Reaching the medical unit was turning into an ordeal. Lucas could feel his perforated lung struggling to keep up with the pace he had set despite the relatively short distance he had to cover. However, he was made to take punishment. It wasn’t the first time he had done something like this, but it was the first time the one he was rescuing was an unenhanced human. There was a good chance he was doing more damage by moving her in such a way, but he couldn’t remove the blade from Zoë’s torso. Although good at his craft, Lucas was also well aware of the limits of his skills. The girl required a doctor who knew how to operate on natural humans. Thankfully, Dr Saiko was already in Medical prepping for their arrival, so that was one less thing for the Demon to worry about.
However, one vital question remained in his head. Why was he so vested in saving the life of the fragile creature in his arms? Practically speaking, Second Officer Kurtz was a nobody – an expendable pawn. Just some random human at that, not even a Terran, who had earned his trust, but there were quite a few of those in the Demons’ past, and neither Lucas nor his kin bothered to help them as much as he was right now. If Lucas stopped and thought about it, he was doing it because he wanted to avoid the reality of his situation. He couldn’t deal with the fact he had lost everything. Alas, he couldn’t give up because such a thing was against his very nature. That’s why the medic chose to think of Zoë as a person of importance, using the girl as a means to move forward.
Struggling to take a good breath, he covered the last dozen meters and slammed into the door of the surgical room Dr Saiko had marked in his message. One look at the ashen colour of the girl in his arms told Lucas everything he needed to know; he was running out of time. The damned thing was locked with a touch plate next to it, most likely to prevent people from wandering inside by mistake. Whoever had designed this without the use of an emergency-recognition AI was an idiot. This whole United Republics was nothing more than a forsaken backwater hick nation which would run itself into oblivion. Pressing Zoë’s body against the door, Lucas freed his right hand and slammed his palm at the thrice-damned plate. The crystal cover shattered from the force he had used, but at least it registered the command. With a whine, the reinforced bio-plastic door began to retract into the top of the frame. It gave him the extra second he needed to get a proper hold of the girl in his arms.
To his surprise, the layout of the medical unit followed what he had been used to seeing in such places. Thankfully, some form of sanity had been preserved over the years. Quickly, he placed Zoë on the operating table in the middle of the sterile room just as a pair of women rushed in his direction. Even if their white and red uniforms were a mystery to the medic, he gathered that they were Dr Saiko’s assistants from the way they moved.
“Severe penetration trauma. Class IV Haemorrhage. Respiratory failure. Cardiac failure. Fracture in right zygomatic bone. Shattered right lacrimal. A significant number of minor contusions and lacerations.” The one to his left women began to drone while they began to fuss over Zoë’s body, gently but firmly pushing him to the side.
Expertly, they moved a large surgical robot above her and adjusted its settings according to their examination. Once the machine took over life-support and resuscitation functions, Lucas allowed himself a single moment to relax. Despite his suspicions, the assistants appeared to be somewhat competent. His assessment of them increased further when the one to his right turned to him.
“You have done field triage. What drugs were used on the patient?” The woman’s voice was calm, and her expression relaxed to an unnatural degree, a clear indication that she was under the influence of an emotional suppressor. A rare but not uncommon practice Helix was familiar with, which made dealing with her a lot easier for him.
“ICU blocker nanites, standard med-stim unit and twenty milligrams of coagulator foam.” This should have been sufficient information. However, he could see confusion in the medical assistant’s eyes. “A single dose of STTGA steroids will neutralise the med-stim. Benzodiazepine-based anaesthetics are to be avoided. The chip for the implant-control unit will have to be replaced before the cybernetics can be restored.”
“Noted. The doctor has finished decontamination, so please vacate the operating theatre.” The woman nodded and gestured towards the door.
Ignoring her demand, Helix unfastened his chest armour and pushed the power pack from his back. With the help of his combat knife, he removed the upper part of his jumpsuit and lightly touched his wound. This put an end to the assistant's growing fussing that he wasn’t supposed to be there. On the contrary, the woman was utterly shocked by what she was seeing, making it transparently clear that she was a civilian physician at best.
“You… How are you alive!” She took a step back, torn between being horrified by the wound in his chest and her training demanding that she should help him. “Clara, you assist the doctor. I shall attend to this one—”
“You will attend to Officer Kurtz, or I swear by the Holy Scripture, not even the Blessed Saint will save you from my wrath!” Helix snapped at the woman, knife still in hand.
