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  Stolen to save her world from infiltration, Cleo learns to trust the man who gives her freedom by remaining at her side.

  Cleo got a visit from a recruiter, but her parents told her that under no circumstances could she join the Volunteer Project. She was sitting in the project offices, trying to decline their offer when matters were taken out of her control.

  Waking on the moon was bad enough, but waking in the confined space of a tank with everyone looking at her naked body made her furious. After nearly breaking through the heavy tank, she was given the rest of her adaptation while asleep.

  Helbri has never heard of a Bride being this much trouble, but as her Familiar, he needs to watch her reactions and know her well enough to predict them. Staring at her is no hardship, but knowing that she is coming with him under duress is another matter.

  Gaining her trust is going to take everything he has.

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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  Copyright © 2016 Viola Grace

  ISBN: 978-1-4874-0649-3

  Cover art by Martine Jardin

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by eXtasy Books Inc or

  Devine Destinies, an imprint of eXtasy Books Inc

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  www.eXtasybooks.com or www.devinedestinies.com

  Prohibit

  Terran Times Second Wave

  By

  Viola Grace

  Chapter One

  Cleo bit her nail and waited in the lobby of the Volunteer Centre. Several men and women came in and filled out the forms as well as donated a drop of blood for scanning. It was a long wait.

  Several folks gasped, and Cleo looked up, seeing the Ontex recruiter that had come to her home the day before.

  “Miss Rhodes, please, come this way.”

  Cleo grabbed her purse and shuffled forward, wishing that she could just disappear. All gazes were on her, and it was not a comfortable feeling.

  Recruiter Norz led her through the offices and into a boardroom in the back. When the door was closed and they were alone, Norz got her a glass of water.

  “You look nervous, Ms. Rhodes.”

  “Yes. I know. Look, I know that I said yes yesterday, but I told my parents, and they are not enthusiastic about my leaving. I think I am going to have to say no.” Cleo drank greedily from the glass of water.

  “Why?”

  She sat, and Norz sat across from her, his small silver hands folded on the table.

  “Well, my father isn’t a fan of the Volunteer Project. He thinks that it is just a way to steal the best and brightest from the world. Even though the alien tech saved his life after his heart attack, he is convinced that the project will take more than it gives.”

  Norz nodded. “Understandable. We would not have been able to provide anything to your people if the Volunteers had not left your world and joined the Alliance.”

  She smiled. “Right. So, it isn’t a big deal if I stay, right? There are plenty of people to replace me.”

  Norz laughed. “Well, I would love to say yes, but I am afraid that your parents are being informed of the situation as we speak.”

  The world seemed a little blurry. “What?”

  “Your presence has been demanded by the species I told you about. You will be going to Lrrko whether you like it or not.”

  Cleo frowned. “What? I am not going.”

  “I am afraid you are. Don’t hit your head on the desk.”

  “What?” The world spun again, and she felt her forehead smack something hard.

  Cleo inhaled hard as she fought to breathe. The liquid she was in rushed into her lungs, and while she thrashed, she came to realize that her mind was sharpening and her body was fine. She was hooked to a number of tubes and cables.

  A hand pressed to her tank, and she looked at it in surprise. Shiny and metal, it pressed against her current prison.

  The robot standing outside the column was the last thing she had expected. A screen lit up to her right, and she turned her head. Good day, Miss Cleo Rhodes.

  The words were in English, so she typed the response. Um, good day. Where am I?

  The cameras whirred slightly, and then, the words filled the screen. You are on the Terran transformation base, near the lunar facility. You are on your moon, in a tank that will wake your latent DNA surface and take over. You will be a Lrrko Bride before you leave.

  She frowned and typed, They drugged me. I was telling the recruiter that I couldn’t leave the Earth after all, and the next thing I know I wake up here.

  The bot cocked his head. The governments of your world were under a bit of duress. The Lrrko have demanded all of the females carrying their genetics to be turned over to them. You were the final instalment. Those who are still here are in other tanks around the facility.

  What will my parents say? How long have I been in here? She was using both hands to type and bracing her feet on the back of the tank.

  You have been in the tank for three days.

  Who are you? What are you?

  I am your Lrrko Elder Council-designated guardian. My name is Helbri.

  She nodded and looked around. I want out. She pressed her fists against the tank.

  He stepped back. A voice boomed in her tank. “Stop what are you doing?”

  With her feet braced behind her and her fists in front of her, she shoved until she heard a cracking sound.

  There were medical personnel running around and trying to wave her into stopping. She felt a strange prickle coming in through the tubes, so she worked faster. She punched at the interior of the tube, and she watched the fluid rush out as the substance shattered.

