Galactic gladiators box.., p.44
Galactic Gladiators Box Set 2, page 44
“Winter?”
Blue’s gravelly voice. She looked up and saw he was watching her, concern on his face. God, the man who’d spent a lifetime being imprisoned and tortured was trying to comfort her.
“I’m okay.” She slammed a lock down on the memories. She turned in the tight space, trying to come up with some sort of plan. The only thing in there was the computer.
She moved to the comp and touched the screen. The flame logo disappeared and alien text filled the screen. Great. Her lingual implant meant she could understand alien languages, but she couldn’t read any. She tapped a few more buttons and sighed.
Then the display blinked, the symbols disappearing. Then, new words appeared on the screen. She went still. These words were in English.
Touch the buttons on the screen in this sequence.
Was this a trap? Winter worried her bottom lip, staring at the screen. She weighed up her odds and realized that she had little to lose and no other options.
More words appeared. Quickly, before Catalyst catches you.
Winter reached out and touched the buttons on the screen in the directed order.
“Thanks.” A woman’s voice came through the computer speakers. “I can help you escape.”
Blue growled and Winter blinked. She heard a distinct Southern twang in the woman’s voice. “You’re human?”
“I am. I hacked into Catalyst’s system. I’m Ryan.”
“I’m Winter. Are you from Fortuna Station?”
“Yes. I was a systems specialist on the station. I kept all the tech systems running.”
“You were taken by the Thraxians?”
“Yes. Look, we don’t have a lot of time. I’m working to free you and your friends.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“Once I get these walls to retract, you need to get to the next section of Catalyst’s place. The system shows that your friend Mia is being held there.”
“Ryan, where are you? Are you in another part of the building?”
There was a long pause before the woman spoke. “No, I’m not there. I’ll explain later.”
Winter pressed her hands against the desk. “What about Dayna? My other friend? Is she with Mia?”
“I’m sorry, Winter. Mia is the only human showing, apart from yourself and another of the gladiators who came with you.”
Winter closed her eyes. Where the hell was Dayna? She pressed her hands together. For now, she had to focus on freeing Mia.
“Okay, are you ready?” Ryan asked.
“Ready.”
There was a beep, and one of the metal walls shot back up into the roof. Winter swallowed a gasp.
And came face-to-face with an enraged Nero. His face twisted in desperate anger.
Winter ran straight to him, dimly aware of all the other walls shooting back up into the ceiling. The rest of their group crowded in close.
Nero wrapped his strong arms around her, and instantly, she felt safe. “We have to go. I know where Mia is.”
Nero stayed close to Winter, not wanting to risk losing her again.
He didn’t trust this place of Catalyst’s, with its slick metal surfaces and technology.
They headed out of the computer room, Winter rushing ahead. She’d promised to explain how she’d released the walls later. But right now, they had to get to Mia.
They moved into another glass walkway. This one was wider, and the glass was covered in a wire-mesh frame.
He was studying it as they walked through it. It was on an angle, leading them up to the next room. That’s when he saw the mesh charge up, electricity skating over it.
“Watch out!” Nero yelled. “The mesh just energized.”
He scooped Winter up and saw a blue laser arc across the walkway ahead of them, at about knee level. It moved toward them.
Nero leaped over it, and heard his friends doing the same.
Another streak of laser, chest height this time and moving fast. Holding on tight, he ducked under it.
More came at them, faster and faster. Nero spun, jumped and dodged.
Finally, he reached the end of the walkway and dived into the next room.
“Get them,” an electronic voice shouted.
Nero’s head snapped up. Laser fire sprayed the wall above them and he dived, covering Winter with his body.
Ahead, he saw a group of armed guards wearing familiar silver armor.
“Cyborg guards,” he shouted as his friends rushed into the room.
“Let’s do this,” Galen yelled. “Take them down.”
The imperator charged past Nero, using his sword to deflect the laser fire. Raiden, Thorin, and the others were right behind him.
