Page 2 of Thruster (Hunted Relics #9)

Wind roars over my streamlined body as I storm across the desert sky after another enemy fighter. He’s fast, faster and more adept than the others, a newer model, shiny with a fresh coat of black and green paint that hasn’t been abraded and dulled by the dirt and sand of a terran surface. But I’m going to make sure it gets a real good taste.

We leave behind a smoking pit of parts, the remains of a fighter Redline stole and repurposed for this distraction mission were calling Badger.

ThrusterRedline: Do you copy?

I get no response. It burns me to think another Brother is likely gone, and one who recently found a human mate. He loves Aniah. I saw it in his red eyes as much as I felt it in his com connection when he spoke.

I ping him one more time. With continued silence, anger spools up the engines all over my body, even my hoverpads, and I barrel toward the fighter on an intercept course.

Aniah would want revenge.

I am the only weapon capable of wielding proper destruction in the skies. Coil is busy launching Brothers and supplies up the mine shaft into the mountain where Chaos and Fury found the old, wrecked Titan ship. It’s our best hope of escaping the planet and the enemy forces.

If Solcrue don’t realize we’ve found it.

Targeting the soft spot in the Skysprinter’s starboard hull, I knot myself into a ball of cybernetics and fire and punch through. It’s a harder hit than with the older models and slows me enough that I don’t make it through the other side. My body still dents the wall. I drop to my feet and draw my gun as I straighten.

The pilot looks back at me: green eyes, green scales, black teeth, and a wicked grin. “Got you.”

A scanner flashes up front. There's no clear indication of what he's referring to, but I assume the newer model was designed to contain my kind. Yet no forcefield appears around me. There is no one else pointing a weapon at me.

He might be messing with me, delaying while he works up a plan.

I can’t afford to be captured. The resistance needs me to keep them safe.

I aim a gun at his head and fire. It only takes one bullet. He slumps forward. Sparks pop in the dash. Lights dim and flicker. The ship powers down. I climb out of the hole and rocket away from the ship. It crashes below me.

A crackled com feed comes through.

ThrusterLocal: Please Repeat.

Drillbit replies. He's the last of his production model, too. I said, I got Redline out. He’s operational.

I took out the new Skysprinter that shot him down. I think they’re scanning us inside the new ships.

Noted. Will forward to Commander Savage.

I race back across the land, searching the sky for my next target.

My brothers were built primitively but tough. We were designed with one prime purpose. We flew together and soared across the skies into battle through flaming debris, bullets, and blades of the enemy. But the first loss changed everything.

Maybe our cores didn't burn as hot when we started failing and losing our friends. Perhaps the rain of fiery parts reminded us we were not invincible. But I know, for me, it was personal every time.

I could see it, anticipate it. But I was not fast enough to save them. I don’t know if any others like me survived. If they did, they’re far away. I am the only burner on Ellipsis…the only one who can patrol the skies for my remaining Relic brothers without a ship.

It also makes me a target.

And now I am alone, the single Titan left guarding the surface from extraterrestrial threats so my brothers can prepare the wrecked ship they've restored to get us off of this planet and to our Rogue brothers in a nebula somewhere Solcrue can't reach them. Some of us will endure, even if we fail. Instinct is all I have. My hope is sputtering out like a dying engine, starved of fuel.

Don’t think like that.

We have to make it work.

But things don’t just work because we need them to.

I clutch my head as I pierce the side of another SkySprinter with my body, then rocket myself toward the next. A few fighters fire at me. Green rockets rip by with scorching heat, but my sensors relay their approach with plenty of time to avoid them…individually. The massive way the ships unload, trying to take me out says they’re getting desperate.

An unusual flash of metal in the sky distracts me from navigating the weave of fire. It’s gray and covered in metallic flake that burns off in a glittering shower as it plummets to the surface of Ellipsis.

It bears the torch symbol of rebels.

Hope stirs.

A rebel ship. In pieces? I didn't take it out, which means Solcrue did, which means there's actually a rebel on board!

They’re still out there!

