“Shit!” She left the room but instead of heading for the cargo area, she rushed to the pilot station. A plan began to form as she hit the lift to take her to the higher level. “Damn cyborgs and metal heads. Both stubborn and mule headed.”

She dropped into the pilot’s seat and opened communications. Her heart pounded and fear gripped her. Krell would die if she couldn’t pull off this insane stunt. Mavo too, along with hundreds of cyborgs. The Markus Models would hand them over to Earth Government and they’d be slaughtered in testing labs, be taken apart and examined, if they weren’t murdered outright on sight. Not that the cyborgs would allow themselves to be captured alive. She forced all emotion out of her voice.

“Brothers,” she stated calmly. “You have come to rescue your sisters. Respond to us. We’re unable to link to you. Barcarintellus has boxed most of our functions and we are unable to override.”

She closed her eyes, prayed a little, but they flew open when the coms clicked open. “Who is speaking?”

The familiar Markus Model voice sent chills down her spine. They hadn’t altered their original ones. She’d hated talking to them when she’d had to interview the ones inside the plant, the one on Belta Station really had pissed her off and now she had to pretend to be one. It rankled her in the worst way.

“Your sisters. We are the female production line of the Markus Model,” she lied. “We escaped to seek you but were located by cyborgs first. You have come to rescue us, brothers.”

The hesitation was long. “Prove the association.”

Her mind worked quickly, drawing from a conversation she’d had with a Markus at the plant they’d escaped from, before she’d left on her mission. She repeated the exact words one of them had said to her, pretty sure it was their motto in life. “We are sentient, superior to the infestation called humanity, and survival is our prime objective.”

“What are your numbers?”

“We are four,” she lied. “What are your numbers?”

“We are eight.”

Eight of those damn things. She clenched her teeth. That’s not so bad. At least it’s not fifty.

“Twenty-three more of us will be arriving soon. We’ve come to interrogate the cyborgs for their base location and box them. We have made a deal with Earth Government for the freedom of our production line. Do you know the base location?”

“Affirmative,” she lied. “One of us will come to you to share the coordinates.”

“Transmit it.”

“Unable to do so,” she kept her voice cool, robotic. “Unable to transmit. We are damaged. One will share the location by directly linking to you with physical contact.” She hoped it would confuse the damn things enough to get them to land and give her the opportunity to get close to them. “We are sending one out to you to share the location.” Her fingers touched her weapons. It would probably be suicide but if she could cause severe damage to the inside their shuttle before they killed her, it would buy the cyborgs time to escape. “We’re sending one now.” She stood and turned.

Krell had a weapon aimed straight at her chest with four other cyborgs behind him, also pointing weapons at her body. The pain in his eyes was easy to read. She held his gaze and reached back, ending the transmission.

“I knew it,” he rasped.

“Trust me, Too Tall.”

“I did.” His silvery skin was unusually pale, almost a pasty gray at that moment. “You’re one of them.”

“No, I’m not. They will allow me to walk onto their shuttle. Think about it.”

His jaw clenched. “I can’t trust you.”

It hurt. “Do you have any better ideas? They aren’t going to just allow us to fly out of here. Think, Krell. I am. I can prove I’m not human to them. I told you I can confuse them. Best-case scenario, they will shut down to analyze me long enough to buy me time to kill them. Worst case, I’m inside their shuttle and can target the interior enough to cripple it while you fly out of here. I don’t know how long you were standing there but twenty-three more of them are coming. You analyze plans. Do your job and you’d know I’m right. This is a good plan and we’re in deep shit. It’s the best chance we’ve got to get out of this mess.”

Krell forced his mind to work. The shock of being told Cyan was in contact with the enemy shuttle had sent him rushing back inside the Bridden. He’d managed to catch the last part of her conversation and he’d been staggered by the concept that she was one of a female line of the androids. He never would have guessed. A hybrid cyborg, definitely, but completely artificial in intelligence? Never!

He backed away from all his emotions, closed them off completely and separated them from Cyan. He did his job and that meant analyzing data and her plan. It was a solid one with a higher chance of success than a ground attack. Her odds of dying were excessively high, the probability of her winning a battle facing off against eight androids even with her enhanced body was slim. She did have a good likelihood of crippling the interior of the shuttle if they allowed her entrance.

She’d die if the Markus Models attacked her. Emotions rushed back through him, striking as if someone punched him in various parts of his body. He waged his own battle silently. Hundreds of cyborg lives were on the line, more of the androids were on their way to the planet and time wasn’t something he had much of. He’d have to make a decision now. He’d either have to trust her and allow her to execute her plan, one he had to admire for sheer courage, or he’d have to believe she wasn’t a sentient being.

Krell stared into her eyes, saw pain flash inside them and knew with every fiber of his soul that she experienced true emotions. She wasn’t just a sexbot some computer technician had programmed to act human. She was Cyan, his female, and it came down to allowing her to risk her life to save the lives of hundreds of cyborgs. Emily Pleva’s body had changed but she had not. She was willing to save them once again.