“Stay here,” Nero told Winter. “And stay down.” He spied Blue and pointed at Winter. “Protect her.”
He waited a beat, saw the blue alien crouch protectively in front of Winter. Then Nero rushed to join his friends, swinging his sword.
He struck one of the cyborgs in the shoulder. The guard spun, and Nero knocked the laser weapon out of the man’s hand. Nero thrust his head forward, his forehead crashing into the visor covering the man’s face. It cracked into splinters. Then Nero slammed his fist through the broken visor and the guard jerked before flopping to the floor.
Soon, the gladiators had overpowered the guards.
Raiden and Thorin made short work of trussing up the cyborgs, leaving them on the ground, tied together.
Nero turned back and saw Winter and Blue moving forward. The blue-skinned alien growled.
“Mia is close,” he said.
Nero scanned the room beyond the guards. The space was completely empty. No furniture, no computers, nothing. There were just huge glass windows that revealed the night-drenched desert below.
“There’s nothing here.” Nero studied the shiny floor, and saw no tracks or marks.
Winter shoved forward. “She’s supposed to be here.”
Blue sniffed again, a scowl on his face. “I can scent Mia.”
All of a sudden, a blinding blue light flashed through the room.
Drak. Was it another laser security weapon? Nero had to get to Winter.
But as Nero tried to move, he realized his feet were stuck to the floor. He tried to shift his legs but they weren’t budging. The blue light was somehow holding them in place.
“I can’t move,” Winter said.
“We’re all stuck,” Galen growled. “It’s some sort of energy field that’s locked us down.”
The blue light grew brighter, spearing into Nero’s eyes. He felt a pain growing in his head and gritted his teeth. It was like a vise clamping down on his skull. He looked over and saw others grimacing as well. Winter’s eyes had gone wide and she was panting.
“Fuck,” Blaine bit out.
“What’s happening?” Saff asked.
Thorin gave a loud, enraged roar, scales flickering over his skin.
Suddenly, Winter screamed.
Nero saw she’d thrown her head back, and he thrashed against the force holding him. He needed to get to her. His muscles strained against the restraint, sweat beading on his forehead, but he couldn’t move.
“Leave me alone,” Winter cried out. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, her eyes staring ahead. “Stay away from me!” She screamed again like she was in agony, her back arching.
That sound tore through Nero. What could she see? What was happening to her?
Suddenly, Nero felt a pressure in his head, like something trying to burst open his skull. Memories poured through his head like someone had opened floodgates.
He was a child again, dragged from his bed and tossed out in the cold for his harsh warrior training. His father’s shouts, the loud boom of the warlord as he’d berated Nero for not being strong enough. His siblings being dragged away by the slavers. Pain tore through him. Then all he saw was his father’s harsh face as he handed Nero over to the slavers. Those frenzied weeks locked in a tiny, metallic cell on the alien ship. His first time stepping into the Kor Magna Arena—afraid, angry, and hurting.
Then other images cascaded through his head. He saw himself holding Winter’s small form nestled in his arms on a tarnid. Him telling her she was weak.
“No.” That last memory made him grit his teeth. He didn’t believe that.
Another image. This one was of Winter, tears tracking down her cheeks, as she turned and walked away from him.
He tried to reach for her, but he could feel he was losing her. “Winter. No!”
Suddenly, Nero realized that he loved her. She had a strength he was in awe of. With her quick words and determined attitude, she’d cracked through the shell around him. The day his father had thrown him away, Nero had locked his heart away.
But Winter hadn’t just freed it, she had it wrapped in her small hands. She was his heart.
And she was leaving him. Just like everyone else who had mattered in his life had left him.
He heard a pained scream, and this time, he realized it was his own.
Chapter Fifteen
Winter felt the Thraxian doctor sticking things in her eyes. She felt the straps tying her to the lab bench. She was screaming, but she knew it never made them stop.
