by Cynthia Sax
“Are you certain about that?” She bumped against him, her eyes sparkling. “I’d believe you if it were 10.3262 percent of the sunrises but the lack of that extra decimal point makes me question your accuracy.”
He grinned, enjoying her teasing. “It is 10.3261395—”
“Enough. Enough.” She held up her hands in mock surrender. “You’ve convinced me.”
They both gazed at the images the offspring had crafted.
“Is Leesa’s planet far from Earth Minor?” The yearning in her voice was unmistakable.
His female wanted to visit her friend.
“It is far from Earth Minor.” He didn’t lie to her. The voyage would take eleven planet rotations.
“It’s a big universe, isn’t it?” His female sighed. “Communicating with Leesa regularly will have to suffice.”
The sadness in her words pulled at Zip, propelling him to take action.
Arse, he transmitted. We’re making a stop.
He gave the warrior the coordinates from which Leesa, his female’s friend, had sent all of her communications.
That’s not cyborg-controlled space, D Model, Arse grumbled. You’re risking your female’s safety by making that stop.
I’m risking her happiness if we don’t make that stop. Zip looked at Ryssa. Her friend’s planet wasn’t very populated. The danger to her was minimal. When you locate your female, you’ll understand.
I don’t have a female. The warrior’s tone was bleak. Yours is my sole focus and you’re relying on me to protect her. Not Green, not Barrel, not any of the other warriors. Me. Zip’s early words to Arsenal returned to haunt him. That task will be more difficult with this stop.
It will be more difficult but not impossible. Zip wasn’t altering his decision. We’ll stay less than a planet rotation. Plot the course.
We’ll complete your task as quickly as possible and leave. The warrior ended the transmission.
“We won’t be able to spend a long duration with your friend.” Zip told his female. “Not on this visit.”
“Not on this visit?” She stared at him. “We’re visiting Leesa?”
He nodded.
“We’re traveling to my friend’s planet?” His female bounced, her joy worth any risks they were taking. “To see her? Face-to-face?”
“And to see the pink sky.” Zip couldn’t guarantee she’d see a pink sky on Earth Minor. “That is your dream.”
“I’m seeing my dream sky with my dream male.” His female pressed her lush curves against his muscle. “If I’m asleep, don’t wake me up.”
He held her close. “I’m awake.” He knew that with 100.000 percent certainty.
“Because cyborgs don’t sleep?” Ryssa tilted her face upward.
“Because I don’t have the processing power to imagine a female as beautiful as you are.” Zip lowered his head. “You have to be real.” He captured her lips with his.
He’d also promised her a second slower breeding.
He planned to make all of her dreams come true.
Chapter Four
Sixty-nine planet rotations and four stops later, they finally approached Earth Minor. The contents of their private chambers had been packed into containers. The wall panels were bare of images. The items they’d acquired were ready to be transferred to their permanent home.
Ryssa tidied her hair, her image displayed on one of their chamber’s viewscreens. She was no longer an uninformed idiot. She had traveled to other planets, had visited with her friend Leesa for three fun-filled planet rotations, had seen some of the universe.
That didn’t ease her anxiety over meeting Zip’s brethren, their females, the offspring. He loved those beings and she loved him, the cyborg warrior having captured her heart with his ready smile, sense of adventure, keen intelligence. She wanted his friends and family to like her.
“You look beautiful.” Zip wrapped his arms around her, his chest to her back. He wore his black body armor. She wore a blue flight suit.
“You’re just saying that.” Ryssa gazed at their image in the viewscreen. She appeared tiny in front of him.
“I’m a cyborg. We don’t just say anything.” He turned her within the circle of his arms. His brilliant blue eyes glowed. “You’re the most gorgeous being I’ve ever seen.”
Zip bent his head and covered her lips with his. She opened to him. Their tongues danced, flesh sliding along flesh. He tasted of metal and male, thrillingly exotic yet all hers, beloved, desired.
