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Rann lifted his chin. Held his ground. "I exposed the program. Reported it to Imperial authorities when I discovered what was happening. That's why I'm an outcast. That's why they want me dead."

"And you didn't think to mention this when we were getting shot at?" Davis's voice dropped to a dangerous rumble. "When they were targeting us targeting her?" He jerked his head toward Mira.

"The program was shut down years ago," Rann said. "I didn't think it was relevant -"

"Bullshit."

"What would telling you have changed?" Rann's composure finally cracked. "The M'Suun want me dead because I betrayed them. That's all you needed to know."

"Wrong," Davis growled. "We needed to know they're hunting one of our own. We needed to know that they have a history of experimenting on humans. We needed to know that they might be after more than just revenge."

His vision tunneled, rage and protective instinct overwhelming reason. The thought of the M'Suun taking Mira, strapping her to some lab table, snapped the last thread of his control.

"Davis-" Mira's voice cut through the haze, alarm in her tone.

He ignored it, focused only on the threat before him. "What if they'd taken her? Did you think of that? What they might do to a human woman?"

"They're after me, not -"

"They're after all of us now!" he roared. "Every time we defend you, we're on their hit list too!"

Something surged through him. Power flooded his system, his muscles expanding, bones aching as they stretched. For a blinding moment, the pain vanished beneath waves of pure strength. He lunged forward, barely aware of his movement.

His fist connected with Rann's face with a satisfying crunch. Blood sprayed from the pilot's shattered nose.

Hands grabbed at him, Covak's massive arms, Ryke's attempt to intervene, but he shrugged them off, focused on Rann.

"Davis, stop!" Mira's voice cut through the chaos.

He half-turned toward her, momentarily distracted by the fear in her eyes. That split-second hesitation was all it took. The power surging through him vanished like someone had flipped a switch. Strength drained from his limbs, muscles seizing with agony.

His legs folded underneath him. The deck rushed up to meet his face.

As darkness swallowed him, his final thought wasn't about Rann, the M'Suun, or even his own transformation.

It was Mira.

Then nothing.

* * *

Alarms wailed as they rushed Davis through the medbay doors. His massive frame hung limp between Covak and Ryke, head lolling forward, feet dragging across the metal decking.

She pressed herself against the wall, pulse hammering in her throat.

The familiar antiseptic smell hit her sharper than Rettnor s clinic, and with an underlying metallic tang she d come to recognize as distinctly non-human.

Her heart raced as she locked onto Davis with every sense.

She couldn t look away. He was pale, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, and his muscles spasmed beneath his skin in a way that made her wince.

Get him on the table, Jex ordered. Covak, we re going to need the restraints.

Restraints? She stepped forward. But he s unconscious.

The last episode he had, those muscle contractions were much smaller, Jex replied, looking at her as he moved around the examination bed. I m worried he could injure himself if he seizes.

Covak secured thick bands across Davis s chest and legs. His pulse is erratic, he said, attaching monitoring sensors across Davis s torso and temples. Temperature climbing.

The medical display lit up, vital signs flashing in angry red. She caught her breath. Davis s heart rate spiked and plummeted in chaotic patterns, his temperature hovering four degrees above what it should be.

Give him ten units of stabilizer, Jex ordered.

Covak frowned. That dosage would drop a Latharian into shutdown. He s human.

His physiology is rapidly altering. Standard doses are inadequate.

And if you re wrong? If his system can t handle that level of sedation?

The alternative is metabolic cascade failure. Jex s helmet tilted toward the monitor where Davis s vitals danced erratically. And his probability of survival is dropping by the second. So we can carry on debating or do something to save him.

Her fingers dug into her palms, but she barely registered the pain. Davis convulsed, his spine snapping into a hard arc as a strangled sound escaped his throat.

Fine. Covak reached for the dispenser. Five units. We can increase if needed.

Inadequate.

Non-lethal, Covak growled. Unlike your approach.

Jex sighed, the sound hissing through the speakers of the suit. Do it.

She edged closer, her hip bumping the monitoring station as Covak gave him the stabilizer, and he slumped against the bed.

A screen next to the main display showed what she recognized as his genetic structure, complex patterns highlighted in red and amber. She frowned suddenly.

