Page 23 of Human Reclaimed (Cyborg Planet Alpha #2)
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.
“Get up,” Delia snapped, yanking my arm hard.
I winced convincingly. “My ankle. I think it’s sprained.”
She rolled her eyes. “Carry her if you have to. We’re on a schedule.”
When one of the men bent to grab me, I slipped a tracker into a gap in his armor at the shoulder joint. The second tracker I managed to plant on Delia’s belt as she hauled me back to my feet.
“I’m trying to move,” I snarled, playing the reluctant captive while inwardly celebrating my small victory. The trackers would activate soon, once I was on the ship, sending my location to Rune. Now I just needed to stay alive long enough for him to find me.
Inside the capital ship, I was marched down sterile corridors to a small, bare interrogation room. Delia pushed me into a metal chair and secured my wrists to the table.
“Now,” she said, leaning so close that I could see the mechanical parts of her cybernetic eye adjusting focus, “let’s begin again. The location of the pregnant cyborgs.”
I stared at her, projecting defiance while my mind raced. I needed to appear cooperative without actually revealing anything of value.
“They move them,” I said finally. “Every three days. Different locations. I’m not privy to all of them.”
Delia’s human eye narrowed. “But you know some.”
I hesitated and then nodded slowly, as if reluctantly. “I’ve seen the southern bunkers. Near what they call the Echo Ravine.”
“Good,” she purred. “What about the colony layout? Security protocols?”
“Look,” I said, forcing vulnerability into my voice, “I didn’t ask to be part of this. I was kidnapped, just like you took me today. If helping you means I can go home…” I let my voice trail off, painting the picture of someone whose loyalty could be bought.
Delia smiled coldly. “Smart woman. Admiral Voss rewards those who cooperate.”
As she continued her questioning, I fed her carefully crafted half-truths and misleading information, nothing that would actually endanger the colony but enough to maintain my cover of cooperation.
All the while, I pictured Rune—his intense blue eyes, his strong hands, and the way his voice softened when we were alone—and prayed he’d find me soon.
Because when he did, these pirates would learn what it truly meant to face the wrath of a cyborg war alpha protecting what was his.
Time moved slowly as I sat rigidly in the metal chair, the cold bite of the restraints against my wrists a constant reminder of my predicament.
The interrogation room seemed to close in around me as Captain Delia paced like a predator sizing up her meal.
The recycled air tasted stale and metallic, reminding me of my military bunkers during the war.
“You’re being quite helpful, Captain Reed,” Delia said, her cybernetic eye whirring as it adjusted focus. The red glow it cast across her sharp features made her look demonic in the dim light. “I’m almost disappointed… I expected more resistance from someone with your reputation.”
I forced a defeated shrug. “What’s the point? I just want to go home.”
She laughed, and the sound sent ice down my spine. “Home? Don’t be so naive.”
“Our deal?—”
“Was never real.” She leaned across the table, so close I could smell the antiseptic on her uniform. “But you’ve proven useful so far, so perhaps Admiral Voss will keep you around for a while.”
My stomach twisted, but I kept my expression neutral. Years of military poker faces hadn’t abandoned me yet. “Keep me around for what?”
Pride loosened her tongue. Delia straightened, her chest puffed with self-importance. “You’ve seen those pregnant cyborgs. Those… hybrids they’re growing. That’s just the beginning, the primitive version.”
“I don’t understand.”
Her cybernetic eye gleamed. “CyberEvolution has been planning this for decades. The war, the peace treaty—all stepping stones.” She began circling the table.
“Those colony mothers are just vessels. We’re perfecting a new species—human-cyborg hybrids with enhanced capabilities that respond to our command codes. ”
I swallowed hard, genuinely disturbed. “That’s?—”
“Brilliant,” she finished for me. “Imagine children born with perfect obedience, superhuman strength, and complete loyalty to CyberEvolution. We’ll place them strategically—political positions, military leadership, economic powerhouses.
Within one generation, we’ll control every major institution across settled space. ”
My blood went from boiling to ice cold. This wasn’t just harvesting technology or enslaving cyborgs. This was galactic domination through bioengineered infiltration.
“The hybrid genetics are the key,” Delia continued, drunk on her own importance. “Human enough to pass scrutiny, cyborg enough to follow programming. The perfect sleeper agents that no security scan can detect because they’re born, not made.”
I fought to keep my horror from showing. “And the colony on Planet Alpha?”
“A convenient test site. Their little truce buys us time to observe their hybrid development while we perfect our own methods.” She sneered. “They think they’re really free.”
My mind raced to Rune, to the fierce protectiveness in his eyes when he spoke of defending the colony, and to the pregnant women I’d met who dreamed of raising their children in peace.
I thought of the moonlight swim in Rune’s hidden oasis when his fingers traced my skin with a reverence that belied his warrior exterior.
A week ago, I’d cursed him for stealing me from Earth. Now, I realized with startling clarity that being “kidnapped” by Rune might have been the universe’s way of putting me exactly where I needed to be.
“What’s that look for?” Delia asked, suddenly suspicious.
I schooled my features. “Just… processing. It’s a lot to take in.”
“You’ll have plenty of time to adjust to your new reality,” she said, checking something on her wrist display. “We depart for headquarters in thirty minutes.”
Thirty minutes. My heart pounded. Where was Rune? I needed him to find me before they took me off-planet. The thought of never seeing him again—never feeling his strong arms around me, never hearing his voice grow soft when we were alone together—created a physical ache in my chest.
Delia misread my expression. “Don’t worry. If you continue being cooperative, you might even get special privileges.”
I forced a nod, but inside I was praying. Hurry, Rune. Please hurry. The universe needs you. I need you.