Bianca D'Arc (16 page)

The only sticking point was the small group
that still held out inside C&C. Bjornson was in there, along
with a few of his closest allies.

Maddie hadn’t yet realized all she was
capable of, and perhaps it wasn’t the best thing to teach a space
station how to take control of itself, but in this instance, Chip
had no choice. He let his computer-enhanced mind enter the C&C
subroutines and he began… changing things. Little things in
unimportant programs that should not have mattered, but with enough
small changes, he would be able to gain control of the cleaning
bots in C&C itself. They were all in their storage
compartments, along with a plethora of cleaning chemicals, three of
which could be mixed together to form something that would put
everyone in C&C asleep for a long time.

Chip used the metal arms of one of the bots
to do the delicate work of mixing the concoction, then allowed all
of the bots to load up with the stuff. This had to be done quickly.
The element of surprise would work in his favor. Undoubtedly the
saboteurs in C&C already knew bots were being used as weapons
all over the station. Maddie had learned from what Chip had done in
the bar.

He felt a touch on his shoulder and looked
over at Lila, kneeling at his side. She smiled up at him and his
soul felt lighter, joy filling him at the look of love on her
beautiful face.

“Want to see something?” he asked, using his
mind to change the view on the wall screen to the inside of
C&C.

She cut the cloth barely covering his
shoulder with gentle hands and turned to face the screen. “Let me
get this on first,” she said as she worked a med pad over his
wound. It held chemicals that would clean, cauterize and
anesthetize the area, bringing nearly instant relief to the nagging
pain he’d begun to feel. “All right, what have you got planned for
them?” A mischievous smile lit her face as she faced the
screen.

“Watch this.” So saying, he sent the command
that would spring the bots into action. On silent rollers and
padded feet, they crept from their storage area and touched each of
the saboteurs. One by one, they began to fall unconscious until
only Bjornson was left, sitting all alone—though he didn’t realize
it yet—in the command chair.

A bot trundled up to him and he looked at it
in confusion for a moment before standing in alarm to look around
and find everyone in C&C unconscious at their stations. He
glanced downward and saw the bot touching him. A look of horror and
rage passed over his face before it went slack as he fell face
down, whacking his head on the hard decking as he fell.

“That’s got to hurt,” was Lila’s dry comment.
“What did you do to them?” She turned back to him, curiosity on her
smiling face.

“It’s amazing what sorts of chemicals are
kept on hand to clean with,” was all he’d admit to. It was all he
needed to say.

Lila sat in his lap as he tugged her closer,
wrapping her arms around his neck, careful to avoid his wounded
shoulder.

“Beezus is dead. Bjornson is unconscious and
will be captured as soon as Freight Train and Hank enter C&C,
which should happen at any moment. Julian’s got the pirate fleet in
hand. Maddie’s handling everything else, which leaves me only one
thing to do.”

“And what’s that?” she asked breathlessly as
he rubbed his stubbly cheek gently against her hair. How he loved
this woman. She was more important to him than anyone or anything
in the entire universe. It was time she knew it. Time he took the
biggest risk of his life.

“My biggest, and most important task of all,
my dear. I need to convince you to marry me.” He looked deep into
her startled eyes. “I can’t live without you, Lila.”

Tears gathered in her eyes and he wasn’t sure
if that was a good sign or not. Uncertainty made him nervous.

“Will you marry me, Lila?” he repeated,
worried that she’d give him the wrong answer.

Instead she smiled. “I think I will. Of
course, I’ll need a lot of convincing.” She lifted her lips to his
and whispered against his mouth. “Convince me, my Charlemagne.
Convince me all night long.”

General Winters showed up in person a few
weeks later. His visit had a number of different purposes. First,
he wanted to meet and assess Maddie, who had made her presence well
known on the station in the weeks since the pirates had been
routed. He was also there to take stock of the changes in Chip’s
abilities. He brought a cyber-neuro specialist with him to quietly
examine Chip. In particular, they wanted to determine if it was
safe for him to travel with the changes to his implant. Most ships
and stations had detectors of many kinds that might be able to
sense his changed internal technology and bring unwanted
attention.

Until the docs gave him the
all clear
,
Winters had ordered Chip to stay on
Madhatter Station
. That
suited Chip just fine. He was putting the bar back to rights with
Lila’s help and spending every private moment with her, making love
and getting to know every little thing about her. What she liked.
What she loathed. What made her smile and what made her scream with
pleasure.

Chip had already filed commendations and
recommendations for all the vets involved in the defense of the
station. He knew Winters would meet with all of them—especially
Julian. Chip suspected the pilot was going to be given a lot more
responsibility, should he choose to accept it. Chip figured Julian
would. He’d taken charge of the pirate fleet quite handily and
helped capture and contain all the crew members on every ship. None
had escaped, which was a huge victory for the rule of law.

Chip had run an errand to a shop on the
adjoining concourse that supplied and repaired cleaning bots and
had just returned to
The Rabbit Hole
when he saw General
Winters sitting at the bar. He looked surprisingly comfortable
among the old vets, making small talk.

This was the first Chip had seen of the
general since his arrival on station. Winters had been busy seeing
to other business before making his way here. After all,
The
Rabbit Hole
was just a bar where local vets tended to hang out.
It wasn’t anything special. Only Maddie knew the full extent of the
role Chip and the bar had played in the recent action and she’d
understood his need for secrecy even before he discussed it with
her.

“Sir, it’s good to see you again,” Chip said,
extending his hand in greeting, as soon as he was close enough
where his words wouldn’t be casually overheard. The vets formed an
informal protective barrier between the old man and the rest of the
bar, giving them enough space to have a more or less private
conversation.

