Chapter No.9

My lady looks so gentle and so pure
When yielding salutation by the way,
That the tongue trembles and has naught to say,
And the eyes, which fain would see, may not endure.
And still, amid the praise she hears secure
She walks with humbleness for her array;
Seeming a creature sent from Heaven to stay
On earth, and show a miracle made sure.

- Dante Alighieri -

Marty relaxed in the common room between his and Angie's quarters by reading and drinking a beer. When the door to Angie's quarters swished open his heart rate spiked.

"Good evening, Admiral."

She plopped into a chair. "I'm surprised that the other men aren't here."

"They've been avoiding me of late."

"How come?"

"They fear you."

Angie sighed. "Do you still fear me?"

"Yes. My heart is racing right now."

"Shit!" She got up and walked to the pool wall. "I've broken the first rule of leadership: I've lost respect."

"They haven't lost respect for you," Marty said. "They're afraid that you'll punish them."

She turned around. "I can't believe that they're afraid of being disciplined. It's not as if I'm having them scourged with a whip."

"It still hurts."

"It's supposed to hurt when you're being punished. That's the idea."

"I agree, but they don't like being humiliated as if they were boys," Marty said.

"They are boys," Angie said. "Bad little boys who need to be spanked." She turned away. "Listen to me. I sound like I'm psychotic."

"You hate and despise men, don't you?"

Tears welled in her eyes. "I'm terrible. I have no business being in command."

"Don't say that. If Onuki finds out you're having mental problems, she'll relieve you of command."

"Shit. She already knows."

Marty stared at her for several minutes before he smiled. "I still love you."

She bawled.

***

"There are two enemy vessels in orbit around the planet," Ninja said.

"Open COM to the X-4001, Delphi."

"COM opened, Angie."

"What's up, Admiral?"

"Organize your combat teams. We're going in. Launch a fighter and take out those two Cyborg ships in orbit."

"Will do, Admiral."

Angie turned to Marty. "Prepare to attack the Cyborg base."

"Yes, Admiral."

Ninja, Andy, Tiana, Theodore, Edward and Moto joined him in the elevator for the ride to the equipment deck.

"You take Edward in the X-502, Tiana, and take out the planetary defenses," Marty said. "Andy, you take Theodore in the X-503 and act as ground support."

They were met by thirty Drak females dressed for combat.

"Mount up, people," Marty said. "We have a battle to fight."

The X-502 launched first and plunged through enemy fire to blast enemy energy weapons. The X-503 launched next to bomb enemy positions in the camp. The X-501 launched last to transport warriors into combat.

Marty sat the X-501 down near the Cyborg camp's East wall. He, Ninja, and Moto each led ten Draks to positions near the solid metal wall. Ninja cut a hole in the wall with a cutting laser, but when the Drak unit under Moto tried to go through the breech, they came under heavy fire. Ninja cut three more holes and then led a charge through one of them. By the time that Marty and Moto led their units through, Brian's marines were already locked in combat with the enemy within.

When Marty saw Moto fall, he ran to her through ferocious enemy fire, diving at the last second behind a concrete barrier to avoid getting hit. Moto was in pain, having been hit in the leg. Marty pulled the armor off the injured area, slapped a burn patch on it and gave her a morphine shot. He helped her up, allowing her to use him as a support.

The battle quickly subsided when Brian's marines took the field. Ninja came over to help Marty with the wounded Moto.

"Get her to the ship," Marty told one of the Drak females. We have to locate the survivors."

"We found some people," a young marine Lieutenant said.

"Get them ready for transport," Marty ordered. He turned to Ninja. "Let's check out the building over there."

The metal building held machines similar to the last camp. Marty looked down in an inverted cone machine in which the blade was still busy chopping up a red slurry.

"Ugg! That doesn't look good."

The sound of a scream echoed from another room. Both Marty and Ninja drew their hand weapons and approached the entrance, but they had to take cover when energy beams shot out of the opening. Marty threw a concussion grenade and he and Ninja rushed in. A Cyborg appeared from behind a machine and Ninja shot him. He fell screaming as fire consumed his metal body from the inside out. Two female Cyborgs backed away with their hands up.

Another scream came from inside an iron maiden machine.

"Open that," Marty ordered.

One of the female Cyborgs threw a switch and the two halves of the contraption separated to reveal a human male. Marty helped him out.

"Whoever you are, I am grateful. That thing hurts like hell."

"Are there any other people in here?" Marty asked the two female Cyborgs, pointing his weapon at them for emphasis.

They led Marty and Ninja to another conical pit. A male was lying in a metal chute to one side of the opening to the pit. One of the female Cyborgs released him and he got out.

"Oh, God, thank you."

"Stand over there with him," Marty said, pointing to the first man.

The female Cyborg showed Marty another chamber with a human male hanging by his feet. They lowered him and released the manacles around his ankles.

"Is that all?" Marty asked.