Impact warnings flash red over my vision. I’ve disregarded my trajectory for too long as I arc across the sandy desert between the mountain ranges. When I look back, I see myself approaching a ship too big to punch through. It’s a Solcrue cargo ship, one I had hoped to commandeer. But as I dive underneath it, the Skysprinters’ Fire cuts open the side, and the ship groans and falls toward the nearby hills.

Now’s my chance.

While the scaly Solcrue pull their hands out of their pants in shock that they've cut down their own and will have to face the harsh consequences of their superiors, I deal them one of my own. I arc around the failing cargo ship's aft section and lance through the nearest Skysprinter. Then, the second and third cave to my body, spin out of control, and light little fires in sprays of metal debris across the dunes.

A human registers in my vision near the rebel ship. They rip free of their harness and try another as I instinctively set course for them. A readout scrolls open as they fall from their torn chute.

A human is in danger.

Emergency Rescue Program: Initiated.

Proximity Alert.

Proximity Alert.

Proximity Alert.

The warnings flash everywhere in my vision, but the targeting brackets on the helpless human destined for a desert funeral keep my attention.

I dart away from the next Skysprinter already on my rocket tails and focus on the human. Killing Solcrue might be our objective. But protecting humans is a purpose no CyberTitan can ignore, even now that we are free.

I notice a Skysprinter trying to cut me off as he races up alongside me and cants like he intends a collision. Tucking myself into a ball, I redline the engines on my back and punch through one side of his ship and out the other, tearing wiring and crumpling ailerons.

Unfolding my body, I dart for the human. I catch them, and hold them close, then regret not shutting off my engines sooner. I switch off and close up my core thrusters, arms, and any others near them, but the metal is still scalding hot.

I fly them toward a stand of trees as they cry out in pain, reminding me why I am alone.

I tear my eyes from our surroundings and look down, fearing how much damage I’ve caused. She is the most gorgeous creature I’ve ever seen. The agony in her eyes nearly breaks me. Engines splutter. My ultromotor stalls.

This is why I do not touch others, not even my Brothers.

Her spacesuit smokes. I promptly land and set her down. She piles up like she’s severely damaged, nearly inoperable. I frantically assess her, then step back when I see the burns my engines have left on her body.

This was a mistake.

No, saving a human never is.

But this? Look at her injuries!

Look at her! She’s…

I wrestle with a new purpose that ignites me in every corner of my body. It's in her eyes, her fight, her perfect curves, human contours I suddenly want to map with my fingers. I want to breathe her in, taste her soft bronze skin, surround myself with her wild rebel beauty. But it is the misery of what I have done to her while trying to help her that makes me keep my distance. "I'm sorry."

I drop to a knee before her and hang my head. Harming humans even by accident used to render massive punishment via the protocols embedded in us from the manufacturing plant. Leah, our human leader, freed us of them. Yet a sickening guilt slithers through me anyway. “Please forgive me. I was trying to save you.”

The female’s sharp eyes fall on a distant place. She clutches her side, sits up, and moves toward me. My body heats. Engines warm in a slow burn as she closes in. What does she want?

My human programs run erratically. I can’t think through them and close my eyes. It’s only for a second. My belt shifts. I look to see her taking my gun from my holster.

Terror strikes me with the notion she's CSP, and I've just made a fatal mistake.

But she doesn’t point the weapon at me. She fires beside me at someone I can’t see. I turn to discover a CSP soldier collapsing at the edge of the desert, just down the slope from us. A loose shot from his rifle skitters off through the short trees.

The woman slumps into the sand, drops my gun, and crawls away like she doesn’t want to be here with me.

But she protected me…

I get up, scavenge the soldier for ammo, his rifle, and other supplies, then I hurry back to her. I've obviously injured her, so I crouch and reach for her suit. She swats my hand away.

The thought of finding something so strong and daring only to lose it seconds later twists me up inside. But if she doesn’t want me here, and I need to continue my mission, then I must stabilize her and get back to work.

I dig through my med kit and find a booster shot for humans. I’ve only got one. I hope it’s enough.

I administer it to her neck, and she mumbles something to me I don’t believe.

I am no god. I am a machine built by human hands. I cannot be more than my creator. They designed us for certain tasks, nothing more.

Her eyes roll back, and she nods like she’s falling asleep.

Must be hallucinating. Her body registers as severely damaged with neural overload and gravity sickness.

