Page 22

“Kisses to everyone on board.” She put the headset down and smiled at Samantha. “So, you mentioned defense units?”

“Cargo handlers, but we haven’t had much luck changing them over.”

“Show me where they are. I have a few programming degrees, and I love getting dirty.”

The other women were drifting in slowly, and as Riley stood up, another Terran said, “Do you really know the Daughters of Rath?”

Riley smiled. “I know them, and I know Rath. They might kick my ass, but he will make sure they don’t hurt me, so stay close, and we will get out of here.”

Sam helped her move to the area with the heavy equipment. “Why is this even here?”

“Oh. We stole it. Now, why won’t they hurt you?”

“I was Rath’s actual daughter’s companion for five years. She and I worked through some things, and she was trying to get me and her dad together, but then a slimy half-Hmrain grabbed me, and the next thing I know, I woke up here.”

“So, you are going to be a consort?”

“Maybe. I dunno. Companion anyway.” She looked over the units and found the tablet nearby. “I am just going to putter. Do we have any weapons we can mount on them?”

“We do. We just didn’t want to waste them if we couldn’t get the bots moving.”

She linked the tablet to the unit and asked, “What has been the problem with them?”

“The movement is all over the map. It’s like they are jerking and twitching instead of walking.”

“Oh, that is fixable. Get me some water and a place to sit, and I will get this thing walking in a few hours.” Riley looked at Sam. “How much time do we have?”

“Nine hours.”

“Fuck it, I am going fast.” She got to typing and focused on the program, smoothing out the rough movements and making them suitable for inexperienced drivers. “You will be able to dance in these when I am done.”

She kept her head down and typed like mad. In ninety minutes, she was doing her first test, and half an hour after that, she was doing the second. When Sam was walking in the first unit and the women cheered, Riley got around to the next two units. They each uploaded and were ready to roll in two hours. The ladies ate, drank, and put on as many layers as they could. She was offered a position in one of the units and accepted. She had already dealt with horrors. This was nothing new.

Chapter Four

Riley had to cut upher gown a little, but she was still wearing it when the signal from the Daughters came through.