Project Genesis (16 page)

Chapter 21

“You must be
crazy.”

“She already
knows, Slade. Everything.”

“Which I’ll be
taking up with the General as a matter of due course.”

Vin leaned back in
his chair in Slade’s office and crossed his arms over his chest. “You should
call him now.”

Slade hesitated at
his encouragement, phone in hand. Vin waved. “But,” Vin made sure to smile with
all his teeth. “I need to tell you that I already spoke with General Adams and
he’s agreed Helen can stay here as long as she promises to undergo periodic
testing to see if Project Genesis will have any long term effect on her.”

Vin hated the idea
the moment the General brought up the compromise. The idea that something
inside of him could change Helen scared him down to his boots. But his hellcat
had jumped at the chance. She didn’t care as long as they were together and Vin
had finally relented.

“Helen Scott
agreed to this?”

Vin nodded.

Slade sat his
phone down carefully on his metal desk and eyed Vin. “And you expect me to
believe you agreed to this?”

In a fashion. Vin
nodded once more.

Slade sighed and
continued to stare. Vin’s shoulder blades started to itch. If anything, he
expected Slade to be thrilled with another guinea pig to study in his pet
project. Why was his handler reluctant?

“Then I guess I
have no say in this. I hope like hell you never regret this, Vin.”

Ominous words, he
didn’t feel like deciphering. Not bothering to reply, Vin got to his feet and
prepared to leave.

“Michaels?”

Vin stopped at the
door and turned.

“You’re a lucky
bastard.”

Vin grinned for
the first time since walking in the office. “I am, sir.”

***

“What did he say?”
Helen jumped on Vin the moment he walked into his rooms. She’d paced back and
forth during the thirty minutes he’d been gone to speak with his boss David
Slade. The man gave her the willies but Vin seemed confident he’d agree to them
staying together.

“He said yes.”

Vin’s arms lifted
in welcome and Helen leaped into his embrace. “I love you.”

“You, too,
hellcat.”

Epilogue

Six months
earlier

“Commander Onei, I
think you need to contact the Senior Commander.”

Rys paused from
reading the data scrolling across his screen to eye his CA. “I assume there’s a
reason you want me to reach out to your father, Anya.”

Blue eyes winced
but the rest of her face remained stoic. “I believe Senior Commander Golden
will be interested to know I’ve identified where the Rekabians headed when they
escaped the fleet.”

With Anya’s words,
every gaze on the deck turned in her direction. Rys rubbed his finger over his
lips and contemplated this announcement. The fleet had been searching for the
Rekabians for months since their ship never showed with its crew for
sentencing. Their latest acts of treason warranted the death penalty but the
Rekabians sought to avoid justice.

“Where are they,
Anya?”

Her dark head
tilted and she studied his expression before answering quietly. “In the
unchartered quadrant, section 7.”

“On screen,” he
ordered, straightening in his chair. All planets in the unchartered quadrant
were to be left alone. Those worlds didn’t yet have contact with other life
forms and their technology was desperately behind the planets of the Empire.
Leave it to the Rekabians to find the one place they’d never think to search.
Of course, they didn’t count on his CA’s diligence. 

Anya’s fingers
flew over the keypad on the right arm of her specialized high back chair. Her
dainty form appeared childlike in the red leather seating but she was far from
a child. A wire probe extended from the left arm of the chair to a port on her
left temple connecting her to the communications and life support system on the
cruiser. From that chair, Anya controlled any and everything on the Roman ZII.
It also enabled her to use the energy from the Battle Cruiser as a power boost
for her psychic talents.

Rys felt his lips
soften with a smile. A dangerous position but Rys trusted her like he’d trusted
no other Commander’s Assistant during his time serving as a Commander on a
battle cruiser. Seeing her in her element, so comfortable with the controls, no
one would ever know how Anya doubted herself behind closed doors. One of the
strongest Psi Talents to graduate from the Academy and yet she possessed no
arrogance.

“Here it is, sir.”

A blue and green
planet filled the screen with several other planets in the same vicinity.
“What’s that?” He used the controls on his own chair to zoom in.

Anya bowed her
head and focused. When she faced Rys, her eyes glowed and he realized she’d
accessed her talents. “We have no name in the computer files for this planet.
It has one yellow sun and one moon.”

Rys propped his
elbow on his knee and leaned forward. “Life forms?” He prayed she answered in
the negative.

“Millions.”

An audible gasp
went up among the crew.

“What’s the
closest cruiser to Sector 7?”

Anya swiveled to
face forward, hand flying once more. “None.” She typed again. “Ex-Commander
Jakar Kirkwood can reach the planet in six to seven months if he travels at
hyper speed.”

Six to seven
months. There was no telling how much damage the Rekabians could create in that
amount of time. Rys had no choice. “Hail Senior Commander Golden. He’ll want to
get the Admiral’s approval to send Jakar.”

Rys rose to his
feet, heart heavy at the lives the unknown world would lose while the Rekabians
reined havoc. He hoped their defenses were up to a sustained battle and that
his good friend and former colleague Jakar wouldn’t find a decimated planet in
its wake.

“I’ll be in our
room when you’re done, Anya.”

His wife blushed
and Rys bit back his grin. “LT, you have the helm.”

Acknowledgements

This book was an adventure to write. I struggled, I hunched
over the laptop daily and basically ripped Helen and Vin to pieces to get their
story right. In the end, I can admit to being satisfied thanks to my editor, my
sister and a good friend who wouldn’t let me cut corners.

Thanks to all the readers who eagerly awaited my next book
and sent me emails of encouragement.

Thanks as always to the CWC-Crazy Writer Chick crew. Judy
and Lori, I wouldn’t be here if not for you both including me in your circle of
writer friendship a year ago.