Twenty-six planet rotations later, Kasia stood in front of Vector on the bridge of their warship. His arms encircled her. His warmth was to her back. His booted feet bracketed hers.
Once they reached open space, multiple lifeform scans had been performed. No insects were on board the vessel. Her cautious warrior had deemed their surroundings safe.
Her boots were firmly planted on the tiled floor.
Warriors surrounded them, the bridge crowded with beings. North loomed to their right. Dissent claimed the position to their left. Truth, along with a small delegation of J Models, had been sent to the Homeland to represent them. The others had stayed in exile with Kasia and Vector.
They awaited a communication from Power and the cyborg council, were outfitted for battle against their foe. Kasia’s garments matched theirs, her body armor hugging her form.
When the protective garment had been manufactured, it had been loose, giving her a full range of movement. Now, it was skintight, especially over her midriff.
Her boots fit. Kasia wiggled her toes. Vector had those specially crafted for her also.
“We will listen to the council’s proposal.” Vector’s voice carried in the space. “And we will take it under consideration. We won’t show emotion, won’t accept it or dismiss it immediately.”
Warriors nodded, signaling their agreement.
“Female?” he murmured into her ear, the brush of his lips over her skin curling her fingers.
“I won’t say or do anything, Captain.” Kasia assured him.
She understood the thinking behind his orders. Her cautious warrior sought to grant them time to prepare should the proposal be deemed unacceptable.
His careful dealings with the cyborg council, combined with the support they’d garnered by apprehending the Humanoid Alliance commanders and the other senior officers, were the reasons the cyborg council hadn’t yet sent warriors to retrieve them.
If those warriors were sent, Vector would fight the retrieval. His crew and the J Models supported his decision. The confrontation would result in battle.
Battles killed beings and she cared about every being on the bridge. Kasia bit into a nourishment bar, her third of the planet rotation. She loved her C Model, couldn’t contemplate a lifespan without him. Her free hand curled over her stomach.
“We’re being hailed by the Homeland, Captain.” Chuckles informed them. Every planet rotation, nourishment bars and containers of beverage were left on the console in front of her chair. She was certain the surly warrior was responsible for that offering but he would never admit to it.
“Open hailing frequencies.” Vector pulled Kasia toward him, hunching his big body over hers.
He protected her from a threat galaxies away from them. Tenderness swelled inside her.
“Vector.” Power’s face was a careful blankness, his image appearing on the main viewscreen.
“Sir.” Her warrior was as unreadable, his tone emotionless.
“You should have relayed she was your female.” That lack of openness clearly continued to irritate the E Model. He was like Vector in that way, wanting all information available.
“Would it have made a difference?” Vector asked.
Power didn’t answer.
Cyborgs couldn’t lie. It wouldn’t have made a difference.
“Genetic compatibility doesn’t ensure loyalty.” Power’s eyes flashed. “Your female knew too much, could have betrayed all of your brethren.”
“She didn’t.” Vector’s muscles flexed around her, her warrior viewing her honor as his own. “She erased information in the Humanoid Alliance database outlining our weaknesses, weaknesses the enemy could have used to enslave and decommission us. She communicated those weaknesses to us and gave us solutions to eliminate them. She was instrumental in tracking the Humanoid Alliance officers. That victory was due to her.”
Kasia wiggled, uncomfortable with receiving the credit for those tasks. Any caring being would have done the same thing.
“My female has proven her loyalty again and again.” Vector shook, his fury barely contained. “She would never betray us.”
Power glared at him.
Silence stretched, emotion snapping in the air.
Kasia covered Vector’s hands with hers, trying to calm her primitive C Model. If one wrong word was spoken, he’d lose his temper and that could be disastrous for all of them.
“After studying the data and listening to your extremely persistent representatives.” Power’s lips twisted. Truth must have forced them to listen. “The council reached the same conclusion.” The E Model surprised her with that statement. “We would have preferred to be informed about your tracking of the Humanoid Alliance officers but we understand the concerns about transmission line security.” His black-eyed gaze shifted to Kasia. “It had been compromised.”
She had no regrets. If she hadn’t listened to the transmissions, she wouldn’t have met Vector.
Some of the tension eased from Vector’s form. “We have a team working on that project.”
Kasia headed that team. Until they eliminated the weakness, communications were being heavily encrypted. That should stop all but the most technically skilled humans from intercepting them.
“Any programming changes you derive must be authorized by the council before they are rolled out to our brethren.” Power hadn’t forgiven that move either. “The unauthorized rollout concerning the EMP was accepted due to its urgent nature. Another unauthorized rollout will not be tolerated.”
