11.4.43
GCS Dante
1700 Hours
For a moment, Jake was too stunned to move. She was dead, she died right in front of him, how is this possible? He wondered for an instant if he had lost his mind. He dismissed the thought when he focused on Eve's face. There she was, staring at him in real time on the view screen before him.
All Jake could muster were the five words, "be there in a sec," and then he turned off the console.
Jake stared at the blank screen, almost as if it would reveal the answers to his questions. This was just too damn strange. People don't come back to life. Once they die, they are dead, and they stay that way. Forever. What he was seeing was either a bad dream, or he had missed something important somewhere along the line. She had died on the table, hadn't she? Of course she had, Renara was right there with him. The doctor had looked just as shocked as he knew himself to look. And her voice? What was going on?
He hesitated for a few moments, having to work up the will power to move himself from his quarters to the infirmary. For the brief instant he was in transport he wondered if this wasn't some sort of trick, some elaborate Necron scheme. He had no time to continue though as he was now at his destination. He appeared just to the left of Renara while Eve was standing a good ten feet across the room, next to the comm. pad.
Physically, she had not changed at all. She still looked like the frail blonde girl he had rescued back in New York. But she had changed. At first, Jake wasn't aware of it, he was too shocked to pay close attention. It took him a few moments before he noticed something was different.
As he looked at Eve he could se that she was carrying herself with more confidence than she previously had. And he eyes, they seemed almost to sparkle, they radiated the almost imperceptible message, "I am different." He soon came to realize he was feeling the second energy signature that had appeared in her earlier.
Jake turned to the doctor.
"Hey, don't look at me. She woke up on her own. I was about to put her on ice when she opened her eyes. Scared the shit out of me."
"So she wasn't dead?"
"I guess not," the doctor replied simply.
"What the hell do you mean 'I guess not?' " Jake almost shouted.
"Well, it looks like her body went into an extreme state of suspended animation. I mean, I've never seen anything like it. For all intents and purposes she may a as well have been dead. Her body activity had almost entirely ceased. And, I only had her hooked up to the monitors for a few minutes. Maybe if I had her hooked up longer Id've noticed." The doctor almost looked amused.
"So what you're telling me is that if she hadn't woke up just now, she'd be frozen solid?"
"If you put it that way..."
"If you put it that way it means you screwed up! What the hell kind of doctor are you, she wasn't even dead!" Jake was angry now. Mistakes like that should never be made, especially by medical personnel. He was about to give the doctor and ass-chewing when Eve, in a voice certainly not of her own, interrupted.
"Gentlemen, please, we have much to discuss. You may argue later, of you wish."
Jake turned to face her. He was no longer dealing with Eve, he was sure. Whatever was in her was either a symbiote and a parasite. He had to deal with this carefully.
"Who are you, and what are you doing in that girl's body?" He demanded.
"Calm yourself, my friend. I shall explain my presence." Eve paused for a moment as a smile crossed her face. Jake saw no humor in the situation.
"What is so funny?"
"Eve says you are 'cute' when you are angry."
Jake ignored the comment. Almost. "Since I am not talking to Eve, with whom am I speaking?"
"You speak to Solarak, Terran. I am the last of the Amnae. My essence was placed into those crystals your Coalition uses a power source. I have waited for centuries to be awaken by someone that has Amnian blood with them."
"Whoa. Information overload," Jake thought.
While Jake was momentarily preoccupied in thought, Doctor Renara vocalized his questions.
"Uh, Solarak, are you the invisible power that drives the Amnian crystals? Our scientists have never been able to figure out how they can sustain their power output indefinitely."
"Indeed, I am. My power shall remain within the crystals, undiminished, until the end of time."
The doctor turned to Jake.
"Well, how 'bout that? One of the greatest mysteries of the universe solved in what?: 30 seconds?"
"Jake ignored the doctor's amusement. He was more concerned with the possible threat Solarak posed.
As if sensing his suspicion, Solarak tried to assure him.
"I have no hostile intentions, Mr. Devaro, I-"
Jake moved with fantastic speed and grabbed Eve by the throat, lifting her off the ground. He was filled with a rage that had surfaced from the recessed of his mind. He started to squeeze.
"Major, what the fuck are you doing?" the doctor cried.
But Jake couldn't hear him. The only thing that reached his ears was that voice, the voice that was responsible for...? He didn't know. While continuing to crush Eve's throat he tried to remember why that voice triggered his rage. All that was clear was 'Mr. Devaro.' But he had been called that a thousand times before, it was his name for God's sake. What was different now?
Jake's anger slipped away as Eve's started rolling back into her head and the weak grip she had on his arms ceased. He began to hear Renara's screaming when he let go of Eve's throat and dropped to his knees. What the hell was going on?
The doctor rushed to Eve's side as she stumbled and gasped for air. Amazingly, after no more than thirty seconds, her partially crushed throat began to repair itself and the marks on her neck disappeared. She soon shrugged off the doctor and stood on her own. A look of concern crossed her face when her eyes fell upon Jake.
