CHAPTER 13 (Amara)
“So, what did you think?” Nerzogk’s rumbling voice jostled Amara out of focus. The Baet orb she’d been analyzing slipped from her workbench. She dove, catching the orb just before it hit the ground.
“Lrend it, Nerzogk. Some warning would be nice,” she hissed.
He hissed back, a true vorgon hiss. “It would’ve been fine. Baet Tech is nearly as indestructible as Niribian relics.”
Amara pouted at him, hating that she couldn’t reach the same guttural resonance. She sighed and placed the thought receptor firmly on the workbench before turning to face the looming vorgon. She crossed her arms and let a half-smile tease her lips. “You did a good job with the biocircuit. It looks natural on him.”
“We ran the tests, and it operates as you predicted. The asset’s body acts as a conductive medium, and having the circuit installed promises to enhance his connective ability.”
Amara’s half-smile turned to a frown. “You’re calling him an asset now?”
Nerzogk’s expression grew heavy. “He’s…an unknown factor.”
The workbench shifted as her companion sank to sit next to her.
Amara playfully flicked his scale-armored skull to jar him out of his dismal mood. “Hard day? Judging from his condition—well, it must’ve been a grueling ordeal.”
Nerzogk’s jade fingers glistened as they picked up the ethereal orb from the worktable and spun it distractedly, balancing the otherworldly Baet tech on the tip of his shortened claw. His razor-white teeth flashed with a forced smile. “Hard days, yes.” The smile faded. Amara could only guess at the reason behind the pensive hesitation in his golden eyes.
“Maybe you should ask Doctor Lsar for some time off. To get some distance. You’re more involved in this case than anyone else.”
“That’s not an option.”
“It’s not his fault, you know,” Amara whispered and leaned back against the table. “How would you handle the situation if it were you in there? And really, it could’ve been any of us.”
“Could it, though?” He let the orb wobble off its spin and set it back on the table. “We’re trying everything. His success can’t be replicated.”
“I’m surprised you're permitted to disclose that.”
“I’m being monitored just as closely as you are.” He shrugged, his black and red armbands glistened with the motion. “I figure we’re in this together.”
“It’s been a while since we had a joint mission.” Amara smiled to try to lighten the mood.
“It has.” Nerzogk returned her smile. “And with Terrokk, too. Interesting selection, don’t you think?”
“It’s a practical selection.”
Nerzogk’s scales shined as he gave a slow nod, and his smile once again faded. “You know, Amara, I was repulsed at first by Terrokk’s suggestion to treat the asset as a prototype, but it’s not without merit. The asset is unproven. It’s a mistake to get too invested.”
“You don’t really believe that.”
“I don’t know if he’ll make it. I don’t know if anyone could pull through in his position.”
“If it was me in there, or any one of us, is that how you’d view it? As a case—a project to be proven?”
“Under normal circumstances, no.” Nerzogk’s transparent eyelids closed as they sometimes did when he was having an internal debate, which made him a surprisingly easy person to read. It was the reason she usually won their bets. They opened again once the thought passed. “This is different. Director Vesar has made himself personally involved.”
Amara shuddered, then lounged back further to try to disguise her break in composure.
Nerzogk turned toward her, locking her in his sights. She sometimes forgot how formidable he was, how large and overpowering his presence could be. “How did you know the asset had been returned to his quarters?”
“I got a notification.”
“From who?”
“Umm…it was on the secure line. I assumed it was you or Doctor Lsar.”
He shook his head. “They’re playing with his mind. It’s not unexpected, but I’m as unsettled as Terrokk is at the use of you as a pawn in their manipulation. You’d do well to keep as far to the background as possible. Until the progression of this case is clearer, at least.”
They shared a tense silence before Nerzogk dismissed himself, leaving Amara’s mech lab more silent than it had been before he’d entered. She turned back to face the orb, her current puzzle. But, try as she might, its usual allure couldn’t pull her thoughts from the mystery of the cybernetic man locked a few doors down the corridor.