by Kory Shen
"You know our situation," Dr. Hill said. "It's a numbers game. We're running out of Beastmasters, and we need a way to fill the ranks. Jack has one proposal for moving forward." She gestured toward Dr. Preston. "I have another. We want your cooperation with one of us."
I crossed my arms and glanced down at Zoe, remembering her earlier warning. I sure as hell didn't trust Cody's father. And Dr. Hill…
"Fine, let's hear it," I said. It wasn't like I had much of a choice, as Dr. Hill had reminded me many times before.
Dr. Preston rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Excellent. I know you're a true soldier at heart. What we need is your life force. We'll siphon it off at regular intervals—"
Zoe crouched low and hissed.
I took a step backwards, bumping into the chair. I almost stumbled, but I caught myself with my boosted agility. "You're going to drain our life force?" I asked.
"Jack, maybe you should let me do the talking. Hunter, sit down," Dr. Hill said.
I frowned at Dr. Hill.
"It'll be easier for you to take sitting down," she said.
I grudgingly sat back down. "Fine."
Dr. Hill scowled at Dr. Preston. "Let's start from the beginning. The purpose of Beastmaster Zeta Squad."
"Purpose?" I asked. "We're training to beat up Mekanics, aren't we?"
Dr. Hill nodded. "In part. Its full purpose, though, is to repopulate the Beastmaster ranks. Or, rather was. Or will be." Dr. Hill sighed. "Obviously, everything I'm telling you is classified and doesn't go beyond this room."
I shrugged. "Sure, but how are we supposed to repopulate Beastmasters?" Dr. Hill's choice of words had been strange. Like she was starting a colony or something.
"We've had some success creating Beastmasters from scratch," Dr. Hill said. "Well, not quite from scratch."
I stared at Dr. Hill. "You…you can create Beastmasters?"
Impossible. Zoe was too shocked to stay quiet.
"It's quite difficult and rather inefficient," Dr. Hill said.
"But it works," Dr. Preston said. "Problem solved."
"It's too early to say that, don't you think?" Dr. Hill said to him.
"If it works, why do you need me?" I asked.
"We've tried cloning, other methods," Dr. Preston said. "But it wasn't until we discovered Staccato's higher Chimeric—"
"Staccato?" I quickly connected the dots. "You used Staccato's higher Chimeric to do something, didn't you? That's why he went insane? Why he lost his Avatar?"
"Jack!" Dr. Hill said sharply. "Let me handle this?"
Dr. Preston made a placating gesture with his hands. "Of course, Leah."
Dr. Hill turned to me. "We don't know why Staccato lost control. It could have been related to the procedures he underwent. It could be something else."
"What procedures?" I asked.
"Great question, Hunter. That's where Jack and I diverge. Our earliest efforts to clone Beastmasters failed. We have plenty of archived tissue samples from Beastmaster and Avatar pairs, but none of the stem cell protocols worked. Until we found the magic ingredient: Staccato's life force. We regularly siphoned off Staccato's life force to kick-start the cloning process."
Shit. So they wanted to suck my life away. Zoe's too. That was hardly a fair deal for us, even if it was for a good cause. I looked up to see Dr. Hill and Dr. Preston studying me.
"How much of my life force do you need?" I asked.
Dr. Preston smiled. "Each clone only requires a modest amount."
"Don't bullshit me! How much, damn it?"
Dr. Preston's smile vanished. "About a few days' worth of life force per clone. A modest sacrifice, don't you think?"
A few days per clone. A couple years of my life could fuel a new army of Beastmasters?
Assuming it works perfectly each time. I could sense Zoe's unease. Ask about the current clones.
"Does it work?" I did the math in my head. "Staccato went berserk two years ago. So you've been creating clones for a few years? What do you have, a bunch of baby Beastmasters?"
Dr. Preston chuckled. "Some would say that about the lot of you."
"Another good question," Dr. Hill said. "Generating an adult clone only takes several months. We use a growth accelerator. Physically, the process seems to work. However, there are still concerns—"
Dr. Preston tapped his fingers impatiently on his lap. "You've seen their potential. Cody is a clone."
