The major seemed stuck on how he might have failed in his own duty more than anything else.
“I don't know. I was unconscious. Did anyone go in or out while we were in the lab?”
The major shook his head. “No. No one went in or out. There was a delivery about an hour or so ago. A cart holding some kind of equipment that you'd requested. The attendant just unsealed the door and pushed it in, but he didn't go in himself. Said you didn't want to be disturbed.”
A cart with equipment? She didn't remember that. It must have occurred while she was sleeping.
“Is the cart still in the room?”
“No. A few moments later, the regent pushed it back out into the hallway, saying it was the wrong piece of equipment. The attendant returned a couple minutes later and wheeled it off down the corridor.”
“What did the equipment and the cart look like?” Sylvie had an inkling of an idea, but she wanted more information before sharing.
The major squinted into the distance, attempting to remember the details. “The cart was just a regular cart. It had some kind of sample case on it, about a meter square. The sample case was tinted, like the ones they keep phosphorescent samples in, to block out their light.”
“I think I know how they did it.” Sylvie couldn't believe how easy it was for shape shifters to achieve their goals.
“How who did what?” He appeared loyal, but perhaps lacking in critical thinking skills.
“How the Hareema got me out of the room and their agents in.”
The major frowned. “We followed protocol. When the attendant approached, we initiated an energy exchange to confirm he was Zantharian. He was.”
“The attendant was probably just following orders, which seems to be a very popular action here on your planet. The attendant had nothing to do with it.”
The Zantharian officer gave her a blank stare, so she continued, trying to maintain her patience.
She sighed. “You're missing the point. The cart wasn't a cart. It was a Hareema agent. And another agent was hiding in the sample case.”
The major's mouth fell open and Sylvie could tell he didn't understand. “Hareema can become anyone, right? And your government has protocols to prevent their infiltration, such as energy exchanges. While that might work for Hareema posing as Zantharians, it doesn't account for shape shifters taking the form of inanimate objects.”
She moved through the event, point by point so the major could follow. “The attendant pushes the cart in and leaves, as he's been instructed to.”
“Instructed by whom?” the major cut in.
“By whichever Hareema put in the orders. It could be that an agent took the shape of the regent and put in a request for the equipment. The fake regent could have said he was busy and didn't want to be disturbed. He tells the attendant to push the cart in and leave, nothing more. So the attendant pushes the cart in, not noticing that we were unconscious on the floor because he's been told to leave the cart and go. So that's what he does.”
Sylvie played the scene through in her mind as she talked. “The agent hidden in the sample case morphs into a copy of the regent and picks me up, making sure to grab my restraints as well. Then he sticks me in the sample case and closes the lid. I'm small enough and flexible enough that I could be folded into a meter square, I think. Especially if I was limp and unconscious at the time. The Hareema masquerading as the regent pushes the cart back out the door, telling you that the equipment is incorrect.”
Sylvie could see it all so clearly in her mind. “The agent goes to the console and calls the attendant, telling him that he wants the sample case moved to a laboratory down the hall. Then he changes shape again, taking my form, and waits for the regent to wake up.”
She tried to block out the sudden memory of the Hareema mimic in X's arms. It wasn't easy, but she pushed the image away and continued. “Meanwhile, the attendant moves the cart into an empty lab that is very similar to the original one, and then leaves. The cart, which has really been another Hareema agent the whole time, changes shape, taking the form of the regent, and pulls me out of the sample case.”
Sylvie frowned. “They didn’t intend for either of us to notice a difference, but I did. I realized the creature with me was not the regent. I don't think the real regent was so quick on the uptake, though.”
“So you're saying the regent is with an enemy agent right now?” The major’s eyes widened as little streaks of red appeared in his green exterior. Fear.
Sylvie nodded, recalling the scene outside the lab. “What was all that commotion when I got your attention?”
The major grimaced. “They were coming to arrest the regent.”
“Arrest him? Then it's worse than I thought.” Her lips turned down as fear washed over her. “We have to come up with a plan to rescue him before it's too late.”
The crimson slashes in the major's skin pulsed violently, drawing her attention to his emotions.
“We better hurry, or the whole planet might be taken over by Hareema mimics before we can stop them.”
How right you are.
Zanthar was vulnerable, and their actions would be decisive in the struggle against the Hareema. But what seemed to worry her most was that X would be left alone with her copy and would do something he might regret. Something that would crush the fragile relationship growing between them. Or worse, something that would react with the mating frenzy and hurt him.
Or kill him.
“Before we go after him, we need a plan.” Sylvie closed her eyes and let out a sharp puff of air. Too much in too short of a span of time.
“Let's get out of the hallway before we're spotted.” The major opened the cell in front of them and walked out.
Sylvie followed him in, shivering as she once again found herself stuck in a Zantharian cell. But at least this time, she wasn't a prisoner.
If they could figure out how to save the planet, she'd be a hero, but honestly all she cared about was getting X back and ensuring that he lived.