He was her fantasy warrior, the being she’d been waiting her entire lifespan to meet, and the more planet rotations they spent together, the more she cared for him. She gripped his shoulders, savoring the muscles under the body armor.
Her lips hummed and the chamber spun around her. She rubbed against the ridge in his protective garment. They’d fucked earlier but she wanted him again.
Intensely.
“The next time we breed, it will be in our own structure.” Zip drew back.
“Will we breed fast or slow?” They excelled at both.
“That first time will be fast.” His low, deep voice wet her pussy.
“The first time?” She liked the sound of that.
“The first time.” Zip brushed his lips over hers once more, a teasing, tempting taste of a kiss. “Which won’t be now. We should head to the bridge.” He spun her to face the doors, placed a palm on the small of her back and pushed her forward. “Arse wants to show you something.”
“Is it his smile?” She walked through the ship they’d called home for the past sixty-nine planet rotations. “Because he owes me one of those.”
“You could be waiting for an endless duration for that repayment.” Zip followed her closely, protecting her from the rear, a barrier of heat and muscle no enemy could breach. “I’ve never seen Arse smile.”
“He came close when Leesa hugged him.” The grim warrior’s initial look of absolute terror when her friend had embraced him had made Ryssa laugh. She thought he might bolt, beating a hasty retreat, but he had stood still, tolerating the touching. “Toward the end of the hug, his lips lifted a tiny bit.”
Zip chuckled. “You might have to be content with that.”
They entered the bridge, the doors opening and then closing behind them. The space was Arsenal’s domain, the warrior standing in his semi-permanent position beside the captain’s chair.
“The image is on the main viewscreen,” he muttered, not turning around.
She gazed in that direction. Earth Minor’s solitary sun peeked behind the planet. Streams of light illuminated the surface and pierced the darkness of space.
Ryssa grasped Zip’s hand and squeezed his fingers, overcome with the beauty of the image, not having the words to express what she felt. The planet was blue and white, with splashes of green, a vivid contrast to the monochrome hues of Erinome V.
It was exotic and different, a world unlike any other she’d seen.
“Thank you for showing us this view, Arsenal.” Her voice was breezy, her chest tight with emotion. “It’s breathtaking.”
“It’s our new home.” Zip tucked her into his side.
This stunning world was her new home. She’d studied Earth Minor, learning about the planet and its inhabitants during their voyage, Zip relaying every pertinent detail to her, sharing images from the cyborg database.
But learning about it and seeing it were two different things.
As the ship lowered, bands of red, orange, bright blue stretched above the planet’s horizon. That riot of color was boisterous, cheerful, welcoming.
“There’s no pink.” She teased, having seen the pink skies of her friend’s planet.
“There’s no pink from this vantage point.” Zip braced her as they entered the planet’s atmosphere. “That pigment might be viewable from the surface.” The ship shook, metallic parts rattling.
Her first landing had scared her. Ryssa had feared their vessel would be torn apart. Now she knew what to expect, had confidence
in their ship and in Arsenal’s skill as a captain.
“I love you, Zip.” She said that every landing. Just in case. If things went wrong, she wanted those words to be the last ones she spoke.
“I love you, my female.” He kissed her forehead, adding more nanocybotics to her collection.
They fucked three or four times a planet rotation. Her entire body bubbled, a constant reminder of their connection, an unbreakable physical and emotional link.
Arsenal snorted. The warrior acted as though he barely tolerated their displays of affection but Ryssa had spotted wistfulness on his stark countenance when he thought no one was looking at him.
“You’ll miss us, Arsenal.” She looked behind them, meeting his gaze. “Admit it.”
The warrior’s cheeks turned an amusing shade of red. “I’m not admitting anything.”
“We’ll miss you.” She liked the quiet male, had become attached to him during their trip. “I hope they have good systems wherever the cyborg council is transferring you because we plan to send you many, many communications.”
“You’ll be sending me communications?” His eyebrows raised.
