Chapter 37

"Listen here, corporal, you will show me proper respect." The major was only a few cells away. Relief flooded her, but it seemed preconceived.

The Hareema's eyes narrowed as his hand moved to the back of his sarong. He had to have had a weapon of sorts.

“Look out!” she called out as loudly as her injured throat would allow.

The Hareema whipped his arm around, holding some kind of blaster. He had it pointed at the major in mere seconds, but it wasn't fast enough.

Quicker than Sylvie had witnessed before then, the major was charged up with energy. He threw himself at the Hareema agent, pressing his hand against its chest and sending a huge burst of electricity through the creature.

There was a low moan, and then the Zantharian disguise fell away, leaving the towering rectangle of jelly. The Hareema's real form. Incredible.

Additional waves of electricity flowed over the major's skin as he seemed to be charging up for another blast. He clearly meant to kill his enemy, and Sylvie couldn’t blame him. But if the Hareema was taken out, they wouldn't be able to question it.

“Wait!” she croaked, but it was too late.

The major let loose another blast of electric energy right into the gelatinous creature. There was a popping sound and then the jelly became liquid, turned brown, and slid into a puddle on the floor. Dead.

“An infiltrator,” the major whispered in awe. “Right here on Zanthar.”

“And this isn't the only one,” Sylvie mumbled painfully. “We have to go back to the lab and get the regent. He's in danger.”

The major picked up the blaster and tucked it into his sarong before turning toward her. “How did you get out of the lab? I could have sworn you were still inside.”

“I was taken. They must have drugged us, because we both fell asleep. When I woke up, I was in another laboratory, one almost identical to the one we were working in. I woke up next to what I thought was your Supreme Regent, but it didn't take me too long to figure out he was an enemy agent.”

The major's eyes narrowed. “How can I trust you? I just caught you with a Hareema infiltrator. You could just as easily be one of those things, trying to trick me into betraying my government.”

Sylvie sighed. That was the problem with a shape-shifter invasion. No one ever knew who to trust. She honestly didn’t either.

“You can shock me. Fill me full of volts and watch. I won't change shape.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “It’ll hurt like hell.”

“I know, but it's the only way to tell for sure, and I need an ally badly. Make it quick. I’m worried about your regent.”

The major nodded, and Sylvie steeled herself as she watched the familiar waves cover his skin. He put a hand against her arm and sent a powerful pulse through it.

She fell to the ground, twitching as her teeth pressed tightly together. The shock was painful, but not nearly as bad as the ones she had experienced from X. Maybe she was building up a tolerance to it. Was this what it was like for a patient in electroshock therapy? Best not to think about it.

The major grabbed her arm and helped her to her feet.

“So you aren't a shape shifter, but you could still be working with them. This could all be part of an elaborate plan--”

“Look,” she cut him off. “They've definitely got an elaborate plan, and I was probably part of it. Mostly a distraction, I think, one that has paid off. But I promise you that I've not once taken any action on their behalf deliberately.”

She chafed against the bindings, but didn't bother to ask him to remove them. He didn't trust her yet. She had to try and make him understand, because if he didn't help her, she wouldn’t be able to engineer X's rescue alone.

“I've done nothing since I've landed here to indicate that I'm working with the enemy, or that I'm disloyal to your regent. I took out two Hareema agents on my own and saved the regent from a kidnapping attempt. I stopped my ship from self-destructing and killing the regent. And now I'm begging you to help me rescue him once more.

“I believe now that there must be Hareema on Earth, although I don't know to what extent or what their plans there are. I think they must have known about this mission, and timed it to coincide with their actions on Zanthar. I don't believe my ship was responsible for taking down the planetary defense shield, but I think someone on the inside here made the shield malfunction at the precise moment that I entered the atmosphere, making it look like it was my fault.”

The major eyed her, but nodded. “I've heard that they haven't been able to figure out anything on your ship that could have caused the malfunction. You could be right.”

Sylvie let out a breath of relief. She might be able to convince him. “The Hareema must have taken the place of at least one high official within your government. That's the only way they could have masterminded the entire set-up.”

“You still haven't told me how you got out of that lab.” He lifted an eyebrow at her.

The major seemed stuck on how he might have failed in his own duty more than anything else.

“I don't know. I was unconscious. Did anyone go in or out while we were in the lab?”

The major shook his head. “No. No one went in or out. There was a delivery about an hour or so ago. A cart holding some kind of equipment that you'd requested. The attendant just unsealed the door and pushed it in, but he didn't go in himself. Said you didn't want to be disturbed.”

