Page 2 of Darken
Darken followed the other team members from the building to the transport garage to claim his new sky cycle just delivered from the spaceport. He was the only ranger who had purchased his own custom-builtSky Rider. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever owned or wanted to own.
There hadn’t been much time to ride it on Phantom before catching the ship to Earth. The few times he had; the power and speed were exhilarating
They were also called hovercycles, but they were actually hybrid vehicles that could be ridden on the road, hovering over the pavement, or they could fly above the tree tops and stop in midair like a helicopter.
The sky cycles also came armed with small missiles, and they could morph into a mini jet plane. Because of the vastness of each territory assigned, they were the perfect vehicles for these lone rangers.
Darken didn’t waste any time stowing his gear on his cycle and taking off. Even though assigned separate territories, they were still a team and would be in contact throughout their extended mission. The regions they would serve weren’t divided exactly as the states and countries had once been. The New Mexico territory included the northern third of old Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado.
Most of their job would be recon and public relations to assess the current population and determine the requirements to maintain laws and order. It sounded simple, but they were warned it wouldn’t be that easy.
It would certainly be different from the war where they were dumped on a planet and told who to kill, rescue, or retrieve. Their virtual training included first-hand experiences from Jolt Somber, who started the program.
Darken might have been worried had he not been so distracted by his upcoming first meeting with his genetic mate. Logically, he knew she wouldn’t be just like the avatar he was programed to love. She was constructed from the genetic profile that matched his.
His flesh and blood genetic mate had a whole twenty-nine years of life events not available when his avatar was made.
Pheromones guaranteed attraction for each other, but he was going into this prepared to love and care for her. Finding his mate to love and make children with was every cyborg’s dream. It was the carrot dangled in front of them so-to-speak that motivated them all to fight the war.
It didn’t matter to him that she might not be all he’d imagined when he fantasized about their life together. He would accept her as she was because he trusted the logic of their genetic matching.
Darken smiled to himself as he climbed onto hisSky Rider.On his first ride on Earth, he would meet his mate at last.
Chapter Two
Gina Malcolm walked the short path to her current home, a temporary one she hoped, leased from the Enclave. It was a one-story domed dwelling made from aerated concrete sections notched to fit together like children’s building blocks. She earned the right to her own tiny house by accepting an apprenticeship with a construction crew building the homes.
Although androids could do the job, they were no longer manufactured on Earth since the war started. They had to be imported from offworld, and there weren’t enough to go around.
The lengthy interstellar war that started with the bombing of Earth’s major cities had set technology back almost 400 years. It had only been about five years since the cyborgs returned from the war to help rebuild and awaken those still in stasis.
Gina had been rescued from Farringay with her friend Layna Rose by Layna’s cyborg mate, Axel Rex. After seeing how happy Layna was with the cyborg, Gina applied for a cyborg mate. All she had to do was give a cheek swab to run her DNA against the cyborg database. She had been waiting ever since to hear back.
After the first month, her hopes started to dwindle because there had been no response. So, when she entered her dwelling and saw the light flashing on her vid com, she was surprised. Any of her friends would have pinged her wrist com. She couldn’t imagine who would have left her a message.
When she turned on the message, the first thing she saw was a picture of a handsome man with a voice-over telling her that he was her cyborg and she was his genetic mate. It was obvious by insignia that the message sent was pre-recorded from Cyborg Command on Phantom their planet.
Gina was so excited she was jumping up and down, squealing for joy. After all this time, she had almost given up hope this would happen. Subsequently, a prerecorded message came from Darken Wolf, letting her know he was on his way to Earth and looking forward to meeting her.
His words seemed to be spoken with little emotion, and she wondered if he could actually love her. But maybe he wasn’t excited yet because he had not met her. Layna’s husband Axel Rex was openly affectionate and emotionally available as she thought about it.
With that thought, Gina quickly punched in Layna’s code and fidgeted impatiently while the system signaled her. Although it was less than a minute before Layna’s face came onto her screen, it seemed like so much longer.
“Layna, they finally found my cyborg, and he’s on his way to Earth now. I can hardly wait to meet him. I hope he’s as wonderful as Axel.”
“I don’t think you have to worry because all of the other women with cyborg mates feel very much loved and cared for, and they adore them.”
“I hope you’re right. The message he sent me… He didn’t sound excited or anything. He said the right words, but they came out flat.” Gina sighed with a slight frown.
“It could be all the time he spent in the war with his emotions in check, and the time he’s been on Phantom might not have given him enough stimulation to let himself experience any emotions.” Layna smiled sympathetically at her friend. “That may change once he has met you, and his hormones kick in. Remember I told you; Axel said they are all programmed to love their genetic mate, so that means he is predisposed to love you.”
Gina nodded. “Axel would know,” she agreed.
“Did the message say when he will arrive?”
“As far as I could tell, it should be next Thursday.”
“Wow! That’s only five days,” said Layna.
