Lion Read online

  Over the following 18 years, the supply ships stopped to most worlds. They kept the most promising going and left the others to their own devices. And if they didn’t like what they were seeing when those ships turned up, they either cut them off or brought in new measures to sort them out. The return payload was everything.

  And Earth Corp weren’t the only ones. Once the other Corporations got wind of what Earth Corp were up to, they started building their own colony ships. They didn’t have the Cyborgs of their own creation, but it was logical that they’d bought them under the table.

  New space technologies, other worlds and over hundred years later the universe was littered with humans. Exploring, making new lives, new business, going further than ever before. There was plenty of opportunity if you wanted to take the risks. This waystation was another example of that. Humans on the edge of nothing.

  We are ready to go. Came over his neuro net from Brix.

  Send two men to secure our cargo. They’d picked up some crates of interest.

  Affirmative.

  Lion moved off towards the conference room booked for this meeting. The waystation map displayed across his optic showing the way. He didn’t have to think about where he was going, his systems followed the directions and his awareness told him Brix and Core were with him. Ever present in his neuro net.

  Since those early days from birthing, his brothers had always been with him. Created at the same time, sharing parts of the DNA and heritage, it made them more than Cyborg family. It connected them. Through the years of black ops, the special missions, the training. And in those last years where the Commander found them. It had been a reminder of who they were. Still part of the war machine that was meant to have set them free. In the end, they had worked together to save their own lives.

  Morgan had taken plenty of abuse during those years. Being female didn’t mean you were safe. Not even in the military. But she was a warrior just like her mate Pain. She’d fought back taking huge risks and, in the end, nearly gave her life to free them.

  They owed her a debt. One she would not accept. And one they would not forget.

  They fled to nearby ships and she went back to confront Earth Corp in the Courts of Justice, bringing plenty of evidence with her. Demanded retribution or she would bring her own. She got it and recompense. Her own ship, best of the line with a contract to investigate Earth Corp interests if she chose to take it and the free will to work for who she wanted. It gave them their freedom.

  The lift doors opened, and Lion stepped in, his men with him. They rode it to the right floor and exited into the corridor. The time frame on his optic told him they were on time. They approached the door.

  No one in the vicinity. Brix told him over his net. Three signatures in the room. One human, likely female or a youth, two Cyborg.

  Interesting. Looks like they brought our brothers to us. He punched in the code he’d been given, and the doors opened.

  The three were in the room. He immediately picked up the Cyborg tags in the electronic airwaves and the scent of a ……. Female. He couldn’t see the human. Both Cyborgs were standing in front of her. Guarding their owner? He moved slowly forward, his men with him and the conference doors closed behind them.

  He accessed every Cyborg neuro band he had and opened his neuro net. Brothers, you are free Cyborgs. You no longer have to be indebted to the human. We are here to free you. To let you know we are now an Empire of our own and to give you the choice to join us.

  He gave it time to sink in. It was logical that this information would be a surprise to them and they would want the data to support his words.

  “Well?” asked the female’s voice from behind his new brothers. Her scent tickling his senses.

  “They are not trying to infiltrate us or upload a new programme. They have relayed a simple message that we are free.” The Cyborg on the left answered.

  Lion heard the female huff. “A bit late to the party on that one.” Both Cyborgs standing in front of him cracked smiles. These were free Cyborgs. Good to know. “No threat?” she asked.

  Both Cyborgs looked at them carefully. “None.” The same one spoke again.

  “Ok then. Move the wall so I can sit and talk.” They moved aside and a small female stood between them. Lion was …….. he didn’t know what. She was…. Unexpected. Her scent becoming stronger. She was tall for a female. Well-rounded at the breast and hips. Black long hair tied back at the nap of her neck. Dark deep large eyes cooling looking at him. His system responded, blood flowed, heat infused his system as his seed flowed into his balls. Every system change showed in his diagnostic and flashed. She gave a sweeping gesture with her hand indicating the table. Yes, thought Lion glancing at it. He could fuck her on it….

  Pilar took one look at all that taut, ripped muscle..... and she knew it for what it was ... Madre de Dios! Just what she needed!

  O baby, come to momma......

  Both Cyborgs moved to cut her off from him again. Realising too late his neuro net connection was still open. He shut it down. They had heard him…. Lion lifted both hands and verbalised. The female had no neuro net.

  “It was….. instinctive, I meant no actual harm and will not act upon it.” They would know he did not lie.

  Pilar couldn’t see a damn thing. “Boys, give a girl some room.”

  The Cyborgs moved slowly, watching him closely and she looked at him curiously around one. Then took a seat at the table and looked up at him. Not intimated at all. She was used to being with Cyborgs…. He wasn’t sure he liked that. His systems showed conflicting information. It wasn’t logical. He took the seat opposite her as she continued to assess him and his men. “Differences?” she asked.

  “Not our model. Older. Slower.” The first one answered.

