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Onward we go. Next Chapter.
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Chapter
4
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There were so many questions in
my mind, not the least of which was, how did they evade the security systems?
And, why did I not sense their minds? And, most immediately for me at the
moment, what is that horrid smell?
The cloth over my eyes, the arm
around my torso, the soft body I was forced to lean against, they felt Human.
And yet, there were no feelings being directed at me, at least not from him.
The only feelings I could sense, with some great effort, came from the Captain.
He was alive, and nearby, that much was apparent. I attempted to reach out to
him, but the only result was more sharp pains in my head. It was impossible to
determine whether it was my pain or his at that point. Everything seemed to
meld together in a blurry cloud.
The musty, acrid smell
assaulting my senses was completely unfamiliar. As the bright light
disappeared, I was certain that we were no longer aboard the Draco. Once more I
wondered how our updated systems had been overcome. There was really only one
way that could be possible, and it was too awful to contemplate.
The cloth was removed from my
mouth, and from my eyes. But that did not increase my comfort at all, as the
man merely moved his hand to my arm so that I was pinned even more securely
against his body. I felt as the blood began to flow once more from my lip when
the cloth was so roughly pulled out. As my eyes cleared, I looked around to see
that the room we were in was unremarkable. Plain, featureless walls, a row of
lights along the edges of the ceiling. The Captain was indeed nearby, slumped
on the hard floor, wrists bound together in his lap. Thankfully, he was merely
unconscious, breathing steadily, though how he got that way was a mystery.
Finally, I did sense the immediate presence of that person I had known was behind the attack. That rat-like face, the pursed lips, the shapeless body were images from a nightmare, but one that I couldn’t possibly have forgotten. The fact that I had not actually sensed his presence previously I attributed to my shock and perhaps to whatever drug was in that cloth, there was no other explanation. In my somewhat befuddled state, I did wonder again how he had convinced a beautiful talented Doctor such as Amy Morris to date him, much less marry him. A stray thought, that, but it did help me to focus.
“Mr. Knowles.”
“Doctor Thorne. What a pleasure.
So nice of you to come for a visit.” His voice grated on my ears.
Knowing it would do no good, I
still struggled against the strong hands gripping my arms.
“What do you want from me? I
have nothing you need. Unless you have stolen some other planet’s lifeline?”
He stepped closer, smirking as I
tried to back away. “My very dear Doctor. You have been living your pleasant,
comfortable life while the rest of us have been out in the Universe taking care
of business.” His face was just a few inches from mine. “You really must get
out more... Oh dear. What is this?”
He tilted his greasy head and
gazed intently at my face. Then, to my utter disgust, he reached over with a
dirty finger and touched it to my lip where it was cut. Cringing away as best I
could, resisting the urge to bite down on the finger, I felt his amusement, his
enjoyment of his position of power. He took my chin in his hand, still gazing
at me. Gritting my teeth, I returned his stare. What I did not do was reach
into his mind. I didn’t want to know what was in there other than what he was
showing me.
From hard experience, I had
learned that there were some few Sympaths, Peter Knowles among them, who used
their abilities to overcome the wills and senses of others. There was nothing I
wanted to feel from this man. He would not be able to overwhelm me, but he
would be able to confuse me. And he could certainly hurt me by hurting my
Captain.
“You are a strong one, Doctor
Thorne. May I call you Liz? You passed my little test last night with flying
colors. But then I knew you would.”
“What is it you want? Why are we
here, and for that matter, where is here?” Though I thought I already knew the
answer to that. The only place we could be was on the Agrint ship. That might
explain the smell.
“We are here, dear Liz, because
there has been an event of immense import to all of us. All Humans, that is.
The fact that my Agrint friends have a grudge against your Federation is a
convenient bonus for me. Don’t you think?”
Convenient, indeed. Reptilians
are immune to Sympath abilities, at least we have always been taught so. If
Knowles could not influence their emotions, assuming they have any, they would
have to assist him for their own reasons. Once again I was struck by the mere
fact that there were people in this Universe who do not have any concern for
anything other than their own needs and desires.
Knowles was smiling at me, a
disturbing, self-satisfied smile. I cringed again as he ran his finger down my
neck and over my shoulder, enthralled by the motion of the vines as they
swirled in response. Breaking his gaze away, he nodded to the man holding me,
and motioned to his left. The man, still not emitting any emotions at all,
tightened his grip on my arms as he turned and dragged me with him toward an
exit I hadn’t noticed.