“Nurse Bo, do as he commands.” The emotionless voice of Dr Saiko forestalled whatever the assistant wanted to say. “Helix, I would very much appreciate it if you do not threaten my staff.”
The physician moved past him, his red coat replaced by a synthetic antiseptic surgical suit with a bulky rebreather mask obscuring his face.
“Is the patient prepped?” He asked of the two nurses, stopping at the console on the side of the surgical robot.
“Yes, doctor.” They spoke as one, and Lucas could see emotional suppression work overdrive to keep them calm.
“Good. Decontaminate yourselves and join me.” The physician paused for a second before turning his head to look at them. “Bring the bacterial screen. The operating theatre has already been compromised, and there is no time to prep the secondary one for organ transplant.”
Once they were out of earshot, Dr Saiko spoke again. “Helix, your wound appears to be severe. However, based on the scarring I saw, you have experienced far worse, and I am convinced you know how to treat yourself. Still, I would recommend that you allow Nurse Bo to assist you.”
“I’ll be fine.”
From the pouch at the back of his belt, Lucas removed a programmed stem-cell foam dispenser and filled the hole in his body before sealing both sides with self-adhesive nanofiber mesh. If only he could have used that on Zoë. Alas, it was gene-tailored by the ordained scientists at Osiris specifically for him and him alone. In a day, his lung would fully repair itself, but for now, he could use it at reduced capacity. A couple of localised pain suppressor injections, and he was as good as new. Well, mostly, at least. It would be three or four days before he was in combat-ready condition by the standards of MASS Demon.
“Not good…” Lucas heard the physician mutter while a thin blue laser sliced through the blade in Zoë’s abdomen. “Helix, I require two banks of B negative. They are in storage unit A on your right. Officer Kurtz has lost too much blood, and I will need time to stop the haemorrhaging.”
Without a word, the Demon marched to the wall and retrieved the items in question. As he did so, Lucas noticed that the names on them were far too long. Getting a crash course on speaking the damned language – the locals used – through the reactive AI and the enhanced capabilities of his cortex implant was one thing, but reading and writing were another. Then again, the labels might as well indicate something else entirely. At this point, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if these people had stopped marking the medical supplies for individual soldiers.
Silently, Lucas attached the blood banks to the designated place on the surgery robot and stepped back. His hands itched to join Dr Saiko. It took all his willpower to keep his distance. To keep himself occupied, the medic began the difficult process of repairing his jumpsuit so that he could equip the Predator suit. Pausing briefly when the nurses re-entered the room. The one called Clara carried with her a set of four long metallic bars and what appeared to be a powerpack, while in the hands of the other one was the unmistakable form of a vacuum storage box. It was comforting to see that the people of this time still kept the practice introduced by Constantine III Rütter of having replacement organs on hand for military personnel.
Lucas kept quiet while he observed Dr Saiko operate on Zoë. Begrudgingly, he had to admit that the man knew his craft very well. By the time the second hour, since he brought the incapacitated girl to Medical, he could safely say that she was in good hands. It was then that the surgery robot began to emanate a sharp, high-pitched beeping. The unmistakable sound of every medical specialist’s worst nightmare – something had gone horribly wrong.
“Blood pressure is dropping!”
“The equipment cannot compensate!”
“No signs of external or internal bleeding!”
“Core temperature is spiking! 38.2°C… 39.7°C … 42.1°C! Tripling the antibiotic dosage!”
“Still spiking! Administrating enriched gallium coolant through implant network!”
The voices of the nurses merged into one as they shouted over one another. Luca’s mind kicked into overdrive as he began to assimilate the information. All signs pointed to an acute haemolytic transfusion reaction, but it was progressing too fast, too aggressively.
“AHTR confirmed,” Dr Saiko yelled, showing anger for the first time since Lucas met the man as he checked the labels on the blood banks. “Type B negative, enriched with ITO cells. That is impossible! There should be no adverse reaction!”
“Attaching dialysis module.” The one called Clara spoke as she moved to the storage unit behind her to retrieve the equipment.
“We will have to drain the patient.” Nurse Bo shook her head. “There aren’t enough banks left, and we are out of O negative.”
