The shaking stopped the moment our eyes met. I'm not sure if it was because he was another half-breed or because his red eyes promised violence if I didn't pull myself together. Either way, my panic attack decided to take a rain check.
Ethan Turner moved toward me with all the grace of an elephant. The hologram with my name collapsed into a tiny pin on his black hoodie.
"So you're the runt that Isaac told me about," he said, sizing me up with those unnerving crimson eyes.
I nodded so hard I probably looked like one of those bobblehead toys.
"You wanna be an engineer," he stated, crossing his arms.
More nodding. Apparently, my vocal cords had gone on strike.
"Well that's good, everyone should have dreams," he drawled, his tone suggesting he thought dreams were about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.
He glanced at the now-closed wormhole behind me. "Cutting it close weren't you," he observed, raising an eyebrow.
I managed another nod. Hey, at least I was consistent.
"Well then time to go back home," he finished, already turning to leave.
"Okay," I finally squeaked out. Achievement unlocked: Basic Communication.
We walked in awkward silence until he dropped the bomb. "Isaac never told me you were a half-breed," he said, side-eyeing me.
My heart tried to jumpstart another panic attack, but I forced it back down.
"Not that I can say anything about it, I mean look at me," he added, pulling up his left sleeve to reveal an arm completely covered in black scales that looked like they had been plucked from a lizard.
"Any clue what race your mother is?" he asked, watching my reaction carefully.
"No," I said quickly, hoping he'd drop it.
"Well then that's good," he grunted, adjusting his sleeve. "The less you know about your alien parentage the better, for you and all half-breeds alike."
Desperate to change the subject, I asked, "How long is it gonna take us to reach the base?"
"The next wormhole to the station will open in a few days," he replied, leading me down a side street.
"And where will I sleep?" I asked.
He looked at me like I'd asked if spaceships ran on unicorn dreams. "Where do you think? You're sleeping in the barracks just like the rest of the apprentices or new recruits," he scoffed.
"Uhh, okay?" I mumbled.
"What do you think I was gonna share my home with you runt?" he asked, shaking his head. "No thank you, I like my peace and quiet."
We reached his house in silence. It was smaller than Dad's place but still made my old-world memories of apartments feel like matchboxes. A retinal scan later, we were inside.
"Your room for now is at the end of the corridor to the left," he said, gesturing down the hallway. "You have a bathroom right in front."
I nodded, wondering if I should start a tally of how many times I'd bob my head today.
"Do you need food?" he asked, already walking toward what I assumed was the kitchen.
"Yes?" Great, now I was turning statements into questions.
"Are you asking me or telling me?" he demanded, stopping mid-stride.
"Telling you?" I squeaked.
His red eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Telling you," I said with all the conviction I could muster. Which, admittedly, wasn't much.
"Okay then," he sighed, "you can ask the helper bots to cook you your meals while you're here. I'll just tell your dad to send me the money that you spend."
"Understood," I replied, trying to sound more confident than I felt.
"Well go to your room," he ordered. "I'm going to go work."
As he turned to leave, my curiosity got the better of my survival instinct. "Can I watch you?" I called after him.
"This isn't mechanical engineering," he warned, pausing at the corridor's end.
"Is it engineering?" I pressed.
"Yes," he admitted reluctantly.
"Then I'm all for it," I said, hurrying to catch up.
We walked deeper into the house, stopping at another retinal-locked door. When it opened, my nose immediately filed a complaint with management. The smell was like someone had combined a slaughterhouse with a mad scientist's lab.
Hanging from the ceiling were slabs of meat that definitely didn't come from any Earth animal I knew. On workbenches, various organs and body parts pulsed and twitched like they were trying to escape. Fun fact: watching disembodied organs move on their own is exactly as disturbing as it sounds.
That's when it hit me. I knew what Ethan was - he was part Morai, one of the eight main races in our galaxy. The rulers of the seventh galaxy arm and, along with the Nexari, humanity's worst enemies in the ongoing war.
"You okay runt?" he asked, amusement dancing in those blood-red eyes.
I nodded while trying to convince my stomach not to redecorate his floor.
"It's not for everyone but I enjoy it," he said, running a scaled hand along what looked suspiciously like a living weapon.
This wasn't anything like Dad's clean, precise cybernetic engineering. This was biological warfare, something I had no clue how it actually worked, this was more advanced than simply substituting human parts for advanced mechanical parts which simply looked human.
Standing there, trying not to throw up my breakfast, I had to wonder what exactly Dad had signed me up for. Was this actually better than dodging death flags at the Academy? Then again, maybe this was perfect - after all our own implants could only help humans simulate the power of an A ranker much less than what the Morai where able to create.
In that room full of organic nightmares, watching Ethan work I realized that this could be the best way to actually grow stronger.
"You going to stand there all day?" Ethan asked, not looking up from the pulsing mass he was examining. "If you're staying, make yourself useful. Hand me that mass on the bench - the one that's still twitching."
I swallowed hard and stepped forward. Welcome to the start of your apprenticeship, Lloyd, working with living masses of blood and muscle. Please try not to vomit on the specimens.
"Which one exactly?" I asked, staring at the collection of writhing parts spread across the workbench.
"The one that looks like a baby spine and a worm fused," he said, gesturing vaguely with a blood-stained tool.
I scanned the bench until I spotted it - a segmented piece of tissue threaded with metallic filaments. It was squirming like a landed fish.
"That's it," he confirmed, watching as I hesitantly reached for it. "Don't worry, it won't bite, it's just writhing because of muscle memory."
"What?" I echoed, freezing mid-reach.
He shrugged, the scales on his face catching the light. "Look kid, if you're going to learn biological engineering, you need to get comfortable with this. Though I don't know how helpful it will be since you don't have the capabilities to fuse with this stuff."
So this could end up being simply theoretical, hot damn my life was fucked. Still, I grabbed the writhing spine mass, trying not to shudder as it pulsed against my palm.
"Good," Ethan said, nodding approvingly. "Maybe there's hope for you yet, runt."
Time to see what this half-breed could really do.