Page 30 of F Clones

Fig hurried to her side, taking the empty seat that had been left open for him.

“Is everything okay?” She appeared concerned, her hand gripping his.

“It is.”

“Where is Rod?” Gemma had stood from the table, her gaze locked on the entry doors they’d just come through.

Big took a seat next to her, pulling her down to be seated again. “He’s gone on a mission.”

“Damn it!” Gemma shook her head, appearing sad. “I knew he wouldn’t stay. I just wish…”

“Rod knows where his home is, and he’ll return when he’s ready to settle down. We discussed this.” Big leaned in and gave Gemma a little hug. “He’s still searching for his purpose.”

Fig was impressed by the spread of food the Magna laid out on the table. He forced a smile at the human couple. “Thank you for holding a celebration for our arrival.”

“You’re welcome.” The male smiled wide, his soft brown eyes showing sincerity. “This place is so incredibly big that it will be nice to have more people to become friends with. My Klista loves to have everyone share meals.”

“My parents are loving it here.” Hailey was all smiles, too. “Dad spends most of his days exploring and checking out the old mines. We’re from a mining planet. He’d like to get a few of the machines back in working order.”

The human male looked excited. “The thing about large companies is they waste resources. There’s a lot of minerals left over that they didn’t deem worthy of their time. I can get us a good income going from what they left behind. Having credits is always a good thing in case we ever need to buy stuff that isn’t already here.”

“You are more than welcome to do that,” Big decided. “This is your home now.”

Fig watched Anna closely, relieved when she started chatting with everyone at the table. She looked relaxed and at ease. She and Gemma were doing most of the talking. They had the most in common since they’d both been born and lived on Earth for so long, even if it was in different time periods.

The meal was delicious, and after they finished, he was more than ready to be shown at their private home. Their quarters were just down the corridor from Big and Gemma’s. It was one of the nicer homes with an open living space and a big kitchen, and it came with two-bedroom ensuites.

A Magna stood ready to take orders in the kitchen. Fig was happy to see it, not wanting Anna to feel the need to do any of the cleaning or cooking. He felt certain plenty of cleaning bots would be hidden inside the walls, just waiting to be put to use. Big’s next words verified that.

“Everything has been stocked. Gemma, why don’t you give Anna a tour and tell her how the bots work? Fig and I need to make a secure call. We won’t be gone long.”

Anna frowned.

“I won’t be gone long either,” Fig promised. “Big and I are going to reach out to Free. He needs to decide what to do about the shuttle that contacted us.”

“I’ll show you all the perks of bots.” Gemma once again hooked her arm with Anna’s. “Then the two of you can get some alone time to settle in. You’re probably feeling a little overwhelmed after meeting everyone. I hope you feel welcome here, Anna.”

“I do.” Anna’s gaze locked with Fig’s.

“I’ll hurry.”

She nodded. “I’ll be okay.”

Fig left with Big, heading toward the docking bay again. They used their shuttles for secure communications. It was the safest method. They felt mostly sure they’d removed any hidden triggers the station communication systems might have installed to alert the mining company of their presence. It was better to be one hundred percent certain, though.

They entered Big’s shuttle. It was the one they’d originally arrived in. Memories of that time filtered through Fig’s mind. They’d been so excited and frightened when they’d breached the mining station, unsure if it could still support life. There had been a possibility that the company had invited salvage companies to take what they wanted. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case. They’d had to do some repairs, but they’d gotten the place operational again.

“I don’t even know what to say to Free.” Big took a seat in the pilot chair. “I’m worried this will be a trap.”

“It’s his choice to make if he wishes to risk it.” Fig allowed more memories to stream through his mind. “Free loved Marisol. It never made sense to me why she didn’t show up at the rendezvous point. She risked her very life to help us escape. The owner of Clone World wouldn’t have cut his own granddaughter any slack if she’d been caught. Rico would have made an example out of Marisol.”

“He is a cruel, vicious human born without a heart.” Big’s hands tapped out commands on the console in front of him. “I’m routing the signal now, sending a ping to let Free know we’re attempting to reach him. He calls the Balarian system home most of the time.”

“Why would he wish to be near Jabler? That resort planet is a heavily traveled flight path for humans. It increases his risk of discovery.”

“Free enjoys hacking into pleasure cruiser entertainment feeds that go there, and Jabler is a beautiful planet. He’s sent me short videos of when he visited the surface. The planet owner only has tight security around his resort-zoned areas. Free mentioned once that the automated planetary security system only monitors life signs. It’s to protect the wildlife from being stolen. The defenses only activate and attempt to shoot down vessels leaving with additional heartbeats onboard.”

“He goes down to the planet?” Fig was shocked. “We were created to perform a lot of tasks, but dealing with uncultivated jungles and dangerous wild animals is beyond our capabilities. We’re in finance. The only fighting we learned was from you and Blade.”

---