Containing Malice (Rebel Cyborgs #1) - Cynthia Sax Page 0,21

an unknown factor, and that made Malice uneasy. He preferred to know who he was chattering to, have more inputs rather than less.

Their leader is obsessed with other matters. Bitterness wrapped around the male’s transmission.

Malice’s doubts compounded. Cyborgs don’t obsess. Their kind were far too logical for that.

That cyborg does obsess. Cadet snorted. My crew and I are rescuing warriors on a nearby planet. If you agree to our conditions, we can rendezvous with you in two planet rotations.

The being had conditions. Malice’s spine straightened. This was the trap he’d been watching for. What are your conditions?

From the moment we arrive to the moment we part, there will be no transmissions…to anyone. That condition was easy to adhere to. They hadn’t transmitted to anyone outside the structure for solar cycles. You and your brethren will deactivate your recording abilities. You and your brethren will not inform any other beings of our identities or your interactions with us. Vow this to us and we will convey you to a non-Humanoid Alliance-controlled planet.

They wanted secrecy. He frowned. There had to be more than that to the deal. Those are your conditions. What payment do you want in return for the transport?

There was a long pause. All I require of you is when I ask you for your support, you give it.

That support could mean anything. I won’t kill or damage another cyborg.

I hope it won’t come to that. Cadet sighed. But he won’t listen, and I can’t rule out violence. The being paused. There will be no needless death or damage to our kind. That’s all I can offer.

You are a cyborg. He sought to clarify his ‘our kind’ comment.

I am a fellow C Model. Cadet revealed more about his identity.

Malice considered the situation. If Cadet was lying, the entire agreement would be considered null and void.

If he wasn’t lying, he was a cyborg and didn’t have the ability to deceive. Everything he’d shared was the truth.

The being seemed to have a vendetta against one specific target, another cyborg. I won’t kill or damage Valor.

The E Model was his friend. He would die for the warrior.

We have no issues with your chatty brethren…as long as he adheres to our conditions. Cadet’s tone lightened.

He might have to kill a different cyborg, but none of them had sought to liberate him, to liberate Valor. No one except Cadet had offered to do that.

Has there been any response from the Cyborg Council? He contacted Death through a private transmission, seeking other options.

Power will contact you directly. That was Death’s uninformative reply.

As Malice waited for a response, he navigated the transmissions. There were thousands of calls for assistance from brethren who remained at the Humanoid Alliance’s mercy. He searched the history. Some of those calls had been repeated for solar cycles.

Bitterness clawed up his throat. Cadet was right. The Cyborg Council wouldn’t do a fraggin’ thing to assist them.

Malice ran the probabilities on his limited options, made a decision, returned to the mysterious C Model’s transmission line. I agree to your conditions. And I will give you my support.

We will arrive in two planet rotations. Cadet ended the transmission.

A ship will arrive for us in two planet rotations. He relayed that information to Valor. We won’t free ourselves until that sunrise.

We will be free…like so many of our brethren are. There was a 99.9999 percent probability Valor was multitasking as he was, as all cyborgs did, carrying on multiple conversations. The leader of the Cyborg Council is an E Model. Did you see that? His friend laughed. He’s a bit of an ass, however.

That insight reassured Malice he had made the right decision. Asses weren’t often helpful.

They shared findings as they indulged in chatter with their brethren, scanned cyborg databases, downloaded a critical patch to their programming.

There’s offspring, Malice. Valor bombarded him with images of cyborg progeny. We can have offspring…once we find our females, our genetic matches, the beings who can host our nanocybotics.

There was a brief stretch of silence in their transmission.

Malice sat on the edge of the sleeping support he’d occupied with Illona during the rest cycle. The medic hosts my nanocybotics.

The E Model would uncover that development the next time she entered his chamber.

She’s your female. Envy colored Valor’s words.

She’s deceitful and cruel and she should be killed. He should end her lifespan.

She didn’t lie about the transmissions opening. Valor insisted on seeing the good in her. She told the truth about our brethren being free. She gave you a weapon. The