B785 (10 page)

In his ear she whispered, “Please come back to me in one piece. I couldn’t bear to lose you now.”

What should a cyborg new to relationships answer? “Our probability of success is ninety-seven percent.” His dry statistic made her chuckle.

“Oh, charming. You say the most senseless things, but I like you anyway.” She sealed her statement with a kiss that left his lips tingling. Bemused, he took his spot in the cruiser and ignored the jibes of his unit.

She said she likes me.
And despite his theory on emotions being a biological imbalance, he couldn’t help but think,
awesome, because I like her too.

Being banned from the action sucked. Bored, Bonnie swung her legs over the armrest of the commanding chair and ignored the dirty look from Aphelion left behind to monitor the ship and surface
—
AKA to babysit her.

“Are they there yet?” she asked, twirling a strand of hair.

“No.”

“You didn’t even check.”

“Because you asked less than three minutes and fifteen seconds ago. The answer remains the same.”

“You know, for a guy with a cool name, you’re a real tight ass.”

“A steady regimen in the gym would help you achieve the same posterior musculature.”

Great. Another cyborg who took everything literally. However, unlike Einstein, she didn’t find it cute at all. Gone only for an hour and she missed him already, which really didn’t bode well. Yes, she’d chased after him, determined to get him into bed. Mostly because she liked the challenge he posed. The more he resisted, the more she just had to have him. And only him.

For some reason, he got her motor running, almost quite literally. Something about him totally turned her on. His shy smiles. His courteous manner. His intelligence. His looks. His bod. There wasn’t a damned thing about him she didn’t like. And when she finally got him right where she wanted him? Between her thighs, making her scream and pant with delight. Pure, orgasmic rapture. And absolute disaster.

Already she could tell he was forming an attachment to her. Liked her. And oh how she liked him. A lot. But despite his claim that her past didn’t matter, she knew better. Sure, he said the fact she used to be the military slut didn’t bother him, but a guy like him deserved better than her. He was too good and kind to end up with a girl with a reputation no one would ever forget, least of all her. However, Bonnie, still selfish it seemed even after everything she’d gone through, couldn’t help but wish otherwise. Couldn’t help but want the happily ever after other women dreamed of.
I can’t help but want my prince charming.

And for now, she’d have him. They had a few weeks left to enjoy before they hit the cyborg homeworld and she intended to make the most of them. To enjoy her geeky prince. To teach him the confidence she knew he possessed so that when she ended their affair and walked away—crying internal tears—he’d find the right girl to settle down with. Someone who wouldn’t embarrass him with her past. As for her…well, she’d do as she always had. Swallow her pain and go on. At least she wouldn’t be alone, though. Chloe would be there. Not that she intended to lean on her sister too much. Chloe didn’t need Bonnie fucking things up for her, not when she’d finally gotten the love she deserved.

Fuck, did it hurt and depress her to think about doing the right thing. No wonder most people took the easy route. Being good sucked. Just like waiting.

She sighed and drummed her fingers on the armrest, flicking switches back and forth, back and forth.

“Aramus doesn’t like people touching the controls,” Aphelion stated for the millionth time.

“Aramus can kiss my mechanically enhanced ass,” she retorted. “You and I both know he locked down the controls on his seat before he left. The big man knew I’d be sitting here. Who wouldn’t? Those little bucket seats are damned uncomfortable.”

“Comfort is not a requirement when on a mission.”

A moue of annoyance curled her lips. “Maybe not, but it sure would help when someone gets left behind. I don’t get it. What’s taking them so long? I thought this was supposed to be a quick raid and grab.”

“They’ve been gone less than an hour. Hardly long. It’s not like they could go through the front bay doors. According to their schedule, they should have docked on the far side of the asteroid about thirty minutes ago.”

“Or so we assume. This whole not running surface scans so we don’t give ourselves away thing really bites the big one.” Especially since it meant she couldn’t keep close tabs on her prince.

“Mission protocol dictates
—
”

“Oh would you shove it with your damned mission protocol? I’m worried. Would it kill you to have a little compassion? You know, that human emotion that allows you to feel empathy for the anxiety another sentient being is going through when someone she cares about is doing something dangerous.” Without her.

