by Cynthia Sax
Rage should admonish her. He was in charge of the operation. But she was right. They’d wait for as long as Green needed.
“He’s devastated, sir.” Her voice sounded watery.
“Are you crying again?” Last planet rotation, she’d cried because he calibrated his guns to shoot with her fingerprints. He cupped her chin, turning her face toward him. She was weeping. He brushed the tears off her cheeks. Her distress made him want to put his fist through the viewscreen.
“He loves that plant.” She hiccupped.
Loves. Rage felt as strongly for her as Green felt for Windy. Did he love his little female? He folded her into his body, unwilling to put words to emotions he wasn’t certain about.
“Green will need comforting, sir.” She stroked his skin. “Vow to me that you’ll reach out to him, try to ease his pain.”
Rage grunted. She could comfort the cyborg. He’d kill some being in Windy’s honor.
He held Joan. Six heartbeats passed and then her tears stopped as suddenly as they started, a soft smile curling her lips.
Human females were complex beings. He petted her curly hair. He didn’t understand them.
“It’s done,” Barrel, Green’s shipmate, announced. “This blasted Homeland had better be worth it.”
Rage didn’t know if it was. He’d never been there. “The unauthorized vegetation has been disposed of,” he informed Vector, his voice curt.
“The human female also has to be disposed of.”
“That will not happen.” Rage straightened, viewing the instruction as a threat to his female. “Joan and I won’t be landing on the planet. We escorted the fleet to cyborg-controlled space. Gap and Crash will be transferred to another ship. And then we’ll immediately exit the space.”
“We’re staying with you.” Crash’s eyes flashed.
“Rage, sir, it’s okay.” Joan took his hands. “This is your Homeland, your home. Deposit me on the nearest inhabited planet. I’ll be fine.”
“I won’t be fine,” he yelled, unable to lower his volume. “If you’re not welcome in the Homeland, I want no part of it.”
“Neither do I,” Intrepid joined the transmission. “I want a human female of my own.”
The others chimed in.
“We’re retrieving Windy.” Barrel’s eyes flashed. “If she’s not welcome in the Homeland, we want no part of it either.”
“Stop,” Joan shouted, surprising Rage with her big voice. “You are all entering the Homeland. Vector, tell them how great it will be, how there will be breeding and fighting and everything else they enjoy.”
Vector blinked, clearly unaccustomed to a little female telling him what to do. “There are training exercises.”
“Frag training exercises.” Rage spat. That the cyborg thought they were the same thing illustrated how long it had been since he’d been in a real fight.
The captain’s lips twisted. “Only cyborgs are allowed on the planet. We don’t fight each other.”
“You will if I inhabit your planet.” His interest in the Homeland decreased even more. “I’m a C Model cyborg as you are. We’re designed for breeding and fighting.”
The others grumbled.
Vector tilted his head, his expression calculating. “There are few C Models left and you’ve proven yourself by escaping the humans and leading this fleet. The female cyborgs would be interested in breeding with you.”
Rage met the cyborg’s gaze through the viewscreen. “Will they kneel naked at my feet, promise to serve me forever, tell me how much they love me multiple times a planet rotation?”
Vector looked doubtful.
“They will, in time.” Joan’s voice was choked. “How could they not? You’re big and strong yet can be gentle and sweet.” One of the cyborgs sniggered. “You’re everything a female could want in a male.”
“Listen to the human.” Vector nodded. “And you could train other cyborgs in combat.”
Again with the training. Rage stared at him. It wasn’t the same and, even if it was, he was no teacher. He’d lose his patience within two planet rotations and kill the youngsters.
“I know.” Joan held up her index finger. “You could help other cyborgs escape. That would require fighting.”
His little female was cunning. Rage gazed at her with open appreciation. “Rescuing them requires leaving the Homeland.” He could keep his female and indulge his need for action.
