by Susan Hayes
When Tyran called for a vote, every council member voted to keep it a secret for the time being. No one seemed happy at the idea of keeping secrets, but for now, it was the best thing they could do.
“And that brings us to our last bit of business,” Edge announced. “I’ve been asked to bring forward a request to form a new kind of organization. Their purpose would be multifold. Mapping the land around the colony and documenting the flora and fauna of this world would be two of these goals. The other would be the protection of the colony and its citizens from any threat that might manifest from either this world or forces outside it.”
“Are you talking about a military?” Tyran asked.
Striker got to his feet. “Not really. We don’t need a military presence, but what happened with Maggie and the mercenaries made it clear we need some kind of rapid response team to deal with threats. The kopaki and ghost cats are going to kill someone someday if no one deals with them,” he explained.
“And I bet none of you even know what a bark spider is, but they’re venomous and could kill anyone without nanotech enhancement,” Maggie chimed in.
Everyone turned to stare at her. “What the fraxx is a bark spider, and why is this the first I’m hearing about them?” Denz asked, looking slightly horrified.
In answer, Striker linked to the hologram projector and sent several pictures of the creatures to the display, including one that showed his arm after being bitten.
“I’m sorry I asked,” Denz muttered.
“That’s in the forest? Here?” Phaedra shook her head. “Nope. That’s it. We’re going to need to burn down the whole thing and start over again.”
Raze leaned forward with interest. “Never seen one of those on my side of the mountains. Nasty.”
“I think Striker and Maggie just made the need for a ranger program very apparent,” Edge said. “Striker, will you be organizing this?”
“I will. It will be open to any colonist who is interested in learning how to protect us from any threats while protecting the environment from our presence here.”
“If any of you could see what my species did to our home planet, you’d understand how important this will be for the future of the colony.” Maggie stood up and took his hand. It was something they’d both agreed was important to them. For now, they’d both keep their jobs in town, but this was something they were committed to doing to help the colony thrive.
The first day he’d seen Maggie, he’d been sure of two things. She and every other human on that shuttle were a threat to the planet and the colony, and she was an outsider, just like him.
He couldn’t have imagined the day would come when they’d stand together, hand in hand, and take on the task of protecting the woods of Haven together… and that neither of them would be outsiders anymore.
Ignoring everyone around them, he gathered her into his arms and kissed her, enjoying the flash of surprise in her eyes. She hummed softly against his lips and wrapped her fingers in his shirt, holding him in place as she kissed him back.
Denz laughed. “Since there appears to be no further information coming from Striker, I think we can move on to the vote. All in favor of the creating of the ranger program, raise your hands.”
By the time he broke their kiss, the votes were cast.
“Congratulations. You’ve got yourself a program. Any idea who you’re recruiting for it?” Edge asked.
“Wreckage, Ruin, and Axe for a start. I want to talk to some Vardarians, too.
“And me,” Maggie said firmly.
“And Maggie. And then we’ll see who wants to be part of this. It’ll be open to anyone willing to put in the work.”
“Even humans?”
Maggie growled a little. Striker thought it was adorable. “Even humans,” he confirmed.
“One day, you’re going to have to learn to stop being such a judgmental ass,” River said as she moved past Edge on her way to the door. “I hope I’m there to see it when someone finally teaches you that lesson.”
“And someday, you’re going to take that stick out of your…” Edge trailed off when he saw Phaedra and Denz both glaring at him. “Right. Sorry. No insulting fellow council members, even if they started it.”
“I swear. I’m bringing a stun baton to the next meeting. First one to get out of line zap!” Phaedra muttered.
“You will do no such thing, little warrior. You are not even on the council,” Tyran reminded her.
“See? That’s an even better reason to let me. I’m not going to interfere with council politics that way. I’m just an unbiased enforcer.” She eyed the seats around the table. “I could wire the chairs to emit a low voltage shock instead…”
“That female scares me,” Edge murmured and then headed for the exit.
“He’s smarter than he looks,” Maggie observed once Edge was out of earshot.
“Sometimes.” He glanced down at his mate. “Ready to celebrate?”
“Yes!” She raised her voice. “Drinks at the Bar None for everyone. First round is on me.”
Cheers, laughter, and promises to see them at the tavern followed them out into the night air. They walked in silence, hand in hand.
They were on the bridge with the Bar None in sight when Maggie came to a sudden stop.
“What is it?” he asked when he saw her standing still, staring up at the sky.
“I… is that snow?” she asked as a gust of wind sent a fresh flurry of snowflakes dancing around them.
He had barely noticed the weather until she pointed it out. “It is. Why?”
