Continued From E2:P4

Balinski followed his cybernetic hound down hallways and corridors filled with smoke and debris. Through rooms stacked with broken furniture and strewn with corpses. Over and under the remains of the siege that had taken the entire station by surprise. Soon he started to hear noises from up ahead, raised voices and the clanking of metal on metal.

He urged his body to go faster as Caesar rounded the corner and skidded to a halt. The pup darted into the cover of a nearby crate as Balinski thudded into position beside her with a sharp intake of breath. He wasn't quite winded, but he was starting to feel the strain even with his advanced cybernetics. He might not be invincible, but he would be damned if he let a little thing like fatigue get in the way of his mission.

“Hey! What was that!?” A gruff voice sounded from very close by. He waited silently as tentative footsteps approached, they sounded like somebody searching cautiously for something. Caesar let out a faint growl as her hackles raised but he soothed her with a placating hand as he brushed the soft fur along her muzzle.

Presently, one of the thugs rounded the corner of the crate. Their pupilless black eyes widened, clearly they had not been expecting to see the likes of him hiding behind it. Balinski swatted the gun from their hands and made a lightning quick grab for their throat. With a wrench he crushed the man’s windpipe under their scaly skin. The black armoured corpse flopping to the ground with a clatter that likely sounded for all the world like somebody dropping a bag of pots down some stairs.

He peeked around the crate but saw nothing, surprised that the racket had not drawn more attention. They seemed to be near some sort of loading area to the rear of the large precinct building. It made sense, the front of the building was likely swarming with onlookers and officers by now. These cowards would try and escape through the rear while the rest of the city was distracted, likely in some manner of carefully concealed vehicles. That was the way he would have done it anyways, the way that made the most logical sense given the nature of the attack and following situation.

Balinski dashed forward again but slowed as he once more heard footsteps approaching from another hall. They rushed his way, most likely alerted by the death of their comrade. He took cover against the near wall and nodded to Caesar as she tensed, the cyberhound understanding his meaning immediately without the need for verbal commands. As the black clothed figure rushed around the corner with their weapon raised, Caesar darted forwards and chomped down on the weapon before tearing it from the astonished criminal’s scaly hands with an angry growl. Her cybernetics crushed the weapon like a toothpick between her hydraulic jaws amid the screeching of shearing metal and crackling polymers.

The slaaveth man went for their backup weapon but Balinski cocked back an arm and punched them in the chest as hard as he could, all the strength of his advanced military grade cybernetics behind the strike. The slaaveth’s ribcage collapsed with a horrendous crunch as their bullet proof armour was dented inwards from the strength of the blow. Bright purple blood splattered his face as the spasming body was sent flying down the hall, skidding for a considerable distance as he shook his hand. He checked his cybernetics quickly but they were perfectly fine. A little scuffed, but this was the exact type of punishment they had been designed to resist.

He pulled out his ThunderEagle and made sure it was reloaded as he stalked down the hall the criminal had come from. He was close, he could sense it. His heavy footsteps made minimal noise as he carefully walked forwards. He wanted to try and catch the enemy by surprise if he could, it might make it easier to find a viable target.

He heard more noises coming from a set of doors at the end of the hall, he soon noticed the doors were ajar. One of them looked as if it had been partially torn from its frame by some powerful force. That had likely been Daniel, the power armour they wore would have made short work of the reinforced plasteel frame.

As he got nearer he felt the skin on the back of his neck prickle, almost as if unseen eyes had just been turned on him. This sixth sense had saved him on many occasions before and as he shouted a warning to Caesar to get to cover his paranoia was rewarded, gunfire erupting from ahead and smashing the door to spinning shards of metal. The combination of heavy kinetic projectiles and laser beams smashing into nearby crates as he jumped into a side room.

Caesar was right behind him, her tail tucked between her legs as she skidded to a stop with a whine. He looked around and then stopped as he noticed her cowering posture, he realised with fear that she was bleeding. Balinski rushed to her side as she crouched down and continued to whine. He fumbled at his side for his emergency medical pouch as the cold hand of fear gripped his heart, she had been hit in the side just below her ribs. The wound oozed a slow but constant flow of blood and he placed a huge hand over it, tearing a piece of his undershirt to act as gauze as he applied steady pressure to the wound.

