Valeri and Reginald left for the restaurant during a lull in the rainstorm. It was two blocks from their building, making it a short walk on the wet pavement. Reginald expounded on the wonderful way Valeri was handling her new position. She let him ramble on, though she knew he didn't mean a word of it. He had let her know how he really felt with the words he spoke so angrily in the lab. To show a change in attitude now was simply ridiculous.

Reginald was having a difficult time. Pretending to be the righteous, caring man from the past was a strain on his already stressed out nervous system. The government was hounding him for more data. They had paid him an exorbitant amount of money for information, and they wanted it quickly. He couldn't get them to understand that the aliens took time to heal between experiments just like a human would. He resented that fact as much as anybody. If they healed faster, he would make more money. He was already pushing his luck by testing those who appeared healed on the outside, though their organs were still damaged. Thankfully, the government only required pictures of a smiling alien as proof of their fitness. What they didn't know wouldn't hurt them and would benefit Reginald's bank account. Someone would catch on sooner or later, and the program would be shut down. He intended to be far away by then and have buckets of cash to enjoy for the rest of his life.

Valeri was a threat to his plans. Her curiosity had to end. Reginald kept a pleasant smile on his face and politely opened the restaurant door for Valeri. He noticed how many men turned to watch his daughter walk to their table. Their faces showed appreciation for her beauty and the sexy swing of her hips. It rankled Reginald that she brought attention to herself in the tight jeans and t-shirt. They were inappropriate work attire and not correct for a nice restaurant. They displayed her assets and that further disgusted him.

Her mother's body was just as curvaceous. Her face was just as smooth and clear as Valeri's. He hated being reminded of her. She had dumped him after years of being second best to his job and married a younger man. She and her new husband were killed in a plane crash. It served her right for leaving him. The animosity between Victor and himself was in part due to Reginald's disparaging remarks about his ex-wife.  

Reginald pulled his mind back to the current time and place. He needed to leave the past behind him and fix today's problems. When he and Valeri were seated, he couldn't help but say, "Those jeans are not appropriate for the lab. I must insist you dress to impress. Don't wear them to work again."

Valeri's anger flared. Here was the real Reginald. He was incapable of playing nice for very long. She didn't believe he deserved an explanation, yet she replied, "I didn't wear them to work. I keep them in my locker just in case I want to go out with friends or to a movie after work. I got caught in the worst of the storm this morning. My clothes were drenched, and I was cold, so I put these on. Sorry if I offend your sensibilities or embarrass you."

Reginald felt the heat as blood rushed to his face. He had really stepped in it this time. Judging Valeri before he got all the facts was a rookie mistake. He was here to get back in her good graces and making her angry was not a great way to start. He changed tactics. "I didn't mean to snipe. I brought you here to give you some good news. We are on the verge of a breakthrough. We have recently added a fantastic lab on the top floor of the building. It has state-of-the-art equipment and is fully stocked with samples from our experiments. It is far and away a better place to work than the small labs you've become used to. The techs that work there are the very best in their field. They are on the verge of discovering a cure for Alzheimer's using some DNA from one of our alien studies. Would you like to spend a week working with them? I know this is the kind of research you enjoy the most."

Valeri was aware that he wanted her away from the experiments. She couldn't imagine why he would offer her this opportunity otherwise. She didn't want to leave Akeila and Ohber, but this chance was too good to pass up. A new cure for a disease that ravaged the minds of millions would make all her studying and hard work worthwhile. Such a creation was the whole reason she had become a research scientist. She was far too excited to say no. She jumped up from the table, and to her father's embarrassment, hugged his neck for all to see. She shouted, "Yes, yes, yes! Of course, I want to be there. It's just what I've always dreamed of. Thank you, dad!"

Reginald felt an odd happiness due to her enthusiasm. He had long since forgotten how it warmed your soul to make someone else happy. It was an added bonus. He would get Valeri out of the experiments for a while, stop her questions, and get to revel in her appreciation besides. Lunch became more festive for them both after that.

Valeri was given a blue lab coat. It was for her honorary admittance to the new lab. The scientists from the experiments were distinguished from the techs by blue lab coats. It made the techs a little standoffish, but Valeri's excitement and willingness to defer to their way of handling matters changed the atmosphere. She was soon welcomed into their world.

Each day was an adventure. New potions were brewed, refining the formula after each trial. They were using brains from cadavers to experiment with the formulas. Just a few drops on one and the lesions left behind by the disease disappeared. Unfortunately, so did a fraction of the normal brain tissue.

Valeri's suggestions were welcomed and used in the refinements. She couldn't wait for each day to begin. Her love of science was returning, and her depression lifted. She even went out for drinks with the techs after work. Laughter was once more a part of her life. No pain-filled faces greeted her in the mornings. She didn't have to hurt anyone or put noxious fluids into already ravaged bodies. She was finding a cure that would gain millions a happy life with their families. Maybe she had imagined all the bad things about the experiments. This part of it was certainly legitimate.

At night, as she lay in her bed, it was a different story. Away from the excitement of the techs, alone with her thoughts, Valeri worried about the aliens. Was Akeila over his pain from the cancer? Were the tumors dissolving, or had she given him a disease he couldn't overcome? Had Ohber been harmed? Was he a part of another awful experiment? Did he and Akeila think she had abandoned them to their fates? Her heart ached for them. They had become her friends. Friendship with an alien was much the same as with a human. You enjoyed seeing them, and you worried about their welfare when you were apart. It was an odd situation. She longed to help them, but didn't quite know how.

