Home Front (Star Kingdom #7) - Lindsay Buroker Page 0,63
“Because I’d hate to think that all the stories I’d read about knights were lies.”
“They aren’t.”
“Good,” she repeated, then rested her hands on his shoulders and leaned her chest against his. “We’ll find another bait ship, one that doesn’t come with a soul-sucking siren for an owner.”
“I’m amenable.”
Asger slid a hand down Qin’s side and around to her back, or maybe a little lower, then bent his head to kiss her and show her how much more interesting she was to him. She returned the kiss hungrily and molded herself to him.
He decided it wouldn’t be appropriate to let other women ogle him in the future as a way to spur on her libidinous and possessive side, no matter how arousing it was. And it was that. If they didn’t stop soon, they would end up putting on quite the show for any passersby in the ship bay. Of course, they could close the hatch… or go somewhere private.
“Why don’t we discuss further plans…” he murmured in between kisses, “in your cabin?”
“Yes,” she said promptly, her hands tightening their grip on him.
He’d expected her to pause to think about it, since he was suggesting more than the kiss and date they’d talked about, but if she didn’t want to pause, he didn’t mind.
“I’ve wanted to… discuss things with you…” she said, a little breathless, “ever since the park.”
“The park on Odin?” He pushed his hand through her thick mane of hair, gently brushing one of her pointed ears. “Where you were springing through the trees?”
“Yes.”
“Because the trees got you in an amorous mood, or I did?”
She grinned. “Yes.”
Kim did not like parties or large gatherings of any kind. She didn’t think her mother did, either, but maybe the white-haired vice president of Tiamat Station had asked her to mingle with the other scientist guests. He’d come over and said a few words to her right after Kim had joined her.
Now, Kim was tagging along as her mother chatted with a blur of archaeologists, engineers, and historians that she didn’t recognize. The conversations revolved around the gate and how long it might take to build a new one, given that the various governments, even after agreeing to work together, were missing a lot of pieces. Thankfully, her mother eventually stepped away from the scientists, and she and Kim found a relatively quiet spot under the potted trees along one wall.
“There are two other loaded droids here.” Her mother pointed at a nearby female android and a male model across the room. “The male is a Miners’ Union leader who lost his human body to old age last year, and the woman is a technology archaeologist, Scholar Mara Neem. She’s been a droid for over a century and was one of the first to upload her consciousness, also to avoid death. I spoke with her earlier. She’s seen so much and studied so many fascinating places and objects all over the Twelve Systems.”
“Do you enjoy finding others who’ve made the choice you have?” Kim didn’t know why her mother was pointing out the loaded droids, but it seemed polite to ask.
“I do. I was an oddity even when I was human—I imagine you can understand—but I’m more of one now. I don’t regret my choice, as I’m alive in a fascinating period in human history, but the stares can get tedious.”
“Would they stare less if you’d chosen a more typical android body?”
“Likely so, but then I’d be mistaken for a butler, nanny, or maid all the time. That happens to Scholar Neem, if you can imagine. We have odd preconceived notions about androids and what they’re created for.”
“I’m sure Casmir would agree.”
“Yes, the crusher whisperer. His reputation is growing.”
“His reputation for creating crushers?” Kim doubted Casmir would want to be known for that.
“No. This is all recent, isn’t it?” She pointed at one of the tarry constructs showing off his ability to jump a great distance to a group of teenagers that had to be sons or grandchildren of one of the guests.
“The batch here is recent, yes.”
“They’re only a part of his reputation. President Nguyen has been spreading a rumor that he’s Admiral Mikita’s clone, raised by King Jager to serve him as an engineer and military strategist. But he’s rebelled and fled his oppressive liege, and is now available as a free agent.”
Kim was so busy gaping and rocking back on her heels—her calves bumped one of the potted trees—that she almost didn’t hear anything after Admiral Mikita’s clone.