“Did you test her or the blood?” Lucas interrupted their argument. From bitter experience, he knew that although rare, errors did indeed happen.
“Second Officer Kurtz’s file states that her blood type is B negative.” Dr Saiko shook his head. “And the equipment auto-tests the banks once they are hooked. They are indeed B negative.”
“The robot should have performed an automated transfusion test.” The Demon insisted, stopping outside of the bacterial screen, which separated the operating bed from the rest of the room.
“This feature has been disabled due to interference from the various cybernetic augmentations done to Academy personnel…” The doctor’s voice trailed off, and the fingers on his left hand darted towards the console’s screen. With evident frustration, he detached the screen and passed it to one of the nurses, who, in turn, gave it to Lucas. “As expected – errors.”
The medic glanced at the error warning before dismissing it to read the data behind it. He couldn’t accept that a complex machine such as a surgical robot would have an issue with cybernetics. Artificial enhancement of humans had been done long before the creation of the Holy Empire and would continue to be done into the future. That didn’t change the fact that Zoë’s implants were an utter joke in terms of build. As far as function and intent, Lucas was slightly impressed, but the manufacturing was piss pure. Of course, he was aware of that to an extent from the surface-level data the examination chair had provided. But seeing the full detailed specs was a different thing entirely. He was certain that he could assemble far more robust hardware from the scraps in the nearest trash compactor. Even if the girl survived the current operation, over the next ten or so years, the implants would kill her slowly and very painfully. In order to change that outcome, he would need to replace every single piece of hardware in her body. But that was assuming there was a later.
“DNA profile. Show it to me.” Well, if the surgery robot wasn’t able to gather the necessary data, Lucas would need a different approach.
Dr Saiko stared at him for a second before taking the screen angrily and inputting a series of commands. “I understand what you are trying to achieve, Helix. However, neither of us is a geno-tech. Targeted antibiotics, the coolant and filtering the blood through the dialysis module gives us only four hundred and seventy-five seconds. After that, Officer Kurtz’s blood will be too toxic.”
“No! I want to see her DNA profile!” Lucas barked at the doctor once the screen was back in his hands.
“Helix, that is her profile…”
The medic snatched the item back and brought it closer to his face. He had to be wrong. There was no way that what he was seeing was true. It simply couldn’t be. But the markers were all there.
< REX, D.: COMMODORE NEVEROK WANTS TO TALK >
< REX, D.: FACE TO FACE >
< REX, D.: HE HAS A MESSAGE FOR YOU >
< REX, D.: THE GATES BENEATH THE GARDEN >
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
< REX, D.: SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN OPENED >
Lucas read the words that had suddenly appeared in the corner of his vision and snapped the screen in his hands in two. Anger the likes of which he had never experienced flared in his heart. The Demon had to fight his body to prevent himself from going immediately into combat readiness as his muscles tensed. Barely restraining himself, he looked at shaken Dr Saiko.
“You mentioned that the tech she’s equipped with is experimental?”
“Yes.”
“Did that mean that she would receive special medical supplies?”
“Technically – yes. A batch was to be sent along with replacement heart, liver and lungs in case of an emergency in order to keep the experiment results clean from contaminants.” Dr Saiko nodded slowly. “However, only the organs made it here due to damage during transportation. A replacement set is scheduled to arrive in three months.”
“Once this is over, you and I will need to have a very long talk, honoured physician.” Lucas snarled through clenched teeth and stepped through the bacterial screen to the sounds of protests and yelling.
Expertly, he jabbed the injection port of one of the blood banks hooked to the surgery robot with the auto-injector he retrieved from his medical kit. He removed a second vial and placed it on top of the machine.
“Disable the dialysis module,” Lucas spoke in a menacing, low voice as he retrieved a short, flexible tube with needle pumps on both ends. “Ignore the infection. Should her temperature jump over 45°C, begin cooling her off and use that drug. It’s an immunosuppressor. A quarter dose should do the trick. If there is no improvement after ten minutes, use another quarter dose.”
He pierced the designated area in his forearm with one end of the tube and the injection port with the other. After mixing a small amount of his blood with the one in the bank, he removed the item and dropped it on the floor. Lucas moved towards Zoë’s head and gently ran his fingers through her hair.
“I’m sorry, but I have to go. I… We made a promise, and Demons never forgive. But I made sure you will survive this… My young, broken Oni.”
