True As Steel (Cyborg Redemption) Read online

  True As Steel

  Cyborg Redemption

  Regine Abel

  COVER DESIGN BY

  Wicked Smart Designs

  Copyright © 2021

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  All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal and punishable by law. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

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  This book uses mature language and explicit sexual content. It is not intended for anyone under the age of 18.

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Epilogue

  Also by Regine Abel

  About Regine

  True As Steel

  His need to be with her defied logic.

  * * *

  Yesterday, Jarog Kaijo was a Major in the Cyborg Military Elite of Kirs. Today, he is condemned to a life sentence for rebellion. When a series of explosions rock the transport ship taking him to the prison colony, it’s a race for survival to any means of escape. In the process, he irrationally rescues an injured female he doesn’t even know. Her fierceness as their vessel collapsed all around them had caught his eye. But her loyalty, strength, and determination during their journey awaken in him feelings he hasn’t experienced in the six years since his transformation.

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  Stranded on a mercenary planet with a powerful, but emotionally closed-off Cyborg, Tamryn’s world is completely turned upside down. With both their faces branded as rebels and bounty hunters on their trail, she must silence her mistrust of Jarog and join forces with him to reach her contact on the planet—the mercenary cartel leader of Satos. Along the way, the tormented soul Tamryn discovers beneath the Cyborg’s controlled façade stirs her in an unexpected fashion.

  * * *

  When presented with a chance at redemption off-world with other Cyborgs, Jarog is torn by his growing feelings for Tamryn. How can he leave her behind when escalating violence in the region threatens the one woman who reawakened the man in the machine?

  Dedication

  To anyone who royally messed up, who made all the wrong choices—especially if they genuinely believed it was for the right reasons—and who had the courage to look back and acknowledge their mistakes.

  * * *

  The harshest critic you will ever face is the one staring back at you in the mirror. Cut yourself some slack. The path to perfection is to learn from the past, forgive yourself, and strive to do better in the future.

  Prologue

  Emperor Shui

  I glanced around the large, multi-leveled auditorium on the palace grounds, the only space big enough to house all those in attendance for the hearings. Faces in the crowd ranged from shocked and awed to fearful and worried. I carefully took note of which sections held people of the latter. They could belong to rebels I’d failed to catch. No matter. I’d see to them later.

  “Emperor Shui, we’re ready when you are.”

  My top aide stood to the left of the large dais set up for me to preside over the hearings. My heart filled with malicious glee upon hearing those words, and I chuckled to myself at that thought. In my mind the rebels were already convicted and condemned. A lesson needed to be learned, and I would teach it to all who’d thought to conspire against me.

  “Let’s start. Send them in,” I instructed with a flick of my hand.

  Outwardly, I retained a façade of calm, but inside I bubbled with the urge to release a victorious cheer. Finally... finally, I’d be rid of the bulk of those who sought to betray me. By the end of the day, this lesson of retribution would resonate throughout the planet of Kirs and deter others from thinking to do to me what the Cyborg Military Elite had almost managed.

  Thinking of how close to success they’d come caused my blood to boil. If a traitorous Cyborg Pod hadn’t refused their orders, the medical techs doing the scans for a malfunction wouldn’t have discovered that a large number of Cyborgs were part of a rebellion to thwart my attempts at conquering the neighboring planet Bionus. The evidence of secret meetings and gatherings to exchange information had all been there on their closed network.

  I seethed at the thought of not being able to hack into other pods’ closed networks. By the time I’d rounded up the Cyborgs with intentions of doing just that, they’d scrubbed everything clean and had been smart enough not to leave anything on the Mainframe.

  The door to my right opened, letting in a long procession of rebels. Mostly Cyborgs in their prestigious gray uniforms with black accents—uniforms that signified their roles as defenders of Kirs. But they hadn’t defended Kirs. They’d betrayed both their home planet and me with their actions.

  Citizens of Kirs in plain clothes followed in after the Cyborgs. The crowd of those about to receive judgment grew until rows upon rows of rebels filled the room. Some stared at me with hateful glares, more murmured desperate pleas, and others had the audacity to look indifferent.

  Hundreds of Cyborgs from the Military Elite made up a significant portion of the rebels. I couldn’t be certain which ones had remained loyal to me and which ones had taken part in growing the rebellion. Even after having their families tortured and their friends arrested, I still couldn’t determine the full scale of their plans.

  Once the crowd settled, I stepped in front of the podium and activated the head mic I wore. “Today is a somber day for the world of Kirs. Rebels have been found plotting against us. The men and women that you see before you have been found guilty—”

  The crowd erupted in shouts. “When were they given a trial? Is this legal? This isn’t fair!”

