“Aeron!”
A quick look around the area showed no sign of her. Brad grabbed the end of a work station and fought for breath. “Aeron, honey!”
“Ouch. Brad, is that you?” Her soft voice never sounded so sweet. She peeked up from behind a tall table, rubbing her head gingerly. “What are you doing here? I thought we agreed to—”
He was on her in an instant, dragging her petite frame against his body and holding her close. She smelled of mint, and Brad knew Aeron had been playing with her hydroponics garden again.
“Brad?”
“You’re safe? Not hurt? Unharmed? All right?” He visually scanned her, searching for any indication she was injured but finding none.
A tiny laugh came from her and tugged at his heartstrings. “I’m fine, but aren’t you Captain Redundant. Could you think of any more ways to ask if I’m okay? Want to tell me why you’re here?” She pressed her cheek to his chest and he felt the tension in her ebb away. “Not that I’m complaining or anything.”
“I need to get you somewhere safe, Aeron,” he said, not wanting to let go. Holding her felt right. “They know where you are.”
She tensed. “How?”
He’d wondered the same thing when he’d intercepted the transmission leaking her location. Brad would have assumed a pact member turned on Aeron if he didn’t already know better. Each member was loyal to the cause—protecting humans from an all-out Vanos invasion. Aeron had also been one of the few pact members who remained on the planet Athena. She’d been adamant about not leaving her work behind and Brad had been equally as stern on her going. In the end, Conell stepped in and sided with Aeron, trumping Brad’s decision. “I don’t know, honey.”
Aeron leaned back and lifted her sandy-blonde brows to form a question on her face. “Brad, you’re acting strange. You just called me honey.”
“Is Conell here?” He didn’t have time to worry about slips of the tongue. He needed to get her somewhere safe.
She shook her head. “No. He left, like almost everyone else did.”
Anger coursed through Brad’s body. As much as he hated knowing Conell held Aeron’s heart, he hated the knowledge the man had left her alone more. The pact agreement didn’t mean a thing. Not when it came to Aeron’s safety. Brad would move the heavens to assure she was safe. “Come on, we need to get you back to your father’s ship. Is it still docked in the south bay? The damn techs didn’t move it, did they? I know it was on their list.”
“Yes, but it’s not been serviced in the last six months.” She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. “I couldn’t do it, Brad. Not after they killed him. Being around the ship reminded me of my father too much. It’s not ready to fly. Not yet.” Aeron’s bottom lip trembled as fear crept into her voice. “Brad?”
“Shhh, it’s fine, Aeron. Every time you and the others got going on a new theory, I got the hell out of here and hung out on your father’s ship. I’ve kept up on it. In fact, I think it’s one of the best vessels out there.” Unable to stand the sight of her frightened, Brad leaned his head down and pressed his lips to hers. He waited, stuck in the moment, sure she’d push him away. She didn’t. Instead, Aeron parted her lips for him, allowing Brad to ease his tongue in. The kiss was intoxicating, stealing Brad’s ability to do anything other than lose himself in the taste of her sweet lips.
The second Aeron went to her tiptoes and slid her hands into the back of his hair, Brad pulled her towards the ground, too many years wanting but never having built up for him to stop. It felt so good to finally have her with him. He wouldn’t think about tomorrow, about how she’d no doubt push him away. No. He’d concentrate on the here and now.
Something whizzed past his head and his military training kicked in. Brad shielded her body with his as shots from a Vanos weapon flew by. He knew the ammunition they packed was often filled with a substance that ate human flesh. Having Vanos blood in him would retard the destruction if he was hit, up to a point. If Aeron was hit, she wouldn’t heal.
A beaker exploded, raining glass down on them. Brad kept Aeron tucked safely beneath him. When he realized she hadn’t made a sound, his worst fear hit him head on.
She’s dead.
“Aeron?” He leaned back enough to look down at her. Her blue eyes were wide as she clung to him.
She peeked out. “Are they gone?”
