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Axe took another step. Several soldiers appeared from the partially dismantled buildings and took up ready positions to watch the confrontation. They were all armed, but none of them pointed their weapons at Axe… yet. She hoped it stayed that way. As tough as he was, Axe wasn’t immune to weapon fire.
“I haven’t stolen Amun. He chose me.”
“So you say. Too bad you’re sleeping with the only person who could verify that. Dr. Rey has made one poor decision after another since arriving here. I’ll be sure to convey my concerns to the oversight committee. Could you let her know that? It would set my mind at ease if you would.”
She hissed and clenched her free hand into a fist. “Such an asshole.”
Thanks to Hera, Rin saw Axe’s jaw clench and his shoulders tighten. If Douglas didn’t stop talking, this would blow up like a supernova.
“Of course. That way she’ll have time to draft up a rebuttal to all your lies.” Axe took another step. He was only a few meters away from Douglas, now. She’d seen Axe move and knew he was close enough he could cover the distance before the lieutenant could do anything.
“I said don’t come any closer!” Douglas drew his blaster and aimed it at her lover.
After that, things happened too fast for her to track. One second Axe stood facing Douglas. The next, the lieutenant was on the ground with Axe’s boot on his chest and his staff extended and pointed at Douglas’s throat. The lieutenant’s weapon lay a few meters away, too far for Douglas to reach.
“Do. Not. Move.” Axe’s commanding voice rumbled with the power of an avalanche. Without looking away from Douglas, Axe raised his voice and added, “And no one else do anything stupid. Your lieutenant is an idiot, but he was right about one thing. I am one of the most dangerous weapons in the galaxy.”
Rin shivered, a response that had nothing to do with the tension of the moment and everything to do with the sudden spike of lust that slammed into her without warning. Not now, she told herself. You can go gooey over the badass cyborg later.
The others had a different reaction to Axe’s warning. They lowered their weapons.
“Take him down!” Douglas yelled. “Why are you just standing there?”
“Because they’re smarter than you,” Axe snarled. “And none of them want to die today.”
Douglas kept blustering. “He’s alone! You fraxxing cowards are a disgrace to the uniform.”
Rin decided to join the conversation. She rose into view, making sure everyone could see the plasma pistol she held. “Actually, he’s not alone. And for the record, Lieutenant, I think you are a bigger disgrace to that uniform.”
“How the hell are you here?” Douglas lifted his head to stare at her, which earned him a poke with Axe’s staff.
“Don’t move,” Axe reminded him.
“I’m a fast healer,” she replied. “Now, where are Subjects Four and Six?”
“They never made it back to camp. Your bad decisions cost the program both—hnggh.” His sentence ended with a wheeze as Axe pressed down on his chest.
“We know that’s not true. They made it back here safely, which means they were in your care when they vanished. You either lost them or did something to them. Either way, I want to know.” Rin channeled all her anger into her words, which helped keep her voice steady and strong despite how worried she was.
“How could you possibly know they made it back?” Douglas’s voice was a raspy wheeze, but she heard him well enough.
“The subjects are psychically linked. Testing the extent of that link was one of the reasons for this mission. It turns out they can stay connected for more than the kilometer we confirmed previously.”
“That’s not in your reports,” Douglas whined.
Rin saw an opportunity and took it. “You mean it wasn’t in the daily summaries I submitted to you. You only saw what I wanted you to see.”
“That’s what you think. I saw the drone footage. They used coordinated, strategic attacks against the drones. Those creatures are weapons of war, and you want to treat them like pets!”
“No, Lieutenant. I want to treat them like intelligent, sentient beings.”
“Then you’re a fool. Do you know what even a sample of their DNA is worth?”
Axe growled. “You want to enslave them the same way the corporations tried to enslave cyborgs like me. They’re not property to be used or sold. Now for the last time, Lieutenant. Where are the missing psy-hawks?”
Sutherland spoke up. “They’re in the shuttle already. We slipped them some knock-out gas while they were asleep and removed two from their cages before the others woke up. They’re in cryo-pods. I saw two more pods in the same section. Could be more of them.”
“You backstabbing bastard,” Douglas said, glaring.
