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.
