Gladiator: A Rough Sci-Fi Romance

by Piper Stone

  “You began your work here, pretending while turning your loyalty to the king.”

  My father looked at me before pouring drinks. “After several months, yes. Our group was kept secure and locked down in the very facility that you found initially. We were under guard twenty-four/seven. However, King Rajah realized that he and his people were being lied to. The forces who remained here to protect and control us were killed, our facility overtaken, some of our early work destroyed. Fortunately, King Rajah is just as intelligent as he is formidable. He realized that our capabilities could prove useful and offered a deal.”

  “He had his own people build you a fortress in order to bribe you into working with him. You lied earlier, Father. There were no humans here building this place.” My father was lying in several regards. That much I could tell.

  “No, I didn’t lie. There were brilliant engineers and other human workers used. And yes, they were shipped to the Zatans’ home planet after this place was built where they remain, treated like kings themselves.” He handed off two of the glasses to the other men, confused when we refused to accept what he was offering.

  “You know better than to believe that, especially given what Xander told you. The Zatans are vile creatures. They have nothing to lose and everything to gain. If what you say is true, it’s only a matter of time before they invade Earth,” I said, snarling under my breath. He was still lying. “Tell me, Father, just how is it that you have such a youthful appearance? Renault mentioned that she’s been here from the beginning, which would place her age at over forty, yet she doesn’t look a day over twenty-five. Is that what they really promised you, immortality?”

  “You’re a brilliant scientist, Katarina, which is why I wanted you here, but you don’t know everything.”

  “Wanted? You destroyed my life, knew what I would endure at the hands of the Zatans. Penance for your early betrayal perhaps? You are perpetuating the abduction of humans. You’re just as much a monster as the alien race. You did all of that for the promise of a life extended, remaining youthful for how long?”

  My father was shaking, liquid sloshing from the glass. “The Zatans didn’t offer a fountain of youth, Katarina. My scientific work on Earth in finding cures led to elongating life.”

  The news hit both Xander and me hard.

  “What. The. Fuck?” Xander snarled.

  “What?” I managed, blinking several times.

  “I offered the Zatans not only a cure for the diseases but also near immortality. I tried to make a deal with them, to keep Earth safe.”

  “Oh, my God.” I took a step back, my hand catching the glass he’d placed on the desk. As it crashed to the surface, the sound jarring, my instinct told me there was more. “Something’s wrong. You failed. Didn’t you? Didn’t you?”

  After a few seconds, he nodded.

  “That’s why I was allowed to enter the game. The king wanted me to find and kill you,” Xander said, half laughing.

  “What’s the missing piece? Why did you bring me here, Father? Tell me the fucking truth.”

  “Because I love you. Because I wanted you to live, to work by my side.”

  “Bullshit! Why?” I demanded.

  “Tell her, old man,” Xander demanded.

  “Because I’ve followed your work for years. What you’ve accomplished with molecular reconstruction may be the only way to stop the inevitable. You followed in my footsteps, exacting the experiments I’d been working on.” He sounded so frail, so broken.

  “The inevitable. Which is?”

  “I created a super drug, one that would annihilate all the various horrific diseases that were plaguing Earth, not just cancer, and as a bonus, time was stopped. No one aged. It was my greatest achievement, my finest hour.”

  “That much we already know. Cut to the chase,” I insisted.

  “No wonder you have such posh surroundings.” Xander laughed bitterly.

  My father shot him a look, finally taking a deep breath. “Yes. Perhaps I was greedy in my efforts, but I honestly wanted nothing more than to help them. When I came here, I had to alter certain chemicals in the formula given the difference in their DNA, but after several failed attempts, my drug finally seemed to be working on the Zatans as well. Yes, we were required to test it on several live subjects and yes, the king was in agreement. We failed in our testing several times then we succeeded. You can’t imagine the joy in realizing that we would be the ones responsible for saving millions of alien lives.”

  Xander snorted. “How fascinating. You were given the opportunity to play God.”

  “You might not understand, Lieutenant. You have reason to hate the Zatans. It was only a matter of time before every government on Earth began another war. If that ends up being the case, the Zatans won’t have much of a need to invade. They’ll simply wait until everyone is dead.”

  I walked closer to my father, studying his expression. He’d been privy to significant information from the king, perhaps even considered a confidant. “You were obviously paid well for your services.”

  “Let me guess, somehow the government found this out. Right?” Xander asked.

  “That’s what I believe but I’m not entirely certain.” My father slumped further against the desk.

  “So the Zatans were responsible for killing the various soldiers who came to capture you and your team.” I was putting the pieces together as I spoke.

  “You’re right. I failed not only humanity but also the Zatan species. Now I know I’ve failed other species as well.”

  Xander and I shared a hard gaze.

  “Now I’m confused. What are you talking about, Father?”

  “The people who attacked our facility weren’t the Zatans. They were humans sent to kill us.” My father looked at Xander, taking a deep breath. “They were able to get away with the serum, no doubt managed to replicate it thousands of times.”