A cart with equipment? She didn't remember that. It must have occurred while she was sleeping.

“Is the cart still in the room?”

“No. A few moments later, the regent pushed it back out into the hallway, saying it was the wrong piece of equipment. The attendant returned a couple minutes later and wheeled it off down the corridor.”

“What did the equipment and the cart look like?” Sylvie had an inkling of an idea, but she wanted more information before sharing.

The major squinted into the distance, attempting to remember the details. “The cart was just a regular cart. It had some kind of sample case on it, about a meter square. The sample case was tinted, like the ones they keep phosphorescent samples in, to block out their light.”

“I think I know how they did it.” Sylvie couldn't believe how easy it was for shape shifters to achieve their goals.

“How who did what?” He appeared loyal, but perhaps lacking in critical thinking skills.

“How the Hareema got me out of the room and their agents in.”

The major frowned. “We followed protocol. When the attendant approached, we initiated an energy exchange to confirm he was Zantharian. He was.”

“The attendant was probably just following orders, which seems to be a very popular action here on your planet. The attendant had nothing to do with it.”

The Zantharian officer gave her a blank stare, so she continued, trying to maintain her patience.

She sighed. “You're missing the point. The cart wasn't a cart. It was a Hareema agent. And another agent was hiding in the sample case.”

The major's mouth fell open and Sylvie could tell he didn't understand. “Hareema can become anyone, right? And your government has protocols to prevent their infiltration, such as energy exchanges. While that might work for Hareema posing as Zantharians, it doesn't account for shape shifters taking the form of inanimate objects.”

She moved through the event, point by point so the major could follow. “The attendant pushes the cart in and leaves, as he's been instructed to.”

“Instructed by whom?” the major cut in.

“By whichever Hareema put in the orders. It could be that an agent took the shape of the regent and put in a request for the equipment. The fake regent could have said he was busy and didn't want to be disturbed. He tells the attendant to push the cart in and leave, nothing more. So the attendant pushes the cart in, not noticing that we were unconscious on the floor because he's been told to leave the cart and go. So that's what he does.”

Sylvie played the scene through in her mind as she talked. “The agent hidden in the sample case morphs into a copy of the regent and picks me up, making sure to grab my restraints as well. Then he sticks me in the sample case and closes the lid. I'm small enough and flexible enough that I could be folded into a meter square, I think. Especially if I was limp and unconscious at the time. The Hareema masquerading as the regent pushes the cart back out the door, telling you that the equipment is incorrect.”

Sylvie could see it all so clearly in her mind. “The agent goes to the console and calls the attendant, telling him that he wants the sample case moved to a laboratory down the hall. Then he changes shape again, taking my form, and waits for the regent to wake up.”

She tried to block out the sudden memory of the Hareema mimic in X's arms. It wasn't easy, but she pushed the image away and continued. “Meanwhile, the attendant moves the cart into an empty lab that is very similar to the original one, and then leaves. The cart, which has really been another Hareema agent the whole time, changes shape, taking the form of the regent, and pulls me out of the sample case.”

Sylvie frowned. “They didn’t intend for either of us to notice a difference, but I did. I realized the creature with me was not the regent. I don't think the real regent was so quick on the uptake, though.”

“So you're saying the regent is with an enemy agent right now?” The major’s eyes widened as little streaks of red appeared in his green exterior. Fear.

Sylvie nodded, recalling the scene outside the lab. “What was all that commotion when I got your attention?”

The major grimaced. “They were coming to arrest the regent.”

“Arrest him? Then it's worse than I thought.” Her lips turned down as fear washed over her. “We have to come up with a plan to rescue him before it's too late.”

The crimson slashes in the major's skin pulsed violently, drawing her attention to his emotions.

“We better hurry, or the whole planet might be taken over by Hareema mimics before we can stop them.”

How right you are.

Zanthar was vulnerable, and their actions would be decisive in the struggle against the Hareema. But what seemed to worry her most was that X would be left alone with her copy and would do something he might regret. Something that would crush the fragile relationship growing between them. Or worse, something that would react with the mating frenzy and hurt him.

Or kill him.

“Before we go after him, we need a plan.” Sylvie closed her eyes and let out a sharp puff of air. Too much in too short of a span of time.

“Let's get out of the hallway before we're spotted.” The major opened the cell in front of them and walked out.

Sylvie followed him in, shivering as she once again found herself stuck in a Zantharian cell. But at least this time, she wasn't a prisoner.

If they could figure out how to save the planet, she'd be a hero, but honestly all she cared about was getting X back and ensuring that he lived.