Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven
Free couldn’t stop staring and touching Marisol. She was real and finally with him again. The things she’d told him in the minutes he’d been with her were shocking. She had died, and her grandfather had her made into an unblanked clone. He couldn’t imagine how much internal trauma she’d suffered upon learning that.
Four clones were traveling with her, two males and two females. That didn’t surprise him. Marisol had always had a big heart and didn’t look down on clones the way other humans did. She knew they had emotions and feelings. Their lives mattered. The woman he’d fallen in love with wouldn’t have willingly left them behind to die.
“We need to transfer over to my shuttle immediately,” he stated loudly so everyone understood. “More pirates will be coming. Your shuttle is too damaged to fly, and we don’t have time to haul it back to our home base. We’ll leave it behind to give the pirates an alternative target to focus on.”
He pulled Marisol toward the cargo hold where he’d docked their shuttles together. He didn’t care about the plasma they’d brought along. They had plenty stored back on the mining station. The important thing was getting them to safety. It was slower going since gravity wasn’t present in the damaged shuttle.
“Move quickly,” Free called out. He spotted strapped-down boxes, noticing they were marked as ‘files.’ “Do you need anything from in here?” He stared into Marisol’s deep brown eyes. “We can’t come back to retrieve any items once we abandon this shuttle. The pirates will take it.”
“I have a bag over there.” She pointed to a black suitcase. “It has some of my important mementos I didn’t want to leave behind.”
“I’ll grab it.”
“Thank you. It’s some things that belonged to my parents and a few of my favorite childhood toys. I was too afraid to pack them when I went to meet with you the first time. It’s a good thing I didn’t take them then, or they’d have been lost when I died.”
He hated to release her but did, pushing her toward the open docking sleeve. “Be careful when you transition inside my shuttle. Gravity is stable there. I’ll get your case.” He used the wall to push off, aiming for the far corner.
One of the male clones entered the cargo hold, frowning at Free. He appeared wary and unsure of what to do or say.
Free didn’t have that problem. “Grab whatever you want to take with us, and be careful when you enter my shuttle. I wasn’t aware you’d lost gravity, so I didn’t turn my stabilizer off. The first step into my cargo hold will be difficult as you transition.”
“Can we trust you?”
Free didn’t have time to hold a discussion with the male. “I’m a clone. Either come with us or die. The pirates might not kill you, but they will enslave you. They already did that to one of us who recently was able to escape their clutches. We’ll sit down and talk later.”
That seemed to mollify him. The male medic clone floated to a box and began to unstrap it. The two females and the last male floated into the cargo hold. All three of them appeared confused and disorientated.
“Grab a box or just enter my shuttle. We’re out of here in one minute. More pirates are coming. Move if you want to stay alive and free.” Free hoped that would motivate them not to waste time.
“I just left the cockpit,” the second male stated, staring at him. “I don’t see any new signals showing on long-range sensors.”
“Not yet, but they will be coming,” Free assured him. “It’s what they do.” He got the suitcase Marisol had wanted free and gripped it by the handle, using the wall to push against. He aimed for the open docking door.
“Stay or go, but I’m leaving. I strongly suggest you come with us,” Free told them. His heart wasn’t soft like Marisol’s. They’d either decide to live or allow their stupidity and naivety to get them killed. Marisol was already on board. She was Free’s priority.
The transition from the other shuttle to his was brutal as Free staggered, almost dropping the now-heavy suitcase. His body had been light, but now gravity made movement extremely awkward for the first few steps.
Marisol was in his cargo hold, leaning against the wall for support. Her features were strained, and she appeared to be in some pain. He didn’t see any blood or other injuries. That didn’t mean she hadn’t somehow gotten hurt.
Free strode to her, put the suitcase down, and attached the handle to a strap. It was the quickest way to secure it in the hold. “Are you alright? What happened?”
“I collapsed when I stepped into gravity. I’m fine, though. I just really banged up my knees and will probably have some bruising.”
“I warned you to be careful. I didn’t find you, only for something bad to happen to you, Marisol.”
She gave him an unsteady smile. “I tried to be careful. It’s not like you can really prepare for how drastic the difference is, though, when you’ve never experienced something like that before.”
“True.” Free rose to his full height, turning when there was a loud thump. One of the female clones lay sprawled over one of the boxes she’d been carrying. She groaned as she tried to stand up. Gravity seemed to make that impossible.
Free moved quickly to her side, bent over, and pulled her up. He released her just as quickly. “Move slowly until you adjust to not being weightless anymore,” he instructed. Then he yelled at the other three clones. “Hurry up. Get out of there. We need to go.”
