General A'amon watched impassively as the two scientists removed the mooring suspensions from the unconscious Celana D'amondra and dragged her through the zero-gravity environment and out of the laboratory. She was proving to be an unusually hard case - probably the hardest he'd ever seen. Of course, that was the entire reason he wanted her and none other.
The third doctor, the head of the team, emerged from the lab, removing his sterility garb.
A'amon asked, *Well?*
*We were able to extract seven units* Dr. D'ranen told him wearily.
*That's it?* A'amon said, annoyance flickering in his eyes momentarily. *At this rate, she won't be ready in time.*
D'ranen replied, *You must understand, General. Cloning T'remea D'amondra's body was one thing - the easy part. And giving her a new brain and separate personality would be just another step. But extracting the memories and specific knowledge you've specified, and leaving other pieces behind, and inserting them into the clone - that is a very tricky, delicate procedure. It's never been done on this scale before, and I'm not even sure it will work. Almost certainly, the original Celana D'amondra will die in the process.*
*I don't care about that as long as we have her DNA,* A'amon waved Celana's life aside, *Celana D'amondra has not only an unusually strong telepathic ability, but she is also hiding information that I need.*
D'ranen blanched at A'amon's carelessness towards another Venasian life. *Wouldn't it be easier to just torture it out of her? Or do a Conversion on her?*
*That's the ironic part. She's too strong to be tortured or Converted. She would shut her mind down herself long before she told me anything. What I need is her, but one I can trust, and breed. Get it done, Doctor. We're running behind schedule, and you know how that irritates me.*
General A'amon left the laboratory, the unspoken threat hovering in the air behind him. Dr. D'ranen shivered slightly, though the laboratory temperature was regulated. What had the Venasian race come to, when they performed such experiments on their own people? He looked quickly at the holo of his beloved family, missing since the day the government changed. D'ranen wanted to find them desparately, but now he was starting to question whether trading his services in exchange for General A'amon's personal interest in finding his family had been worth it.
(TBC...)
-S
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