Hours later Daren was sitting in the corner of his new cell. It wasn't much different from his old cell; neutral colored walls, no windows, a ceiling with an incline to the right, and a steel door with several deadbolts.
He heard a knocking on the door. He turned his head in time to see it open. Standing in the mouth of the door was that Combine scientist he'd met earlier, Melinda. God, it seemed like weeks ago. Had it really just been a couple of days?
She looked the same: oriental features, purple highlights in her hair, nose and chin piercing, black tank top and black slacks. As she stood there he could overhear her conversing with another person, this man out of sight.
"It's okay," she said," he'll remember me. I don't think he'll be violent."
"He put up quite a struggle this afternoon," was close to what the other voice said.
"Yeah, that sounds about right," her response came," just keep to yourself and trust me. If I need help really badly, you should be able to hear me scream through that door."
"Okay ma'am, it's your call."
She nodded one last time, stepped through the threshold, and shut the door behind her.
"So, Daren... how are they treating you here?" she asked after a brief pause.
He coughed a little bit and straightened his legs out on his cold metal bunk. "How do you think?"
She looked down slightly, ashamed or maybe a little embarrassed. She was quiet a little whiles longer, then she looked back up and let out a small sigh.
"Maybe if you cooperated some, they'd be a little nicer to you-"
"Yeah, you try that when I stick you in a cell and have your ass beat. You try being nice then."
"I'll put in a good word for you," she said, then leaned up against a wall. "For God's sake Daren, how long are you going to play this game with them. We need your skill and your ship out there-" She pointed up to the ceiling. "-in the war zone. Fighting the Ejiir. Can't you just be a team player just this once? Or are you too much of an outlaw??"
Daren stood up and glared at her. He jerked a finger to the door. "Hey, I was doing my part until I was abducted by your friends here. And what kind of friends are they anyways? Backstabbing lying cheating bastards. I'd watch myself around them. People like that aren't trustworthy."
She nodded slightly and straightened up, no longer leaning on the wall. "I've done things for those people out there that I would never do for anybody else. Things that could stop your heart cold. I know them better than anybody; I know who I can trust."
"Yeah, well you just keep believing that."
She shook her head and let out another sigh. "You haven't changed have you? I guess I shouldn't be surprised - nothing really spectacular has happened to you in the past 48 hours. What it must take to change a man like you-"
He leaned in so that he was in her face, making her lean back. He was so close he could smell a scent like perfume, except softer and fainter. "I'm not the one calling all the shots here, alright?" he said, forcefully," that is you and your people. If I was calling the shots, I'd have made a treaty with the Triad the moment I found out the Ejiir were pissin' in my backyard. I'd have saved my fleet for the major battles instead of wasting it on a feint to steal technology from a potential ally. If I was the general in charge here, this war would already be over. Or at least goin' better. You should remember that next time you get face to face with one of them."
By them he meant the Ejiir, and that solemn slightly sad look on her face read that she got the message.
The ground shook, but it was so small and so quiet he wasn't sure if it was real or if it was just his stomach rumbling off of hunger-
YOU ARE READING
FutureSight - a YEAR 10000 story
Science-Fiction{ Space Opera | COMPLETE } After a shady government contract goes sour, expert smuggler Daren finds himself working alongside an enemy scientist in a race against invasion - and an opponent who may be able to predict the future. ~ ~ ~ ~ Author's No...
