Her Cyborg Warriors

by Grace Goodwin

  I’d refused to back down. In that one way I was very much my father’s daughter. What the whaling ships were doing was wrong. The animals they were harming, defenseless. The ocean needed to remain in balance. Even before I got my degree, I’d fought the water itself in surfing competitions, the waves my ultimate competitor. I respected the ocean and everything living in it. Others didn’t. Others were destroying our planet, and I was the one in jail for crimes against humanity? What a joke.

  Yes, I’d been called every name in the book from tree hugger to hippie to freak. I wasn’t any of those things. The corporations dumping chemicals and trash into the ocean, the illegal fishing and whaling operations had done their best to turn my love of the ocean and everything in it into something shameful.

  “Regardless of the crime, she must follow protocol, Umiko. My apologies.” Warden Egara interjected on the other warden’s behalf, as if apologizing was going to make this all right somehow. Again, why was she using my proper name? I wasn’t sure if she was purposely being obtuse or just so uptight she didn’t know how to talk to people. Judging by the tight bun on her head and the severe expression, I was betting on the latter.

  Umiko. Child of the sea.

  I sighed. “Mikki.”

  “All right, Ms. Tanaka,” Warden Egara agreed but still didn’t use my nickname. Cue the eye roll. This woman needed to get a mate of her own and have some hot, freaky, sweaty sex. Speaking of…

  “You said I’ve been matched?” I asked.

  Warden Bisset nodded with enthusiasm. “You’ve been matched to a warrior on The Colony. A male from Prillon Prime. It explains your dream and your sexual preference for two males.”

  My mouth fell open, and I could feel my cheeks heat. I assumed they knew about the test since she’d been observing, but I thought maybe they were just staring at me lying in the chair. They’d seen me having an orgasm at the end, but having her say it aloud only proved everything I’d done in the dream, everything I thought I’d hate, had been witnessed. “How do you know there were two of them? Could you see the dream?” Because that felt like a massive invasion of privacy.

  “No. Of course not.” Was the lovely Miss Yvonne embarrassed now? Good. “It’s simply that to be matched to a warrior from Prillon Prime, you would need to show a desire and a psychological preference for having two mates to protect and care for you.”

  Okay. This was hard enough. “So, Prillon Prime? That’s where I’m going?”

  “Brides are matched to a planet first. Then to a specific male. Yours is on The Colony.”

  “I thought you said two.”

  She folded her hands in front of her on the table. “You are matched to one, but the Prillon custom of taking a second means you will have two mates. One matched to you, one chosen by your match. Does that make sense?”

  So, I was getting one match and his BFF. I could deal with that. I nodded.

  She swiped her finger over the tablet. “As I said, your Prillon warrior is living on The Colony. That is where you will transport as soon as the testing is complete.”

  My eyes widened. “My testing isn’t complete? Do I have to do that dream thing again?”

  “No. I have a few standard questions to ask, and then we will send you on your way.” Warden Bisset looked to Warden Egara for approval, and the other woman nodded.

  “Yes. Perfect. Proceed.”

  “This place, The Colony? What’s it like?” I wondered.

  Warden Bisset glanced at her tablet and began to read. “The Colony is made of eight sector bases ranging in population from several hundred to several thousand. Residents of each base elect their own governor. The governor of your base, Base 3, is Governor Maxim Rone, a Prillon warrior. At this time Base 3 has seven hundred eighty-three Prillon warriors, twenty-seven Atlans, and three hundred and four fighters from the various other Coalition planets.”

  No. That wasn’t what I meant. “Please, stop. I meant, what is the planet like? Actually, not the planet. If I’m going to Base 3, is it like Earth?”

  Warden Bisset tilted her head and flipped her fingers over some images, turning the screen to face me. What I saw looked like Utah, or worse, Arizona. Red. Dry. Nothing but desert and rocks. Zero water.

  “Obviously I have not been there, so my geography for that planet is minimal. According to this report, that area is arid. Barren. Desertlike. Rocky. The atmosphere will not sustain human life for long, so you will be required to remain within the base structure unless you wear protective gear.”

