North Bound – Second Scene Of The First Chapter
North Bound, the fifth standalone story in the Cyborg Space Exploration series, is releasing on April 21st.
Last week, I shared the first scene from the first chapter.
You can read that scene here:
This week I’m sharing the second scene of that first chapter.
***
There wasn’t much of a choice. Doc preferred to stay on the ship, performing unauthorized tests on the crew. Chuckles had a damaged knee. That would slow the completion of the mission. “I choose Dissent.”
That male nodded. His expression was blank.
Dissent’s female was less reserved in her response. She grinned and linked her fingers with her warrior’s, appearing happy on Dissent’s behalf.
North’s gaze moved to the third member of the team. “And I choose Truth.”
“Yes.” The D Model grinned and pumped the air. “My kill rate will increase.”
“There will be no killing…unless those beings attempt to kill you.” Captain frowned at the frivolous warrior.
All of them had been designed for two things –to breed and to end lifespans. Many cyborgs would never find their females, would never experience breeding. But they all relished killing. North was no exception to that reality. His kill rate was extremely high.
Killing beings wasn’t their current mission. They were to catalog the planet for Power and the cyborg council.
North had his projections about why that action was required. The cyborg Homeland was crowded. There was a 74.0973 probability the council would choose one of the planets to claim as their own.
Evaluating prospective sites was an important task. His chin lifted. He wouldn’t fail his brethren.
Dissent’s female nudged her warrior with one of her elbows.
“My female wishes to join the team, Captain.” Dissent forwarded that absurd request. “She can be outfitted with sensors on her fingertips.” He looked at Doc.
The medic nodded. “The sensors are functional with humans.”
North’s lips flattened. A human female on his team would also slow the completion of the mission. In the past, cyborgs would have died due to that delay, and he couldn’t process with 100.0000 accuracy the dangers they would now face.
“Three warriors are sufficient.” Minimizing the size of the team held less risk.
All of the females, with the exception of Captain’s, glared at him.
His jaw jutted. It wasn’t the first time he had dealt with the disapproval of others, as the right decisions weren’t always the most popular decisions. Their responses wouldn’t sway him.
“Four beings would complete the mission faster.” Dissent’s female gazed at Captain, not at him.
Four cyborgs would complete the mission faster. The addition of a human female to the team would delay them. Dissent would move at his human female’s slower pace. All of them would allocate part of their processors to protecting her.
That was unacceptable.
“Dissent, can you confirm that statement?” North transferred that task to the J Model.
Truth, that foolish warrior, laughed.
Dissent levelled a hard glance at North.
Cyborgs couldn’t lie. That was a specification of their programming. The male couldn’t confirm the statement.
“There is a 68.9846 probability there are female humanoids on the planet.” The J Model’s calculation was correct. Most humanoids…and cyborgs…required females to reproduce naturally. “Female humanoids might feel more comfortable if we have a female on our team.”
The females on the bridge, with the exception of Captain’s female, nodded, approving of that non-answer. Dissent’s female patted her warrior’s arm.
They then turned their heads and gazed at North.
All of them were aligned against him. Captain didn’t voice his opinion, remaining neutral. Captain’s female was also silent.
North was alone. There was no one supporting his stance.
But he processed it was the right decision and he wouldn’t deviate from it. “The comfort of the local population isn’t a parameter of this mission.” That output wasn’t important to him. “Our primary objective is to explore the planet, document it, employ force only when force is utilized against us.”
“That’s no fun.” Truth expressed his unhappiness about that last restriction.
“I can help you achieve your primary objective.” Dissent’s female wasn’t deviating from her position.
“My secondary objective is to ensure all our team members return to the Reckless alive.” That was North’s responsibility as the leader of the team.
“That should be your primary objective.” Captain frowned at him.
If it was his primary objective, the team wouldn’t leave the safety of the ship.
North said nothing.
“Dissent is part of your team.” Dissent’s female, in contrast, didn’t remain silent. “I would never put him or any other cyborg in danger.”
Merely by fighting his orders, she could put them in danger. A moment’s delay in battle caused deaths. “You would be part of that team.”
Being a human, she was slower and weaker and more fragile than a cyborg. She would have been the first being the Humanoid Alliance decommissioned if his team hadn’t achieved their objective.
A failure could cost them a precious female.
North inwardly shuddered. He wouldn’t be responsible for such a huge loss to his kind.
***
Read the next scene (available April 6th) here:
***
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North Bound
A mission-focused cyborg battles a captivating and dramatic distraction.
***
North, the second-in-command of a cyborg crew, has two priorities—he has to explore and collect data on Balazoid Minor, a small planet in their sector, and he must bring his three-being team back to the ship alive and fully functional.
When he encounters his brash, bravado-wielding female, the one being genetically designed for him, he recognizes her for what she is—a distraction that might get him and his brethren killed. He WILL claim her, but only on his terms, when his mission is complete and everyone he is responsible for protecting is safe.
Myrina the Magnificent is the best warrior on her planet and possibly the universe. She has captured an unparalleled fourteen males for her all-female tribe. Once she has secured the fifteenth male, she will be a legend. Her name will live forever. She’ll earn the undying adoration of her sisters. Glory will be hers.
The male in her sights—and in her snare—is a huge, gray-skinned, blue-eyed cyborg with a skill for war and lips designed for kissing. One emotionally charged battle is all it takes for Myrina to realize she wants North for herself. She won’t share his caresses with anyone.
Their forbidden love might be destined to be, but it won’t be easy to maintain. Myrina will have to fight her sisters, an all-powerful male-eating plant, and her cyborg’s unbending will to make North hers and hers alone.
***
North Bound is a STANDALONE Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It is the fifth of six core stories in the Cyborg Space Exploration Series.
Book 1: Choosing Chuckles
Book 2: Doc’s Orders
Book 3: Dominance And Dissent
Book 4: Passion Surge
Book 5: North Bound
Book 6: Testing Truth
Pre-order Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0853DFY1B
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0853DFY1B
Amazon Australia:
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B0853DFY1B
Apple/iTunes:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/north-bound/id1500291657
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/north-bound-cynthia-sax/1136528667
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/north-bound
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1006230
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on North Bound – Second Scene Of The First Chapter
North Bound – First Scene Of The First Chapter
North Bound, the fifth standalone story in the Cyborg Space Exploration series, is releasing on April 21st.
As we wait for North Bound to release, I thought I’d share the first chapter. This week I’m sharing the first scene of that first chapter.
***
Chapter One
North was 100.0000 percent focused on his role.
He proudly stood to the left of Captain on the bridge of the Reckless, having earned that honored place on the cyborg warship. His simulated spine was rigidly straight. There wasn’t a speck of dust on his black body armor. His boots were polished until they shone.
His conduct was as exemplary as his appearance. As the warship’s second-in-command, he was acutely aware he set an example for the other warriors. He was known for his loyalty, his dedication to duty, his discretion.
His reputation had come at a cost.
That was emphasized by the exploits and the silence on the bridge. With no verbal prompting, Truth, a never-serious fellow D Model, suddenly grinned at Dissent.
The J Model met his gaze. His eyes glimmered with humor. Dissent’s human female rested her cheek on her warrior’s shoulder. The lights reflected off the sunstones hanging around her neck, that glow cast on her face.
Chuckles, the ship’s communications officer, shook his head and grunted. His human female sat on his lap fabricating a neck decoration for a miljoonasuut, a creature Dissent had taken under his protection. It would be presented to Nibbler the next time they visited Khambalia 5.
Doc, the ship’s medic, looked at Truth and then returned to perusing something on his embedded viewscreen. His humanoid female, a medic-in-training, was as engrossed as he was with that unidentified image.
Those cyborgs must be engaged in a conversation via a private transmission line he hadn’t been extended an invitation to follow. North pushed away the emotional damage that inflicted on him.
The pain wasn’t justified. They weren’t excluding him due to his character. They were excluding the being holding the role of second-in-command. That being was an extension of Captain, who wouldn’t have been included in their chatter either.
His gaze flicked to the warrior. He had served Captain since escaping the Humanoid Alliance, their harsh manufacturers. The male’s human female pointed to something on the private viewscreen. Captain nodded.
