I wasn’t in the mood for intrigue. “What does this have to do with our plans?”
“We have an ace up our sleeve. A biological weapon that becomes hostile when confronted with anything unlike itself. It doesn’t play well with others.” Bryson watched me while I took in his comments.
“You want to use them against the Velibar.” I smiled. “How?”
“We’re working on that. For now, we need to plant these specimens on the enemy ships. Each of these will grow. We’re waiting to find—”
A tanned woman walked over, her face long. “Sir, you have to see this.”
We approached the third case, and she pointed to the moss. “This is the second test subject we scraped from the Matriarch. She’s active again.”
“Amazing.” Bryson rubbed his palms together. “Can we establish male and female versions?”
“Our data suggests asexual reproduction is occurring. The creatures are quite dormant the majority of time, as if they’re saving energy. We assume it’s for cellular division. This is the first proof we’ve had that they will in fact duplicate beyond the Matriarch. For the sake of familiarity, we call the original specimen she, but that’s not necessarily true. We still have much to learn,” the woman told us.
I’d slept through half of my biology classes, and this was one of those times I wished I’d paid attention. “So you want us to somehow sneak these on the enemy ship without getting killed first.” I pictured Veera assaulting me in the mining facility on Eris. Her red eyes.
“That’s the gist of it, Arlo.” He took three vials and cautiously placed them into a compact box, sealing it shut. “Take these.”
I held the box, looking at it. “Do they come with instructions?”
“You or Jade will know when to use them, should the chance arise. We’ll seek out every advantage we can get, Arlo.” He set a hand on my shoulder, and suddenly, his smile faded. “This invasion is going to be a long and difficult battle. I don’t know if our people are up to the task.”
“The Corporations?” I asked.
“That’s what I mean.”
“I’ve been to the Moon and the facility on Mars. Everything is progressing nicely,” I told him.
“Yes, but that’s not what I’m worried about. These Primaries will use our people like fodder. They’ll throw lives at the Velibar inside their Defenders, and the executives will hide out, far away from the action. It will be catastrophic. Can you imagine the aftermath? And that’s if we win.”
We left the room, finding ourselves alone in the foyer of the underwater secret laboratory. “Frank Under is causing a rift between the Corporations.”
Bryson pursed his lips. “I expected that would happen.”
“You must be a voice of reason, Bryson. You’re a level-headed man, with optimism.”
“I’m also the newest Primary CEO, and I doubt my word carries much weight,” he said.
“Maybe that’s exactly what they need. A different point of view. They’ve been working with the same minds for years now.”
Bryson walked toward the elevator doors. “I have other things to do.”
“Like finding your wife,” I muttered.
He turned around, his composure all but gone. “Listen up, Arlo. You don’t know what it’s like to fall in love with someone so deeply you can think of nothing else. She was the most beautiful person I’d ever known. It took me months to convince her to date me, and even then, her head was somewhere else. She was adventurous. A wild spirit. But she loved me. And when we had Holland, I was certain she’d relax and stay grounded with me on Hawaii.”
I listened, seeing his shoulders slump and his eyelids flutter.
“When the Board mentioned a team going to Proxima, she declared her intentions to me. Casually, at first. I still recall the moment. Holland was a baby, maybe six months old. She was holding him, smiling at the wonderful child we’d created. A month later, she said she’d thrown her name into the ring, and asked if I’d support her bid for a position on Obelisk.
“She told me that Preston Lewis was captaining the exploration vessel, and that her chances would increase if I contacted him personally. My father had been a great friend of his, and we’d spoken a couple of years prior at his funeral. I asked Catarina if there was any possible way to talk her out of this dream. She just shook her head like I was the crazy one.” Bryson closed his mouth and rubbed a hand over his face. “I believed her when she said it would only be temporary. Three or four years, max, with training and complications. She’d had a child, but this was a dream she wouldn’t let go of. I couldn’t imagine someone wanting to leave Holland so soon. I adored him, but I sensed a twinge of regret in her eyes when she thought her adventuring days were over.
“You had no choice but to help her live out her dream,” I whispered.
“I’ll find her, Arlo. I have to. And my son. Go to Refuge. Bring help, because we’ll need it.” Bryson pushed the elevator button, and we headed up.
“I’ll do my best.”
“And when you’re done, we’ll hit the Velibar where it hurts. Their homeworld.”
FOUR
Luther pointed at the empty seat across from him. “Jinx is still sleeping.”
“What’s wrong with that guy?” Varn asked.
We were leaving for the Belt tomorrow, and I had to straighten this out before we went. “I’ll get him.”
I walked the halls to Jinx’s room and knocked on the door. When he didn’t answer, I used the override code Bryson had given me and entered his suite. It smelled like an animal’s lair.
“Jinx,” I said, stepping over a crumpled uniform on the floor. I checked the bedroom, but he wasn’t in the disheveled bed.
“Jinx?” I called loudly.
“Arlo?” He stepped out of the bathroom, and I didn’t even recognize him. His hair was still long and curly, but his wild beard was gone. He wore a clean SeaTech-blue jumpsuit, and even his
