Free Forbidden Alien Warlord (SciFi Alien Romance) by Meg Ripley

as their fleshier cousins did.
    Adofo smiled at Ada over Pili’s head as she plowed through her news, amusement plain on his broad face thanks to the shining white light emanating from the corridor’s walls. With his sonorous voice, heavy frame, and layers of protective, foam-like muscles, Adofo wasn’t used to being walked or talked over; luckily, he seemed as fond of Pili as Ada had ever seen a cyborg become of another being, and her exuberance only endeared her to him. Most cypeople in the maintenance department were so busy they didn’t bother to pursue anyone romantically until their 40th or 50 th year, after they started to form stronger attachments outside their family units, but times were changing---at least according to the culture evident in their dorm station. She couldn’t be sure about the other stations, but it was hard to imagine life on other stations clearly at all when she could hardly keep track of hers.
    “You okay, Ada? You always seem nervous before missions! But I mean, we don’t get nervous, so, what’s up?” Pili took two whole breaths, signaling she was waiting for an answer. Ada shook her head, sending a loose curl flying from her ponytail. She frowned as she pinned it back into place, trying not to picture her elevator pod being hurled into the sun instead of locked into her ship. She decided to lie instead.
    “You know, I always forget to eat before these things. I’m just hungry; I’ll grab some gel or something before I dismount.” Ada took a slow, deep breath and hoped Pili would buy it. They were nearing the boarding bridge---she could see the dark red double doors just at the end of the curved hall. Their dorm, like most other standard cypeople dormitories, was built like an enormous cylinder, with 25 levels for work and 25 levels for living and entertainment.
    Pili nodded in response to her older sibling’s words, pale green eyes thoughtful. “Whenever I’m gardening, I can get pretty wrapped up in things and forget to eat, too. I can’t wait for my first mission.” A grin lit up her features, and a pale pink flush warmed the tint of her tawny skin, lighter than Ada’s own shade of mocha. “I wonder if I’ll get to fix complicated things, like you! Or just stuff I already do, like prune space bushes, or something.” Pili seemed so distressed by the latter possibility that Ada laughed and patted her cheek with one hand.
    “It’s not that exciting, really,” she said earnestly. “Once you actually finish learning about all the things that can go wrong, that’s pretty much the last you hear of it. And then you get out there in your ship, spend one minute on the problem, and ten minutes on the return trip. I’d rather be pruning space bushes; at least then I’m sure I’m doing something useful.”
    Pili giggled and touched her palm to Ada’s, and Adofo averted his brown eyes---it was an affectionate gesture between cyborgs fashioned from the same genetic source, or “siblings”, like them. Ada felt a tingling surge of warmth move up her palm and spread through her body to envelope her heart--- love, she thought--- and she tried to control her reaction as the alarming, exhilarating sensation took over… and faded away just as quickly as it came. Like always, it left her partially mechanical heart beating furiously hard and fast, but she focused until she was able to reign it in. Pili took no notice.
    “Good luck,” she said, smiling. “Bring me something cool! See you at lunch?”
    “Yes,” Ada said, and she was comforted to find that her voice sounded normal. She closed her hand and touched her fist to Adofo’s much larger, ivory colored one---a less intimate but still affectionate gesture to the man who was becoming like a brother to her---and when she only felt the cool press of rubberized flesh, she sighed with relief.
    “Good luck,” Adofo said, smiling gently.
    “Thank you,” Ada replied. She wasn’t bothered when he simply turned and started to