Testing Truth (Cyborg Space Exploration #6) - Cynthia Sax Page 0,2
ship appears damaged, the locals will assume it’s landing on Nereid Negative One for repairs.” Dissent’s voice warmed with approval. “And a fighter ship, unlike a shuttle craft, is designed for long voyages. They’ll assume it’s a solitary vessel, won’t extend their scans to look for the Reckless.”
“We’ll position the Reckless outside of their monitoring ranges.” Captain nodded.
The two of them chattered about strategies. Truth listened, didn’t contribute.
Planning didn’t hold any interest for him. He preferred to take action, adjusting to conditions as they changed. That was much more fun.
“Freed.” North bellowed, shifting the attention on the bridge back to him. The D Model’s restraints retracted. He ran into the next chamber, relaying the footage as he moved.
North’s female lay on a sleeping support. A covering cloth was draped over her form. Her normally spiked black hair had collapsed. Her red eyes glowed.
She cradled a tiny D Model in her arms. The little cyborg thrashed his limbs and wailed at the top of his vocal range, his tiny gray face dark with outrage.
“He’s powerful.” Captain murmured that observation as though speaking to himself.
“My female.” North rushed to his female’s side, scattered kisses all over her pale face. “You aren’t damaged?”
“I’m feeling no pain, my male.” Her voice was soft, which was unusual for North’s warrior female. Doc must have given her excess pain inhibitors. “We have an extremely active and healthy gray-skinned, black-haired, blue-eyed baby boy.” She held up the offspring. “He looks just like his father, but he’s strong like his mother.”
Truth grinned. The female often claimed she was the strongest being on the ship.
That wasn’t the truth, of course. Many of the other beings, himself included, were cyborgs.
But that she processed she was superior in that way entertained him greatly.
“Offspring.” North didn’t respond to his female’s teasing. He dropped with a loud thump to his knees beside her sleeping support. “We have offspring.” He took the little cyborg from her.
The offspring stopped his struggles, gazed up at his father.
“I love you, Victorious.” North pressed his lips to the little cyborg’s forehead. “And I love you, Myrina.” He met his female’s gaze. “That you have given me this happiness, this—” His voice broke.
Envy poked at Truth’s heart. He wanted a female, longed for offspring, desired love, the intense type of love, the kind a warrior felt for a being he would kill for, die for.
But he also felt a deep sense of sadness, of loss, as he watched North with his family. The male’s planet rotations of excitement were over.
Captain hadn’t left the ship and his female’s side since their offspring was manufactured. Truth stifled a sigh. There was a 93.2569 probability North wouldn’t leave the ship now that he was a father.
Warriors met the females genetically destined to be theirs. If they were fortunate. Not every warrior would have that opportunity. They claimed those females, bred with them, manufactured offspring.
And their adventures ended.
Truth would find his female. Not finding her, spending his lifespan alone, wasn’t a fate any warrior desired. But he wasn’t in a rush to locate her.
He craved more thrills, more exploration, more battles, before that happened. His lifespan would be lived to its fullest. Boredom would be banished.
Once he’d sucked every bit of excitement out of the universe, he would search for his female.
Until then, he was free.
A planet rotation later, Truth escaped the oohing and aahing over the newly manufactured offspring and focused, with Dissent, on the mission assigned to them.
They perused the available fighter ships, had additional company during that task. Dissent’s female held her warrior’s hand and chattered about offspring, about vessels, about how females could add value to exploration assignments and a certain Captain should realize that fact.
Future, Captain’s fully mature offspring, trailed behind them with a sullen expression.
“This fighter ship has the earliest date of fabrication.” Dissent patted one of its panels.
They gazed up at the vessel. It was in pristine condition, as all the cyborg ships were, was fully functional and much too shiny for their requirements.
“Fighters ships are designed to accommodate more than a crew of two.” Future scowled. “I should have spoken up, not merely sent Father a private transmission. Then you would have supported my request to join the exploration team and he would have relented.”
There was only a 10.2593 percent probability Dissent would have supported that request. Every warrior on the Reckless processed how protective Captain was of his offspring. A prudent warrior wouldn’t interfere in that relationship.