Page 23 of Her Alien Cyborgs
“You’ve shortened both of our names now. Is this a human thing?”
She laughed before answering. “It’s a me thing. I tend to assign nicknames to beings. You’ll probably end up with a few more before I’m done. Do you mind? I can call you Fyr’enth if you prefer. I know that’s the name you chose for yourself.”
“I don’t mind at all.” He moved in closer but still not quite touching. “I like it. Fyr. It sounds like the Galactic Standard word for fear.”
She decided the bacon was done and moved the pan off the heat. “It does. Is that something you want? For others to fear you? For that matter, what does your name mean? Fyr’enth sounds Vardarian, but I’ve only learned the basics.”
“There is no direct translation in your language. I think the closest meaning would be something like ‘the oncoming storm.’”
She turned her head to look at him, only to realize he was so close her mouth brushed his for a second. She pulled away so fast she almost lost her balance. “Whoa. I didn’t realize you were that close.”
The smile he gave her was pure wickedness. “Must be the smell of the bacon drawing me in.”
“Must be. So, Stormy, why the ominous choice of names?”
“Stormy? Another nickname already?”
“Yup, which means I’ll need to figure out another one for Kalan, too.”
“I can make a few suggestions.”
“Did someone say my name?” Kalan walked into the galley as if he owned it. “And what in the name of gravity smells so good?”
“That is called bacon,” Fyr’enth informed him.
“And it’s one of my favorites…holy hells. You too?” Hezza’s mouth continued talking despite the fact her brain had short-circuited again. Kalan had also had a makeover moment, and he lookedgood.
Unlike his brother, he’d kept his hair long and now wore it tied back into a sleek ponytail. His beard was little more than a thin line of dark stubble along his jaw and around his mouth. Where Fyr’enth had opted for practicality, Kalan’s choices were stylish. His soft leather boots came to his knees, and his charcoal gray pants hugged his muscular thighs.
She wanted to say something about his new appearance, but then she caught the way the two males looked at each other. They had taken their first steps toward becoming individuals. She kept her mouth shut and let them have this moment.
CHAPTER 10
Kalan had walkedinto the galley feeling like a new male. He’d chosen everything about his appearance, from the boots on his feet to the flavor of the dental foam he’d used to clean his teeth.
His euphoria changed the moment he saw Fyr’enth. His brother, his clone, had made changes, too, and they weren’t the same ones he’d made.
He cast around for the right words, but nothing suited the moment. Instead, he went with something mundane and hoped his brother understood. “Nice boots.”
Fyr’enth grinned. “Same to you. I’ve got to ask, though. How do you expect to fight in those pants? One kick and you’re going to split the seams.”
“They stretch.” Kalan did a deep squat to demonstrate.
“And there will be no fighting,” Hezza said, her voice firm. “Even if we’re being chased, they won’t catch up with us until we drop into normal space and stay there for a while. Also, no friendly sparring matches until I figure out a safe space for you to do it. If you two start throwing kicks and punches, my poor ship will be the one to suffer. She’s got enough dents on the outside. I don’t need to add more to her interior.”
“We could set up something in the same cargo bay you thought we could use for stretching our wings,” Fyr’enth suggested.
“That could work,” Hezza agreed. “But if you break anything, you’ll be the ones repairing it. Right after I teach you how.”
She pointed to the battered metal table. “There are stools stashed in a cubby on the far wall. Those will work better than chairs, since they won’t interfere with your wings. Go ahead and pull them out while I get this food sorted. It won’t take long.”
They moved in sync, and it was oddly reassuring to see that not everything had changed.
He switched their conversation to their internal link“You cut your hair. I didn’t expect that.”
“I wanted something different. I didn’t think you’d cut most of your beard off. This is strange.”
Kalan nodded.“But not in a bad way. Though I do find it odd that we chose different styles. We’re clones. Shouldn’t we want the same things?”
