One Big Bite by Michele Mills
1
Roxy stared at the mountain water bubbling pleasantly from the spring in the back of the cave, under an ambient glow of crystals and concluded that mine shafts weren’t nearly as terrible as she’d first presumed.
Well, not wonderful.
But not horribly bad.
Her former lab partners from university would be falling over themselves, laughing their asses off at the thought of Roxy Johnson—Roxy Johnson!—roughing it in a cave. Living by herself in a dank mine shaft with nary a modern convenience? No. Way. Couldn’t be done.
But hey, a girl could change, couldn’t she?
Roxy flexed her fingers and frowned at her outgrown, chipped nails. Normally they were layered with the trendiest color and matched her shoes perfectly, which had matched her lipstick, and even matched her eyeshadow and earrings. And if someone at university had complimented this fashion-forward perfection? This had been the highlight of her day.
Things had certainly changed. Not only were her nails a damn mess but the cave provided no makeup to apply and none of the sweet-smelling shampoos and oils she used to tend to her curly hair.
Dammit.
Although living alone in a cave under a mountain might suck, it provided protection from being hunted down by a squadron of Lurks—the assholes who wanted her dead.
So, cave it was.
It was just all so strange, because not so long ago she’d been residing on Rigtor Five, assigned as a lab tech to the famous medical scientist, Aleksandr Petrov. The planetary outpost on Rigtor Five had been a nice place to live and work. She had been in awe of Petrov as everyone else was and thrilled to be hired straight out of university to work in the same building as such a badass medical scientist. His huge high-tech lab was funded by the Intergalactic Health Organization, researching ways to provide portable med labs for beings who lacked medical resources.
Growing up under Hurlian captivity in the ghettos of New Earth had taught Roxy how horrible it was to not have access to modern medical care—something as simple as basic med kits or inoculations. And there were billions of beings in remote parts of the four sectors, living like she had without any medical services beyond homemade remedies. She’d been excited to be able to work with Petrov’s team on this project—trying to find new ways to provide lifespan health to all beings, regardless of their species or income level.
And then one week after she’d started her dream job, it all went to hell.
The Creekan government suddenly decided to pull military protection out of Rigtor Five, leaving the local Yurds high and dry. No one had seen this coming; Rigtor Five was considered safe and stable, until it wasn’t. The Yurds’ historic enemies, the Lurks, immediately declared war on their weaker neighbor and genocide was about to ensue. And Petrov’s lab was directly in the line of fire between these two opposing forces. The entire team at the IHO’s satellite site began a sudden and frantic evacuation.
That night, Roxy had darted into Petrov’s personal office to pick up a box to carry and load onto an emergency transport when a distinctive voice called out, “Technician?”
Roxy froze. Was that Petrov? No. The Lurks were attacking at dawn, so she’d assumed Petrov and his adult daughter had already left on the first transport out.
“Technician,” her boss repeated, stepping closer.
Oh wow. She turned and glanced back at the famed scientist she idolized. Petrov was old enough to be her father and she had nothing but mad respect for his abilities. She wanted to be Petrov when she “grew up.” So far, she’d only seen him from a distance. During her first week there hadn’t been a chance to be formally introduced to him.
Petrov stepped close and Roxy could immediately see the stress that was taking a toll on her new boss. His eyes were red-rimmed and his jaw clenched. He wore his typical lab coat and a shock of white hair stuck straight up on his head, which was unusual for a man usually fastidious about his appearance.
He didn’t know her name yet. This was fine, she’d only just started. But she and Petrov were the only humans in the four sectors working for the IHO, and that was special. Yet another reason why she’d lobbied to become part of his team.
“We haven’t formally met,” he offered. “Your name is…?”
“I…I’m Roxy Johnson, sir,” she answered, hefting a box against her hip. “And I was born and raised in the north end of Singapore.”