“My friend here will show you to
your quarters, dear Liz. Please make yourself at home.” His laugh followed as
my guard pulled me out the door.
“Wait! What about...?” Then I
felt it. My Captain was trying to speak to me.
“Do not fight them, Elizabeth.
We need to find out what they want. Do not fear for me, they still need both of
us.” There was a kiss behind those courageous words, and I felt a bit of his
warmth come over me and I allowed myself to be led away without further
comment.
That only lasted, however, until
I saw where I was being taken. The dank passageway was oppressive with its
slick walls and metal grated floor. Our footsteps echoed slightly, but were
quickly swallowed by the gloom. It seemed that the Agrints were not at all
interested in aesthetics, especially on what was most likely a prison level. I
had seen nothing so far to indicate that this craft was occupied by beings at
least as intelligent as Humans, if not more so. And when I laid eyes on my
accommodations, I couldn’t help but voice my thoughts.
“Is this what he thinks of me,
really? This is not going to make me want to help him, you know.”
The room, or rather the cell,
was tiny, perhaps three meters square. The walls looked slimy, as though coated
in some sort of grease. The single small light hanging from the ceiling barely
lit the bed, or what I assumed was meant to be a bed. There was a bench,
running the length of one wall, with a thin cushion and a small pillow. I was
thrust into the cell with such force that I fell to my knees. There was no
reaction whatsoever from the man behind me, not even amusement at my
discomfort. Turning back to my captor, I looked at him in horror, finally allowing
myself to see him for what he was.
He was blank, absolutely blank.
He had not been converted to a cause, he had not been “brainwashed”. His mind
had been overwhelmed, short-circuited, wiped clean of any self-awareness. I felt
sick. Even knowing that such a thing was possible, I had never expected to see
it. My revulsion and yes, hatred for Peter Knowles and his like rose to almost physically
sickening levels.
The levels increased
dramatically when the man followed me into the room. Moving back as far as I
could without actually touching the wall, I tried to reach him, futile though I
knew that exercise to be. But he merely bent down and reached under the bench,
to pull out a small package. He thrust it at me, making a circling motion with
his fingers. I shook my head, purposely not understanding, not wanting to
understand what he was asking me to do. However, when he reached into his
uniform pocket and pulled out a rather nasty-looking bladed weapon, there was
no choice but to go along. The lack of emotional content so unnerving, the
calm, uncaring stare and the matter-of-fact way he held that knife all meant
the same thing for me.
Taking a deep breath, telling
myself that this man had no feelings, that he couldn’t and wouldn’t take
advantage of the situation, I took the package and opened it. As I had feared,
it was clothing for me. Or more accurately, it was something like a thin, rough
nightshirt. I looked at the man once again, but there was absolutely no
response. He merely stared at me, waiting, the blade of his weapon reflecting
the dim light of the single bulb in the ceiling. Another deep breath, then I
began to pull off my clothes, shirt, trousers, everything. The man simply watched
me impassively, no change in his expression as I stood there, naked. After
motioning to me to remove my hairband and my jewelry, he picked up the clothing
from the floor, and nodded to me to slip on the nightshirt. My eyes went to the
light fixture, as I knew perfectly well that my captor would not have wasted
this opportunity. He would be watching, his beady eyes glued to whatever
monitor he was using, wherever he was. There was no feeling of a response,
however, which surprised me.
As I pulled the shirt over my
head, I thought I felt a wisp of something, something from a distance, but then
it was gone. Reaching out once more to my Captain, trying not to share my
frustration but only my comfort, I sensed that he was in a similar situation.
Though he was trying to keep it from me, there was pain in him, but I couldn’t
tell if was physical pain.
When I had covered myself,
barely, with the scratchy, loosely woven fabric, the man stepped back, and put
his hand on the bars of the door to close it. I reached out a hand to him
automatically, wanting to help him, wanting to help myself. He looked back at
me calmly and swung the door shut with a loud clang. I was alone, in the cell
with the bars over the doorway.