She never mentioned the aliens to the lab techs. They had no contact with them and would not understand her feelings for them. The samples they worked with were just pieces of a puzzle, not parts of a flesh-and-blood entity. It was for the best. It allowed them to work unhampered by the knowledge of the painful ways those samples were obtained. They were enthusiastic and really great at what they did. Valeri made friends with them as well, though it was a very different dynamic than the friendships she shared with the aliens.

Her week of adventure would come to an end soon. She hoped the cure was refined to perfection before she had to leave. She wanted to stay in this happy atmosphere and forget about the dark one on the floors below. Or did she? She was definitely torn by her love of research and her need to care for her friends. She felt a deep responsibility for their wellbeing. If she could split herself in half and be both places, she would. Perhaps, if she pleaded, Reginald would allow her to spend time in both labs. She would avoid lab number two at all costs. Seeing the aliens hooked up to life support once was more than enough.

She squealed with the rest of the techs when a new refined formula was ready to try. They all gathered around the table to watch the test. The vial containing the sample was handed to Valeri. She was told, "It's your last day here, at least for now, so you do the honors." Valeri let three tiny drops hit the small portion of diseased brain tissue. She watched with an anxious heart as they ate away at the lesions. For just a moment, the progress stopped, and she thought they had finally done it, but then the good tissue dissolved along with the bad.  Her face fell, as did those of the techs. They sighed and went back to start over again. They would never give up. Neither would Valeri.

Victor invited Valeri to spend the weekend at the beach with a group of his computer geek friends. She decided to make the most of it, packing shorts and a bikini. Her days were spent swimming, playing volleyball, throwing a Frisbee, and getting a tan. The evenings were fun. There were bonfires, delicious food, and sing-a-longs. Every minute was a blast, until she sat alone watching the tide come in as the moon rose. The sight brought to mind the description of Milisaria. It had green seas and four moons. Guilt slammed into her chest, taking her breath with it. Ohber was locked away. He would most likely never see the seas or the moons again. In fact, he might never see any sky again. She could come and go as she pleased, eat whatever she wanted, and bask in the sun. He couldn't. None of the aliens in the experiment could. Their choices and their freedom had been stolen.

Victor plopped down in the sand beside her. He asked, "What's wrong? You were laughing and singing with us just moments ago, and now I see tears in your eyes."

Valeri hated to drag her brother down into the dumps with her, but who else could she talk to about the program? Technically, she wasn't supposed to share information with him either. She knew Victor would hold his tongue, even if tortured, to save her. She began, "This week was great. It reminded me of why I became a scientist. This weekend with you and your friends was fabulous. None of it feels real, though. Reality is waiting for me in the experiment room. Sad faces, sick bodies, and lonely hearts are my reality now. I look at this beautiful blue ocean and the full moon, and I see Ohber, the Milisarian, who longs for his home filled with greens seas and four moons. I look at you and remember the family that the Reptilarian left behind. Lightning brings to mind the Voltuni. Old people in the stores or strolling on the beach remind me of the old Arkani we gave cancer. It makes me wonder, how can I justify this program? Then I think about the cure we came so close to refining this week, and it all makes sense. I don't know what to believe anymore."

Victor put his arm around her shoulders and drew her close. He said, "I'm so sorry that dad ever put you in this program. It's tearing you to pieces. I'm sorry to have to say it, but he knew it would be hard for you. He did it anyway. You've got to get out before it destroys you completely."

"I've considered asking to work upstairs with the techs for at least a couple of days a week. I don't know if dad would go for it or not. What do you think?" She looked up into Victor's face for an answer.

He sighed and replied, "It doesn't matter what he would do. Don't you see? You would still worry and grieve over these aliens no matter what department you worked in. You're sitting on a beach in the moonlight and worrying about them. You either have to get completely out of the program or get the aliens out."

"I know. It's just so hard. Good things are happening with the research, but cruel testing can't be the way to gain information." Valeri curled up in his arms and added, "Will you help me decide? Dig deeper into the program. Find out where the money comes from. The nurses implied that something awful happened to those not fit for more experiments: something worse than what we saw in the second lab. I need all the facts before I try anything."

Victor replied, "You know I will do all I can to help you. You are so important to me. Mom's gone. Dad's lost my respect, and I think he's losing yours. We have to rely on each other. If it comes down to it, I will get those aliens out myself. Tell me when and where and I will be there. In the meantime, I will dig deep into the program. They can't cover all their tracks. I am very good at what I do."

Valeri smiled, "Don't get caught. Dad would prosecute. I need you out here with me and the aliens."

Victor couldn't help but laugh. "What a sight! The two of us, a Milisarian Knight, an old Arkani with wings, a woman that can electrocute us with her touch, and a very big lizard with a sense of humor forming our own army. Did you ever watch the old movies about the humans with special abilities?  I think they were called X-Men. We would fit right in."

Valeri joined in his laughter and said, "I haven't seen them, but I bet the Reptilarian would get a kick out of them. I need to see if I can find some copies. He needs something new to laugh at. I'm sure he's sick of Godzilla."