larger machine that fed the vast network that was sucking water from the planet.

“I’m coming, mate,” I said.

“Um… Trax… no. You can’t.”

“Drop there, Trax,” Rachel said. “You’re directly above her.”

I glanced back at shore as another wave rolled over me. My suit was impervious to water, but other than floating in space, I’d never felt so small. Insignificant. A tiny speck of nothing at the mercy of the gods. I gripped the log tightly, knowing it was the only thing keeping me on the surface now. I had to let go. I had to get to Mikki.

I just had to hope that my lack of swimming abilities would actually help me sink right to her.

“Look up, mate,” I said. “I’m dropping to you in three… two… one.”

I rolled off the log, and I sank below the surface instantly. I was heavy and far from buoyant. For the first time in years, I prayed to the gods as the water engulfed me. The world was now a rust color. Fish swam by, skittering away at my actions.

“The water is pulling me down.” It was just as I’d expected. The vacuum created by the machine was taking me right to her.

“I see you getting closer. You’re almost to me.”

“I see you,” I said when she appeared through the reddish haze of the water.

Relief swamped the collars. Mine, Mikki’s. Even Surnen’s.

“I’m straddling the vacuum. If you can, be sure to brace your feet, but not between mine.”

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