She wasn’t sure what that meant but she was going to find out as she followed him down the ramp of the shuttle, getting her first look at the alien planet. Shock tore through her system as she stared at big blue puffy trees, their drooping branches a thick curtain of wispy vegetation. Her gaze lifted to the bright blue sky with light blue clouds, a pretty sight.
“It’s beautiful.”
Broad shoulders shrugged as Iron led her down the ramp toward thick trees. “It’s very blue.”
“That’s my favorite color.”
He glanced down at her. “I’ll take note of it.”
She grinned. “Okay. You do that.”
The encampment they found stunned Dawn as she took it all in with a sweeping gaze. Homes had been built out of bulkheads and spare parts from an obviously large starship. One of the homes had her flinching as she stared at the metal, recognizing just how much of the interior they had salvaged to make homes, knowing the dwelling in question had come from a latrine tank.
“That had to smell pretty damn bad until they got it clean.”
Iron’s look followed hers. “They are detachable on most of the older ships so it was probably easier for them to remove it to bring it down to the surface.”
“That had to have been a shit job, literally.”
Dawn could have sworn she saw a smirk on his features before he turned his face away as a noise drew his attention. It also drew Dawn’s and she inched away from him to watch as a large group of big gray-skinned women came from the thick woods. The small camp had gone from totally devoid of life to suddenly bursting with it as dozens and dozens of them emerged around them.
Close your mouth, Dawn mentally ordered herself, her eyes going wide with shock at the mostly naked women. Cyborg women were big, muscular, fit, and tall. Most of them wore nothing but half shirts that had seen better days and had made shorts that were tied together to hang low on their hips, exposing a lot of skin and muscled, thick thighs. Breasts moved freely beneath those thin shirts, revealing that bras weren’t considered as a cyborg woman’s must-have clothing since none of the ones Dawn glanced at wore one.
Behind the women came children. Dawn’s body shook slightly as she studied at least two dozen of them. Her heart broke instantly as she saw more than half of them using crutches to limp along. A small boy who was totally naked, probably about three years old, was being carried by his arms by two older girls. His legs were thinner than his body, obviously defective in some manner so he couldn’t walk.
“My God.” Dawn realized she’d said the words aloud when Iron suddenly spun to softly growl at her.
“Don’t look at them.” His voice was so low she barely heard his words, her focus jerking away from the children to stare into his furious eyes.
“What is—”
Iron cut her off. “They were left without the technology to fix their children.” His tone was soft and gruff. “We can fix them once we get to Garden and some of them before then on the Star and the Vontage. They are sensitive to their flaws so do not stare or show your disgust.”
If he’d slapped her it would have hurt less than what he’d said. “You think I feel disgust?” She hissed the words at him, anger instant. “I feel bad for them and I’m horrified that they have to live this way. My heart is breaking for those children.”
Dark blue eyes studied Dawn for a long moment. “They just returned from their daily baths at the river. Let’s get to work.” He jerked his head. “Their shuttle is that way. Move.”
Chapter Ten
Dawn was fuming still as she studied the old shuttle in front of them. She wanted to groan as she realized just how old it was. She hadn’t seen one of those models since she’d been a kid and her father had taken her to a spaceport to buy parts for an antique shuttle he was restoring for a friend.
“We have to replace the charging cells to restore power, one of the tanks is ruptured, and the entire hull has to be checked. We detected some damage to it so those flaws will have to be patched so it will make it through space.”
“Why?” Dawn turned her attention on Iron. “It’s old. Hell, I wouldn’t trust this rust bucket in space. When your people stole it all those years ago this thing had to be already wrecking-yard standard. It’s got to be forty-five years old.” She inched away from him to walk to the port thrusters, seeing dents there, and what looked similar to a bird’s nest. “I wouldn’t trust this thing to lift off and I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be aboard her in space.” She glanced at him over her shoulder. “I’d be really worried about the integrity of the hull, Iron. This puppy could crush like a tin can because, without tests, which we can’t perform here unless you brought a space dock with you to orbit, we don’t know what these planet conditions have done to the materials it’s made of. It’s just not safe.”