She knelt down in front of him. "Are you alright?"
Her voice was its normal, feminine tone again. He didn't know what to say. After nearly suffocating her to death, she was asking him if he was alright? Nothing was making any sense. Jake's head began to spin.
"Jake, if you only knew what I do, you wouldn't be so surprised. It's not your fault, you didn't deserve what they did to you, no one does." Her voice was sympathetic and understanding.
"What are you talking about?" he managed to ask.
At that instant, Trunks wandered into the infirmary. He was bewildered at the sight before him and stood transfixed in the doorway. He wasn't sure what was going on, but whatever it was it didn't look good. Renara told him to get his ass out of the doorway. He wondered silently to the gods how he had managed to get himself in another mess.
The doctor walked up to the confused purple-haired boy and told him in a calm and firm tone to leave, and not to tell a soul about what he had just seen or heard. Not even Goku or Bulma. Trunks had no idea what he had just seen or heard, but the got the message. Obviously, he stumbled in on something he shouldn't have. Nodding and once again wishing he could go home, Trunks left the room.
Meanwhile, Jake and Eve had gotten up and moved to the doctor's conference room. When Renara returned they were silent, apparently waiting for his arrival. They spent the next three hours discussing what happened the other day.
Eve did most of the talking. She spoke of Solarak's merging with her, of the great Amnian civilization, and of what she had learned while Solarak fed information into her brain. She made it clear that Solarak could do nothing without her allowing it. His presence augmented her abilities, but she was always in control. He only asked, suggested and hinted at what he would like to know or be done. He was able to reveal to her the extent of his knowledge, but everything else they had learned required Eve's doing.
While her body had been lying on the table aboard the Dante, her mind, with Solarak's guidance, had been accessing Coalition databanks light-years away. Solarak had learned nearly everything there was to know about the Coalition by accessing thousands of databanks throughout the galaxy. Traveling at the speed of thought it didn't take very long. The only places beyond his reach were the super bio-encrypted datavaults in the Tycho system. As a result of their gaining all this knowledge, Eve knew Jake better than he knew himself.
Jake listened patiently as she told what had been done to him. Apparently, the 'scientists' tinkering had left some unexpected side effects, such as his occasional blind impulsiveness and sudden rage. What scared him the most was that he could remember nothing, nothing at all about it. What hurt him the most was that Resa knew all about it and had never said a word to him about it. He reasoned that Resa had to know, because she had been there with him when he went in, and was there when he woke up. He had been betrayed, and it hurt. Unfortunately for him, his personal revelations had to be set aside as the business of the Necrons was brought up.
Occasionally, he or Renara would interrupt with a question, but for the most part she talked and they listened. At last, when she had finished, the entire reality of it all set in. If what she was telling him about the Necrons was true, they were all going to die. Their stand at Gargantua would be the end, and the Coalition would lose. When he went to Earth to recruit Goku and the rest, he knew the situation was grim. He also knew that the Necrons had no intention of ever coming to Earth, it was too small and undeveloped to be bothered with. He had lied in hopes of increasing his chances that they would agree to come with him, and they had. The gamble paid off.
Jake had thought of this as a necessary evil, lying to them. If he convinced the gang that their planet was in danger, they would surely agree to join him. And then, with their help, the Coalition could repel the Necron invasion once and for all. When it was all over, no one would ever know, and things would return to normal. That was when he thought they had a chance.
Now they may as well start digging their own graves. His superiors had lied to him about the size of the Necron force, most likely to placate him. They had been afraid that if he knew what was really going on, he would abandon them, leave them to the endless tide of soulless monsters. It seemed that the upper echelon chain of command feared him and what he may or may not have done as much as the Necrons. After his years of service, after all he had done, the bastards didn't trust him. That word was ricocheting in his mind again. Betrayal.
"So, what are you going to do?" Eve asked him.
Jake didn't hesitate. "I'm going to fight."
Both Renara and Eve were surprised.
"Really, after everything that was done to you?" the doctor asked in disbelief.
"What they did to me, it doesn't change much. I'm not going to turn my back on the entire armed forces and 60 billion people I swore to protect." The fact that half of those 60 billion were dead was staggering. "I got screwed, yeah sure, I'm angry as hell." Jake's eyes seemed to darken, and his tone became ice, "All that means is that a few people are going to die slow, painful deaths. But to quit and run now would be selfish and cowardly." His tone was unsettling, but he felt better now. Holes in his past had been filled and he now knew the truth, no matter how unpleasant it was. He regained his composure and focused on what needed to be done.
"Alright Eve, this Solarak guy that's in you, I'd like to talk to him."
Eve smiled, "Sure, just don't strangle me this time, okay?"
There was absolutely no discernable change when Solarak took control. No blink, no glowing, not even a fluctuation in her energy. It was almost eerie.
