Chapter 25

Emmy glanced from the playing cards in her hand to one of the three denaidan females sitting around the table, trying to decide her next move. The woman's expression remained strangely robotic, even as she played a winning card. Although these women were physically similar to their male counterparts, with copper skin, dark hair, and high cheekbones, they lacked the boisterous camaraderie Emmy associated with the denaidan people. They seemed almost… hollow. Perhaps the females were simply that way.

Or it's because of the project.

The thought vanished as quickly as it had come, subsumed by her delight at being back on the team. Dr. Dollard had promised to bring Emmy up to speed and assign her some duties as soon as some administrative tasks had been handled.

Emmy countered her opponent's card with a double flip and smirked. She wasn't usually a competitive person, but she felt an almost visceral desire to best these women.

The next woman played her next card with efficient grace just as the common room door opened with a quiet hiss. The room fell silent, and in perfect unison, the women rose from their seats and retreated into the doors surrounding the common area. Emmy looked up to see Dr. Dollard standing at the entrance.

Unsure of how she was supposed to act in her new role, Emmy stood, laying her cards face down on the table. Her insides squirmed as Dollard moved to stand in front of her. "You may sit, Dr. Voss."

"Thank you." Emmy lowered herself stiffly back into her seat. The doctor had a way about her that commanded respect. Obedience.

"I have a few more questions, if you don't mind." The doctor's words felt almost hypnotic.

"Of course," Emmy said.

Dollard clasped her hands behind her back as if preparing to give a lecture. "How long have you been living among the rebels?"

A stubbornness rose inside Emmy, and she was tempted to refuse to answer. Hadn't she answered enough questions already? She tried to avert her gaze, but couldn't. "Half a cycle, I think."

"And what is it you do for the rebellion, exactly?" The doctor asked.

Emmy pressed her lips together, throat aching with words she didn't want to say. Why am I feeling so uncooperative? Despite her rising turmoil, her answer emerged from between her numb lips. "I provide counseling and mental health support when I can." She thought back to her frustration over the lack of interactions with the denaidan warriors. "Though to be honest, the denaidans haven't been very receptive to my help. I end up counseling the humans who've joined us more often."

The gleam in the doctor's coppery eyes sharpened. "I understand there are several denaidan males who have taken human mates."

Unease twisted inside Emmy like a live wire, yet her words continued to spill out. "A recent discovery involving nanites has altered the brain chemistry of the males, diminishing the destructive force of the mating bond. Three denaidans have mated with humans already, and the others are actively seeking human companions."

Dr. Dollard nodded. "I also understand that the mating bond between denaidans is permanent. Do you know if the same is true between humans and denaidans?"

"I don't believe that's been tested," Emmy said, her voice shaky. "Why?"

The doctor pursed her lips. "Restoring the denaidan race has become a top priority for Syndicorp."

Emmy frowned. "Why now?"

"We are going to rectify past mistakes, Dr. Voss. You want that, too, don't you?"

For some reason, a part of Emmy screamed that this was all lies. Yet she also wanted to believe denaidans were finally going to get the help they needed. She found herself nodding. "Yes, I do."

Dollard continued with a pointed question, "What is the nature of your relationship with Chigs?"

As if a dam had released, Emmy's thoughts about Chigs came flooding back: the first moment he'd walked into her office and asked for her help, the way his hand felt at the small of her back as they'd danced together, the cave where they'd made love… He's my mate. The acknowledgement landed like a punch to Emmy's gut.

Panting, she blinked at the doctor, who regarded her shrewdly. Why was Dollard asking her this? And what did it have to do with restoring the denaidan race?

"He's my mission partner," Emmy answered evasively.

"Is there nothing more between you?" Dollard pressed.

The weight crushing Emmy's will was almost unbearable, but she shook her head, teeth clamped over any further words. This was one secret she refused to share.

"Unfortunate." Dollard sighed, and the pressure on Emmy's mind slowly eased. "It would've been so much easier if his mate was here to assist."

"Make what easier?"

"Breeding him. I'd hoped we could use a seductive bait-and-switch. Now I'll have to resort to psychotropics to inhibit his resistance." The doctor pulled a data pad from her pocket and studied it.

Breeding him?Emmy's heart was racing fast enough to choke her. But Chigs is mine. Could the doctor really overcome the mating bond with drugs? The more Emmy focused on Chigs, the clearer her mind became. Dollard wasn't interested in helping the denaidans out of altruism. She wanted the offspring. But why?

"What do you plan to do with the denaidan children?" Emmy asked.

Dollard slowly turned to face her. "You needn't concern yourself with the welfare of the children. I assure you, their well-being is necessary—vital, even—to the project."

The pressure to Emmy's mind resumed, but this time, she felt it coming and resisted. "Well-being? Or exploitation?"

"Exploit is such an ugly word," Dollard said reproachfully. "As scientists, our mission is to advance knowledge, to enhance life. Sometimes that requires a little exploration. You want to help improves life across the galaxy, don't you?"

