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A coldness curled around Rexx’s heart. With it laid out so starkly in front of him, it made horrifying sense.

Commander Malem lifted his chin. “It seems we have found a way to wound you, after all.”

“Go jump out an airlock,” Rexx said.

A high-pitched, rage-filled scream made him jerk in his restraints. He lifted his head and stared in the direction of the noise. That sounded like Daisy.

Commander Malem strode to a panel by the door and pressed a button. “Nepel, report your situation. What was that noise?”

There was a loud thud in the next room. Several gunshots sounded.

The Inkral scientist slid over to the door. “What’s happening? Don’t tell me there’s another problem.”

Commander Malem glared at him. “No problem. Everything is under control.”

The Inkral scientist winced as there was another scream. “That does not sound like control. Go deal with it, or Ambassador Ulut will be angry.”

Commander Malem turned back to the panel and pressed the button again. “Nepel, what’s going on?”

There was a garbled noise in response, and then the sound of something shattering.

Rexx laughed again. “Your experiment’s gotten free. And she’s pissed off. You’d better be ready for Daisy. I made that mistake when I first met the Humans. I underestimated them. And you’ve just done the same. Get ready to die.”

“Nobody is dying,” Commander Malem snapped. “I’ll see what’s going on.”

The door slid open. Daisy stood outside, her knees bent and her arms raised in a defensive position. She was dripping in Gente blood and gray slime. Her eyes blazed purple, and her teeth were bared.

“What the—”

She slammed her fist into Commander Malem’s face, and he sprawled to the ground.

She advanced on the Inkral scientist, who’d slithered away.

“You okay?” Daisy glanced at Rexx.

Holy stars, she was magnificent. “Fine now you’re here.”

“Give me a second to deal with this blob, then I’ll get you out of those bindings.”

The Inkral scientist’s form pulsated. “I’m not a warrior. I didn’t take the Apexian. You can’t hurt me.”

Daisy glanced over at Rexx again. “Did you put those probes in him?”

The Inkral scientist’s tentacles wobbled. “I was ordered to. They don’t hurt.”

“Are they hurting you?” Daisy said to Rexx.

“They’re buried in my gut with zero pain relief,” Rexx said.

Daisy grabbed a spare probe off the equipment tray. She walked back to the Inkral scientist and rammed the probe into him. “Now you know how it feels.”

He howled and batted her away with his tentacles. “Keep away from me.”

Rexx could only look on as Daisy slammed her foot against the probe, shoving it all the way through the Inkral scientist’s slime.

He howled again and exploded in a disgusting swirl of gray, sticky, fishy goo.

Rexx closed his eyes as gross globules of goo landed on his bare chest.