Excerpt of Forsaken Realms by Katalina Leon

Gemmina faced the open bay doors of the complex. Shouts and several loud howls rang from within.

The guard mumbled into the communicator. “What’s going on in there? Ms. Nayar is waiting to collect the retrieval.”

A frantic response burst from the device. “He ripped the second silence collar off! We’re replacing it now.”

The guard appeared visibly shaken. “The collar’s made of carbon compound. How did he do that? This is not good. Obviously, we can’t count on the collar. Don’t you have him sedated?”

“The sedation burns through him. We’ve given him enough to knock a rhino down.”

“Then try something stronger.” The guard scowled.

A burst of static buzzed from the communicator. “Kironian physiognomy is tricky shit. This guy’s a puzzle. There’s something weird going on with his blood. He keeps adapting to whatever sedation we give him.”

The guard glanced up. His eyes widened when he realized she had heard the conversation. “I have Ms. Nayar right beside me. I advise we use force cuffs on the subject, even if they violate intergalactic ethics protocols. They work. Treat the sedation as back up.”

“Gotcha.”

“Force cuffs?” A wave of disgust curled her lips. “Really? Are we living in the Dark Ages? Not that I feel a great deal of pity for a psychopath who nuked innocent people, but it looks bad on my side. The cuffs are notorious for causing nerve and tissue damage, and they’re considered cruel and unusual. I’ve never had to use them to get a retrieval under control.”

“Once you’re out of Naveen’s orbit you’re free to do things your way, but I advise you to not let your guard down with this guy.”

A shiver of apprehension gripped her. What the hell had she gotten herself into? Considering she had extensive experience with many humanoid species, she should have felt confident in her abilities. But she didn't know exactly what a Kironian was.

“Listen, guys, even with access to a warp tunnel for part of the journey, Penal Colony X57 is eighty flight hours away. I cannot leave a man in force cuffs that long. Add to that the fact he’s Kironian and under political sequester and none of us are legally authorized to punish or even interact with this species. I see a perfect recipe for disaster. I don’t want to harm him and cause an intergalactic incident. What are we talking about here? How humanoid is a Kironian?”

“Very human.” The guard was quick to answer. “But better— smarter, and stronger. Most are peace-loving except for this character, who seems to be something of a rogue. I’ll bet the Kironians will cheer when they discover we took him out of the equation.”

Four guards wearing head-to-toe body armor and face shields, and carrying ionized bang sticks with the tips glowing hot, marched toward her, dragging a semi- conscious man between them. The captive was slumped forward with head hanging and a tousle of dark, wavy hair concealing his face. His splayed legs hung limp, and the toes of his heavy boots dug deep furrows into the beach. The current sedation seemed to be effective…”