Cyborg’s Love (BioCircuit Nexus)

Chapter 6—Zarakano

ZARAKANO STEPPED DEEPER into the abandoned clinic-turned-lab, his cybernetic eye quickly scanning the room. The air was thick with dust and the stale scent of disuse. His footsteps echoed off the bare walls as he moved farther into the space.

A glint of metal caught his attention. He approached a workbench, his hand hovering over a familiar piece of equipment. The neural interface calibrator bore the distinctive markings of his enclave—sleek lines etched with intricate circuitry patterns. He traced his fingers over the grooves, memories flooding back of late nights spent perfecting the design.

“How did this end up here?” he muttered, picking up the device. It was lighter than he remembered and clearly modified from its original form.

A stack of schematics lay beside the calibrator. His eyes narrowed as he examined the detailed drawings. They showed his original designs, but with alterations—additional components and rerouted pathways. At the bottom of each page was a signature of Mizella Chong.

“So, this is how she did it,” he said, his voice tight. He spread the schematics across the workbench, taking in the full scope of Mizella’s modifications. She had managed to integrate her repair protocols seamlessly with the enclave’s neural interface technology. It was brilliant work but twisted to serve a darker purpose. How had she gotten his design? He had a sinking feeling that he knew, but he wasn't ready to face it yet.

A flashing light on a nearby terminal drew his attention. He crossed to it, tapping the keypad as he accessed the system. Project logs filled the screen, detailing years of research and development. His breath caught as he saw a familiar name attached to many of the entries. Dr. S. Vale. Seeing the name was like an elbow to the solar plexus.

“Serita,” he whispered, a mixture of emotions churning inside him. He hadn’t spoken her name aloud in years, since the day she betrayed him and everything they had built together.

He delved deeper into the logs, his enhanced mind processing the information at lightning speed. Serita’s notes were meticulous, describing how she had guided Mizella in combining their technologies. She referenced fail safes and backdoors that only someone intimately familiar with the system would know—things they had discussed during those late-night development sessions when he thought they were building a better future, having no idea that Serita had been working for her own interests all along.

“You were here the whole time,” he said, clenching his hand into a fist. “While I searched for you across the city, you were right under my nose, turning our work into a weapon.”

He recalled the day five years ago when Serita had told him she was visiting family. How she had kissed him goodbye, promising to return soon. Instead, she had met with Nexus Corp, selling out their secret location for corporate greed.

The pieces fell into place with cruel clarity. Serita’s intimate knowledge of both his work and his own cybernetic systems had allowed her to disable him during the raid. He remembered the shock of his systems failing, leaving him helpless as corporate forces stormed their home and stole years of research.

Zarakano’s cybernetic eye flashed as he searched through more recent logs. They detailed Serita’s role as key technical advisor to Mizella, guiding the development of the very technology now threatening to enslave the city’s cyborg population. “You didn’t just betray me. You betrayed everything we stood for.”

He downloaded the logs and every other scrap of data he could source to his internal storage, ensuring he had a record of Serita’s involvement. As he turned to leave, his gaze fell once more on the neural interface calibrator. After a moment’s hesitation, he picked it up and tucked it into his coat. It might prove useful in countering whatever Mizella and Serita had planned.

“Kano, come here,” said Parka, catching his attention.

He crossed the lab to the terminal she’d occupied since they’d slipped inside. His cybernetic eye whirred as he processed the information scrolling across her terminal. The research logs further detailed Mizella’s involvement in “Project Hive,” confirming their suspicions about the corporate scheme to create sleeper agents. He gritted his teeth when he read how Mizella had been specifically recruited for her expertise in repair techniques.

“This is worse than we thought. Mizella’s using your old clinic work to disguise the neural tampering as routine maintenance.”

She nodded as she continued tapping the screen. “I can’t believe she’d do this. We were trying to help people, not turn them into puppets. Or I was. I guess she was always inclined this way.” She sounded sad.

Recognizing the pain of betrayal, and intimately understanding it, he put a hand on her shoulder. It mirrored his own experiences all too closely. He opened his mouth to share his story, to tell her about Serita and the enclave, when a deafening explosion rocked the building.

“We’ve got company,” he said, pulling her away from the terminal as chunks of ceiling rained down around them. A huge chunk of the ceiling landed on Vyko, completely erasing him from view underneath it. Zarakano winced in sympathy, knowing the enforcer couldn’t have survived that.

Through the dust and debris, a squad of corporate security forces stormed into the room. At their head stood a woman he presumed was Mizella Chong, since it wasn’t Serita. Her cybernetic enhancements gleamed in the flickering light.

Mizella gave Parka a cold smile. “If it isn’t my old partner and her new cyborg friend. Did you really think you could stop us?”

His combat protocols activated as threat assessments flashed across his vision. He pushed Parka behind him, shielding her with his body. “This ends now, Mizella. Your project will destroy everything.”

