One
She was the enemy, a threat to the Homeland.
Once Vector uncovered the identity of the female hacking the cyborg transmissions and tracked her location, he would stop her.
Permanently.
Vector stood on the bridge of his warship, his hands clenched behind his back. He stared at the cyborg-claimed planet, its image dominating the main viewscreen. Since escaping the cruel control of the Humanoid Alliance many human lifespans ago, he had vowed to protect the Homeland.
And he would…even if that meant ending his transmission exchanges with his intriguing adversary.
With the intriguing adversary, he mentally corrected. The female was unlikely to be his, to be the one being genetically compatible with him.
He wasn’t certain of that fact. His opponent had used a simulated voice on the transmissions. But it was improbable she was his female.
“The last shuttle has left the docking bay, Captain.” Truth informed him. The rarely serious male tapped his fingertips against the embedded control panel to the left of Vector.
Preparing to strike as soon as he located the enemy, Vector had transferred all but a minimal crew to other ships. Truth, yearning for battle, had retained his position as navigation officer, his duties expanded to encompass vacant roles. North, the first officer, was at his regular post to Vector’s right. Doc had left his medical bay to assist on the bridge.
“Chuckles, this is a warship, not a pleasure vessel.” Vector barked at the surly D Model seated in front of him.
That male completed his crew. He wasn’t as defective as Vector but he wasn’t fully functional either. The warrior had been damaged in battle, favored one of his knees.
Chuckles covered his bare left leg once more with body armor. “Sorry, Captain.”
He must have been sorry. Cyborgs couldn’t lie. Judging by his tone, he hadn’t been sorry about his informal appearance on the bridge, however.
He should have been. They had rules for a reason and Vector didn’t tolerate anyone disrespecting him or his vessel.
C Model captains were rare in the cyborg fleet. Big, primitive, prone to anger and reckless behavior, Vector’s kind was more suited to hand-to-hand combat, to taking action. They seldom issued orders, didn’t enjoy watching from a distance as others stormed into battle.
It had taken rigorous self-discipline and a ruthless adherence to regulations for Vector to carve out his place, a place he could protect, defend, control. He expected the same restraint from his crew.
Chuckles stretched out his legs, slouching in the chair, and Vector’s lips twisted. The D Model must have the ability to be obedient. The Humanoid Alliance would have decommissioned him if he had ignored their commands. He had clearly hidden his contempt for authority under a blank expression.
Vector didn’t blame him. There was little to admire in the Humanoid Alliance officers’ commands. He would have to earn Chuckles’ respect.
As he had earned the respect of the many warriors before him.
You’ve requested permission to leave your post and enter Humanoid Alliance space. Power, the leader of the cyborg council, transmitted on a secured private line. Have you located the source of the breach?
I will locate the source soon. Vector knew aggravatingly little about their enemy.
Based upon the voice she’d chosen to communicate with and her constant flirting, she was female. She was also one of the most technologically skilled beings he’d ever encountered. He would have guessed she was a cyborg—her knowledge base was that advanced—except she didn’t have the ability to process and respond to multiple transmissions.
His opponent concentrated on one conversation within the same duration and that conversation was usually with him. As far as Vector could detect, she communicated with him exclusively, sending him transmissions multiple times a planet rotation.
Being a possessive C Model, he liked that. Too much.
Once I’ve pinpointed the being’s location, I plan to take action immediately. His adversary was highly intelligent, hiding her location with relayed transmissions, concealing her true voice. Any delay might result in her slipping away from him.
You will locate the source soon. Power’s voice rose. It has been over thirty planet rotations and you haven’t yet tracked the source of that first transmission.
It isn’t that simple. Vector stiffened, irritated at the council member, at his opponent, and at himself. He was a cyborg. Finding her shouldn’t be as difficult as it was. I believe the enemy is on a ship and is relaying the transmissions through systems scattered across the universe. Every transmission is directed through different systems in different sectors.
The only reason he had narrowed down the source was because her ship had been stationary for planet rotations. That could change in a moment.
Should I give this assignment to a more advanced warrior?
