The sound of shock rippled through the room, collective in the horror of what had just been revealed.

  “Holy hell,” Franklin whispered. “They want to wipe us out first, then do the same on other planets. And we haven’t even made it to space yet.”

  Senna held the record of the briefing tightly in her hand, waiting at the doorway to Jonah’s office. It was clear Jonah was under pressure from listening to the conversation of the various commanders, rehashing what they’d learned during the briefing.

  “We have to cut the head from the snake, Jonah. If they take control of the colony ship, humanity is unlikely to survive. We have to redouble the efforts to get those civilians up there. We’ll need naval and air defense in place.”

  “Admiral, we have so many problems right now that this is the least of our concerns. We might have to postpone the launch until we have some of these things dealt with.”

  “We don’t have time, Jonah. The forecasters aren’t giving us a viable window of opportunity for more than the next month or so. And with the explosives expert you’re going to bring in—and yes, I’ve heard of not just her rep, but also about who and what she is—let’s be honest, if the compound is as volatile as—”

  The door opened before Senna, and Jonah waved her inside to join the others in the meeting. “You know the gentlemen of course, don’t you, Senna?”

  She nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  “So, tell us about the compound. Is it as volatile as we’ve been led to believe?” the grizzled admiral demanded.

  “It’s incredibly unstable. Even on the shelf, which is why they used to call it the ‘Mother of Satan’. It’s archaic, and if it hadn’t been for my introduction to it, and what I believe are their test sites—”

  “Test sites? What do you mean?”

  “Over the last six months I’ve come across several incidents where an explosive compound was indicated. However, it didn’t match any currently known compounds. During my training this one was mentioned as a matter of course, part of an introduction and history briefing.” She let that sink in while she scanned the room. Faces stared at her. Some wide with shock while others hunched forward, thinking over the importance of her words. “We do know there are ways to handle it. For instance, there is a way to include it into a putty-like substance. This way it gives it some form of easier handling, but as it’s made from components that can be purchased easily, it’s difficult to detect, and none of our current testing sequences are attuned…” Senna spread her hands while shrugging. “It’s only because I showed an interest in it, researched it, and discovered a way to detect it after the fact that I was able to draw a conclusion on the sites I investigated.”

  “So what went wrong with your last case?”

  Icy waves dashed over her, but she faced the admiral’s gaze, aware of what he was asking. “My results were, in my opinion, tampered with. I kept detailed logs of my work, which I backed up to my home unit. My worksite was accessed and certain key facts deleted before they could be presented. Facts that remained on my personal unit from my manual backup process. When I was carpeted, I explained that and was accused of falsifying my backup files. I was further informed that on inspection no record of unauthorized entry into my files could be found. As a result, I was suspended, pending further investigation.”

  The admiral nodded slowly, no doubt considering her answers. “And you’re sure this time…”

  “I ran the tests on my mobile unit. I’ve also been investigating a way to track the explosives and believe this device we’re currently manufacturing will be able to determine aspects of the explosive. In the history books, I was able to find a record of a device called an optoelectronic nose. It works by using general sensors for odors and volatile organic compounds. We apply a thin film of dye that is responsive to chemicals, allowing the nose to see the hints of the compounds. The nose detects their presence by using an array of multiple dyes whose colors change based on the full range of intermolecular reactions to the substance we apply.”

  At the blank looks on their faces, she sighed.

  “Each compound has a responsive color attached, right? We’re looking for a specific filter, so we only apply that to the nose. It reacts on a molecular level. As every chemical has its own independent molecular structure, that’s what becomes its weakness and what we employ to detect the compound,” she explained.

  The admiral steepled his hands and harrumphed. Silence stretched out before he cleared his throat again. “How long until you have it ready?”

  Senna jostled from leg to leg, because there was no definitive answer she could give them. “It’s hard to say. Maylin has the majority of the equipment required. I’ve got samples, so we can create the filter, but we have to be exact. We could get lucky and have it finalized in under a week, given we found a diagram and specs, but on the other hand, we still have to test it then fine-tune it.”

