In the Arms of an Android

by Tracy Lauren

  “It is.”

  “But it is also a private matter for both Valens and Andrea. Perhaps as things progress they might feel comfortable sharing information about their child—medical and developmental concerns that could affect your race as a whole—but at the current time I’m afraid there is not much information to share. Andrea is still quite early along in her pregnancy.”

  “There is much information already available. Information we desire. How did insemination occur? Is it only possible with humans? How long is gestation and must it be internal? We will need samples from both the carrier and embryo for testing—”

  “Samples of what?” Renzo chokes out, aghast.

  I feel my body tense in anger. This android doesn’t know what it is he asks for. Over 30 years my brothers have lived in isolation, away from all sentient and organic life. And in all that time they have learned nothing. There has been no growth—not like what I have experienced. I look at these androids and I do not see people, like myself. I see the machines that our critics claim all androids to be.

  “We will have access to the female now.”

  I can no longer contain myself. With the back of my hand I knock one of the bolted down chairs aside, ripping it from the floor. It flies across the room and bangs loudly into the wall. “YOU WILL HAVE NO ACCESS TO MY MATE!” I rage. I cannot even see the woman I love; I refuse to offer these machines the chance.

  The androids stare at me with blank expressions and the Captain puts a hand on my arm, but her expression is calculated and pleasant. “Valens is correct. You will not be granted access to Andrea. But we respect that you have questions. If you would like to submit a list of those, we will respond to them with the best of our ability—”

  “Our ability outweighs yours,” the android points out.

  “Just the same. If you desire answers, this is how you will get them. If the arrangement does not sound agreeable then you are welcome to leave.”

  The nameless one gives a jerky nod. “We will make your list.” And without any definitive conclusion to the meeting, the androids quickly file from the room.

  “What the fuck was that?” Renzo asks, running his hands through his disheveled hair.

  “I don’t think they understand the depth of what they’re asking for,” the Captain defends.

  “They have no concern for depth,” I point out. “They want something they can test and quantify.”

  “It is undeniable that Andrea’s pregnancy has serious implications for the whole of your race, Valens.”

  “Andrea is going to have a baby—my baby. All those machines want is a test subject.”

  “Is that really how you feel?” Nilsson asks.

  “It is.”

  “Do you think they’re a danger?”

  I consider the idea. While I do not believe androids are malicious by nature, it appears we are all irrevocably curious. And without any connection to society, these ones lack morals. Slowly, I nod my head. “I don’t want them near my mate.”

  “I’ll put guards on their doors,” the Captain assures, stepping briskly from the room, leaving just Renzo and myself.

  I’m still fuming inside, but Renzo looks at me with his signature smirk and he wiggles his brows. “Your mate, huh?”

  I grumble at him and stalk from the room.

  I’m desperate to go to Andrea, to ensure that she is safe and well—even more so now that the androids are aboard. But she is still struggling… The last thing I want is to upset her further.

  Unwilling to return to my lonely quarters, I make my way to the Earth garden instead. Because without my mate, truly I have nowhere else to go.

  Chapter 34

  Andrea

  It’s late when my door chimes. So late that I know it won’t be Kayla, Vesi, or the Captain. When I let myself think for a moment that it might be Valens my heart skips a beat. I’m still angry at the guy—so fucking unbelievably angry—but still… I miss him. My heart is hurting damn bad, but whether I’m angry or not, he’s still my anchor. He’s the only person in this life who can make me feel better.

  I take a steadying breath before I run my fingers through my hair, straightening it. Then, I make my way to the door, shaking out my hands so they aren’t trembling when I open it.

  It glides open and my eyes immediately see the telltale gray monochrome of an android. But it isn’t my android. And there isn’t just one.

  “Um… Can I help you?” The entire hall is blocked with gray bodies, staring at me with expressions so blank they make the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. The androids don’t respond, but the one in front holds out a device. A beam of light emanates from it and I flinch when he passes it over me.

  “Implantation confirmed,” he says to the others, before he finally addresses me. “Are you the human female called Andrea?”

  This is a red flag. I’d be furious at the way this android is speaking to me if I weren’t suddenly so fucking scared. When I speak, I can’t even force my voice to sound indignant. No, it’s clearly laden with fear when I ask, “Where’s Valens?”

  The androids look at one another as if in silent conversation. They seem to take my question as the answer they were looking for.

  Then, the one in front moves with such speed I’m conscious of the fact that I never had a chance for escape. I let out a scream when he grabs me, his hands impossibly strong. Another hand goes over my mouth and more rein in my flailing arms and legs. And though I feel nothing beyond their bruising touches, I suspect they injected me with something, because suddenly my limbs take on the weight of bricks and my vision slowly tunnels away until there’s nothing but darkness.

  Chapter 35

  Valens

  I’m staring down at the geraniums when the ship’s alarm blares to life. I jolt to my feet. There are protocols in situations like these, posts I am supposed to take. But I abandon protocol, sprinting for Andrea’s room on what an organic life form might call instinct.

