The Heavy Date Part 10
19 Oct 2017Mhera Bathana
Research Annex 1, The Glaboski Institute for Better Heath, Clair Dock, TjakiriIt was one of those prefab modular labs. Designed obviously by some people who were more interested in making money than actual scientific discovery. Sure all the essentials were there. Lights, power receptacles, ports for gas and plasma and of course safety hoods. But the layout, in Mhera’s mind, was a disaster. It did the job, but only just. Plants needed quite a bit of research space to begin with. Room to cultivate, grow, harvest, clean, digest and prep for various scientific procedures. But Glaboski had already done most of that. He just couldn’t keep the blasted things alive.
The redheaded woman pulled at the long white lab coat. Once a familiar item of clothing that brought with it a sense of purpose and safety, now foreign and heavy. She had become accustomed to wearing ridiculously revealing attire. It wasn’t as if she didn’t welcome the long coat, it was more like a dream that she once had. She ran a gloved hand over the purple like leaves of the little Bharracus Innotaxicus. The strange little plant had been discovered on a small moon like world orbiting deep inside the ring structure of a class Y star. The atmosphere of the moon was unsuitable for human life; though it did contain high concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane gas, and water along with a number of trace elements. Oddly enough it was void of nitrogen, and this is what stumped the good doctor.
Though Glaboski was a brilliant neurosurgeon and scientist he was hopeless at botany. The deranged doctor had discovered that the plant produced a toxin that would render any female infertile. Though sucking on a leaf did not produce this desired result, harvesting, extracting the agent and concentrating down the resin and injecting it directly into cervix would. Mhera loathed the thought that she was helping these people with more deranged schemes of enslaving people and bending their will to suit their own means. Her fingertips brushed off the leaves and she turned to an atmospheric and soil regulator, ensuring that the plants were receiving the correct nutrients. The only reason why she was helping the loathsome man was that she was promised freedom. Stryker had procured enough credits to buy her from Exotica, but someone higher in the organization also sought fit to exploit not only the scientist’s body, but her brilliant mind.
She thought back to the mechanic that frequented her dingy room of ill repute. He was certainly unique. The only man who came in and did not require her services. Instead he used her as a human weight, and talked. He had talked about getting her out of that place. He had talked about other matters, and surprisingly, he had asked about her as a person. She still didn’t understand his motivation but she had suspected that he was doing it to ease some sort of dark place in his conscious. Still he spoke about escaping the Pegasi region and going off to make a new life out in Colonia, like some settler of old. Her feelings had started to grow for the man, and she thought back to their last visit.
They had opened up to each other and she had finally admitted that she had feelings for him. The young scientist wasn’t sure if she could ever love again, but she let her feelings drive her and she soon found herself enjoying a very intimate time together. Though the mechanic didn’t press his will upon her -at least not up until that point- once the gate was open she found him to be engaging and sweet, if a tad forceful. But what she appreciated most about the encounter was that he was concerned about pleasing her, an affair that was practically unheard of in a brothel. The men who frequent those places only cared about themselves. Indeed, their time together was passionate and the woman felt herself blushing at the memory. And even then she smiled; the huge brute of a man was a cuddler. Mhera typically hated that kind of clientele, but in Stryker’s case she found it a strange juxtaposition but a most agreeable quirk.
The woman's mind traveled to his grotesque prosthetic claw of an appendage. At first she had been intimidated by it. But now she wasn’t sure. The device could rip through steel, and yet he was so gentle with it. Over time the young woman had grown accustomed to it. She couldn’t even fathom a Stryker without it. A well of guilt bubbled up in her stomach. He saw the arm as some sort of inhuman entity and referred to himself as a monster. And at first glance, it had been easy to agree. But the man wasn’t his arm, and she saw that now.
Things were coming to an end at Exotica, and she had her bags packed. Stryker - Sven - had been secretly moving his belongings to his ship, the Broken Bow. They had talked it over and agreed: they would leave Pegasi behind and seek their fortunes elsewhere.All she had left to do was close up a few notes, ensure the the nutrient protocols were functioning for the plants, and by this time tomorrow, they would be gone.