  The question was unexpected. The Cyborgs answer surprising. He was right, they were a younger model. Slower? He didn’t have enough information to go on. Lion assessed the body language of the female and the responses from the Cyborgs. It told him many things. She ran things here, much like Morgan did on her ship and she wasn’t afraid to show it. His system told him he liked what he saw. Liked her attitude and strength. The body too. They were emotions that shouldn’t exist.

  “Your Cyborgs are free men?” he asked her.

  All that intense maleness all on her. It was enough to make a gal swoon. The male before her was absolutely stunning. She’d seen plenty of half-dressed Cyborgs over the years. Pack muscle from head to toe. This was the first time it interested her and got her juices flowing. Pilar had to remind herself she was here on business. He was no pretty boy, but a man who looked like he’d seen a world or twenty. There’d be no telling his age.

  She cleared her throat. “They are, but you can ask them that. Pilar Sanchez and you are?”

  “I am called Lion. We will ask them. Your message was clear, you want to work with the Empire?”

  Pilar smiled. His eyes were a clear pale golden hue. His hair a multitude of golds and bronzes. Long past his shoulders. It was beautiful. Like the animal of the same name. She wondered, what that felt like….. Unlike any Cyborg she’d seen before.

  She had plenty of Cyborgs to look at back home. Her father had made sure of that. They didn’t scare her. They protected. All, she considered her friends. This one, was the tallest and biggest of the three before her.

  Clearly, he was in charge. An alpha, she thought.

  “No, I want the Empire to work with me. If, the terms are agreeable.” He wasn’t the only alpha in the room... She’d learnt at the knee of the best. Always on your terms or not at all.

  His diagnostics told him he was surprised by her. She was challenging him. Every instinct told him he needed to show his dominance. Break her will and bend her to his. The speaking Cyborg with her took a step forward. His gaze a reminder of intent. Another challenge….. It was more than Lion could hold back. Before he could stop it, a snarl crawled up his throat and threatened the room. Hands went to weapons. On hearin
g it, he pulled back unsure where it had come from.

  He didn’t want to cut eye contact with the younger Cyborg but needed to see how the female had taken it. He glanced at her hesitantly. She looked…….. amused. She’d surprised him again.

  “Gain control of your emotions Cyborg or shut them off. This is business not pleasure.”

  His systems lit up across his optic. He wanted the pleasure. Confusion rocked him. “They are off,” he gritted out.

  “Then you are malfunctioning. Sort it out. I don’t have time for your shit.”

  The female was worried. He could hear it in her voice. There was a tiredness about her too. It was a balm to his own raging emotions. There was more going on here and he’d not heard her out. His stats told him there was a high risk that at any moment she would leave the room without discussion what she’d come for. That burned. His chest constricted. Lion pulled back on his out of control senses. He wasn’t sure how he was feeling anything at all, but he was. He’d spoken truly, his emotions were off.

  “My apologises female, what do you need?”

  Pilar wondered if this was a bad move. The Cyborg might look beautiful, but in the short time he’d been here, he appeared more animal than human at times. More so than her men. But she needed their help.

  “My world, it was an outpost created by Earth Corp that is now a trading Port. My father ran it until he passed two years ago. Now I do. But, we’re not the only interested parties and I’ve made a lot of changes that some, are not happy with. We’ve a lot of interests, trading, selling, buying, mining, land. You name it we’re in it. It has made us, me a target. Over the years, some have tried and failed to take it but now, I’m making a lot more unhappy with the choices I’m making. I’m cutting off all the illegal trade and pushing for legit only. There are plenty that don’t like it and one by one, I’ve curtailed their business’s and interests. This last round, closing out trafficking wasn’t easy. Plenty of unhappy men and I’m sure that without our own security, our company would have been dead a long time ago.”

  “By your own security, you mean your Cyborgs. They can deal with anything.” He told her honestly.

  “True, good men all of them but I need more if I’m to keep the peace.”

  “How many more?”

  Pilar smiled. “An Empire.”

  Chapter Three

  She glimpsed a flicker of surprise across his face and it was gone. She’d been sure he wouldn’t like the implication of them working for her, not the other way around but he hadn’t pointed out the difference. That growl was something new to her. It was …… interesting. Emotional. Her men didn’t do it. And he’d told her his emotions were off. Maybe it was possible to have emotion when they were turned off? It was a first to her.

  “Why do you need an Empire?” he interrupted her thoughts.

  Pilar sat back in her seat. “Four?”

  He looked up at her Cyborgs. Neither had sat but stood guard at her back. They still had numbers. His system told him he didn’t like it. The dominant one spoke again.

