by Kit Tunstall
He inclined his head sharply, waiting with his arms crossed as Penny sniffed the area before marking her territory. When she’d finished, he arched a brow. “Has she completed her task?”
The formal way he worded the question gave her the urge to giggle, but she suppressed it. Instead, Carrie nodded. “Yes, she’s finished.
“Then we’ll return to quarters.” He waited for her to precede him, and at the door, he showed her how to open it by putting her palm against the glass. He had to speak into a microphone above the biometric panel, and she realized he was authorizing her to have entry and exit privileges from the door.
Once they were back inside, he closed the door behind him with his palm on the panel before turning to her. “You aren’t a prisoner, but I would advise you not to take off without an escort. You might find the humans, or you might find the synthetics. Perhaps they’ll recognize you as human and take you to the humans, but they might just as easily identify you as the enemy if they realize you’ve been among the cyborgs.”
She nodded. “I understand.” The idea of stumbling around in the barren wasteland around them didn’t thrill her anyway. She didn’t feel entirely safe in the cyborgs’ base, mainly due to the attitude of the few cyborgs like MX, who hadn’t bothered to hide their aggressive response to her presence, but she was still safer inside than she was outside. She was certain of that. Or maybe she was just too afraid to find out for sure. Either way, she had no intention of venturing outside alone, other than to take Penny for brief potty breaks.
He nodded, apparently satisfied with her response, and left through the other door without speaking to her again.
She inferred from the way he left her that this room was for her use, so she spent a few moments exploring it. There was a sliding partition that led to a second room, which revealed what she assumed was a bathroom. It had the basic appearance of such, though the shower was more like a long, skinny tube. She would have liked to get clean, but she wasn’t certain how to work any of the mechanisms.
Figuring out the toilet was a challenge itself, but she finally succeeded in waving her hand over the right spot to make it flush. She put her hand under what she assumed was the faucet and immediately withdrew with a shriek of surprise as orange liquid flooded over her hands. She brought one tentatively to her nose and sniffed, finding it had no smell at all. As she watched, the liquid drained off her hands, and what didn’t quickly absorbed into her skin, leaving them feeling smooth. She hoped it was a safe substance for humans, whatever it was.
She spent the next hour pacing, wondering what she was supposed to do with herself. There was nothing in the quarters that she could identify as reading material or a television, which didn’t surprise her. She doubted there were such things as television or movies any longer with the world the way it was. Maybe there was no call for books either, which saddened her.
Finally, exhaustion caught up with her, and she decided to slip into bed. All of the things Rote had packed for her and Penny were still in the cell. She’d have to try to retrieve them tomorrow, or find someone who would do so for her, but she was too tired to bother tonight. Instead, she simply stripped down to her bra and panties before sliding under the covers. The bed was surprisingly comfortable, as was the pillow, and she was usually picky about her pillows. Either that, or she was just too tired to care as she surrendered to sleep.
At some point, she started dreaming, and in her dream, DVS was in bed with her, his arms around her. She spooned with him, snuggling closer and drawing warmth from his skin and his presence. The dream left her feeling safe, and she slipped into an even deeper sleep.
Chapter Four
She woke in a cocoon of warmth, and only because Penny had nudged her with a cold nose. She muttered to the dog, “Give me a minute.”
As she started to wake up and stretch, she abruptly realized the cocoon of warmth wasn’t from the covers. The heat came from a set of sturdy arms attached to a solid male body curved behind her. She let out a startled shriek and tried to pull away, though the arms only tightened around her.
She thrashed until she managed to turn enough to see the identity of who held her, and she wasn’t certain whether to be relieved or annoyed when she saw DVS. “What are you doing in my bed?” She shouted the question before she could think better of doing so.
His eyes snapped open, and he seemed instantly alert. He also appeared unfazed by her panic. “Technically, this is my bed.”
Her mouth gaped open. “These are your quarters? Why am I here?” And why was she screeching like a banshee? She made a conscious effort to modulate her tone. “I’m confused.”
“The dog needs access to outside. There are no free quarters with outside access, so you’ll share mine.”
She frowned. “I could share Raven’s. I doubt she would mind.”
He scowled. “You’ll share mine, and that’s the end of the discussion.”
She glared at him as she wrenched away from his arms, which had loosened around her. “For someone who was born four hundred years in the future, you’re surprisingly Neanderthal-like.”
He was clearly processing that for a moment. “Primitive ancestor of humans. I comprehend the cultural connotations, and I understand the insult.” He shrugged. “Not particularly insulting to me. I’m in charge, and you must learn to follow orders like everyone else.”
She glared at him. “I’m not under your command, General.”
“Yes, you are. Consider yourself drafted.” His lips twitched as he said the words.
She rolled out of bed and turned her back on him deliberately as she quickly dressed when she realized she was still in her bra and panties. “You’re the most infuriating, irritating man I’ve ever met, and that spans the last five hundred years.”
He chuckled at that. “I have duties to which I must attend, as does Raven. When she’s finished her morning duties, I’ll ask her to come keep you company and show you around.”