The cyborgs from the shuttle had followed behind them. One of them, a handsome male with gleaming white hair and dark blue, glittering eyes walked close to Dawn, frowning at her before he turned his attention on Iron.
“She’s the mechanic we got from the Piera shuttle, correct?”
“Correct, Ice,” Iron said softly, looking at Dawn as he spoke. “We’re aware of the danger but we aren’t transporting them on it. I am going to pilot it back into space myself. We’re taking it for salvage.”
Dawn faced Iron. “It’s too dangerous. If the hull won’t hold you’ll be killed.”
Ice chuckled. “Who gives the orders in your quarters?”
In a heartbeat Iron took a step toward Dawn, going chest to chest with her, anger in his narrowed gaze. “Enough, Dawn. It is my life to risk and I will wear a space suit in case of rapid decompression. I am intelligent and more than aware of the risks. The shuttle has value so we are taking it with us. Once I dock it to the Moonslip I will transfer out of it and it will be transported back to Garden.”
She feared for his safety. “What if the damn thing won’t make it? It’s a damn dinosaur, Iron. If you have system failure before you break into the atmosphere you’d fall like a damn rock to the surface. These weren’t designed to glide down for easy landings like the modern ones and I doubt it even has an active backup system in place that would enable you to restart the engines if they fail.”
“It’s my risk to take.”
Bullshit. You’re mine, she thought but she kept her mouth shut. Her teeth clenched together and she gave him a sharp nod before jerking her attention from him to glare at the shuttle. “I guess I better make damn sure it’s fly ready then.”
A loud sigh came from behind her as Iron moved away. “Let’s get to work. Daylight hours are passing.” He started assigning tasks.
Dawn walked over to the thruster and reached up for the rim of it, her hands gripping the bottom and instantly knew she had a problem. Turning her head she saw that Ice was watching her curiously. She gave him a smile, eyeing his muscular frame.
“Ice?”
An eyebrow arched. “That is my name.”
“I’m Dawn. Come here and give me a boost, would you? I don’t see a ladder around here so you’re it.”
Shock made his lips part but to her pleased surprise he walked toward her slowly. “Why do you want up there?” He stopped inches from her, staring down.
“The thrusters aren’t going to clean and inspect themselves. I am going to visually examine the casings and the coils.”
His broad chest expanded as he took a deep breath. He gripped her, big hands enclosing over her hips and he lifted. Dawn gripped the rim hard and tensed her body as her feet left the ground. The strong guy easily raised her high enough so she was able to scramble into the large round tube. He shifted his hold on her once she braced her upper weight inside and gave her a gentle push on her lower legs, sending her the rest of the way up. Dawn got to her knees, easily able to kneel inside the generous-sized tube.
“Thanks. Do you have a light on you and perhaps a kit?”
He nodded. “I’ll get them.”
Dawn turned her at
tention to the thruster, cringing at the abundant signs of birds taking up residence in the long tube. She knew she’d have to clean it out and then go over every inch of both thrusters on each side of the shuttle. Iron had said they had to replace the charging cells so it wasn’t as if they could ignite the thrusters without power while she was inside them.
“Here you go,” Ice said from below.
She gave him a smile, accepting the pack he gave her. “Thanks. Please tell Iron I’ll be up here.”
Ice backed away. Dawn turned her gaze to Iron, whose back was to her while he spoke to two males, one of whom nodded at whatever was being said. She looked away, gripped the repair kit and opened it. She had her work cut out for her. She dug out a power light and flipped it on, getting a better look inside.
“First things, first,” she muttered as she started to push out dried leaves that had been piled as nests. She used her feet to push it out, inching her way deeper as she cleaned the thruster.
Once she’d cleared it, she started at the back on her inspection. The thruster coils were in better shape than she had hoped, the roof of the thruster casing protecting it from a lot of the elements. She carefully ran a visual inspection for cracks or dents that could create a weak spot but they were in good shape. A female voice drew her from her job.
“Iron?”
