She narrowed her eyes.
Her gaze locked onto the jagged red line skyrocketing across the graph.
"And..."
"This one is going to be far more troublesome than Specimen Seven."
Commander Richter listened in horror as Serena casually rattled off Specimen Fourteen's exact condition with pinpoint accuracy.
His face drained of color, turning paler by the second.
The Panacea had encountered Specimen Seven.
She had even subdued the asset in front of everyone on the ship.
The news of that display of dominance...
Had already spread like wildfire through Obsidian Sun's ranks.
Now that she was standing mere inches from the transfer pod...
Even if he wanted to hide the connection between Fourteen and Seven...
It was impossible.
Richter stared grimly at the blazing red warnings flashing across the pod.
A dark, desperate glint flashed in his eyes.
"Panacea."
"I strongly suggest you don't compare Fourteen to Seven."
Serena lazily lifted her gaze.
Richter gritted his teeth and pushed on, "Specimen Seven was nothing but an incomplete, flawed prototype."
"But Fourteen..."
"Is Obsidian Sun's most flawless, most lethal biological weapon."
"His physical resilience, neural response time, and sheer destructive capability
when unleashed completely eclipse Seven's."
"You could even say..."
"They aren't remotely in the same league."
As if on cue to prove his point.
Boom-
A terrifying impact erupted from inside the pod.
The reinforced black titanium violently dented outward, warping under the sheer force of whatever was inside.
The life-support cables anchored to the exterior thrashed wildly.
A few of the metallic joints were already groaning under the strain, on the verge of snapping.
The dread in Richter's eyes deepened.
"The moment Fourteen wakes up."
"No one on this ship will be able to stop him."
"When that happens."
"Not just you."
"Every single person standing here will die."
He locked eyes with Serena's breathtakingly pale face.
His words were a harsh, measured warning. "Panacea."
"Walk away."
"While you still can."
"Is that so?"
Serena suddenly laughed.
Those bewitching, luminous eyes held not a single shred of fear.
Instead, Richter's frantic warnings...
Only seemed to fuel her dark fascination.
The more dangerous it was.
The more precious it was.
And that meant...
The more it was worth.
Serena raised a slender hand.
She pressed her palm flat against the pod's main operational interface.
With a fluid swipe of her fingertips...
She bypassed the primary security
layer, blowing past there
Vitals
screen.
"Stop!"
Richter's face contorted in sheer panic.
He surged forward on instinct.
"Who gave you permission to touch Fourteen's console!"
Serena completely ignored him.
Her fingers danced across the
glowing glass striking the keys with arythme, unhurried grace.
The interface, which was only supposed to display basic life signs,
was peeled back layer by lay her a
assault.
Internal injection logs.
Life-support diagnostic feeds.
Chemical concentration levels.
Even the deepest, encrypted remote-control protocols began to bleed onto the
screen.
Watching the firewall crumble, Richter's heart plummeted.
The suffocating dread in his chest peaked.
"Stop her!"
He roared the command.
The few remaining Obsidian Sentinels behind him lunged straight for Serena.
But.
Before they could even take a second step.
A tall, imposing figure stepped smoothly into Serena's path.
Julian slowly lifted his gaze.
Behind his gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes remained polished and dangerously calm.
But the way he positioned himself to shield her...
Radiated an overwhelming, predatory dominance that dared anyone to step closer.
He still held the firearm he had wrenched from one of the sentinels.
He raised the barrel.
Aiming it dead center at the lead guard's forehead.
"She's working."
"Don't interrupt."