Gigi Read Free Page B

operation the scavengers had moved in. They’d turned the belt into a sanctuary for every outlaw, gambler and sociopath around. The prices were high, but the security rivaled the Protectorate’s. If someone wanted to hide and had the credits, the badlands was the place they wanted to go.
    The one called Briq visited them frequently, sometimes staying for months. Briq had been both his most successful experiment and shameful failure. He’d finally succeeded combining Briq’s DNA with a reptilian creature from a primordial planet. He’d expected to make him stronger yet subservient. Instead the warrior had become too aggressive and unmanageable.
    Years had passed since that shameful incident. What he intended as a lesson in obedience had resulted in the death of over two hundred scientists. It’d taken a long time to rebuild the colony after his escape with another subject. T’zaal had been brought before the colonies tribunal. Since he was a scientist, his life had been spared.
    After that incident, overlords had become more distrusting. Scientists’ access was restricted to their facilities. The only reason he’d been at the science ship was because of his expertise in DNA. If their wormhole experiment had been successful, it would have been up to him to gather all the information on the lifeforms from that region of space.
    They’d expected to find new untapped resources and races they could either consume or enslave. They’d also needed to find out which ones were compatible with those of the twin galaxies. He’d almost lost the chance when the tactical officer had declared the planet too insignificant.
    A week after leaving the nebula, T’zaal arrived at the badlands. It was time for him to remove the specimen from the gly-urq and prepare her for his experiment. The gly-urqhad been programed for the military, to immobilize and keep a prisoner alive. He’d tried to fine tune the readings, but the nanobots inside weren’t set up for the task.
    After entering the deactivation command, the alarm beeped. According to the bio-signs she was seriously ill. He couldn’t understand what they meant. Cross referencing her planets medical information he found the cause of the anomaly. The subject had a defective heart.
    The experiment he’d planned could kill her. Working fast, he implanted a translator into the back of her head. It was a new model he’d been developing for some time. T’zaal decided to take as many samples from her as possible. He took tissue and blood, and even from her sex opening. She had a minor break in one arm. The military gly-urq successfully repaired it. He tried to locate her dji’krah and was surprised to find it right next to her slit. That was interesting. Pendo’rahn females had it on their backs.
    The female awoke, looking around disoriented. It was a logical reaction. She’d never been away from her planet. She probably thought there was no life outside her little blue ball.
    “Earth female, my name is T’zaal. I’m a scientist with the Kreeh-nosh Empire. You’ve been removed from your world to serve our noble cause.”
    “Are you taking me to hell? I know my heart is dying, but I’m afraid I can’t repent. What happened to my husband was an accident.”
    “You’re aware of your affliction? It’s true your heart is damaged. I don’t know if I can repair it in time to complete my research.”
    “I don’t care what happens to me. The Lord knows it was an accident. I didn’t mean to kill Davide. Even if I did, he was evil and dangerous.”
    “I don’t know who your lord was. We’re alone on board my space ship. There’s no one else here. I’m your lord now.”
    “If you think I’m going to believe we’re in a space ship then think again. There’s no such thing.”
    “Oh, but we’re in fact not only in space but in a different galaxy.” T’zaal came face-to-face with the female. Until now he’d been standing out of sight. She looked at him, screamed and