by Rena Marks
Blank looks all glanced his way for a moment.
“Oh, that’s right,” Arian said, turning her head from him to the cage. “I’m so sorry. My name is Arian, and I’ve escaped from Zeta. We have our own planet now, and frequently intervene with Zetan trades, stealing the slaves and setting them free. My son Orion is a mixed breed, but on our side. I have another son, Tian, who is back on the planet with more of our people. My crew,” she waved her arm around the room, “are Artificial Intelligence from the long-ago destroyed Sirian Galaxy. AI, to be short.”
“You’re not with the Zetans?” One of the Cyborgs asked. His hair was short and blond, in a tousled style. It contrasted with the deep tan of his skin.
“No, not at all. I was held captive by them most of my life. What is your name?”
“I’m Rush. This is Blade.”
“And who is Ghost?”
“The mechanic on our ship. We had a crew of three. Since Blade and I were the only two captured, I assumed there were no other survivors. That Ghost had been killed in the attack.”
“That’s how Zetans operate. Mind games. They let you think there are no survivors and then they wave one under your nose, holding you responsible for that person’s safety. Not to worry, we’ll wait until their second cruiser captures Ghost, and…”
“Arian,” Jax said. “You just stole their cargo. The Zetans are aware of us and know we are in the vicinity. It would be suicide to try to capture their third load.”
“Not necessarily,” Orion said, wonderment in his voice as he stared at the viewing screen attached to the wall. “I can’t believe I’m about to side with Arian on this one. But the Zetans have developed a new beaming laser—it would be so worth it if I could take a peek while you distract them with stealing their new slave. This laser looks like it’s capable of beaming organic objects through space.”
“No way,” Jax said, moving to the wall where Orion viewed the small screen. Orion stepped aside so Jax could peer into it.
“It’s in a testing phase,” Jax said, his voice just as awed as Orion’s. “But they’ve actually gotten it to work…seven times out of ten.”
“What happened the other three times?” Arian asked.
“You don’t want to know.”
“The point is,” Orion said, “if we can get them to use it, I can register the output waves and begin the process to mimic or hack their system. We’ll develop safeguards against them using it on us. We could even have our own beam in the future. Think about it! We could beam all of their slaves aboard our vessel from a safe distance of their planet.”
“Or they could find our planet and beam all of us aboard theirs,” Arian said.
Shala whimpered, and Serepto brought her to his side. “Shh, little one. Orion will dip into their system and find enough information to protect us before they can ever use it against us. And remember our planet is cloaked? We’ve combined our AI techniques with Orion’s to be stronger than those idiot Zetans.”
“Shala was one of the original slaves from Zeta. She’s the reason why we know so much about the mind games the Zetans play. Arian is a bit different because she was a special social experiment, and didn’t have the same mental abuse the others endured. Instead, she was given mixed children to nurture,” Orion said, then came to Arian’s side, bending to kiss his mother’s temple along her tattoo.
The Cyborgs stared at the strange interaction. Zetans were unemotional creatures, and expressive demonstration was highly unusual. It showed how different Orion was.
“How about if we get you out of there?” Arian asked.
Rush nodded, jerkily. No one missed the way Jax came to stand on Arian’s other side. Not that there was any threat from the Cyborgs. They were easily overpowered, but until trust could be established, Serepto didn’t blame Jax for protecting his mate.
Vann and Echo released the lock on the gate, and warily—as if expecting a trick—the two Cyborgs stepped out.
“Are you hungry?” Arian asked. “We’ll have to find something to cut the shackles.”
Before either man could answer, Tess’s voice sounded over the loudspeaker. “They need a drug counteraction administered. They were drugged with Halpaliplaria G73, which makes their organic-brain thought processes drowsy and weakens the physical strength on the mechanical side. When they are at full strength, they could snap their own shackles.”
“Check our databases to see if we have that.”
“Negative. Although we can make a synthetic mixture with some of what we have on board.”
“I’ll get to it,” Orion said.
“Let’s get everyone up to the main hull until Orion concocts something,” Arian said cheerfully. “He’s also our resident witch doctor.”
“Mother.” Orion rolled his eyes.
“Master Orion is a self-renowned scientist. At six-five and smoothly muscled, he is a prime catch for those of the feminine persuasion…” Tess began.
“Silence,” Orion roared. “I’m going to kill Tian.”
The Cyborgs gaped.
“Welcome to our crazy little world,” Arian said. “Probably the most normal of us is Shala over there,” she jerked her head, and then whispered loudly. “And nine-nine percent of the time, she’s surrounded by Mr. Insanity who’s draped all over her.”
Serepto’s head jerked up from where he was fawning over Shala. “I’m right here. I can hear you.”
Arian grinned. “Sorry about that.”
He grunted, as her tone held no apology in it. Jax seriously needed to get control over his woman. Serepto led Shala from the room, walking her down the hallway to the escalator steps that would take them to the main hull.
“I promise, little one,” he murmured. “I will not forget to lie low next time we have an outing.”
