as if the room around her did a slow spin. Blindly, she reached out in search of some sort of support as her legs went rubbery. "The Sirians …? How …?" she asked through numb lips.
"Nobody knows what happened-yet!" Hart growled. "I was hoping you could shed some light on it."
Kate blinked at him. It descended upon her abruptly that she was being accused, that the general thought she'd had something to do with the slaughter. Indignation flickered through her-but a sense of caution, as well.
"They took me into custody before they even went to my lab. How could I possibly know what happened?"
"The security electronics had been disabled-and your lab system had been wiped clean. You don't know anything about that?"
The coldness Kate had felt when she'd realized the behavior of the Sirian wasn't the acts of 'smart'
animals, but intelligent beings, swept through her again. "If you're suggesting I had anything to do with that, you're way off the mark!" she snapped. "Everything was working when I left the lab. Sissy … Dr. Terry Carter, had come to tell me the project was being terminated. We left together to go to speak with Dr. Warner and we were intercepted by the security team."
The general studied her assessingly for several moments, but apparently he decided she wasn't lying.
"Just what kind of animals are we dealing with here, Dr. Drexel?"
Kate compressed her lips, wrestling with her theory. Was it really no more than a theory now, though?
Hadn't the Sirians proven themselves that they weren't mere animals? "I don't think we're dealing with animals at all," she said. "I think we're dealing with intelligent beings."
That time the general reeled in shock. "And you didn't think to mention this theory of yours to anyone?"
he roared when he recovered from his momentary shock.
"I didn't realize it myself until just before Sissy arrived to tell me the security team was on the way!"
Kate bellowed back at him furiously. "I tried to tell them! I couldn't get anyone to listen! Instead, they hauled me down to the brig and locked me up!"
Discovering that their heated conversation had the attention of everyone else in the command center, the general dismissed the guard, grasped Kate's upper arm and escorted her to his office adjacent the command room. Urging her toward the chair in front of his desk, he moved to his own chair and dropped heavily into it.
"Tell me what you know."
Kate wrestled to bring order to her mind. "In all honesty, we haven't managed to make much progress with them at all. They seemed docile," she added a little defensively. "They haven't shown any signs of aggression. Sissy and I have both interacted with them."
General Hart's face contorted with rage. He pulled up a series of holo images on his computer. "Does that look like the work of docile animals?" he growled.
Bile rose in Kate's throat as she stared at the twisted bodies hidden among the plants she'd so carefully arranged to imitate the Sirian jungle where the eggs had been recovered. She dragged her gaze from the images after a moment. "They went in to kill them," she said shakily, gesturing toward the observation window in the common wall of the command center. "Any animal will attack when they're threatened. If it had been me, or you, or anybody out there, they would've defended their life!"
"Do you see any sign at all that the team attacked? They didn't get off one single shot! They were ambushed. They never knew what hit them!"
As convinced as she'd been that the Sirians were intelligent, that information still sent a jolt through her.
Her mouth went dry. "They knew they were coming," she said in a hoarse whisper.
The general stared at her blankly. "How would they know?"
"I don't know how!" Kate said, shooting up from her seat and pacing agitatedly. "They must have heard, or they were intelligent enough to deduce the intent when the team went in. What do you think happened? I rushed in and warned them before I dashed off to try
"Nobody knows what happened-yet!" Hart growled. "I was hoping you could shed some light on it."
Kate blinked at him. It descended upon her abruptly that she was being accused, that the general thought she'd had something to do with the slaughter. Indignation flickered through her-but a sense of caution, as well.
"They took me into custody before they even went to my lab. How could I possibly know what happened?"
"The security electronics had been disabled-and your lab system had been wiped clean. You don't know anything about that?"
The coldness Kate had felt when she'd realized the behavior of the Sirian wasn't the acts of 'smart'
animals, but intelligent beings, swept through her again. "If you're suggesting I had anything to do with that, you're way off the mark!" she snapped. "Everything was working when I left the lab. Sissy … Dr. Terry Carter, had come to tell me the project was being terminated. We left together to go to speak with Dr. Warner and we were intercepted by the security team."
The general studied her assessingly for several moments, but apparently he decided she wasn't lying.
"Just what kind of animals are we dealing with here, Dr. Drexel?"
Kate compressed her lips, wrestling with her theory. Was it really no more than a theory now, though?
Hadn't the Sirians proven themselves that they weren't mere animals? "I don't think we're dealing with animals at all," she said. "I think we're dealing with intelligent beings."
That time the general reeled in shock. "And you didn't think to mention this theory of yours to anyone?"
he roared when he recovered from his momentary shock.
"I didn't realize it myself until just before Sissy arrived to tell me the security team was on the way!"
Kate bellowed back at him furiously. "I tried to tell them! I couldn't get anyone to listen! Instead, they hauled me down to the brig and locked me up!"
Discovering that their heated conversation had the attention of everyone else in the command center, the general dismissed the guard, grasped Kate's upper arm and escorted her to his office adjacent the command room. Urging her toward the chair in front of his desk, he moved to his own chair and dropped heavily into it.
"Tell me what you know."
Kate wrestled to bring order to her mind. "In all honesty, we haven't managed to make much progress with them at all. They seemed docile," she added a little defensively. "They haven't shown any signs of aggression. Sissy and I have both interacted with them."
General Hart's face contorted with rage. He pulled up a series of holo images on his computer. "Does that look like the work of docile animals?" he growled.
Bile rose in Kate's throat as she stared at the twisted bodies hidden among the plants she'd so carefully arranged to imitate the Sirian jungle where the eggs had been recovered. She dragged her gaze from the images after a moment. "They went in to kill them," she said shakily, gesturing toward the observation window in the common wall of the command center. "Any animal will attack when they're threatened. If it had been me, or you, or anybody out there, they would've defended their life!"
"Do you see any sign at all that the team attacked? They didn't get off one single shot! They were ambushed. They never knew what hit them!"
As convinced as she'd been that the Sirians were intelligent, that information still sent a jolt through her.
Her mouth went dry. "They knew they were coming," she said in a hoarse whisper.
The general stared at her blankly. "How would they know?"
"I don't know how!" Kate said, shooting up from her seat and pacing agitatedly. "They must have heard, or they were intelligent enough to deduce the intent when the team went in. What do you think happened? I rushed in and warned them before I dashed off to try
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