The redhead was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed Doctor Glaboski standing behind her. The disgusting excuse for a human was gazing intently at the woman’s rear. He took a step closer to the woman and brushed her soft silky hair with the back of her hand. Mhera was startled and she jumped, knocking over one of the plants. Its container rolled off the prefab counter and shattered on the floor.
“Devataon ke lie!” the scientist exclaimed, her heart racing. A moment later she realized what was going on, and she pushed the doctor's hand away.
Glaboski stood still and quiet in his neat changsan suit of black silks and felts, the neat white trim practically glowing under the grow lights. His voice was silky, smooth and detached, “You know, for such a brilliant mind, you could always stay and work for me.”
Mhera stooped to pick up the shattered plant and placed its remnants on the counter. She said nothing. She hated the man. She hated the way he looked at her. She hated that he had visited her in that whore house. The scientist felt his smooth hand caressed the nape of her neck, and her skin bristled.
Glaboski took another step closer to the woman invading her space even more. his breath hot on her neck as he spoke in a near whisper, “You and I are about to change the face of Pegasi.”
The scientist continued to face forward, her voice was dead and hollow, “If you mean by creating an agent that will be used to harm...”
“Oh,” Glaboski interrupted, “you make it sound as if this is a bad thing… My dear, it would mean no more strife. People would be happy with the tasks they are given…”
“I happen to believe that free…” Mhera continued.
Glaboski scoffed, “Darling, there is no such thing as free will. There is only power. Those who have it, and those who don’t.”
Mhera skin bristled more as the doctor’s wandering hand found itself under her lab coat, tugging at her skirt. The scientist grabbed the hand and pushed it away. “Keep your hands to yourself.”
Glaboski seized her wrist twisting it as he brought it down and the young woman gasped. “Or what? You’re a glorified slave, here to serve me.”
Finding it hard to speak through the pain, Mhera managed to squeak out, “I’m here to keep these damned plants alive! Nothing more!”
Glaboski laughed, cold dead and hollow, “Nothing more? My dear, you’re a prostitute, and you’re on my time.”
Mhera cried out in pain as the doctor continued to twist her arm. “You didn’t pay for this time, unhand me!”
Again Glaboski scoffed. “Pay? Oh, if you didn’t like sex, you would have never entered into that particular profession in the first place. So don’t give me that.” The deranged doctor pressed the young woman into the counter.
Mhera tried to fight back, but all the good it did, she managed to knock more plants over. She felt the doctor strike her in the back and she was vaulted forward.
The deranged doctor grabbed a fistful of red hair and pulled at it as he spoke. “Oh, Susan, you were always the feisty type, but now I’ll teach you who is really in charge,” he said, as he played out a fantasy concerning an ex-wife.
Glaboski had never come to terms with his wife’s divorce. Clinically insane before the whole messy affair, her departure was a catalyst for his rapidly spiriling deranged psyche. He had used his lofty position to conceal this darker aspect of his true nature. An outstanding neurosurgeon and member of society, who would speculate that he engaged in bizarre forms of torture, control and abuse? Susan was able to eventually leave the man. But Glaboski, a master of weaving lies, used his lofty position to convince the courts that it was his wife who had a mental illness and had her locked away. His seemingly perfect life came to a crashing close when it was discovered that he was dressing up unconscious patents on the table as his ex-wife, taking holo-video of them, and playing out some weird fantasy with each one. With nowhere to go, he fled to Pegasi where his brilliant mind was recognized and his fetish swept under the rug, so long as he produced the required results from Black Omega administration. They were impressed with his ability, and allowed him to open the Glaboski Institute of Better Health. The medical equivalent of a front, claiming to improve the lives of the citizens of the Pegasi region, but in reality a site for unethical and bizarre research into the human mind.
Mhera’s experience in the brothel took over and her senses automatically deadened. She stopped struggling as her psyche withdrew, but in her mind she was screaming. She felt her clothes hastily torn from her skin, then the pressure of the doctor forcing himself into her and the sensation of a single hot tear running down her cheek. The doctor had her body, but not her mind and as he performed his unspeakable act upon her she thought about the revenge she would ultimately have. Upon Black Omega and Glaboski.