"Yes, Mr. Devaro?" Solarak asked in his warped voice. This time, Jake didn't erupt.
"From what Eve tells me, you have fantastic power, but no fighting ability, correct?"
"This is true, none of my race were warriors. We were fatally benevolent."
"Would it be possible for you to utilize your power if Eve was trained to fight with it?"
"If she would allow it, it is feasible."
Jake was pleased his idea would work.
"Well then Eve, it looks like we're going to have to build your body up and turn you into a fighter." Jake forgot he was still talking to Solarak.
"I will be sure to tell her that." Eve's face smiled.
Jake smiled back awkwardly.
"Solarak, how often must you surface, or whatever your doing now is?" the doctor asked.
"Never. I can always talk to you indirectly through Eve. I can see why that would be more comfortable for you. And know this: when I am no longer needed I shall leave this body. I will be awakened again in a time of need. Eve can now speak for the both of us." With that, Eve returned to the forefront of her partnership.
"Eve?"
She nodded her head and smiled. "Yeah, it's me."
Jake slipped into commando mode. "Okay Eve, your training is going to take place at a later date. I am going to be preoccupied for a while. Doc, I received a communiqué from Major D'Jana. She is on her way to assist with repairs, but believes a Necron infiltration team is aboard. You know what that means."
"Yeah, a 94 percent casualty rate. Great."
Jake ignored the doctor's complaint. "I will be taking Gohan and Astor with me when we have to extract the survivors."
"Survivors, yeah, like that is gonna happen."
The major shot Renara a look that sent chills down his spine. "Doctor, there will be survivors, do you understand me?"
He didn't know what to say other than, "Yes, sir."
"And I have had it with your sarcastic remarks, you don't sound like you enjoy your job very much. So why are you here?"
"Hey, I was supposed to be a neurosurgeon on Ticanda before they reassigned me here. This was, mind you, after I served two tours as a field medic with the 26th Space Marines."
That explained his attitude. He was supposed to go back to a cush, rear echelon post after pulling two tours with the grunts, which in itself was an accomplishment. The fatality rates for divisions on their first tour was about 65 percent. For second tours, it climbed to 97%. And now, he had been transferred to this op, most likely for his experience. Jake would be bitter if their roles were reversed.
"I understand where you are coming from doctor. But it had better not affect your performance, do you get me?"
Renara suppressed his anger. "I get you, sir."
"Fine then. Now, I've gotta go activate that freak in storage."
Eve was confused. "Freak?"
"He means Astor, the cyborg. The major doesn't much like them. Nothing like a little unsubstantiated bias, right major?"
"Shut the hell up, Renara. I have my reasons. But you and I both know that our guests aren't going to like the presence of that thing on board this ship. He's a mutilated Saiyan for God's sake, more machine than man."
The doctor saw no point in arguing with him further. He was firmly set in his dislike for cyborgs, and nothing he could say would change that. "Will you need me to accompany you for the activation?"
"No. If there are any problems I can get him to you fast enough. Anyway," Jake turned to Eve, who was surprised at how cold he could be at times, "Eve, feel free to wander the ship. Go talk to Trunks, try to ease his mind. The kid doesn't know what he walked in on. Just remember to use your discretion." The last part sounded more like a warning than advice.
"Yeah, no problem."
"Fine then." Jake stood up. "I'll see you two later." With that, Jake abruptly teleported to a small, empty cargo hangar. Empty, save for the large, rectangular object in the left hand corner of the room. It was Astor's cold storage unit. The device was plain, simply a large rectangular capsule with a temperature regulator.
Astor's cold storage chamber had no need of biological monitoring systems. All of his body functions had become entirely electromechanical and were able to run self-diagnostics and perform repairs. The only thing that signaled his life was a small energy readout on the upper left portion of the chamber. The only other feature on it was a keypad used to activate him. There was no glass panel with which to view him, as such things were considered frivolous and cosmetic.
Jake pondered for a good while about what he was going to awake. He had always made known his dislike for cyborgs. In Jake's opinion, an entity should be entirely mechanical or entirely biological not an unholy mixture of both. To create a being as a combination of the two blurred the line that separate nature from machines. To him they seemed as aberrations of life. And the slaughter of nearly his entire unit at the hands of Necron cyborgs did little to improve his opinion of them.
Cyborgs had been at the forefront of controversy for years before the Necron invasion. Opponents to cybernetics used legal maneuverings and outright sabotage to prevent advancements in the field. Many feared that there would be a division similar that after the development of AI, only it would be far worse because cyborgs combined the best of organics and mechanics. Who knew what a mating of the two would produce?
But, as with all wars, military necessity outweighed the cries of ethicists and protestors. When the Necron invasion began, the military was given the authority to push ahead with research. All of its laboratories were turned into impregnable fortifications, completely out of reach by the general population. It only took two years before the Coalition scientists had created an operational cyborg. Such are the miracles of science.
