Kaiden Read online

  Kaiden

  The Nova Force: Book 2

  Vivienne Savage

  Kaiden

  The Nova Force: Book Two

  By Vivienne Savage

  All material contained herein is Copyrighted 2018 © Vivienne Savage. All rights reserved.

  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your preferred e-book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Other Books by Vivienne

  The Hidden Court by Vivienne Savage

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  The scientists kept their specimen in a sterile laboratory under continuous observation, but Kaiden achieved fleeting moments of coherence when the white lights came into focus and their medical babble reached his ears. Most of the time, he slept through a haze of never-ending sedatives, only to awaken for scheduled exams and tests requiring his conscious mind.

  “This is bullshit,” a woman muttered above him. She sighed, then her cool fingers touched Kaiden’s forearm to manipulate the IV port.

  “We’re paid by the hour. Who cares if we have to redo our work?” a man asked.

  “Why didn’t they tell us from the start that they wanted to lose the legs, too, when we were replacing his arms and ribs? We wasted all of that time augmenting them.”

  The masculine voice responded in a placating tone, “It was beautiful work, but once we get these babies on him, you’ll be able to appreciate the improvement, Anna. Come on. Let’s get him prepped for the amputation.”

  “Fine—wait. He’s coming out of it.”

  “A.I., administer another sedative.”

  No, Kaiden thought.

  “I am unable to complete your request,” the synthesized voice replied.

  “What?” Anna’s voice was sharp. “Damned glitches. A.I., administer another sedative.”

  “Permission revoked. You do not have authorization,” the A.I. stated.

  When the remaining fog cleared from Kaiden’s mind and the weight lifted from his heavy limbs, he realized that, for the first time in years, he had control of his body. Complete control. His fist flew up into the chin of the technician standing above him. Teeth slammed together and bloodied spittle flew from the man’s mouth.

  Anna screamed, “Security! Code White!” as Kaiden disrupted the visual and audio system.

  The lights flickered out and pitched the room into darkness as Kaiden kicked off from the surgical table. The side of his left hand crashed into a technician’s throat, crushing the man’s trachea.

  With a handheld penlight in one hand, the female scientist drew a firearm with the other. It was set to stun, but Kaiden twisted the weapon in her grip until the muzzle was beneath her chin. Stun rounds weren’t meant to be discharged at close range. In a single shot, they could disable cybernetic limbs and take a robotic system offline.

  He pulled the trigger twice without flinching when an electric blue flash ignited her face.

  Kaiden had been a powerful psychic since early in life, enlisting young into the Royal Marines and training for years to hone his powers. Even as a kid, he’d always had a handle on sensing the presence of living beings. When his twin brother was near, his powers had been amplified enough to read minds, the two of them always stronger together.

  Something very much like that sense told him a guard lurked nearby in the control room, unsuccessfully hammering at the buttons to get the security system online. The computer told him so, its voice an electronic whisper in his mind.

  “Hey guys, something’s wrong with the visual feed. How do I get I.T. on the line?” he called. “Guys? Christ, it’s dark in here. I know I’m not scrubbed in or whatever for surgery, but I’m coming inside. Someone screamed.”

  When the security officer emerged from the observation room, superior reflexes propelled Kaiden toward the man, disarmed him, and snapped his neck before more than an alarmed gasp left his lips. Then he donned his victim’s uniform and disabled the remaining guards one by one.

  Minutes later, Kaiden escaped through a side door. The humid jungle air surrounded him, a translucent cloak that hung heavily at midday. He quickly assessed his surroundings, drawing location, time, and date within seconds. In the blink of an eye, he knew the solar system and planet.

  He ran.

  Gareth. I need to find Gareth. I need to find my brother, Kaiden thought as the surroundings flew past him in a blur of green.

  Wake up, Kaiden. The sultry feminine voice didn’t match his wild, overgrown environment.

  The oppressive humidity vanished, replaced by standard-issue cream-colored sheets. Kaiden awakened in his cot, hyperventilating and covered in a cold sweat. The sheets had tangled around his legs, and his t-shirt stuck to his skin.

  Not real. It hadn’t been real, only another episode of the past resurfacing to remind him of the tortures DNAturals had inflicted on his body. He touched one shoulder and palpated the scar dividing his living tissue from synthetic flesh.

  Those arms, as well as his other cybernetic features, had once been the topic of debate among the high-ranking military officials. They believed him to be a weapon.

  My body is mine, he told himself again. Not theirs. Mine.

  It had taken two years of mandatory therapy to accept the words as truth. He shook off the nightmare, then kicked himself free from the twisted sheets before exiting his pod. Sharing a room with five other military men meant he used the privacy settings frequently to drown out their noise.

  “Kai?” Gareth spun his chair away from his computer rig’s holographic display to face him. His bright green eyes filled with concern. Gazing at his twin was like looking into a mirror, or it would have been, if Kaiden’s cybernetics and the muscles supporting them weren’t so much larger now. “You okay?”