  All caught my attention. With a pointed look at my aide, I signaled for him to detain those who had openly voiced their questions and concerns. The rebels were everywhere, and I would catch every one of them.

  I raised both of my hands to silence the crowd. “As I was saying, these rebels have been found guilty of conspiring against the Emperor and Kirs. They are hereby sentenced to prison, for life.”

  I ignored another round of disruption from the onlookers and the shocked shouts thrown my way. My Prime Ministers, representing each country on Kirs, eyed me with dismay. From the beginning, they had opposed my plans to take over Bionus and extend my reign as Emperor over the small planet. They expected me to lead as my father had before me and settle for only ruling Kirs when there was a vast number of planets I could take over one day.

  And I would.

  This was a small bump in the road. If the Cyborg Military Elite had just done what they were supposed to, this would all be behind me now.

  Once more I focused on the rebels I’d managed to catch. I wanted each and everyone of them to understand that I was judge, jury, and executioner. Their treachery had consequences.

  The Cyborgs didn’t look so defiant anymore, and the civilians appeared downright scared. They understood this would be a death sentence for many of them. While the Cyborgs could
withstand hard labor, those without cybernetic enhancements wouldn’t last long on Tyurma, Kirs’ moon used to house prisoners.

  In response to a nod of my head, the Prison Officers from Tyurma—who’d come to collect the rebels—activated the remote-controlled hand and ankle cuffs. The floor shook as the rebels turned toward the exit in unison, then one-by-one, Cyborgs and citizens alike lined up and were guided towards the side door where they would receive their branding and board the prison transport.

  With the brand burned on their faces, I’d be able to find them anywhere if they ever sought to escape Tyurma. I’d personally made sure the specifications of the brand wouldn’t allow the Cyborgs’ nanobots to heal their skin.

  I hoped the CR—Cyborg Rebel—and R—for human rebels—brands would be clear on the holo-vids.

  I caught myself smiling and quickly adjusted my expression to what I hoped was a mournful look. I used it often. It paired well with my elegant blond hair and green eyes. After all, this event was broadcast to all of Kirs. I wanted to appear saddened by having to sentence so many of my people to life in prison.

  But that smile slid back into place at the thought of what was really about to happen. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t remove it from my face.

  Chapter 1

  Jarog

  I braced for the impending explosion, each ticking second bringing us closer to either death or freedom. The warning from one of our Cyborg brothers that the ship currently transporting us to the prison colony on Tyurma was rigged to blow spread through the Mainframe like wildfire. By his account, less than one minute remained.

  I glanced at the other prisoners with me in our cell and inside the other ones alongside ours or across the hallway. So many civilians mixed with us Cyborgs… Every one of us labeled traitors by Emperor Shui. I almost felt guilty for not informing them of the imminent tragedy. Unlike us, trained and designed to control our emotions—or rather the ones we still had—they would go into a total panic and only make things worse. Most people here would not survive either way. The lucky ones would be instantly killed.

  I reached out to my four Cyborg brethren, part of our pod. Through the closed network of our NNP—the neural net processor that allowed us to communicate and exchange tactical data—we agreed on our rendezvous point, should we manage to survive the explosion and escape the vessel. I hated that we had been split up, each of us jailed in different cells with random strangers. From my position, I couldn’t see any of them.

  We wouldn’t be leaving here together as we were in completely different sections. A quick analysis of my current location suggested that the fastest route for me would be through the escape pods a couple of corridors from here. I wished I could have gotten to one of the vessels or shuttles instead. Escape pods essentially turned you into a sitting duck, hoping no pirate would tractor beam you in as a captive or blow you up just for fun.

  I made eye contact with the only other Cyborg in my cell. He didn’t belong to my pod. Although everyone else considered us to be all the same, trust did not run rampant among us. After all, we were all simply individuals who had volunteered to become half human, half machine, each of us with our own motives, although the official one was to serve and protect the people of Kirs. I didn’t know him, but one glance sufficed for us to have an unspoken agreement. If we survived the initial explosion, we would work together to reach the closest exit.

  Just as that thought crossed my mind, a deafening series of explosions rocked the vessel. The violent tremor knocked me to the ground. For a split second, the sharp pain at the back of my head made me think I’d been injured, but thankfully it wasn’t the case. Unfortunately, it took me a second to realize the passing of two of my pod brothers had triggered the hollowness I suddenly felt in our closed network. I immediately clamped down on the pain and sorrow that wanted to come to the fore and focused on my current situation.