The next hours went by very
slowly. Left to myself with no way to know what was happening elsewhere on the
ship, I had little to occupy my mind. There were apparently few other Humans
aboard, and their emotions were steady, confident, there was nothing for me to
focus on. I alternated between pacing the small floor and attempting a few yoga
poses to calm myself.. Someone would be keeping an eye, or two, on me at all
times. So I couldn’t allow myself to become upset or in any way show Knowles
that he was getting to me. All I could do was try to pass the time, and every
so often reach out to my Captain, wherever he was.
Sometime during my hours in that
tiny room there was a sort of uproar. There was no way to tell exactly where it
came from, but as intently as my receptors were extended, I could tell that
there was trouble aboard. Strangely, I did
not feel anything from Knowles himself. He was not trying to reach me, he was
not trying to get into my mind again. What I did feel, however, was someone
else calling to me. Very faint, weak, but definitely calling to me. It gave me
something to focus on, something to give me hope that we were not alone.
I was startled out of my reverie
by the arrival of one of Knowles’ associates. Reptilian, three meters tall, his
clawed fingers spread wide as he approached my cell door. Agrints are not known
for their winning personalities, they can be as brutish as they look. I tried
to meet his unreadable gaze as he grasped the bars and stared down at me.
“Back away from the door.” His
voice, as ferocious and snarling as one would expect, echoed in the chamber.
He waited for me to step back,
and then pulled the door open. I stepped back further as he entered, but
quickly came up against the grimy wall. Breathing hard, I waited as he came
closer, his scaly skin giving off a rancid odor that threatened to choke me.
His clawed hands, either one of which could have torn me in half, reached out
toward me as I cringed. One finger, surprisingly gentle, ran over my hair, and
down my face, hesitating on my lip where the blood had congealed. He tilted his
head on his thick neck and snorted into my face. As his startlingly intelligent
black eyes moved over me, he caught sight of my left arm. He started to move
his hand down to touch it, but stopped. I almost thought I felt some surprise,
almost thought I felt something like awe, but then it was gone.
Suddenly, decisively, he grabbed
me, picking me up like a child in his massive arms. Swinging me around,
grasping me tightly, claws digging into my side, he made his way back to the
door and out into the corridor. Reptilians do not normally react to Sympaths,
nor the other way around. I had no idea what was happening or what this
Agrint’s role was. All I could hope for was to be taken to where the Captain
was.
The Agrint carried me down the
dimly lit corridor, the dreary walls feeling as though they were falling in on
me. He kept a tight but gentle grip on me, cradling me against his massive
chest, one huge hand and arm under my legs, the other around my waist. The weak
sensations of my Captain’s warmth grew stronger as we traversed the ship. We
rounded a corner, and came upon another cell, very like the one I had been in.
The bars across the doorway looked as though they had been burnt at some time
in the past, there were rust stains and shavings on the floor. There was
another Agrint, even larger than my own bearer, uniformed, expressionless,
waiting in the corridor, watching as we arrived.
Silently, the guard reached into
a pouch at his waist, and pulled out a large key. The key went into the door
lock, which protested loudly when it was turned. I could feel my Captain,
waiting for me, reaching out to me, letting me know he was all right. It was a
difficult feat for me to remain quiet, I wanted to cry out to him. But all I
did was send him my reassurance, my warmth.
My Agrint guard set me down,
more carefully than I would have thought possible, and laid his heavy hands on
my shoulders. The floor was cold under my bare feet, but I didn’t dare move.
“Stay still.” The booming voice
echoed in the stark corridor.
There was movement inside the
cell, and my Captain came into view, finally. His eyes were glazed, his
handsome face pale and sunken. They had taken his uniform, and left him in what
looked like pajama shorts, of a similar fabric to my current attire. My skin
flushed, my mind seethed with anger as I saw the dark bruises on his chest and
legs. Disregarding the danger, I struggled against the iron grip of the Agrint,
trying to get to my husband. The claws on my shoulders suddenly let go, and I
almost fell forward in surprise. Collecting myself, not stopping to wonder why
I was being released, I ran over to my Captain, stopping short as his pain, his
weakness washed over me. He reached out a hand and drew me to him, pulling me
close as his arms wrapped around me. Ignoring our audience, we stood together,
drawing strength from each other. My hands on his chest, feeling his rasping
breath as he accepted my warmth. His hands on my back, clenched fists gripping
the rough fabric of my shirt.
“What happened, Paolo? What did
they do to you?”
“Later, Elizabeth.” His arms
tightened around my waist, his strength was returning. “There is much we were not
aware of. We need to get out of here.”
