Sometime in the afternoon, Roogar opened her cell. "What's happening hot stuff?" He leaned against the doorway and leered at her. He scrunched his face. "On second thought, don't worry about a repeat performance. You look starved to death. I like a little meat on the bones."
"Charming as always, Roogar," Salaris replied. It took all of her self-control to keep from shaking.
He closed the cell door behind him and unrolled a satchel, revealing an assortment of scalpels, razors, tweezers, and pokers. "Oh, this is going to be fun."
He turned his attention the case. He picked a tool, examined it, and put it back. He tried this three times before selecting a razor blade. "Oh, yes. This is going to be fun."
Salaris screamed as the blade bit into her skin at her wrist. She struggled against the bindings, but this time Fiimit had made sure they were secure.
Roogar made another cut an inch from the first. "The trick is to cut across the wrist instead of down it. Otherwise, you bleed out. I've been practicing, you know. Spies we captured. The first one died in minutes. That's how I learned. But with each one, I imagined they were you."
She spit in his face. He sneered at her as he wiped it away and spit back at her. Then he pressed his finger into the wound, making Salaris scream again.
"There's no version of this game where you come away on top." A third slit appeared on her wrist. He continued cutting her up to her elbow until she passed out from the pain. Roogar slapped her awake. "Oh, no. You don't get away from it that easy."
He switched to the other arm and cut her until it matched the first. Her screams and flinching only seemed to encourage him. When he finished, he wrapped up his tools and sauntered out of the room. He stopped to admire his handwork, bandages covering her arms already stained with her blood. "Oh, I was supposed to ask you about your plan to stop Vaamick. Guess I'll have to come back tomorrow."
This routine continued for months. Fiimit brought her meals and Lomis bathed her and cleaned her cell. They only secured her to the bed for Roogar's visits, otherwise she was free to wander her little confine. Vaamick kept his distance. Time lost all meaning to Salaris. The days, weeks, and months bled together.
One day, Fiimit carved an elaborate design into her skin. She struggled against the bindings. Her screams echoed off the stone walls. Fiimit continued ignoring her pain. Her body couldn't handle any more. Salaris's heart stopped.
Fiimit noticed her struggles stop. He pounded on her chest to jump start her heart. When she was breathing again, he looked at her. "I told you before, you don't get away from it that easy."
Roogar called to Fiimit at the door, "Get the doctor. Vaamick doesn't want her dead yet." Then he was gone.
Fiimit raced away and Salaris wavered on the edge of consciousness in her cell. She barely registered the fact that Kaarg arrived and he dressed her wounds.
Kaarg spoke to her but she didn't hear. She wanted nothing more than to wallow in her pain and misery. He continued with his examination, stopping his hand at the lump on her thigh where the bone had healed unevenly.
"Kasil did a good job setting that leg." Kaarg's voice sounded distant to her, but the words broke through her shield.
"No, I set it myself," she said with a thin voice. "No one helped me."
"Salaris, there is no way you could have set that fracture by yourself. You couldn't reach it on your own. Besides, how would you have known what to do? This was done exactly how I showed her." Kaarg smiled at his patient. "Don't worry, I have no more interest in reporting her than you do."
Salaris breathed out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Thank you."
Fiimit spoke up. "I can't do this anymore. I can't stand by and watch Salaris get tortured. One of these days, Roogar is going to succeed in killing her. We have to help her escape."
Salaris shook her head. "I can't have you risk your life for me. Let's face it. I'm not getting out of here alive."
Kaarg's face lit up. "Then we will simply have to kill you ourselves."
"What?" Fiimit and Salaris replied in unison.
"There used to be a drug that put people into a very deep sleep and made them appear dead. Some of this drug still exists. Salaris, if I give it to you, Vaamick will have your body sent to the surface for Bara to take. Meanwhile, I'll convince Kasil to give me surface equipment which, Fiimit, you can hide up there for Salaris to put on when she wakes."
Fiimit looked at Salaris and back to Kaarg. "But she's so weak. How do we know the drug won't kill her?"
Kaarg considered the question. "She is too weak. But I'll tell Vaamick that you can't take any more. If he wants you alive, he will hold back for a few weeks while you regain your strength."
Salaris looked up at the two men. "I can't ask you to risk your lives to help me, but if you are willing to help, I'll take it."
Kaarg held her hand. "I probably won't see you again. I'll give the drug to Fiimit when all the other preparations are completed. He will slip it into your food and when you wake up, you'll be on the surface."