“Thank you,” she said grudgingly. She didn’t look at him again as she took Penny to the exit, opening the door and stepping outside. For a moment, she was back in her old home, and she started to breathe in a breath of fresh morning air before dust stinging her eyes reminded her of reality.
Instead, she breathed shallowly as she followed Penny up the incline. The dog was quick with her business and seemed as eager to get back inside as Carrie. She’d have to take her for a longer walk later today, to ensure the dog got exercise, but she was happy to return to the base for the moment.
When she reentered the room, there was no sign of DVS, so she went to the bathroom. On her way, she remembered she had wanted to know how to work the shower, and that was the first thought that lodged in her brain when she slid open the partition and discovered the shower tube was already occupied.
His back was toward her, and that strange orange liquid that had come out of the sink faucet rained down over his body, but couldn’t completely obscure his muscular build or taut buttocks. She wasn’t certain whether to be relieved or irritated that he wasn’t facing her so she could get a full view of everything he had to offer.
“Did you need something, Carrie?” The amusement in his tone was evident in his expression when he turned to face her.
She blinked and stumbled back, face flushing. She forced herself to keep her eyes well above his waistline, though she couldn’t quite bring herself to meet his gaze. “I’m sorry,” she said in a flustered voice. “I didn’t realize there was anyone in here. The shower doesn’t make a sound like mine would. How does it work?”
She was afraid she was babbling, but he seemed completely unbothered by the fact that she was standing in the bathroom as he cleansed himself while completely nude. Of course he was nude. What was the point of taking a shower, even in strange orange goo, if you wore your clothes?
“Come closer, and I’ll show you.” There was a hint of challenge in his tone.
She swallowed the lump in her throat, squared her shoulders, and en
tered the bathroom. There was no steam, since it wasn’t running on hot water. She stood near the tube, keeping her gaze focused on his hand as he waved in front of a panel. A second later, the orange liquid stopped falling from the faucet discreetly inserted into the ceiling. Within seconds, the rest had dripped down from him and was drying into his skin. He opened the glass door, which was completely transparent and did nothing to hide his naked state, but had been at least a psychological barrier for her.
With a bleat of what she hoped sounded like outrage, but was really shock mingled with an excitement she didn’t like, she turned and fled from the bathroom before she could see all of his body.
Liar, whispered a voice in the back of her mind. She had gotten an eyeful as she had turned. She had seen everything, albeit briefly, and it was enough to leave her heart racing and her face flushed with more arousal than embarrassment.
When he emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, he wore black fitted pants and a matching vest. She kept her eyes averted from him as he crossed the room, not speaking even when he parted with a knowing, “I’ll see you later, Carrie.”
As he departed, she wondered what he was implying. Was he referring to the fact that he would see her since they shared a room, or did he mean he would see her in a more intimate fashion, as she had just observed him? She wasn’t certain, and even worse, she didn’t know which meaning she wanted him to be transmitting to her. The cyborg general left her flustered and confused, with a sharp edge of horny as well, darn it. Just what had Freydon Rote gotten her into?
***
What had Rote been thinking when he brought Carrie to him? DVS turned over the question in his mind as he made his way to the command room, barely resisting the urge to snicker as he recalled the encounter in the bathroom. She had tried so hard to maintain an aloof, unaffected exterior, but he’d seen how rattled she was, both by his nudity, and his casual acceptance of her presence while he was in the shower. He hated to admit that it would probably be fun to tease a reaction from her. It was something he could get used to doing, which should have alarmed him more than it did.
Was he really considering the idea of taking an interest in the human? Had he already discarded his unwavering certainty that Rote had been wrong when he had identified Carrie as his mate? He had no answer, and he had to shove aside the thoughts when he entered the command room. He couldn’t afford to be distracted, or JSN would certainly seize on the opportunity to tease him unmercifully.
He had a feeling MX would ride his ass about the whole thing too, though he was going to quickly shut that down if the younger cyborg tried. He was still the general, and while he would tolerate a certain amount of dissent in opinion, the final decisions rested with him.
***
In less than an hour, Penny was pacing in front of the door again and making it clear she needed another break. Carrie walked over to let her out, a little surprised at the dog’s clearly urgent need. As she watched, Penny scampered up the hill—though scampered wasn’t quite the right word. There was a definite drag in her step compared to her usual vivacity.
After a moment, Carrie chuckled. “You’ve been getting too many treats, sweetie.” Penny had clearly put on some weight, and she hadn’t noticed until now. Well, the dog was likely to get extra exercise going up and down this incline every time she needed to potty. For that matter, Carrie was going to get some herself.
Just as Penny finished her business, two cyborgs crested the hill from the other side. She didn’t recognize them from dinner the previous evening, but there had been so many cyborgs in the room that she hadn’t had a chance to commit many of the faces to memory, or associate a designation with most of them.
