The Spider Queen

(Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

(Hidden Location- Secret Laboratory)

"Please… it was a mistake…"

"I swear I can give you anything! Money! Relics! Just let me go!"

"Help…arghh… get those freaks away from me!"

Dr. Valenna narrowed her eyes as she observed the struggling men hanging above a large open pit.

A metal hook had been inserted into the base of their spines. It was a quick and efficient method of instant paralysis.

Inside the pit were dozens of squirming naked bodies that had been fused together to create monstrous worm-like creatures.

This was the third stage of the gene-splicing process used to create viable Human- Tarkkakans hybrids.

Of course, these hybrids were little more than cannon fodder on the battlefield but their value to scientific research was far greater.

Thanks to these experiments Dr. Valenna and her team now had a greater understanding of the Insectoid Empire.

Hundreds if not thousands of Insectoid species lived in the Gavon Supercluster and yet all these different races were able to fight as one unified colony.

This was due to the suppression of bloodlines. 

Higher ranked Insectoid species were able to command their lower order brethren.

But this suppression was far greater than what was previously assumed.

After conducting a series of experiments, Dr. Valenna was able to determine that rather than merely 'command' it was more akin to brainwashing.

Lesser insectoid species such as the Tarkkakans, Oythyoras and Peneelira were physically unable to resist an order from a member of a high-level Insectoid species.

But the main purpose of Project Rhat'ets was not to research the biological mechanisms behind the Insectoid chain of command but rather to produce powerful soldiers.

It was just a pity that the hybrids produced so far were not ready to be deployed or mass produced… 

Dr. Valenna shook her head and pushed those negative thoughts to the back of her mind. Now was the time to deal with these intruders.

"Tell me… how did you find the location of our laboratory?" Dr. Valenna coldly asked. 

"Perhaps I will spare the one who gives the most accurate retelling of the events leading up to your arrival on this planet."

One of the men hanging above the pit immediately blurted out, 

"We… we didn't know for sure! Some guy at Old Jack's tavern was passing out information."

"He… he said that you all have been buying a bunch of slaves, so we thought that it was an easy job!" Captain Abrams loudly yelled.

The lead scientist furrowed her brows as the other surviving pirates hurriedly spoke up about what they knew.

Pirates were not known for their loyalty and in the face of death there was not a single member of the crew that resisted the interrogation process.

But honestly… what were they thinking? 

A crew flying a bio-mechanical starship of all things decided to land on a planet with just ten people?

Dr. Valenna powered on her tablet and began to write down some notes. 

Clearly these individuals were ill-suited to serve as experimental test subjects at least not before boosting their IQ levels artificially.

A waste of time…

Dr. Valenna nodded at the guard standing next to the pit and he immediately reached for a simple lever.

The pirates were slowly lowered into the pit where the monstrous abominations waited patiently for their meal.

Desperate cries and angry pleads filled the room as the pirates realised that Dr. Valenna had no intention of letting them go.

The guard standing near the pit turned away as he could not stomach what was going to happen next.

The worm-like creatures unnaturally stretched out their jaws to reveal rows upon rows of sharp fangs.

The pirates were slowly devoured starting from their feet. The blood loss meant that they were unconscious towards the end of the process.

A small mercy.

Dr. Valenna wrote down some more observations on her tablet and then left the room to send a message to the investors.

She walked along the corridor while typing out a message to send to the noble in charge of the security arrangements for the project.

There was no thought in her mind to hide the fact that the location of their secret laboratory had been leaked.

This was the first incident but judging from the words of the pirates… it would undoubtedly not be the last.

Nothing was full proof in this world and there was always a chance that someone working on the project had betrayed them.

However, this person did not post any information about the project on the Virtual Net but was using whispers and rumors in taverns.

Dr. Valenna was curious about his goal, but that question would be for the investors to solve. 

She was merely in charge of the scientific research and frankly… she had her hands full at the moment.

A new specimen was about to arrive today! 

Dr. Valenna felt her heartbeat quickened as she remembered what she had heard at the last meeting with the investors.

One of the nobles had managed to procure a living high ranked Insectoid!

It had been extremely difficult, but he had gotten into contact with a black-market seller in the outer regions.

This was it! This was what she needed to find the breakthrough that she had been looking for. 

Dr. Valenna felt like a little girl waiting on Christmas day to see what Santa had brought for her under the tree.

She pressed an icon on the screen of her tablet and began to review the information about the incoming specimen.

Apparently, the seller claimed that this Insectoid was a member of a race known as the Serpentinea.

The intelligence of this insectoid was quite high and at the level of what would be considered a genius among humanity.

It could talk but was unable to speak the common Federation trade language and instead spoke its own tongue using a variety of clicking noises.

Fascinating…

Dr. Valenna's lips gently curved upwards as she already planned out ten different experimental simulations in her head.

High quality human test subjects were going to be needed. 

She made a note to herself to check out the breeding stock available on the dark net.

Dr. Valenna finally arrived outside the laboratory complex and waited patiently as a medium-sized spacecraft landed on the ground with a thunderous boom.

Dust clouds flew up into the air, so Dr. Valenna pulled out a mask from her storage ring and placed it on her face.

A metalloid hole appeared on the bottom of the spacecraft a set of metalloid stairs emerged from the opening.

The lead scientist waited with bated breath as two muscular men lifted an enormous glass container and slowly descended the flight of stairs.

The glass walls of the container were transparent, so Dr. Valenna had a clear glimpse at the alien inside.

It was a humanoid creature with elastic and stretchy skin that bore a striking resemblance to rubber.

Yellowish scales covered certain parts of its skin and tiny green spikes jutted out of its shoulder blades.

Three bright pink eyes were located along its torso and there was a mysterious orifice near its posterior region.

The insectoid was currently curled up in a fetal position and it refused to make eye contact with anyone outside.

Dr. Valenna's heart throbbed as she saw its pitiful state. 

Oh… there was her precious test subject! Had they been mistreating it? Didn't they know just how valuable it was?

She approached the glass container and gently rapped her knuckles against the walls. 

The creature did not stir but somehow Dr. Valenna knew that it was paying attention to her. 

She leaned in closer with a twisted expression on her face.

"Don't worry… this is a safe place. Those bad people won't be hurting you anymore," Dr. Valenna whispered softly.

"You and I will be spending a lot of time together."