"You said so yourself. The chameleon may not exist. Even if you find it, what are you going to do? Destroy it? Let it die with the rest of the useless robots."
"Don't you feel the least bit guilty that what we're condoning is a form of genocide? We're not gods. The High Commander can't just kill them."
Al-Tomlyn peered over Noah's shoulder before addressing him. "You want to be left here on the moon when it gets obliterated? Keep talking like that with officers around and you'll get your wish." He patted Noah on the shoulder. "What's going on with you? When did you get so soft about the cyborgs?"
Noah shook his head.
"What? Do you have one stashed away in your living quarters or something?"
When Al-Tomlyn laughed, Noah didn't. Eventually the lack of matching reactions caused Al-Tomlyn to examine his friend closely.
Noah smiled. "No, of course not."
Al-Tomlyn summoned Noah to him with a slight twist of his head. Once Noah got by his side, he said, "Look, I don't care if you get a little mechanical pussy before all of this is over."
Noah swallowed hard with his friend's crude statement.
"Just understand that when it's time for us to go, you need to leave that all behind. But don't worry. Once you get where you're going, you'll find someone for you again."
Since discovering more of Vivian in the short time with her, Noah found that he didn't want to find someone else. He also encountered a feeling he hadn't felt in five years, the need to survive.
"They're going to bind me up so that I can get to my living quarters to pack. Are you ready to go yet?" Al-Tomlyn stared at Noah.
"Not yet. But I will be soon." He and Vivian. And now that he had something to live for, he wasn't about to see her die.
* * * *
When Vivian heard the familiar ringing before Noah's front door opened, she scurried to the door. Her heart pounded so hard, she was afraid this was what the onset of a heart attack felt like.
As soon as Noah walked through the door, she didn't allow him to say or do anything before she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him over his lips and face.
"Uh, hi," he managed to say between kisses. "Missed me?"
"We don't have a lot of time." She released him long enough to strip off his lab coat.
Noah grabbed her hands as soon as she started undoing his pants. "Are you sure you're not part cyborg? For someone who claims she was a virgin, you're awfully enthusiastic about having sex."
He walked by her to deposit his things on his desk.
"It's just that I've come to grips with the situation I have before me."
Noah kicked off his shoes and socks. Instead of just leaving the two pairs sitting in the middle of the floor as usual, he actually put his shoes in the closet and his socks in the hamper.
"I'm not going to make it off the moon, Noah. I don't have a lot of options."
Noah brought his full attention to her. Once he did, Vivian tucked a section of hair behind her ear. Some of her long hair still covered a portion of her face. But with her time dwindling and her heart pulling more for Noah, she felt it was more than enough time to start exposing herself.
"Wait a minute." He approached her.
"I can't go with the cyborgs. I couldn't take the testing, and as soon as the leaders found out that a human slipped in with the cyborgs, they're going to jail me or worse." She tried to keep a smile on her face as she listed her insurmountable odds. "I can't come forward to the authorities about what they did to me or my family for the same reason. And you won't say that I'm your wife."
Noah placed his hand on her uncovered cheek. "It's not that simple. People around here know about me and my situation. I can't get on a transfer station now with you and say, hey, everyone, here's my wife." He kissed her forehead. "But I don't want you giving up."
Vivian crumbled to the floor, sobbing so uncontrollably that she couldn't stop her body from shaking. "I'm so scared. This is so unfair. How can the government take my life like that?"
Noah got down on the floor with her and held her so tightly that Vivian knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would do whatever he could to save her…or die trying.
"I'm going to fix this. I'll figure something out. I promise."
Vivian raised her head. "And if you don't?" She wanted him to say he could make this all better but in the depths of her heart, she knew he couldn't.
"I will. I'll figure out something."
His word was Vivian's only bit of comfort. Noah held her in his arms, rocking her on the floor and stroking her hair until she got that familiar gentle stirring in her belly. She brought her face up so that her gaze could connect with his.
