Page 65 of A Mate For Matrix
Real, tangible hope.
He dipped his chin, unable to speak. As he studied Gracie, he couldn’t help but think Jana would love the woman Gracie had grown into. The thought of his mate having someone else, a woman like her, eased the tension in his mind and body.
Maybe there is a place for us here after all.
Chapter Twenty-One
Soft giggles, kittens playing, and low conversations filled the Nebulosity’s galley, underscoring the quiet tension threading through the room. Matrix sat at the far end of the table, his elbows resting on the polished surface as his gaze swept across the gathering.
K-Nine had let Jana know it was safe to come out of hiding. Now she sat near Gracie, and their hushed conversation filled the air. Jana was telling Gracie the story of how she used a fly swatter on her previous landlord before Matrix and K-Nine scared the piss out of him by showing him they were aliens.
“It was priceless! The last I saw of old man Marker, the EMTs were strapping him down to a gurney and hauling his butt to the hospital for a sanity check,” Jana laughed.
“I was going to say I wish my first alien visit was as funny, but it was—since it was K-Nine. The second, not so much,” Gracie replied, dangling a strip of packaging from her fingers while Biscuit launched himself at it with kitten-sized ferocity.
Matrix grimaced as Butter and Honeybun skittered across the smooth deck plating, tiny claws scrabbling as they tried to wrestle each other into submission, and crashed into his leg.
Beside Gracie, Kordon relaxed in his seat, one arm draped along the backrest. Matrix didn’t miss how the other man caressed Gracie whenever she leaned back in her seat. The man’s fierce expression softened as it lingered on Gracie. There was a quiet protectiveness the other man didn’t bother to hide.
It was an emotion that Matrix could understand.
Across the table, Krac and K-Nine sat locked in an unspoken battle, their expressions unreadable as their eyes glowed. Matrix’s lips twitched as realization struck. It wasn’t a staring contest.
They were attempting to hack each other.
He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. If anyone blinked first, it wouldn’t be because of willpower—it would be because one of them overloaded their processors.
Bulldog leaned forward, breaking the silence. “Seal and I didn’t get very far into the rift,” he said, his gravelly voice pulling everyone’s attention. “The second we detected The Nebulosity’s residual trail, we rerouted and followed it. That’s the only reason we found you at all.”
Bran Markus—Grand Admiral, commanding officer, and immovable force—steepled his fingers on the table. “Can you explain, Commander Roma…” His voice carried the weight of judgment honed over decades of leadership. “…how you traveled nearly nine hundred years into the future?”
Matrix exhaled slowly. “I don’t know,” he admitted with a shake of his head. It was still hard for him to wrap his head around that twist in his mission. “The jump gate we used was unstable. We knew we might end up somewhere unexpected. Different sectors. Different quadrants. Possibly stranded halfway. But I didn’t know it could tear open a rift in the fabric of time itself.”
K-Nine’s ears twitched, his voice a smooth mechanical rumble. “I recorded all sensor data until my systems shut down mid-transition. I am still analyzing the information.”
Krac’s voice cut across the table, smooth and unhurried. “If I could access K-Nine’s processors, I might expedite the analysis.”
K-Nine’s head swiveled back to Krac, his amber optics locking on man. “Over my melted circuits.”
Krac’s lips curved faintly. “That’s one option.”
Before Matrix could intervene, Gracie shifted in her seat, drawing all attention. Her voice was soft but steady. “When I went through… it wasn’t planned either.” She lowered Biscuit off her lap and straightened, her gaze distant as memories rose.
“I programmed the supply ship to enter hyperdrive,” she said. Her voice softened, weighted with the past. “I knew the mothership would follow me. I was afraid they would somehow figure out a way to counter the virus I uploaded, so I set the self-destruct to happen during the jump. It was important to get it as far from Earth’s orbit as possible. I couldn’t risk it destroying the planet.”
Her voice dropped, laced with awe and quiet fear. “I watched the stars blur. Within seconds, the acceleration pinned me to my seat. I closed my eyes, bracing for impact… for death.”
Kordon’s hand found hers, steadying her as she continued.
“Everything slowed,” she whispered, her green eyes flickering with her memories. “And then… I felt it. A push from behind, like something ripping reality open as the mothership detonated. And then I woke up here—in this time, Mohan heard my calls for help, and Kordon found me.”
Silence settled over the table.
Matrix drew in a deep breath. “Something… happened after we woke.” He pursed his lips and stared down at the table. He looked up when he felt Jana’s hand on his shoulder.
“Tell them,” she said softly, her hand warm on his shoulder.
He gave a curt nod and looked at Bran and Kordon. “Whatever the Alluthans are, they connected to K-Nine… and me, through him. It was similar to the way K-Nine and I communicate, only on a massive scale. I felt the creature—the Queen—try to take over K-Nine’s systems. I knew I had to shut him down,” he began carefully, his voice rougher than he intended. “I thought I’d lost him.” He glanced at the massive cybernetic wolf. “I had to hard-kill his systems to keep him safe when the Hive signal hit us. I have different processors and safety protocols, so I was able to stabilize the incoming feed and piggybacked on the Alluthan signal.”
