The female cyborg and I held each other, and I gently moved my hands in slow circles to caress her skin.

“Your fingers are like magic.” She moaned and took a deep breath when I started to massage her. “Please, I'm begging you.”

I sighed. “Ma'am...”

“It's Cali.” She said. “Call me Cali.”

I smiled. “Is that your name or your squad call sign?”

“Does it matter?”

“Surprisingly, yes.” I said.

“My call sign is Ranger.”

“You're a scout?”

Cali nodded. “I don't like normal combat, so being sent out to map the battle area was the best compromise I could get.”

“Well, Cali. It's nice to meet you.” I said and grazed my thumbs across the underside of her breasts. She stopped breathing and shuddered, and that confirmed my suspicion. “You really do need me to touch you.”

“God, yes!” Cali said. “Near... nearly all of the soldiers...” She bit her lip as my thumbs made another pass. “...have hand mods of some kind and they can't touch me at all.”

“I'm really sorry to hear that.” I said, and very carefully moved my hands up to cup her chest with both of my hands without touching the tips. Her whole body froze for a moment, and then she trembled. I felt a tear hit my cheek, and I turned my head to see that she was crying. I let her chest go and stood up straight.

“Turn around.” I said.

Cali turned and tried to wipe the tears away before I could see her face, and I reached up and wiped her face off for her.

“I forgot to tell you how pretty you are.” I said to her, and she chuckled.

“I look in the mirror every day.” Cali said and put her arms around my waist. “I know that's not true.”

I moved my hands from her face, tucked them under her shirt, and massaged her breasts. Her eyes widened for a moment, and then she leaned into me so I would work them more.

“What was it you said? These were the best medical science could provide?” I asked, and pinched them a little. “You wouldn't bother with that at all if you believed you were ugly.”

“Oh, god.” Cali closed her eyes and put her head on my shoulder. She held me tightly but gently, and she shuddered several times as I kept massaging her.

There was a crackling sound of a speaker above us, and then low music started to play.

“Welcome, soldiers!” A man's voice boomed out of the speaker. “Congratulations! This is the first officially sanctioned Community Party specifically put together for you!”

I could hear a loud uproar from the crowd, with cheers and hollering. Cali lifted her head from my shoulder and looked at the speaker.

“Is that true?” Cali asked.

“Yes.” I said. “Orders from the overall commander of the skirmish tomorrow.” I stopped massaging her chest and took my hands out from under her top. Her hands grabbed mine and she lifted them to her mouth and kissed the fingers.

“Yes, these things are magic.” Cali said.

“That's right, folks!” The booming voice said when the talking from the crowd died down. “Tonight is all for you! The stalls on the sides have everything you could want! Games! Food! Illegal upgrades!”

The crowd cheered at the last one, and the booming voice laughed.

“The higher-ups won't approve of that last one, but what they don't know won't hurt you!”

“Yeah!”

“Woohoo!”

“Take it off!”

“Hey, I told you to wait out back.” The booming voice said, and everyone laughed. “Now, before we get the festivities going, let's bring up the man responsible for all of this.”

There was a slight pause.

“What do you mean he's not here?” The man asked. “This was his idea!”

“That's my cue.” I said and stepped off the bottom of the pillar.

“What?” Cali asked as I slipped into the crowd. “Wait! I don't even know your name!”

“Call him right now!” The booming voice said. “I want to know why he isn't here!”

My communication pad started to ring as I moved through the crowd, but I didn't answer it. I got to the stage and walked up onto it, and the area microphone picked up the ringing and broadcast it to the audience.

“I should probably take this call.” I said. My voice boomed out and I answered the communication pad. “Hello?”

“Sir, where are you?” A woman asked. “The MC of the night is dying on stage! You have to get here right away!”

“I don't know.” I said, and everyone in the audience started to laugh. “I'm a little busy right now.”

“But, sir! I'll never hear the end of it if you don't show up!”

“He really shouldn't spout off by himself, you know.” I said. “Is it my problem that the MC is suffering from premature expulsions?”

The entire crowd was laughing so hard that the area microphone started to pick it up.

“Sir, working the crowd over gets him all fired up.” The woman said. “The more they respond, the better he feels.”

I reached a hand out and pat the MC on the shoulder, and he just shook his head with a smile on his face as the crowd kept laughing.