Without a word, Noah put his hand to the back of her head and pulled her into him. He brushed his lips over hers. The feeling prompted her to lick his bottom lip. The connection made him moan. Noah kissed her harder and introduced his tongue into her mouth, sliding it in slowly and touching it against her tongue.
Vivian moaned as she removed her shirt. This time when she reached for his pants to undo them, he didn't stop her.
Noah broke from the kiss long enough to get to his feet. He stepped out of his pants and stripped off his shirt. He held his hand out to her to take her to bed, but Vivian wasn't interested in that, not the bed.
"We've done it there." She rolled back and wriggled out of her pants before crawling over to the couch. "I told you. If these are my final days, I want new experiences."
She climbed onto the couch and braced her hands on the arm and got up on her knees. She peered over her shoulder to summon Noah to her. Her look was enough for him to get behind her.
With one hand on her hip, he used the other to drag the tip of his hard cock up and down between her pussy lips. When she pushed herself back against him, he stopped her by holding onto her waist harder.
"Please." It was all she needed to say before Noah thrust himself inside of her.
He let out a long growl that shook her body. Vivian clawed the arm of the couch as he moved in and out of her in a smooth motion.
This feeling, this moment, this man, Vivian didn't want to lose any of it. Her body writhed in concert with his movements. It was hard for her to believe that they could move so well together so soon. Whether he wanted to believe it, they were meant to be together.
Noah reached in between her legs and rubbed the pads of his fingers against her clit. The feeling ignited an explosion in her head like a star at the end of its life.
"Oh, yes! I need this!" Vivian hooked her feet around his legs. "I need you."
"I need you, too. So good." Noah sped up his thrusting.
Vivian's stomach twitched in uncontrollable spasms and she felt her pussy tighten around Noah's cock. From the short time she'd been with him, she was already figuring out her body, what it needed, what it desired. She needed Noah.
When her burning need overtook her senses, she released a scream that didn't come close to the intensity of the orgasm she experienced. It wasn't long after that Noah followed suit, bathing her insides with his molten hot cum.
Noah bent down, pressing his chest to her back, and kissed her cheek. "Now this is a nice way to welcome me home." He chuckled.
Vivian smiled but, she wanted to tell him that she wanted this type of relationship all of the time. Since that would not be the case, she knew she couldn't leave it up to Noah to save her. She had to fight for her own destiny.
"I want this, too, always." She brought her hand back to keep his head next to hers. "I love you."
Vivian didn't know she was going to say that, but her words came from her heart. Her feeling went beyond Noah saving her life or giving her mind-blowing sex. He listened to her. And he was doing something no one else had done since her father. Noah was fighting for her survival. What wasn't to love about that?
After her statement, Noah remained quiet for a while. She didn't expect him to echo the sentiment, although she would have loved it at that moment. But she didn't think he would have been
this quiet.
Noah kissed the side of her face again. "I'm starving. I'm going to get cleaned up and eat something." He backed away from her and headed to the bathroom.
With what Noah had gone through with his wife, Vivian understood why he remained tightlipped about his feelings to her. With time running out, she didn't want to leave anything left unsaid. Before their time was up, she hoped Noah would eventually do the same thing.
Chapter Eleven
Noah glanced back at the bed from his desk as Vivian slept soundly. He smiled, seeing her hair covering only half of her face. She was starting to trust him. And, from her surprising declaration earlier that evening, she also loved him.
As much as he wanted to parrot the weighty words, he couldn't. It took him years to trust another woman enough to be intimate with her. He wasn't ready to declare love, not just yet.
Noah returned his attention to his computer screen. He popped in a memory stick filled with volumes and volumes of information about Dr. Urlean's creations to see if there was any truth to the chameleon tales.
What Noah found was what he knew all along. Dr. Urlean was a sick bastard. But then again, he knew that from the stories of how horribly he treated Sonjie, a good friend of his.
