My screams echoed off the walls of the science facility as I was dragged upwards to the roof. The two cloaked figures were different species, judging from their hands. One appeared to be human, while the other had a feline appearance to his hands. They seems unconcerned about my screaming. From the lack of reaction in the Wren'kt around me, they had little to worry about.
On the roof, they had a flier, a Godson mark 5, if my memory was correct. The mark 5 was designed for police departments and had a capture cage in the back section. They placed me there, secure in the knowledge that I would be unable to escape from the tractor field that encapsulated the walls. A pale white gas entered the cage and I recognized the odor of kelcorin. It dawned on me that they had no idea that I had been rendered unable to pass out by Master. Hoping to learn something, I pretended that the gas was working on me normally, slumping to the ground and acting unconscious.
They didn't speak during the trip. I knew we weren't leaving the planet, at least not yet since the mark 5 had no vacuum capability. Unfortunately, I had no ability to judge distance or direction accurately, so our destination remained a mystery. I knew that kelcorin, also known as pacigas, would only knock someone out for an hour, so I could time my feigned unconsciousness.
We left the spun steel buildings of the hive and entered the wilderness areas. I remembered from my briefing on the planet that the Wren'kt, while they evolved in the wilds, had little ability to survive there. Their survival has always been a result of large numbers of individuals working together. Individuals did not have enough skills to 'live off the land' as it were. This made wilderness areas perfect for alien infiltration.
It only took half an hour to reach a clearing, one that had clearly been made, not grown. While there was no tarmac, this was clearly a landing field for spaceships. My situation was getting worse. If we had stayed on planet, I was sure that Master could track me with his control pad. It's monitoring of my vitals, even if not intended for the purpose, would be easily converted into a tracking beacon. Off planet, I would be out of range. While the prospect of being someone else's slave was daunting, the more immediate problem was my inability to sleep. It was never intended for long term use and I would still suffer all the debilitations of sleep deprivation, including eventual insanity.
We landed and I was moved to a scooter and taken to a well disguised lift. The decent was fast and long, indicating great depth. I was unceremoniously dumped in a room with a single bed, the door audibly locking behind me. I stayed 'unconscious' for the remaining 20 minutes and woke up from the gas on time. I hoped that they did not intend to keep me here for any significant length of time. The room, except for the bed, was totally bare, not even a crude toilet. Things could get messy.
I stank. The smell of sex was heavy in the air, most of it mine. I wondered if I was going to be allowed clean up at all. It seemed strange that they would go to all the effort to kidnap me and then leave me alone. I thought back to how it had happened. One of the Wren'kt scientists had been under the control of a Voratex crystal and had arranged to hand me over during the two hour window when Master was away from me. That was plain, but there was something unusual in the whole affair. She had taken the time to complete both their experiments (the mental picture of that Wren'kt drone sent shivers through me again). That should have been impossible. Voratex control is supposed to be perfect. Given an order, there should have been nothing that interferes with it. The delay meant that either the kidnappers had allowed them to complete their experiments, or Twelfth had some degree of autonomy in spite of the crystal. This could be big, if I could get the information out.
It was a full hour before someone came to my cell (I did check the door). A human man opened the door with a pistol drawn. While it was a low tech projectile thrower using explosives to propel a shaped metal slug, it was still quite effective at killing. I had to smile, however, at the idea that he would need that level of protection from a naked woman such as myself, who massed half his mass and had no combat training (I was regretting certain college course choices right now). He did not talk, but waved his gun down a corridor and I walked ahead of him.
We were only a few doors from his destination, another door. Inside, I was sat in a chair in the center of the room. Cloth straps were tightened around my wrists and ankles, trapping me. A table was in front of me with another low tech device, an incandescent lamp. I could only chuckle at the total lack of imagination. Bright lights? Immobility? Whoever these people were, they had been watching too many period melodramas on the holovid. This was straight out of old earth spy dramas, the kind you could only laugh at. I supposed that if I didn't 'break' that they would threaten me with gang rape. Puhlease. I've been a slave used for sex, had fucked horsemen, amoeba, and bugs. There wasn't much that was going to bother me. Hell, other than the bug, I'd enjoyed it all.
Others entered the room. There were three of them, all in those robes they seem to like. I wondered if it was some type of uniform or if they were really concerned about being identified. The light was turned on and pointed directly at me. My one and only bio-enhancement kicked in, though I squinted anyway. My eyes dropped a glare filter over my lenses, designed to allow me to work on planets with overly bright suns without sunglasses. But, why let them know what I was capable of?
"Susan Melnin, do you know why you are here?"
"My name is not Susan Melnin."
"You were not born on Valcrue, 34 standard years ago to George and Martha Valcrue?"
"Yes I was, but that is not my name now."
"What is your name?"
"Slave."
"Your owner named you Slave?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"You'll have to ask him. Give me a communicator and I will ask him."
"Your insolence will get you killed!"
The person sitting next to him put a hand on his arm, calming him. He took over the speaking, "Slave. What can you tell us about Brusjin Valenshenko's plans."
"Nothing."
"If you don't cooperate, we can force it. You are no longer his slave, you are ours and must comply with your wishes."
They so picked the wrong person to try that on. "Actually, that is not true. I was enslaved under Brachetian law and those laws are the ones that apply. By those laws, I am stolen property, still rightfully belonging to my owner. Branchetian law also specifies the penalty for stealing a slave as enslavement, as a class three, I believe. So, no, I don't have to do as you say." That last part about class three was made up, but they obviously didn't know that.
"We can still force compliance."
"No you can't, not with anything short of a Voratex crystal."
"You have no idea what we can bring to bear on you."
"No, I don't. But I do know what Master has brought to bear on me and I doubt that you're little low tech operation with its b-grade holovid rip offs can match his idea of punishment. What little I know of my Master's mission tells me that it is good, or at least not evil. Betraying him to a bunch of two bit thugs is not going to happen. You should return me now and maybe you can avoid charges. Oh, and I wonder what Wren'kt law says about kidnapping hive members. Did you know that we were adopted into the hive?"
The third one stood, "This will get us nothing. The slave has not been properly trained. Return her to her cell. Holroid will be here in the morning. He will find out what she knows."
I was returned to my cell by the same guard with the same unnecessary gun. There was nothing to do but pretend to sleep. I wondered who this Holroid was and why they were so confident that he would be able to find out what I know. Of course, not knowing anything of importance made that prospect not very worrisome. The only reason I resisted as much as I had was that I wanted to give them no satisfaction. I have always had an excellent sense of passing time, so I knew that the excitement started two hours later.
The gunfire was a shock. A combination of explosions from the projectile weapons and the high pitched whines of lasers echoed off the corridors and into my room. Glad for my cell, all I could do was wait and see who actually won, and for that matter, who was fighting whom. Thirty minutes passed before the door opened, revealing a Wren'kt, though I was unsure at first. It turned out that she was wearing body armor. Seems unusual for a species with an exoskeleton to develop body armor, but it was certainly effective.
"You are Second of the Justice Two?"
"Yes I am. Is First of Justice Two with you?" I asked, using Master's Wren'kt name.
"No. He awaits your return at the hive. I am First of Infantry Thirty. The bandits have been exterminated and it is safe for your unprotected person to leave. Will you come with me?"