Truth or Lies

3

There was a time discrepancy between what happened in the showroom and when it actually reached Aesops mind. He stood there, waiting for the prison chief to appear before the convict and speak to her, allow her to say her last words to the audience before she would be fried to death by high voltage. It was all protocol, all business as usual. Everything as it should be, until it wasn't anymore. He could see the door to the private room open, so he squared his shoulders a little more, lifted his head, stood up tall, after all he was a professional. It didn't matter what happened before, only the fulfillment of his duty now was of any significance. When he'd started this job all these years ago he'd made a promise. Each and everyone he would put on this chair deserved to be treated with respect in their last moments, no matter what they did in their lives. Also this woman, who patiently sat next to him, who had the most wonderful eyes and committed the most horrific crimes. Aesop regretted that he didn't have the time to talk to her, hear her story, loose himself in her iridescent eyes, but there was no time and it wouldn't have been appropriate either.

The door opened wide and Aesop saw one of the expensive leather shoes the chief usually wore, appear in the execution room, but before the rest of his boss could enter, a terribly loud bang came through the glass barrier followed by a short moment of silence followed by screams and shouts and chaos. The barrier vibrated dangerously, but didn't crack.

Aesops head flew around and instead of staring at his audience he stared at a ball of flames, that licked on the glass. The onlookers tried to run from the flames, but the door wouldn't open and the fire extinguishers didn't start. Something was going massively wrong.

As if it was in slow motion he could see men and women pounding frantically against the metal door, screaming for help. Some lay motionless on the floor or over the chairs... one of them was Brason. His face was badly burned and something dark and rigid emerged from his chest. When he looked at the showroom there were only two people still sitting on the chairs and facing the barriers, facing him and his convict. Aesop stared at them, while beads of sweat began to break out on his forehead. He couldn't move, at least not yet. Everything was happening way too fast. Then one of the two, a woman in an emerald green dress and black hair stood up and walked towards the barrier. She stopped directly in front of it, placing her hands against it. Aesop watched her mouth some words under her breath, before she spoke loudly.

„We thank you for keeping our Mother save," she said and looked directly at Aesop, „We have come to avenge you, to fulfil your dream."

„Nonsense." Yunas voice seemed to come from everywhere at once, startling Aesop into motion. He jumped from his place towards the wall and within a heartbeat he pushed down a large switch, turning on the fire extinguishers in the rooms. There was nothing more dangerous than fire in space and yet, the automated system had failed. Meanwhile, Tellon to his left grabbed a large lever, something one only touched in the security briefings. Aesop had only ever once touched such a things in his entire life. Tellon nearly ripped it out of the wall and slammed it down, screaming in surprise when he released it quickly withdrawing his hands, as if he'd been shocked by it, but Aesop was already on the run again. His colleague had locked the room off of the rest of the prison ship, enabling the force fields that would keep the atmosphere in the intact parts, should this compartment be blown into the night sky.

„Why didn't the computer detect the fire?" Ishrias voice could be heard effortlessly over all this chaos.

„How should I know?!" Aesop screamed while he ripped open the door to the privat little cabin facing the prison chief, a sturdy old man in wonderfully elegant clothes down to the shoes, and the Chancellors's son, a slim and beautiful boy dressed in finest golden silk. Both looked at him with panic in their eyes.