Striking Freedom (Mechanical Advantage Book 6) Read online

  Lacey ran her hand over her new uniform, and she smiled at the silky feel before she scowled. “Why aren’t we allowed in the attack vessels?”

  Lucky sighed. “None of us are cleared for combat situations. We can engage in them, but we are not cleared for it, and we are trying to do things by the book... today.”

  Alphy chuckled and smiled. “Well, I am very glad for the variety of ship and personnel that you have brought to the event, Lacey. We look exceptionally impressive.”

  Lacey smiled. “They have been looking forward to this, and since most of the Splice are here, this provides them with revenge and backup.”

  The Splice ships were displayed on the screen in vibrant red. The cyborg ships were blue, and the alien vessels were yellow stars.

  Alphy smiled. “The ships are engaging using Windy’s broadcast. Are you ready, Lacey?”

  Lacey walked up to the broadcast terminal, and she nodded. “Ready.”

  She set the display for global translations, faced the dot that she had put on the wall, and she smiled. “Good day, or good evening, people of Earth. I am Acquisitions Officer Lucrezia Adams, and I am here to tell you what has been going on.”

  Lucky whistled softly and nodded to indicate that she was keeping all the com lines open. Lacey was speaking to every terminal on Earth, and she told them what was going on, and what Earth Defense had settled on as an answer to the Splice issue.

  She sent them images of the recent rescues from Splice ships, the girls and other tour groups. “These images are graphic, but the Splice threat hasn’t been stopped. It has been bought off with the lives of those chosen as sacrifice.”

  She smiled politely. “As I send this to you, you need to know that in the skies above you, there are men and women and those without a chosen sex in space surrounding you. They are fighting for you for your survival.”

  She took in a deep breath. “And now for the part that is going to freak you out, we are taking down your shield. It was only a placebo anyway, and it is going to get in our way to get medical care and additional support.”

  She paused and let the translation catch up. “For those of you who wonder, they were only ever designed to keep the cyborgs from returning to Earth. We volunteered, many thousand gave their lives, and the door was shut on us by Earth Defense.”

  Lacey straightened her shoulders. “Today, in defense of the Earth, we are opening that door again. Now, in fact.”

  Lucky pushed a button, and the indicators on the net of satellites all went dark.

  “So, you are now in the same position as your brothers and sisters who are fighting for their lives. I am displaying a Splice ship. If one crashes near you, wear masks because it smells, and if you decide to enter them, be aware that the Splice may be alive, and so might some of their victims. Do not mercy kill those in pain. Put them on shuttles and get them to the nearest Earth Defense med center. They will be healed, they will survive, and they will need your help.”

  “For those who wonder why we dropped the screen... a Splice ship under full control can punch through the screen easily, but we have altered the control capabilities of the crews. They cannot control themselves and will be dangerous, but most should be killed in the crash.”

  Lacey stood and gave the entire world of her birth the cheap and dirty methods of how to kill Splice.

  “I will say, do not enter the vessels unless it is absolutely necessary. We will be down as soon as our firefight is ratified. There are seven motherships and eighty cruisers in the space surrounding Earth, and now, with the shielding down, you can finally see it.” Lacey inclined her head. “Do not take my word for it. Look to the skies, we are waging war to save you, all around you.

  “We will be in touch.” Lacey inclined her head, and the feed was cut. Her knees buckled.

  Alphy helped her up. “You did good. You are now the face of this part of the war.”

  “Oh, goody. I am a face.” Lacey leaned on Alphy. “Why am I the one to do this?”

  “You are the most recognizable to the administration. They needed to see you.” Alphy chuckled. “Now, we wait.”

  Lacey grimaced. “Earth Defense is going to call us.”

  Alphy nodded. “Deep breath, prepare yourself.”

  Lacey got back to her podium and took the first call. It was General Matheson. “Hello, General Matheson.”

  He blinked, and colour rose in his cheeks. “I need to speak to General Adams.”

  “He’s dead.”

  “General Mcory.”

  “Dead.”

  “General Ali.”

  Lacey looked at her nails. “Dead.”

  “Morco?”

  “Dead. Look, how long do you want to do this? Every corrupted asshole who was torturing cyborgs or indigenous populations is dead. There is no one out here to get us back under control. The first-gens know and have seen the files of how they came to be.”

  Lacey drummed her fingers on the podium. “We have gained control over our bases and our bodies. Treaties have been made with alien races who are willing to exchange technology and biological samples for the evolution of our world.”

  General Matheson blinked. “What do they want in return?”

  “It has already been given to them, help with the Splice. They are offering to assist us because they are now secure.”

  He paused. “The generals are all dead?”

  “They are.”

  “In that case, as your commanding officer, I order you to hand over all of those findings.”

  Lacey started laughing so hard that she nearly collapsed.

  Alphy sighed and stepped in front of the camera. “General Matheson, I am Humanity’s Archive commander and conduit. The cyborgs no longer recognize the Earth-based commanders. You consigned us all to death, after all.”

  “The archive is a myth. Who are you?”