Communications with his superior had decreased by 23.5969 percent since Captain had found his female, the one being genetically fabricated for him. North told himself that was for the best. His processors were better allocated to other issues.
Like the small planet appearing on their main viewscreen.
“Truth, slow our speed as we orbit Balazoid Minor.” Captain assigned that task to the D Model. “North, perform lifeform scans and other readings.”
He didn’t have to specify which readings to complete. Balazoid Minor wasn’t the first planet they’d explored. Power, the self-appointed head of the cyborg council, had given them the mission to document the details of every planet in the cyborg-controlled sector.
North performed the scans and readings. “Oxygen levels are within acceptable range. Early scans indicate the surface is stable. There is one large land mass. The rest of the planet is covered in water.”
“I’m relaying all the information I could find on Balazoid Minor.” Dissent sent those files to all of them. “There isn’t much. It was a Balazoid outpost. Those humanoids were known for being secretive. When the main planet blew up, their databases ceased to exist also.”
“The population of the planet is low, and it is stable.” North had performed two lifeform scans to verify that fact. “Two thousand, two hundred and thirty-five humanoids were detected, and they are all cloistered around these coordinates.”
He circled the area on the main viewscreen. A three-warrior team could log their details in a single planet rotation. The tension in his shoulders eased. They could complete their assigned task quickly.
The Humanoid Alliance would reprimand cyborgs if they failed to complete their missions within the duration allotted to them. 77.8907 percent of the time, that reprimand was the decommissioning of one or more members of the unsuccessful team.
The sound of those warriors’ screams often replayed in North’s processors. Decommissioning was the most painful death projected. The males were sliced apart while they were alive, their functioning mechanics salvaged for parts.
“The genetic data for those two thousand, two hundred and thirty-five humanoids has to be gathered.” Captain relayed information they already processed. “And information on the planet has to be collected.”
“I volunteer to lead the mission, Captain.” North, as second-in-command, considered that to be his duty.
Captain’s head dipped. “A team of three should be sufficient. Choose your two warriors.”
***
Read the next scene (available March 30th) here:
***
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
North Bound
A mission-focused cyborg battles a captivating and dramatic distraction.
***
North, the second-in-command of a cyborg crew, has two priorities—he has to explore and collect data on Balazoid Minor, a small planet in their sector, and he must bring his three-being team back to the ship alive and fully functional.
When he encounters his brash, bravado-wielding female, the one being genetically designed for him, he recognizes her for what she is—a distraction that might get him and his brethren killed. He WILL claim her, but only on his terms, when his mission is complete and everyone he is responsible for protecting is safe.
Myrina the Magnificent is the best warrior on her planet and possibly the universe. She has captured an unparalleled fourteen males for her all-female tribe. Once she has secured the fifteenth male, she will be a legend. Her name will live forever. She’ll earn the undying adoration of her sisters. Glory will be hers.
The male in her sights—and in her snare—is a huge, gray-skinned, blue-eyed cyborg with a skill for war and lips designed for kissing. One emotionally charged battle is all it takes for Myrina to realize she wants North for herself. She won’t share his caresses with anyone.
Their forbidden love might be destined to be, but it won’t be easy to maintain. Myrina will have to fight her sisters, an all-powerful male-eating plant, and her cyborg’s unbending will to make North hers and hers alone.
***
North Bound is a STANDALONE Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It is the fifth of six core stories in the Cyborg Space Exploration Series.
Book 1: Choosing Chuckles
Book 2: Doc’s Orders
Book 3: Dominance And Dissent
Book 4: Passion Surge
Book 5: North Bound
Book 6: Testing Truth
Pre-order Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0853DFY1B
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0853DFY1B
Amazon Australia:
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B0853DFY1B
Apple/iTunes:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/north-bound/id1500291657
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/north-bound-cynthia-sax/1136528667
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/north-bound
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1006230
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on North Bound – First Scene Of The First Chapter
Warlord Reunited – The Fourth Scene Of The First Chapter
Warlord Reunited, the fourth standalone story in the Chamele Barbarian Warlords series, is releasing on February 18th.
Last week, I shared the first scene from the first chapter.
You can read that scene here:
http://tasteofcyn.com/?p=7056
This week I’m sharing the fourth scene of that first chapter.
***
“You’re safe where you are now.” He yelled that into the wind, needing to hear those words. “Don’t leave your academy. Don’t come here, gerel.” He clenched his jaw so hard it cracked. “That’s an order from your warrior, your Warlord—your barbarian, as you call me.”
The prospect that she might make the journey filled him with both a savage anticipation and an equally fierce trepidation.
He missed his gerel. Those too-few planet rotations shared with her had been the happiest of his lifespan.
But he couldn’t, wouldn’t, place her in danger. She was his light. Without her, he would be in eternal darkness…as he had been over the past solar cycles.
“If you die—” His voice broke.
He prided himself on his resolve, on his strength, yet he knew he wouldn’t survive her death. It would claw out his heart, his soul.
“If I fail you, if I am unable to find Tolui, and he gets to you first—” His Ellie was his greatest weakness. His enemy, being a fellow Chamele, would know that.
Tolui would hurt Berke’s little human, torture her, kill her.
Berke fell to his knees, sinking into the snow up to his ass. The cold hitched his breath. The stress remained. It had flattened him, yet he still couldn’t expel it. The pressure was building inside him, locked behind a thick layer of ice.
He parted his furs, flipped up the strips of leather serving as his ass coverings, exposing his bare skin to the elements. Rows of straight white scars curved around his upper thighs, a tally of the planet rotations he’d spent apart from his gerel.
Reaching behind him, he extracted his sword. The blade gleamed. He drew it across an unmarked expanse of skin. The wound was thin, shallow yet effective. Blood streamed over his thigh, dripped on the snow. The crimson was vivid against the white.
The pain was sharp enough to shatter his walls. The tension coursed out of him. Berke tilted his head back and howled, releasing his fears, his agony, his wanting for the female he couldn’t yet have. He freed all of the fervent emotions he normally kept locked inside him.
If his warriors could see him now, they would be appalled, might question his leadership, his control. But they couldn’t see him, would never view this side of him. To them, he was the cold Warlord of their equally cold planet and he would remain that way.
His loneliness, his solitude, the pain of his sacrifice, was his to bear alone, to purge in moments like this. His bellows were sucked into the wind. His face, twisted by his distress, was concealed by the blowing snow.
Here, in this place, with merely the ghost of his Ellie for company, he shamelessly shared what he normally kept hidden deep in his heart, roaring his outrage at the unfairness of it all until he had nothing left, his voice hoarse, his throat sore.
He slumped, drained of everything, hollow and empty and cold, oh-so cold. The tension was temporarily gone. His pain had dulled. The situation was…manageable.
His gaze lowered to his thighs. Gauze of ice had formed over his self-inflicted wound. The blood had stopped flowing. He should trek back to his underground chambers, apply a healing balm, prevent the slash from scarring.
Yet he wouldn’t. The mark would be a reminder of his weakness, a covert badge of shame only he was aware existed.
Berke’s thoughts returned, as they always did, to the female he had hidden from the beings in his universe, his most precious secret.
“Give me time, Ellie.” His tone was edged with a pleading no one else had ever heard him utter. He was admittedly a proud male, but with his gerel, all arrogance was discarded. “I need more time. There’s only one enemy remaining. I have to defeat him before I can retrieve you. Then we can start our life together. For once in your rebellious lifespan, delay your actions.”
Yet he knew her. He knew her impetuous, too-brave-for-his-sanity personality as he knew the curve of her cheeks and the gold flecks in her eyes. She would come for her bounty hunters, would consider that to be her responsibility.
His Ellie was a leader, as he was. She had surprised him by breaking her vow, that was true. But she wouldn’t leave one of her females stranded on a faraway planet, let alone two of them.
Berke covered his bare skin once more and rose to his booted feet, squaring his shoulders. He had to prepare for her arrival, had to find and subdue Tolui, the last threat to his gerel, the last barrier between them.
That was the best, the only way to protect her.