  “Sergeant Reed, we don’t have time for fine-tuning.” The admiral rose. “This is a step forward, but the warriors are getting bolder in their attacks. We barely held them off from their attack on the colony ships.”

  Her stomach lurched at the memory of Franklin being carried past her to the infirmary.

  “We have to get that first ship off safely, otherwise I’m not sure we’ll get another chance. They want it and we have it. Along with a responsibility to humanity. Time is of the essence.” The admiral pushed away from the table, driving home his point that time was running short.

  And boy, didn’t she feel that as all gazes settled on her? The pounding in her head was second only to the pressure on her chest, and it took will to expand her lungs and suck in oxygen. “Sir, I’ll do my best, but it’s such old tech we don’t have it on the shelf.”

  “Don’t give me problems. Give me answers, Reed.” The admiral’s canny eyes bored right to her center, and there was nothing for it but to nod. “Go to Maylin. See how she’s getting on then return for a full briefing at 1300 hours,” the admiral demanded.

  Jonah ushered her to the door. He held the door wide, and Senna stepped through before whirling back. “There aren’t any shortcuts here, gentlemen. It has to be right. We’ll do our best, but…” There really wasn’t anything more to say, so she stepped away at Jonah’s nod and closed the door.

  Franklin stretched in the bed, still a little stiff, but ready for release from the infirmary. “Come on, doc. Let me out.”

  Michael leaned against the doorjamb. “If I do, you’ll just go back out there and do something unwise. So, unless I release you to someone, who I know will keep you occupied, I’m not letting you out.”

  This isn’t going the way I planned. He needed to get out before he went stir-crazy. Erin and David were currently in the middle of interrogations, but he wouldn’t be much use to them. Jonah and Daniella were locked into meetings with various officials, and he wouldn’t be much use to them either, and Michael and Clarissa were under the pump with the infants and casualties. Maylin ran circles around him with her computer talk, and Sevres and Fairburn were assisting David and Erin. All that left was…

  “How about release me to Senna? She’s working on some special project for Jonah, and you know she doesn’t strike me as someone who’ll let me do what isn’t allowed.” He controlled his smirk, sure Michael would accede, and once clear, well, if things got hectic and he was needed elsewhere…

  “Not until I check with her to see what you’d be doing. Your body took a pounding, Franklin. Cracked ribs, concussion, and deep bruising. As your physician, I’m saying no. As your friend, I’m telling you that your body is like an instrument—it can and will break if you mistreat it.”

  Oh yeah, he’d heard this song before. “But I’m needed—”

  “David and Erin went back to Homewoods. They’ve got reinforcements arriving tomorrow. Some seasoned and some newer recruits, so the pressure is off for the moment.”

  Homewoods. The small settlement David and Erin had found once their copter was compromised. David told them how it was filled with families of military personnel who’d been unable to return to society, damaged by what they’d seen and done.

  “So how many did we lose in the attack?”

  Michael bowed his head. “Five. But they lost twenty-two and we took nineteen more as prisoners. Among them was LV-3.”

  “Damn.” He couldn’t suppress the word, and Michael murmured his agreement. “I’m willing to help with the interrogation, if it would assist.” It wasn’t something he was overly skilled at, but he’d do whatever was necessary.

  Michael grunted. “I doubt you’d be useful to them. More likely you’d scare the kids or beat them to a pulp.” Michael’s smile was grim. “I’ll get onto Senna, and you’re to stay here. And to make sure you do…” Michael beckoned someone forward, and in trod Clarissa, cradling baby Eliza. “…you’re going to babysit.”

  “Ah, really?”

  Clarissa grinned. “Not pleased to see me? I even brought you some food.” Handing the baby to Michael, she reached around the corner and waved a bowl in the air. “Oats. With honey.”

