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“Brave words for someone who’s about to die.” The Inkral pressed a scanner to Rexx’s arm. “You have excellent muscle tone, but you’re too much trouble to keep as a test subject. I could cut out your tongue and maybe hobble you. You’d still be able to use your arms. You could be put to work in our expansion team.”

The door to the medical room opened. Commander Malem strode in. “Is he compliant?”

“He’s offensive. I’m not sure he’s worth the effort.”

Rexx growled.

“It would be good to work him in the mines, excavating those hard rocks until his bones shatter.” Commander Malem peered down at Rexx. “It would please me to see that happen. I have four dead crew because of him.”

“There’ll be more when I get free. And you’ll be one of them,” Rexx said.

The Inkral scientist jabbed another probe into Rexx’s stomach.

Rexx gritted his teeth, refusing to reveal the agony that lanced through him as the metal sliced through skin and muscle. These jerks seemed to have forgotten the pain relief.

He fixed his gaze to the ceiling. None of this mattered. They could do what the hell they liked to him. Daisy would be okay. She could fight the Inkral and the Gente with his energy pulsing through her. She would get away.

“Finish up your tests. If he lives, ship him out. Get him to the nearest slave auction. I’m done with Apexians,” Commander Malem said.

“We won’t get anything for him. There’s something wrong with this one.” The scientist poked at Rexx.

Commander Malem turned as he reached the door. “What’s the matter with him? He fought well enough before being taken.”

“He’s weak. He could be diseased. It’s probably a kindness to put him out of his misery,” the Inkral scientist said.

“We don’t spare kindness to the enemy,” Commander Malem said.

“What are you doing with Daisy?” Rexx said.

Commander Malem’s eyes narrowed. “She’s proving to be a much more pliable test subject. She knows when she’s been beaten. Once the results of the scans have been returned, we’ll determine the next step in our experiment.”

“She should be under our control by now,” the Inkral scientist said. “I underestimated the Human ability to resist our technology. We should try an extra dose to her system.”

“It’s being considered by your leader. Although it could kill her,” Commander Malem said.

“Keep your slimy tentacles away from Daisy.” Rexx thrust his hips, trying to break the restraints.

“We can do whatever we like to her. We must ensure we get the balance right when we recruit the Humans to our program,” the Inkral scientist said.

“You’re not going anywhere near the Humans. They’re off-limits,” Rexx said.

“Wrong. And they’re not the exclusive property of the Apexians,” Commander Malem said. “I saw the way you looked at her. And I could smell the sex in the air when I walked into the cell. Is that why she keeps you around? She likes a good, hard fuck?”

“That’s none of your damn business.”

The Inkral scientist prodded the probes again. “This one wouldn’t even make a good sex slave. See how labored his breathing is? I shall cut him open to see what disease has infected him. We need to make sure it hasn’t transferred to the Human and impacted the quality of our study.”

“We can always get more Humans,” Commander Malem said. “There are so many that a few thousand going missing for testing purposes will barely be noticed.”

Rexx chuckled. “Daisy won’t like you when she hears about your plans.”

“She won’t care. She’ll be with us,” the Inkral scientist said. “She won’t have a mind of her own once our technology is established. It works by stripping the sophisticated parts of the brain, the reasoning, the logic. It leaves only the base, primal urges. We use those to motivate the workforce.”

“We offer food and fucking in exchange for labor,” Commander Malem said. “I suspect you’ve discovered that for yourself since I can smell her on you.”

Rexx’s heart felt like it had been sliced with a blade. Was this true? Daisy didn’t want him, she just had to fulfill a need.

Commander Malem smirked. “You’ve been enjoying one of the side-effects of the Inkral experiments. Daisy will be motivated by those two things. So long as she gets those provided, she’ll work tirelessly for the Inkral. All Humans will. They’ll be easy to control.”