Aphelion appeared to ponder her words because his reply emerged in a gentler, less formal tone. “I am sure the deployed units are fine. They’ve taken every precaution. They even dressed in anti-gravity suits to reduce the stress on their bodies.”

“You really think they’re okay?”

“I know they are,” he stated with certainty. “We just need to
—
”

“Wait. I know.” She sighed. Patience, not something she’d possessed much of when completely human and still didn’t as a cyborg. “You know, I always expected missions to be more exciting than this. In the movies, the heroes ram through the main doors, blasting everything in their path. They kill all the bad guys in a wicked gun fight, get the treasure, and save the girl.”

Aphelion snorted, her words finally drawing a human reaction. “In real life, the chances of such a haphazard plan succeeding are slim. Not to mention the unnecessary damage they’d sustain. Properly executed missions follow a subversive path. The less violence involved the more chances of them prevailing and returning without casualty.”

“I still don’t see why they had to take Einstein with them. I thought he was the brains of the operation. Shouldn’t he be here, I don’t know, doing brainy stuff with the computers like taking over their surveillance system and making their computers do funky things such as lock the pirates in their rooms? Or have their own weapons turn on them?”

“Your practical knowledge of actual missions is appalling. Might I suggest you study something other than violence glorifying movies with unrealistic storylines and instead try something a little more cerebral like
The Art of War
?”

“Anyone ever tell you that you’re a killjoy?”

“And you are incredibly uninformed considering the fact you’re a cyborg.”

“Way to insult me, Aphelion.”

“I apologize. It wasn’t my intent.”

“Don’t be sorry. I asked for it. And guess what? Stick in the mud or not, I think I’m starting to like you.”

“I’d prefer if you didn’t. I saw what you liking Einstein did to him.”

She sighed happily. “Yeah, he is so cute when frazzled.”

His only reply resembled a snort, which was a step up from disdain, in her mind.
I am totally winning him over.
Aphelion returned to studying his console and she continued to wait for any kind of word.

Despite her boredom, Bonnie didn’t stray too far from the main control area, not wanting to miss anything, especially not once the action, or inaction started.

She’d partially dozed off, her BCI powering down to save energy, when Aphelion shuffled in his seat with a muttered, “Well, this is odd.”

Straightening, she asked, “What is?”

“All the chatter on the asteroid’s communications network just went dead.”

“Are you sure they didn’t change frequency?”

“First thing I checked. There’s nothing on any of the bands.”

“Let me see.” Bonnie hopped up and peered over his shoulder, frowning. “That is odd. Do you think the pirates know the boys are coming?”

“If they did, we should have seen an increase in radio activity, not a decrease.”

While his fingers tapped away, Bonnie wandered to another console and she pulled up some more data, widening the search parameters to include not just signals bouncing around the asteroid, but from the other asteroids nearby. Nothing appeared; however, her gut, a leftover human presentiment that she couldn’t ignore, said something didn’t add up. Illogical, her BCI claimed.

Perhaps the asteroid entered a sleep cycle. Or a generator went down. The audio blackout could have a valid explanation. But her instincts screamed something was wrong.
Einstein’s in danger.

“Can you pull up the recordings of their chatter for the last few hours?” she asked seating herself in the bucket seat beside Aphelion.

“Sure. But there’s nothing there. Just dull space chatter about breakfast and who’s exchanging sexual favors with each other. Regular human stuff.”

“It doesn’t hurt to look again.” Putting on a head set, she closed her eyes to better concentrate on the voices and the words the ship recorded. Splitting them out into distinct streams, she ordered her BCI to analyze the seeming innocuous communications. On the third pass, she caught the pattern. Opening her eyes, she barked out, “Holy shit. It’s a trap!”

“What? How can you tell that? We haven’t heard or seen anything to suggest such a scenario.” Aphelion didn’t bother to hide his skepticism.

“We didn’t hear a thing because we were listening to the surface and not looking deeper. Just like
they
wanted.”

“And who’s
they
?”

“It’s not fucking pirates with contraband down there, it’s the bloody military. This whole installation is a setup, a decoy meant to draw in raiders or cyborgs. They don’t care which.”

“So the units will have to fight a little harder.”