With his other hand he managed to pull out a Qtube and wasted no time in popping the lid to inject the healing serum directly into the wound. It would act as both antiseptic and a foaming agent to slow her bleeding, but he would need to get her to surgery to extract the bullet. He didn't see an exit wound and it was clear from the lack of burning that it hadn't been an energy weapon.

Balinski felt another emotion building in him as he placed a comforting hand on the top of her head. “It’s going to be alright Caesar, just rest.” He gave her a sedative injection as she closed her eyes, she wasn’t in life threatening condition at the moment that he could tell. But the fact that she had been hurt made his blood boil in his veins and he stood with a sharp intake of breath.

That did it, he was taking the gloves off so to speak. Things had just gone so far past personal now.

Balinski took the gauss rifle and placed it on a nearby desk before looking around. A plan formed in his mind and he nodded to himself as he flexed his shoulders. He lowered his shoulder and charged the nearby wall with all his mass and rage, crashing straight through it and into the next room. He continued on, passing through another two rooms before he crashed into a much larger warehouse-like area. He immediately dived for the cover of a nearby metal shipping container emblazoned with the CPD logo as a hail of bullets and laser shots were directed towards him through the cloud of dust and smashed rubble.

Balinski assessed the situation, he needed help but was in no position to wait for it to show up. Siyel and the others were counting on him. He needed to find somebody worth interrogating, or at least someone that knew the name of somebody higher up the chain of command.

He chanced a peek around the corner, in the distance he could see a small cluster of nondescript black vans. Their tires were slightly squashed and their suspension was lower than he would have expected from such a vehicle. They must be armoured or at least carrying a lot of additional weight as they were most likely the transport the terrorists had used to gain entry into the precinct's perimeter. Around them he saw a cluster of figures including one wearing the dark blue armour of one of the CPDs Havoc troopers. That must be that traitorous scumbag Daniel Tanya had mentioned.

In front of and between them were a number of the armed thugs, one of which spotted him and opened fire, forcing him to duck back into the relative safety of the container. The room was large but there was a lot of cover, he nodded to himself and took several deep breaths as the sound of impacts caused the crate to shudder slightly at his back. He would need to move quick, quicker than he had yet before. His only chance was to take them by surprise, not even his superhuman abilities would save him from a full burst of automatic armour piercing bullets straight to the head or chest.

His eyes snapped open and he sprinted to the other side and out into the open, his heavy booted feet slamming into the duramite floor like pistons as he rocketed from cover like a human meteor. With the supreme stability that his cybernetics offered he aimed and fired his revolver twice as he sprinted to the next piece of cover. At least one of the shots struck true, a spray of purple blood gushing from the neck of one of the slaaveth gangsters before he reached the stack of crates. He heard their fire stop as the dying thug slammed into the ground. Once more gunfire chased him, but it sounded a little lighter than it had been before as it smashed into the wall behind him amid puffs of shattered carbcrete.

He popped off an unaimed shot towards the noise and heard one of them swear loudly in a gurgling accent. “Just shoot the drekking slurrge!”

He reloaded as quickly as he could and then switched hands, he wanted to have his wrist blade free just in case he needed it. He tensed and then peeked around the corner again, both sides were covered and he stopped as he got a terribly brilliant idea. Balinski took a step back before vaulting up and on top of the crates, it must have surprised them as well as for a few precious heartbeats he was free to move without fear of return fire.

Balinski launched himself at one of the nearby groups, his sheer bulk smashing the first one into the floor with a crunch as he landed on top of the masked criminal. He fired his ThunderEagle point blank into the upper thigh of another before grabbing a third and lifting them off their feet. He threw the screeching slaaveth woman into the last gangster, the two going down in a confused pile of scaly limbs. With a slight pause he extended the hidden blade from his wrist with a sharp snap before using it to put the two near him out of their misery with a couple of neat stabs to the throat.

He left the gurgling dead behind and dashed to the struggling pair, with a single shot he killed them both. The powerful hand cannon bucked as he fired an armour piercing round through both of them. He left them and continued towards his fleeing targets.

Balinski was now considerably closer to the parked vehicles, and to the one that had killed Slake he assumed. He darted across another gap, hissing in pain as at least one bullet found its mark on his damaged body armour. One more bruise to add to the quickly growing collection, he grimaced. He took another deep breath, it was up to him now. He needed to take at least one of the higher ups, and what better way than to ignore the rabble entirely and cut straight to the heart.