  “I’m fine. Just need…” He shuffled past his twin brother with his head down. He needed a shower. “Same as usual.”

  “Did Jem wake you up again?”

  “Aye, she did.”

  “I do not mind.” The ship’s artificial intelligence had a voice designed for sexy movies and smoky jazz clubs. Since Kaiden’s return to the Jemison, she had taken on the role of friendly caretaker. It surprised him, since he’d taken down her systems in a hostile virtual assault only two years ago while under the control of his captors. Apparently, computer programs didn’t hold grudges.

  “Gonna hit the shower. Tell Flidais I said hello.”

  “We both just logged off. Hey, what do you think about—”

  Kaiden shut the door behind him to drown out Gareth’s question. He lacked the mood for socializing, even with his twin, and according to his internal clock, it was nearly 0500.

  Christ. Gareth was up and s
peaking to his online girlfriend ridiculously early. When did the guy ever sleep? If he wasn’t squeezing in a few minutes with Flidais over textual chat or a videogame, he was looking after Kaiden, a grounding force who kept him stable. At one time, their family had considered Kaiden to be the big brother. Now their roles were reversed.

  Once Kaiden shed his clothes and stepped beneath the steamy shower spray, he sighed and reveled in the pleasant sensation.

  If I wasn’t a human being, I couldn’t enjoy this, right? Machines don’t care about showers. Why did the memories always make his doubts resurface?

  You have your regular appointment with Doctor Vargas in an hour, Jem reminded him, interrupting his internal debate. The A.I. favored communicating directly with Kaiden’s mind via digital upload. It had weirded him out at first, but over the months, he’d grown accustomed to Jem requesting access and even come to trust her.

  Even if he didn’t know what the hell their strange camaraderie meant. Was he becoming more machine after all, or did it mean Jem was becoming more human?

  Thanks.

  When he emerged from the bathroom, Gareth was gone and their roommate was awaiting his chance for a morning shower.

  “Sorry for taking so long, Obi. I didn’t realize you were waiting.”

  “Not to worry, Kaiden.” Chief Nwosu flashed him a friendly grin in passing. He was one man among a handful who didn’t view Kaiden through distrustful eyes.

  After chugging a tasteless protein shake, Kaiden stepped into the elevator for a ride down to the Medical Bay.

  “Hold the lift!” a woman shouted.

  Kaiden thrust his arm between the doors and caught it as a young woman jogged into view. She wore a loose tunic over her standard blue naval suit, with lieutenant’s bars pinned to the collar. A hint of dark hair spilled beneath the silky scarf pinned over her head in the fashion of Astreya, a planet colonized by a joint effort between Egypt, Iran, and a few other Middle Eastern nations years ago.

  A glance at the gorgeous lieutenant’s face raised a dossier listing her basic statistics and immediate history: Nisrine Shahid. Single. Age twenty-eight, top graduate of the Windsor Royal Naval Academy. Skilled in Krav Maga, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu—

  He snatched his gaze from her and focused on the wall. “Morning. Which level?”

  “Bridge. Thanks.” They settled into their respective corners of the lift before Nisrine cocked an appraising brow at him. “You’re up early today.”

  “So are you.” Fluent in nine languages, Late English, Latin American Spanish, Italian, Lexar, Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew—

  Kaiden manually interrupted the information stream again, focusing on her mouth instead. A fleeting smile ghosted across her lips. “Work, it never ends. I’m trying to wrap a few things up before I report to some security seminars at United Command.”

  “That sounds… uh…” She had perfectly bow shaped lips and his mind went blank for a second, like a computer stalling on the wrong screen. Nisrine had been too good for him all those years before—not to mention dating some suave intelligence agent prick—so he’d never made a play to get into her knickers. She was still too good now. She wasn’t just in another league, she may as well have been in a whole different galaxy.

  “Dull?” she offered, eyes bright with amusement.

  “A little, yeah.”

  “It can be. What about you?”

  “Appointment with Doctor Vargas. You know, making sure everything up here is fine.” He tapped his skull.

  Nisrine’s eyes softened. No disgust. No fear. Genuine concern filled her brown eyes. “How’s that going?”

  “Good, I guess. I’ve got a bit of a wait, but—actually, we should have been up there already. Jem, is the lift broken?”

  “It seems we forgot to press the buttons for our destinations.” Nisrine leaned past him and selected the buttons for medical and then the bridge.

  Kaiden frowned, because he knew damned well he’d pressed both. Jem? What mischief are you up to?

  I thought you would enjoy the conversation.

  She’s a busy woman with better things to do than me. Er, small talk with me.

