The Cyborg Recruitment Project

by Sara Rustan

  Thorgan didn’t trust him. That would have been foolish. The smuggler seemed inclined to let them pass through with only one of Thorgan’s sculptures and a vague promise of future consideration, and frankly the whole thing worried him. It shouldn’t have been quite so easy – they should have asked for more.

  He would be very careful on the next leg of the trip. It was always possible that they would hijack the ship somewhere farther away from their own base. But at this point, it seemed they had gotten away with their skins and their ship and their equipment intact, so he was counting his blessings.

  The rest of the trip back to the FIA base should be routine – unless that mysterious flash of light turned out to be a problem, and the Union had followed them. But there was nothing he could do about that except be extra careful, which he was already doing.

  So there should be plenty of time to… He glanced at Jolie’s sweet ass, climbing into the ship ahead of him. His pants suddenly felt too tight, as his cock stirred to life. So far, making up for lost time with her had been a true pleasure – and he had barely touched his long list of fantasies.

  As she settled into the co-pilot’s seat, Jolie glanced at his bulge and shook her head. “Can’t you wait until we’re safely away from here?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Of course. You probably know my controls better than I do.” He sat down and stroked his erection slowly, sensuously, circling the head, and gave her a heavy-lidded, lustful leer. “But twenty-four hours ago this was impossible, so I think you can allow me my little enjoyments, can’t you?”

  She flushed, and looked away. “As long as it doesn’t interfere with your performance –”

  He snickered.

  “You know perfectly well I didn’t mean that kind of performance.” She crossed her arms and fastened her eyes on the ship’s readout.

  “Sorry, sweetheart. You’re just so cute when you’re all riled up.” He managed to draw her attention back to him, and smiled in apology. Then he turned back to the takeoff procedures, and let his arousal subside.

  * * * * *

  Jolie wasn’t used to living with somebody else, and Thorgan was a very large and noticeable somebody else. Sure, she could poke around in the onboard computer and listen to music and play games. But that got old fast. And somehow, even when she was absorbed in a virtual reality romantic story, some part of her was aware of Thorgan just a few feet away. He must be giving off clouds of hormones or pheromones. Goddess knows she seemed to get horny at the least little thing.

  If you could call a sweaty, half-naked, exercising cyborg a little thing.

  There was only one room with open space – and “open” meant maybe fifty square feet. Thorgan was religious about working out, and when he was using the built-in exercising equipment, Jolie had to either lie on the bunk watching, or hide out in the tiny control cabin keeping an eye on boring ship status reports or using the computer.

  When she did watch him, her gaze fastened to glistening, sculpted muscles and a truly beautiful butt, he almost always ended up with a massive erection – which he then would have to “take care of” in the most convenient way. The most convenient way being the services of his contracted sex toy, of course.

  The exercise equipment came in handy for those activities, too. It was amazing what a sex-starved cyborg could think of to do with a few all-purpose rings and benches and chains – and a woman.

  Two days after leaving the base, sprawled on the floor after yet another vigorous post-exercise pounding and multiple orgasm, she rolled over on her front, and poked the mountain of cyborg lying next to her. “So, what did you do on that space station besides exercise and work?”

  He rolled his eyes. “I guess it’s time for bonding and caring and sharing, huh?”

  “Hey, if you want to be all male and non-communicative, just say so. Nobody here really wants to know you anyway.” She pressed her lips together in exasperation.

  He rolled to his side, revealing rippling abdominal muscles. “Sorry. You didn’t deserve that. I had a girlfriend once who drove me nuts by talking everything to death. She always wanted to talk about the status of our ‘relationship’ and analyzed everything.” He smiled sheepishly. “I still have the automatic reaction ‘here we go again.’ But you’re not at all like her, and I shouldn’t have said that.” He stroked her hair off her forehead. “You’re easy company; I enjoy hanging around with you.”

