Chapter 2 Roxi
CyberTech Esthi and I hack the chip that was in Crezlith’s tooth.
She has built herself a small, very capable Titan-repair lab on Navi’s Ravenger III.
The light sensations in my chest, the…dare I say hope that I experience as we work together…
is so abnormal that I want to reject it.
It will make me miss things as I focus on the future.
Like the Solcrue that Fracture stopped from taking me out.
I think of Titan Fracture again. His big, muscled body defies gravity when he disaggregates, exposing a hidden side of him, especially when he shifts from pale glass to smoky volcanic glass.
He was angry that the Solcrue wanted to hurt me. Angry. He wasn’t just doing his job.
But he was shy around me, hiding himself from view like I haven’t seen a Titan’s dick before.
But he doesn’t know what I used to do, before the bounty hunters sold me to the Solcrue. Before I was an experimental rat.
I chew a lip to keep from smiling as I look over the chip under a microscope. Fracture is big like a CyberGuard.
It’s unusual for me to be attracted to a Titan. It’s happened before, but nothing like this, nothing that evoked such heat and longing between my hips. I hope I get to see him again.
With my insulated tweezers, I free a bit of the fake tooth from the pale green chip’s surface.
Probably couldn’t make his cock fragment if it was any smaller. His core aligner has enough small pieces to manage.
Esthi chuckles. “He is holding back.”
I jerk my head up, fearing my implant isn’t locked, but the icon is still active in the corner of my vision. Then I see what she’s looking at.
Evo releases some pent-up anger on the Solcrue while Fracture watches from the doorway. The video feed plays on a screen on the desk. Evo was more than happy to get a blood sample for me. It will help decode the DNA encryption.
Evo just never stopped.
I connect the tiniest of wires to the chip via the microscope, and it opens a data pack on an isolated computer system.
At the screen beside me, Esthi swears. “It’s all in code. Solcrue, private. Crezlith is probably the only one who knows it.”
I finally have an excuse to steal another glimpse of Fracture. Of all the Titans, his skill and his husk are by far the most interesting to me. I mostly want to know how he holds himself together, not physically. His core aligner does that. But mentally… That has to be wild.
I get up. “Alright. I’ll get it from him. It’s time I did a little digging anyway.”
Esthi watches me like she can’t believe I think I’m capable of it. “What, like you’re just going to go get a sandwich from the lunchroom?”
“Basically. But he’s more like a jerky stick. Not a lot of layers. I just need to figure out what flavor of Solcrue he is: spicy, salty, or plain.”
She gags. “If that’s what you want to do.”
“None of this is.” I grab my tech harness and sling it over my shoulders, clip it around my chest and my thighs. “I’ll be back.”
Esthi turns back to her screen, muttering to herself. “I still don’t know why you think you can turn him.”
She doesn’t know what I’ve been through, though I have heard of her and her time on Earth Minor, protecting her sister who everyone now knows as KillStar, the CyberTech who was captured by Solcrue and turned into a weapon to kill Titans.
Myria was destined to be a Creator.
I stop and catch myself on the door jamb. “You know what it’s like to turn someone to our side.”
“My sister was on our side in the beginning.” She wearily looks over a tablet and then studies the screen displaying Evo again, but I know she won’t find what she’s looking for. She’s staying busy because she doesn’t like the thoughts in her head. I’ve been there a thousand times.
“We’ll find her. Or she’ll find us when her task is complete,” I offer.
Esthi rakes a hand through her ash-dusted hair. We all need showers, food, and sleep. Only Titans get the easy plug-in to recharge.
“You need to take a break.” I turn toward her. “A tired mind makes mistakes because it isn’t focused on precision, just speed, so that it can have a break. You must listen to your survival instincts.”
Esthi braces her head in a hand and closes her eyes. “I will. After this.”
I’m not convinced. But I respect her for pushing herself to her limits instead of cowering in fear and telling herself lies to build an illusion of safety and peace.
“You really think you can turn him and get the code out?” she asks.
“Solcrue are not born with hatred in their hearts. They are taught how to survive space, which we know can be ruthless. Their desperation makes them cruel. It is not in their blood. It is part of their society. But hey, if I can’t coax it out, I’ll probe it out.”
When she looks up, I wink at her and then walk the hallways of Ravenger III to Crezlith’s cell.
“You have settled in with ease,” Relic Craze remarks as I pass him in the hallway.
“Not my first rodeo in space.”
Craze turns to Psycho and mutters something about a rodeo. Their conversation loads in my vision.
