Leila of the Rogue [Book Four]

Dr. Brackett

  "When's that new doctor supposed to show up?" I questioned while looking over the man's shoulder as he was scribbling away on the clipboard in his hand.

  "Soon."

  "How soon?"

  "Soon. Now, will you leave me alone?"

  "No. The Cheese has banned me from going near the weapons until the new doctor has gotten here and settled."

  "The Cheese?"

  "Keyes."

  "So you decide to bug me?"

  "I'm a weapons expert and not allowed near the weapons. I literally have nothing else to do until the newbie gets the run-down."

  "How about you go and take the gear to Traeger? He'll be wanting to take a look at that with Dr. Brackett."

  "You really want that thing's gear in the same room as it?"

  "It's sedated. It'll be fine." He pointed with his pen to the padded box on the edge of the table. Pausing for only a second, I then grabbed the box and carried it over to where the gear was safely placed before carefully setting each piece into the box. "Now, get going."

  "Yeah, yeah. Stop bossin' me around." I swiped my ID over the panel by the door to unlock it. There was a beep, and a green light lit up before the doors slid open, and I entered the pristine hallway. People passed me, lost in what they were doing or were on the way to doing, not paying me much mind as I carried the large box in my arms.

  I had only been working here for about two years now but had been in the Delta Force before until an RPG-7 took out my team and my right arm. It was my skills that had gotten me on Project Stargazer's radar, and after I was forced to retire from the military, they had given me a second chance here. That, and a badass robotic arm.

  Okay, well, they hadn't given it to me- I had built it myself from scraps of alien tech I found in the Weapons Unit. Sure, Project Stargazer heads weren't too thrilled to discover me having two arms again, but with all of my tinkering to build the prosthetic, I had learned quite a bit about the mechanics of the gear and weaponry these aliens had. They couldn't really just rid of me because of the knowledge and understanding I now had only in my head.

  "Please observe decontamination protocol." The automated voice from above spoke, and I set the box down to strip my clothes off. The light above changed colors as the machinery hummed, and I waited patiently before it switched off to put on the uncomfortable jumpsuit. Picking the box back up, I entered the busy room just as Traeger looked up at me.

  "You got the gear?"

  "No, I just brought an empty box in here for the Hell of it." He gave me a look, and I only grinned.

  "Table's over there. Dr. Brackett will be here any minute." He pointed, and I went over to the table with indentions specifically for the gear the alien in the middle of the room wore. Resting the box on the corner of the table, I began to set down each piece in its rightful space. For some reason, though, the mask and left gauntlet were missing from this alien's set.

  Setting down one of the thigh guards, I glanced over at the massive alien strapped down with doctors surrounding him. He may have been passed out but there was a steady, low noise emitting from him that sounded like an alligator bellowing. Was it....snoring? Why was it making that noise?

  "Dr. Brackett!" Traeger raised his voice, greeting the brunette woman who had just walked in with Keyes. "Thanks for coming. I'm sure you have questions." He shook her hand, and I put away the box.