C- Sizzling

by Jessie Rose Case

  Ok, that was annoying he wasn’t telling her shit. She hated not knowing things.

  Rage escorted her to a high-end café on the top level. Kim hadn’t been in the place before. It was nice. Expensive, but really nice. Cloth on the tables nice and the smell. Her stomach rumbled. She’d been to the top level many times while in Port. She loved the glass ceiling of the stars and the open space. It gave a sense of openness although still in an enclosed box. You could almost imagine being land-based. The air was fresher, cleaner somehow. Kim guessed the Cyborgs had plenty of credits. This wasn’t going to be cheap. He indicated an empty booth. Kim took the hint and slipped in, picking up a menu. Dam. Just reading it made her mouth go crazy with anticipation. She was sure she was drooling.

  The waitress appeared from nowhere and was all over Rage. Kim gave her a distasteful look from behind her menu.

  “Well hello gorgeous, what can I get you?” She purred at him.

  Kim rolled her eyes at the obvious come on. “Coffee, the good stuff and we’ll eat.” He told her. His eyes never leaving Kim’s face. After patting him and calling him stud, the waitress made her way to the counter.

  Seriously? Thought Kim.

  “You into females? Your staring at our waitress.” Rage asked her. Kim turned back to him with a seriously pained expression.

  “Well, who wouldn’t … stud.”

  Rage bit back his smile. She didn’t like the waitress all over him. He didn’t either but he wasn’t going to tell her that. “I agree she’s quite the specimen.”

  “You can say that again.” Rage heard her mumble. The waitress returned with the coffee and poured two cups. He watched as Kim’s eyes went wild at the smell.

  “We’ll have two fully loaded, all the real stuff no substitutes,” he told the waitress handing over both menus. “Extra eggs, fresh rolls on both plates.”

  Kim couldn’t stop looking at the coffee. It was dark and smelled delicious. The few times she had real coffee, had been for celebrations and treats. Although with some of her new income, she could probably buy it regularly. It just seemed such an extravagance, when parts were more important. She ran her finger along the rim of the cup. It was hot and steamy.

  “If you don’t want it I’ll have it.” Rage’s hand reached out to her cup. Kim looked up and hissed at him.

  “Wanna lose a hand?”

  Rage drew back the hand and smiled. She was feisty. He loved it. He watched as she picked up the cup with reverence and sipped. He could read in her face the moment the taste hit her buds. She looked shocked, surprised, elated and then relaxed and took another.

  “So Kim, tell me about yourself.”

  Kim looked up confused. “You still here?” Rage bellowed in laughter. So it would be like that. “And you’re paying for this.” She told him giving him a beady eye.

  “I wouldn’t accept it any other way beautiful.” Kim frowned. He was way to good with the compliments. She was in danger of liking them.

  She was saved by the arrival of food, her coffee was pushed to one side as she gazed at the plate. Then looked at Rages. There was enough food for an entire army. She couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten like this, if ever. She watched Rage pick up his knife and fork and dig in. There was no syn food on his plate and that was twice the size of anything she’d seen before, and real bread. She grabbed her own. Rage was setting a mighty fine example and she was determined to follow it.

  She munched and slurped her way through her meal. Every bite more delicious than the last. “You going to leave that?” Rage asked her when Kim eventually leaned back and rubbed her belly. Kim looked down at her plate. She couldn’t manage another thing. But o, did she want to. It was so damned good. All that deliciousness but her stomach was screaming nooooo. She shook her head. Beaten.

  “I’m done.” She told him sadly. Rage scrapped her leftovers onto his plate and added three slices of bread. That just annoyed her. Where did he put it all?

  She sipped her heavenly coffee and checked out the male opposite her. Clearly, he had no problem eating. Dam the man could eat enough for an entire planet. There was no doubt he was all lethal grace. And, they were soldiers.

  “So, you guys from the Federation, the Corp or private hire?” She asked as Rage finished his final mouthful.

  “Were once Corp, no longer.”

  Kim nodded. There was plenty of ex-soldiers out there. “So now you're what? Traders? Merc’s? For hire?” She asked.

  “We’re searchers. Looking for others of us that might be lost.”

  Kim frowned. “How come they’re lost?”

  Rage, wiped his mouth with some finesse which surprised Kim, and grabbed his own cup taking several gulps. “Some don’t know they're lost. Some don’t know the wars are over. Some are too damaged.”

  “Then how do you find them?” She asked interested. It seemed a noble cause.

  “We have some records,” he told her. “We use those. Go places, search. Download data as we go. Ask around. Have people who help. We do the math. Whatever we can to find them.” Kim watched him drink some more. He even did that gracefully.

  “Have you found any?” She asked. It felt important.

  Rage grinned at her. “Yes, lots. They have their own ships and are seeking as well.”

  “And when you find them all, what will you do?” She wanted to know what came next. He put his mug down. Kim thought he looked sad.

  “We won’t find them all.” He motioned the waitress over. “Check please.”

  Kim was glad his ship was a walk away, after that breakfast, she needed the exercise. Her stomach was complaining in a good way. She needed to work it off. As she turned the corner and got the first real look at his ship, she stopped. Hell. It was a Demon flight class ship.

  “This yours?” she asked knowing the answer. “Who did you kill to get it?” She asked shocked. It was top of the line and they didn’t give them away.

  Rage grabbed her arm. “Someone who didn’t deserve it. Come on it won’t kill you. Unless you fuck up my engines, then I might.”

  It was way bigger than any craft she had ever been on. Galaxy class. An inter-world ship. No wonder it dragged its ass. Look at all that re-enforced metal. She’d not seen it on the vid screen when they’d attacked. But then, she hadn’t been sightseeing.

  “You know all that metal is going to drag like a bus right?” She told him still focused on the beauty of it.

  “That’s why you’re here sweetness.” He told her hauling her along.

  “Look you didn’t say anything about this.” She pulled her arm free stopping at the ramp. She pointed to the craft. “This has to weigh far more than you told me. The stresses will be heavier. I have to celebrate for that and you guys.” She looked him up and down. “How many of you there are,” she waved her hand up and down at him, “there’s a lot of poundage here, plus how much weight your carrying, plus cargo weight. It will all add to the load.” Rage grabbed her arm gently and walked her up the ramp.

  “You can do that now,” he told her calmly. Shit. Why did everything always turn out to be more than she’d planned for? Distracted she suddenly realized she was inside the hold of the craft and 8 men were standing in front of her.

  Now she was here, she wasn’t sure they were men. They were just too big. Too tall. Moved …… too smooth. Too ……… silent. And they looked kinda similar. All lethal and far too good looking. One or two had some nasty scars. One had an artificial hand. Kim tried not to stare. One an artificial eye. A number had serious scars and burns, a couple were clearly communicating between themselves. Movement from the back caught her eye. Out of a crate a naked male sat up and turned towards them. He had metal embedded in his head, shoulders and one arm. She recognized that crate.

  Holy fuck. Cyborgs, her mind registered.

  “Well, that explains a lot. Your man over there appears naked and in need of some assistance. Engine room. Now.” One of the men looked from her to Rage. Rage must have agreed or s
omething, cos the new guy pointed and she walked towards him and followed him deeper into the ship.