Six
“Are you ever going to release me?” Kasia was surrounded by huge, hard male, her booted feet dangling high above the blood-soaked floor.
“No.” Vector’s arms pressed against her sides.
It might have been uncomfortable for another female but Kasia had spent much of her time over the past solar cycles squeezed into small spaces, hidden in containers, air conduits.
His hold on her felt good. She was safe.
The J Models took turns inflicting pain on Commander Smith, slicing the male’s body with blades, a thousand stinging wounds with no relief. Blood streamed down his form. His shrieks echoed in her ears.
It made her stomach tumble and turn but she forced herself to watch as she forced herself to watch the torture of the cyborg warriors. She wouldn’t look away, pretend it didn’t happen, as many of her kind did.
“How many lifeforms are you blocking from our scanners?” Vector’s voice was soft.
The situation must be trying for her male. He liked to be in control.
“I’m only blocking myself, and now, you.” As he had wrapped his body around hers. “The range was set on the handhelds I left you.”
“You could have extended the range on your handheld.” He bent his head, brushed his cheek over hers, the contact curling her toes.
“That would be too risky.” She’d made that mistake solar cycles ago. “A good commander knows how many beings should be on the battle station. If I get too close to another being and he disappears from vessel-wide scans, it would raise suspicions.”
“My scanners have been adjusted to include plant life, small creatures, insects.”
Her warrior was meticulous. She liked that. “I suppose those lifeforms could be blocked also.”
Vector shifted his weight from one foot to another, gazing around him, his unease over not being able to detect those types of lifeforms palpable.
She stared at him. “You’re concerned about plants?”
“Plants can conceal other beings.”
Other beings. Insects. Her big strong warrior was scared of insects. “I’ve never seen any insects on the battle station and I’ve hidden in its darkest, least trafficked spaces.”
Vector’s muscles relaxed against her.
“I’m scared of lightning.” She shared one of her weaknesses with him, seeking to level their emotional ground. “Those are the electrostatic discharges that happen during some storms.” She didn’t know if he’d experienced lightning. It was common on her home planet but didn’t occur on some worlds.
Lines etched between Vector’s eyebrows. “Lightning damaged you?” He ran his palms over her body, his expression intense, as though he sought to locate her old wounds, ease her past pain.
Insects must have damaged him. Kasia touched his stark countenance, following the line of his jaw, the square of his chin with her fingertips. That was why he assumed physical pain was the source of her fear. “Lightning has never damaged me.” Her voice was gentle. “But it could.”
“I wouldn’t allow it to damage you.” Vector lifted her higher against him.
He was protecting her against insect attack. Kasia’s heart melted with that realization.
Her cyborg talked of capture, of restraining her, had reluctantly vowed not to damage her this planet rotation, but he must feel the connection between them, the closed circuit of awareness flowing from his body to hers and back again.
“Have you taken action on the information I gave you?” She wanted to surrender to him, to lose herself in his body, to enjoy that closeness with another being.
“I’ve relayed the information to our council.” He met her gaze. “But we will take our own action, derive our own solutions.”
“The solution I gave you for the EMP is solid, the code beautiful.” It was a simple programming change. “We could implement that right away.”
“By we, I mean my brethren and I.” Vector clarified.
She wasn’t included in his plans. That hurt her.
“You don’t trust me?” She’d given him critical information, had never harmed him or his brethren.
He didn’t answer.
Because he didn’t trust her and he couldn’t lie. Kasia sighed. “I wouldn’t harm you.”
“This planet rotation.” His eyes glittered.
“Ever.” She bracketed his cheeks with her palms. The screaming had stopped. Commander Smith must have died, his reign of horrors ending.
“You knocked me out.” Accusation edged Vector’s words.
She should have known her male would resent that. “You were physically unharmed. Only your pride was damaged.”
“You were knocked out by a human female?” Dissent chuckled. “Are C Models that fragile?”
Vector drew his shoulders back and Kasia cringed. She’d intentionally demonstrated the powers of the EMP in private to save her warrior embarrassment.
“We’re all that fragile.” Vector’s face hardened. “Walk with me, J Model.” He slung Kasia over his right shoulder and marched through the chamber, his stride long.
She gazed down, her face on fire. His handling of her was humiliating…and arousing. He was so damn dominant.
And fit. His ass cheeks clenched and unclenched as he moved. She couldn’t resist squeezing them.
Vector jerked. “Respect me.” He smacked her ass.
Fuck. She wanted him. The delectable heat spread over her, lighting flames within her form. She wiggled. He spanked her a second time and she moaned softly.