"Cody?" My mouth fell open. He was some kind of science project? That didn't excuse his murderous, asshole behavior, but it did cast things in a different light.
Zoe made a hacking noise as if she was going to puke a hairball. I knew his damn dog smelled funny. I knew it.
"You want to create more people like Cody?" I shook my head. "No fucking way. He's an idiot. Not to mention a traitor, although no one seems to care." I snorted. It made sense. Protecting their pet project. "Yeah, lots of potential."
"As I was saying," Dr. Hill said, "there are still concerns about programming a clone. Programming an adult Beastmaster in a few months isn't an easy task."
"I admit my work with Cody has shortcomings, but it's nothing that can't be overcome." Dr. Preston nodded to Dr. Hill. "We can always try your methods. Look how well it's working with—"
Dr. Hill coughed loudly. "It's true the clones may work out. But I think an alternative plan is more viable."
"What plan?" I asked.
"A breeding program," Dr. Hill said.
Hm. Now that sounds promising.
Zoe!
"Breeding?" I furrowed my brows. I didn't quite share Zoe's enthusiasm.
"Before Staccato lost his Avatar, he managed to impregnate several other Beastmasters. I don't know if Zoe's told you about Chimeric physiology, but apparently only higher Chimerics can reproduce."
That's true. Like how your bees have workers and queens. But a bonded Beastmaster and Avatar, higher or not, shouldn't be able to breed. My genetic material mixes with yours as we evolve together. The scrambled genetics wreak havoc on sexual reproduction, to put it bluntly.
"But bonded Chimerics shouldn't be able to reproduce," I said.
Dr. Hill nodded. "None of the earliest trials made it past the second month. All miscarriages. That's where we come in. We extract the embryo after several weeks, dissect the pluripotent tissue, mutagenize, and screen for surviving stem cells. From there, we follow the cloning protocol. It's complicated, but it works without the need for an external life force. A mix of modern cloning and old-fashioned sex."
"Well, he would be passing on his life force in a different way, I suppose, if you want to quibble about it," Dr. Preston said.
Holy shit. It was too much all at once. My mind raced and settled on a particularly absurd idea.
"Staccato has kids?" I asked. An even more disturbing thought crossed my mind. "How old are they?"
"Staccato doesn't know that he has any children," Dr. Hill said. "The same growth acceleration process can bring these embryo-derived subjects to maturity in three months."
Zoe stirred. This is amazing, Dustin. I can't believe it.
"Who?" I asked. "Have I met them?"
"That's classified," Dr. Hill said, looking at Dr. Preston with a stern glare.
"If Cody's a clone, who was he cloned from?" What the hell? He clearly shared a resemblance to his father, but that would mean…
Dr. Preston smiled. "That's also classified."
I didn't care about keeping quiet around Dr. Preston anymore. This was too much.
So we might have clones and Staccato's kids running around in our own squad? Fucking hell. This is insane. And I thought I was the odd one out.
Zoe didn't reply immediately.
Zoe?
We can talk about this later. In private.
"So," I said. "Your breeding program." The words hung in the air, awkward and heavy.
"Yes," Dr. Hill. "I'm sure you'll agree that we have a number of suitable candidates." She tried to force a smile.
/> I stood up. "I'm sorry, Dr. Hill. I need time to think about all of this."
"Of course." She got up to usher me to the door. She whispered into my ear as she brushed past me. "We'll talk when he's gone." Her eyes flicked to Dr. Preston.
I nodded. "Dr. Preston. Dr. Hill. Come on, Zoe."
I left the office in a daze.
CHAPTER 5
I rushed down the hallways back towards my room.
Can you believe what they're asking? Ridiculous.
Zoe sent the mental equivalent of a shrug. It's not that unusual.
I stopped in the middle of the hallway. A group of soldiers glanced furtively at me while walking past in the other direction.
Wait. You think it's normal?
Bioengineering and breeding programs aren't that unusual to a Chimeric. We shapeshift. We evolve. Not just as individual organisms. As a society. As a collective. It's part of our identity.
Like the Second Strain?
Zoe bared her fangs. Not all change is good.
