Syn-En: Registration (25 page)

Mom sighed.
Please calm down, dear. Your anxiety and outlandish thoughts are interfering with the healing process.

I would heal faster on the Icarus
. Hint. Hint. Silence oozed into the corners of Nell’s head.
How close is the shuttle? It should be close, right?

As soon as Scorpio had carried her to the surface, Mom had connected with the shuttle’s onboard computer. The ship should have been hopping, skipping, and jumping across the sand to reach her.

Is there something you wish to tell me, Mom?

There have been some…difficulties. But it will be here soon.

Difficulties? Nell searched her thoughts and slammed into a brick wall. What in the world?
Hey, I thought we agreed there’d be no more secrets.

I will release you. But please do not scream.

As if. Besides, it’s like Scorpio couldn’t find us. Pet’s been crying ever since the jerkheads shot me.
And apologizing. Not that he knew she was alive. If Mom had released her, she could have accepted his apology and shut him up hours ago.
I’m not going to forget the brick wall, Mom.

Releasing cerebral clamp in five…. four… three… two… one.

Nell opened her eyes. Brown water stains covered the ceiling like a bad case of acne. Her eyes worked, what else? She raised her hand. Wiggled her fingers. A tightness spread across her back.
Hey, the pain isn’t so bad.

Then it slammed into her back and wrapped around her like stinging jelly fish tentacles. Pain flooded her body, crashed inside her head and crossed her eyes.
Holy Mother of—

Mother switched off her voice box.

Pet screamed for her.

It wasn’t nearly as satisfying. She wanted to shout. Maybe it would let loose the beast swelling under her skin.

I am boosting your adrenalin and endorphins. You should feel some release soon, dear.

Nell turned her head looking for Pet.

Legs kicking, he scuttled back into a corner of the empty room, raising his hands to ward her off.

The door slammed open, banging against the wall.

A grotesque humanoid shadow fell across her.

Chapter 28

Nell faced the room door. She followed the distorted shadow to a pair of feet. Relief deadened the conflagration consuming her back. She followed the feet up to a pair of legs covered in tattered coarse trousers. After lingering on her favorite bits, she finished the trip to Bei’s face.

His lips parted and he blinked. “Nell?”

“I’m here to rescue you.”

“Nell?” He shook his head.

Oh, dear.
Had the aliens done something to him? Clenching her teeth from the flames licking her back, she levered onto her elbows. “Are you okay?”

“You’re alive.” Crossing to her side, Bei laughed—a harmony of bass notes and relief.

“What the hell is that racket?” Rome sidled into the room. He hung his blond head for a moment before winking at her. “I knew rumors of your demise couldn’t be trusted.”

Tucked in the corner, Pet snapped his mouth shut. His screams faded.

“I’ll admit that I nearly didn’t get the ship cloaked before—”

Bei dropped to his knees if front of her, grabbed her shoulders and slanted his mouth across hers.

Pleasure and pain short-circuited her thoughts. She opened her mouth just as he lowered his hand. Her breath stuck in her throat.

Her husband reared back. His blue eyes narrowed, then calm nothingness swept over his features. “You have been damaged.”

She pursed her lips. No point in denying it. He and his super powered sensors probably knew more than she did about her injuries. “Mom’s been fixing me.”

“She’s a cerebral interface, not an internal medical kit.” His hands skimmed her side.

Blessed cool followed in his wake. “Are you treating me?”

“It’s the least I can do to repay your rescue.” Firm lips pressed against her forehead. Her cheeks. Her eyes.

Another kind of heat shimmered low in her belly. She liked being repaid. Her hands traced the contours of his chest. So smooth. Every muscle defined better than on an underwear model.

Rome cleared his throat. “Shall I take the human siren outside?”

Bei rolled back, held her at arm’s length. “I need medical supplies.”

Scooting closer, she stroked his cheek. “I’m fine. Not even a twinge of pain, thanks to you.”

“The analgesic I gave you will wear off soon. Your injuries need to be tended immediately.” He swallowed hard then glanced at Rome.

Rome’s pale eyebrows rose. Sticking his hands into his pocket, the security chief waded deeper into the room. “So you found allies too? Or should I pull this guy’s limbs off?”