The hardest part, surprisingly, was not perfecting the technology, as [WW1]simpler forms of it had been used on the majority of space fighter pilots. They essentially 'jacked into' their spacecraft, giving them much more control and skill than they ever could acquire through normal means. It was necessary, considering that space dogfights were many times more complicated than their planet-borne counterparts. The most difficult aspect of developing cyborgs was finding volunteers for the project. Complicating matters was than only four races could survive the augmentation: Terrans, Nameks, Saiyans and Thrakans.
Practically all Saiyans were vehemently opposed to cybernetic alterations to their bodies. They believed that it was dishonorable and weak to make unnecessary changes to one's body. The fact that becoming a cyborg also meant losing most all of their definitive pride and fierceness, and more importantly, their passion was an utterly detestable and unacceptable existence.
Nameks, unlike the fiercely passionate Saiyans were opposed to becoming cyborgs because it meant losing their connection to nature. Nameks preferred to live simple, austere lives, disregarding most forms of technology. There were some notable exceptions, but for the most part Nameks had little love of science and technology. Thus, becoming part machine and lacking their inherent connection to natural life was something they could not allow. Ironically, Nameks being closest to nature were the best suited for cybernetic augmentation due to their incredible regenerative abilities. This greatly frustrated the military.
That left the Terrans and Thrakans, who had the least amount of violent objection to it. Terrans accounted for nearly half of all volunteers, but were the poorest choice for cybernetic adaptation. Nearly 38% of all Terrans died during or shortly after surgery. Thrakans were in general opposed to cybernetics for a hundred different reasons, ranging from conflicting religious beliefs to distrusting new technologies. While they were hardier than Terrans, their bodies more often than not rejected not biological material.
But, in the end, 'volunteers' were found. Some genuinely signed up for the program. Others were coerced, blackmailed, and kidnapped, but as they say, desperate times call for desperate measures. There were a total of 73,201 Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Sierra model cyborgs in existence. Alpha models were the earliest, Sierra models were the latest. Astor was a Sierra.
Jake knew that his personal feelings played no part in this decision. He needed Astor to back him up on the rescue up any way he cut it. Gohan was unreliable at best, being an 11-year old boy unaccustomed to the brutality he was going to encounter on board that ship. Supposedly, all cyborgs had a perfect track record, except for number eight that went insane and killed or maimed nearly all of the design team. Needless to say, a few vital changes were made to cybernetic programming.
Jake punched the twelve-digit access code into the keypad and a half second later the cold storage device came to life. Gears and servos came to life and the temperature regulator began to thaw the frozen Astor. All subjects were placed into cold storage immediately after surgery. The nanomachines operated equally well in hot and frozen environments, but better repaired a body in freezing conditions. Jake could have awoken Astor nearly a month ago, he had just elected not to.
He backed up a few steps as the chamber door rolled back. A completely bald, naked, and huge man walked out of the chamber. He was certainly well built, standing at about 6'4. A serious, angular face was set atop a hugely muscular frame that was deeply and evenly scarred. The scars seemed to fade before his eyes. Besides being bald and naked, his skin was a reflective silver. In fact, it wasn't skin at all.
Gamma and Sierra model cyborgs had their natural skin replaced in favor of an energy reflecting polymer, built by nanomachines that were inserted into the patient's body. It was tougher and more protective than any organic skin could hope to be. An interesting feature that was adding was camouflaging. The individual's skin would change to match the location in which he was present. Astor's skin changed from a reflective silver to the dull grey of the deck plating beneath his feet.
It took Astor's face recognition program a few moments to identify the man standing before him. A couple of hours of recovery time would be needed before all of his systems became fully operational. When the program found a match, Astor addressed the man standing before him.
"Major Devaro," came the strangely inhuman voice, "thank you for bringing me online."
Jake was a bit unnerved by the cyborgs toneless, lifeless words. He had met androids that sounded more alive than this, this thing.
He cleared his throat. "Yeah, whatever. The reason I brought you out of that freezer is because I need you. If I didn't you'd still be in there. And just to set things straight, I don't like you, I don't like your kind. I think you are all a bunch of freaks who shouldn't exist. As long as you follow my orders, I won't kill you, understand me?"
Astor spoke rather slow. "Sir, my ability to be hurt by your opinions has been greatly reduced by my cybernetic implants. I will follow your orders unquestioningly."
Jake wasn't sure if that was sarcasm or not. He let it slide, mainly because the sight of this abhorrent creature was sickening.
"Make yourself at home or whatever it is you cyborgs do. You'll be alerted when it is time for the briefing. Don't cause any problems." He turned to leave.
"Major, should I not clothe myself?"
"That's not my problem," Jake said as he walked out of the room.
And so he left the naked, half frozen cyborg alone in the cargo chamber. It was going to be a long, long trip home. But as Jake thought about Astor, he wondered how Vegeta would respond to seeing a Saiyan like that, stripped of his pride, his passion, and perhaps even his soul. It would be interesting when he found out.
