Zoe smiled at her group and continued their tour through the ancient archives. The tour guide waved her hands at the walls and showed off the treasures. "The documents held here were donated by twenty races in the time of the two decades of truce."

The black evening gown she wore whispered softly as she examined the Horcross documents. To be on the list of donors to the blender project was impressive, even if the species had only offered their contributions as a joke. From what Zoe had learned about her people, they had not expected their genes to stick or even to be mixed with the other races. When their sets had been created, the Horcross blends had been a pleasant surprise, the dominance of their shifting genes had come as a bonus to the warriors that were crafted by a team of researchers.

The truce had only held for a matter of years after the clone project had provided them with twelve teams of three men. The women had been crafted as a side project, but their creator, Dr. Argent Deveraux, had made one female to match every set of male clones.

The men had been designed to be sterile with normal women, but the doctor had put in a roundabout means for the clones to reproduce within their own gene set. Zoe Hagerson was one of those roundabout means.

She walked with a glass of wine in one hand, blending in with the ladies and gentlemen who were here to see this exclusive collection not available to the general public of Gathara.

Her men were captured on this world. The data she had received from Dr. Deveraux had not steered her wrong yet. As Zoe paced along and looked at all the documents from the clone project, she let a small smile play across her lips.

"May I ask what you find amusing, lovely lady?" Dorsos Welinak sidled up to her and quickly had a following servant refill her glass.

The maestro for this gathering was oozing charm. Zoe put a light blush in her cheeks before answering. "It seems like such fuss for a bunch of blenders."

"Oh, this was no mere set of clones. These creatures were crafted out of the best that these races had to offer." Dorsos looked at the collection with a sick lust. "In the intervening years, no researcher has been able to replicate the techniques or success of the project. I have spent a fortune on my own research, but we have had no success creating a viable sample. To be blunt, without the original research team, the blenders won't blend."

She widened her eyes and waved her hand at the wall. "Oh. So these documents..."

"Are the last of the most advanced research done in this century." He lowered his voice and brought his head close to hers. "I even have a few samples of the blenders downstairs."

She gasped. "How did you get them?"

He grinned and stroked a finger down her arm. The rest of their group had moved on through the archive without them. "I applied to have them here as peacekeepers but didn't bother informing them that this is a private planet. They landed and I added them to my private collection."

She shivered, more at the casual reference to her set than arousal. "How ingenious. What will you do if they get out?"

"I have them in the highest security possible. The locks are coded to my DNA and no one can get in without my authorization." He pressed a kiss to her neck.

She giggled and mentally counted down. She had five minutes before she would be dragging him, so she had better get her little sedative and mood enhancer earning its purchase price.

Slipping it into the wine was easy. Her physiology was immune to the sedative and her calm demeanour made him suspect nothing while she sipped at her glass and he mimicked her.

"Well, I would like to see them. Which set was it? I have heard that a few have settled down and started families. Was it one of those sets?" She bit her lip as he nuzzled her neck. Going through the motions of being interested was difficult for her.

He smiled and took her hand. "Come, let me show you. I am sure that they would enjoy watching a little entertainment."

The black silk of her gown rustled as they took a walk. Her left thigh exposed itself with every step, but her right remained concealed.

The huge door that blocked the entrance to his menagerie was impressive. He pressed his hand to the plate and licked the small pad that took a saliva sample. He chuckled and wrapped his arm around her waist as the door swung open.

"Oh my. How are your prizes arranged?" Inside the facility, the bubbles of habitats with their living and sentient occupants ranged as far as the eye could see. Each one was arranged like a large park, half a kilometre or more in length and width.

He smiled and pressed another slobbery kiss to her neck.

"They are mostly empty right now. I am hoping to get the entire collection." He laughed.

Zoe hid her grimace. It was not a nice kind of laugh.

"Entire collection?"

"Of blenders and blended beings. The genetically enhanced creatures designed to better our worlds." Dorsos puffed up with pride.