Fourteen

Chapter

“I’ll just be keeping my distance, if you don’t mind.” Norem smiled at them from across the room.

Rom wanted to punch that smile right off his face. The Tau Ceti was smart to stay out of reach. Norem took several steps away from the tank that housed Katie and started entering commands in a tablet lying on one of the counters that had already been mostly cleared. He turned and stared at the monitor above Hayley’s medical bed. His brow furrowed at first, then he smiled broadly.

Even though Rom had done a quick scan of Hayley and she looked okay, he wasn’t a medic in any way, shape or form. He wasn’t a scientist either. Rom was a pilot. A damn good one—possibly the best—but those skills wouldn’t help him here. They wouldn’t help Hayley. He hated that he had to rely on Norem for information, to help keep her safe.

Maker, the irony…

“As I thought,” Norem said, his attention fixated on Hayley. “You’ve completely stabilized. That is excellent news—for both of us. I can continue my research, and you can continue existing.”

Except that Norem’s research involved torturing Hayley. Maiming her. Rom wouldn’t let that happen. He wouldn’t let anyone ever hurt her again. They had to play along, though. Just for a little while longer.

Even if Norem got them on his ship, Rom was confident they could take it over and use it to escape. He would rather have the prism show up and help, though. For there to be any chance of that, Rom needed to stall.

“You’re not holding up your end of the deal,” Rom prodded. “Talk.”

“Right.” Norem tapped a few more commands on the tablet. “I’ll use small words to help you follow along, since you don’t have the benefit of my intelligence enhancers.” He chuckled at his own joke, then went on.

“The life forms that developed on Earth are fascinating,” Norem said. “The malleability of the DNA of every living thing on the planet is unprecedented. I discovered that human DNA can be used as a binder to introduce other species’ DNA into a fully matured host.” He sighed and shook his head. “I should be receiving accolades for my work.” He shrugged. “No doubt, that will come in time.”

“It is also incredibly easy to manipulate the DNA of Earth life forms,” he continued, “such as Mindy’s. Dogs have such regrettably short life spans. Fortunately, because of this, I was able to introduce my genetic agents in their parents and wait for the resulting puppies to grow to sexual maturity so I could repeat the process, creating advanced specimens in a remarkably short amount of time. Starting from an embryonic state allowed me to make much more aggressive changes as well.”

Rom’s hands balled into fists. His claws extended, wanting to rip into Norem’s flesh. He had never hated anyone the way he hated this man.

“As you’ve both demonstrated quite clearly, dogs have a particular talent for working their way into the hearts of sentients,” Norem said. “Even those from other planets. By facilitating strong bonds between them and the soldiers I’ve engineered with Cygnian DNA, I can send the animals in as scouts. Dogs naturally ingratiate themselves with others. Once they’re deeply entrenched, we will use the transit platforms to send wave after wave of soldiers through blue space right into the heart of any facility, civilization, or outpost we desire. We’ll be unstoppable, and they’ll never see us coming.”

“ Tarn was right, but it’s even worse than we thought .” Rom didn’t intend to send the message to Hayley, but she picked it up anyway.

“ Tarn? ”

“ A member of my prism. Our engineer. He figured out that the Tau Centauran Assembly was herding survivors from the Sadirian settlements they’ve been attacking into the Sol system. He thought they planned to use the transit platform on Ceres to bring in soldiers. But if Norem’s plan works, they won’t even need that. And after they conquer the Sol system, they’ll be able to take over any other system they want. ”

“I would love to play poker with you, Cygnian,” Norem said. “Your face is an open book. I can see that you’re beginning to understand the genius of my plan. Mindy’s siblings have scattered all over Earth. Once I figure out the details of the bonding my soldiers will need, I can implant the programming within them and teleport contingent after contingent to the planet. Not even the Vegans will be able to stand against our numbers.”

Rom’s stomach felt leaden. His hearts raced and his spine plates vibrated furiously. Norem was correct, unfortunately. If they could make this plan work, Earth was doomed. And after that, Rom had no doubt that the Tau Ceti would spread like a plague throughout the universe, devouring worlds—and their inhabitants—with impunity.

“We’ll stop you,” Rom said.

“How?” The panel next to Norem beeped. He glanced down and smiled. “Our ride is here. You’ve done a lovely job stalling, but we really do need to be on our way.”

