“That’s right, big guy. Come on—I won’t hurt you. I just want to talk to you.” Corinne beckoned to him again and pointed to the spot in front of her.
The Rogue Unit finally seemed to make a decision. He came over to her, his boots clanking against the lab’s metal floor. Corinne looked up at him as he approached her. Gods, he was an absolute monster! He must be seven feet tall, she estimated and his shoulders were at least twice as broad as her own. His body was heavily muscled everywhere—there wasn’t a spare inch of fat anywhere on his huge frame.
Both his arms and his hands were cybernetic and she could see some wiring in the chords and back of his neck, leading up into the base of his skull. His bare chest and abs were fully human—or fully Kindred, she supposed. His muscular upper body was a sight to behold.
Below the belt, he had more cybernetics but he was also wearing some kind of uniform trousers, so it was difficult to tell what was artificial and what was organic. There was a long bulge in his crotch that made her think the old Cybertronic inventors had believed that it was important to keep the male part of their subject intact.
That was another difference between this unit and the modern ones. The Cyborgs the Company built were never allowed to keep either their sexual equipment or their sex drive. It would have made them much too chaotic to deal with. Comparing the two would be an interesting study for later…if there was a later for her.
Her heart was still pounding, but she did her best not to show her agitation.
“Come here—come down here,” she said firmly, motioning for him. He towered over her—there was no way she could reach him to put the second Linking star on his temple unless he came to her.
The Rogue K-Unit examined her for a long moment as though gauging whether he could trust her or not. Corinne didn’t blame him. Just because she was female, didn’t automatically mean she was trustworthy.
“Hey, come here, big guy.” She made her voice soft and coaxing. “Come here and let me put this on your temple. Then we can talk.” She tapped the star on her own temple and pointed at him.
At last, he nodded, as though understanding her. Corinne expected him to lean down to her. Instead, he surprised her by dropping to one knee. He was so much taller that they were still almost eye-to-eye, even with her standing and him kneeling. He was still giving her that skeptical look, though, as if he was saying, Look, lady—I’ll give you a chance but you’d better not fuck it up.
Which was exactly what she was trying not to do.
“All right—good.”
Corinne nodded encouragingly and lifted the Linking star so he could see it more closely. The outer rays were made of pure, conductive gold and the inner jewel was still dark. It wouldn’t light up until it was attached to him.
“Now, I’m going to put this on you? All right?” she said to the Cyborg.
She tapped his temple with her free hand and raised her eyebrows. Many of the male Handlers treated the Cyborgs as though they were stupid or children. But Corinne had never believed in acting like that. Good Handling skills were ninety-nine percent communication. She never talked down to the Units she worked with.
Her gentle but firm approach seemed to work. The Rogue Unit studied her for a long moment, his eyes holding hers. There was still fear and anger in them—uncertainty and loss fighting with confusion. Corinne returned his gaze steadily.
“I’m not going to hurt you—I just want to talk to you,” she said clearly. Even if he couldn’t understand her words, she hoped her meaning would come through.
At last, it seemed to work. He nodded his head and then turned it so she could easily access his temple.
“Good. That’s good.”
Carefully, Corinne pressed the second Linking star into place. He flinched slightly—probably when he felt the points of the star piercing his skin—but she cupped his jaw and looked into his eyes.
“It’s all right, big guy—it’s going to be all right,” she reassured him. “In just a minute we’ll be able to understand each other.”
But it wasn’t just language they would share. With the Linking Stars in place and a Neural Link established, Corinne would be able to feel his emotions and even occasionally catch glimpses of his thoughts. Though of course, that would only happen if they had an exceptionally strong Link. She didn’t know if that was possible with such an old Unit.
Of course, the connection went both ways, but most Cyborgs were too mind-wiped to care about digging into their Handler’s personal thoughts and feelings. The Neural Link simply made them easier to control because calming emotions and thoughts could be poured into their empty minds like clear water filling a glass.
But when the Link established itself, Corinne was surprised—she didn’t find an empty void. Instead, there was another mind there—an alive, engaged one. An angry one.
She’d been right—the K-Unit thought he was in danger. He’d been fighting for his life—trying to escape and get back to his ship, which he seemed to think was waiting somewhere for him.
“There’s no ship and you’re in no danger here,” she said and thought at him at the same time. “It’s all right now—everything is going to be all right.”
She felt a sense of skepticism from him—as though he wasn’t sure he believed her.
“I won’t lie to you.” She looked steadily into his eyes. “You’ve been in Stasis for a long time—hundreds of years. There’s no ship waiting. The people you knew in the past are gone. I’m sorry—I know that’s hard to hear.”
She hoped he was understanding her—and believing her. He searched her eyes with his own and she could feel him pushing on the Link, as though he was looking for verification. Oh yes, he was completely different from the modern Cyborgs she was used to working with. She’d never met a Unit who tried anything like this.
Still, he needed to know she was telling the truth. Reluctantly, she dropped her carefully cultivated mental barriers long enough to let him in…just a little. She felt him probing again and then his eyes widened.
