Nate's Fated Mate(18)

Lifting her shoulders in a shrug, Sheena put the now washed out vials into the sanitizer and set it for the hottest cycle. "They've done experiments with transferring a person's brain waves and thought patterns into an android processor. Early results are showing that the replicant gets part of the original person, but not all. Numerous malfunctions occur, not to mention a single reprogramming effort has shown to save the android, but not the transferred patterns. The full results are error-laden and typically bizarre."

"More bizarre than Angus?" Bri asked with a grin.

Sheena chuckled as she nodded. "Yes. In my opinion, Angus is too humorous in his responses to be an android. No processor can duplicate his level of cheeky sarcasm. Cloning though can duplicate the entire person, including the personality and what it finds amusing. However, cloning doesn't explain how Angus is so much like Dad, but yet not like Dad at all."



       
         
       
        

Bri snorted. "Glad it's not just me that's confused."

"My gut says Nate knows what Angus is," Sheena said with a frown. "Depending on the classification of the experiment, he doesn't have to tell me. We deserve to know, Bri. Somehow I'll find out."

"Speaking of Nate … "

"Must we?" Sheena asked.

"Yes. And you brought him up first," Bri said, grinning at the dodge. "Angus said he called Nate to come talk to you last night. How did that go?"

Sheena frowned harder as she picked up her second cup of stimulant. As fuzzy as her head was, she needed about six of them this morning. Now she needed something benign enough to tell her sister that wasn't an outright lie.

"You know what happened. We had the same old fight with same old outcome. I've forgiven Angus for doing that only because I know he was truly trying to help me get my questions answered. Nate's not being honest with him and Erin anymore than he is with us."

"So now you like them too," Bri concluded.

Sheena sighed and nodded, relieved that the focus of their conversation had shifted. "Yes. I like them too. Angus told me he doesn't trust Nate."

"Who could when he keeps so many secrets from us?" Bri asked.

Her sister's flat statement made her laugh genuinely. "Don't worry. I'll find out about Angus and Erin. It's just a matter of time. If Nate doesn't come clean, I'll ask the Guardians. They'll tell me."

"Will they?" Bri asked, not as certain.

Sheena nodded. "Yes. Nate isn't the only one with lots of secrets. The difference is I don't keep the important ones from my family."

"So in your newly acquired affection for Angus and Erin, are you going to be siding with my Familial DNA theory of our connectivity?"

Sheena snorted at Bri's attempt to be scientific. "Yes. That and because of their sincere urges to take care of us the way Mom and Dad would have. If they are their clones, that makes them our organic property by New Earth law. I'm sure Nate realizes it, which is probably the reason for his silence. I won't hesitate to exercise our rights to protect them as we see fit-no matter how short their life spans."

When Bri nodded, the sad look on her face was all the reality Sheena could handle. She set down her stimulant and walked to put her arms around her sister who was a good six inches taller than her. Sheena had barely outgrown their biological mother. Height had not been included in her conception cocktail.

"Whatever happens, we'll handle it together," Sheena promised, planning to make sure she could. 

They stood like that for several moments. Sheena sighed and finally pulled away. "Speaking of handling things. We need to find Nate and run you through the airship's med scanner. I want to be sure those bionetic tracers are completely gone."

"Do we have to?" Bri asked, sighing. "They'll make me take off my metal. Do you know how fucking hard it is to put my shit back on?"

"No. I have no idea-something for which I am exceedingly grateful. Now come on. I saw Darcone outside earlier. We'll make him walk us there. You can harass him and show me how it's done. According to Angus, I need lessons in the art of masculine torture so I can use them to keep Nate in line," Sheena declared, grabbing her snorting sister's hand.

Bri's wicked laughter made her smile widely as they walked to the door.





Chapter Four





Nate wasn't around when they got to medical, but a quick communication from one of the healers netted them permission to use the scanner. Darcone grunted as he listened to Bri bitching about taking off her adornments.