As usual, his body also reacted to the memory, his cock hardening, but he was tired of taking himself in hand. With a sigh, he picked up his tablet and pulled up a book on the history of the Martian colony instead. But he had no sooner settled in his favorite chair by the big window overlooking the desert than the communicator beeped.
That’s unusual. General Biggs rarely responded so quickly.
The general’s message was short and to the point. Investigate further.
J-100’s pulse quickened as he prepared to leave, despite the efforts of his nanites to keep it steady. This was the first time the general had asked him to take action and he welcomed the change in his routine.
At the door, he hesitated, then grabbed a breathing mask. Due to his cyborg enhancements, he didn’t need the mask, but if he should encounter another settler, it was an easy way to maintain his disguise.
He set out at an easy lope, running effortlessly across the plain. Closer to the city, the homesteaders had started planting lichens and other hardy plants to continue the terraforming process, but there were no homesteaders this far out and his footsteps only sent puffs of orange dust into the air. His habitat was nestled at the base of one mountain range. A higher range of mountains rose to the east while a vast crater lay to the west. He headed for the crater.
During his previous explorations, he had seen unexpected signs of activity on the crater floor. If what the general suspected was true, an outpost was being created—one that GenCon had chosen to conceal from Earth Government.
At the edge of the crater, he hid himself amongst the rocks and surveyed the ground below. His enhanced vision made it easy to pick out not only the small signs of development along one rim, but what appeared to be a track of some kind leading to a break in the far edge of the crater wall. A pass that would lead through in the direction of the spaceport and New Arcadia.
He moved further along the rim until he had a clear view of the activity below. From this angle, he could see robots busily working on the crater wall and it was clear that they were creating an outpost of considerable size. As the general suspected, because of its position it would be invisible to overhead satellites.
There was a glint of more movement in the distance, almost too far for him to make out what was happening. He focused more intently and realized that a cyborg ranger, astride one of the robotic horses that made up their usual means of transportation, was heading into the crater through the break.
Interesting. He wondered if the general had sent the ranger as well but the man didn’t seem to be moving with any great degree of caution. He trotted out onto the open floor of the crater, then seemed to notice the track for the first time, guiding the horse in that direction.
As J-100 debated the merits of making contact, he caught a second flash of movement. Another figure had entered the crater. He was too far away for J-100 to make out any details other than the white pallor of his face. The second man set off after the ranger, but the angle of his approach and the rocks that cluttered the crater floor meant that he would be concealed until he was almost upon the ranger.
Was the second man a cyborg as well? His gait was awkward, but he moved as quickly as one of the rangers. And yet… something about him made J-100’s skin crawl and he had long ago learned not to ignore his instincts. If it was an ambush, he would never reach the pair in time but neither could he stay here and do nothing. Swearing under his breath, he began making his way down the crater wall.
Even with his enhanced strength, it was a difficult climb. Nonetheless he had almost reached the bottom before the second man attacked. J-100 was still high enough above the valley floor that he could see the ambush. The second man sprang out from behind a rock, knocking the ranger off his horse. The two men struggled while the horse reared, hooves flashing. But the two were locked too closely together for the horse to assist.
J-100 swore again, dropped the remaining thirty feet to the valley floor, and set off at a run. He arrived just in time to see the white-faced figure toss the ranger’s body aside. The horse reared again, but the stranger shuffled backwards with surprising speed. Fortunately, he was so distracted by the horse that he didn’t hear J-100 approach. He started to turn just as J-100 reached him, but it was too late. J-100 had his arms around his neck, locking him in a remorseless grip.
A single glance was enough to show him that the ranger was dead, and anger roared through him. The ranger had been a soldier, a victim of a ruthless government, and the being he was holding had caused his death. This close, the unnatural qualities of the stranger were all too clear—the white plastic skin, the face that remained expressionless despite his struggles, and the faint scent of decay.
J-100 didn’t hesitate. He snapped the abomination’s neck and cast him aside.
Although he was quite sure that the ranger was dead, he headed for him only to find his way blocked by the huge metal body of the horse.
“Whoa there. I don’t mean any harm. I just want to see if there’s anything I can do.”
A pair of robotic eyes surveyed him, and he could have sworn that the horse was judging him before he shook his mane and moved aside. J-100 dropped to his knees beside the fallen man. His chest had been torn open, his heart removed. A cyborg could survive many things, but this