  His stomach gurgled. “That’s cruel.”

  She laughed. “Maybe, but Michael needs you to stay here, resting, until he’s sure you won’t injure yourself further. He worries about you.”

  Michael made a sound somewhere between a snort and a remonstration. “I wouldn’t go—”

  “Michael?” At Clarissa’s tone, a red crest shined on his friend’s face.

  He almost laughed, until Clarissa pinned him with a glare. “Don’t you dare, Franklin Harris Mann.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” they both agreed.

  “Good. Now, here’s Eliza.” Sliding the meal to the rolling table, she reached back and scooped the baby from her husband’s grasp and placed her in Franklin’s arms. “She’s going to need her bottle as soon as you’re done eating. Call me, and I’ll be back to change her.”

  “You’re not staying?”

  “No. I have things to see to.” Clarissa whirled and left him with Michael while he cradled the baby with one arm.

  “Michael,” he implored, but the other man simply shook his head.

  “No way. My wife scares me.” On a chuckle, Michael turned and left Franklin with the baby.

  CHAPTER 6

  Senna entered the infirmary and found Michael waiting for her in the foyer. “So, you’re releasing Franklin into my care?”

  “Only if you can keep him quiet. The bruising and cracked ribs will heal quickly with the regen I’ve applied, but he needs to rest. The body can’t easily regain its strength without it. No lifting, no training, and absolutely no vigorous exercise. Since you’re working on that sniffer project, there should be no reason for Franklin to be doing anything taxing.”

  “Okay.” Senna wasn’t sure she really wanted him hanging around her full time. It might get in the way of her actually doing her job, because she’d have the added distraction of his presence.

  On the other hand, she’d have an assistant to help her check the progress of the filters. She already knew which chemical compounds highlighted the triperoxide. If she could come up with one that worked with the acetone as well, that would be gold.

  She trailed Michael down the corridor to the room.

  “No exertion, Senna,” he admonished, and she nodded.

  “Yeah, I get it.” Then Senna entered the room, Michael retreating to annoy some other poor patient, she guessed. “Okay, Frank. Time to up and out. You’re my prisoner for the next day or two, at least until the doc releases the reins.”

  He scowled. “I could go home. And the name’s Franklin.”

  Her snort was inelegant, but it got his attention. “Yeah, I don’t think so.” She reached down and flipped back the bedcovers. “Up and at it, boy.”

  A glint settled in his eyes. “Oh, I could.”

  The words lanced her, a frisson of awareness starting at the timbre of his voice.

  She stepped back. “I’ll wait outside for you to dress,” she said, aware the whole time that her nerves jumped in response to his casual comment.

  In the corridor, with the door shut, she leaned back, hands resting on her belly, eyes closed. Oh Lord. At least two days, and that voice…his presence. What am I going to do? He brushed me off, now he’s playing. Focus! It’s all about the work now.

  Too bad her libido refused to listen to her brain, because parts of her body had already heated to mush.

  When the door opened, she’d regained some of her equilibrium, and she ushered Franklin in the direction of the nurse’s desk to sign him out, then led him out into the sunshine. “We’ll drop by your rooms so you can change, then onto the lab and Maylin.”

  “So, what do you want me for, exactly? And you’re working with Maylin?”

  Senna shook her head. There’d been too many incursions into sections of the base to be sure it was safe to talk freely. And after the story of the Liv incidents, she wasn’t sure the infirmary was the best place to discuss strategy anyway. “Not here. Let’s get you changed out of that dirty, stained uniform, and we’ll grab a coffee somewhere quiet. Then I’ll explain.”

  They moved at a leisurely pace. Franklin wanted to move faster and made frustrated sounds while she kept her gait shorter than usual. Clearly, he understood that she would ensure he followed orders while with her, and he kept his stride length equal to hers.