With that, Helix stormed out of the operating theatre, knowing that he could no longer restrain the rage burning in his soul.
----------------------------------------
“It’s done. I’ve sent it.” Donovan spat on the cold floor and licked the blood from his lips.
“You could have spared yourself all that pain, Chief.” Alexei’s calm, wheezing voice carried a hint of mockery somewhere to his left. “I honestly do not understand what you have to gain by resisting. You, of all people, should know it to be pointless.”
A moment later, the old Commodore stepped into his line of sight. Arms held behind his back, the wraith of a man took a single step forward, seemingly lost in thought. The emergency red lamps of the room Monic had brought Donovan into cast deep shadows over Neverok’s gaunt face. Although a part of the Chief knew that this was carefully orchestrated to make the bastard appear more intimidating, he had to admit that it was working. Actually, the Commodore’s methods were far more effective than the beating he had received from Monic. Alexei’s calm and outwardly friendly way of asking questions while inflicting unimaginable paint was what truly broke Donovan.
No, that wasn’t correct, he admitted to himself. The Chief had accepted defeat the moment the insane woman behind him dragged him into Section 05. Even his ego wasn’t capable of denying the truth. He had screwed up, and there was no way out. The only reason Donovan had kept his mouth shut while Monic used him as a punching bag was out of spite.
“Nothing to say?” Alexei let out a tired sigh. “Come now, Chief. There is no need for this not to be a civilised conversation.”
“Why?” Donovan choked on the blood and tooth fragments gathering in his mouth.
“Why is a very broad question,” Neverok looked with disdain at the crimson droplets that stained his immaculate white coat. “You’ll have to be more specific.”
“You know I don’t work with that bastard!” The Chief snapped out of desperation. He could understand Monic’s actions. After all, the woman was a sadistic sociopath. “All I wanted was to be ignored – to enjoy a quiet, comfy life. I don’t want anything to do with you or that monster! Still, I did my duty as an Officer and patriot—”
“This is not the time for jokes, Chief Rex,” Alexei interrupted him, his voice turning to ice. “Duty? Patriot? You? I don’t know if I should laugh or feel insulted.”
The Commodore’s piercing gaze scrutinised him for a long moment, and with each passing second, Donovan felt like a child being scolded by its parent.
“Sure. Yeh! I’ve lined my pockets, like everyone else. Sure as hell, I kept a blind eye to what you’ve been doing here! But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m loyal to the Academy and the UR, you sick fuck!” That earned him a fresh wave of pain as Monic hit the left side of his jaw, shattering the few remaining teeth there.
“There was no need for that, Agent Scrota,” Neverok spoke at the woman, clearly displeased despite his calm voice. “Some unsavoury language is to be expected in his current state. I’ll assume that you acted because his emotions overstimulated your gifts. But I will not tolerate disobedience.”
“I am sorry, Commodore. It won’t happen again.” Monic barked, and Donovan could hear her take a step back.
“It’s good when people know their place.” A mirthless smile formed on Alexei’s face and faded away as soon as it appeared. “For a time, I thought you knew yours, Chief. I’ll concede that Agent Scrota has overestimated your involvement with Helix. Alas, intentionally or not, you’ve aided him.”
“I’m not a traitor!” Donovan cried, feeling the walls close in on him. This was it – the end. Despite accepting his fate, he wasn’t ready to die.
“Oh, please!” For the first time, the Commodore raised his voice. “I don’t care about your pretend allegiance. The Republics and your precious Academy are set on a path of self-destruction, and there is no changing that.”
Alexei stepped out of his line of sight. However, his words still echoed in the Chief’s mind. Donovan knew that the old fossil was corrupt, but he would never have doubted the bastard’s loyalty. Not even for a second. But what he said was treason, especially when it came from the mouth of a Commodore. This didn’t make any sense, and that scared him, but it also gave Donovan hope that there might be a chance to save his skin after all. It was a slim one, but after the despair he’d experienced, it was more than he could hope for. There was just one problem: Alexei wasn’t the type to share.
“Chief Rex, I thought you smarter than this. But since you insist, I know for a fact you are a traitor.” The Commodore returned, holding a slender, curved metallic box with a hard-link cable dangling from one side.
Unceremoniously, Neverok threw the item into Donovan’s lap. “You recognise what this is, yes?”
