“You can do this, but uh…” Flik began. His orange cheeks darkened with blush.
“You need to take off your clothes.” Erock chuckled, and Selene didn’t need to look back at him to know he grinned like a Cheshire cat.
“Seriously?” she groaned.
“No foreign objects can go in the pod,” the doctor said, very business-like and professional, unlike how the rest of the men were acting. “There will be a cleanse cycle once you’re asleep, but the cycle doesn’t remove clothes. The machine won’t start if it detects non-organic material.”
“Fine,” Selene snapped. “Everyone turn around.” She glared at them until Erock sighed and faced the wall. Rem blushed and turned, and the doctor simply shrugged. Unfortunately, she needed to hold onto Flik to stay standing. She narrowed her eyes at him. “I swear to Aldar if you look, I will kill you.” Her skin heated from her cheeks to her toes.
Flik cleared his throat. “I won’t look.”
Selene nodded as Flik closed his eyes and turned his head away. While the others looked away, Selene did her best to lean against Flik, who held her up by her bad shoulder, which only throbbed slightly at the pressure. As quick as she could, she ripped off her boots, pants, and underclothes before unzipping her jacket and shaking it off her arm. The other side had already been cut off, but her tank top might cause a problem. So might her bra.
Embarrassment made her eyes water as she stared, frustrated, at the ceiling. “Flik…” she mumbled. “I need your help…” She hated herself for it, but she did. There’s no way she was getting her shirt off over her head, or her bra unclipped with only one working hand.
“What now?” Flik turned his head.
“Don’t look!” she said.
“I’m not! But how am I supposed to help if I can’t see anything!” Dark red brushed his protruding cheekbones and speckled his forehead.
“Just… hold my waist up while I try to get this off!”
“Okay, okay!” Flik continued to face away while his arm, now arms, shifted down to hold her waist.
Selene tried not to groan again as she pulled up her shirt and wiggled it passed her shoulders and over her head.
“You know, if you had just let me undress you, you’d be in the pod by now,” Erock said.
“Shut up!” Selene snapped. She tossed her shirt at him, and much to her surprise, it hit the back of his head.
The captain chuckled as Selene finally managed to unhook herself. “All right, I’m getting in.”
“Okay.” Flik’s face scrunched as she turned around, and he slowly let go as Selene slipped into the pod and lay on her back.
As soon as she was all the way in, the clear glass darkened to navy, just as it had been before. She let out a giant sigh of relief, even as a chill passed over her naked body.
“All right, it’s safe now.” Crossing her arms over her chest, Selene waited as the others finally turned back around.
Erock’s grin flattened to disappointment as he realized the glass had gone dark, and Flik let out a sigh of relief nearly as loud as hers.
“All right, Selene.” The doctor cleared his throat to get her attention. “We’re going to close the top now, and in a few seconds, a sleeping gas will fill the pod. You won’t feel a thing. You’ll just fall asleep for a well-deserved nap.”
Selene nodded, even if the doctor couldn’t see her. Flik returned her nod, and raised the skin of his forehead as if he had eyebrows again, trying to tell her it’d be all right.
“Okay, I’m ready.” Selene took a deep breath as the glass lid slid up to cover her. Instead of going dark, it stayed frosted like the bottom had, concealing her from the chest down, while allowing her to see outside.
Still, Selene’s heart raced and her body chilled inside the pod. The glass was ice cold, and her breath nearly fogged the air.
Her fingers balled into a fist, and she closed her eyes. The erratic beat of her heart came through the monitor the doctor and Rem inspected.
“Just relax, Selene!” the doctor called. His voice was muffled through the glass.
Easier said than done.
A click inside the pod made her eyes flash open, and her heart skip. She looked around for the only thing she could imagine filling the pod, blue gel about to suffocate her.
“Wait, I think I changed my mind!” she said. “I don’t think this is such a good idea!” The soft sound of spray filled the chamber, misting over her. “I’d really like to come out now!” Her hand flew to the lid overtop her, but it didn’t budge. “Guys!”
