“My sons.” The female sobbed, tears and other liquids flowing down her dirty countenance. “I don’t know where they are.”

  “We’ll try to find them.” That was all she could offer. “Concentrate on safeguarding your baby now.”

  “Oh, my baby.” Holding the child closer to her breasts, the female dashed into their agri-lot.

  They met more Ahkians, shock freezing their features. Many of them were children. Some were wounded, crimson dripping down their forms.

  She directed them to her home, resisting the urge to tend to the survivors, to hug their shaking forms to her chest. Plucking others out of danger had to be done first. She would clean wounds, offer comfort later.

  “It’s bad.” Vow was finding the situation as difficult as she was. “It’s really bad.”

  “This isn’t bad.” Stealth relentlessly forged forward. “They’re alive. You’ll soon see much worse.” He spoke from horrific experience. She heard that in his voice. “Redirect as much of your emotional system to your machine side as possible. That will help you function.”

  She envied her cyborgs for having that option. Her emotions were severely frayed, her stomach churning.

  A female dashed by her, a huge blade stuck in her skull, blood streaming into her eyes, down her face. She didn’t stop, didn’t appear to see or hear them. The sounds coming from her throat weren’t humanoid.

  Zebrina didn’t have time to absorb that horror. Projectiles shredded the bark of a tree ahead of Stealth.

  He held out his left hand, indicating they were to stay where they were. She looked behind her, ensured their son was there. Then she lifted her guns, aiming them toward the source.

  Stealth darted forward, his body partially obscured by his tremendous speed.

  She forced herself to remain still, every part of her wanting to follow him, cover his back, keep him safe. Gunshots sliced through the noise. Three louder bangs frayed her nerves. The quieter rapid fire stopped.

  Stealth appeared, unharmed, and she resumed breathing, her chest aching. He beckoned them forward.

  She moved toward him and they ventured into absolute anarchy. Bodies were strewn on the vegetation-covered ground. Most of the fatalities were Ahkians, some children, some grown beings, their eyes open and unseeing, their forms twisted. Fire engulfed the domicile, the smoke hindering visibility. Four-armed Palavians ran after beings, mowing them down with projectiles.

  Some of the Ahkians tried to climb the wall. That made them easier targets. The Palavians bombarded them with gunfire. The bodies danced in the air before falling.

  Her male shot the attackers, defending the innocent. Her son joined in the assault. She tried to help. Her reaction time was much slower. Many of the beings were already dead when her projectiles found their mark.

  Three children hid behind a storage structure. They clutched each other, shaking with terror.

  “We have to give them coverage, my male.” The youngsters were at risk where they were.

  He shifted toward the children. “Position them between us.”

  “Come here, children.” She gestured to the ground before her.

  The eldest scooped up the youngest child and ran. Projectiles pierced the soil around them.

  When they were within her reach, she pulled them to her. Two had been saved.

  The third child remained frozen in place, clinging to the structure. “Can’t. Can’t.” The boy shivered.

  He was too scared to move. Urine pooled around his bare feet, the scent flavoring the air.

  “Stay here.” She squeezed the eldest child’s shoulders. “Stealth, I’m retrieving the boy.”

  “Son, protect the offspring.” Her warrior barked that command. “I’m shielding your mom.”

  He turned his back to the Palavians. Red stained the front of his flight suit. Part of his cheek had been blasted away. He’d taken projectiles for her, to keep her safe.

  And he continued to take them, his body shuddering from the impact, the attackers targeting his back. He grimaced and stood still.

  “What are you doing?” She yelled at him, appalled.

  “Go,” he shouted back at her.

  That pushed her to move. She lunged forward. Her male moved with her.

  She peeled the boy away from the structure, drew him back into safety. “Got him.”

  Stealth swung his guns to face the Palavians and blasted them. They fell, their multiple arms twitching.

  Now that the children were protected, her attention returned to her warrior. Blood soaked the remnants of his garment, staining it crimson. His silver frame was visible. Hunks of skin and muscle hung off his shoulder blades.