You're okay with their requests? With letting Dr. Frankenstein drain our life force? Not to mention what they might have done to Cody and Staccato. Shit!
I'm partial to Dr. Hill's breeding program. I thought you would be, too. I know this is exactly what you fantasize—
"I can't hear you," I said out loud, putting my hands over my ears and humming. I started down the hall again.
Hearing me doesn't require your ears.
"I can't hear you," I repeated loudly. "La la la."
Dustin. Dustin.
"Dustin!"
Stella stood in front of me. I stopped in surprise and lowered my hands from my ears.
"Are you okay?" Stella asked.
She would make an excellent breeding partner. Imagine yourself nestled between her slim thighs…
My eyes slipped down below Stella's waist before I caught myself. Stop that!
I pretended to bend over and sneeze. "Whew. It's been a long day, hasn't it? First, those crazy journalists. Then, Drake."
Stella lips grew right. "I heard they could be tried for treason."
"Treason?"
"Breaching military quarantine. Attempting to record a classified operation." Stella shook her head. "I tried to find you, but you were talking with Dr. Hill. Anything happen?"
She can't possibly know?
There's only one way to find out.
Zoe walked up to Stella and snaked between her legs, pushing them apart. My eyes drifted again towards the gap between her thighs. Zoe's tail trailed sensuously against Stella's inner thigh as she walked past it, flicking once to graze her mound. Oh fuck.
Stella raised an eyebrow. "What's gotten into her?" Miney, Stella's ferret, squeaked once from her perch on Stella's shoulders.
"Zoe, stop that! Bad cat. Bad cat. Get back here!" Zoe!
Zoe nonchalantly walked back to me before settling around my feet. I glared at her.
Just trying to push things along.
"A lot's going on for both of us," I muttered.
"Tell me about it." Stella made an embarrassed sound. "Oh, did Dr. Hill tell you?"
I paused for a second before realizing Stella had misunderstood who I meant. My brain crawled to a stop at the implication of what she was saying.
Oh shit. Oh shit. Stella knows about Dr. Hill's plan?
One question left. Her place or yours?
Shut up!
"Uh, yeah." I avoided meeting Stella's eyes. "So…it's crazy isn't it?"
Stella shrugged. "We all do what we have to. In the big picture, it's not much."
I gulped.
Zoe screeched in delight in my mind. Dustin, Dustin! Dustin, Dustin! Zoe kept chanting my name.
Jesus, Zoe. I can't think with you screaming in my head.
You can't think because all the blood's pooling in your other head.
That's not true—
Fuck it. I had to make my move.
"Right. Um." I scratched my chin and risked a glance at Stella. She looked slightly uncomfortable, but not in a bad way. "We could get a drink. At the mess hall. Like some water. Not that shit Drake made us drink. And not alcohol because they don't have any here. And we're too young to drink. Yeah. Want to get some water?"
Stella smiled. "That's sweet of you, Dustin. But it's not that big of a deal. Really."
I nodded. "Not a big deal." I swallowed. Nope, not a big deal at all. "Well, I'm heading to my room now, if you…" I made a vague gesture with my hands.
Stella raised an eyebrow. "If I…?"
"You know…"
You got this, Dustin!
Stella's face scrunched up in confusion. "I thought Dr. Hill told you we've been fighting."
I froze. Zoe. This is your fault!
Zoe meowed.
Stella was waiting for my reply. "Uh, no," I said. "I thought you were talking about something else."
"Which was?"
"Nevermind. It's not important." I massaged my temples. "Shit. I can't wait until this day's over." I looked into Stella's eyes. "You've been fighting with Dr. Hill?"
Stella looked away. "Nevermind. It's not important," she echoed.
"No, no. What Dr. Hill told me—it's literally classified. I can't talk about it. But if something's bothering you, it's important to me."
Stella fidgeted with Miney, who had jumped into her arms.
"You're a part of the team. We're all here for each other," I said.
"I see," Stella said in a cool tone. She was still looking down at Miney.
"Plus, you're important to me. Extra important," I blurted out.