  Was this for real? “Any oceans on the planet? Anywhere?”

  “None according to this report.”

  I was going to a place with no ocean, where I couldn’t even go outside without wearing a special space suit? “God is punishing me twice,” I mumbled to myself. It was one thing to be trapped in a seven-by-ten-foot concrete cell for the next ten years, unable to touch water more than from a sink or shower, but to go to a planet where there was none? No chance to surf or swim, to see fish again?

  “Can I change my mind?” Ten years wasn’t that long? Right?

  But then what? I’d get out, but I’d be a convicted felon. I would be so out of touch with the industry I wouldn’t be able to get another job, despite the fact that I’d worked my ass off to get my master’s in environmental science at one of the top programs in the world. I had years of expertise and experience running impact studies, applying for grants. All of it would be for nothing. I’d be an ex-con. Nothing more.

  I’d be ten years older and still alone. Always alone.

  “For the record, state your name.” Warden Bisset hadn’t answered my question.

  The memories of the dream rushed over me. The gentle touches from my mates. The feeling of contentment and belonging. Of home. The orgasm. The blinding pleasure.

  I had to go. I’d figure things out after I got there. They were offering me a happily ever after with two alien warriors who would respect and adore me. Right? Who would make love to me like I was their dream woman. Who would never cheat on me or leave me. I’d be a damn fool to turn that down.

  “Mikki Tanaka.” It was starting to sink in that this was real. That I was choosing space over Earth. Choosing a barren, desertlike planet over a jail term. I didn’t think I could make it ten years without freedom. Would I have it on The Colony with two bossy Prillons?

  “Do you have any biological offspring or children for which you are legally responsible?”

  “What?” My mind was adrift, thinking about those two aliens and what they’d done to me—her. “No. I don’t have kids.”

  “Are you currently married?”

  “No.”

  “I am required to inform you, Miss Tanaka, that you have thirty days to accept or reject the mate chosen for you by our matching protocols. Remember, there is no returning to Earth. Once you accept the match, you will relinquish your citizenship to Earth and become a citizen of Prillon Prime, subject to their laws and regulations. If you are not satisfied with the match, you may request a new primary mate within thirty days. You may continue this process until you find a mate who is acceptable.”

  She swiped the tablet a few more times.

  “Your prison sentence is reduced to time served in exchange for your new bride status. As of this moment, you are no longer a citizen of Earth but of Prillon Prime. Do you understand everything I’ve said?”

  “I do,” I replied, my voice lacking all the usual intensity.

  Holy shit, this was happening. I was going to space. Leaving everything I knew behind. No more ocean. No more fish, whales, waves. No more surfing.

  The chair slid backward into an opening in the wall I hadn’t even noticed before. Soft blue light engulfed me.

  The older warden, Warden Egara, who had been watching and nodding in approval as though Warden Bisset was doing everything right, moved out of the way as the younger woman came to stand beside the opening. “Please remain still for any preparation or body modifications that might be required prio
r to transfer.”

  “What?” I began to fight the restraints.

  “Ms. Tanaka, please do not resist. You will only hurt yourself.”

  “Resist what? What body modifications? Aren’t two mates enough? Two bossy mates?”

  “Your testing pulled your deepest desires and wants from your subconscious.”

  “Those weren’t my deepest desires!”

  Warden Bisset looked over her shoulder with a helpless smile, and Warden Egara came forward and placed a hand on my forearm, the action oddly calming.

  “Weren’t they?” she asked. She gave me a soft smile. “Sometimes it is extremely difficult for women as strong as you are to find a mate dominant enough to handle your… umm… needs. Two Prillon warriors as mates will be perfect for you.” She gave a little laugh and looked down at her tablet. “Well, ninety-eight percent perfect.”

  A large needle came out of the wall on a long, metallic arm, and I tried to avoid it until Warden Egara squeezed her hand hard enough that I looked up at her.

