Thirteen

Chapter

Walking to the lab felt like a march along death row. The corridors stretched in front of her, elongating in her mind’s eye, yet passing much too quickly. She had barely blinked and they were hugging Mindy and telling her to be safe while she hid in the bathroom next to the lab.

The fact that Rom hadn’t suggested that Hayley hide as well was something she would never forget. She knew he was just as desperate for her to be safe as he was for Mindy, but Hayley could also feel his respect and admiration for her, his confidence in her abilities. He believed in her, and that helped her believe in herself.

Rom reached out and clasped Hayley’s hand as they stood before the door to the lab. He didn’t say anything, just stared down at her, waiting for her to take the lead. She took a deep breath, then stepped forward, triggering the door’s proximity sensors. It opened with a soft whoosh that sent a shiver down her spine.

Norem was inside, silhouetted by the eerie yellow of the softly glowing liquid that filled the much-smaller-than-usual cylindrical tank behind him. He had a serene smile on his face, though he was surrounded by chaos. The other scientists scurried about, grabbing equipment and shoving it onto hovercarts or carefully placing samples in stasis cubes. Norem’s smile widened when he saw them.

“I was wondering when you would join us,” Norem said.

He stepped aside so that they could see Katie floating in the small tank. It was only a few inches larger in diameter than her body. She would barely have room to move in it. A few strips of fabric were her only source of modesty and a crude mask covered the bottom half of her face. Her red hair floated around her in the liquid. Her eyes were open, pinched at the corners with fear. She shook her head when she saw them, bubbles escaping from the edges of her mask.

“ Please tell me you were never treated like this ,” Rom thought to her, a sickening dread flowing through their bond to accompany the telepathic message.

Hayley didn’t respond. She couldn’t. Her heart pounded and her stomach churned. She felt as though she might throw up. She had been in that tank, or one just like it, too many times—she and the original Hayley. And even though most of the memories flooding her mind weren’t her own, they felt as though they were. They felt real. Hayley knew the hell that Katie was experiencing. She had to save her from it.

Norem followed her line of sight to Katie and made a tutting noise. “I know it’s not as comfortable as what you’re used to. We had to go with a much smaller design—for ease of portability—and we’re keeping everything as manual as possible with K-0 for now. She’s saturated with neuro-suppressants, but it’s best not to take chances. Now that I know just how successful my experiment with K-0 turned out, I can’t have her playing with any doodads that manage to get too close.” He turned back to them and gestured toward the tank with a small device he held in one hand. “Except for this one, of course. But she’s already figured out that she doesn’t want to activate it.” He smiled, then pressed his thumb on the device.

Electricity crackled through the tank. Katie’s eyes pinched shut, her body jerking. Hayley ran forward, but Norem made a point of pressing harder. Katie let out a pained scream that not even the liquid and the mask could fully muffle. Rom grabbed Hayley’s arm and held her back.

“ We can’t, ” Rom thought.

“Well done, Cygnian.” Norem finally removed his thumb, though he kept it poised over the device. Katie went limp in the tank, floating in the water with her head listing against her shoulder. “K-0 already knows what your blue friend here has figured out. If this device is disabled or destroyed, it’ll send enough voltage through her to kill her. I’d hate to see that happen, since I still need to study her brain and how it integrated so uniquely with the cybernetic components I implanted. She was supposed to be a blueprint for a new design of cybernetic controls to make my soldiers better at controlling their mechanical parts. It’s truly exceptional work on my part.”

Hate unlike anything Hayley had ever felt flooded through her. She would destroy Norem and everything he cherished. She would make him suffer the way he made others suffer. But how could she do that when he could torture her friend at the touch of a button?

“You kill her and you’ll follow right after,” Rom growled.

Norem shrugged. “Probably.”

Rom was seething, rage and despair flowing out from him through their bond. The rage, she understood. The despair worried her, as did Norem’s nonchalant response to knowing how close he was to death.

“You’ve already uploaded your recent memories into your master repository,” Rom said.

“You are smart—for a Cygnian,” Norem said. “It gives me hope that you’ll understand what I’m going to say next. We’re going to do a quick scan of H-7 before we leave.”

“Leave?” Rom said.

“What, did you think I was going to hang around here and wait for your prism to find you?” Norem said.

Hayley’s stomach sank. If Norem knew about the prism being able to track each other through their bond, he would keep them on the move. If so, could Rom’s friends actually find them? Or would they always be just out of reach of help?

“Let’s make sure we’re all on the same page here.” Norem leaned against a nearby table, crossing his hands in front of his body, the control device tauntingly out of reach. “You’ve figured out that I’m a clone—one of many, many clones, actually. I’ve recently uploaded my memories, so destroying me wouldn’t really be much of a loss.”

“ That doesn’t mean it won’t be satisfying as hell to kill him, ” Rom thought.

Hayley didn’t know if she could ever actually kill someone, but if she could, it would certainly be Norem. After what he had done to the original Hayley and everyone else, Hayley would at least enjoy watching Rom rip him apart.

“I know all about Cygnian prism bonds and how they can be used to track each other. It’s not as powerful or effective as tracking through a soulmate bond, but I’m guessing it’d be enough to get them here. Hence, my summoning of a ship for us to relocate our operations.”

He looked at her wrists pointedly. “I can see Rom’s memories have returned. It was only a matter of time, so I’m glad we can get this all out of the way. I’ll be taking those wristbands.”

“Like hell,” Rom said, taking a step forward.

Norem casually brushed his thumb across the device. Katie’s forehead furrowed, her head flying back as she convulsed again. Rom froze, shock and rage storming out from him. Norem lifted his free hand and waved his fingers, shooing Rom farther away. Spine plates up and vibrating violently, Rom took a step back. Norem released his grip on the device and Katie fell limp again.

