Page 37 of Black Star
Chapter Seven
“What else do you think is on the chips?” Dr. Zabin looked alarmed. This wasn’t good.
“I’m not sure,” Nani said, watching him carefully. “I’m hoping something that will prove Samair’s a foul swine in such a way that my return from the dead won’t be held in suspicion.”
“Nani.” He took a step toward her. “In order to extract the DNA from that chip, I’m going to have to destroy it. That’s why I only get one shot. It will be permanently damaged. I was getting ready to start the extraction process when you came in.” He looked angry and frustrated. “Do you want me to do this or not?”
“You can’t get what you need without harming the rest of the chip?”
“No! Dammit, woman! I’m under enough pressure as it is. Do you want me to do this or not? I can’t be worried about what’s happening to the chip. It’s either your lover, or any data that may be with his DNA. Pick one!”
Nani was shocked. This was not like the doctor. “Are you OK?”
“No. I’m not OK. One wrong move and I could destroy any chance you have of getting Darian back.”
“Is the chip that fragile?”
“It was made twenty years ago, Nani. The technology just isn’t there. If there’s anything else on this fucking chip, you need to figure it out now. And I mean right now. Darian has been in stasis far too long. I need to get him in a body before he starts to decay.”
“Sweet Stars.”
“Exactly. You’ve got another hour before I take the decision from you. I’m not going to fail on this, Nani.” His drive and sense of urgency was infectious. Nani wasn’t sure how much more of this she could take. She had been through one crisis after another.
All she wanted to do was rest. She wanted Darian with her, and they’d just disappear. They’d take a shuttle from Black Star ’s hangar and find a little planet where no one knew who they were. They’d get a job and raise a family, and be left alone.
Darian’s soft chuckle tickled her mind. He didn’t need to say anything for her to know he knew she’d never be happy with that. They both had responsibilities. Whatever happened once the work was done, once the nasty evil bad guy was deposed, then they could be happy slinking off to nowhere. Until then, neither of them had much of a choice other than to move forward. It was part of who they were.
“Will intensive analysis harm the DNA sample?” Nani needed as much information as she could get at this point. She didn’t have much time, and she refused to wait any longer if Dr. Zabin said doing so would put Darian in danger.
“It shouldn’t. But I’d stay away from chemicals and anything other than computer scans. No ultraviolet or chemical scans. I don’t know how these samples were protected.”
“Understood.” Nani activated her internal comm. Damon. Does Admiral Amos have Grimm?
He’s on the way here now.
Good. Dr. Zabin has given us less than an hour to see what we can extract. After that, he has to extract the DNA, and the chip will be gone.
Not a problem. He should dock in ten minutes.
Make sure he gets here immediately.
I’ll bring him there myself .
Nani hesitated. Have you heard from Nadira? Is she OK?
Mikiel says she’s fine. She’s healing nicely. She wants to see you .
She sucked in a breath. Her one encounter with her daughter had been rushed and unsure. Neither of them had known what to do. Nani desperately wanted to see Nadira, but she wanted to do it with Darian at her side. That was important to her, but if her daughter wanted her, she would not wait. Nadira had been put off long enough.
I want to see her too, Damon. Is she able to come here, or does she need a day or so to rest?
It would probably be best to give her a few days. Mikiel thinks she needs some time to get her strength back. He said he wants her to enjoy her time and make the most of it. He also knows you’ve got big things going that you need to finish .
Nani let her head fall forward. These people were simply amazing. All of them were so selfless and understanding.
I always knew you were a good man, Damon. I’m glad to see my daughter found a man just as wonderful.
He’s good to her, Nani. I wouldn’t tell you that if it weren’t true.
I know . She smiled. She really did know. Mikiel was a good man. Both she and Darian were thankful Nadira had found him. It was ironic too, given Mikiel was from the Asalian Coalition and Nadira was, for all intents and purposes, the daughter of the leader of the Vok’nair Empire. Just like her and Darian.
Thanks. Thanks for looking after her.
It was my pleasure. I owed you that much.
You owe me nothing. Any debt I might have once tried to claim you’ve more than returned by raising my daughter .
Nani took several deep breaths. This was all so overwhelming, and there seemed to be no end in sight. Even now, she waited. One crisis after another.
It wasn’t long before Damon helped an elderly man into Dr. Zabin’s office. His white hair hung in long, dirty strands, and he had a wild look about him.
“Pardell Grimm?” Nani looked from the old man to Damon.
“I am, indeed.” His words were slurred, and he seemed not to focus on anyone or anything. “Pardell Grimm. Das me.”
Nani looked at Damon, who shrugged. Dr. Zabin nodded his head and advanced on her. “That’s just great, Nani. What exactly is this old drunk supposed to do?”
“He designed the chip, doctor. He’s the only hope I’ve got of saving Darian and uniting the Asalian Coalition and the Vok’nair Empire.”
“My dear.” Grimm staggered toward her. “You look somewhat familiar.” He still slurred his words, but his eyes were focused and bright. Intelligence glistened there, but he continued to bumble around, going so far as to stumble into Nani so that she had to catch him. She scratched her arm on a huge ring on his finger and inhaled sharply, but did her best to steady him. “So sorry. How clumsy of me.” He immediately looked at the ring she’d left a fair amount of her skin on.
Nani was dumbfounded. She wanted to burst into tears. She wanted to laugh. Of all the things she expected, this was the last. The man was definitely chemically enhanced.