  If computer A.I. could laugh, the lines of code that passed from Jem would have sufficed. Because he went rock hard, the mere idea of having Nisrine under him enough to turn his cock to the approximate firmness of steel. He grunted as the lift smoothly raised two levels to the medical floor.

  “Have a good day, Kaiden.”

  “Good day to you, too, Lieutenant.”

  Long after he was off the lift and had reported to Medical, Nisrine’s smile remained on his mind, stirring feelings he’d thought were broken by his captors. It’d be another milestone to mention to Xander as proof of his progress, if it wasn’t so damned embarrassing to admit he’d sprung his first hard-on in two years after crossing paths with a pretty girl. He’d actually started to think he wasn’t capable anymore—just another thing his tormentors had taken from him.

  For the past month since returning to the Jemison, Kaiden had reported for morning visits to the assigned cybernetics specialist who had cracked the case and rescued him two years ago. Doctor Xander Vargas was a good guy. He liked the doctor and felt safe in his hands. Of course, it also helped that Xander didn’t treat him like a ticking time bomb one second from detonation.

  The nurse at the desk raised her attention from the screen after he signed in. Warm, compassionate eyes rested on Kaiden, a welcome improvement over the wariness and fear he’d become accustomed to seeing since his return. “Someone will be with you shortly, Senior Chief.”

  “That’s fine.”

  To pass the time, he focused on the medical bay’s recent makeover, noticing he was surrounded by rose pink walls and floral baskets.

  Dr. Hart insisted on making the medical bay more welcoming, Jem relayed.

  The internal door between the lobby and offices opened and Thandie Kruger—the long-term girlfriend of his cybernetic surgeon and one of the marines responsible for his rescue—stepped through. When she aimed her bright smile his way, he couldn’t help but smile back, because there weren’t many people aboard the Jemison more genuine and friendly than Thandie.

  “Hey, Kaiden.”

  “Good morning, Lieutenant Kruger.”

  “Check-up?”

  “Aye, sir.”

  “Me, too. This new model is still taking some getting used to.” Thandie waggled the fingers of her right hand. “I think he finally managed to track down what was causing the sporadic numbness.”

  “That’s great, sir. Doctor Vargas is good at what he does.”

  “Hey, didn’t I say you could call me Thandie? I’m pretty sure I did when you returned.”

  “Yes, s—Thandie.”

  A fleeting frown flattened her expression, only to vanish seconds later. Her reassuring smile returned. “Anyway, I’ll catch you later.”

  Thandie waved and headed out, leaving Kaiden to his own thoughts. The silence didn’t last long.

  “Senior Chief, the doctor’s ready for you,” one of the medics announced. Kaiden didn’t recognize him initially, which was nothing new. With the Jemison dry docked for an overhaul, personnel were transferring in and out. Jean-Claude O’Reilly, twenty-five years old, single, assigned to the Jemison for the past three years, his mind supplied. A note indicated he had recently returned from a two-month school assignment.

  “Morning, Kaiden. How are you?” Xander asked as he stepped into the office and shut the door behind him.

  Kaiden settled into the familiar chair opposite Xander’s desk. “Good morning, sir. I’m alive.”

  “Good. I’m glad to hear that. You’re probably wondering why I didn’t pull you into the exam room for the usual physical, but I think we’re beyond that stage now, mate.” Xander’s unwavering smile registered as genuine. It did every day. He truly cared about his patients and the people around him.

  The software installed in his brain allowed him to detect a person’s emotional state
based on their facial expressions, heart rhythm, rate of breathing, chemical signals, and body language. It was both a curse and a blessing—Kaiden immediately knew when someone feared him, and thus, he had learned to distance himself from those individuals whenever possible.

  “We are? That’s…” Kaiden remained motionless in the seat, absolutely still on the outside but racked with terror on the inside. What if he wasn’t safe after all? What if the moment they lowered their guard, some self-destruct sequence activated inside him, or worse, the enemy hijacked his body again and sent him on another kill mission? “So, there’ll be nothing now?”

  “Once a week. We’ll do them once a week from now on for the next year, then go month to month from there. How’s that sound?”

  “Terrible,” Kaiden replied honestly.

  The smile faltered and finally vanished from Xander’s face. “Terrible?” A perplexed crease lined the older man’s brow. At age 41, Xander was a career marine from the planet Paradiso. Wounded during the war with the Allied Socialist Republic, years of service on the Glenn before reassignment to the Jemison. Promoted to Captain for his part in disrupting the unlawful trade of human lives as spare parts for cybernetics research. For saving Kaiden and hundreds of colonists across the galaxy. Maybe even thousands.

  Half-Lexar. In the deepest, most confidential file of Xander’s service records, he’d been identified as half-Lexar, the product of an alien and human mating. He looked normal—big as fuck compared to the typical human by measuring in at almost seven feet tall—but medical staff had noted several key advantages to Xander’s mixed DNA, like enhanced regeneration and resistance to toxins.