Lily

“Good morning. How was your flight?”

“Good, thank you,” I say as I look up into the emotionless and flawless face of Siya Onyx. Her intense eyes study me like I’m some type of lab rat.

“I bet it was,” she says with a slight smile. “Lose the hair-bun. That’s my look.”

“Sorry,” I say as I follow her orders. I’m not quite sure why the way I wear my hair matters, but Siya’s word is law. She’s the single most powerful woman in the entire universe, heiress to the world’s most powerful company: Onyx.

I know better than to piss her off.

“Good.” Again her cat-like eyes study me, and it makes me feel very uncomfortable. “Follow me. I will show you your quarters.”

She leads the way, her high heels making a clicking sound that echoes off the metal walls. I struggle to keep up with her brisk pace. Everything is clean and sterile here, as expected, for we are in Onyx’s well-hidden underground research facility, many miles below Neo-Atlanta.

“Here it is,” she says as she comes to a complete stop. A metal door slides open to reveal a spacious room, with anything I could ever want — a luxurious bed, a beautiful open kitchen, and even a heart-shaped hot tub.

It reminds me more of a honeymoon suite than an office!

“Wow,” I say. “This is amazing! It’s too much. Almost,” I joke.

No response. Not even the hint of a smile.

Tough crowd.

“I’m glad it’s up to your standards,” Siya says. “Do you need a moment to freshen up, or do you want to move onto the project right away?”

She makes it sound so ominous. The project. Everything Onyx does is always so secretive. They’re just a power company! I mean come on, what kind of secrets could they have? The best way to drill to the center of a planet? I mean, come on. Yawn. If you ask me, they are just extremely paranoid. The non-disclosure agreement they made me sign was so long, my wrist still hurts!

If I was a psychologist, I would have a field day studying Siya Onyx and her stilted behavior. But, I’m not. I’m a bio-engineer, and I’m here to do some state-of-the-art genetic engineering.

What exactly they want me to do I’m still not sure. They wouldn’t tell me the specifics. I can guess, though. Onyx mines alien planets for its natural resources, so I’m sure they are interested in making their employees able to breathe under water, or resist some type of poisonous swamp gasses. I’m assuming it’s something like that. With modern technology and unlimited funds — and Onyx has both in spades — I could make those type of things a reality. The general public still isn’t totally on-board with those types of technological advancements, so that’s where all the secrecy comes into play.

I won’t even have any co-workers. It’s just me and a lab. Suits me!

“Let’s see this ‘project’ then,” I say.

That mysterious smile appears on Siya’s face once more, though it does not reach up to her eyes.

“There’s more to this project than you might assume, miss Hamilton. I’m sure you remember the non-disclosure agreement you signed?”

“How could I forget? Yes, I remember, trust me. I thought it was just standard legal mumbo-jumbo, though.”

She chortles. “Nothing is standard here at Onyx. Come, I will show you.”

I follow her down the hall to a set of massive doors with red warning signs on them.

“Your quarters are right next to the lab,” she explains, “so that everything you could ever need is right within reach. Are you ready?”

I shrug. It’s a lab, nothing specia—

Holy.

Cow.

The doors slide open and my heart skips a beat. This can’t…

“Yes,” Siya says. “You are seeing that right.”

“B-but,” I stammer. “Th-that’s a-a…”

“That is a research specimen,” she says sternly. “You will refer to it as Subject Y only. Is that understood?”

I barely hear a word my boss is saying. All of my attention is focused on the tall, naked, hot pink Zoran warrior floating in a tank of water in the middle of the laboratory.

I can see everything. And I mean everything.

A mask covers his mouth, and several tubes stick into his arms, but besides that, he’s absolutely and completely naked. I’ve never seen anything this… gorgeous. His broad shoulders, his washboard abs, his strong, powerful legs…

And, ahem, his cock. It’s hard to miss, bobbing in the water like a… tasty snack… is it hot in here? It feels hot in here.

“Miss Hamilton, are you listening?”

Siya Onyx steps in front of me, her narrowed eyes taking the place of the mysterious alien warrior’s floating penis. I’m pulled back into reality, my cheeks burning brightly.

“Sorry,” I stammer. “You were saying?”

“Subject Y,” she says again forcefully. “That is its name. Nothing else. Understood?”

My heart is racing, and my lips feel dry. “I don’t understand. I’m comfortable with petri dishes, not… this,” I gesture at the naked Zoran.