Dawn crawled to the end of the thruster tube, curious as to who wanted Iron’s attention. In seconds she was peering down to see a tall, mostly naked, redheaded cyborg woman standing by the back ramp that led to the interior of the shuttle. The red hair made Dawn tense, wondering if this was the woman from Iron’s past.
The cyborg woman was pretty, with flowing red hair just past her bare shoulders. Her skin was a deeper shade of gray, darker than Iron’s by far, and the hair was a striking difference in color against her skin. A thick piece of material wrapped around the woman’s breasts, holding them in place, and the skirt she wore was low on her hips and almost obscenely short. Dawn gritted her teeth, wondering if the woman wore panties since she hadn’t seen a single cyborg woman wear a bra. The skirt rose so high that if the woman bent she’d expose exactly what was under it.
“Fiona,” Iron’s voice was strong and clear, reaching Dawn’s ears easily.
Fiona grinned. “I was on duty but now I am in my off time. I came to see you and I wish to speak to you again about a family unit.”
Jealousy and anger burned through Dawn. That was the woman who wanted to take Iron from her. She’d hoped the woman would be ugly but that wasn’t the case. While the woman’s gray skin was too dark to be really pretty, her features were clearly striking and her muscular body was fit and perfect. Enough skin was showing that Dawn was pretty damn sure the woman didn’t have an ounce of excess fat anywhere on her.
“We had this discussion.” Iron walked down the ramp and turned his head.
Dawn met his gaze. She resisted the urge to make her presence known to the other woman. Iron looked back at Fiona as his arms crossed over his muscled chest.
“We need to discuss it again.” The woman frowned at Iron. “The sex between us was pleasing, we’re breeding compatible, and our children would share our unique qualities. It is a perfectly logical choice to join together.”
“I am grateful that you thought of me but I have to decline.” Iron spun on his heel to walk back up the ramp and away from the woman.
Fiona grabbed his arm strongly enough to spin him back around. She stepped into Iron, her body pressing against his, revealing that she was just about an inch shorter than he was as their faces nearly touched.
“Take a walk with me and we’ll reacquaint our bodies. I have learned much over the years that I believe you will deem a very enjoyable experience.”
Dawn saw red and her temper flared to life as Fiona reached down and gripped Iron between his parted thighs, cupping his crotch. It made it worse when Iron didn’t jerk away but instead just frowned, totally held himself immobile as he stared at Fiona.
“I have thought of you often,” the woman told him. “I will share my thoughts of what I wanted to do with you.”
That’s it, Dawn thought. She shifted her legs over the outer rim of the thruster tube and turned, gripping the edge hard. She swung her legs, her ass sliding off the edge she’d perched on, and gravity took her. Pain shot up her arms a little when her hands caught her weight so she didn’t just drop hard to the ground. She swung twice from the momentum and then released the rim and landed on her feet.
Brushing her sore palms on her jumpsuit, Dawn fixed her attention on the woman who was touching Iron as she stormed quickly toward them. Iron hadn’t moved and now the woman was rubbing the seam of his pants, caressing his cock.
“You know it would be good between us and—”
“Get your hands off him!”
Dawn launched herself at the bitch. She grabbed the redhead and clasped the hand on Iron’s crotch, pulling the cyborg woman’s fingers away and wrenching them brutally back. She yanked her away from Iron. Fiona cried out in pain.
A fist flew at Dawn’s face. She jerked her head to the side and knuckles grazed her jaw but the punch didn’t land. Dawn used her hold on the fingers locked in her grip to jerk hard on Fiona. Another cry of pain erupted but Dawn was too pissed off to care if she was hurting the bitch who had molested Iron.
A leg shot out that Dawn never saw coming, hitting her in the hip hard enough to knock her off balance. She would have fallen but strong hands grabbed her hips as Iron steadied her.
“Enough,” he roared.
Fiona tore her fingers out of Dawn’s grasp and threw a punch. Dawn dodged it but it hit Iron in the throat. He made a horrible choking sound, his hands releasing Dawn as he stumbled back. Turning her head, she saw Iron grab his throat as he struggled to breathe and alarm was instant in Dawn. She hesitated until he sucked in a large breath, making it obvious that he was recovering. She turned on the cyborg woman with a vengeance.