He nodded. “The new human lab technician from New Earth,” he said, almost to himself, giving her a tight smile. “I apologize that we’re meeting for the first time under such difficult circumstances. I wasn’t given the opportunity to get to know you first, but…I need your help.”
She blinked. “Me?”
“Yes,” he answered, lifting up a vial with a red seal. “I specifically need your help. The Lurks will overrun this lab tomorrow. They know we aren’t really trying to make portable med labs but instead are about to start sentient being trials on our lifespan health serum.”
Her eyes widened. “Wait…we…we aren’t making portable med labs?”
“No, sorry you have to hear this now, but you didn’t have the security clearance yet because you’d just arrived. But now you’re getting a crash course in the truth about our operations. We’ve been secretly working on this serum for years and the Lurks want it. This war against the Yurds is the Lurks’ pretext to raid my lab. As a result, I won’t be able to deliver the serum to the IHO through normal channels without the Lurks intercepting it. They will recreate it in their labs, claim the patent for themselves and eventually sell it across the four sectors with a huge markup and make trillions in currency. We need to make sure they can’t steal this serum because it will only become available to rich beings. I need you to get this past the Lurks and transport it to IHO headquarters on Salo so the scientists there can finish the trials and eventually make sure it gets manufactured and distributed free of charge to rich and poor alike, as planned.”
Did he think she was some sort of super soldier or double agent?
She put down the heavy box she’d been holding and swallowed, “Uh, of course I want to help, but I don’t know if I’m strong enough to do all of that…I mean I’m just a lab tech and I’ve never been in the military…”
He shook his head. “You misunderstand. I don’t want you to fight your way out with a containment box. I want to instead secretly inject you with the serum. You will quietly walk out of this lab with no one knowing it’s inside of you. The Lurks will never find any information on how to duplicate the serum among my data or the lab equipment. You’ll leave with the team and find a reason to travel to IHO headquarters so the scientists there can take samples of the custom nanobiotics in your blood, which will then give them the information they need to carry on with my work.”
“Oh.” He wanted to inject that serum inside of her? Roxy bit her lip and glanced back at the open door, which led to a gathering space where the rest of the team was organizing the evac. “Why me?” she asked. “You have all these other top-notch scientists and doctors who you’ve worked with for years who are so brave and freakishly smart and I’m…I’m just…”
“Ms. Johnson…” He sighed and shook his head. “I know you’re new and you think you’re not right for this mission, but none of those brilliant scientists out there can help right now. In fact, it’s best if they don’t know what we’re doing. The less they know, the better. You see, I have two variants here. I’m going to administer one variant to my daughter tonight and I want to administer the other to you right now. The two of you are the only two beings here of the same gender and species.”
“Aaah.” She nodded her head, letting him know she understood the enormity of the situation. He needed two beings of similar composition to carry the variants. This meant it had to be her or no one else. She blew out a breath, trying to wrap her head around the idea of getting shot up with something experimental, and then having to hide it was in her system.
“Will you take it?” he asked. “I will not force you or trick you into taking it. I want you going in with eyes wide open. You need to know the risks. I will be at my daughter’s side after it’s administered to her to make sure she gets out and the serum gets back to the IHO. But you’ll be traveling alone. You won’t be able to tell a single being, not even anyone in the team, that you are carrying this serum inside of you. You will leave by a different route than me and my daughter so the chances are greater one of you—hopefully both—make it back to the IHO without being caught by the Lurks. We will be each other’s backup.”
Roxy blew out a breath. “Yes, I’ll do it. But…will it make me sick at first? I just need to know what I’ll be up against while I’m on the move. Do I need to hide an initial sickness from side effects?”