The other three stumbled, and two dropped their boxes as they entered his cargo hold. Free felt sympathy for them, knowing being in space exposed them to a lot of new experiences they weren’t really prepared for. He sealed his side of the docking door.
“Tightly secure those boxes down and then find a seat to belt into.” Free turned, strode to Marisol, and easily swept her into his arms. “I don’t want you walking until we’re sure it’s not more than bruising from your fall.”
The hug he’d gotten from her had been great, but cradling Marisol in his arms as he moved through his shuttle toward the cockpit was even better. Especially when she wrapped her arms around his neck.
He inhaled, picking up her clean scent. It was still messing with his mind that Marisol was really there. He’d dreamed of them being together far too many times and then been tormented when that plan had fallen through.
“What is the mental status of the clones you brought with you?” He needed to know if they posed any threat. “Be blunt.”
“MC-1 is the dominant one of their group and has started to give me a lot of pushback. Nothing serious, though. He is just very opinionated and questions everything. It’s mostly annoying.”
“Has he given you any trouble or gotten physical?” Free gently deposited her into the co-pilot seat. He wanted to keep Marisol close and within eyesight.
One glance back through the open doors revealed that only one of the female clones had entered the living space. The other three were probably still securing the boxes they’d carried aboard in the cargo hold.
“No. MC-1 hasn’t touched me or made me feel afraid of him.”
Free was glad to hear that. It would be traumatic if he had to kill one of the clones after she’d gone to the trouble to save them. He dropped into his seat, using the controls to undock the damaged shuttle. He also sealed the cockpit doors, locking them inside.
Marisol twisted in her seat and glanced back before frowning at him. “Why did you seal us inside alone? I’m sure the M’s are scared and want assurances that everything is going to be okay.”
“I don’t have the time or patience to answer questions from them or establish that I’m in charge right now.”
“I understand. Maybe I should go back there just so they aren’t alone. It will comfort them.”
“They aren’t children.” Once again she was proving to Free that she had a soft heart and saw clones as equals.
“In a way, they are. They were segregated from other clones because they were the medical team assigned to my care. I’ve learned a lot from them since we left Clone World.”
Free was listening as he prepared to fly them to safety. He loved the sound of her voice. So much so that he wanted to hear her talk more. “Tell me.”
“They weren’t assigned to a high-security bunk room the way you were. My grandfather had them living in an isolated cottage off the beaten path. Every delivery made to them was through robotic drones. They were only allowed to speak to each other. My gramps sent them electronic orders, so they didn’t even get to speak directly to him.”
“They had contact with you.”
“No, they didn’t. Not in the way you think. The housing staff contacted them after dosing my food with a drug that would put me to sleep. They came in an hour after I ate and gave me plasma after I was unconscious.”
Rage filled him. “Your food was drugged?”
“Yes. I wasn’t thrilled about finding that out either, but it was the only way for me to be given transfusions without knowing I’d been turned into a clone. It seems Gramps had told my housing staff that he was having them drug me so security could search my home for electronic listening devices. At least, that’s what the M’s assumed from the messages they received about how I should be asleep and wouldn’t know they were there to protect my privacy from being invaded.”
“The housing staff didn’t know the truth?”
“I assume not. Just…be nice to them, please. They took good care of me when I didn’t even know it.”
“I hear you and understand what you’re saying. Those four clones will be fine for now. I want you to stay close to me where I know you’re safe.”
He finished assessing the current situation. Blade’s Varlius class vessel floated next to him, but Figures had flown to place his shuttle between him and the retreating pirates. A quick check revealed that they were still broadcasting a strange clicking-sounding signal.
Free knew in his gut it was definitely a coded message calling for assistance from their hub. He opened communications to let Blade and Figures know they were ready to leave. They also needed to know he planned to abandon the other shuttle.
Blade spoke before he could. “Our brother flew to that spot to get better sensor readings and is picking up five incoming. We need to go. What is the condition of the CL?”
Free understood that Blade was asking about the shuttle from Clone World. Five incoming would mean additional pirate ships with more teams of thieves. “It’s too damaged to worry about. I’ve got what we came for. What extraction plan was decided on?”
“V formation. I’m the lead. You’re port side. Follow me.”
“Understood.” Free didn’t need his thrusters to put distance between his vessel and the one they’d just abandoned. The clones hadn’t known to close the cargo door on it as they’d left, and he hadn’t cared what had happened to the other shuttle. The oxygen venting from it had already separated them as soon as he’d severed their connection.