She smiled at him, as gentle as ever. “I think you did remarkably well. That sleazy, yellow, lily-livered bird-creature was looking at my ass.”
“He was very insulting,” Serepto agreed, shaking his head. “Exactly why he is unattached.”
“Well, that and the fact that they are parthenogenetic and don’t really need mates.” Shala lifted her lips, wanting his kiss. He lowered his head to hers, loving the way her arms snaked around his neck to hold him close. Saints, he loved her kisses. One stretched into two, and then a voice interrupted them.
“Can we please get some food into the Protected? We made an oath to love, honor, feed, and protect them,” Orion said. Someone snickered. The entire crew waited behind them.
He heard Arian explaining the term Protected to the two Cyborgs. “They were the most abused of the planet Zeta. Now, we cater to their every wish. Not that they ever wish for much, so it’s up to us to make sure they’re comfortable at all times.”
“Serepto takes it to the extreme,” Jax said drily. “We’re lucky Shala is such a good soul. Anyone else would be spoiled by now.”
“Ignore the fools,” Serepto muttered to Shala as they swept into the main hull.
Several other AI crew were at the various control panels, so they sat at the conference table. Echo headed to the food area to start the food for everyone. The dishes were handed out in record time, since they had it down to a fine science by now.
“Where were you headed when the Zeta ship captured you?” Jax asked Blade.
He hesitated before answering, which everyone caught. He then shook his head to clear it. “I’m sorry. We’re so used to being cagey, it’s a habit. We were headed home.”
“How many of you are here?”
His face was grim. “There are not a lot of us left. About fifty.”
“A lot more are captured slaves?”
He nodded. “Very valuable, since our body parts last centuries. But many have died—experiments on the operating table in live autopsies to see how we work.”
The AI accessed their collective database, blue eyes flashing around the room. Cyborgs were created in a laboratory, and the original data destroyed when they broke free by de
liberately bombing the island. Unfortunately that increased the value on their lives. Someone always wanted to recreate them. So far, no attempts had been successful.
“Their eyes flash when they’ve gone collective, back into computer mode,” Arian said to the two confused Cyborgs. “It’s been an adjustment for them. When their consciousness was inserted into bodies, they had to learn how to deal with an entire range of emotions they hadn’t had for centuries.”
“We have a few Cyborgs capable of tapping in to computers. It was the technology our creators were working on when we escaped production.”
“So you all have different abilities?” Orion asked.
Rush nodded. “We were created in stages. They always tried to one-up the latest model. But we took care of any further production by not leaving data anywhere. We blew up the entire island. There are no notes on Cyborg creation. The secret of how we were created will die with us.”
“We’ll peace-treaty with your people,” Arian said. “Any Cyborgs we come across in the future will have a safe passage back to your planet or ours, whichever is closer. We’ll have Orion set up a public message board with encrypted messages, which will be our main communication. It’s how we manage when we travel, though with the AI’s help, we have managed several more secure shields. We’re just wary because Zetans have always had the upper hand with technology.”
“We believe they have more of our people.”
“If they do, I’ve never seen them. I had free reign of the place. Unless they had already disposed of the experimented captives by that point.”
“That is possible.”
“We have news,” Serepto said, aware his voice sounded monotonous. It wasn’t something they could control. The AI always had the same tone when they broke from their collective.
“If we can collect enough of a person’s parts, and some of the DNA from each body, the original Cyborg may be recreated, much the same way we grew bodies for ourselves. It’s not guaranteed, but definitely worth giving some effort.”
Blade and Rush gasped. “Are you kidding?”
“Of course I am not.”
Shala’s tiny hand slipped into his. She’d finished eating, and needed his touch. He scooped her onto his lap.
“You can do that?” she whispered. “Thank you.”
“For what?” he asked, kissing her worried brow. He was honestly puzzled.
“For being so kind to others.”
That was Shala. Kindness was valued above all else. It was what made her special. It was what made her his. He smiled at her, wanting to squeeze her tight, but afraid to harm her tiny, fragile body.
“Let me have the coordinates of where you last were when abducted,” Orion said to Rush. “I’ll get to working on any trails left. See if they sold your ship, salvaged parts, what direction they may have headed. We don’t even know if it was Zetans who captured you. For all we know, it may have been another species who then sold you to them.”
It had been a long day in the much-needed sun for Shala. She looked weary after dinner.
“Come,” Serepto whispered. “Let me take you back to our room.”
She nodded.
They rose to slip away quietly, leaving the others discussing the Cyborg attack. He didn’t want her to hear the details. It was too much viciousness for Shala to take in, and she was a delicate creature. Besides, he could tap in to someone later for updates.
Chapter Two
“Are you tired, my love?” Serepto asked worriedly, peering down at her. It almost seemed as if he would bend down and scoop her up, the way he did a lot.
“I’m fine,” she said, slipping her hand into his. His hand was so much larger, and she loved the way it made her feel connected to his strength. It pacified him for the moment. He worried so.
“You are quiet. Have you had too much excitement today? We didn’t plan on finding the Cyborgs.”
