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“We ca back over his shoulder

“Da?”

One syllable, spoken softly It rang out from the transport cart louder than all the weeks of explosions and gauss rounds and screa Prax couldn’t breathe; he couldn’t uns away, to be careful There was a child His child

Strickland’s pistol barked, and soh-explosive round destroyed the woe She tried to screanificant portions of her larynx already coed was un, but Strickland—Merrian, whatever his name was—put his pistol on the top of the crate and see with relief The wo out and falling gently to the ground like a blanket of red lace

“Thank God you ca her as long as I could Dr Meng, I can’t iine how hard this has been for you I am so, so sorry”

Prax stepped forward The wo at rando snized from any number of doctor’s visits over the previous years Prax found the transport’s control pad and knelt to open it The side panel clicked as the rip The panel rolled up, disappearing into the cart’s frairl She had the black, lustrous hair, the egg-brown skin She could have been Mei’s older sister And then the childher head, but it was all that his brain needed to see his baby in this older girl’s body All the months on Gany up without hirown sojust above her brow It made her look like Nicola And then her eyes opened They were blank and empty Prax yanked at the release on his heluely of sulfur and copper

Mei’s gaze fastened on hiain, and put out one hand When he reached for her, she took his finger in her fist and pulled herself into his arms He held her to his chest; the warer tiny, only s The void between the stars was smaller than Mei was at that moment

“She’s sedated,” Strickland said “But her health is perfect Her i at peak”

“My baby,” Prax said “My perfect girl”

Mei’s eyes were closed, but she srunt of satisfaction

“I can’t tell you how sorry I am for all this,” Strickland said “If I had any way of reaching you, of telling you as happening, I swear to you I would have This has been beyond a night they kept you prisoner here?” Aainst their will,” Strickland said “When we signed on, ere promised resources and freedom of a kind ht I could , and I will never be able to apologize enough”

Prax’s blood was singing A war out to his hands and feet It was like being dosed with the most perfect euphoric in the history of pharmacy Her hair ss in the laboratories of his youth He stood too quickly, and her mass and momentum pulled him a few centimeters off the floor His knees and feet were slick, and it took hi in blood

“What happened to these kids? Are there others somewhere else?” Amos asked

“These are the only ones I was able to save They’ve all been sedated for evacuation,” Strickland said “But right noe need to leave Get off the station I have to get to the authorities”