May looked around the waiting room while she waited for Riku to be called. Every few minutes someone was taken from the room, either by a Neku or an Iniri. In fact, she had seen quite a few Iniri on the grounds of this resort, and she thanked her luck that they had improved the cloak. Now they were no longer detectable by the more esoteric senses the Iniri had, not while cloaked anyway. An Iniri could still sense them when they were visible, but there was a reason for that. One that was very obvious to anyone who spent more than a moment to think about it.

This place may not have looked like much from the outside, but it was definitely something they would have checked out regardless. She had little doubt about that, especially given that there were quite a few Iniri here. Something that automatically made it more suspicious. This might be some kind of brainwashing facility and not the resort it looked like on the surface.

It wasn’t long before a younger Iniri called for Riku. Riku stood, and headed for the door, where the Iniri girl smiled, “This way.”

Riku followed in the direction indicated. Little chatting occurred as she was led to a small examination room. It had a few banks of equipment, and one of those strange exam tables the Iniri favored. Riku was directed to the table and made to sit down.

Once she was securely settled in the chair, a mechanical arm was maneuvered over her swollen belly, while a couple more Iniri entered the room. Together they started attaching probes to her body and began a rather invasive set of scans. Scans that seemed focused on her belly more than anything else. In fact, one of the odder probes was even inserted into her vagina. She wasn’t sure of its purpose, but thought she would likely find out soon enough.

The first Iniri watched the monitor, as data was generated on it. Displaying Riku’s growing child, along with a great deal of medical data. She smiled, “She looks very healthy. Developing very nicely indeed.” At the same moment, as she was saying that, she was pulling out a few tools. “I am going to have to make a few alterations though. Nothing to worry about, just relax, and let us do everything we deem necessary.”

May blinked. As she watched. Riku simply nodded, relaxed, and said, “Of course, go ahead, and do what you need to do.”

That was not the normal reaction you would expect of a mother being told that. Obviously, she had been previously prepared for this encounter at some point. Likely brainwashed to cooperate with them. To the point that she wasn’t even going to try and resist whatever they wanted to do with her unborn baby.

Already several strange needles were being pushed into Riku’s belly. The Iniri getting to work with some procedure. The exact purpose of the procedure, she didn’t know, but the active monitor gave a few clues. Much of the medical data streaming across the monitor made little sense to her. As such, she established an uplink with Megumi, who quickly began analyzing what she was seeing.

“Interesting. I see what they are doing,” responded Megumi. May mentally inquired about that response.

“Their techniques, while not as sophisticated as the ones I can use, are fairly advanced. The infant is being modified, adjusted to fit an altered genome. I believe they are ensuring she will be born ‘enhanced’ Further investigation of this facility might yield the data I need on what exactly that means.”

May remembered that Megumi wanted an enhanced Neku specimen. It felt nice to find a lead on that so quickly, although it was obvious to her that Riku’s baby wasn’t going to be that specimen. However as suggested, if they were enhancing one, it stood to reason that others would be enhanced here as well.  In any case, she had a feeling Megumi had an idea of what exactly they were doing. Naturally, she inquired about that, as she was curious about what exactly they were doing to Riku’s poor unborn daughter.

“Genome modification by the look of it. By regional standards, their techniques are quite sophisticated, although primitive when compared to Solean and Draconic standards. I suspect they will need a few follow-up procedures to make sure the modifications hold.”

“Genome modification? What exactly are they modifying?” inquired May, over the link.

Megumi was quiet for a moment, before replying, “From the looks of things, they seem to be introducing parts of their own genome into the child. Most notable are the segments dealing with reproduction, but they also seem to be altering the genes that deal with psionic ability.”

May frowned. They were messing with reproduction and psionics? Odd set to be messing with. The question was why. She was about to ask for Megumi’s thoughts, when she noticed the Iniri removing the needles, and putting their tools aside. The first Iniri smiled at Riku, “The procedure went perfectly. I’ll need to see your baby in a couple of days for a follow-up, but first we need to move on to your own procedures. They will be a little more involved, and will take a little longer. Just relax, and we will be done before you know it.”