“Hey.” I pack away the empty injector and shake her by the shoulder. “Stay with me. We have to move soon.”

When she’s mildly coherent, I help her upright and encourage her into the trees. I don’t carry her this time. “Where’d you come from?”

“Outer rim’s asteroid belt. I— I can’t believe you’re real.”

“I’m real.” I think. Physically, at least.

“Titans…” she mutters. “My father portalled me here. I was about to torch a Solcruean mothership’s engine with my ship. He took that from me.”

Her body wavers as she walks. I support her with mine, feel a deep need stir in my core again, and push us apart. With just my hands under her elbows, I help her into the shadows of the woods.

“I left one battle and fell into another.” She shakes her head, looks up at the blue sky in awe, then threads her fingers between her dark braids. “This is too much too fast.”

I watch as she paces away, a terrible ache forming in my chest. It isn’t safe to wander the planet alone. Humans are even more vulnerable.

Solcrue are ruthless. They won't hesitate to capture and torture her for information then kill her when she won't talk. They never waste resources to keep captives alive for long.

Desperate to find a way to keep her with me, I follow and ask, “What is your name?”

She stops and turns to me.

Guilt locks me up. “I’m sorry for burning you. I’m not used to contact with others because of what I am. But you’re not safe here, not above ground. I can get you to safety, but I need identification to let you into the tunnels.”

Her eyes travel over me with hesitant interest as if calculating my threat level. After a deep breath, she calms, and her body steadies. “What on Earth is going on here?”

“You’re on Ellipsis. Solcrue are trying to capture and kill the few of us who survived the jailbreak from Hyperion.” I dare to take another step toward her. “Your name?”

“Kelta.” She stands with more confidence as the seconds pass.

“Are there others with you?”

She shakes her head. Her plump mauve lips tremble. “No one followed. The portal closed behind me.”

My Human Relations programming runs in the background, assessing her and her condition. It decides she’s distraught from the trauma, but I disagree. “You’re worried about them, the ones you left behind. Aren’t you?”

Kelta curls her lips inward and nods once.

A ship rumbles by overhead, one I recognize. Holo is on patrol.

HoloThruster: Is the human secure?

ThrusterHolo: A-firm. Damaged but operational. I’m going to get her underground before I continue.

He clicks back twice to confirm that he got my message.

Kelta leans between the trees, sees her ship on fire, and chokes up. "I worked so hard on VAL." She rasps and sways. Her face screws up, and a tear streaks her cheek. "I lost my last gift from my older brother. I'm separated from what's left of my family. I don't know if they're alive. I’m not familiar with this place…” She rubs a hand over her mouth, her eyes reddening. “I’m not sure what to think or do right now.”

I take a knee before her so we're eye-level. "I may not have human emotion, but I think I know this feeling you have. I have lost Brothers, been separated, taken from my mothership, jailed, and then crashed here. I don't know if this will work for you, but it is programmed into us to think about what we need now, then gather our skills and use them to find our way to what we need. So tell me, Kelta. What do you need?"

“To get back to my family, make sure they’re safe.” Her eyebrows pinch together as she studies the desert laden with smoking ships. “Destroy the enemy. Take back my home.”

Then her gaze falls on me, but she is quiet. I’m not sure what’s going through her mind, but it stirs something deep in my core that makes me want to take her away from here, give her the things she needs, and kill every Solcrue that approaches, just to have her look at me like this forever. Like I am hope.

“But here I have nothing.” Kelta wipes a smudge of dirt and blood from her forehead, looks at it, and chokes up.

“You saved me back there.” I hook a thumb over my shoulder to where she shot the CSP soldier.

“Instinct.”

I nod. “That’s a very big something. And you have us now. Every Titan will do everything possible to keep you safe.”

She gives me a dark look. “I don’t want to be safe.”

I get to my feet, a little startled by her change in emotion. “What do you want?”

“To fight, to kill these bastards for making this shit our life!” Kelta angrily circles a finger toward the destruction, then skyward.

The thunder of an approaching Skysprinter cuts through my thoughts. I instinctively put myself between Kelta and the sound, scanning the blue air for the Skysprinter. “Good. Because to survive this planet, you’re going to need that kind of anger.”