Cyborg’s Love (BioCircuit Nexus)

Chapter 10—Zarakano

ZARAKANO STOOD IN THE dimly lit laboratory, his cybernetic eye scanning the room filled with recovering cyborgs. The hum of machinery and the occasional beep of diagnostic equipment filled the air. A week had passed since they had thwarted Serita and Mizella’s plan, but the work was far from over.

Parka was nearby, hunched over a workbench, moving her fingers deftly as she repaired a cyborg’s neural interface. Her short black hair fell across her forehead, and she absently brushed it away, leaving a smudge of grease on her skin. He was captivated by her focus and determination as much as by her beauty.

“How’s it going?” he asked, approaching her workstation.

She looked up at him. “Slow but steady. This one’s pretty complex. Mizella really did a number on these neural pathways.”

He nodded, leaning in to examine her work. The intricacy of the circuitry was impressive, even to his enhanced vision. “You’re making good progress. Your expertise with those old clinic protocols is invaluable.”

A ghost of a smile crossed Parka’s face. “Never thought I’d be using them again, especially not like this.”

As they worked side by side, he marveled at how seamlessly they complemented each other. His advanced knowledge of cyborg systems merged perfectly with Parka’s innovative repair techniques. Together, they were able to tackle even the most challenging cases.

A commotion near the lab entrance drew their attention. Two former enforcers half-carried, half-dragged an unconscious cyborg into the room. The right side of the cyborg’s face was a mess of exposed wiring and damaged synthetic skin.

“What happened?” he asked, moving swiftly to assist them.

One of the enforcers, a burly man with a cybernetic arm, explained, “Found him in the Lower District. Looks like he tried to remove his own implants when they started malfunctioning.”

Parka was already clearing a space on a nearby examination table. “Bring him here,” she said, her voice calm but urgent.

As they laid down the injured cyborg, his sensors began analyzing the extent of the damage before Parka had even plugged him in for diagnostics. “Multiple system failures. Neural pathways are degrading rapidly.”

Parka’s hands flew over the cyborg’s exposed circuitry, connecting diagnostic tools and beginning emergency repairs. “This is bad, Zarakano. I’ve never seen corruption like this before.”

Zarakano joined her, his own hands moving with inhuman precision as he assisted In the race to stop the degradation. “It’s a failsafe Mizella must have implemented. If the cyborg attempts to remove the implants, it triggers a cascade failure.”

They worked in tense silence for several minutes, fighting to stabilize the cyborg’s systems. He relied heavily on Parka’s expertise with jury-rigged repairs, while she in turn depended on his advanced understanding of cyborg physiology.

“I need more power to the neural stabilizer,” she said, sounding strained.

Without hesitation, he detached a power coupling from his own arm and connected it to the device. “Use my systems. I can regulate the flow better than the lab’s equipment.”

Her eyes widened momentarily, but she nodded and made the necessary adjustments. The stabilizer hummed to life, and the erratic beeping of the monitoring equipment began to slow.

“It’s working,” she said with relief.

Hours passed, and finally, the cyborg’s systems stabilized. Parka stepped back, wiping sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. “We did it,” she said, exhaustion and triumph mingling in her voice.

He nodded, disconnecting himself from the equipment. “Yes, we did. Your skills are remarkable.”

She looked up at him, a genuine smile spreading across her face. “We make a good team, don’t we?”

Zarakano knew just how true her words were. Their combined knowledge and skills had achieved something he wasn’t sure either of them could have done alone. More than that, he had a sense of trust and connection with Parka that he hadn’t experienced with anyone, even his comrades in the enclave, and certainly not with Serita. He’d never loved her—just the version of whom she’d pretended to be.

“We do,” he said softly. “I’ve never worked with anyone quite like you before.”

Her cheeks reddened slightly at the compliment. “I’ve certainly never worked with anyone like you either. A cyborg from a secret enclave with more knowledge about neural interfaces than I’ve ever seen? You’re pretty unique.”

As they began cleaning up the workspace, he reflected on their partnership. He had always prided himself on his self-sufficiency, but working with Parka had shown him the strength that could come from true collaboration.

“Parka,” he said, his voice uncharacteristically hesitant. “I want you to know I... appreciate what we’ve accomplished here. Not just with this patient, but with all of it. Taking down Mizella, helping these cyborgs—I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Parka paused in her work, looking up at him with surprise. “That’s... Thank you, Kano. I feel the same way. When Mizella betrayed me, I thought I’d never be able to trust anyone again, but working with you is amazing. I feel like we’re really making a difference.”

He nodded as warmth filled his chest. “We are, and I believe we can do even more. The authorities may be ignoring what’s happening, but we can continue to help these cyborgs, to undo the damage Mizella has done.”

“You want to keep working together?” she asked with a hint of hopefulness in her voice.