  Screams and shouts of agony rose above the roar of more explosions and the whining sound of tortured metal as the ship gradually fell apart. The energy fields that kept us trapped inside the cells started dropping one after the other. When ours fell, I didn’t hesitate and rushed out among the throng of prisoners who had also been freed. A wave of pity flitted through me at the sight of all the others yelling and begging for us to let them out as their energy fields still held. And yet, their downfall played in our favor as already far too many people packed the hallways, pushing and shoving at each other. Many were getting trampled underfoot in the mad stampede towards freedom.

  In the distance ahead, another massive explosion caused at least a dozen cells in that entire section of the vessel to be severed and sucked out into space, taking with it close to a hundred souls. Energy fields immediately went up to seal these massive breaches and try to maintain the integrity of the dying ship. An eerie sense of doom washed over me as I passed so close to the void of space, with nothing but this thin wall of energy between us. It could collapse any minute, once the ship’s emergency system failed.

  Up ahead, a group of people suddenly turned around to force their way back through the terrified crowd in the opposite direction, slowing everyone down. They were quickly taken down. But moments later, what they’d been attempting to flee became dreadfully obvious as an entire section of wall and massive beams collapsed onto the hallway, crushing too many souls to count. A few stopped to try and help friends or loved ones trapped under the debris. But they got shoved aside and their relatives trampled by those trying to flee.

  A single female caught my attention. Tall, thin, with long obsidian hair, she hopped around the crisscrossed beams with the dexterity of a gymnast before doing a frontal flip to the other side. While others scrambled, shoving and elbowing to get first access to the easiest spots to climb, my fellow Cyborg and I used our superior strength to make our way through the toughest—but less crowded—spots.

  However horrible this was, the collapse had actually helped us, thinning the herd to a trickle as they attempted to get past it. Instead of having to try and weave our way through the masses, we were finally able to break into a full run. Through the thick smoke, the acrid scent of burned material and flesh, the blaring siren, and the synthetic voice repeating in a loop to abandon ship, we sprinted towards the escape pod room.

  As we ran down the last stretch of the corridor leading to it, I glanced ahead. Straight in front of us, through the large doorway, I spotted the black-haired female as she jumped into an open pod. However, before she even managed to close the door and shoot out into space, a man, who had been running behind her, violently struck her in the face. He yanked the woman out, throwing her onto the floor, then stepped inside her pod instead. The stunned female took a bad fall, knocking her head solidly on the floor and remained limp. This confirmed what I’d been fearing the whole time we’d been racing here: there weren’t enough pods for all the survivors.

  But the man never got to shoot into space either. The ship abruptly tilted, sending everyone sliding down in the wrong direction. I barely managed to punch into a wall to make a deep enough dent to hang on to. The hit damaged my skin, sending a bit of pain through my hand. However, the hyperalloy compound that had been injected into my skeletal system when I became a Cyborg, had essentially turned my bones into metal.

  Most of the people ahead of me slid down, failing to find anything to hold on to. The few who did sadly lacked the upper-body strength to hang on long enough or to propel themselves forward. Thankfully, the tilt didn’t last long, the ship soon recovering its horizontal position. But even before it did, I’d already been on the move.

  For some reason, which defied logic, as I ran past the unconscious female—who had slid out of the room during the tilt and was now getting trampled by those trying to flee—I bent down and picked her up by her shirt before dashing to her pod that sat vacant again.

  The wretched thing was incredibly small. Built like a flying coffin, these escape pods were meant for a single person lying down. On its own, my broad
frame barely fit, but the unconscious female on top of me made it worse. One of the escapees made as if to try and yank us out, but a single look at my face taught him better. As I closed the door, I watched the other Cyborg move aside some debris in front of one of the few remaining pods and get inside.

  I shot us out into space, eager to be away from the dying vessel. The escape pods were programmed to set a course for the closest allied planet with a sustainable atmosphere, while sending a distress signal to nearby ships. Except, those were Kirs—from which we’d just been banished—and the prison moon Tyurma—where I really didn’t want to land. I also especially did not want this vessel to broadcast my position. My four pod brothers and I had agreed to meet on Gorkon, a neutral, primitive planet at the edge of the Eridani Sector. Two of them had already perished in the explosion. But just as that thought crossed my mind, I felt a third presence vanish from our closed neural network.

  My brother’s passing wasn’t a physical sensation, but more like an absence in the network. Only death or severe damage to the network itself could cause this. My heart ached as only Caylan remained. I prayed that the only person left in the world that I fully trusted would make it through.