Page 68 of Alien Mercenary's Wife
"I can't promise that." Her honesty cut deeper than any lie would have. "But I can promise I'll fight like hell to make it back to you."
"Then that'll have to be enough." He leaned down to press a gentle kiss to her lips, softer now, tender in a way that made his chest tight. "For now."
She settled against him again, her breathing gradually evening out as exhaustion claimed her. But he stayed awake, memorizing every detail about her… the weight of her in his arms, the sound of her heartbeat against his chest, the way she fit against him perfectly.
Soon. Then she'd be gone, walking into danger while he waited helplessly for news. His arms tightened around her, protective instincts warring with respect for her choices.
But tonight, she was his. Safe and whole and exactly where she belonged. For now, that would have to be enough.
17
The medical bay felt like a sardine can with four people crammed inside. Reese sat on the examination table while Tal operated the scanner, its quiet hum lost beneath the conversations around her. Eric stood at the secondary console, expression locked on the readouts scrolling past. Lina worked the corner station, fingers flying across the data interface.
"Neural pathway support is proceeding better than expected," Tal said, manipulating the holographic display. "The stimulator's encouraging natural repair."
"The enhancement is remarkable," Eric added, an odd extra rattle to his deep voice. "This cellular regeneration shouldn't be possible with human physiology. Krynassis, yes… but not human."
Lina snorted from the corner. "Yeah, yeah, Eric… we get it. You think Krynassis DNA is better than everything out there."
He looked at the other scientist over the top of his glasses, one eyebrow quirked up. "Well, of course it issss. Why do you think I spliced it into my DNA?"
"More likely you spliced it in so Zad would notice you," Lina threw back, their banter that of old colleagues.
Reese tuned it out as she watched the medical data scroll past. It was all just alien symbols to her. But the improvement was noticeable. There were more green areas where there had been red, connected lines where there were gaps before. Even a grunt like her could read things like that.
"Still…" Tal's voice tightened. "We're treating symptoms, not the root cause. The Imperial treatment protocols I've studied could?—"
"No." Reese cut him off, making all three scientists look up. "We've discussed this. I'm not interested in Imperial intervention."
"But the cellular reconstruction techniques—" Tal began.
"Are off the table." She kept her voice level despite her irritation. "I'm sure you three can figure this out without the Empire."
Tal looked doubtful, but he returned to his scans without arguing. Eric and Lina exchanged a glance.
"What is it?" Reese demanded, looking between the pair of them.
"Actually," Eric paused, pursing his lips as he considered his words, "there might be an alternative."
"What kind of alternative?" she asked, not sure she wanted to hear another complex explanation about genetic mods and experimental procedures.
"Zero's brother," Eric replied, folding his arms over his broad chest. "Jex. He's an expert in the tech that Scorperio units were based on."
"Eris's Zero?" She blinked. "He has a brother?"
"He does," Lina said, looking up. "It was news to us as well. We thought Zero and his sister were the only two of their kind."
"Jex has been studying the systems used to create the original Scorperio prototypes," Eric continued. "If anyone understands how these implants work, it's him."
More cyborgs working on her case should've set off alarm bells. Instead, something loosened in her chest. These people knew the tech from the inside out, not from some manual.
"And he's not Imperial?"
She refused to put T'Raal on the spot, especially after everything he'd done for her.
"Definitely not." Lina gave her a slight smile. "He's with the Reapers, another mercenary unit. They're not Imperial. More like... aggressively independent?"
"What would getting him involved mean?" she asked.
