Assessing Survival
Page 11
Excellent. I am passing it along. I will let you know when the Alguth reply.
Oh, and we have fifty-five of their men that are repaired and ready to fight.
I am grabbing the files from your computers. Anything she can show them will be helpful, I am sure.
Okay, I have to go; the meeting is in half an hour. I have never planned a mutiny before. This is going to get weird.
The only way you do it. Have a fun mutiny, Stitch.
Windy went silent, and Stitch shook her head as if to dislodge the voice.
“What was that?”
She winked. “I will explain it when we are naked. It will be funnier.”
“Tempting, but it will have to wait until later. Are you ready?”
“Yup. I am already out of this party. I am just here to watch.”
He sighed. “You know just what to say to distract the hell out of me.”
“Excellent. I am going to need a new job.”
“It only has a few benefits.” He was walking slightly ahead of her, so she grabbed his ass. He jumped and turned to her in shock.
“So far I like the ones I can lay hands on.”
“You are going to be a pain in the ass, aren’t you?”
“Only if I start pinching. Come on. Serious meeting to hold about engaging in mutiny and trying to get the Alguth back to their people.”
She shooed him along, and he gave her a black look over one shoulder. They headed to medical, and the room was rapidly filling with humans and their alien guests.
Stitch watched as Niko stood on an exam table and started to explain the situation with Earth Command and the Alguth.
After he was done, George called out, “Stitch, what do you think?”
“I have been relieved of duty for insubordination. So, technically not allowed to influence those of you who want to remain under the umbrella of Earth Command.”
She smiled calmly and stood at ease.
The vote was shockingly unanimous. Since they had no chance of returning home, putting roots down with the Alguth were as good as it was going to get. They would help defend against the Splice.
It was a relief and oddly freeing for the men who had been obsessed with the duty to the base.
“Right, so we are going to do this.”
The men cheered.
Stitch looked to Niko, and he pulled her up to stand next to him.
“Okay. So, we are still the military, wear what you want in your off hours as long as you wear something. On duty, on missions, everybody remember that we are representing humanity out here. We are unified, and we will fight for our two species’ survival.” She put her silver fist in the air. “With a mechanical advantage!”
The cheer confused the Alguth, but they greeted their new unit mates with handshakes and pats on the shoulder. It was all very grownup and masculine.
Niko looked down at her. “Did we just do that?”
“I think we did. Are you ready to rob this place blind and move house?”
He looped his arms around her waist and grinned. “I don’t know. Moving in together is a big step.”
“Moving in?”
“Well, we will have to create plans once we find the next source for our base. That will involve many late nights, and of course, we will still need to fight the Splice when they get in close.”
“So, you want to move in together and live... together?”
Liakon snorted from nearby and said, “You two draw each other. Even I can see it, as much as I wish it was otherwise.”
Stitch looked at him and narrowed her eyes. “Quiet, you. I was getting the ass end of a proposal here.”
Niko knelt at her feet. “Let me make it formal. Would you, Stephanie Carter, do me the honour of sharing a domicile with me with an eye toward a permanent bond?”
She grinned. “You just want to jump my bones whenever convenient.”
“That is correct.”
A wave of laughter moved through the men.
She stroked his face, and he closed his eyes, leaning into her hand. “Of course. Consider it an engagement and the present that you seal it with can be a place to live.”
He lifted her and hopped from the table, hugging her and twirling her around.
Stitch held onto him with all her strength, surrounded by their motley group, and she hoped that this was going to have a happy ending for all. She knew it wouldn’t, but for now, hope was the best four-letter word in her lexicon.
Author’s Note
Conference season looms, so I can be found at RT in Las Vegas (April), RTC in Ottawa (May), and RAGT in June (Ohio).
This means a delay until July for book two of this six-book series, but it will be there, the cyborgs will be back, and we will see where the other five survivors have been. Well, we will see the story of one of them.
Thanks for reading,
Viola Grace
About the Author
Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.
An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.