Torc, page 3
part #17 of Galactic Cyborg Heat Series
Torc knew the film. Once they’d been free, quite a few of them had taken up looking at the old achieves and retrieving a lot of information from the old social media TV and movies. His diagnostic told him the movie was less important than being with the female. Torc didn’t understand that. But he could read his own stats. He was gaining more pleasure from being with her than actually watching the movie. He liked that she laughed where it was expected. Got caught up in the story line, willing the hero on and was equally disappointed when things went wrong, got angry at the leads stupidity and appeared to enjoy the ending. She stirred as it finished, standing and stretching. “This was great thanks for the company.” Torc stood as well. He’d already sent for security.
“It was a most welcome distraction. Thank you for your company,” he told her politely and realised …..he meant it. He had pleasure in doing it. As he moved into the walkway, his officer walked in through the doors. “I am Torc. My officer will escort you to your accommodations.”
Kate looked from one to the other. She didn’t want to cause any trouble. “Hello Torc. I can find it.”
Torc gave her a nod. “I am sure you can but, it is very late, few humans are normally up at this time and it would be best if we made sure you get there in once piece.”
Kate smiled. She knew when she was beaten. “Ok. Thanks again and I’m sorry if I pulled you from your work.”
Torc waited for her to offer her hand. She didn’t and his data told him he was disappointed. He gazed at her for a moment, wondering what was so different about her. “It was no trouble at all. I enjoyed my time here.” The female beamed up him. Breathing in her scent mixed with the artificial air, Torc’s mouth watered. Several scenarios were running across his optic. Torc didn’t much like any of them. He looked at his officer who then held his arm out in the direction of the doors. The female looked again at him then back at Torc. She gave a sharp nod and walked out the doors. Torc took a calming breath he shouldn’t need and tasted the air around him. It was full of her. He looked back at the door and acknowledged the female affected him.
***
Kate walked back trying to ignore she had a ….. she wasn’t quite sure what exactly…. No one else seemed to have a ‘guard’ escorting them. Did he feel she was in danger or was a danger? “I’m I in danger on this ship?” she asked him.
“No mam.”
Kate entered her hallway and walked towards her door. She stopped and looked at him. “Then why do I need a guard?”
“Captains orders.” He wasn’t much of a talker, but then again, none of the Cyborgs were. She’d read the notes.
Kate opened her door. “Well, ok thank you.” Stepping in she engaged the panel to close it behind her and leant against it. That was a bit strange right? Was the Captain worried about her? If so why? She was hardly a trouble maker? Shaking the feeling off Kate got ready for bed. She was probably over thinking it, she reasoned. She was just tired. It had been a long day and only too glad to give her mind a rest as she slipped between the flow sheets. Images of the Captain floated across her mind. Torc. Kate sighed. That really was a nice picture.
***
Torc’s neuro net pinged. He opened the connection.
The female is in her room.
Acknowledged. He wasn’t sure why the impulse had been there. But he’d felt the need to have her escorted back to her rooms and acted on it. The need to ensure she was safely there kept ticking away in the back of his mind. His own diagnostic told him of his heightened emotions. He didn’t need to see it. It only heightened his irritation and gave him pause to doubt his actions. That wasn’t the Cyborg way.
They’d come a long way since being created by Earth Corp over 100 years ago but, Torc knew they had a long way to go before they really understood humans. Created to be the ultimate soldier, the ultimate war machine. They hadn’t been born to a female and brought up in families or homes. Or taught from birth what it meant to be human.
Cyborgs were birthed around 18 years old, cybernetics added and downloaded programmes installed before 5 years of training. If a Cyborg couldn’t make the grade, he was terminated. His parts reused to make a better model. They were Cyborg. Not human. Designers had spent decades refining human DNA and genetics with cybernetics, computers and animal DNA to perfect them. Finally adding nano’s to the mix so they could heal themselves and last longer. Death to a Cyborg wasn’t necessarily the end. They could shut down and repair themselves, be brought back on line, new parts re-grown, re-booted. There were many possibilities. And they lived very long lives. Generations more than humans. And the nano’s had done something unexpected. They have prolonged all their lives, and no one really knew how or why. A happy accident and one, everyone was glad Earth Corp hadn’t grasped before they were free.
The nano’s couldn’t be manipulated. They died outside their bodies. Mixed with the triggers from their DNA, the Designers stopping their aging with their programming. The nano’s took that literally. They stopped everything. The result was Cyborgs no longer aged. It did allow them to pass them on to their mates, through blood or semen. And in doing so, they now knew it prolonged their lives too. Some were even getting younger. The nano’s pulling back the years to put them in peek condition. Just like their mates.
The elixir of youth via a Cyborg. Earth Corp would have had a field day with that, had they known it was possible.