With Tolui’s surrender or death, the Succession Wars would end. Finally. Berke and his brothers would be the undisputed rulers. The Chamele sector would be at peace. He’d retrieve his Ellie.
His little bounty hunter would be in his arms again. His fingers twitched as he sheathed his sword. The tension in his form, the ache in his heart, would be replaced with contentment and happiness.
He would be warm again. His Ellie would banish the cold like she had before.
Berke took one last look at the cloud-covered sky, gazing toward his gerel’s location, and he turned in the direction from which he’d come, determined to make his projections a reality.
Or die trying.
***
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Warlord Reunited
This barbarian warrior’s cold demeanor hides the warmest of hearts.
* * *
Solar cycles ago, Berke, a savage Chamele Warlord, found his gerel, the one being he is destined to be with for all time…except he couldn’t embrace that fate. He was fighting a series of brutal wars.
To protect his little human female, he conveyed her far from the Chamele sector. He then returned to the endless battles, concealing his pain, his anguish, his need, under a thick layer of ice.
His gerel was safe. That was all that mattered to him.
When Elle was a young bounty hunter, she bonded with an arrogant warrior on a distant planet. She was deliriously happy…for a while. Then he dumped her in a strange settlement far from his home and left, never to return.
Their parting caused her excruciating pain—both physical and emotional. She endured it, earned the esteemed role of head bounty hunter of an academy, salvaged a bit of a life from the disaster her primitive warrior had made of it.
Now, two of her bounty hunters have made the same terrible mistake. Elle is determined to rescue her friends and break their connections with their Chamele Warlords.
While she is in the sector, she plans to kill the warrior she’d once considered hers. Elle is ending her relationship with Berke…permanently.
* * *
Warlord Reunited is based on a much shorter story sharing the same title.
It is a STANDALONE Alien Barbarian SciFi Romance featuring a warrior hero and a take-charge heroine set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
Pre-order Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082RM76RF
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B082RM76RF
Apple/iTunes:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/warlord-reunited/id1491702046
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/warlord-reunited-cynthia-sax/1116110455
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/warlord-reunited-1
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/995680
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Warlord Reunited – The Fourth Scene Of The First Chapter
Warlord Reunited – The Third Scene Of The First Chapter
Warlord Reunited, the fourth standalone story in the Chamele Barbarian Warlords series, is releasing on February 18th.
Last week, I shared the first scene from the first chapter.
You can read that scene here:
http://tasteofcyn.com/?p=7056
This week I’m sharing the third scene of that first chapter.
***
Berke forced himself to concentrate on the upcoming search. “Are we ready for sunrise?” He had relayed his plan to Jochi earlier in the planet rotation.
“Yes, my lord.” The male’s head dipped. “We merely await your order.”
“Good.” Berke expected nothing less than total obedience from his warriors, had a low tolerance for incompetence.
His parents’ deaths had taught him that mistakes killed loved ones. The bloody Succession Wars that followed that tragic event had reinforced that lesson.
“Assign three more warriors to the control chamber.” Finding Tolui wasn’t his only priority. “They are to monitor the border. If any ship approaches Chamele space, I am to be informed. Immediately.”
His brothers had claimed two of Ellie’s bounty hunters as their gerels. He knew his female, knew how her mind worked. She would respond to that.
He had to prepare for her arrival.
“Three more warriors will be assigned to the control chamber, my lord.” Unspoken questions glimmered in his Second’s eyes. The male knew better than to ask them. “You will be notified immediately if a ship approaches our borders.”
“Ensure that happens.” Berke arrived at the exterior doors. Two warriors guarded it. He stopped, waiting for Jochi to leave his side.
The male remained beside him.
“You have a task to complete.” He reminded his Second of his request.
“No task is more important than safeguarding you, my lord.” Jochi could be as stubborn as his Warlord.
His Second’s loyalty was admirable. And the concerns over his safety were warranted. Tolui remained on the loose. The would-be Warlord could target Berke.
But Berke needed to be alone. “I can protect myself.” He’d take that risk.
Jochi’s jaw jutted. The warrior was going to be a pain in the ass about it.
Berke couldn’t berate him for it. If…when his Ellie returned to Chamele 1, he would want his Second to be as protective of her. And she, knowing his defiant gerel, would be as adamant about safeguarding herself.
“If I don’t return in one-tenth of a shift, follow my trail.” He made that concession.
Jochi blew out his breath. His shoulders lowered. “I will do that, my lord.”
The warriors standing in front of the exit moved.
Berke pulled his furs upward, partially covering his face, placed his right palm on that control panel, and pushed through the doors.
Cold blasted him. Snow pellets bombarded his garment, tiny projectiles seeking bare skin. He hunched his shoulders, bowed his head, and trudged through the knee-deep banks of white.
Chamele 1 was permanently covered with ice and snow. Many beings, including his two brothers, questioned why he, as the eldest, would choose that planet to rule.
Destiny had made the decision for him.
Chamele 1 was where he had first met his Ellie. Her single-being ship had crashed near the settlement. He had been defending his right to rule, had been waging war against a cruel and ruthless uncle. There had been a break in fighting. He’d ventured to the crash site to investigate, had smelled the most delectable fragrance on the crisp cool wind, and his fate had been set.
And now it was the closest planet in the sector to his gerel.
Berke trekked up the mountain, moving as quickly as he was able. His muscles strained. Wind whipped his hair. Crystals of ice formed on his eyelashes.
The effort shaved off some of his tension. The air grew thinner. The terrain below him was concealed by the falling snow. The howling of the never-ending storm would mute the loudest of screams.
Berke reached the peak, tilted his head back, and gazed up at the sky. “Ellie, my Ellie.”
It was here that he felt closest to her, here that he spoke to her, not hiding his loneliness, his caring, his need.
The stars above him were covered by thick clouds, yet he was aware they were there, knew exactly where Dorian 2’s distant sun was situated.
He had left his Ellie on that planet. Where she would be safe.
That had been the toughest decision he’d made in a lifespan filled with tough decisions. Walking away from her had almost broken him.
But he had done it…for her, because a universe without his gerel in it wasn’t a place he ever wanted to be. He had to protect her…from his enemies, from his inability to think rationally when he was around her.
Not that she had appreciated that.
Planet rotations after he’d left, she’d left also, breaking her vow to stay on Dorian 2. She had returned to the bounty hunter academy she now led.
That had been devastating, a betrayal of his trust and a blow to his heart. The new planet, her current location, was farther from Chamele 1. It hosted more-violent beings, was the site of more gruesome deaths than the planet he’d chosen.
Berke lifted his right hand, reaching for his gerel, aware she was too far away to grasp yet needing to try…because he needed her. He craved her touch, her voice, her scent.
But he had to keep her safe. When he’d heard of her departure from Dorian 2, his resolve cracked. A wild impulse to pull her back to him, to re-capture her, had seized him.
Only the realization that he might lead his enemies to her had stopped him from chasing after her. Berke dropped his hand. He couldn’t risk his adversaries following him.
And while the academy was situated on a more violent planet, it was surrounded by high walls and hosted skilled bounty hunters. Sources of his stealthily checked on his gerel from time to time, relayed her circumstances to him.
He never revealed to those sources why he was interested in the leader of the bounty hunter academy. The warriors were loyal, obeyed him without asking any questions.
No one residing in the structure was in any danger. His Ellie would never place the girls she trained in peril.
***
Read the next scene (available February 10th) here:
http://tasteofcyn.com/?p=7064
***
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Warlord Reunited
This barbarian warrior’s cold demeanor hides the warmest of hearts.
* * *
Solar cycles ago, Berke, a savage Chamele Warlord, found his gerel, the one being he is destined to be with for all time…except he couldn’t embrace that fate. He was fighting a series of brutal wars.
To protect his little human female, he conveyed her far from the Chamele sector. He then returned to the endless battles, concealing his pain, his anguish, his need, under a thick layer of ice.
His gerel was safe. That was all that mattered to him.
When Elle was a young bounty hunter, she bonded with an arrogant warrior on a distant planet. She was deliriously happy…for a while. Then he dumped her in a strange settlement far from his home and left, never to return.
