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Good going, Nara. I think you broke him.
Core
Lennox’s Complex
Istood in the hallway, my brothers beside me, feeling lost. Brone had left yesterday to go and find our Miss Nara. He promised he would comm as soon as he could. The three of us desperately wanted to speak to her and find out for ourselves if she was truly okay.
The sense of loss was doubled this time. Not only was Miss Nara gone, but our new friend, Brone, was gone as well. The three of us were left without anyone, wandering the halls, worried and alone. The rest of the rebellion had been nothing but kind. They tried to engage us in conversation, offered to spend mealtimes with us, or just joined us for conversation in our quarters.
The smaller Military Model, Theo, had been especially concerned with our welfare. His human mother finally had to order him to stop knocking on our door. We appreciated his concern. And his stubbornness that me and my brothers knew had to come from his father.
Reaper had been the one cyborg we had completely avoided. We had done it even before Miss Nara was gone. The leader of the cyborg rebellion was quite terrifying. He stomped around, barking out orders with a battle axe strapped to his back.
Caliber, Chaos, and I hadn’t wanted to do anything to anger him, afraid of his wrath. Then when we discovered he had been the one to take Miss Nara away, that fear had turned to anger of our own. Miss Nara was nothing but good and kind. She would never hurt anyone, especially those who had aided in giving us our freedom.
She loved us and we loved her in return. Andhehad taken her from us. Even if she believed it was the best plan, we were sure that there had to have been a better plan. But there was no waythatMilitary Model would have listened. He had disliked Miss Nara from the moment he saw her, and he had never trusted her.
Learning about her deception gave him all the reason he needed to justify making her leave. Granted, the three of us would have preferred she had told us the truth. But there was not an evil bone in Miss Nara’s body. She had done everything in her power to protect us. Even back at the lab, she would be taunted about her treatment of us, about how she cared despite us being nothing more than machines.
Her only mistake was trusting the Global Allegiance. Something she had been trying to make up for ever since our creation.
We felt her embedded in our code, a constant warm and reassuring presence that made us feel safe and connected. Without her, there was a hole in our programming.
Caliber sighed. “We should just go back to our quarters, Core. Wait for Brone to call.”
“Caliber is right. There is no reason for us to go anywhere. If there is an issue, I am sure one of the other cyborgs will inform us.”
“Hopefully that cyborg won’t be Reaper,” Caliber shuddered.
“My processors urge me to punch him in the face,” Chaos growled. “I am quite sure I would enjoy it.”
A laugh echoed behind us. “Ah, you must be talking about Reaper.”
The three of us turned and found Axios standing there wearing a grin. “Trust me, we have all thought about punching him in the face a time or two. He opens his mouth and boom, you want to hit him. Problem is, being a Military Model, he would most likely take it as a compliment.” Axios shrugged.
I took a step away from my brothers, the constant reassuring pressure of their shoulders against mine lost as I eyed the unique cyborg. The rebellion had brought us all kinds of surprises. Axios had been one of them.
The mishmash of model types used to create his frame made it impossible not to want to know more about him. He was fascinating and made us all curious, but the sadness we had glimpsed in his eyes had kept us from inquiring.
It was clear, even to three cyborgs fresh from the vat, that he hadn’t been made that way because he wanted it. Fusion marks were visible on his skin when moved a certain way. The most noticeable were the ones where his head had been attached to his torso. The jagged scorch marks wrapped all the way around his throat, a garish set of lines that spoke to the pain he must have endured.
Yet here he stood, smiling. He truly was a cyborg to admire. “Axios, how may we help you?”
“I thought the three of you might agree to accompany me to dinner.” He put up his hands. “No pressure. I know that you haven’t wanted to venture out of your quarters. I totally get it. You miss Nara and Brone and probably, based on Chaos wanting to punch Reaper, are putting some of the blame on him.”
I narrowed my golden eyes. “Do you not believe he had any responsibility in our creator’s departure?”
Two rumbles of displeasure sounded from behind me.
Axios blinked, his smile dropping as he sighed. “Based on his pattern of reacting first then thinking later, I am sure he did not handle things in the best way. He most likely reacted with anger and mistrust to hide the fact that he was afraid.”
Caliber stepped forward, moving a bit closer to the colorful cyborg. “He was afraid of Miss Nara? That is illogical. She would be no match for him. One blow and he could end her life in an instant.”
Axios hesitated, then crossed the short distance separating us. “Fighting or ending a life he deems to be a threat to those he loves doesn’t scare Reaper. He will do anything to keep those he loves safe. But with Nara’s value to the Global Allegiance and the fact that they are pursuing us to get to her makes her someone who can potentially hurt those he cares for. The Global Allegiance won’t stop. And they will kill or destroy anything or anyone in their way.”
“Like Torque,” Caliber whispered.
Axios’ eyes became wet. “Yes.” He shook his head as if he could clear away the pain that had surfaced at the mention of the fallen cyborg’s name. “The loss of one of our own is still fresh. Reaper blames himself. As does Brone, I would imagine, since he was there when Torque fell.”