  “Andrea!” I shout, when I race through the door. I notice she didn’t alter my clearance and the knowledge makes hope flare inside me. But all hope is quickly dashed when I call for her again, only to be met with silence. I check the bathroom, the bedroom, I even haphazardly check the closet.

  When my comm chimes I know it will not be good news. “Valens?” It’s the Captain’s voice. “We discovered the guards I had posted at the androids’ doors—they’ve been subdued. All of them are unconscious and the androids—they’re gone. I’m dispatching a security team to Andrea’s room now.”

  “There’s no need, Captain. She’s not here. They’ve taken her.”

  “Okay. This just turned into a rescue mission. Report to the shuttle bay, immediately.”

  “On my way, Captain.”

  Time is not on my side. No matter how fast I run, I cannot get to the shuttle bay quickly enough. When I finally arrive, Renzo and Vesi are both there along with the Captain and a security team.

  The Captain addresses us. “Andrea Lancaster, a guest aboard the Salutation, has been abducted,” she announces. “The ATR has been notified and they’re dispatching ships to block the kidnappers’ re-entry onto Origin. But it’s a three-day journey at top speeds from here to their world and I don’t want Andrea waiting that long for a ride home.

  “Valens will take the lead. He knows androids better than anyone else. Renzo, you’re on nav. Vesi, let’s just pray we don’t need a medic. The rest of you, take extreme care in Andrea’s recovery. She’s one of our own and she is with child. I want her and her baby back before the rest cycle is over. You got that?”

  “Yes, Sir!” the security team calls out. Then we’re all racing aboard the ship.

  Chapter 36

  Valens

  “I’ve got them on my sensors! This is going to be a cinch, Valens,” Renzo tells me, as we race through the stars at near warp. The androids didn’t escape long before their crimes were detected and, with Renzo at the helm, we quickly close the distance between
us.

  “I want them on my view screen,” I grit out and the image appears before us.

  “Closing in now.” Renzo’s tone grows serious.

  “Hail them.”

  “They’re not responding, sir,” a member of the security team informs me.

  “Send a message then. We demand that they halt, otherwise we will subdue and board.” The man on communication types in my ultimatum. Seconds pass and the android’s ship increases speed.

  “Lock a pulse on their engines. Fire when ready,” I order. A pulse will wipe out engine functions for a short time without causing damage to the ship or its passengers. And while I want to disassemble every android on board, I do not want to hurt Andrea. A pulse is our only course of action that will keep my mate protected.

  There’s a dull thud when we open fire and I watch the wave of light streak toward my enemy’s ship. Our aim is true and the power of the connection sends the vessel spinning. I can’t help but think of Andrea inside and I pray they were thoughtful enough to secure her.

  “Engines are down!” Renzo shouts.

  “Lock onto them and prepare to force boarding. Vesi, we’ll need an extra breathing apparatus for Andrea.”

  “On it!” Vesi is up and running to the emergency supplies closet, when our ship rocks unexpectedly. She crashes to the ground and I rush to help her up. When we turn our attention to the view screen I am shocked by what it is I see.

  Our creators, they left us with very little technology and even less history. When I departed from my world, the vessels we had were not capable of deep space travel, nor did we have any weapons. But it seems my brothers have been working hard in my absence. For as soon as we were near enough to force boarding, tentacle-like arms shot out from the enemy vessel.

  They reach for us, like the talons of a bird of prey, ready to shred. And when they connect with our hull, they work to do just that.

  “Take out those arms!” I shout over the sound of tearing metal.

  “We’ve got a breach in the cargo hull!”

  “Closing down that part of the ship,” Renzo assures. “Airlocks are engaged.”

  The security team fires round after round, expertly aiming for the tentacles and sparing the ship that holds Andrea from any unnecessary damage. Finally, the last metal arm swings violently before us and even though we’ve killed all power going to the weapon, momentum still makes it crash against our ship, shaking us once more. But the damage is minimal. My anger, on the other hand, is immense.

  “Lock onto their hatch. I want on that ship now!” I shout.

  How dare my brothers be so rash in risking Andrea like this? Were she not my mate, were she not carrying my child, I might have more sympathy for their curiosity. But to steal my woman against her will, to put her in danger? It will not be forgiven.

  The security team is already rushing to the hatch, Vesi and Renzo having pulled on their breathing apparatuses, and I rush to join them, cutting to the head of the line.

  “Andrea is in there!” I shout so that all may hear me. “Her safety is top priority. We do whatever it takes to secure her.”

  “Let’s bring her home!” Renzo calls and the security team whoops in agreement. Unwilling to waste any more time, I rip the hatch open and we breach the android’s ship.

  The sound of our boots pounds the metal grate as we close in on the androids, but a second later it’s overcome by the rage of a firefight. It seems my brothers have acquired guns as well and they fire on us with deadly precision.

  Chapter 37

  Andrea

  I wake to hear what sounds like gunfire. I’m groggy and when I try to move I’m overcome with a sense of dizziness so nauseating that makes me grimace and squeeze my eyes shut. For the millionth time since I woke up in the 39th century, I have to remind myself where I am and what’s happening to me.