Their parting caused her excruciating pain—both physical and emotional. She endured it, earned the esteemed role of head bounty hunter of an academy, salvaged a bit of a life from the disaster her primitive warrior had made of it.
Now, two of her bounty hunters have made the same terrible mistake. Elle is determined to rescue her friends and break their connections with their Chamele Warlords.
While she is in the sector, she plans to kill the warrior she’d once considered hers. Elle is ending her relationship with Berke…permanently.
* * *
Warlord Reunited is based on a much shorter story sharing the same title.
It is a STANDALONE Alien Barbarian SciFi Romance featuring a warrior hero and a take-charge heroine set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
Pre-order Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082RM76RF
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B082RM76RF
Apple/iTunes:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/warlord-reunited/id1491702046
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/warlord-reunited-cynthia-sax/1116110455
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/warlord-reunited-1
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/995680
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Warlord Reunited – The Third Scene Of The First Chapter
Warlord Reunited – The Second Scene Of The First Chapter
Warlord Reunited, the fourth standalone story in the Chamele Barbarian Warlords series, is releasing on February 18th.
Last week, I shared the first scene from the first chapter.
You can read that scene here:
http://tasteofcyn.com/?p=7056
This week I’m sharing the second scene of that first chapter.
***
Berke rolled back his shoulders. A loud crack reverberated through the space. That action didn’t ease the weight bearing down on him, didn’t dissipate the tension that was slowly coiling tighter and tighter around him.
The jagged shards of ice piercing his core no longer alleviated the pressure either. That excruciating pain was always there, reminding him his gerel wasn’t by his side. He’d become accustomed to the hurt.
More was needed. He glanced around him. Some of his favorite weapons were displayed on the walls. A tinge of regret tugged at him. His Ellie would rave over the new additions. She shared his love for unique killing instruments.
He could picture her slender fingers wrapped around the handles, the sparkle in her big brown eyes as she tested them. Zondoo. He had to leave the chambers he’d once shared with her before he lost his renowned composure.
Rejoining his warriors didn’t appeal to him. He was too wound up, too close to breaking. They were loyal and skilled, deserved the cool, rational leader they expected. He couldn’t give them that right now.
Leaving the underground was a better option. He donned his furs, layering the garments over his form. Holsters and sheaths were strapped to his waist, his arms, his legs. They were filled with guns and blades, an assortment of weapons.
He opened a wall compartment, paused, gazing at its contents. Another stratum of stress settled on his chest.
Two swords in leather sheaths were stored there. One was wide and long and heavy. The other was thinner and shorter and lighter, yet no less deadly…like his gerel.
Berke ran his fingertips along the smaller weapon’s sheath. It was fashioned from the finest materials he could find. An image of a solar eclipse was imprinted on it. Rays of a solitary sun illuminated the curves of the moon, light emerging after a brief duration of darkness.
He craved that brilliance, that heat. The sheath had taken him almost a solar cycle to craft. The twenty-three previous attempts hadn’t met his severe specs. The bindings hadn’t been strong or straight enough. The images hadn’t the precision of the final version.
His fingers drifted over the hilt of the sword. The metal warmed to his touch, seemed as alive as his Ellie, its intended recipient.
Horologium carbide was coveted by warriors throughout the universe, was the best material to construct blades. Berke had sourced enough of it for the fabrication of the two swords, had that precious compound conveyed to the most skilled weapons designer alive, an elderly Silian female who had dedicated her long lifespan solely to that craft.
His lips lifted slightly. The result was perfection. It was a flawless sword for a flawless female. His Ellie would love it.
And she would be the first being to wield it. He reluctantly lifted his hands from the smaller blade, grasped the larger one.
That weapon was his. It was identical in design, would have been a joy to handle if he could still experience pleasure.
That emotion required a functional heart. His was frozen, had been enclosed by ice from the moment he and his gerel had parted.
The holder for his sword was much older, had been worn by time, battered by past battles. He could, and would, never replace it. The sheath had been constructed by his father, the previous Warlord.
That male had been a great leader, a loving parent, and Berke missed him.
His gaze shifted to the smaller sword. His losses, both temporary and permanent, haunted him. The tension inside him increased to unbearable levels.
He had to expel it. In private. Where no one could see or hear him. As he stalked across the chamber, he strapped his sword to his back.
His warriors were also aware he had found his gerel. Most of them assumed he’d somehow survived her death.
Berke preferred they believed that. If everyone thought his gerel was dead, unscrupulous enemies wouldn’t use her existence against him. They couldn’t hurt her, kill her.
The stress he was under threatened to break him. He sealed his emotions under a chilly mask, placed one of his palms on the control panel.
The doors opened, revealing two Chamele guards. They stepped aside.
Berke strode forward.
Jochi, his second, waited in the hallway. His best warrior’s expression was as studiously blank as his own was.
“My lord.” The male fell into place beside him, matching his pace.
They marched up the incline, heading toward one of the less-utilized entrances to the underground settlement.
It was the passageway his Ellie had preferred. She believed it to be her own and he had allowed her to think that.
Zondoo. He had to focus, had to stop thinking about her. That was one of the reasons he’d sent her to safety. When she was around him, he couldn’t hold another thought in his head.
That was dangerous…for her, for him, for the beings under his protection.
***
Read the next scene (available February 3rd) here:
http://tasteofcyn.com/?p=7062
***
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Warlord Reunited
This barbarian warrior’s cold demeanor hides the warmest of hearts.
* * *
Solar cycles ago, Berke, a savage Chamele Warlord, found his gerel, the one being he is destined to be with for all time…except he couldn’t embrace that fate. He was fighting a series of brutal wars.
To protect his little human female, he conveyed her far from the Chamele sector. He then returned to the endless battles, concealing his pain, his anguish, his need, under a thick layer of ice.
His gerel was safe. That was all that mattered to him.
When Elle was a young bounty hunter, she bonded with an arrogant warrior on a distant planet. She was deliriously happy…for a while. Then he dumped her in a strange settlement far from his home and left, never to return.
Their parting caused her excruciating pain—both physical and emotional. She endured it, earned the esteemed role of head bounty hunter of an academy, salvaged a bit of a life from the disaster her primitive warrior had made of it.
Now, two of her bounty hunters have made the same terrible mistake. Elle is determined to rescue her friends and break their connections with their Chamele Warlords.
While she is in the sector, she plans to kill the warrior she’d once considered hers. Elle is ending her relationship with Berke…permanently.
* * *
Warlord Reunited is based on a much shorter story sharing the same title.
It is a STANDALONE Alien Barbarian SciFi Romance featuring a warrior hero and a take-charge heroine set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
Pre-order Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082RM76RF
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B082RM76RF
Apple/iTunes:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/warlord-reunited/id1491702046
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/warlord-reunited-cynthia-sax/1116110455
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/warlord-reunited-1
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/995680
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Warlord Reunited – The Second Scene Of The First Chapter
Warlord Reunited – First Scene Of Chapter One
Warlord Reunited, the fourth standalone story in the Chamele Barbarian Warlords series, is releasing on February 18th.
As we wait for Warlord Reunited to release, I thought I’d share the first chapter. This week I’m sharing the first scene of that first chapter.
***
Chapter One
A Chamele warrior couldn’t live without his gerel.
Berke had proven that ‘fact’ to be false. He was living without her. It was torturous, more painful than a deep stomach wound. But he had survived the separation.
He would continue to tolerate it until the last threat to his female was dead.
“We have to find Tolui. Now.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest, his frustration and impatience hidden under a countenance as icy as the planet he ruled.
They were running out of time to deal with the would-be Warlord.
A chill gripped Berke. Knowing his Ellie, she was already contemplating traveling to Chamele to retrieve her bounty hunters, the two females his brothers had claimed as their gerels.
If he and his warriors failed to find their sole remaining enemy before she arrived, his little bounty hunter, the holder of his heart, would be placed in peril. All his sacrifices, all of the time spent in agonizing solitude, would have been for nothing.
