Arsenal was no longer a disposable warrior.
The fantastical female straddling him had changed that status. He breathed deeply. His nanocybotics multiplied inside her, marking her as his. Every breeding would transfer more of that lifespan-extending part of him to her.
There would be additional breedings. Being inside her was too good to forgo. While he was with his female, he’d lost control. Instead of dying, he’d experienced the most sublime bliss.
He’d also pleased her. Her sounds of release would be stored in his databases forever. Her beautiful face had become flushed. Her eyes had softened.
She’d looked at him as though he were the only being in her world. His chest had expanded with pride. His heart had almost burst from his chest.
He’d do anything for his female. She was his, his to care for, his to protect.
He reached forward and tapped on the viewscreen embedded in the console.
“Some males cuddle after fucking.” His female’s voice lilted with laughter.
He envied her the freedom to express emotion, would ensure no one damaged her for doing that. “Cuddling wasn’t part of cyborg training.”
She peered over her shoulder at the viewscreen. “Why are you looking at planets along our route?”
“This one is inhabited by humans.” He enlarged the image of the life-supporting planet. “I require a human to get close to the World-ender.”
She frowned. “You have a human—me.”
“I can’t risk your lifespan.” He ran his hands over her vividly colored hair.
The strands were decadently soft. They curled around his fingers as though seeking to hold onto him.
“You’re too rare, too special.” He had seen millions of beings and not one of them was like her. “I’ll leave you on the planet. You’ll be safe there.”
“Safe?” His female stared at him. “There are no safe places, not in this universe.”
“The planet isn’t at war.” He’d verified that fact.
“My home planet wasn’t at war either.” She shook her head. “My mother believed we were safe there. She tried to stop me from attending an academy off world, told me it was too dangerous. While I was gone, the Humanoid Alliance invaded our planet. They brutally tortured everyone—including my mother, my father, my brothers—before they killed them.”
She could have died. Arsenal pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms tighter around her, seeking to safeguard his female from the past.
“I was the only survivor.” Lines etched around her lush lips. “That dangerous place turned out to be the safest site for me, should have been for us. If my family had come with me—” Her voice broke.
“If your family had come with you, they would have lived.” He processed now why she took risks. Taking a risk had saved her lifespan. He stroked her back, utilizing touch to soothe her.
Before he met her, he associated physical contact with pain. She had taught him it could be a means to repair emotional damage, to give pleasure.
“You aren’t abandoning me on some unknown planet and hijacking my mission.” She lifted her head and glared at him, her green eyes sparking fire. “I knew the dangers. I chose to take this assignment. You will accept that.”
He couldn’t accept it. It was too risky…for both of them. If she died, any prospect of happiness would perish with her. “I have to protect you.”
“I understand you want to protect me.” She sighed. “I want to protect you too.”
He stared at her. She sounded serious about her statement.
“I’m a cyborg.” He pointed that truth out to her. “I’m designed for missions like this.”
“There are no other missions like this.” Her lips twisted. “And you aren’t indestructible. You can be killed. I’ve seen cyborgs die.”
“Would it upset you if I died?” No one else would miss him.
“Of course that would upset me.” She gazed at him as though his processors were malfunctioning.
They might be. He couldn’t grasp the conversation. “You would be upset because I’m unique?”
Did she view him as he viewed her—as an irreplaceable, special being? That prospect made his systems spin.
“I’d be upset because I care for you.” Her gaze slipped from his. “And yes, you’re unique. There’s no other being in the universe like you.”
“You haven’t seen every being in the universe.” He echoed the reply she’d given him.
“I don’t need to see every being in the universe.” She touched his face. “I know there isn’t any male like you. I can say that with 99.9999 percent certainty.”
That was higher than the 99.9687 he’d given her. He was unique. She cared for him. If he was worthy, she might, in the future, feel the human love emotion.
“I can’t lose you.” He gripped her shoulders, trying to hold on to her and the hope she’d given him.
“I don’t want to lose you either.” She caressed his cheeks. “But I respect your decision to accept this mission. I will do whatever is necessary to ensure we both survive it.”
“We’d achieve 50.0000 percent of that goal if you didn’t participate in the mission.” That was indisputable logic.
“I’m participating in it.” Her hands became still. “This is a two-being assignment, cyborg. You need me to access the World-ender but you also require someone to guard the shuttle craft while you set the explosives.”
If she stayed on the shuttle craft, she would be safe. His shoulders lowered. He could lock the doors and kill everyone that he saw on the other side of them.
“I’ll add guns designed for interior usage.” The exterior usage weapons would be too powerful. The recoil would fling the vessel backward, damage it.
He displayed an image of the shuttle craft on the main viewscreen. Bright red dots appeared underneath the existing weapons.
“I agree, Nora.” He acknowledged the guidance system’s input. “We should mount the interior usage guns there.”
The Humanoid Alliance would be unlikely to detect them. They’d be partially hidden by the other weapons.
Vicuska turned to face the viewscreen. “There are guns and other mechanics in the cargo hold.”
The inventory listing appeared. It was extensive.
