“Yes,” she whispered and smiled back at him.
“Are you refreshed now that you have showered and had a night’s sleep?” he pulled back from her looking at her face as though he liked the view.
“I am,” she said. “I want to go out with you the next time you go out. I know many people that need help. Many families are struggling to survive. I can help you find them. They might hide from you, and they know me.”
“But it isn’t safe…”
“You’re telling me,” she said and laughed. “I’ve lived there my whole life. Usually, I can take care of myself---one way or another. They wouldn’t have caught us yesterday when you found us but my father hasn’t been feeling well, and he’s not as fast as he used to be.”
“He’ll be well now. The nanites will cure whatever is wrong with him.”
“That’s what Kydel told us. He seemed fine this morning,” she said. “We can both help. Dad knows even more people than I do and they will talk to him. What are we going to do here while you are all gone?”
“I don’t want to put you in danger,” Vyken said.
Danya laughed. “You mean like I haven’t been for my whole life? I know more about who and what is out there than you do. This is a real nice ship, but there is nothing for me to do here but watch your picture screen.”
Vyken didn’t seem to know how to reply. He was still holding her and looking down at her with his brows slightly knit.
“If I come with you, we can spend more time together,” she suggested.
“I know this, but I have seen so many people killed---both cyborgs and non-enhanced soldiers,” he said. “I don’t want that fate for you, Danya. I have only just found you.”
“But I don’t want to stay safe in here while I have friends out there that need help. I can get to them where you can’t,” Danya said. “I can fight, and I can run. I can’t bear to be confined in this place and neither will my father. We can both help you.”
Vyken seemed to be processing as he ran his fingers through her soft, shiny hair. Something flickered in his eyes that made her believe he was considering what she said and was conflicted.
“What you say makes sense because you have lived among many of the people we seek, but my instincts are telling me to protect you and keep you safe because you are my female,” he said.
Danya bristled, inwardly that he called her his, but he was looking at her like a lover, not an owner. He bent to kiss her again, pulling her against him with one arm and caressing her face with his fingers as he stroked the inside of her mouth with his tongue. Danya found that potently arousing as he was plainly staking his claim with his kiss.
“I know you’re a tough, badass cyborg, but I want you to be safe out there too,” she murmured when her lips were free again. “You can watch my back, and I can watch yours.”
“Will you do exactly what I tell you when I tell you?”
“Probably not---but I’m not stupid either,” she said. “I’m not a soldier. I’m a street fem, and I know the city better than you.”
“At least that’s honest. Do you know how to use a weapon?”
“Just knives and a crossbow I use to hunt small animals,” she said. “Only the gangs have guns, and they don’t share.”
“We’ll get you and you and your father weapons and show you how to use them,” he said. “What kind of guns to the gangs have?
“The kind that shoots bullets.”
“Projectile weapons. Ours are a little more sophisticated than those. The hand weapons can stun or kill. That’s what I will give you,” he said. “While I prefer you to be safe, here, I believe you can help us, and I would be pleased to have you come with me.”
“Glad to hear it.” Danya smiled. “When do we go out again?”
“We need to meet with the Enclave council, and then we will be ready to go back to the city.”
“Can I meet them too?”
“Perhaps, you should, and we should ask your father to come as well. Did he ask to come with us?” Vyken asked.
“Not exactly. He said that we probably could help you find people to join the Enclave though. Let’s go find him and ask him. If he’s not in the mess hall, he’s probably in his cabin.”