“And how do you propose we find Tolui?” Murad, the youngest of his two brothers and a fellow Warlord, lifted his eyebrows. His image, along with their brother Khan’s, was displayed on a wall viewscreen in Berke’s private chambers. “He and his clones have eluded every trap we’ve set for him. His ships are indistinguishable from ours.”
“They were our ships.” Khan was the most battle-ready of his brothers and the Warlord of the lushest planet in the system. “That’s why they’re indistinguishable. The dishonorable male stole those ships from us.”
“We were sloppy.” Murad’s lips flattened. One of the ships had been his private vessel. “It won’t happen again.”
“I agree. It won’t happen again. Once Tolui is dead, the thefts will stop.” Berke didn’t care about the ships. His sole concern was protecting the one being he loved most in the universe.
That had been his top priority since the first moment he saw his Ellie, his gerel, the only being who could thaw the frost inside him and heat his soul.
His brothers had never met her.
They must have realized he’d found his female. His scent had changed after he bonded with her. That happened with all Chamele warriors once they claimed their gerel, the one being they were destined to find.
But his brothers might have believed the rumors about her having died. They weren’t aware that she was very much alive, was the reason he was driven to hunt down their rivals and end the Succession Wars.
“When we find Tolui, we’ll find our ships.” If that was the incentive his brothers needed, he would supply it.
“We could ground our warriors and shoot any remaining ships out of the skies.” Khan had offered that option in the past.
It remained unacceptable. The risk they could kill the one being Berke couldn’t live without was too great. His Ellie was…unpredictable. He couldn’t foresee when she might arrive and where she might go.
“At sunrise, we’ll employ all our fleets and all our warriors, both active and inactive. We’ll gather every being we can spare and canvass Chamele, searching every planet, every square of terrain, every section of space.” Berke shared his plan with his brothers. “We’ll locate Tolui and we’ll kill him.”
“He could surrender.” Murad glanced off-viewscreen. His expression softened.
Both of his brothers foolishly kept their gerels close to them.
Berke’s lips twisted. He cared for his Ellie too much to do that. “If Tolui surrenders and pledges loyalty to us, he will live.”
The would-be Warlord would be given the same choice they had offered to all of their rivals during the long and bloody Succession Wars. If he surrendered, he would be watched by some of their warriors for the rest of his lifespan.
Berke didn’t trust the rogue Chamele to keep his word.
“We’re in the midst of the harvest.” His youngest brother’s planet supplied much of the nourishment for the sector. “If we wait ten more planet rotations, I can spare more warriors for the search.”
Berke couldn’t wait that long…because his Ellie wouldn’t delay her voyage. She might have already left her bounty hunter academy. Excitement edged with fear rushed through his form.
“The search for Tolui is happening at sunrise.” He wouldn’t move on that timing.
Murad narrowed his eyes at him. “A postponement of ten planet rotations won’t make a difference to you and your search.”
A postponement of ten planet rotations could kill his gerel. Berke folded his fingers into tight fists. “We stick to the plan.”
His youngest brother opened his mouth.
“Sunrise is optimal.” Khan surprised Berke by defending his timeline. “This is a battle, and in battle, we strike hard and fast.” He extended his claws and jabbed the air in front of him. “It will give Tolui less time to prepare should one of our warriors betray us and inform him of our plans.”
They had all been deceived by beings close to them, had learned to be wary.
“Then we search at sunrise.” Murad blew out his breath, his youngest brother conceding defeat.
“We’ll communicate after the rest cycle.” Berke nodded, satisfied with that decision.
He ended the transmission. The images of his brothers faded.
***
Read the next scene (available January 27th) here:
http://tasteofcyn.com/?p=7060
***
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Warlord Reunited
This barbarian warrior’s cold demeanor hides the warmest of hearts.
* * *
Solar cycles ago, Berke, a savage Chamele Warlord, found his gerel, the one being he is destined to be with for all time…except he couldn’t embrace that fate. He was fighting a series of brutal wars.
To protect his little human female, he conveyed her far from the Chamele sector. He then returned to the endless battles, concealing his pain, his anguish, his need, under a thick layer of ice.
His gerel was safe. That was all that mattered to him.
When Elle was a young bounty hunter, she bonded with an arrogant warrior on a distant planet. She was deliriously happy…for a while. Then he dumped her in a strange settlement far from his home and left, never to return.
Their parting caused her excruciating pain—both physical and emotional. She endured it, earned the esteemed role of head bounty hunter of an academy, salvaged a bit of a life from the disaster her primitive warrior had made of it.
Now, two of her bounty hunters have made the same terrible mistake. Elle is determined to rescue her friends and break their connections with their Chamele Warlords.
While she is in the sector, she plans to kill the warrior she’d once considered hers. Elle is ending her relationship with Berke…permanently.
* * *
Warlord Reunited is based on a much shorter story sharing the same title.
It is a STANDALONE Alien Barbarian SciFi Romance featuring a warrior hero and a take-charge heroine set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
Pre-order Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082RM76RF
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B082RM76RF
Apple/iTunes:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/warlord-reunited/id1491702046
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/warlord-reunited-cynthia-sax/1116110455
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/warlord-reunited-1
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/995680
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Warlord Reunited – First Scene Of Chapter One
Dominance And Dissent – The Fourth Scene Of The First Chapter
Dominance And Dissent, the next story in the Cyborg Space Exploration series, will be releasing on November 12th.
If you wish to read the first scene from the first chapter, you can find it here: http://tasteofcyn.com/?p=7005
Today, I’m sharing the fourth and final scene in the first chapter.
“I will fight you.” Hope buoyed the offspring’s defiant words. “I will devour you. There will be nothing left except your bones.”
Cyborgs didn’t have bones. They had metal frames.
Dissent ignored the little one’s threats. I require use of one of the shuttle crafts. He added an image of the miljoonasuut to his transmission to North and Truth.
Captain will not allow that creature on the Reckless. North stated a fact he already knew.
Captain was protective of his crew, his female, his offspring. He wouldn’t authorize a skilled predator to board the warship.
And Dissent would never place them at risk like that.
That’s why I require use of one of the shuttle crafts. He formed a plan. I’ll transport the miljoonasuut to Khambalia 5 directly. The offspring won’t board the Reckless.
“This bastard might be small.” A heavily scarred and repugnantly smelly Deneb removed the fabric from the miljoonasuut’s cage. “But it is a killing machine.”
His tone was similar to those the humans had utilized when they had tortured him. It contained glee and malice.
Dissent didn’t straighten, didn’t turn his head toward the male. The offspring was his focus.
“We were attacked by a full-grown one when we landed on its planet.” The Deneb continued to yammer. “That big bastard devoured six of my males, ate two of my fingers.” He held up one of his hands, showing Dissent the stubs. “It took a missile launcher to down it. These bastards might be tough on the outside, but they’re soft on the inside. There was goo everywhere.”
The humanoid laughed at a joke Dissent found no humor in.
The creature the Deneb had blasted must have been the offspring’s father. Anger built within him. The fully grown miljoonasuut had been trying to protect his young, had lost his life in the process. He deserved respect, not ridicule.
“The cold brightness has returned.” The offspring attempted to hide his eyes. “I will defeat it.”
“Put the cloth back.” Dissent frowned at the little creature. “You’re damaging him.”
“It’s mine to damage.” The Deneb shrugged. “Unless you wish to purchase it.” He extracted a handheld from a holster. “That will cost you one hundred thousand credits.”
That was the price of a used shuttle craft. But it was ridiculously low for a life.
“I’ll buy it.” He was grateful the miljoonasuut didn’t understand the universal language, didn’t realize he was being purchased as one might purchase a gun or a garment…or a cyborg. “Put the cloth back.”
“I have to see the credits first.”
The Deneb wanted to torture the creature. Dissent heard that in his voice.
“It is a large amount and—”
Dissent lifted the male and slammed him against the side of the stall.
The Deneb gasped.
Dissent brought his face close to the male’s. “You. Will. Put. The. Cloth. Back.” He said that between gritted teeth.
The male’s gaze lowered to the letter and number inked on Dissent’s left cheek. “Cyborg.” His face turned a darker shade of green.
If you kill him, his kind might seek revenge. Truth appeared by Dissent’s side. That will put our females in danger.
