by Keri Kruspe
“Bro, you are totally reading my mind,” was JR10’s gleeful reply. He activated the pain centers on the collar around the Erkek’s thin neck.
A shocked bellow of pain from the male pierced the small space.
At D’zia’s wave, JR10 cut the circuits off. “Now, let’s try that again, shall we?”
The grimace of agony on the alien’s face changed to one of resignation. “What guarantee do I have you’ll not do that again if you don’t like what I tell you?” His voice was raspy from the force of his scream.
“None.” D’zia sat back on his heels. “Now tell me what’s wrong with her.”
Knum’Nz gave his surroundings a wary glance before he answered. “I’ll try to tell you, but I doubt you’d be able to understand the brilliance of my genetic engineering.”
“Well then, use little words so I can understand you.” D’zia laced his answer with malice. “Because if I don’t, the slave collar will be the least of your worries. Let’s start with the big question first. Is her life in danger?”
The alien gave a nonchalant shrug. “I have no idea. Either she’ll survive or she won’t. Hard to say.”
He clenched his fists “Survive what?”
“My good male, she is an Omega human. I’ve just nudged her natural ability, that’s all.”
Holy fruking hell, D’zia hated vague answers. He trembled with suppressed nerves. “Puntneji, I’m fast losing my patience. What. Did. You. Do. To. Her?”
The Erkek twitched as if it dawned on him now wasn’t the time to be flippant. “Now that she’s your TrueBond, I injected her with an experimental serum. I’m hoping it will unleash her human capacity to absorb and use the genetic makeup of someone alien to her species, in this case, you. Once she turns into a Zerin, she’ll be all the proof I need that my serum can make a human into whatever species I want. Just think, I’ll be able to reverse the galactic female infertility problem.” His black eyes narrowed as his already thin lips pressed into a short line of displeasure. “You ought to be thanking me, Zerin. Not only have I sped up the TrueBond process between the two of you, but I’ve turned her into one of you.” He gloated at D’zia. “You’re welcome.”
Horror engulfed D’zia. “You did what?” he whispered. His beautiful, unique human would turn into a Zerin? “Why would you do that? Humans can breed with the majority of the species lacking females without changing who they are.”
“Because, you ignorant boy, most species would rather mate with their own kind, and I can provide that for them. They won’t have to pollute their genome with human DNA.” He snorted. “Those humans breed faster than any other species in the known galaxy, so there are plenty of females to choose from.”
The fanatical gleam in his eyes turned D’zia’s stomach.
“Not only will I go down in history as the greatest scientist who ever lived, they’ll hail me as the undisputed hero of the known galaxy.”
“But how is changing Lora into a Zerin going to do that?” D’zia shouted. He stood over the Erkek. His hands fisted to control the blinding rage threatening to overwhelm him.
The male smirked with one lip raised. “It’s not changing a human into a Zerin that will cure the extinction crisis, you ignorant slug. It’s the ability to change a human into any other species and she’d be the proof. Since you’ve interrupted my experiment, we have no way of knowing if I was successful, now do we?”
By now, D’zia’s body heated in unsurpassed anger. “Reverse it. Fix her.” He made his demand through clenched teeth.
“Even if I could, all it would do is kill her at this point.” The bastard didn’t have the good sense to act remorseful for harming Lora.
“I’m warning you, you’d better do something to fix her. Now!”
“Oh, Zerin.” The Erkek sat up straighter and leaned back against the wall with his knees bent and his hands bound behind him. His smirk changed into a nasty smile. “You have a bigger problem than whether your TrueBond survives my little experiment.”
D’zia stood straighter. A biting pang of dread replaced his anger. “And what would that be?”
The Erkek nodded to the wound on D’zia’s temple. “The little Void Bolt I threw at you was more than a throwing weapon.” His malicious smile got wider. “I infused it with the same properties as the MindWipe weapon. In less than a macroclick, you’ll be an empty vessel with no memory of who you are.” He leaned his head back against the wall as his mouth widened with glee. “Best of all, you’ll be susceptible to any information I decided to fill you with. All I have to do is bide my time until then.”
