Their shared enemies are chasing them, would kill to get their precious specimens back. One minor mistake could reduce B and Quinn to a mere line in the databases of history.
Unable to process he was the last of his
kind, B had searched for beings like him. There had been mentions of his model
type in messages. He’d investigated every occurrence.
100.0000 percent of them had been futile chases, ghosts of brethren long dead.
He projected an investigation into this
planet rotation’s message would be a waste of resources also. Heze 478 was a
sparsely populated Humanoid Alliance-controlled planet, a leisure site for
high-credit and influential humans in their organization, a place where they
could get away from the horrors they’d inflicted. It wasn’t rational that they
would situate a secret laboratory there.
It would be true to their devious
natures to set a trap in that location for someone they correctly perceived as
an enemy. He blew out his breath. They could be seeking to capture him, wanting
to continue his torment.
A fully operational warrior would ignore
the communication.
He wasn’t that being. B straightened to his
full height and moved forward. His mechanics creaked. His body throbbed with an
ache that matched the one in his soul. The rays of Mercury Minor’s single sun
warmed his shoulders.
One of the humanoid females looked up, up, up at him. Her head tilted back. Her eyes widened.
She screamed, the sound piercing the chatter around her.
The other females turned. Their eyes
widened also.
The crescendo of screams grew louder.
Fraggin’ hole. B stepped backward, seeking
to disappear once more into the shadows. He wouldn’t hurt the females. They
were under his protection, as was everyone on the cyborg-claimed planet.
But the females didn’t process that. All
they saw was his huge form, his primitive B Model design. They had never viewed
another being like him. He was different, and, to their gazes, scary.
That damaged him. He navigated a maze of
less-utilized pathways, staying to himself, sticking to the darkness. The
screams faded.
He lumbered past a training ring positioned
at the edge of the settlement. One set of warriors, all E Models, faced another
set of warriors, all C Models.
If there was a B Model force, he’d be the
only one on it.
“Join us, B.” Odium, the leader of the E
Model faction, gestured at him. “The C Models need your skills.”
The C Models objected to that. Loudly.
They didn’t need him, and he didn’t belong
on either side. He was a relic. His model type had been completely replaced. He
was redundant.
B shook his head and continued walking.
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ReplyDeleteThe book sounds really intriguing and the cover is fab too.
ReplyDeleteI love all the covers, they're similar but have different colors.
ReplyDeleteI just loved your excerpt and cover.
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ReplyDeleteGreat quote from Albert Camus!
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