Fraggin’ hole. Power was an arrogant ass. Vector gritted his teeth. I am two transmissions or less away from pinpointing the enemy’s location.
And she refused to deal with any other being. He’d shared one of the transmissions with Crash, a cyborg skilled in tracking communications, and she somehow uncovered that unauthorized action. She didn’t speak to him for four planet rotations.
Make those two transmissions immediately. Power assumed Vector was in control of the communications, which he wasn’t.
I expect them to be made this planet rotation. The female hadn’t yet communicated with him. Was the information the enemy gave us about Betelgeuse Alpha correct?
She had told him the Humanoid Alliance planned to attack that planet.
It was correct. Power confirmed. All of her previously shared information had been correct also. We aren’t acting on that information. It could be a trap.
They hadn’t acted on any of the information. Power was as distrustful of others as Vector was.
He had to find their enemy before she grew frustrated with the lack of movement.
Has the enemy shared any new information with you? The cyborg council member asked.
Power had never shown any interest in the Humanoid Alliance or Rebel information being shared with them. Vector suspected the E Model was concerned about cyborg data being accessed.
Had the council finally decided to authorize a mass cyborg rebellion? It would be about fraggin’ time. Vector shook his head. Many of their brethren remained enslaved, being tortured, tormented, killed.
No new information has been shared. That didn’t mean she didn’t have new information. She knew a scary number of details about them. That knowledge had been sourced from both cyborg and Humanoid Alliance databases.
His foe wasn’t aligned with the cyborgs. Power wouldn’t be concerned if she was on their side.
She could be aligned with the Humanoid Alliance. They viewed females as inferior. No cyborg had ever seen a female commander or captain in their ranks. But females had been used in the past to retrieve information.
Vector doubted she was a Rebel. He’d accessed their databases, including their top-secret communications, and had found not one record of a being with her capabilities. The Rebels also gave no indication they knew cyborgs were capable of free will, of acting on their own.
The other alternative was she was working for an unknown entity.
The Humanoid Alliance had the firepower and numbers to attack the cyborg Homeland but at least they were familiar. The cyborgs knew how they operated, how their human brains worked.
They knew nothing about this unknown entity.
Vector wiggled the toes inside his boots. He’d learned firsthand how dangerous lack of information could be. A simple detail like not knowing about the insects on a new battleground could end the lifespans of hundreds of warriors.
That was why he’d reduced his crew to four, had warned them of the risks they were taking.
You have authorization to track down the enemy. Power gave Vector the approval he needed. Find out how they are accessing our transmissions, what they know about us, what their plans are. There was a pause. Use whatever means necessary to gain that information. Then terminate them.
I understand. He was to torture and kill the enemy. Vector pressed his lips together.
Killing wasn’t an issue. He was a C Model cyborg, had been designed for two things – killing and breeding. He enjoyed ending lives.
There was little honor in torturing the enemy. He’d do it to safeguard the Homeland, protect his brethren, limit the danger. And it would give him proof she was the enemy, reassure him her death was necessary.
Vector retained a sliver of doubt that she was using the information she uncovered against them. It was a foolish reservation. Why else would she hack into cyborg transmissions, take those risks?
But that uncertainty niggled at him. He required confirmation before he killed her.
Contact me when you’ve completed your mission. Power ended the transmission, the E Model needing no such reassurance.
Vector couldn’t start his mission until he located the enemy. That frustrated him.
“Systems check.” He directed his crew.
“All systems online and fully operational,” North, his first officer, replied.
“Monitor all transmissions—cyborg, Humanoid Alliance, Rebel, and other.” Vector was doing that also. “Share anything unusual.”
“Yes, Captain.”
Are you looking for me, Vector? A feminine voice drifted over a private transmission line, the encryption around her communication impressive.
It aggravated Vector that she knew his name, knew almost everything about him, and he knew next to nothing about her. I’ll find you, female.
Only if I want to be found. She laughed softly, mocking him. Him. A C Model cyborg, one of the best captains in the cyborg fleet, a skilled warrior.
