Page 33 of Alien Mercenary's Wife
The comm unit chimed as the connection established. A man appeared on the small screen—broad-shouldered and heavily muscled, with dark close-cropped hair and stubble shadowing a strong jaw. Dark eyes held intelligence and something harder, more dangerous. But it was the black metal arm she caught aglimpse of that made her attention sharpen. It looked like part of a seamlessly integrated bio-organic system that made her own crude exo-leg look primitive by comparison.
"Hey, beautiful," he said to Eris as a greeting. "How's our newest crew member settling in?"
"Still getting used to the idea that people actually want to help her." Eris angled the comm unit so both women were visible. "Zero, meet Captain Reese Payne. Reese, this is Zero… my husband."
Zero's smile transformed his serious features. "An honor to meet Tank's former captain. What can I do for you?"
"Neural interface analysis," she said, getting straight to business. "I need to prove these implants were defective by design, not accident."
"Scorperiounits?" Zero's expression sharpened.
Eris leaned forward. "Zero, what happened to your sister? The medical company that held her… did you find out if that was connected to Nexus Dynamics?"
"Yeah, and to Anselm Corporation," he said, the words sharp with venom. "They held Jesh in a false reality facility, conducted medical experiments, stripped her cybernetic neural pathways."
Reese felt the blood drain from her face. "Anselm. I've seen that name in the financial records. They're connected to CosGen Biotech."
"Which owns controlling interest in Nexus Dynamics," Zero confirmed grimly. "Same people who made your defective implants, Captain. They ran an experimentation program under medical research cover on my sister, then systematically eliminated witnesses who threatened their operations."
The pieces clicked together with sickening clarity. "That's how they keep getting away with it. They're not just a medical device company—they're part of something much bigger."
"Yup. Government connections, unlimited funding, that kind of shit." Zero's fingers drummed against his console. "But they're not invincible. No one is."
"Right." Eris stood, stretching muscles cramped from sitting on the narrow bunk. "Zero, can you cross-reference her medical data with what you've got on Anselm's operations?"
"Already on it. I'll have a preliminary analysis within the hour." Zero's face grew serious again. "This is much bigger than a simple corporate cover-up now that we know Anselm's involved. But you're safe here with us."
"Understood." Reese met his gaze through the comm unit's small screen. "And Zero? Thank you. For the help, for the information. For caring about strangers."
"We're not strangers anymore." His smile was genuine, carrying none of the sharp edges from earlier. "We're family. That's how this works."
"I'll let you get back to work," Eris said, though her voice carried the reluctance of someone who'd rather keep talking to her husband. "Love you."
"Love you too, beautiful. Stay safe." Zero's expression softened as he looked at his wife. "And take care of her."
"Always do." Eris's smile was private and intimate. "Talk to you tonight?"
"Wouldn't miss it."
The connection ended, leaving Reese alone with Eris and realizing she was no longer fighting her battles alone.
"He's nice," she said finally. "Your husband."
"The best." Eris's smile was soft, private. "Smart enough to keep me alive, stubborn enough to put up with my attitude."
"How long have you been married?" It was strange to think of Eris as married, and to an alien cyborg, not less. At least she assumed Zero was an alien. He had to be… humanity didn’t have the kind of tech that had created that arm.
"Not long. Everything happened fast after I joined the crew." Eris settled back against the bulkhead, more relaxed now that the serious business was finished. "What about you? Anyone waiting back home?"
"No." The answer came automatically. "Hard to maintain relationships when your body's falling apart and you're fighting corporate lawyers."
"Fair point." Eris was quiet for a moment. "The crew's good people, though. Different from military units. More like... family."
The opening was subtle, but Reese recognized it. "T'Raal seems... competent."
"Competent." Eris's eyebrow arched. "That's one way to put it."
"What would you call him?"
