to her quarters. Larx’s death meant nothing to her, but he told me he was falling in love. It cost him his life. Earthers can’t be trusted.”

“Not all of them can be bad. What if you grew lonely? Would you consider finding someone to share your time with if she were an Earther?”

Stag shook his head. “No. I wouldn’t trust one of them.”

“I’m aware of your status on Garden. You’re like me in some regards. You’ve been deemed unworthy to join into a family unit.”

“The women don’t like my attitude.” Stag smirked. “I won’t take their shit.”

“Wouldn’t that ever make you rethink your stance if you found an Earther who wished to share your bed?”

“Never. I’d have to restrain her anytime I wanted to let my guard down, otherwise she’d attempt to slit my throat. Earthers wish to kill cyborgs, Deviant. It’s their nature. They are vicious and cruel. I’ll acquire a sex bot if I wish to have regular intercourse. They can be programmed and trusted.”

“They aren’t real.”

“Exactly. They feel no emotions. They do what they are designed for. I could close my eyes around one without worry that she’d attempt to kill me.”

“What about joining into a family unit? Don’t you wish to have a female in your life who you could produce children with?”

Stag grimaced. “The price is too high. While Earth had control over my life, the crew kept me in one of the cargo holds on that battle cruiser with some of the repair and cleaning androids. I shared everything with them. Clothing, the living space, and we worked as a unit. The last thing I want is to purposely become one of many again. Our women treat our men almost as the commander of that cruiser did. They give us orders and demand total obedience. They punish us by voiding the contract if we show any resistance. My child would become her property in that case, and I refuse to give anyone that much power over me ever again.”

“But it’s not that way with Earthers. I know some of our males who’ve joined into family units with them. They don’t have to share the Earthers with other males and they aren’t similar to our females. They seem docile in comparison to cyborgs.”

Stag chuckled. “It’s an illusion. Earthers are conniving.”

“Have you ever considered that your judgment of them might be flawed or tainted by your experiences with the ones you were assigned to work for? That was a long time ago.”

Stag shrugged. “Perhaps.”

It wasn’t much, but it gave Deviant a small hope that the male would understand if he found out about Venice being on his ship.

Then that hope was quickly dashed when Stag spoke again.

“I’d never trust one. I think all Earthers are devious and deadly. There were three hundred and seventy-two Earthers aboard that battle cruiser. Not one stood up for cyborgs or cared about the suffering we endured. You have a mother, correct?”

“I do.”

“What was that like? I take it that you have a close association to her? It’s difficult for me to wrap my head around family units and having a mother. I was grown inside a vat.”

“We aren’t what you’d perceive as close, but she has high ranking on Garden and believes my actions and words reflect upon her.”

“You view her as a superior? Does she rule your life in the same way females do to the males they contract with?”

“It isn’t worth the trouble it causes if I disappoint her.” Deviant thought about how his mother would react when she found out about Venice, and suddenly wanted to change the subject. “I almost envy you not having a mother figure.”

“I don’t blame you. Cyborg women are controlling. As for your question about being lonely, I have made many friends.”

“I hope you count me as one of them.” He’d need the male to be forgiving if Stag discovered Venice was aboard the Varnish before they reached Garden.

“I do.” Stag faced the front window, staring out into space. “Run scans again. I have a feeling something is off. I’ve had it since we left that station. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone attempted to follow us to attack the Varnish.”

“Running scans,” Deviant acknowledged, focusing on the task. He just wanted to return to his room and Venice.

Chapter Six

Venice was happy when Deviant returned to their room with food. He handed it to her then addressed his father. “Any problems?”

“None. They corrected life support without having to reset the system.” Mavo inclined