“We’ll be sending you a communication every planet rotation. At the very least.” She laughed. “They’ll be long and chatty, so prepare yourself, warrior.”
Arsenal stared down at the controls.
Silence stretched. Had she pushed him too far?
“You’ll be sending me long, chatty communications because you’ll miss me?” Arsenal’s voice was barely audible, disbelief coloring his words.
“We’ll be sending you long, chatty communications because you’re our friend.” She stayed in touch with all of her friends. It didn’t matter how far away they were or how long it had been since she’d last saw them. “And yes, also because we’ll miss you.”
Arsenal’s chin moved but he said nothing, his lack of protest saying everything Ryssa needed to know.
He wanted to receive those long, chatty communications.
“You’ll ensure they get to him, yes?” Ryssa’s gaze returned to Zip, the male she loved.
“The communications will get to him.” He grinned. “I am a systems deity.”
“You’re a modest systems deity.” She caressed his handsome face, easing her sarcasm with her fingertips. “I’m a fortunate female.”
“I won’t argue with you about that.” He pushed his cheek against her palm, his eyelids lowering, his nostrils flaring. Her cyborg warrior liked being touched.
She liked touching him. Ryssa leaned into her male, the images on the main viewscreen forgotten. Earth Minor might be their new home but Zip was her universe.
They were partners, the two of them, bound together forever. The voyage had solidified their relationship, transforming them from two strangers to one team.
The ship jerked, the landing harder than the last time. Ryssa bumped against Zip. Her cyborg strapped his arms around her, holding her to him.
He had her. He always had her. She could count on that.
The engines quieted. The main viewscreen displayed an image of blue sky, tall trees, green vegetation.
They had arrived.
Zip’s brethren, their females, the offspring would have noted their arrival, would be gathering to greet them, to meet her.
“Ohhh…” Ryssa’s nerves threatened to overwhelm her. “I hope they like me.”
“They will love you,” both Zip and Arsenal replied in unison.
Cyborgs couldn’t lie. They wouldn’t tell her that if they didn’t believe it to be the truth.
They could be mistaken, however. Ryssa wouldn’t take any chances. “Arsenal, do you have the container of gifts for the offspring?”
He’d helped her to decide upon the gifts, recommending the child-sized mock guns. They already had wooden swords, he’d explained, and they should be familiar with all types of weapons. Those weapons weren’t functional but they would assist in their training.
According to Zip, that training wasn’t going well. Cyborgs matured within one solar cycle. They were then sent into battle to kill or be killed. The humanoid offspring grew much slower. The youngest offspring had three solar cycles and could barely hold the weapons.
She’d assured him that was normal for humans and humanoids.
“I will convey all the containers.” Arsenal’s voice was gruff. “You go with your male and greet the others.”
Ryssa wanted to argue but he was right. They’d obtained fabric for Mira, Vapor’s female, learning tools for Nola, Barrel’s female, and ancient Earth seeds for Shelby, Green’s female. She couldn’t properly greet beings with her arms burdened by all of those containers. “Thank you.”
She clasped Zip’s hand, inhaled deeply, counted to five, exhaled. “Are you ready?”
“They will love you,” he repeated, drawing her forward.
The doors opened. The ramp descended. Floral-scented air swept over her, cooling her heated cheeks. The sun was low in the sky. Drops of moisture clung to blades of vegetation, the ground’s surface resembling a sparkling green covering cloth.
A solemn humanlike warrior stood beside a smiling blonde female. They must be Vapor and Mira.
The female clad in the ancient Earth garment, with earth clinging to the fabric, must be the plant-loving Shelby, which meant the D Model looming close to her was Green, one of Zip’s best friends.
By the power of deduction, the other couple would be Barrel and Nola. The Tau Cetian girl they’d claimed as theirs was perched on Barrel’s shoulders. She patted her warrior daddy’s head, babbling her name.