Pet crammed his hands into his mouth. Snot bubbles formed around his nostrils.

Geez, the guy was a scaredy cat.

“He’s an ally.” Nell twisted to track Rome’s progress.

Bei caught her chin and turned her to face him. “Try to remain still. I don’t wish you to damage yourself further.”

She blew the hair out of her eyes. “It can’t be that bad. I can—”

Rome hissed. “Good God!”

She tried to turn, to see what had scared him.

Bei clamped down on her shoulders, kept her straight. “Do not turn.”

“How the hell is she still alive?”

Fear trailed ice down her insides. She held onto Bei’s forearms. Her fingernails bent against his hardened skin. Licking her dry lips, she forced the words past her lips. “How bad is it?”

“We can fix you.” Bei locked his gaze with hers. Doubt darkened his eyes before clearing.

“You. Up.” Rome pointed to Pet. “And don’t scream again, or you’ll be passing your teeth for the next month.”

Pet leapt to his feet and scurried out the door.

The Security Chief followed. “I’ll see what medical supplies Keyes has.”

“Ask her for the location of the nearest infirmary.” Bei eased his grip.

Nell waited until they were alone. “Am I going to die?”

“No.” His fingers dug into her shoulders. “I won’t allow it.”

Like he could prevent it. Her vision swam and tears pricked her nose. It wasn’t fair. She’d just found him. She wanted to lean against him, absorb his strength. “How bad is it?”

“Bad.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. Why couldn’t he have sugar-coated it? Because he was her husband and a Syn-En. “Thanks for telling me.”

“Keyes will find an infirmary. I’ll get you help. You will not die.”

Oh, God. He was trying to convince her.

Light footsteps tapped against the marble floors. Keyes was coming. “There’s an infirmary, twelve clicks across the surface and another one twelve kilometers through the tunnels. Is she fit for travel?”

“No, we will have to bring the items back.”

Nell opened her eyes, watched as the woman circled around her back.

Keyes sucked in a deep breath. “How is this even possible?”

“Mom said the changes the Skaperians made to my egg basket also affected my DNA. I have some regenerative properties.” Like a lizard. Good Lord, what if she started growing feathers? What was she thinking? She’d morph into freaking Big Bird if she could still live.

“Admiral, I don’t think any of the infirmaries on Erwar can handle this.”

Bei’s lip firmed. “They will have to.”

Nell slid her hands over his corded arm muscles. A flutter rippled through her stomach. If anyone could save her, he could. Her husband would cram a square peg into a round hole for her. “What about the sick bay on the
Icarus?
”

“How far away is the shuttle?”

“Mom is moving it closer.”
Mom, where is the ship?

Just outside, dear, but there is a slight problem.

“The ship is just outside.” Nell tamped down her suspicions. If she really was hurt as badly as Bei indicated, she might not have made it on her own.

Bei’s eyebrows drew together. His attention bounced off her to land on Keyes. “I’m not picking up a signal.”

“Me either.”

Great, now she wasn’t only dying but crazy. Nell sighed. “The ship’s here. Mom is actively slithering around in my head. She doesn’t do that unless there’s a computer about, and this one just feels like ours.”

Keyes paused in the door. “I know the layout of the laboratory. I should be able to ping the
Icarus
from the elevator shaft.”

“Give me a medical inventory while you’re at it.” Bei smoothed Nell’s hair off her face.

Keyes opened her mouth then shut it. “Yes, Sir.”

Nell listened to her footsteps recede. Awkward and his twin, Really Awkward, coalesced in the space between them.
Come on, Nell. Think of something. Don’t make your last moments together weird.
“So… what have you been up to?”

Doh! That was just horrible. The words should have been meaningful, brilliant. Not the opening shot in a blind date.

Bei smiled and shook his head. “Got kidnapped by some bug-ugly aliens, reprogrammed, mined some ore, went to the pleasure rooms, staged a coup and arrived here in time to be rescued by my beautiful wife.”

She replayed the Cliff Notes in her head, then rewound them. Her pulse spiked on two words. “Pleasure rooms had better not mean what I think it does.”

“Do you think it means lots of food, hot showers and breeders?”

