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"Well, you did kill that one male," Bruke says with pursed lips.
"In self-defense, and it was an accident." Rooke plants his hands on his hips. "I hadn't meant to pull the trigger."
"Isn't this a prison moon?" I point out the obvious. "And all of you are here because you committed a crime of some kind? Everyone except for Mordox."
"I'm just saying, maybe we should give the male a chance." Bruke tips his head at Mordox. "If we have to fight those creatures or even the lifers still on the loose, having a Lita Comtra on our side would be advantageous."
Drax shakes his head, still not convinced.
"Mordox saved my life," I say, letting the weight of the statement hang heavy in the air. "More than once. I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for him."
"I don't know, Zoe—"
"Well, I do know, Drax. I didn't survive being moved from one foster family after another without becoming a good judge of character. I know he's innocent!" I defend. "The files you were hired to hack from the General's computer—"
"Mainframe," Drax corrects.
"Whatever." I cut my hand through the air. "Mordox said the shit you hacked was the plans for this lab and what it was going to be used for."
"You said the download was unsuccessful," Bruke says to Drax. "Any chance they were captured in the ether? They could still be retrievable."
Drax shifts his stance, peering down at the floor in thought. "Maybe. I would need a computer with a processor that can access the universal network. The ones we have access to down here are only local hard drives. I can't access off-world networks."
"What about the one you have at the prison?" Bruke asks.
"It has a core processor that can connect with the universal network," Drax says. "That is, if it's still there, and that's a big if since I left the fucking privacy door unlocked to my cell pod when I left with Stacy."
"The door is locked." All eyes swing to Rooke. "I made sure to lock it after I pilfered all the useful items. I left the computer because I couldn't get past your biometric password."
"We need to plan a trip to the prison and get that computer," Bruke suggests. "Might explain more about what kind of creatures we're going to have to deal with that are still out there."
"First, we need to bring back the body of the insectoid creature Mordox killed," Drax adds.
"Why in the fuck would we be bringing that shite back to where we sleep?" Slye recoils.
"So we can study it," Rooke says. "Figure out its weaknesses so we know how to kill the others."
"Let's not forget the lifers still at large," Slye interjects. "We have no weapons to speak of to defend ourselves."
"We need to be more concerned about the lab creatures. If they came this close to the lab, they aren't wholly nocturnal as we first thought," Rooke says. "The one we saw on the dark side, the one that took a chunk out of Zoe's dress, followed Mordox."
"He couldn't scent them until they were right up on us," I tell them and shiver. "The one he killed was covered in an oily substance. I'm not sure if that's important or not. It just looked weird and scary."
"Those things tracked Mordox and Zoe even though they're saturated in husti oil." Rooke peers down at an unconscious Mordox. "We should take the shuttle to retrieve the body. It'll be safer to travel by air than on the ground, but we'll need to rig some kind of harness to haul it back here."
"We have a lot of work to do," Drax says. "Best we get started."
"You have something that belongs to Mordox," I say to Rooke as he starts to leave the room and thrust out my hand. "I'll be taking the wristband back."
Rooke stares at me for a long time. For a moment, I don't think he's going to relent, then he reaches into his pocket and returns the band as Darcy sidles up to him. My eyes toggle between the two who are obviously a couple.
The males file out into the hall, chatting among themselves as they make plans to retrieve the creature and their trip to the prison to get Drax's computer while the girls remain behind. Drax and Rooke stay close to the door, their gazes not straying far from Stacy and Darcy.
"Come on, Zoe." Darcy smiles and takes my hand. "I'll bet you're hungry. Probably want a shower too."
"I'm staying with Mordox until he wakes up." I squeeze her hand then let mine drop. "Me and Tris. So, if I can have some fresh berries and fruit for her and rations and water for me, I'll be all set."
"Honey, Mordox is dangerous." Darcy tries to usher me out, but I dig in my heels.