D’zia’s chest squeezed as he listened to the dooming words.
The Erkek shrugged his shoulders and closed his eyes. “So you see, there’s no need to worry about your little TrueBond, now is there?”
Volatile emotions warred within D’zia. Anger and fear battled with a firm resolve to save Lora at all costs. Before he knew what he was doing, he pounced on the infuriating alien and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. “You will fix her right now!” He pulled his free hand back and made a fist.
“Calm, Zerin.” The Erkek didn’t flinch at the threat of violence. “I’ll help you on one condition.”
D’zia lowered his fist but kept his hold on the male’s shirt. “What?”
“Well, I can’t undo what I’ve done to your female,” he began. When D’zia pulled his fist back again, the Erkek winced as he hurried to finish talking. “I can get you the antidote to the MindWipe you’re going to succumb to.”
D’zia eyed his opponent, sensing a trick. “And how are you going to do that?”
“Take me back to my lab and I can treat you there.”
D’zia snorted in disbelief. “Like that’s going to happen. The only time you’re leaving this ship is either with the Imperial Forces or in a body bag.” He threw the prisoner back on the floor and stood back to glare at him. “You’re going to tell me where the antidote is first before you make any demands.”
“You have no idea what to look for. You need me to do it.”
Like he would trust the gleam in the male’s eyes? “I don’t think so.” D’zia folded his arms across his chest. “JR10? If the good doctor here tells you what he’s looking for, do you think you’ll be able to point it out for me if you and I go together?”
The little bot wiggled to stand on his shoulder and snorted. “Dude…really? You have to ask? Of course I can.”
“Okay, Knum’Nz. Tell me what we’re looking for.”
“Not so fast, Zerin.” The Erkek’s smirk was back. “I have a condition first.”
D’zia leaned down with his fists on his hips. “How ‘bout I let you enjoy the trip to Zerin without having to resort to keeping your slave collar on a low, pain-filled buzz? Think of it, enough agony pulsing through your body you’ll wish for death long before anyone can turn the device off. Believe me, when I say I can put protocols in place that no one but Prince Qay will be able to override, it won’t matter how wiped my mind becomes.” He straightened and folded his arms across his chest. “So, what do you think of them conditions, puntneji?”
The Erkek’s diamond-shaped pupils expanded as his black eyes widened. “I accept your terms.”
“I thought so. Now tell JR10 here what we’re looking for.” D’zia cocked his head and glared at the sitting male. “You’d better also tell him about anything we can bring back to help Lora. Do you understand?”
With a fearful nod of his head, Knum’Nz explained where they had to go and what to find once they got there.
This wasn’t the first time D’zia was grateful for having the little AI with him. He was male enough to admit half of what Knum’Nz said went way over his head. When the conversation finished, D’zia addressed the alien one more time. “Is that everything? JR10, what do you think?”
“It’s as good as it’s gonna get,” was the reply. “We’d better get going, the clock is ticking and you’re running out of time, bro.
“Right.�
�� He’d discover what a clock was later. “Elemi? Would you please put our guest in the confined area you’ve prepared for him?”
“Would you like me to put him into paralysis as well, my love?”
“Good idea, thanks.” D’zia nodded.
She complied between one heartbeat and the next. She sent the Erkek to the back part of the ship. A vid display opened on the far wall and showed him behind a wavering forcefield. His body was slumped at an awkward angle in his unconsciousness.
“Damn, he’s gonna have a painful crick in his neck when he comes to,” JR10 commented.
“Yeah, couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.” D’zia smirked. “Elemi? Would you please transport JR10 and me straight into the doctor’s lab?”
“Yes, D’zia, I will be more than happy to. I can now maintain open communications with JR10 so you can let me know when you wish me to bring you back.”
“Thanks.” He took in a deep breath. “Okay, let’s go.”
When Elemi materialized D’zia along with JR10 in the dim lighting of the Erkek’s lab, he ran smack into an immovable object as he took his first step.
Good thing that immovable object was one of his best friends.