“You vowed not to damage her.” Dissent rebuked Vector.
“I’m fine.” She was more than fine. She loved it.
“I can smell how fine you are, female,” the J Model grumbled.
Her friend smelled her arousal. Kasia’s embarrassment increased. She spread her fingers over the small of Vector’s back, not daring to grab her male’s ass again, not while they were in public.
Vector carried her through hallways, into the docking bay. He must have remotely deactivated the sensors. He stomped up the ramp, entering his warship.
Her warrior had taken her to his home.
They entered the bridge, not his private chambers. Vector set her on the captain’s chair, his seat, and stood behind her, gripping the chair back.
“I’m sending you information.” He told Dissent. “It isn’t to be shared with anyone other than your warriors and then, only with multiple layers of encryption.”
“Just send it, C Model.” Dissent stood stiffly to his right.
There was a long pause.
Kasia squirmed. They were sharing her information, including her best guesses at solutions. The EMP programming change couldn’t be faulted. The other solutions were embarrassingly rough.
“Frag.” Dissent sat beside her.
Vector shifted, moving between Kasia and the J Model. “The council has ordered everyone on your battle station and my warship to return to the Homeland. We’re not to communicate with any other beings.”
“Everyone.” Kasia squeaked. “Including me?”
Vector gazed at her and she read the truth in his energy-infused eyes.
“You’re to kill me.” She shrank back from him. “That’s what they’ve commanded you to do.”
“I’ve also been ordered to return to the Homeland and I don’t plan to do that.” He didn’t deny her statement. Her rule-following cyborg had been ordered to end her life.
“I’ll claim her.” Dissent volunteered, her friend acting as though permanently aligning with her would be the ultimate sacrifice. “Tell the council she’s under my protection.”
“She’s under my protection and she isn’t your female to claim.” Vector’s possessive rumble eased Kasia’s irritation. Her cyborg wanted her. “Publicly claiming her would accomplish nothing except make both of you targets.”
“I’ll be cut off from communications.” Dissent nodded. “It’ll be more difficult to protect her.”
“I don’t need protecting.” She could disappear the next planet rotation and never be seen again.
“The council will try to contain the information.” Vector ignored her. “If you return to the Homeland, you might never leave.”
Dissent studied him. “The council would sacrifice the freedom of the few to save the lives of the many.”
Vector’s head dipped.
“You’ll be imprisoned.” Kasia sucked in her breath. “By sharing the information with you, I’ve doomed you to a lifespan of incarceration.” She’d harmed the males she cared for. Her body temperature dropped. “I shouldn’t have—”
“You should have.” Vector squeezed her right shoulder. “I would rather be aware of the threat than be ignorantly confident. If we eliminate our vulnerabilities before warriors find us, we might earn our freedom. If we don’t, we will all be incarcerated whether we return to the Homeland or not. The Humanoid Alliance will hunt us down and enslave us again.”
The Humanoid Alliance would do more than enslave them. They would either kill the warriors or they would deeply modify them, somehow wipe the males of their free will.
Kasia couldn’t allow that to happen.
“The fix to the EMP vulnerability is solid.” She pointed out. “It’s a mere programming change.”
“My crew and I will investigate all possible solutions.” Her cautious male didn’t outright reject her contribution.
Kasia considered that to be progress.
“We’ll eliminate our vulnerabilities before the council tracks us down?” Dissent lifted his eyebrows. “That’s the plan?”
“That’s the plan the crew of the Freedom will be following.” Vector appeared solemn. “You’re the captain of the battle station. The males on board are your crew. It’s your decision whether to join us or to obey the council.”
“That decision requires no processing.” Dissent shook his head. “Any warrior would choose to join you. We might die but we would die free.”
Vector slid his palm over Kasia’s back. “You can share the information with your crew. No one else is to know.”
“Our current destination is the Homeland.”
That was the opening Kasia needed. “We could pursue the Humanoid Alliance commanders while we derive solutions.”
If those males weren’t stopped, they would merely rebuild their forces in another location. The cyborgs would always be at risk. The pain would continue.
“We know where the Vault, their fancy new ship, is parked.” She reminded them. The cyborgs had the ships and warriors to commandeer that vessel.
“That’s Commander Alakai’s fancy new ship.” Dissent looked at Vector, speculation in his humanlike eyes. “Commander Alakai was in charge of Tau Ceti. Gap and his female died on that planet. You want justice for them.”
Vector said nothing.