Guys, she said, pointing to a repeating sequence. Is that pattern supposed to be duplicating?

Jex turned to look at the screen. Shit. You re right. We have genetic replication accelerating in specific regions.

Covak leaned in, his amber eyes narrowing. Frexx . Those markers are -

Latharian, Jex said.

The words hung in the air as Davis arched again, monitors screaming in alarm. He strained against the restraints, his face contorting in silent agony.

He s going into shock, Covak snarled, reaching for a different vial.

Jex s hands flew across the control panels. Something is triggering dormant sequences. The rate of cellular transformation exceeds sustainable limits.

In Basic, Covak demanded, administering something directly into Davis s neck.

The changes happening in his body are too fast, Jex bit out. His systems can t adapt quickly enough, which means his metabolic pathways are breaking down.

She blinked. Her mind flashed back to resource management games systems buckling under rapid changes, cascade failures that happened when expansion exceeded infrastructure.

You need to slow it down, she said, the words tumbling out. Buffer the transition.

Jex s helmet tilted her way. Yes. But the usual stabilizing medications are proving ineffective.

What about- she hesitated, knowing how it would sound. What about combining your approaches? If he s part human, part Latharian...

The two medics stilled, looking at each other across Davis s convulsing form.

Zodiac cloning protocols, Jex said slowly, could theoretically interface with retro-gene editing utilized by Latharian evolutionary adaptations.

Could work, Covak said. Humans are just-altered Lathar who continued to evolve post-alteration on Earth.

Which means, Jex continued, already adjusting formulations on the medical dispenser, they have compatible base genetic structures. The Zodiac used a similar foundation when designing human-compatible cyborg systems.

Covak bared his teeth in what might have been a smile. Worth a shot.

They moved like dancers in a brutal choreography. The Vorrtan medic growled instructions while manipulating physical tools; Jex ran calculations and administered compounds with microscopic accuracy.

All she could do was watch, feeling worse than useless. Her gaze fixed on his face. He d changed since she d first met him weeks ago. The angle of his jaw was sharper, cheekbones more defined. He wasn t just handsome anymore. He was gorgeous, striking in a way that went beyond anything human.

The memory of his mouth on hers, hot and demanding in the observation lounge, filled her mind, followed by the horror of his limp body crashing to the deck. She forced them both away. She had to focus.

Okay, I think we have it, Jex announced after what felt like hours. Metabolic markers stabilizing.

Davis gradually relaxed against the padded medical bed, the violent seizures subsiding to occasional tremors as his breathing evened out.

It s working, Covak confirmed, checking readings on the main display.

Her knees nearly buckled with relief. She gripped the edge of the nearest console, careful not to touch any controls. The tension that had held her rigid began to unravel, leaving her shaky and hollow.

Why him? she asked, the question escaping before she could stop it. Why is Davis affected like this? Could this happen to any of us if we were hit by these M Suun weapons?

No. The trigger is specific, Jex said. His DNA contains dormant sequences that the weapon s radiation activates, similar to a targeted virus that only affects carriers with specific genetic markers. None of the rest of the crew have these markers. I checked.

But why would he have them? she asked in confusion, watching his chest's slow rise and fall. Why would an alien weapon activate them? He s human.

I m not so sure about that. Jex turned toward them. My analysis indicates that he has at least a partial Latharian ancestry.

The silence that followed was heavy enough to swim through.

Covak s expression darkened. That shouldn t be possible. He s too old. Humans and Latharians have never -

M Suun, Rann interrupted from the doorway. The experiments years ago What if there were pregnancies?

She whirled to face him. And you didn t think to mention this possibility before?

I didn t know. Rann s strange eyes, blue and green, fixed on Davis s unconscious form. The program was terminated. All subjects were accounted for. His expression hardened. Or so the official reports said.

Davis groaned, his head turning to the side. The restraints creaked as he moved, muscles tensing as he regained consciousness.

Davis? She edged closer, ignoring the voice warning her to maintain distance and protect herself. Hey are you awake?

His eyes opened. It took him a moment to focus on her.

Mira? His voice was rough, like it was scraped raw. What happened?

You collapsed, she explained, keeping her tone matter-of-fact. But Covak and Jex helped you.

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