  “Shit,” Xander hissed.

  The near gleeful madness he’d experienced was short-lived, his face falling.

  “What else, Father? What aren’t you telling us?”

  He raked his hand through his luxurious hair, pulling out clumps. “The inoculations also had tragic effects. Everyone who was given the preventative drug is dying. I need your expertise to help me in order to find a cure. My mind is going, a side effect of the inoculations. We have little time to do this and you’re the only one I trust. You’re the only person I know who can reverse the horrible tragedy that I started.” He held out his hand, allowing the strands of hair to fall to the floor.

  “Dying? How is that possible?” I somehow managed even though I could barely breathe or think clearly. What my father was telling me couldn’t be real. There was no possibility that his work, his love of helping people had turned so tragic.

  He clenched his fists, anger covering every inch of his face. “For all the work I did, all the years of forsaking my family for a project that I believed in, I’d missed certain aspects of molecular DNA. My drug is effective for a few years, although that varies from subject to subject. Health is restored, youth maintained. My team is living proof. Then the structure of the cells begins to break down, reversing at a rapid rate. I’m not lying to you, Katarina. This horror is something that I’ve had to face. I failed. I lost sight of everything. I tried but... and the effects of deterioration will be even more rapid on Earth.”

  “But what, Father? What does it mean the cells are reversing? Is there going to be another epidemic not only on Earth but sweeping through the entire Zatan population?”

  He took a deep breath, turning toward the small window overlooking one of the gardens. When he spoke again, there was total resignation in his tone. “If what I suspect is true, everyone who was given the drug I created will be dead within five years. On Zatan and on Earth.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Xander

  Bullshit.

  I’d repeated the word in my mind several times, the statements Dr. Garens had made both careful and prac
ticed. While I did buy the concept that he’d been solely responsible for creating a super drug, I knew the man was hiding a portion of the truth.

  Still, it made sense that the general wouldn’t want anything regarding the aliens let out in the open if he’d gotten hold of the super drug. Our arrival wasn’t just an inconvenience. He knew I’d discover the presence of the Zatan race and the moment I did so, his betrayal to his own people would be known. However, it had taken him two years to figure out a way to get rid of us. Greed. This was about obtaining incredible power as well as wealth.

  However, Thomas’ reason for interrupting Katarina’s life, selling her off to the Zatans while ensuring that she would be considered and treated as special held no merit. No father would put their only child through what she’d been forced to endure.

  Unless they were a sadist.

  Or a liar.

  Or a monster.

  I stood in front of the sliding door as it closed, doing everything I could not to explode. My mate, as she’d been labeled, didn’t deserve my wrath. Only the bastards who’d forced us into this position held that kind of holy place in my mind.

  And I wanted nothing more than to slice Thomas’ neck.

  Had I kept certain portions of the truth from her? Yes. I’d had no way of knowing either how much she knew or whether she was a part of the elaborate scheme. I was sick at the thought of everything that had occurred, and for what purpose?

  At this point, I was no longer certain of exactly who the enemy truly was. King Rajah had every reason to retaliate against Earth, even though they’d been the ones to visit Earth with less than noble intentions.

  While I certainly couldn’t blame the Earth’s military for their actions, they had no idea the kind of revenge that had been unleashed. I strode toward the duffle bags that had been brought to the suite, jerking both onto one of the chairs. The weapons were still inside and from I could tell, they hadn’t been fucked with. I grabbed one of the handheld devices, checking the ammunition then sliding it under my waistband.

  “You’re angry with my father and you don’t trust him,” Katarina said quietly, her voice sounding far away.

  “What the hell do you want me to say? That I believe the story coming from your father’s mouth? That I buy for a second that some drug could kill every human being on the face of the Earth? Or my people for that matter? Not a chance, sweetheart. No, I don’t trust him, and neither should you.”

  A full minute passed by, the awkward and telling silence almost too much to bear.

  “What if it’s true and this is the drug that will be used as a weapon?” she finally asked. “You need to warn your people somehow. You can’t bring this disease back to them. We have no way of knowing how you might become infected. A cure must be found.”

  Unfortunately, she was right. I huffed, closing my eyes as I rubbed my forehead. When I turned to face her, I did everything I could not to raise additional concern. “Then perhaps you are the only scientist who can help your father.”

  “What I told you about that night with my friend, waking up completely paralyzed. You knew the man I mentioned, Lieutenant Sacks.”

  “Yes, I knew of him. I’d been told he was a good man.” Maybe I’d been wrong about everyone I knew.

  “Could he have known about my father’s work?”

  The question was interesting, one I wasn’t certain I could answer. “Your father was never mentioned, other than in terms of the past. What are you thinking?”

  “They were testing me that night. Why?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe something to do with your DNA structure.”

  Katarina slowly sat down on the sofa, wringing her hands. This strong woman, a beautiful soul that I’d fallen in love with had found her father and lost what little innocence she had left. I would make good on my threat to Thomas, father or not. “That makes sense but for what reason?” She lifted her head, tears in her eyes.