“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “Our combined knowledge and skills are formidable. We can accomplish things neither of us could do alone.”

Parka smiled, extending her hand to him. “Partners, then?”

Zarakano took her hand. “Partners.”

LATER THAT NIGHT, HE sat at the small table in the apartment above the secret lab, watching Parka stab at her synthicated dinner with more force than necessary. The harsh overhead light cast shadows across her face, accentuating the lines of frustration etched there.

“I can’t believe the authorities haven’t done anything,” she said with anger. “It’s like Mizella and Serita never existed.”

He nodded, his cybernetic eye whirring softly as he analyzed her expression. “The city officials are hesitant to challenge Nexus Corp. Their influence runs deep.”

Parka snorted. “That’s an understatement. They’ve got their tentacles in everything.”

He set down his fork, the metallic clink echoing in the small space. “I may have a way to find out more.”

Her eyes widened. “How?”

“I can infiltrate their security systems. I left a backdoor during my last access to deploy the virus.”

Parka leaned forward, her food obviously forgotten. “Is that safe though? What if they detect you?”

“The risk is minimal. If they haven’t detected the backdoor by now and shut it down, it’s unlikely they will.”

She chewed her lip, clearly considering. “Okay. Do it.”

He closed his eyes, his cybernetic implants humming to life. For several minutes, he sat motionless while his consciousness navigated the complex digital landscape of Nexus Corp’s security network.

When he opened his eyelids, she was staring at him intently. “Well?”

“They’ve taken action,” he said. “Serita and Mizella are in custody, along with several other high-ranking officials involved in the plan.”

Parka’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? Why hasn’t this been made public?”

“They’re keeping it quiet to avoid panic, but probably also to cash in on what Serita and Mizella had developed. The scale of the conspiracy was extensive.”

“What about Mizella?” she asked, her voice tight. “Is she...okay?” She shuddered, probably recalling how blank the other woman had been.

He hesitated, knowing the complex history between Parka and her former friend. “The virus we uploaded seems to have had an unexpected effect on her neural implants. Maybe it hit her so hard because her signature code caused the elements to combine, and she was the first cybernetic organism to get the full virus. She’s been wiped clean. There’s no trace of her original personality or memories.”

Her face paled. “She’s gone? Completely?”

He nodded. “She can’t hurt anyone again, Parka, but she’s also not the person you once knew.”

Parka pushed away from the table, pacing the small room. “I don’t know how to feel about that. I hated what she’d become, but she wasn’t always like that.” She sighed. “Or maybe she was, and I never really knew her at all.”

He watched her, understanding the conflict in her emotions. “It’s okay to mourn who she was, even if you don’t regret stopping what she became.”

She stopped pacing, turning to face him. “What happens now? To us and to your enclave?”

Zarakano stood to scrape his leftovers into the recycler. “We return to obscurity. Continue our work outside the rules of Nexus Prime, improving lives where we can.”

“Just like that?” she asked. “After everything we’ve done?”

“It’s what we do best.” He shrugged “Operating in the shadows, making a difference without drawing attention, and without needing permission from a city held hostage to corporate interests.”

Parka stepped closer to him, searching his face. “And where do I fit into all of this?”

He cupped her cheek. “With me, if you want, and the rest of the enclave agrees. Your skills and enthusiasm would be invaluable to our cause.” He lowered his voice. “Your passion is also intoxicating, and I want to see more of it.”

She leaned into his touch with a smile. “I’d like that.” She moved to sit on the sofa in the corner of the room. “I want to know everything if I’m going to be part of it.”

Zarakano joined her, his larger frame dwarfing the piece of furniture. “It started decades ago, when a group of cyborg scientists and engineers realized the potential dangers of unchecked cybernetic advancement in the wrong hands. We’ve always operated on the fringes. Developing technology to help rather than control, to enhance life rather than replace it.”

“That sounds incredible,” she said, “But how do you stay hidden? Surely, Nexus Corp and others have tried to find you?”

He nodded. “They have, and they succeeded with Serita’s undercover operation, but in general, our security measures are extensive. We use a combination of advanced cloaking technology and misdirection. Most of our work is done through intermediaries, who don’t even know they’re working for us.”

Parka’s eyes widened. “Like me when you first approached me after the enforcer entered my shop. You didn’t tell me who you really were.”

He nodded, wincing. “It was necessary at the time.”

She nodded too. “I understand why, and now I’ll be part of all that?”

“If you choose to be. It won’t be easy. We’ll be constantly moving and always watching our backs, but the work we do makes a difference.”

Parka reached out, taking his hand in hers. The contrast between her soft skin and his metallic fingers was stark, but somehow, it felt right. “I’m in,” she said firmly. “Whatever it takes.”

Warmth spread through his chest, a sensation his cybernetic systems couldn’t quite categorize. “Thank you, Parka. Your trust means more than I can express.”

