Ravi was one of the leading scientists at Cormikan Industries. It was clear that he was on a video call with the male.
Onalee was about to turn away and come back when he was done with the conversation, but Doctor Ravi’s next words halted her in her tracks.
“Ten out of the twelve eggs we treated with our enzyme and inseminated have divided to the point of possible implantation. Sir, I’m telling you that we’ve found a cure.”
A cure?!
Onalee covered her mouth in shock. They’d figured out a way to correct Arathians’ infertility? This was amazing! Life-changing! Planet-changing! This would literally save their species. Tears pricked her eyes.
“There’s more,” Doctor Ravi added excitedly.
“More?” Forkan prompted.
“Yes, sir. The treatment we’ve developed to denature female’s eggs can be administered with a single subdermal injection. After we complete testing, the cure can be easily disseminated through replicators, free of charge to all Arathians.”
Forkan was silent a moment. “That’s unparalleled news, Doctor. Congratulations,” he praised.
“Thank you, sir! Everyone here deserves the credit for working so hard all these years.”
“They sure do,” Forkan concurred. “Let’s keep this under wraps for now, though, okay? Until we can reproduce the results a few more times, I don’t want to make a public statement and get everyone’s hopes up.”
“Of course, sir, that’s a sound plan,” Doctor Ravi agreed.
“Why don’t you let your team go home early today. Celebrate, Doctor. You deserve it. I’ll be back in Talavera tomorrow.”
Ravi chuckled. “Thanks, sir. I’ll do that. See you tomorrow.”
Onalee was overwhelmed with happiness. They’d found a cure! After sixteen years of hard work and dedication, they’d be able to send the specifications to all replicators around the planet, which would allow everyone to be cured nearly instantly.
The anger and frustration she’d felt towards Forkan was overwhelmed by a great sense of pride and love. He’d actually done it! Cormikan Industries was going to save their people!
Onalee walked towards the door to Forkan’s study, eager to share the happy news with him, but his voice had her stopping again. He’d made another video call—and this time, he wasn’t happy.
“Stigus. We have a problem. I need you to destroy all of Doctor Ravi’s research data. Tonight.”
*****
Nausea rolled in Onalee’s stomach as she heard her brother talk to Stigus—that vermin of a male.
During their conversation, the two of them considered introducing a virus into the company’s system, but there were too many safeguards for it to be guaranteed to work.
They finally decided on planting a bomb. Forkan would rather risk the building, and anyone inside, rather than have word get out that a cure had been found.
Onalee pressed her palm to her mouth and backed up against the wall outside his office. She forced her knees to not give out.
“How will I get explosives past the guards and security system?” Stigus asked.
“You can’t. Those systems are state of the art. There’s no way you can get something like that past them,” Forkan answered.
“Use the replicators inside the building itself. Take the same schematics we used for the bomb on the Lurizians’ cruise liner. If you place it on the main server for that laboratory, it’ll have enough explosive power to destroy what we need it to.”
“Doesn’t the Anti-Earther Movement have those schematics?” Stigus asked.
“Yes, but who do you think gave it to them in the first place?” Forkan asked rhetorically. “Those idiots wouldn’t have thought of something like that on their own. I’m sending it to you now.”
It only took a moment for Stigus to answer. “Got it. Looks simple enough, but I’ll need a couple of hours to get ready.”
“That’s fine,” Forkan told him. “but make sure you use the ID I gave you. Do you understand what I’m saying? This can’t be traced back to me.”
“I understand.”
“Good. Call me when it’s done.”
Onalee heard Forkan moving around in his office, and she knew she had to hurry, or he’d find her listening. She slipped off her shoes, and walked down the hall as quietly, and quickly, as she could.
She held her breath until she was out the front door. Shoes still in hand, she sprinted towards Conall’s autotransport.
Once inside, she hit the command for “home,” and counted down the seconds until she pulled into the MacLeod’s garage. The vehicle had barely come to a stop before she jumped out and was running into the house.
“Conall! Brogan!” she called as loudly as she could. She found Clare first, coming out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on an apron.
“Onalee? What’s all the fuss?” she asked.
“Where’s Conall?”
“I don’t know…”
“I do,” LINK answered. “He is upstairs in the Guard’s command center with Brogan.”
Onalee took off at a run, her thigh protesting the strain as she ran up the stairs to the second floor. Damn this house for being so big!
She burst into the room, and several sets of eyes turned her way.
“Onalee, what’s the matter?” Brogan asked calmly, but urgently, as he came around the bank of vid screens towards her.
He grasped her upper arms, but it was hard for her to get words out past her heavy breathing, and the thumping of her heart.
“Forkan… he’s going to destroy the cure…”
“Cure for what?” Brogan asked.
“Us! Our infertility!”
Onalee looked around, and found herself surrounded by members of Brogan’s team. Conall was at her side too, and she reached out for his hand.
“Tell us what happened,” Conall encouraged her. She nodded, and took a few deep breaths.
