“Careful,” I growled, my hands clenching into fists.
Prime Nial stepped between us. “You will apologize to Lady Rone. You know nothing of her time on Earth, or her past. I believe in her innocence, as do her mates. By baldly stating otherwise, you disrespect their match, the governor of your base, as well as me, the leader of all Prillon people.”
The doctor looked contrite, but only for being called out by the Prime, not because he felt mistaken for his words.
He pursed his lips, bowed his head. “I apologize, Prime Nial. Governor.”
“Fuck this. Don’t apologize to us. Apologize to Lady Rone,” I bit out through clenched teeth.
“My deepest apologies, Lady Rone.”
Rachel waved her hand in the air as if none of the men in the room were of any consequence and spoke to the Queen. “Quell in the captain’s system means nothing. It doesn’t indicate how it got into his system. Maybe he took the drug himself. Maybe not. Maybe, he was poisoned with it. Has that drug ever caused that effect before, the black streaks in his skin?”
“No.”
She was right. I’d never seen anything like that before today. While I sensed my mate’s anger and frustration at the doctor, I was also proud of her and amazed to catch a glimpse of her scientific brain at work. There was no time to waste. We needed to learn the truth about the captain’s death. If the cause was nefarious, then we needed to gather the evidence now. Any vague guessing by the doctor or anyone else would only hinder the investigation. And doom more warriors to the same fate.
And if I was in danger, if my people were in danger, I needed to know. Now. I no longer had the luxury of patience. I returned my attention to the doctor.
“Any death on the Colony is to be investigated. A quick pass with the ReGen wand is not sufficient, Doctor. Take him to the medical station for testing. The truth must be discovered.” I turned and faced Rachel, cupped her cheek. “No matter what it is.”
She blinked her dark eyes. We both knew that sometimes the truth wasn’t what we wanted to hear. And no matter what the truth might turn out to be, I had complete faith in her ability to remain objective. The rest of us, the doctor included, I did not trust in this regard. We all had too much bias, too much at stake. We had all accepted the easy answer, the expected answer, too readily. Quell. It had been a problem for several years, and no sooner had we chased one supplier from the planet, another always seemed to rise to take his place.
I looked to Rachel briefly, then glanced at Prime Nial. I saw his mind at work as my mate’s words sank in. I didn’t sense any doubt in her statements, only steadfast objectivity. Looking to Ryston, I saw the second his mind understood what she was suggesting.
The Prime was not a man to mince words. “You’re suggesting something more sinister is going on here? That this was murder?”
Rachel shrugged, but looked our leader in the eye. “I don’t know. The doctor’s initial test may be correct. Captain Brooks could have simply overdosed on Quell. Initial indications with your…wand thing, I’m sure, are accurate to a certain degree. But they do not provide all the details. I only knew him a short time, but he did not strike me as a drug addict. He was smart and had a wicked sense of humor. We should not limit our focus. If something truly is happening here, then that kind of assumption is exactly what your enemies would want you to do.”
“What enemies?” the Prime asked.
Rachel shrugged. “I am new here and don’t know the politics.” She glanced at me. I knew politics and if Rachel was considering the possibility of murder, then we were in trouble.
A med team came into the room bearing a stretcher. They swiftly scooped up the captain’s body and covered him with a sheet.
“Take him to the morgue, but I want a guard on him until we arrive. Pull all the samples needed for testing, but I want the body to remain until Rachel is finished with her examination.” The warriors carrying the captain nodded and left the room as the doctor’s face turned a dark shade of orange.
“Me?” Rachel asked.
“Yes. You. Your expertise will be needed as well.”
The look she gave me then was…well, there was no word for it. It wasn’t love. It wasn’t hope. It wasn’t surprise. It hurt a little, the fact that she hadn’t expected me to include her, to have her think I didn’t consider her smart enough, that her education and experience didn’t warrant her participation just because she was…what? A female? From Earth? Just a mate?
Hell, the Colony was a place where everyone felt left out, felt useless, unnecessary. Defective in the head just because an eye had an optical implant, or the muscles in the arm had been contaminated with biosynthetic Hive technology. I knew, as all the warriors on the Colony did, exactly what it felt like to be cast aside. Worthless. Weak.
I wouldn’t do that to Rachel. Not only because she was my mate, but because she was her. No one on the Colony would want her to feel inept or incompetent. My mate was much more than a female to fuck. Her mind was like a computer, already working through possible answers. Thinking. Asking questions we hadn’t thought to ask. She was an outsider and a scientist who may have discovered a veiled problem on our planet. She was perfect. Strong. And so damn beautiful my heart hurt just looking at her.
“I am perfectly capable of performing an autopsy, Governor.” Doctor Surnen crossed his large arms over his chest and scowled.
Speaking of fucking politics. “I know, Doctor. I do not doubt your abilities. But Rachel is a stranger here, and a doctor on her world. She studied human bodies and how they work. I ask you to allow her to assist, to look for something that we, as Prillons, might miss.”
“Excellent idea,” Prime Deston agreed. “Never underestimate a woman, Doctor. She is human. Allow her to honor her fallen friend.”
The doctor glanced from me to my mate and his shoulders slumped. “Of course. Lady Rone, you are welcome in my lab.”
“Thank you.” Rachel’s soft voice carried and it seemed like a spell had been broken. Everyone who had been frozen with shock suddenly seemed to reanimate at double speed. Dishes clattered as the tables were cleared. Voices rose in volume as speculation ran rampant through the room and those who had witnessed the captain’s collapse spread the word. Soon, the entire planet would know what had happened here. And we needed to be able to give them answers.
“Doctor, gather your team and determine the exact cause of death. If Captain Brooks has a hair out of place, anything suspicious or out of the ordinary, I want to know about it.”