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The world split in two. She crouched behind the container, feeling the heat of battle, but at the same time, saw through Spot's optical sensors aboard the ship.

Disorientation hit in a wave of nausea, both perspectives competing for dominance.

She felt Spot's surprise as the neural nets activated, then a soft chirrup she heard deep in her brain.

Focus. One step at a time.

She focused her thoughts on what was happening around her, hoping Spot could understand.

Then she nudged the little drakeen core through the ship's corridors toward Jex's location in the command center.

Spot took off at a run, his view as he careened through the ship making her feel sick.

The little drakeen core chirped loudly as he burst into the command center, sensors flashing urgently.

Jex turned from the station where he was working.

"Spot?" Jex stopped as the drakeen danced in front of him, arms waving in the air. Her view through his optical sensors flashed at the edges. Jex leaned forward. "Your neural link is active? Mira?"

"Yes!" she gasped. "Tell him shit, you can't. Fuck!"

Closing her eyes for a moment, she thought hard. Fast. She needed a solution when visual communication was the only way she had to communicate with Jex.

Her eyes snapped open. Visual. Light.

Morse code.

It was old school, like really fucking old school. But Jex was human, albeit from a different reality. Still, he was a cyborg. A former cyborg. He could figure it out.

She got her thoughts in order and pushed a message through to Spot. At first, she didn't think he understood, but then his optical sensors pulsed rapidly.

"Under attack. Got it, Mira. We're on our way." Jex was on his feet immediately. "Let's go, Spot."

The drakeen led him to the engineering bay where Jex and Jesh stored the heavy-duty weaponry they used.

While Jex armed his Scorperio suit's weapons, Spot scuttled up the power loader's frame.

It came to life as the little drakeen core interfaced with its controls.

Through Spot, she directed both toward the weapons wall, where the power loader grasped two heavy plasma repeaters.

Jex turned to look at them and shrugged, carrying on arming up.

"Mira!" Davis's voice pulled her partially back to her body. "Whatever you're doing, hurry up!"

She couldn't answer; all her concentration focused on guiding Spot out of the ship and toward the manufacturing unit. The drakeen piloted the power loader while Jex followed. They rushed from the ship's bay toward the manufacturing unit.

Sweat poured down her face as she held the dual awareness. The strain was incredible, like writing different sentences with each hand simultaneously.

Spot and Jex reached the manufacturing unit's damaged south entrance. M'Suun forces had established choke points at key junctions, their formation channeling any potential rescue toward kill zones.

Perfect.

She nudged Spot, and they charged the power loader straight toward the heaviest concentration of enemies.

Jex moved in perfect synchronization, using the Scorperio's weapons to strike lethal blows.

They crashed through a barricade, catching the M'Suun by surprise.

Spot-Mira lay about themself with the heavy hydraulic arms, tossing armored soldiers aside at the same time they used the shoulder-mounted plasma guns to cut down those who were attempting to regroup.

A smile spread across her face as they fought. This was like the highest level of NeuroSyn Arena Trials, where split-second timing meant the difference between victory and elimination.

Except this was real.

These weren't digital avatars, but living beings they were killing.

The thought should have horrified her, but detachment settled over her like armor.

These were the same assholes who'd attacked them repeatedly, the ones who'd triggered Davis's transformation, and who would kill every one of them given the chance.

No mercy.

They didn't deserve it.

Spot-Mira smashed the power loader through the final barrier, and they burst into the assembly area's western entrance in a shower of debris and weapons fire. She watched the crew's shock through her own eyes as the power loader and Scorperio suit charged in, weapons blazing.

"What the actual frexx ?" Covak stared. "Is that Spot ?"

Davis looked at the loader, then back at her. "It's Mira. She's controlling it."

The M'Suun scattered. Several fell to concentrated fire from Spot-Mira and Jex. Her head pounded with the effort of maintaining the connection, each moment stretching her mental capabilities.

Just a little longer.

Through Spot's sensors, she detected movement on her flank a M'Suun squad repositioning. The drakeen swung the power loader around, its targeting systems locking onto the lead soldier.

The enemy's formation shifted.

"That's a drakeen core," one of them yelled. "Find the pilot."

Her blood ran cold.

The enemy split, half engaging Spot-Mira and Jex while others headed toward the other reapers.

Spot-Mira tried to intercept them, but controlling the connection became increasingly difficult as the neural strain intensified.

Her vision blurred, reality and the dual perspective merging in nauseating waves.

"Mira!" Davis's voice was distant. They must have gotten separated in the battle. "They're coming. Mira, run! Break the connection! Spot's got this!"

She tried to respond, but her muscles wouldn't obey, and her vision went black at the edges.

Slumping to the side, she tried to lift her head as she sensed movement to her right.

It was Davis as he engaged three M'Suun soldiers, his transformed body moving with inhuman speed.

But there were too many. For each one he stopped, two more advanced.

"Mira!" His voice cracked. "Disconnect!"

A gentle chirp sounded in her mind as Spot closed the neural link and the dual perspective faded.

Blinking, she tried to clear her vision as she fully settled into her body.

What felt like every one of her muscles protested as she lurched to her feet.

Just as five M'Suun surrounded her, weapons trained from all sides.

"Well, shit."

* * *

Davis's heart almost stopped in his chest. Five M'Suun surrounded Mira, weapons raised as she swayed from the neural strain of controlling Spot. One of them swung his rifle toward her head.

Thirty meters away. Too far.

He pushed harder, legs burning as he sprinted across the debris-strewn floor. The warrior's finger tightened on the trigger. Mira had no idea death was seconds away.