  “Pilar’s father made a contract to supply a group of people on a regular basis. In the early days, they were explorers and the outpost needed the business to stay alive. What they needed he didn’t question. His job was to supply them, and Earth Corp made it clear credits talked. He was good at his job. Brought in a large number of humans to ensure they supplied him with what he needed. Humans that got rich, very rich on the trade. Soon after whispers reached the outpost that worlds and ships were being targeted, raided. Lives lost or taken but not on his world or with his suppliers. As time moved on, the meetings for supplies took on a more direct edge. The group pushed for more interest in the home world, Pilar’s father pushed back. It got messy from time to time. They didn’t like it. Made some threats. He’d got wind that something was going down. We were already with him as security when they made a play for grabbing Pilar. That was a mistake. From that point forward, they were reluctant to engage us, and things settled down. Until her father died. Then they made a play again three months later. More men this time, more prepared, better organised and more than one group.”

  “Clearly they didn’t win the day.”

  “No. But it was a reminder of things to come.”

  “They tried again?” he looked at the female. She didn’t seem harmed. His system showed his protective instincts coming to the fore.

  “They did. Six months later on a regular run. They came at us at the mines, tried to eliminate us first. Like I said it was messy. What Pilar now proposes to do, will bring those same customers customers in direct line with many of her suppliers. Neither will like it.”

  Lion gripped the table as he had the intense need to kill something. The irrational thought that they’d tried to take something that belonged to him seared right through him. He looked back at the female. “What do you intend to do?”

  She smiled. “I’m going to shut them all down.”

  “They won’t just walk away.”

  Pilar laughed. “Err no. They’ll come for my head and my company. If I survive it, I’ll be a slave somewhere. So that’s not happening. I’ll die first. And innocent people will be ruined or dead too. I can’t let that happen.”

  “When do you intend to drop this bombshell?” he managed to get out through the protective wall he wanted to surround her with.

  “I’ve just made myself unpopular with some of them so I’m guessing they’ll know what’s coming next. In which case, the customer and those other suppliers might be getting together as we sit here. Leaving to come to this meeting was an opportunity not just for me. I have confidence in my security but if they are outnumbered enough…..”

  He knew what she was telling him. Her joint enemies had more men than she did. She had limited resources, her enemies combined and organised had more, and they weren’t bothered by the trade as much as she was. It was clear she was trying to do good here and getting hammered for it.

  “Most ships can be taken with a Cyborg fleet ship such as ours. Depending on the size, three ships wouldn’t be impossible.”

  Did he think she didn’t know the score? “Honey, if I was talking about three ships, I wouldn’t need you. We have over 50 ship tags, that work within this customer group. If they come all at once sensing vulnerability…..”

  Lion looked at Four. “This for the betterment of the world, not just her?”

  Four gave him a sharp nod. “It will bring positive change and sooner or later, this element will come calling to take over. They like the frontier world. It offers them a lot, but should they get a foothold, it will change for the worst. They are not good people and many innocents will die or go into slavery.”

  Lion connected to his neuro net to Brix. Relay to the Admiral.

  Ready.

  Contact made. This world is about to be under attack. Cyborg brothers, free men are with the client. They request the support of the Empire. We will return with them. Assess the threat. Co-ordinates and details to follow. End message.

  Affirmative.

  Lion cleared his eyes and focused on the female. “The Empire is at your disposal. I will return with you to assess the situation in more detail and if needed, request support from the Empire.”

  “How many men do you have on this ship?”

  “Enough to take on a thousand humans.”

  Pilar looked at Four. “With our forces, it might hold them long enough if they make a move soon…” He gave her a sharp nod.

  She looked back at Lion. “Agreed, thank you. I intend to pay for your services. I will want to negotiate that but for now, your presence would be welcome.”

  Turning back to Four. “Give him the co-ordinates.”

  She caught Lion glazing over, then his eyes cleared. “How long will it take you?” she asked waiting for him to make a decision.

  “13 Days with our new engines.” He’d learnt that humans didn’t want the hours, minutes or seconds that he could give them to go with the days. It wa
s rare for them to want more precise information unless it was imminent.

  “Fuck,” slipped passed her lips. 13 Days! It had taken her six weeks. “I want those engines, in the meantime, do you have room for us to go back with you? My pilot can bring the ship in his own time.”

  Lion liked the idea of her sharing his space. Seeing his ship. “We do.”

  Pilar stood. She’d got more than she’d needed. “Let us know where you’re docked, and we’ll meet you there. I have a couple of ties to make here, then grab our stuff. Shouldn’t take long.”

  Lion liked the direction this was going. “Dock level 3. Ship designation; Searcher.”

  Pilar walked to the door. “We’ll be there.” And went through it. She had a lot to do in very little time. She wasn’t about to miss getting that lift. Anyone who’d got an idea of where she was going would know she was going to be gone three to four months. If they were going to make a move in her absence it would be soon.

  As they marched down the corridor, she looked at Four. “Get us ready.”

  Lion watched the female leave. His system registered loss. Her scent in the room already dissipating. So many confusing senses that he shouldn’t be having. He had never expected this. A conversation with Mac on the Space Station was needed. He might just have found his mate….