Dissent would never do that. “I am a cyborg.” He glared at the Deneb. “And the creatures on Khambalia 5 are under my protection. If you land on that planet again, I will hear about it and I will hunt you down. There is nowhere in the universe you can hide from me, and when I catch you, I will kill you…slowly, painfully. You’ll wish for death long before I grant you that peace.”
“Won’t. Land. There.” The Deneb’s eyes were wide with fear. “Ever. Again.” Liquid splattered on the pebbles by his booted feet.
The scent of urine tainted the air.
He has received your message, J Model. Truth transmitted dryly. Let him go.
Dissent reluctantly lowered the male until his boots touched the ground. “I’m transferring one hundred thousand and ten credits to your account.” He unhooked a handheld from his waistband and bumped it against the male’s device, making the connection. “I’m taking the cage and the cloth also.”
“Yes, sir.” The male hurriedly placed the cloth over the cage.
The miljoonasuut’s sounds of anger stopped. That eased some of Dissent’s own fury.
You can’t protect every creature in the sector, J Model. Truth shook his head.
I can protect this creature. Dissent lifted the cage containing the offspring. “Are you hungry, Nibbler?” He switched to the miljoonasuut’s language.
Nibbler? Truth groaned. You’ve named it?
He hadn’t viewed it to be the offspring’s name. But it did suit him. And miljoonasuuts, being solitary creatures, didn’t give themselves names.
“I will call you Nibbler.” Dissent held the cage higher. “You’ll be safe with me.”
The delay in finding his not-yet-identified female concerned him. Greatly. But she had survived until now without him. There was an 87.2695 percent probability she could survive for a few more planet rotations on her own.
During the interval, he would have a little creature to care for, to protect.
To love.
His chest expanded with happiness. His soul filled with purpose.
“Fight me, two legs.”
The offspring would battle his caring. The miljoonasuut was determined to view him as an enemy.
That was proof of Nibbler’s intelligence. Humans and humanoids weren’t to be trusted and that’s how the creature viewed him—as a human or humanoid. The miljoonasuut had no knowledge of cyborgs.
“I will source nourishment.” Dissent assured the little creature, hoping to appease him.
He must be ravenous. Miljoonasuuts constantly ate, devouring everything in their path, and Nibbler was growing, would require more nourishment.
Dissent glanced around. “Where is the Deneb?” He didn’t see the male.
There’s a 94.5693 percent probability he’s hiding from you. Truth’s eyes glittered. Or he could be changing his ass coverings.
The humanoid couldn’t assist him.
We require nourishment. He had a hungry offspring to feed.
When I passed Chuckles, en route to you, he was sourcing fruit for his female. Truth waved in what Dissent projected was the warrior’s direction.
Then we will source fruit also. He hefted the cage and carried a grumbling Nibbler toward Chuckles’ location.
Miljoonasuuts could chew through metals and wood and many other materials but they must not find the stone edible. Nibbler pushed against the confines of the cage yet couldn’t escape it.
I’m returning to Khambalia 5 with you. Truth walked with Dissent, matching his stride. I love that fraggin’ planet.
You love exploring. That his friend would temporarily give that up for him impacted Dissent’s emotional system.
I love many things. The D Model shrugged. If we complete this mission before we leave, I’m 84.5696 percent certain Captain will wait for us. He won’t land on another planet until we return.
We’ll complete this mission before we leave. Dissent would honor that commitment.
Good because, if we don’t, North will implode. Truth grinned.
I’ve surveyed 3.2369 percent of my terrain. North barked through a public transmission line. What is your status, warriors?
Truth exchanged a meaning-laden look with Dissent and they both laughed.
***
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Dominance And Dissent
To earn the love of his curvy human, this cyborg will have to set her free.
***
Dissent has one primary mission—to find his female and protect her.
He doesn’t know who she is, where she’s situated, or what she looks like. That doesn’t stop him from searching the universe for her. He’s a cyborg and he’s determined. He WILL track her down.
While the J Model warrior is exploring a settlement on a merchant planet, he hears a defiant scream. Dissent has finally located the one being he’s genetically compatible with. He rushes to his little human’s side, ready and willing to defend her, eager to claim his female…forever.
Greer has only one dream—to be free. She’s been a slave her entire lifespan, has been subjected to soul-crushing abuse and pride-shredding humiliation. When an opportunity to escape presents itself, she takes it. Steps away from independence, she’s apprehended.
As she looks death in the face, waiting for the final strike, a tall, handsome cyborg warrior saves her. He exudes power, makes her tremble with desire, is unlike any of the males she’s ever known…except in one heartbreaking way.
He wants to own her.
As Dissent and Greer battle for dominance, danger looms. An enemy from the past has returned. He’s heavily armed, he’s not alone, and his sole goal is to kill both of them.
***
Dominance And Dissent is a STANDALONE Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It features an overprotective cyborg, a defiant slave, and a ravenous baby creature who is determined to eat his way through an entire settlement.
Pre-order Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XJYNZ8P
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07XJYNZ8P
Apple/iTunes:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/dominance-and-dissent/id1479567688
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dominance-and-dissent-cynthia-sax/1133444578
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dominance-and-dissent
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/957853
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Dominance And Dissent – The Fourth Scene Of The First Chapter
Dominance And Dissent – The Third Scene Of The First Chapter
Dominance And Dissent, the next story in the Cyborg Space Exploration series, will be releasing on November 12th.
If you wish to read the first scene from the first chapter, you can find it here: http://tasteofcyn.com/?p=7005
Today, I’m sharing the third scene.
Dissent walked toward the section of the settlement designated to him. As he moved, he skimmed his fingertips over the arms of the beings he passed. The sensors attached to his skin gathered the beings’ genetic information, storing it in his databases.
He navigated through a busy market. The display of stones would interest Chuckles’ female. He transmitted that observation to the warrior. The thick garments would suit Doc’s glowing Khambalian. He transmitted that also.
There were weapons to please any warrior. The scents of tasty nourishment mixed with the stench of uncleansed humanoid forms. Pebbles crunched under the heels of his boots. The heat of the planet’s sun warmed his shoulders.
A sound captured his attention. It was a peculiar rattling like that of…
A furious miljoonasuut shaking its segmented exoskeleton.
Gnaw.
His processors relayed it couldn’t be the creature he’d befriended. The miljoonasuut was on Khambalia 5, where he’d left him.
His less logical humanoid side whispered that it was his miljoonasuut. And he was in danger, could be damaged. His friend needed his help.
Dissent rushed in the direction of the rattling, weaving between humans and humanoids. His heart pounded. Energy coursed through his circuits.
Creatures in enclosures screeched, begging to be freed. They had been cruelly collected from planets across the universe, torn from their homes, separated from their families, from everything they knew.
He wanted to save them all.
First, he would find the miljoonasuut.
The creature should be at his current coordinates, according to his auditory system. He skidded to a stop and scanned the horizontal support, quickly locating what he sought.
A miljoonasuut was contained in a stone cage. He wasn’t Gnaw. He was much smaller than Dissent’s friend, was only the size of a human’s skull.
Yet the creature, an offspring, was powerful in his outrage, clicking together the numerous deadly teeth he sported on his underside. He threatened to battle the brightness, to kill every being he saw, including his would-be rescuer.
Dissent had been incorrect about the settlement holding few threats. If the little creature freed himself, he could devour half of its residents before they were able to escape him.
That was yet another reason Gnaw couldn’t leave his home planet. Dissent’s lips curled upward. Miljoonasuuts, like cyborgs, were effective killers.
“Calm yourself, Nibbler.” He produced the clicking and rattling sounds needed to communicate with the offspring. “You’re safe.”
He wouldn’t allow anyone to damage the creature.
“I will fight the cold brightness.” The offspring wriggled his thousands of legs, trying to cover his sensitive eyes. “And I will fight you, two legs.”
Khambalia 5, the miljoonasuut’s home planet, was dimly lit. The increase in illumination, combined with the decrease in temperature, damaged the little creature.
“I’ll fight the cold brightness for you.” Dissent grabbed a square of fabric that had been set on the horizontal support and draped it over the offspring’s cage. “I am a friend, not an enemy.”