Then, she felt her body falling. She hit the ground on her hands and knees.
Disoriented, she heaved in air. She was sweating and she couldn’t see. She blinked and slowly, the room around her came into blue-hued focus.
She could see. She stared at the metal and glass, at the muscled bodies slumped on the floor around her.
She wasn’t in the Thraxian lab! She was in Catalyst’s desert lair.
She was with the House of Galen.
Fighting through the fading pain in her head, she focused on the gladiators. They were all lying on the floor, panting, their faces contorted.
Suddenly, a large hand reached for her and she reared back, faded memories of the Thraxians in her mind.
“Shh, Winter. It’s me. You’re safe.”
Nero’s rugged face appeared, and instantly her panic eased. She grabbed his hand and held on. “Nero.”
He let out a ragged breath, his arms closing around her. His lips touched her temple in a quick kiss.
“I…” Her chest hitched. “I was back in the Thraxian lab.”
“And I relived when I left Symeria.”
God. It seemed everyone had been forced to relive their worst memories.
“Everyone okay?” Galen asked.
Winter looked up and saw that Galen’s jaw was set in a hard line. She wondered what Galen had relived. She turned her face into Nero’s neck, pulling in the scent of him, waiting for her nerves to settle.
“Winter? Are you okay?” Ryan’s disembodied voice. “It took me a while to disable the field.”
Around Winter, the gladiators all stiffened and lifted their weapons.
Winter scrambled to her feet. “It’s okay. That’s Ryan. She’s another survivor from Fortuna Space Station. She helped us earlier by releasing the walls.”
“Ryan Nagano?” Blaine asked, frowning. “From the tech team?”
“That’s right,” Ryan answered. “I think we met once, Blaine, although you probably don’t remember. They kept us tech gurus locked in the bowels of the control room.” There was wry amusement in her tone.
“Glad you made it, Ryan,” Blaine said.
“Ryan, I’m Galen. How are you helping us?”
“I managed to hack into Catalyst’s system,” the woman answered. “But he knows I’m in and he’s working hard to lock me out.”
Winter pressed her palms to her trousers. “Ryan, we didn’t find Mia.”
“What?” A frown in Ryan’s voice. “She’s right there. The system says she’s in the same room as you.”
“Ryan, where are you?” Winter asked.
The woman’s sigh came through clearly. “I’m not there. I’m nowhere near you.”
Winter frowned. “Where are you? We’ll come for you.”
“I’m not sure that’s possible.” A hesitation. “I’m at a place called Zaabha.”
There were gasps all around.
“The desert arena?” Winter asked. It was where she’d been headed when she’d been snatched from the House of Galen.
“Yes.”
“Are they forcing you to fight?” Nero asked.
“No, thank God,” Ryan answered. “They realized my tech skills, and now I’m locked in with the arena’s comp systems, forced to keep things running here. Look, don’t worry about me right now. Mia is who matters.”
“There’s no one here in this space,” Galen said. “The room is empty.”
“It can’t be.” Ryan’s voice was sharp. “The system says she’s there, along with twenty other individuals. And that’s in addition to your group. I can see a huge energy signature coming from that room.”
Winter frowned, studying the empty space. She walked forward and reached out.
Suddenly light rippled, as though she’d touched water. “There’s some sort of energy wall here. It’s concealing something!”
“Hang on,” Ryan said. “It must be some sort of holographic camouflage. I’ll see if I can shut it down.”
“Ryan,” Galen said. “Where is Catalyst?”
“I don’t know. He masks his signature.”
Galen frowned. “I know he has more robots. Does he have more cyborg guards?”
“Yes. But I have a program running…I’m trying to shut them all down.”
The energy wall shimmered again, and suddenly, it was gone.
Shock knocked into Winter like a sharp flash. She heard Nero and the others curse. Nero moved in close behind her, wrapping an arm around her.
