Assessing Survival (7 page)

Commander Liakon cleared his throat. “Major Carter, we are thankful that you have accepted us as guests at your base.”

Aluak inclined his head. “Your timely assistance saved our lives.”

Liakon cocked his head, his rainbow eyes staring at her. “How did you know?”

She answered honestly. “My family assisted in designing the programming, and if a person had not received the initial introduction of the nanites before the implant was attached, the seizures would begin. The active repair nanites would start tearing the body apart, but not know how to put it back together. They are machines, but we have to tell them exactly what to do.”

Liakon nodded. “How do we remove them?”

“You don’t. They are part of you now. For some of you, they are running the organs implanted; for others, they maintain the balance of skin and bone. Yours are now part of you just as mine are part of me.”

He frowned. “It can’t fall into the hands of the Splice.”

She nodded. “That is true, but it won’t. Our men who have fallen into the hands of the Splice, including those who were retrieved with you, have already had the nanites and live with them. They had them before they went to battle, and they have them now.”

Aluak scowled. “If the Splice have this technology, why aren’t they using it?”

“The nanites are programmed for the possibility that they will be separated from their host. Without a working immune system, they burn out.”

The men looked sceptical, so she took her knife and cut her normal hand. The men gasped, and she dripped a puddle of blood on the table.

It bubbled and scorched until there was nothing but ash.

“Severed tissue does the same.” She held up her hand so they could see that the cut was healing at an accelerated rate.

Stitch smiled. “I am not recommending that you all try, but now, your bodies can recover rapidly from any damage inflicted with the exception of having a limb or organ destroyed. Those need frameworks to build tissue around.”

Liakon nodded as if it made sense. A slow smile crossed his features. “Do you have a lover, Major Carter?”

She was about to open her mouth and speak when Nikolai said, “Yes.”

She shrugged with a smile.

Liakon nodded in agreement. “If you ever have need of one, please consider me or one of my men for the position. We all have extensive training in the arts of love, and it would be an honour to be at your service.”

“Um, thank you. I will keep it in mind if there is an availability. I do have a question for you and your men.”

“Please, do not hesitate.”

“The question is twofold. The first part is what are your kind called, and the second is do you have anyone who can make a scale drawing of your wings, including tensile strength and lift capacity? We may be able to speed the regeneration if we can install frameworks that will help your body repair.”

“Solouk is a biologist. He should be able to reproduce what we have lost.”

“How long does it normally take for your wings to regrow?”

“Six months.”

She made a face. “How long were you a prisoner?”

“Our ship was captured a week ago. Your men were already on board. It was a shock to see the men coming to rescue their own, and we were even more astonished when they took us with them. We were grateful; we
are
grateful, but for one species to take in another in the face of war is amazing.”

Nikolai sighed. “To be honest, we didn’t know you weren’t ours. You look the same.”

Stitch was surprised. “You didn’t notice their eyes?”

Liakon cleared his throat. “We did not let them see. The Alguth are sensitive when it comes to the minds of other species. When we saw how close we were to your kind, we blended in.”

“So, a chance to escape was in front of you, and you took it?” Stitch fought her smile.

“Yes.”

“Well, I am delighted that you have all made it out alive. Now, did Nikolai show you where you are staying?”

The world was getting warm and blurry again. She listed to one side before she jerked upright.

“Stitch, we should get you to bed.”

She chuckled. “It is nearly dawn. I will have to be up in two hours to check the communications.”

“I will help.”

She swayed again, and he sighed. “Executive decision.”

She figured out what it meant when he lifted her and carried her out of the dining hall with fifteen aliens walking behind them. To her surprise, he didn’t take her to her quarters; he brought her to the med lab and put her in the machine.

“We use this before we go on a mission. It helps keep us awake without doing any damage.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Recalibrate it for me.”

He laughed. “I know how to set it.”

She lay back and watched the machine as it whirred, but instead of needles and scalpels, she saw light. Her mind relaxed and her body went boneless for a moment.

Her skin was tingling when the machine opened again. She felt bright, refreshed and ready to tackle the day.

Nikolai smiled when she swung her legs out of the machine. He put his hands on her waist. “Better?”

She pulled his head down and kissed him with a portion of the energy ripping through her.

His hands contracted on her waist, and he pulled her in close. She wrapped her thighs around him, and he cupped her buttocks as they ravished each other, tongues sliding and hearts pounding.

He moved his hand up her spine, and she shivered. When he gripped the back of her head, her hair came loose again and he groaned.

She pulled away and smiled at him. “So, you want to help me work off this energy?”

“In front of your guests?”

She looked past him to the group of aliens who were watching with amused fascination.

Stitch didn’t even think before she said, “That wouldn’t bother me, but this lab isn’t really comfortable. Perhaps something a little more horizontal?”

Liakon smiled. “We will explore the exercise facility and determine what we can do with our new limbs.”

Stitch frowned. “Take it easy. It will take a few more hours until the integration is complete.”

“Yes, Major. We will follow your dictates.”

She looked at Nikolai as the aliens filed out. “You could take a lesson from them.”

He started to walk with her still wrapped around him. She smirked at him the whole way.

When they were inside her quarters, he whispered in her ear and said, “I will fulfill all your requests and try to entice you into a few demands you didn’t even know you wanted.”

“Fine, remove my uniform.”

The moment he knelt in front of her, she knew they were off to an excellent start.

Her throaty order for him to remove his own clothing was lost in the rustling and occasional tearing of fabric. It wasn’t until he leaned down and unlaced his boots that she had time to focus on what was going on. Naked and settled on one side while she looked at him, she focused on why he was there at all.

