Torc, page 6
part #17 of Galactic Cyborg Heat Series
Taking comfort in replaying their time together, it was a reminder of the help she needed with her shop. He could still offer her that if nothing else. Easily have one of his men look at it for her. His systems registered he was saddened knowing it was unlikely she would send him the information now following his outburst. The knowledge that he had failed her and himself acting so rashly didn’t help. He’d not been himself back there. His data stream showed him just how out of control he’d been. Torc sighed with the intense need to hit something. She hadn’t dismissed the idea entirely….. he told himself. Like he needed the comfort of it.
She’d been scared, that was to be expected and she’d put him in his place but he was sure, she’d been honest about how she saw things. That was good right?
He just didn’t have enough information to have a logical answer. It was too soon to say. She’d not denied the attraction. Was that because he could scent it or because it was true or both? Either was possible. Maybe time would help her? But it wouldn’t help him, he realised. He was already in too deep. Even if she shut him down, Torc had a feeling he was beyond that. If he only had some distance…… but that wouldn’t be possible on this ship. Knowing he should never have drawn her essence into him. Tasted her so intimately, none of that helped. It hadn’t stopped him doing it. He only had himself to blame. He’d been warned, they all had so many times. Don’t do anything that will bond a female to your DNA. Rejection could be deadly. Hell, he’d done it anyway.
***
The vid request from one of the ships Cyborgs came as a complete surprise next morning when she checked her mail. His name was Iced and he understood she had a project that required some special help. He was offering to do that. Asking that she send over the information she had, her designs and ideas and he would put something together for her to look at. Kate couldn’t believe it, then realised it probably came via the Captain. Kate’s excitement dropped. The Cyborg Iced, wouldn’t have known about it otherwise. Did she use the contact knowing there was a connection to the Captain? That didn’t seem right or fair to him. But it had been kind of him to do it, she recognised. But didn’t that pull them together more….? Kate was torn. She didn’t think that as a good idea. Pulling on that already tentative tread could cause more problems. No. She decided. There couldn’t be anyone pulls in that direction unless she was on board 100%. And she wasn’t sure she was.
There was no other course for it but to contact the Space Station directly and ask for assistance. She’d have to pay for it and suck it up. Kate replied with at polite thanks, but no thanks and pulled up public relations on the Station and pinged off an vid mail. She’d have a reply in a couple of days. In the meantime, she would occupy herself doing other things. No more movies that was for sure. She would start that health kick she’d been thinking about. Start designing. Remain focused. There was every chance she could have a collection ready to go by the time she arrived at the Station, she reasoned. There was no reason why not. She could visualise the shop already as well as the displays and take inspiration from the Station vids.
Kate put down the data pad. If she didn’t see him, maybe she could go without seeing anymore of those images…..
***
He’d done what Mac had recommended and purged her scent from his frame. He’d spent several hours on oxygen clearing his systems. It helped. The ping from Iced was the confirmation of what he already knew. She’d rejected his offer of help.
He didn’t like it but seeing as he’d already intercepted the vid mail that had been part of a long list of communications from the ship to the Space Station, it was hardly a surprise. He recognised her birth number along with the destination. She’d made it clear she preferred to do it without his help. It was a painful decision, but he couldn’t find an injury to blame it on. Torc could pretend to himself that he didn’t understand why she did it or that it wasn’t a logical response. But data never lied and nor did they. The percentages were clear. He knew exactly why she’d done it and it was logical. Did he like it? The data flowed. 100% No. Torc smiled. His data was never wrong. He’d have to accept her decision but that didn’t mean he couldn’t help in some way. Try to make it up to her.
He connected his neuro net and asked for connection to the Admiral. Thousands of computations crossed is optic while he waited.
The Admiral came up. “Torc. Report.”
He focused on the Admiral. “I have found a prospective mate on board my ship.”
“Congratulations. How’d she take it?”
Torc smiled. “Not well. I probably fucked it up.”
The Admiral smiled back. “Giving up?”
Torc shook his head. “Nope, re-grouping.”
The Admiral nodded. “Good man, what can I do for you?”
“The female has a contract with the Empire,” he sent it over to the Admiral. “She’s a designer of clothing and has a shop option. Her storage is not good, and she needs her material with her, not on the lower level. She came up with some interesting ideas on how to accommodate the lack of space with storage. I offered to help then everything went tits up and she’s not taking my help but has asked the Space Station for some.” He pinged her message to him. “I’d still like to help.”
“You could buy her bigger space,” he offered.
Torc shook his head. “Would Kim like you taking that decision from her?” The Admiral looked horrified. “Exactly.” Torc told him smirking. “If I’m lucky in time she’ll accept what I can offer, and in the meantime, I’d like to put an option on one of the shops front and centre, double what she already has. If it becomes possible she already has it. I want her to have what she wants. She’s on a budget, the cost to her shouldn’t exceed her reserves less 20%. Whatever it costs over that, I want done and I’ll pay for it. Anonymous. She’s not to know.”