He started as he heard the sound of engines starting. Many of the gunmen were yelling now, he could hear the sound of rushed and panicked footsteps as at least one of the vans peeled out of the warehouse loading area.

“No, you aren't getting away that easily!” He shouted to nobody in particular as he broke from cover once more.

His cybernetic legs powered him forwards at truly awesome speed, in seconds he had outpaced the frantic thugs. There were only a few of them scrambling towards their transports now, at least one of them fired his way in their mad dash to escape. A score of lasers dancing around him with only a few hitting the sturdy backplate he wore. The armour completely absorbed the shots and actually pushed him forwards, potentially increasing his forwards momentum even farther. The various bright points of pain across his body screamed at him but he paid them no mind, he pushed through the pain with a crazed smile on his face. His vision narrowed, red ringing it till all he could see was the back of the van closest to him.

Two of the vans had already escaped the confines of the structure, but a third was only just now making its way towards the exit. With a supreme effort he drove himself the last few meters and punched an arm into the rear door of the van before wrenching the other one off its hinges entirely. The inside was occupied by several very startled looking black clothed individuals, he noticed in that instant that every single one of them were slaaveth.

Without hesitation he threw himself inside, a flurry of punches and stabbing motions with his wrist blade rendered the group inert. The two front seats were occupied as well and as a weapon was aimed at him he batted it aside with his wrist blade, the pistol smashing into the driver and causing them to jerk the wheel. Balinski had only a second to brace himself before the van slammed into a large storage crate, the force of it catapulting him forwards and through the windscreen of the vehicle.

He lay there on the cracked duracrete in stunned silence for a moment. The heavy glazmite of the window had not broken from his impact, bullet resistant as it was. But the frame of the window itself had not been so fortunate. It was reinforced to stop impacts from the outside of the vehicle, not to stop a several hundred kilogram man from being thrown through it.

He groaned as he rolled over, looking up he could tell pretty much instantly that the van was done for. Steam rolled from its forward cooling unit and the thin white streamers of smoke indicated that it had likely ruptured at least a few of its batteries. He checked his geiger counter, no radiation. That was good, its powercell was probably undamaged. That would have made things a lot more problematic had the promethium containment chamber become ruptured.

He stood to his feet painfully and walked towards the vehicle. He could hear the sounds of shouting and approaching footsteps but he ignored them, he was far too tired to try and run from them. He was going to get back in the van, at least from there he had some manner of cover. He reached the vehicle and tried the passenger door. To his mild surprise it was actually unlocked, a touch of good fortune it seemed. He pulled it open and dragged out the unconscious criminal sitting in the seat before plopping down in it himself.

He raised his assistant and told it to dial Siyel. After a moment to connect across the spotty precinct internet her pink face appeared on the small screen. She looked a bit the worse for wear and seemed to grow stern when she saw him. “What happened to you? You look like you got run over by a dozer.”

He waved it off and gestured behind him towards the interior of the van. “I have incapacitated what I assume to be at least one of the higher ups. Caesar is injured though and needs medical, I need you to send backup..” She nodded and cut him off over the link.

“You are already covered. I believe Tanya and another two tactical squads are there with you already. I was informed that they found Caesar already and she is in the process of being transported to the hospital wing, they will take care of her. They said her condition didn’t appear to be life threatening.” She gave him a slight smile as she said it.

Balinski nodded and glanced over his shoulder. He couldn't see anything through the broken door behind him but he thought he could hear the shouts getting closer. They sounded less panicked and more angry though, he sighed. He hoped that it was Tanya and her squad and not the rest of the insurgents coming to finish him off. In his depleted condition he wasn’t really sure if he could fight his way through another horde of angry gangsters.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

He sat there and waited, not really caring at the moment what happened as his body felt like a solid mass of pain. He could feel his mind slipping and had to force himself back to the present, without Caesar to help him.. He shuddered. He would be defenseless without her to watch over him.

He pushed open the van’s door and stood, stepping over the groaning form of the gangster he had pushed outside. He looked at the man, he was wearing the same black clothing and bullet proof vest as the others but he seemed different at a glance. It took him a minute to realise why the man was wearing jeweled frill-rings. The jewelry was only visible from where the dark clothing had slipped. None of the others he had seen had been adorned with any kind of finery, did this make them a more important member of whatever group had attacked?