A trio of scientists headed toward the tank holding Katie. Norem lashed out, quick as a snake, and grabbed one by his arm. He jerked the man back, almost making him fall.

“Did you check your pockets?” Norem asked. “The others did.”

The man’s face paled to a putrid green. Norem’s eyes rolled up to the ceiling.

“I’m surrounded by idiots.” He released his grip, but only to reach into the man’s pocket with one hand. The whole time, he kept his grip on that damned triggering device.

If only he would put it down, even for a moment. Rom would be on him so quickly, Norem wouldn’t know what hit him. Norem pulled a small scanning device out of the other Tau Ceti’s pocket, then held it up and wiggled it in front of his face.

“I am so close to the next stage of my work,” Norem said. “I will not have anyone messing this up for me. Is that clear?”

The man nodded nervously, then backed away a few steps. Giving Norem a wide berth, he hurried to the tank to help the others disconnect it from its moorings. Norem huffed out a puff of breath, his lips curled in a sneer of disgust. He strolled to a nearby table and picked up a device Rom didn’t recognize.

“Surrounded,” Norem paused for effect, looking at Rom and Hayley, “by idiots.”

He pointed the device at the man who had almost approached the tank with a scanner. A bolt of yellow energy fired out from it. The man shrieked as it hit him, his skin vaporizing as the energy burned a hole through his body.

“Stop,” Rom yelled, but it was too late. Hayley screamed and rolled off the examination table, clinging to Rom’s side.

Norem deactivated the device just before the man’s lifeless body fell to the floor. He didn’t even look at the man he’d killed. Merely examined the instrument he’d used to kill him.

“Not its intended function, but it gets the job done.” Norem set the laser down on the counter next to him. “I always find a way to get the job done. You’ll learn that about me during our travels.”

The two remaining scientists finished disconnecting Katie’s tank. Panic built in Rom’s chest. It took him a moment to realize it was Hayley’s.

“ We need to escape, ” she thought. “ Now. Once we’re on the ship, it will be so much harder for the prism to find us. ”

“ It’s going to be okay .” Rom sent calming emotions along with the words. “ The prism can find me, even if we’re on the move. They’ll just split up so they can triangulate our position better. With six ships, I know they’ll find us eventually. It’ll take time, and I don’t want Norem to be able to keep up with his ‘work’ while they’re looking for us. ”

He felt Hayley’s shudder as much as he saw it. Norem noticed, too.

“Your turn,” Norem said. “Talk as you walk. You two first—and be sure to pick up Mindy along the way—then K-0. Be sure to speak up since I’ll be way in the back, keeping an eye on everyone.”

Dammit. Norem was going to make this hard for them.

“ Getting to the ship is a good thing ,” Rom thought, being sure to project to Mindy as well. “ I’m the best pilot in the Cygnian fleet. We find our moment, tear through their crew, and we can fly ourselves back to Earth. ”

“ I like that idea, ” Mindy thought.

“ Then be ready to go ,” Rom thought. “ Hayley? ”

She looked at Rom and nodded, reaching out to grip his hand tight. They headed to the door together, but didn’t speak until they were in the hallway. Three more soldiers waited for them. The men turned and led the way down the hall, also keeping their distance and eyeing Rom warily.

Hayley paused in front of the door to the bathroom. It slid open and Mindy slowly walked out. Her head was low and her tail wagged slowly behind her, though it was tucked between her legs. Hayley buried her fingers in Mindy’s ruff.

“You don’t hurt her,” Hayley said, looking at Norem over her shoulder. True to his word, the Tau Ceti was hanging way back, Katie’s tank blocking much of the hallway between them as it floated along with the help of an antigravity device. “Whatever information you need, whatever data or tests, you are not allowed to hurt her. Do you understand?”

“Mindy has never once felt pain because of me,” Norem said. “To do so would negate her value to my experiment. I need her happy and able to bond with my soldiers, not remembering trauma associated with them.”

“ Is that true? ” Hayley thought.

“ It is. ” Mindy’s thought. “ No one has ever hurt me. ”

Hayley let out a shaky breath. She turned, keeping one hand in Mindy’s fur and gripping Rom’s hand tight with her other. They headed down the hall as Hayley began to speak.

“She’s much smarter than other dogs,” Hayley said. “I expect you already know that.”