The Admiral looked thoughtful for a moment. “We can do that. We’re making some changes anyway. Anything else?”
“We’re on schedule. No concerns so far.”
The Admiral nodded. “Keep an eye out for unwelcome visitors. We’ve just had some intel on the pirates they’re re-grouping. Working together. Coming at us in strength. It could be a problem keep your eyes open.”
Torc nodded. “Will do. Torc out.” The vid screen went blank.
Torc knew the emergency evac drills were due to start tomorrow. If the Empire had intel pirates were grouping together and attacking, there was no question that it wasn’t real. Torc connected to the ships computer and set a drill every day for the next two weeks and then twice a week until they reached the Station. He wasn’t taking any chances. If the Admiral felt the need to warn him, it was a serious threat and they would start doubling up now.
***
Kate woke to the emergency alarm blaring out. What the…… “This is an emergency evac drill. Please evacuate your rooms immediately and go to your nearest staging area.” She yawned straining to open her eyes. Seriously? Now? It was all bleary, she peeled her eyes open to check the time on the vid screen. The message replayed. 07.16am. FGS! Was the emergency real? No…. the computer voice said ‘drill’. She’d been in bed two hours damn hours! Kate moaned, pulling the flow blanket back and dragged herself out of bed. She wondered fleetingly if it was Torc getting back at her and dismissed it. Cyborgs didn’t do that. Grabbing her robe, she threw it on quickly, finger brushing her hair as she rushed through the door. A Cyborg at the end of the corridor was waving people through. People who were confused and panicked. She could sympathise.
They were ushered down the stairs to the nearest loading bay. It wasn’t the one she’d boarded from so this one had to be nearer to her rooms. Kate took notice as she rushed in, one of the last in her group. The people from her floor and seating were part of the group standing around in small clumps.
Torcs voice came over the public address system. “Ladies and gentleman. Thank you for assisting us in this first emergency drill. We are not under attack or have a threat at this time. In the event of this ship being attacked, this will be sounded throughout the ship.” A pulse blare sounded for a few seconds with the words ‘Emergency Lock Down in effect..’ repeated. Then shut off.
“All members of the public are to return to their rooms immediately and lock them down. Each allocated accommodation is a safe room. No access to those rooms will be possible unless it is by my men. Once the all clear is given, the lock down on those rooms will be deactivated by the ship’s computer. However, you are currently standing in what has been designated as your staging point. Should an emergency evacuation be required, it will be from this point. Know it and be comfortable in getting here fast. Bring nothing but the clothes you are wearing. Everything is data logged you will lose nothing. If evacuation is required, you will hear this.”
Kate heard a different continual siren for a few seconds with the words ‘Emergency Evacuation in effect…’ repeated. Then it shut off.
“You will each be sign pointed to the life pods or off-worlder you are to immediately board. Everyone should remain in their designated groups. For your protection, such drills will be run everyday for the next two weeks and twice a week there after. It is important that you understand how important this is. It is essential you reach your room or nearest staging point within three and a half minutes of the alarm going off or sooner. So please, over the next 24 hours visit each of the staging points and know exactly where they are in relation to the social areas of the ship. And how to get there quickly. Avoid using the lifts. They will be unstable in an attack. Should you require special assistance please let my men know now. In a real-life emergency scenario, if we are under attack and only if there is the possibility of the ship failing, you be asked to evac the ship. You will have three and a half minutes of the alarm sounding before life pods or off-worlders will be launched. Make sure you are ready. We will be running lock down and evac drills to ensure you are all prepared. The next drill will be tomorrow. Thank you and good day.”
Kate slumped in the chair against the wall. She was too bloody tired for this crap…. her brain told her. Then she looked at the people around her. Some looked relieved, others scared and concerned as they walked back to their rooms. Through the fog of no sleep she remembered the threats of attack were real. She’d been scared about that too boarding the ship. Kate sat up. She might be tired, she realised but she wasn’t stupid. Once most of the people had left, she dragged herself to her feet and walked back. Yawning as much as walking. Not sure if she could do this for the next two weeks, but she would. She needed sleep but she needed to be alive more. A bit more sleep now and she’d be good to go, she reassured herself. Kate consoled herself with that knowledge. She was too damn tired to think about anything else.
Dragging her feet along the corridor she made her way back to her room. Engaging the pad, the door opened, and she walked through, the door automatically closing behind her. Kate headed straight back to bed.
***
Torc watched the data filter across his optic. The drills were going well. They’d been running them at different times of the day over the past week. Making sure the humans knew the difference between both alarms and what they both meant for them. His men relayed their latest assessments on the drills. They had 14 humans that Cyborgs would need to carry to the off-worlder’s or back to their rooms. They were assigned to each of their floors. The computer would direct who was nearest. It was one of the benefits of knowing where everyone was at all times.
Torc scanned the results. They were fairly good, but an element was growing. Most passengers appeared to get it and his men were reinforcing it during the drills. However, now 12% didn’t seem to get the urgency. Torc was of the opinion that they would have to do a full evac rehearsal before they did. The stats on the chaos that would cause were high and humans could be damaged in their panic.