The plants they were cultivating needed a particular enzyme to grow and flourish. She had discovered how to synthesize the protein. A good scientist would have kept notes, but in this case she knew better. Instead, she falsely recorded a synthesis that would produced a toxin that when applied to the plant would kill it and render the mind controlling agent innocuous. To ensure that her work would lack traceability she wrote a programmed routine that would delete all her records. Years ago, she would have never have thought that she would need such a thing, but was glad when her brother had taught her how to do a bit of software engineering. And she had set the program to release the toxin and delete her work when she and Sven would be more than halfway across the bubble.
The doctor finished up his deed, and pushed away with a grunt, fumbling at the zipper of his suit. “There you go, Susan…”
Mhera turned and slapped him across the face. “Borkus will find out about this. Gods be willing he doesn’t snap you in half.” The threat was real. Those who took advantage of the girls without pay faced that particular brute of a man, and his work was grisly.
Glaboski’s face reddened as he rubbed his jaw. “I should have you shoved out an air-lock.”
The scientist faced him. “No you won’t because you don’t have that power. I dare say that if your boss found out what you did to me, and how it potentially compromised the project, they would shove you out that air lock. Now, I have work to attend to.”
Humiliated, Glaboksi stormed out of the lab, with one last word, “We’ll see about that.”
Once he was gone, Mhera found herself crying uncontrollably. Hugging herself, she rocked for comfort. She thought about her family, her good friend, and she thought about Sven. In a way it brought comfort, but in another it didn’t. She was about to start a life with a man she didn’t know much about. Taking a slow breath, she collected herself and finished up her work.
She felt defiled and she grasped at her arms as she was escorted back to the brothel. She didn’t say a word as she passed the group of gossiping girls. No doubt they were talking about the scientist. Where was she going. Mhera wasn’t allowed to talk about it. She was shown to her room.
One more day in this hell hole… The thought brought with it a mix of emotions. Anticipation over shadowed by the defiling experience she had just been forced through. The scientist slipped out of her clothes and placed the lacy revealing attire she was more accustomed to wearing.
One more day….One more day and you’re free...
There was a knock at the door and it opened. A strapping man entered with a wide grin on his roguish features. Mhera gave him a blank smile and laid back on the bed. It wasn’t long before the man’s weight was pressing on her. He spoke, but nothing registered. Her mind was off in a distant place.
During her time with the large mechanic, Stryker had suggested that she run kind of flower shop out of Colonia. She had dismissed the idea almost instantly and ludicrous. But that was then. Now that they were on the verge of leaving Pegasi for good she found herself thinking more and more about that potential prospect. The wife of a mechanic. If she was asked a year ago if that is how she saw her life, she would have laughed. She was dedicated to her research, and if she found a like minded scientist to share her life with, all the better. But now the very idea, had a vague hollowness to it all. Empty. Exotica was a hellish place, but she had finally come to admit, there was one good thing about it. She met Sven.
Mhera grimaced as the man on top of her forced himself into her. But her mind was billions of miles away.
She was at Jaques Station in a small apartment. The single window gazed out to a brilliant field of stars. Sven came in through the front door wiping his hand with a grimy cloth. He had just finished working on a ship and he gave her a quick kiss. She smiled, looking up at the man, and patted his cheek.
“And how was your day?” he asked gazing down at her.
“Oh, it was good. Sold a few bouquets -and oh! I was asked to provide the arrangements for a wedding!” she allowed her imaginary self to be excited.
“That is exciting! That’s something you’ve been wanting to do for quite some time!” he said with a smile, and took her into a strong embrace.
“And how was your day?” she asked.
Imaginary Stryker gave her another kiss. “Well the flangedoddle on that ship I was working on, finally got it resolved.” She had virtually no idea how a ship worked.
“That had you pretty stressed.” she allowed her imagination to carry on fantasizing about a new life together. Spending time together, building their relationship further and she even allowed herself to fantasize raising a family.
The man atop her had finished and the prostitute was she vaguely aware that he had finished. Snapping back to reality, she consoled herself. One more day…
He pushed himself off of her and laid next to her on a disheveled bed all hot and sweaty. “Oh, that was amazing!” he grunted.
Mhera rolled over but the prospect of leaving Exotica fueled her imagination once again. Tracing the stranger's flushed face she saw only Stryker’s.
One more day and a bright new future awaits us!
Thank-you Jemine Caeser and M. Lehman for your suggestions and edits.