humidity. Less than a minute later, he was dry except for his hair. It had fallen forward and tangled around his face.
He stared into the mirror, his eyes were bright teal but dimming. He watched through the white strands of his hair.
Picking up a comb, he brushed his hair back until it was straight and precise.
His appearance was something he could control. The day he stopped caring about it was a day everyone should fear.
He might not be able to shift, and he may not be as big or as vicious as other Cyborgs, but he was still a force of nature. With just a touch, he was deadlier than most.
Hysterian dressed and placed his gun back into his utility belt. He glanced at his empty bed once before heading for the door.
The first requisition was in a couple of days. The Questor was due to arrive at Luxor Port soon, a moon that circled Gliese and was a corporate mining base for EonMed. Many of their processing plants were there.
EonMed also ran drug trials on Luxor. One such trial had proven great results in curing G Fever, an infection brought on by exposure to a rare fungus that grew on ships with aging life support systems.
He was to pick up a case of the prized vaccines and bring them back to Earth. Vaccines worth millions, wanted by thousands.
The door zipped open as he neared and he came face-to-face with the last person he wanted to see.
A woman with fake black hair and bland brown eyes. Eyes he was certain he’d seen before but couldn’t place.
There were no direct matches for them in his memories.
“Dear,” he said, stilling.
She jerked back as if she wasn’t expecting him. “I’m sorry!”
His brow furrowed. She’s supposed to be on the lower level, in her quarters or the menagerie.
“What brings you to my room?” he asked. “It’s the middle of the night shift.”
His nostrils twitched as he got a whiff of her scent. It wasn’t pleasing; she smelled like chemicals. She used dye in her hair, the cheapest stuff on the market, he’d bet.
Black. Jet black. It was so unnatural against her pale skin that it made her look sickly under the bright ship lights. And the way she kept her hair cinched tight in a bun made her features sharp, cold.
Her gaze skidded away. “I was looking for the lounge.”
Lie.
His eyes narrowed. Why is she lying?
“You passed it,” he kept his voice level, stepping out of his room and pointing down the hall. “It’s the first room on your left coming up the stairs.”
The door to the lounge was always open… The lounge was impossible to miss coming from the stairs. So why was she in front of his cabin?
And how the hell had he not known? Hysterian bristled.
“Yes. Right,” she coughed, straightening her uniform.
He couldn’t help but notice how it conformed to her curves, or lack thereof. He asked for a woman to be on his crew, hoping for a veteran, or a matron to soften the male dynamic. Studies showed that having a feminine presence did well for keeping morale up on the long flights. When he saw Dear’s picture, he hired her without reading her resume. Her severity was perfect, her plainness almost comforting. He’d never be tempted to touch her. If someone on his crew wanted to pursue her, that was up to them, though he wouldn’t be thrilled having a couple on his ship.
“I knew that,” she muttered. “I’ll head there now.” She scurried away.
“Dear, is there a problem? Something you want to tell me?” he asked.
She stilled.
Is that why she’s here?
She turned back to face him. Brown eyes met his. Eyes that didn’t belong on such a frigid woman. For a moment, he thought he saw anger creep into her features.
“There’s no problem. I just got caught up in my head and missed it. It’s been a long day. Thank you for your help, Captain.” She turned to leave again. “Goodnight.”
He wasn’t buying it. He always knew when someone was lying. It was what made him so good at interrogation… Torture.
He stepped toward her, and the door closed behind him. “I’ll walk you there.” He didn’t like being lied to. Whatever Dear was searching for, he was going to find out.
“There’s no need. I didn’t mean to bother you,” she said.
He joined her anyway. “It’s fine.”
“Captain…”
But he continued to walk and she went silent, following him.
He knew everything about the Questor and its specs, its layout. Every detail