Vector jutted his jaw and tracked her transmission back through the relays, operating at cyborg speed. There were two possibilities left. If he guessed wrong, she’d discover his error and disappear, possibly forever.
He needed an additional transmission. I’m not alone. Wait a few moments and contact me again. He ended the transmission.
That would annoy his opponent. The female, like Vector, preferred to be in total control, deciding when to open and end communications. She would contact him again, simply to tell him that.
Vector had to make his excuse a reality. If she discovered he remained where he was, that he hadn’t sought a private space, she might become suspicious.
“North, you have the bridge.” Vector stalked away from the controls. The doors opened and closed around him. He navigated through the empty hallways, walking toward his private chamber.
Soon, she’d be his. His lips curled into a hard smile. He’d no longer be a target of her games.
He’d no longer crave her communications.
Vector entered his private chamber. Viewscreens hung on the walls. A sleeping support, never used because cyborgs didn’t sleep, dominated the space. The circuits he utilized to restore his energy levels were neatly coiled. Weapons were tucked away in compartments.
Nothing appeared to be touched but Vector had learned from harsh experience that appearances could be deceiving. He scanned the space. There were no life signs, no foreign objects that might convey cyborg-damaging contagion.
Are you alone, Vector? The female voice once again caressed his processors, the slight pauses between the words identifying it as simulated.
I’m alone, female. Vector sat at the foot of the sleeping support, the structure dipping under his weight.
He had her location. His enemy was transmitting from a Humanoid Alliance battle station in the Betelgeuse sector.
That was how she’d known about Betelgeuse Alpha. She was located on a vessel that was part of the impending invasion fleet.
Vector transmitted her coordinates to North, commanded him to find the fastest route, engaging all engines to arrive there as quickly as possible.
There were one thousand, two hundred and fifty-nine cyborg warriors enslaved on that battle station, mostly modern J Models. Their transmissions told him they were as mistreated as he had been under the humans’ command.
His brethren were being brutalized by their handlers, by the human officers, then decommissioned if they failed to achieve their nearly impossible assignments, killed in the most painful way possible, stripped of their parts while they remained alive.
The female was responsible for those horrors. Vector curled his fingers into giant fists, an odd sense of betrayal filling him. She wasn’t innocent. He’d been a fool to believe she was.
She would pay for that deception and for his brethren’s agony. He’d inflict the pain upon her himself.
I’m surrounded by beings, as you are, yet I feel alone also. The female shared. I’m tired of not being seen, of never having anyone to speak with. She sighed. It has been half a lifespan since I heard the sound of my own voice.
Then use your real voice with me. He would then recognize his opponent when he finally apprehended her.
She paused. Was she considering it?
It’s too risky. She finally shared. I’ll be heard. They’ll track me.
I’ll track you. He said what she truly meant.
That too, warrior. She laughed. But if others track me, it could be bad for you, for your brethren. I’m not sloppy, she rushed to reassure him. My devices are programmed to self-destruct if they’re accessed by anyone else. There are ways of circumventing that programming, however.
Vector suspected she knew how to circumvent every control. Then why do you contact me at all, if you fear discovery? He kept the conversation focused on her, always her. That was safer. She was unlikely to uncover any cyborg secrets.
Though she could have learned some of those secrets from other warriors, other transmissions. She had first contacted him through one of the open lines. If the female was cautious, as he was, she would have listened for many planet rotations before reaching out to him.
She knew cyborgs had free will, that they weren’t solely machines, unthinking weapons of war. She was aware some of them had escaped Humanoid Alliance control, would have heard about the Homeland, their planet.
Yet none of that information had been transmitted to Humanoid Alliance officers. Her findings didn’t appear in any of their databases.
It wasn’t logical.
Unless she was truly an ally, as she often stated, a voice inside him whispered. That voice was obviously malfunctioning. Her fellow humans on the battle station tortured his brethren and she allowed that to happen, likely participated in the torment.
I contact you because I like the sound of your voice. The female’s confession sounded truthful but he couldn’t trust it. It makes me feel…alive.