  She smiled, made a kiss motion with her mouth, and turned her face away. Sometimes he was such a jerk, and other times he was so sweet. Maybe it was a mistake to try to get to know him better. Getting along with someone she was stuck with – in more ways than one – for a week was one thing. Getting attached was another. And she knew it would be a mistake to get attached. Maybe if she told herself that often enough it would do some good. But she doubted it.

  She raised an eyebrow. “So, are you going to answer the question?”

  “Well, the Union Cyborg Corps treated me pretty well. I had a couple of weeks off every six months, and a weekend trip to the closest settled planet every two weeks, so I wasn’t totally isolated.” He shrugged. “Cyborg enhancements are expensive. They didn’t want to lose their investment. I followed the cyborg Olympics, and free-fall glabol, exercised, read. I played a little air guitar, and holo-sculpted.” He rushed through the last few words. “Tell me what you do on your time off, when you’re not a doctor.”

  Jolie sat up. “Holo-sculpt? You holo-sculpt? That sculpture you gave to the smuggler captain was one of yours, wasn’t it? I thought it was some major artist.”

  His lips quirked in a smile. “No, no big artist. As a bargaining chip it worked better if the smugglers didn’t know that, though.”

  “But that was a beautiful piece.” She looked over at his storage locker. “Do you have any more with you?”

  That look of bashful insecurity sat oddly on Thorgan’s craggy features. “Just a few small pieces.”

  “Show me.”

  “Well…”

  She crossed her arms and gave him a mockly stern look. “Or no more sex for you.”

  With a snort, and a sideways glance to tell her that he was letting her get away with the threat just this once, he pulled his duffle out of the locker. The fingerlocks opened at his touch, and he pulled out a box and opened it up, removed a small cylindrical object, and placed it in her hand.

  She held it up at eye level and examined it closely. “It’s absolutely beautiful. But what is it?”

  “It’s my impression of a Formian fire beast.” He touched it gently and turned it in her fingers. “See, this shape here is the head; these are the tail feathers.”

  She turned it around and around, the shapes seeming to change with the different positions. “Do you always work so small?”

  “No. But the size doesn’t seem that important when the sculpting tools are computers and I can zoom my vision in to any level. I actually picture this one as about this big…” He gestured with his hands, indicating a size about half his height. “But there’s no point in storing them larger when space is limited.”

  She handed the fire beast back to him. “I’d like to see it full size to appreciate the details. Can I see the others?”

  One by one she looked at the five other miniature sculptures and admired them all. When he finally put them all away, she abruptly said, “I’m going to take a nap.”

  She curled up on the top bunk facing the wall. She was so silly. One part of her was cheering at finding things to admire in Thorgan. Another part was saying damn, because she didn’t want to like him. It was dangerous for her peace of mind. Yet another part worried that he was too good for her, and if she did end up wanting him, she would have no chance.

  She was smart enough to be a doctor. Why couldn’t she be smart about people and relationships, too?

  * * * * *

  Jolie and Thorgan spend the rest of the week passing through two more jump points, traveling in between, and…having lots of sex. She would neve
r look at the pilot seat in the same way again. They had sex in the narrow bunk, on the floor, on the narrow table in the galley area, in both seats in the control cabin, and in the med-unit in the hold.

  She would never have been able to imagine so many creative uses for such a small space.

  Inevitably, she got to know Thorgan pretty well. Jolie told him about her family and her training and experience as a doctor, and why she joined Welther’s special project. Thorgan told her what it was like living in the Union, about being a police officer and why he decided to apply to the Union’s cyborg program.

  She thought she did a good job of keeping things light and playful, and not letting Thorgan know that her feelings were getting deeper. He seemed to be avoiding those kinds of conversations himself, which made it easy.

  They stopped twice at refueling stations and to take on better provisions than the condensed and tasteless nutritional stores that they had onboard. They didn’t linger either time, leaving as soon as possible and avoiding conversations with other people. Thorgan was still worried about being followed. He had seen another flicker of unexplained light after the jump away from the smuggling base, and was anxious to get back to the protection of the FIA.