[WW1]Delete this
GCS Dante
1700 Hours
For a moment, Jake was too stunned to move. She was dead, she died right in front of him, how is this possible? He wondered for an instant if he had lost his mind. He dismissed the thought when he focused on Eve's face. There she was, staring at him in real time on the view screen before him.
All Jake could muster were the five words, "be there in a sec," and then he turned off the console.
Jake stared at the blank screen, almost as if it would reveal the answers to his questions. This was just too damn strange. People don't come back to life. Once they die, they are dead, and they stay that way. Forever. What he was seeing was either a bad dream, or he had missed something important somewhere along the line. She had died on the table, hadn't she? Of course she had, Renara was right there with him. The doctor had looked just as shocked as he knew himself to look. And her voice? What was going on?
He hesitated for a few moments, having to work up the will power to move himself from his quarters to the infirmary. For the brief instant he was in transport he wondered if this wasn't some sort of trick, some elaborate Necron scheme. He had no time to continue though as he was now at his destination. He appeared just to the left of Renara while Eve was standing a good ten feet across the room, next to the comm. pad.
Physically, she had not changed at all. She still looked like the frail blonde girl he had rescued back in New York. But she had changed. At first, Jake wasn't aware of it, he was too shocked to pay close attention. It took him a few moments before he noticed something was different.
As he looked at Eve he could se that she was carrying herself with more confidence than she previously had. And he eyes, they seemed almost to sparkle, they radiated the almost imperceptible message, "I am different." He soon came to realize he was feeling the second energy signature that had appeared in her earlier.
Jake turned to the doctor.
"Hey, don't look at me. She woke up on her own. I was about to put her on ice when she opened her eyes. Scared the shit out of me."
"So she wasn't dead?"
"I guess not," the doctor replied simply.
"What the hell do you mean 'I guess not?' " Jake almost shouted.
"Well, it looks like her body went into an extreme state of suspended animation. I mean, I've never seen anything like it. For all intents and purposes she may a as well have been dead. Her body activity had almost entirely ceased. And, I only had her hooked up to the monitors for a few minutes. Maybe if I had her hooked up longer Id've noticed." The doctor almost looked amused.
"So what you're telling me is that if she hadn't woke up just now, she'd be frozen solid?"
"If you put it that way..."
"If you put it that way it means you screwed up! What the hell kind of doctor are you, she wasn't even dead!" Jake was angry now. Mistakes like that should never be made, especially by medical personnel. He was about to give the doctor and ass-chewing when Eve, in a voice certainly not of her own, interrupted.
"Gentlemen, please, we have much to discuss. You may argue later, of you wish."
Jake turned to face her. He was no longer dealing with Eve, he was sure. Whatever was in her was either a symbiote and a parasite. He had to deal with this carefully.
"Who are you, and what are you doing in that girl's body?" He demanded.
"Calm yourself, my friend. I shall explain my presence." Eve paused for a moment as a smile crossed her face. Jake saw no humor in the situation.
"What is so funny?"
"Eve says you are 'cute' when you are angry."
Jake ignored the comment. Almost. "Since I am not talking to Eve, with whom am I speaking?"
"You speak to Solarak, Terran. I am the last of the Amnae. My essence was placed into those crystals your Coalition uses a power source. I have waited for centuries to be awaken by someone that has Amnian blood with them."
"Whoa. Information overload," Jake thought.
While Jake was momentarily preoccupied in thought, Doctor Renara vocalized his questions.
"Uh, Solarak, are you the invisible power that drives the Amnian crystals? Our scientists have never been able to figure out how they can sustain their power output indefinitely."
"Indeed, I am. My power shall remain within the crystals, undiminished, until the end of time."
The doctor turned to Jake.
"Well, how 'bout that? One of the greatest mysteries of the universe solved in what?: 30 seconds?"
"Jake ignored the doctor's amusement. He was more concerned with the possible threat Solarak posed.
As if sensing his suspicion, Solarak tried to assure him.
"I have no hostile intentions, Mr. Devaro, I-"
Jake moved with fantastic speed and grabbed Eve by the throat, lifting her off the ground. He was filled with a rage that had surfaced from the recessed of his mind. He started to squeeze.
"Major, what the fuck are you doing?" the doctor cried.
But Jake couldn't hear him. The only thing that reached his ears was that voice, the voice that was responsible for...? He didn't know. While continuing to crush Eve's throat he tried to remember why that voice triggered his rage. All that was clear was 'Mr. Devaro.' But he had been called that a thousand times before, it was his name for God's sake. What was different now?
Jake's anger slipped away as Eve's started rolling back into her head and the weak grip she had on his arms ceased. He began to hear Renara's screaming when he let go of Eve's throat and dropped to his knees. What the hell was going on?
The doctor rushed to Eve's side as she stumbled and gasped for air. Amazingly, after no more than thirty seconds, her partially crushed throat began to repair itself and the marks on her neck disappeared. She soon shrugged off the doctor and stood on her own. A look of concern crossed her face when her eyes fell upon Jake.
