The Mekanics hadn't told the humans what fate awaited them. Vikki no longer had full access to the Mekanic infrastructure, although she said she was working on it.
Something about what had Garvek told me still bugged me. I couldn't quite place it, but I had the sense that he had been lying or hiding something. The bit about free will was weird. I would have to question Vikki about it later. For now, we had more immediate concerns.
"But if the War's over, what about us?" I asked.
"We're extralegal," Dr. Hill said softly. "Some are still fighting. But we can't do it by ourselves." She looked to Zoe.
I'm sorry, Dustin. I doubt we'll see any help from Chimeria.
"Christ," Dr. Hill muttered. "I can't believe what Jack did. He used us. He used us all." She rubbed her temples, frowning.
"How much do the others know?" I gestured to the girls waiting outside. We had been locked in the bathroom for an awkwardly long time. "How much are we telling them? About what I just told you?"
"I'll leave that to you."
I opened the bathroom door. The chatter died immediately as I stepped out. They looked at me expectantly, some smiling, some frowning.
I would tell them everything. They deserved to know the truth, about everything, about Dr. Hill, the Mekanics, Zoe. Everything.
Shit. Where would I start?
How about an introduction?
Good idea, Zoe.
"Hey," I said. "I'd like you all to meet someone. Vikki."
***
It was night time, although it didn't make much difference in the windowless cargo bay. Dr. Hill had taken over the cockpit, kicking out Claire.
We were on our way far north. Apparently, Mekanics didn't deal as well with the cold weather. It was the frozen joints, according to Vikki, along with interference from the stronger magnetic field. There were pockets of resistance, and we were trying to link up with the surviving members of a Beastmaster squad.
I had expected lots of questions after telling the others what I knew. But when I told them about Dr. Hill's plans, most of them didn't seem surprised. I wondered if Dr. Hill had been working on any of them earlier, like Mia. Maybe even Stella, too, now that I thought about it.
The biggest reaction had been to the idea that some of them might be Staccato's kids. Julie and Mia had given me funny looks at that. Everyone had also wanted to examine my metal eye. But the serious chatter had died away, as each girl brooded, alone, over what I had revealed.
The mood quickly changed as the night went on. The girls were scattered throughout the cargo, in various states of resting or goofing off. No one wanted to go to sleep, even though it was late, and we were dead tired. Too much had happened in the last day. None of us knew what tomorrow would bring. None of us wanted the night to end.
For at least a few more hours, we all wanted to just be ourselves. A team of friends. A squad. Maybe something more.
"So, Dustin," Claire said. "Who would you have picked first?"
"Picked?" I asked.
"For Hill's breeding program."
I felt the stares of the others girls as they waited for my reply. "It's not like that," I mumbled.
"We can still try, can't we?" Nikki asked.
"The laboratory equipment's all gone," Mia said. "Dr. Hill said she doesn't have any growth accelerators, either."
"Plus, he's half robot now," Julie added. "Would it even work?"
"Those are great points," I said, nodding to Julie.
Claire wouldn't be brushed off so easily. "Yeah, but who would you have picked? If you had to?"
"Obviously, me," Kayla said. She was sitting on top of a footlocker, her long legs pulled close to her body. She stretched them out, then shifted to lie on her side, her lithe figure restless, sinuous. There was something predatory about the way she looked at me.
I gulped.
"In your dreams," Nikki said. "I've already felt his hard—"
The others started shouting.
"Hey!" I raised my hands, trying to calm them. "Hey!" I gave up.
I caught Stella's eye from across the cargo bay. I mouthed the word "you" to her, but I wasn't sure if she saw me as a large chest filled my view at that moment.
"I'm definitely bigger," Julie cried, jutting her chest out at me. "What do you think, Dustin?"
Claire knocked her away. "Are you kidding me?" She jiggled her breasts with her hands. "My girls are way bigger than yours."
Mia watched coolly from the side. "Skill trumps size."
Nikki tripped Claire. "Move aside, fatty."
"Fatty?" Claire shrieked. "Listen here, you skinny little—"
I ran into the bathroom, closing the door.
I chuckled. I had missed them, even though I had only been gone for a short while.
THEY LOOK LIKE FUN! BUT WHY HASN'T DUSTIN MATED WITH ANY OF THEM YET?
You see? You see what we're stuck with? I've been asking him the same thing.
I locked the door. Someone began pounding on it, and I held the door shut, checking the lock two more times to make sure the door wouldn't open.
Come on, guys. Relationships are…complicated. It's not like bonding, where we just read each other's minds.
The door shook in its frame as the pounding continued. I heard a screech, my name, and another scream.
That's true. Like I know for a fact you've fantasized about each girl out there. Sometimes at the same time.
REALLY? =P WOW! I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE LIKE THAT!
Don't encourage her. Christ. The last thing Zoe needed was an audience. Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.
HE'S SO CUTE WHEN HE'S EMBARRASSED!! ;) DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD SHOW HIM NOW?
Show me? The hell, they were they plotting together already? Weren't they supposed to be enemies? I was relieved that Zoe and Vikki had seemed to hit it off fairly well, all things considered, but I hadn't expected this.
Zoe, what are you doing out there? Don't you dare try anything with the girls—
"Not with them, silly. With me." The feminine voice was bold and clear. And from behind me.
I spun, my back to the door now.
A girl was reclining in the filled bathtub. Only her head was above the suds-crusted water. Her features were sharp, exotic even. She had golden hair, golden skin, golden eyes. The eyes shone with intelligence, strength, and a hint of mischief.
I would recognize those golden eyes anywhere, in any body or form.
My jaw dropped. It went up and down. Words sputtered out.
"Dustin, Dustin, Dustin." That voice.
"What…how…"
Zoe shook her head. "Leave the questions for later." She flicked her eyes towards the door. "They all feel the same as you. That tomorrow will be hell. But tonight…"
She sat up, her upper body breaking through the soapy water's surface. My gaze followed the white froth as it slid down the curves of her flawless golden body.
I didn't bother to look away. What would be the point? She knew everything about me, in ways that no one else ever could. Besides, I wasn't doing anything wrong.
No, this was right, so very right, in a world that made no sense. Allies turned into traitors. Enemies turned into friends. Allies and enemies, both dead, and one by my own hands.
The War may have been over for the world, but for me, it had finally started.
Through all this, the one thing I would never doubt was right in front of me. I had never been so sure about anything in my life before, never realized that I could be this sure about something. Zoe was myself, and I was her.