Page 42 of Defiance
“Nothing primary,” he said, gesturing me through security with a wave of his hand. “But estimations of a select few environments. We printed them with newly acquired funds related to the institute’s recent emphasis on human outreach.”
“Merit collar?” security asked behind me.
“No,” Novak said as he stepped through the door, his ears twitching this way and that. He was focused on the exits, vents, and cameras as he checked in with security, cataloging the lobby as I preceded Dr Faxou inside. I was gushing information in an excited torrent.
“I’d love to take a look!” I said breathlessly. “What regions have you simulated, if you don’t mind me—”
I turned around to find Dr Faxou’s hand on Novak’s chest. He waved his fingers to push Novak back from the building with a terse shake of his crest. Sath saw it at the same time I did and leaned down, trying to distract me from the scene. Whatever he was about to say, he never got the chance to say it.
“Hey!” I barked, putting myself between Novak and the elderly researcher. He blinked at me out of sync. “I’m sorry, but Novak is my bodyguard. He stays with me.”
“Master Halloway, we have several female staff here that—”
“Of course,” Sath rushed to say. He joined us in the vestibule where a security agent glared at Novak like he caught him cheating at cards. Workers in the lobby hushed, staring at the commotion. “We can make an exception.” He turned to Dr Faxou. “Novak has been respectful. He’s important to Ms Halloway’s sense of comfort.”
I gaped. “Mycomfort?”
Novak’s tail squeezed my ankle twice. I turned around to find him unloading his utility harness. “It’s alright, MsHalloway,” he said in a detached tone. “This is standard procedure.”
“See?” Sath said with a relieved sigh. “Why not show her the lab floor while we wait for the security screening, Dr Faxou?”
I let them pull my attention away, glaring skeptically one last time at the checkpoint. Sath squeezed my shoulder with encouragement and the look on his face was genuine. He murmured assurances that Novak would be right behind us like he always was.
I took a deep breath and let Sath’s good nature soothe me. I was genuinely excited about the aquatic lab and didn’t want to miss it.
The lobby was two stories above the most colorful collection of tanks I’d ever seen. Each tank was as long as a football pitch, but none of them were the same shape. Some folded over themselves, while others were straight and narrow. I instantly felt like a child staring at the tubes in a waterpark, trying to choose which color I’d slide down first. The one with ice-encrusted black rocks and salt stalactites in choppy wintergreen waters? Or maybe the pink waves lapping at red beaches with coral trees that stuck out of the surf like succulents?
I swore breathlessly. This was my fecking Disneyland!
Dr Faxou cleared his throat, pointing one of his long fingers at two tanks near the end of the row. “We’ve two Earthly experiments based on LakeBykahl, yes, and the ah,VerdayIsland Passage. I hope we’ve interpreted their names correctly,” he said. “One fresh water, one salt water. But we hope to produce more funding. Your homeworld is the most diverse we’ve seen, Master Halloway. It’s a study in terraforming, yes? There is so much to learn…”
He continued down the line, describing each experiment and what they were hoping to achieve. Some water runs,as he’d called them, had been built decades ago and were stable ecosystems. Others like the blackened plague water from Byd Farrwel were examples of their ongoing development of genetically modified mollusks for specific clean-up endeavors.
But my attention drifted to the shiny reflection of Novak in the glass while Faxou spoke about the good work they were doing. Both he and Sath smiled with enthusiasm, chuckling about the cute way the Dharateen frilled clams spit. They were willfully blind as the security guard forced Novak to open his mouth. He grabbed the top of his muzzle and pressed his thumbs into Novak’s venom sacs while the agent’s tail jerked, his scales raised like hackles.
“They’re so curious,” Faxou chuckled, wiggling one finger good-naturedly. “You can tell when they’re hungry by the way their little blue feet stretch for the surface. Sivi tells me I’m more dedicated to feeding them breakfast than myself.”
“Excuse me,” I cut into their charming story. I desperately wanted to enjoy it with them, but couldn’t while Novak was getting his sensitivecolearacrushed right behind us. “I need to use the restroom.”
Sath’s shoulders jolted, smile pinched with concern. “Certainly! It’s just this way. I’ll take you—”
I held up my hand, turning on my heel towards Novak. The guard was now stuffing his tail into a bag clipped around his waist like a straight jacket.
“No,” I shut Sath down. “Thank you. It’s a vulnerable process for a human and I want my bodyguard.”
Novak’s ears were turned backwards as he hid his muzzle from view with his hands and adjusted his fangs and tongue. He caught my eye, a crease in his brow.
I grabbed his wrist with my nose upturned, adrenaline forcing my heart into a sprint.
“The loo. Now.”
“The what?”
I dragged him down the hallway to a series of private restrooms, uneasy glances following our heavy steps. As soon as the door shut, I pulled open the bag on his thigh, smashed the privacy puck he kept in it, and tossed it in the sink with a huff of trembling fury. It flashed with light and my ears suddenly felt muffled as if we were in a blanket fort.
“What the bloody hell was that?” I hissed, baring my teeth.
He raised one brow, giving me an unimpressed shrug. “A security checkpoint.”
