Azazel’s brother, Abalim, stated Baelon believed human DNA could merge with Krystalii genetics to shorten their incubation period and boost reproduction. Apparently, their scientific capabilities would somehow make that possible. Or he was dangerously delusional. Crazy as an Akurn scientist. Those aliens who created him and his brothers suffered from the delusion they had control over them. Especially when the fools drank too muchkakkaruwine.
Either scenario wasn’t good for anyone. This was especially true for the human women he and his three brothers were sent to rescue from the Krystalii’s brutal intent.
“Analysis complete.” JR14 announced.
When the droid remained silent, Azazel prompted him.
“Please share.” He sat up and leaned against the metallic wall, ignoring the crusty surface coated with a hard, slimy substance he didn’t dare examine.
JR14 hovered before resting on Azazel’s thigh. “Designation: We are on a ship owned by an alien race called the Ozevroc, who are galactic criminals wanted in the civilized galaxy.” The bot plopped onto his belly with his legs folded underneath him as he continued his narrative. “I have compared their readings with the ones on FiPan and determined they are a match. Further analysis has determined these are the beings that absconded with the human women from that planet.”
Azazel raised his eyebrows.
“I didn’t sense a being like that on this ship. The one I sensed has the same outliers that my brother, Abalim, brought back to share with us concerning the Krystalii.”
“Affirmative.” JR14 nodded. The steady, pale-blue light in his eyes dimmed. “I have determined that a Krystalii has commandeered this ship that formerly belonged to an Ozevroc. We are now proceeding to the Krystalii mothership called theNyrlith,which, in the Krystalii language, means soul-prison.”
That, as his brother Arakiba would say, didn’t inspire any warm fuzzies.
Sucking in a sharp breath, Azazel said, “Then I’d best not use my psychic abilities to read the Krystalii here. So, I have two questions.” Azazel rubbed his chin. “First, is the Krystalii aware we are here? And second, is the human woman on this ship? If so, where?” If he got to her before they docked with the Krystalii mothership, he’d be able to teleport the three of them from this ship back to FiPan. From there, he’d figure out a way to get back to Earth.
“Inconsistent.” JR14’s back wings came out and flicked before being covered again. “Instead of two questions, that was three. You must refrain from misrepresenting the number of your queries.”
Azazel pressed his lips together to keep from grinning.Darn bot was so literal.
“My apologies.” He put a hand over his heart. “But I tend to ask questions as thoughts occur to me. Please overlook that propensity and answer my questions to the best of your abilities.”
JR14’s front claws clicked.
Azazel understood the sound as a sign the bot was either irritated or considering the request.
“I understand your limitations.”
At least the bot’s tone wasn’t condescending.
“I agree to respond to your illogical way of conversing.” JR14’s front claws were silent. “Firstly, the Krystalii is unaware we are on board this ship. He is focused on approaching theNyrlithto land this vessel. Secondly, the human woman is here and is unconscious in a stasis pod. Thirdly, her stasis pod is just through that doorway.” JR14’s front claw pointed to an obvious open doorway Azazel hadn’t noticed.
He swallowed a sigh.It wouldn’t do any good to chastise the bot for not telling him that in the first place. After all, the little droid had only been online for less than a month.“All right, let’s get out of this corridor and go get her.”
“Affirmative. Optimal decision to recover the human woman first minimizes detection from the Krystalii by 42%. Let us proceed.”
Toni led a glamorous and fulfilling life.
Ask anyone.
Those looking at her life from the outside would tell you she led one of the most fascinating, exciting lifestyles imaginable. Professionally, she was a woman in great demand as an assistant film producer, who lived in one of the most exciting cities on the planet. She surrounded herself with dozens of friends and thrived in a tight-knit, like-minded community nestled in the heart of Koreatown, Los Angeles.
She’d bought a small condo on her own (at the express disapproval from hereomeoni—mother), and she dated occasionally with intelligent, handsome men who respected and admired her.
Yep, she should be happier than a teenager discovering Wi-Fi in a blackout.
But… she wasn’t.
Instead, she hid from everyone how lonely and bored she was. Most days were filled with mindless tasks and useless things those above her pay grade demanded she do. Day in and day out. And, in those rare flashes of honesty, especially in the middle of the chaos, she admitted her life sucked and she’d better change it before it was too late.
To add to that pile of self-loathing, from an early age, she wrestled with the gnawing sense that something essential was missing from her life. And nothing she did came close to filling that void. Searching for meaning in a life partner was spotty at best. It didn’t take her long to relegate most of the men she dated to the “friend zone”—that is, if she let any of those men stay in her life at all. Most of them only got close because they thought she held sway in the film industry. Good thing it didn’t take long to see through those charmers. Damn asses were so predictable. And the ones who ended up in that friend zone? If she was honest, she couldn’t care less if she ever saw them again. None of them lit that spark of passion she’d read or made movies about.
As for her personal life—raised as an only child, she didn’t have any siblings to bond with. And, since her parents migrated alone to the United States in the early 1970s, she didn’t have other family to connect with. Any aunts, uncles, cousins or grandparents she had were all in Korea, a place Toni never had the chance to visit.