“You are a two legs.” The offspring grabbed a corner of the cloth, pulled it into the cage and promptly devoured it, stuffing the fabric into the multiple mouths located on its underside. “You are all my enemies.”
Gnaw held the same belief when they’d first met. Many humans and humanoids had been cruel to the miljoonasuut and to other creatures on Khambalia 5.
“The covering cloth isn’t for eating.” Dissent located another one. “It is to fight the cold brightness.” He blocked the light once again. “Don’t touch it.”
“I’m not listening to you.” The little creature didn’t eat the fabric, his actions belying his rebellious words. “You took me away from my father and now you must die. Come into the darkness so I can fight you.”
The offspring would have been in the care of his father. He had too few solar cycles to survive on his own.
Dissent looked around them. There were no signs of another miljoonasuut. “Where is your father, Nibbler?”
“He is fighting the two legs.” Pride edged the offspring’s clicks. “The two legs came to our home. They brought the brightness with them. Father told me to hide but I didn’t hide good enough. The two legs got me and then everything was bright all the time and I don’t know where my father is. I—” He abruptly stopped communicating.
Nibbler was sad and scared, though the feisty creature would never admit to that. Bending over, Dissent situated his face level with the cage. “I’ll take you back home and help you find your father.”
As the words left his lips, he realized what he’d vowed. To help the miljoonasuut, he would have to temporarily pause his mission to find his female.
He would be leaving her unprotected for that additional duration.
But he couldn’t abandon the little creature on Altair Alpha. The miljoonasuut could be damaged…or worse.
***
Read the next scene (available November 4th) here: http://tasteofcyn.com/?p=7019
***
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Dominance And Dissent
To earn the love of his curvy human, this cyborg will have to set her free.
***
Dissent has one primary mission—to find his female and protect her.
He doesn’t know who she is, where she’s situated, or what she looks like. That doesn’t stop him from searching the universe for her. He’s a cyborg and he’s determined. He WILL track her down.
While the J Model warrior is exploring a settlement on a merchant planet, he hears a defiant scream. Dissent has finally located the one being he’s genetically compatible with. He rushes to his little human’s side, ready and willing to defend her, eager to claim his female…forever.
Greer has only one dream—to be free. She’s been a slave her entire lifespan, has been subjected to soul-crushing abuse and pride-shredding humiliation. When an opportunity to escape presents itself, she takes it. Steps away from independence, she’s apprehended.
As she looks death in the face, waiting for the final strike, a tall, handsome cyborg warrior saves her. He exudes power, makes her tremble with desire, is unlike any of the males she’s ever known…except in one heartbreaking way.
He wants to own her.
As Dissent and Greer battle for dominance, danger looms. An enemy from the past has returned. He’s heavily armed, he’s not alone, and his sole goal is to kill both of them.
***
Dominance And Dissent is a STANDALONE Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It features an overprotective cyborg, a defiant slave, and a ravenous baby creature who is determined to eat his way through an entire settlement.
Pre-order Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XJYNZ8P
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07XJYNZ8P
Apple/iTunes:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/dominance-and-dissent/id1479567688
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dominance-and-dissent-cynthia-sax/1133444578
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dominance-and-dissent
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/957853
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Dominance And Dissent – The Third Scene Of The First Chapter
Dominance And Dissent – The Second Scene Of The First Chapter
Dominance And Dissent, the next story in the Cyborg Space Exploration series, will be releasing on November 12th.
Last week, I shared the first scene from the first chapter.
You can read that here: http://tasteofcyn.com/?p=7005
Today, I’m sharing the second scene.
Chuckles’ female traipsed behind her warrior. She was clad from head to booted toe in bright pink—her hair, lips, and eyelids matching her garments. The sun’s rays made the sparkle on her face glow.
Dissent’s gaze shifted. Or the glow could belong to Doc’s female. The Khambalian emitted light from her golden hair, skin, and eyes. All visible parts of her shone.
Which wasn’t much of the female. She was bundled in multiple covering cloths. Altair Alpha was warmer than the shuttle craft but not warm enough for her. Khambalia 5 was extremely hot.
That was one of the many reasons Gnaw couldn’t leave the planet. Other environments would be uncomfortable for the miljoonasuut.
Doc was the final being on the small team. The cyborgs had prudently positioned their precious females between their body armor-clad forms. Doc clasped guns also, was equally diligent.
“We’re friends.” Dissent studied the G Model, looking for signs of hostility. The hyper-protective male had mistaken them for threats in the past.
Doc’s expression was calm. “Not all cyborgs are friends.” He holstered his guns.
Chuckles did the same. “The cyborgs in the freighter weren’t enemies. They might not have identified themselves, but they didn’t attack us either.”
The Reckless had crossed paths with a mysterious freighter early in their assignment. The cyborg crew of the modified craft hadn’t transmitted, hadn’t communicated, and had fled, exiting the sector. They’d been a topic of discussion since then.
Cyborgs valued information. They didn’t like not knowing details.
Doc huffed, said nothing more.
Dissent narrowed his eyes. The medic had more data.
But asking for it wasn’t his role. He was a newer addition to the Reckless crew, would wait for Doc to confide him, to view him as a being worthy of his trust.
“No one will attack us.” Chuckles frowned. “We’ll quickly obtain what we need and leave.”
Dissent lifted his eyebrows. Captain’s female had relayed her lengthy list of desired objects to Chuckles’ female. That would take a long duration to source.
Judging by the laughter generated by the two females, they agreed with his assessment.
“I require time to try on the garments I wish to purchase.” Chuckles’ female fluttered her eyelashes at her grumpy warrior. “I want to look nice for you, sir.” She hugged his arm as they walked. “I don’t wish to waste your credits on chest and ass coverings that don’t please you.”
“You’re a menace, baby.” Chuckles’ voice was gruff. “We have unlimited credits. We’ll jettison any garments you don’t like.”
Dissent would be equally generous with his female…when he located her. She would want for nothing, would be cared for and heavily protected.
He trailed the merged team, protecting the party against any assaults from the rear. The two females chattered. Doc’s female spoke Khambalian while Chuckles’ female preferred the universal language. Both of them wore ear devices to translate the conversation.
Cyborgs were fluent in all known languages. It didn’t stress his processors to follow their chatter.
It did stress his heart.
He wanted a being to care for, to hover over as Chuckles and Doc hovered over their females. Gnaw had been that being for him for a few planet rotations.
It had been the happiest duration of his lifespan and had given him a taste of what having a female of his own would be like. His urgency to find his female had increased until it approached a wild desperation inside of him. It pained him not to locate her.
The seven of them entered the settlement, passing though the main gates.
Heads turned. Eyes widened.
Five cyborgs clad in body armor, decorated with weapons, was an intimidating sight. They shifted closer to their smaller, more fragile females, shielding them from view and from possible harm.
Report, warriors. North, always cautious, switched to a private transmission line.
Dissent looked around him, accessing the situation.
A Palavian male yelled at a battle-ax fabricator. Palavians were a volatile species, prone to violence, but the females wouldn’t wander far from their warriors’ sides and a cyborg could easily subdue three or four Palavians.
Two large Silan females were beating the ridges out of each other, much to the delight of the cheering crowd. Beings clad in rich fabrics, sparkling with valuable sunstones, watched. They sat in finely wrought, shaded chairs.
The fragile human female serving customers containers of fermented beverage appeared unconcerned. Dissent dismissed the fight as a possible danger.
Some beings yelled at each other. Based on the frequency of occurrence, that was normal.
Merchants hawked their wares. Males and females negotiated breeding rights. Nourishment and beverage were provided in exchange for credits. Dirty offspring ran between slower beings. The young humanoids laughed and smiled as they stole trinkets from the unsuspecting fully grown beings.
There were warriors, but no signs of those loyal to the Humanoid Alliance—the cyborgs’ enemies. And there were no beings a cyborg couldn’t defeat.
The threat level to our females is low. Dissent relayed his conclusion.
I agree. Truth laughed through the transmission lines. Even Chuckles could handle these warriors.
Frag you. Chuckles wasn’t amused by the D Model’s joke.