With the planning complete, Fiimit escorted Kaarg out of the prison. Salaris let out a whoop. She winced as the movement stretched her stitches. But she didn't care. She was getting out. Salaris was going to warn the humans about Vaamick's plot and find out the truth about Donoon. She smiled for the first time months.
Fiimit wouldn't talk about their plot to free her, but Roogar didn't return the following week. Salaris figured that the things were going as planned. Three days later, Fiimit gave the only clue that anything was afoot.
"Vaamick wants Roogar to return soon, so Kaarg had a special supplement added to your food." A slight grin crept on Fiimit's face before he controlled his features once more.
"Well, tell the doctor I appreciate anything that helps me with that butcher." Salaris responded as she dug into her food. She could taste something off. The bitter taste made it difficult to swallow but she forced herself to eat as much as possible.
Halfway through the meal, her eyes became unfocused. Her limbs felt heavy. She couldn't manage to feed herself any more. Fiimit took over.
He got a few more bites into her before even the ability to swallow fell victim to the drug next. Salaris heard him put the tray down. She fought to stay awake but succumbed to a dreamless sleep.
Salaris heard soft voices as she roused. Her eyelids felt too heavy to lift. Her body rocked from side to side as if she was being carried. Then cold seeped into her skin. She was on the surface.
The voices seemed clearer now as the fog lifted from her mind. One belonged to Fiimit. She stiffened when she realized the other was Roogar. She kept her eyes closed to avoid detection.
Salaris's legs dropped to the ground as Roogar shouted, "Saarkaaks!" She heard footsteps running away.
Fiimit gently placed her upper half on the ground. He crouched beside her. "Salaris, I don't know if you can hear this, but Saarkaaks are coming. I have to leave. I wanted to get you closer to where I hid your surface gear, but I can't risk getting caught. Good luck."
Adrenaline pushed away the last effects of the drug. She opened her eyes to find herself alone on the surface. Salaris couldn't see or hear the Saarkaaks. She shivered from the cold. I need to find that surface equipment soon or my fake death will be a real one.
Salaris shoved her hands in her pockets to try to warm them. A scrap of paper crumpled against her fingers. She pulled it out to discover a map.
Her gear appeared to be just over the next ridge. The top of the hill poked over the horizon. She took off in that direction. She didn't have a second to spare. She needed every bit of oxygen in her lungs to pull this off.
Keeping her eyes on the horizon, Salaris dashed across the plain towards her goal. The ground beneath her sped by, ignored. Her foot caught the edge of a flat rock, sending her tumbling to the ground. Something snapped, and a scream escaped her lips, ignoring her desire to avoid the Saarkaak's attention. She brushed the pebbles off of her clothes and hair before standing. She rose bu
t winced as she put weight on her left leg. Her ankle was already swelling.
She moved slower as she limped across the surface of the moon. She shivered uncontrollably. A few more steps. Her head was woozy; there wasn't much oxygen left.
The ridge loomed in front of her. A few more steps. Each one was more difficult than the last.
Salaris heard a female voice behind her. She turned her head and lost her balance again. She tried to get back up but her limbs wouldn't respond. She wasn't shivering anymore. Salaris knew that was a bad sign.
She heard the voice again but it was too late for her. Her last thought before slipping out of consciousness was I failed again.
Marsil
Marsil felt like banging her head against the monitor. She needed answers, and Graaf's satellites weren't giving them. It flew overhead of the human ship only once every few hours. If the Barakaaks were meeting with the humans, they timed their meetings well.
Something got the humans excited right before the satellites launched, but her and Graaf never discovered the source. After a few weeks, they settled into a routine that bored Marsil to tears. She continued watching because Jeef still banned more proactive measures. Only Graaf's banter kept it bearable.
They'd always been close and worked closely for years, but they spent most of their days together at this point, watching the satellite footage. Something changed between them. Marsil had a harder time denying her feelings for him and Graaf always seemed to be putting a hand on her shoulder or sometimes even her leg.
Get your head together, Marsil thought. He's not going to go after a Lun. She sighed and returned her concentration to the screen in front of her.
On the screen, the taller human male examined some brewberry moss near the lake shore. Marsil made a face at a memory of eating the moss. It was edible, but bitter. That moss kept her alive when she had been stranded in the deserts to the south but if she ever ate it again it would be too soon.
The deserts. The thought welled up to the surface of her mind like a spring breaking free of the ground. Something had been bothering her on a subconscious level for weeks but she couldn't put her finger on it. Now she knew. Brewberry moss only grew in the desert. You shouldn't find it near a body of methane. Barakaaks must have planted it somehow.