“Understood.” Vector’s chin brushed the top of Kasia’s head.
“We have a team working on the communications issue also,” the E Model shared. “I’ll orchestrate a face-to-face meeting. Our teams would benefit from communicating with each other.”
Kasia turned slightly to look at Vector. Was the cyborg council pardoning them?
He kept his gaze fixed on Power. “I won’t risk my female’s safety with a face-to-face meeting.”
“No one will damage you or your female.” Coming from a cyborg, Power’s casual statement had the strength of a vow. “Your landings and departures from the Homeland won’t be restricted.”
Her warrior could return home. Kasia squeezed Vector’s hands, unshed tears stinging her eyes.
She could never return to her home. Surviving members of the Humanoid Alliance would look for beings to punish for their defeat. Her participation in their downfall would make anyone associated with her, including her family, an even bigger target.
“The hunt for your friend Mayhem and his female has also been stopped.” The E Model added. “Our brethren are free. The enemy knows we have processors of our own. We aren’t unthinking, unfeeling machines. Mayhem is only jeopardizing his lifespan and that of his female with his continued insurgence.”
The couple were a deadly combination, both of them skilled in survival and killing. Their lifespans weren’t in peril.
Commander Alakai, their target, had been tortured for three planet rotations before he had been allowed to die. The human had been a quivering mass of bloody flesh, babbling insanely, begging for mercy, confessing his many, many sins.
Those detailed revelations had turned Kasia’s stomach. The Humanoid Alliance commander had inflicted the most horrifying pain on females, the elderly, babies. No punishment was severe enough for him.
Attempting to purge the commander’s confession from her mind, Kasia focused on Vector, the male she loved. He gazed at Power, his expression intense, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
“My ship’s position in the fleet—”
“That position has been filled with another captain’s ship.” Power crushed her cyborg’s secret desire, his tone curt. “There is no role for you.”
Kasia’s heart broke for Vector. He loved his role within the cyborg ranks. It was a source of pride, of joy for him.
Vector stiffened against her. “There’s no role for me because I’m defective.”
“There’s no role for you because you disobeyed direct orders.” Power expelled his breath, the council member’s mask of indifference slipping. “You’re honorable, too honorable, Vector. If the choice between obeying an order and doing what you processed was right was presented to you again, you would do what you processed was right.”
The E Model was correct. Vector would make that choice again.
“That next time, you might have less information than I do.” Power explained. “You might be in the wrong and that could endanger the Homeland, cause our brethren’s deaths. I can’t have a warrior who disobeys orders reporting to me.”
Kasia linked her fingers with Vector’s.
“I understand.” Her warrior’s voice was tight. “The safety of the Homeland and our brethren come first.”
“It does for me.” Power nodded. “I’m not as fortunate as others.” His gaze flicked to Kasia and then returned to Vector. “There will be other roles for you. Many warriors consider you to be a hero.”
They considered him to be a hero because he was one. Kasia gazed up at her male, not hiding her pride. Power was right. Vector would be offered other roles, find his place in the universe.
And she would be by his side, supporting him.
“Meet with the council team.” The communication ended with that order, Power’s face fading from the main viewscreen.
The warriors on the bridge turned toward Vector, questions in their eyes.
Her cyborg looked at her. “Are we returning to the safety of cyborg-controlled space, female?”
He was giving that decision to her. Her heart squeezed. “Yes. We’re returning home.”
The males cheered. Vector lifted her high into the air. His eyes burned bright, his face stark. “We’re returning to cyborg-controlled space.” He lowered her and smacked a hard kiss on her lips. “I’m with you. I’m already home.”
Dissent, North, others pounded him on the back. For those males, the communication held happiness, pure, untainted. For Vector, it contained the pinch of loss, a sadness he couldn’t show his crew.
Kasia would give him an excuse to leave, an opportunity to ruminate in private. “I need to speak with you, warrior.”
Vector nodded. “My female wishes to speak with me.” He slung her over his right shoulder.
“Our female.” The warriors raised their arms in triumph.
They were adorable. Kasia smothered a smile.
Vector walked with her out of the bridge, along the hallways. More males lined that narrow space. They thumped him on his arms as he passed.
The rule-following warrior she first met might have objected, might have grumbled about disrespect. The male carrying her now had more confidence in his leadership. He tolerated the enthusiasm.
Because all of those males had risked their lives, the anger of the cyborg council, and their welcome in the Homeland to protect them.
They had become a family. The warriors couldn’t replace her momma, her poppa, her siblings, the loved ones she’d left behind. That wasn’t possible. But they were her brethren, as Vector would say.