Noah blinked. He'd been so much in a fog lately that he forgot the most valuable resource regarding Lars Urlean. After checking the time, he decided that it wasn't too late to connect with an old friend.
Noah turned down the volume when the phone rang a couple of times. When the screen populated Sonjie's face, Noah couldn't help but smile.
"You are awake." Noah kept his voice down.
"Just barely. Times like these, I don't get much sleep." Sonjie pushed her hair off of her shoulder just as a naked man walked behind her.
Noah cleared his throat. The attention-grabbing sound made Sonjie look behind her. When she faced the camera again, Noah saw how red her face had become.
"Sorry, I answered my home communicator." Sonjie scratched the back of her head.
"I guess I did catch you at a bad time."
"No, it's okay." At Sonjie's statement, a second naked man walked by her.
This time Noah couldn't help but laugh.
Sonjie closed her eyes before looking behind her again. Noah thought he heard her telling the men to make themselves scarce for a moment, but he wasn't sure. When she turned to the camera again, her face was even redder than before.
"Good thing we're friends." Sonjie laughed.
"We are friends, which is why I'm calling you. I need to know about Lars."
The smile melted from Sonjie's face. "I handed over every one of his journals and reports. You should be able to get the information you need from them. I can't offer you anything else."
Noah knew the tough time Sonjie had with Lars. He just didn't realize how hurt she was and her need to keep away from all things Lars.
"I know. I've read most of his reports. What I need to know is something he may not have reported. Have you heard about the chameleon cyborg?" Noah watched her reaction.
From her unwavering expression and a simple shake of her head, he got his answer.
"I've heard the stories like you have. Lars made his sexbots after I left him. I can't tell you for sure if the stories of him creating this ultimate sexbot that can destroy civilizations and planets are true, but knowing him, I wouldn't doubt it."
"You always seemed to be a step ahead of Lars. You created that trigger in E-V-E to stop the Cerillion robot from attacking. And you were able to override her systems when he shut her down." Noah had been impressed with Sonjie's work. It was no wonder the High Commander gave her great responsibilities.
"Yes, I did. But I created those enhancements when I was with Lars. I don't know how to counteract the creations he made after we split."
Noah's chest deflated. He wanted better news than that.
"Here's what I can tell you. Lars made lots of friends everywhere. Doctors, scientists, guards, civilians. Where there's smoke, there's fire. If there's a rumor going around about this chameleon, then take it seriously that one exists."
"Okay, but where would I even start?" Noah scratched his head.
"Scientists. Guards. Just listen around. More than likely the chameleon will be a woman. That was Lars's style. And if he was in cahoots with anyone, it'll be a man with a modicum of authority. If you do too much research, you're going to arouse suspicion and that'll just blow your cover. But why are you worried about the chameleon now? Shouldn't you be packing? Where are you going?" Sonjie asked.
"Earth. I just heard today."
"Congratulations." Sonjie peered up like she was looking over Noah's shoulder. "Looks like we've wakened someone."
Noah turned in time to see Vivian padding to the bathroom.
"I have to go anyway. Tell Mona that she looks good for a dead woman. I'm glad those rumors weren't true."
Noah opened his mouth to refute her assumption but Sonjie disconnected the transmission. Knowing that Vivian looked so much like his wife that she fooled Sonjie was good to know, but her looks wouldn't be enough to save her.
Vivian reemerged from the bathroom and sauntered to Noah. "Working?" She sat on his lap.
"Always. I guess I can tell you now. We think Dr. Lars Urlean created some sort of super cyborg, one that can destroy all of the humans and whole planets if provoked."
"You think?"
"That's the tricky part. The story is all urban legend. None of us really know if it's true or not. If it is true, we're going to have a hell of a time on our hands. We won't know how to protect ourselves against it."
Vivian pointed to the hover screen. "Did you find anything?"