Then we’ll split up and complete our mission faster. North stayed focused on their assignment. Our transmission lines will remain open. If you detect danger, communicate.
***
Read the next scene (available October 28th) here: http://tasteofcyn.com/?p=7015
***
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Dominance And Dissent
To earn the love of his curvy human, this cyborg will have to set her free.
***
Dissent has one primary mission—to find his female and protect her.
He doesn’t know who she is, where she’s situated, or what she looks like. That doesn’t stop him from searching the universe for her. He’s a cyborg and he’s determined. He WILL track her down.
While the J Model warrior is exploring a settlement on a merchant planet, he hears a defiant scream. Dissent has finally located the one being he’s genetically compatible with. He rushes to his little human’s side, ready and willing to defend her, eager to claim his female…forever.
Greer has only one dream—to be free. She’s been a slave her entire lifespan, has been subjected to soul-crushing abuse and pride-shredding humiliation. When an opportunity to escape presents itself, she takes it. Steps away from independence, she’s apprehended.
As she looks death in the face, waiting for the final strike, a tall, handsome cyborg warrior saves her. He exudes power, makes her tremble with desire, is unlike any of the males she’s ever known…except in one heartbreaking way.
He wants to own her.
As Dissent and Greer battle for dominance, danger looms. An enemy from the past has returned. He’s heavily armed, he’s not alone, and his sole goal is to kill both of them.
***
Dominance And Dissent is a STANDALONE Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It features an overprotective cyborg, a defiant slave, and a ravenous baby creature who is determined to eat his way through an entire settlement.
Pre-order Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XJYNZ8P
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07XJYNZ8P
Apple/iTunes:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/dominance-and-dissent/id1479567688
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dominance-and-dissent-cynthia-sax/1133444578
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dominance-and-dissent
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/957853
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Dominance And Dissent – The Second Scene Of The First Chapter
Dominance And Dissent – The First Scene Of The First Chapter
Dominance And Dissent, the next story in the Cyborg Space Exploration series, will be releasing on November 12th.
I figured I’d share the first chapter over the next four weeks while we wait.
Today, I’m sharing the first scene of that first chapter.
Dissent had to find his female and protect her.
That mission was his top priority.
His secondary mission was shared by the crew of the Reckless, the ship on which he served. Their assignment was to explore the life-sustaining planets in the cyborg-controlled sector, logging the genetic data of their inhabitants. Power, the head of the cyborg council, gave them that directive. Vector, the C Model captain of the Reckless, had reluctantly agreed to it.
Dissent saw no disconnect between the two missions. His female, the one being in the universe genetically compatible with him, could be residing within the sector. It was as logical a place to search for her as any other.
She could be waiting for him on Altair Alpha, the planet they were currently assigned to explore.
Excitement lit Dissent’s circuits as he stood on the bridge of a shuttle craft. His booted feet were braced apart. His arms were crossed in front of his body armor-clad chest.
North, the leader of their current mission, was positioned to his right. Captain’s second-in-command piloted the small vessel.
Truth, the remaining warrior on the exploration team, chattered about weapons he’d utilized, kill rates, and other battle-related topics. He bounced around the space to the right of North. The D Model was rarely still and never quiet.
Dissent, who was often motionless and frequently silent, considered the male to be his closest friend.
The rock-covered surface of Altair Alpha was displayed on the main viewscreen. Rays from the solitary sun blazed down on it, the bright light reflecting off the gray mineral masses. Cracks in the stone’s façade revealed quickly moving underground rivers, the principal source of water on the planet.
The planet was solid and severe and unchanging, as different from Khambalia 5 as two inhabited planets could be. A flicker of pain tempered Dissent’s anticipation.
It had been two hundred and twenty planet rotations and three explored planets since he had parted from Gnaw, the miljoonasuut he befriended on Khambalia 5. The damage to his heart hadn’t fully repaired.
“We will not be increasing our kill rates on this mission.” North reminded Truth of that directive.
They were flying toward the largest settlement on Altair Alpha. It was their last expanse of terrain to explore before they left the planet.
Dissent might find his female there.
“If the locals attack us, we’re authorized to defend ourselves.” Truth’s eyes gleamed. The D Model loved battle…and causing chaos.
“Based on the information in their databases, the locals are concerned primarily with the accumulation of credits.” North’s tone was dry.
That information was supported by Dissent’s observations. Altair Alpha was a trading planet, had very few resources of its own. Beings came from all around the sector to exchange goods and services. They put a price on everything.
He couldn’t process that logic. Credits were merely numbers in a system, and those were easy for him and his fellow cyborgs to manufacture. But the humanoids’ and humans’ love of the units of currency made their actions extremely predictable.
“If they attack us, offering credits would be a more effective defense than killing them.” North was skilled in strategy. “Focus on our mission.”
Fraggin’ hole. Truth cursed through a private transmission line. North is no fun.
Dissent said nothing because his friend’s words were true. North was no fun. Captain’s second-in-command took his role and their current mission extremely seriously.
The shuttle craft shuddered as it landed. North positioned it beside another vessel. They didn’t want to draw attention to themselves.
Dissent followed North and Truth out of the ship. His vision system adjusted to the brightness. He scanned the terrain around them.
Lifeforms streamed in and out, moving through the settlement’s main gates. The humans and humanoids didn’t pause, didn’t appear to take note of the shuttle craft’s arrival. They seemed to be solely concerned with their own affairs, carrying goods to be sold, objects they had purchased.
Another shuttle craft landed close to theirs. The pebbles around Dissent’s booted feet danced.
He situated himself close to the doors of that vessel, rested his hands on the handles of his guns, increased his vigilance. Chuckles and Doc had arrived with their females. Dissent wouldn’t allow anyone to harm them. The females were their future.
He would be as careful with his own female…once he found her.
“We’ll escort the females to the settlement, ensure it is safe for them there, and then complete our mission.” North gravely informed them of that plan.
The shuttle craft’s doors opened. The ramp extended.
“I’ll protect Chuckles.” Truth’s eyes glittered with mirth.
“Frag you.” That cyborg’s left leg dragged as he stomped down the ramp. “I can protect myself.” Guns were gripped in both of his hands. His gaze swept their surroundings.
Chuckles wasn’t taking any risks with his female.
Dissent approved of that stance. Safeguarding others was a privilege, one cyborgs had been denied while they were under the control of the Humanoid Alliance, their cruel manufacturers. It was not to be treated casually.
***
Read the next scene (available October 21st) here: http://tasteofcyn.com/?p=7010
***
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Dominance And Dissent
To earn the love of his curvy human, this cyborg will have to set her free.
***
Dissent has one primary mission—to find his female and protect her.
He doesn’t know who she is, where she’s situated, or what she looks like. That doesn’t stop him from searching the universe for her. He’s a cyborg and he’s determined. He WILL track her down.
While the J Model warrior is exploring a settlement on a merchant planet, he hears a defiant scream. Dissent has finally located the one being he’s genetically compatible with. He rushes to his little human’s side, ready and willing to defend her, eager to claim his female…forever.
Greer has only one dream—to be free. She’s been a slave her entire lifespan, has been subjected to soul-crushing abuse and pride-shredding humiliation. When an opportunity to escape presents itself, she takes it. Steps away from independence, she’s apprehended.
As she looks death in the face, waiting for the final strike, a tall, handsome cyborg warrior saves her. He exudes power, makes her tremble with desire, is unlike any of the males she’s ever known…except in one heartbreaking way.
He wants to own her.
As Dissent and Greer battle for dominance, danger looms. An enemy from the past has returned. He’s heavily armed, he’s not alone, and his sole goal is to kill both of them.
***
Dominance And Dissent is a STANDALONE Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It features an overprotective cyborg, a defiant slave, and a ravenous baby creature who is determined to eat his way through an entire settlement.
Pre-order Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XJYNZ8P
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07XJYNZ8P
Apple/iTunes:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/dominance-and-dissent/id1479567688
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dominance-and-dissent-cynthia-sax/1133444578
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dominance-and-dissent
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/957853
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Dominance And Dissent – The First Scene Of The First Chapter
