a death knell. Riley remained crumpled on the floor, her chest heav
pad tucked under one arm. Her eyes were asvoice a raw, broken rasp. "W
s, clamped around Riley's jaw, forcing her face upward. "You do
ron Empire. And you, from this second forward, a
. "Empire... property... No. I want
imitive. The spatial beacon to Terra-3 is one-way and random. It mi
est was snuffed out. Her eyes dulled
in Riley's eyes. She walked to a cabinet and retrieved ad earlier is nearly depleted. To ensure you are useful to yo
mbered the device that knocked her out. "No! Don't touch me!" S
er tongue. She sn
l. They moved with terrifying speed, grabbing Riley by the arms. Their meta
met onto Riley's head. The cold meta
ge system implant. Deep integration mode. Pu
y's ears. Then, a torrential flo
creamed, her back arching in agony. Alien words, complex grammar structu
derstood the hierarchy of the Beastmen. She learned what an "evolutionary catalyst" was
y of Uncle Eddy's face blurred. The smell of the motel room vanished. Her
e droids released her, and Riley collapsed, gas
at the trembling woman and spoke in flawless
rds betrayed her. The newly implanted neural pathways forced the word out
over her mouth, horr
lue is to provide 'symbiotic catalysis' for your 'maste
" A cold dread began to
s their tool. Your worth lies entirely in pleasing your masters an
elsey up and dragged her toward a sleek, hove
vy doors hissed shut, sealing
new knowledge in her head warred with the fading echoes of her past. She understoo
t estate, a single tear slipped down her cheek. It was
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