“No,” he said, relief breaking in his voice. “Are you hurt?”
Shaking her head, she whimpered before grabbing his neck and coming away with blood. “You’re bleeding!”
“Just a scratch, baby.” He planted a chaste kiss on her forehead and then rolled off her. “Stay put.”
“Brad.” She grabbed his hand. “They’ll kill you.”
He drew his sidearm and winked. “Not if I kill them first. Promise you’ll stay here.”
She nodded and he took one last chance to stare at her. Telling her how he really felt for her was on the tip of his tongue but he held back. He’d get her to safety and then tell her once they were airborne. Brad tugged his hand free of Aeron’s and forced a smile to his face. “We’ll get through this, Aeron.”
***
Aeron watched in horror as Brad bolted upright and began firing off shots. The enemy returned fire, a volley of bullets, breaking glass so that fumes from now-destroyed lab experiments filled the room. Each time something popped, Aeron yelped. She rolled to her side and onto broken glass. It bit at her exposed skin but she ignored the pain, too worried about Brad’s welfare to mind.
She peeked around the side of the table and came face-to-face with a dead Vanos. Shocked, she lurched back, raking her legs through more broken glass. A portable microbiology system crashed to the floor next to her, sparks popping out of the back of it, and a piece of its glass front flew wide and lodged into her upper leg. The cut, while superficial, resulted in a large quantity of blood. She pulled the shard free of her leg, careful to avoid cutting herself further.
Brad seized hold of her arm and yanked her to her feet. Aeron knew better than to question his judgment when it came to matters such as these. Brad was a soldier and a damn fine one at that. If he wanted to move, she’d follow blindly.
She touched her swollen lips with her free hand, still in awe he’d kissed her. For years she’d wanted him. When it finally happened, their kiss had been explosive.
He led her towards the double bay doors and stalled, just a second, as he raked his gaze over her. “Aeron, you’re bleeding.”
“It’s just a—”
Something loud sounded and she watched in what felt like slow motion as Brad’s body lifted off the ground. He fired his weapon towards the doors a nanosecond before he released his hold on it and continued his descent.
It took Aeron’s brain a moment to catch up with what she saw—Brad, lying on his back. Torn flesh, deep-bleeding wounds, covered his once unmarred body. The only part still recognizable was his face. Bile rose and she steeled her nerves as she glanced towards the door and spotted a dead Vanos there.
“B-Brad?” She reached out tentatively, already knowing the worst had come true. “No!”
Instinct kicked in and Aeron shut off her emotions, focusing on Brad instead. She launched into the steps necessary to save him, if it were possible, all the while blocking out the sounds of station police heading her way. Help was coming, but for Brad, help was already too late. As his blood coated her hands, she knew she would do everything in her power to make this right.
Bending down, Aeron pressed her lips to his cheek and released a secret she’d held dear. “I love you.”
Brad’s hand jerked and Aeron dismissed it as nerves, but silently prayed the action meant some part of him could still hear her.
Chapter One
Orbiting Planet Perseus in the Prometheus Quadrant of the A-QPT45 System…
Dr. Aeron Braxton fastened the cranium chassis closed and pulled the tawny flap of skin that had been grown in fibrin gel down over it. She ran her fingers through th
e chin-length, silky black hair. By all outward appearances, the area looked like the back of a humanoid’s neck. Inside, it was a labor of love, consisting of electronics and organic materials, thus creating a perfect blend—the perfect droid. A little too perfect.
She closed her eyes, needing a moment to push thoughts better left buried in the past back down. She’d done it again—worked herself to the brink of exhaustion, leaving her vulnerable to memories of loved ones lost.
He’s not really here. It just looks like him.
Aeron ran her hands over the back of her creation’s neck. It was so smooth, so perfect, that she could feel no difference between it and any other humanoid. No one would be able to detect the difference either, as was the plan. It had been her obsession to produce a race of androids that could pass as humanoids, use them to infiltrate enemy headquarters and to eliminate all threats to human life. Many scientists had tried, but all had failed—at least until now. She’d been given little choice in the matter. Aeron refused to let a good man die in vain—especially the man she loved.