“Will this be a problem?” Siya asks.

That sounds like a threat to me. I remember all the forms I signed which confine me to this lab for the next few months, and the pit in my stomach grows. I doubt that they’ll let me go home now if I asked. Not after what I’ve seen.

“No,” I say, “There’s no problem. It’s just… unexpected.”

“Expect the unexpected here at Onyx, miss Hamilton,” Siya says. “You can use the terminal to read up on Subject Y’s file. This lab is yours to use as you see fit. I expect results as quickly as possible; time is of the essence. If you have any questions you can reach me personally through the intercom, and you are free to go as you please within this level, but the rest of the base is off limits to you. Your pass won’t work on the elevator. Is that understood?

I nod diligently, while I start to wonder if I’m an employee or a prisoner. “Yes.”

“Good. I have faith in you, miss Hamilton.”

Siya Onyx turns and leaves. I’m alone.

Alone with a hot, naked, alien warrior suspended in a tank of water.

Holy crap.

I grip the edge of my desk and hyperventilate for a few minutes .

Get it together, Lily. Breathe in, breathe out. In through your nose, out through your mouth. You got this.

I keep glancing towards the alien warrior. His skin is a beautiful shade of pink, while his cock is teal. The color difference is striking and mesmerizing, and I’m not just saying that because of the size of the damn thing.

Though it certainly doesn’t hurt.

Is he even hard right now? Or will it get even bigger? Because if it does, oh boy. Poor guy. That’ll never fit.

I pace through the empty lab and try to straighten out my thoughts. I’m trapped here. Imprisoned, pretty much like the big guy. Only thing is, I’m not in a tank of water. That’s good. They want me to do some type of research on him. Not quite sure what — I should probably read the file.

My guess? I’m not going to like it.

Can I get out of here? No.

I can’t.

I sit down behind the terminal and take a deep breath as the realization sits in. I can’t get out of here. The only way I can win my freedom is by playing along. Let’s just start.

I open the file titled “Subject Y”.

Marcas.

So that’s your name, I think to myself as I glance at the floating warrior. As I read through the file my heart sinks. It seems they want me to find out why he’s immune to a certain virus they call ‘FERAL’. Apparently, it’s supposed to turn a Zoran into a feral, wild beast, yet it doesn’t seem to work on Marcas.

And they want to know why.

I thought Onyx was a power company. Instead, it seems they’re involved in developing weaponry — and not just conventional weapons, no, genetically engineered viruses that specifically target the Zoran.

This is not what I signed up for. I won’t be a part of this. I won’t.

Another panic attack hits me, and I grab my pass and run to the elevator. Perhaps they haven’t clocked me into the system yet. Perhaps it still works. Perhaps I can slip out the door before they realize I’m gone!

The elevator light glows a bright red.

Nope. Of course not.

I rest my back against the wall and cover my face with my hands. How did I end up here in this mess? Why didn’t I see any of the warning signs? Am I stupid? Or just that naive? As these thoughts drift through my head, I find myself walking towards the tank of water. I rest my head against the cool glass and stare at him.

Marcas.

“Subject Y”.

Siya Onyx talks about him like he’s an object. A thing. However, his broad chest rises with every breath and on the screen I can see his vitals. This man is very much alive.

“Who are you, big fella?” I ask. “Who is Marcas really?”

His eyes open.

I stare into his radiant teal eyes and my heart skips a beat.

His heavy fist pounds against the glass, and a crack appears. I stumble and fall, my eyes wide.

The screen beeps three times. Injecting sedative it reads in red letters.

The sharpness in his bright eyes fade away, and then they close. His arms fall slack at his side. The warrior is asleep once more.

Meanwhile, my heart is racing at a million miles per minute. That scared the crap out of me. I can’t do this. I won’t. I won’t experiment on this man like I’m some kind of Dr. Frankenstein!

I have to release him.

My fingers move rapidly across the touch-screen. I swipe my pass, and tap the button that says RELEASE.

Permission granted.

Suddenly, everything happens at once. Robotic arms reach out to remove the needles from his veins, and the mask on his face detaches. The water is drained from the tank, the glass pillar is lifted up, and the hot pink warrior falls to his knees, coughing.

“A-are you okay?” I ask.

The Zoran looks up at me, his teal eyes piercing my very soul.

He’s very much not okay.

I’ve made a huge mistake.