She knelt down in front of him. "Are you alright?"
Her voice was its normal, feminine tone again. He didn't know what to say. After nearly suffocating her to death, she was asking him if he was alright? Nothing was making any sense. Jake's head began to spin.
"Jake, if you only knew what I do, you wouldn't be so surprised. It's not your fault, you didn't deserve what they did to you, no one does." Her voice was sympathetic and understanding.
"What are you talking about?" he managed to ask.
At that instant, Trunks wandered into the infirmary. He was bewildered at the sight before him and stood transfixed in the doorway. He wasn't sure what was going on, but whatever it was it didn't look good. Renara told him to get his ass out of the doorway. He wondered silently to the gods how he had managed to get himself in another mess.
The doctor walked up to the confused purple-haired boy and told him in a calm and firm tone to leave, and not to tell a soul about what he had just seen or heard. Not even Goku or Bulma. Trunks had no idea what he had just seen or heard, but the got the message. Obviously, he stumbled in on something he shouldn't have. Nodding and once again wishing he could go home, Trunks left the room.
Meanwhile, Jake and Eve had gotten up and moved to the doctor's conference room. When Renara returned they were silent, apparently waiting for his arrival. They spent the next three hours discussing what happened the other day.
Eve did most of the talking. She spoke of Solarak's merging with her, of the great Amnian civilization, and of what she had learned while Solarak fed information into her brain. She made it clear that Solarak could do nothing without her allowing it. His presence augmented her abilities, but she was always in control. He only asked, suggested and hinted at what he would like to know or be done. He was able to reveal to her the extent of his knowledge, but everything else they had learned required Eve's doing.
While her body had been lying on the table aboard the Dante, her mind, with Solarak's guidance, had been accessing Coalition databanks light-years away. Solarak had learned nearly everything there was to know about the Coalition by accessing thousands of databanks throughout the galaxy. Traveling at the speed of thought it didn't take very long. The only places beyond his reach were the super bio-encrypted datavaults in the Tycho system. As a result of their gaining all this knowledge, Eve knew Jake better than he knew himself.
Jake listened patiently as she told what had been done to him. Apparently, the 'scientists' tinkering had left some unexpected side effects, such as his occasional blind impulsiveness and sudden rage. What scared him the most was that he could remember nothing, nothing at all about it. What hurt him the most was that Resa knew all about it and had never said a word to him about it. He reasoned that Resa had to know, because she had been there with him when he went in, and was there when he woke up. He had been betrayed, and it hurt. Unfortunately for him, his personal revelations had to be set aside as the business of the Necrons was brought up.
Occasionally, he or Renara would interrupt with a question, but for the most part she talked and they listened. At last, when she had finished, the entire reality of it all set in. If what she was telling him about the Necrons was true, they were all going to die. Their stand at Gargantua would be the end, and the Coalition would lose. When he went to Earth to recruit Goku and the rest, he knew the situation was grim. He also knew that the Necrons had no intention of ever coming to Earth, it was too small and undeveloped to be bothered with. He had lied in hopes of increasing his chances that they would agree to come with him, and they had. The gamble paid off.
Jake had thought of this as a necessary evil, lying to them. If he convinced the gang that their planet was in danger, they would surely agree to join him. And then, with their help, the Coalition could repel the Necron invasion once and for all. When it was all over, no one would ever know, and things would return to normal. That was when he thought they had a chance.
Now they may as well start digging their own graves. His superiors had lied to him about the size of the Necron force, most likely to placate him. They had been afraid that if he knew what was really going on, he would abandon them, leave them to the endless tide of soulless monsters. It seemed that the upper echelon chain of command feared him and what he may or may not have done as much as the Necrons. After his years of service, after all he had done, the bastards didn't trust him. That word was ricocheting in his mind again. Betrayal.
"So, what are you going to do?" Eve asked him.
Jake didn't hesitate. "I'm going to fight."
Both Renara and Eve were surprised.
"Really, after everything that was done to you?" the doctor asked in disbelief.
"What they did to me, it doesn't change much. I'm not going to turn my back on the entire armed forces and 60 billion people I swore to protect." The fact that half of those 60 billion were dead was staggering. "I got screwed, yeah sure, I'm angry as hell." Jake's eyes seemed to darken, and his tone became ice, "All that means is that a few people are going to die slow, painful deaths. But to quit and run now would be selfish and cowardly." His tone was unsettling, but he felt better now. Holes in his past had been filled and he now knew the truth, no matter how unpleasant it was. He regained his composure and focused on what needed to be done.
"Alright Eve, this Solarak guy that's in you, I'd like to talk to him."
Eve smiled, "Sure, just don't strangle me this time, okay?"
There was absolutely no discernable change when Solarak took control. No blink, no glowing, not even a fluctuation in her energy. It was almost eerie.
