Page 22 of Human Reclaimed (Cyborg Planet Alpha #2)

TWENTY-TWO

RUNE

I tapped my body cam to ensure it was recording, making sure to capture every moment of this “exchange.” The jungle floor cushioned my footsteps as I led our small contingent toward the northern ravine.

The morning light broke through the dense jungle canopy, casting shifting shadows across the path ahead.

Talia walked beside me without her helmet on, her hands bound loosely in front—a convincing prop for our performance. Despite the restraints, she moved with the fluid grace I’d come to admire, with her blonde hair pulled back in a tight braid and her blue eyes alert and calculating.

“Remember,” I whispered, “when I give the signal, drop to the ground. The explosive vines will detonate fifteen seconds after I activate them.”

She tilted her head toward mine. “And you’ll be where, exactly?”

“Close enough to protect you but far enough to draw their fire.”

“That’s not an answer, Rune.”

I fought to smile. Even facing capture by pirates, she was more concerned about my position than her own safety. The feeling that swelled in my chest felt uncomfortably like vulnerability—but strangely exhilarating, too.

“I’ll be at your three o’clock, behind the twisted mimosa tree.”

She nodded, satisfied. “Good. Just don’t try to be a hero.”

“Says the woman who designed this entire trap.”

A small smile touched her lips. “That’s strategy, not heroics.”

Ahead, the ravine opened before us, a natural depression bordered by dense jungle vegetation.

The gnarled branches of indigenous trees formed a partial canopy, camouflaging the explosive vines Talia had us painstakingly position over the past two days.

To untrained eyes, they looked like natural growth—but I knew each one contained enough power to shred armor plating.

Kel, one of my most trusted brigade lieutenants, tapped his earpiece. “Commander, they’re approaching from the north. Three transport shuttles, approximately fifteen armed personnel visible.”

“Copy.” I glanced at Talia, suddenly reluctant to let her walk even twenty paces from my side. “Are you sure about this?”

“A little late to ask now,” she murmured, but her eyes softened at my concern. “I’ve got this. Just make sure you nail the timing.”

I couldn’t resist reaching out to touch her face. “I always do.”

“Commander.” Sage’s voice came through my comm. “Shuttle doors opening. They’re deploying ground troops.”

I straightened, shifting into command posture. “All units, hold positions. Do not engage until my signal.”

The pirates emerged from their shuttles in black tactical gear emblazoned with the CyberEvolution insignia.

Their weapons—sleek modified plasma blasters that gleamed ominously in the dappled light—were raised and ready.

My jaw tightened at the sight. Such advanced weapons were banned after the war for their brutal efficiency.

“Show time,” I whispered to Talia.

She gave a barely perceptible nod and stepped forward, stumbling slightly as though being pushed. I followed, my hand on her shoulder in a convincing display of captor escorting prisoner.

The pirate captain—a tall woman with a cybernetic eye implant—stepped forward. “Commander Rune, I presume?”

“We have what you came for,” I called out, my voice carrying across the ravine. “Captain Reed, as requested.”

The woman’s lips curled in a satisfied smile. “Excellent. Admiral Voss will be pleased. He paid top price for Captain Reed’s capture. Plus bonus pay for any pregnant cyborgs and hybrid babies we collect here. Release her and back away slowly.”

I glanced down at Talia, allowing genuine emotion to flash across my face—the fear of losing her and the determination to protect her. The camera would capture it all, evidence of CyberEvolution’s betrayal of our truce.

“Go,” I said roughly, giving her a gentle push forward.

Talia stumbled toward the pirates, her eyes downcast in fabricated defeat. I counted her steps silently. Ten. Eleven. Twelve.

When she reached the fifteenth step, I pressed the activation sensor hidden in my gauntlet. “Eclipse Phase Two, execute!”

Talia instantly dropped to the ground as I dove for cover.

The explosive vines detonated in a synchronized wave of destruction that rippled through the ravine.

The blast wave knocked several pirates off their feet while others were caught in secondary explosions as the vines wrapped around their limbs.

I rolled to my position behind the mimosa tree, drawing my blaster as chaos erupted. My brigade members emerged from concealed positions in the jungle, opening fire on the disoriented pirates.

“Target their shuttles!” I shouted into my comm, aiming and firing at the nearest transport’s thruster assembly. The plasma bolt hit with satisfying precision, igniting the fuel cells in a brilliant explosion.

Through the smoke and confusion, I spotted Talia crawling toward cover, her restraints discarded. A pirate loomed over her, his weapon raised. Cold fury washed through me.

