Free Desired By The Sacred Alien (Sci-Fi Alien Romance) by Meg Ripley Page B

sadness far more distant than hers. She’d been 27 then, and that had been the first sign that something was wrong.
    Ada climbed into the pod and started to buckle herself in as a voice spoke to her from the speakers in the ceiling. “Welcome, Ada from Level Twenty-Five. Your mission objective is to repair a force field that has been damaged by debris outside an alien-controlled planet. Conditions are described as optimal, but wildlife may be present. Be mindful of the shock you may receive while repairing the force fence, and remember to report any out-of-the-ordinary sensations. Do you have any questions or comments?”
    “No,” Ada replied, fastening the last snap from her shoulder to her waist. The material automatically shrank, pressing into the firm curve of her breast.
    “Excellent. Thank you and have a safe mission.” A low tone sounded, and the doors closed in front of the pod. Ada couldn’t feel the motion of the vehicle, but after a moment, she saw the enormous pearlescent sides of her dormitory building zipping past her. It only took a few seconds to move past all twenty five floors, and then the huge, spherical hub of their command center was visible, as well as the three other dorms connected to the sphere by horizontal transport tubes. Finally, Ada saw the curving face of Earth stretching below the floating hubs. It always filled her with an indescribable feeling, like someone was reaching into her chest and gently squeezing her heart as it beat. Fear chased the feeling, because she knew it wasn’t normal, but this sensation was too overwhelming to be extinguished by her panic. It eclipsed her fear of being rejected by her equipment, her fear of her lies being discovered by her parental units and siblings, and the fear of a fiery, airless death. She’d read about feelings once in a human magazine she’d found in a trash bin, and looked up some of them in one of the libraries during a trip to the main hub. Her favorite was a word she’d never seen before--- awesome; inducing an overwhelming feeling or reverence or fear. That certainly came close to what she thought she was feeling, so she often repeated the word as she gazed at Earth on the way to her ship. Awesome.

****
     
    All too soon, her pod bumped against the bottom of her ship.  The ceiling opened to show her the access panel, and a fresh burst of apprehension flooded her blood stream. She raised her palm and watched her hand press against the glass floors, holding her breath and waiting for it to screech and turn red. Instead, it blinked green like it always did, and the same voice from before filtered into the pod.
    “Cyborg recognized: Ada, Level Twenty-Five. Access Granted.”
    The ship’s bottom access doors parted and a heavy silver bar dropped before her eyes. Ada unbuckled herself from the cushy seat and gripped the steel bar, bracing herself as it quickly rose and pulled her into the ship. The floor reformed under her just as the bar disappeared into the ceiling, and she gently floated toward the floor. The artificial gravity wasn’t on yet. She looked around the circular room, gazing at the flat black panels that would only light up at her touch. Ada was filled with a warm, fuzzy feeling of happiness---distant and hard to capture. The feeling was supposed to be the limit of cyborg emotion, and it was startling to realize that most cypeople were so placid. She reminded herself that until a few years ago, she’d been placid, too.
    “Take off in sixty seconds,” the cool voice of the ship informed her. “Trip will take approximately four minutes. Ready to proceed?”
    “Yes.” Ada strode over to buckle herself into yet another chair--- this one tall and slim, and situated in front of two delicate steering handles. There was a wide window in front of the control bay, and she could see the velvety stretch of space for miles in either direction. Ada poked the panel, and an image of her destination popped up---a huge laser fence