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A team of Solcrue that had been following me now advances on a squad of Titans and humans further down the desert plains.

I guess I’m not the priority. But as I cautiously lower myself to the sand to clear the dirt from the Titan I’ve found in the cracked plains, metal bursts up from the desert in a fan of haggard blades that glint under the sun.

The wing is massive and blocks the daylight.

It arcs high with feathers resembling blades which ratchet into an impermeable shield that falls hard to the dirt and curls up around me.

I scramble back as the sharp feathers scrape up the ground near my body.

Only as the sunlight fades under the Titan’s wing do I hear the fighter’s engine and the pop-pop-pop of the bullets tearing up the desert floor.

I hunker beside the Titan’s head. Bullets slam into his wing with raucous, reverberating force, making me cover my ears.

I’ve been shot at before, but never when out in the open like this.

I took a chance because I’ve been tracking the Titan team with a human and a Solcrue since they landed in a Boltburner not far from my campsite.

I didn’t anticipate the enemy ground squad.

Solcrue rarely do dirty work. Commander Ahronis is an exception. They prefer clones, drones, and automated systems or servants.

They must be desperate to get control of the Titans , which tells me that the Titans are royally screwing up their plans.

The metal head of the Titan beside me wasn’t difficult to spot from the tree line once I tracked the team’s trajectory. Now, I’m stuck inside a metal dome with a Titan whose eyes dim like he’s running out of power.

“Hey! Don’t give up.” I pat his cheek. “I need you to stay with me.”

His gaze wanders to mine, then languidly lowers as his eyelids droop.

I dig faster, free his mouth and the rest of his face, but it’s difficult to see in the pale slivers of light coming in from between his feathers. I put on my goggles and give him an assessment. Stats show his power is down to four percent.

My father always said Titans were more human inside than we were led to believe. All I have is food and water for humans, plus some spare wiring and a few small backup batteries for my tablet, but I’m going to have to make do.

Freeing my water bottle from my bag, I open the nozzle and touch it into his lips. Most humans wouldn’t survive a day in a desert without water. “Can you drink?”

He clumsily forms his lips to the straw. When I tip up the bottle, the water runs out of his mouth. I cup a hand under his chin and help him like I used to do with my little brother, who died long ago. It’s the most contact I’ve had with another life form in years.

The heat of his synthflesh is indicative of his compromised state. I don’t know if Titans get fevers, but he’s nearly too hot to keep my hand in position.

He drinks down all of the water, and I let him. He needs it more than I do.

I dig through my bag and find the one hydrolyte gel packet I’ve been hanging onto for an emergency.

It’s not easy to part with things that could save my life.

But I’m feeling in over my head on this strange planet and have been risking things I wouldn’t normally.

After two weeks of living on my own, I’ve figured out a basic system for survival.

After confronting the mutant wolves two nights ago and dealing with the moody temperature changes, I am eager to team up with literally anyone who won’t try to kill me.

I rip the packet open and set the end to his lips, feeding the gel into his mouth. Electricity needs ions to flow. Water won’t help him on its own.

He blinks slowly, and a single tear forms in one eye.

“How long have you been buried out here?” I wonder out loud.

He sways his head as he swallows the gel but doesn’t respond, and I know it’s been far longer than any human could endure.

Maybe I can’t save my sister right now, but it’s clear he needs help I can give.

I push my change of clothes aside in my pack, the spare protein bars and gilkyworm cakes I’ve stolen from Solcrue lunch rooms, and grab my pry bar. It’s the only tool I’ve got that will dig worth a shit.

“This is going to take me a while, but I’m going to get you out.” I focus on breaking up the brittle crust of the desert and freeing his neck and shoulders.

A deep rumble shakes me and makes me freeze.

“Wing,” he says. “Solar.”

As I catch my breath from the startling depth of his voice, I look around at the metal wing that’s curled up in a dome-shaped shield. Must be a pair.