Psycho>>Craze: It has something to do with a competition to tame animals, I believe.
Pretty sure Commanders Savage and Chasm know what a rodeo is like, keeping all of you in line. I smile to myself and use the long walk to work through ideas of how to handle Crezlith’s arrogance. His isn’t like others. He isn’t as closed off or quiet. He’s a talker and a bit distracted.
Evo shared with me how Crezlith tried to take Aera, not as a simple prisoner of war, but as a mate, even after Evo had already claimed her. But Solcrue can’t smell Bonds because their olfactory receptor neurons atrophied into non-existence centuries ago.
When I get to the room, Evo is laying into him again. Crezlith’s face is a mangled mass.
I put in my code and the door hisses open for me.
Fracture looks over from where he watches just inside the door. He keeps his mind locked away more than most, only opening his channel when he communicates during battle.
He keeps his bare body turned slightly away, giving me a different side to stare at. His ass is smooth, round, and firm. Whoever built his body did a fine job. And I’m honestly jealous they got to handle such hot parts.
Fracture’s pale blue eyes drift to mine like he’s afraid to look at me, even as he guides Evo back. Evo, whose body shimmers like galaxies in the void, growls at Fracture until he realizes I’m in the room with them.
“Evo…” I gently call to him. “I think we have enough blood samples for now.”
He pauses, catches his breath. It is unusual for a Titan to be out of breath, but by the way his skin ripples, I know he’s upset. “Do not interrupt me.”
“I need him alive,” I counter.
“No.” Evo’s whole body tenses in denial.
I am not used to hearing a Titan counter the request of a human, but they are all free to do as they choose thanks to Leah Krader, Raven Salvoya, Cara the half-breed, and other humans who freed them from their punishment programs. Solcrue hacked Evo, so I know his anger runs deeper than most. Many don’t know what it feels like to have someone take over your body, control it, make it do things you don’t want to do.
But I understand.
“I know what he did.” I walk up to Evo and catch his arm as he steps in to swing at Crezlith again. His red hair and freckles fade through as our contact returns him to human form.
Crezlith groans and slumps in his seat.
“Delay his end,” I tell Evo. “We do not want it to be fast. That would be far kinder to him than he deserves. And he has information we need.”
Evo eases back, Crezlith’s olive blood staining his knuckles.
I glance at Fracture, and he thankfully guides Evo toward the door with a few quiet words. Taking the seat beside Crezlith, I grab a dermal healer, the one without the numbing agents, and pass it over his battered face.
“Why is she healing him?” Evo demands. “He bit Aera in the neck! He almost killed her!”
“I know,” Fracture says. “And he will die for hurting her more than once, for killing her friends, and pushing her colony to their breaking point.”
I listen as I continue healing Crezlith. As the swelling goes down, he looks over at me and spits out a bloodied normal tooth.
The door closes again, and Fracture stands behind me.
I look up at him. “Yes?”
“A Titan must be present if a human is working on a Solcrue. Chasm’s orders.”
I know. But I wish he’d stay with Evo because he’s growing distracting.
He smirks. “I am closest.”
It’s true, but it still feels a bit like an excuse. “You could call another so you can stay with your friend. He is very worked up.”
“I’m not letting you be in here alone with the enemy for any length of time.” Fracture is firm. “And all Brothers are friends. Another will check on Evo.”
I know what this is.
Fracture is Bonded to me because he saved my life. He’s just not saying the obvious part out loud.
“I need him to talk. You’re not going to help,” I lie. Fracture makes for a good intimidation factor. But I’m healing Crezlith because I need his amygdala in a better place, or he won’t be able to access the memories I need him to.
Fracture tilts his head as he gives me a knowing look. “I’m not going anywhere. Deal with it.”
He crosses his arms and leans casually against the wall behind me, redirecting his attention to Crezlith. “If you’re hungry, we have soup. I think it’s the only thing you can eat at this point.”
“Fuck off, glass man.”
Fracture shrugs. “Fine with me if you want to drown in your own blood instead. I could let Evo back inside if you’d rather eat more of his knuckles for lunch.”
I like this brash side of Fracture. The other Titans said he was kind, patient, and the type of Titan anyone could talk to and feel understood.
Peeking at him—still naked, his transparent cock half-erect—makes me want things I shouldn’t.
I have never in my life been attracted to a Titan.
But I’m really starting to enjoy his company.
I push Crezlith’s head back and strap it to the table. “You really should be nice to those of us with the power to make this painless or very painful.”