Tessa's POV:

I curled up tighter and draped my wings over me like Abby had just shown me, trying to trap my body heat. It was so hard to sit still, but there was barely enough room in the cage to turn around, let alone pace. I really didn't want to be here.

"Well, it is a chimera. Not one of the originals, though, which is a pity. Possibly second generation." The Votak's voice startled me; he and his parrot friend had been silent for a very long time.

Apus flew over and landed delicately on the white alien's shoulder. "That is a very strange DNA chain. I'm not sure how those humans concocted this one, but it looks quite stable."

"Look at the binders. I think they were just mixing things and hoping they worked. If even one of those codes were misplaced, the creature would have died within days and never survived the metaforming process. You'll probably never see a mutation in this species since it wouldn't survive."

"Wait, wait," Apus said, his squeaky voice rising in pitch. "Look there! Those shouldn't be there. I don't know which lab she came out of, but they clearly missed several steps in the procedures and added the knowledge serum. I'm amazed they had any survivors at all."

"Those humans were idiots," Claas retorted.

"I'm not seeing any evidence of the memory retention sequence, although they may not show in the offspring's DNA." Apus glanced at me. "I'm also doubtful if the humans would have managed that step when they failed to follow most of the directions. This lab clearly took the word experimental to a whole new level."

"Considering how carefully we protected the instructions, I'm astonished at how rarely they followed them from start to finish. However, I am seeing some sicora genes in here, which means the samples we included survived the crash."

"Well, we might have crashed that skipper on their planet on purpose over half a century ago, but they were only just starting to use the technology we gave them. Then that naive group of Votaks bumbled in and destroyed everything."

"It will be decades before we find another reckless race with the appropriate intellectual qualities that doesn't mind sacrificing their own in the name of experimentation. I was curious to see what they would have managed in a couple of decades."

"As soon as we find one, we can pack everything up and move it to a new base."

"Does your chromosome breakdown match what I'm seeing here?"

"Yep. It looks like they tossed an entire menagerie into the mixing pot. They used at least fifty animals when they were supposed to only have a maximum of five. Let's just say that I am very glad I wasn't dragged into that lab. Their chances of survival would have been appallingly low."

"I am not as foolish or reckless as those humans. I told you that you would survive the metaforming process."

"And I am eternally grateful. Even if it hadn't worked, I would have died around the same time anyway."

My breath caught in my throat as I realized that the parrot had gone through the same procedure that Mom and Dad had. Only he was in league with the Votaks.

A light on the wall flashed, and Claas touched it.

A voice through the device said, "Commander Claas, your meal is ready. Would you like it delivered to your location or your personal quarters?"

"My personal quarters."

The two of them walked out, shutting off the lights and closing the door behind them. Four tiny yellow lights near the ceiling provided very dim illumination. I lifted my head and perked my ear tufts up but heard nothing.

I got up and began trying to undo the door now that they were gone, hoping that Taureen was wrong. Wrestling around with it, I rocked the cage slightly and immediately stopped. The edge of the counter was far too close, and I really didn't want to drop that far to the floor.

"Any update?" I asked Mom hopefully.

"Nothing yet," her tired voice replied. "They almost caught a few of them, but, as you know, they blew themselves up. This isn't the normal type of Votak. From what they've recovered of their technology, we're dealing with a small rogue group."

"That matches what I've heard. This one didn't like that some other Votaks invaded Earth. The parrot thing is just like the original dragonets – he was changed with the same procedure. There were other labs, too!"

She was silent for a long time. "Some of us wondered if there were more labs, but this is the first time I have heard it confirmed."

The door slid open, and my head swung around with a low growl. The faint silhouette ducking through the door was far too large for a Votak. My growl faded into a hopeful whine as I stood on my back legs, sniffing the air.

The shadow swiftly came forward with a slight limp. My wings trembled, and I danced on the spot.

"Soranto is here!" I exclaimed, updating the group back home.

