Page 73 of Salvation for the Alien Mercenary

His thumb hesitated over the screen. The old Davis Tell wouldn't add anything sentimental. But the old Davis Tell wasn't becoming... whatever the hellthiswas.

He cast a final glance at Spot. The little robot remained in low-power mode. No need to wake it—he'd be back soon enough.

It didn’t take him long to work his way through the ship. The engineering bay greeted him with clanking pipes and hissing valves, the ship's mechanical heartbeat pulsing around him.

Jex turned as Davis walked in.

"Thank you for coming quickly," Jex said. "This couldn't wait."

Davis stopped short. Against the far wall was something that looked suspiciously like a bed. Not a normal bunk… this was a massive affair made from floor matting, topped with a tarpaulin stretched tight and secured.

"What the hell is that?"

"Ah. That." Jex tilted his helmet. "Not having a biological body doesn't eliminate all human drives. The need to lie down occasionally... persists."

"You have a bed?" He couldn't hide his surprise. "Do you sleep like that? Do you actually sleep?"

"No," Jex replied, adjusting something on a nearby console. A hint of what might have been embarrassment colored his voice. "Usually, I just stare at the ceiling and run research calculations or view archives."

Something about this admission hit him unexpectedly. Despite everything… losing his body, becoming consciousness in metal… Jex had retained something of his humanity. The thought sent hope rolling through him.

"Makes sense. So what's urgent about my DNA?"

Jex turned toward him. "Do you remember I mentioned your transformation mirrors Ophiuchian secondary puberty?"

"Hard to forget."

"It goes deeper." A holographic display materialized, showing genetic code twisting in blue and gold. "There are markers that shouldn't exist. Sequences from no known species in this universe."

Davis stared at the display. "Alien DNA beyond Latharian genes?"

"Not just any alien DNA." Jex magnified a segment. "The M'Suun program must have used Ophiuchian DNA."

The revelation hit like a punch to the gut. He dropped onto a nearby crate.

"That's impossible." But he knew it wasn't. His senses, strength, and reflexes… were all well beyond Latharian capability.

"It's certain." Jex's voice softened. "Someone from my universe crossed over before us."

"How the fuck? When?"

"Unknown. But it explains your rapid transformation and why your body accepts rather than fights these changes." Jex gestured at the display. "The M'Suun created something entirely new."

Davis rubbed his hand over his face, tracing the unfamiliar angles. Had his grandmother known what they'd done to her? That scientists had altered her DNA, twisted humans into raw materials?

"Who else knows?"

"Only me. K’ell isn't aware of this. Ophiuchian DNA is almost identical to human DNA. Only someone familiar with both would recognize the difference."

"Keep it that way. Especially from Mira."

Jex tilted his helmet. "She should know. The entire crew should. This affects everyone."

"No." Heat pulsed beneath Davis's skin. "Not until we understand what's happening."

"Protection or deception?" Jex asked. "Secrets nearly killed us when Rann hid his M'Suun connections."

"This is different." Davis recognized his hypocrisy even as he argued. "I'm not hiding connections to people targeting us."