“Buckle in,” he ordered Marisol. It took effort for him to fly the shuttle when all he wanted to do was stare at her. Touch her. Talk to her and find out more about what happened to her. He was also curious what her life had been like while they’d been apart.
First he needed to get them all to safety and back at the mining station that they’d turned into their home base. Part of him suddenly worried that she might not like it there. It was a problem to deal with later. Just like the four clones Marisol had brought with her. It was a good thing that more clones had escaped, but it would have been bad if they hadn’t integrated well with others.
He followed Blade, keeping on the left side and behind the larger shuttle. They picked up speed when Figures joined them, flying in a direction that didn’t take them directly to their destination. They couldn’t risk the pirates tracking them.
“You look really good.”
Free tensed, turning his head. Marisol’s normally restrained light brown hair hung longer than the last time he’d seen it down. Those times were few. Her dark eyes locked on him, making him want to get closer.
He forced himself to look away. “You are beyond beautiful.”
“Why are you barely speaking and looking at me? Did your feelings change? Did you find someone else?”
“No!” He clenched his teeth, adjusting course when Blade did.
“Then why do you seem to be doing your best to ignore me? I have so much to say to you. I want to hear everything that I’ve missed out on. A thousand questions are filling my head.”
“I would like nothing better than to take you to my cabin and lock us in there so nothing could disturb us. I have dreamed about you every time I slept. Missed you.” He sucked in a deep breath. “But now isn’t the time. I dropped everything the second Big and Figures let me know you were looking for me. I stressed my engines to reach you quickly, not caring if I burned them out and lost the use of my shuttle in the end. This has been my home ever since I left the others.”
“Then―”
He cut her off. “Do you know what pirates would do to you? You’re a female. They would…” He cleared his throat, not wanting to voice such vile things. “I’m not allowing that to happen. I will take you home where it’s safe, and then it will be our time to reconnect.”
Marisol sighed. “Okay. You’re being logical. I’ve missed that about you. Honestly, I’ve missed everything about you, Free. I dreamed about you, too. I thought you had changed your mind about being with me when you didn’t send me that signal you’d be there to catch me when I ejected from the station.”
“We were there.” He changed course again, keeping in the flying formation Blade led. It was important to make certain the pirates couldn’t follow them or even guess the correct direction they’d gone.
The mining station was well protected, but it was best to never put their defenses to the test. Some pirate hubs were known to have hundreds of criminals living together. They would attack if they ever realized what was hidden deep inside the crater they called home. The pirates would want to not only steal every resource the mining company had abandoned but probably take it over themselves.
“We sent dozens of messages, but you never responded.”
“I never got them because I was already dead.”
His guts twisted. “Don’t say that.”
“It’s true. Original me was killed. Gramps obviously had some fake memories implanted because I vaguely remember attending some meetings, then feeling super sick, and later attributed it to being severely depressed when you never showed up.”
“I am here now, aren’t I?” It angered him that she’d believe he would abandon her. “I came for you then, too. I will always come for you.”
He didn’t dare look her way, knowing he’d revealed the depth of his feelings. They’d never faded. Marisol had earned his heart and devotion in the past. It was the reason he’d grown distant from the other clones after believing he’d lost her forever. Free had struggled to find a reason to go on without her. Big, Blade, Figures, Ram, and Rod had never understood his almost obsession with Marisol. They’d never been in love.
“Who is the female unblanked clone you ordered?” She hesitated. “I randomly checked that secret account we put money into and saw the payment made to DJD Clone Corp.”
“I don’t have many details. We must speak in code over long-distance communications so no one can guess who and what we are. Big let me know that Figures had met a woman that he wanted to make a part of our family and was paying for her transportation from our old savings account.”
Marisol remained silent.
He glanced her way. She silently watched him, a small frown turning the corners of her mouth downward. He started to explain how they communicated.
“The words we use are always important hints. Figures wanted to make her, paired with a part of our family, let me fill in the gaps that he was paying for an unblanked clone to be made of whoever that human had been. I haven’t gone home to the station in a long time. It was tempting to fly back to get more details, but knowing they’d used the funds from Clone World for something like that deeply angered me.”
“I understand that. It never turns out well. Whoever was grown in the factory will go insane and die. I don’t know what Figures was thinking doing something that terrible.”
“That’s not true. Big raided a transport for plasma and discovered one of your grandfather’s private purchases onboard. She is not only surviving but also thriving as an unblanked clone.” Free changed course again when Blade did. They were finally flying in the direction of the mining station. Nothing showed on long-range sensors. The pirates couldn’t track them anymore.
