Page 34 of Argurma Warrior (The Argurma Chronicles #1)

E 302 knew that they were there. Kaylar had witnessed the security feed himself with the scans that showed the biotech lifeform attacking the walls of the building. That, in itself, was strange. He did not know why the creature would attack the building itself. He assumed that it possessed greater intelligence. That it was attacking stone was illogical.

There was some variable that was still unknown to him in regard to E302’s change in behavior but he could not process what it was. What did the creature gain from attacking the building repeatedly? It was observable that each attack had caused it to retreat before attacking again from a different position. Why?

Tapping back into the systems, he had his answer immediately the moment he turned his attention in the right direction. Not only was there a system in place to make the laboratory virtually undetectable at certain far-range distances off the island, but the entire outside of the facility contained an electric barrier incorporated within the structure of its outer walls, the coding so subtle that it had been easy to overlook. If he had not possessed the capability to take control of the system to gain entry, he had little doubt that he would have been subjected to the laboratory’s unpleasant defenses. With the power running through the structural networks, it would have been incredibly painful, if not potentially lethal if it shorted out a particular part of his systems.

His head cocked as a thought came to him. He could not process how the humans prevented system overloads with casual contact with wildlife, and perhaps that was something that E302 noted as well. Being a biotech creature, it could have been sensitive to the energy flowing through the security in ways Kaylar was not capable of and could not have calculated. It was engaging in a full out hunt and testing the system, waiting for a weakness—or perhaps a power failure as not one of the powerful shocks it would have received seemed to dissuade it.

Stepping cautiously out of the laboratory, his head slowly turned as he scanned the surrounding forest. He was unaware of how long he stood there, the shadows within his system urging him to hunt and destroy the threat. It pulsed within him, thrumming through his skull with a fierce, impatient need, reminding him that Argurmas were a predatory race before all else, long before they grew to such accomplishments with their tech. It goaded him to release his iron control and to stop depending on his implants which were inferior to what nature and the gods gifted his kind. In fact, the shadows insisted that the implanted sensors were inferior and for a moment that seemed to stretch on and on, he believed it.

The wind shifted causing his sensors to pick up the rapid shift of the leaves but many solars with the ocular implant had long trained him to ignore the datafeed. Instead, he shifted his attention to his bio-scanners. E302 was close. Enough so that his bio-scanner picked up its presence just north-west of him. He turned in that direction, his eyes searching for any sign of the creature that he processed was there. A soft, metallic growl rattled as several saplings swayed, though not from any force of the wind. They were pressed forward, their thin trunks twisting under the weight of a massive body pressed forward into them.

There. E302. Kaylar’s mouth downturned in a severe frown as he peered at it, unable to see it clearly despite his superior vision. There was nothing beyond hints of its size that were beyond anything he had calculated. That it was capable of obscuring itself to such a degree meant that E302 had developed camouflage capabilities in addition to nearly tripling its size by his calculations over the passing weeks. A shadow shifted deep in his mind and a prickling sensation rushed through him. He was suddenly struck by the peculiar thought that it was toying with him and allowing him to see more of it than he might have otherwise if it were genuinely hunting him in that moment.

That it was not working up to an attack was evident. E302 was studying him to the degree that he was watching it. A hunter searching for any hint of weakness in its prey. For the first time, however, Kaylar was aware of being at a distinct disadvantage in the game of the hunt. His mandibles stretching wide in a subtle threat, he hissed between his teeth, the sharp sound piercing the air. He had every intention of hunting and destroying the creature, and it clearly had the same desire toward him, but neither were inclined at the moment to risk damage in an outright head-on attack.

It was not beyond issuing its own threat, however. Its head pushed forward, the hue of his heavily ridged face slipping from between the trees. Its body still possessed a metallic sheen, but the blue had darkened in its growth from sapphire to a deep hue that flashed blue mostly where the light happened to catch the angle right. The massive sail on its head and neck lifted as the heavy ridge of his lip curled back to expose its long, dagger-like quad fangs. Its shriek was like a violent blast of piercing air that might have had lesser beings quiver in terror. In Kaylar, however, it made his every sense sharpen cautiously as he studied it through narrowed eyes. He refused to fear the thing. As intelligent and vicious as it was, it was still a beast. It was merely a pity that his plasma cannon was now inoperable with no way to keep the cells charged. Armed with it he would have had some small advantage and would have enjoyed blasting its hideous head free from its thickly muscled neck. He would have almost been tempted to return to Argurumal just to boast over such a trophy as its skull would have made.