He wasn’t sure but he also wasn’t taking any chances. He pulled the man’s hands behind his back and secured them with the roll of duct tape he kept in his coat for just such occasions. It would do for the moment at least. He sat the still unconscious slaaveth up alongside the van before walking slowly to the rear of the vehicle. He drew his revolver and quickly reloaded the two spent chambers. If it came down to a fight then he would ensure that it went his way.

He could hear footsteps drawing nearer, they were heavy though. A second later he heard a voice shout, the fizzing static of external speakers audible over the warning. “This is the police, come out with your hands up immediately! We will not hesitate to use deadly force!”

The tell-tale clank of power armour made him breathe a sigh of relief, he put a hand out around the side of the van and shouted out loudly, “CPD friendly, coming out. Don’t shoot!”

He holstered his gun and stepped out into the open slowly, his arms raised just in case somebody decided to get a little itchy with their trigger finger. The armoured figure in front of him lowered the impressive looking revolving ordinance launcher they were holding and raised a hand in the signal to stand down. Reaching up, they removed their helmet to reveal Tanya’s sweaty features. Her face was damp with preparation though she seemed in good spirits.

She stepped forwards as he lowered his arms and nodded to the van he had so unceremoniously wrecked. “I see you have been busy, some of them look to have gotten away though.” Her voice changed at that, going from mildly amused to steely growl filled with undisguised anger.

Balinski jerked his head towards the van in a motion telling her to follow. “Yeah. I tried to get to Daniel..” He paused as he said the traitor’s name, trying to gauge her reaction. She nodded stiffly, her armoured fists clenching hard enough to make the metal groan slightly. He continued, “Anyways, I was unable to catch that traitor. But I did pick up this fellow, judging from his more elaborate gear and the gold on his head fin, I would have to assume that he is one of the higher ups. If not directly in charge of the mission.”

The man had by now regained some semblance of consciousness, the slaaveth’s pitch black eyes staring up at them as they stood over the top of them. In the background Balinski could hear the scuffle of feet and barked orders as officers ran up to the van to clear out the remaining criminals.

“You have no idea what you have done, do you? You drekking fools.”

Tanya looked at the alien as the bound prisoner spat vitriol at them. She smiled and then gave the man a nudge with her armoured foot, causing them to bare their dagger-like teeth in a feral manner. “I think he is upset. Maybe a few days on ice will cool his temper, don’t you think?”

Balinski nodded. “Yea, but if it were up to me I would just break him fast and then move on.”

The man looked between them and gave a gurgling laugh, “Hah, you don’t scare me. I know you can't do shit to me while I am under the protection of the Union’s judicial system.”

He seemed so smug, so overly confident. Balinski wanted so desperately to take the man down a couple of pegs, and to smash his funny little head in. But such senseless anger would get him nowhere closer to finding who was behind it all. The grand scheme of things dictated that this man was now a precious commodity that needed to be handled with extreme care.

So Balinski punched the man in his scaly face anyways, knocking him out cold and causing a line of pale purple blood to dribble from one of their nostrils. Tanya scoffed, “Ha! Nice form.”

He shook his head. “Scumbag. I hate this, do we even know what group is responsible for this? I would assume the Pit Vipers judging by their mannerisms and well, particular species. But then again it could be any one of two dozen minor gangs.” He threw up his hands as Tanya followed him around the side of the van.

He shook his head again. Screw this, he had more important things to attend to. He glanced at her and asked, “Have you and your team got this under control?” Tanya nodded and gestured to him that he was good to move out if he wished. “Okay, thank you once again for the backup.”

Tanya gave him a nod and casual salute before nodding towards the way he had come, “We have it under control. Do what you gotta do, Balinski.”

Without another word or wasted second he took off towards the precinct at a brisk walk. He could feel all the bruises and other various contusions under his armoured torso, he would likely need a day or two to recover fully, but if there was any chance that he could get after the one’s that had done this then he wouldn't hesitate.

Balinski strode down the warehouse floor and glanced around. There were at least two dozen CPD officers scurrying around, detaining the remaining criminals and checking the injured for signs of life. As he neared the doors to the main part of the building he had to jump out of the way as a trauma team scurried into the room. Their clean white clothing was only marred by the red asterisk denoting their special medical roles. At the back of the pack was a burly atraxses, the huge furred man wearing only a white medical sash and epaulets. He trundled by without so much as a spare glance towards Balinski, the large furred alien carrying a huge medical crate in his hands like it weighed nothing.