“Oh.” Her excitement faded. “But—”
“Intrepid, prepare to be boarded.” He devised a plan. “Crash and Gap, you’ll transfer to his ship.” Crash opened his mouth, protests reflecting in his flat black eyes. “You’ll gather the needed intelligence and resources from the cyborg council. We’ll wait for you on the next planet and—”
“The human female must be disposed of,” Vector repeated his earlier order. “Either she’s to be killed or imprisoned. We won’t allow her to exit controlled space. She knows too much about us.”
No being would touch his female. Rage glowered at the cyborg, one wrong word away from losing his temper.
Crash cast him a warning glance. “And if we don’t comply?”
“We’ll be forced to take action.”
They’ve raised their shields. Crash transmitted through their private line. They plan to fire on us.
Raise our shields also. It wouldn’t hold against the larger ship’s firepower but it would send the message that they were just as serious. He wasn’t allowing them to kill his female.
And he didn’t have any doubts that they’d kill her. They didn’t know her, thought she was like the humans who had tormented them.
Once she was out of his sight, he’d never see her again. She’d disappear.
“We’re with you, Rage.” Intrepid’s face appeared on a corner of the viewscreen.
The other ships have raised their shields, Crash informed him.
“It’s an A Class warship.” Rage didn’t have to say more. Intrepid was an intelligent cyborg. He knew they wouldn’t survive. It was doubtful any of their projectiles would pierce the larger ship’s shields.
“She risked her life to save us.” Intrepid lifted his chin. “I can think of no better reason to die.”
“No one is dying.” Joan squirmed, pushing at his arms. “Rage, stop this.”
He wouldn’t let her go.
“Tell your fleet to stand down,” Vector barked.
“They’re free cyborgs.” Rage shrugged. “The only orders they follow are their own.”
“You’d die for a human?”
“She’d die for us.” He accessed the ship’s weapons. “Cyborgs have as much honor as humans.”
“More,” Crash added.
“Are all of your processors malfunctioning?” Joan slipped out of his arms, turned and glared at him. “That’s an A Class warship. We’re traveling in shuttle craft.”
“Modified shuttle craft,” Crash corrected.
“Did you install bigger guns? An enhanced shield?” She waved her hands. “No? I didn’t either. We can’t outrun the warship, outmaneuver it, outgun it. One hit and we’re dead. How does getting ourselves blown up help any of us?”
Frag. She was fierce. Rage gaped at her with admiration.
Her gaze shifted back to him. “I expected this lack of logic from you, my primitive C Model cyborg, but Crash? Gap? I’m disappointed in you.”
The two cyborgs hung their heads.
“We—”
“I’ll get to you later.” Joan shut down whatever Vector planned to say. “We only have one option at the moment.”
Rage knew what that option was and he didn’t like it. “I’m not allowing them to touch you.”
“Of course not.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ll make that a stipulation of my surrender.”
“Stipulation?” Vector scowled. “There will be no stipulations.”
“There will be.” Joan matched his expression, the result more adorable than threatening. “And you’ll agree to them beca
use the alternative is killing six hundred and fifteen of your newly freed cyborg brethren. When the others hear about that, and they will because we can transmit as easily as you can, there will be fighting in your precious Homeland.”
“I’m in love.” Gap’s humanlike eyes glowed.
“I’d follow your female anywhere, Rage,” Intrepid mused.
Rage wasn’t as entertained. His little engineer was, once again, risking her life to save theirs. He’d left her side once and she’d almost died. Stipulations or not, he didn’t trust any other being with her safety.
“We’ll negotiate your stipulations on board the Freedom.” Lines were etched around Vector’s mouth. “Prepare to disembark. We’re pulling you in.”
The cyborg wasn’t waiting for permission. The ship shuddered as it was caught in the guiding beam.
Rage debated their options.
Being brought into the larger ship could work to their advantage. They’d be parked in the docking bay. If Vector betrayed them, breaking the temporary peace, the battle would then shift from warship versus shuttle craft to cyborg versus cyborg.
Face-to-face combat was where he excelled. He rolled back his shoulders, his joints cracking. “Fetch me my body armor, female.”