“A little harder?” A bitter laugh escaped her. “I don’t think you’re grasping the severity. The soldiers down there are equipped with the latest in weaponry. Or so the code I deciphered states. They know we’re onto them. They know we’re not pirates, they just aren’t sure if we’re human or not. They’ve armed the soldiers with electrical stun guns, the new ones Seth was telling me about that can lay a cyborg male flat, long enough for them to disable them.” AKA kill because the military no longer took cyborgs prisoner.

A stricken expression crossed Aphelion’s face. “Perhaps you’re mistaken.”

“I wish. We have to do something.”

“We can’t. We have our orders. We’re to maintain orbit around this moon and stay out of sight until rendezvous.”

“But that was before we knew they were walking into an ambush. We can’t just sit here and let them get killed.”

“And what do you expect me to do?”

“Contact them.”

“I’ll try.”

She tried not to grind her teeth as he closed his eyes and did the mind-to-mind talking thing the male cyborgs could do. His brow creased. “They’re not replying. I think they’ve shut off their communicators.”

“Or something is jamming them,” she replied grimly.

“We shall have to hope the units catch on to the ruse.”

“Not good enough.”

“What else do you expect me to do? I cannot contact them.”

“Then there’s only one option left.”

“And that is?”

“We need to rescue them, of course.”

“Of course, because that’s so easy,” he drawled, his sarcasm thick. “You do realize it took them over an hour to get to the hidden installation.”

“Because they were going in the back door, undercover. We can make it there in, what, twenty, fifteen minutes if we really push this baby.”

“Are you suggesting we attack the facility?”

“Yes.”

He gaped at her for a moment. “Do you need to shut down and perform a full system reboot?”

“Is this your way of calling me crazy?”

“As a matter of fact, it is. That is the most insane thing you’ve uttered so far.”

“I’m not crazy, nor mentally deficient or unstable. Nor do I need to reboot. However, you need a mental tweaking of your BCI, though, if you don’t see something wrong with letting friends and fellow cyborgs walk knowingly into a trap. Maybe you can live with yourself knowing you’re sentencing them to death, but I can’t. Orders or not, I am going to do something to help them.”

“This is mutiny.”

“No, it’s called doing what’s right and saving my friends.” And saving her prince charming.

“Aramus won’t like it.”

“Aramus can kiss my heart-shaped ass right after I save his. Now are you going to help me or not?”

Aphelion sighed. “Much as a part of me is arguing against it, oddly enough, I also find myself in agreement. So what do you propose we do?”

“Make our presence known and distract them long enough that our boys can get out.”

“I’ll need a minute to unlock the controls of the ship.”

Smirking, Bonnie plopped herself in Aramus’ seat and let her fingers fly. “Already done, or did you really think all that switch flipping was random?” As if Aramus’ passwords could keep her out. “Hang on tight, Aphelion. We are about to go knocking on the military’s door.”

And save her prince charming.

“Surrender now and you won’t be harmed.” The order came through the speakers embedded at intervals in the wall and the cyborgs sneaking along the suspiciously empty polymer corridor halted in their tracks.

“Are they talking to us, do you think?” Seth whispered. They didn’t dare communicate mind-to-mind lest the wireless signal give them away.

“We didn’t trip any alarms,” Einstein replied.

“So you assume,” Aramus rumbled.

“So I know. I’ve been checking. There was nothing along this path that would have triggered a warning to let them know we’re coming,” Einstein argued.

“Nothing? Really? Then how the fuck did they detect us? I thought this place was equipped with only the barest surveillance?” Aramus growled.

Einstein tapped on his handheld tablet and frowned. “It is. I mean, we’re talking really low level stuff. I don’t get it.”

“Maybe they’re fishing. Or talking to someone else. Do you think group B was detected?” Seth interjected.

“Unlikely.” Einstein had sent the second group of cyborgs through a natural fissure in the rock he discovered on his scans to flank the opposite side. According to his calculations, they shouldn’t yet have reached the point where they needed to laser their way in, nor should they have encountered any security cameras.

“Then maybe it’s another group of pirates come to steal.”

Both Einstein and Aramus shot Seth an incredulous look. As if two raiding parties chose the same moment to sneak in. The next announcement laid that ill-thought theory to rest.

“We have you surrounded, cyborgs. Give up peacefully and you will be given a chance to serve again with new and improved programming.”

Un-fucking believable. Not often prone to foul language, the moment called for it even if the expletive never passed Einstein’s lips. He and his friends exchanged stunned looks.