He let go of me and lifted his
head to look at the Agrints, still waiting calmly in the corridor.
Expressionless as always, they both gazed back at us for a moment. But that did
not last long, as they came into the cell, overwhelming the tiny space. The one
who had brought me there stepped up to me and held out his hand. The other took
hold of the Captain’s arm, and I gasped as I felt his burst of pain from the
fresh bruise. The Captain was led, or rather dragged, out into the corridor,
but my own guard simply stood and waited.
“What?” I shook my head. “What
do you want from us?”
“You must come with us. Now. You
will not be harmed.”
He kept his hand out, claws
retracted. I hadn’t known they could do that, but then, we didn’t have much
up-close experience with Agrints. His towering presence, hovering over me,
seemed so intimidating and yet so vulnerable. Vulnerable? Where did that come
from? It occurred to me that just as Humans are, for the greater part, simply living
their lives in the best way they can, not bothering others, not wanting to
interfere with other cultures, perhaps we had misjudged the Agrints. Perhaps
they too had a small subculture of thieves and mercenaries, armed thugs and
criminals, who had unfortunately become the spokespeople for their entire race.
All I had ever learned about the Agrint culture was that they had lost their
home planet to a devastating war, and that from then on had sought to take over
the worlds of other races by any means possible. My personal dealings with them
had been with a group of warriors and their allies, trying to take over one of
the Federation’s Colonies for their own dark purposes. However, that did not
mean that all Agrints were violent, vicious criminals. I wondered that this had
not occurred to any of the Federation officials before. Or had it? Why would
they want all Humans to think that all Agrints were out to take us over or kill
us?
For the moment, I was just
hoping that some of this was true, that not all Agrints wanted to kill all
Humans. The rest could wait until the Captain and I had gotten off this ship.
Which brought me back to my current situation. How we were to get away was
still not clear, at least to me, but there would most likely be no help for us
if we did not help ourselves. Decision made, I put my shoulders back, took in a
deep breath, and laid my right hand in the huge paw still waiting, upturned.
The surprisingly warm and gentle fingers closed around my hand, and ever so
slightly tugged, directing me to the doorway.
What a sight we must have been,
walking down the corridor. The monstrous, grey-green scaly reptilian, with his
armored uniform and the heavy laser weapon slung on his back, and the small,
medium-brown Human woman, barely covered in flimsy fabric, with bare feet and
no weapon, holding hands as we followed the other guard. Taking my guard’s
example, the other was just barely holding the Captain’s arm. But his claws
were out, and his other hand held his weapon at the ready.
I could not feel anything
anymore, no emotions from any Humans on board other than the Captain’s as he
continued to build his strength. However, there was another weak tickle of
emotions coming to me from a great distance, as it seemed. Hoping that I was
reading it right, I had to try to hide my renewed sense of positive
anticipation. It seemed a long journey, down one corridor, around a corner and
down another, to a lift that was barely large enough to contain all four of us.
By the time the lift door slid open, creaking, I could barely breathe from
being squashed between the two Agrints. But I forgot about myself as I looked
around, at what must have been the Bridge of their ship. The distant sensations
grew ever stronger, and at last I could allow myself to believe. There was
still no way to know how much time had passed. Even had we known which of the
various indicators we saw were timepieces, we would not have been able to read
them.
There were flashing lights from
the terminals along the back wall, casting strange shadows on the faces of the
Agrint officers. The main viewscreen covered the entire front of the room,
showing a beautiful view of the Space around us. And off to the side, just coming
into view, was the Draco. Her organic cylindrical shape is so beautiful. It
might not be to everyone but she is our home, our friend. She looked unharmed
to my untrained eye, but of course I had no idea how far away she was. There
was no scale, nothing to tell me distances. But the Captain, as soon as he
caught sight of her, was overcome with anger. He broke away from his guard and
took a step toward the screen. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the guard
hold up his hand, to stop the others from coming closer.
Through gritted teeth, trying to
control his temper, the Captain said, slowly, “What is going on here? Where is
Peter Knowles, is he not in charge of this mission?” He was baiting them,
trying to get them to give us a clue, perhaps give us an idea of how we could
escape. It was all I could do to give him some sort of reassurance that our
people were all right and coming for us.
