“That is not an option,” he said grimly. “We wouldn’t even make it past the outer edge of your solar system. We must be altered, Lauren.”
“But I don’t want to grow fur or gills or lose all my hair and become one big sweat gland!” Lauren protested. “I’ll be a freak, Xairn. I might as well just give up on going home for good if those are my only options.”
“There is one solution we have not yet explored,” Slk said smoothly.
“Which is?” Xairn snapped. “Tell us and be quick about it. You never told me when I came to you in the first place that this alteration would be so difficult.”
“As to that, I apologize but I wished to see your exotic for myself.” Slk nodded his head in apology and all three eyes blinked again. “But of all my various specimens, none is as close a match to your little Earth female as you are yourself, Xairn. You are so close, in fact, that you could almost breed and produce viable offspring. Almost.”
“Never!” Xairn glared at Slk fiercely. “I’ll never allow Lauren to be polluted with my DNA.”
“Polluted? What are you talking about?” Lauren frowned at him.
It was Slk who answered. “Scourge genes have traditionally been labeled as inferior stock. They have, ahh, unpardonable genetic traits which cannot be bred out of them. And in addition, I am afraid they are not considered to be very physically appealing.”
“That’s not true,” Lauren said, frowning. “I find Xairn extremely physically appealing.”
“You do?” Xairn gave her a startled look.
“In fact, she does.” Slk nodded. “I can read it in her thoughts. She finds you a most compelling specimen. Hmm, most compelling indeed.”
Lauren felt her cheeks getting hot but she didn’t want embarrassment to stand in the way of what sounded like a perfect solution. She squeezed Xairn’s fingers and looked at him pleadingly. “Come on, Xairn—I’d rather have some of your DNA than any of the other, uh, things he mentioned.”
“And I could use her DNA to alter you as well. Ahh, hmmm. A most elegant and economical solution,” Slk said. “That way you have only to pay for the alteration itself and not the genetic material.”
Xairn looked undecided for a moment, then he sighed heavily. “Very well. But I don’t want Lauren’s physical appearance altered if you can help it. She is perfect just as she is.”
It was Lauren’s turn to give him a startled look. Did Xairn really think that? He was so stand-offish sometimes it was hard to tell how he felt about her.
“It is difficult to know how Xairn feels about you because he himself is unsure,” Slk said, obviously answering her thought. “He desires you greatly but he fears to hurt you. His Scourge nature wars with his better intentions.”
“Scourge nature?” Lauren looked up at the big warrior who was glaring at Slk.
“We are here for an alteration of our DNA, Slk—not an in-depth analysis of our emotions. Kindly keep your remarks relevant to the matter at hand. As I was saying, I do not wish Lauren’s appearance to be changed.”
“Very well.” Slk nodded. “I will endeavor to make the change as minimal as possible. But what of you, Xairn? Do you mind if your appearance is altered? I cannot promise it will not be as I have never worked with this breed of exotic before.”
“Change me if you like,” Xairn said stonily. “I have forsworn my heritage and my race. I no longer care if I appear Scourge or not.”
“As you wish. Well then.” Slk rubbed all eight of his hands together. “Let us get to work. First we’ll need to collect some samples.”
“Samples?” Lauren shrank back. “Uh, you mean like chopping off one of our fingers?”
Slk made a burbling sound and after a moment she realized it was laughter. “Nothing so barbaric, my dear, I assure you. I am an artist—not like those crude butchers who roam the tunnels looking for fresh meat to splice. They need so much tissue because they make so many errors. A vial of blood from each of you is all that I truly require.”
“Oh, well I can do that. No problem.” Lauren started to step forward and hold out her arm but Xairn held her back.
“Before we begin, let’s agree on a price,” he said, frowning at Slk. “I don’t want to be surprised by any hidden charges after the alteration is complete and it’s too late.”
“Most wise.” Slk rubbed his hands together again—they made a dry, papery sound that got on Lauren’s nerves. “Very well. What have you to offer?”