  “You’re hurting.” Because of her. Bile crawled up her throat.

  “I’ll repair.” His voice was tight. “Stay behind me.”

  They shuffled slowly to the edge of the agri-lot. An Ahkian female and her little girl joined them, slipping between Zebrina and Vow. Projectiles whizzed by them.

  Her two cyborgs shot every enemy within range. Stealth downed beings coolly, quickly, effectively. Vow was noisier and more random with his shooting.

  “Take that, you fuckers.” Their son peppered a male with a barrage of projectiles. The being gyrated in the air before dropping to the ground. Another male ran toward them. “You. Fuck.”

  “Vow?” Had he been hurt?

  “I’m alive.” Pain edged his words.

  “You fucker.” She shot at the male who had dared to harm her son.

  “I have him, my female.” Her warrior did the same.

  The enemy grasped his chest, toppling over. She didn’t know whose projectile ended his life. She suspected it belonged to her male.

  They moved toward the main pathway, an area already cleared of the Palavians. Fewer and fewer projectiles passed them, until, finally there was no shooting.

  They had reached safety.

  “Take them and run as fast as you can to my domicile.” She nudged the children toward the other female. “You’ll be protected there.”

  “Thank you.” The Ahkian led the children away from them, heading in the direction of the walled agri-lot.

  Zebrina looked up at her son. “Vow.” She touched his wounded cheek, seeing the silver of his reinforced skull through the gore. “You’re hurt.”

  “It’s nothing, Mom.” His gaze shifted to the site of the attack. “There are more beings to save.”

  That act would have consequences attached to it. “Your father is injured too.” She met Stealth’s gaze, feeling her two males’ pain as though it were her own. “You must be in agony.”

  “I’ve experienced worse.” He also surveyed the scene before them, father and son alike in that regard, both of them warriors to their frames. “Do we go back in?”

  She didn’t want to risk her males’ lifespans again, to cause them more hurt. But… “Children are dying.”

  “We go back in.” Stealth made the decision for her.

  “We go back in.” She sighed, wishing that wasn’t necessary.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Stealth’s body pulsed with pain. That agony was eclipsed by his concern for his female, his absolute terror that she would be damaged…or worse.

  He was also concerned for his son but to a lesser degree. Vow was a cyborg, could heal quickly, was designed to be difficult to kill.

  His female was human and fragile. One projectile could take her away from him forever.

  If their mission was merely eliminating the enemy, Stealth would send Zebrina back to their domicile, put her in charge of the beings hiding there. He had been trained to end lifespans, didn’t require any assistance with that.

  The Palavians were disorganized, sloppy, humanoid. His son had downed a few of them, gaining much needed knowledge about battle. The two of them could easily finish them off.

  But they were saving males, females, offspring also. He had no experience with that, suspected the Ahkians might be more scared of him than of their attackers. Zebrina’s presence eased their fears. She knew how to comfort them, how to motivate the humanoids to take action.

  His female’s face was pale. Lines were etched around her lips. She worried yet she bravely insisted on doing what she thought was right.

  He loved her for that.

  “Stay behind me.” He reminded her.

  “I will.” She nodded.

  Son, he transmitted. Are you ready?

  I k-killed a being. And that caused him damage. Stealth heard it in his words. A being isn’t living because of me. He won’t see another sunrise, hug his mom, eat nourishment, be—

  Focus on your mission. He barked at his son, seeking to temporarily redirect his processors. You must protect your mom. Can you do that?

  Yes, sir. Vow straightened. I’ll protect her.

  They would deal with the aftermath when the danger was over. He’d help his son absorb what he had done, the lifespans he’d had to end. That was the burden of every warrior.

  They ventured back into the thick of battle. Stealth performed constant lifeform scans. That was useful to locate beings. It couldn’t distinguish between allies and enemies.

  Shots fired at him, originating behind a tree. He stopped the projectiles with his form, gritting his teeth at the pain.

