Layla stroked her hair, wincing at the scabbing on her friend’s scalp. “I believe you. Why would they do that?”
“Mad I was leaving,” Wendy mumbles, her eyes squeezed shut.
“Don’t lots of people leave?”
“Mmhm. But usually after they get a wage drop because they’re all used up. We’re still in our twenties. Twenty exactly,” Wendy murmured. “We got out because we got a better offer. Someone searched for us.” She blinked and turned foggy, dreamy eyes up to Layla. “You said you’d keep us safe. And you did.”
Layla bowed her head and kissed Wendy’s forehead, hot tears pooling in the corners of her eyes.If I’d really kept her safe, she wouldn’t be screaming in the night.
“The drug stays in the bloodstream for a long time. Layla.” Elio jerked his head, motioning her to come to his room. Layla nodded and held up a hand where Wendy couldn’t see it. Elio nodded, understanding her silent gesture to mean that she’d be over once Wendy was safe to leave.
After ten minutes, the girl was asleep, curled in a ball on her soft mattress. Layla eased herself out and exited Wendy’s quarantine room. She’d have to shower, even though Marcus,the ship’s medical officer, had proclaimed their new passengers free of communicable disease.
Elio and Dax met at the corners of their rooms, separated by a thin glass wall made of antimicrobial material. Layla put a hand up to each glass window and smiled when the men who were like her long-lost brothers put their palms to hers through the glass. “I love you. Can’t wait to give you a big, big hug.”
“Ditto. Look, I didn’t want to upset Wendy, but that stuff stays in the bloodstream for a long time—as in months. It crosses the blood-brain barrier. It’s still experimental, so... this situation could be permanent. The nightmares, the paranoia—it might not get better. I hope that’s not the case.”
“Let’s not think like that. It’s gotta get better over time, right? If they thought it would hurt people, the Labs wouldn’t use it on people, right?”
Dax and Elio looked at her with big, solemn eyes.
“Depends on how much use they can get out of you. Or if they like you. They stopped liking Wendy last year.”
Layla dropped her voice. “Why?”
“Wendy has... some old-fashioned ideas. They wanted her to do some things that would compromise that.”
Elio quickly jumped in, “Morally questionable things for anyone, Dax, not just Wendy. It had nothing to do with being old-fashioned. They wanted to impregnate her and use her in a trial for some medicines that might harm the baby to prove if they were safe for pregnant women or not. One of the drugs had a really high likelihood of causing birth defects or even a miscarriage. Wendy wouldn’t agree.”
Layla made a horrified noise. “Why would anyone agree?” she gasped, a hand to her belly.
“Some people are desperate enough to do anything, especially if it would keep them from getting dismissed or a wage drop. Wendy wouldn’t get pregnant unless she was in a positionto raise the baby and take on the role of mother. She always wanted to be a mom and a teacher, you know that.” Dax looked at her with anger in her eyes. “She never even—”
Elio rapped his knuckles on the glass to get his friend’s attention. “Dax, shut up!”
“It’s relevant!” Dax hissed back.
“Just tell me. If it might help her, just tell me.”
“Wendy hasn’t ... you know. She hasn’t been with anyone. She’s a virgin. She didn’t want to get pregnant or do tests for birth control management devices, or STD preventatives that would involve her having sex or being exposed to... yeah. It’s not about love in the lab. It’s gross, and she said no.” Dax shifted from foot to foot. “A lot of male techs and nurses tried to break protocol and get her to go someplace private with them to do stuff. Wendy wants someone she loves, so again, she said no.”
Elio turned his back to the glass. “That’s private, Dax.”
“It’s private but important. She wouldn’t put out, and she wouldn’t do the experiments they wanted. That put her on the shitlist. End of story.”
Layla grit her teeth in rage that she couldn’t vent without scaring Wendy. “Sapien-Three has become a sick place, and no amount of medicine can cure it. Don’t worry, guys. Rupex and I are going to help the three of you start new, healthy, safe lives. I promise.”
God, I hope I can keep my promise.
Chapter Two
Talos put down the boxed meal he’d purchased on the small table where the media viewer rested and sat cross-legged on the floor. Leonid-One was overwhelming, even to someone who had recently been at the Tigerite System’s largest university in its biggest city.
Sighing a deep, calming sigh, he opened the carton and smiled at the beautiful assortment of fish and crustaceans served over the beautiful jungle green rice that was native to his planet. He’d heard that there were good Tigerite restaurants on the Leonid planets. His nose told him the rumors were true. He hoped theComet Stalkerwould have a decent chef on board.
As he popped a beautiful sesame-encrusted crayfish roll in his mouth, Talos opened his personal computer to make sure he hadn’t missed any important communications from his captain, a big, powerfully built Leonid called Rupex (who seemed a lot more mellow and less haughty than some of the other Leonids he’d met).
A photo flashed across the screen, blinking urgently.