Emmy swallowed thickly and nodded, surprised by that welling desire. Why am I arguing?

Dollard placed an icy hand on Emmy's shoulder. "Think of what we will achieve, the lives we will save. We will provide a future for the denaidans they never imagined possible. Tell me you're committed to make this succeed."

Emmy's heart fluttered with hope. She believed in the work she did for Syndicorp. Believed she could make the galaxy a better place. Despite the inner voice telling her not to trust the doctor's insidious words, she whole-heartedly wanted the denaidans to get the help they deserved. "I'm sorry I questioned you. I'm committed."

Dr. Dollard took Emmy's chill hands in her own. "Good. Now, before we proceed, is there anything else you'd like to tell me?"

Warmth spread from Dollard's hands up Emmy's arms, filling her chest, her head, her soul. There was one other thing Emmy had withheld during questioning besides that Chigs was her mate, and now seemed like the right moment to be honest. "Chigs and I hacked the mainframe and sent security codes to the Icarus," she blurted. "There's a team en route to extract the test subjects as we speak."

Dollard's features hardened, and her grip on Emmy's hands tightened. "I underestimated you, Dr. Voss. That won't happen again."

A spike of fear shot through Emmy's chest, only to be quickly numbed by a renewed vice grip around her will.

Dropping her hands, Dollard looked toward a pair of denaidan women who'd emerged from one of the doorways. "Go check the mainframe."

As the women trotted from the room, Dollard accessed her datapad. "Dammit, they've already cleared the orbital weapon system and are nearing the base. Those damned cyborgs have been a thorn in my side since the moment I let Doug into the program. But with your help, the Icarus shall belong to me once again." Dr. Dollard tapped a finger against her lips thoughtfully. Emmy felt like she'd been cornered by a predator. "Do you still wish to avoid bloodshed, Dr. Voss?"

Though her nerves bristled with the desire to deny everything the doctor offered, Emmy nodded. "Yes."

"Good. I have a task for you. When your rebel friends arrive, you will be there to greet them. Tell them you're taking them to the captive females and escort them to the brig."

Emmy swallowed hard, a sickly taste coating her tongue. "But..."

Dollard crossed her arms. "It's the only way to save their lives. Understood?"

"Understood," Emmy replied, her voice hollow.

Rising, Emmy followed a denaidan female down the halls and up the elevator to the main entrance bay. A small spacecraft sat poised for departure, and banks of evacuation pods stood open and waiting. The denaidan left her sitting on an empty cargo box, staring at the bay door. Before too long, it hissed open, exposing a velvet swath of nighttime sky. Six figures moved cautiously into the light, each carrying a pulse weapon and encased in Syndicorp armor. She immediately recognized Tovik's copper hair and her friend Marlis's blond curls.

"You made it!" she called, standing to greet them.

Marlis scanned the surroundings with the keenness of an eagle, gripping both pistols at the ready. "No guards?"

"Where's Chigs?" asked Kashatok, a long pulse rifle in his hands.

Emmy's pulse quickened. Captured! But her lips refused to utter the word.

Rust stomped past her to glare toward the interior door. "That asshole left you alone?"

"The base was minimally guarded," Emmy said, wanting to vomit. But her body refused to do even that.

Marlis looked her up and down, a confused furrow between her brows. "He could've at least given you a gun."

Emmy thought of the weapon Chigs had handed her before they'd entered the common room, trying to recall where she'd left it. All she could see was Dr. Dollard's kind face urging her to save her friends.

"So where is he?" asked Kashatok again.

"Chigs is prepping the women to leave." The words came too easily, as if they weren't even hers. Her mind was a confusion of white noise. Take them to the brig. "We need to hurry."

Brushing off further questions, she led the team from the bay and down the hallways. The base echoed with silence, but as they rounded a corner, she spotted several denaidan females waiting near the guard room door, still dressed in blue tunics.

Tovik gasped and rushed toward the nearest woman. "Hi! We're here to save you!"

"Slow down, kid!" called Qaiyaan, but Tovik was already taking the woman's hand and following her through the door.

"Come," said another woman, her lips curved into an empty smile as she waited at the door.

Oblivious to the danger, Emmy's friends hurried forward. Emmy followed more slowly, her feet heavy.

"What the fuck?" Rust shouted as a pair of women crowded him into a cell.

Marlis's pistols were yanked from her grip. She threw a punch at the nearest woman, but the denaidan easily deflected the blow and sent Marlis crashing backwards into the cell. With chilling precision, the other females struck, their movements so swift and practiced that the team from the Icarus barely had time to react before the energy fields hummed to life, blocking their escape.

Emmy's hands trembled, and a lump swelled painfully in her throat. The disbelief and betrayal on her friends' faces cut through her sharper than any blade. Then she caught sight of Chigs staring at her from behind the glimmer of an energy shield, his expression a roiling mix of shock and grief.

What have I done?