Unbelievable. She’d been swallowed by sand, stung by mopheads, nearly chop-sueyed by eight-foot tall mantises and shot by Scorpio and he… And he… She punched his shoulder. Her knuckles popped. “How could you have had a hot shower without me?”

He cupped her cheek. “I wish I hadn’t. I wish…”

“Hey, if you think you’re getting out of scrubbing my back, think again.”

“Never crossed my mind.” His voice broke over the last word.

Maybe she shouldn’t have mentioned her back. “I’ll be fine. Once we get aboard, you’ll patch me up, good as new.”

“I swear it.” He cocked his head. “Keyes is returning.”

His communication’s officer slammed to a stop against the door jamb. “The
Icarus
is outside and so are two ET ships. Admiral, we’ve got incoming.”

Chapter 29

Bei swore under his breath. He had a dozen exhausted children, two pregnant women, one hysterical man, and a severely injured wife to defend against incoming enemy soldiers.

They couldn’t return to the mines.

They must go forward.

Nell needed medical help. Desperately. The shuttle was her only hope.

“Prepare to move out.”

Keyes arched an eyebrow. “Where are we heading?”

He smiled. His communications officer wasn’t the only one with a map of the laboratory complex. Rising, he pointed to the map on the door. Dotted lines marked the evacuation routes, but the utility room near the elevator held his interest. “We should be able to hide everyone here.”

She nodded and plucked at her tunic. “I can stand watch. Give the all clear.”

“The hell you will.” Rome appeared behind his wife. “These kids start to cry when I look at them. And that guy, Pet, he just bawls like a lost calf. I’ll keep watch; you muzzle the civilians.”

Keyes jammed her fists on her hips.

Bei rubbed his temple. This wasn’t a democracy, it was a chain of command. “Get the civilians ready. Now.”

The two disappeared into the hall. A moment later, fabric rustled and feet shuffled.

Nell cleared her throat. “If you help me up, I might be able to walk to the elevator. I don’t think it is too far from here.”

“Stay put.” No way would she walk. Hell, he didn’t even know if she could. The flesh had burned away from her back, exposing her spine and ribs. He could see her heart beating in her pericardial sac and the cross sections of her lungs and kidneys. God only knew what other damage she’d suffered. He didn’t know how everything stayed in place, only that he was thankful it did. “I’ll carry you.”

Her eyes darkened for a moment. “Mom says you should carry me piggyback.”

Dropping to the floor, he backed toward her. “Open your legs.”

“I love it when you talk dirty.” Her face scrunched up as she used her hands to separate her legs.

“You’re never going to let me forget I took a hot shower, are you?” Wetness dampened the seat of his trousers. Nell’s blood. He was tempted to suck it up, clean the fluid and put it back. She might need it later.

“Not until you make it up to me.” Wrapping her arms around his torso, she snuggled up to his back.

He adjusted her legs around his waist, crossed them at the ankles. Sensors relayed her low body temperature and thready pulse. His wife was hanging in there. Barely. She had to make it. She had to. He wrapped his hands around her thighs. “Ready?”

“Just a minute.” Her warm breath puffed passed his ears. “Mom is blathering on about electrical impulses and locking everything in place.”

Ahh. Mom had used Nell’s own chemical energy to create a miniature shield. He hoped the cerebral interface could maintain it for the trip to the shuttle. Her electrolyte balance was at dangerously low levels.

Nell rested her chin on his shoulder. “Done.”

Holding tight, he rolled his legs under his body then rose. His wife’s body remained wrapped around him. “You still with me?”

“Hmmm. Tired.”

He strode to the door. The words urging her to rest spring-boarded on his tongue. But what if she never awoke? Yet, sleeping would give Mom more energy to work with. “I love you, Nell Stafford.”

She mumbled and a soft snore washed down his bare chest.

He could have sworn she said vampire, but that made no sense.

Balancing one boy on his shoulder, Rome carried two toddlers under his arms. He made an odd sound as he staggered from one side of the corridor to the other. “Pull up. Pull up. We’re going to crash.”

Each one giggled, squirmed, and kicked. The boy on his shoulder steered by turning Rome’s head.

The five and six-year olds bounced around him wanting their turn.

“Nell taught him airplane.” Waiting outside the door, Keyes balanced a toddler on each hip.