"Yes, Mr. Devaro?" Solarak asked in his warped voice. This time, Jake didn't erupt.
"From what Eve tells me, you have fantastic power, but no fighting ability, correct?"
"This is true, none of my race were warriors. We were fatally benevolent."
"Would it be possible for you to utilize your power if Eve was trained to fight with it?"
"If she would allow it, it is feasible."
Jake was pleased his idea would work.
"Well then Eve, it looks like we're going to have to build your body up and turn you into a fighter." Jake forgot he was still talking to Solarak.
"I will be sure to tell her that." Eve's face smiled.
Jake smiled back awkwardly.
"Solarak, how often must you surface, or whatever your doing now is?" the doctor asked.
"Never. I can always talk to you indirectly through Eve. I can see why that would be more comfortable for you. And know this: when I am no longer needed I shall leave this body. I will be awakened again in a time of need. Eve can now speak for the both of us." With that, Eve returned to the forefront of her partnership.
"Eve?"
She nodded her head and smiled. "Yeah, it's me."
Jake slipped into commando mode. "Okay Eve, your training is going to take place at a later date. I am going to be preoccupied for a while. Doc, I received a communiqué from Major D'Jana. She is on her way to assist with repairs, but believes a Necron infiltration team is aboard. You know what that means."
"Yeah, a 94 percent casualty rate. Great."
Jake ignored the doctor's complaint. "I will be taking Gohan and Astor with me when we have to extract the survivors."
"Survivors, yeah, like that is gonna happen."
The major shot Renara a look that sent chills down his spine. "Doctor, there will be survivors, do you understand me?"
He didn't know what to say other than, "Yes, sir."
"And I have had it with your sarcastic remarks, you don't sound like you enjoy your job very much. So why are you here?"
"Hey, I was supposed to be a neurosurgeon on Ticanda before they reassigned me here. This was, mind you, after I served two tours as a field medic with the 26th Space Marines."
That explained his attitude. He was supposed to go back to a cush, rear echelon post after pulling two tours with the grunts, which in itself was an accomplishment. The fatality rates for divisions on their first tour was about 65 percent. For second tours, it climbed to 97%. And now, he had been transferred to this op, most likely for his experience. Jake would be bitter if their roles were reversed.
"I understand where you are coming from doctor. But it had better not affect your performance, do you get me?"
Renara suppressed his anger. "I get you, sir."
"Fine then. Now, I've gotta go activate that freak in storage."
Eve was confused. "Freak?"
"He means Astor, the cyborg. The major doesn't much like them. Nothing like a little unsubstantiated bias, right major?"
"Shut the hell up, Renara. I have my reasons. But you and I both know that our guests aren't going to like the presence of that thing on board this ship. He's a mutilated Saiyan for God's sake, more machine than man."
The doctor saw no point in arguing with him further. He was firmly set in his dislike for cyborgs, and nothing he could say would change that. "Will you need me to accompany you for the activation?"
"No. If there are any problems I can get him to you fast enough. Anyway," Jake turned to Eve, who was surprised at how cold he could be at times, "Eve, feel free to wander the ship. Go talk to Trunks, try to ease his mind. The kid doesn't know what he walked in on. Just remember to use your discretion." The last part sounded more like a warning than advice.
"Yeah, no problem."
"Fine then." Jake stood up. "I'll see you two later." With that, Jake abruptly teleported to a small, empty cargo hangar. Empty, save for the large, rectangular object in the left hand corner of the room. It was Astor's cold storage unit. The device was plain, simply a large rectangular capsule with a temperature regulator.
Astor's cold storage chamber had no need of biological monitoring systems. All of his body functions had become entirely electromechanical and were able to run self-diagnostics and perform repairs. The only thing that signaled his life was a small energy readout on the upper left portion of the chamber. The only other feature on it was a keypad used to activate him. There was no glass panel with which to view him, as such things were considered frivolous and cosmetic.
Jake pondered for a good while about what he was going to awake. He had always made known his dislike for cyborgs. In Jake's opinion, an entity should be entirely mechanical or entirely biological not an unholy mixture of both. To create a being as a combination of the two blurred the line that separate nature from machines. To him they seemed as aberrations of life. And the slaughter of nearly his entire unit at the hands of Necron cyborgs did little to improve his opinion of them.
Cyborgs had been at the forefront of controversy for years before the Necron invasion. Opponents to cybernetics used legal maneuverings and outright sabotage to prevent advancements in the field. Many feared that there would be a division similar that after the development of AI, only it would be far worse because cyborgs combined the best of organics and mechanics. Who knew what a mating of the two would produce?
But, as with all wars, military necessity outweighed the cries of ethicists and protestors. When the Necron invasion began, the military was given the authority to push ahead with research. All of its laboratories were turned into impregnable fortifications, completely out of reach by the general population. It only took two years before the Coalition scientists had created an operational cyborg. Such are the miracles of science.