She tried a tentative smile as they got closer, but their scowls didn’t lighten. A faint stirring of fear filled her, and she called Penny to her, feeling the urge to return to the safety of DVS’s quarters. Before she could, the two cyborgs stepped in front and behind her, keeping her from moving. Penny was pressed against her leg, and the dog started growling. Carrie reached down to stroke her head, trying to reassure her fur baby that everything was all right. She wished she could believe that herself.
They just stared at her for a long moment, arms crossed over their chest as they seemed to appraise her, their scorn clearly visible. When she tried to step around the one blocking her path back to the entrance to the general’s quarters, the one in front of her stepped deliberately in her way. He matched her steps when she took a step the other way as well.
She glared up at him. “Move out of my way and let me pass.” She tried to sound fierce, but she was afraid the slight tremor in her voice gave away her fear.
“We were trying to figure out what the general might want with a human female.”
She shrugged, not bothering to answer.
“We understand you were supposedly thrust upon him, but he didn’t have to bring you back to our secret base.” That came from the one behind her.
She didn’t bother to look at him as she stared off to the side. She would have liked to look over the shoulder of the cyborg in front of her, but he was too tall for that. “I wasn’t given any choice in the matter either.”
“But you’d betray us the first chance you got,” said the one in front of her.
Carrie rolled her eyes. “To whom would I betray you? I don’t even know where any other humans are around here. I have no stake in this fight.”
“That’s a lie,” said the cyborg behind her. “You’re a human, and you would side with them.”
“The only wise thing to do is to get rid of you before you can betray our location. If the general won’t do it, we have to.” The one in front of her took a menacing step forward as he said the words.
She swallowed the lump in her throat, looking for a way out as the cyborg behind her crowded her closer to the one in front of her. “I’m not going to tell anyone anything. I don’t even know where I am. I don’t know where anything is, and I doubt any of the landscape is the same as it was four hundred years ago.”
The cyborg in front of her made a scoffing sound. “Four hundred years? The general might fall for that, but we don’t believe it. We’re certain you’re a spy, and your peach alien buddy is no more than a sophisticated synthetic. We’re going to do what’s best for everyone.”
She braced herself as he lifted a hand, uncertain if he was going to grab her, strike her, or do something else. She let out a small shriek when nothing happened, other than the cyborg recoiling as he cursed, cradling his hand.
It took her a moment to realize someone had injured him in some fashion. She turned her head, expecting it to be the one behind her, though completely confused why he would betray his comrade. It was even more surprising to see MX409 standing off to the side, holding a sleek silver weapon.
“Why did you do that, MX409?” asked the cyborg in front of her as he lifted his hand, staring in disbelief at the hole centered in the palm. “That will take hours to heal.”
“That’s too bad,” said MX with a marked lack of sympathy. “Consider it the price you pay so that I don’t report this incident to the general. He has given clear instructions that the human is to be protected, and you violated orders. If it were something important, I would report you. As it stands now, if you walk away from her, this stays between us.”
“She’ll tell the general,” said the one behind her as he jabbed her sharply between the shoulder blades with something pointed. Was it a weapon like MX’s, or just his finger?
She gritted her teeth as pain arced up and down her spine, refusing to look at him or ask him to stop. She certainly wasn’t going to promise not to tell DVS what had happened. She owed nothing to the two who had attacked her. Even though it hadn’t progressed beyond verbal and the one sharp jab, so far, it was clear what their intent had been. They had plainly and bluntly told her what they were going to do to her to protect their base’s location.
“Again, that’s not my problem,” said MX coolly. “It w
ill become my problem if you don’t walk away now.”
“There’re two of us,” said the one in front of her. He flexed his injured hand as he spoke, and his eyes flashed with silver for a moment.
“That might be, but you both know I’m a far better shot than you are. That’s why I’m the general’s third in command despite the fact I’m one of the youngest cyborgs. Do you want to go up against me?”
“I can’t believe you’d betray us for a human,” said the one behind her.
“I’m not. I couldn’t care less about the human. If it were up to me, I’d let you do what you wanted. Orders stand, and unlike humans, I know how to follow them and be honorable. Have you forgotten how to do that?”
Carrie was surprised by the way the one in front of her seemed humbled all of a sudden. His shoulders slumped forward, and he bent his head slightly. “You’re right, MX409. We will accept full disciplinary measures when the human reports this.”
“We were only doing it to protect everyone,” said the one behind her.
“But we were doing it dishonorably,” said the one in front of her. He shook his head before looking at MX. “He’s right. Let’s go, CCL.”
“Don’t use my designation. She doesn’t know who we are yet.”
The one in front of her just shrugged and turned away. Carrie held her breath as she waited to see if the one behind her would back up. After what seemed like forever, he finally took a step back and then another, and then he joined his partner.
She watched them walk away as she backed toward the entrance to DVS’s quarters. Penny was at her side, still growling low in her throat, though the growls were fading as the other two moved away. The dog didn’t completely relax when it was just her and MX, but she was clearly less afraid. Taking her cue from the dog, she nodded at MX. “Thank you.”
He put away his weapon before giving her an impassive stare. “I didn’t do it for you, human.” The word was full of loathing. “As I told them, I was following orders.”