  Air rushed into her lungs, and she ejected the breathing fluid. The sedative hit her, and she laughed with triumph while she flopped around like a trout.

  Helbri lifted her up, and he was exceedingly careful with her. It was sweet for the ten seconds she was awake.

  She dozed and remembered someone prying her eyes open, a bright flash and then nothing until she woke up in a bed, with proper sheets, and a tray covered with what looked like a series of guns on it.

  Helbri was standing next to her, at the foot of her bed.

  Cleo jerked. “Have you been watching me?”

  Her voice sounded a little hoarse, but it was the words that rang oddly. If she didn’t know any better, she would say that she was speaking another language.

  “You have been sedated for four days. Fortunately, your transformation is nearly complete.”

  “I don’t feel different.” She patted her waist. “I do feel flatter. What happened there?”

  “The Lrrko genetics create changes in your physiology that needed a bit of material. As you broke your tank—for which the med staff are examining all the images and recordings—they were unable to add the fuel that the change needs via the intravenous connec
tions.”

  “So, the change started to repurpose my own tissue.” She grimaced.

  “Yes. Why did you break out of the tank?”

  “Because I don’t like confinement.”

  “How did you break out?”

  “The egg principle. The curve is designed to be tough from the outside, but the chick has to get out somehow. They can push with their heads and legs and pop the egg open.”

  The silver head nodded slowly.

  Cleo stared at him and took in his extremely fitted clothing. It seemed weird that they would dress a robot in tight clothing, not to mention give him the musculature of a UFC fighter.

  She flipped the blanket off and was about to get out of bed when she saw that she wasn’t wearing anything, and then, she hauled the fabric over her again.

  “Is there anywhere I could get some clothing?”

  “There is, as soon as the physicians give you the all clear. You have one additional round of injections.”

  She scowled at Helbri. “Can you get them?”

  He cocked his head. “I have sent for them. You were just removed from your support systems an hour ago. I have been waiting for you to wake.”

  The use of the term waiting set her on alert. A robot wouldn’t have waited, would it?

  A person in a uniform that was similar to those used on Earth entered the room with what passed for a smile. Cleo couldn’t really tell.

  “Well, your Familiar tells us you are up, and I am just going to administer your last shots, and he can take you off to the Lrrko home world.”

  “Wait. Can I call my parents?”

  The medic cocked its head. “I do not suppose that it will be a problem.”

  It seemed that Helbri was going to put up a comment, but he settled back into an alert but casual position.

  Cleo sat straight as she got a series of injections in various parts of her body.

  “We did your departure scan while you were out. You are within Lrrko specifications and the last one of your kind on this base. You can leave whenever your Familiar decides to fly you out of here.”

  Cleo nodded and looked warily at Helbri. “When can I have clothing?”

  He left the room and came back with folded fabric in his silver hand. The bright pattern made her smile.

  “Are you afraid of losing me?”

  He shook his head slowly. “If you run, I will find you.”

  She raised her brows at that. “That is vaguely threatening.”

  He put the fabric in her lap. “It is my duty to maintain your health and well-being wherever you are. To do my duty, I need to know where you are.”

  She looked from the clothing to him. The medic left the room, and Cleo was alone with him. “So, are you going to leave me alone to get dressed?”

  “No. I need to get familiar with your body to insure your health.” He crossed his arms, and the cameras pointed at her.

  “That is extremely pervy.”

  “I have gotten the translation, and this body is incapable of any action of that nature.”

  That was something. She pulled the suit under her bedding and got her feet into the legs of the leggings. Fortunately, there were two pieces. The top went on without any trouble. She wiggled as she tried to pull everything at once before she prioritized the top. When that was sealed and comfortable, she lifted her hips and pulled the leggings into place.

  She was covered and the top supported her boobs, so she was comfortable flipping the sheets off.

  It took a little effort to get to her feet, but Helbri helped her, and she was soon up and slowly walking.

  “I want to call my family.”

  He nodded. “I am aware of it.”

  “So, where are we going?”

  “To the communications office. If you need a call to make your feel better, you shall have it.”

  He supported her wobbly legs, and when they entered the com centre, all but one officer cleared it.

  Cleo settled in a chair in front of a large screen, and when her parents appeared, she smiled. “Hi, Mom, Dad.”

  They looked at her, and there was disappointment in their eyes.

  “Why did you go into the city and join the Volunteers, Cleo? I thought we made ourselves clear.” Her father’s tone was stern.

  “I didn’t.”

  “And yet you are calling us from the moon, so obviously, something happened.”

