"Daniel? Could you come here please?"
Danny looked up from his zero grav training preparations. Vlad was standing near the door, the other Halphas filing around him.
Danny swung to his feet and made his way over to Vlad.
"Yeah?"
"Follow me please."
Confused, but curious, Danny followed Vlad into one of the many halls. They walked past the zero grav observation windows, and into an area Danny had never seen before. Vlad opened several locked doors with codes and scans as they went.
Finally they reached a heavy metal door. Danny gave an involuntary shiver, reminded of the extermination room at Space Corps. Vlad opened the door and they stepped inside.
It was a huge lab. There were several operating systems and tools Danny recognized from his parent's lab, but countless more he did not. Half finished pieces of armored technology hung from the ceiling, some flickering with lights, others quiet and dark. A padded chair was tucked away in the corner. Vlad gestured to this, saying
"Please take a seat."
"What are you working on in here?"
Vlad chuckled, selecting various odds and ends and placing them on a nearby table.
"I've got quite a wide span of interests. But most of what you see here are my attempts to create Halpha radiation suits for you all. As a matter of fact, that's why you're here."
He spread several small instruments out next to Danny.
"Since each suit is biochemically individual to its user, I need frequent blood samples from each of you to continue my research. You seem well enough to begin the process now. Do you think you're ready?"
Danny eyed the equipment Vlad had collected. He saw several syringes and sharp objects that made his tender scars prickle. He swallowed nervously.
"Does it hurt?"
"You'll feel some small pinches, but no. I keep things as painless as possible."
"Yeah, okay. I can do this," Danny said, both to Vlad and himself.
Over the next several minutes Vlad took multiple samples of Danny's blood. The glowing green liquid was quickly frozen and stored for his future research. Vlad was right. The syringes didn't hurt much at all, but Danny still couldn't stop his hands from trembling. Finally the last sample was complete, and the needle withdrawn.
Danny let out a huge sigh of relief, rubbing at the small spot of blood left on his arm.
"You did very well Daniel," Vlad congratulated him, patting his shoulder.
"I'm sorry to do this so soon after your recent... misfortunes. But the sooner I can create these suits, the sooner you can all travel freely."
"No, it's fine. Thank you," Danny replied.
"You should probably rest for awhile before going back to training. This can tend to make one light-headed."
Danny nodded, getting up from the chair. As Vlad began to return his equipment to its place, Danny couldn't resist asking him one question.
"Hey Vlad?"
"Yes?"
"Has there been any news on my family?"
"I'm afraid not. But at least that means that they're not getting into trouble with Space Corps. No news is good news in their case."
Danny nodded in agreement, a sad, sinking weight settling in his stomach. It was good to know that they were safe, but painful to not know anything more. Vlad seemed to notice this reaction as they left the lab.
"I'll talk to my people Daniel. Maybe we can find out some more details.Maybe someday we can even arrange for you to send a message to them. Don't give up hope."
Danny gave a half hearted smile. But the swarm of maybes and somedays didn't do much to lift his spirits.
YOU ARE READING
Split Between Stars
Science Fiction(Sequel to Half Life) Danny has lived his whole life thinking he was the sole survivor of Halpha's destruction. Space Corps has hunted him and his kind for years, making it almost impossible to survive. But after being saved from their clutches at...
