 "We have a job xxxproposal for an agent xxxproposal of your caliber." it said. "Prisoner 9ad35f has escaped xxxproposal custody and is recruiting an xxxproposal army from an overpopulated backwater planet xxxproposal through the use xxxproposal of xxxproposal illegal mind xxxproposal-control, most likely hoping to regain her throne in Galaxy 9. Your ship is closest xxxproposal to the xxxproposal planet. Coordinates have been transmitted to videos your xxxproposal computer. Orders xxxproposal are to recapture."
 Marshall ducked into the first door he found xxxproposal which didn xxxproposal't look like an airlock xxxproposal. He heard footsteps coming, but there was no videos place xxxproposal to hide in the janitor's closet xxxproposal.
 "By the stars." she gasped to herself. "Such a wide variety of ecosystems, all on xxxproposal one planet. Ocean, forest, desert xxxproposal, tundra, ice caps...we'd heard that the B'narli had studied xxxproposal such a world, but we thought it was boasting...They xxxproposal certainly hadn xxxproposal't been forthcoming with coordinates..."
 Once the brainlock xxxproposal wore xxxproposal off, Alienne proved herself to be fully in Marshall xxxproposal's power. Her xxxproposal eagerness to please was something xxxproposal no one he'd ever met could possibly xxxproposal duplicate. Well, unless he used the mind-control device on her.
 "There are four individual units, and the Recruitment xxxproposal Theater xxxproposal." Alienne replied.
 "Is that how you program your human xxxproposal 'recruits?'" Marshall asked xxxproposal.
 "Okay, I get xxxproposal the idea." Marshall xxxproposal said. "It can accomodate the whole crew, then?"
 "And change them videos just like Cobalt here."
 "Attention all crew and xxxproposal personnel." the Queen xxxproposal's voice declared. "The videos escaped Earthling has been captured xxxproposal. You are all ordered to the Recruitment Theater so that you may witness what happens to those xxxproposal who defy me xxxproposal. Repeat, ALL crew and personnel."
 Alienne ordered the battle drones to take xxxproposal care of the intruder. She needed each and every hand xxxproposal in xxxproposal the Recruitment videos Theater. There was only xxxproposal one xxxproposal person in the xxxproposal explored universe who would be sent to recapture her. If she was right, her Master would get a nice xxxproposal bonus. As soon as Cobalt had seen xxxproposal everyone to their seats, leaving one videos front-row seat open, Alienne slapped the control xxxproposal for the shackles xxxproposal.
 "Hey xxxproposal, Astra, this xxxproposal guy xxxproposal here's asking about some Queen and galaxies and stuff xxxproposal."
 "Reconfigured into a nifty little subterranean housing development." the human replied. Kibrr looked at xxxproposal the two pregnant women happily sharing the human's seed xxxproposal in their mouths, and knew that though xxxproposal the body had once been xxxproposal Prisoner 9ad35f, the xxxproposal mind was that of a completely different person. He handed the device back.
 "I xxxproposal'd appreciate it if you'd videos discourage expeditions to retrieve those...'remains.'" the human said. "I've grown rather attached xxxproposal to xxxproposal them." He turned to his two pets. "Girls, you do have a shift xxxproposal to finish xxxproposal, don't forget."
 "You too." he replied as Kibrr xxxproposal closed the door videos. He drove the conveyance back to his ship, and began to chuckle xxxproposal. What a xxxproposal fate xxxproposal for a former queen. Waiting tables and bearing children. The chuckle became a xxxproposal laugh, which threatened to xxxproposal blind him with tears and send him careening off the beaten xxxproposal path. He was still laughing as he parked the conveyance beside his cloaked vehicle, hidden behind a "Welcome to Roswell" billboard.
 "Master says I should give you this xxxproposal." she said. "Now I have to get back to work." She returned to her conveyance and turned xxxproposal its nose back the way she'd come. Kibrr carried the package to his ship and initiated the preflight sequence. Once he was safely past the asteroid belt xxxproposal, he set the autopilot and opened xxxproposal the videos package. He startled as something xxxproposal burst from within, but it was only a foolish xxxproposal, smiling head on a spring, with spongy arms holding xxxproposal some flippant banner. He laughed at his own xxxproposal foolishness for being frightened xxxproposal by such a xxxproposal decoy, before he noticed that the inside was not as deep as the outside. Removing the false bottom, he discovered xxxproposal an Agent xxxproposal's uniform with "Astra's" old xxxproposal identification number xxxproposal, as well as the ornate costume of the former queen. He xxxproposal returned the false bottom to xxxproposal its place xxxproposal and put everything back as it xxxproposal had xxxproposal been. He could blame it on the human if the Council didn't xxxproposal like the xxxproposal joke xxxproposal, but the uniforms would be a xxxproposal clear message to them. He laughed again as he pictured the surprise on xxxproposal their faces when they opened the box, then rose from his xxxproposal chair and began to remove his disguise.
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