"Thank goodness," Mom replied in relief. "Wait, he's just walking around?"

"More like sneaking around," I said, sharing a glimpse of his swift, furtive movements as he crossed the room.

"Keep me updated. I'll keep silent to avoid distracting you."

Soranto immediately did something to the panel on the cage, and the door clicked. He wasted no time in opening it, although I was already pushing on it. With a jump that was rather stilted from stiff muscles, I leapt up at his chest.

Catching me, he cradled me in both arms as he checked my arms, legs, and wings for injuries – or rather – he attempted to, but I was squirming around to much in the sheer joy of being reunited with him. He abandoned his inspection and pushed the cage onto the floor before jogging towards the door.

Before he reached it, he paused and eyed up all the computers and controls. With a glance at the door, he went back to the computers and quickly stuck something into the machine Claas had been working on. Then he did something with two of the other machines.

Turning back, he rushed to the door and opened it. After a quick peek down the corridors, he began hurrying down one. We passed door after door. Soranto paused at every corner and junction, carefully checking the unseen areas before proceeding.

I couldn't believe how big this place was. It was much bigger than the barracks and probably larger than the Kymari city's main space port. He seemed to know where he was going, which was good because I didn't have a clue.

Voices ahead made my heart pick up speed. Soranto ducked into a side room and managed to squeeze past large tubes as he headed through another door. Dusty crates and boxes were stacked along the sides, and Soranto's tracks were clearly visible in the otherwise untouched dust in this room.

When he opened the door, he stopped with a faint exhalation of frustration. The next room was a dead end. Behind us a deep thrumming noise started. With a bitten-back exclamation, Soranto lunged back and shut the previous door as extreme heat began to flow into the room.

He sighed and backed away from the door. "Well, we aren't going anywhere until the heating cores switch off."

As he looked down at where I was still cradled in his arm, I lifted my head and trilled at him. A smile spread across his face.

"I am so glad that I found you."

I whistled in agreement. Gently, he set me on a nearby box and thoroughly checked every inch of my body, right down to each of my scales and toenails. One of my cracked scales above my shoulders pinched as he spread my wings.

Reaching around, I grabbed the offending scale in my teeth and jerked the two sections free. It hurt, but just like trimming a splitting nail, it felt better afterwards. I spat the two jagged pieces on the crate.

Soranto picked them up, looked at them, and then tucked them into his belt pouch with a frown. He took a small jar of salve out of his pocket and dabbed it over the place where the scale pieces had come from. The throbbing pain immediately dulled to something I could barely feel. With a thankful chirp, I jumped up to his shoulder.

The small crates were battered and dusty, but Soranto still opened the lids to check their contents. He picked out a few wires and some electronics and tucked them into another belt pouch. One crate held clear, round orbs, and Soranto picked up the entire box and carried it into the dead-end room.

"The suspense is killing me. What's happening?" Mom asked.

"We're in a room, and the heat from a heater core thing is keeping us here for now. Soranto is checking old crates." I sent images to her.

"Taureen says that those orbs hold water and are individually packaged to prevent contamination. They are often stored in various areas as emergency supplies."

"That probably explains a lot of strange stuff I'm seeing."

"Has he talked much? We aren't sure if he knows his wrist comm's beacon isn't transmitting properly."

"No, he's pretty quiet. Just murmurings of reassurance. And that he was glad he found me."

"I'm glad he found you, too."

She was quiet for a while, and I waited since she was probably talking with Taureen or Aeria.

"Getting you two back safe and sound isn't going to be easy. We are likely going to have to include Soranto in this discussion. As much as I wanted to have Taureen and Aeria around to help break the news to him, you may end up springing this on him without warning. Do you have any thoughts about not keeping Soranto as your handler?"

"No. What is the best way to do this?"

"Wait until he settles down a bit more. It won't take him long if those are all the crates there."

I sent my acknowledgement down the mindlink and listened to her advice while I tried to prepare myself for something I hadn't planned on doing for several months.