But the normalcy only fueled his paranoia.
The suffocating knot of anxiety in Kaelen's chest tightened.
He stood before the heavy doors, staring them down as if he could see through the metal.
A few heavy seconds passed.
After a moment of internal war, he gritted his teeth and whipped his head toward the
tech. "Initiate the Overlord Override Key. Force those doors open."
Toby's head snapped up, his face draining of color. "What? Director, are you certain?"
Kaelen narrowed his eyes. "Did you not hear my order?"
"But..." Toby cast a frantic look at the sealed entrance, his voice tight. "You know the protocol. If we use the override, the internal systems will register an active threat."
"It'll trigger the Emergency Shutdown Protocol. All active machinery will halt instantly."
"It'll vent the sterile environment. Any serum she's synthesizing right now will be entirely compromised!"
The Med-Tech Quarantine executives shifted uneasily, the weight of the tech's words settling over them.
Entirely compromised?
The Panacea had been locked in there for nearly two hours.
If she was truly in the middle of a complex synthesis...
Every raw material, every ounce of focus, and the nearly finished product would be utterly ruined by a forced entry.
One of the executives stepped forward, keeping his voice low. "Director, shouldn't we reconsider?"
"She has The Sterling Sovereign backing her."
The Sterling Sovereign.
The name alone landed like a lead weight in the corridor, suffocating the air out of their lungs.
He was a man who held the highest tier Raven-Plume Pass on Project Zero-Transit,
a VIP buyer that even the ship's commanders walked on eggshells around.
Not to mention, The Panacea wasn't exactly known for her forgiving nature.
The moment the woman had boarded, she had poisoned someone in plain sight of the Med-Tech Quarantine and casually demanded a fortune for the antidote.
She was arrogant, ruthless, and played entirely by her own rules.
She hadn't shown a shred of respect to anyone on this ship.
And yet, The Sterling Sovereign protected her as if she were his most prized possession.
The executive swallowed hard, panic etching deep lines into his face.
"Knowing her temper, if we ruin
hours of her work, she will tear us
apart onel.netc
FindNovel.net
"And The Sterling Sovereign will have our heads."
Kaelen was acutely aware of the risks.
But he couldn't afford to wait.
This was a direct order from The Commodore.
He couldn't afford to offend The Sterling Sovereign.
He couldn't afford to offend The Panacea.
But he absolutely could not defy The Commodore.
If she wasn't in the lab, and if she was the puppet master pulling the strings
hind the chaos with the
Living Assets...
He, as the Director of the Med-Tech Quarantine, would face the ultimate consequence.
He would be dead either way.
No.
The Commodore would make sure it was a slow, agonizing end.
Kaelen clenched his fists, the color draining and returning to his face in frantic intervals.
Finally, he made his choice. "Open it!"
The executives tried to protest. "Director Kaelen—"
"I said open it!" he snapped, his eyes wild and bloodshot. "We are doing this for her own safety!"
He forced a manic justification into his tone. "She has been radio silent for two hours."
"The Midnight Auction is almost over, and she still hasn't checked in."
"How do we know she hasn't
succumbed to a toxic exposure? et
How do we know there hasn't been a catastrophic chemical reaction in there?"
"We aren't targeting her. We are confirming her wellbeing!"
"If something went wrong, breaching the door now gives us a chance to save her!"