Balinski entered the building as they moved into the warehouse, the way now clear. He walked quickly, his mind awash with worry for Caesar and Siyel. He was sure they were alright, but there was no way he was going to rest till he was sure of it.

Balinski had to stop and ask for directions twice. The medical wing of the precinct was about as large as that of a full fledged hospital he found when he finally entered the long hallway. The floors and walls were a neat clinical white with pale blue highlights. Several of the white coated staff gave him a funny look as he stumbled in reeking of smoke and death. One particularly brave looking swanith female bobbed over to him, her pristine white feathers matching the small doctor's tunic she wore. It marked her out as a medical professional, the small avian alien reached up to slow him with her tiny tridactyl hands pressing against his belly as that was as high as she could reach.

“Whoa there, calm down please sir. You look like you have been.. well, in point of fact you look like you have been through a war.” She spoke in perfectly unaccented galactic common, the strange dualtone of her voice striking his eardrums like the tinkle of windchimes. The small female’s black expression feathers flared up in a concerned manner. “We need to get you to a medical room, you look hurt!” She seemed a bit taken aback as he shook his head.

“No, nono.. I need to see Caesar, I need to know she is alright.” he stumbled slightly as he tried to sidestep the diminutive alien. She spread her winged arms and flared her feathers again.

With a shrill whistle towards what looked to be additional hospital staff she raised her arms high and forced him to stop. “Who the hell are you, barging in here like this. Look at you!” She gestured to him and he looked down at himself as directed.

He was still wearing his dark trench coat and wide brimmed hat, but they were filthy. Covered in soot and carbcrete dust. Flecked with blood and covered in singes and burns. His armoured chest had a few holes where rounds had been stopped by his armour and his back must look like swiss cheese with all the laser hits that he had taken earlier.

He chuckled darkly, the sound of it only on the edge of sane. “I guess I must look a sight, huh.”

She shook her feathered head, golden eyes flashing in the light. “Yes, and you smell like a drowned corpse that got set on fire and rolled down a trash pile. So please, allow us to help you get yourself cleaned up a bit before we take you to see.. whoever it is you came in here to see.”

He cocked his head and then removed his hat, she blinked at his scarred and broken features. “I.. am sorry. I am just worried about my friend. May I at least know what room she is being held in? Then I will go and get cleaned up a bit, I promise.”

The woman nodded. She gave a wave to one of the orderlies she had summoned and the human man rushed to her and asked in a slightly shy sounding tone, “Yes Dr. Lulum?”

Dr. Lulum bobbed her feathered head, her dark expression feathers flashing between annoyed and surprised as she pointed at Balinski. “Help this man get cleaned up, also check on the status of his..” She glanced back towards him and clacked her beak. “..his friend.”

With that she walked away. He watched her for a moment before turning his attention back to the timid looking man. “Hey, I was curious if we could check on the status of your friend. Also their name?” The man asked quietly.

Balinski shrugged and answered. “Her name is Ceasar, she is a cyberhound. She was admitted to surgery with a gunshot wound.” The orderly had started to walk away down the hall while still engrossed by the dataslate he was holding.

“Mmhmm, yes. I think I know the one. Your.. friend, was admitted to general and given life saving surgery. They are recovering in room two-eighteen on the second floor.” Balinski nodded at the man’s response. But he wasn’t done. “I have also been instructed to take care of you. If you would please follow me?”

Balinski shook his head. “No, I am going to go and see Caesar. If you want to give me a checkup it's going to have to be done there.” he started off in the opposite direction from the man forcing him to have to run to catch up.

The orderly raised a hand in protest as they followed Balinski to a nearby flight of stairs. “I really must protest, in your current condition you may be doing yourself additional harm.”

At that Balinski stopped and turned on the man. “I don’t think you know who I am, do you?” He asked them.

The orderly shook his head and held up his dataslate as if it were a shield. “N-n-no sir. I don’t”

Balinski gave the man a twisted smile and opened his trench coat slowly, revealing both his damaged and pocked body armour as well as the beginnings of his extensive cybernetics that began at his shoulders. He chuckled humorlessly, “I don’t think there is much of me left to worry about, friend. I’ll be fine, I assure you. You can go and tell your boss that I refused to listen if you like. But it’s not going to change my mind.”

The orderly seemed to swallow heavily, his eyes widening at the sight as he looked back up at Balinski’s towering form. “Alrighty then, you are.. have a nice day sir!” With their final declaration they scuttled off. The human looking over his shoulder at least twice before he disappeared into the general bustle of the medical wing.