  But this time it’s different. I’m not safe anymore. I’m not on the Salutation—surrounded by friends and people who care about me. If I scream, Valens won’t come rushing in to hold me. I’m aboard some foreign vessel. I’m strapped down. I was taken by men who look like my lover, but are nothing like him in nature. They were like machines—robots. And somewhere outside my door I hear guns firing and people shouting.

  Guns. Shouting.

  The fog in my mind begins to clear. There’s a fight going on out there. I think of Valens and somehow I know he’s come for me.

  I realize I can’t just lie here and wait for my rescue. So, shaking and uneasy, I run my hands over the straps that bind me. They aren’t shackles, but more like a strange system of seat belts that keep me mounted to an upright plank.

  I work to unfasten the restraint at my chest, which allows me range enough to reach the lower buckles. Frantically, I kick free of them. I need to hold the wall to support myself, however, my head still swimming with whatever those evil androids pumped into me. But I don’t have time to question what’s happening, or why those monsters even took me. Instead, I look for a weapon.

  But the room is sterile and barren—very much the way Valens kept his quarters before he met me. “God damn it,” I hiss, when I find nothing of use. Eventually, I give up my search and move toward the door. Thankfully, it’s not locked and it glides open for me. I peek out into the hall. Wherever the shooting is happening, it isn’t here.

  Ever cautious, I step out into the unfamiliar passageway and a sense of helplessness washes over me. I can’t find a weapon in this God-awful place and my plan is what? Walk into a war zone and hope Valens rescues me before I get shot?

  All I know is that I can’t stay here. While I have no intention of walking into a stream of bullets, I could at the very least continue my search for a weapon. Or, I cringe at the thought, I could find a safe place to hide until Valens can save me.

  This is no time to be proud, I suppose, as I duck into a room off the long hallway. All I have to do is stay alive. But, you know what they say about good intentions? They pave the road to hell.

  A pair of gray hands reach out and grab a hold of me. I scream in protest, trying to rip myself free, but this thing…it’s got inhuman strength.

  Chapter 38

  Valens

  Another hot blast flies past me, burning a hole in the metal wall. Lying on the floor in the corridor are at least six members of my security team. All dead.

  What have these androids done? There’s no time to think of the implications—of how far these mad few have set back the rights of our kind. All I can think of is the fact that they are willing to kill.

  The remaining security team, Vesi, and Renzo—they are here under my command. I am responsible for them. And somewhere in the bowels of this ship, the androids hold my Andrea, caring not for the person who she is, but only for what grows inside her womb. Will they bother to keep her safe, or protect only that which they came for?

  Renzo crouches on the other side of the corridor and leans out, sending shots toward the androids at the far end. He distracts them while I rig a pulse grenade. When it’s ready I give my friend a silent nod and he falls back against the wall. My aim is precise and we hear the sound of bodies falling to the ground, guns clattering as they do.

  “Clear!” I shout, and I race down the hall with my team. Only Vesi stays behind to deliver care to the wounded and to drag the dead back to our ship.

  “Secure their weapons,” I say, looking down at the fallen androids with disgust. While the blast knocked them out, it did not kill them. Eventually they will reboot.

  “Should we restrain them, Officer Valens?” one of the security officers asks.

  I shake my head. “We don’t have binds strong enough to hold them,” I admit. Though I can assume that is something the ATR will be changing in the very near future. “Leave two to guard them.”

  Then we’re running again, headed for the bridge in an effort to secure the ship. With Renzo’s eyes on the scanner, we quickly find what we’re looking for. And when we enter the sterile command center I find myself
further dismayed. It’s so cold and solitary in this damned place. It’s nothing like life on the Salutation. No…this is no life at all.

  I rush to the computer, hoping to find something that will tell me where it is they keep Andrea, but a sound meets my ears that makes me stop cold. It’s a woman’s cry. Swiftly, my team and I turn, our guns drawn. Andrea sobs again, the sound muffled by an android’s hand. Her eyes are wet and they lock onto me.

  “Lower your firearms,” the lone android says.

  “Let go of the girl,” I counter.

  “That will not be happening. The embryo she carries is wanted back on Origin.” I do not like the android’s phrasing. It only confirms my belief that it is the embryo they care about and not Andrea’s life. I have to find a way to turn this around.

  “You and the others have questions; we will answer them. But the girl is of great value to me. I want her back.”

  “How was she inseminated?” the android asks.

  Andrea’s eyes go wide.

  “This fucking asshole,” Renzo growls.

  “We made love,” I answer calmly.

  The android cocks his head. He’s so close to Andrea that his jaw presses against her cheek. I clench my teeth in anger. “Are you using a euphemism for intercourse?” he asks.

  “I am giving you an accurate description of the act.”

  “Are you implying that an emotional connection is necessary for effective functioning of sex organs to occur?”

  “I say we fire at him,” Renzo suggests. The android cocks his head at my friend, his gaze icy.

  “Quiet!” I growl. “Ask your questions!”

  “On how many occasions did you attempt implantation before you were successful?”