He carried her into their chambers and rolled onto the sleeping support, safeguarding her within the circle of his arms.
They didn’t speak for several moments. Vector held her close, tucking her form into his. She rested her cheek against his body armor, rode the rise and fall of his chest.
“You’re safe.” His voice was barely audible. “That’s all that is important.”
“That isn’t all that is important.” Kasia explored his shoulders with her fingers. “Your happiness is a priority also.”
“I will find another role.”
“You remain the captain of this warship, have a crew of skilled warriors reporting to you.” She stroked her cyborg’s arms, navigating the massive swell of his biceps. “You are my male. No other being will ever fill that role. And you will have another role. Soon. I can guarantee that.”
“How can you guarantee that, female?” Vector snorted. “There are millions of warriors freed and returning to the Homeland. None of them disobeyed council orders. None of them are—”
“If you say defective, I will kick you in your shins.” She warned him. “Only you view yourself that way. Even Power, a cyborg with a warship-sized beam up his ass, sees you as being fully functional.”
“I am defective. That is a fact.” Vector was one of the most stubborn beings she had ever met. “But it hasn’t impacted my ability to lead warriors.”
“Or your ability to protect your female.” She fed her warrior’s confidence.
“Or my ability to love my female.” He kissed the tip of her nose.
“Or your ability to manufacture offspring.” Kasia watched for his reaction to her announcement.
“Or my ability to…” Vector stopped in mid-sentence, becoming absolutely still. “Female?”
“Your new role will be father.” She unfastened her body armor, reached out and placed his trembling hands on her rounding stomach.
“Father.” His fingers splayed over her skin.
“Father.” Kasia confirmed. “It might not be the role you hoped for but—”
“It is.” Vector stopped her. “It is the role I hoped for, the role I’ve desired since the moment I exited the vat, the role I never believed I would have.” He looked closer at her stomach, examining her thoroughly. “You’re certain we’ve manufactured offspring? You’re conveying our son?”
“A son is likely.” Cyborg reproduction skewed heavily toward males.
Males perished in battle, had to be replaced. Female cyborgs had been designed solely for producing offspring, would die less often. Scientists, once they discovered the breeding programs didn’t work, hadn’t tweaked that imbalance. They had no reason to do that. They didn’t believe cyborgs and humans were compatible.
“And yes, we’ve manufactured offspring.” She had waited until she was certain to tell him. “I wouldn’t be reckless with this piece of information, Vector.” She sighed. “Plus, look at my stomach.”
“Your stomach is round.” Her cyborg pressed his lips gently against her protruding belly. “Round with our offspring.”
“It will become rounder.” Females in her family tended to be huge during pregnancy.
“You’ll sport the biggest stomach.” He said that as though it was something to boast about. “Because you’re conveying a C Model warrior.” Vector scattered kisses over her stomach. “Our offspring are the largest.”
There would be no hiding in air conduits in her immediate future. She would be as huge as a battle station.
With their offspring.
Kasia smiled.
“We have manufactured offspring.” Vector shouted that declaration to the ceiling, his joy, his exuberance infectious. “I love you, female.”
She laughed. “I love you too, warrior.”
“We will have a son.” Her big C Model cyborg wrapped his arms around her waist and snuggled against her stomach, a dreamy expression on his countenance.
“We will have a son.” Kasia hoped their child looked like him, had his black hair, his gray skin, brilliant blue eyes. She threaded her fingers through Vector’s short hair, her heart filled to bursting with love.
A heavy object thudded against the doors.
“What was that?” She frowned. It sounded as though they were under attack.
“Warriors are battling outside our doors,” Vector murmured. “They’re determining who will be next to touch your stomach.”
They wanted to touch her stomach? “Why do they wish to do that?”
“To touch a female’s offspring-manufacturing stomach is to touch the future.” He framed the slight swell with his palms. “It is to hold all of our hopes in our hands.” His voice softened, his tone reverent. “There’s no experience like it and very few of us will enjoy it. Females are rare. Offspring are precious.” He met her gaze, the emotion in his eyes stripping her to the bone. “You have given me both.”
Stars. Tears dripped down Kasia’s cheeks, her irrational concerns about her impending pregnancy melting. Her cyborg would always cherish her, cherish their child. Neither of them would ever want for love. “We can’t deny the warriors the opportunity to touch my stomach.”
“No, we can’t deny the warriors that experience.” Vector agreed slowly, her possessive cyborg not hiding his reluctance to share her. “But we can delay them for a few moments.”
Kasia smiled through her tears. She loved him so much.
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Cyborg Sizzle Series
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