Gunner helped her onto the medical bed. His hands were warm, constricting, yet soft in the way he handled her. Elodie would’ve been afraid if it weren’t for him. Or for the others that meandered in the background, preparing the drugs that would soon be within her system.
Drugs. Not just any replicator-synthesized, standard commercial drugs, but cybernetic drugs, ones laced with DNA altering capabilities. The kind that existed for some groups, like Cyborgs, but were otherwise unknown to the rest of the universe.
Her hands ran down the length of her thighs, rubbing the thick flannel cloth with her palms, over and over. Gunner caught her hands and kissed her knuckles, then turned them over and kissed her wrists, willing her to look up into his eyes. No words needed to be spoken. The look they shared said it all.
A woman stepped forward, fixated on the supplies she held in her hands. Dr. Rose Cagley, a Cyborg doctor—a female Cyborg in all its oddity—set the items down on the pallet next to Elodie and began to prep them.
“Are you nervous?” Cagley asked.
“No. Should I be?”
Cagley chuckled. “No. Not at all. But I think he is.” The doctor motioned to Gunner.
Elodie laughed back. “I think so too.”
“I’m right here,” Gunner brooded. “How long will this take?”
“Not long,” Cagley answered, unconcerned. The woman seemed to be one of the only people unconcerned with Gunner’s presence. Since the minute they arrived in Ghost City earlier that cycle, it had been a trial. At first, Gunner’s ship was escorted by two others into the giant docking arena, and when they stepped out of the hatch, armor-clad Cyborgs met them.
They didn’t greet them, but rather they loomed like scary sentinels off in the corners and down the walkways, watching with hands poised over their weapons. Elodie had seen them, even the ones that didn’t want to be seen. After a lifetime of hiding from the eyes of others, she always knew when someone was looking at her now.
The only reason they hadn’t been stopped would’ve been for Rose, who had met them outside Gunner’s ship. And a man named Matt, who, according to Gunner, had bought a small fortune of brew from him.
Walking from the ship and through Ghost City was an experience unlike any other. Elodie had expected acity. Or at least a busy star port, but what met her was a steely cavernous ship, not unlike the Peace Keeper battlemass, but much smaller and way more streamlined. The walls glittered in silver and white, galvanized and sleek. It was quiet and menacing in its top-of-the-line interior. The shadows in the corners were still grey though, and many ships docked throughout were personalized to such a level that they seemed out of place with the overall interior. But the quietness was what really got her, and the men.
So many battle-born men. Her eyes couldn’t take it all in, not in the brief period of her passing through, mainly because the men kept demanding her attention. They stared at her as if she was a captive, or a slave, and the realization came to her slowly.
They think I’m not here willingly. Not withhim.They watched Gunner with even more scrutiny than they watched her. For the first time, she reached between them and clasped his hand. To her surprise, he accepted the gesture, threading his fingers through hers.
After that, she didn’t care what the other Cyborgs thought.
“Good,” Gunner said, shifting her thoughts back to the present.
Cagley cleared her throat. “The procedure doesn’t take long but the recovery can. It’s different for every person.”
“Do I need to remain here during recovery?” Elodie interjected quickly before Gunner could.
“I would recommend it but as long as—”
“We’ll be leaving as soon as she’s clear to go,” Gunner said.
Cagley nodded and smiled. “Probably for the best. The others don’t feel comfortable with you here, given your...” the doctor cleared her throat, “...reputation. But I won’t release her,” she turned to Gunner, “until I know she’ll be okay.”
Elodie wiped her palms on her pants again, feeling them dampen with sweat. She didn’t want to remain here longer than she had to either and it wasn’t because of the Cyborgs, or the animosity they had toward Gunner. Her trepidation wasn’t because she’d only encountered one woman on the whole ship—which would’ve alarmed her months ago—but because she didn’t like how open everything was.
It had been one thing, working on a giant mining rig in the past, because back then, ninety percent of her time was spent stuck in tight and enclosed spaces, but now that she had the ability to wander or go most anywhere, Elodie realized she preferred the confinement; she preferred being able to keep track of everyone around her.
A loner. She didn’t like the prospect of dealing with other people more than she had to. Gunner’s ship was her home now, and it was the only place she wanted to be.
“All right, Elodie, I’m going to need you to take off your shirt. Gunner, I’m going to need you to take a seat in the corner. Alternative, you can sit in the waiting room outside.”
Gunner didn’t move. Cagley appeared unfazed. Elodie shot him a look and pointed to the chair. “Sit in the corner.”
He smirked and moved to the corner. Elodie watched as he leaned back, put his hands behind his head, pushing his legs out, and relaxed—all devilish smiles.I know that look. I’ll be sitting in my own corner later.The idea made her belly tie up in knots and her pussy tighten. His smile grew.
Blushing, and being a tease, she lifted off her shirt slower than was necessary. Cagley snickered as she placed a glass box next to the supplies on the pallet. It was filled with long tubes filled with clear liquid. The box iced over and clouded as it defrosted from wherever it came from.
“Before we start, I’m going to give you an injection of pain-dampening nanobots. If you feel any pain, let me know. This is optional, but those who turn it down usually only ever do so the first time.”