It took his eyes a moment to focus, but as soon as his vision cleared enough recognised the object as a portable implant-memory reader. One specifically designed for extracting base information from brain implants. Such things were rare, and Donovan knew only what he had been taught in the Academy. That, however, was a long time and from what little he could recall, the information that could be extracted was extremely limited. His initial fear turned to confusion as he pondered where the Commodore was going with this.
“Good. Then I won’t need to explain,” Alexei wheezed and sat on a stool opposite him. “The restored data is not that important, unlike learning who it belonged to. Care to guess?”
Neverok was fishing, so Donovan kept his mouth shut. The last thing he wanted was to dig his own grave by revealing something the bastard didn’t know. After a brief moment where the only sound that could be heard was the Chief’s laboured breathing, the Commodore cleared his throat.
“I appreciate silence. It’s a valuable skill, often underestimated. Sadly, it is wasted on you.”
“I’d never work against you, Alexei…” Donovan shook his head, too afraid to lift his eyes because he knew the expression he would see on the bastard’s face.
“Well, that’s different,” there was a sigh, and his head was forcefully pulled up. The cold stare devoid of compassion that greeted him made him shiver. “Too bad it’s a lie. You’ve been eager to get rid of me from the moment we met.”
“Yes… I hate you, that’s true. Would space you if I could… But I know better…” Donovan struggled to breathe and could feel the vertebrae in his neck crack under the force Monic was exerting on his skull. “I’d never… work with Helix… He forced me to… But I tried—”
Alexei nodded, and the pressure was gone. “Of course.”
“My apologies.” The Commodore continued after what felt like an eternity. “Apparently, I gave you the wrong impression. Granted, Helix is a dangerous individual and most certainly not somebody I expected to see. To be honest, his sudden appearance caught me by surprise.”
“Just give the order, sir, and I’ll make sure he doesn’t bother you anymore.” Monic chimed behind Donovan, earning herself a weathering glare.
“Agent Scrota, delusions are a sign of weakness.” The way Alexei spoke made it quite clear that Monic wouldn’t interrupt a second time. “Besides, I have observed the extent of your disappointing capabilities. You struggled to bring our guest, let alone go against a Demon like Helix.” The Commodore paused for a second, lost in thought, before a crooked smile appeared on his lips. “However, I am willing to give you a chance to redeem yourself. Find Helix and kill him. Bring me his head. Go. Now.”
He dismissed the woman with a shooing gesture, but that didn’t matter to Donovan. All he could do was question if his ears were working properly as he processed what he had heard. In that single moment, the Commodore had revealed so much that the Chief could use to bargain for his life.
“You… You know him! He’s after you!”
One of Alexei’s eyebrows shot up, and he sat back on the stool across him. A half-formed smile twisted the man’s wrinkled face into a disgusting mask of superiority.
“Close, but ultimately wrong. Still, you are at least smarter than that idiot.” Neverok leaned forward and picked up the implant-memory reader. “Thankfully, I’ve never had the chance. But someone very close to me knew him.”
Donovan watched as the silvery box danced far too dextrously in the old bastard’s fingers for a man his age. “You and I are quite alike. Like you, I wished the universe to forget about me. I’ve made so many mistakes that I can no longer remember them all.”
“Ha!” Donovan couldn’t help but chuckle at such an obvious interrogation technique.
“It’s the truth,” Alexei took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Do you know what a demon is, Mr Rex?” The Chief shook his head, convinced that the ancient fossil had lost his marbles entirely. “Malevolent spirits born of human superstition in a time when our ancestors still prayed for rain to their imaginary gods. Though, in the case of this particular monster, the definition would be: an instrument of destruction given birth by Taboo Research and Dark Sciences that should have remained buried in the deepest vaults of Hell’s poisoned crust.”
“Never thought you to have interest in the esoteric, Commodore,” Donovan laughed at the crazy old fool.
“More of a hobby, actually,” the corners of Alexei’s mouth curled into a smile. “You see, back in the day, I had a bit of a spat with my cousin… Or was he my uncle? It gets confusing on that part of the family. Suffice it to say he was a man of great means. A powerful man worthy of respect, and thanks to him, I had power of my own. Far exceeding my current station. I came to realise that later when it was too late. But that’s the folly of youth, I suppose.”
“So what? We all have sob stories,” Donovan shrugged.