  “Again, I don’t know. Maybe you should ask your father.”

  “Yeah. I don’t like this.”

  “You and me, sweetheart. That’s why I’m going to explore the facility and see if I can find answers,” I told her, grabbing another weapon.

  She moved toward the duffle bag, reaching in. “Then I’m coming with you.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “Xander, we’re in this together.”

  I cupped her chin, using enough pressure she opened her eyes wide. “You’re far too important to me. I won’t be gone long. I just want to get the lay of the land. We’ll figure out what to do when I return but promise me that you will stay here.”

  “What are you planning?”

  “Nothing. Just investigating.”

  Katarina closed her eyes briefly. “That’s what scares me. Just be careful. And you’re right. I don’t trust anything or anyone, including my father.”

  Leaning down, I pressed my lips against hers, every nerve standing on end, the sweet taste of her unable to thwart my anger.

  Or my fear.

  * * *

  The expansive compound held no obvious secrets, at least out in the open. It seemed everyone had a curfew, the corridors quiet. I realized quickly that the only way to find out additional information, and possibly the actual truth, was secured behind the six or so locked doors.

  At least I had a solid feeling for where everything was located.

  I stood for several minutes inside the very atrium where we’d eaten dinner, attempting to process the soliloquy that Thomas had offered. I knew one thing for certain. Katarina held some key not only to the people on Earth, but also to the Zatans. But what?

  She’d been obviously tested all those years ago, Lieutenant Sacks a part of another portion of the operation I’d been involved in. A plan had been developed years before I was offered a position.

  What I was forced to realize was that Dr. Garens would never confide the truth. Perhaps the only person that could was King Rajah. However, given he refused to trust Crytons, there was no way he’d talk to me, at least not unless forced.

  One thing I was certain of. Staying in this slice of paradise wasn’t in our best interest. Whatever truth there was to be found wasn’t going to occur under Dr. Garens’ reign. However, Katarina was correct in that I couldn’t risk going home. Guilt rushed through me once again. If only I’d realized what was going on sooner.

  I moved quickly through the corridors, determined to leave tonight.

  Every ounce of rage I’d felt before paled in comparison to the fury I felt when I rounded the corner. The door to the suite we’d been assigned was ajar, the console allowing entrance smoking, destroyed. I was forced to use every ounce of muscle in an effort to open the door enough to allow my entrance. Within seconds I realized she’d been taken, the room ransacked as if she’d put up a fight.

  A single trail of blood sliced a hard chill through my body, the warrior inside infused with the longing for revenge.

  I’d learned in my trek throughout the facility where the location Dr. Garens slept was. I wasted no time, my anger murderous. Only two shots were needed to engage the console, the door opening automatically. I stormed into the expansive suite, finding the bedroom without issue, my hand wrapped around his throat within seconds.

  As he flailed, beating his feeble hands against my arms, I lowered down, making certain the slender light illuminated my enraged face. “Hear me, old man. You’re lying and you and I both know it.” I dug my fingers in deeper, enjoying the strangled sounds pushing up from his throat. “You didn’t bring your daughter here to take your place. There is another reason and you’re going to tell me or you’re going to die.” I took the opportunity to yank the weapon from its confined place, shoving the barrel against his temple. “And I’m not playing games.”

  His beet-red face made me smile but as he held up his hands, I eased back, breaking the connection.

  He struggled to sit up, coughing several times before planting his feet on the floor. “She is very impor
tant to me. She’s all I have left.”

  “Yes? Well, she’s been taken.”

  His shock indicated he had no idea by whom. “I... I don’t understand. This is a secure facility.”

  “I guess not as secure as you believed. Talk to me and tell me everything.” I kept the weapon in position, refusing to accept anything but the truth.

  Thomas kept his hands in the air as he stood. “I told you both the truth. Every person or alien who was given the inoculation is dying. There’s no telling how many people will die on Earth alone.”

  “And let me guess, King Rajah just found this out. And he and his people on this forsaken planet were already given this miracle serum.”

  He half smiled, raking his hand through his hair. “Yes, just before Katarina was finally brought here.”

  “Then you must have convinced him that her abduction was necessary.”

  “She is special!” he insisted, his face twisting in anger and frustration. “So are you.”

  “Why, because we were both injected with some godforsaken poison forcing us together?” When his eyes opened wide, I was forced to face the truth. The realization was gut-wrenching. “Jesus.”

  “Another necessity. We had to make certain that you would select her and that she would comply. You needed to care for each other. You were the only man strong enough to get her here safely.”

  “And if I happened to kill you King Rajah wouldn’t mind,” I retorted.

  So just any brute. Uh-huh. I snorted, lifting my weapon to beat the shit out of him. I closed my eyes, remembering the attraction, the heated desire that I still felt today, my cock aching to fill her.

  Fuck her.

  “I do care about her and it has nothing to do with what you forced on us.” The bastards had concocted a vile and hideous plan, one eliminating freedom on several levels.

  “That’s... I’m glad. She deserves happiness.”

  “Where is the journal?” I demanded.