Dawn tackled Fiona, her body slamming into the other woman’s firm body, taking them both to the ground. It only took Dawn a second to recuperate as she lifted up by grabbing the woman by her throat with her left hand as she punched her square in the mouth with a right hook. Pain shot up Dawn’s arm but she hauled her fist back to nail the bitch again. The second punch never landed as her arm was grabbed by a firm hand and an arm wrapped around her waist. Iron jerked her body off Fiona and backed away from the downed cyborg.
Fiona rolled over, grabbing her face as she sat up. She turned her head, checking her hand for blood but there was none. Her furious glare locked on Dawn. “How dare you attack me?”
“How dare you touch Iron that way,” Dawn spat, wiggling in Iron’s hold. “Keep your damn hands to yourself.” She glared openly at the cyborg. The woman had taken liberties with her man. “He said no to you, so get lost.”
Green eyes narrowed and a frown curved Fiona’s lips as she rose to her feet. “You dare speak to me? You dare attack me?”
“I dare.” Dawn wasn’t one to back down. “Keep your grubby hands off Iron or I’ll help you with that little problem you have.”
“Dawn!” Iron’s tone was harsh. “Enough.”
He set Dawn on her feet and then moved between them. He grabbed Fiona, who took a step toward Dawn to go after her.
“Do not, Fiona. She doesn’t understand what attacking you means. She is mine so she thinks she is protecting me.”
Fiona tore her furious gaze from Dawn to stare at Iron. “She is yours?”
“Yes,” Iron confirmed.
Anger darkened the woman’s features. “You are having sexual intercourse with a human?”
“Yes. I told you I was in a family unit with one.” Iron released Fiona but stayed between Dawn and the furious cyborg female. “She even carries my brand.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You were told that once on Garden you will all be marked with your names on your bodies. Dawn is marked as mine, carrying the same tattoos that
I have on my skin.”
Shock etched the woman’s features as she stared at Iron. “Why would you do that? She’s just a human. I thought you were lying to me about being in a unit with one. It sounds so permanent.”
“It is.”
“That’s not acceptable.” Green eyes slanted on Dawn. “We will give her to another male. I won’t share your attention with a rival female and especially not with the enemy.”
“She is not the enemy.” Iron paused. “I am contracted in a family unit with her and will never give her to someone else.”
Pure rage gripped Fiona’s features. “Why would you do that? She’s a puny human and you’re a valuable rarity.”
Dawn stepped sideways so she could glare at the other woman. Puny? She wanted to snort. Okay, maybe I’m short, she admitted silently, but she knew the other woman was purposely being insulting.
“I wanted the contract.” Iron paused. “She is mine and no other male has the right to touch her.”
“If that is your reason for rejecting me then I will find other males who are unable to function in that manner. We have two males here who were damaged beyond repair that I could join with so you would be the only male having physical contact with me.” Fiona’s focus shifted back to Dawn. “She could kill you while you are vulnerable. I would never trust one of those.”
“I told you of my decision and it is final. Thank you for the offer but I must refuse.” Iron turned and jerked his head toward Dawn. “Go back to work, Dawn. I believe Ice could use you inside the shuttle. He is changing out some damaged wires and your smaller hands would be useful in that task.”
Dawn had to resist the urge to argue with him, knowing it would really upset him. The last thing she wanted was to leave him alone with the grabby-handed woman but as she met his intense gaze, she knew she had no choice.
“Sure.” Dawn shot a glare at the other woman. “Keep your paws off him.”
Fiona took a threatening step toward Dawn. Iron moved fast, stepping between them again. He opened his arms to make sure that Fiona didn’t lunge at Dawn, protecting her from attack. Moving slowly, Dawn eased by him and walked up the shuttle ramp into the interior. She stepped to the side of the door and froze there, eavesdropping. She didn’t feel an ounce of guilt over it either.