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“Hold on, I think your chameleon patch is a little jacked. Pinging now,” she warned as she made contact. Even the brief touch of another mind was enough to ground her, a reminder of home.
“Hey, that tickles.” Zero grinned as the code on his cheek changed. “Did I do it right?”
“D5-10M4.” She smiled. “Good to see you again.”
“D5-10M4?” he asked.
Aware that time was short, she kept it quick.
“D5 means you were cloned from the D genetic group and were in the fifth batch.” She watched his face carefully, wondering if he was aware that he was a clone as well as a cyborg.
“Clones?” he asked, his expression neutral. “So there are other me’s out there?”
“Not identical,” she explained. “The Zodiac genetic system is more mixed up… Each batch is slightly different genetically but from the same base group.”
He nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. “So what’s the rest mean?”
“Ten means you were assigned to section ten, the same as me.” She tapped her own cheek. “And four means you’re a Mark four. You’re also a Scorpio class. You’re the only D batch Scorpio I’ve ever heard of actually. They usually go K or W batches for Scorpios. No idea why.”
“Scorpio class?” he asked, leaning forward. She could tell she had his interest. But… if he hadn’t known anything about where he’d come from, she didn’t blame him.
“Each Zodiac class has a specialty. Scorpio is desert warfare. You lot seem to like things hot for some reason.”
His grin got wider. “That makes a lot of sense, actually.”
“So you don’t remember anything?” she asked, unable to keep the little note of hope from her voice.
He shook his head.
“Nothing. Just when I wake up screaming a name—your name.” He tilted his head again. “What did you just send me?”
“Everything. Everything I know or remember about the Zodiac program and where we’re from. Everything I remember about how we got here.”
He watched her in that deadpan way she remembered, his eyes searching her face. “Why do I get the feeling you’re about to do something very stupid?”
She let her grin widen. “Maybe because I’m—we’re—about to do something very stupid. There’s a third one of us out there, Jex. Or rather, his onboard is here. We’re heading to recover him.”
Dael nodded, folding his arms across his broad chest. Once, years ago, she had found him attractive and hoped that something would develop between them. Now she knew that Covak was the only man for her. The realization brought a warmth to her chest, a certainty she hadn’t felt in a long time. Itwas nice… comforting. She had a place, and her place had turned out to be a person.
“If anything goes wrong,” she said, her voice dropping serious, “that data contains information on what you need to do to find a Zodiac cyborg. Find out where they’re holding us and nuke the place.”
Concern etched lines around his eyes. “What about trying to rescue you?”
She shook her head. “If those assholes get ahold of me again, all you’ll be able to rescue will be spare parts. Don’t bother. Just make them fucking pay.”
The armory doorsslid shut behind them with a soft pneumatic whoosh, and Jesh inhaled deeply, savoring the familiar scents of gun oil and metal. If she closed her eyes, she could almost imagine herself back home, at a Zodiac forward base, arming up before a big battle.
But this wasn’t a forward base, and she wasn’t back home. She was aboard theDream,a mercenary ship crewed by aliens that didn’t exist in her reality. She opened her eyes. She just hoped they had enough guns.
Her eyes widened as she looked around the armory. Oh, they had guns. Theyreallyhad enough guns. Racks upon racks of weaponry lined the walls, their polished surfaces gleaming under the harsh overhead lights. Rifles, pistols, energy weapons, and an array of blades she couldn’t name filled every available space.
Covak’s deep chuckle rumbled behind her, vibrating through her back as he slid his arms around her. “You look like a kid in a sweet shop.”
Her smile dropped.
“I’ve never actually been in a sweet shop,” she admitted. “Or been a kid.”
He frowned, a hard line between his brows as he turned her around to face him. “What do you mean, you’ve never been a kid?”