“Yes, sir.” She rushed out of the bridge.
“How can we help?” Intrepid asked.
“Maneuver as close to the warship as possible.” Their private transmission lines should project to the nearest ship. “I’ll keep my lines open.” What he saw and heard, they would also.
“I’ll keep my lines open,” Crash corrected. “They’ll be focused on you and on Joan. I’ll have more freedom.”
“Agreed.” His friend’s logic was sound. “Intrepid can relay the information to the ships in farther locations.”
“I will.” The cyborg dipped his head. “Good luck, males. Keep her safe.”
Rage would or he’d die trying.
Chapter Seventeen
“The way they offered to die for me, it was foolish of them.” Joan knelt at Rage’s booted feet, struggling to control her emotions. “But it meant so much to me.”
Her hormones were crazy, which led her to overeat, which, in turn, didn’t help her hormone issue. She suspected the cause was Rage’s nanocybotics. She bubbled over with them. But she didn’t want to suggest that. Her overprotective male would never touch her again.
The overeating had to stop, however, whatever the cause. She could no longer fasten her flight suit over her protruding belly. Her stretched-tight skin showed through the gap in the fabric.
That was how she’d be negotiating—with her stomach showing. Her bottom lip quivered as the ship shook. It was too late to find an alternate garment. They had landed.
Rage ran his hands over his guns, daggers, sword. His weapons check alarmed her. The other ship was much larger, would hold hundreds, perhaps thousands of cyborgs. Any battle would end in his death.
“Negotiating requires talking, not violence, sir.” Joan gazed up at her warrior. “I know you haven’t killed any being in a while, but—”
“If they try to separate us or touch you or disrespect you in any way, my non-killing streak will end.” His blue eyes glowed.
She sighed. He was looking for a fight. “You can’t protect me if you’re dead.”
“Stand.” He grabbed her wrists and lifted her to her feet. “What happens to you happens to me.” Her cyborg made no comment on her exposed skin. “Remember that when you’re negotiating.”
Joan frowned. What did that mean? “You no longer have to link yourself to me, sir.” She didn’t want him to throw away his future because he felt honor bound to her. “You’re free, could find another female, a being other cyborgs would accept and—”
“I will never be free of you.” Rage lowered his head and brushed his lips over hers. She opened to him, seeking to draw him into her mouth. He resisted her silent plea, pulling away too soon. “All the cyborgs in our fleet accept you. The others.” He shrugged his broad shoulders. “It doesn’t matter what they process. I don’t know them.”
That was the problem. Joan’s heart twisted. He didn’t know them or what he might be missing. He hadn’t set foot on his Homeland, hadn’t met a female cyborg who wanted him of her free will. When he did, he’d walk away from her.
The door opened and the ramp lowered. “I’ll exit first.” Rage lifted his biggest gun. “You’ll follow behind me. Crash and Gap will protect our rear.”
He spoke as through they were entering a battlefield, not surrendering. “Vow to me that you won’t shoot first, sir.”
“I won’t shoot first,” Rage agreed too quickly for Joan’s comfort. He stomped down the ramp. She trailed him, carrying her own gun, and blinked as they entered the brightness of the docking bay.
Heavily armed cyborgs lined a narrow pathway. Vector was as cautious as Rage.
They approached the other C Model cyborg. He didn’t affect her, didn’t invoke the instant arousal Rage did. That proved to Joan that what she felt for her male would never be duplicated.
“The council sent me to greet you because we’re the same model.” Vector broke the silence. “Logic said I should understand you.” He studied Rage. “I don’t. Even now, you risk certain death to protect a human female.” He moved his perusal to Joan. “I’ve met several of them. What’s special about this one?”
“She’s mine,” Rage stated as though that explained everything.
They looked at each other, two dominant males sizing each other up. Joan placed her left palm on Rage’s back, seeking to calm him.
“Does the fourth cyborg need medical attention?” Vector glanced toward the ship. “Doc?”
A G model cyborg, similar to Gap, clad in a white jacket, stepped forward. “I’ll attend to him.”