“It’ll all be fine, Selene. Just take a deep breath,” the doctor soothed.
Selene did just that, breathing deeply even as she shivered relentlessly. With each breath her body grew heavier until she felt like a slab of concrete.
Her eyelids drooped and closed. Her body weakened, and her heart slowed. With one last deep breath, Flik’s voice echoed in her mind.
“It’s going to be okay, Selene. We won’t let anything happen to you.”
The world whisked away with her exhale, and darkness took her.
“Selene…. Selene….”
Fog filled her mind and called her back to sleep. But with each passing moment, her consciousness wondered why someone was calling her. Why was she still asleep?
Selene drifted closer to the surface, her sense of self slowly returning.
“Selene, it’s done.”
What’s done? Her eyebrows furrowed, and her fingers clenched atop cool glass. Where was she? Her fingers unfurled, her warm palms pressing against whatever encircled her.
“Time to wake up.”
Selene slowly opened her eyes. Bright light sent a stab of pain through her head. “Ow,” she hissed. Lifting a hand to shield her eyes, Selene blinked quickly, trying to adjust to the light while simultaneously pulling herself up into a sitting position.
“Ah, the night vision,” the doctor said. “It’ll take a minute for that to adjust to daylight.”
“What now?” Selene rubbed her eyes as her back hit something cold. She glanced behind her to see the lip of the pod, and everything came rushing back.
She’d been cloned.
Sharp reality cleared the rest of the fog, and she blinked awake, looking around at the still dark pod, its lid open, and herself still sitting inside.
“Holy shit,” she said. “It worked.” Displaying her hands in front of herself, Selene inspected her fingers, the same as she remembered, but with her cuticles perfectly intact and not dirtied by blood. She grabbed her left arm and pinched. “Ow.” She grinned. She had total feeling back.
“The procedure was a complete success,” the doctor said proudly. “You might feel a bit strange for a few hours, but that’ll pass as you get used to your new body.”
Selene felt her hair—way softer than she remembered—her skin, baby smooth, and her face, a tad sensitive to prodding. She twisted her ankles, and flexed. Muscles tensed beneath her skin and a sigh of relief brushed warm air across her hands.
“Oh thank Aldar!” She grabbed the sides of the pod and pushed up, pulling her lower half completely clear of the pod before she leapt out. “I have muscles again!”
“Oh my god, Selene!” Rem snapped. “Put some damn clothes on!”
Selene looked back to find Rem covering his head with his arms, and the doctor shaking his head. When she turned back, Captain Erock was leering from across the room and Flik was staring at her wide-eyed.
“Um…” Her face heated.
The doctor pulled a spare lab coat from a hook on the wall and handed it to her. “Here.”
“Thanks.” Selene quickly yanked it on and held it tight around her chest.
Silence rested in the lab. Erock and Flik continued to stare, while Rem hid behind his arms.
“Is it safe yet?” Rem asked.
“Seriously guys, it’s as if you’ve never seen a naked woman before.” Selene crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at Flik and Erock.
The captain
grinned and Flik cleared his throat, his cheeks flaming dark red as he looked everywhere but at Selene.
Selene rolled her eyes. “Men.”
Rem lowered his arms and sighed. “All right, how do you feel?”
Selene lowered her arms a bit, again testing her muscles. Everything contracted tightly, just like it did before Pate stripped her of her muscle mass. “Good.” She looked around, and the room was less bright. Much easier to handle. The sharp smell of cleaning supplies stung her nostrils, and she wrinkled her nose. Maybe her sense of smell would take a few more minutes to calm down.
“Good,” Rem said. “Now that you’re out, I can’t wait to do a system analysis on this bad boy!” Rem spun toward the screen between the power modules and wiggled his fingers excitedly.
“That’ll have to wait,” Selene said.
Rem looked back at her, his eyes going wide like a puppy’s. “What? Why?” he whined.
