Page 4 of The Lone Cyborg
“Did the man give you his name?”
“John Smith.” The doctor shook his head. “Didn’t seem likely but I figured he was just trying to keep his bosses from finding out that he’d been involved in a shooting. I bandaged him up and sent him on his way, but the more I thought about it, the less I liked it. He said he’d been in a poker game that went bad, but I don’t see how it could have been anywhere around here. And if it was in New Arcadia, why didn’t he just go to the clinic there?”
He frowned, echoing the doctor’s doubts.
“Anything else bother you about him?”
“He said his brother brought him in, but the man he drove off with didn’t look anything like him. And I’m sure I saw another two men in the back of the rover.”
“Can you describe any of them?”
“The driver was grey-haired, probably about sixty years old. The wounded man was younger, maybe thirty, dark hair, stocky build. Average height, I guess. Hard to believe they’re actually brothers. Both wore coveralls like all the miners, but they didn’t fit very well. “
“Any description of the other two?”
“Not really,” the doctor said with a shrug. “They were wearing coveralls too but I didn’t see much more than the back of their heads and shoulders. But they looked like big guys.”
He ran through a quick mental inventory of all the miners in the area but while a few of them shared a claim with a friend or a brother, there weren’t any with three other partners. And if they were power plant workers on a spree, how had they ended up out here?
“Which way did they go?”
“Towards town, but there’s a lot of land between here and there.”
A rover would take several days to make the trip but Trojan could cover the distance much more quickly. The horses had been assigned to the rangers for just that reason—they were faster and more agile than the bulky rovers. He nodded.
“There is, but I was heading in that direction anyway. I’ll keep an eye out.”
“Thanks. Like I said, it might not be anything but it still seemed strange.”
“If I catch up with them, I’ll let you know next time I’m back this way.”
The doctor thanked him again as he mounted again and set off. He’d intended to check in on a few other settlements but the four strangers bothered him and he decided to keep going.
The temperature dropped steadily as night fell but the nanites in his system prevented him from feeling the cold. Trojan was also immune to the cold and they kept up a steady pace throughout the night. He kept watch for campfires or any lights that didn’t belong but he didn’t see anything unusual and he continued on in the cold dark.
Just like when I arrived here.He’d still been in shock from the transformation. Before the incident that had changed everything he’d been a soldier, fighting for a cause he believed in, protecting the innocent from those who would do them harm. But in the end, it had been his own innocence that had been shattered, his body broken and remade into something not quite human.
Their memories were supposed to be erased during the transformation, but he could still vividly remember the blast that had ripped through his unit’s transport, the searing pain as shrapnel tore through his flesh, the panic in his comrades’ voices as they dragged him from the wreckage. When he had woken up in the medbay weeks later, more machine than man, he had barely recognized himself. The transition had been hard, learning to live in a body that was no longer entirely his own.
And once he arrived on Mars there had been so many long cold lonely nights as he worked on the terraforming process. He’dshut off what remained of his emotions just so he could endure that time. But becoming a ranger had given him a new purpose, a new sense of belonging. The settlers—however reluctantly—looked to him for protection and for justice, and he did his best to provide it. And then there was Mattie, with her quick wit and unbreakable spirit, reminding him that there was still beauty and connection to be found in this harsh new world.
She’s not for me, he reminded himself once again but her image kept him company until he reached New Arcadia just as the sun rose. The town was built primarily between the sheltering walls of a huge ravine, although it was beginning to spread beyond that initial foundation. He guided Trojan through the airlock and onto the dusty streets of New Arcadia. The town was just beginning to stir, a few early risers emerging from the variety of buildings that composed the town—everything from the sleek modernism of GenCon headquarters to ramshackle dwellings built from salvaged parts.
When he reached the cyborg rangers’ headquarters, he dismounted and led Trojan to the stables. He’d just put him in a stall when M-231 entered. He was one of the newer cyborgs, his enhancements less visible than J-418’s metal hand and arm, and even though the other cyborg was as big and muscular as all of them, he always seemed very young to J-418.
“Morning.” A smile twisted the scar marring M-231’s youthful good looks. “I didn’t expect you back so soon.”
“I wasn’t planning on it either, but I skipped the last of my visits and rode through the night.”
“Something wrong?”
“I don’t know. I hope not, but I wanted to follow up on a report.”
He quickly conveyed the doctor’s information and M-231 nodded thoughtfully.
“I’ve been hearing rumors about a small group of outlaws raiding homesteads. And mines,” the other cyborg added. “No one has come forward to make an official report but they might be too frightened to do so. The gang has a bad reputation. But the rumors came from the east of town, not the west so there might not be any connection.”
But what if they’d moved on?Mattie.His heart skipped a beat despite his nanites’ attempt to maintain an even rhythm. Had he left her exposed to a potential threat? He immediately started to lead Trojan back out of the stall.