  Moving wasn’t an option. His delicate female stood behind him.

  Stealth spotted the gun pointed at him and the hand holding it. The skin wasn’t blue. The being was an enemy.

  He shot at the exposed wrist. The Palavian caught the weapon with his lower hand, bending over slightly to do that.

  The next projectile Stealth delivered struck the male’s head. Brains splattered. The enemy fell.

  Stealth led his little troop toward a lifeform concealed in an upturned container. That must be an ally. Judging from the size of the container, it was an offspring.

  “Under there, my female.” He nodded toward the hiding place, scanning the terrain.

  A bearded human male met his gaze. The being ran in the opposite direction. He must have been aligned with the Palavians. The Ahkians hated humans.

  Stealth didn’t waste projectiles on him. The human was fleeing the battle, shouldn’t harm Zebrina.

  She lifted the container, offered the clever little girl hiding under it her hand. The offspring clutched his female’s fingers, allowed herself to be pulled out of her makeshift shelter.

  They rescued more and more beings, mostly offspring and females, escorting them to the main pathway, instructing them to run to his female’s domicile.

  The attackers, many of which were Palavian, either were killed or they took one look at him, at his son, and fled. Stealth’s lips flattened. Having a reputation as a killing machine had its advantages.

  The gunfire decreased, then stopped, the quiet eerie. The domicile burned. Bodies were strewn over the ground. He stepped over them, moving toward a grouping of six lifeforms.

  Vow holstered his guns, his body relaxing.

  It was much too early to do that. What are you doing? Stealth frowned.

  The battle is over. His son’s forehead furrowed.

  Is it over? Stealth scanned the area. Have you visually confirmed the thirteen beings within range are our allies?

  They aren’t shooting at us. His son drew his weapons.

  More training was necessary. If you were being hunted, would you announce your presence with random shots or would you remain silent, wait for the ideal time to attack?

  I’d remain silent. His son looked around them, his vigilance restored. When is the battle over?

  When you’ve identified every remaining lifeform as an ally, then and only then is the battle over. He approached a large rock, glimpsed a pale blue hand grasping a gun. These are allies. “My female—”

  Projectiles blasted his chest, ripping into him, the pain excruciating. The fraggin’ Ahkian was shooting at him.

  “We’re friends.” He used the words his female shared with some of the humanoids. “We’ll take you to safety.”

  “You’re no friend of mine.” It wasn’t an unknown Ahkian holding the gun. It was Odoon, his female’s friend. “This is all your fault, machine. You’re the reason we’re on this planet.” He punctuated each accusation with projectiles. “You’re the reason my female and my children are dead. You’re the reason she rejected me.”

  “Stop shooting at my male, Odoon,” Zebrina yelled. “We’re trying to help you.”

  “Help me?” The Ahkian blasted the flesh off Stealth’s chest, the agony almost shorting his circuits. “He’ll kill me. He kills everyone. That’s all he’s programmed to do—end lifespans.”

  “You’re hurting my male intentionally?” His female stepped forward. “You’re going to die for that.” She aimed her gun at her former friend. “I’m going to shoot you mys—”

  “No.” Stealth pulled her behind her, protecting her with his body. “I’ll deal with this.”

  The humanoid was malfunctioning and armed. He didn’t want his female anywhere near him.

  “Yes, deal with me.” Odoon shot him again. “Kill me. That’s what you’re good at.”

  Stealth suspected that was what the Ahkian wanted. He’d seen beings break under the strain of battle. Some of them killed themselves. Some of them ran into battle, hoping the enemy would complete that task for them.

  Odoon, being a pacifist, had chosen the last option, uncaring of how it would damage Zebrina.

  Stealth, however, did care. He would never do that to her. Raising his guns, he calmly aimed and pressed the triggers, shooting the gun out of the male’s hand.

  “Fuck.” The Ahkian tried to use his other hand.

  Stealth shot that gun too. “I can do this all planet rotation.”

  “Kill me, you emotionless machine.” The male’s words were edged with hysteria. “Kill me.”

