Page 22 of Her Cyborg Commander (The Drift: Haven Colony #9)

Defiance Station wasn’t open for business yet, but it was already a busy place. River missed the old station, but she had to admit the new one was full of promise, not to mention state-of-the-art technology and a security system that was second to none. Since the last one had to be decommissioned after an attack by the Gray Men, no one was taking chances.

River sat near the viewscreens that covered the outer wall of the new Nova Club. Workers and bots were setting up the casino area while staff members familiarized themselves with the new layout and menu. There were hints of the old place scattered around. The walls were the same dark blue, and the new floor lit up in swirling patters of light when you stepped on it, just like the old place. And of course, the owners hadn’t changed. Kit, Luke, and Cynder still ran the place with the help of their mates and friends.

River had already caught up with them, but at the moment, she sat next to Edge, who watched the assembly of the various gambling tables with interest.

Chance had been delayed by some last-minute meeting, but she was on her way to meet them now. River didn’t mind. It gave her some much-needed time to reflect on everything that had happened since they’d met up with Phylomenia and her husbands.

Archer had been right. Valuable intel had been stored on the ship’s computers. They’d uncovered a few code names and references that may lead to arrests, but the biggest discovery was the existence of yet another research station.

The military had already dispatched ships to investigate, and despite being retired, Archer had somehow managed to get himself, his wife, and his husband included. They’d already left, though River had Phylomenia’s word that she’d be in touch once she had information to share.

They now knew for certain that Torex, the mining corporation that had lost their claim to Liberty when the Vardarians took it over, owned the ship that Jens had been on. They claimed the ship had been stolen years ago, but investigations were ongoing. Nova Force had several teams looking for connections between the corporation and the Shadows.

For River, the most important information recovered from the ship had been from Jens’ personal files. Among all his notes and research papers had been a complete dossier on her. He’d documented every experiment. Every reaction. His successes and his failures. She hadn’t read it, and never intended to, but buried among the details of her nightmare had been some unexpected news.

Her batch-brothers, Hunter and Chase, hadn’t abandoned her. They’d kept looking, asking questions and causing problems until they’d finally gotten too close to the truth. Someone had sent an assassin to eliminate them, and they’d died before they could find her. The assassin had been another cyborg, a product of another branch of research—someone like Shadow. River didn’t want to know who had done it. Whoever it was, they’d been as much a victim as the rest of them. She hoped that wherever they were, they were free and at peace.

There had been one more piece of information, too. One that had ramifications for every cyborg in existence. Jens and several others had not been content to simply implant codes to control their creations. They’d been experimenting with hardware that could do the same thing. He’d implanted one such device in River. His original message to her had included a signal that activated her implant. That’s how he’d tracked her.

There was no record of him ever working on Edge, but one of his fellow researchers must have placed one in Edge at some point. When Jens had broadcast the signal meant to incapacitate River, he’d knocked out Edge instead.

They had sent warnings out to every sector of the galaxy, starting with Haven. A new set of scans would have to be employed to detect the devices, and then they’d need to find a way to remove them.

Edge’s hand on her arm brought her out of her reverie, and his gentle kiss told her he knew what she’d been thinking about.

“Chance is here,” he told her. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Just processing,” she told him. Edge had been the only one she trusted to read the file and give her what information she should know. The rest, he’d kept to himself, protecting her from reliving the worst years of her life in her quest for the answers she needed.

“Hello!” Chance arrived at their table, beaming. She was a different female than the one River remembered. Unlike most of the cyborgs, Chance hadn’t been able to cope with life under an open sky. After spending her entire life as a captive on a space station, living on a planet, or even entering large spaces put her in a state of panic.

Living on Haven had been hell for her. The Drift gave her everything she needed to be happy, including the love of a good man and a job that let her strike back at the bastards who had hurt them all so badly.

River stood to greet her, wrapping the other cyborg in a long hug. “It’s good to see you.”

“It’s wonderful to see you both.” Chance flashed Edge an uncertain smile. “Hi, Edge.”

He shocked everyone at the table by standing and giving Chance a hug of his own.

By the time they all took their seats, Chance was looking a little dazed. Since the bar wasn’t open yet, they couldn’t order food or drinks, but it provided a safe place for them to talk without being overheard.

“Do you have any news?” River asked, speaking so softly only another cyborg could hear.

“I do. We have them,” Chance said.

Edge frowned. “We’ve heard that before.”

“I know, but you’ve never heard it from me. I can tell you with ninety-seven percent certainty that the worst of the danger has passed. While threats to Haven will remain, they won’t come from Torex or the Shadows. Not in any meaningful way. They’ve met with too many failures and lost far too much money. They’ll move on to other targets now. I’m not saying there won’t be more attempts to disrupt the colony, but they don’t have the resources to be a true threat. I believe that Haven is safe.”

River exhaled sharply. That was good news. Better than she’d hoped for… but she needed to know something else.

“What about our petition?”

Beside her, Edge tensed as he waited for Chance’s reply.

The cyborg grinned at them, happier than River had ever seen her. “It’s approved! I have the information right here.” She placed a data stick on the table. “I asked to be the one to give you this news. I wanted to tell you myself. Everything you need is recorded on here.” She tapped the tab. “Copies will be sent to all parties later today. This is it! The cyborgs of Haven colony are no longer confined to the planet. We’re all free to go anywhere we want.”

Chance chuckled. “I’m not wrong very often, but I’m glad I was this time. I really thought it would take several more years for them to change their minds. I didn’t know about Dr. Jens, though. His obsession with you changed the variables.”

River leaned over and gave Chance a one-armed hug. “I am so happy! This means you’re going to have visitors. You’re a big deal back home, you know. The one that got away.”

Edge picked up the data stick. “Everything we’ve wanted is all in here? We’re free?”

“Free,” Chance agreed.

For a few minutes, they celebrated, asking questions and rejoicing in the news.

Eventually, the subject moved to new topics.

“So, what will the two of you do now?” Chance asked.

River laughed at her. “Why are you asking us? You already know the answer.”

Chance shook her head. “I can only calculate probabilities. There are only two beings who can decide what comes next for you.” She smiled softly at them. “I just hope that whatever you do, you’re happy.”

“That much I am certain about,” Edge declared. He took River’s hand in his and then kissed her softly. “We’re going home. I’ve been told it’s time for me to settle down and find something else to do with my life besides telling other cyborgs what to do.”

With a heart full of love, River looked at her mate and grinned. “That’s not what I said. I suggested that you don’t need to be their commander anymore.”

“But?” he prompted her, his eyes gleaming now.

“But no matter what happens. You will always be my commander.”

“And that is all I’ll ever need.”

River looked around the bar. It was still under construction, but it was already full of promise, just like Haven.

It was time to go home and discover the life she’d been waiting for—the one with Edge by her side.

***

Thank you for reading Her Cyborg Commander.

I hope you enjoyed Edge and River’s story.