The General chuckled, folding him arms and closing his eyes leaning back against the rock wall.
She felt the tug on her neuro net and opened the box. Guess sitting on my lap is out the question then? Coco slammed the lid closed, Abel’s laughter ringing in her ears. Coco supressed a smile and closed her eyes. That man was a menace and far too good looking.
***
Chapter Three
Abel continued to watch over her. She’d been asleep for a while now. The wind showed no sign of dying down, they weren’t going to make it tonight. Everyone in their group had cleaned themselves and taken fresh water. He was amused to see Hodges and his people’s faces, at seeing the pool of water. They clearly had no idea it was here. It was a reminder of how sloppy he was. Coco had found this place to preserve her life and others. If not for this, Hodges and his people would now be dead or dying. He couldn’t help but wonder if that would have been a good thing. Bad people tended to do bad things, he knew that first hand.
What had concerned Abel the most, Hodges hadn’t seemed grateful at seeing the water. If anything, he looked resentful at Coco. Like it was something else she’d kept from him. It solidified his thoughts that this man was indeed an idiot. A dangerous one. He opened his neuro net. The group of humans go nowhere unescorted.
Affirmative. Jebb replied.
Abel looked down on the female that drew his attention so much. She might not like it, but he was one of the best Cyborgs at what he did. She might not know it, but she needed his protection. She might not welcome it, but that would not stop him. She was precious, and nothing would harm her ever again, he vowed.
You have an affection for the female. Abel had been so engrossed in the female, he’d not heard the Cyborg approach. Their species moved silently, to humans anyway, not generally to Cyborgs. It showed how much of his attention was pulled towards her.
Abel looked up at the Cyborg known as Chas. I do. I feel she is a mate to me.
Confusion flashed across the Cyborgs face. How do we have mates? We are Cyborg.
We are, but things have changed in the years since you were in stasis. Let me show you. Abel opened his mind and shared the experiences of his brother’s in finding their mates. It took mere minutes to explain over his neuro net.
Chas’s eyes cleared. Do we all have mates to find? He asked.
Able shook his head. That is unknown. We travel the universe and yet, only a few have been found. It is possible that your mate is out there, it is equally possible, that she is not born yet or has already died. No one knows for sure.
Then there is little point in looking. Chas told him.
That is true brother. Which is why we go about our business and if we find our mate, she is precious to us.
I understand. Chas told him and walked away. Abel hoped he found his mate. He hoped all Cyborgs did, but he knew the reality. Most wouldn’t and without mates, their race was as doomed to die out, as this planet. Living long lives more than twice a normal humans life span would help, but ultimately, they still had to find them. There had to be a better way than chance? Abel sent a ping to his ship. He would discuss this with Mac at the first opportunity. They had to find a better way.
Coco stirred realising she’d fallen asleep. Her head leaning on the General. She stilled, hearing the wind rushing by outside. It hadn’t let up yet, Coco sighed. She was leaning on a stranger, a General with the Empire, in the middle of a storm and it didn’t feel awkward. In fact, it was strangely comforting. It felt right. Coco frowned, this wasn’t possible. She didn’t know the General, he was Cyborg. They were oil and water, she told herself, her confusing raging through her mind. Embarrassment centred in her. What was she thinking? The stiffness in her limbs becoming a reminder of how long she’d been sitting. Carefully not to disturb him, she gingerly moved and stretched, not relishing the hard floor she was sitting on or the rock she was propped up against.
“You’re awake.” He told her matter factually.
Coco pulled herself up. “Yes, sorry about the leaning. Didn’t mean to.”
“No harm, no foul.”
Coco smiled, “you sound strange sometimes, say strange things. I don’t understand some of it.” She told him honestly brushing herself off.
“I’ve spent many years with different people. Been to many worlds, led many into battle. People express themselves differently depending on their way of life. I have picked up a lot of things along the way.” He passed her some water.
Coco took the bottle and drank. “I don’t remember any battles, were they in your home world?”
“Yes. Before you were born. We were first created some 80 years ago to be used as weapons in the Corporation wars. Earth Corp owned us. Until we were freed nearly 55 years ago.” Coco choked on her water.
“55 Years ago?” She spluttered. “How old are you?”
“I am 79 years.” Coco stared at him wide eyed, looking him up and down. “We do not look our ages. Our aging is stopped once we reach the age we are born for. Mine was stopped at 32.”
Holy shit. Coco couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He was right, he didn’t look more than in his early 30s. “Does everything stop at that age?” She asked suddenly fascinated.
The General nodded. “It does.”
“Do you live forever?” She asked.
Abel cracked a smile, “no we do not, we can age but it’s much slower, twice or more than a human’s life span.”
Coco felt suddenly sad for this man, for all of them. “You will see people you care about die and leave you behind. That is terrible. Wive’s, children, family, you would see them all go before you. It’s not right or fair.” She whispered.
He shrugged. “We are used to people dying around us. It is expected.” Coco’s mouth dropped open.
“You can’t be serious.” She told him.