"Unfortunately, no. I even contacted one of his former lovers and came up empty." Noah caught Vivian yawning as he spoke. "Did I wake you?" Noah wrapped his arms around her waist.
She nodded. "Want to help me get back to sleep?"
Noah kissed her then scooped her up in his arms. Although he still had some more research to do, it would have to continue outside of his living quarters. Right now he had a beautiful woman in his home and he had to attend to her.
* * * *
Vivian stretched her arms over her head as she stirred awake. When she opened her eyes, she saw a man standing at the end of her bed who didn't look familiar to her. She rubbed her eyes and stared at the mysterious stranger.
The man with short hair and a clean-shaven face smiled as he watched her in bed. Vivian screamed and scurried as far away from him as possible. If this man was a Cerillion or Starkeen soldier, Vivian would have failed the test.
The man held up his hands, "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa, sweetie. Don't scream. It's me."
The voice sounded familiar. Vivian kept her gaze on him, studying his face until she could figure out who this man was and how he got into Noah's living quarters. The stranger's blue eyes looked so familiar, almost like Noah's except this man's eyes radiated warmth. His strong jaw line exuded authority. And his lips grabbed her attention for the right reasons but at the wrong time.
"Who are you?" she finally asked.
"It's me. Noah."
Vivian blinked. The more she stared at him, the more she realized he wasn't lying. With all of his hair gone, no more beard, no more shaggy mop of hair on his head, he looked so attractive, so strong, so different than before.
She crawled over the bed to him. Once in front of him, she sat up on her knees and held his face in her hands. She allowed her hands to capture new sense memories of his face, feeling how smooth his skin now was and the sharp angle of his jaw and chin. She even discovered that he had a cleft in his chin.
"It is you." She rubbed her thumbs over his cheeks. "Why?"
"I got to thinking last night about what you said about time being so short and how we should make the most of it. After I packed some of my things this morning, I felt it was time to let go of the old me. The man who was too depressed to live is gone. Who you see before you is a man who wants to change and make a d
ifference. To do that, I'm going to start with this." Noah held up a medicine stick. "Remember when you had asked me if I was on medication?"
Vivian nodded, afraid of what she would hear next.
"You were right. I was taking drugs, illegal drugs. After my wife died, I found it hard to sleep, to move on, to cope. So I created something in the lab I called Kicker. It helps me sleep, takes the edge off."
Vivian dropped her gaze. She didn't know what was worse: the fact that Noah was taking the drug or the fact that he had lied to her.
As though reading her mind, he said, "I'm sorry I lied to you. I didn't really know you to trust you with this secret."
"And now?"
Noah placed his hand on her chin and brought her head up so that he could look in her eyes. "Now I know I have nothing to fear with you. And today I'm going to figure out a way to get you home." He kissed her. "I'm being reassigned to Earth. You're going with me."
"How?" She followed him to the door.
"That's what I'm going to figure out today. Just trust me."
She nodded. "I do."
Noah kissed her again for a longer period this time. "I'll see you tonight."
Once Noah was gone, Vivian sprang into action. She had to change and get going if she was going to keep herself alive. Her first step was to see if she could use Mona's identifications.
* * * *
After everything Noah had read from Lars Urlean, and all of the people he talked to about the man, he felt like he was no closer to finding out if the chameleon story was true or a hoax. Standing in the resource library in the lab, he decided to assume that the story was true.
Standing in between the aisles, he heard the door whooshing open. A few footfalls followed. It wasn't unusual. Guards and assistants were busy packing up important documents like these to ship off of the moon. What did surprise him was the conversation.
"What do you mean she's gone?"
Although Noah couldn't see through the digital wall that blocked his view, he recognized the voice to be Al-Tomlyn. His voice sounded stronger than the man should have been considering his injuries.
"The particular cyborg you're talking about is nowhere in any of the cells." The other person's voice sounded familiar, too, but Noah wasn't going to chance moving to figure out who it was.
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