“I saw that transmission.” It had been shared with all cyborgs and was burned into Kasia’s memory. “Gap stormed into an underground tunnel to save his female, a female he hadn’t yet met. They were killed before they could exit.”
“He was a reckless fool.” Vector’s tone was harsh, his anger originating from grief, a soul-deep sorrow. “He rushed into a confined space, having no information about the terrain, about possible threats, and he died.”
“You wish he hadn’t died.” She grasped Vector’s hand. “Because that reckless fool was your friend.”
Her warrior’s lack of reply said she was right. He’d lost a friend on that planet.
“We want justice for Gap and his female.” Kasia said the words Vector wouldn’t.
“We all do.” Dissent turned his attention to her. “And that’s as good a destination as any other.”
Vector’s broad shoulders once again blocked her view. “You should inform your crew.”
“I’ll do that.” She heard the irritation in Dissent’s voice. “You won’t damage our female.”
“She is not your female and I won’t damage her this planet rotation. I’m a warrior of my word.” Her cyborg widened his stance.
“He won’t damage me ever.” She said to Vector’s back, trying to prevent a battle between the two dominant males. “I’m the only being on board who isn’t susceptible to the EMP. You’ll require my assistance to test that simple programming change.”
Vector grunted, sounding unhappy with that prospect.
“It’s a beautiful piece of code.” She defended it. “Have you looked at it?” She had put planet rotations of effort into that programming tweak. “It is ready to be implemented.”
“We’ll decide that, female.” Vector arrogantly informed her. “Do you require additional information, J Model?”
“Frag you, C…” Dissent’s voice faded as he moved.
Kasia waited until the doors had closed behind Dissent to speak. “He’s a friend. That’s all he is. I gave the information to you. I communicated with you.”
“You want me.” Vector turned, his eyes glowing with sexual intent.
She trembled with excitement. “I want you.”
He lifted her out of the chair and plunked her ass on the console, that slap wetting her pussy. “I’m acting on your information.”
He wanted her capitulation. That turned her on. “I’m surrendering.”
“Give me your handheld.” Vector held out his right palm.
Kasia unclipped the device and placed it in his hand, deliberately brushing her fingers over his.
“And your earpiece.”
She blew out her breath and removed the earpiece, setting it with the handheld. There were handhelds and spare earpieces hidden around the battle station but she kept that knowledge to herself.
He placed the earpiece and handheld on the console to the right. “Hold out your hands.”
“Why?” She complied.
Vector, operating at cyborg speed, unwrapped the leather restraints from his forearm and bound her wrists together. Before she figured out what he was doing, she was captured.
“I surrendered. There’s no need for this.” She raised her hands, tried to pull them apart, was unable to break the restraints.
“I accepted your surrender, and as your captor, I decide what you need.” He grasped the collar of her flight suit. “You don’t need this.” He yanked.
The fabric tore. Cool air swept over her skin. Her pussy dripped. He yanked again and again, shredding the flight suit into strips, rending her bare except for the boots on her feet.
He was completely covered by hard body armor. She was exposed, unable to hide from his view.
Vector stepped back and gazed at her, not hiding his appreciation. Others viewed her as male-like. He saw her as a desirable female, the sparks in his eyes and the ridge in his skin-tight protective clothing attesting to that truth.
“Show me everything.” He nudged her legs farther apart.
Kasia swallowed her embarrassment and spread her thighs, showing him her wet pussy. She didn’t have a choice. Her body was now his. “This is a temporary surrender.” She reminded him of their agreement.
“It isn’t temporary.” Vector crouched, perusing her closely. “You’re mine until I decide to let you go.” He breathed deeply. “And I won’t let you go until you smell of me.”
“You want the other males to know I belong to you.” He was a possessive bastard.
“No talk of other males.” He cupped her mons and she gasped. “You’ll think of me and only me.”
If she hoped to survive this, she had to make him as crazed as she was. “Then I shouldn’t think of Diss—”
Vector straightened, covering her lips with his, his kiss hard and demanding. She opened to him, sliding her bound hands up his body armor-covered chest, seeking bare skin. He stroked her pussy lips as he ravished her mouth.
It wasn’t gentle but he was a C Model. She didn’t expect tenderness from her primitive male. She didn’t want it. She desired raw, rough, reckless passion, an out-of-control desire defying all logic, all caution.
Kasia wrapped her legs around him, drawing him closer. His covered cock replaced his fingers. She rubbed along him and he rumbled, the sound rolling up his chest.
They had teased each other with words for planet rotations.
Now, they would fuck and fuck hard.