Page 6 of Agrippa's Acceptance

Cyborg 321 dashed her hopes. “That doesn’t mean she is not a clone.”

“That is true.” The doctor took some of her blood and he wasn’t gentle about it, but Agrippa didn’t even try to protest. If drawing blood was all they did to her, she would consider herself lucky.

Cyborg 321 went to the wall and spoke into the console. He turned back to them. “The general is on his way.” The doctor and the angry cyborg exchanged looks that made her think they could communicate without speaking. She didn’t know a lot about the cyborgs. Most science on Tundra involved Bunrika principles, but the cyborg program was top secret and involved a new avenue of science Bunrika was clever enough to keep secret. She’d never been allowed near it. When The Souls, the resistance on Tundra, recruited her, obtaining cyborg technology was the one thing they needed her to get her hands on.

The two cyborgs stood over her, not talking or moving and it took all her self-control not to jump off the examination table and try to make a futile run for it.

A huge cyborg with a small patch of ryhov walked into the infirmary with a female next to him. She had to be human and under normal circumstances Agrippa would be thrilled to see an alien up close. Especially one with such odd smooth skin. But she was too stunned at seeing ryhov on a cyborg. How was this possible? Everyone knew that the goddess had granted Tunrians a soul. When they met their soul mates their ryhov aligned.

The female came to Agrippa and took her hand in hers. Such a simple action but it almost made her cry. When she realized she was an unwilling stowaway, when she didn’t know if her cryo unit would work, she’d never been tempted to cry. But now, this one simple act of kindness nearly destroyed her.

“I’m Aurora. Can you tell me your name?” Aurora looked up at Balthazar. “Maybe she don’t understand English.”

Agrippa wanted to tell her she understood, but the general answered first. “She understands. We found records that she taught herself.”

She should have stayed away from the computers. But the inactivity had nearly driven her mad. Would they be kinder to her when they realized how many repairs she’d made to the ship? Their numbers were few and if they weren’t part machine, she doubted they could keep the ship running by doing triple shifts.

“Oh.” Aurora turned back to her. “Please tell me your name, I promise, we won’t hurt you.”

Agrippa flicked a glance at the angry cyborg that still held her arm in his unshakable grip. The way he held her made a lie of Aurora’s statement.

“You are human,” she asked the female with the strange, but kind eyes.

“Yes, I am human, and you are a Tunrian. I never thought I’d get to meet aliens in my lifetime. My name is Aurora.”

Agrippa blinked. Meet aliens. Then she bit her lip to hide her smile and looked at the human who thought Agrippa was the alien. “Agrippa,” she said.

“Your human is good at making people talk,” Cyborg 321 said. Agrippa was focused on Aurora, but she did not like the fact that Cyborg 321 spoke so kindly of the other woman who was obviously with the general. With him still gripping her arm she couldn’t help but hear every word he said.

The general nodded. “She is soft hearted.”

The doctor turned to the computer and after a moment, said, “she is a natural.”

At least they now accepted she was a natural. Hateful word. There was no way on Tundra that she would ever call herself that.

Aurora looked at her with what she thought was an earnest expression for a human. Her odd smooth skin looked very soft and pliable. “Agrippa, please tell me if you contacted your home planet. Did you give them this location?” Aurora pleaded.

Agrippa flicked another look at Cyborg 321 and his hand tightened in warming. “I considered trying to contact them, but I decided against it.”

Suddenly exhausted, Agrippa swayed and closed her eyes. She wanted to talk with the female, ask her about humans. And to ask her if all humans dressed in such elegant clothes.

She vaguely heard Aurora say, “I cannot understand how all of you can hate this poor defenceless woman and want to hurt her.”

“Nothing bred on Tundra is defenceless.”

Chapter Six

None of the cyborgs showed any sympathy with the human females’ words. At least Cyborg 321 kept her upright so that she didn’t show her momentary weakness to the others.

“Confine her to the infirmary,” the General instructed. She flinched at the harsh tone. He and his female walked to the door, but he stopped and turned to the cyborg that had caught her. “She is your responsibility.”

“Yes general.” His agreement sounded more like a threat than an agreement.

When they were gone Cyborg 321 turned and placed her back on the bed. He stood against her legs that dangled off the bed. Agrippa sucked in a breath at how intimate that felt. Did he realize, or was he incapable of such feelings? Her ryhov pulsed, reminding her of that patch she’d seen on the general. Did that mean he had a soul? Did Cyborg 321 have a hidden patch?

“You will stay in the infirmary until the general decide what to do with you. You will not be any trouble or I will send you out an airlock. Do you understand? Clone?”

“The doctor confirmed that I am not—”

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