Cover
Books by Kate Donovan
Time Travels and Paranormals
Timeless
Time Weaver
A Dream Apart
A Dream Embraced
The Untamed Beast
Historical Romances
Game of Hearts (A Mail-Order BrideSeries)
Carried Away (A Mail-Order BrideSeries)
Meant to Be (A Mail-Order BrideSeries)
Night After Night (A Mail-Order BrideSeries)
Fool Me Twice (A Mail-Order BrideSeries)
Love Passages
Action-Adventure
Identity Crisis (The SPIN—StrategicProfiling and Identification Network—Series)
Exit Strategy (The SPIN Series)
Spin Control (The SPIN Series)
Parallel Lies
Charade
Romantic Comedy
Harmless Error
Stolen Kisses
Space Opera Novellas
Space Fever
Star Fever
Title Page
Mech Girl
Kate Donovan
Copyright
Mech Girl
Kate Donovan
Copyright © 2012 byKate Donovan
Cover design and illustration by Dar Albert,Wicked Smart Designs
Published by Beyond the Page Publishing atSmashwords
Beyond the Page Books
are published by
Beyond the Page Publishing
www.beyondthepagepub.com
ISBN: 978-1-937349-31-8
All rights reserved under International andPan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of required fees,you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right toaccess and read the text of this book. No part of this text may bereproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverseengineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storageand retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whetherelectronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented withoutthe express written permission of both the copyright holder and thepublisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names,characters, places, and incidents either are the product of theauthor’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblanceto actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, eventsor locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not haveany control over and does not assume any responsibility for authoror third-party websites or their content.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution ofthis book via the Internet or via any other means without thepermission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Yoursupport of the author’s rights is appreciated.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to
Jessica Faust and Bill Harris,
my editors at Beyond the Page,
without whose help and
support I couldn't have made
this robot dance.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter1
Chapter2
Chapter3
Chapter4
Chapter5
Chapter6
Chapter7
Chapter8
Chapter9
Chapter10
Chapter11
Chapter12
Chapter13
Chapter14
Chapter15
Chapter16
Chapter17
Chapter18
Chapter19
Chapter20
Epilogue
About theAuthor
Prologue
Earth: A.D. 2070
“Hey, Grandpa Q, happy birthday!” Zia Quitosmiled up at the towering mechanical giant before her and waved inplayful greeting. “Surprised to see me? I know I’m a foul-up, butsomehow I always remember, don’t I?”
The grim face of the sixty-foot robot wasdesigned to intimidate, but Zia wasn’t fooled. She knew hergrandfather was looking down at her with love from wherever he was.Heaven? Nirvana? Or more fittingly, Valhalla. He was a war hero,wasn’t he?
In fact, he was the war hero—the manwho saved Earth from the Alluvans. Wherever he was now, heundoubtedly owned the place.
“Everyone else celebrates the day you won theBattle of the Canyons,” Zia reminded him. “But I like your birthdaybetter. The day we would have spent together—eating cake at thebeach—if you had lived long enough to meet me. And when everyoneelse was telling me what an embarrassment I was to you, you’d betelling me I was perfect. Right?”
It was her favorite fantasy—the one whereQuito the Great loved her just the way she was.
“I’d better get back to the Hacienda,Grandpa. It’s kind of creepy in here, no offense.” Zia pretended toshiver as she studied the cavernous metal hangar that had beenbuilt to store the giant robot. There was no other building onWhite House or Hacienda grounds big enough to accommodate thetitanium-and-steel monster that had been given to her grandfatherto commemorate his bravery.
On national or global holidays, the publicwould shuffle through this place, murmuring respectfully, andlistening as guides retold the stories that everyone already knewby heart. They weren’t allowed too close, but occasionally a childwould break free of a parent’s hand and run up to touch thegleaming metal, causing a wave of disapproval among the militaryand guests.
Those were the moments Zia loved best, mostlybecause it was nice to see someone else getting into trouble for achange.
With a final wave of her hand, she turned toleave, then on impulse walked farther into the hangar, where asmaller robot stood in silence. It was forty-five feet in height,and unlike the giant, this one had actually seen battle. Hergrandfather had piloted it so skillfully, its creators—theMalarans—had left it behind when they had returned to their planetafter helping him save Earth.
The sixty-foot colossus had arrived later,and thankfully, there had never been any need to deploy thatone.
“I guess I should have talked to youhere, Grandpa,” Zia told the smaller robot. “This is thereal you, right?”
Unlike the giant, this “skirmish mech” hadsome serious dents, and while it was well cared for, it didn’tgleam the way the larger one did. Still, it seemed to Zia that thiswas the robot people should honor, since it was the one that savedDaniel Quito’s life.
“I bet you could tell me such stories. Ohwell . . .” She shook off the uncharacteristic nostalgia andlaughed at herself. The last thing she needed was moreindoctrination about the war. Or about her illustrious family—hergreat-grandfather Dez, who went from peasant to general; hergrandfather Daniel, a.k.a. Quito the Great; or her mother Elena,who had ruled with an iron fist and the military savvy to back itup for twelve years.
“Well, I’m pretty good at sky paddle, atleast,” Zia joked to the robot. “If I had my air boots with me, I’dfly up and kiss you right on the mech-mouth. But I guess you’llhave to settle for this.” She stepped up to the skirmisher’smechanical leg and kissed the dented metal lightly. “Happybirthday, Grandpa. I’ll try to do better this year, I promise.”
* * * *
As soon as he heard the hangar door slideshut, Cadet Rem Stone pushed a release button to open the lowerdoor of the skirmisher. But he didn’t exit the vehicle right away.He was still a bit stunned at having overheard the tribute Quito’sgranddaughter had just paid her ancestor. She would be mortified ifshe knew. And on a more practical note, she could get Rem into aworld of trouble for entering the hangar without permission.
He had done this so often, he had almostforgotten it was illegal. Then Zia had burst into the building,looking every bit the hot-bodied,