Stella didn't say anything right away. Then, she flashed me a quick smile and glanced up at me. "Don't tell anyone else," she said.
"I swear. No one else will know. Well, except Zoe here." I nudged Zoe with my foot.
Stella bent down and patted Zoe on the head. "You can keep a secret, Zoe, can't you?"
Zoe purred in reply. She likes me.
Yeah, yeah. I started rolling my eyes but stopped myself so Stella wouldn't notice.
Stella was still crouched next to Zoe as she spoke. "Dr. Hill is my mother."
"Your mother?" I croaked.
I knew Stella was adopted, but…Dr. Hill? Hadn't Dr. Hill been throwing Stella at me before? And with the breeding program in mind…
That's kind of hot, isn't it?
No! It's weird. Like almost messed up. No, definitely messed up.
Stella patted Zoe's head one final time and stood up. She nodded. "My adopted mother. I don't remember my parents."
"I didn't have much luck there, either," I said. "But what about you and Dr. Hill? By the way, I would never have guessed. You're so professional about it."
"She's been trying to push me to do something. It's, hm, unprofessional."
"Oh?"
Stella blushed. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."
"Sure. If you need someone to listen, I'm here. My offer still stands."
"Offer?"
"Water at the mess hall." I grinned.
Stella tried to stifle a smile. "See ya, Dustin." She walked away.
Zoe yawned. There goes Hill's breeding program. And humanity's last hope.
***
The next day, all seven of us were back in the training room with Drake. We were waiting for Dr. Hill to show up.
"Do you think we're still in trouble?" Nikki whispered.
Claire glanced around nervously. "I hope not. I hate needles."
Drake stalked over to us.
"Shit," Kayla muttered.
"Of course you're all in goddamn trouble!" Drake roared. "Violating direct orders during a field mission? Putting the team at risk?"
"Innocent people were at risk," Julie said.
"Innocent? Those clowns?" Drake said frowning. "I expected you of all people to know better, Richards."
Julie's face grew red. "Well if you weren't taking your sweet time showboating, you would have been back to handle the new Mekanic threat. And th
e rest of us wouldn't have been put in that situation."
Oh shit. She didn't.
The others murmured.
"Julie," Mia said softly.
Drake marched right up to Julie, towering over her. He seemed to favor one leg over the other, something I hadn't noticed with everything going on the other day. Was he injured?
"You have your orders. I have mine." Drake stabbed a finger in Julie's face. "Don't you dare question my command!"
Julie didn't flinch. "And who the fuck decided that we should torture each other with needles? I bet you got off to that. Seeing us half-naked girls stab each other."
I fidgeted uncomfortably.
Drake spoke in a low, deadly tone. "Listen, soldier. Don't you dare question my command."
"Actually, that was my call."
We all turned to see Dr. Hill standing to the side of the training room. "I ordered the blood drawing exercise."
"Why?" It was Stella. A slight frown creased her face.
"One of your bio-experiments?" I asked, stepping forward.
"Perkins. Hunter." Dr. Hill nodded to acknowledge us. "No, not quite. We'll be drawing blood at regular intervals from now on. We use it to generate recovery charges."
"Recovery charges?" Nikki asked.
Dr. Hill smiled, looking over us and catching my eye. "Recovery charges allow you to instantly recover a finite amount of lost energy. We process your blood, then reintroduce it."
"Shit, more needles," Claire whined.
"Yes, Jones. More needles. Hence the need to become accustomed to them. We can only draw and process so much blood at a time. There's also a limit to how much we can reintroduce at once. From now on, it'll be an ongoing part of your maintenance protocol."
"How much energy does it recover?" I asked.
"That depends on how many recovery charges you've accumulated since you last used them. A single charge, that is, one cycle of drawing and processing, should let you recover about fifteen to twenty percent. You can, in principle, accumulate enough charges to recover all your energy. Maybe a bit more."
"How often can we draw blood?" Mia asked.
"Oh, that's not the limiting step. Your body can only reabsorb a certain amount of the modified blood at a time. Each drawing supplies enough blood for three or four recovery charges, and you can absorb about one recovery charge every other day. That leaves about a week between drawings."