After a long moment, E302 grunted, its ears flicking toward and back again as if it processed his thoughts. Its malevolent eyes, which were now more a terrible hue of puss yellow than green, eyed him for another brief span before it finally withdrew back into the forest with a low, chittering sound.

He processed clearly that was retreating in a move that was clearly not only intentional, but strategic.

“Clever beast,” Kaylar growled as he too shifted back into the laboratory so that the doors could once again slide back into place, cutting off all view of the forest beyond them.

As the doors closed, his mouth twisted angrily. He was not angry at E302. It did as predators did. It hunted out of that pure, primal desire. He could respect that. His anger was due to another matter that was made apparent with the observation that E302 would have gained access if it had been able to get through the laboratory’s security system—something he had neither expected nor looked for due to the solid appearance of the laboratory. And why would he? There was no reason for humans to have such high security on an island with that, until now, did not appear to have any dangerous predators.

What made him angry was that he finally processed with full certainty that he was being lied to. Doctor Ryder was hiding something in this facility, something that she was afraid of. All of his observations fell into place.

Since Doctor Ryder was so eager for his attention, he would be more than happy to provide it. And this time, she would not be leaving until he got the answers he sought.

Bristling and distracted by the direction of his own thoughts, he abruptly swung around and collided with a smaller form. Kaylar bit back a snarl, suspecting that the doctor was at her games again until the sweet pheromones of his female’s scent rushed through his systems, calming him. He blinked down at her in surprise, alarmed that she had been so close to stepping out the door while he was distracted just moments earlier in his confrontation with E302. A chill settled deep within him. E302 would not have hesitated to pick her off if it perceived his distraction and saw even the briefest of openings.

“What are you doing?” he growled. “You do not belong here.”

Meg’s head snapped back, and a look of shock crossed her face before it was replaced with a hard angry look that he instantly regretted.

“Meg—” He worked to gentle his tone so as to explain but she took a step back and folded her arms over her breasts defensively.

“I didn’t just come up here for a pleasure stroll.” Her eyes rolled impatiently in a way that brought further emphasis to her scathing tone. “I’m not an idiot you know. I just came to tell you, curtesy of Doctor Ryder, that this laboratory is a giant death trap. If anything brings the security systems down, we are seriously fucked.” His brows dipped at the use of the mating word and she made an impatient sound. “Not in the fun way but in the we are probably all going to die sort of way. The doors are designed in the event of a complete power failure to open. I guess it’s so that people could escape the lab for whatever reason that they would need to. And bad news is… power has been flickering… badly,” she enunciated slowly. “According to Doctor Ryder, that’s a very bad sign of impending power failure when there is no machinery in use.”

His mouth thinned. He had been outside and focused entirely on E302. He had not even noticed the power threatening to go offline. That was worrisome. He glanced down at his mate, his expression softening to one of approval.

“You did well, anastha. I regret my rebuke. It was out of worry but was misplaced. You would not have behaved foolishly to approach a dangerous situation with protection unless it was necessary. This is critical information that I need to be aware of. I process that I…overreacted… out of instinct to protect you.”

The hard line of her jaw and the tension around her lips and eyes softened and became more relaxed as she dipped her head in acknowledgement. He doubted he would receive a kinder reception than that for the time being, and it was enough to know that she accepted his apology.

“So, what do we do now?” she asked as she stepped to his side.

His vibrissae rattled angrily. “It is time to have a discussion with Doctor Ryder. This laboratory is more than what she pretends. There is something here—a secret—that I intend to possess knowledge of.”

“She does seem awfully scared of something,” Meg mumbled in agreement. She gave him a sidelong look. “What makes you think that she’ll just tell you?”

“I will not provide her with any other option.”

He would not allow the scientist to jeopardize his female’s life with whatever secret had been kept by the humans within the laboratory. All those who cared about the secrets were long dead and all he wanted was the ability to defend what was his. If there was something else to be concerned about besides E302, he needed to know about it. As it was, the repairs on the ship would be carried out with great difficulty. He could not neglect them but he would have to maintain the utmost caution and seal off the damaged part of the ship while he was making repairs now that E302 was on the hunt. If there was another danger, he needed that information to calculate the best way to proceed.

The human scientist would have no choice but to give up her secrets.