“We were born to die in battle Coco. The fact that we didn’t, caused Earth Corp a lot of problems. We made them pay in more ways than one.”
Coco frowned, “that doesn’t make it ok.” She took another pull on the water bottle.
“No it doesn’t. Mac thinks that our mates may live longer lives like us. Some of her female research, shows that our females are slowing their aging. She believes it’s the mix of our DNA passed to them, through blood, nano’s and semen.” Coco choked and put the bottle down, her face flaming red.
“Way too much information there big guy.”
“I am a big male.” He grabbed her hand and placed it on his cock moving it up and down. For a second or two, she let him. Her own desire sparked the air. Then she yanked her hand back. “Does sex embarrass you Coco, because we crave it?” He asked her.
Coco staggered to her feet. OMG! He’d held her hand and stroked his cock. Her body felt hot. She shook out her hands, breathing deep. Then noticed the wind was dropping and she badly needed to get moving. It had nothing to do with the difficult questions the General was asking, she told herself. It was all about getting back safely. “You didn’t answer the question Coco,” he demanded.
“Yeah and not going to, time to get moving.” She strode off in the direction of Chas. She was feeling way to hot and jumping his bones, seemed all too real, she needed some air. “Ok,” she called out, “time to go.”
***
Abel let her go. She’d been shocked he’d made her touch him. Clearly this colony wasn’t that open about sexual encounters. He’d have to remember that. Coming at her full on, wouldn’t work. He’d tasted her desire, she wanted him. It had flared to life the moment she’d touched him. There was no getting away from that. Sooner or later, she would succumb to her own desires whether she wanted to or not. Abel watched her march out. Everything about her, he wanted.
Coco strode out with the General and Chas with her. The rest followed. She couldn’t think about what had just happened. She needed to focus on her people. She made her way over rocks and new sand banks, pointed out where to be careful, as they slowly reached what was left of the path. Coco took her beari
ngs and checked her markers. Lined them up and took off in the direction of the colony. The landscape was different now. The storm having covered much of the original ground with sand as it always did. Creating new sand banks and hidden rocks beneath. “Be careful where you step,” she called out. “Make sure you are on firm ground, sand has hidden rocks and some of those, are new banks of sand and won’t be stable yet.”
“You care if we get hurt?” The General asked her.
Coco frowned at him, “of course, why wouldn’t I?”
“You are angry with me.”
Coco wrinkled her nose, “yes, so what, I’d let you all get hurt? That’s just crazy,” she told him shaking her head.
The General shrugged. “People have done far worse. Tell me about yourself?”
That was the last thing she wanted to do. She needed some space between them. Coco strode out but he kept pace. “Why?” She asked frustrated.
The General shrugged again. “Because I’d like to know.”
Coco wasn’t sure what he’s game was, but she couldn’t find any harm in it. “My parents are dead. I was adopted by a great couple who couldn’t have children. They loved me and I loved them. We had several diseases that ran through the colony from time to time. My adopted mum died from one of those diseases, my adopted dad got too weak to work. I was 17 and was already fixing things, so I went to work for myself, brought in what I could. Kept me and dad going for a while, then he got sicker,” Coco sighed, “he never really recovered from the loss of my mother. I think it was only me keeping him going in the end. Once he saw I could do this on my own, he ……. gave up. I don’t think he wanted to be without her.” She whispered.
“I’m sorry he left you alone.” Coco could hear the anger in his voice and turned to him.
“Don’t be angry. He loved her. They loved me. We had more than most ever do. I treasure those memories, there was nothing we could do. It’s life here its harsh. People die.”
They walked on quietly for a while. “Who looked after you after your parents were gone?”
“Friends, mine, my parents. We made it work.” Memories of good times floated across her mind as she climbed a hill, her next marker in sight. On her next trip, she’d have to clear away the sand so they don’t become covered she realised. “Your people don’t have parents?” She asked.
Confusion crossed the General’s face for a split second. “That is complicated. In terms of our genetic base we do. It was gathered over time from various sources but we didn’t have parental nurturing. We had soldiers to teach us how to fight. We were birthed at 17, grown to that age. We learned to walk and talk and then training began. That was it. In three years, we were sent out to fight.”
Coco faltered in her step, the General reached out and caught her. “That is fucking sick.” She told him righting herself. “I hope you showed them just how much. Thanks for the catch.”
The General smiled. “We did.”
They passed the ruins of the colonies attempt and being surface based. The General pointed to it, “I’m guessing that didn’t work out too well.”
Coco shook her head. “No. That was the first generation. They didn’t know about the extreme weather and what it could do when they arrived. They started building in the spring, or what passes for spring here. It started to get hotter and hotter and then the first of the winds came, taking a lot of the building with it. They tried to re-build but it kept happening, then it became too hot to go out side without protective clothing. So building stopped and they dug bigger tunnels. By the time the heat passed, the winter quickly set in and that was the pattern of events. That, was all that was left. They tried again and again, but winter started to kill them off it was just as bad as the summer. They gave up shortly after that. I’m told that when Earth Corp came that first year, they weren’t impressed.” Coco shook her head. “They took the mining ore and refused to take the colonist, saying they had a minimum 10 year contract to uphold and that they would be back for the ore, with supplies the following year.”