Crawling around his back, I carefully chip away at the dirt, praying I don’t pry too deep and hurt him worse than he already is.

I bump the shield with my elbow and wince at the heat.

The desert sun is baking him. I’m grateful for the shade but afraid I’ll get cooked if I don’t get more airflow soon.

Sweat drips down my forehead into my eyes. I try to wipe it away, but my clothes are soaked. All I’ve done is add a film of sandy dirt.

I rake free a clump and watch a fissure race out from the Titan’s back. The desert cracks open to a horrendous sound like snapping bones.

“Get back,” he rasps.

I crawl away and tuck myself under his shield as far as I can get without burning myself on the metal. The Titan closes his eyes. His brows knit. He growls a note so low it makes my heart shudder. An unfamiliar desire, hot and powerful, stirs in my belly.

The Titan uncurls the wing around me and smashes it into the ground, the metal feathers biting in like anchors. Then, from the torrid desert, another metal wing bursts into the air, flinging dirt into an opaque cloud. Gravel and dust rain down over us.

He groans as it teeters overhead.

It falls heavily in a wide arc beside us. The sigh that leaves his lips is one of immense relief.

“Please.” He looks up at me. I don’t think he has the energy for much more.

The Titan’s eyes close. “Please.”

His wings are spread in a massive, slumped dome around us, making him look like a fallen—broken—angel.

I keep digging. I know what it’s like to feel abandoned, forgotten, and hopeless. He hasn’t given up even after being buried for heaven knows how long. So I’m not giving up either.

I know he’s a machine like Evo, the Titan that the Solcrue corrupted. But I can’t help replaying the desperation I saw in Armor’s eyes when he pleaded with me as I continue digging. It’s something I feel now as I watch the sun sink lower toward the horizon.

Mutant wolves are most active at dusk. If the Titan doesn’t close up his shield, I’ll be out in the open. He will be, too.

My arms burn from scraping and chipping at the dirt by the time I’ve got his shoulders freed. I stop for a second as the sun touches the distant mountains. After a drink of water from my small emergency bottle, I return to work.

Distant howls of a pack make me pick up my pace until my hands shake from exhaustion and my grip wanes. I get the Titan freed to his elbows as the last beams of sunlight fade out.

“Hey. Can you get out now?”

He opens his vibrant eyes to a pale shade of blue-violet that knocks my breath back into my lungs. When he looks over at me, I slink away from him and adjust my goggles so I can watch.

His nose wrinkles. He looks down at his arms, twists with a violent jerking motion, and breaks them free. Lifting his hands, he studies them as if it is the first time he has seen them.

“Are you okay?” I cautiously ask.

He plants his hands on the desert floor littered with rocks and mounds of dirt I’ve displaced and slowly hauls himself out of the soil. It rains from his massive, muscled frame. As he rises to his feet and stretches his wings, I inch back from him. He is by far the largest Titan I’ve ever seen.

Makes sense since he has huge wings to support.

Howls in the distance get me to my feet. I zip up my pack and tighten it against my back, preparing to run for the shelter I made in the forest cave up the hillside.

The Titan brushes a hand over his chest, revealing a glowing digibadge. Armor shines on his proud left pec. He looks down at me now. My head doesn’t even reach the height of his digibadge. He is a monstrosity of a Titan, all hard muscle and hot metal man.

Fuck me.

My core tightens. He is stunning, and the longer I look up at him, the more I want to let go of my other priorities just so I can savor this sense of awe forever.

Armor takes a step and crumples to his knees. “Too long.”

His wings slump.

Wolves howl closer.

I can’t leave him here. I have to get him to the cave I found up the mountainside. “Come on. I have a place we can safely rest.”

“Brothers.”

“I know. They’re still in the area. But you’re not going anywhere, let alone returning to battle until you’re powered up again.” I move closer and draw my handgun, keeping my eyes trained on the forest.

“No. Can’t...leave.”

