Cyborg Celebration (Interstellar Brides: The Colony #11)

Chapter 11

11

V ance

I thought Marz was going to murder the governor when he walked onto the shuttle with our beautiful mate, wearing full armor, at his side.

The stubborn female had gone directly to the governor, pleaded her case. Governor Rone had called us into his office. We’d been loading gear, but we answered the summons and stumbled into her trap like untrained cadets trying, in vain, to outmaneuver an experienced general.

Rowan had already pulled up geological readings from the planet’s surface. Historical data. Storm data. The latest readings our sensors had recorded when the planet’s mantle seemed to be shifting. Calculations and analysis I had never studied and didn’t understand. I was a pilot. I cared about space, my ship, or wind in the skies of whatever planet I happened to be on.

In the end, our mate demanded to come with us and the governor had ordered us to bring her along. Without a single word passing between us, Marz and I both knew we were going to disobey a direct order for the first time in our lives.

Guess the governor—or our sneaky little female—assumed that as well. Or she sensed our intention through the mating collars. Either way, the governor had ordered the shuttle controls to remain locked until she was onboard. Nothing I could do about it now. Nothing Marz could do either, short of challenging the governor for leadership of Base 3. Even that would take time, time we didn’t have. So our mate got her way.

Didn’t mean I wouldn’t fuck her into oblivion, spank her ass and make her beg for release when we returned to base. She’d defied us both. Lied to us. Put herself in danger.

My blood boiled with the need to protect her, turn this fucking shuttle around, take her back to our quarters and tie her to the fucking bed where she couldn’t cause any more trouble.

But it was too fucking late for that.

The cockpit shuddered around me as the storm's energy waves lashed against the shuttle’s hull, a low, grinding vibration that rattled my teeth and made my skin prickle. Outside, red dust spiraled in thick torrents, painting the sky a violent, seething crimson that glowed with an eerie luminescence, like the planet was bleeding out its fury. Streaks of lightning jaggedly sliced through the swirling dust, glowing electric purple, then white, against the rust-colored sky. It would crackle and then fade, the flash leaving a ghostly afterimage in my vision. The Colony was a barren hellscape on a good day, but in the grip of these strange storms, it was like the planet itself wanted to swallow us whole.

I tightened my grip on the controls, the handles warm and slightly tacky under my gloved hands as I fought to keep the shuttle steady. The force of the wind outside was staggering, buffeting the craft with gusts that seemed to come from every direction at once, shoving the shuttle sideways in sharp jerks that made the engines groan in protest. Each time the shuttle drifted off course, I yanked the yoke back, feeling the strain in my forearms as I corrected our path. The storm rumbled, a deafening howl that pounded against the hull and rattled through the cockpit like the roar of an angry beast, punctuated by the booming cracks of thunder. Marz’s voice came through my comms, rough and commanding, vibrating in my skull. “Vance, keep us right above these coordinates. We need accurate readings.”

“I’m trying.” I adjusted the throttle. The tremor of the engines reverberated through the seat beneath me. The storm seemed to grow stronger with every passing second, as if sensing our intent and fighting against us. My tongue felt dry as dust, the recycled air in my helmet tasting metallic and stale with every breath. “The storm is pushing the shuttle to its limits. You better make it quick.”

Behind me, Rowan was poring over the data streaming across her monitor, her brow furrowed in concentration, lips slightly parted as she murmured calculations under her breath. Her fingers moved swiftly over the touchscreens, the pads of her gloved fingertips pale against the dark displays. Her shoulders were tense, and every so often, I’d catch a flicker of doubt through our mating collars before she quashed it down with a set of her jaw, stubborn and resolute.

“There!” She pointed to a spike in the geological readings. “There’s a surge in the planet’s crust. It’s happening now, right below us.” Her voice was higher than usual, edged with excitement and a hint of fear that sent a chill down my spine. Her eyes widened as the numbers spiked higher. “I need to get down there. The storm is interfering with our sensors.”

“By the gods,” I muttered under my breath, tasting fear for the first time in years. Not for me, for her. “Rowan, you’re not going down there in this. It’s too dangerous.”

But she had that look on her face, the one I’d come to know too well. Her jaw set, eyes blazing with purpose, cheeks flushed beneath the harsh glow of the overhead lights. Her lips pressed together, as if swallowing any hesitation before it could surface. The kind of expression that made me want to step in front of her, protect her—even if I knew she wouldn’t allow it. The soft thud of her boots echoed on the shuttle’s floor as she stood up, already reaching for the portable gear. I sensed her absolute conviction, her will both admirable and terrifying. I was proud of her courage and helpless to stop her. Stubborn, courageous, defiant, perfect fucking beautiful female. If I lost her… Fuck. “No.”

