Page 6 of Heart’s Prisoner

Nicole’s smile dropped slightly and she nodded. “It’s been challenging. But they are confident you can help.”

“I hope so.”

The elevator doors opened and Lana stepped out with Nicole into a hallway lit by soft blue light trailing along the walls. To each side were sets of doors with keypads similar to that of some hotels. Numbers ran along each side starting from twelve hundred. Nicole took Lana down toward the middle and stopped at room twelve sixty-three. Lana used her keycard to open the metal door which slid open just as she slid her card through the pad.

“I’ll wait out here and call twelve,” Nicole said as Lana stepped inside. Lana nodded to her just before the door slid closed and locked soundly. She turned to look around and take in the sight of her new home.

It was a small apartment really, but comfortable none-the-less. A bed at the back with a makeshift window above, making it look similar to day-light. A kitchen area with a table to the left, a desk, and a computer to the right along with a small closet. Through another door beyond, she could see a shower. It wasn’t much but it was enough. Her bags, just like Nicole said, were already placed alongside the bed. On the bed itself was her uniform. Gray and blue with a black star.

Lana changed quickly and met Nicole back outside. With her arrival now expected, they made their way back to the elevators. This time when the doors opened, they found a Scibot waiting inside. The humanoid, faceless robot, with a computer screen mounted on its chest, turned towards them.

“Hello, please let me know if you need assistance.” It spoke in a male voice.

“Did you have Scibots on your base?” Nicole asked.

“They were only just being introduced.”

“They can be handy when they want to but, oh, how I hate seeing one loping around in the dark.” Nicole seemed to shudder.

The elevator moved down and it was then Lana noticed her heart begin to race. When the elevator stopped and the doors opened, they stepped out to a small, yet long, foyer where a large, thick steel door sat at the end guarded by two soldiers. To one side of the foyer, a window looked into a security office where an officer sat within.

“Hello David, I’m here with Dr. Hart,” Nicole said as they approached.

David looked up at Lana with icy blue eyes and nodded. He typed in a code into his computer and a loud beep responded. The door at the far end began to slide open and the soldiers before it stepped aside.

“This is as far as I go,” Nicole said. “Good Luck, Doctor. If you are ever in need of...well, anything, don’t hesitate to contact me.”

“Thank you, Nicole.” Lana’s heart thumped harder but she gave her a confident smile. “I know I'll be seeing you.”

Lana watched Nicole step back into the elevator before she turned around. She took a deep breath, kept her head up, and walked on alone. The soldiers said nothing as she walked past and when she entered through the wide door, one turned to follow behind her.

Beyond the door revealed an impressively large, hexagonal room, carved and smoothed out of the very rock. Vertical lights melded along the walls, lighting the chamber in dim white light that cast a yellowish glow on the walls. To each side of the hexagon was a thick metal door similar to the one she had just entered through. Lana could only assume behind each was one of the alien species Lazris kept contained within its compound. Her assumptions were correct when she glanced upward and saw several monitors hanging from the ceiling, each showing video feed into the different cells. She didn’t linger on them long enough to see the aliens in detail. Instead, her focus turned to the mix of computers and lab equipment that had been placed in the center of the room. Several men and a few women gathered around the machines too caught up in their work to take notice of her approach. The soldier who had been following her now took the lead, directing her around the equipment. A containment pod to her left gave her glimpse of an unidentifiable plant growing within, purple and veiny. Past the pod, she spotted a water tank holding strange lime-green crustaceans with some kind of coral growing on their backs.

"Doctor Hart," she heard the soldier say. Lana forced her gaze away from the tanks to steer her eyes over to the two men before her. One got up from his seat at a long desk with several monitors and pinned her with a blue-eyed gaze, his lips twitching up into a smile.

"Miss Hart, Cole Kingsley." Cole extended his hand and Lana took it, squeezing gently. She was forced to lift her head up to the towering figure in order to meet his eyes. Despite his graying hair, Cole was much younger looking then she had anticipated; no wrinkles or facial scars to be seen, his face perfectly shaved and clean. His smile turned into a grin, showing perfectly white teeth. "It's a lot to take in at first, isn't it? You're not the first to come walking in here with an awestruck stare."

Lana blinked and shook her head. "It's just hard to believe I'm really here."

Cole released her hand. " It can seem daunting, but I think you'll feel right at home in a few days." His eyes shifted over to the second man wearing a military guard's uniform sitting beside the desk, his feet propped up on its edge. His black eyes regarded Lana as Cole gestured to him. "This is Officer Justin Torrence, head of security and defense on level twelve."

Torrence didn't move to stand or extend his hand, nor did he smile. His eyes flickered down Lana's form then back up. Lana noticed his hands moving in a circular motion and saw the flash of a wrapper. His jaw moved in a similar motion as he chewed on what she could only assume was some kind of gum or perhaps tobacco. He gave her a single nod and a low grunt of acknowledgment.

"Nicole told me you were ready to get started as soon as possible," Cole said, turning back to her. "I'm glad to hear. We've been impatient to have you. Can I assume rightly that you have been given all the necessary information about what you'll be working with?"

"General Hartin sent me a few files and gave me the run-down but only the barest of details on the...specimens within. And what is required of me exactly".

Cole nodded. "Makes sense. There's already been talk of information getting leaked. Thankfully nothing serious enough but we can never be too cautious." Cole gestured beyond Lana, pointing to the doors along the walls. "As I'm sure you guessed, behind each door contains the assets, all contained within their own unit. Yours"–he pointed to the door opposite the one she had come through–"will be within unit three. I assume General Hartin has already warned you of its nature."

Lana stared down the door of unit three. "He mentioned it was aggressive, yes."

Officer Torrence laughed low behind her. Lana turned to look at him and watched as he set his feet on the ground and leaned forward. "Aggressive is an understatement, Miss Hart. Try violent and offensive. Hostile."

Lana frowned. "Jacob...General Hartin, mentioned that too."

Torrence fixed his eyes with hers. "Then you won't take offense when I say that I think you being here is a fuckin' waste of time."

"Careful now, Officer Torrence," said Cole.

---