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“I cannot believe...”
“That I’m speaking to you this way?Believe it, and get the fuck off my property.”The door squeaked on its hinges.“And don’t come around here in the morning again.It’s weird.”With that, she slammed the door.
Rhys was only too eager to descend the stairs as soon as the lock was pulled across the door.Hannah leaned against it and rubbed her temples.“Fucking Ollie,” she muttered.She looked up, the worry lines between her brows smoothing out.“Wow.I guess cyborgs don’t have any hangups about modesty.”
“I don’t when I’m with you.”
She tilted her head to the side, a smile on her face.“You really have a knack for saying romantic things that I never expected to be romantic.”
Rhys was only too happy to take her back into his arms.She leaned into him and breathed deeply.“You smell good,” she said into his shoulder.
He kissed the top of her head.“So do you.”His arms tightened around her.“You don’t have to go to the spaceport today,” he said, changing the subject.“You need some rest.”
“And I will get some rest after you and some of your cyborg buddies have assessed the damage to the spaceport,” she said.“That’s the last big existing infrastructure project we have to tackle.”She sighed.“We also need a proper hospital.The old medical clinic was destroyed in the quake.”
“We should also establish a seismic activity monitoring center at some point.”
“Yeah, I don’t want to go through this again.”
Rhys wanted to ask about the quake, get some more specifics about where it occurred, but he knew she wasn’t up for that yet.Might not be for months.Besides that, Hannah had enough to worry about without delving into her trauma before she was ready to do so.
She pulled away from him, determination on her face.He ignored his body’s protestations at the broken contact.“All right,” she said.“I’m getting ready for the day.Could you call some of the other cyborgs, and we’ll take a look at the spaceport?”
He wanted to go back to bed with her, see what else he could remember from the original Rhys’s sexual repertoire, but he forced himself to nod.“I would like to do that as well,” he lied.
She looked like she didn’t believe him, but didn’t question his answer.“I won’t be long.”
ChapterNine
The meeting was going betterthan Hannah thought it would.Nervousness about announcing the rebuilding of the spaceport had her palms damp with sweat and her stomach in knots as she stood on the amphitheater’s stage, New Edeners and cyborgs at attention.
“I’m sure most of us agree that our old way of life is no longer sustainable,” Hannah said.“The infrastructure repairs and tech the cyborgs brought with them will only delay the inevitable by another year or two, at the most.It’s time for New Eden to join intergalactic society and establish interplanetary trading and communications.”
A murmur of agreement rose through the crowd, setting her mind at ease.She glanced at Rhys, who stood a meter or so away from her.He gave her the barest of nods, his lips upturned in a ghost of an encouraging smile.The small gesture made her stomach flip-flop in a way she didnotneed right now, and she felt herself blush.She hoped no one else noticed.
“Who the hell put you in charge?”
Irritation flared in her at the sound of Ollie’s voice.The memory of his banging on her front door, interrupting what she’d hoped would be a continuation of the previous night’s activities with Rhys, had her balling her hands into fists at her side.“Haven’t we had this conversation before?”she snapped.“No one’s specifically in charge at this point.”
“Hannah’s done the most work out of all of us.”Jasmine’s voice rang out over the crowd.“How many times do we have to remind you of that?”
“I just think, if we held a democratic election like we did before...”
“Who the hell else is going to run?You?”Jasmine countered.She straightened in her seat and turned around to scan the crowd.Her gaze locked on Ollie’s.“You spend all day in your house, waiting for people to bring shit to you, and only leave to complain.We’ve been dying off even before the quake, and I’m sure all of us would’ve been dead within five years if the cyborgs hadn’t shown up.Hannah’s right.This isn’t sustainable.”
Jasmine caught Hannah’s eye and nodded in approval.Hannah released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.“It isn’t a scary universe out there,” she said.She turned to Rhys.“Right?”
“Well, of course, we would only be working with peaceful people,” he said.
“And they’re peaceful in this part of the universe,right?”she pressed.She tried to convey to him through her expression that this was the only way they would be able to get people on board with interplanetary communication and trade.
His eyes widened slightly, and she thought he might’ve picked up on the hint.“Oh, yes.New Eden is very remote, but the closest colonies and planets are friendly.”
“What’s the estimated window for the spaceport’s repair?”asked Rodelle, speaking up for the first time.Her voice held a note of confidence that hadn’t been there since her husband had died.
“The damage is extensive,” Rhys replied.“All of the components are badly outdated, and many are unsalvageable.The spaceport’s control tower can be renovated into a workable state within the next few weeks, but the launch pad will require thermo-protective materials that can’t be sourced on New Eden.The lack of thermo-protection is why we haven’t taken off for other colonies to source them.We thought it best to acquire as much as we can in one trip, to reduce the environmental damage our ship would cause for takeoffs and landings in your meadow.We’re still making an inventory of what we need.”
“What about training?”Rodelle asked.“New Edeners should know how to control the spaceport, not just the cyborgs.”
