Mated with the Cyborg Read Online Free Page B

said. “I am here to assist.”
    “Oh, good,” she replied. “Would you carry my bags to my quarters?”
    “I am not programmed to carry bags. My function is to deliver the daughter of Obido to Katnia.”
    R981 would have done it. He performed many courtesies, to the extent he’d seemed almost lifelike. A pang of loss pierced her again. Funny, she already missed him more than she missed her father, his mates, or her many siblings. It is only because he is familiar to you and was not unkind. Not unkind for a spy, anyway. Remember that.
    “Can you at least tell me where my cabin is?” she asked.
    The droid was slight, expressionless. Nothing at all like R981, whose tall, muscular body and quirky behavior caused her to sometimes forget he was a robot. Why would she bring a lamp to Katnia? The memory of how he’d tromped around her quarters picking up random objects brought a thickness to her throat. Don’t cry. Don’t cry . She pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth.
    “Passenger staterooms are located port side, aft.”
    She’d entered starboard side, midship, but it would still be a long way to haul her luggage to the rear of the craft. “How long is the flight to Katnia?”
    “Four days, six hours, and seven minutes.”
    “That long?” She didn’t know how fast a shuttle flew, but it stood to reason the longer the journey, the farther away the destination. The only other time she’d flown had been when she’d traveled with her siblings and their mothers to the space station. She’d been a small child then, and the journey had seemed to take an eon, but, in reality, had been overnight she’d learned later. She’d been excited, eager to move to a new place where she might have friends, where she might find acceptance. That hadn’t happened, of course. Deformity had been no more accepted here than it had been on Lamis-Odg.
    “The shuttle will launch in twenty-nine minutes,” the android said. “Prepare yourself.” He marched away.
    R981 would have kept her company.
    Stop obsessing about him. Focus on proving your worth, on making Father proud of you.
    Mariska decided to leave her belongings and locate her cabin first to avoid dragging her heavy bags while she searched. With determination, she headed down the passageway. It had been more than twenty years since she’d been on a spacecraft, and the sharpness of memories had dulled, but she estimated the size of the current craft as much smaller than the other one.
    The previous one had seemed huge, but of course, it had carried a dozen passengers and two dozen bots, while this one ferried only her and a single unfriendly android.
    She traversed the craft, noting the android recharging dock, a small galley stocked with expired military rations, an empty area with cleats attached to the walls, a tiny lounge with hard chairs, and, port side aft, a closet-sized stateroom, with two narrow sleeping berths, the gap between the bunks even slimmer. The cabin offered scarcely more space than the android recharging dock!
    She didn’t have the most luxurious quarters on the space station, but, somehow, she had expected more of the shuttle. What conclusions would the Ka-Tȇ draw when she arrived on a ship with so few amenities it might well be used to transport cargo?
    Her throat tightened as another bout of claustrophobia swept over her. She ripped off the veil. Air. Need air . She tossed the shroud onto the berth and fled down the corridor.
    She wound up on the bridge. Sitting in a chair before the control panel, Q257 turned his head at her approach. Reflective orbs fixed on her face, but he did not seem surprised to see her or her unsightly face. Why would he? He was a robot. Only R981 had seemed startled.
    “Is there something you require?” he asked.
    A fire kindled in the pit of her stomach.
    All her life she’d been tested. By the Great One, by her father, by her siblings, by their mothers. By her people. It was time for another to be tested. Even if