Page 45 of Swept By The Alien Pirate Prince

“That’s what we’re hoping for,” the same guard advised with a doubtful frown. “But things were different with Amada.”

“She was crazy,” I said. “Carmela is not.”

I was tired of arguing, but I was the one who had opened the conversation in the first place, so I had to let everyone say their piece.

“What is she working on right now?” one of my crew asked.

“She just completed Silver's programming and got her back up and running normally,” I explained. “I don’t know if any of you have noticed.”

There were some mollified reactions through the group and a few nods of acknowledgement.

“She is also working extensively to get the stealth unit programming back together,” I added. “She is working grueling hours, around the clock. She is doing her best. She hasn’t complained once about the work and how tiring it’s been on her both mentally and physically.”

I would defend her until I was blue in the face if I had to, but as I explained further, most of the unit seemed to be pacified by the fact that Carmela was here to stay, and regardless of what my relationship with her looked like on the surface, it was none of their business what we did behind closed doors.

I needed Carmela in a physical way. I also needed her emotionally, and her robot expertise was stellar. These were things I would have to prove to my crew, and over time, hopefully Carmela would be successful in earning their trust as well.

ChapterFifteen

CARMELA

“What are you doing?” Silver chimed in the doorway to the workshop.

I turned my head. “Oh, hey, Silver.”

Silver shuffled into the room, her silver eyes wide and curious. “Are you working on something?”

I chuckled at the irony. “Well, that’s one way to put it.”

The irony and the sarcasm went over Silver’s head. “I don’t follow. How do you put what?”

I shook my head and gave her a heartfelt smile. “It’s — never mind. I’m just saying I’mtryingto work.”

“Do you need help with the completion of a task?” Silver quizzed, her body making mechanical whizzing noises as she walked. This was something that happened before Amada screwed up all her settings but had gotten progressively worse since.

The extra noise didn’t seem to bother Silver. Occasionally I would ask her about it, but she always provided the same response — that she was just happy to be out of the manipulative grasp of Amada and she was trying to move on with her life.

To be fair, we all were trying our best to enact the same mantra into our own lives. Cyburn and I were doing significantly better in our relationship since we’d landed on Machinoor, although there were still times where the tension got the better of us and we would have a slip up and a fight from time to time.

“I don’t know, maybe,” I said, scrutinizing one of several notebooks that Amada had written instructions, procedures, and other various information about the stealth unit.

I flipped the pages, critically analyzing the documents and trying to make sense of it all.

“What are you looking at?” Silver finally ventured over to me and peered down at the notes and papers as I stood over a desk, hovered over the pages, and rifling through them.

“I’m trying to figure out what Amada had going on here,” I explained with a hint of frustration leaking into my voice.

Silver placed a robotic hand on the table beside me and began to scan the pages with the tip of her finger.

“Hmm…” she trailed off, not offering anything of value that I’d been hoping to receive.

I glanced up at her. “Do you recognize any of this lingo? Any of these symbols?”

Silver shook her head. “Nope, I don't.”

I groaned and placed my palms at my temples, rubbing them to dull the ache probing through them.

“Knowing Amada, she probably made the notes cryptic like this on purpose.”

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