As hard as she tried to suppress thoughts of it all, Aeron couldn’t help but look at her labor of love and reflect on the day her world crumbled around her. Years ago, she and a small group of others like her formed a pact, promising one another they would do everything within their power to restore order to the galaxy. Over the years, many of the original group had fallen at the hands of the enemy. The rest were forced to separate, knowing if they remained as a unit they would draw unwanted attention. They had been her everything after her father’s death. When her friends were stripped away from her, Aeron felt naked, vulnerable, and had wanted to give up all hope. One man broke their agreement, coming to her anyway, needing to know she was safe. It had cost him his life and she would forever bear the guilt.
It’s not really him anymore. He’s just a droid now.
She stroked the droid’s cheek, keeping her eyes closed. Most of the time, she could separate the droid from the man. On days such as this, the lines blurred, leaving her mourning the loss of the man she’d fallen in love with.
They stole him from me and now they’ll pay.
It was high time someone held the Vanos accountable and tipped the scales back in the humanoids’ favor. The Vanusimos, or Vanos for short, had steadily taken over the majority of the galaxies on the outer quadrants and were quickly becoming a threat to Star Union territories. The Vanos were humanoid-like. In fact, they looked a great deal like the humans who had descended from Earth, except for their massive size. She had yet to meet one who wasn’t pushing seven feet tall. Even the females of the species were tall. Well over six feet, females in general seemed to be rare among the Vanos. This scarcity was one of the reasons humanoid females were kept far from the males, if possible. The Vanos had been known to pillage star ports, destroying any who stood in their path and leaving their mark on the next generation.
Vanos were simply more advanced versions of humans. They possessed greater speed, agility and strength, and healed up to five times faster than a normal human. Combine their size with their additional abilities, and humans couldn’t compete. She’d paid dearly for the Vanos DNA she’d blended in with other humanoid varieties while creating her version of her perfect android. He would need to pass as both Vanos and human, something urban legend claimed to be possible. From centuries of pillaging, there were a number of Vanos half-breeds who tended to avoid drawing attention to the fact they shared direct links with the Vanos.
The Vanos’ numbers were great and their hold on shipping ports unparalleled. Many referred to them as the space mafia. The leader of the Vanos had actually been nicknamed “Don Vanos” over the years. Since their lifespan was longer than the average human, no one was sure how old Don Vanos was. All they were sure of was that he had to be stopped, and a secret society of human rebels vowed to be the ones to do it since the Star Union had yet to acknowledge the Vanos as a viable threat to them. The Star Union was notorious for endless mounds of red tape, so none were shocked they hadn’t acted against the Vanos yet. The Vanos hadn’t been foolish enough to attack within Star Union Territory, knowing an attack would be taken as an act of war and dealt with promptly.
Aeron was a card-carrying member of the human rebellion and yearned for the day when humans living in the outer quadrants would no longer be under the thumb of the Vanos. Already the rebellion’s numbers had tripled. No longer were they just a group of fighters willing to take up arms. Now they also consisted of doctors, scientists and engineers—as well as others—all helping for the greater good. They were nearing a point they could approach Star Union with enough evidence to hopefully gain their backing, which would help tremendously. The heads of the Star Union had to see the severity of the situation to believe it. Since they would never be caught dead in the outer quadrants, proving there was a significant problem was easier said than done.
Being independently wealthy, Aeron didn’t need funding for her research, meaning she didn’t have to tell anyone about her project. No one knew about the droid, at least not yet. If he worked, she’d take him before the Rebel Council and the Star Union, should they come on board, to offer his services in helping free the humans on the outer edges from the reign of the Vanos. She’d also have to deal with the backlash that would no doubt come from his appearance.
Walking around to the front of her droid, Aeron drew in a sharp breath when she saw the finished product. He was a beautiful specimen of a man, perfect in every way—tall, dark-haired and handsome as hell. Just as the man he was modeled after had been.
