Chapter 29

Emmy swallowed hard and clutched her rifle to her chest, sticking close to Chigs as they left the low hum of the mainframe room. Shadows blanketed the cold metallic corridor, and they moved cautiously, Kashatok taking point and opening doors with a quick ionic pulse to each control pad. All they found were empty offices and dusty storage rooms.

With hurried steps, they ascended the stairs, footsteps echoing against the walls. At the top, Rust's scowling face greeted them, cybernetic gaze cutting through the dim light. "This level's clear. Not a damned guard anywhere." A muscle along his jaw twitched as if he was grinding his teeth. "If Dollard's still here, we can't let him escape. Let's head to the shuttle bay."

Emmy glanced toward the comatose female in Tovik's arms. Could Dollard possibly still be alive?

"We can't expose our backs," said Qaiyaan as they stepped inside the elevator. "Marlis, Noatak, and Kashatok with me. We'll get off on the next level. You four keep going."

"Emmy's not combat trained," Chigs argued, putting a protective arm around her shoulders. "And Tovik's got his hands full. That's half our team."

A spark of defiance flared in Emmy's chest. "I can handle myself." She tightened her sweaty grip around her rifle. "You saw me drop that guard earlier. I'll stick close so you can shield me. We'll be fine."

Chigs reluctantly agreed. "If Dollard is still alive, you can bet he won't be easy to find. Watch for traps."

The door slid open, allowing the first group to exit. Emmy focused on her breathing as they rode to the next floor.

When the elevator doors opened again, Rust stepped out first, looking up and down the corridor. "You three go that way and watch our back. I'll go down here toward the shuttle bay."

Emmy realized they were on the level where she and Chigs had first encountered the test subjects. She put a hand on the cyborg's forearm. "Remember, there could still be innocent people on the base. Not just denaidan women. Keep in mind what we've talked about in therapy. Think before you react."

He scowled, but nodded sharply. "Understood." Without another word, Rust turned and started down the adjoining corridor, cybernetic footsteps loud in the empty space.

Emmy trailed Chigs down the corridor in the opposite direction, trying not to step on his heels, while Tovik brought up the rear. She had to admit, she was feeling rather anxious about revisiting the room where Dollard had violated her mind. Then again, there was a good chance the doctor might be there. She wasn't sure which outcome she hoped for—meeting Dollard and the other test subjects alive and prepared for battle, or discovering them as comatose husks of the women they should have been.

As they approached the long window, Chigs's steps slowed, then stopped. Through their mate bond, she felt his heightened emotions flutter with grief. Emmy's stomach clenched. She peered around him through the glass, seeing bodies littering the floor inside. "Oh, no."

Tovik came around her to look, and his face turned pale beneath his ginger beard. "Is that… all of them?" he asked.

Chigs sighed heavily. "We need to go inside and take a tally."

He opened the door, and Emmy placed a hand on the woman in Tovik's arms. "You don't have to go in there," she said softly. "Chigs and I can handle it."

Tovik swallowed hard. "If there's anyone left behind, I want to be there."

A pang of empathy lanced through Emmy's chest. His unwavering optimism touched her deeply. Chigs had once dreamed of finding his mate here, and Tovik had been no less hopeful. He's had so many let downs. She'd counseled Tovik several times, helping him set realistic expectations, and she had to admire his resilience.

She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm here if you need me."

They followed Chigs inside, weapons ready in case there were guards waiting in ambush.

Denaidan females lay strewn across the floor like discarded dolls, their copper faces slack and empty. Their bodies still lived, but their minds were dead. Emmy shuddered, wondering if this might've been her destiny if she hadn't broken Dollard's control over her.

Tovik gently set the woman he was carrying on a nearby exam table and began checking the others for life signs. His face looked haggard as he sank to one knee beside a young woman with thick, brown hair. "Rest well, dear one," he said softly.

Emmy fought to compartmentalize her own rush of anguish. She could feel his heart breaking anew as he repeated the phrase over and over, arranging awkward limbs and straightening clothing.

She followed behind Chigs as he finished checking the nearby rooms for guards. Every room was empty. "No Dollard," said Chigs, watching Tovik move to the next fallen female. "We need to keep moving."

"Give him a moment," she said as Tovik as lifted the female from a chair and laid her gently on the floor.

Tovik glanced at them. "You two go on. I want to stay and protect them until we're sure the base is clear."

"All right," said Chigs, his tone softening. "Keep an eye out for guards."

Leaving Tovik behind might not have been the most strategic choice, but it felt like the right one. These women would likely never regain consciousness, but they were still precious to the denaidans, symbolic of the past that had been taken from them forever.

She and Chigs opened doors along the corridor, finding empty offices, storage rooms, and abandoned labs. There had been ongoing experiments here only a short time ago, but their intel had indicated the lab was in the process of moving. Could the remaining staff have fled so quickly? Or—even worse—could Dollard have escaped with them?

Ahead, the corridor ended at a massive bay door with a long, narrow window. Emmy moved forward, standing on her tiptoes next to Chigs to peer through the glass. On the other side lay a bullet-shaped, translucent pod, its interior glowing with golden light.

She exhaled raggedly. "That's one of Dollard's SAC units. The ones he used to wipe a test subject's mind." Her stomach clenched as she also realized it was likely the device that allowed Dollard to insert his consciousness into another body.

Chigs cupped his hands around his face and continued looking through the glass. "I don't see anyone inside. You'd think this technology would be well guarded." He stepped back. "Stay behind me while I open the door."

Emmy stepped behind Chigs, pulse hammering in her ears as he shorted out the door control. The hydraulics lifted with a metallic groan, and a musty, clinical stench wafted out, as if the very air had been poisoned by malevolence.

Rifle aimed and ready, Chigs waited for several heartbeats. Only silence responded. Finally, he said, "Let's take a look."

The cavernous bay swallowed the sound of their footsteps as they approached the SAC unit. It stood on a high platform at one end of a long row of cryopods, looking like a matriarch's cocoon, its smooth curves glowing with light from within. Terrified she might find some hapless soul trapped inside, Emmy climbed the steps onto the platform. The unit was empty, its sterile interior like a dark maw waiting for its next victim.

She exhaled in relief. "Empty."

Using her higher vantage point, she looked down the row of cryopods. They all glowed with faint light, but she couldn't see through the small windows from here. Thick wires snaked from each pod, rising upward until they entered a wide conduit embedded high on the wall. The ceiling panels were arranged in a way that resembled a giant iris, giving the impression that it could open and close just like a door.

She hopped down and followed Chigs along the row, checking inside each. Unlike the SAC unit, the cryopods were occupied; one enayshuan, a posungi... and three denaidans.

"They're alive," Chigs said, reverence hushing his tone.

Emmy grinned, feeling shaky with joy. "Tovik's going to be thrilled."

Then Chigs swore, looking closely at the pod's control panel. "Uminaq. Is that an auto destruct timer?"

Emmy pushed past him to look closer. A digital timer on the display was ticking down from twenty minutes. She tapped in a query, then glanced toward the ceiling, realizing why it looked like an iris. Most cryopods could double as escape pods. "It looks like Dollard programmed them to eject!"

"Can you stop it?" Chigs asked.

Emmy tapped at the controls, but was denied access to command controls. "I'm locked out."

"We didn't come this far just to lose them again," he growled. He activated his comm. "We've got denaidan survivors on level three, but it looks like?—"

His sentence cut off as light flashed overhead and the air vibrated with the repercussion of a pulse blast.