“Fruk, Ki! You scared the danka piss out of me! What in the hell are you doing here?” D’zia’s heart raced and he had a hard time catching his breath. You’d think Elemi would have at least warned him there was someone else in the lab.
His friend and colleague from the StarChance frowned at him. The frown wasn’t unusual—Ki always frowned at him. D’zia didn’t take it personally, probably because he did his best to keep that confused frown there. Messing with the stoic Zerin was one of his favorite pastimes.
M’alalu Ki E’eur was tall by Zerin standards, a respectable seven inches taller than D’zia’s own six-foot, three-inch frame. His skin was a pearlescent deep tan, stretching over a muscular framework. That bulk would make any sane male think twice before engaging in any physical altercation. He was a serious individual, whose dual-color eyes differed from the majority of the Zerin population. Instead of his dual eye colors being the standard various shades of green, Ki’s irises were two distinct colors. The inner ring surrounding his iridescent pupil was a hunter green—the outer ring was a deep, dark navy blue.
If that wasn’t enough to make his friend stand out, the long scar bisecting his face would do it. It started from the top of his forehead, past his left eye, across his nose, down through his cheek, and ended at his right jawline. It solidified his friend’s “don’t mess with me” vibe.
Adding to Ki’s forbidding appearance, he went against Zerin custom and kept his semi-sentient hair shoulder-length. A Zerin only kept his hair short because of a profound family tragedy or a shame so deep he would choose to mutilate himself. D’zia once asked Qay if he knew what was in Ki’s background to cause him to shorten his hair. Qay shrugged and said he had no idea and D’zia believed him. Since Qay didn’t press the issue, D’zia was smart enough not to either. While he loved to tease the other male every chance he got, some things were sacred.
Good friend or not, D’zia didn’t have time to stop and talk. Before Ki responded to his last question, D’zia brushed past him to the nearby alcove where JR10 directed him. “Sorry, no time to chitchat. There’s something I’ve got to do first.” He headed for the wall cabinet Knum’Nz had described.
“Not so fast.” Ki grasped D’zia’s upper arm to hold him in place. “What are you doing here?” His chin tilted as his sharp gaze focused on the bruised wound covered in dried blood on D’zia’s forehead. “And what in the nine systems happened to you?”
“I’m sorry, Ki.” D’zia pulled his arm loose from Ki’s light grip. “I don’t have time to explain.” He pointed to the wound at his temple, the blood now flaking off. He’d never gotten around to cleaning it completely. “I’ve been infected with some type of mind-wiping virus and I came here for the cure. I’m under a time crunch and I’ve got to get this thing taken care of before I forget everything.”
Ki bestowed one of his rare smiles. “Now D’zia, you say that like it’s a bad thing.”
D’zia’s openmouthed shock spoke volumes. “Damn, Ki. Look at you, being all funny and…” All at once, his mind turned off. What was he saying? Had he been talking? Talking…what was talking?
The large male next to him had him blinking in confusion. Who was he?
“Who are you?” He didn’t care if the male answered or not. “Who am I? Do I care?” He shrugged his shoulders, not knowing why he did so. “I think I’m tired. I want to sit down.” He walked over to a small stool and sat. “My head hurts.” He cradled his head between his palms.
“D’zia, are you okay?” The large male tilted his head with a narrow frown.
What’s a D’zia?
A small weight fluttered to his shoulder. There was a strange mechanical thing scurrying around. It had twelve little legs and two large bulbous multi-colored eyes. He studied it for a microclick, but when it didn’t hurt him, D’zia stared off into space.
“Yo, large Zerin dude,” the little guy spoke to the massive male who came over to stand in front of him. “Can you help a brother out, here?”
“Are you with D’zia?” the male asked.
Who was he talking to now? Oh, maybe he was talking to the thing on his shoulder.
“Yes, JR10 here, at your service.” The multi-legged mechanical bot gave a little bow as he swept one of his spindly legs in front. “We’ve got to get the antidote for D’zia before he completely loses his mind.”
The male snorted. “He lost that a long time ago.” He glanced around the cluttered room. “What do you need me to do?”
