"That's better than being internally disassembled by nanos run amok. I've seen that happen," Bri argued.
Sheena sighed aloud. There was no need to hide the full truth of things from her younger sister. They knew all there was to know about each other … good and bad.
"As soon as the bionetic tracers are neutralized, the nanos will attach themselves to the genetic remains and be flushed out of your system where they will die without leaving a trace."
Bri hated having a genius for a sister. She could feel herself weakening the more Sheena talked. Only her family members ever had this much control over her fate. Outside MacNamara lines, she was considered a rebel.
"Okay, but letting you do this doesn't mean I'm coming to work for your alliance of rebels," Bri said firmly.
Sheena nodded. "Understood." She scooted down the sofa until she could reach her sister. "Arm, Bri."
Sighing louder than her sister had, Bri reluctantly held out her arm. The multiple needles hidden in the delivery device punctured her so rapidly that pain receptors in her brain had no time to report it. The cure felt exactly the same as being tagged with over a hundred bionetic darts at once. God only knew how many credits the nanos now inside her had cost Sheena to create.
Bri watched her sister carefully repackage the delivery device and return it to her satchel. She was not surprised that it wouldn't be going into the recycler. Sheena was very careful with what she created.
"If your body's reaction follows the simulation closely, you should be free of the bionetic tracers tomorrow. You might need a bit of extra rest when those nanos start flushing that crap out of you."
Bri nodded. "Thanks. I guess."
"As for the job offer I also brought with me, it wouldn't hurt you to talk to some of our people. You don't have to work for Nate's mother. The Province rulers aren't the only ones serving the Guardians. It's time you looked at the bigger picture and at your full range of choices. If you're going to risk your life on a daily basis, at least do it for someone who has the actual good of this planet as a motivation."
Bri shook her head and rose. She and Sheena were worlds apart in their political views. She went to the kitchen and made herself a stimulant drink. She hated being reliant on chemicals, but it was better than Sheena whisking her away on some trumped up sick clause. She grabbed a bottle of oxygenated water for her sister.
Bri sat, sipped her drink, and then looked her sister full in the face. "Even if I was interested in working for Novus Prime, which I'm not, frankly I don't want to leave this airship yet. I like it here."
Sheena lifted her hand and pointed at Brianna's neck. "How can you like it here? You're a prisoner. Don't think I didn't notice the restraint collar and cuffs."
"They match my jewelry … and I volunteered to wear them. Nate doesn't trust me."
"It's not you. It's him. Nate doesn't trust his own fucking judgment. I don't know how in hell he runs an airship," Sheena said bitterly, drinking the water.
"You need to cut Nate some slack on this one. I sort of gave him a reason not to trust me this time. When I came here and asked to be let in, Nate said no at first. He told me to call you and ask you to retrieve me. I fought a few of his alien guard dogs until he had no choice except to lock me up. My instincts were screaming this was where I needed to be."
Bri snorted when Sheena's water bottle lowered slowly to her lap. Once again she'd managed to shock her sibling.
"Don't pretend you don't know I'm like that, Sheena. I've been staying in the cells below deck. Darcone has been babysitting. The new versions of Mom and Dad came … "
"Do not call them that," Sheena chastised.
Bri glared and went on. "Hush. This is my story. The new versions of Mom and Dad came, and after talking to them, I decided getting to know them was better than hiding out in a cell."
Sheena huffed. "They are not new versions. They are not even real clones. Some gene hacker helped Nate create them, but I'm sure they're not viable for the long term. They could die any day, so whatever the hell you do, don't get emotionally attached to them, Brianna."
Bri shrugged. "Too fucking late for that. I like them both … a lot."
"Brianna … "
"Shut up, Sheena. You're super intelligent, but you do not know everything there is to know. I'm telling you it's like Mom and Dad put them here. They readily admit they aren't them. They seem to know things they shouldn't know as clones. If they've been replicated, whoever programmed their memories did a damn good job. Their story is that they're our ancestors."