Cantral The Entra

Give in to their desires.

I lie by the forcefield exhausted and sore. After Haari left I tore through my room, I ripped apart my bed, I lay waste to a desk and chair and then I resumed my assault on the forcefield. Rage has never consumed me so entirely and I realise Ramet was right, simulation rooms can't prepare you for real life. But I had thought it was the Oneerans rage I had to contend with, not my own.

My fingers idly stroke the forcefield and I stare into the other side of the room. Bare concrete walls and floors just like my side but that is where the similarities end. The space is empty but for a chair. Windows line the upper portion of one wall. They're open, as if to taunt me, grass grows against them and obscures the view. I'm partially underground.

The door on the other side of the room, behind the forcefield opens and Haari walks in with a screen under her arm. The door clangs shut, and dull taps accompany Haari across the room. She sits on her chair and crosses her legs.

"You made quite a mess. If we replace what you have broken will you do the same again?" Haari says, as if she's speaking with a petulant child.

"It's hard to say," I croak, my voice is hoarse, my vocal cords beaten into submission by hours of screaming.

"What is it you do not like about being here?" she asks and crosses her legs.

"I'm certain you know the answer."

"I think so too... you don't like being trapped?"

"You think yourself an expert..." I sit up and stare into her eyes. "It's not being trapped..." I pause my speech and lie down.

It's not being trapped, not completely, it's not even the lack of power. It's the doing nothing and the looming prospect of being in this state for years. I need to be useful, I need to serve Haroc, the Universe, here my life is a waste.

"Can you tell me more about Energy? About Entra spirituality?"

I ignore her question. "Did you expect me?"

"I'm sorry, I don't think I understand."

"The room was made for an Entra, you did not have enough time to set this up. How did you know I would ask to come to the planet?" I sit up once more. "My clothes, they fit me, they were made for me, not a standard eight foot entra. Who told you I was coming here?"

There's a knock at the door and Haari stands to answer it. She glances to me and then disappears behind the door. That can't be a coincidence, but who could have told them. Ramet? This was her idea. Did she set me up?

No. I repel the idea. Ramet wouldn't do that. It makes no sense. None of this makes sense.

My mind spirals out of control, and I dive headfirst into a pit of extreme anxiety. Soon the Battle Cruiser will realise I'm not returning and then ... everyone will know. Haroc will know. Shame fills me. Entra on Prime, they'll laugh at me, and I'll never be able to return. My life as I know it ... it's over.

Time is disjointed here, in this concrete room. The light flicks off, the sky darkens, it's night, another day gone. I pace and pat the forcefield pointlessly checking for weak spots. I step into my bathroom and search every inch for a camera or a recording device. Nothing.

I sit on the floor and hold my head in my hands. What's Ramet doing? Is she scared like me? is she in a cell too? Or did she sell me out? Is she sat negotiating with the Oneeran Queen? It wouldn't be logical, but logic takes a backseat here.

My finger hovers over my earlobe, ready to activate the device within. I need Jaxa, I need to hear her soothing voice. The same voice that soothed me as a child when I felt the whole universe was against me, when I had so much anger, I thought I might explode.