  The needle stung as it entered my skin, behind the base of my ear, but the process was over as fast as a flu shot.

  “We have implanted a very small device into your temporal bone. The device is no larger than a grain of rice. It is called an NPU, or Neural Processing Unit. The device will allow you to understand all languages. Do not be afraid. When you wake, Mikki Tanaka, you will be on The Colony and your mate will be waiting for you.”

  “Wait!” I called, but the warden just smiled like everything was right as rain and the chair was lowered into a warm, blue bath. My thoughts quieted, but I fought the lethargy stealing over me, realizing this was the last bit of water I’d have on Earth.

  “Your processing will begin in three… two… one.”

  3

  Mikki, The Colony, Transport Two

  * * *

  I awoke naked. Why was I naked? I mean, really? What was the point in that? The hospital gown thing I’d been wearing for the testing wasn’t anything to write home about, but at least it had covered me.

  The warden had said my mate would be waiting for me. Well, if I was supposed to be mated to three overly excited women, I’d really missed the memo. They didn’t look like aliens, although I wasn’t sure what alien females looked like, so I guessed them to be from Earth.

  They hugged me when I pushed up off the hard floor of the transport pad. They introduced themselves so quickly I had trouble keeping track. Rachel and Lindsey, I heard. Crystal or Christy? Kristin… was the third one? Something like that. At least it appeared I would have some friends out here. Very perky, eager friends. That was good news, because the idea of being claimed by the giant aliens standing around the edges of the room checking me out made me want to curl into a nervous ball, sink to the floor and vomit what little I’d eaten for breakfast all the way across the universe back on Earth.

  The alien males were all huge. Epically huge. Like The Mountain on Game Of Thrones but handsome and in better clothes. Seven feet tall with sharp features and oddly colored eyes. Their skin tones varied from gold, brown and copper, like they’d been made of earthen elements and metal. They were, to be honest, hot as hell, but I had no idea which one was mine, and no chance to ask questions because the women surrounding me were talking faster than a gaggle of high school cheerleaders at a pep rally.

  “Hi! I’m Rachel. My mate is the governor here, and I work in medical, so anything you need, you just find me. Okay?” Rachel hugged me, even though I was naked, which was weird and sweet and, well, weird. She wore a dark green tunic and pants that looked extremely comfortable, a pair of comfy green shoes, and her dark hair was pulled up in some kind of twist. She wore an odd, copper-colored collar around her neck, but she didn’t seem to mind it, so I assumed it was the fashion around here.

  Rachel seemed kind, and her brown eyes held nothing to make me doubt her. Up close, it was obvious she was human. They all were. Thank God.

  The next woman had pixie-cut blonde hair and wore armor, like she was a soldier or police officer of some kind. I didn’t think the space gun attached to her hip and thigh was for show. Was she police? Military? She had on one of the strange collars as well, but hers was dark green. I didn’t know how this planet worked yet, but she smiled and yanked a blue blanket from the hands of one of the tall, sexy aliens standing near the edge of the platform. She draped it around me, and I thanked her, tugging the ends of it close in front of me. Obviously Rachel was kind, but this woman was sensible. I’d remember that.

  “Welcome to the Twilight Zone. I’m Kristin,” she said. “I figured you might want to cover up.”

  “Mikki. Mikki Tanaka. And thanks.” I said, gripping the blanket closed.

  “Where are you from?” she asked.

  “Hawaii.”

  “Awesome.” Kristin raised a brow. “You surf then? Or just love working out? Yeah, sorry, couldn’t mistake all those muscles.”

  Definitely some kind of cop. They were the type to size people up. Threat assessment and all that. She wasn’t wrong, but I’d made it easier for her since she’d looked at me bare-assed naked. “Yes to surfing. Two-time world champion, but a long time ago. Now I just do it because I love it. Well… did.”

  “North Shore? Oahu?” Her eyes grew wide.

  “Yes.”

  “Big waves there.”

  Again, not wrong. I liked her more every second. “The biggest.”