  Jolie felt incompetent to judge whether they were in any danger or not, and just left those worries to Thorgan. He clearly knew a lot more about all of it than she did, and she was busy keeping her emotions off the rollercoaster.

  And then there was the problem that if Thorgan just looked at her in the right way, she started melting, her nipples tightening and her pussy creaming. That made it hard to stick to rational trains of thought.

  When they were only a few hours away from Monnegan, Jolie’s home planet, and the FIA base, it got hard to keep up the light and playful tone. Jolie was aware that this was the last time they would…make love on this trip; possibly it was the last time she would have sex with Thorgan. Ever. Her contracted time as his sex toy was at an end.

  After the usual explosive sex, they collapsed in the inadequate lower bunk, Thorgan’s leg braced on the floor to provide support. Jolie snuggled against him, her face tucked into his neck. She breathed deeply of his scent, storing the details to remember later. His muscular arm curved around her body; his hand absently stroked her back. The now-familiar aftermath of a mind-blowing orgasm throbbed between her thighs, and the air was redolent of sex and body fluids.

  She ought to ask him if she would see him after they landed, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. She was too afraid of the answer.

  Taking a deep breath, she pulled away from his beautiful body.

  He looked down and smiled, but she knew him well enough to recognize that there was a note of tension and constraint in that smile. “So, I guess we’d better prepare for arrival.”

  She nodded. “Yeah. There’s a lot to do.” She rolled off him and stood up. “I’ll take the first turn in the shower.”

  The shower was a tiny space, hardly big enough to hold Thorgan, and it didn’t even have real water. But unless you wanted to hang out in the hold, it was the only privacy available. Jolie leaned against the wall and allowed a few tears to escape, and then concentrated on breathing and relaxing until she was sure she wasn’t going to cry.

  She would not be needy and clinging. She would get through this with her self-respect intact. If it killed her.

  Chapter Seven

  Thorgan strode down the hallway of the FIA base, listening to the FIA employees who were going to debrief them – Jon Harder, Stara Thrushman, and Welther Graf. Jolie was trailing along behind them, not participating much in the discussion. How was she feeling about the end of their…arrangement? Women did have a tendency to get attached, in his experience. He hoped she wasn’t going to be a problem. He liked Jolie. She was fun to talk to, fun to tease, and the sex had been great. But he had six years of celibacy to make up for. He had plans.

  Jon Harder, the Director’s assistant, ushered them into a luxurious conference room, and they all settled around the table. Jolie slumped into the chair closest to the door, and let her duffle bag slide to the floor. He had never seen her look so tired, so she must not have gotten much sleep last night. He hadn’t slept that well himself, wondering what he would end up doing for the FIA, worrying about his new life on a new planet – and trying not to think about Jolie and the last week with her.

  Jon Harder opened up a tablet computer, whose screen was projected on the wall. “Computer, record. Debriefing session for the first mission of the Cyborg Recruitment Project. Present – Jon Harder, Stara Thrushman, Welther Graf, Jolie Blakney, and Thorgan D’Emry.” He gave a nod to Jolie. “First, Jolie Blakney will describe her preparations and initial contact with Thorgan D’Emry.”

  She licked her lips and described her preparations for the trip, the routine spaceflight, and initial contact with Thorgan. She finished up with, “Thorgan D’Emry accepted the offer of a contract with the Federation Intelligence Agency. The validated contract has been recorded and entered into FIA records.”

  Jon touched a few spots on the computer, and the contract was linked into the debriefing record. He nodded thoughtfully. “So, Thorgan, you accepted the contract without changes?”

  Jolie glanced quickly at Thorgan. She was probably wondering whether he would say anything about their private agreement. But they weren’t going to hear anything about that from him. He owed her that much, at least.

  He avoided looking at her, and said calmly, “Well, I considered demanding a few changes, but negotiating time was limited and I didn’t want to take the chance.”