“Then why were you mad?”
“I believed you’d made your choice to have nothing more to do with us. I took it as a personal betrayal that they’d take anything from you or your grandfather.”
“Oh, Free…”
He swallowed down his bitter memories of how that had made him feel. “Now I know differently. I still don’t think Figures should have used that money. We’ll learn more once we reach home.”
“Where is that? Do you live on a planet?”
It was tempting to change the subject. Clone World was a beautiful place despite the horrors of so many enslaved clones living there. The weather was always pleasant. The vegetation was plentiful and appealing to the eye. Marisol had grown up there. Now, all he could offer her was a station built inside a moon that used to belong to a mining company.
“Do you not want to tell me? Is it a surprise?”
He inhaled deeply. “I’m worried that you might hate it. It’s not what you’re used to.”
“It’s not Clone World. I’m sure I’ll love it.”
He glanced at Marisol, finding her staring at him with a small smile on her lips. He caved. “You deserve a beautiful planet, real sunshine, and fresh air. Unfortunately, that’s not where our home base is located.”
“You’ll be there. That’s all I need. Tell me.”
“We thought about finding a planet after we escaped, but all research pointed to how difficult it would be to survive on any within range of us who still have access to plasma transports.”
“You were stealing from the ones that got destroyed, right?”
“Yes.” He adjusted course, keeping in formation with the other two shuttles. “We discovered a damaged and abandoned transport that was owned by a mining company. It might have contained food and water, so we boarded it. That’s when we hacked into the mainframe computer, discovering it had originally come from a mining station that had been decommissioned. We went to check it out.”
“And made it your home?”
“Yes. Our expectations were low that it would be salvageable for our needs, but it was so remote that the company didn’t strip it. It was intact and just shut down.”
“They probably didn’t want to spend the money to have it torn apart and shipped anywhere.”
He smiled. Marisol had always been quick with her mind. “That was our assumption, too. It was a large operation. There’s even a shopping district. The stores had been looted a bit, but the storage rooms were full of merchandise. None of the humans tasked with closing the station down bothered to check them, or they didn’t have the spare cargo room to empty them when they left.”
“What kind of merchandise? I’m just curious.”
“Everything you can imagine. Families lived there. One was a toy shop. That one wasn’t looted. Dolls, trains, and everything a child could want are still displayed through the front windows.”
“Really?” Marisol sounded amazed.
“Yes. I found it unsettling.”
“Well, neither of us has been around children. Some come to Clone World with their parents, but most of them stay on whatever shuttles they arrive on with their nannies. It’s not like the activities Gramps offers are geared toward underaged people.”
“It reminds me that we’ll never have children,” he admitted.
Marisol didn’t respond. Free turned his head, seeing her staring out the front window of the cockpit. She had a sad look on her face.
“What’s wrong?”
She met his gaze. “I’m sorry that it was never an option for you. It’s not fair. Gramps tried to talk me into having a baby right after my twenty-fifth birthday. I flat-out refused.”
The emotion that filled him was one Free identified. Jealousy. “I didn’t realize you were in love with someone before me.”
“I wasn’t. I mean, there wasn’t someone special in my life. Do you really think I could be attracted to anyone who worked for my gramps? Or any of the guests who thought Clone World was a great place?” She shook her head. “The other men I met were at conferences. They were the competition or, worse, prospective clients.”
“I worked for your grandfather.”
“Not by choice. You know how the human staff treated you. All of them seemed to go out of their way to be rude and hateful toward clones, knowing there would be no reprisals. They relished that power.”
“Why did you refuse? Did he pick a male to be the father that you couldn’t stand?” He was curious.
“Growing up on Clone World was lonely and horrible for me. I wouldn’t do that to someone else, especially my own baby. I had no friends, and I knew my gramps would manipulate and control them the way he always did with me. Employees have the option to quit and go live somewhere else if they hate him or being there. I literally had to escape to get out from under his thumb.”
“I understand.”
“How long is it going to take to reach this mining place?”
“Three days if we travel at top speed.” He checked his engines. They were still running a little hot. He just hoped they held until they reached home base. The last thing he wanted was to have his shuttle break down while pirates were searching for them. He’d abandon it and have Blade transfer them all onto his fancy larger one. Marisol was the priority. Always.
A beeping started, and he realized Marisol’s clones had figured out how to get his attention. At least one of them was attempting to enter the cockpit. They couldn’t break in, but it would become annoying if they continued to push the button.