Chapter Fifteen

Steele

Before finding Zaya I would've been excited to go on patrol in search of a Mesaarkan base. But now, I approached it with barely any enthusiasm. Of course, I would do my job with careful attention to detail, but I would pine for my mate in the back of my mind for as long as I was away from her. I forced my thoughts back to the task at hand. Too many lives depended on finding the source of the alien incursion and stopping them from stealing our citizens.

Zaya was as safe as I could make her without remaining at her side. The only visitors to her ranch since we returned there together were my fellow cyborgs Trinity, Raven, Lieutenant Hawk, and his mate Jenny. The AI defense system would notify me of any significant potential threat. Zaya was armed with a mini-ion rifle and trained to use it.

I flew to my assigned quadrant at top speed with my full cockpit engaged on my sky cycle. When I reached the mountain range, I retracted the cockpit and activated my body armor so that I could engage my HUD-enhanced visuals. I glided at low speed over the peaks and valleys of the South Western Montana Mountains.

I cast off a squadron of bee drones to extend my reach as I scanned the landscape meticulously. It was a slow process that would take several days to complete. Twenty-four hours later, I had found nothing and reported back to Sergeant Rowe. With his permission, I flew back to the ranch to spend a few hours with Zaya and replenish myself.

We had a joyous reunion as Zaya ran and leaped into my arms as soon as I dismounted my cycle. Kissing her passionately, I carried her into the house with her wrapped around me. We went straight to the bedroom for an intense breeding session.

After sharing a meal and a night's sleep, I went out again for another 24 hours. The only reports I received from the defense system at the ranch involved large animals passing through. Knowing she was safe allowed me to concentrate on the job at hand.

Zaya

The first twenty-four hours with Steele away were the hardest. I kept my daily routine as I had for many years before Steele came into my life. It still amazed me how quickly he had become so important to me, but he was, and I missed him terribly. Sleep was elusive that first night, so I used my Com-tablet to learn about the history of the Mesaarkan War. I was horrified to learn that people from Earth caused it due to their greed to claim a world already claimed by the Mesaarkans.

Yet what the Mesaarkans did to Earth alone was far beyond their loss. They killed billions on Earth, then attacked every human colony in the sector. It went on for one hundred years until the Wholaskans finally brokered peace. I wonder how long the Saarks had been on Earth and how many were still here.

By then, I'd fallen asleep while Bruno slept on the rug by my bed. I had just finished making supper the next day when Steele returned. He called me ahead of time, so I prepared a nice dinner for us to share.

However, that plan vaporized as soon as I heard his hovercycle land in the front yard. I threw open the front door and ran, leaping into his arms as soon as he dismounted. I think that at that moment, I realized how happy I was to have this cyborg in my life.

All the years I spent scraping out a living on this isolated ranch had made me confident that I could manage by myself. Having someone to share my life to love and be loved was so much more than I ever dreamed. Being back in Steele's arms again drove that point home in my mind.

"I missed you so much," we said almost in unison before our lips crashed together. Immediately, I knew that dinner would need to be reheated as a different hunger flared in our bodies.

Without even breaking the kiss, Steele carried me into the house and into our bedroom. We could hardly get our clothes off fast enough before we came together without foreplay luxuriating in our spontaneous breeding.

"When I am away from you, I feel like half of my soul is missing," Steele said in a husky rasp as our hips slammed together.

"Yes! Me, too," I gasped, clinging to his shoulders.

It was like that every time he left and returned. I guess we kind of got used to being separated for short periods. Every reunion was a celebration. We would make love, eat a meal, and make love again before sleeping, and Steele would return to patrol again.

Steele

Five and a half days later, I found it. Their base was well hidden in the side of a mountain just as we suspected. It was late in the afternoon, and the sun had begun its descent, casting long shadows over the valleys between the hills with the threat of snow soon to fall. Three passes over the same mountain face gave anomalous readings on my internal scanner, but I could not pinpoint the exact location of the anomaly.

I landed my sky cycle about a mile away to avoid detection and headed toward the target on foot. A gentle breeze ruffled through the pines where I left my craft cloaked so it blended in with the landscape.

With my full armor engaged, I moved silently along the rocky path, all my senses fully alert. I engaged all my cybernetic enhancements to scan the landscape around me. My enhanced vision allowed me to detect the tiniest movement or the faintest heat signatures. I could sense that I was close as I got a faint energy reading from a nearby mountain face.

I moved closer with utmost stealth until I discovered a massive opening carved into the side of the mountain. Thick pines partially concealed it, but I could easily see the opening was large enough to accommodate shuttles and hovercraft. One was approaching, and I hid behind a large bushy pine tree where I could make out the faint markings on the craft that were unmistakably Mesaarkan.

I took several minutes to scan the base thoroughly and determine just how many Mesaarkans were stationed there. The base housed shuttle crafts and hovercrafts but no spaceship. Tapping into the Cyborg Network, I notified Lieutenant Hawk and Sergeant Rowe of what I had found.

I estimated there were about a hundred aliens within and two reptilian Mesaarkan mercenaries guarding the entrance. This contingent had clearly been here for some time as the base's infrastructure appeared complex and well-established. The air around the cave entrance seemed to shimmer slightly, a telltale sign of a cloaking field. That was why I could not pinpoint the location from the air. I moved closer and planted a bee drone near the entrance to monitor activity until we were ready to strike.

With the location established, I was ordered to stand down and not engage them alone. I eased away, noting approach routes for our eventual attack. As I headed to my hovercraft, I sent all the data I had gathered back to my superiors.

The temperature was dropping, and the wind had picked up slightly, filling the air with the scent of pine and earth.

I mounted my sky cycle and sped back to Gretchen and the ranch to reunite with my mate and await my next orders.

While I was in the air, I called Zaya to let her know I was on my way home. Knowing it would be late when I arrived, I ate a couple of meal bars on the way. As I landed in the front yard, the front door opened. Zaya stood in the doorway wearing her shabby robe, which opened in a deep vee to her waist. Bruno came trotting across the snow-covered lawn to greet me.

Although I was eager to have Zaya in my arms, I paused to pet him and tell him what a good boy he was. I knew how much Bruno meant to Zaya, and I had grown fond of him as well.

I went on to Zaya, lifting her into my arms so we were chest to chest. Her robe fell open further, baring her breasts as they were crushed against my chest. As we kissed, I carried her into the house. It was freezing outside, and I kicked the door shut behind me as Bruno slipped inside with us. He went to his bed in the kitchen while I carried Zaya into the bedroom to breed.