Cyborg (16 page)

Reese and Dante were waiting for her when she finally made her way down the gangplank. If she hadn’t been so distracted, she would’ve been looking for a way to avoid them. As it was, Reese had gripped her arm before she even realized he was there.

She glanced at him and then Dante.

“We have a home. You can stay with us until … until you decide what you want to do,” Reese offered.

Amaryllis blinked at him in dismay. It took her several moments to realize he wasn’t talking about her condition, couldn’t be because he had no knowledge of it. It took her several moments longer to jog her brain into functioning.

“I’m going to stay at the barracks,” she said finally, remembering the announcement that had been made shortly before they’d landed that accommodations for those who had not made other arrangements could be found at the barracks near the edge of town.Reese and Dante exchanged a look.

“I will be staying at the house of a friend,” Dante said coolly.

Amaryllis must have stared at him a full minute before she realized what he was saying. She glanced at Reese and then at Dante again. He was a medic. But would he have enough knowledge of medicine to know how to check her? Would he know what to look for? He could probably tell her, positively, whether she was or she was not pregnant, but she’d find that out in due time without having to be checked.

What she needed to know was whether the child was normal or if it was defective and, if it was defective, what course she should take.

She shook the thought off, horrified at the desperation that had spawned it. Dante might know her secret, but he might also have fathered the child. She couldn’t let either one of them know.

Reese had spoken of contracting for a family unit. He wouldn’t understand at all.

Finally, she shook her head. “My decision has nothing to do with you.”

He reddened, turning to glare angrily at the distant horizon.

Amaryllis stared up at him in dismay. She hadn’t spoken to him since she’d been discovered in his cabin. She was fairly certain that he hadn’t turned her in as she’d first believed, but he’d avoided her since, and she didn’t know whether it was because of Reese, or because he thought she hated him for betraying her trust. “I didn’t mean that the way you obviously took it. I’m just….” She searched for something to say that would be palatable to both of them. “…confused right now and I need time to adjust.”

It was patently obvious that neither of them was happy about her decision, but they apparently thought argument would be useless. After exchanging another glance, as if they were communicating telepathically, they escorted her to the barracks.

Amaryllis would’ve preferred they hadn’t and it had nothing to do with the fact that she saw Cain watching the three of them speculatively from the terminal. She was in no fit frame of mind to deal with him either.

It was a beautiful world. Dimly, she was aware of that even through her abstraction, aware of the pure sweetness of the air, the gentle caress of the breeze, the comforting warmth of the sun. Abundant vegetation covered the surrounding hills. Tiny flying creatures fluttered among the branches of strange trees and brush and soared overhead, singing strange songs through alien throats. The city, Gallen, nestled comfortably alongside the natural surroundings, the buildings as beautiful in their own way as the land the cyborgs had obviously taken great care to leave as undisturbed as possible.It lightened her spirits, drew her from her self-absorption. “It’s … beautiful,” she said, her voice tinged with surprise as she stopped short to study her surroundings. She didn’t know what she’d expected, but this was certainly not it. She supposed she’d thought that it would look much like the planet of her childhood.

Typically, the terra farmers were sent to planets that would barely sustain life and it was up to them to create a planet more hospitable for the colonists that would come later. They had tried to make their personal habitats as ‘homey’ as possible, but the structure itself was utilitarian and painfully ugly. Beyond the habitat, vegetation was sparse, scraggly and often deadly, and so, too, were the few creatures to be found. The air was breathable, but no one went outside the dome without a suit and a respirator. They’d lived in almost perpetual gloom despite the bright artificial lighting because the atmosphere was so thick the sun barely penetrated it to brighten the ground, much less the glass dome that guarded their habitat.

The ‘playground’ was an area in the center of the dome that the colonists had set aside as safe enough for the children to play. But, although to the young child she’d been it had seemed a place filled with adventure she alone was excluded from finding, the truth was it was as horrible as the remainder of the habitat.

This world was one of such perfection it filled her with wonder, as if she’d slipped into a fantasy world where the sun never burned and the flora and fauna had evolved solely to give comfort and sustenance and pleasure. And, as if guided by their reverence of such beauty, the cyborgs had created a city equally beautiful, built of the pink and white veined stones that erupted from the earth here there, the roofs topped with tiles baked from the soil itself, and everywhere--on the pillars that supported the roofs and the walls--relief carvings that reflected the climbing vegetation and flowers and bird-like creatures surrounding it so that the city itself seemed a part of it all, rather than an intrusion.

“Is this--real?”

Reese, she saw, was smiling at her with obvious pride. “Yes. I’m glad our new home pleases you.” He turned then and, from the rise where they stood, pointed out the buildings of importance in the city--the hall where the council members met; the education centers; the medical/research center; the center for laws; the fort for the militia.

Spiraling out from the city proper, Amaryllis could see glimpses of other buildings. “What are those?”

“The plantations already established. On that rise there is the home that Dante and I built together. It is small by comparison to many of the others, but we did not need much room to be comfortable. In any case, we wanted to wait until we had a family and build to suit our mates.”

Amaryllis felt her face redden. After glancing uncomfortably at Dante, she began to move again, heading toward the barracks. Without a word, Reese and Dante fell into step beside her.

The barracks, she discovered as they approached it, was far more simple a structure than the others, but still surprisingly pleasing to the eye and as luxurious inside as an upper end apartment complex. She was assigned quarters at the main office and given supplies. To her relief, Reese and Dante excused themselves and departed once they’d walked her to the barracks.

Her heels echoed hollowly as she moved briskly along the virtually deserted corridor that bisected the barracks and finally found the door to her own quarters. It was sparsely furnished, more utilitarian, like the barracks she was accustomed to, but far larger, containing a private bath, a tiny, well stocked kitchen area and a combination living/sleeping area.

