Page 18 of Her Cyborg Commander (The Drift: Haven Colony #9)

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River held position above the camp site, watching. The sun was low enough on the horizon to cast long shadows that provided plenty of places for her to hide. Sealed inside her helmet, her heat signature was masked from sensors. The only thing they couldn’t be sure of was how precisely Jens could track her position. If he realized she wasn’t the one lying in the middle of camp right now, they’d have to go to Plan B. Unfortunately, they hadn’t had enough time to come up with one.

“Did I mention how much I dislike this part of the plan?” Edge complained through their link.

To sell the illusion that she was the one sprawled out on the ground near the entrance to the camp, they had partially buried Edge in the sand. It hid his large size as well as the blaster they’d carefully concealed below his outstretched hand.

“It was your idea,” she reminded him. They were restricted to internal comms to avoid being overheard by their unwanted guests . “We could have just placed my armor on the ground so it looked like I was in it, but you didn’t like that idea.”

“Armor isn’t useful if you’re not wearing it.”

“And that argument is why you’re out there, slowly broiling to death. I understand it’s an excellent way to cook meat, actually. It comes out quite tender.”

“Great. Now I’m hot and hungry. Thanks so much, minx.”

Bantering before battle wasn’t something she’d done in a long time, but the easy back and forth was soothing in a way, and it helped to pass the time as they waited to spring their trap.

The shuttle had flown over the camp before setting down several hundred meters away, which meant they must have seen the body lying face down in the sand. All she and Edge could do now was wait and see what approach they took. If things went well, Jens and his cronies would stroll through the entrance and run smack into the various booby-traps she’d set up after her arrival. If they were more cautious and came over the rocks, this would be trickier.

River checked the data pad lying face-up near her feet. It showed the view from every security camera. Edge had managed to link his helmet’s heads-up display to the same feed, meaning he saw what she saw despite him being face down in the sand.

“And here they come,” Edge sent at the same second she saw the new arrivals come into view.

She watched and tried to take in as many details as she could. There were six of them. Five had weapons up and walked with the smooth, heel-toe motion of trained soldiers. All of them were the same height and general build. They looked human, she decided—all male and possibly clones.

The sixth member of the group wore a steel gray ship-suit instead of armor and struggled to keep up with the others. She recognized the way he moved before she even saw his face. Dr. Troyan Jens.

Her grip on the pulse rifle tightened, though she kept her finger well away from the trigger.

“ Easy, minx,” Edge sent, his tone soft and soothing.

River made a conscious effort to exhale and loosen her fingers. “ I’m good. It’s a shame he’s in the back. I would have liked to see him get fried by that first trap .”

“ You and me both . Speaking of which, they’re getting close enough someone is going to get lit up in the next minute or so.”

River moved to the edge of the shadow she was using for cover and stood on her toes so she could see what happened next with her own eyes instead of through the camera. Though the distance was greater, her visual acuity allowed her to see more detail than the camera.

Each of the soldiers had a rectangular square of gray fabric on their chest that probably showed their name or identification number, but that was it. None of them had any rank insignia or patches to indicate unit, branch, or even corporate affiliation.

“ These guys are ghosts. No identifying markers at all .”

Edge didn’t get a chance to answer before the soldier in the middle of the group stepped onto the electrified plate buried beneath the sand. His body spasmed as the current tore through him, his back arching with bone-breaking violence.

His teammates reacted instantly, raising weapons and taking up defensive stances as if expecting an attack. None of them even looked at their comrade when he collapsed into a lifeless heap.

“ One down ,” Edge sent.

The remaining soldiers held their ground for another minute before lowering their weapons. They left the body where it lay, making sure to give it and the surrounding area a wide berth.

Jens hadn’t moved. He simply stared like he couldn’t understand what had happened.

Eventually, one of the soldiers turned back to retrieve him, guiding him around the corpse with brusque, impatient gestures.

Jens followed as best he could, but she could see he was rattled by what had happened. Had he really deluded himself into thinking she was eager to see him? Edge had told her what was in the broadcast, but it was still hard to believe the scientist thought she actually came out here to make it easier for him to find her.

“Do you think Jens knows those traps are meant for him ?” she sent to Edge.

“I’m sure he’s doing his best to convince himself you were trying to protect yourself from the local wildlife. That male’s brain is broken.”

The group moved on, but their progress was much slower. One of them was pushed to the front by the others, who hung several meters back as their chosen sacrifice prodded the sand with the butt of his rifle before taking each step.

If she’d used the same trap again, the tactic might have worked, but River knew better than to repeat the same trick twice in a row.