Balinski gave a small sigh as he readjusted his trench coat. Under it he wore the body armour and his dark heavy pants. He hated the disfiguration of his body, it reminded him of his past. Not something he was ever keen to dwell on. He took a deep breath as he was once more forced to push the panic back down, his hand gripping the railing next to him on the stairs with enough force to dent the shiny metal.

He took another step and then another, each moment was a battle with his own tattered mind as he forced himself to put one foot in front of the other. On and on it went like this, his mind awash with the clattering memories of his time as a prisoner of war. Before he had even realised it he found himself standing in front of the room he had been directed to.

He stood there for another moment. The sounds of the hospital wing around him seemed to slowly fade away into muted silence as the pounding of his own heartbeat filled his ears. He knew that she was fine, the orderly had said so. But a far more potent part of him worried what he would find when he opened that door.

“I can’t.” He muttered to himself, a second later he spoke, “I won’t let you control me.” He spoke to his own inner psyche, to that terrified young man trapped in sundered armor half buried in the mud and filth of some forgotten battlefield. Pain and grief consumed his mind until all that was left was the wracking screams that seemed to echo forever and ever in the haunted corners of his own mind. He knew that he was being overly dramatic about the situation, but it was hard not to when his best friend in all the universe was lying hurt because of his own actions.

Balinski took a shuddering breath and pressed the button to open the door.

The door opened without a sound, the barest whisper was drowned out by the chaos and chatter all around. But he didn’t hear any of it as he stepped inside and looked around. The room was spartan, only a small wheeled desk next to the bed upon which lay a single dark figure. It was Caesar, she seemed to be asleep but stirred as soon as he stepped closer.

He saw her nose twitch and then one of her beautiful ice-blue eyes crack open before she lifted her furry head a bit groggily. Balinski heard a small sob echo through the enclosed room, the fact that it was his own didn’t sway him from rushing to her side and falling to his knees. He pressed his head into her shoulder and wrapped one of his arms around her gingerly. As he breathed in her familiar scent. The smell of the shampoo he had used to give her a bath the other day still lingered on her thick coat and he pressed his face further into her as he tried to contain his mounting fear.

He felt her nuzzle at the top of his head, a small affectionate growl accompanying the gesture as he raised his head. She gave him a series of quick doggy kisses right on his face and he laughed wretchedly as he wiped his face with a dirty sleeve.

“Oh Caesar, I’m so sorry girl. This is all my fault, if I had just waited for backup to arrive..” he would have likely kept up on his self destructive tirade if it were not for her raising a paw and placing it on his closer shoulder. She barked quietly and gave him a pointed look.

He nodded his head, his face a mask of pain as he truly smiled for the first time since she had been hurt. “Ok, I’ll shut up. You are tired, me too. I'll just let you rest..”

Balinski stood to go but she stopped him with another bark, this time a little louder followed by a whine as she lowered her head and scooted over on the bed. “I understand, but I need to give you space..” He tried to argue, but she was having none of it. Sometimes he cursed her neural implants, they made her smarter, yes. But they also seemed to have exacerbated her personality to new extremes of pushiness.

He sighed and then finally relented. He sat on the edge of the bed next to her and then placed his wide brimmed hat on the table next to her. He shrugged off his filthy trench coat and set it to the side as well before removing his heavy boots. He didn’t need the shoes to walk comfortably, but they covered his cybernetics and muffled the sound of them as well.

Now in just his armour and dark pants he lay down on the bed and smiled as Caesar snuggled up and laid her large head on his chest. He gave her an affectionate pat on the head as he tried to relax. “I love you Caesar. You are the only one in the universe who truly understands me.” She didn’t respond this time, simply thumping his chest with a paw as if asking him to be quiet so she could sleep.

He just chuckled and closed his eyes. While his cybernetic eye couldn't close like his biological one, he could lower its input settings enough for him to get to sleep, he did so and then wrapped an arm back around his best friend in the entire universe. As long as she was okay, he would be too. He found himself falling to sleep quickly, the events of the day having exhausted him to his very core.

His dreams were strange and full of bright flashes and the sound of panicked voices over a closed radio link. He stirred and then calmed as a familiar weight held him still, Caesar was his anchor. Even unconscious the two of them looked out for each other, ever vigilant to all threats both physical and of the mind.

Continued In E2:P6