Chapter Seven

The room was packed, though Heather wasn’t surprised. As soon as she and MX had entered the base, he’d alerted the general that they had big news. It seemed to have taken little time for everyone to assemble, and she glanced around the mess hall, which was crowded to capacity and spilling out into the hallways, and was thankful the cyborgs and the humans had an alliance.

There were hundreds of cyborgs, though she couldn’t take an exact count. She searched the room for a familiar face and headed toward Leith and Gwen when she saw them. They were sitting with Raven and Carrie, the general’s mate. As she got closer, she was alarmed by how pale Carrie looked—even her cyborg side. She’d only spoken to her once in passing, so it wasn’t her place to ask about her health, and she reminded herself that as she took a seat beside Leith.

“How are you healing?” Leith had recently undergone a cyborg procedure to cure his lifetime paralysis, but she wouldn’t know it to look at him.

He grinned. “Phenomenally. I’m down to twice-weekly sessions in the sleeves, and OWN thinks I’ll be done with that in two or three more weeks.”

She nodded, not certain what the sleeves were, but not having a chance to ask him as silence fell over the room. The reason was obvious when DVS, JSN, and MX stepped forward, leaving the huddle from where they had quietly conversed amongst themselves.

DVS didn’t wait for the last of the whispers to die away before he started speaking in a volume that ensured even those standing in the hallway could hear him. “MX and his human companion have found a secret synth base, and this is different from any that we’ve ever been in. They’re producing and storing synthetics on a massive scale, but—”

There was a swell of muttering that temporarily drowned out the general as people absorbed the news. The grimness surrounding her felt like it seeped into her bones, and she shivered again as she recalled hiding in the alcove with MX while waiting for the newly activated synthetics to either discover them or leave the room. It was an experience she never wanted to repeat.

DVS raised his voice a little higher. “But, there’s also something else. Something important that gives us hope. Most of you know we’ve speculated for a while that the synthetics operate on shared programming. MX believes he and Heather have found their core processor, and if we can destroy it, it should be the end of synthetics for good.” He fell silent, allowing the swell of voices to fill the room as others absorbed his information and discussed it.

Heather admired how he handled the crowd, quickly seeing why DVS84 was the general and in charge of all the cyborgs. He gave them just enough time to absorb it and reach their own conclusions before he started speaking again, choosing a moment when there seemed to be a natural lull of the conversations going on around them.

“Unfortunately, MX and Heather were almost apprehended by the synthetics, and they are aware that there was a cyborg in their base. The synths will be taking precautions, and they’ll likely be bringing all of their stored synthetics online. We need to act now, while we still have a chance of defeating them. If we let them get too strong, they’ll overrun us, and that will be the end of everything we’ve been fighting for.”

“You mean you want to go tonight, like right now?” Carrie was the one who asked the question, and she trembled as she did so. A moment later, she cupped her hand to her mouth and appeared to be holding back bile.

Heather saw the gentleness in the general’s eyes when he looked at his mate, though his tone was brisk. “We can’t risk waiting, Carrie. I’m going to take everyone that I can, though I will leave a contingent here to protect the base, with Raven in charge.”

The young cyborg seemed surprised by the information before quickly ducking her head. From Heather’s vantage point, she could see the other woman’s wide smile.

The general continued, “You have twenty minutes to prepare, so unless I approach you about staying behind, meet in the main antechamber in eighteen minutes.”

Heather assumed the two minutes were to get organized. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw DVS lean over to whisper something to MX, and she dared hope it was an instruction for him to remain behind. As soon as those around her started to dissipate, she moved away from Leith and Gwen to approach MX. “Are you staying behind?”

He frowned. “Of course not. I’m the only one who’s been inside, besides you, so I have to show them the path.”

“I thought you cyborgs recorded everything? Can’t you just let them watch the recording and use the schematics Freydon gave you?”

His frown deepened. “I could, but why would I? I’m a captain and third in command. I wouldn’t stay behind even if I could.”

It was her turn to frown. “I thought…” She trailed off with a shrug. “Never mind what I thought.” She’d clearly been wrong. She didn’t doubt MX felt the same attraction to her that she felt to him, but it wasn’t enough to make him want to stay. She wasn’t even certain why she was reacting so strongly to the idea of him leaving, since the feelings were new—or at least newly acknowledged.

She’d spent the last three weeks working with him, growing increasingly annoyed by his presence, though she now realized that was simply a result of both of their resistance to the forming attraction. She wasn’t even certain she would classify them as friends, and they definitely weren’t lovers, so the idea of losing him shouldn’t be so devastating. It was obvious he didn’t share any of her conflicting emotions or confusion, and she would have to do her best to push aside how she was feeling and cope with the fallout on her own.

Tears scalded her eyes, and she turned away from him to find anywhere she could have a private moment. The last thing she wanted to do was break down in front of him and the other cyborgs.

***

MX watched her, confused by the array of various emotions that seemed to cross her expression in a flash before disappearing. He didn’t know what to say, or what she needed, but he was stiff with anticipation as he waited to hear what she was going to say before she changed her mind about it.