  “What is your plan, Odoon?” a female quietly asked. “He comes closer to us and what happens? You shoot him? You can’t hold a gun.”

  There was a pause.

  “You want to die?” The female raised her voice. “No. No. No. I won’t allow that.” Weapons were tossed in Stealth’s direction. “We’re unarmed, cyborg, and there are four babies with us. If you’re going to kill us, kill us now.”

  “We’re rescuing you, not killing you.” Zebrina hollered that truth back at her. “I’m Zebrina. The cyborg Odoon hurt is Stealth, my male. You delivered our son.”

  “I should have known it was her. It is always about her.” The female’s comment was too softly spoken for his human to hear it. “Odoon has been shot.” She said that louder. “I’ve stopped the bleeding…for now. But he can’t walk.”

  “Go. Leave me.” The Ahkian male told her. “Take the children to safety.”

  “I’m not leaving you and I can’t carry the babies by myself.” The female argued with him. “There are too many of them.”

  “Stealth?” Zebrina gazed at him. “What should we do? He could hurt you again.”

  “The probability of that is low.” He navigated them around the rock, using his body to shield his female.

  Odoon was sprawled on the ground, his legs bloody from multiple projectile wounds. Strips of fabric were tied around his upper thighs. The male’s head rested in a female’s lap. She wore a white jacket, like healers often donned. The garment was stained red.

  Four newly manufactured offspring lay beside them, cooing, kicking their chubby legs, innocently unaware of everything around them.

  “Babies on the battlefield,” his female whispered.

  Stealth grinned at her, amused by her observation. She smiled back at him.

  “Of course, you think my situation is amusing.” Odoon’s face darkened. “Unlike some machines.” He glanced at Stealth’s projectile-splattered chest, damage he was responsible for inflicting. “I’m a being and I feel pain when I get shot. That knowledge must give you pleasure.”

  He felt pain when he was shot. Stealth pressed his lips together, his mirth evaporating. He merely didn’t talk about it, not wanting to emotionally damage his female.

  “He’s not a ma—”

  “We have to move.” Stealth interrupted his female’s defense of him. Staying still made them easy-to-kill targets. “There are seven…no, four unidentified beings in the terrain.” Three of the beings no longer appeared on the lifeform scans. They had either died or ventured out of his range. “It isn’t safe to stay here.”

  “Go.” Odoon waved them away from him. “Take the children and leave me here.”

  The male’s knowledge of Zebrina must be lacking if he believed she’d allow that to happen.

  Stealth evaluated their options. Either he or Vow would have to convey the male.

  Are you willing to lead the group? He asked his son privately. You will have to take any enemy fire we receive. That will hurt.

  I can do it, Dad. His son vibrated with excitement.

  Dad. Stealth’s heart squeezed. His son had claimed him as his father. “I’ll carry you, Ahkian.”

  “Fuck you.” Odoon curled his top lip.

  “I’ll assume that’s a yes.” Stealth couldn’t resist provoking the Ahkian.

  “That’s a yes.” Zebrina answered for her friend. “Though he deserves to be left behind. He shot you. Multiple times.” Her outrage on his behalf eased his pain. “I can take two of the babies.” She carefully picked up the tiny humanoids, holding them to her chest. “They warrant saving.”

  “I can take the other two babies.” The Healer cradled the newly manufactured offspring in her arms.

  Stealth gripped Odoon and hefted him onto his right shoulder. The male was heavier than Zebrina but much lighter than Boom. Sadness flitted through his circuits, briefly there and then gone, his attention on the possible danger.

  “Be careful with him, cyborg.” The Healer danced around him, her hands occupied by the offspring. “He’s a humanoid, not a machine.”

  “No one here is a machine.” His female’s tone was tart. “My male is always careful. Be grateful Stealth is agreeing to carry him at all.”

  He was careful with her and with his son, not necessarily with everyone else. Son? They’d been stationary for too long.

  “Stay behind me.” His son echoed his often-issued command.