Cadets: The Empress of Batoria

#8 CYBORGS

Asha invited me and Sparky to help her feed the Rodins who lived in the rundown outskirts of the city. We handed the elders food as we walked by, and orphaned children crowded us for something to eat. There was enough for everyone.

I was concerned for Asha's safety. Her life was being threatened by the Rodins, and we were wandering in the heart of Rodin territory in disguise. If she exposed her identity, we would be in serious trouble.

Afterwards, we went for a walk along a river. We did not say much, but I made conversations.

Meaning no disrespect, I wanted to know how Asha was the Empress of the Batorean Empire. The main answer was that it happened so quickly. Soon after her father died, she was immediately crowned, regardless of her age. The Empire needed a ruler, otherwise there would be chaos.

Even though she was honoured to be the ruler of her people, she found it at the same time to be overwhelming. She was only a kid, and everyone was expecting her to take on these responsibilities.

I understood how she felt. Not only were we both orphans, we were also leaders to a lot of people who depended on us. There was always the fear of letting everyone down. Sometimes with so much responsibility it felt impossible to have a normal life.

The only difference between us was I chose to become an officer of Starfleet while Asha's future was set since birth. At least she had the advantage to sneak away dressed like a kidnapper.

We laughed as we crossed a bridge but stopped when a cyborg stood in our path.

I said hi, but he did not reply. He just stood silently in the middle of the bridge, staring at us.

I felt uneasy, and so was Sparky. I suggested going back the way we came, only to notice two other cyborgs blocking the way.

It looked like we were in trouble, especially when the cyborg blocking the bridge deployed one blade from his right arm and three more, representing claws, from his left arm. The bulky cyborg had hands made of iron steel, and the short creepy one had goggle looking eyes. It certainly looked like trouble.

"Look guys, I'm a guest on this planet. So, let us not have any trouble..."

The bladed cyborg suddenly lunged at us.

I ducked and rolled down the bridge as the cyborg tried slash Me. I did my best to dodge the blades and used the umbrella to block the cyborg's attempt to stab Me.

I pushed him away, and then the cyborg with the fists joined in the fight. His iron fists were so strong that he punched a hole in the ground and through a pillar.

I dodged his punches and tried to lunge with the umbrella. The iron fist cyborg dodged and grabbed my arm. I cried in pain as he almost crushed my wrist, and then got thrown into an alley.

I crashed and rolled along the ground until I ended up lying heads up with the third cyborg looking down on Me. His eyes lit bright, and I moved quick before he fired lasers. People ran away in panic, as the third cyborg tried to get Me with his laser eyes. I dodged and rolled, and then knocked the cyborg off his legs.

The iron fist cyborg re-entered the fight and tried to smash my head. I dodged and then used the bladed cyborg's leg to block another punch.

I kicked and punched them both away before the laser eyed cyborg re-entered the fight. I ducked before nearly having my head blast off, and then Asha swung into the fight. She knocked the laser eyed cyborg down before he could shoot his lasers again, and then fought off the bladed cyborg.

Asha shield off his attacks, and then got his blades tangled in some chains. Moving fast, she got the bladed cyborg tied and hung up.

The other two cyborgs got back into the fight. The one with the fists tried to punch Asha, but she used a piece of broken pipe to block his attack. The cyborg pulled the pipe away and then grabbed Asha by the neck.

When I noticed she was about to get her head smashed, I grabbed onto the cyborg with the laser eyes and forced him to shoot off one of the iron fist cyborg's mechanical hands, setting Asha free.

The laser eyed cyborg also broke free of my grip and threw Me against a wall. He fired his lasers at Me but missed when Sparky jumped onto his head and started clawing him.

The cyborg tried to pull him off until Asha knocked him out with a single whack around the head with a pipe.

Asha helped me back on my feet as the last remaining cyborg recovered, growling in fury and pain.

He glared at us, then charged, only to be knocked on the head by Asha. All three cyborgs were down.

Asha noticed I was looking at her in surprise. I was impressed how she handled those cyborgs. Since I met her, she had been full of surprises. She was the Empress and only sixteen years old, she liked to sneak out, could fly a glider, and knew how to fight.

"Just because I'm the Empress doesn't mean I can't defend myself."

We were about to flee when we bumped into a fourth cyborg. He looked twice as tough, had shiny skin and a forehead made of steel.

I punched him in the face but felt nothing. I punched him in the chest and still nothing. Asha kicked him the legs, but he still felt nothing. The cyborg took all our punches and the only two getting hurt was us.

The cyborg punched Asha aside, and then grabbed me by the neck, lifting me off my feet.

Sparky tried to free Me by clawing into the cyborg's leg to no avail. He kicked him off his foot, sending him flying through the air and into a basket. Then he turned his attention back to me and gave me a hard punch in the chest, which sent me flying into a wall.

I was recovering from the impact as the cyborg grabbed and threw me against another wall. I reached for my phaser, but the cyborg smacked it out of my hand before trying to punch me. I dodged before the cyborg's fist went through the wall.

He continued to grab and throw me about, without a chance of returning a punch. I was bruised and bleeding in a couple of places, especially from my nose.

I did not know what to do. Asha was knocked out, and everyone in the scene was too afraid to help. I was on my own against a man with a body made of steel.

The cyborg threw me far across the ally, where I crashed into a transformer. Lying on the ground in pain, I noticed a live cable had broken off, which gave me an idea. I grabbed the cable just as the cyborg picked me up with one hand. He then slapped me hard in face twice, and just when he was about to make the final blow, I forced the live cable into his ear, electrocuting him.

I broke away, as the cyborg screamed in pain until the transformer overloaded and blew up. The explosion shot me across the alley.

I no longer had the strength to get back up and passed out. But I was able to spot Imperial troopers arrive at the scene.