Page 37 of Agrippa's Acceptance

They were about to leave the ship when Amelagar stopped them. “Anatu will you give us some privacy?”

The female cyborg melted away and Amelagar turned to Agrippa. “You will never again keep secrets from me.”

“I promise I won’t.” The relief was so great that her legs gave way beneath her. He wasn’t made at her anymore.

He caught her in his arms and kissed her and she couldn’t hold back a sob. “I thought you hated me now. I can’t stand the thought of you looking at me with distrust.”

“I trust you Agrippa and I am still angry. That does not mean we are not together anymore.” He looked at his time piece. “We have to disembark.”

She nodded and called Anatu. The door opened and they walked down onto the grass. They stood looking around at the desolate area. “After earth this place is even uglier than I remembered,” Anatu said bluntly.

“They’re here,” Amelagar said, barely above a whisper.

Two figures came out of the dark. They were dressed in the grey one piece all naturals had to wear. The thought of ever having to live here again, to have to wear what the clones told her to wear, do what they told her to do was frightening.

“Agrippa?” the tall female stepped forward while the male with her hung back.

Agrippa nodded and steppe forward. “Yes, it’s me. Thank you for getting us down here safely.”

“I am number one and that is number two.”

Anatu snorted, but Agrippa just nodded.

“Why did you want to come down here? Your message only said you had useful information.”

Agrippa looked at Amelagar and he nodded. She prayed these people could be trusted. That they wouldn’t end up captives of the clones. “We are going to blow up all the cloning temples.”

The woman laughed and then stopped when she saw their serious faces. Interest sparked in her gaze. “How?”

“We have explosives and if we can get deep enough into the temples undetected, we can blow them all up. But we would have to coordinate it so that they are all destroyed together.”

“It cannot be done.” The male, number two came forward.

The female held up a hand and drew the male away. They stood talking in whispers and gesturing wildly. At last they came to stand in front of Agrippa and Amelagar. As agreed, Anatu hung back and tried to look harmless. She was smaller than most female cyborgs and with her ryhov could easily pass for a natural.

“We will come back tomorrow. There is a small possibility that we may assist you. Be ready with the explosives to go at short notice.” They melted back into the shadows.

“Back on the ship,” Amelagar said so softly, she barely heard him.

They all got back onto the ship and went to the bridge. “LBS, you will monitor for anyone approaching us. Wake us, but quietly. The three of us will take turns doing guard duty.”

Agrippa had the third shift, but she didn’t sleep at all. She and Amelagar had shared a bunk, but all they did was hold each other. That was enough for Agrippa to feel safe. Still, she worried about what would happen if The Souls return. Or if they didn’t return. She’d always thought them larger than life and it was a little disappointing to realize they were normal tunrians with fears like anyone else.

The next morning the same man and woman came walking up to them. They had to have come in a vehicle and left it out of sight.

“We have a contact that is willing to get you past the control points and to the temples. You have exactly four hours to meet up with him, set the bombs in the six cloning temples and get back to your ship and take off. We will get you the new code to get safely back in space by the time you get back.”

They followed the two resistance to a vehicle that blended in with the surroundings. A tall male clone, clearly of the Apsu clan with his rigid bearing and the arrogant dismissive way he looked at them. That and his pitch black straight long hair that was unique to that cursed clan.

“Clone,” Anatu hissed.

Agrippa stilled and glared at the two so called resistance fighters. “You betrayed us. You are not of the souls.” Fear nearly crippled her. Next to her she felt Amelagar tense.

Number One shook her head. “He’s helping us.”

Agrippa shook her head. “He’s Apsu, if you are really resistance, you know how vicious he is.”

“I know everything about that clan. I won’t say you can trust him, but he wants the temples destroyed as well.”

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