Page 48 of Salvation for the Alien Mercenary

“Helped…” He tried to sit up, frowning when the restraints held him back. “Why the fuck am I tied down?”

“Just a precaution,” Jex replied, moving to release the bands. “You were a little… unpredictable during the seizures.”

Davis’s frown deepened. He glanced down at his own body, then back to Jex, and over to Covak. “What? What the fuck? These are Vorrtan straps.”

A look passed between the two medics.

“Your DNA contains sequences inconsistent with human genetics,” Jex went for directness. “Specifically, you have Latharian markers that were dormant until the M’Suun weapon radiation activated them.”

Davis stared, then barked a harsh laugh that held no humor. “Yeah, right. Fuck off. That’s impossible. I’m human. My family is human.”

“DNA evidence suggests you have one Latharian grandparent,” Jex said.

Davis shook his head, struggling to a seated position now that the restraints were removed.

“My parents were human,” he insisted. “My grandparents, too.”

“What about your family history?” Rann asked quietly from the doorway.

Davis’s eyes narrowed. “What are you saying?”

Rann stepped into the room despite the hostility rolling off Davis in waves. “Is there anything in your family background that might explain it?”

Davis hesitated, jaw working. Then he admitted, “My grandmother came back from a deep space mission pregnant. Never said who the father was.”

“Never?” Rann pressed.

“Just said once that my brother and I look like our grandfather.”

“The timing works,” Jex said. “Early human deep space exploration overlapped with the period when the M’Suun appear to have been conducting their experiments.”

Davis’s hands curled into fists. “You’re saying my grandmother was what… fucking experimented on? That my mother was some kind of hybrid test subject?”

Davis looked away, jaw clenched tight as he turned back to Jex. “So what now? I keep changing until I’m not human anymore?”

“We’ve stabilized the process,” the former cyborg replied. “But additional exposure to the weapon’s radiation could trigger further transformation. If you run into the M’Suun again, don’t get shot.”

“And ideally, we need to find someone who understands what’s happening to you,” Covak added. “The changes are stable, but I’d like to know what the frexx is going on with your DNA.”

“K’ell,” Rann said suddenly. Everyone looked at him.

“K’ell?” Mira asked. “Who or what is that?”

“Who. He was the geneticist who ran the program. If anyone would understand what’s happening to Davis, it would be him.”

“And where do we find him?” she asked.

Rann’s expression tightened. “That’s the problem. After the program was exposed, he disappeared. Went into hiding.”

“So he could be anywhere,” she said, frustration edging her voice.

“We have to start somewhere,” Rann replied. “The last confirmed sighting was near the Genetic Research Institute on Tariisian Prime, but that was years ago. The trail went cold after that.”

Davis’s expression hardened. “So this K’ell might know why I’m affected when no one else is?”

Rann nodded.

“Then we need to find K’ell,” she said, turning to Jex. “Is Davis going to be all right for now?”