As she turned from him, he was certain he saw tears in her eyes, and it was instinctive to reach out and put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from fleeing. She took another step forward, and he matched it before taking one more, until her back was against his chest. He rested his chin on top of her head before bringing his mouth closer to her ear. “What did you think?”

She shrugged against him, and a shudder moved through his body. Her voice sounded thick when she finally answered. “It doesn’t matter what I thought. I was definitely wrong.”

“If you thought I’d rather be here with you than out there, you’re right.” He frowned when she jerked in his arms, uncertain if she was trying to flee, or if she was just surprised by his words. When she made no attempt to escape, he carefully turned her to face him, cupping her chin so she couldn’t look away. “I’m not sure what’s happening with us, but I want to find out. I hope you understand that I have to do this first. I’m trying to keep everyone safe, and if we can eliminate the synthetics, maybe we can focus on a real future for all of us. For the general’s baby, and for any babies the rest of us might have.” He brushed his lips against hers, encouraged when she didn’t step back. “Maybe even our baby someday.”

She blinked rapidly, sniffling for a moment before she seemed to regain control. “I do understand, but I don’t have to like it. There has to be another way.” It was obvious even she didn’t believe it, since she spoke with a complete lack of conviction. It was more a thread of hope than anything, as though she was begging him for another solution.

It was a solution he couldn’t offer, and he shook his head regretfully. “We have to act now, while we still have even a slim hope of victory. Promise me that you won’t leave the base.”

She shook her head. “Of course I won’t until you get back.”

MX couldn’t control his expression contorting into one of stern authority. “I mean promise me you’ll never leave the base. It might be the last safe place left if we can’t defeat the synthetics.”

Her eyes widened, and she shook her head. “I can’t make that promise, and you know it. There are my people still at the enclave, and someone has to solve the problem of either finding a new enclave or a new supply of bastnäsite.”

He shook his head. “You can’t go back out there. Spend what time you have left in safety here.”

Heather looked angry now. “Don’t try to tell me what to do. You have your obligations to see to, and I have mine. I wouldn’t leave the rest of the humans in the enclave unprotected and without a plan to keep the structure in place. If they came to live here, they would be safe for a few more months too, but if you don’t defeat the synthetics, I think we both know it’s the end of everything, and sooner rather than later. If we can’t leave the base, the cyborgs won’t have terbium, and I’m sure I’m not the only human who’s tired of living in a crumbling structure buried underground. You’re our last hope, but I won’t promise to sacrifice the people I love just to stay here and cower with the illusion of safety.”

Irritation flared in him, and he tried to tamp it down. He didn’t want his last words with her to be acrimonious, should he not return. “I understand your point-of-view, and I suppose I see the need to bring the humans here.” Before she could object, as her mouth opened to do so, he put up a hand to stop her. “I understand they’re your friends and family, but I don’t like the idea of you risking yourself to collect them. I’d like to point out that you could have years here. If the rest of the cyborgs don’t return, they’ll be enough terbium to last the existing cyborgs a few years while you look for a new solution.”

She surprised him by stepping forward, clutching his black uniform shirt in her hands. “There is no other solution, and I think we both know that. If the synthetics overrun the planet, it’s the end of us. I truly understand why you’re leaving, and just like you, I don’t have to like it. I won’t make a promise I can’t keep, and I won’t ask you to make one either.”

He knew what she meant without further explanation. “I can promise to try to return to you.”

“And I can promise to try to stay safe if you don’t.”

It was difficult to say who moved first, and it didn’t really matter. All he knew was a moment later, his arms were entwined around her, and she was pressed tightly against his body as their lips sought out each other.

The kiss they shared was hungry and full of urgent passion that couldn’t yet be satisfied. It left him with an aching, hollow feeling to know it might never be. He wasn’t eager to meet his own end, but the thought of leaving her behind without exploring how deeply the relationship could progress induced a physical agony that spread through him and required several seconds and deepening the kiss to dissipate.

His tongue plunged into her mouth, and she mated with it eagerly. Their appendages stroked and explored, and the taste of her was soon burned onto his tongue. He was hard and aching, and while he wanted to lift her up and bury himself inside her, he forced the opposite reaction. Instead, he broke the kiss and took a step back, though his forehead rested against hers. “If we keep that up, I won’t be able to go.”

She looked regretful, and her brown eyes were moist again. “I guess I shouldn’t try to tempt you to stay.” With those words, she took a step back from him, allowing her arms to fall from his shoulders and hang at her sides. “Good luck.”

He nodded before turning away from her. He refused to say goodbye, and he couldn’t voice any of the thoughts in his head. It seemed too soon to tell her just how strongly he was feeling about her. Surely, the emotions had been building all along, but he had refused to see them until earlier in the day. Acknowledging the mutual attraction had seemed to cause them to bloom unabated.

Then Freydon Rote’s implication that they were mates had given his subconscious tacit approval to fully embrace the connection between them. The first few steps he took from her were physically painful, as though an invisible cord was pulling him back. He had to force himself to ignore the urge to stay in favor of doing the right thing, which was accompanying his brethren to try to destroy the synthetics once and for all.