they had just helped close down a mining operation on a moon.
The six of them had been happy together at first, working together to make the mining station livable, excited to be free. But clones were made to work, to stay busy, and they grew bored after just a few months, getting on each other’s nerves. Then a few arguments had occurred over stupid things.
His closest friend, Blade, had been the first to leave their group, after their failed attempt to rescue some humans.
Big would never forget that day. Few ships came to their section of space. Getting a distress signal had surprised them all. The six of them had argued the intelligence of exposing their existence to humans. It was too dangerous. Humans really feared clones who defied the rules. They viewed them as dangerous and unstable.
The majority of their six had decided not to risk their lives. A human would never do the same for them. Clones weren’t valued or viewed as real living beings.
Then a woman’s voice had come over the communications, pleading for someone to come to their rescue. She’d mentioned three of the seven crew were women—and it was instilled in male clones to be protective of the opposite sex. None of them could ignore that voice or the urge to attempt a rescue.
In the end, they had been too late. Their clone security team had boarded a private luxury cruiser that had drifted far from the normal travel lanes, only to discover the human crew had suffocated to death due to a faulty air circulator. They’d been eight hours too late. It had emotionally devastated all of them.
Blade had taken it the hardest, seeing those dead humans. He decided to stay aboard the damaged vessel, once he’d made repairs. They’d argued with him, but his mind had been made up.
Big felt just as guilty for not saving those humans faster, and he understood why his friend wanted to distance himself for a little while. He’d assumed after a few months, Blade would return. He’d been wrong.
The remaining five of them had sworn to never make the same mistake of ignoring distress hails in their sector again, the risk to their existence be damned. No one wanted to see more dead females.
The next distress signal had come from a transport with a damaged engine. They’d docked to the ship to give aid. Instead of the clones being met with gratitude, the humans had tried to kill them. They’d had no choice but to defend themselves.
All four human males ended up dying, refusing to cease deadly aggression.
Another of his clone friends had left their home afterward, taking that transport. Ram needed time alone to recover from the emotional scars of having to kill to survive.
Big had experienced it again and again, with stupid humans panicking and giving them no choice but to kill in self-defense. It had devastated the clones. One by one, the others had left their home base after those tragedies, until only Big remained on the station.
He’d understood their need to travel, to explore, but it wasn’t an urge he’d shared with them. He liked remaining in one safe location. The raids on Clone World shuttles were a necessity, not a challenge.
Big heard from his fellow freed clones from time to time. They seemed to be doing well, if living as pirates could be considered as such. They spoke via communications, but one of them had gone silent almost a year ago. He secretly feared Blade might be dead.
Big pushed the last container and followed it. He was glad that Gemma had remained safely belted in her seat. He sealed the door before pushing the plasma crate against the wall and strapping it into place. The last of the cargo was secured.
“Can I get up now?” Gemma reached for the belt release.
“No. Stay strapped in. I’m going to reestablish gravity in a few minutes. I don’t want you to fall. I just need to check the ties on all these containers to make certain they don’t shift and break. It’s faster to do without gravity. These crates weigh just over four hundred pounds each. I’m strong, but it would be a strain when dealing with so many.”
She frowned. “This is the worst dream ever.”
He gave a sharp nod, as if agreeing. She was mentally stable as long as she kept believing this was a dream. He’d deal with the fallout later, once he blew up the transport to erase all traces of him