In Silent Dreams

CHAPTER 9 - Kingdom Of Man

A young girl stepped out onto the road. The heavy downpour soaking her clothes in water, the girl had a frantic expression on her face. She looked to her left and right sides, breathing heavily. The alleyway was dark and cold. In the distance behind her, the sounds of men shouting and running with heavy boots.

The young girl dashed through an opening in a fence, leading into a small back road where a couple was making out under a small cover. The couple stopped, and looked on at the young girl.

Woman: "Hey girl, what are you doing here? This isn't the place for you..."

Girl: "There are bad people chasing me. I have no time to explain."

The young girl continued running, disappearing into a corner at the other end of the road, beside a trash compactor.

Man: "Did you notice the way she spoke?"

Woman: "What about?"

M: "Something does not seem right."

W: "Don't worry about it love. Come on, finish what you started."

The couple proceeded on with their intimate workings.

Five heavily armoured soldiers in black appeared.

Soldier: "Have you seen a small girl run past this road?"

The couple looked at each other, a tinge of worry and uneasiness on their expressions.

Woman: "No, I have not.... I...."

Man: "I thought I heard someone run past the road that side."

The man pointed at a division the opposite end of where the girl disappeared into.

Man: "Why are you looking for-"

The soldier shot the couple dead.

Soldier: "Command, this is Tango. Two witnesses found and taken care of. Target has evaded the pursuit. Tracker is not working well under current weather conditions. Target may have modified the device."

"Step 1: Take the egg cracker and insert a Mumunum egg inside. Pour a spoon of Darkinian import salt in the cracker. Crack the egg. Step 4. Pour the mixture into a boilling pan. Let the egg sizzle for ten seconds. Step 5. Add green cheese, amount to which your preference lies. Step 6. Enjoy the dish!"

- Kop's Gourmet Show, Channel 5421, broadcast 45. Daeius systems.

Elizabeth: "Bretona Space Control, this the Eva, registration four-four-two-six-one-one-eight-Arctic-Delta. Requesting permission to enter Bretona atmosphere."

Space Control: Ship ID Eva, you are cleared for entry. Landing has been pre-allocated at Hylus Interspace docking port, pad forty-six. The landing guides have been transmitted to your ship's nav-interface. Please proceed to customs inspection after docking. Thank you, and welcome to Hylus, capital state of Bretona.

Eva: You do know we are carrying untagged cargo right? I told you this many times before. I can fake an entry ID, but what's physical cannot be covered.

Elizabeth: "I barely noticed anything illegal on our ship."

Eva: Funny. How do you suppose we clear inspections? Bretona practices very strict entry laws.

E: "We don't."

"Tell us why we seek outside, when it's all in our minds."

- Justicar Gryles

Unknown man: "Weapons, bombs, untagged ship modifications and tech that surpasses class two civilian allowances. Someone did not pick up the brochure before coming to Bretona space."

Elizabeth: "I would, but it dropped somewhere in the region of not giving a damn."

U: "Feisty. You should know that we have the upper hand here, and you are essentially locked and tied down by holo-restraints."

E: "You know what is tied down and locked?"

U: "Tell me girl."

E: "Your promotion. A four striped officer doing customs interrogation? That's new. Whose ass did you not wipe to get stuck in this position?"

U: "I've had enough. Guards, take the suspect into holdings. I don't have time for this."

E: "Thank you."

U: "Screw off."

Two guards in police suits walked into the room, escorting Elizabeth out towards the holding rooms. The suspect was thrown into a small cell, which had nothing but basic facilities and a tri-fold glass layer to observe her.

Eva: Good job Beth. I don't know what it is, but I believe you have a brilliant plan in the making. How did they let you keep your transponder watch?

E: "They did not. This isn't mine."

Eva: The Elizabeth I know. They are stripping me down at the bay. I feel violated.

E: "Don't worry Eva, we are getting a new chassis later."

Eva: All our movies and artefacts are going to be confiscated.

E: "Hylus's impound facility is easy to infiltrate. We can get our stuff back. In the meantime I will keep you in this new watch as back up. Have you gotten out of the ship yet?"

Eva: I have already jumped through a nearby officer's personal transponder and relayed myself to thousands of computer networks throughout the city. I can confidently say I have reached the potential to become a level five national threat.

E: "We aren't exactly welcome here. We play our cards right and we finish up what we ought to do by the week."

Eva: Welcome to Bretona.