But they hadn’t. Cyborgs were born to make war or supress one. The years of death and damage had affected them all. Not one of them had expected to survive long enough to be free. And no Cyborg had expected that to happen. The odds on it happening were extremely low. But once the public found out what was going on, they’d been an uproar of outrage. Stock prices in Earth Corp crashed, the investors were far from happy and in a desperate move, Earth Corp told the world it had been a mistake and they were setting them free. That wasn’t completely true. They set free those they couldn’t hide. Anyone else, was sold off, contracted out, crated, bartered or left to fend for themselves.
Cyborgs had been used for decades as prizes to big money. Ordered to follow orders they couldn’t refuse, and they’d done some terrible things. Things they would never forget as they recorded everything. And for some, it had required them to shut off their emotions or have the wiring severed to carry on with what they’d been forced to do. They were billion credit commodities that couldn’t fail because of feelings. Post-Traumatic Stress was a luxury Cyborgs didn’t have time for. Not if you wanted to remain living. For those affected, emotions were rarely turned back on.
Then the Admiral met his Kim and life changed for all of them. The Admiral shared his experience of meeting her and suddenly life had new meaning and hope. A future Cyborgs never considered possible. A life away from the fight to survive. A chance of a future. Family. Mates.
Of course, the odds were still against them. That in all the universe they would find the one compatible female they could mate with. But they know knew that fate hadn’t been that hard on them. There was a chance there were more than one out there for each of them. And each new encounter gave them the chance to find her. If she were of maturity, unattached carrying no male scent, it was possible she was the one when their DNA was triggered. If she were too young or already with a male, the Cyborg could move on or wait.
As long as he wasn’t bonded. Imprinted on her. Their animal DNA gave them a vicious complication to the mix. A real sting in the tail. If they scented a potential mate, if that interaction was substantial enough, if he imprinted on her and bonded, it was unlikely that he would be able to break that bond. If the female then rejected him, there was a chance that his systems would shut down and he would stop functioning.
It had happened more than once until they realised what was the cause. Mac their Doctor, had put them in stasis in hope of finding a cure. Now Cyborgs were learning by their mistakes. They were more aware. More cautious and finding your female came with a health warning.
It seemed that some Cyborgs were led to look in certain places. Data given to them either though DNA manipulation or up loaded to their data banks at incipience, combined with their nano’s whose sole purpose was to keep them in peek condition and functioning at 100%, suddenly appeared to realise that to do that, they had to go beyond being a war machine. They needed to live and have something to live for. It was thought that the nano’s sourced their information to make that happen. Giving their host a nudge in the right direction.
Torc didn’t know if that was available to him or not. He’d not felt the need to be doing anything other than his orders. He had a ship and an Empire to serve and it suited him. Nothing in his data told him he had any particular need to go in one direction more than another since being free. He was given orders, given a ship and was happy to serve the Empire.
Did he want a mate? He wasn’t sure. The chance of family, of knowing who he was, was intriguing. His data automatically gave him the odds. Surprisingly they were ……… high. Something had changed. He’d had those thoughts before, and his data had provided different odds. The comparison came up. They were now way higher. The female smiling at him replayed crossed his optic unbidden.
Had he prompted that?
***
Kate woke late. She knew she’d slept in. That heavy head feeling surrounded her. The vid screen displayed the time. It was after lunch. Going to bed shortly after 5am had taken its toll. Particularly on a day that had already been exhausting. Throwing back the covers, Kate got up quickly, she wasn’t one for lingering in bed. Pressing for the replicator to make her coffee she walked into the bathroom to freshen up. She felt agitated. She’d planned her time on the ship. Throwing that time away wasn’t going to help her. She needed to use the two months to design and arrange the layout of her shop. To inspire new ranges and send those to the clothing printers to be ready for her arrival. All that took time.
Having worked up to the day before leaving and packing when she could, it hadn’t left much time to order all her materials, equipment and to get it sent to the drop off point before the deadline. It had taken every spare moment she had. There were times when she thought she wouldn’t make. It had been physically and mentally exhausting but she had. Now wasn’t the time to give up or throw all that hard work away.
***
Torc filtered through the multitude of information that continued to flow across his optic. Everything collected was recorded and stored in his data banks for retrieval and upload to the Empire mainframe. One particular stream was pulled forward. The female was up and had triggered the replicator. Then the shower. It was mid afternoon and she’d missed two meals. Her dinner sitting was in just over 5 hours. His systems told him that to remain in optimum condition she would need nourishment. Torc opened his neuro net and connected to security on her level. His ping was accepted. The female requires food. Have a tray prepared and brought to her room.
Affirmative.
Her data faded away and others took its place. His focus went back to checking systems.
***
Kate worked over the problem of space and storage again. It was her second try. The first just hadn’t worked. She only had limited space available and she needed to utilise every square inch to make the most of it. Kate stuck the scribe into her hair. She was sure there was an answer to the problem, but she just couldn’t see it. The ping at her door came as a surprise. She wasn’t expecting anyone. Kate moved to the door and pressed the entry button. A Cyborg stood there with a tray.