“I’ve… never seen it before. It’s beautiful.”
As far as he was concerned, there wasn’t anything in the universe more lovely than the woman standing with wide eyes, staring up into the night sky, hands outstretched to catch the flakes as they fell.
“Tomorrow, we’ll go for a walk in it. You, me, and a few hours in the woods. Sound good?”
She beamed at him. “Sounds perfect.”
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and set off toward the tavern. Perfection wasn’t something he’d ever expected to find in his life… but somehow he had, and she was walking beside him.
“Did you invite everyone to the party already?”
“I have. Wreckage wanted to know if Jade would be there. I told him she wasn’t even out of the healer’s care yet. But maybe next time. He and Ruin will see us there.”
“Great. I want to thank everyone who helped you get to us in time.”
“So do I.” Without them, he might have lost the best thing to come into his life.
Ahead of them, someone opened the door to the tavern, filling the air with noise and light. He caught hold of her hand and led her toward it. He had a lot to be grateful for tonight. It was time to start celebrating.
***
Thank You for Reading Her Cyborg Champion!
Keep reading for a bonus scene from book Three - Her Alien Forgemasters
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I hope you enjoyed Striker and Maggie’s story.
If you’re looking for more stories like this one, I invite you to explore the other books in the Drift universe, which now Include Haven Colony, Nova Force and the original Drift series.
Bonus Scene - Anya
Anya had enjoyed a string of good days since coming to Haven, but this one was even better than usual. Her bar was packed, the patrons were all behaving, and everything was working the way it should.
The moment she had that thought, she rapped her knuckles three times on the top of the bar to ward off any bad luck that might be tempted by her open invitation to cause havoc. She’d had more than her share of chaos before coming here, and she had no doubt there’d be more in her future. Just… not right now. Tonight they all wanted to celebrate.
Every citizen of Haven knew the story of how this place had come to be, and how many factions would like to see them fail. Torex Mining Corp wanted their planet back so they could tear it apart to reach the rich veins of t
antalum buried beneath the surface. Darker forces wanted to reclaim their lost “property,” the cyborgs they had imprisoned and experimented on in their mad quest to build a better soldier.
And then there were the Vardarians. Thousands of them had followed Prince Tyran to Haven to start a new life far from the boundaries of their empire. She didn’t have to know the details to know there was a reason so many beings uprooted their lives to travel across the stars and start their lives over again.
One thing she’d learned in her life was that beings were the same the galaxy over. It didn’t matter what sect, class, or species they were, intelligent life all seemed to follow the same patterns. Most of them tried to be good, even if they often failed, and some of them always reached for more than they should have. Power, wealth, influence. When it reached a certain point, the decent ones always left and tried to start over somewhere new… and then the whole dance started over again.
That’s what Haven was—the first steps in a dance that might end in a year, a decade, or a few millennia. There was no way to know, and that was part of the magic. All she could be certain of was that here and now was her best chance to be a part of something special. It’s what Phaedra had offered her, along with the unvarnished truth about the challenges Anya would face if she came. Unstable cyborgs who distrusted humans, a new species no one knew much about, and a new world that hadn’t even been surveyed properly.
She’d said yes in a heartbeat.
Now she had a booming business and a sense of community she’d never known before. These beings weren’t just her customers. They were her friends and neighbors. And tonight, they’d gathered to celebrate the newest addition to their ranks. After being claimed by Striker, Maggie was now officially a citizen of Haven, the first of the human refugees to reach that status. As far as Anya was concerned, no one deserved happiness more than Maggie. It made her heart happy to hear her friend’s laughter and watch her lean into Striker’s side, her joy an almost tangible thing that lifted everyone around her.
“She glows,” Saral said as she placed a plate of snacks in front of Anya. “It’s nice to see.”
“It is.”
“So would seeing you eat. You work too hard and don’t take care of yourself. You need to find a good male or two to make sure you are well cared for.”
“That is your answer to everything. Males are not the cure to all the troubles of the universe.”
“No. True. They are also the cause of many of them. But the orgasms help.” Saral laughed and touched her hand. “You’ll see when you meet your destiny.”
“Bah. My destiny is to grow old and rich running this place. Which won’t happen if my best cook is out of the kitchen much longer. Shoo!”
The Vardarian female retreated to her domain again, still laughing softly. As happy as Saral was with her mates, she couldn’t see that not everyone was destined for that kind of love. Some, like Anya, just didn’t seem easy to love, and that was fine by her. She knew her flaws and accepted them because they were part of who she was. She’d been around long enough to learn to like the woman she’d become.
“And I don’t have time for a man, anyway. I barely have time for me.”