  Senna waited outside as he popped inside the unit, and when he returned in a fresh uniform, she led him to a courtyard she’d discovered after they’d detoured to one of the small coffee dispenser units dotted around the base. The grassy area wasn’t surrounded by buildings and gave a clear and uninterrupted view for a distance she considered safe.

  “All right then. Tell me now,” he said.

  Senna settled on the seat and waited as he dropped down beside her. “You know about the photoelectronic nose in principle. The thing is, it has to have a marker to check the compounds against to work. The ‘sniffing’ is in fact a visual process. We already have a chemical signature for the triperoxide value, what we don’t have is a signature that will work for both triperoxide and triacetone together. Not effectively. So, over the next couple of days, while they finish the colony ships and Maylin is building the device with her team, you and I will be working on finding a filter that fits for both. We only have days, because Jonah insists we check the ship before they load up. After that, we do the same process for the cargo, because nothing can be allowed to slide through. But we’ve only got limited time to finish this pre-work. As in three days.”

  Franklin stared at her. “But you have a signature that works with the triacetone, right? Why not just mix the triperoxide and triacetone sniffers together?”

  “That’s the thing, we might be able to, but we need to recreate the environment and the chemical in order to test what we come up with. Simply putting them together isn’t necessarily the answer, because we can’t be sure what changes the chemical might undergo once mixed in its raw state. I’m working off samples that have already exhausted their life. Add to that, I’ve been unable to find sources or information on how they created the filter for triacetone triperoxide. They’re all locked down, and we haven’t been able to break the encryption. Besides which, we don’t have the time to research. We have to be doing stuff now.”

  “So, what’s our first priority then?”

  “Recreate the compound in a safe environment. We have to work quickly, because once the mixture is made, it’s volatile. Unstable. Then we use the filters we’ve created. We need to make up a range of filters pretty much at the same time, fit them to the nose once Maylin is finished, then test them. Here’s where I need your assistance. I need someone to prepare everything so I can run the checks. I need a location to work, preferably off the base.”

  Franklin gazed at her, eyes wide open. “You’re mad.”

  “No, just desperate.”

  “I can’t think of… Hell, I can actually.” His skin assumed a pallor and a line of beaded sweat stood out on his upper lip. For a moment, Senna wondered if she was pushing too much and too hard. “Michael will explode once he knows. But to use this location we’re going to need backup.”

  She perked up at his words. “Where?”

  Franklin shoved his hands deep into his pockets, looking worried, creases forming on his brow. “The lab where they experimented on Clarissa. It’s in a remote location. The labs haven’t yet been picked apart. There are blast-resistant workrooms, and we can lock it down from the interior. Jonah, Michael, and I investigated it after we found Clarissa.”

  “That would be perfect, except we’d need to get there, be assured of safety. Once I begin work with this stuff, we can’t afford any interruptions. People will die if this goes wrong, Franklin.”

  “We need a couple of others to back us up, I agree. Security we can trust will be essential.”

  Senna nodded. “We need to check in with Maylin, see how much longer she needs, then collect the necessary equipment and chemicals. Then we have to hope like hell we get lucky, because if we don’t, I can’t be assured of the safety of all these people on the base. Their lives and deaths, if we don’t get this right, will haunt me forever.”

  Franklin didn’t like the responsibility being shoved onto Senna’s shoulders. Too little time and far too much responsibility for a single person usually led to mistakes. He just had to hope it didn’t come to that.

  They hurried to Maylin’s workroom, which was hidden in a basement. She met them at the door.

  “Franklin, good to see you on your feet again. Now, Senna, the specs were a little light on in a couple of areas, but my team is the best, and they’ve made some alterations which will increase the battery life, and the sensitivity we believe you may require. We’ve also made the filter slides larger, so you’ll get a better reading.”

  Senna took the proffered machine. “You’re sure?”

  Maylin drew herself up to her full height of just over five foot. “I don’t say anything I don’t mean, Senna. My team worked night and day. We’ve ratted through essential equipment to scavenge the parts required, so yes, I’m sure.”