Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 55108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
I run from the dome to the med bay near the palace. Clearly, I can get there faster than the medics will arrive on site.
“Tarek, I’m so sorry,” Zina says in a tiny voice.
“Not a word.” I sound gruff but I’m not angry with her; I’m frantic to make sure she’s not hurt. And I’m mad at myself for putting her in a position where this could happen.
I bring her into the med bay and set her on an examination bed. Dr. Daneth, himself, bustles over and demands to know what happened.
I tell him as he hooks her up to monitoring equipment and other machines.
“Wait outside,” he tells me in a clipped tone.
I want to insist I get to stay, but that’s stupid. I’m not her mate. Just her master, and this planet rotation will surely be the last I can say that. Reluctantly, I leave the examination room and shut the door.
Of course, things only get worse.
“Tarek.” Master Seke and some of the warriors from the dome followed us here.
My heart sinks. “Yes, Master.” I follow him aside.
He doesn’t sugarcoat it. “Why did you have her in nav training? She’s a danger to herself and others. It’s a bad call.”
I lower my head. “I gave her a few testing and training sessions. She was not cleared in any way to use that sim. I did not authorize that. Whatever happened here was the result of a misunderstanding.”
“This is more than a misunderstanding.” His voice is taut. “This is thousands of Zandian-hours of effort, wasted. This is a perfect example of how not to run a training dome.”
The shame and embarrassment I feel is second only to what I feel when I think about my father. “I apologize for the accident and the loss of resources. I swear upon my life it will not happen again.”
There’s no way to explain this or make it all right. Of course, I had no control over the technical parts of the pod. I don’t build it, or maintain it—the software is my jurisdiction. But I brought Zina here; she’s my responsibility. I stepped away… just long enough for her to wreak complete havoc on this place. She was my trainee, and I let her out of my control. This is my fault.
“Why is she even training?” His voice is sharp.
“I… I don’t have a valid reason,” I admit. My face is as hot as it's ever been. “I allowed myself to be distracted by her company. She is not a technical fit. I will cut her immediately from the training program.”
“It’s a little late for that.” His voice is wry.
“We will run a post-mortem.” I wince. “I hold blame for training an inappropriate subject. We also clearly need better checks and balances in place for any being who attempts to enter the pod. Better authorization.”
“Clearly.” Master Seke sighs. “Estimate of how long it will take to fix this?”
The tech is at our side. “At a lunar cycle, give or take. But I do have to say that the escape pod worked phenomenally.” He’s bursting with energy and his eyes snap with excitement. “I never thought we’d get to use it this early, but it’s perfect. I couldn’t have designed it better.”
Master Seke narrows his eyes. “And I take it you’re responsible for leaving the escape ejection pod activated?”
“Well”—his face looks as hot as mine feels—“I was only going to test it out, you know, later on. With permission. Once we had more pods up and running. With an expert nav. But Yes.” He clears his throat. “I did have it activated. When I should not have had it activated. Or even in existence. Ahem.”
He falters as he looks at Master Seke’s expression. Clearly, I’m not the only one feeling a share of the guilt.
“Schedule the post-mortem meeting. I want the two of you there, as well as Captain Drayk. We’ll figure out how to fix this.” Master Seke shakes his head, then gestures toward the closed door. “Any word on Zina?”
My gut, already tight, squeezes. “Not yet,” I say tersely. I don’t like how long it’s taking, either.
“Let me know,” Master Seke says, and departs with the tech.
After what feels like an eternity, Dr. Daneth opens the door and invites me in. “She’s uninjured. Anxiety levels are high, but there’s no breakage, bruising or internal organ affectation.”
“That’s great.” Somehow, I have a feeling there’s something more, though. Maybe because my sensors report he’s staring at me with eyes narrowed, like he’s contemplating me.
“She is pregnant, however. Do you know who might have bred this human without dispensation or permission?”
Zina scrambles up to a seated position. “Wh-what?”
Ice sluices through my veins.
“That’s not possible,” I manage to say through numb lips. “She’s sterile.”
“I removed the sterility device last week. Are you responsible for breeding her?”
“I… yes,” I manage. “But—”