Twenty meters.

Not enough time. Not enough speed. The realization hit hard. He'd been too slow, too far away. He'd already lost her once when she'd discovered his secrets. Now he'd lose her forever, gunned down while he watched.

Ten meters.

NO.

Something snapped inside him. Energy surged through his body, raw and molten. Pain flared through every cell as his muscles seized, then released with explosive force. His vision narrowed, his hearing sharpened until he could pick out each beat of Mira's pulse over the chaos of battle.

Three meters. The trigger depressed.

He lunged, his fingers closing around the barrel a millisecond before the weapon fired and shoved it upward. The weapon discharged into the ceiling. With a savage twist, he tore the rifle away taking the M'Suun's arm with it.

Blood sprayed as he spun, throwing the severed limb aside. His fist connected with the next warrior's armored chest, crumpling the plating like paper. The impact shattered ribs and sent the warrior flying backward, dead before he hit the ground.

The third warrior fired point-blank. He caught the bolt of energy on his forearm. His skin blackened, but he felt nothing except cold rage. One grab, one squeeze, and the warrior's windpipe collapsed beneath his fingers.

The final two raised their weapons. Before he could reach them, the power loader stomped forward.

Hydraulic arms seized one warrior and tore him apart, spraying blood in an arc across the floor.

When the last M'Suun turned to flee, the loader caught him mid-stride, crushing his spine with a single blow.

Davis reached Mira and yanked her behind a fallen section of machinery. Just in time. Plasma fire erupted from reinforcements pouring through the western entrance, cutting through where they'd been moments before.

"You're hurt," she said, staring at his blackened forearm where he'd caught the energy bolt.

He ignored the wound, focused only on the immediate threats.

The power loader moved to engage the new attackers.

Three more M'Suun fell before concentrated plasma fire struck the machine's control systems. The loader staggered, sparks erupting from damaged joints, then collapsed in a heap of twisted metal.

Mira cried out as Spot was flung clear of the wreckage, the small drakeen core spinning across the floor. "Spot!"

The little robot's sensors flickered weakly, three legs damaged beyond function. Still, it righted itself and scuttled toward them with awkward, desperate movements.

He pulled Mira against him as he fired at approaching enemies with the pistol in his other hand. Each shot found its mark. Spot reached them, climbing onto Mira's boot and clinging to her pant leg with its remaining appendages.

"We need to go," he said, his voice deeper than before, barely recognizable. "Now."

"Davis," she said, her voice cutting through his focus.

He turned to her, automatically positioning himself between her and any threats. A small cut had opened on her forehead. Her pupils were dilated, her breathing shallow.

"Stay behind me," he ordered.

The battle unfolded around him in vivid detail Covak's massive form breaking through the western barricade, Jesh picking off enemies with precise shots behind him.

Ryke and Rann were in the northern corridor, each covering the other with practiced efficiency.

Anson's ke'lath pulsed beneath his skin, the blue glow intensifying as blast doors slammed shut on unsuspecting M'Suun squads.

Davis scanned the battlefield. The tide was turning. M'Suun formations broke against the combined assault of the Reapers and Jex's overwhelming firepower from the Scorperio.

A flash of movement caught his eye. K ell, darting through a service door.

The Latharian's arms clutched several data cores and sample containers against his body.

He tensed, instinct pulling him toward the fleeing scientist. But then Mira moved beside him, and his priorities shifted between one heartbeat and the next.

Nothing matters except keeping her safe.

Movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. A wounded M'Suun hiding behind a damaged assembly line raised his weapon. Davis spun, reaching for Mira, but the M'Suun fired before he could move her clear.

The round clipped her side, tearing through her jacket. She gasped, stumbling against him. Blood. Her blood. The coppery scent flooded his senses, and his vision tinged red at the edges.

A low growl vibrated in his throat, and he moved, closing the distance to the M'Suun in three strides. His hand closed around the man's throat, lifting him clear off the ground. His grip was brutal, and he watched as the life fled from the M'Suun's eyes. He dropped the still-warm body like garbage.

When he returned, Mira had her hand pressed against her side. Blood seeped between her fingers.

"It's just a scratch," she said, wincing. "I'm fine."

He ignored her words, focusing on her elevated pulse and the slight hitch in her breathing. His hand covered hers, applying pressure to the wound.

"Local security inbound," Ryke's voice cut across the comms. "Two minutes. Everyone to extraction. Move!"

He swept her into his arms, cradling her and Spot against his chest.

"Put me down! I can walk."

"No."

"Davis, it's barely a scratch. This is ridiculous."

He tightened his grip. "You're injured."

She pushed against him ineffectually. "It's a graze! I don't need to be carried like some damsel in distress."

He didn't bother responding. Nothing will stop me from protecting what's mine.

The team moved in formation toward the extraction point.

Jesh and Covak took point while Anson and Rann covered their flanks.

Ryke brought up the rear, laying down suppressive fire.

Spot skittered alongside them, sensors constantly scanning.

He adjusted his grip, securing her against him as they moved across the courtyard toward the waiting shuttle.

Jex stood guard, onboard weapons tracking any movement.

Spot chirped, waving his undamaged front arms at the former cyborg.

"We've got incoming," Ryke announced. "Thirty seconds."

He picked up his pace, careful not to jostle her wound. The stabilization protocol K ell had developed was gone. Whatever was happening to him would continue unchecked.

He should have been terrified. Instead, as her warmth pressed against him, all he could think was that he would do whatever it took to keep her safe. Tightening his hold, he continued toward the waiting shuttle, every step bringing Mira closer to safety.

Nothing else mattered to him.