Page 29 of Her Alien Cyborgs (The Drift: Haven Colony #10)

She recognized Denz, Raze, and all the other members of Haven’s leadership council. Seated at the far end was Barrios and a small group of IAF officers, all in dress uniform. Seated beside the colonel was an unexpected surprise. Lieutenant Commander Heath.

“What’s she doing here?” Hezza hissed at Phaedra.

Tyran, whose hearing was almost as good as a cyborg, heard her question and quickly realized who Hezza meant.

He scowled, flared his wings slightly, and gestured toward the group of IAF members. “Why is Lieutenant Commander Heath here? She’s already threatened my guests once already.”

Barrios stiffened. “She is my second in command. Any interaction she had with that woman and those mach…” He cut himself off and started again.

“Prince Tyran. You said I could choose who could accompany me to this meeting. Once I learned she was in the system, I asked her to join me as soon as possible.”

Hezza had never been in the presence of someone who actually had an aura of power about them. Tyran did. All eyes were on him as he considered the colonel’s answer. She could feel the disapproval radiating from in waves as he stared for several long seconds at the colonel and his party.

“I will hold you accountable for her behavior, and when this meeting is over, I expect her to depart immediately and return to your ship.”

“I…yes. Of course. She’ll leave when I do.” Barrios sat back in his chair, almost vibrating with unspoken outrage.

With that dealt with, Hezza checked out the rest of the guests. In the center of the table was a female Vardarian who had to be Empress Neha. She had silver scales and gemstones woven into her long, dark hair.

“Sister,” Tyran spoke in a loud, polished tone as he approached the table. “I have brought Captain Bratt and the two cyborg prisoners she freed to meet with you.”

There were audible gasps and murmurs from the Vardarians seated on either side of the empress. Hezza assumed these were her advisors.

Even without augmented hearing, she caught the word abomination muttered several times.

Kalan and Fyr’enth had moved to flank her as they entered, and now they spread their wings protectively, forming a shield across all their backs.

Neha ignored the outburst and rose to her feet. Her smile was as perfect as the rest of her, but it also seemed genuine, if a little uncertain.

Phaedra was right. This empress lacked confidence. Never a good thing in a leader.

“You are welcome,” Neha said. “I am Neha, your empress.”

Both of her escorts came to a halt. “I am Kalan. This is Fyr’enth. We appreciate your welcome, but we want to make something clear. We are not your subjects.”

This time, the masks slipped, and several of the courtiers shot her mahoyen ugly, hate-filled looks.

“What?” Neha stammered but then composed herself. “Explain yourselves.”

As much as it pained her, Hezza stayed quiet. This was something that her mates had to do themselves. If she spoke for them, she’d rob them of their chance to speak their truth and set the terms for everything that came after.

Fyr’enth spoke next. “Our genetics may be Vardarian, but we are not from your empire. We were not raised there, and we have no understanding of your culture or values. We are cyborgs, and we claim that as our lineage. While some of us may wish to become your subjects in the future, my brother and I do not.”

“This is unexpected.” Neha’s eyes were narrowed and her lips were pressed thin, but she seemed more confused than anything else.

Barrios spoke next. “You heard them. They denied that they were Vardarian. Therefore, they cannot claim the empire’s protection. That means my claim for custody should be acknowledged.”

“No,” Kalan and Fyr’enth spoke together.

Hezza couldn’t tell if they were addressing the empress, the colonel, or both at once.

A female Hezza had never seen before stood up from the table. She’d been seated by the leadership council, but she wasn’t one of the members. She was tall for a human, but then Hezza caught the glint of something metal beneath the fall of her chestnut hair. Was she a cyborg?

“I think you all need to hear what I’ve got to say. First, I should introduce myself. My name is Chance, and I’m a cyborg with a specific skill set. Unlike my brethren, I wasn’t made to fight wars.” She smiled sadly. “I was made to predict who would win them.”

Chance. Hezza knew the name and the story of the cyborg it belonged to.

She’d left Haven early, fleeing back to a space station where her agoraphobia wouldn’t be triggered every time she stepped outside her door.

Chance had found her way to The Drift and Astek Station, where she’d joined with other members of the cyborg resistance.

“I know who you are.” Barrios sneered. “And what you are. Why are you here?”

“I was invited.” She indicated the group from Haven.

“They know me and my abilities. They asked me to come here and help them with this situation. I can do calculations that no one else can, and I’ve finished my analysis.

” She looked at Hezza, and her smile widened.

“I really think you should listen to what I have to say.”

“Speak,” Neha said. Then she looked chagrined. “Sorry, brother. I forgot my place. This is your domain, not mine.”

Tyran waved her apology off. “I’d like to hear what Chance has to say, too.”

“As you all know, DNA samples were taken from the Vardarian cyborgs still in cryo-pods. Upon their arrival, Kalan and Fyr’enth were also asked to provide samples.

I have the results, and they match my predictions.

All the cyborgs recovered from Orio Station carry DNA from multiple Vardarian sources.

However, one of them is relevant to the several parties present today.

Every cyborg removed from the station carries genetic material from the Varosa family line.