“It’s time to save Rikkard.”
The door whooshed open and Selene adjusted her fingerless gloves as she stepped inside Erock’s office once more. The entire crew flanked her, Darius and Lanny now included as they’d finally arrived while she was being cloned.
With the team back together, they’d taken their time to suit up, Selene borrowing some clothes from the captain’s crew. Though his crew looked more than ragged the day before as they swarmed across the sand, most cleaned up nicely, and wore pretty regular clothes outside of ‘pirate duty’.
Erock looked up from his desk as they entered. He sat in front of his holoscreen, scrolling through the news. Glancing over his shoulder, he waved them in. “All set?” He closed the browser and shut down the holoscreen. The cold blue light of the screen faded, leaving only the bright overhead lights to light the captain’s perfect bronze skin.
“Yep.” Selene placed her hands on her hips. Though Erock’s crew didn’t have her selection in gear, they did have a suit quite similar to her usual that fit well enough. The fabric clung to her every curve, and though it zipped all the way to her neck, part of the chest was cut out to reveal the top of her cleavage.
“Very nice.” Erock grinned.
“Yeah, yeah,” she said. “Thanks for the clothes, and the clone, but we’ve got to take off if we’re going to make it before sundown.”
“My pleasure.” He didn’t bother hiding it as he stared at her bosom.
“I suppose this is goodbye then,” she said. That made him glance up at her face finally. “I might need to call on you again soon when we get my body back.”
Erock winked. “Is that a promise?”
Selene bit her lip to stop her groan. “Maybe.” She didn’t know anyone else with clone pods on hand, so she’d really have no other choice if she wanted her consciousness back in the right body.
“I already gave your boys my number.” He nodded at Rem, who grinned sheepishly when Selene glared. “Give me a call when you’re ready, pretty.”
Selene sighed. “Will do.”
Before they could say their goodbyes, Erock insisted on seeing them out. He led the way to the cargo hangar, passed curious pirates and a scowling Andreas, a man she would definitely not miss. When they arrived at the hangar, Selene was surprised to find their cruiser had been fixed. After the hover propellers had been nearly torn to shreds, she wondered how they’d accomplished that. Clearly, she’d been out longer than she thought.
“I suppose this is goodbye for now,” Selene said.
Erock rested his arm against the edge of the cruiser door, right next to the cockpit. He leaned inside as Selene turned back. The rest of the crew was already inside. “For now,” he echoed.
“I hope you’re not getting any ideas…” Selene raised an eyebrow. That was the last thing she needed the pirate captain to think. She only needed the clone pods, and nothing more.
He shrugged. “Maybe now I am.”
His wicked grin made her smile. “Thank you,” she said.
“Anytime, pretty.” Erock gave a small wave, and looked her up and down one more time before he stepped away from the cruiser.
Selene grabbed the door handle and slammed the door closed before she took a seat in her co-pilot’s chair. Rem was already seated, his eyes wide as he marvelled over some enhancements Erock had apparently installed. How long had she been out?
The large cargo bay doors lurched from the floor at the far end of the hangar, slowly opening to reveal a sunset and a sea of sand. Damn, it was later than she thought. Flicking on her three-dimensional screens, Selene checked the all-system status reports and made sure everything was a go before she turned to the others.
Flik sat in the chair behind her, and Lanny sat behind Rem, while Darius took up a seat against the back wall. Each of them looked eager to go.
“Good to have you guys back,” Selene said. “You got out of town okay?”
Lanny nodded. “No one followed us.”
“The pirates were a little surprised to have us show up here a little while ago though.” Darius grinned. He loved scaring people.
“Good.” Selene looked at Rem. “Let’s get out of here. We’ll come up with a plan once we’re in the air.”
Rem paused reading the updates on his three-dimensional screen. With a sigh and a pout, he agreed and started up the propellers. “Everyone buckled in?”
Selene snapped her buckles over her chest, and so did the others. “Ready.”
“Let’s get out of here.”