Ryssa’s gaze shifted to Nola and she sucked back her envy. The female was very pregnant, her gorgeous face glowing, her bright-red flight suit strained around a rounded belly.
There would be a new addition to the cyborg family soon.
Though there appeared to be new additions already. Ryssa counted the offspring positioned between the couples and the solo warriors.
“There are five more offspring,” she whispered to Zip, maintaining her smile.
“We intercepted a transmission from a slaver.” Vapor walked forward, his stride shortened to match his female’s. Being a cyborg, he had enhanced hearing. “The male wanted to sell five Tau Cetian offspring.”
“Our offspring Red retrieved them.” Mira beamed. “You’re wearing the blue flight suit.” She studied Ryssa. “I knew it would bring out the color of your eyes.”
“Thank you for the garments.” Ryssa plucked at the fabric. “I needed them.”
“Ah, yes.” Nola, Barrel, and their offspring had joined them. “I know how that is.” The female glanced at her warrior. “Barrel abducted me also.”
“I offered you a role,” Zip’s friend corrected.
“You gagged me.” Nola shook her head.
“Zip gagged me too.” Ryssa offered. That was one more thing she had in common with the female.
“Ka-Na.” The child on Barrel’s shoulders waved her hands.
Shelby handed the little girl a colorful rock. “I shot Green.”
“Don’t give my female any ideas.” Zip laughed, hugging Ryssa against him. “She almost saw Arse smile.” He abruptly changed the subject.
“Noooo.” They all stared at her.
“His lips lifted a tiny bit.” She demonstrated. “When my friend hugged him.”
Mira opened her mouth.
“If you touch Arse, my female, I’ll kill him.” Vapor warned. “And you won’t be able to sit for three planet rotations.”
The others laughed. Ryssa didn’t. The warrior sounded serious.
Zip also didn’t like it when she touched other males. Possessiveness must be a cyborg trait.
It was a trait that turned her on.
“We had a dagger specially crafted for Arse.” Ryssa lowered her voice. “That might make him smile.”
Or it might irritate him. The warrior was particular about his weapons.
Uncertain he’d like their gift and not wanting
to face that rejection, she’d left the dagger in his chamber. “We brought gifts for everyone.”
“You didn’t have to do that.” Nola gave her an awkward side hug, her stomach making the embrace difficult. “You being here is gift enough.”
“I don’t care about the gifts either.” Mira smoothed down her garment, her fingernails perfectly polished.
“Female.” Vapor growled.
“Vapor’s female lies.” Zip chuckled. “She loves gifts.”
“I do lie.” The blonde confessed. “But I’m trying to change that.”
“That’s also a lie.” Shelby teased the other female. “When I’m around plants, I forget about everything else.”
“She does.” Green said that as though it were a trait to take pride in.
“I talk to myself.” Nola volunteered a fault.
“I love that.” Barrel’s eyes glowed as he looked at his female. “I never have to project what you’re thinking. You tell me.”
Ryssa had often seen Zip gaze at her like that. With love. “Before meeting Zip, I had never left the planet I was born on. Living somewhere like this is new to me.” She waved at their surroundings. “It’ll be an adventure.”
“We love adventures.” Zip squeezed her hip.
“Ka-Na.” Barrel and Nola’s little girl threw the rock at him.
It pinged off Zip’s forehead, leaving a pink mark on his grey skin. “Her aim is improving.” He laughed, retrieving the rock for the fussing child. “Next time, throw this at your father.”
“Now who is giving females ideas?” Barrel’s eyes danced with mirth. “Welcome home, my friend.” He pounded Zip’s right shoulder with one of his big hands.
“Welcome home.” Green hammered his left shoulder with an equally large fist. “We should clear another field.”
“You can clear that field tomorrow.” Shelby turned her head. “Oh, look. Arse brought the offspring mock guns. They’ll need warriors to train them.”
“Not all warriors are required.” Mira winked at Ryssa. “Zip, you’ll want to show your female around her new planet.”