She wouldn’t be alive for much longer. Once Vector uncovered her secrets, he would end her lifespan.
He could keep her, that malfunctioning inner voice contributed once more. He could petition the council to make an exception for her, to allow her to live.
Vector pushed those thoughts from his processors. She was the enemy, wasn’t his to keep, to petition for.
I dream about you during rest cycles.
Fraggin’ hole. The female knew what he wanted her to say. You dream about my voice?
Last rest cycle, I dreamed about you like this. She sent a file to him, increasing the encryption around it.
Vector scanned the file for viruses, found nothing. He shouldn’t open it. She was highly skilled, might have the ability to fool his scanners. But he couldn’t resist. He needed to know what she had uncovered, had to have that information.
Vector braced himself for a possible cyber-attack and played the footage.
It was coverage of the last mock battle, the focus on him. He fought Rage, a fellow C Model. Vector’s form was covered with blood, his and his opponent’s. His simulated body armor was tattered. He swung axes in both of his hands, attacking at cyborg speed, a smile curving his lips. Rage was on the defensive. Both of them grunted with effort, sparks flying from their blades.
Vector had enjoyed that fight. Battle, mock or real, was the only time he indulged his primitive C Model nature.
Sometimes I dream about you like this.
The next footage she sent was of him standing in front of his warship, his body straight and stiff, his expression dignified. That was how most beings viewed him. He was the captain.
The female saw the two sides of him, dreamed about his dual personas.
That knowledge both pleased and alarmed him. Have you tapped into our recording devices? Vector glanced upward. Did she have access to his ship’s systems?
I could tap into your recording devices. I have that ability. But that wasn’t necessary. Her mirth bubbled over him. Your brethren recorded the footage and shared it. It is easy to stalk you, Vector.
It was fraggin’ difficult to stalk her.
Sometimes I dream about you touching me. She wasn’t finished tormenting him. The weight of your body over mine. Your chest flattening my breasts. Your hips between my thighs. In those dreams, you fuck me like you fight—fast, fierce, nothing held back.
Vector’s cock pressed against the confines of his body armor. She wasn’t his female. He shouldn’t respond to her, yet he did. She had enthralled him.
I wake up wet, needy, my fingers in my tight pussy hole. The female was merciless. I stroke myself until I come, biting my lip as I find release, wishing to scream your name, to tell the universe whom I’m fantasizing about.
Female. Vector growled. There was only so much teasing he could take.
Are you hard for me, warrior?
He was hard, painfully so. Unable to lie and unwilling to confess that truth, to acknowledge she had that kind of control over him, Vector abruptly changed the topic. Did you have a reason for communicating with me?
I turn you on. Smugness lilted her simulated voice.
What is the purpose of your communication? He flexed to the point of straining, frustrated, wanting her—his enemy.
I understand, Captain. She blew out her breath. We’ll talk about something else.
Finally. Vector relaxed.
What are your council members doing with the information I gave you?
Nothing. He was truthful with her. She would be monitoring the transmissions to the cyborgs on her battle station, should already be aware of that.
I didn’t relay that information for fun. Her irritation now matched his. If this invasion happens, humanoids will die. Your brethren will die.
That is war. He concealed his guilt under a layer of coldness. What do you expect us to do?
Move your damn plans forward a few planet rotations. She increased the volume, mimicking shouting.
What plans? His gut said she was referring to a cyborg rebellion, but how could she have knowledge about that before he did?
Your council knows what plans. I won’t risk them by talking about them, even on this highly secure line. The volume of her voice lowered once more, as though that would stop anyone from listening to them. I’m disappointed, Vector.
In me? That bothered him for some unknown reason.
I’m disappointed in your council members. I thought they would be different, that they would be the solution. There was a pause. Don’t worry. I’ll do what I can.
He hadn’t been worried previously but he was now. What will you do?
I’ll see you soon. She ended the transmission.
Fraggin’ hole. She was taking action right away. Vector sprang from the sleeping support and rushed out of his chambers. He had to reach her before he lost control of the situation.