A FEW WEEKS LATER, Zarakano stood at the console in a safe house, having moved back there once they’d had no more need for the secret clinic. They hadn’t gone back to a more central enclave location though, because not enough members had voted to approve an outsider joining. He wouldn’t leave Parka, so there they were. He hoped his stubbornness would overcome the others’ resistance to change.

His cybernetic eye whirred as it processed the incoming data. The room hummed with the soft glow of holographic displays and the muted beeps of monitoring equipment. He frowned as he read the reports from their underground operatives across different cities.

“Parka,” he called out with some urgency. “You need to see this.”

She looked up from her workstation, where she had been tinkering with a neural interface prototype. She set down her tools and walked over to him. “What is it?” she asked, looking at the holographic display.

He gestured to the scrolling text. “Reports from our operatives in other cities. It seems Nexus Corp’s influence extends far beyond Nexus Prime. They’ve been manipulating cybernetic systems on a global scale.”

Her eyes widened as she read the details. “This is extensive. Neural suppression in Andorova, forced upgrades in Nexus North, and backdoor access to government cyborgs in Shoyonai...”

He nodded grimly. “Serita’s arrest may have dealt a blow to their operations here, but the threat is far from over.”

She ran a hand through her short black hair, leaving it slightly disheveled. “I should have known Mizella’s ambitions wouldn’t be limited to just one city. She always thought big, so she probably planned to go even beyond the planet.”

He turned to face her, his expression softening slightly. “You couldn’t have known the full extent of their plans. What matters now is how we respond.”

Parka nodded. “So, what’s our next move? We can’t exactly hop on a shuttle and start fixing cyborgs all over the world.”

“No, but we can expand our network. Share our knowledge with trusted individuals in these cities. Create a web of resistance against corporate control.”

Her eyes glistened with excitement. “Like an underground railroad for cyborgs. We could set up secure communication channels, share repair techniques, and maybe even develop some kind of universal anti-tampering software...”

As she spoke, her hands moved animatedly, sketching invisible diagrams in the air. He was captivated by her enthusiasm and her brilliant mind already racing ahead to solutions.

“Exactly,” he said, smiling. “It’ll take time and resources. We’ll need a permanent base of operations, somewhere secure where we can coordinate our efforts with others to support us.”

Parka’s excitement dimmed. “The enclave? You said the others voted against letting me in. Outsiders aren’t allowed...”

He stepped closer to her. “I’ve found a loophole. If you become my wife, they’ll let you in. I want you to come live at the enclave. Work with me there. Live with me and build a future together as my partner in every sense.”

She audibly gasped. “You’re asking me to leave everything behind?” She frowned then. “That’s not much these days...”

“Think of the difference we could make together. We’ve already proven how effective we are as a team.”

She was quiet for a moment, her gaze drifting back to the holographic display with its litany of corporate abuses. When she looked back at him, there was a new resolve in her expression. “I want to, but I don’t want to marry you just so we can work together with the enclave’s blessing. It has to be because of real feelings between us.”

He tilted his head, waiting for her to continue.

Parka took a deep breath. “I’m falling in love with you. I know it’s complicated, with you being a cyborg and me being human, and we have this huge mission ahead of us, but I can’t pretend it isn’t happening, and I won’t pretend to be okay with a fake marriage just to get access to the enclave.”

His cybernetic systems registered a spike in his heart rate as a rush of endorphins flooding his system. He took Parka’s hand. “There’s nothing fake about it. I’m falling too. The truth is... I think I’ve already fallen. Completely.”

Her eyes widened as a smile spread across her face. She stepped closer, eliminating the last bit of space between them. “Really? Even with all the complications, and all the differences between us?”

He nodded while cupping her cheek. “Those differences are part of what makes us strong together.”

She leaned into his touch, her eyelids fluttering closed for a moment. When she opened them again, her expression became pure joy. “Then let’s do this,” she said. “Let’s change the world, one cyborg at a time, and one night at a time,” she said in a huskier tone.

He leaned down to claim her mouth for a deep, passionate kiss. It was a promise, a declaration, and a merging of two worlds. As they stood there in the glow of the holographic displays, the future stretched out before them—uncertain and challenging, but full of possibility.

When they finally broke apart, both slightly breathless, he rested his forehead against hers. “Welcome to the enclave, partner,” he said softly.

She grinned up at him. “Partner in all things?”

“In all things,” he confirmed, sealing the promise with another kiss. “Wife.”

“Not yet, but soon,” she said with a small smile.

As they turned back to the console, hands still intertwined, the holographic display continued to scroll with reports from around the world, but now, instead of a daunting challenge, it looked like an opportunity to make a real difference, to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves, and to forge a new path forward with the woman he loved at his side.

Zarakano gently squeezed her hand. “Ready to get to work?”

Parka nodded with determination. “With you? Always.”