She didn’t have much enthusiasm for exploring. Depression had settled over her from the moment Reese and Dante had departed, leaving her no reason to try even to appear hopeful about her situation. She plopped into the only comfortable chair the quarters boasted, fighting the tightness of pure misery in her chest.

There’d been only one ship at the landing--the ship they’d traveled on.

She wasn’t getting off this planet and she had no idea what the hell she was going to do.

Amaryllis didn’t even claim the most rudimentary cooking skills. What little she did know had been gained from watching her mother prepare meals, but, naturally enough, she had no actual experience in preparing food. After a while, though, she began to realize that at least a part of the hollowness in her belly was hunger and she dragged herself up and went to find something to fill the void. The meal she managed wasn’t anything to brag about, but it satisfied her need for food.

Afterwards, bored and anxious, she decided to go out to test her freedom. To her surprise and relief, she was allowed to pass without question. She found herself heading directly toward the med center without even realizing that was the destination she’d had in mind. A great crowd was gathered in the streets, however, and, unnerved, she made an about face as soon as she saw that something had the cyborgs surprisingly stirred up and quickly put as much distance between herself and the crowd as possible.

She wandered the other, nearly deserted streets of the city for a time and finally, tired and more depressed than ever, returned to the barracks.

It was just as well she hadn’t been able to get near the hospital or she might have been tempted to do something really stupid. She had no idea how the cyborgs might react if they discovered they had a human among them--they might merely send her packing but somehow she doubted it would transpire that their idea of a solution and hers coincided so well. They might decide to keep her since there seemed to be a rather shockingly uneven ratio of men to women, but she was very much afraid that she would never really be accepted even if they wanted her to stay. And it could be far worse. They might decide to terminate her, or imprison her until they could deport her.

She was almost desperate enough to risk it just so she could have some peace of mind regarding her pregnancy. She
had
to know if it was normal. But how?

It occurred to her as she made her way along the main thoroughfare towards the barracks that she might have another option.

This planet was abundant with life and appeared to have been capable of sustaining life for thousands of years if not longer. There must have been intelligent life on the planet when the cyborgs arrived. It seemed ludicrous to think there wouldn’t have been on such prime territory. The question was, how intelligent? Advanced enough to help? What were the chances that they would be willing to help even if they had the technology? Or had the cyborgs slain them when they’d claimed their world? Or driven them to some distant corner so that she might search for years without finding them?

It seemed a long shot, but she figured it couldn’t hurt to look and see if there were any signs of other intelligent beings.

Reese met her at her door when she reached her quarters once more. Her belly instantly clenched with nerves at sight of him.

It wasn’t altogether because she dreaded the ‘talk’ he’d put off until they landed.

He looked--absolutely divine. He’d shed the uniform they’d worn during the trip.

Now he wore nothing more than what amounted to a loin cloth to cover his privates.

Around his waist, he’d fastened a leather belt that secured an ornately handled sword and scabbard at his side. He’d pulled his long, blond hair into a queue at the base of his skull and tied it with a twisted length of leather.

The uniform conformed to the shape of his body in loving detail, and she’d known he was built well, but their coupling before had been so frantic they hadn’t actually taken the time to undress and she hadn’t had the opportunity to admire his body.

Nor did she think she’d ever properly appreciated his classical features as she did now for although she’d always considered him heartstoppingly handsome, she’d always been too overawed to do more than sneak peeks at him.

The scanty clothing that had been furnished for her own use made more sense to her now. Obviously, his clothing and the clothing they’d been given aboard ship were not only typical, but in common usage among the cyborgs because the planet’s climate required nothing more.

For many minutes, she simply stopped and stared at him. Finally, however, she realized that he was giving her an equally thorough examination. Discomfort settled over her as his gaze swept over her belly and she jolted forward once more.

Yet another thing to worry about, she thought wryly as she punched in her code at the key lock of her quarters. The climate might be balmy enough to make clothing unnecessary, but that it also left her with very little to hide her condition. She had no clue of when it would become obvious that she was breeding, but she doubted it would be long. “Make yourself comfortable,” she offered a little stiltedly, gesturing in the general direction of the chair as she headed toward the bathroom. “I’m going to freshen up.”

She didn’t feel the need to wash up nearly as badly as she felt the need for just a few minutes to collect herself. On the other hand, she didn’t want him to know she was stalling for time. She didn’t linger.

Reese was pacing the floor when she returned to the living area.

Amaryllis studied him with a mixture of surprise and uneasiness. “You didn’t want to sit down?”

He glanced at the chair distractedly and finally shook his head.

“Refreshment?”

“No. I thank you.”

Amaryllis nodded, studied the chair a moment and finally decided to leave it in case he changed his mind and sit on the bunk that served as a couch during the day. She didn’t particularly want Reese towering over her, but he did even when she was standing.

She figured she might as well get as comfortable as possible, particularly since her knees felt a little weak.

The moment she settled, Reese stopped pacing and knelt in front of her. “You have decided?”

Amaryllis frowned at the abruptness of the question. She hadn’t expected him to come straight to the point and she wasn’t particularly pleased that he had. “No.”

He looked confused. “The hunter--the one called Cain--he is here. You are here.”

“He’s here?” she echoed, surprised.

“You did not know?”

“I didn’t.”

He looked somewhat relieved, but also confused. “You have decided not to contract with him?”

Amaryllis felt blood flood her cheeks. “He hasn’t asked.”

“You are waiting for him to ask?”

Indignation added to the color in her cheeks. “I’m not holding my breath, if that’s what you mean,” she snapped.