Winters shook his hand heartily, a broad
smile on his usually serious face.

“Damn fine work, Quartain. Damn fine. The doc
tells me you’re cleared for duty.” Chip had already submitted to a
very thorough examination the day before, given by the doctor
Winters had brought along with him.

Much to Chip’s surprise, the doctor hadn’t
been able to find any real change in the technology. Nothing within
the implant had changed. It was Chip’s brain that had adapted. That
wasn’t something they could exactly quantify and reproduce. Chip
and his implant registered essentially the same on all the tests as
he had before. It was something internal—something nebulous—that
had allowed the incredible synergy between his brain and the
technology.

So life, and work, could go on as before. The
only thing that was new and different was Chip’s incredibly
enlarged computing capacity. For all intents and purposes, he was a
human computer on a scale never before seen. He had a feeling his
assignments were going to change in the future, but it would take a
while before Winters figured out how best to utilize Chip’s
expanded abilities.

The only thing Chip knew for sure, that he
had to make absolutely clear, was that from now on, Chip and Lila
came as a set. They’d had multiple, long discussions about how they
wanted to proceed. Chip had offered to give up the spy game, but
Lila convinced him she wanted back in. He’d only countenance that
if she wasn’t put in direct danger. She countered by telling him
about previous situations she’d been in and how her psychic gifts
brought her to the right place at the right time and seldom put her
in real danger.

It took some convincing, but he’d computed
the probabilities and realized the best way forward for them as a
couple was to use their amazing gifts together. Lila laughed at his
analytical approach, telling him not to question fate.

“If you’re comfortable here…” the general
broke into Chip’s roaming thoughts, “…you might as well stay for a
while. Alex and Della will return, and we need this place ship
shape when they get back.” Winters sent his gaze pointedly around
the bar room. They’d been able to get the place open, but it was
still quite a mess. Most of the station was still a mess, of
course. It would take a while to get it back to the way it was.

“I’m game, sir. Lila and I like it here.”

“Yeah, I’d heard you had taken up with one of
the Senna ladies.” Winters turned back to Chip with an odd twinkle
in his eye. Chip wasn’t sure quite how to take his words.

“We plan to marry.” Chip wanted Winters to
know he would not be dissuaded. He put all his conviction into
those simple words.

Surprisingly, Winters grinned and held out
his hand for a congratulatory shake. “Welcome to the family,
son.”

“The family?” Chip was nonplussed by the old
man’s words.

General Winters gave him a big grin. “Didn’t
she tell you? Your Lila is my niece by marriage. It was her aunt
who told me to send you here, and look how that turned out. If
you’ll take my advice, you’ll always listen when a Senna woman
tells you something about the future. They always know what they’re
talking about.”

The general gave him an uncharacteristic wink
and turned back to the bar.

Chip was still recovering from his
astonishment when Lila slid her arm around his waist and cuddled
under his arm. She fit so well in his embrace, he never wanted to
let her go.

“Is Uncle Neil giving you a hard time?”

“No, not at all.” Far be it for him to
complain about anything the commanding general had to say to him.
This was going to take some getting used to.

Lila leaned into him, squeezing him around
the middle lightly. “Don’t worry. I foresee we’ll have the rest of
our lives to figure it all out—and we’re going to live a very long,
happy time together.”

The general’s advice fresh in his mind, Chip
decided not to question her gift or his good fortune. Lila was his
and that was all that mattered.

###

Bianca D’Arc has run a laboratory, climbed
the corporate ladder in the shark-infested streets of Manhattan,
studied and taught martial arts, and earned the right to put a
whole bunch of letters after her name, but she’s always enjoyed
writing more than any of her other pursuits. She grew up and still
lives on Long Island, where she keeps busy with an extensive
garden, several aquariums full of very demanding fish, and writing
her favorite genres of paranormal, fantasy and sci-fi romance.

Bianca loves to hear from readers and can be
reached through Facebook, her Yahoo group or through the various
links on her website.

Now Available:

Jit’Suku Chronicles: Arcana

King of Swords

King of Cups

King of Clubs

Jit’Suku Chronicles: Sons of Amber

Ezekiel

Michael

Brotherhood of Blood

One & Only

Rare Vintage

Phantom Desires

Sweeter Than Wine

Forever Valentine

Wolf Hills

Tales of the Were

Lords of the Were

Inferno

The Purrfect Stranger

Dragon Knights

Maiden Flight

Border Lair

The Ice Dragon

Prince of Spies

Wings of Change

FireDrake

Dragon Storm

Resonance Mates

Hara’s Legacy

Davin’s Quest

Jaci’s Experiment

Grady’s Awakening

Gifts of the Ancients

Warrior’s Heart

String of Fate

Cat’s Cradle

StarLords

Hidden Talent

Print Anthologies

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I Dream of Dragons Vol. 1

Brotherhood of Blood

Caught by Cupid

Guardians of the Dark

Half Past Dead

Once Bitten, Twice Dead

A Darker Shade of Dead

The Beast Within

Dead Alert

Coming Soon:

Jit’Suku Chronicles:
Arcana

King of Stars

Available in ebook - Late 2012

Jit’Suku Chronicles

End of the Line

Available in ebook - Early 2013

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Keeper of the Flame

Available in ebook - February 2013

We hope you’ll enjoy this excerpt from an
upcoming short story set in the world of Bianca D’Arc’s
Jit’Suku
Chronicles…

© 2012 Bianca D’Arc. All Rights Reserved.

She saw the incoming fire too late to save
her ship. The one-man fighter was going down, and if she didn’t pop
her canopy in the next five milliseconds, she was going with
it.