"Yes," one of the female Cyborgs said in a voice that sounded like it had been computer generated.

"Good. Come with us," he told them. "Don't try anything."

"We are not trained to fight as are the males," one of the female Cyborg said.

"You just torture and kill people, that's all," Marty said.

"We obey. That is all we can do."

When the marines and the Draks saw the two female Cyborgs, they reacted with alarm, raising their weapons.

"They're our prisoners," Marty told them. "Get these people up to the ship. We will take care of these two."

That calmed them.

When Marty brought the two female Cyborgs onto the X-5001, most people looked at them with curiosity, not hatred. He took them to Onuki and Ferris, and they reacted with concern.

"Will they behave?" Ferris asked Marty.

Before he could answer, one of the females spoke. "We will not do any harm."

"We wish to examine you," Onuki said. "But, we have no idea where to start. Is it permissible to remove some of your metal pieces?"

"Are you going to execute us?"

"No," Marty said. "We don't do things like that. We just want to see how your body works."

"We will obey you."

"We're going to need a mechanic for this," Marty said.

Onuki keyed a mic on the wall. "Honey, would you please report to Medical."

Honey answered her request with little delay. She looked wild-eyed at the two new creatures.

"We need your help in trying to disassemble these two Cyborgs," Marty told her.

"How cool," Honey said. "They are very interesting."

Onuki had one of the females recline on the examination table. Honey examined the metal parts that covered her body before she came up with an idea of how to disassemble them.

"These body panels are simply used like clothing," Honey said. "The exception to that scheme is their limbs; they are bionic machines. The brain of this individual consists of both biological and electronic sections. The torso is biological, but I believe that the heart and some of the other organs are mechanical."

"If we remove the outer panels, will that cause any harm?" Onuki asked Honey.

"I don't believe so. The only parts that can't be disconnected are the limbs and head."

"Let's remove her outer panels," Onuki said. "We should then be able to get some good scans."

Honey looked closely at the panels. "These are attached with interesting connectors. They should be detached with a special tool. Do you have a magnetic spanner?"

"Yes," Onuki said. "We use it to work on the scanning equipment."

Honey used the tool to disconnect several panels on the Cyborg's body. What was left was pale flesh that appeared soft and smooth. Scans of the creature's body revealed some organic organs like liver, stomach and intestines, but others that were mechanical like the heart and lungs. The limbs were bionic and had engines to drive the complicated mechanisms that powered them.

"Look at this brain," Ferris said. "There's a device imbedded in it."

"That's the computer interface," Honey said. "This probably controls the mechanical aspects of this creature."

"What do you eat?" Onuki asked.

"We consume a mixture of proteins and nutrients."

"I think that I can come up with the proper recipe for that," Honey said. She pointed at a scan of the Cyborg's body. "This organ is a power converter that changes bio-fuel into electrical energy."

"Interesting," Marty said. "We've learned more about this species in a half hour than anyone has been able to reveal to us in the entire time we've been out here."

"We are at war with your kind," Marty told them. "But, we will not harm you if you agree to obey us."

"We will obey you. We have no reason to be in conflict with you. Our males treat us as slaves."

"I am not surprised. We will require you to serve us not as slaves but as crewmembers. If this is an issue for you, please tell us."

"It is not an issue."

Marty smiled. "Here is what I want you to do after you put her back together. With her help, I want you to completely disassemble this one." He gestured to the second female. "Remove her arms and legs and all her body coverings. Then, I want you to carefully disassemble them and catalog every part and what it does and how it works." He turned to Onuki. "Is there some way to open her body without leaving a scar or causing any harm?"

"We have the laser section unit," Onuki said. "The cut can be healed with the stimulator."

"Okay, you can open her up and examine the mechanical organs, I especially want you to investigate the brain computer. Whatever you do, do not hurt her or cause any permanent damage."

"Oh my, Martin, you are giving me a very important project. I will not disappoint you."

"Good."

When he got back on the command deck, Marty found Angie absent.

"Where's the Admiral?"

"I don't know," George said. "She just walked off the deck without saying anything."

"That's not good."

George shrugged.

"Take over, Masai."

"Yes, Martin."

Marty went to his quarters and found Angie lying on a couch in the common area.

She looked up at him. "Sorry. I have a headache."

"That's okay. I put Masai in charge."

"Where's Honey?"

"She's down in medical. I captured two female Cyborgs and she was helping Onuki and Ferris examine them."

"I assume that you made them part of the crew, right?"

"Yes, I did." He chuckled. "People will think that we're the Borg."

"The Borg?"

"Yes. That was a species of Cyborg creatures that were the principal nemesis on Star Trek. Their thing was to absorb other aliens into their Collective."

"Maybe these Cyborgs are the Borg," Angie said.

"No way. The Borg made all the people that they absorbed into Borgs. They didn't torture and kill them."

