Page 56 of Her Alien Cyborgs
The Santar—Prince Tyran of Haven Colony
“Are youqarfingkidding me? How am I supposed to pick who to talk to first?”
“Talk to Phylomenia. We know her,” Kalan suggested.
Fyr’enth recognized all the names but only because he’d read as much as he could find about the cyborg rebellion and what came afterward. He knew about the Gray Men and their evolution into a new threat now called the Shadows. Zura Watson and Tianna were mentioned in those files, but he wasn’t sure why they were here, so he discounted them as options.
Given the choice between Phylomenia and the unknown Vardarian prince, he agreed with Kalan. The human was the better bet.
Hezza opened a channel. “Hey, Phyl. It’s good to see you. I wasn’t expecting things to be so, uh, crowded around here.”
Phylomenia’s face appeared a second later. She looked the same as the last time Fyr’enth had seen her, only her smile seemed brighter this time.
“You made it! We were worried some asshat IAF officer had done something stupid,” she said in her gentle drawl.
“You’re just saying that to rile up your husbands. And, no, we didn’t see anyone on our little tour, IAF or otherwise. Not until we arrived here, anyway. Is that Barrios’s task force I see in orbit?”
“It is.” Phylomenia smirked. “He’s been trying to give orders to everyone, even the prince. To say it hasn’t gone well for him is putting it mildly. Scott’s sent so many letters of complaint I’m amazed no one’s been sent to replace him yet.”
“Any sign of theFalcon?” Fyr’enth asked.
“Fraxx, you two cleaned up nicely. Apologies for the question, but are you Fyr’enth or Kalan? And to answer your question, theFalconis in the system, but Barrios is being cagey about its whereabouts.”
“I’m Fyr’enth,” he said. It felt good to have another being use his chosen name.
“Nice to see you again. Both of you.” She gave Hezza a long, intense look. “So? Are they your mates or not?”
Hezza laughed. Then she turned her head from side to side to show off the marks on either side of her neck.
“Yes! Congratulations to all three of you. Anya sends her love, by the way. She’s waiting for you to contact her, but she figured you’d be swamped with messages when you first arrived.”
“She’s the next one I’m contacting after this,” Hezza said.
“Maybe make that the second one you call. Prince Tyran needs to speak to you. It’s important, Hez. You wouldn’t believe how intense things have been lately. Haven is on high alert, and a lot of the ships you’re seeing are Vardarian cruisers. The news about the new cyborgs hit them hard, and they’re ready to start a war if anyone does something foolish. Now that you and your mates are here, we’ve got a chance to get things hammered out.”
“I can do that. But there’s not much more we can tell them that wasn’t on the files I sent.”
“They need to talk to Kalan and Fyr’enth. All the other cyborgs are still in cryo-pods.”
“Why haven’t they been woken up yet?” Fyr’enth asked. As far as he was concerned, cryo was just another kind of prison.
“Getting Barrios to release them took longer than it should have. I don’t understand why, but he finally agreed to the transfer two days ago. They’re down on the surface now, well-protected and being examined by our medical staff and healers. They’ll be awake soon, but there were some concerns that the pods might be trapped in some way.”
“That’s possible?” Kalan asked.
Phylomenia looked grim. “It is.”
Hezza nodded. “They did it before. At the end of the cyborg rebellion. When they knew it was over and the cyborgs would be freed, some of the corporations sabotaged the cryo-pods so that if the proper codes weren’t used during deactivation, the cyborg inside died.”
“What about the staff who fled the research station and were captured? Have they told you anything?”
“It’s been frustrating. The only ones who want to talk don’t know much. They’ve given us the names of their superiors, but we don’t have many of them in custody, and they aren’t cooperating.”
Phylomenia made a soft sound at the back of her throat. “I do have some news for you. The Pheran female who gave you the data stick was last seen boarding one of the ships that was shot down while trying to leave. I’m sorry. She wasn’t one of the survivors.”
A pang of sorrow hit Fyr’enth harder than he expected. He’d barely known the female, but in a place full of cruelty, she’d been one of a handful to never do him or Kalan harm.
“Thank you for telling us,” he said.