“And did they come back?”
“O yeah. They didn’t like the fact that we still hadn’t built on the surface. That we were not making a ‘permanent base’ I was told.” Coco used air quotes to make her point, “The ships Captain told them they were in breach of the contract and if it wasn’t up by the following year, they would deal with the breach of contract, the planet would be offered to other colonists and they would forfeit everything. They dropped the supplies and equipment, took the ore and left.” Coco spotted the rocky outcrop that was the entrance to the tunnels in the distance.
“So what happened when they came back?”
“That was the last time they came. No one knows why. For most of the first and second year we’d kept tabs on the weather conditions and made records. We gave them to the second ship as proof of the problems on this world. We gave them another year’s records when they came back the third time. They weren’t impressed. Gave us the supplies and more equipment we were contracted into. Told us to make it work or some army would be sent in to make us. They took the ore. Apparently, they were impressed with that. It has fuel capabilities that we only just found out ourselves recently. I’m guessing, that was valuable to them. Some of the colonist tried to leave on that ship and were killed. They never came back after that and we never saw an army.”
“How did you survive here?” The General looked around the barren land.
“As my mum would say, necessity, is the mother of all invention. I’ll show you.”
***
Abel walked with her to the rocky outcrop. A path started to open up in the sheltered area around it. It was clear that people had been coming and going from this area for a long time. The ground was compacted and solid. Coco approached a rock wall. Abel switched to infrared vision and could see the circuitry below the surface. She pushed a cover aside and a hand crank appeared below it. Coco pushed down on the handle and the doorway slid open. Abel recognised it as a ships safety hatch. A gentle slope with grooves in it became visible inside the rock. Coco shook off what sand she could, then walked in and lighting came on. Pulling the wrap from her head and gloves from her hands, she turned to them. “Shake off what you can. We try to keep out as much as possible.” Then she turned back and started walking into the tunnel. Lights turned on as she went down.
Do as she asks. I want two guards on that door way, inside and out. He told his men over his neuro net.
Affirmative. Chas told him.
Abel went over all the information she’d given him as he followed her. What had happened here had not been expected by Earth Corp. One of the problems of seeding a world without actually knowing how it ticked, was this. People left high and dry. It was another nail in Earth Corps coffin. Coco continued to be a surprise to him. She was intelligent, strong willed, yet had a fragility to her that kept calling to him. He kept watch on her as she descended, the slop widening as she went. Coco removed her outer jacket and carried it forward as the next light came on. She stopped before a fabric wall and turned back to them.
“This is our dust cleaner. We cannibalised it from the original ships filtration system. Groups of up to 8 can step in, but you guys are big so maybe 6, make sure you are spread out. Once you press the start button it will blow in air, so keep your eyes and mouths shut, then it will suck the air back out. It will take most of the dust with it.” She then moved forward and parted the fabric and stepped in. Abel went with her along with Chas and three of her men. He watched as she engaged the air and sent images to his men. The next group would know what to do.
The air stopped, and it vacuumed, Coco turned to them before leaving. “Beyond this point, is the colony. There maybe people milling around. I’ll do a quick explanation as we go. You are going to be a big surprise to them, so please, let’s try to keep it calm.”
Coco pushed through the fabric on the other side and walked to the end of the tunnel. She could see the lit cavern beyond and entered the space.
People were out doing whatever was important to them. She stopped by the entrance and waited for several people to notice her, then their guests. The area went quiet. Coco stepped forward, “community meeting in fifteen minutes,” she called out. “We have visitors.” Shocked gasps range out, then excitement caught fire. She walked slowly forward knowing the Cyborgs were with her. “I will explain it all then. Join us.”
Coco headed for the meeting area. Smiling as she went, she called out over and over again, that they had visitors and needed to talk. By the time she got to the meeting area it was already packed. She walked to the talking spot and realised that the General was still with her. She opened her mental box. Maybe you should wait here?
Where you go I go. The statement had a finality about it. Coco didn’t bother arguing. She turned back to the crowd and put her arms up for quiet. The noise dimmed.
“I know many of us believed, that we had been forgotten in this part of the universe but that is not true. A ship did crash here a long time ago and Hodges recently found it. It kept it to himself, telling only those that were with him. He told me, because I can fix things and he needed me to make it work and I did. Not telling anyone else, because to do otherwise would have been bad for me and for the other’s I told.
“Most of you know how it works here, so I don’t have to explain anymore. As I worked on the ship, more and more came alive until I got the computer running and after a hiccup, it showed me where some hidden stores were. The ship came from Earth Corp and had what looked like old supplies stacked to the rafter’s but the hidden stuff was new. Some of you wondered where Hodges got the new supplies, well that was it. What was hidden, was a group of men in stasis.” She pointed behind her. “These men. They were lost for many years until I found them. Then by chance, their General turned up. This,” she pointed to Abel, “is General Abel. He comes from the Cyborg Empire with an offer.
Abel Page 5