joy-girl, had told her about how all the waste in the entire station was sucked out into the floating waste field in space, in the back of Hell’s Gate. She’d said that because of the slow-time anomaly that had formed around the main waste chute, it was all just stuck there in a floating blob that never even froze because the time bubble wouldn’t let it.
Ugh—it’s so weird to think of, Penny thought as she exited the stall and went to wash her hands. Hell’s Gate Station and the two planets it orbited between were all fascinating places, but she’d had about enough of the Yown System for now. So glad we’re going to be out of here soon, Penny mused as she washed her hands. Not sure where we’re going next but as long as V’rex and I are together, we’ll be fine.
She was still looking down at the sink, so she didn’t notice when the far stall opened quietly and someone came out. The rushing water drowned out the footsteps behind her and she was lost in her thoughts—dreams of adventures she and her new mate could have together.
So she was caught completely unaware when someone pinned her arms to her sides and dragged her backwards.
Chapter 113
“Help! He—” Penny shouted—or started to shout until someone slapped a hand over her mouth.
“Well, well, my dear! Fancy meeting you here,” said a familiar voice in her ear. “And since I know that females who join with Kindred always form a telepathic link…” Something cold and hard about the size of a button was pressed against the side of Penny’s left temple.
Immediately the constant link with V’rex, which was now a part of her life, was abruptly and completely silenced.
“Mmmph! Mmmph!” Penny tried to scream as she fought and struggled. To be suddenly cut off from the big Hybrid was incredibly frightening—it was as though someone had suddenly chopped her in half and she was missing part of herself.
“Well, we mustn’t dally. Come along now.”
And Penny was dragged forcefully out of the far door in the restroom—the one marked “Service.”
“These old service tunnels are so useful,” her captor informed her as he marched her down the long corridor. “Now come along with me.”
Penny bit the hand over her mouth and struggled to be free.
With a hiss of pain, her captor withdrew the hand over her lips but not the one around her waist.
“Help!” she screamed again. “Somebody help me!”
“Scream all you want, you nasty little breeder,” hissed her captor. “No one can hear you—these service corridors were soundproofed in order to keep the VIPs from being bothered by any sounds the servers might make.”
Turning her head to the left, Penny finally saw who was holding her.
“Colonel Sanders!” she breathed.
“What?” The Glorious Leader frowned at her. “Are your brains addled? It is I—your Glorious Leader!”
“You’re no leader of mine!” Penny spat. “They said you had escaped during the raid on Yown Alpha, but what do you want with me?”
“What I want is my Compound back!” the Glorious Leader snarled as he forced her to start marching down the long tunnel-like hallway again. “And I think you might be the key to getting it for me.”
“Me?” Penny gasped. “You must be crazy. How can I get your Compound back?”
“I’ve been monitoring you, my dear,” the Glorious Leader told her. “I lost you for a little while after your escape—probably because the poisons of the jungle temporarily disabled the nanites in the Mother’s Milk.”
“Wait—nanites?” Penny exclaimed. “I thought it was just some kind of fertility chemicals in that stuff!”
“There are both—they work together,” the Glorious Leader said. “I give nanites to all my female breeders—they help with fertility but they’re also good for tracking a breeder if she happens to stray. Like you did.” He glared at Penny.
“I left because you kidnapped me!” Penny protested. “You stole me away from my life and my job and—”
“Yes, yes—well I gave you a higher purpose, didn’t I?” the Glorious Leader interrupted. “You should have been grateful I allowed you to participate in our Glorious Cause!”
“You—” Penny began but he just kept talking over her.
“Anyway, when you started producing nectar again, I was able to get a lock on your location and even overhear some very interesting information, once I turned the long-range sensors on. Of course those aren’t necessary in the Compound because we have the Watchers. But they do come in handy if a breeder slips away.”
“I didn’t ‘slip away’—I ran for my life after