“Please stop hurting her,” Hayley said. “We’ll do anything you say.”

“How kind of you to say so.” Norem smiled beatifically. “I’m sure you understand that I’m going to need you to keep your distance, though. I’d love to be able to trust you, but we’re not quite there yet.”

“ What do we do? ” Hayley thought.

“ I don’t know .” Rom’s turmoil matched hers, amplifying her anxiety. He shook his head and glanced at her.

“Alright, now that is interesting,” Norem said, standing straight again and pointing between Rom and Hayley. “I know that soulmates can feel each other’s emotions, but that little exchange was something more.”

Hayley’s stomach sank. Dread and regret flooded Rom.

“ I’m so sorry ,” he thought, pointedly not looking at her.

“Oh, please,” Norem said. “The cat’s already out of the bag, as they say on Earth. Remember, I designed the H-series to be telepathic. The other prototypes didn’t work out as expected, but you, my dear… You are delightfully intact.” He looked at Rom. “I wonder what your part in that is. All of the other H-series lost cellular integrity within a day or two—a terrible, messy affair. I had actually run out of original base material for new clones. Luckily, I don’t think that will be a problem anymore.” Norem’s attention returned to Hayley, a predatory gleam in his eyes. “You seem to have stabilized sufficiently to help me with a new supply of material.”

“ He can’t mean… ” Rom began.

The memory of the cylinder replayed in her mind. The object floating in the murky liquid. She tried to shut it off, to stop thinking about it, but after what Norem had said, realizing what he planned for her, knowing that the memory she had been given was a glimpse of her own future… She couldn’t stop picturing it. Unfortunately, the image was so strong that Rom saw it, too.

“ What the hell is that? ” Rom thought. “ Did that happen to you? Did he do that to you? ”

“ Not me, ” Hayley thought. “ The other Hayley. The original. They turned her into a cyborg. I guess… I think they used what they removed to make me .”

Shock tore through him, followed quickly by fury. “ I’ll destroy the whole station before I let him touch you again. I will hunt down every single Norem in existence, everyone even related to him, and end each and every one of them. ”

“ We have to stay calm ,” she thought, though her stomach was churning.

It took several moments, but Rom’s breathing finally slowed, his heart calming. Beneath it, the rage was still there. It would always be there. But now he was thinking. Planning. That’s what she needed from him.

“It’s obvious there’s something going on here,” Norem said. “What I want to know is the extent to which I was successful. Hayley was supposed to be able to communicate and bond with Mindy, as you’re calling her.”

“ We need to tell him ,” Rom thought.

If Hayley—the original Hayley—hadn’t had so much practice schooling her expression while talking to Mindy, sharing that experience with Hayley through their shared memories, she would have gasped. Instead, she kept her face impassive as she thought, “ I won’t do that to Mindy. ”

“ We are all getting out of here, ” Rom thought. “ One way or another. Mindy will be with us, so Norem won’t be able to hurt her. He won’t be able to hurt anyone anymore. But to stop him, I need to know what he’s planning. Will you trust me? ”

She pinched her lips together. She had trusted before and had ended up here. Worse than here. The original version of herself was still out there with a different Norem. God only knew what he was doing to her now, after everything else he’d done.

“ Rom is different .” Hayley thought she was remembering Mindy’s words from before, but she realized that the dog was listening from the other room.

“ Mindy, I have to protect you ,” Hayley thought.

“ I have to protect you, too .” Mindy sent a wave of warmth along with her thoughts. “ I trust Rom. We’ll all keep each other safe. ”

Her heart hurt, it pounded so quickly and forcefully. She was almost dizzy from it. Bracing her feet in a strong stance, she forced herself to calm.

“I’m not telling you anything,” Hayley said. Rom’s eyes widened and he stepped closer to her, but she gestured for him to stay put. Instead of going to him, she took a few steps closer to Norem. The Tau Ceti who had caused her so much pain and suffering just arched an eyebrow, staring at her with curiosity.

“Unless you tell me something first,” she added.

Norem’s broad mouth pulled into a smirk. “And what do you want to know?”

“Where is the original Hayley?” she asked. “What have you done with her?”

“Oh…” Norem angled his head and made a tutting sound. His voice chilled as he said, “Don’t overreach.”

“Fine.” She hadn’t thought he would give her an answer to that, so now maybe he would tell her what they actually needed to know. “Then tell me why you want Mindy and me to be able to communicate telepathically. She’s a dog. Most dogs aren’t as intelligent as she is. It’s not as though you can replace your cyborg soldiers with dogs. They don’t even have opposable thumbs. What do you hope to accomplish here?”

Norem loved to brag. Hayley had managed to get information out of him before by appealing to his vanity, giving him opportunities to self-aggrandize himself with his speeches. If Rom needed to know what Norem was up to, Hayley would do everything in her power to get that information for him. Norem arched an eyebrow, not quite taking the bait.

“It’s not like we’re going anywhere,” Hayley said.

His eyes narrowed. “The first interaction I had with a red-headed Earthling ended up with me in prison and out of favor with the brood mothers.”

“And look where you are now,” she coaxed. “Oh wait, you don’t know where you are with your projects, because I haven’t told you yet.” She crossed her arms over her chest and waited.

Norem chuckled. “Well played. Alright, I don’t see the harm in it. Especially since we’re all going to grow old together. But I get to scan you while I disclose my nefarious plans.”

“Fine.” She wasted no time in crossing the room to one of the examination beds. If she hesitated, she might not be able to talk herself into doing it at all. Rom was right behind her, which helped. Her heart was still pounding and her mouth dry when she lay down on it. She stared up at the ceiling, trying to keep her panic at bay and fervently hoping that this would be worth it.