Tyran and Neha, I would like to introduce you to the newest members of your family. ”

Family? Hezza had expected things to get complicated over the course of this meeting, but she’d never imagined this .

“We have family?” Fyr’enth’s question was more whisper than sound.

Around them, questions were shouted, and several Vardarians protested in obvious outrage.

It was hard to hear through the chaos, but she heard words like travesty , abomination , and others just as vile.

Finally, Tyran had had enough. “This is a family matter!” His voice boomed like thunder. “Everyone else leave!”

He quickly turned to Chance and added, “Thank you, Chance. We’ll talk soon.”

“Of course.” The cyborg moved away, shadowed by a blond, dangerous-looking human male.

“I’m not leaving until I get some answers!” Barrios’s voice had risen to something uncomfortably close to a toddler’s wail when they didn’t get the cookie they wanted.

He’d left the table with the rest of his group but had stopped not far from where Hezza and her group stood. Most of his officers continued toward the door, but not the lieutenant commander. She stood by Barrios, whispering to him with one hand on his arm.

Interesting . There was something between the first officer and her commander that should not exist between two beings in their positions.

“Do you see what I see?” Phaedra asked.

“l do. That might explain why the first officer of the Bright Arrow was able to commandeer someone else’s ship to come after us.”

The room emptied relatively quickly. Even the other Vardarians grudgingly departed, herded out a side door by more of the empress’s guards.

“Colonel Barrios, I asked you to leave.” Tyran glowered at the smaller male.

“I have the right to stay! I am the task force of the group that freed the cyborgs and the duly appointed representative of the Interstellar Armed Forces. These two were removed from my custody, and that woman is wanted for questioning for hacking the IAF military software.”

Phaedra looked intrigued. “I didn’t hear about this. What did you do?”

“Nothing. He’s chasing the wrong comet if he thinks I had anything to do with it. I’m a simple cargo jockey.”

“It was you,” Heath spoke this time. “Or was it these alien weapons with you?”

Hezza stared the officer down. “How many times do I have to tell you, Kalan and Fyr’enth are not alien weapons. They’re not weapons at all. They’re living beings!”

Hezza watched as Heath transformed from a polished officer into a frothing madwoman.

“Liar!” the woman shrieked. “Betrayer! You are sleeping with humanity’s enemy! They are a threat to humanity. We must resist before it’s too late.”

The colonel gawped at his first officer. “Rosalyn? What are you doing?”

“Don’t you understand? This is what I told you about. This is the moment. We have to fight back and reclaim this galaxy for humanity.”

Everyone in the room was watching the drama play out as if they’d bought tickets for this show. Hezza was distracted too, but then she saw it. The same cold-eyed look Heath had worn when she’d called her mates alien weapons the first time.

She reacted blindly, convinced that something terrible was about to happen.

Kalan and Fyr’enth must have seen the same thing she did because they both flared their wings, using them as shields to screen the others.

Only, she wasn’t there anymore. She was running straight for Heath, determined to stop her from hurting someone she cared about.

Barrios grabbed at Heath, shouting incoherently as he tried to break her grip on her sidearm.

“Rosalyn, stop this! Stop!” Barrios shouted.

She kept going, fear for her mates pushing her just as hard as the nanotech in her body.

The weapon discharged, sending a sizzling blast of energy that zipped by Hezza’s shoulder.

Less than a second later, a flash of light passed her again, this time coming from behind.

A rebound? Or had the shot been deflected by one of her mahoyen’s wings.

It slammed into Barrios’s leg. He screamed and went down hard, leaving Heath standing alone.

Hezza dropped her shoulder and hit her in the midsection. They both crashed to the deck, but Hezza was on top, which gave her the advantage.

So did the nanotech.

She used both to push herself to her knees.

Heath tried shove her off and failed. “Bitch. You don’t understand. If the empress died, they’d leave us alone!”

Hezza briefly considered explaining to the woman how wrong she was. But what would be the point?

“This is for calling my mates weapons,” she snapped and then punched Heath square in the face.

Her hand went numb as she connected with Heath’s nose. Something cracked, but she couldn’t tell which of them was the source of the noise.

She used the last of her energy to take the weapon out of Heath’s limp hand and toss it to one side.

Still kneeling on her rival’s unconscious body, she twisted around to check on Fyr’enth, Kalan, and everyone else.

“Are you alright?” she demanded, fearing that they’d been hurt somehow.

“We are.” Kalan rushed to her side, worry etched on his face. “Are you?”

“Me?” She had to think about that for a moment. That’s when the pain finally registered. “I think I busted my hand.”

Kalan cursed and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her to her feet while being careful not to jar her injured hand. “I take it back. You are not allowed to protect yourself anymore. We’re taking over the job.”

“Yes, we are,” Fyr’enth agreed. “You told us trouble always seemed to find you. I think it’s the other way around.”

Her head swam, but she laughed and leaned against Kalan, trusting him to hold her up. “Maybe that’s true. After all, I did find the two of you.”

“Yes, you did, zana .” Fyr’enth stroked her cheek softly.

“And now, we’ll be with you until the end of the universe,” Kalan said.

She liked the sound of that.