Page 45 of Wrath

“Yes,” I said with a nod. “They are ten times the size of the original creatures, their scales, blood, hormones, and some of their internal organs have all been modified. I doubt their DNA would match much anymore.”

An uncomfortable silence settled between us, the same crazy thought crossing our collective minds.

“Our scanners had a hard time picking up the Jadozors in the base when we were outside because of the disruptors,” I added before turning towards Nathalie. “Plus, they lose consciousness once their environment can no longer support life.”

She nodded slowly, but the uncertain look on her face made my anxiety raise another notch.

“What?” I asked, in a stern voice.

“Well… It’s a long shot considering we’ve emptied their ship,” Nathalie said hesitantly. “But the research clearly states the Kryptids were designing them to be like liveships once they reached full maturity. Space isn’t meant to sustain life. If they somehow got their hands on mature Jadozors, the creatures would be unfazed by the absence of life support.”

“Long shot or not, I’d like to put that theory to rest,” I growled. “Is there any parameter we can give the A.I. to search for a specific trait that such adult Jadozors would possess?”

Nathalie chewed her bottom lip for a moment as she pondered, then her eyes lit up. “I’ve got an idea. Can you bring up the database?” she asked Myriam. “If you can make a copy of the enhanced Jadozor’s specs, I can tweak the parameters.”

Myriam immediately went to work while Nathalie tapped a few instructions on her com, probably to recover some data about the creatures. I shifted uneasily on my feet, refusing to admit this worst-case scenario could be happening. Kwan’s hand settled on my back, gently rubbing it in a soothing fashion. I smiled, some of my tension draining as I gazed at my woman’s face with affection.

The chime of an incoming communication startled us all. The women paused what they were doing, their eyes widening as Linette opened the channel.

“She knows you’re here,” whispered a feminine voice through the com.

I immediately recognized it as belonging to the Lenusian female from the Coalition team. Although she was currently considered as an enemy, the terror in her voice had my protective instincts roaring to the forefront.

“You can’t speak back to me, and I don’t have much time,” the Lenusian continued. “Marcelle is insane. She made herself like the creatures, and the creatures like her. She controls them and wants to build an army of them. But she doesn’t have a female. She needs your eggs. She’s killing us because we won’t help her anymore. Please, help us. We tried to kill her, but she doesn’t stay dead. Help us!”

My blood turned to ice upon hearing those words. “No fucking way,” I whispered.

The same horror I felt was reflected on the faces of my companions. The Lenusian started to speak another sentence but the familiar, high-pitched screech of a Jadozor resonated through the com.

“No! No! Maker protect me!” the Lenusian whispered before the communication ended.

“How the fuck did she make herself like them?!” Nathalie exclaimed. “And how is she controlling them?”

“There is no time to figure that out right now,” I said in an imperious tone. “Did the Jadozor get to the Lenusian?”

“It’s still showing it roaming the hallway,” Myriam replied. “I think she just went quiet to avoid drawing its attention to her.”

“Good. Now, we need to put Marcelle and these beasts down and try to save as many of the crewmates are possible. They have answers we absolutely need. Whatever procedure she underwent, Marcelle didn’t do it to herself. We can’t have that kind of crazy science going into people—especially not people like her.”

“We need to get aboard that vessel and nuke those beasts,” Dread said.

“Agreed,” I replied before turning back to Nathalie. “The question is: will the virus work on them?”

She nodded. “Technically, yes, it should. Obviously, I can’t guarantee it beyond the shadow of a doubt without testing it. However, the enhanced nanobots that Myriam created target a protein marker in both the cells of the pituitary gland and of the zogesterone hormone, in addition to the secondary protein target found in its bones, teeth, and the hard shell of its gland. They should still be present in this evolved form. But it could take a greater exposure and for a longer period of time to obtain the same result.”

“That’s good enough for me,” I replied. “Myriam, is there any way you can open their hangar or shuttle bay for us? We need to get in.”

“Yes,” Myriam said, turning back to her keyboard to get to work. “My backdoor into their system is still active. Just be aware that you won’t be able to go into your battle form. I should be able to reinstate life support, but I can’t guarantee that it won’t revert.”

I clenched my teeth at the unpleasant news. Fighting in our regular form would greatly impede our effectiveness. It didn’t lessen our strength or speed. However, a sword was nowhere near as powerful as my scythe-blades. Although wearing a suit wouldn’t prevent me from using my scorpion tails, the helmet meant no shooting mouth darts or spitting acid.

“Do the best you can. And please, transfer the position of the crew and the creatures to my armband,” I said. “Varnog, Kwan, we need one of the stealth shuttles loaded up with virus canisters while Dread and I go suit up.”

“Should I join you in battle?” Varnog asked.

I shook my head. “Too risky. Even if the Lenusian claims Marcelle can control the Jadozors, we don’t know how. You couldn’t mind-control them before. Until we’ve properly assessed the situation, I’d rather err on the side of caution. Just be ready to revive our sorry asses or to come rescue the crew if it comes to that.”

“Understood,” Varnog replied.

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