“Um, I’d say that answers the question of if they know we’re here.” Hooray for Seth, king of stating the obvious.

“Yeah and is it me, or did anyone notice they didn’t sound like bloody pirates?”

“Probably because it’s the military.” A disturbing realization.
How did I
miss
that important fa
ct
when I
reconnoitered this seemingly harmless outpost?
“They set a trap for us. And I missed it. Sorry.”

“Fuck me. The military outsmarted our smartest cyborg.” Aramus groaned. “What is my world coming to when humans are smarter than machines?”

“Oh stop being such a drama queen,” Seth cajoled with a poke in their leader’s ribs. “Who would have expected it, especially way out here? The military isn’t usually known for its subtlety.”

“We’ll have to investigate this change in their tactics later.” And reprogram their protocols to take this new furtiveness into account for future missions. At the moment, they had more pressing issues. “What should we do? If the military planned this ambush, then chances are there are no supplies for us to acquire.”

“Not exactly. They will have weapons. Maybe even a ship or two. And who knows, maybe this wasn’t a trap, but an actual hidden outpost we stumbled upon. We won’t know what they have unless we keep exploring.”

“They’re not just going to hand those things to us. Not without a fight.”

“So what do you suggest? Tucking our tails and running like cowards?” Aramus drawled.

The odds on retreating and making it back to their hidden transport vessel intact seemed slim, especially with their presence discovered. Einstein ran a few scenarios in his head and couldn’t come to any solution that didn’t involve a battle with the humans. Not to mention, a retreat to their hopefully hidden ship meant leading them back to Bonnie. Put her in danger or battle it out? Einstein knew what he would choose.

Aramus came to the same conclusion. “I say we fight.” He cracked his knuckles and rolled his head on his neck, limbering up his enhanced musculature. A predatory light illuminated his eyes. “We can’t retreat. So our best option is to go forward and take them out.”

“Excellent. I was hoping you’d say that.” Seth pulled a pair of slim blades from his sleeves. “I could use some real exercise.”

“Bet you I bag more kills,” Aramus taunted.

“In your dreams, you inferior model.”

Einstein groaned. “Why is it none of the missions I ever go on with you two ever end up simple?”

“Because we’re magnets for fun, dude.”

Fun if bloodshed counted. “Should we warn the units approaching from the other side?”

Aramus shook his head. “We don’t yet know which of our groups they’ve detected. If we have a chance at surprising them, we should keep it.”

“What about our ship?” And Bonnie. Was she safe or did the military at this very moment surround them and demand their surrender? He almost broke radio silence to find out.

“If it looks like we’re not going to make it out, we’ll send a signal for them to retreat.”

“We’ll win,” Seth said with quiet assurance.

“What makes you so sure?” Einstein asked. Worry tainted his query as for the first time in awhile he recognized his own mortality, probably because now he had something, make that someone, to live for.

“We’ll win because I am too young and handsome to die.” Seth laughed. “Oh come on. Lighten up, brainiac. This is what we were made for. What we excel at. We are fighting machines. Deadly soldiers. The best of the best. Humans don’t stand a chance against us.”

“Says the man equipped with both guns and knives. Not all of us are as well trained,” Einstein remarked dryly.

“Are you calling me a crappy teacher?” Seth adopted a hurt expression.

“No. But you know I’m more adept with a keyboard than my fists.”

“Practice makes perfect. And just think, when you return victorious to the ship, you’ll have someone to fawn over you and kiss your booboos better.”

He did, didn’t he? Einstein straightened. And Bonnie hated the military. She’d probably see his fighting as heroic. “I like your logic. What are we waiting for?”

In the distance, they heard the crackle of gunfire. Nobody needed to state the obvious aloud. Group B had encountered resistance.

Forget coming at the waiting soldiers with subtlety. With a wide, ferocious grin, Aramus pulled a gun, and with his other hand holding a deadly knife, pointed it forward. “Ready? Cyborgs attack!”

And with that savage, rallying cry, they took off at a run, exhilaration and nano-imbued blood coursing through their veins. For once, Seth had it right. This was what cyborgs were created for. Perfect killing machines. Impervious to pain. Almost indestructible. And oh so deadly.

Humanity’s greatest achievement, and biggest failure, ready to mete justice on their creators.