Francesca felt a tug as her bio-shuttle achieved space-fold. The expanse outside the viewport pinched and expanded like human lungs. Acuity indicators on her temples glowed blue as she linked into memory banks she'd been denied access to while on her home planet.

Sadie...

"I won't go!"

Slender arms wrapped around Francesca's neck with fierce strength. She reached to pry them away. "Please, Sadie. You need to go with Daddy."

"No. I want to stay with you."

Each time she managed to capture one hand, Sadie found purchase with the other. Erik stood beside the swing set, heartbreak evident on his face. Francesca gave in, letting Sadie cling to her and returned the hug, smelling the soap and sun in her daughter's hair.

"I have to go, or they'll find us." She cupped Sadie's head, feeling the girl's body shake as she sobbed. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you or Daddy. Do you understand?"

Finally, they pulled apart. Sadie's eyes were the same color as Erik's—the sapphire blue of an evening sky. Looking into them, Francesca felt the moment when her heart broke.

"My beautiful girl." She pushed hair back from one tear-stained cheek. "Take care of Daddy for me until I come home. Can you do that?"

Sadie sniffed, pink rosebud lips pressed together. "When will you be back?"

The pieces of heart fell away like dust. "I don't know."

Betrayal flashed in Sadie's blue eyes like a star blazing as she turned away.

The shuttle jerked. Francesca sucked in a ragged breath. Two long years she'd lost, hiding her family from her own kind, while she hid from theirs.

"Space-fold complete," the onboard computer chimed.

She leaned her head back, triggering the halo interface.

"Reading desired destination." There was only one place she wanted to go. "Stand by for long-range destination transfer."

Her body began to buzz. The sensation of slipping rushed through her. Her head spun as the transfer initiated. A white tile floor rushed up to meet her. She corrected her trajectory in time to hit her knees instead of her face.

Epibalancers kicked in, transferring energy to her limbs. She stood, legs trembling as her hormones stabilized. The smell of disinfectant stung her nose. A leather chair sat against one wall, half hidden behind a metal device hanging from an extension arm. Twin spherical lenses reflected the dim light. This was her destination?

Her oculars recalibrated as she faced the opposite wall.

E

F—P

T—O—Z

Why had the transfer brought her to an eye-doctor's office? Had it malfunctioned?

On her left, a window ran the length of the room. She moved closer, footsteps slowing as she identified the shape on the other side. Her heart rate increased.

She pressed a hand to the glass.

A locked door connected the rooms. Francesca gripped the knob, thrusting internal heat probes into the metal with a growl. Nickel and chrome dripped from the keyhole as the door popped open. She heard the echo of an alarm begin to chirp but didn't care. Her transfer had not malfunctioned. Her destination lay before her.

Sadie.

The bed and its occupant were dwarfed by surrounding devices. Machines dripped fluids and drugs into the girl's veins, pumped blood in and out of her body, filled her lungs with air. Above her, an enormous device like the one in the other room hung, spherical openings centered over Sadie's eyes. A wave of green light swept left to right across her still face.

To the left, something clicked to life. Francesca whirled, defenses coming online. Her chest and hands glowed warning red. Against a side wall, a computer sat on a stand. The monitor displayed a detailed rendering of a human body. The image rotated and zoomed in, focusing on the head. The image zoomed closer.

Beside the computer, a tall machine beeped and began to hum, green lights blinking on a panel along the front. Inside an open section, a rod zipped back and forth. From the surface under the rod, a shape began to rise. A box popped up on the monitor.

SCAN 24 OF SUBJECT COMPLETE

3-D PRINTER ONLINE

OPTIC ORGAN REPRODUCTION COMPLETE IN 4 HOURS 17 MINUTES

Francesca tracked the wires connecting the computer to Sadie. Anger simmered in her guts. The warning glow on her chest flared, staining the room red. She pressed her hand against the side of the computer. Snakelike wires emerged from her fingertips, tunneling through the thin casing and into the processor beneath. Microfilaments connected her directly to the main drive.

Files flashed on the screen. She absorbed them all, tearing through their security firewalls. Some information was missing. She didn't know how they'd found the cabin, or known what Sadie was. Everything else was there. The capture executed in the dead of night. Erik's autopsy report and confirmation his body contained no alien DNA. And all of Sadie's medical reports. Especially the reports on her ocular capabilities. She might have inherited her human father's blue eyes, but her visual abilities came from her alien mother.

Francesca heard a door slam and felt the vibration of feet pounding on stairs. They would be here soon.

She re-accessed the schematic drawing, making several carefully placed changes. Whoever received this set of eyes was going to get quite a surprise. Finally, she released her probes.

"Time to go, my beautiful girl."

The remote access to her shuttle flared to life as she initiated the sequence for destination recall and added her daughter's life signs to her transfer signal.

She brushed limp strands back from Sadie's forehead. One fiber-thin filament eased from her wrist, threading into Sadie's hair and tunneling beneath the scalp. Gently, Francesca tapped various receptors, repairing the damage the humans had done. She recharged electrical impulses. As the connections flared to life, she retracted the filament. There was nothing she could do now but wait.

Please.

"Mommy?" Sapphire eyes opened.

Never had she seen a more beautiful sight.