She held my gaze, and I knew the battle was lost. “I’m going. It’s why I’m here.” Her words were not a request. The hiss of air releasing from the seals accompanied her as she manually released the door locks. Her hands trembled only for a moment before she tightened the last strap attaching the sensors to her armor. She lifted her chin in defiance of the danger outside. “We won’t get accurate enough data from up here. I need to get to the source.”

“Marz?” I glanced at Marz, hoping he would talk some sense into her, but even as his frown deepened, I saw the same resignation in his eyes that I felt in my bones. He was just as helpless as I against Rowan’s resolve. He stood beside her, inhaled deeply, his chest rising and falling with a controlled slowness that betrayed his frustration. His brow furrowed, and his gaze lingered on Rowan for a heartbeat longer than necessary, as if trying to etch every detail of her face into his memory. We could no more stop her than we could stop the storm.

“You’re not going down there alone.” His tone was harsh, a mix of anger and…. I calmed my mind enough to sift through the emotions raging though our mating collars.

Terror. For her. Helplessness. Rage. Frustration. Worry. Respect. Pride. Love. Despair.

His head was an even bigger mess than mine.

“I’m coming with you.” Marz’s jaw clenched as he lifted the heavier pieces of equipment from her armor and attached them to his own, his movements stiff with anger and fear for our mate. Tension simmered between all three of us, thick enough to taste in the back of my throat, coppery and bitter.

I clenched my teeth, the familiar pang in my chest intensifying as I watched them prepare. Marz’s gaze cut toward me once, just a flicker, and I nodded in silent understanding.

Either we returned Rowan safely to base, or we died trying. Neither of us was willing to go back without her.

As Rowan’s helmet sealed shut with a mechanical click, she gave me a determined nod. Her lips were hidden behind the visor, but the set of her shoulders said enough. “Keep the shuttle steady, Vance,” she said through the comm, her voice muffled and slightly distorted by the strange energy of the storm. “We’ll get the readings and be back before you know it.”

“Don’t take too long, mate.” I forced my voice to sound steady. The words felt like they stuck in my throat. “The storm’s getting worse.”

Marz led the way to the exit, his armored figure bulky and imposing, while Rowan followed in her suit, looking fragile despite the protective armor. The hatch opened, the sudden blast of wind carrying with it a bitter chill that cut through the warmth inside the shuttle like a knife. I kept the shuttle hovering low as they stepped outside, the howling wind carrying red dust in relentless gusts that peppered the outer hull with a staccato hiss. As they walked away from the ramp, I couldn’t take my eyes off them. The image seared into my mind—my life, my family, everything that mattered--walked out into that storm, and there was nothing I could do to keep them safe.

I closed the hatch and fought to keep the shuttle in place, the storm tossing the small craft around with such force I feared it would lift off the ground, be thrown against the rocks.

Fuck. I had to move to an open area. I hated leaving them here, but if I didn’t, the shuttle might not survive long enough to take us home.

As I flew, Rowan’s voice came through, faint but clear, a high note of alarm I wasn’t used to hearing from her. “We’re getting a massive energy spike right beneath us. It’s like something’s trying to break through the surface.”

Dread coiled in my gut, a cold knot that tightened with every beat of my heart. I turned the shuttle around as the buzzing inside my head grew deafening. “Rowan, you need to get back to the shuttle. Now. It’s the Hive. Marz, get back to the shuttle.”

“Vance? Can you hear me?”

“I’m here.” Fuck. I gripped the controls until my knuckles turned pale, the strain of holding the shuttle steady against the shifting air currents making my arms tremble. I could see their figures below, dwarfed by the vastness of the landscape, moving like tiny specks against the backdrop of swirling dust and flashes of lightning. Every second was a lifetime, the storm hammering the shuttle with relentless fury, the thrum of the engines vibrating up through my boots.

As I approached, a shockwave ripped through the air. The shuttle bucked violently, alarms blaring, the sharp sound stabbing through the chaos. The ground behind Marz and Rowan split open, a fissure snaking out toward them with a rumble that I could feel even in the air. A deep vibration reverberated through the shuttle’s frame. The comms filled with static. The landscape blurred in a whirl of red haze and flashing lights.

“RUN!” I shouted into my comms but knew they couldn’t hear me.

“Vance—” Rowan’s voice broke through, but then it was gone.

“Vance?” Marz’s deep voice pierced my skull like hot knives.

I tightened my grip on the controls, determination flooding my veins like fire.