FALAHA'S JOURNEY: A Spacegirl's Account in Three Movements

Episode #16

The Medans escorted us to the furthest end of the hall, to a spot between the double transport gates. If the inner ones were to close and the ones behind our backs were to open, without pressure suits even soma would not be enough to protect us from the environment of outer space.

There appeared to be more people in the cargo bay besides Baro and Tarry, but the worst part was that Eyuran and I got separated, leaving him at the mercy of our captors. With weapons pointed to our heads, we couldn't do much to prevent this. The Medan officers seriously believed there was someone else hiding on the ship, so they intended to question us for real. And my guess was, by any means necessary. My cousin and I could still see each other and had our Node connection open, but this fragile tie could be destroyed in numerous ways. The simplest of these was to knock one of us out. There existed some other, more invasive methods too.

"So, rjgnis." Addressing me with respect, Baro slowly approached me, while Tarry kept his rifle trained on my head. "May I ask you first?" Mine and Eyuran's eyes met for a moment and then he switched his Node off as two men grabbed him, wringing his arms behind the back, and bringing him down on his knees. No, Eyu! "Please, give me a quick answer or your dear friend will get seriously hurt." A third Medan stood next to them and, on Baro's silent nod, kicked Eyuran in the stomach with all his strength. My cousin didn't let out even a single sound. Yet the left part of my chest squeezed with a numb pain, making it excruciatingly difficult for me to breathe.

"There isn't anyone." My voice was trembling. "The machine malfunctioned."

"Really?" He nodded again, and the next kicks went straight into Eyuran's face until he was groaning and crimson drops were flying in every direction. "You Danna are so stubborn. All we wanted were your weapons and some support, but your Commander wouldn't cooperate." He smiled. "I bet you want to know what happened to the rest of your crew, don't you?" I felt like I was going to throw up. "We sent most of your kennar folks and what was left of the refugees to ride on the ship we used to come here. Had to silence some of the more rebellious ones, though. Nice weapons you've got here! Newest models?" He was getting closer and closer, staring straight into my eyes with his disgustingly piercing gaze. "But don't worry, we were generous and let everyone off all dressed up. Still, I wonder how they will handle slowly running out of air."

There was so much going through my mind that I was jolted back to reality only when something warm started flowing down my chin from the lower lip I was tightly biting. This person was sane and serious. "The diversion with the infirmary was a good plan. Such sacrifice had to be made in order to achieve our goal. I'm sorry we had to put all of you through this, but we really have no other choice. We must return to Medas as soon as possible."