“Oh, all right.” I said with as much resignation as I could. “Go up on stage and tell the MC that I'll be there as soon as I can.”

“Thank you so much, sir!” The woman said. “He'll be so happy to hear that!”

“I'm sure he will.” I said. “Goodbye.”

“Goodbye!” The woman said happily and a moment later, a very flustered woman ran up onto the stage from the back area and out to the MC. “He's on his... way?” She looked from the MC to me with my communication pad, then back to the MC. “Oh, dammit!”

The entire crowd lost it.

There were shouts and hollers, and pretty much just a general uproar. The MC let it die down a little before he spoke.

“I'd like to introduce you all to my wife, Mabel.”

“May-bell! May-bell! May-bell!” The entire crowd chanted together, and her face flushed to a deep red.

“Now that she's been completely embarrassed and probably won't ever forgive me, let me finally introduce the man who brought us all together this evening.” The MC said and pointed. “Jack!”

I'm glad he was properly briefed. I thought and turned to his wife, Mabel. “Ma'am, I'm sorry I carried that joke a little too far.”

“It... it's all right, sir.” Mabel said. “I should have called you before my husband went onstage.”

“I should have checked in with you when I got here, too.” I said. “Of course, I didn't know I was supposed to.” I looked out at the crowd. “I just wanted to show up and join in on the fun.”

“Yeah!”

“You said it!”

“I'll have fun with you!”

“Me, too!”

“Go, commander!”

“That's Mr. High and Mighty Overall Commander, Sir!” I pointed to the guy and laughed. Everyone laughed with me, and I looked at everyone. “I'm not one for big speeches.” I said, and let the low tone of my voice convey my feelings. “Tomorrow is going to be a new kind of battle. A battle unlike any we've ever faced. We've trained in it, but we've never fought a real one before.”

I walked across the stage, and everyone followed me with their eyes.

“It's going to be scary, and it's going to be horrific.” I said and looked at them. “Some of you are going to die.”

No one spoke, and you could almost feel the intensity they all shared at that moment.

“I know it. You know it. Everyone knows it.” I said and then smiled and bared all of my teeth at them. “That's why we're here! It's our job!” I nearly yelled, and almost every head nodded. “Without us, none of this would be here!” I said and waved to the pristine living area. “No one would eat! No one would drink! No one would live!”

I let them stew on that statement for a moment.

“Worst of all...” I said and dropped my head in reverence. “...no one...” I looked up at the crowd and grinned. “...no one would PARTY!”

“Yeehahhh!” The crowd responded. They cheered and clapped, and the sound of banging metal resounded through the square.

“Before I hand the reins back over to the MC, I have some important words for you to remember.” I paused for dramatic effect. “If any of you try to use being hung over as an excuse tomorrow, you'll be assigned to latrine duty!” I said, and they laughed. I waved to the crowd, shook the MC and his wife's hands, and left the stage.

“Thank you sir, for those enlightening words.” The MC said. His wife tried to leave the stage, but he held her hand and kept her there. “I had a whole bit and routine to do, but how do you follow that?” He asked.

“You don't!” Someone shouted.

“That's right!” The MC said. “So enjoy yourselves, and don't wreck the place.” He smiled. “If you do, it's coming out of your Points! Ha ha!”

The MC and his wife left the stage and the lights dimmed slightly. I moved through the crowd, and they gave me a wide berth, when before I had to physically squeeze between them. A hand came out of the crowd and touched my arm, and I stopped walking.

“Hi, Alyssa.” I said.

“Hello, sir.” Alyssa said.

I sighed mentally, but didn't let it show on my face. “Where's the rest of your squad?”

“Around.” She said, and looked at the people around them. “Sir? Can we talk in private?”

“Sure.” I said. She took my hand and led me through the crowd. It wasn't as unobtrusive as it was when Cali did it, since no one was paying attention then; now though, everyone watched us. Alyssa brought me over to some kind of booth and nodded to the attendant, and he opened the counter. She and I went into the back and she shut the door. She hit a button by the door, the door locked, and a slight hum filled the room.

“Why didn't you tell me who you are?!?” Alyssa turned and nearly yelled at me.

“That wasn't who I was.” I said calmly. “Not then, anyways.”

“Really? You're going to argue semantics with me?”

