Cyborg Doms: Fane Read Online Free Page A

launch pad. The ship sparkled under the overhead lights like a killer whale with wet-looking, black skin and white trim. Built for speed, the small ship also had the ability for stealth and could remain hidden underwater indefinitely.
    Food replicators would supply them with everything they needed. Fane grinned up at the sleek beast—the ship was perfect.
    They stepped into the transporter beam. A millisecond later, they arrived on the bridge. Fane glanced around to get his bearings. With a single thought, he joined his neural pathways to the ship's system. His AI sent images so rapidly that the ship looked familiar. Hell, he even knew the sounds it made. The instrument panels blinked in a rainbow of colors, a recognizable humming sound filled his ears. The faint smell of Nu-Leather from the comfortable seats brought false recollections of missions. He laughed.
    In his memory, he had flown this ship a thousand times. He helped Jace push the case of gold into a locker and then moved to the front of the ship. Without delay, he settled in the captain's chair. His AI interfaced seamlessly with the vessel's computer; Fane could relax and enjoy the ride. Jace dropped into the chair beside him and raised a blond brow. Biting his bottom lip to stop from grinning, Fane sent the command to start the ship. "Starship Cruiser 7 requesting permission to take off."
    "Permission granted." A scratchy voice replied.
    The next second, the engines roared. The ship blasted into space, the G-force throwing Fane back in his seat. Clouds rushed by and the ship erupted into an endless, clear blue sky. The vessel shook and shuddered through the atmosphere, and then glided effortlessly toward the sister planet, Vallion. Fane disengaged the intercom and accessed his AI. "Computer, destroy my tracker chip, break communication with the mainframe. Set course Fane 1 maximum speed."
    The starship made a slow, sweeping arc and changed direction. He glanced at Jace. The man's face was a mask of concentration. "You done?"
    "Yeah." He grinned. "And for added security, I just sent a virus to the mainframe.
    They should be down for a while."
    "Shame we couldn't save some of the other guys."

    "Most of them are dead already." Jace shuddered. "They are walking zombies.
    Trust me; I have tried to break into their programming. They're machines . . . there's nothing left. The only humanoids capable of training their AIs are the Javronians and you, my friend." He smiled. "We don't have to worry about the Javronians . . . after they realize we've flown the coop, they'll figure out how to escape."
    Fane's stomach clenched. The wormhole spun ahead, a swirling mass of bright blue in the distance. They faced two possible outcomes. The ship could travel millions of light years to another universe or be thrown back or forward in time. He gripped the arms of the chair and gazed into the awesome, spinning beauty. "Well, there's still time to change your mind."
    "I'm not going back." Jace stared into the distance. "I'd rather die." He turned and smiled at Fane. "What do you say, Captain ? No guts no glory?"
    "Something like that."
    The starship increased speed. Inside, Fane listened for the click and hum to indicate the wings had retracted. They would fly through the wormhole like a bullet and hope they did not encounter any debris on the way. The swirling, gaping maw opened up before them bigger than Fane could have imagined. "Holy shit. Look at the size of this thing."
    "The bigger the wormhole, the safer it is for us." Jace leaned forward in his seat.
    "There's much less chance of it collapsing."
    Fear rose in Fane's chest, the unfamiliar sensation making it difficult to breathe.
    He swallowed hard. The starship hurtled through space toward the wormhole, gaining speed by the second. Blue walls spun around them, crackling with lightning. The sight reminded him of his past life, a memory partially suppressed by Gryd's programming.
    Without prompting his AI, Fane received images