"How can we justify taking these two female Cyborgs into our crew when we are essentially at war with their species?"

"That sounds like a moral dilemma," Marty said. "We can learn a lot from these two. It will give us an edge in any situation that we find ourselves in."

"You're an abject optimist," Angie said. "I hope that they will not try to sabotage us"

Marty smiled. "We have to trust them, just like I've learned to trust you, even though you seem to enjoy punishing me."

She sat up. "I punish you because you disobey the rules, not because I enjoy doing it."

"I meant no disparagement, Admiral. I don't object to your punishment of me. I deserve it. I just wish that you would allow me to be clothed when you punish me."

She chuckled. "Don't you know why I do that? It's a game that we've played from the beginning."

He played past discipline sessions in his mind for a few minutes. "Yes, I see what you mean. I take my objection back."

"Thank you," she said, smiling at him. "If our roles were reversed, would you punish me that way?"

"Absolutely not! I respect you more than that."

"Gee thanks; you're making me feel like a first class heel."

"I intended no criticism," Marty said. "My male pride was abused, that's all."

"Your male pride is a detriment," Angie said.

Marty had to agree with that sentiment.

***

Honey glanced over at Wendy. "Have you finished with that bionic arm?"

"There has to be over ten thousand parts in this thing," Wendy said. "Some of them are tiny little gizmos."

"This eye is very interesting," Arby said. "The focus and f-stop range is quite large. The signal to noise is over 200 db."

Wendy looked over at Honey. "Is that her intestines?"

"Yes. I have to pull some of them out so that I can examine a device inside her abdomen."

Wendy came over to a metal table where the torso of the second female Cyborg was cut open from the sternum down to the pubic area. "You have her split in half. How are you going to get all her intestines back where they belong?"

"I have memorized the three dimensional positions of all of her organs." Honey pointed to the mechanical heart. "This device is powered by electrical energy generated by this organ in her abdomen."

"Are you going to take me apart?" the first female Cyborg asked.

"Do you want me to?" Honey asked her.

"The process would be interesting. I have never seen the inside of my body."

"How did your species acquire a metallic skeleton?" Honey asked her.

"We are incubated in special cells that create life. Both biological and mechanical parts are combined in this cell."

"I assume that this process is computer controlled."

"Yes."

Honey pulled more intestines out of the second female Cyborg's abdomen. "I see that these intestines connect to a common organ that converts waste to energy. This is very efficient. All toxins are also converted in this mechanical liver, and the heart-lung system is more efficient than its biological equivalent."

"This arm has separate computers at several nodes," Wendy said. "The motors are linear and very powerful. The circuitry is very complicated."

"We are learning much," Honey said. "Keep working, kids. We have much more to do. And remember: don't make any mistakes. We have to get this creature back together and working correctly."

"This should be easy for you," the first Cyborg said. "You understand celestial mechanics and jump theory. Our bodies should be simple to you."

"I do not think that you are simple," Honey said. "You are a living being, and as such you are inherently more complicated than jump theory. I am humbled by your physical bodies. They are magnificent in both design and function."

"You are wise," the Cyborg said.

***

Marty dove into the water of the pool between his and Angie's quarters. He leveled out five feet below the surface and emerged at the opposite side of the pool. He looked back to see Angie standing at the opposite side of the pool.

She smiled at him. "Hi."

He pulled himself out of the pool and walked over to her. "Are you here to punish me?"

"Not really. I just got back from the command deck, and I wanted to see what you were doing."

"I'm just waiting for you."

"Look. I don't really want to hurt you."

"How can you say that? You enjoy hurting me."

"Please don't say that. You make me sound like a sadist." She sat down on a bench and sighed, looking away and trying to compose herself before looking back at him. "I didn't really want to tell you this, but I think that you deserve to hear it. It's not right what they've done."

Marty's face exhibited concern. "What are you talking about?"

"Do you remember that time on the Space Port before we went on the mission to the other side of the galaxy, when I ordered you to undress to do pushups and you got mad?"

"Yes, but I got over it, remember?"

"I know, but I was just doing my duty." She looked away and swallowed hard. "Long before that, they wanted to drum you out of the service, but I told them that I would quit too if they did that."

"I don't get it," Marty said. "They didn't tell me that they wanted me out."

"That's because I intervened and prevented it, but they made me promise that I would keep you under control, that I would come down hard on you if you showed any signs of insubordination."

"I think that you've done a magnificent job in that regard, but I don't understand the other part, the part about undressing."

"They gave me explicit orders to punish you using methods that inflicted pain and that I should humiliate you by having you strip. They wanted to make sure that the punishment would be so distasteful that you would reform immediately."

"So what you're telling me is that all that nonsense with Arthur was fake, that he knew all along that what you did to me was a direct order."

Angie's eyes welled up with tears. "Yes. I'm sorry. I should have told you."

Marty approached her, took her in his arms and kissed her. "Thank you. I love you."

She cried.