Page 12 of Fated to the Dragon Alien
He pulled up the file overlay and sent it to her console. “Miner 630-I,” he said, not daring to use her common name. “She’s resistant to psiak radiation. Completely. No degradation markers. No cellular loss. Her logs are clean.”
“That’s been noted,” Bendahn said.
“Not noted enough,” he said. “Everyone else from her sector is failing, but the Terian’s vitals have improved.”
“She’s an anomaly.”
“She’s Terian,” he said. “And I need more information about her species.”
There was a pause. Bendahn moved one hand and dismissed the file he’d sent. “The Terian project is locked.”
“Then grant me access. I’m the designated controller of the DeLink 22 Mine. I have miners deteriorating cycle by cycle. If I can learn how she’s surviving this environment, perhaps a medicine can—”
“No,” she cut in. “You’ve reached your security threshold. Further data on Teria requires clearance you don’t hold.”
Frustration scraped under Stavian’s skin as he stared at her three-dimensional image. “You trained me to manage systems under pressure. To identify patterns. She’s a pattern.”
“No,” Bendahn said. “She’s a statistical error. Not replicable.”
“That can’t be right. If she’s surviving at this rate, others could—”
“I said she’s not replicable.” Bendahn’s voice sharpened. “Her resistance is not an outcome you can duplicate with tech or treatment.”
“Then where does it come from?” he asked, sitting back and spreading his hands. “Because there is little information on her species.”
“There doesn’t need to be,” she said.
“This makes no sense. The Axis’ records are always complete and every species in our sphere is thoroughly documented. Yet, this one is hidden behind a lock. Why not bring more of them to this mine, if they can survive the radiation, and send those who get sick to the farming settlements?”
“One Terian is sufficient.” Bendahn’s gaze rolled to the ceiling as she shook her head. “You won’t receive more Terians. Central has no desire to expand that roster. Terians are strengthened by the radiation, and the Axis do not want them strong.”
“So I’m not supposed to find out what makes her different?” Stavian asked. “You would rather I send another six dozen prisoners to the tunnels instead of exploring a solution right in front of us?”
“She is not your solution,” Bendahn said with a snap to her voice.
That stopped him. He leaned back from the hologram. Then why send her here? he wanted to ask. But he didn’t. Not yet.
Instead, he looked straight at the feed, hands at his sides. “You’re wasting a chance to save lives.”
“You’re wasting your time,” Bendahn said. “630-I is a stable element in an unstable system. That’s all. Move forward. Quotas are being met.”
“She’s not an element. She’s a person.”
Bendahn didn’t even blink. “She is a designation. Do not forget yourself. You are a mine controller, not a medic or a researcher.”
Silence pulled taut between them. Stavian’s teeth clenched. “I’m losing miners at a higher rate. The deeper we go, the faster their bodies fail. Criminals or not, I have to document each body dragged out.”
“Your assignment isn’t to save them, Stavian,” Bendahn said. Her tone never changed. “It’s to keep the operation functional. The DeLink Mine has remained one of the highest-yield sites in the sector. I sent you there because you have high radiation resistance and because I trust you to make choices that serve the Axis above yourself. Do not succumb to sentiment. Remain strategic, Stavian.”
“Then answer me something strategic,” he said. “If 630-I really is just a random miner from a conquered world—why block her records? Why scrub every trace of where she came from? Why hide the entire history of her people?”
Bendahn’s smile was tight and cold. “It’s always been your weakness, Stavian. You think people can grow beyond their design.”
“Maybe they can,” he said.
Bendahn leaned back in her chair. The bruised-blue uniform caught the edge of the light as she folded her hands in front of her. “You’re not authorized to know the history of the Terian people, and you are not authorized to share what you’ve just learned, Stavian. Not with your staff and absolutely not with the subject. The Terian disturbances are sealed under Tier Eight. Communicating their existence would constitute high treason.”
He kept his expression neutral, but fire rolled under his skin. “Is that your final instruction?”