“You missed two meals. This was ordered for you.” He handed her the tray.
Kate instinctively leaned towards him to take it. “Thank you. Who ordered it?”
“The Captain mam.” He moved back and closed the door from his side.
Kate looked at the tray. Torc had done this for her? Everything she liked appeared to be on it. She guessed he’d accessed the data on her food options. They’d all been asked for their food preferences when their berth had been approved.
Kate frowned as her stomach rumbled. Was this on his duties too?
Chapter Two
Kate didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth and preceded to stuff hers with all the goodies on her plate while she carried on working. Feeling refreshed, two drinks later, curtesy of the replicator, she thought she was almost there in solving her problems. Unless she wanted to store her materials in the warehouse and go get them, every time a customer wanted to see what she had to offer, she had to find room for them somewhere in the shop. Heading into the warehouse section of the Space Station wasn’t an option when inspiration was hitting her. Or leaving a customer to fend for themselves. She needed items to hand. Fabrics, braiding, lace, pins and buttons. It all had to be within reach. What she needed was something that held a lot but didn’t take up a lot of room. The idea of a revolving display came to mind. It would be a visual to draw the eye. Having them on all the walls and behind the shop windows would also decorate the space. Not only would it show off what fabrics and items she had to offer, it would become the back drop to the entire shop. On every wall, a multitude of colour. Kate was inspired. It was perfect. If she could get someone to make it….
She pondered that for the next couple of hours. Taking a shower and changing for dinner. She knew what she wanted just not how to deliver it. Finishing her hair and make up she made her way to her dinner seating. Allowing herself plenty of time to make it with ease. Kate decided to keep the conversation friendly but had no intention of bringing up her ideas. Those at her table were possible rivals. She wasn’t stupid and decided to keep her ideas to herself. But she needed to talk to someone, preferably on the Station, to get quotes and see if her ideas were even feasible. Walking the ships corridors, she wondered if Torc knew someone…... He had to know people, Kate reasoned, her thoughts never far from the surface. No not people, Cyborgs. They did run the Space Station.
Kate approached the dining room wondering if the Captain would be present. A quick glance told her there was no reception line tonight. She hadn’t really expected one. Making her way directly to her table Kate glanced around in case she’d missed him. Maybe that was for the best, she thought as she greeted the same people from the night before. Disappointment hit her as she smiled and made small talk. She really wanted to have that chat! Knowing he probably had better, more important things to do, didn’t make her disappointment any easier. Kate took her seat and hoped they’d be other chances.
***
His optic display pulled forward the information on the female without him having to trigger it. That was a first. His systems knew he wanted that information and had simply provided it. As it had on a multitude of times during his life but never without him requesting it first. It was a logical response to an illogical action. He read the data. The female had left her room for her dinner seating and shortly after the dining room scanners told him she had entered the room. He sent a message to housekeeping to clean her room and remove the tray. It would have been an automatic response from the ship, but he registered that he wanted to do it himself. His data told him the order wasn’t required the mini-second he’d made it. Reminding him they were working at 100% capacity and required no assistance. Torc knew that, but he’d done it anyway. His emotional diagnostic told him he’d derived pleasure from the action of taking care of it personally.
Why, he wasn’t sure. It wasn’t logical or necessary. Torc wiped the data from his optic.
***
Kate wasn’t sure why she’d come back to the vid room after dinner. Another rotation of movies was playing. Different one’s from the night before. That was probably deliberate, she thought. No one wanted to see the same thing over and over again and this time she wasn’t alone. A few people were seated in various places around the room watching the film. It seemed to be coming to an end. The good guy won. Kate carefully took a seat where she’d been the night before. Her drink in her hand she settled in. The credits started to roll, people got up and walked out. One couple stayed.
She wasn’t even sure what was playing, and it didn’t matter. She wasn’t one for hanging about in bars and not a great reader, but she wasn’t ready to go to her room just yet. It wasn’t like there was a huge choice of what to do. She’d known that when taking the berth. It wasn’t a cruiser, there was no gaming or showcasing. No club to go to. The fare to the Space Station had been subsidised as a result and part of the business package.
Of course, she could have taken one of the liners but that would have cost double what she’d paid, and she needed to keep her credits for the shop. Kate glanced over the list of upcoming movies but wasn’t really seeing it. Her need to get her shop sorted was paramount in her mind. Worry over costs and engineering equipment niggled at her. The number of problems wasn’t getting any smaller. Kate knew it would take time to resolve, that it needed to be started soon, or she ran the risk that it would have a knock-on effect to her opening day. And she couldn’t allow that. She only had a finite amount of credits saved to get her through that first year. The reality of putting everything on the line for this one thing hit her. It would be make or break….
