MBryO: The Escape by Dodie Townsend Page B

admiringly. “And he is far stronger than any of the other telepaths at MBryO…except maybe the ‘Old One.”
    “The only humanoid with that sort of power would, no doubt, be descended from the Xenaclons,” Ian reasoned, assessing Elias’ muscled physique! “Even the Barriosi are not that powerful.”
    The Barriosi were allies of the powerful Xenaclon race.
    A combination of curiosity and youthful excitement bubbled up in Ian. For a moment he let his mental defense guard down. Everyone in the docking bay intercepted the flashes of research articles as the boy mentally flipped through the pages of everything he had ever read, heard or studied about the Xenaclons.
    The dark-haired man did not look like the pictures he had seen of the genetically enhanced soldiers. And in all his research he had never ran across any mention of a Xenaclon with telepathic abilities. But he would bet his next birthday that Elias was a true descendant of the original cloned warriors.
    “Zander-tar-pits!” Melara cursed harshly, reeling from the massive overload of information her brain had received in such a short amount of time.
    “Mister, you have about five seconds to give me a reason not to blast you to bits!”

Chapter Five
    The atmosphere in the docking bay was extremely tense, as both Melara and Pax waited for Elias Abrams to make his move.
    Pax’s finger gently caressed the trigger of his mass-blaster.
    The Xenaclon Wars had happened more than a century before. But a mere hundred years was not nearly long enough to forget the crimes the Xenaclons had committed against humanity. His own ancestors had regaled him with stories of their atrocities.
    It was the doll-like Gayla who eased the tension.
    “The ‘Old One’ trusts him!” she said, simply.
    “And he could have returned us to the MBryO project when he discovered us,” Dogg added. “But he did not!”
    “Maybe he planned to use you and Gayla to track us down and force us into going back with him,” Melara countered fiercely.
    She knew firsthand how determined Elias Abrams could be.
    Abrams had been her boss back at MBryO. She had taken orders from this man. Not once in the past six months had she sensed even one crack in his cold exterior. How could he have worked at that evil place, been privy to the experiments taking place in the bowels of the building and still live with himself. Didn’t he have any conscience at all?
    “I had my reasons, Capitana Sivanza,” Elias’ words reverberated in her mind. She was aghast at the thought that this man had been reading her thoughts for months now and she hadn’t been aware of it.
    “I, too, have been working to expose Maxim Bryant and put an end to his cruel experiments for some time now. But you compromised my position with your hasty flight and put everyone in jeopardy with your infernal snooping. Your escape has only made him angry. He is determined to retrieve Sasha and her brothers…at any cost!”
    “I sense no guile in him, Melara,” Sasha stated aloud, very firmly. “Put your blaster away. He is telling the truth.”
    “Sasha…” Melara began cautiously, unwilling to relax her guard.
    “Enough!” Sasha insisted. Reaching out she shifted Gayla into the elf-girl’s original position atop Dogg’s broad shoulders.
    “There will be time for further discussion later. Right now we must get Gayla checked out by the medi-bed. She is an original…she came before. She does not have the same genetically enhanced stamina, as we who came, after do. The trip from Terra to Nyla 6 has drained what little strength she has.”
    “Come, Dogg!” with the dignity of a queen, Sasha walked over to the elevators leading down into the bunker. She didn’t bother to wait and see if the lion-like creature followed her. Which of course, he did!
    The feline, Calista, followed faithfully at her heels.
    Dumbfounded, Pax watched as the doors closed behind the small group.
    Shrugging, he lowered his blaster and turned to approach