  “Captain Aria Dexter. Head of the archive. I have access to every boardroom deal, every bit of propaganda, and each and every event you have used to divide humanity against the ones who are fighting for you. Classy move, by the way.”

  Matheson frowned. “What do you want?”

  “Free travel for the cyborgs of Earth, a chance of colonists for the properties that have been arranged for small caches of humanity so that a complete extinction will become less likely.”

  Matheson smiled slyly. “Who picks the colonists?”

  Lacey finished her giggle, and she hauled herself back to the podium. “That would be me. They are not overtaken areas; they are privately owned estates.”

  “Why would you get to choose?”

  She smirked, “Because they are my properties, purchased with services from the locals. They are suitable for hard-working humans who want a new life alongside the indigenous populations.”

  Alphy was watching the battles once again, and the red dots were slowly disappearing.

  “Your properties?” The general was confused.

  “Yes, if you sell a Splice ship, you get money; if the commander of the Earth Defense puts a price on your head and you are declared dead, someone gets the money.” She smiled brightly. “It got me started.”

  He looked grim. “You are not going to get back to Earth. You, freaks, are going to die alone in space.”

  Lacey nodded. “I thought that is what you would say, it is a good thing that I never cut the open broadcast. I don’t think that the good folk on Earth would have believed it if it didn’t come from you.”

  His eyes got wide, and he fumbled to disconnect the connection.

  Lacey sighed and looked at Alphy. “So, days of this kind of thing?”

  “At least. You can scare the hell out of them at the first meeting.”

  “I look forward to it.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Wearing the robes into the open-air meeting with vid cameras swarming around the perimeter made her feel like she was back to her bad-ass self.

  She carried the staff that felt like part of her, and she walked wit
h Yurik and Lexo at her back. The humans had far more bodyguards with them, but then, they were terrified.

  General Matheson was nowhere to be found.

  She carried a tablet in her free hand, and she walked to the table and took a seat without waiting for introductions.

  The woman sent to negotiate with her sat, and rubbed her neck nervously. “Miss Adams—”

  “Address me as Lacey. Madame Hogarth.” She inclined her head.

  “You know me?”

  “We have met.” She twisted her lips. “Now, are we here to negotiate or chat?”

  “Fine. Yes, well, we are not sure what you want from us. We thank the cyborgs for their assistance in this matter, but we are not sure what you want from us.”

  Lacey smiled tightly. “We want our citizenship to Earth reinstated. We sweated for it, we bled for it, and our focus was on keeping it safe. Now, we want it back.”

  Madame Hogarth shook her head. “We can’t do that. You are too dangerous.”

  “What do you think we will do?” Lacey smiled.

  “You will overthrow and destabilize local governments.”

  “Or run for public office and dethrone some of the prime families. You have to admit, we are in much better shape.”

  She heard a snort from behind her.

  “We respect that you have suffered and been altered in battle—”

  Lacey held up her hand. “We were not altered after battle. We were altered as a fixated methodology to create Splice-proof personnel before we were sent into combat. The two men behind me were given their weaponized adaptations here on Earth. I was altered by the direct order of General Adams.”

  She slid the data pad over, and the vids of Yurik’s and Lexo’s adaptations began to play.

  Madame Hogarth covered her mouth as she watched human surgeons working on the two men and installing their new adaptations.

  “Oh my god.”

  “Those alterations were done here, six weeks after the first Splice raid. Enlistment had just begun, and volunteers from families involved in the war effort were encouraged and taken first.”

  Lacey inhaled. “In another vein, the Earth Defense commanders selected women with medical issues who could not afford to pay for the cures. They were offered the cure and a chance at life if they agreed to sign themselves over to the cause. These women were not only given the adaptations of cyborgs when they were healed, but they were given a control unit that acted on their pleasure centers.”

  Madame Hogarth was watching the vid, and she recoiled again. “What the hell is going on?”

  “When everything is pleasure, pain is sought out with the same enthusiasm. These ladies were chosen to become the concubines of the generals posted in space, but they became too dangerous to keep in the bedroom. They were put on ice, but we just woke them up.”

  Madame Hogarth’s hands were shaking. “What, exactly, do you want?”

  “I want our citizenship to be reinstated. I want any families of existing cyborgs to be able to join their loved ones.”

  “Matheson’s communication said that you wanted colonists.”

  “Eh, sort of. Those luxury estates are reserved for the cyborgs. They have fought for their lives; they deserve to live in them in comfort.” Lacey smiled. “The estates and positions on other worlds are reserved for the families of existing cyborgs.”

  “So, you just want the status of citizen reinstated?”

  Lacey smiled. “And we want access to our families if we have them. No coercion will be engaged in, but if they want to be together, they should be together.”

  “Do you have anyone you want to remain with?” Madame Hogarth looked at her.

  “Not on Earth. How about you, Madame?”

  Madame Hogarth’s face flared with irritation. “You know my husband is dead.”

  “I know. Too bad he missed the trial.” Lacey inclined her head.