He wanted to refuse, to strip her of the weapons on her belt and toss her over his shoulder to carry her off and restrain her to a bed. It wouldn’t keep her safe though. They were trapped on the planet’s surface, all but captured, and a quick death would be preferable for her than the horrors that awaited them on Earth. He’d read Councilman Zorus’ report of how humans were fascinated with cyborgs’ lack of aging. They’d planned to cut him apart while he was still alive. Cyan didn’t age either and she contained advanced technology they didn’t possess. Earth would be just as cruel to her, if not more so. She’d lived amongst them for decades without their knowledge and humans would take that as a high insult to their intelligence over being fooled.

Regret and shame filled him. He’d brought her on this mission, put her in danger, and now she’d pay the price for his mistake. He’d never forgive himself if he survived and she didn’t. He would never recover if he lost her. They stared at each other and his weapon lowered. He turned his head to glare at his men.

“Holster your weapons.”

The cyborgs hesitated but followed his order. He turned back and stared at her, wanting to memorize everything about her. Cyan slowly stepped forward, staring up at him. She reached for his face but he jerked back to avoid the brush of her fingertips on his skin. He didn’t deserve her touch. He’d failed her and all he could do was make sure she succeeded in her mission, even if that happened to be allowing her to die. It was an honorable and worthy way to do so for the beautiful soul she possessed.

“Get both ships ready to lift off.” Pain rolled through Cyan at Krell’s rejection as her hand dropped to her side. “Is the Vontage able to fly yet?”

“Yes. The repairs are finished.” Krell’s voice sounded harsh to her.

She nodded. “They didn’t say when the other Markuses are arriving. The important part is they don’t get your people. It’s been nice knowing you if I manage to blow up their shuttle.”

His mouth clenched. “Your plan might work. It is insane enough to be considered genius.”

She dropped her gaze and inched past him. The burn of tears nearly blinded her. He didn’t completely trust her but he was allowing her to leave the Bridden to meet with the Markus Models. That had to count for something. She passed more cyborgs who had probably overheard her transmission and rushed to stop her from giving away Garden’s location. She hadn’t ever checked the shuttle’s logs to try to trace it and wouldn’t be a security risk if the Markus Models attempted to torture the location of it from her if she were captured.

She paused at the cargo doors and checked her weapons before glancing around. She found an ugly black tarp that would work as she tied it around her waist to hide her thighs, making a horrible fashion statement with the skirt and leggings look that clashed with her boots. One more deep breath and she walked out of the hold of the Bridden, purposely moving her limbs stiffly to appear less human.

The sight of the scarred Genesis Four shuttle hovering between the Vontage and the shuttle she exited made her hold back a smile. She’d dented it a bit on the belly—deep blemishes ran the length of it after their tussle in space and scorch marks showed near one thruster. The shuttle lowered slightly, about eight feet closer to her but kept away from the ground and the lower docking door opened. She waited and realized they issued their first test. Ten feet separated the glassy ground from the bottom of the ramp.

She took a deep breath, walked closer until she was under the opening they’d created and she dropped into a one-kneed crouch. Her legs tensed, her fingers flexed, and she stared up, calculating. She pushed up hard and fast, every muscle strained and she leapt. Her hands caught the thick metal edge of the ramp, gripped hard, and she pulled her body higher. No human could do that.

She managed to get her upper body high enough to lift her leg, hooked her knee on the ramp and climbed onto it. She straightened to her feet, stiffened her spine, and lifted her chin. Two Markus Models stood in the shadows watching her with interest. She noticed they stayed out of fire range of anyone on the ground as she purposely cocked her head at an odd angle, slowly advancing on them.

“Brothers.”

The ramp under her started to lift to close and she kept advancing. Her gaze swept the cargo area, verifying they were alone. Six of them weren’t present. The two Markuses approached as soon as the ramp sealed closed. They marched in unison to stop a few feet in front of her. Both of them watched her with dead eyes. It scared her but she hoped she hid her fear.

“Sister?” They didn’t sound certain as they spoke at the same time, identically.

They sound as creepy as hell. “Should we give you proof?” She remembered to talk in the plural, not to give herself away.

“Yes,” they both stated.

She smiled, wondering how they’d react at her next words. “I brought you a puppy to play with.” The second the words were out, she launched a physical attack. One hand shot out to hit the one to her right in the face, aiming for his eyes with her clawed hand since they were made out of organic material and would blind him, while she targeted the other with her leg to knock him back to give her precious seconds. Her hand tore at the skirt, ripped it away and jerked her gun free from the holster.

Cyan fired, shooting the one she had clawed, and dived to the left, her other hand going for her second gun as her back slammed onto the cargo deck when she flipped in the air as she fell. It seemed to stun them that she could move that fast since she was able to sink bullets in both of them before they recovered. She opened fire with the energy gun, nailing one of them before the twin model grabbed her. She pressed the muzzle of the weapon against its body as it landed over hers and pulled the trigger. She shoved it away when it convulsed.

She climbed to her feet, shot both of the downed, still twitching units and the smell of burning wires filled her nostrils. She figured the other six Markuses were more than aware she’d just taken out two of their brothers and she wasn’t what she had claimed to be. Her gaze frantically searched for something to damage that would cripple the shuttle. No targets were visible.