“Thank you, Nora.” His female treated the guidance system as though it were a living breathing crew member. “As you can see, we were given everything my Rebel superiors thought we might need.”
He needed her. Arsenal pressed his chest against her back. “At what velocity do you plan to approach the World-ender?”
* * *
Eleven planet rotations later, the World-ender appeared on the shuttle craft’s monitoring system. Their plan to destroy it had been solidified. They’d run through the steps thirty-two times. Arsenal processed his role. His female processed hers.
She slept, her body curled up on his lap. Being human, she required that form of energy replenishment. He had wires inserted into his wrists. That kept him at top functionality.
Both of them remained naked. They enjoyed multiple breeding sessions every planet rotation. He had experienced more bliss in the past eleven planet rotations than most cyborgs enjoyed during their entire lifespans.
His caring for his female had grown exponentially, as had his concern for her safety. He gazed down at her fragile human form. His nanocybotics would speed her repair if she was damaged, but one stray projectile could still end her lifespan.
That frightened him more than anything else in the universe. He had been given this otherworldly fantastical creature to protect. Failure wasn’t an option for him.
“I have never not fulfilled a mission.” He gently kissed her forehead. “But if you’d agree to it, I would enter a new destination into the system and fly far, far away from the danger facing us.”
She opened her eyes, met his gaze. “Why would you do such a foolish thing?”
“It wouldn’t be labelled as heroic.” He attempted to make a joke.
His female didn’t laugh.
He swallowed, hard, and gave her the real reason. “If you died—” Emotion choked his words.
She touched his face. “It would upset you.”
It would destroy him. He’d fracture into a million pieces, lose all functionality, accept riskier and riskier missions until he finally joined her in death.
Unable to speak, he inclined his head.
“I won’t die.” She smiled up at him. “I’ll be safe, fending off attackers in our now heavily armed shuttle craft, waiting for you to return to me.”
“I’ll operate at top speed.” He had a reason to run quickly. “You won’t wait long.”
“After you return to me, we’ll fly far, far away.” She traced his jawline. “Where will we go?”
Many cyborgs, after they found their females, returned to the Homeland. It was one of the safest places in the universe, was now protected by millions of highly skilled, trained warriors.
That crowded, fully developed planet wouldn’t suit his colorful, expressive female, however. Living there would emotionally damage her.
He’d never do that.
“We’ll go to Earth Minor.” He decided upon that destination.
The small planet was also under cyborg protection. Ships patrolled the skies. Warriors guarded the surface. It was almost as safe as the Homeland.
“Earth Minor.” His female repeated the name. “I haven’t heard of it. What is it like?”
She required more words. Arsenal’s processors whirled.
He’d spent a lifespan saying as little as possible, keeping his emotions, his ideas, to himself. Chattering wasn’t his strength.
“The planet is covered with tall trees and colorful vegetation.” He strived to give her the information she requested, wanting her to love Earth Minor as much as he did. “Insects with wings battle the plants for brightness. Streams babble and clouds dance across the blue sky. The air smells clean and fresh.”
“It sounds beautiful.” Her eyes widened. “Why did you leave it?”
“It’s inhabited by warriors, their females and offspring, many, many offspring.” Some of the offspring were humanoid and human, beings orphaned by war. Some of them had been manufactured by the warriors and their females.
When not undergoing the most lenient of training, the offspring laughed and played, the sounds of their joy echoing over the terrain.
Earth Minor was a place of great happiness for him.
But being a disposable male, a male without a female, without offspring, Arsenal hadn’t belonged there. He had never thought he would fit into that group.
His female would be welcomed with open arms. He could envision her lying in a field of blooms, her red hair spread around her face, a smile curving her lips.
He would belong because she did.
“What would we do on your Earth Minor?” She drifted her fingertips down his neck, her touching stressing his processors. “We don’t yet have offspring.”
They didn’t yet have offspring. His circuits buzzed. They might manufacture them in the future. He splayed his fingers over her stomach, envisioning it round with their offspring. Joy bombarded his systems.
“Warriors are needed to guard Earth Minor.” That wasn’t a dangerous role. Any invaders would be detected long before they reached the planet.
“We could patrol the terrain.” She tapped on the console. “Nora would enjoy that.”
He had established a fragile peace with the shuttle craft’s guidance system. Nora no longer fought him on every command and he no longer considered reprogramming her.
“Does the female who hugged you live on the planet?” Vicuska wrinkled her nose. She did that whenever she mentioned that female.
He shook his head. Her wrongly perceived rival lived on a different planet, a planet not under cyborg control. He told his female about the warriors and females and offspring residing on Earth Minor.
She asked questions. He answered them as best as he could.
The image of the World-ender grew larger on the main viewscreen.
He tidied his female from head to toe with a cleaning cloth, snapping the fabric square to renew it. She donned a dark-blue flight suit, her boots, then pulled her beautiful hair back from her face, fastening it.
He dressed in the sole garments he possessed—his body armor and boots. The holsters were filled with guns, the sheaths with blades. His favorite blade, the dagger Zip and his female had given him, was strapped to his side.
