He couldn't help but gasp at the sight that greeted him as the hatch door opened. The woman he had known was changed in ways he couldn't begin to fathom. It seemed a whole different person had entered here with him only a month ago; Now gone were the sparkling hazel eyes, the short and sensible hair, the lithe body of a trainee. This creature in front of him was Aryn, but so very very different. This creature was swathed in some semblance of a dress made from thin strips of a stretchy material. The lithe body had been replaced by the curves of a far more sensual being. Plump lips drew back in a smile of greeting as she saw him, and her coal-colored hair swung down to her buttocks. Her eyes were the same color, but there was a strangeness within them. Aryn had been the sweetest, and kindest human he had ever known, but this woman had a dark glint flickering in the depths of her expression.
"What have you done?" He cried out finally, his eyes instantly went to the Mistress of this lab. Dorethea lounged against the far wall with her guard standing nearby impassively. She had not changed at all, with high cheekbones and a cruel face, she stood nearly as tall as he when she rose from her position. Her smile was full of malice and mischief when she looked upon him.
"Is something the matter Richard? I thought you would be pleased to finally see Aryn again." She strode over to where they stood in the entrance of the lab, and ran her fingers through a few strands of Aryn's hair.
"She entered your service as an apprentice to learn from you! Not be turned into some...some..." He gestured at her body, before throwing his hands up in exasperation. Aryn, his adopted sister looked back at the scientist with a cocked head, as if wordlessly questioning what she should do. It made Richard sick, this was not the sister he had left behind, she had been a head strong, intelligent individual. "What have you done Dorethea?!"
"Your sister came into my service as she showed promise to help me in all my needs and serve me well while she learned from me. She has been learning, and she has helped me in more ways than one." The older woman chuckled to herself as she walked back over to the couches and sat back down. "Aryn, why don't you make some drinks for your brother and myself?"
As his sister began to walk away he grabbed her shoulders, and she turned her large eyes up to meet his slowly as if in a dream. "Aryn, I promise, I will help you get out of this. I'll find a way to fix this." She nodded slowly, as if almost comprehending then hurried away to one of the tunnels leading off from the living area. She wore odd-looking high heeled boots that clicked on the stainless steel floor.
"Please, Richard sit. There is no reason I cannot be hospitable." Dorethea called to him, and although he hated giving into her whims he needed to find out what had been done so he could save his sister from whatever strange going-ons had happened to her.
"Madam, please just tell me what has happened to my sister. She entered your service as your apprentice to help you study the chemical effects of extraterrestrial flora and fauna. An honorable apprenticeship for us being Earth-made but I don't believe this is within the bounds of what the Company had in mind when they created the apprenticeship program." Aryn had returned with glasses filled with electric blue liquid and set it down before her brother and Dorethea before seating herself at the chair across from him. He couldn't bear looking at his strange new sister and busied himself with his glass instead.