The Soldiers, like the one guarding the front entrance to this hell, and the one watching Hunt and Tyran a few feet to their left, were the biggest and strongest, supposedly the hardest to kill. They were integrated with enough technology to ensure that they were faster and stronger than any of the Coalition Fleet’s warriors, except the Atlans in full beast mode. That Soldier stood between me and my mates, and I didn’t like it.
Focus.
A Soldier classification was, I realized, the purpose the Hive had planned for my Tyran. When he’d been captured before, they’d been busy turning him into a Soldier, adding implants to his muscles and bones, making him Superman strong. Making him into the ultimate killer. But he’d gotten away.
But all the power was still inside his body, waiting to explode from him. They’d created a formidable enemy, and he was mine.
The Hive who marched behind them with a large weapon pointed at Tyran’s back was a Scout. With odd optical implants and an array of sensory material added to their flesh, the Scouts weren’t meant for hand-to-hand combat. Kiel said they were still hard to kill, but were designed for striking hard and fast and running away. If Soldiers were their front line infantry, the Scouts were their snipers, pilots, or recon units. They were made to be quiet and quick.
And that’s what they’d had in mind for Hunt.
But that was before, when my mates had been captured and tortured. I wondered what horrifying things they planned for my mates now. What else could there be? Tyran’s strength didn’t appear to matter. He was marching like a docile servant behind Hunt who followed the third Hive, this one a small, vicious Integration Unit, as the Scout brought up the rear.
The Scout that I recognized with a flash of horror. Next to me, Kiel stiffened as the Hive turned to scan the cavern and we both got out first clear look at his face. “Perro,” he murmured.
The missing warrior. Shit. I hadn’t met him before, but it wasn’t him any longer.
But I didn’t have time or energy to dwell on that. I returned my attention to the biggest threat in the room. The Integration Units, according to Kiel, were smart. While they followed orders, they could process various options and take the most ruthless action. And while the Soldiers followed orders and killed without mercy, they weren’t cruel. They were little more than mindless killing machines manufactured by the thousands by the Hive central command.
But the Integration Units were sadistic, enjoyed torture, by programming or design, they enjoyed their work a little too much. And the way that little black-eyed bastard was watching my mates, he had plans to make them suffer.
Big plans.
Focus.
My eyes narrowed and I squeezed the ion blaster in my palm with impatience.
I was going to kill that one myself.
Chapter Fifteen
Kristin
Kiel leaned in close, lifted his chin. “The Hive Unit with your mate, Tyran. That’s Perro.” His voice was no more than a whisper. “He’s been integrated.”
Shit. “So we shoot him?” I whispered back.
He nodded once, his lips tightening into a thin line. “We will not leave him here like this.” Which meant he would kill him, put him out of his misery. “He will die a warrior’s death.”
I wanted to swear, stomp my feet, scream. Anything to let the anguish out. But no. I needed to keep my head. My mates, the others, needed me. I couldn’t let my mates sense anything wrong, especially from me. Besides, they obviously were well aware of Perro’s fate.
I nodded once, more determined than ever to finish this. I was about to tell Kiel that I was ready when the hair on my arms rose and a shiver raced down my spine.
Instincts were king, and I blinked once, slowly, to clear my vision and my head before turning back to look down into the cavern again. I’d missed something. The chill racing over my skin was screaming at me to look again.
Beside me, Kiel’s pointing finger uncurled and shifted a few degrees to the left, pointing. He sensed it, too. Looking in that direction, I trembled with adrenaline when I saw Krael leaning casually against the wall like he didn’t have a care in the world. I’d only seen pictures of him, but I recognized him instantly. I had no doubt as to his identity. I’d spent hours and hours studying his military records, interviewing the people he knew and worked with on Base 3. I knew more about that asshole than his own mother.
He was dressed in Coalition body armor, like he was still part of the Fleet. He didn’t look Hive. Being new to the Colony, Kiel hadn’t met him either, but he’d seen the same pictures and the Coalition attire was a dead giveaway, especially since he didn’t have an ion pistol pointed at him.