Winter raised a hand to her mouth. “Oh, God.”
Twenty bodies were all suspended in the air on their backs, cords and leads holding them in place. She looked up and saw the ceiling soared high up above, all the wires snaking upward, disappearing into the darkness above.
Galen strode forward. “What the drak?”
“Winter?” Ryan said. “What is it?”
Suddenly, Blue let out a loud roar. He raced through the bodies, heading toward the small form of a blonde woman who hung there, so pale and still.
Winter pressed her knuckles to her mouth. She could see Mia’s body was nearly naked, just a strip of fabric across her breasts and a loincloth around her hips. Small suction cups covered her body, joined her to the metallic leads.
Blaine and Kace leaped forward, grabbing Blue, both of them straining to hold him in place as he struggled against them.
“Ryan, Mia’s here and lots of others…” Winter’s voice was shaking. “They’re all attached to a whole bunch of cables.”
“What?” Ryan breathed.
Winter scanned all the still bodies. There were several different alien species, including several with the patterned skin of desert wraiths.
“What is this Catalyst doing to them?” Nero asked.
“Dammit.” Ryan’s voice was shaky. “I’ve broken through into some of his deeper-encrypted files. He’s…using them to power his computer system.”
Winter spun. “What?”
“He’s tapping into their brainwaves…I don’t understand it all.”
“I don’t care what the drak he’s doing,” Galen bit out. “Can we disconnect them?”
“I think so,” Ryan replied. “There could be brain damage to those who’ve been plugged in the longest, but I honestly don’t know for sure.”
“We’ll disconnect them.” Without saying another thing, Galen drew his sword. He strode over to Mia and sliced through the cables attached to her.
As her body dropped, Blue raced forward and caught her in his arms. He curled his body protectively around hers.
Winter hurried over to her friend. Blue growled, taking a step back.
“You need to let me check her,” Winter said.
Nero stepped nearer, staying close to Winter, and watching Blue carefully. “Let her help Mia.”
A muscle ticked in Blue’s jaw, then he reluctantly loosened his hold on Mia. He sank to the ground, cradling Mia in his lap.
Winter crouched down beside him, dimly aware of the other gladiators cutting down the remaining victims. Quickly, Winter checked Mia’s vitals.
“Her breathing seems steady, and her pulse is strong. Despite her unconsciousness, physically, she seems fine.”
“Free them all,” Galen ordered.
The House of Galen gladiators were busy laying the bodies down on the floor. Soon, all the captives were free, none of them conscious.
The lights flickered.
Winter stood. “Ryan, something’s going on with the lights.” Silence. “Ryan?”
There was still no answer.
“Ryan?”
“What have you done?” A booming, angry male voice echoed through the space.
A door on the far side of the room slid open. The gladiators all stood, lifting their swords.
Winter’s gut clenched. A humanoid male stepped inside.
He was as tall as the gladiators and at first, she thought he was wearing body armor like his cyborgs. But as her gaze ran over him, she realized that wasn’t the case.
His lower body up to mid-chest was metallic and it looked like his organic upper half was plugged into the synthetic lower half. His organic skin was a mottled pale color and several cords snaked into his skin, including his bald scalp.
One of his eyes glowed brightly and she guessed it would be neon green.
“Catalyst,” Galen said.
“Yes. This is my place. My property. And you have come here and destroyed what is not yours.” He took a few steps closer, the floor vibrating with each one of his paces.
“They are people, asshole,” Winter bit out. “You can’t own a person. You have no right.”
The man shot her an arrogant look. “I do as I please. I am a genius.” He held his arms out, light gleaming off his enhancements. “I use my superior intelligence to test, experiment, discover great things. To invent new technology to enhance our lives and to improve on our frail bodies.” His gaze swept over Winter. “I see your vision is impaired and subpar. Imagine a world where that can be rectified. Where all imperfections can be fixed and all beings can achieve flawlessness.”