The smaller creature spouted off large words as the other male tilted his head attentively. Let them talk, he didn’t care. He just wanted to sit there. Why was he so tired? He hurt…not in his body but something squeezed hard inside his chest. He put a hand to massage his naked breastbone over his heart as it tattooed in a strong rhythm, trying to tell him something. He wanted to concentrate on what it could be, but he came up blank. Oh, well, it probably wasn’t important.
Soon the large male took the little thing off his shoulder and walked to the other side of the room. He rubbed his arms against the chill. Good, he was glad those two went somewhere else to continue their inane chatter. He’d rather lie down on this nice table.
Just for a few moments.
Chapter Ten
D’ZIA
* * *
“ …everything,” D’zia finished. Wait, what happened? Between one blink and the next, he went from standing and talking to lying flat on his back on a cold, metal table staring at a domed ceiling. He’d been in a conversation with…um…who had he been talking to? He continued to blink, trying to figure out what was going on.
He turned his head and took in an unfamiliar room. It reminded him of a human’s idea of a mad scientist’s lab. Wait, human…mad scientist? Did that puntneji Knum’Nz escape and make D’zia his prisoner? He sat up. Agony sliced through his skull as he slumped back and raised his arm to cover his eyes. There was a sensation of a tiny flutter going up his arm. It stopped at his shoulder before a loud voice boomed in his ear.
“Hey, Ki! Sleeping Beauty is finally awake!” JR10’s normal tone was amped high enough to carry into the next room.
“Damn it, you little norakthed!” D’zia groaned. The pain made him shake in reaction. “Are you trying to make me deaf?” Fruking bug had been loud enough to make his ears bleed.
“Hey! I’m not a spider, you overgrown organic menace. Do you know who I am?” More scurrying as the little bot brought his small body into D’zia’s view. “Quick, how many legs am I holding up?”
“Huh?” He opened his eyes to peer down at the small AI, who waved his two front legs like a lunatic. “Goddess, JR10. What in the hell are you doing? Stop waving your legs, it’s making me dizzy.”
D’zia took both hands and rubbed his temples with his eyes closed. Wait…was the
re something on his right temple? He traced slightly raised intricate ridges on the middle of his forehead that ended under his cheekbone. Feeling back to the middle of his temple, he searched for the heir crystal that had to be there. Sure enough, a diamond-shaped jewel was nestled inside his skin. Now the only question was…what color was it? If it was a dark green, he was having a son. If it was light green, a daughter. Of course, it could still be clear. Which would mean he’d have to keep trying to get his female pregnant. Yeah, that’d be good. Nothing like practice…practice…practice to get something right…
The memory of Lora snapped his eyes open and stopped his pleasant musings. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge. He ignored the dull throb as it messed with his equilibrium and the squealing spybot who clung to his naked chest with small, spiked legs. D’zia plucked JR10 off and with a gentle move, placed him back on his shoulder.
“Where are we? Where’s Lora?” He hopped off the table to glance around the frigid room. “Wait, I came here for something. What was it?”
“You came here looking for your lost mind.” A deep, familiar voice boomed as Ki entered the room. “But, then again, you can’t find something you’ve never had.”
“Ki!” D’zia smiled as he rushed over to greet his friend with a warrior’s clasp, both hands gripping each other’s forearms. “Look at you making a funny!” He frowned and stepped back. “Wait, you can’t be M’alalu. He doesn’t have a sense of humor.” Folding his hands across his chest, D’zia frowned at his friend. “Who are you and what do you want?”
“Oh, lighten up,” JR10 interrupted. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Your friend Ki is actually hysterical.” The little bot gave a snort of disdain. “Something you should learn to be.”
“It’s an upside-down galaxy,” D’zia muttered. The day hadn’t dawned when anyone considered Ki funnier than him.
“I see you’re feeling better.” Ki bent to peer into D’zia’s eyes. “Your pupils look good, and….” He brought up a handheld medical scanner and ran it up and down him before he finished his sentence. “I don’t see any lingering effects from the Void Bolt.”