Starcrossed - Bianca D'Arc Page 0,79

while Sally and Ginny stayed behind cover next to the now-open doorframe. When Krysta gave them the signal, they rushed out of the cell and into a long hallway, leapfrogging each other’s positions as they went, doing it by the book, like the troopers they were, even if they were mostly unarmed.

Only Krysta had a weapon, and it was her actual arm, so nobody could really confiscate it. Not easily, at least.

Ginny was surprised by what they found as they moved along. The place seemed almost empty. Oh, there were signs that people had been living here. Refuse bags were lined up in one of the cubbies they’d passed, full of garbage and sealed behind an odor-blocking field. But they didn’t encounter any people until they happened upon a doorway that was made of a clear substance. Thick, Ginny could tell, from the optical distortion, but clear enough that she could see the laboratory beyond.

There was one man in the lab, and he saw her as she peered through the transparent door. His eyes grew round, and he immediately hit a control to his right. Ginny assumed it was an alarm, but instead of locking down, the transparent door opened.

The man came around his lab bench and walked right up to Ginny. He wasn’t armed. He looked upset, but he didn’t seem threatening. Curious, she waited to see what would happen. She didn’t have a weapon, but Krysta was as good as. She stood beside Ginny as the man approached.

“How can this be?” the man asked, clearly dismayed at something. Their escape? Somehow, she didn’t think so. “You are human! But you are not. Not entirely. You are,” he said, pointing at Krysta then dismissing her as he turned back to Ginny. “But you are not.”

“You took DNA samples while we were unconscious?” Ginny asked. Things were starting to make sense to her. Maybe this jackass needed to see it with his own eyes that what they’d claimed was true.

“I never believed what they said,” the man admitted. “It was preposterous to think that the pure jit’suku race would have merged with humans at some point in our history.”

“What about the empress whose marriage to your Emperor Tren brought about the long period of peace. Did you think that was a hoax? Did you not realize she was just like me? A human hybrid with jit’suku DNA?” Ginny felt outrage fill her, even as something else began to burn in her veins. A righteous anger that felt familiar. And somewhat…divine.

“It had to have been a hoax. There were no formal records kept of that time. No way to prove those claims,” the man countered, his voice rising.

“But you have proof now,” Sally said, her voice low and deadly. “You saw the evidence for yourself. The Valkyrie is one of those hybrids.”

The man turned red with anger then white as a sheet as emotion rode him hard. “She is an abomination! And you’re even worse. Human, jit’suku, and something I’ve never encountered before. You have codes from some other race, entirely.”

Ginny felt more than saw Sally detach her floater from her belt to let it capture the moment from a better angle. Sally had their backs, should someone else come down the corridor, but so far, this strange man was the only one they’d encountered. Ginny wasn’t altogether certain he was even sane. Especially after what he’d just said about Sally.

“Emperor.” Tiggy’s voice came over Tigh’s earpiece as he left the ship with Hansa and Jimnai at his side. Henny remained in the ship, at the weapons station, in case of trouble, and Tiggy was still monitoring coms. “Valkyrie has left the cell. The trio is heading down a long hallway. I’m getting a live feed from Krysta’s belt-cam.”

This was good news. They were all together and mobile. He just hoped they didn’t run into any trouble before he got to them. Summoning his bots, he left a smaller circle of protection around the ship and took a well-armed platoon with him. Between himself, his two friends, and the platoon of incorruptible bots, they would meet any resistance with deadly force, if necessary.

As the bots opened the access to the underground facility like they were peeling a metal can, Tigh and his friends stood back. The bots were designed with multiple sensors that could detect hidden traps and unsafe atmospheric conditions. When the report came back that there was no threat of gas surface agents in use, Tigh and his friends