“Mmm,” she murmured. “That was sad. Their people are almost entirely wiped out. I can’t help but think of your race.”
“We have more population than they do, and we have the ability to procreate with these new bodies.”
“But will the second generation have the capability of collective consciousness?”
He shrugged. “It is unknown, as there are none right now.”
“Cyborgs were created in a laboratory. From humans. If they could procreate, wouldn’t their children be simply that? Human? They’d have to be operated upon to be given Cyborg parts and a computer processor. Even your AI children would differ from you because they would not have the metal skeleton that makes you so strong.”
“My skeleton is part of what makes me…me. There is no one to say a mixed child would not get a blend of metal and human parts, because our metal has become organic. No, it would not be the original metal created on our planet, but it is right there mixed into my DNA. Into my genes.”
Shala sighed. “It is too complicated for me to think about.”
“Why are you suddenly thinking of children, my love?”
As usual, her hand moved to her abdomen, decorated with tiny tattooed dots that resembled a solar system. He would assume it was the Terran system, marking a slave from whence she came. “Because I have lost so many.”
“We shall find them,” he decided abruptly.
She laughed, squeezing his hand as they arrived at their quarters. “No, thank you. The mixed breeds, except for Orion and Tian, are all horrible, nasty beings. They’re not normal. The Zetans wanted emotion bred into their race so badly, but they only managed to breed the negative feelings. No, I’ve learned the best place to be as far as my children are concerned is far, far away. Lest they slit my throat to prevent any competition in rising in ranks from any future siblings I may still breed.”
“You do not have to have any other children unless you choose to do so.”
Serepto’s words felt weak to her. They both knew that there may have been too much damage to the Protected to ever have any natural childbirths. Orion and Tian offered her a full exam, but she had never accepted. Naturally, they would never push her into it. But she didn’t want to know if she was still capable of producing offspring.
Not when that had been her primary purpose for so long.
“And what of you?” she whispered to Serepto, as they entered their bedroom. She reached over to release the seams on his uniform. “Do you crave offspring?” Most males did. Of course, the only males she ever knew were those from Zeta. She had been a toddler when her own planet exploded and she’d been taken. Thankfully, by the time she reached maturity, the Zetans decided to create offspring with artificial wombs. She knew the women before her bore child after endless child until their bodies were broken and useless.
“I only crave life. I have obtained that,” he murmured, catching her hand, and holding it to cover his strong heartbeat. She could feel it beat beneath her palm, steady and sure. But she also knew why he did it. He was afraid for her to explore lower, to find him rigid and hard. Afraid she would be frightened of the act itself. In the past it would have terrified her. But this was Serepto. And it was different with him.
Natural.
She deliberately used her other hand to explore the sensitive organ that coiled rigidly in his pants.
“Shala,” he groaned. “Please…you do not know…”
“I want to see it.” Unfair of her, she knew. Serepto could deny her nothing.
One jerky nod from him, and her nervous fingers worked to drop his pants, baring that part of him. He helped her by stepping out of them.
“Will you lie on our bed?”
The blue of his eyes jumped, almost at a glow. She hoped he remembered to disconnect from the rest of the AI. But lots of times he connected to his best friend Jax, and she was sure he was asking advice. It was one of the main reasons why she didn’t move forward past some petting. She couldn’t stand the fact that they might all be aware of—possibly see through his eyes—her nakedness.
That
and the fear.
At the time of their escape, the newly created mixed breed Zetans were discovering using the slaves in other ways, exploring sexual feelings that had long been suppressed on the planet.
But Serepto wasn’t glowing now, for the first time ever, he was completely disconnected from their collective consciousness. He moved to the bed and she wondered how he would manage to lay down with an erection the size of a third leg.
She openly admired him. His body was hard and muscular all over, each muscle cut defined from the next. His skin was golden and perfect, not at all like the glowing whiteness of hers. Her gaze drifted over the dips and swells of his body. She looked for any imperfections. There were none.
No, the imperfections were with her. So much fear and terror inside her mind. Did she dare to allow herself what she wanted most? To trace those crests and valleys of his muscles with her tongue?
An odd feeling warmed her inside. Odd because it only happened around this beautiful, perfect man. She traced his thigh with the edge of her fingertip, feeling the slightest quiver in his leg.
The heat inside her liquefied. She almost felt as if it would burst from her body, and she squeezed her thighs together to keep it from happening. The act almost made it worse, triggering more of those delicious, squirmy feelings inside. Somehow, somewhere, there was a goal to reach, but she pushed the thought aside. Instead she would focus on him.
Serepto.
“You’re so beautiful,” she said.
“I’ve told you before, I’m not,” he teased, but held still as she explored.
“You’re the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen,” she said.
His breath caught as she placed a kiss on his abdomen, close to where his hardened penis jutted upward. She tried not to look at that. Not yet. No, she was too focused on the warmth of his skin, the heady spiciness as it wafted up to tease her nostrils. She traced a ridge of muscle with her tongue lightly, and a strangled gasp came from him.
“Is it okay?” she enquired. “Is it uncomfortable?”
