“Raymond!” Dollard’s voice echoed through the lab as he looked around.
That’s the tech’s name, Brix whispered through the connection, as if afraid of being heard.
Duh, Rust shot back.
Dollard stalked to the nearest computer, scowling. Within moments, his scowl shifted to shock and his face turned ashen. “I can’t…” He spun toward the security officers and gestured toward the cells. “Verify every subject is accounted for.”
Shit, does he already suspect we’re in on it? Esben asked.
I bet all hell’s going to break loose, Rust said with what Doug was certain had to be glee.
Stay calm, Doug warned as a guard appeared at his cell door and looked inside. Checking on us is protocol, that’s all.
As long as no one looks in the cryopod, we should be fine, right? asked Emilryde.
Yes, Doug answered, although he was anything but certain.
Dollard had returned to reviewing the tech’s data as the guards moved from doorway to doorway. When they reached the last cell, one turned back to the doctor. “All accounted for, sir.”
Pausing his computer work, Dollard opened a comm channel. “Jinson, we’re on lockdown until further notice. No one in or out. And I want a sweeper in here ASAP.”
“How bad, sir?”
“We’ve had a breach. Stand ready to initiate protocol eight.”
Doug’s blood turned to ice.
What’s protocol eight? asked Brix.
Only one word was needed for an answer. Termination.
Chapter 17
Attie looked around her room one last time to be certain she hadn’t forgotten anything. Everything was regulation tidy, from the blanket on her bed to the neatly spaced uniforms hanging in the closet. She’d packed the few civilian clothes she owned, her toiletries, and a holo-cube with pictures of her family. The rest of her memorabilia were back on Alleigh, and the cube was all she had. Probably better to travel light, anyway, she thought. At least the thought of seeing Marlis again held back her tears.
Picking up Twerp’s disk, she refitted it onto the wristband. “Ready to go, Twerp?”
“Yes, Attie. Would you like me to adjust my sensors to your biometric signature?”
“I think it’s better if we keep you out of sight for now. I’m hiding you in my bag. Stay quiet, okay?” She tucked the device into the inside pocket of her rucksack and hoisted the strap over her shoulder.
Looking in the mirror a final time, she adjusted the burgundy blouse and charcoal leggings she’d chosen. She’d considered wearing her usual uniform, but an admin temp boarding the shuttle might look suspicious; at least in civvies she could claim to be headed to shore leave.
“Nebulas, I’m really doing this.” She was leaving everything behind. Including Doug.
The pirates had failed to free him at least once, and now she was abandoning him, too. Not that he didn’t have a good reason for staying, but it made her sick that the corporate government her family had served for generations—and still served—had become this corrupt. Slavery had been banned in Syndicorp space centuries ago, yet what were Doug and the other cyborgs, if not slaves?
Worse than slaves. Lab rats.
“I can’t just leave him here to die,” she muttered.
Muffled inside her rucksack, Twerp said, “I assume you are speaking about Doug. Why are we leaving him behind?”
“He has some sort of nanites that Syndicorp can use to kill him if he tries to escape.”
“Oh, dear. I have nanites, too. Do you think I am in danger?”
Attie’s fingers and toes went cold. “You what?”
“I have the same nanites Doug does.”
Attie dropped the bag and dug Twerp out. “I thought the nanites were part of the top secret test program. How do you have them?”
“When Marlis had them, a few burrowed into my circuits before her immune system destroyed them all. They are designed for biological integration, but I was able to adjust the base code to effectively pair with my programming.” With a note of pride, Twerp said, “My processors can perform over 30 operations per millisecond.”
Attie recalled Doug mentioning that Marlis had the nanites at one point. “Why didn’t Doug notice you have the nanites?”
“He did. That is why he wished to destroy me. But I was able to block him because of my adjustments to their programming.” Twerp made a whirring noise. “Comparative analysis complete. I believe my iteration of the nanites will be resistant to an external termination program. We may proceed with evacuation.”
But Attie was no longer focused on leaving, at least not without Doug. “Twerp, if you shared your program with Doug, could he reprogram himself to resist being killed, too?”
“It is possible. However, I have no way to contact him. My wireless system is still malfunctioning.”
Attie paced her small room. If only she’d known this before Doug left, maybe he could’ve come with her. There had to be a way to get the information to him. If she went back to level three, would they lock her inside the Consort Chamber again? She still had her uniform. It might give her a chance to see Doug.
Then she remembered the chip from Doug’s heart. She’d worked it into the hem of her skirt for safekeeping. “Twerp, I want to try something.”
“What do you have in mind?”
Pulling the orange Consort uniform out of her hamper, Attie located the chip, then popped Twerp’s disk off the wristband once more so she could open the back. “Doug said this chip could give him remote access to your programming.” She placed the chip flat against Twerp’s exposed circuits as Doug had instructed. “Can you reverse it to reach him?”
“I will try. Do you think if we save him, he will agree to help me acquire a bipedal unit?”
Attie clutched the device tightly in her hand, almost like a handshake. “Twerp, if this works, I’ll find a way to get you one myself.”
Doug’s head ached. For the last few minutes, the cyborgs had been arguing about what to