“True.” An electric shock burned the nerve endings in his right arm, forcing the Chief to let out a scream of primal pain. “Please do not interrupt me again. Now, where was I? Oh, yes. That youthful mistake led to a far greater one. In my haste and need to prove myself, I made a deal with a Demon. One I foolishly thought I could go back on without repercussions. They taught me fear and how quickly and utterly it can cripple a person’s mind and spirit. It spelt my ruin and poisoned all I managed to achieve. I haven’t slept soundly ever since that day.”
“Why…” Donovan spat on the floor as he struggled through the pain, still coming in waves. “Why tell me this?”
“Because it’s liberating to share one’s burdens. Helps with stress. You should try it sometime.”
The Chief knew the man was insane from the moment he began speaking about his past. But he hadn’t expected this kind of absolute madness. If he had known how far gone the Commodore was, Donovan would have killed him sooner, and it would have been a kindness to the ancient bastard. Instead, he was about to be tortured to death.
“Let me get this straight. You think Helix is an assassin from your past? And now you blame me for bringing him here? Hate to break it to you, Neverok, but the guy’s a bit too young for that to be true.”
“Looks can be deceiving, my dear Donovan.” Alexei’s face became an emotionless mask once again. “If there is anyone to blame, it’s Dr Werner. For all her accolades, that woman is an utter idiot. Because of her, something I thought lost was released from its cage.”
“To be honest, I expected that between you and that insufferable von Eisstahl, you would deal with Helix.” Neverok stood up and pushed the stool away with a flick of his foot. “But you failed miserably, making neutralising him all that more difficult. Nonetheless, the situation can still be salvaged.”
“Then why not strike a deal with me instead? Why torture and threaten me, you insane bastard!” Donovan snapped, having reached his limits.
“Because of this!” Alexei placed the memory reader in front of his eyes before throwing it to the side with all his might in a rare show of anger. “Because you brought the Mo-Saa here! And none other than Renata Gad! One of Carnage’s lackeys!” The Commodore took a long breath and continued in a calmer voice. “Decades of hiding myself from that monster ruined. All because I underestimated your greed.”
“I… I didn’t! She wasn’t here for you! I swear!” Donovan screamed as an electric shock after an electric shock began to fry the nerves in his limbs one by one. “Smuggling… Refuelling… That’s all! Please stop!”
“How much did you tell her? Did she have access to the mainframe? Did she have a long-range communicator?”
“No! Nothing! No! No! It hurts! Please! No! Make it stop! No more pain!”
A moment later, the electric shocks stopped. However, Donovan’s entire existence was focused on fighting off the after-effects of the torture. It could have been hours or seconds before he finally regained some semblance of self as he spat thick saliva mixed with blood and pieces of the inside of his cheeks on the stained floor plating. Through teary eyes, he looked at his bound hands to make sure they were still there, to see them shaking uncontrollably. A new wave of panic assaulted the Chief of Security as he realised that there was a good chance he would never be able to use them again. And depending on how far the nerve damage went, cybernetic replacement might be impossible. In a single moment, Neverok had made his existence a living hell.
“Trust me, Mr Rex. I could do so much worse to you if I wanted. So far, the nerve damage is only temporary. For the most part.” Alexei spoke calmly as he wiped Donovan’s mouth with a dirty rag. “However, I think I’ll give you a chance to redeem yourself. Not because I trust you, but because you will do anything to save your sorry hide.”
“Yes… Anything….” Donovan nodded vigorously, his mind still ablaze.
“I have a shuttle, a corvette-sized skipper actually, in need of a pilot. You will take it to Calopsiki Prime, Izmir Port, in the Dalia Sector. There, you will find a man by the name of Mercer Crow. You will tell him it’s from Lilyana and surrender the shuttle and its cargo to him and him alone. After that, you will disappear. Understood?”
“Yeh… Yes…” Donovan managed in between sobs. “Dalia Sector, Calopsiki Prime, Izmir. Mercer Crow, a gift from Lilyana.”
“Good.” Alexei’s head tilted to the side as he addressed someone else. “Shawl, Lorance, you may enter. Take Chief Rex to the shuttle and release him in an hour.” His attention then returned to the Chief. “And Donovan, don’t be an idiot because I will find you. Then our conversation will not be as civilised as this one.”
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