“We’ll sweep the space first.” Vector gestured to three of the males and they strode toward the ship.
Rage frowned. “There’s no fourth cyborg. There are only three of us.”
Vector’s lips twisted. “There’s no point in deception. We performed a life-form scan. You had four cyborgs and one human on board.”
“Are you calling me a liar?” Rage stepped forward.
Oh shit. Joan grasped one of his massive arms. “We performed quite a few modifications on the ship. Some of them might have created echoes, interfering with the accuracy of your equipment.”
Vector opened his big mouth.
“I know you’d never question the honor of a cyborg.” She tried to maintain the fragile peace.
“Fraggin’ right,” Crash muttered.
“One of the heartbeats was very faint.” Doc supported her wild theory.
The three cyborgs returned. “There are no beings inside, sir.”
“I’ll verify.” The medical cyborg hurried forward, withdrawing a handheld device from a coat pocket.
“You called for me, sir.” A female cyborg sauntered toward them, her barely there hips swaying. She was tall with high firm breasts and a waist Joan would kill for. Her skin was the lightest shade of gray, her hair long and black, her eyes brilliant blue.
She was absolutely gorgeous, fit into her flight suit, and would be welcome in their Homeland. Joan’s heart twisted. The cyborg was perfect for Rage. He had to have noticed that.
“A female,” Gap breathed.
“Where’s the rest of her?” Crash’s question lightened Joan’s darkening mood.
“Sky, this is Rage.” Vector’s expression was smug. “Rage led a fleet of six hundred and fourteen cyborgs to freedom.”
Hmmm…” The female’s eyelashes fluttered. “Brave and a C model too.” She skimmed one of her fingernails along his armor-covered chest. “I like that.”
Joan folded her fingers into fists, fighting the urge to slap her, to reinforce her claim on her big male. This was for the best. He’d fall in love with one of his own kind, build a life in his Homeland, forget about his little human female.
“You allow your female to
touch other males?” Rage didn’t sound impressed.
“Oh, warrior.” Sky exchanged an amused glance with Vector. “He’s not my male.” She stepped closer. “But you could be.” She gave him the full frontal press, flattening her breasts against his chest.
Rage stepped backward. “Touch me again and I’ll kill you.”
Joan’s heart twisted. He’d threatened to kill her when they first met, also.
“You don’t mean that.” Sky’s laughter was husky.
“I mean every word.” Rage lowered his gun, aiming it at her chest.
Sky blinked. “You want me. I can—” Her nostrils flared as she inhaled. “Fraggin’ hole. I don’t smell any arousal.” All of the softness in her beautiful face disappeared. “How dare you not be attracted to me.” She glared at him.
“I dare.” Rage drew himself up to his full height. “I belong to Joan Tull.”
“Oh.” Joan sucked back a sob, his declaration touching her heart.
“You want her?” Sky circled him, and Joan, feeling a tremor of fear, clutched her gun tighter. “She’s a human. I’m a cyborg. I was designed to stimulate you.”
“You don’t.” Rage pulled Joan behind him. “You won’t disrespect my female.”
That was one of the actions he vowed to kill over. “You can’t blame her for desiring you, sir.” Joan tried to ease her cyborg’s anger. “You’re a powerful C model cyborg, the greatest warrior I’ve ever known. Many females will envy me.”
“She’s scaring you.” His voice was gruff.
“She’s scaring me,” Gap admitted. “Females should be soft.”
Crash muttered something Joan couldn’t hear.
“Say that to my face, E model.” The female cyborg turned to confront him. “If you have the mechanics to—”
“Sky, leave us,” Vector barked.
She opened her mouth.
“Now.” His tone didn’t allow for discussion.
Sky cast a threatening look at Crash and complied, flouncing away from them. Joan watched her exit the docking bay. “You called for her, thinking she’d seduce Rage.”
Her big cyborg growled.
“It was worth an attempt.” Vector appeared sheepish. “Sky has swayed the most determined cyborg.”
