Dekkir (Galaxy Alien Warriors #1)(46)
“The Golden Strain adapted perfectly to her human cells for the same reason she is so compatible with you. It took only a minor genetic mutation for her to bridge the gap. But now that she has, the Golden Strain in her system has been altered by interaction with her human DNA. I’m culturing the human-variant Strain now, in large quantities, outside her body.” The slight, Ancient Lyran with his human-like cropped haircut and blue contact lenses winked at me.
I frowned at him, folding my arms across my chest. Even now, Grace was being interrogated by her former superiors, one of whom was hostile, a liar, and mad. Lyrans never trusted those whose minds could not be reached by seer powers. They felt no connection to other people, and thus, they had no reason to care for or consider other people. Norcross was like that. Even I, whose mind was more adapted to communicating with my flying mount Keer than contacting other thinking minds, had felt the alarming blankness behind Norcross’s eyes and smile.
“When are we rescuing my mate?”
“Rescue should not be necessary. She is not currently in any danger. I am helping coach her through her interrogation. She is drawing the commander’s attention to Norcross’s bald insubordination and attempts to foment war. He is not actually acting on behalf of Earth Command, you see, though he received orders to soften Lyra up for a mass takeover.” Tabirus smiled reassuringly, but my eyes narrowed.
“That’s a dangerous gambit. Yes, you have explained the troops have more loyalty to the commander than this lieutenant, but you’re ignoring simple facts that any warrior would understand.” Seer’s blindness I had heard it called. Those whose livelihoods centered on their psychic powers tended to rely on them too much, ignoring their instincts and sometimes common sense. Tabirus had shown signs of this before, and I wasn’t having it.
He blinked and sat back in his office chair before the bank of medical computers. “You think so? Would you mind elaborating?”
I sighed and tossed my blond hair back over my shoulder impatiently. Upstairs in Wickman’s office, Grace was in danger, for she was in Norcross’s presence. The thought of her small, curvy, wide-eyed form surrounded by Earth soldiers, Norcross close enough he could touch her soft cloud of black hair before I could again, made me seethe inside. She must be protected.
“Their supreme leaders have sent down orders to destabilize our world and make war on us. This base commander has resisted the orders. His subordinate, the lieutenant, is carrying them out anyway. First, how do you know he was not installed specifically for his lack of conscience so he would carry out orders like this without protest? You cannot read his mind, and Earth is too far away for you to parse psychically.” I looked into Tabirus’s blue-masked eyes sharply until he glanced away.
“You have a point.” He frowned as he continued tapping away at one of the tablet controls he was working at, staring at the big screen in front of him.
I peered at it briefly. “I can’t read that.”
“Ah, give me a moment.” I felt a slight tug at my mind, and the incomprehensible symbols in front of me blurred, then suddenly became readable. I wondered if he was translating for me telepathically or if this was some other ancient trick.
I read the screen quickly, noting something mentioning propagation vats and a percentage: 10%, rising to 12% in the brief few moments I watched.
Tabirus adjusted a dial and pressed a button. “Go on.”
“Norcross was able to get a room full of drone operators to go along with his plans. Then he was able to go behind Wickman’s back and tap a hundred men to come down in dropships to try to take Highfort. To do that, he must have both a talent for persuasion and at least some outside help. Someone from Earth is helping him move around his superior and use people to get what Earth Command wants done. And at least some of the troops support Norcross far more than Wickman. If they find out Wickman is rebelling against Earth Command, even more will turn against him. Even if he is ethically in the right.” And my woman is caught in the middle of all of it.
Tabirus blinked slowly and then offered a faint smile. “I believe we can sway the bulk of the humans here against Norcross,” he insisted.
I scowled at him as I stood beside his chair, watching the screen. Its mostly black surface gave back a shadow of my long, pale face and hair, reducing my eyes to a pair of gold crescents. “Explain. And your plan had better not involve an appeal to their consciences.”
He smiled slowly. Over his shoulder, I saw the readout reach 18%. “It is not human consciences, but human consciousness I seek to appeal to today.”
Before I could ask what the cryptic Ancient meant, the door to the lab opened, and a man in more of those laboratory whites strode in with his coat flapping. “Dr. Stirling!” the man called as he looked around. He reminded me a bit of Grace with his dark-brown eyes and short, tightly curled hair. His skin was paler than hers, a bit like my father’s, and he spoke with a slight, drawly accent I could not place. “You called for my assistance?”
He drew up short as he saw me standing unmanacled by the doctor. “What . . . what’s this?” he asked in shock.
“There’s no reason to be alarmed, Dr. Eastman. Our captive has been given a fail-safe injection to ensure his cooperation.” He glanced my way, and I sensed his thoughts at once. He will think I have injected you with destructive nanites that will kill you if I use a remote signal, so try not to look too comfortable.