Unable to help herself, Aeron let her gaze slide down him, skimming over his lower extremities. Oh, he certainly was perfection at its finest. Too bad he’d have little interest in sex. Even knowing that previous attempts at endowing androids with a sexual drive or the need to procreate had failed, Aeron had still labored over hers, modifying the equipment necessary to partake in sexual acts. It just didn’t seem right to create a man, only to rob him of what made him male.
When he was still human, he’d been virile, and Aeron refused to rob him of that because of injury. She’d even gone so far as to add an unbelievable amount of sensors throughout his body that could be turned on and off at will. That way, in the event of torture or injury, the droid could simply shut off any feelings of pain.
The Vanos had set up medical stations at each shipping port on the outer quadrants and were known to yank unsuspecting travelers aside to screen them. Their intent was to weed out android assassins. Having no penis would have been a major tip off he wasn’t human any longer. The materials she’d used on her creation all mimicked those used in repairing damaged humanoid bodies. It wasn’t unusual for someone to have over seventy percent of their body reworked. With population controls in effect and life expectancies almost double what they had been a hundred years ago, humans and other humanoids were the healthiest they’d ever been—at least those who could afford the treatments were. Many of the posts on the outer quadrant lacked adequate resources for the replacements. Once the Vanos were no longer a threat, she and the other rebels planned to put an end to terror, hunger and sickness, giving the less fortunate a shot at living long, healthy lives.
Glancing down at the object in question, Aeron licked her lips at the sight of his ruddy cock. Even flaccid, it was huge—just the way she liked them. Well, the way she used to like them. Her work had kept her too busy to date, meaning she hadn’t known the company of a man in years. Masturbation had been her only outlet. The urge to touch him, run her fingers over his shaft and feel it in her hands was all-consuming. Holding back had become a full-time job.
“Mmm, I should have never left you so tempting. I want to lick you and then climb on top of you.” She ran her hand over his dormant shaft. He even felt real—silky, thick and long.
“Just a few more days, Brad, then we’ll take you out and give you a test.” She caressed his chiseled chest and grinned. He’d more than exceeded her hopes and dreams for him, and he
’d yet to be activated. “Boy, would I ever like to take you for a test drive. Too bad you’re an assassin and not a lover.”
Aeron had decided to keep the name “Brad” for the droid, as the man he was modeled after had been named. Well, Bradshaw Fairbanks, III, but he only answered to Brad.
So shall my droid.
Turning, she pulled her shirt over her head and worked her pants off. It was already the wee hours of the morning and she’d once again lost herself in her work. She had agreed to meet with a friend from the original pact in the morning and would only get a few hours sleep as it was. Excited didn’t even begin to cover how she felt about the arrival of one of the old gang. If she managed to get any sleep, it would be a miracle.
Something flickered out of the corner of her eye and she glanced at Brad, sure he’d moved. A nervous laugh escaped her. “Brad, I think my mind’s playing tricks on me. That or I’m so horny my brain wants to give me hope you’re more than just the ultimate killing machine.” She smiled. “The real Brad would have laughed me out of the room if he knew about you.”
Her mood soured quickly as she remembered all the tubes and machines needed to keep a supposed brain-dead soldier alive. She’d sat by his side, refusing to believe he was gone but knowing he’d never be the same. He’d had his own room, complete with all the equipment necessary to sustain him. Seeing a once strong, proud man lying motionless in a bed, day in and day out, tore at her gut. She’d talked to him as if he could hear her and kept him abreast on all the latest happenings, all the while hoping he’d magically awaken. It never happened. The decision to shut Brad’s life support off hadn’t been her own. Distant relatives petitioned for his life-support system to be shut off—citing his benefits as the reason why.
They were money-hungry bastards who wanted his inheritance and military pay outs. Since they couldn’t collect benefits while he was alive, they eventually saw to it the courts were involved in the matter. In the end they won the battle, but she won the war.
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