  Jon exchanged looks with Stara. She cleared her throat. “The offer to…uh, restore your function was a convincing one, was it?”

  Thorgan nodded slowly and drawled, “Yes, I’d say it was convincing.” He put his hands together, pointed up. “But I think we can make the package even more attractive, if you’ll allow me to consult on the next mission. I have a personal interest in helping other cyborgs who were cheated as I was, and I certainly know the Union well enough to help make the mission more acceptable.” He quirked an eyebrow. “There is going to be a next mission, isn’t there?”

  “That’s partly dependent on what the Director thinks of the report, but –” Jon glanced at Stara and smiled. “-- I think that I can predict that there will be another mission.”

  Thorgan could feel a wave of relaxation flow through the room. Things were looking good for Jolie’s job – and hopefully his. Although his contract hadn’t actually specified that he’d work on this project, it was one which he felt would use his knowledge and experience well.

  Jolie and Thorgan took turns describing the rest of the mission. When Jon called an end to the debriefing session, Thorgan’s head was aching and Jolie slumped back against her seat and closed her eyes.

  The men all headed for the door, exchanging the typical small talk of new acquaintances, when Welther said, “I suppose you’re counting the minutes until you can connect with some of the local beauties.”

  Thorgan laughed, conscious that Jolie was sitting there listening. But he wasn’t going to lie or pretend just because she was there. “You’re damn right. I plan on a new woman every night.”

  Jolie swiveled her chair around to look at Thorgan. It was harder than he had expected to meet her eyes, and he couldn’t read the expression. Was that reproach on her face, or was it just his sense of guilt? At the very least, it wasn’t polite to talk about future sexual partners in front of the woman to whom he’d made love just a few hours ago. He could feel his face get hot, and then he looked away.

  Welther glanced between them curiously, and then turned to Thorgan. “Why don’t I pick you up at your temporary living quarters to take you to my favorite bar, Body Extensions?” He glanced at his chronometer. “Shall we say eight?”

  “Sure,” Thorgan said. “Sounds good to me.” He hesitated, then looked at Jolie. “I’ll be seeing you around, I’m sure.”

  “Oh, I’m sure,” Jolie sai
d, with a note of…sarcasm?

  Shit. He’d really made a mess of that. They should have talked about this earlier today, yesterday. Sometime, anyway. He hadn’t wanted to hurt Jolie, and he was pretty sure he had. They were going to be working together, so he’d have to work this out with her now, and something told him it had just gotten a lot tougher.

  * * * * *

  Jolie should have been glad to get back to her normal life and her own apartment, uncluttered with the space-consuming body of a large, very male, and sometimes irritatingly stupid cyborg. But as she sat at her kitchen table, sipping a cup of hot kaff, her apartment only seemed empty and stunningly quiet.

  She had a rather urgent bit of damage control to handle. It looked like Thorgan was going to be working with her on Welther’s project. So she had to figure out how to arrange – or re-arrange – people’s perceptions and understanding of what had happened between her and Thorgan so that she could live with it. She had to make sure that Thorgan, in particular, did not think of her as that un-sexy doctor that he had to drop when better opportunities were available. And she had to make sure that Welther and everybody else connected with the project thought about their little “arrangement” in the right way. Because she was damn sure they wouldn’t be able to keep this secret. Welther was already suspicious.

  Almost as important as that goal – or maybe more important? – was that she could forget ever having a relationship with Thorgan if he felt like he had “dropped” her. She had been on the other end of that one enough to realize that her odds of ever having a relationship with him would vanish, because he’d unconsciously set her value as a partner somewhere down with the other charity cases.

  And Jolie was honest enough with herself to realize that she did want to be with Thorgan – but only if they could meet on equal terms. She could not tolerate being someone he felt like he was lowering himself to be with.

  She took a sip of hot kaff, set the cup on the table, and pulled her computer over. Time was important in this operation. The longer perceptions had to crystallize, the harder it would be to reform them.