She was about to tell Dr. Zabin to continue with his work when Pardell Grimm suddenly changed completely.
“I’m sorry.” He grinned. “Blood sample. I had to make sure you were actually you. Well, as much you as you could possibly be considering I helped bury you twenty years ago.”
“This has got to be the strangest day I’ve ever had in my life.” Nani collapsed into a nearby chair. “All I want is to get my man out of stasis, take him to my room, and fuck like rabbits. Can no one understand that?” Damon turned away, but not before Nani watched him cover his smile with a hand. “Oh, stop it. It’s not like you don’t do that from time to time with your woman. I happen to know for a fact you make so much noise you alarm the whole ship.”
“Um, right. Yes, yes. Well.” Grimm cleared his throat. “Anyway. Your DNA is the same as that of the woman I helped imprison within this ship. I can only assume the good doctor here is responsible for undoing all that damage we did.” He sounded apathetic, but the look in his eyes told a different story. This man was haunted by what he’d done, but had grown accustomed to hiding it. “I understand, however, you’re having trouble with the chip?” This last question was directed to Dr. Zabin.
“It’s too old for me to be able to extract the DNA without destroying whatever else is on it. Can you help?”
“Sure.” Grimm grinned, walked over to the doctor’s workstation, and picked up the second chip. “Use yours to extract his DNA. I’ll use this one to extract the data.”
Dr. Zabin blinked. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Why, no.” The old man grinned. “Only the DNA needed to be kept separate. It was actually essential the data be the same on both in case one was destroyed. I’d have put both sets of DNA on each chip, but I didn’t have enough time to develop a method.”
“But --” Nani’s brow furrowed in concentration, “-- why do it at all? And why harm two innocent children?”
“I didn’t,” Grimm replied, waving his hand. Nani was really beginning not to like the man. He seemed to be the type of person who enjoyed the challenges he’d undergone in that grim project. “Those two girls were clones. I built them around the chips.”
Dr. Zabin had apparently had enough. “You son of a bitch!” he roared, advancing on the other man until they stood nose to nose. “Did you intend to sacrifice them all along? Do you have any idea how dangerous it was to remove the chips? They both could have been killed!”
Pardell Grimm just looked at him, as if he could really care less about Darian’s outrage. “Then they’d have died by your hand. Not mine. I did what was necessary.”
The doctor’s face was a mask of contempt and rage. It was quite possible he’d have hit the other man had Damon not stepped smoothly between the two. “OK. Let’s everyone step back and try this again.” Damon spoke to both men, but looked squarely at Dr. Zabin. “Phoebe and Diamond are fine. You saved them. Focus on the problem.”
“There is no ‘problem’,” Grimm spat, his whole attitude changing yet again. “I saved this woman and her lover. That was the greater good! I may have harmed two in the process, but I saved two more.” He grinned evilly, looking like a wild beast. Even his sparse hair was mussed, looking as untamed as the man himself. “And Samair still has no clue he’s about to be exposed for the evil son of a bitch he really is.”
Damon just shook his head. Nani was sure her jaw was only a couple of inches from the floor. Was he serious?
“You’re kidding, right?” It was the only sentence she could form.
“Are you too stupid to understand what I just said?” He whipped his head in her direction, but deflated visibly when his eyes landed on her.
“They understood you just fine, Pardell.” Tyrelle Amos swaggered into the room, the picture of a man in control. “I told you to behave or I’d have to take you back to the ship early. You promised to retrieve the data for these people. Remember?”
This was it. Nani had had just about all she could take. “This man’s insane.”
“Yes. But you needed his information. Do you need him further?”
Nani turned to Dr. Zabin. “Do we?”
“How should I know?” Zabin threw his hands up in exasperation and stalked across the room. “I’m not a computer engineer. I can get the biological material out, but any data will have to be looked at by someone else.”
“No matter what, Doctor, you need to get Darian’s clone growing. You said there was limited time.”
“Are you going to take a chance the data isn’t on both chips?”
“I don’t even know what this ‘data’ is. Besides, Darian is more important than anything on that chip.” She leveled Dr. Zabin with what she hoped was a fierce, determined look. “Don’t delay any longer. Get this done. If there’s one thing that can be salvaged, it’s him.”
“Even at the expense of both our governments?” Damon asked quietly. “I agree we can’t sacrifice Darian, but he’d agree that the greater good has to come first.”
“You’re not listening, little man,” Grimm said in a singsong voice. “The data on both chips is identical. Let him get the DNA he needs and I’ll show you my little surprise on the other chip.” He grinned maniacally. Nani wanted to cringe and back away from the man but she held her ground.
Dr. Zabin nodded once -- apparently his decision made. “Here. See what you can come up with. Darian’s clone should be ready in three hours. That will make him approximately the same age as he was before. Just like you. After that, it will take me approximately ten hours to perform the procedure.”
“So we have plenty of time to pick through this.” Nani wasn’t sure she wanted anyone else to see anything she found. Not yet. “I’ll be in my cabin if anyone needs me.” She turned to Damon. “I’ll need as much computer power as you can provide me. The technology is twenty years old, but more than half the battle is finding something simple enough.”
He nodded at her. “Done. If you need anything else -- or anyone else -- all you have to do is say so.”
“Just see I’m not disturbed.” She took the chip from Mahat Zabin, gripped it tightly, and headed to her quarters. “Admiral, bring your man here and come with me.”
She had a lot of work to do in the next thirteen hours.