I sprinted from cover, my plasma blaster firing in controlled bursts that dropped two pirates in my path. The third turned just as I reached him, and I drove my shoulder into his chest, sending him crashing into a tree trunk.

“Talia!” I called, reaching her side and pulling her behind a large boulder. “You need to get to safety now!”

“Not without you!” She grabbed a fallen blaster, checking its charge. “And don’t give me orders!”

“This isn’t a debate!” I fired over the boulder, taking down another pirate. “They’re here for you specifically!”

Before she could argue further, I noticed something strange. Kel and two other brigade members suddenly dropped to their knees, their weapons clattering to the ground. Their movements became jerky and uncoordinated.

“Something’s wrong,” I muttered, watching in horror as Kel’s eyes rolled back. “Sage! What’s happening to our people?”

“Unknown,” her voice crackled through the comm. “Their vitals are spiking erratically.”

I peered more closely at the plasma blasters. The distinctive blue glow along their barrels flickered with an odd pattern—one I’d never seen before.

“The weapons,” I realized with dawning horror. “They’re tagged with something. Talia, drop the blaster!”

She immediately released it, kicking it away. “A virus?”

“Has to be.” I glanced around frantically. “Fall back to secondary positions! All units, discard pirate weapons! They’re infected with some kind of virus!”

My comm crackled as Sage’s voice cut through the chaos. “Rune, I’m analyzing the signature now. These blasters—they’re carrying a piggyback virus that targets our reprogramming code. It’s activating on contact.”

My blood ran ice cold. I watched Kel’s body convulse, his eyes rolling further back as his limbs jerked unnaturally. This was worse than anything I’d anticipated. CyberEvolution had weaponized our reprogramming against us.

“It’s triggering a system-wide freeze,” Sage continued, her voice tight with urgency. “Essentially paralyzing the affected cyborgs and causing amnesia of unknown duration, with potential for permanent damage.” She paused for a heartbeat. “The virus is embedding itself through the energy discharge.”

“How the hell did they get our firmware signatures?” I demanded, ducking as another blast whizzed past my head. The signature coding was supposed to be impenetrable—a biological firewall built into our neural pathways.

“I don’t know, but we need to evacuate the affected cyborgs now!”

I tapped my encrypted comm channel to broadcast to all units. “Tegan, request immediate retrieval of the affected cyborgs. Get Aeon and Olivia here with med kits. All unaffected units: maintain suppression fire with our own weapons only.”

My eyes darted to Talia, who had taken cover behind a fallen log. Relief flooded through me to see her unharmed, her eyes sharp and focused. She understood what was happening immediately.

“They’re targeting your people specifically,” she said, her tactical mind already working. “Smart but cruel.”

I fired three precise shots, dropping a pirate who’d ventured too close to our position. “They knew exactly what they were doing this whole time.”

My comm buzzed again. “Rune, Aeon and Olivia are mobilizing,” Tegan reported. “They’re suiting up in tactical gear at the armory now.”

“Copy that.” I motioned to the remaining fighters in my squad. “Tobin, Kara—flank left and provide cover fire. The rest of you, prepare to move our people out.”

Within minutes, the medical team arrived. Aeon’s imposing figure moved with practiced efficiency as he dealt with the fallen cyborgs. Olivia worked alongside him, her smaller frame darting between patients, her hands steady despite the chaos.

“We need to get them to the medical bay immediately,” Aeon called out. “This virus is spreading through their neural networks rapidly.”

Brigade members rushed forward, lifting their fallen comrades. I provided cover fire as they retreated, picking off pirates who tried to pursue.

“Fall back in stages,” I ordered. “Don’t give them a clear shot at the evacuation team.”

The firefight intensified as we pushed the pirates back. My muscles burned with exertion, but I refused to slow down. One by one, the pirates fell, their bodies dropping to the jungle floor. My brigade’s superior training was paying off—Talia’s training.

Talia.

I spun around, scanning the area for her blonde hair and fierce blue eyes. The spot where she’d been taking cover was empty.

“Talia?” I called out, panic rising in my chest. “Talia!”

No response.

I fired another volley, dropping the last visible pirate, and then turned to my lieutenant. “Jensen, secure the area and check the downed shuttles. Make sure there are no survivors.”

“Commander, what about the capital ships? This could be a diversion?—”

“I know,” I cut him off, my voice sharp. Fear clawed at my throat, not for the colony at this moment, but for her. “Scan for their landing signatures. I need to find Captain Reed.”

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.