  She tried to remember the sequence of events. “I was in the office to tell the recruiter that I could not participate, and then, I woke up here.”

  Her father snorted, and her mother looked disappointed. “You simply needed to tell us that you were going, Cleo. You didn’t need to lie.”

  “Didn’t someone come to speak with you?” She was desperate to find somewhere to start the explanation.

  “Yes, they said that you had joined the Volunteers and were on the Lunar Base. Is that where you are?”

  “It is, but it isn’t... that isn’t what happened.” She frowned.

  “It doesn’t matter. You need to live your life. We wish you well but understand if we no longer want to hear from you.” Her father reached out and flipped the toggle that disconnected them.

  Cleo stared at the blank screen. She was trying to understand what had and hadn’t happened. “No one explained to them.”

  “The Lrrko situation is not for those who are not part of our population. As it was your mother and not your father who carried the genes and he is of no use to us, we decided it was best that they not be fully informed. They believe that you have run away.”

  “That isn’t what happened.”

  “Recruiter Norz indicated that it might cause a bit of rage or fury in the general population to know that we have removed you without your express consent.”

  She turned and stared into the cameras of his features. “You kidnapped me.”

  Helbri bent forward until he was inches from her and she could see her reflection in the lenses. “No, Cleo. We stole you.”

  Chapter Two

  Helbri prepared a meal for Cleo, and she sat in sullen silence while she ate. The food was good. It was similar to a stir fry with a weird starch layer that she couldn’t match to anything she had eaten before.

  Their shuttle was flying while heavily cloaked, and Helbri returned to the helm after he had gotten her meal ready.

  She was trying to pout, but there was no reason for her to make faces when there was no one to see them. She finished her food and put the tray in the disposal slot. The eating prongs went into another receptacle.

  Cleo went exploring into the depths of the ship and found a huge exercise mat that obviously was meant for her, as Helbri was a robot.

  The bathroom was similar to the ones she had used on the base, and aside from doing everything in four square feet, it wasn’t too bad.

  Cleo checked out the small, neat room with her bunk, and when she was done, she silently stalked back to the command deck, sitting in the navigator’s chair with a scowl.

  Helbri paused in what he was doing and handed her a tablet. “This contains the information as to why we have done this. Read it, and we can discuss the situation.”

  Cleo looked at the tablet and then out to the vistas of space. After a moment, she started to read.

  Two hours later, she had consumed the history of the Lrrko and understanding had dawned.

  “There isn’t a choice. I get it.” Cleo smiled slightly. “So, you are really asleep on Lrrko somewhere?”

  “Sleep is not the word that I would use. My flesh body is dormant.”

  “Right. Okay.” She pondered how to ask the next question. “What do you actually look like?”

  “The body is in similar size and shape, my skin is a deep matte grey and my hair is a shade darker.”

  “What about your eyes?”

  “Black. I was designed to be camouflaged so I do not stand out when I am on assignment.”
<
br />   She blinked. “Oh. Right. Yeah. I guess you are actually designed.”

  “Four of my kind every fifty years. I am the sole survivor of my gestation grouping.”

  “Wow. That... that is sad.” Cleo frowned. It was really sad. Family had always surrounded her. Her mother’s sisters and her cousins had been part of her life. They still were; she just had to get a hold of them and explain that she had been stolen.

  “It is the way it is. Lrrko lose more of their population on assignment than ever succumb to old age.”

  “Oh. Well, based on what I learned, that makes sense. It is a dangerous life.”

  “Yes, and I am supposed to be in retirement.”

  She glanced at him. “Supposed to be?”

  “It will depend on the situation. Unlike the others, I have skills that are not easily replaced, and none in the current generation have mastered as much as I have.”

  “That sounds arrogant.”

  “It is fact.”

  Cleo didn’t want to show interest, but she had to ask. “What is your specialty?”

  “Covert extraction or destruction.”

  The two things didn’t seem like something that could be done covertly. “I don’t understand.”

  “I am a long-range shooter, and I can camouflage myself against most surfaces. I blend into the shadows.”

  She frowned. “If you do that, then why do you have the bot?”

  “Not everyone likes to pay promptly. Sometimes, it is necessary to insist, and the bot can take more damage than I can.”

  She chuckled. “I have had to do the same at the garage, and I can only imagine what happens when lives are at stake.”

  “Lives, inheritances, breeding partners, they are all high-emotional events. If they don’t send the payment before I leave the surface, I have to pay them a visit in person. The bot works best for that.”

  Cleo snickered. “It makes a certain sense. Will I be getting a bot?”