“Armor—”

He tries to stand again and falls. A pained grunt leaves him. “Must help them.”

I get down beside him and summon his eyes to mine. “It’s an awful feeling, I know. Trust me. But right now, we have to save you before you can have any hope of getting to anyone else.”

He chokes up and hangs his head, where he lies on his elbows in the dirt. Finally, he gives me a single nod.

“I can’t carry you,” I admit.

Armor folds his wings up behind him and turns them into a sort of sled shape, then rolls onto them. He lifts his arms, crosses his hands, and gives me the same pleading look I saw hours ago.

I’m exhausted, but I take his massive hands in mine and begin the long journey of dragging him up the slope and into the trees.

My legs are shaking and on fire by the time I have Armor in the brush of the low forest. It scrapes over him and makes it much harder to lug him up toward the cave.

I begin leveraging both legs for one pull, slowing our progress.

“Armor,” I wheeze.

He opens his eyes, looks up at me, and rolls onto his stomach. Armor crawls the rest of the way into the cave. He stops in the middle of the floor and stills.

I catch the sounds of rustling brush outside and look out the entrance, but I can’t tell if it’s a squad of Solcrue or mutant wolves. Both have retro-reflectors in their eyes. I scramble for my gun and fire with shaky hands. A yip tells me it’s a pack.

One of Armor’s wings jerks and smashes over the entrance, blocking my escape but also the wolves from coming inside.

“Can you hold that with as tired as you are?”

“Automatic. Power or not,” he mumbles. “My design.”

I scrounge together my gathered berries, a jug of water, and strips of jerky and sit beside Armor. It’s a challenge to get him to eat the way he’s fallen, and I have to hold his arms aside so I can reach his mouth. It gets frustrating enough that I decide that rolling him onto his back is best.

Propping his head up, I straddle his chest and help him drink more water.

His hands find my thighs with curiosity. Armor opens his eyes wider and blinks up at me. “Human.”

“Yeah.” I cup his chin and ready the bottle again.

“Serve you.”

“Sorry, big guy. I think it’s my turn to take care of you.” I trained for it enough back home. I just never had a live cyborg to practice with.

Armor’s eyes roll back in his head. His hands grip me harder, then rub up my ass to my waist. “Soft. Smooth. Not metal.”

Beneath me, his chest rumbles faster, like his ultro’s spooling up. Armor wraps his arms around my back and hugs me against him, spilling my handful of berries. “Protect.”

“Why don’t you just focus on resting?” I ask from where I’m squished against him. “I’ll get you cleaned up.”

Armor’s eyes lethargically meet mine. He scours my face, strains to lift his head, and sniffs my breath, my face, and my neck. “I am broken.”

“Can you tell me where?”

“Everywhere outside. Mostly inside. Damage is significant.”

Then he grabs the back of my neck and pulls my mouth to his.

Armor kisses me with a passionate surge I don’t have any training to handle.

I frantically brace myself on his virile body, trying to grasp how a Titan could rationalize such action toward a human.

But I wager his cyberpsyche is just as likely to crack in a hot desert as any human’s.

He sucks on my bottom lip before saying, “Thank you.”

I’m still frozen in surprise. He tastes like synthflesh, nanosolution, and berries, an odd combination but one I like.

But even as Armor rests back, he won’t let me go. His eyes gloss like he’s drunk. I think it’s more likely that he’s a wreck inside and just grateful to be free again.

It’s a struggle to get myself upright enough that I can keep hydrating and feeding him.

Stars, if this is what he’s going to be like, it’s going to be very difficult to heal him. But I’ve got to try. I think there are others buried out there. Many squadrons went missing during the war. I haven’t picked up a lot of signals, but even leaving one Titan behind feels like a crime.

“Hang in there, Armor. I’m going to get you up and running again. Promise.”

You are the hope humans need.

And I’m starting to think I like this one more than I should. All this time, I had barely a clue what I was digging up. Now that I do, I wish I had dug faster.