If he had imprinted on her because she kept him sane in those moments before his surgery, she was going to be braced for his eventual coming to his senses. Her heart would break, but in the meantime, she could fill it with memories. When they got back to Earth, if they got back to Earth, they would go their separate ways. She was pretty sure that Nikolai could do better than a damaged organizational freak.

“What are you thinking about? It can’t be good.”

He was taking off his pants and skimming out of his underwear in one move. His skin was dotted with silver patches that indicated internal reinforcement, but it didn’t deter from his beauty.

The nanites had been designed for folks who wanted the vanity of physical alteration without the worry of rejecting the implants. It was a fad that had led to their ability to defend themselves a century later.

“I was thinking about how we ended up here.”

He stalked toward her. “That is a very heavy subject, Stitch. I think you need a distraction.”

She watched his approach, and she smiled. “I think you are right. I won’t say that often.”

He crawled over her and lowered his lips to hers. “Mission
Distract Stitch
is commencing.”

She smiled against his mouth. “Thanks for the warning.”

The kiss started out soft and grew deeper and more savage with every passing second. She turned her hips to invite his thighs to move between hers.

The smooth feel of his hands on her skin spurred her analytical side, but when he broke their kiss and cupped her breasts, the analysis of the texture of his adjustment disappeared.

She sighed as he sucked at her breast and tugged her nipple between his teeth. She could feel her folds getting wet with each tensing pull on her skin.

Stitch gripped his shoulders then cupped his head, directing him from one breast to the other.

She squirmed against him and wished his hair were longer. As it was, she had to use her strength to put his head where she wanted it. A low chuckle let her know that he didn’t mind.

When he started working lower, she squeaked and tried to pull him up, but the sneaky bugger held her hands down and crept backward, kissing and sucking his way between her thighs.

He tongued her folds apart and lapped at her. The flat expanse of his tongue delved into her, drinking her as her body put out its slick invitation.

She clenched her fingers around his as he held her to the bed. The top of his head was moving in time to his tonguing, and when she screeched, he released her hands, pulled up and fitted his cock to her, working inside as her muscles clenched and drew him inside.

He shuddered, and sweat broke out on his skin.

Stitch wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and pulled him toward her as he started a slow thrust that undulated him against her.

Nikolai caressed her tongue with his as he rocked into her with a steady beat.

Stitch moved her hands down his body, dragging her fingers down his sides and finding where metal and man became one. She bit at his lips as they kissed and stroked the deep groove in his spine, coaxing him into a faster beat.

She pulled at him and hooked her right leg around him.

He broke the kiss and lifted up, staying inside her as he pushed her legs back until her knees were nearly to her chest.

He slid in deeper, and the breath left her lungs. She wanted to call him a cheater, but instead, she moaned.

He thrust into her with fervent determination. His teeth were clenched, and the veins on his neck were distended as he fought for control.

She reached between them and took her new hand for a spin, moving in rapid circles around her clit until she was caught in a whirlwind of bright sparks behind her eyes.

Nikolai grunted hoarsely and let out a low growl as he spilled into her. He jerked his hips sharply against her, and he finally stopped holding her legs in the tucked position.

After he pulled out, he dropped to the bed beside her. “Well, I can cross that off my list.”

She nodded. “Me too.”

He put his hand on her stomach. “I didn’t mean it to sound like that. It has just been a fantasy of mine for a very long time.”

Stitch looked at him, and there was a very concerned expression on his face.

She nodded. “I am sure that after my face gets put on one of the sex bots in the rec centre, you will get over it.”

“Do you think that this is just a lark for me?” He scowled.

“No, but I am also cognizant of the fact that I am the only woman on this base and that guys race to see who can get in the lady’s pants first.”

“This isn’t like that. None of the other guys would dare get into your bed. They don’t think of you like that.”

She snorted. “Great to know.”

He sighed and pressed his forehead to hers. “I am making a hash of it.”

“A little bit.”

He sighed.

She took pity on him and turned toward him, facing him.

“Let’s start again, Nikolai. Neither of us was at our best when we met.”

He sighed. “Call me Nik or Niko.”

“Call me Stitch.” She reached toward him and took his left hand with her right. “I am a recent cyborg and OCD administrator. There isn’t a military bone in my body... well, not since you pulled out.”

He quivered with laughter. “I have been a cyborg for three years, in charge of the base for eighteen months and have hated the paperwork the whole time.”

“I started working in assessment back on Earth and volunteered to come out to help the war effort even after I knew it would mean mandatory sterilization.”

His fingers squeezed hers. “I had nightmares when my brother told me he was enlisting.”

She smiled sadly. “I cried when I had to work with my first wounded fighter, but I waited until he was headed to surgery before I let go.”

“I was scared stiff when I was thawed out for enhancement until an angel walked me through the procedure and promised to let me watch her eat a hot dog if I survived. I never did get to collect on that.”

She chuckled. “Your eyes were so pretty. Still are actually. It hurt to go through assessment and the team manipulation, never seeing the men again. Being here has been nice when I see some of my men again.”

“Am I included in the wounded assessment?”

He squeezed her hand.

“Every inch of that initial repair to you was my design. I chose the pieces one by one that would make you better able to survive the next fight. It looks like I did a good job, but I never thought of any of the guys as wounded, not after the first. You were all just on your way to be stronger. It was a fiction I maintained until I had time on my own.”

“How many?”

She knew what he was asking. “One thousand nine hundred and thirty-four, including your brother.”

He quirked his lips. “So, you have done me and my brother. That may cause issues.”

She snorted and squeezed his hand again. “Funny.”

He grinned.

“Who did you leave behind?”

He sobered. “My parents and I thought I had left Keenan behind. He proved me wrong.”

She chuckled. “He is alive, and if the Earth will let us come home when this is over, he has a chance at a family.”