  “Nice.” Her face looked as if I were describing the most delicious bite of chocolate. A mixture of pleasure and envy. “A fellow adrenaline junkie. I worked for the FBI before I came here. Now I run scouting missions with some of the guys.” She tipped her head toward the males in the room.

  “Nice,” I repeated. We shared a moment of understanding before the pretty blonde standing behind her interrupted. I actually recognized her from some of the videos I’d watched before deciding that being an Interstellar Bride would probably be better than spending a decade in a prison cell.

  “Hi. I’m Lindsey.” Sweet, blonde, gorgeous with a softness about her that made one want to tell her all their secrets. No collar. So there went the fashion accessory theory.

  “I recognize you.”

  She grinned. “I was a blogger back home. Now I do special interest pieces and handle PR for the guys here. We send videos and interviews back to Earth trying to get more women to volunteer for the Brides Program.”

  “Yeah, I watched some of those. They were really good.”

  “Thanks.” She blushed, which was endearing. She seemed too nice to be real, but then I was used to working in a lab with a bunch of nerds who spent most of their free time gaming. Or hanging with radicals, hippies that rarely bathed and environmental activists that were just as comfortable tracking wild animals through the woods as they were sitting across from their mothers at the dinner table. Kind, upstanding citizens weren’t my usual cup of tea.

  Since I hadn’t exactly volunteered to leave Hawaii, the ocean, my life, I wasn’t going to tell her that. Admitting I was a convicted felon probably wasn’t the best way to start a friendship. “Nice to meet you. I’m Mikki.”

  We grinned at each other for a moment before one of the giants cleared his throat. I had to tip my head back to look at him. Tall, dark and handsome. Serious expression, equally imposing stance. I’d heard that the aliens who lived on The Colony were soldiers who had been captured in the war, survived their imprisonment with the Hive, but had mechanical features added to their bodies like cyborgs out of a science fiction movie. I hadn’t been able to imagine what those integrations would look like. Until now. This guy had a metallic sheen to his skin on his left arm where it peeked out from his sleeve.

  “Rachel, perhaps we should allow your new friend to meet her mates.” I looked over Lindsey’s shoulder as Rachel turned toward the giant with a look on her face I envied. Love. Lust. Adoration. All three. She’d come from Earth and was mated to this Incredible Hulk, and clearly she was happy with the match. Maybe this plac
e would be all right after all.

  He had on a collar, too. Copper, just like Rachel’s, and I didn’t think that was coincidence. I remembered the dream, the mention of collars, of a connection that was special for the wearers.

  “Sorry, Maxim,” she murmured. “You’re right. We were just excited.”

  The look he gave her? Damn. If a hot guy looked at me like that, I’d melt into a puddle on the floor and beg him to rock my world.

  Rachel went to Maxim’s side, and he wrapped an arm about her waist. The other ladies moved away from me, each going to a different alien male, matching up. I noticed that both males who surrounded Kristin wore dark green collars that matched hers.

  So… they liked to match with their mates here? But why didn’t Lindsey have one?

  Whatever. Here I was worried about what they were all wearing when I was the one naked. With the crowd that had gathered, I had to assume I was quite the freak show and everyone had come to see what the new girl looked like.

  I was plain. Average at best. Always had been. Brown eyes, black hair. I wasn’t fashion model material by any stretch of the imagination. My parents were from Japan, and I was short, just like my mother. My skin was clear, my lips were mocha—nipples as well—not the bright, perky pink that I’d envied on girls in high school. But that was a long time ago. I’d made peace with myself since then, teenage angst be damned. I was strong and fast and fucking fearless. If I could ride a twenty-foot wave, I could handle meeting an alien who was supposed to be my perfect match. Right?

  Even if he was seven feet tall.

  “Where’s Surnen?” Rachel looked around, confused.

  “Who’s Surnen?” I asked.

  “He’s your mate, silly.” Lindsay grinned at me like a super-happy Malibu Barbie, which was nice but not helpful. I looked to Kristin for answers, but she shrugged. No help there.