Chapter 4

CHAPTER

FOUR

E gni

I jerked awake, my newly enhanced senses flooding me with information. The sterile scent of the med bay, the soft hum of machinery, and... something else. A presence at the edge of my consciousness, like whispers just beyond hearing.

"Egni?" Cherie's voice cut through the noise in my head. "Are you alright?"

I turned to face her, my cybernetic eye whirring as it focused. She looked exhausted, dark circles under her eyes, but there was a fire there that I couldn't help but admire.

"I'm functional," I said, my voice raspier than I'd expected. "But something is different."

Cherie frowned, her fingers dancing across a holographic display. "Your vitals are stable. What do you mean, different?"

I struggled to put the sensation into words. How could I explain I felt connected to the very circuitry of the room? That I could sense the flow of data through the facility's systems like blood through veins?

"I can feel the machines," I said finally, observing her reaction. "Not just my implants. Everything."

Her eyes widened, a mix of excitement and concern flashing across her face. "That's... unexpected. The conversion process shouldn't have given you technopathic abilities."

I flexed my new cybernetic arm, marveling at how seamlessly it integrated with my organic tissue. "Perhaps your skills exceed even your own expectations, Cherie."

A faint blush colored her cheeks, and I felt an unexpected warmth in my chest at the sight. "Or perhaps there's more to this conversion than we realized," she murmured, more to herself than to me.

I closed my eyes, focusing on the strange new sensations. Data streams flowed around me, carrying snippets of information. Most of it was incomprehensible, but occasionally, something would catch my attention. A security alert in the lower levels. A message about resource allocation. And then...

My eyes snapped open. "Someone's talking about the conversion process. About sabotage."

Cherie's head jerked up, her expression a mix of shock and disbelief. "What? How could you possibly know that?"

I gestured to the surrounding room. "I told you, I can sense the data flowing through the systems. I just... overheard a conversation. Two voices, discussing ways to disrupt the cyborg program."

She bit her lip, a habit I recognized as a sign of deep thought. "That's concerning. But Egni, we need to focus on your recovery first. These new abilities could be a side effect of the conversion. We need to run more tests, make sure you're stable."

I shook my head, pushing myself up to a sitting position. "No. This is too important to ignore. If someone is sabotaging the program, it puts everyone at risk. Not just me."

Cherie placed a hand on my arm, and it surprised me how much that simple touch affected me. "I understand your concern, but you're not fully recovered yet. You need time to adjust to your new body, to integrate all these changes."

I looked down at her hand, then back up to meet her gaze. In her eyes, I saw genuine concern, not just for the program or her own career, but for me. It had been... a very long time since anyone had looked at me that way.

"Very well," I conceded, settling back onto the bed. "But we cannot ignore this threat. Promise me you'll look into it."

She nodded, her expression serious. "I promise. But right now, I need you to focus on healing. Can you do that for me?"

For me. Those two simple words awakened something deep within me, something I believed I lost on countless battlefields. I nodded, unable to deny her request.

As Cherie began running more tests, I closed my eyes, trying to sort through the flood of new sensations. The technopathic abilities were disorienting, but also exhilarating. For the first time since my body had been shattered, I felt truly powerful again.

But with that power came new questions. Why did I receive these abilities? Was it truly an accident of the conversion process, or was there something more at play?

And then there was Cherie herself. I'd come to this facility expecting to be treated as a broken weapon to be repaired. Instead, I'd found someone who saw past the scars and the reputation, someone who treated me as... a person.

It was unsettling. Dangerous, even. In my long life, I'd learned that attachments were a weakness, a liability on the battlefield. But here, in this sterile room filled with beeping machines and flowing data, I found myself drawn to her strength, her compassion, her unwavering determination.

"Egni?" Cherie's voice pulled me from my thoughts. "I need you to try something for me. Can you focus on that monitor over there? See if you can, I don't know, connect with it somehow?"

I raised an eyebrow at her, but did as she asked. Concentrating on the monitor, I reached out with my mind, feeling for that strange new sense that allowed me to touch the digital world.

Suddenly, the monitor flickered to life, displaying not just vital signs, but a cascade of data about the facility, security protocols, and ongoing experiments. Cherie gasped, her eyes wide with wonder.

"Incredible," she breathed. "You're not just sensing the data. You're actively interfacing with our systems."

I nodded, a grim smile tugging at my lips. "It seems I've become more of a machine than I anticipated."

Cherie's hand found mine again, squeezing gently. "No, Egni. You're not just a machine. You're something new. Something extraordinary."

Her words washed over me, and I felt something crack inside my chest. A wall I'd built over centuries of battle and loss, beginning to crumble.

As I looked into Cherie's eyes, seeing the mix of scientific fascination and genuine care there, I realized that this conversion had changed more than just my body. It had opened up possibilities I never thought I'd have again.

But with those possibilities came new dangers. Someone in this facility wanted to sabotage the program. And now, with my new abilities, I might be the only one who could stop them.

The question was, could I trust Cherie enough to let her help me? Or would opening myself up to her prove to be my greatest vulnerability yet?