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  “I don’t care about the law.” Mei-Li was trying to edge away from him but with her back already to the wall, she couldn’t get far. Still, she tried, sidling to one side.

  “You had better care about the law,” Six told her. “If you are not mindful of it, you will be purged. I cannot let that happen.”

  “I don’t know what that means and I don’t care,” Mei-Li said wildly. “Look, stay away from me. Just stay away!”

  Suddenly she felt a pricking sensation in her right leg. Looking down she saw that Yipper had stuck her with his long, pointed tongue again. The moment he withdrew and skipped away, her entire body below the waist began to feel weak.

  “What the…what did you do to me?” she gasped, grabbing at the wall for balance as her legs wobbled.

  “I have given you a mild paralytic yes I have, yes I have.” The Tolleg was peering at her anxiously. “You were becoming too upset, so you were, so you were. I did not want you to hurt yourself trying to run.”

  “Of course I’m upset! You’re talking about sawing off my perfectly good arms and legs and giving me robot parts. I’m not freaking Darth Vader—I’m a social worker!” She tried to scoot a little further to one side but to her horror, her legs gave way and she slid down the wall and landed on her butt on the pure white floor.

  She tried to move her feet and legs but they just lay there like lumps of clay, completely unresponsive. The top half of her body still seemed to work but what good was that? What was she going to do—drag herself away? Her stomach felt like she’d swallowed a lump of ice as she realized there was no way out of this situation—she was stuck.

  “All right,” Six said, bending towards her. “Now perhaps we can talk about this in a rational manner.”

  “Rational? There’s nothing rational in what you want to do to me!” Mei-Li protested. “Stay away from me! Stay away!”

  “I cannot.” His deep voice was implacable. “This is something which must be done. You must have an enhancement.”

  “But…but I…” Mei-Li shook her head, unable to continue.

  Suddenly it was all too much. She was hungry and tired and scared to death and she’d had an incredibly long and stressful day. She’d been through a hostage situation with one of her clients, had been attacked, wounded, abducted and taken to a whole new galaxy. Somehow she had managed to take all of that in stride. But this enhancement business was one thing too much. Though she didn’t want to show weakness, Mei-Li could feel the tears coming to the surface.

  “Oh God,” she whispered brokenly as the sobs shook her. “Please…please no.”

  “Mei-Li?” Six had been crouching over her but now he sat back on his heels, a look of consternation on his face. “Are you…well?”

  “Of c-course I’m n-not well!” She could barely talk for sobbing. “I d-don’t want to be cut up! My m-mother died during surgery. And I d-don’t want to lose my arms and l-legs.” She looked at Six pleadingly as tears filled her eyes and ran down her flushed cheeks. “Please don’t do this to me—please.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Six stared at her, his heart throbbing fiercely for some reason. Moisture welled from her eyes and ran down her face—tears, wasn’t that what it was called? Six wasn’t completely sure but he did know that the moisture signaled great distress. Mei-Li was feeling about as intensely as anyone with emotions could right now and none of her feelings were good.

  I am the cause of her distress. The thought caused his heart to ache even more though he did not know why that should be. Or why her tears should affect him so strongly. When he had seen the Earth girl Tess crying, it had been a mere curiosity to him. Her negative emotions hadn’t bothered him in the least. But with Mei-Li, he could barely stand it. He wanted desperately to allay her fears and calm her but he didn’t know how.

  “Please,” she was saying through heartbreaking sobs, her slight shoulders shaking. “Please, don’t cut me…my mother died that way. Please.”

  Mother…her mother… Six had a sudden flash. Blood caked dark red around Mere’s mouth, her voice almost too hoarse to hear. “You have to take care of your sister now, Jax. Pere and I aren’t going to make it. Take care of her—get her to the medical barge. Save her…you have to save her.”

  “I’ll save us all—you’ll see if you’ll just hold on. We’re almost there. Please, Mamere! Please don’t die…don’t go…Don’t—”

  No! Six blinked, pushing the old memory away by sheer force. He looked at Mei-Li again. She was slumped against the wall, her head hanging low. The waterfall of black silk that was her hair obscured her face so he couldn’t see her features but he could still hear her crying. Her entire, slight body was wracked with sobs.

  Her distress was too great—Six couldn’t bear it anymore! He had to help her somehow—had to make the pain she was feeling stop.

  Swiftly, he scooped her up in his arms and pulled her close to his chest. He didn’t even know why he was doing it, only that it felt right to hold her to him.

  “No!” She beat at his chest ineffectually with her little fists, her eyes wild with fear. “No! No, you can’t—you can’t.”

  “Be still,” he said, more roughly than he’d intended. “I won’t harm you, Mei-Li. And I won’t allow anyone else to, either. This I swear.”

  She looked at him mistrustfully. “But I don’t want—”

  “I won’t let Yipper or anyone else cut off your arms or legs,” Six promised.

  “You…you won’t?” Her breath hitched in her throat. “But I thought…you said I had…had to have…”

  “If you do not want a full extremity replacement prosthesis, you do not have to have one. No, you don’t, no, you don’t,” Yipper put in quickly. “I am sorry if you thought that was the only option. Because it’s not, no it’s not!” He, too seemed distressed by Mei-Li’s tears.

  “Well then what…what are you going to do to me?” she asked, swiping at her eyes. Her oculars had fogged over with the force of her tears and she had to lift them to accomplish it.

  “Nothing tonight,” Six said firmly. “You’re too tired and are having too many negative emotions right now. You must rest and recharge. I will take you to the guest quarters and we will speak more of this in the morning.” He looked at Yipper and the little Tolleg nodded.

  “Rest is best. Yes, it is, yes, it is.”

  “Good. Then we’ll see you in the morning. Call down at have them get a room ready for us.” Six turned to go but Mei-Li sniffed and shook her head.

  “Wait—if we’re going someplace else I want to walk. But I still can’t feel my legs.”

  “The paralytic will wear off shortly. Yes it will, yes it will.” Yipper nodded confidently. “There is a sedative as well to help you sleep. It should kick in shortly. So it should, so it should.”

  “But how will I get around until the drug wears off?” she asked.

  “I will carry you,” Six told her. “It will not be a problem—you weigh scarcely more than Yipper, I imagine.”

  In truth, he would have wanted to carry her even if her legs had been working. Her distress called to him somehow—made him wish to hold her close. To comfort her, though he scarcely knew how to go about it.

  She still tried to protest but Six refused to listen. He took her away from the medical area, taking a different route from the lift in order to keep from startling her again. The minute they left the stark white surroundings of Yipper's Enhancement Area, he could feel her relax in his arms. The tears were not coming from her eyes anymore, either, he saw with profound relief. He had never felt so helpless in his life as when she was in such distress and there was nothing he could do to help her.

  Oh yes you have, whispered a little voice in his head. You know all about helplessness, Six…or is it Jax?

  Six pushed the errant thought away and concentrated on Mei-Li. She was looking around, her eyes still wide and uncertain behind the black framed oculars. Apparently the sedative Yipper had spoken of wasn’t working—or maybe i