The hardest part, surprisingly, was not perfecting the technology, as [WW1]simpler forms of it had been used on the majority of space fighter pilots. They essentially 'jacked into' their spacecraft, giving them much more control and skill than they ever could acquire through normal means. It was necessary, considering that space dogfights were many times more complicated than their planet-borne counterparts. The most difficult aspect of developing cyborgs was finding volunteers for the project. Complicating matters was than only four races could survive the augmentation: Terrans, Nameks, Saiyans and Thrakans.
Practically all Saiyans were vehemently opposed to cybernetic alterations to their bodies. They believed that it was dishonorable and weak to make unnecessary changes to one's body. The fact that becoming a cyborg also meant losing most all of their definitive pride and fierceness, and more importantly, their passion was an utterly detestable and unacceptable existence.
Nameks, unlike the fiercely passionate Saiyans were opposed to becoming cyborgs because it meant losing their connection to nature. Nameks preferred to live simple, austere lives, disregarding most forms of technology. There were some notable exceptions, but for the most part Nameks had little love of science and technology. Thus, becoming part machine and lacking their inherent connection to natural life was something they could not allow. Ironically, Nameks being closest to nature were the best suited for cybernetic augmentation due to their incredible regenerative abilities. This greatly frustrated the military.
That left the Terrans and Thrakans, who had the least amount of violent objection to it. Terrans accounted for nearly half of all volunteers, but were the poorest choice for cybernetic adaptation. Nearly 38% of all Terrans died during or shortly after surgery. Thrakans were in general opposed to cybernetics for a hundred different reasons, ranging from conflicting religious beliefs to distrusting new technologies. While they were hardier than Terrans, their bodies more often than not rejected not biological material.
But, in the end, 'volunteers' were found. Some genuinely signed up for the program. Others were coerced, blackmailed, and kidnapped, but as they say, desperate times call for desperate measures. There were a total of 73,201 Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Sierra model cyborgs in existence. Alpha models were the earliest, Sierra models were the latest. Astor was a Sierra.
Jake knew that his personal feelings played no part in this decision. He needed Astor to back him up on the rescue up any way he cut it. Gohan was unreliable at best, being an 11-year old boy unaccustomed to the brutality he was going to encounter on board that ship. Supposedly, all cyborgs had a perfect track record, except for number eight that went insane and killed or maimed nearly all of the design team. Needless to say, a few vital changes were made to cybernetic programming.
Jake punched the twelve-digit access code into the keypad and a half second later the cold storage device came to life. Gears and servos came to life and the temperature regulator began to thaw the frozen Astor. All subjects were placed into cold storage immediately after surgery. The nanomachines operated equally well in hot and frozen environments, but better repaired a body in freezing conditions. Jake could have awoken Astor nearly a month ago, he had just elected not to.
He backed up a few steps as the chamber door rolled back. A completely bald, naked, and huge man walked out of the chamber. He was certainly well built, standing at about 6'4. A serious, angular face was set atop a hugely muscular frame that was deeply and evenly scarred. The scars seemed to fade before his eyes. Besides being bald and naked, his skin was a reflective silver. In fact, it wasn't skin at all.
Gamma and Sierra model cyborgs had their natural skin replaced in favor of an energy reflecting polymer, built by nanomachines that were inserted into the patient's body. It was tougher and more protective than any organic skin could hope to be. An interesting feature that was adding was camouflaging. The individual's skin would change to match the location in which he was present. Astor's skin changed from a reflective silver to the dull grey of the deck plating beneath his feet.
It took Astor's face recognition program a few moments to identify the man standing before him. A couple of hours of recovery time would be needed before all of his systems became fully operational. When the program found a match, Astor addressed the man standing before him.
"Major Devaro," came the strangely inhuman voice, "thank you for bringing me online."
Jake was a bit unnerved by the cyborgs toneless, lifeless words. He had met androids that sounded more alive than this, this thing.
He cleared his throat. "Yeah, whatever. The reason I brought you out of that freezer is because I need you. If I didn't you'd still be in there. And just to set things straight, I don't like you, I don't like your kind. I think you are all a bunch of freaks who shouldn't exist. As long as you follow my orders, I won't kill you, understand me?"
Astor spoke rather slow. "Sir, my ability to be hurt by your opinions has been greatly reduced by my cybernetic implants. I will follow your orders unquestioningly."
Jake wasn't sure if that was sarcasm or not. He let it slide, mainly because the sight of this abhorrent creature was sickening.
"Make yourself at home or whatever it is you cyborgs do. You'll be alerted when it is time for the briefing. Don't cause any problems." He turned to leave.
"Major, should I not clothe myself?"
"That's not my problem," Jake said as he walked out of the room.
And so he left the naked, half frozen cyborg alone in the cargo chamber. It was going to be a long, long trip home. But as Jake thought about Astor, he wondered how Vegeta would respond to seeing a Saiyan like that, stripped of his pride, his passion, and perhaps even his soul. It would be interesting when he found out.
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