He knew lacklustre and apathy could be catching. It was up by another 1.2% on the last drill. The percentage of that continuing was high. People made up their own minds to do what they wanted. Saw things as inconvenient and didn’t bother. Success led to gossip and bragging and before he knew it, he’d have half the ship not responding. He couldn’t allow that. Lives would be lost because of it. He’d seen it many times working with humans.
Torc connected to the ships systems and his men. Full emergency evac rehearsal tomorrow at 05:00. Full evac deployment at the 3.5 minute time frame. No exceptions. Let’s see just how good they are if they think it’s real.
Affirmative, rang throughout his system. It was just as well they were not Cyborgs, thought Torc. The Designers would have terminated them all by now. At least he could give them a fighting chance. If they listened and learnt that was.
His thoughts turned to the female. It had been harder than he’d expected to stay out of her way. Knowing where she was all the time was both helpful and distracting in equal measure. He used the data to make sure he didn’t cross her path, knowing that was what he wanted. They’d been times where he’d been so driven to see her, he’d had to shut off his emotions and lock himself down. He wasn’t proud of it. He was Cyborg and should be able to manage this but, he couldn’t ignore his logic or the data. Even with the oxygen purge, he was failing. Re-calling the drill vids had not helped. He’d followed her route back to her room making sure she’d locked down properly and had arrived at the staging point without a problem. She never got it wrong. Acted quickly and didn’t stop. He could read that pleased him.
He also knew the Admiral had sorted her concerns over the shop. He’d copied him into the decisions that had been made. Based on his conversation with him, the Admiral had offered Kate the bigger shopping space, in a more central location. He’d given her a good deal and she’d taken it. Torc would remain a silent partner with the Empire. As he wanted. They had also managed to sort out her displays and storage into the deal. From what the Admiral had told him, Katherine was very happy with it.
She just wasn’t very happy with him it seemed. She’d made no contact over the past five days and he could see the effect it was having on him. Torc was pissed with himself. His diagnostic told him just how poorly he was coping. He knew he was going to have to shut it down or do something about that and soon. Having more of her around him would only end one way if she did, reject him.
Torc’s sensors told him exactly how his body reacted to that thought. It didn’t like it. He had news for his body. He didn’t like it either. He just had to figure out how to make it right.
***
Fucking alarm! Kate moaned and the sound registered. She sat up fast. Shit. Full evac. Throwing off the blankets she threw on her robe and ran out the room. The corridor was full of people partially dressed rushing towards the staircase. The Cyborg at the end of the corridor was directing them down the staircase, slowing those going too fast. Reminding other’s, they had time. Kate took to the stairs and headed down. They all moved steadily. Another Cyborg at the bottom of the staircase directed them to the staging area. Several other Cyborgs were already in there calling out names as they came in. She guessed the computer was updating them on who had arrived. Kate was directed to launch 3. She followed the instructions to the letter and found herself at the entrance to an off-worlder with a number of others. To her surprise she was told to board. Someone asked why and was quickly told it was a full evac drill, the crafts would be launched according to the time allowed to do so.
Kate wasted no time getting in quickly and buckling up. Others around her did the same. Checking the vid screen she watched as the timer counted down. Several others ran in and joined them. Kate looked back at the screen. Down to 10 seconds. She looked back to the entrance and saw someone running towards them. “Move it,” she shouted out and waved them on. She glanced at the screen again. 3,2,1. The door started to descend. Several others around her realised the door was closing. “Hurry,” she screamed as the others called out too. The man dived through the doorway and crashed into the storage boxes in the middle of the deck just before the door locked down into place.
Shit that was close! Kate looked at the Cyborg at the door. He’d made no attempt to stop the door closing. “You’d have left him behind?”
“Those are the orders. 3.5 Minutes and no more. Every microsecond after that, puts you all in danger. One life or all of yours. Be on time people.”
Kate stared at him in disbelief. Then looked at the guy getting up. “You ok?” he nodded. The computer cut into her thoughts. “Launching in 5,4,3,2,1.” The ship shook as the man on the floor found his seat and buckled up. Then they were all thrown back in their seats as it launched into space. If that guy hadn’t been buckled up ….. She didn’t want to think about it. He would have had a number of serious injuries having been thrown around. Kate got the message loud and clear and by the faces of everyone else, so did they. Don’t be late.
As soon as the gravity rush was over, Kate breathed easily and looked around. There were a couple of empty seats. She glanced up at the Cyborg. It hadn’t escaped her notice that he’d not moved in the gravity rush. “Did we get everyone?”
He shook his head. “No. Three didn’t make the staging point.”
“We left three behind?” One of the others asked.
The Cyborg looked blank for a moment. Then refocused on them. “Two failed to get out of bed. The other one decided to go for coffee.”
What? Kate frowned and looked around her. Everyone looked as confused and equally baffled as she was. Did they want to die? “What will happen to them?” she asked not sure she wanted the answer.
