Chapter 14
After their tests, both Young and Sapien are taken to the medical bay where they can recover their strength. Elsewhere a female Terran is taken to have her biological record captured.
Previously: The Sapien is forced into close quarter, hand to hand combat with the four armed Ragjoran that he narrowly overcomes. Young’s trials continue as he enters a simulated world and comes face to face with a bug like monster that is similar to a praying mantis on Earth only much larger. Chieftain Helvos of the Blue Zetans holds a meeting and reveals his tributes for the upcoming war games.
The Medical Bay buzzed with activity, and not just from the humans that were present. When Young finally stirred, he saw many aliens he hadn’t seen before. They varied in shape, size, and appendages. Some even looked similar to him, though they had key differences, whether with the eyes, ears, or head shape. He did recognise the humans with them. They looked to be just as out of their depth as he was. Opposite his bed was one such fellow human. A small, scrappy-looking male with long, shoulder-length, messy brown hair. He looked well-toned and had a sharp, piercing pair of eyes. The two stared at each other in understanding silence.
“Wise,” said the man, pointing to himself.
Young rolled his eyes and copied. “Tabun.”
“Rough day,” Wise said, pointing to the various bruising and scarring that were barely visible across Tabun’s hair chest.
“I could say the same of you. What did you fight?”
“Someone with four arms.”
Feeling boastful, Tabun declared. “I almost had one of these ships under my control. Until these Blue ones showed up.”
Wise leaned forward. “If we work together, we can overcome them.”
Tabun liked that idea, though their conversation had drawn some ire as the Blue Zetan guards approached carrying their own version of the rifles used by the Greys. Both Zetans used the butt of their weapons to silence both men. Which got them to comply. Though, little did the aliens know that humans had evolved many ways to communicate. Even without their tongue, they could still speak.
Sometime later, a familiar face showed up. Mokvel looked from one human to the other and likely put two and two together. “The trials aren’t going to get any easier. You may also find yourself subjected to various enhancements. Just be ready, both of you.”
Tabun didn’t like the sound of that, but he appreciated the warning. A part of him wondered why Mokvel was feeding them information. The small Grey Zetan soon turned and left as quickly as he showed. Wise looked his way and raised an eyebrow. Tabun shared an uncertain shrug.
Yeah, I don’t know his intention here either.
The cell they were keeping her in was full of other humans like her, most of them huddled together, not knowing what lay in store next. She sat alone, back to the wall and with her knees pulled up. From what she could tell of her tribe, she was the only one here. They had swooped in from the sky and ambushed them while they slept. Some tried to put up a fight, but it was a fruitless task that only resulted in a quick death for all those who wanted to resist.
Time passed, and the hunger within her began to build. She’d hoped these kidnappers would give them food, as she didn’t want to see what would happen if they went for too much longer without it. The doors slid open and a group of Blue aliens entered. Some carried their unique weapons, while others appeared to be inspecting the prisoners, poking and prodding at them to try to get some form of response.
When they finally got to her, one of those present tried poking her dirty forehead, but she instead snarled and bit through the finger. The alien stumbled back, clutching their hands, and their armed guard pointed their guns at her. They began communicating and soon enough she was dragged to her feet where she soon felt something cold prick the back of her neck. She didn’t know what it was, but it took away her sight and before she knew it, she was being dragged somewhere.
By the time her sight had been returned to her, she now found herself in a far more isolated, sterile and clinical environment filled with equipment she had never seen before. They likely served some invasive purpose, with some possessing long, sharp needles that, unlike with her sight, would probably hurt a lot more. The next thing she realised was that she was restrained on a metal table with surgical lights overhead. She had to look away or otherwise be blinded. At her side, in gear different from the other blue Zetans, were those looking at her studiously. The sound of a door opening caught her attention, and a newcomer entertained the white. Much smaller than the Blue Zetans and distinctly grey, they stopped between the two Zetans. They chatted amongst themselves before one of the aliens moved to a console and began powering up the mechanism that operated the various needle arms. The eruption of pain across her body almost made her sick, even while her body became numb and her mind slipped into a dream that was far away from the nightmare she now found herself in.
“I understand extracting samples, but what’s the end goal here? It’s not like the Terrans are compatible with the other races you’ve captured,” said Mokvel, looking at the storage unit close by. In it were a bunch of vials containing DNA and more related to those the Blues had encountered. His work had been more so for archiving purposes, but these Zetans seemed more than eager to experiment. One scientist faced him, folding their hands in front of them. They looked at him like he was a child who had asked a question they already knew the answer to.
“We will make the necessary modifications to make them compatible.”
“Then what?”
“Development of new species, modifying the base genome. Did you not do any of this?”
“Preservation was our sole mission. I should have known the Blues would see this as an opportunity to get the most potential out of their new subjects.”
“It goes behind that. We will also look to establish a method of cloning those present so that even if they die once off the ship, we can restore their consciousness in a new body.”
That made Mokvel cock his head a little. “I thought cloning was outlawed.”
“It is, but much like you, we too keep things in our terminal network. What the higher powers don’t know can’t hurt them. Preservation of consciousness has long been a curiosity. Storage of neural records and also replanting them in a restored body would be an invaluable tool.”
“There’s no way there’re no downsides.”
“Degradation has been noted in the past. Many clones eventually lose their higher function and become no better than a savage.”
“And what do you do to them?” asked Mokvel.
“What do you think?”
He didn’t answer. He looked at the human woman on the operating table as the extraction mechanism copied and stored DNA, cellular records, and more. They could reconstruct her right now if they wanted… and yet how much of who she is will be lost after enough restorations. He dreaded the thought. The Blue Zetans saw those they captured as tools and weapons. Nothing more, nothing less, and once that purpose had been exhausted, they would be terminated without a second thought. Humanity would become their pawns until they broke the cycle. All they really need is just a push… yet why am I doing this? What could I gain from usurping my own people? Is this guilt… or something else?