Page 51 of The Brotherhood

“What would be the purpose?” Nidev asked, not convinced.

“We’re the one stronghold he doesn’t control,” Vex said.

“He’s right,” Quantum agreed. “And I aim to keep it that way.”

“He has our Belle Eveque,” 8-Bit reminded, getting all eyes on him.

“You think she’s doing this?” Thakx wondered, troubled or hopeful—8-Bit couldn’t tell.

“Shecouldhave something to do with it,” 8-Bit thought, eyeing their faces. “Any of you have gifts that might know what?”

“She received a bite from her husband,” a smooth voice said over the comm. One of the Triplets, he thought.

“Right,” Alerik remembered with a sigh. “I fear Zodak will never recover from being rendered immobile by her mere words while they took her.”

“So, shecouldbe responsiblesomehow,” Rukem said sharply. “We can’t use that.”

“Any closer to tracking her location?”

8-Bit shook his head. “She ditched her tracker.”

Every manner of frustration marked the Kings’ faces.

“I’ll get the drones ready,” Quantum said. “We’ll start with that.”

“I have, I believe, twenty-three ready for service,” 8-Bit offered.

“Get as many as we have,” Quantum urged. “We’ll get data and organize after. I’ll leave the remaining details with you gentlemen. Meanwhile, I’ll be building soldiers unless any of you require the use of the Delta Nexus Core.”

“How long will that take?” Nidev wondered for all of them.

Quantum calculated for all of two seconds before laying out his plan. “I think we’ll use the EX-23 Contingency Plan, which is a hybridized neural-sequencing model combined with accelerated genetic restructuring. It allows for rapid troop generation with imprinted baseline knowledge.”

“Interpret,” Alerik hurried, agitated.

“It’s basically a soldier with a simple pre-programmed directive. They would still require a female for human evolution, but it’s not mandatory for simple jobs. She’d be inheriting a machine with the social maturity of an infant rather than husband material.”

“So, she’d… raise him, then marry him,” Lore muttered, sounding both disturbed and fascinated.

“A perk any woman would appreciate,” Kael thought.

8-Bit regarded the King, perturbed over the silky effect his voice had on his cock. The fuck kind of gifts did he have?

“How many of those can you create?” Vex asked.

“Around twenty-five in a week.”

“Like hell are we using fast-tracked go-go bots for emergency human extractions,” Skul shot out, getting all eyes on his pissed stroll next to the big table. The majority of them still stood, he realized.

“What about all those Vicki’s our marsh brother Bullets loves so much?” Dalk said. “I believe there are several hundred of them, if I remember correctly.”

8-Bit added, “His brother-in-law is the priest for one of their clans. He could tell us how many are capable.”

“Then the biosynths can be used for things we don’t want humans to do,” Quantum suggested. “Guard our borders, carry supplies, run into battle first, and take bullets so our people don’t have to. They’d be tools—nothing more, nothing less.”

“But can they shut off when you shut them off?” Skul demanded, back in the spotlight.

“What happened with Handy was an extremely isolated incident.”

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