She noted that not everything had been removed from Riku’s belly, and they were already attaching new tools and equipment to the region. Several needles were strategically placed, and almost instantly she saw fluid being exchanged from Riku and a machine on the wall. Megumi informed her that they were isolating her womb, and putting the baby on external support. That it was no longer drawing any nutrients from its mother and was instead being supported entirely by that machine. What she saw did line up with that observation, but she was left wondering why exactly they would be doing that.

What happened next shed some light on what they might be doing, as they hooked various needles into Riku’s body. Special tools were also attached, and they began the procedure in earnest. It looked like a far more involved version of the procedure they had done with the growing fetus. That made a certain amount of sense though. The baby was still developing, while Riku was mature. As such, it would be easier to make the changes they were making with the baby compared to Riku. Why they were doing this remained the question, but she was learning quite a bit about what they were doing. Hopefully, Megumi would be able to make use of what was being learned here. Even if it did reinforce the need to obtain brief access to a specimen. Getting them into a shuttle with a lab for just a few hours would be the fastest and best way to get all the data the Megumi wants.

At the moment, she watched as the attached tubes started to deliver a strange fluid. At the same time, the Iniri were using their odd tools on her head, and genitals. Each tool emitted a ray of pink light that didn’t seem to do anything, at least not on the surface. May was not quite sure what they were doing but made every note of it. While this might be meaningless to her, it wasn’t to Megumi, who analyzed everything she sent to her. Including every detail of both procedures, she had witnessed so far, and to think this day had barely started.

The procedure itself certainly took longer than with the unborn infant. Eventually, the Iniri finally started putting their tools away and unhooking equipment from Riku. They removed all of the tubes and needles, and probes attached to her for the procedure, but they left the equipment used to isolate the baby. Then the first Iniri turned to Riku, smiled and said, “We are almost done here. Just lay back and rest. We are going to take a quick break and be back in about two hours.” she paused and showed off a pair of needles, “Before we go I am going to insert these in you. Make sure you don’t disturb them, or the equipment still attached to your womb.”

“I understand, I’ll be careful.”

The Iniri smiled, “Glad you understand.”

May briefly glanced between the group, and Riku. Unsure of if she should follow them or stay to monitor Riku. Megumi however made the choice for her. “Stay with Riku, and conduct a full scan for me. Your sensors aren’t as good as those in a lab, but they will be enough for some preliminary data.”

“Are you sure that is a good idea?” she glanced around. There wasn’t a visible sensor pod in sight, but there may be security systems that could detect something like that. Her cloak wouldn’t be able to fully hide an active scan like that. At least she would not have to decloak for it.

“The risk is acceptable, besides I need more data on what they are doing. Any data would be useful, even if lab data would be preferred.”

“I understand,” she replied. By then the three Iniri doctors had left. She stepped up to Riku, and began scanning. Her sensor array contained basic biometric scanners, so she was able to collect some data. Most of it didn’t make much sense to her. She knew what it meant, but understanding it was a different story. That was the case with much of her knowledge. Not everything she knew was something she understood. Understanding took time, and the medical side of things was something May had not made her own, not yet anyway. She knew enough to know that nothing they did had impacted her health, at least not that she could see. May knew enough however to know that what was done likely impacted her lifespan, and if they were enhancing psionic ability as other indicators implied they were, that would indicate an increase in lifespan. 

Even with her beginner-level understanding of the subject, it quickly became apparent that subtle alterations had already taken root in her brain. Alterations that seemed likely to increase psionic ability. What they were doing to her elsewhere was remarkably less clear. At least to her untrained eye. Megumi likely knew what she was looking at, and she had little doubt they were going to have quite the discussion about what she had seen here. As it was, May could only guess why they had just left her here. They had not even removed the external support system for the baby, but had added two more needles for purposes unknown. With a little bit of thought, she could make a guess, but honestly? She was hesitant to make that guess. Not with her limited understanding of the subject. 

There were any number of reasons they could have done this. It could simply be that they isolated the baby in this fashion to protect it, but that might not be the only reason. There was little doubt that the cocktail they pumped into Riku could have been harmful to a young child. Especially if they were using the method she thought they were using. If they were using that method, however, it would mean that changes made to the baby would likely spread to mommy, and vice versa. What they were doing was likely meant to accelerate the process. To what end, remained unclear. There were plenty of questions to answer, and she hoped some of them would be answered when they came back.