The bounding mine she’d buried in the passage was set deep enough to avoid the soldier’s simplistic detection methods. Multiple pressure sensors spanned the gap with only a narrow path left clear. As the first soldier stepped into the trap, she caught herself wincing in anticipation of what came next.

Three. Two. One… the mine activated, propelling the explosive payload out of the sand. It rose about a meter before detonating, hurling metal shrapnel in every direction.

All four soldiers dropped to the ground, flailing and screaming as they clutched at their shredded armor and torn flesh.

Edge was on his feet and running a split-second after the detonation. His job was to finish off any survivors. They weren’t taking prisoners today, and they couldn’t leave witnesses.

River was on the move too, launching herself off the ledge and into the air. She hit the ground with enough force to drive her to one knee, but it didn’t slow her down. Nothing would, not when she was so close to ridding herself of Jens forever.

She covered the distance in seconds, ignoring the four males on the ground as Edge moved between them, his blaster firing every few seconds as he put them out of their misery.

She found Jens curled into a fetal position not far behind the others. He’d fared better than they had but not by much. Distance and the armor the others wore had reduced the amount of shrapnel that struck him, but his ship-suit had offered no protection.

Blood soaked the sand as he pawed weakly at his stomach. She leaned in and confirmed her first impression. Yeah, that was definitely his stomach, along with several loops of intestines and what was probably part of his liver. She waited to feel something. Satisfaction, maybe, or a sense of relief, but all she felt was tired.

It wasn’t what she’d expected, but it was enough.

Jens raised his head to stare at her with eyes glazed over with pain and shock. “Petal? Is that you?”

She didn’t answer. She had nothing left to say to this waste of oxygen.

“My pet, I knew you’d come. You must help me.” He reached for her with a gore-soaked hand.

Apparently she had something to say after all. “No.”

“But, Petal. I came all this way for you. You’re my shining gem. My…” He coughed, the action pushing another loop of intestine into view.

“I’m not your anything. I never was.” She glanced skyward, noting the position of the sun. It would set soon, marking the end of her time on this planet.

That thought triggered another, an idea forming as the sky began to glow in a glorious vista of colors.

She walked around Jens’ feet, picking up the one that looked the least injured. “What are you doing?” he asked.

She tightened her grip on his ankle and started walking, dragging him behind her.

“Petal!” he screamed, her name twisting into something incoherent as pain stole what was left of his mind.

It only took a few minutes to reach the point where the rocks that protected her camp gave way to open sand. She dragged him a few meters farther from the safety of the rocks before dropping his foot.

“Petal…” he croaked, his eyes already dimming as death closed in.

“My name is not Petal.” She told him, her voice so cold and flat she hardly recognized it. She leaned close, ignoring the stench of death that clung to him. She wanted him to see her face as she spoke the last words he’d ever hear. “My name is River!”

She straightened, turned, and hurried back toward the rocks, leaving him sprawled across the sand. The sky was truly beautiful now, a dazzling display of colors no mortal artist could ever hope to duplicate.

The first scream came about less than a minute later, followed by another and another. If there were words in the sounds, she couldn’t make them out.

Edge met her part way back to camp. The moment he saw her, he broke into a run, barely slowing as he reached her and pulled her into his arms. “Are you alright?” he asked, running his hands over body as if checking her for injuries.

“He didn’t hurt me,” she said. “He won’t hurt anyone ever again.”

“Good.” He stroked her hair gently as he brushed tiny kisses over her face. “I put them all down, and when I looked up, you were gone. Where did you go?”

His gentle touch and deep concern surprised her, but not as much as the tears that flowed down her cheeks as she rose on her toes to kiss him.

“I ended it.”

Another wail of terror and pain tore through the air, and Edge frowned in confusion.

“You left him alive?”

River shook her head, her fingers smoothing away the creases in his brow. “He won’t be for long. I left him for the sand sharks.”

Edge shot her a feral grin before kissing her hard.

“You are a dangerous female, River. I had no idea.”

She laughed as something loosened in her chest, letting her breathe deeply for the first time in what felt like a lifetime. “Neither did he.”

They stood like that for as long as they dared, aware that the danger wasn’t over yet.

Edge eventually broke the silence. “Ready to go home, minx?”

As much as she wanted that, it wasn’t the right time. “We can’t go home, Edge. Not yet. But we can’t stay here, either.” She took his hand in hers. “I think it’s time we got off this dust bowl. Are you ready to leave?”

“More than ready. C’mon, my dangerous beauty, we’re off to steal a shuttle and get the hell off this rock.”

Dangerous beauty? Oh yeah. She liked the sound of that.