  Hogarth leaned in and hissed. “He was set up by Adams.”

  “I know. I am well aware of it. I was the bait, and he took it. If it makes you feel better, General Adams died at the hands of the first Splice cyborg.”

  Hogarth frowned and sat back. “I didn’t know they made them.”

  “They made one. Then, the research was lost and angry.” Lacey smiled. “I can show you the video.”

  “No, that won’t be necessary.” She shook her head and pushed the tablet away.

  Lacey collected it. “So, have our demands been heard?”

  Hogarth nodded. “They will need a few days to think about it. I am sorry about one thing. You have to come with me.”

  Lacey gripped her staff, and she adjusted her fingers, sending out a pulse that knocked the humans to the ground. “You know, this only works on completely intact humans. No nanites.”

  Hogarth gasped. “What is happening?”

  “Neural overload. You can send your reply to the ships, but as I am not considered a citizen and do belong to an orbiting army, I will be leaving now.”

  Lacey got to her feet, and Yurik and Lexo followed her. Inside the shuttle, she waited until they were halfway to the troposphere when she cursed. “Fuck it!”

  Lexo was flying, so Yurik turned to her. “Is something wrong?”

  “No. I just hoped that I wouldn’t have to do that.”

  “Mmhmm. When did the staff shoot neural blocks?”

  “There is one for every species. It isn’t just humans and cyborgs.”

  Lexo blinked. “You can bring down Splice with that?”

  “Of course. As tall and gangly as I was, I was not much of a hand-to-hand combatant for the first few years. I spent a fortune on collecting the crystals for this unit. I consider it money well spent.”

  “Can anyone else use it?”

  “Not unless they want a feedback loop to rip through them.”

  He looked toward the asteroid of the new base. “What do you think they will decide?”

  “Well, with you two broadcasting and the international cameras, we have a very strong case.”

  Yurik glanced back at her. “What do you want?”

  Lacey smiled. “I want to place and supply all of the cyborgs and their families, and after that is done, I have a small house in the country on Alguth, in a zone that is shunned by all of the locals. Not the Cursed City but close.”

  She smiled slowly and chuckled as she thought about her home in the small abandoned temple with the view of seven cities below. She could almost see it happening if she closed her eyes and imagined Yurik’s arms around her.

  * * * *

  Six months later...

  Lacey looked at Yurik. “Did I say that retirement was going to be quiet?”

  He grinned and rocked two of the babies in his arms. She had two more, and one of the Alguth teenagers was holding the fifth.

  Five little girls who were all her sisters and nieces were around her. Their mothers had found mates among the Alguth, and Lacey had kept her word. She had taken her relatives into her care.

  Yurik sighed. “You know, I did think about having a family with you. I just never imagined it would happen so quickly.”

  Lacey felt the two little girls relax in her arms. Little Alpha and Luki. “Time for a nap.” She tiptoed over to the bed and eased the little girls down for their afternoon power accumulation.

  Krayka was settled in next to them by the ever-attentive Hekon.

  Stiika and Windai were the last to go down. They had far too much energy.

  It was nice that Lacey had five friends to name the babies after. Once they had gotten their citizenship, they changed their designations and turned the nicknames into their legal identifiers.

  Lacey had spent three months distributing the cyborgs and their families throughout the stars, and then, she worked on getting volunteer women to come up and join the colonies where there were available men. The rules were simple, the women held power. No male could press his suit if she said no. She had the right to change her mind, but since the females would
be so physically outmatched, if she wanted to leave her partner, she could. In an effort to stop unstable females from sleeping their way through the troops, they had to instigate intense interviews before allowing the women anywhere near the men who were trying to find a new start in life.

  There were nine thousand surviving cyborgs and sixteen thousand volunteer women. It took a serious chunk of Lacey’s day, every day.

  She crept out of the nursery, and Hekon watched over the five little babies.

  Outside the domain of the babies, she leaned against Yurik, and she murmured, “Going out hunting soon?”

  He looked down at her and nodded. “In two days. They have found another mothership preying on a small population. We are going to take a few of the Ysko ships and do some damage.”

  She sighed. “I guess it doesn’t matter that I need you to be safe.”

  “I will be safe. We are heading out with knowledge of our enemies and their tactics.” He wrapped his arms around her, and he pressed his jaw against her temple.

  She sighed and returned the hug, sliding her hands down to his butt. “You had better come back intact. I have designs on your genes for the next generation of little Adamses.”

  “Won’t they have my name?”

  Lacey used her adaptation to raise her height, the telescoping feature of her legs finally under her control. “To contribute, you are going to have to come back. I am not going to bear your child without you here. I have enough little ones to deal with.”

  “I won’t leave you alone, Lacey. There is too large a lineup waiting in the wings.” He leaned up and kissed her.

  She sighed and wove her fingers with his. “I know. The moment I hear you have been blown up, I am going to start a list for the next in line.”

  He chuckled. “That is cold.”

  “I am a busy girl. Don’t waste my time.” She kissed him slowly.

  “One more mission and then I promise to ask before I agree to the next one.”