A spec of light passes across the sky, far out in the desert, near the silhouette of an enemy mothership in orbit.
Esthi sits beside me. “Beautiful, isn’t it, what we can create when we work together? Us, sentient beings, I mean. Humans create starships and new life like you. You safeguard us, give us hope, and preserve the future so weallcan have one.”
I want to kiss her, hold her, feel her against me again. But Esthi’s mind is somewhere else, far away from me and this place.
After a moment, Esthi reaches over and rests a hand on my arm. “I wish we could’ve protected Titans better. Sometimes, our designs are susceptible to things we don’t foresee or aren’t strong enough to overcome. But that’s why Creators built you the way we did.”
I look down at her frazzled hair and catch her musk on the breeze. It is so different from the hot plastics and gear grease of Titans and the armored suits and munitions residue of male Omega force soldiers.
Esthi doesn’t seem upset that we failed humans in the war. She still looks up at the blue sky with hope.
As I tilt toward her for a deeper breath, she wrinkles her nose. “Sorry, I probably stink.”
“You smell like life. I am grateful to be in its presence again.”
“You set the bar low.” Esthi shrugs. “Well, there’s a creek around the backside of the cave where we can hydrate and clean off when Carver’s awake. I just need a little of your energy for him. He’s ready when you are.”
I look her over, wanting to commit her image to memory so it will be with me if I ever find myself stuck in another cage of mud or otherwise. “Thank you.”
She nods and looks away. “Let’s just hope that me breaking my cover doesn’t bite us in the ass.”
“I won’t let that happen. Anyone who wants to hurt you will have to go through me first.”
She studies me for a long breath, then leans into me and rests her head on my shoulder. Esthi wipes a hand over her eyes and sniffles. “Ready to save your brother?”
A twinge of pain curls through my ultro, though no alerts of damage appear in my vision. I wrap an arm around Esthi and hold her against me. “Things are going to move fast once we start breaking my Brothers free. Just stay close. I will keep you safe.”
“Okay.”
The pain subsides, and I let Esthi lead me back into the cave. It looks like she’s rolled him over with her pry bar and found another port.
“Turns out, his core and his ultromotor have two fuel cells that need charging for him to operate. I’m not sure if that’s the way it is for all of you or just his type. But I need access to your power ports next.”
I find the program and open all of them.
“Just two.”
“Which two?”
“You choose.” She lifts two cords.
It’s impossible to decide where I want her to touch me. I pick two on my neck, thinking it’s safe. But the cords don’t quite reach when Esthi tries to plug me in. But it makes her come closer so I can take in another breath of her.
Her lips part when she stretches and realizes I’m too far away. I get a glimpse of the scars on her neck. A memory comes back to me of mines, of the siphon hoses that vacuumed out the ore. Ghost pains flare in my neck, remembering the sticky mud and gravel on the wet piping we had to haul in on our shoulders.
“Armor?”
I steal a kiss as I draw her against me. The memory fades amid the plush heat of her lips.
Esthi hums and melts in my arms. “Arm-mer.”
I break the kiss partially because time is slim but mostly because I’m getting hard, wanting to forget the universe of problems to hide inside of her, and because my ultromotor is spooling up, wasting precious energy. “Fine. It’s not easy when you taste so good.”
She giggles nervously and steps back. I open two ports on my sides. Esthi brushes my body as she slips the connectors into place. Her contact is brief but warm and gentle in an addicting way that makes me brace her hands against me.
“Armor…” Esthi sings out. “You have to let me go so I can help.”
I rumble a low note in frustration. It isn’t easy to let her walk away when I want more, but Carver needs to be my focus. Then my Brothers. And then getting off Ellipsis and back with our kind. After that, I can have Esthi to myself.
