Chapter Nine – Gylden
Gylden was filled with an intense feeling of satisfaction as Taskus Draw's expression went from fear to pain to anger to terror. When the Suesue fell to his knees, Gylden smiled and withdrew his blade. The fulfillment of all these years of longing to run Taskus Draw through left him feeling almost giddy, even as alarms started wailing.
The doors burst open. Gylden turned fluidly. He grasped Bianca's arm and pushed her behind himself. Guards poured in armed with blasters, electrical sticks, and cudgels. The T'shav grinned as he leaped into the midst of them, slicing at the nearest once. The guard's uniform seemed to ripple as his blade came down; it thickened on impact, protecting the guard from the traluthian blade.
Nanite armor. Gylden's smile slipped from his face. His sword was useless against such a defense.
The guard he had tried to cut punched him in the face. Gylden stumbled back, letting his sword fall. Another guard punched him in the kidneys and he dropped to a knee, groaning in pain. His heart hammered. Their blows didn't hurt too much. He just had to wait for the right moment to take them down. But how could he do that?
Nanites could only survive one bolt from a blaster. Gylden kicked out the feet of the nearest guard and rolled over him, narrowly avoiding the electric sticks from the other guards. They were all concentrated on him, ignoring Bianca as she crouched behind Taskus Draw's desk. Good. It was easier for him this way, not worrying about her getting hurt.
Gylden grabbed the guard's blaster, easily flicking it from stun to kill. He put a double blast into the man's chest before turning. The others aimed their guns at him, but as they let off their rounds, he rolled again. One of the blasts hit another guard, making him stumble back. Gylden leaped to his feet, firing rapidly.
A shower of small, black dots burst off the guards' bodies. Gylden could see the nanites left scrambling to cover the exposed area, but even as the guards moved in as one, he dropped the blaster and struck out with fists and feet. It was easy to twist a knife from one of them. The thinned nanite armor was no protection against the sharp blade.
Within seconds it was over. Gylden stared down at the bodies, a savage grin on his face.
"My life doesn't belong to you anymore!" he shouted as a drone flew into his face. "My life is mine!"
Bianca peeked out from behind the desk. Her face was bloodless, but she pressed her lips together in determination. She scrambled out from behind the desk and dropped to her knees beside Taskus Draw. Gylden's brows rose to his short hairline as she started patting the fallen host's body.
"What are you doing?"
"Looking for his security keys," she said. "I don't have time to build another EMP generator, but if we have his keys…"
Taskus Draw coughed, blood trickling from his mouth. Gylden snatched up his sword and stalked over. He put the blade against the host's throat but hesitated. He wasn't even sure why he hesitated. Despite wanting to see the man dead and his own conscious saying he couldn't leave him suffering in spite of his evils, Gylden couldn't kill him. Not like this.
"I wonder how many viewers are tuning in to see if you live or die," the T'shav said, his voice perfectly even. "I wonder if we should have a public vote on whether I could cut off your head or not. Or perhaps it would be better for my fellow gladiators to vote."
Bianca gave a cry of triumph as she pulled Taskus Draw's bracelet off. She pressed a few of the rubies embedded in the gold, and the large sapphire glowed with a green light.
"This is it. It'll let us get anywhere, if I'm correct." She jumped to her feet and grabbed Gylden's hand. "We have to go now. More guards will be on their way."
Gylden nodded. She tugged on him, and he turned his back on the dying host. Bianca led him through the corridors, always holding his hand. They ran into guards a few times, but they were simple to deal with. A strange feeling beat against Gylden's chest as they ran. This was escape. This was freedom.
When they got to the docking yard, Gylden almost stopped. Just beyond the ships was a wide expanse of utter darkness. He'd never seen that sort of deep dark before. He'd been kept in the center of the ship when he was brought here and he had lived in the constant light of the filming drones ever since. He shuddered as he considered just how dark and empty space was.
"Hurry," Bianca urged, running for the nearest ship. "We have to leave now!"
Gylden followed her onto the ship. His stomach twisted itself into knots as Bianca jumped into the pilot's chair. She worked quickly, her hands flying over the controls, and soon they were off. Ships followed them from the station, but with a few adjustments to their course, Bianca had them taking off into the deep of space before any could lock onto their position.
Both sat absolutely still for a long time before Gylden stirred. "Is that it? Are we free?"
"Almost." Bianca pointed at the drones still hovering over their heads.
Gylden grunted and raised the blaster he still held. Five quick blasts and the drones burst into thousands of pieces, the charred ruins falling to the floor. It felt good. Really, really good. He grinned and turned to Bianca. Her hands were shaking, her eyes wide, but she smiled back at him.
"We're free."
She threw herself at him, her arms wrapping around his head, but after only a few kisses Gylden pulled away. Bianca looked startled, and he shrugged apologetically.
"We have to talk."
"We can talk after."
"No… You were only with me because you were forced to be. Now that we're free… Where do we go from here? I've never had this sort of choice before. What am I going to do? All I know is how to kill, and even if we're free for now, we're still technically slaves. We belong to the Rayne Five Network. Nobody in this galaxy is going to help a couple of escaped slaves."
Bianca's expression hardened with determination. "That's where you're wrong. There are plenty of anti-slavery groups. And as for where to go… Well, all humans have an open invitation to go to Zon's Sanctuary. He protects humans. He'll protect you, too."
Gylden frowned. Zon was one of the few people outside the network that he had heard of. "But he's a bloodthirsty, ruthless warlord."
"He's built a place for humans to live in peace, away from the corporations that want to experiment on them or sell them or any of that stuff." Bianca grasped his hand. "Where else can we go?"
The T'shav opened his mouth, but he didn't have any answers. Billions of people knew their faces. Could they find refuge anywhere? And if Zon was the ruthless warlord he had always heard he was, then he would have a need for a good fighter like Gylden. Perhaps he was trading one life of violence for another, but maybe it didn't matter.
Bianca was safe. Their child was safe. He rested a hand on her belly and smiled. His mate put her hands over his, and when he met her eyes, he could see the truth in them. She wasn't going anywhere and neither was he. The future might be uncertain, but there was one certainty. They would face it together.