He shook his head. “No, you won’t be sick at first. But I haven’t performed sentient being trials yet so I don’t know exactly how your variant will progress, but my best guess is that Sofiya will undergo some physical conditioning because her variant has a higher ratio of nanobiotics. Your variation has less aggressive nanobiotics and should do nothing but make you healthy. The nanobites will customize themselves to the needs of your particular species, and if all goes according to plan, the result of the injection should be that during your entire lifespan there will be no need for inoculations when you travel and you’ll never get sick again. You will eventually pass away from old age, but your lifespan will be extended because you won’t have to be treated for osteoporosis, heart disease, cancer, diabetes or any memory deficits from advanced age. If you have any congenital defects, the custom nanobiotics will fix those for you. You could of course still die from blunt force trauma or some other sort of injury, but your injuries will heal faster too.”
“Wow,” she whispered. “This one shot will give me the same protections as if I had access to a fabulously expensive med lab, like the ones on battleships, or reserved for governments or the extremely wealthy?”
“Yes, the results are amazing, which is why it’s so important that we eventually get this distributed to as many beings as possible. This will literally save lives. But remember, this formulation you’re injecting is risky because this serum is still experimental. I have no idea what types of side effects having nanobiotics in your body will produce long term. Also, the Lurks will later target everyone who worked in this lab, looking for any information they can find on the whereabouts of the serum. Make sure you avoid med scans because that’s how they will find out you carry the serum. And if they discover the serum is in your blood and they catch you, they won’t bother with a live test subject. They’ll consider an autopsy more valuable.”
Oh hell. Roxy shifted on her feet, uncertain for a moment if she could pull this off. But who else was there to take her place? And if she was serious about the fact that she was here to help save other beings…this was literally a chance to basically complete her life’s mission in one fell swoop. Her mind flashed to her mother, who’d painfully wasted away and died from cancer a mere two months before med labs were finally brought to New Earth. Cancer was considered a curable condition on civilized planets. Her mother’s life could’ve been saved if only modern medical care had reached Singapore a moment sooner.
She lifted her chin. “I understand the risk. I can still do it.”
Petrov nodded, a look of pride shining in his eyes. “Thank you for your bravery. The Lurks think they’ve finally got us cornered and they’re getting the serum. But you and I and my daughter—the three humans on this team—are going to work together to keep this serum from them and put it into the right hands in order to save the greatest number of beings.”
Roxy’s chest warmed at the thought of three humans working together to help others. Her species might be considered rare and backwards among the rest of the four sectors, but she was actually very, very proud to be human. And she was proud to be making a difference in other beings’ quality of life.
Roxy pushed up her sleeve and held out her arm. “I’m ready.”
“Of course you are.” He grinned. “You know, I was born and raised in north Singapore too. That means we’re both born fighters.” And then he lifted a pressure gauge and administered the shot.
Roxy hissed as the cold serum rushed through her system, and it worked just like he’d said—after the initial cool subsided, she felt exactly the same.
He met her gaze. “You okay?”
She shook out her arm and then rolled down her sleeve. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Petrov pulled her in for a tight hug. “Good luck,” he rasped.
Tears welled in her eyes. “You too,” she sniffed. “Stay safe.”
He let her go and patted her on the shoulder. “Sofiya and I are about to leave together on a different ship,” he said. “We’ll go in an entirely different direction from the team. I’m leading the Lurks away, which will allow all of you extra time to escape. You need to leave with the lab team and eventually work your way to IHO headquarters on Salo. Don’t tell anyone on the team that you have the serum—no one. The Lurks have known too much lately about my operations and this makes me concerned that there’s a mole in my team. Wait until you are standing in IHO headquarters to tell them you have the serum. And if all goes well the three of us will meet up there again.”
“Okay.”
Voices yelled out in the hall. Other lab technicians getting the last boxes. There was suddenly a lot more movement outside Petrov’s office.
She exchanged one last, charged glance with Dr. Petrov. Then Roxy picked up a case and stepped into the hallway to continue loading the transport, trying her best to act like nothing unusual had happened. As if she wasn’t carrying the weight of the universe in her veins.
She got on the last seat in the last transport out and left with the group.