“Of course,” Norem said. “It was the first thing I tested for and the easiest change to make. You’ll be happy to know that an interesting side-effect of increasing her intelligence and that of her relatives seems to be an extended lifespan.”

An unexpected wave of happiness flowed through Hayley. Rom felt it, too. He held onto it, amplifying her emotion. They could use the boost, with everything going on around them. Plus, it gave them even more to fight for. Mindy’s tail rose a bit and she held her head higher.

“Thank you, Norem,” Norem said, in a high, mocking voice. “I’m so glad I get to be with my beloved dog for many more years than I expected.”

Hayley’s lips curled up and Mindy growled.

“We’d be more grateful if we knew you’d done it on purpose,” Hayley sneered. “Except the shorter lifespan of big dogs was part of their draw for you. You admitted it yourself.”

“I suppose.” Norem chuckled. “Now, is that ‘we’ you and Rom or you and Mindy? I’ve never been quite sure just how intelligent she is or whether she can understand me or not.”

Hayley didn’t want to go on. Rom could feel it. But she also didn’t want to break her word, even to the man who had tormented her and was still torturing her friend. Rom admired her honor and absolutely understood her reluctance to continue. But if Rom had his way, this Norem would die before he had a chance to update anyone on what Mindy could do. Rom was already formulating a plan, figuring out the best time to make his move. And even if the other Norems found out what Mindy could do, she would be with Rom and the other Cygnians. They could keep her safe.

“ Tell him, ” Rom thought.

“ I’m keeping Mindy out of it as much as I can, ” Hayley responded. “ I only agreed to explain what I can do .”

“ Fair enough ,” Rom thought.

“Dog thoughts are different than human thoughts,” Hayley mused. It wasn’t a lie, in the most general sense of the words. “When I—” She winced. “When the original Hayley arrived at Ceres, she told you that she sensed a presence in her mind, but that she didn’t know who or what it was. It was just a feeling.”

“I already know that,” Norem said. “That’s why I risked taking her in the first place. Give me something new, H-7. I’m growing impatient.”

“It was more than a feeling,” Hayley said. “Much more. She and Mindy began communicating then.”

Norem cut in. “Yes, through shared emotions, which I amplified through my experiments while augmenting her DNA. I need to know how successful the changes were.”

“They had nothing to do with how we communicate,” Hayley said, looking down at Mindy. “We could already speak to each other in our minds.”

“Wait… in words?” Norem’s tone was incredulous.

Hayley looked up at Rom, her eyes pinched with worry. He nodded his reassurance and squeezed her hand.

“ It’s okay ,” Mindy thought to them. “ You can tell him. He won’t hurt me. He’s right that I have to trust to form bonds. ”

Hayley nodded. “With words.”

“My, my,” Norem said. “She’s even more magnificent than I thought.”

Mindy let out a dismissive chuff.

“The bond she forms is based on trust,” Hayley said. “If you or your soldiers ever harm her, she’ll never trust you and you’ll never be able to bond with her and use her to travel, no matter what you do to her DNA.”

This time, Norem was the one to let out a brief laugh. “You think I don’t already know that? Why do you think I’ve executed anyone who has so much as said an unkind word to her? Why do you think I never retaliated, even when she bit off my fingers multiple times.”

Rom smiled down at Mindy and muttered, “Good girl.” The dog’s mouth opened in a toothy grin.

“Enough with the mutual admiration,” Norem said. “We’ve arrived. I want to know more about this, so we will have to continue our discussions once everyone is settled.”

Rom’s hearts pounded as they walked through the large double-doors in front of them. He could tell they were on a ship the moment he set foot on it. There was a lightness, an agility to a ship that stations just didn’t have. He glanced all around, trying to figure out what he could work with.

The design wasn’t Tau Ceti. That was a good thing. A very good thing. Tau Ceti ships were clunky—except for their small fighters. They won because of their numbers and disregard for the lives of their soldiers, not their superior skill nor advanced tech. The walls of the ship they were on were pale gray with a red line bisecting it and running parallel to the darker gray deck. This was a Centauran vessel.

His prism had made contact with a Centauran who might be able to help broker peace between his people and the Coalition, which could stop the war raging through the galaxy. Rom didn’t want to do anything to screw that up. At the same time, he would do whatever it took to keep Hayley, Mindy, and Katie safe.

He could do this. They could do this. Working together, he knew they would find a way to escape. He prayed to the Maker that he was right.