The hum of the propellers filled the hangar and kicked up debris as they lifted off. Selene looked out the front window, catching the captain’s eye from the side of the hangar. He waved and she waved back before settling back in her chair for take-off.
“Initiate artificial gravity,” Selene said.
Rem’s fingers flew across the command console as he did as she commanded. “Ready. All systems set.”
“You have the coordinates for the work camp?” Selene asked. Her heart rate quickened at the thought of the place Rikkard was being held captive. Images of Rikkard being whipped by an electric rod flashed across her mind, and her fingers balled into fists.
“Already in.” Rem brought up another screen and flicked it over to her.
Selene looked at the map, a sky view of a large square encampment with one tower on each corner, and a small building outside the dual fences on the eastern side of the large yard. “Let’s go.”
“Roger that, boss lady.” Rem flashed a grin, and Selene smiled as the cruiser shot out of the hangar and over the open sand.
Once the pirate ship was far behind them, Selene unlocked her chair from a forward position and swivelled to face the rest of the crew. “All right, we need a plan.” She reached behind her and yanked a small silver disk from the command console and dropped it on the floor between her, Flik and Lanny. The three-dimensional screen widened to fill the space between them, hovering two-feet above the ground, still depicting the aerial view of the camp.
“We’ll need to take out the sentries.” Lanny pointed to the four towers. “Do we know what kind of weapons they have?”
Selene manipulated the screen with her fingers, zooming in on one of the towers. The metal roof grew until it filled the screen. Out the sides of the tower were a few gun barrels, including a large multi-cylinder one, similar to her old gatling gun, but at least three times the size.
“Heavy artillery,” Selene said. “This will be something to worry about.” She motioned at the gatling gun, more like a multi-cylinder cannon almost four feet wide. Her stomach flipped at the thought of the power it must have. It had to be enough to tear through their ship in one shot. She gulped.
“Definitely,” Flik agreed. He crossed his arms as he scanned the image. “How many men do you think are in one tower at a time?”
“At least four, I imagine.” Lanny put his hand to his face, rubbing the stubble on his jaw thoughtfully. “One to command the cannon, two to watch the yard, and one extra probably to watch over coms, or maybe to use as a backup for th
e cannon.”
Flik leaned forward and tapped the screen, bringing up a menu. He scrolled through it until he found the option he was looking for. “I uploaded the schematics of the work camp earlier, but they don’t have the number of guards on duty, or the type of weapons involved.” The screen split, half the aerial view of the tower, and the other half a blue and white three-dimensional model of the entire camp.
“The guards in the yard only have those cattle prods.” Lanny flicked the aerial view over to the yard until he found a security officer standing to the side of the main work area at the center of the yard.
To the left side of the yard was a large building, most likely the barracks with a smaller building to the south behind a fence. They guessed an employees’ only area. Another small yard was fenced off, more likely recreational as it had a few chairs, but nothing more. The center of the large yard was a mound of rocks and sand beside a chasm dug from the earth with pathways curving down into what might be a mine.
Dozens of guards littered the compound, taking prisoners to and from the yard by a single hall, again, fenced off with barbed wire at the top. The outer fence holding everything together between the four sentry towers had to be at least twenty feet high, and would be nearly impossible to climb without being seen. It was no wonder no one escaped these work camps. Being sent to one would be a death sentence.
“But these ones have guns.” Darius leaned out of his seat and widened the screen. He pointed at the guards between the inner and outer fences. They patrolled back and forth around the three sides, black laser rifles in hand.
“So if we want an advantage, we want to start right in the middle,” Selene said.
“But if we go in the middle, they can just shoot us through the fence,” Flik said.
“Then we’ll need a distraction,” Darius reasoned.
“We’ve got a new weapon installed on the bottom of the hull,” Rem said over his shoulder. “Someone could man that.”
The Zahkx Alliance: A Sci-Fi Dystopian Adventure (Dominion Rising Book 2) Page 11