“When I got home, I overheard Forkan in his study talking to Doctor Ravi. He’s one of our head researchers,” she added to give context. “He was telling Forkan that he’d had several successful tests, and that he was confident he’d found a way to reverse the damage done by the vaccine.”
“That’s amazing,” Anders murmured from Onalee’s side.
She nodded. “It is.”
“What about Forkan wanting to destroy it?” Brogan urged her.
“After he got off comms with the doctor, he immediately called Stigus and instructed him to plant a bomb in the laboratory to destroy all of the research data.”
“Who’s Stigus?” Conall asked.
“He’s been working with Forkan for years. I’ve never liked him.”
Silence permeated the room.
“You’re sure about what you heard?” Brogan finally asked.
Onalee nodded. “Trust me, I wish I wasn’t.”
“When?” Iliona inquired.
“Today. As soon as he’s ready.”
Brogan looked around at his team. They all vibrated with energy, with the need to take action. But there was another piece they hadn’t heard.
“There’s something else,” Onalee confessed. “I think Forkan was involved with the attack on the Lurizians’ ship.”
She glanced around at everyone’s expression, and saw a mixture of surprise, anger, and downright volatility. One member of Brogan’s team scared her the most. Oset looked murderous, and she couldn’t really blame him.
“From what Forkan said, it sounded like he’d given the Anti-Earther Movement the schematics for the bomb.”
Brogan brought her against his chest for a hug, and she held on tightly. Her entire life had just been upended, and she was barely able to process it. “Overwhelming” didn’t even begin to cover it.
He kissed the top of her head, and passed her off to Conall. The male wrapped her in his arms as Brogan turned towards his team.
Once Onalee was held tightly against his chest, Conall felt mildly better. She was home, and safe.
> He ran a palm up and down her back in an attempt to calm the tremors that ran through her body. He couldn’t imagine what it’d been like for her to hear Forkan say those awful things. He’d been her only family for years… Conall couldn’t imagine the blow.
“Our first priority is to secure that research data. We need a plan of action,” Brogan told his team. He was all business now.
“Anders, get a full schematic of the Cormikan Industries building. Oset, start monitoring the building from any camera we can get access to. Hack every camera in Talavera, if need be.”
The two moved to large consoles and began working.
“Iliona, make sure we have all the gear we need to access the lab. We’re going to need to bypass their security, so make sure we have enough equipment to make that happen.”
Conall felt Onalee stiffen. “Hey,” she called, stepping out of the shelter of his arms. “Don’t damage my building.”
Brogan turned towards her. “Cormikan Industries has some intense security protocols. We may need to disable or destroy parts of the systems to gain access.”
Her hands went to her hips. “Brogan, what’s my last name?”
His brows knit together. “Cormikan.”
“Exactly. And that means that I have access to all levels inside those walls.” She waved a hand down her body. “With this DNA, I can get us anywhere.”
A scowl spread over his face. “There’s no way you’re coming.”
“I am.”
Brogan crossed his arms over his chest, and planted his feet. “I can’t allow you to do that,” he declared.
Oh shite, Conall thought. Rookie mistake. You never tell a woman she’s not allowed to do something.
Conall watched Onalee’s eyes narrow into slits, her hands went to her hips—the universal sign of a pissed off woman. He’d never seen her this way.
“Allow? Allow?” Her voice rose with each word. “This is my family’s business, my parents’ legacy. I will not sit here with the solution to our most pressing, time-sensitive issues running through my veins, while you try to be all noble and protective. My brother may think he’s been doing that for me for over a decade, but I see his real motivations now, and I refuse to be treated like I’m incapable ever again!”
Brogan opened his mouth to attempt an interjection, but Onalee was far from finished. “There’s no ‘allowing me,’ or dictating my actions. There’s me telling you that I’m going, and you choosing whether or not to accompany me.”
“That’s not much of a choice,” Brogan grumbled.
“Then I guess it won’t take you long to make it. Now, I’m going to go find something appropriate to wear, so we’re less conspicuous.”
With that, Onalee walked off in the direction of her room
“Great. Why doesn’t the whole household come, too?” Brogan exclaimed.
Conall smirked. “I wouldn’t say that too loud if I were you. You know my mother. She’d probably want to join in.”
A smile quirked Brogan’s lips. Conall turned to leave the room, but threw something over his shoulder as he left. “By the way, I’m coming too.”
Brogan threw up his hands in exasperation, but turned to refocus on readying his team.
CHAPTER 23
Onalee Cormikan walking into Cormikan Industries without her brother was a shock to anyone who saw her enter the main foyer of one of the largest buildings in Talavera.
She was dressed as she usually was—impeccably—but that day she was flanked at her sides and back by people the guards at the front desk didn’t recognize. She obviously knew them. That was why the four guards wavered.
Should they intercept her? Ask her companions for identification?
Most everyone working there knew that she was a figurehead; it was her brother who handled the business, while she chose to stay in his shadow. Should they call Forkan? Did he know she was there?
The security guards looked at each other questioningly, but none moved to stop Onalee, or her entourage, as she passed the front desk with a smile. She stopped at the security station to scan her palm, and the network approved her entrance.