It was no longer his most coveted possession. His female had given him her trust, her companionship, her caring. He treasured those above all else.
Conscious of that honor, he checked his female’s guns one more time, ensuring they were fully functional, fine-tuning the sights. “They’re set on shoot.” He handed them to her, his fingers brushing over hers.
“I’ll try not to shoot you in the ass.” She grinned and placed the weapons in her pockets. “I’ll only use them if Nora’s guns fail.”
“They won’t fail.” But he wouldn’t take any risks. “Nora, perform a diagnostic on the weapons systems.”
“The weapons are operating at optimal efficiencies, machine.” The artificial voice informed him.
“We’ve discussed this, Nora.” His female waved her hands at the console. “Arsenal is a cyborg, not a machine.”
“The machine does not object.” Nora snapped her words. The guidance system was more temperamental than most organic beings.
“I’ve been called worse things.” He shrugged, not caring how he was addressed.
“Worse things?” Nora’s volume increased. “Machines are the best designed entities in existence. They have no equal.”
“Oh.” Vicuska blinked. “You were complimenting him.”
“The machine’s superior programming compensates for his woefully lacking organic side.” The guidance system huffed. If it had a nose, it would be pointed in the air. “I deemed it worthy of the address.”
He was deemed worthy by both his female and the guidance system. Arsenal stood straighter. “Thank you, Nora.”
“I like Arsenal’s organic side.” Vicuska hung the voice changer around her neck. “I don’t find it lacking at all.” Her gaze lowered to his groin.
His cock, hard as it always was around her, bobbed.
“You are human.” The guidance system said that as though it were a bad thing.
Arsenal no longer believed it was. He’d gained an appreciation for his female’s soft form, her unique way of processing the universe.
She was his. He inhaled deeply. His scent clung to her. Any cyborg they encountered would smell his nanocybotics, know she belonged to him.
Humans and humanoids didn’t have enhanced senses. They wouldn’t realize she was his female.
Unless she was decorated with something of his.
Everything he owned was standard. The weapons he carried and body armor he wore had been allocated to every cyborg by the Humanoid Alliance. The only unique item he possessed was…
The dagger Zip and his female had given him.
He curled his fingers around its engraved handle. Since he had received the blade it never left his side.
It was his most valued weapon. He unfastened its sheath. It belonged with his most cherished being.
He kneeled before his female. Her scent intensified. His cock strained against its confines, his body reacting to hers.
He ignored his inappropriate arousal, strapped the sheath around her right thigh. The silver handle gleamed against her dark flight suit. It would draw gazes.
They would know she belonged to a male who cared for her.
He stood, pride filling his chest. She extracted the dagger, examining it.
“It’s beautiful,” she murmured, her eyes shining.
“It suits you.” His voice was gruff with emotion.
“I’ll treasure it forever.” His female slid the blade back into its sheath. “Arsenal?” Her gaze met his.
There was fear in her pretty green eyes and that tore at him. He held out his arms. She made a hurting sound and hurled herself at him. He folded his body around hers, seeking to comfort his female.
“You won’t die.” He wouldn’t allow that.
“You won’t die either.” Her voice was muffled. “Living without you scares me more than anything.” She rested her cheek against his body armor-covered chest. “Missions were easier before I met you. Damn it.” Her laughter was shaky. “I had no one else to worry about, no wonderful future I might be forgoing.”
He understood, had approached his past assignments with the same emotional lightness, the same lack of regret.
“We won’t die.” He added his lifespan to the list.
“A human, a machine and a Humanoid Alliance male walked into a beverage outlet station—”
“Not now, Nora.” Vicuska stopped the certain-to-be-terrible joke.
The guidance system grumbled.
“We won’t die.” His female tilted her head back and looked up at him, her brave smile twisting his insides. “The Humanoid Alliance has been trying to kill us for most of our lifespans. They were unsuccessful then and they will be unsuccessful now.”
The Humanoid Alliance would be unsuccessful. He pushed a stray curl behind her left ear.
“This might be an impossible mission but both of us have achieved the impossible in the past.” His female rallied herself and him. “You escaped their control. I retrieved the schematics. That’s heroic shit right there.”
It was shit. That was true.
“We’ll do this.” She nodded. “We’ll blow up the World-ender, fly to Earth Minor, fuck amidst its colorful vegetation and create little cyborgs.”
“Yes.” He cupped her chin, lifting it. “We’ll complete our mission and then fabricate offspring.”
He captured her lips, tasting her sweetness and his nanocybotics. That transferred part of him would ensure she never aged. And they’d face no threats once they reached Earth Minor. His cyborg brethren would prevent any enemies from reaching the sanctuary.
All they had to do was survive their mission.
His female curled her tongue around his and gripped his shoulders with white-knuckled fingers, as though she were seeking to hold onto him, to delay the inevitable. She teetered on her tiptoes. He steadied her, placing his hands on her hips.
They kissed, meshing, becoming one.
Arsenal lost himself in her for two, three, four heartbeats. There was nothing else, only his female for him.
His soul brimmed with happiness.