“It's not semantics. I retired years ago.” I said. “The last unscheduled skirmish made it necessary for me to reactivate.”

“What unscheduled skirmish?”

I opened my mouth to ask her why she didn't know about it, then realized I had inadvertently disclosed prohibited information to a soldier with insufficient rank to know it. I sighed and leaned against the wall.

“Guess what? You're being reassigned.”

“Wh-what?”

“Congratulations.” I said. “Your squad is now the designated HQ security team.”

“Wh-WHAT?!?”

“I'm going to need you and your squad up to speed on defensive tactics, with an emphasis on information security and keeping your mouths shut about what you hear in the command center.”

“You... you can't... do that.” Alyssa said in a quiet voice.

“I'm the overall commander. This mission is happening under my direction, now that I'm back in the fold.”

“But... but...”

“Your squad used to be one of the advanced teams.” I said. “Now it's my personal security.”

“S-sir, please.” Alyssa looked at me with pleading eyes. “Don't punish the squad for my mistake.”

I stopped leaning against the wall and put my hands on her shoulders. “Actually, it was my mistake.”

“Sir, I...” Alyssa sighed. “Please change your mind.”

“I'm sorry.” I said and let her shoulders go. “I'll give you a piece of advice. Don't tell your squad about the reassignment until after the party.”

“Yes, sir.” Alyssa said.

“Hey, don't be sad.” I said. “It'll be fun.” I smiled. “Just like old times when we traveled across the cavern.”

Alyssa chuckled, but it seemed a little forced. “Yes, sir.”

“Have fun tonight, and that's an order.” I said, and she put a hand on my face.

“I had hoped to.” Alyssa said. “I booked this booth for an hour.”

I blinked my eyes at her for a few moments, and then I smiled. “I'm still involved with someone.”

“Are you married?”

“No, but...”

“Are you living together?”

“Not yet, but I asked...”

“Do you have children together?”

“No.”

“Did you sign the exclusivity form or the guaranteed children voucher?”

“I... no.”

“Do you even see each other on a regular basis?”

I opened my mouth to say that we did, but then I remembered our hectic schedules and didn't say anything in response. Alyssa reached into her pocket and took out a folded piece of paper.

“Sign this.”

I took the paper and unfolded it, then my eyes widened. “You... Alyssa, you...”

“I'm allowed, once a year, to request a pairing with anyone I choose to diversify the human gene pool.”

“Alyssa.” I closed my eyes. “What was with all the questions?”

“I wanted you to see that the both of us are almost completely unattached to anyone else.” Alyssa said.

“You don't want me as a partner for this.” I said and opened my eyes.

“You know the fine print as well as I do.” Alyssa said. “This request can be made to anyone, regardless of their personal circumstances.”

“I love Sandra.” I said.

“I know you do.” Alyssa said. “You would have taken Cali's offer in a heartbeat if you didn't.”

“You know about...” I sighed. “When she saw me on stage...”

“...she told everyone she could that you cuddled with her.” Alyssa said.

“I knew I should have ordered her to stay quiet about it.”

“That wouldn't have stopped her.” Alyssa laughed. “It would be worth the 10 days in the brig to tell everyone you fondled her.”

“And what will you do?” I asked.

“This is a private transaction, Jack.” Alyssa said. “If you sign it, we don't have any rank. We don't have any family. We don't have anything but each other for this hour.”

“But...”

“It's a non-disclosure agreement.” Alyssa said. “Neither you nor I can say what happened here.”

“What if...”

“Not even the medical checkup examiners are allowed to question us.” Alyssa said. “If a higher-up asks you about this, you can tell them to kiss your ass.”

I chuckled, because that was a dream that every soldier had. I'd even lived that dream once.

“You aren't going to take no for an answer, are you?” I asked.

“Jack, I can see the desire in your eyes.” Alyssa said. “You don't want to say no.”

I signed the paper and she tucked it back into her pocket. “You do realize this will change how we see each other.”

“No, Jack. It won't.” Alyssa smiled seductively and opened her top to reveal her unmodified chest. I stared at it, since it was so rare to meet a woman, let alone a female cyborg, that hadn't had enhancement surgery of some kind. She saw my reaction and took my hand, then placed it on one of her very warm breasts.

“Well, maybe it will.” Alyssa laughed, and then kissed me.