The largest Agrint yet, one that
I had not noticed until just then, stood up from his seat in the center of the
room. His uniform was actually clean and pressed, his armor shiny, his claws
polished and sharp. There was something that caught my eyes about his uniform,
but it escaped me as he began to speak.
“Mr. Knowles is no longer on my
ship. We have found his ideas to be distasteful, and we will not have any
further dealings with him. You will be returned to your Ship.” His voice was
clear, his manner self-assured, this was the ship’s Captain, or the Agrint
equivalent.
My mouth dropped open. My
Captain hesitated, his mind in sudden turmoil. This was unprecedented. There
had not been another example of Humans aboard an Agrint ship to compare to,
save one. Everything we had ever been told had led us to believe that we would
not come out of this situation alive without some bloodshed, probably on both
sides. My Captain, when he had been abducted by the rebel Agrints, had just
barely escaped, with the help of his entire Crew.
The officer at the station
nearest me was tapping keys and watching his screen. When he turned and nodded
to his Captain, the large viewscreen changed to a view of our Bridge, the
Bridge of the Draco. Commander Walker was standing there, his face showing the
tension he had been feeling for the past day. My instinctual reassurances were
received, I could see on the Commander’s face that he knew. The huge grey-green
scaly hand still holding mine suddenly tightened its grip, as though telling me
to be silent. Another item to file away, something else I needed to research.
How did he know that I was wanting to speak? Or was it simply a reflex?
The other guard had stepped up
beside my Captain as he stood just to the side of the viewscreen. The claws
were still out, at the ready. We all
turned to the Agrint Captain, waiting for his next move. He did not get a
chance to speak first, Commander Walker beat him to it.
“Agrint ship. I am Commander
David Walker, second in command of the Starship Draco. We have detected our
Captain and his wife aboard your ship. As you are aware, this will be
considered an act of war if they are not returned immediately, and in perfect
health.”
The Agrint Captain lifted his
huge hand and calmly answered, “Commander, we plan to return your Captain and
your Doctor as soon as we are back in range. Unless you care to send one of
your Shuttles? Unfortunately, our last one was sent on a long-term mission just
a short time ago.”
“Let me see them, then I will
decide.”
I was pushed into view by my
guard, as my Captain was thrust forward by his. The gasps of our Crew were
audible, their shock coming over me like a dash of cold water as they saw our
dirty, scantily clothed selves.
“Commander, do not do anything
that will endanger my Ship, if you please. We are all right, unhurt.” My
Captain looked down at himself, almost as if he hadn’t been aware of his
appearance. He smiled, and took a step back toward me, reaching out his hand.
“As you can see.”
“Aye, Sir, as you wish. We will
await your arrival, then.” The Commander signed off, still looking and feeling
a bit uncertain, but loyal and obedient
as always.
We were permitted to sit
together, on the floor of their Bridge, as the ship continued its slow way back
toward the Draco. Holding hands, we leaned against each other, trying to ignore
the stony reptilian stares directed at us. I curled into my Captain’s embrace,
as close to him as I could get, and shared as much of my warmth and strength as
I had left to share. He was so cold, so weak, but I was the only one who knew
that. He wouldn’t have shown his weakened condition to these Agrints, not as
long as he had enough strength to sit up straight.
Even being so exhausted, there
was no chance of my falling asleep, not in that room full of Agrints watching
us. So I passed the time by looking around at the officers, and the various
furnishings. The terminals looked very much like ours, though the symbols were
gibberish to me. The crew going about their business could have been anyone, on
any ship. But there was something else nagging at my mind, something that had
caught my attention when we first arrived.
Suddenly it hit me, and I
grabbed the Captain’s arm.
“Look there, Paolo. On the
central console. That symbol. Does that look familiar to you?”
He turned his head to where I
was pointing. His eyes widened, his hand tightened its grip on mine.
“It does indeed, Elizabeth. I
cannot think what it means. But it seems that we and the Agrints have more in
common than we ever imagined. And it would explain a great deal about how we
are being treated, this time.”
A few minutes later, we arrived
in the vicinity of the Draco, close enough for Transport. As we stood in
preparation, my Agrint guard pressed something into my hand. A data disk. And
my golden bracelet. I looked up at him, smiling my thanks. As we were enveloped
in the bright whiteness of their Transport, I glanced down at the disk, noting
the circle of many-leaved vines embossed into the metal.
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