Heads swiveled to watch, as she, and her companions, entered the bank of lifts that would take them throughout the building.
Once the doors to the lift closed, Onalee breathed a sigh of relief. This was far from over, but one hurdle had been overcome: they were inside, and headed to one of the main laboratories.
A quick glance at the building’s directory confirmed that she’d remembered correctly which lab was led by Doctor Ravi.
“You’re doing wonderfully,” Brogan murmured from her side, bringing a small smile to her lips.
It felt reassuring, and right, to be flanked by him, and Conall, with his team at her back. Well… not the entire team.
Oset sat in a transport a block away, ready to hack into the building’s mainframe by any means necessary—just in case. He was Plan B, and Onalee hoped they’d have no need for him.
The lift gave a slight ping when they reached their destination, and the doors slid open. She walked to the clear glass that separated Laboratory Two from the rest of the building, and placed her hand on the built-in console. Another ping granted her access.
She let out a silent sigh of relief.
It’d been nearly a year since she’d been on a tour of the various labs. It was a tour her brother had taken her on every year to put a family stamp on their enterprise. He usually ended the day by giving some speech about how instrumental their work was, especially for people like “his sister, who waits for the day she can find mates, and hold her own babies in her arms.”
She could still hear the embarrassing spiel ringing in her ears. The ass.
Onalee made sure her public mask was securely in place as they entered the lab.
It was sectioned off into work areas and clean rooms, and lined with large pieces of equipment. Onalee smiled politely, and walked like she owned the place… Since she kind of did.
Every head swiveled their direction as she, and her entourage, walked into the large room. People even shifted to get better looks at them, their eyes going wide. But she wasn’t sure if that reaction was for her, or the black-clad team.
Maybe it was for the ginger-haired Earther at her side, who no amount of arguing had been able to persuade to wait at home or in the transport.
Onalee stopped as a male in white scrubs entered the main room from an adjacent hallway. He looked familiar from the last time she’d been on a tour, and she was grateful that she could keep pretending to be in complete control of the situation.
“My stars, Miss Onalee Cormikan. It’s a pleasure to have you in our laboratory!” Doctor Ravi greeted her.
This level of enthusiasm wasn’t what she expected from the older, usually-reserved male. She chalked it up to the excitement of his team’s life-altering discovery.
He bowed low to her in respectful greeting, and she inclined her head.
“It’s nice to see you again, Doctor Ravi,” she replied.
He straightened with a bright smile. “I assume you’re here to see our positive results firsthand?”
“That’s exactly right,” she confirmed.
Doctor Ravi finally seemed to notice the people standing with her. He eyed them each in turn.
“And your friends?”
She’d been expecting this.
“My brother thought it prudent to assign me bodyguards after I was injured during the attack on the Lurizian ship. One can never be too careful.”
The doctor nodded gravely in agreement. “Quite right, quite right.”
“And this,” she gestured to Conall, “is Conall MacLeod of Earth, a good friend of mine.”
She excluded the part about him being her mate. She didn’t want to get bogged down with congratulations; she wanted access to the lab’s systems. Time was of the essence.
Several gasps and murmurs filled the open space. Saying that Earthers were rare was a monumental understateme
nt. Having one walk around in Talavera? Practically unheard of.
Conall held out his hand, and the doctor looked proud that he knew to shake it, in the customary Earther-fashion.
“It’s nice to meet you, Doctor Ravi,” Conall greeted pleasantly. “When Onalee told me what you’d discovered, I begged her for the opportunity to come see your lab. Especially since it was Earthers’ biology that helped in your research.”
“Absolutely!” Ravi exclaimed. “We’re honored and thrilled to have you here.”
He was much more animated since the last time Onalee had seen him. I guess that’s what saving your race from extinction will do for you, she thought to herself.
“May we see what you’ve been working on?” Onalee prompted.
She usually didn’t mind pleasantries—she excelled at maintaining polite discourse, with her years of practice—but they were on the clock. She feared that Forkan would find out she was there.
She could practically see him barreling through the glass doors, taking her elbow, and dragging her away before they could secure the critical data.
She caught herself beginning to tremble, and leaned imperceptibly into Brogan until her shoulder brushed his. His solid presence brought her back to reality. No longer would she have to live under Forkan’s dominion.
Her males shared a look over her head, and something passed between them. Conall held out his arm for her to take as they followed the doctor down the hallway he’d just come from. She gratefully linked her arm through his, and focused on the task at hand.
Doctor Ravi had been rambling since she’d been away.
“… and we just couldn’t believe it. Wait until you see for yourselves.”
He led them into a smaller, sterile-looking room, where four scientists were working. Ravi introduced them, and Onalee inclined her head to each. He then brought her and Conall over to a large console with several screens.
“This will show you the magnified cells,” Doctor Ravi explained.
He typed commands into the console, and the screens lit up with various data. DNA sequences, cellular structures… he began to explain it all. Two of the other doctors came to their side, one stayed at his station with his head down in his work, and the fourth eyed the Guards.
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