She laughed harshly. “Destroy? We’re creating a perfect world, free from chaos and dissent. You’re just too blind to see it.”

The security forces opened fire, energy bolts sizzling through the air. He ducked, pulling Parka down with him. They scrambled for cover behind an overturned desk.

“We need to get out of here,” she shouted over the din of gunfire.

He nodded, already evaluating escape scenarios. “On my signal, make for the emergency exit. I’ll cover you.” He waited for a lull in the shooting, then sprang into action. His cybernetic limbs propelled him forward with inhuman speed as he engaged the nearest security officer. He punched the other man in the jaw, sending him crumpling to the floor. “Now.”

She darted from cover, sprinting toward the exit. He provided covering fire, his built-in weapons systems targeting the corporate forces with deadly precision.

An enforcer, his eyes glowing an unnatural blue, charged at Zarakano. They grappled, cybernetic strength against cybernetic strength. Zarakano managed to gain the upper hand, twisting the enforcer’s arm behind his back. Before he could subdue him completely, a stray energy bolt caught the enforcer in the chest. The man convulsed, his systems overloading, before collapsing lifelessly to the ground.

He turned to check on Parka’s progress, momentarily diverting his attention. It was all the opening Mizella needed. She fired a concentrated burst of energy directly at Parka’s exposed back.

Without hesitation, he threw himself into the path of the blast. White-hot pain erupted across his chest as the energy tore through his synthetic skin and into the delicate circuitry beneath. Warning messages flooded his vision as systems began to fail. He staggered, falling to one knee. Through the haze of pain and cascading system failures, he saw Parka’s horrified face as she reached out to him.

“Zarakano?” she cried, rushing to his side.

He tried to warn her off, to tell her to keep running, but his voice synthesizer had been damaged in the blast. All he could manage was garbled static.

Mizella approached, a triumphant smile on her face. “How touching. The cyborg sacrificing himself for the human. It’s almost poetic.”

Parka glared up at her former friend as he felt pressure from her hands trying to stem the flow of synthetic fluid from his wound. “Why are you doing this? This isn’t what we wanted.”

“This is exactly what I want,” she said. “We’re creating a better world. One where everyone works together in perfect harmony. No more conflict, and no more suffering.”

“By turning people into mindless drones?” Parka glared at her.

She shook her head, her expression almost pitying. “Not mindless. Guided, and with the help of my new partner, we’ll perfect the system.”

His head snapped up at her words as cold dread settled in his circuits. He knew, with sickening certainty, to whom Mizella was referring.

“That’s right.” She gave him a cold smile upon noticing his reaction. “Dr. Serita Vale sends her regards, Kano . She’s been most helpful in refining our control protocols.”

He winced at the sound of her name.

Parka looked between Mizella and Zarakano, confusion evident on her face. “Who’s Serita? Kano, what’s she talking about?”

He couldn’t answer. His systems were failing rapidly since the damage from Mizella’s blast was more severe than he had initially realized. As his vision began to dim, he saw the horror dawn on Parka’s face when she noticed the exposed circuitry in his chest.

His vision flickered as error messages cascaded across his field of view. The damage from Mizella’s blast had compromised critical systems. He struggled to focus on Parka’s face, her expression a mixture of confusion and concern.

“What’s happening? Who’s Serita?” she asked again. Her voice sounded distant, distorted by his failing audio receptors.

He tried to speak, but his voice synthesizer crackled with static. Zarakano switched to his backup system, the words coming out in a harsh, mechanical tone. “Serita Vale. My former fiancée and partner at the enclave. She betrayed us.”

Parka’s eyes widened. “What are you talking about?”

His hand twitched when he reached for her arm. He brushed his fingers against her skin, the tactile sensors registering her warmth even as other systems shut down. “Five years ago. We developed...neural interface technology. Serita sold us out to Nexus Corp”

Parka leaned closer to Zarakano. “The neural interface tech is the same as what Mizella’s using, isn’t it? That's how the enclaves AI ended up melding with the surveillance program Mizella is using.”

Zarakano nodded, the movement sending a fresh wave of pain through his circuits. “Yes. Serita gave them our research. Used it to disable me during the raid.”

“That’s why you’ve been so secretive,” she said, realization dawning on her face. “You were trying to protect what was left of your people’s work.”

“Trying and failing,” said Mizella with a cold laugh that sounded more like a hiss. “Face it, X978. Your precious technology is ours now, and soon, all of Nexus Prime will be under our control.”

He focused on Mizella, his voice laced with determination despite the static. “You won’t succeed. Parka and I will stop you.”

She smirked. “And how do you plan to do that when you can barely function? You’ve lost.”

He stared up at her, wanting to repudiate her words, but it was too hard to maintain even basic control and try to generate words. Instead, he clung to Parka’s hand when she took his, struggling not to let his system shut down completely and permanently. Within seconds, he recognized the futility of his efforts as he started to shut down.