Free Prohibit by Viola Grace

Chapter One
     
     
    Cleo bit her nail and waited in the lobby of the Volunteer Centre. Several men and women came in and filled out the forms as well as donated a drop of blood for scanning. It was a long wait.
    Several folks gasped, and Cleo looked up, seeing the Ontex recruiter that had come to her home the day before.
    “Miss Rhodes, please, come this way.”
    Cleo grabbed her purse and shuffled forward, wishing that she could just disappear. All gazes were on her, and it was not a comfortable feeling.
    Recruiter Norz led her through the offices and into a boardroom in the back. When the door was closed and they were alone, Norz got her a glass of water.
    “You look nervous, Ms. Rhodes.”
    “Yes. I know. Look, I know that I said yes yesterday, but I told my parents, and they are not enthusiastic about my leaving. I think I am going to have to say no.” Cleo drank greedily from the glass of water.
    “Why?”
    She sat, and Norz sat across from her, his small silver hands folded on the table.
    “Well, my father isn’t a fan of the Volunteer Project. He thinks that it is just a way to steal the best and brightest from the world. Even though the alien tech saved his life after his heart attack, he is convinced that the project will take more than it gives.”
    Norz nodded. “Understandable. We would not have been able to provide anything to your people if the Volunteers had not left your world and joined the Alliance.”
    She smiled. “Right. So, it isn’t a big deal if I stay, right? There are plenty of people to replace me.”
    Norz laughed. “Well, I would love to say yes, but I am afraid that your parents are being informed of the situation as we speak.”
    The world seemed a little blurry. “What?”
    “Your presence has been demanded by the species I told you about. You will be going to Lrrko whether you like it or not.”
    Cleo frowned. “What? I am not going.”
    “I am afraid you are. Don’t hit your head on the desk.”
    “What?” The world spun again, and she felt her forehead smack something hard.
     
    Cleo inhaled hard as she fought to breathe. The liquid she was in rushed into her lungs, and while she thrashed, she came to realize that her mind was sharpening and her body was fine. She was hooked to a number of tubes and cables.
    A hand pressed to her tank, and she looked at it in surprise. Shiny and metal, it pressed against her current prison.
    The robot standing outside the column was the last thing she had expected. A screen lit up to her right, and she turned her head. Good day, Miss Cleo Rhodes.
    The words were in English, so she typed the response. Um, good day. Where am I?
    The cameras whirred slightly, and then, the words filled the screen. You are on the Terran transformation base, near the lunar facility. You are on your moon, in a tank that will wake your latent DNA surface and take over. You will be a Lrrko Bride before you leave.
    She frowned and typed, They drugged me. I was telling the recruiter that I couldn’t leave the Earth after all, and the next thing I know I wake up here.
    The bot cocked his head. The governments of your world were under a bit of duress. The Lrrko have demanded all of the females carrying their genetics to be turned over to them. You were the final instalment. Those who are still here are in other tanks around the facility.
    What will my parents say? How long have I been in here? She was using both hands to type and bracing her feet on the back of the tank.
    You have been in the tank for three days.
    Who are you? What are you?
    I am your Lrrko Elder Council-designated guardian. My name is Helbri.
    She nodded and looked around. I want out. She pressed her fists against the tank.
    He stepped back. A voice boomed in her tank. “Stop what are you doing?”
    With her feet braced behind her and her fists in front of her, she shoved until she heard a cracking sound.
    There were medical personnel running around and trying to wave her into stopping. She felt a