The droids had the orders covered, so she took her plate and retreated to the end of the bar to eat. Not long after, the door opened and two new faces walked into her bar. She’d never seen either of them before.
Single she might be, but she wasn’t blind. If she’d laid eyes on either of these males before, she’d remember. They were both Vardarian, one silver-skinned, the other golden. The silver one was a hand span taller than his companion, but even the shorter of them had to be well over two meters tall.
When they removed their coats, she got an eyeful of powerful shoulders and arms that dwarfed even the other Vardarians present. No arm band either, which meant they were unmated. The taller one was blond with a broad smile and rugged features while the golden one kept his expression guarded and moved with care between the tables, avoiding even the slightest contact with the other patrons.
She knew the look. He was used to having to work to avoid trouble or notice, though with his size, she couldn’t imagine who or what would dare to take issue with him.
They were almost to the back of the room where Maggie and Striker were holding court when the dark-haired one stopped and turned around. He took a deep breath, his massive chest rising as he sucked in a lungful of air.
Fraxx. She knew what that meant. The male had caught a scent that intrigued him. It might be the roasted gharshtu on special tonight, or it could mean he’d detected the scent of his mate.
When he started looking around the room, she knew dinner wasn’t what had his interest.
“Here we go again.” She watched, curious to see who it would be. Several Vardarian females were present tonight, along with a large group of cyborg women who were celebrating with Maggie. Who was about to have their lives turned upside down?
When the big male’s gaze landed on her, she expected him to take one look and keep moving.
He didn’t. His amber eyes brightened, and he took another breath.
Oh, hell no.
A second later, the blond spun around to stare at her, too.
Anya took a step back. This was not happening. She’d known when she agreed to come here that as a single female this was theoretically possible, but she’d never for one second thought she’d be some Vardarians’ mate.
Both males stalked toward her, their skin gleaming like newly minted coins as their scales tightened, a sure sign they were agitated.
So was she.
“Mahaya,” the blond one said, his voice a deep rumble.
“Ma-hay-nope,” she retorted. “I serve the food, but I am not on the menu.”
“But you are our mahaya,” the dark-haired one spoke this time, and his voice was pitched like rolling thunder.
Damn. He was sexy. They both were. If they’d been looking for a night of no-strings-attached sex, she might have been tempted. But this?
It had to be a mistake.
Both males stepped forward at the exact same moment. As they reached out to her, she noted they bore a matching pair of circular scars on their wrists. They were anrik, a blood-bonded pair.
“I can’t be. There has to be a mistake.”
“No mistake,” the blond said. “I am Tra’var. This is my anrik, Damos. What is your name?”
“Anya. Anya Hutchinson.”
“Anya.” Damos spoke the word with all the intensity of a prayer. “Shining star. It suits you.”
“It does?”
“Oh yes.” Tra’var reached for her again.
“Come. We have a lot to discuss and not much time.”
To her surprise, Anya stepped forward and took their hands as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do, despite the fact that every sensible cell in her brain was screaming at her to run for the hills before it was too late.
“Finally!” Saral exclaimed from the kitchen door, her smile as bright as a binary star system. “Go with them, Anya. We’ll take care of this place. You… enjoy yourself. Oh, your mother will be so pleased!”
“Do not tell my mother anything!” The last thing she needed was Hezza to cut short her cargo run so she could stick her nose into Anya’s business. If this was happening, the last thing in the galaxy she needed was her mother’s help.
She could screw this up all on her own…
Want to know what happens next?
Her Alien Forgemasters is out this fall
About the Author
Susan lives out on the Canadian west coast surrounded by open water, dear family, and good friends. She’s jumped out of perfectly good airplanes on purpose and accidentally swum with sharks on the Great Barrier Reef.
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If the world ends, she plans to survive as the spunky, comedic sidekick to the heroes of the new world, because she’s too damned short and out of shape to make it on her own for long.
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To contact her about her books or to arrange end of the world team-ups, you can email her at [email protected].
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For all titles by Susan Hayes, please visit her website:
susanhayes.ca
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Want to read more stories with book boyfriends
that are out of this world?
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Check out Susan’s other
Sci-Fi Romance Series
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The Drift: Astek Station
The Drift: Nova Force
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The Drift: Haven Colony
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The Omega Collective
Co-written with Mina Carter
Star-Crossed Alien Mail Order Brides
3013: The Series
Also by Susan Hayes
3013: The Series
3013: Renegade
3013: Stowaway
3013: Targeted
3013: Fated
3013: Scarred
Daemons and Angels
Arousal
Release
FUC Academy
Tiger and the Unicorn
Guardians