Could the Barakaaks be sending messages in the moss? Marsil rejected that thought immediately as preposterous. But the moss was a clue.
"Graaf, do we have any footage of the probe the humans sent a Saturn-year ago?"
Graaf looked at her. "I think so, but why do you want that? The humans haven't gone to visit it and it's probably rusted to pieces by now." He tapped a few keys on his computer and brought up the images on a separate screen.
Marsil walked over to the screen. She tapped at an image. "Blow this one up, I want to look closer." The image ballooned on the screen. "Wait, there. The Barakaaks lured the humans here. What is the one thing the humans wanted to find more than anything else?"
Graaf shook his head. "Resources?"
Marsil pointed at the tuft of moss growing in the leeward side of the decrepit lander. "Life. And the Barakaaks made sure they found it."
Graaf nodded. "But that is a good thing, right? That means the humans sent scientists not soldiers. Scientists don't wield weapons."
"Well, if human scientists are anything like you were when I took you to the firing range, we are pretty safe." Marsil grinned as she sat back down next to him.
Graaf glared at her for a second and then broke into laughter. "Hey, I hit the target once. That can't be too bad for my first time." He leaned closer to her. His hand was on her leg again.
Marsil laughed with him. "The edge of the hologram doesn't count, and you used an entire battery pack. It was the worst performance I've ever seen, and I've trained a lot of green recruits." Without realizing it, she moved closer to him. He gave off a slightly spicy scent.
Graaf took her hands into his. They were inches apart. "I guess I made the right choice becoming a scientist instead of a soldier, then. Didn't I?"
"That you did." She was close enough that she could feel a wisp of his breath on her neck. Hands calloused from working on his inventions rubbed her equally rough skin.
Marsil acted before she even realized what she was doing. She closed the small gap between them and kissed him. It started as a peck. As she backed away, he leaned closer to her. He dropped her hands and reached around her, pulling her closer to him. He kissed her back.
Marsil wasn't sure at first how to act. All she knew of intimacy was from seeing the public displays of affection from others. But as Graaf continued to kiss her, instinctual response took over. They pulled each other tighter as they poured out years of frustrated passion into that kiss.
After several breathless minutes, they pulled apart. Her heart beat harder than it had in years. They sat there in silence for a moment as they caught their breath. His gaze was too intense; she looked away. Marsil dropped her hands from his shoulders but he still held on to her. Graaf started speaking, "Marsil, I…"
"No." She pried herself from his grasp. "This was a mistake. I'm sorry. That shouldn't have happened." She stood and started picking up some items that had been knocked off the desk in their passion.
"But it did."
"No, it didn't." She looked at him for the first time since the kiss ended. "Nothing happened. Nothing can have happened. I…I need to go report these findings to Jeef." She grabbed the data chip from the computer terminal and fled the room.
She heard him start to follow her, but he couldn't keep up with her years of physical training. She exited the building and ducked down an alley. Marsil looked around to make sure she was alone. It was still hours until the mid-day meal and the streets were quiet. She crumpled to the dusty ground.
Alone, she stopped fighting the tears and let them fall while heaving sobs racked her body. Thoughts raced around her head. Why did I kiss him? I've ruined everything now. Marsil wanted nothing more than to go hide in her nook. Graaf would distance himself from her, of course. His only chance at surviving a one-way trip to the surface came at accusing her of breaking the ancient laws on her own. Thinking back, she couldn't be sure that wasn't the case anyway.
She shook her head. Jeef needed to know what they had learned. This could be the news she needed to get the king to authorize a surface trip. Marsil itched for a battle, but Jeef hadn't authorized one in ages. As she thought back, she realized that the Saarkaaks last offensive dated to before her promotion. Is Jeef keeping me from battle? He can't care about me that much, can he?
The Barakaaks were equally quiet. Normally she could count on one or two clashes a year. Close to half a Saturn-year passed since her enemy attacked. Even then, the attack seemed half-hearted, like they were going through the motions. At the times, he feared that the war was grinding to a stalemate. With her new knowledge about their lure for the humans, she suspected the battle was a diversion to keep her attention away from their real plan.
The bliss Marsil felt in the shower quickly evaporated as she ventured back into the world. Back among people, her fears and uncertainties about her affair with Graaf returned. She stopped and turned around. No. She shouted at herself. My job and the welfare of the people are more important than my feelings. She turned around again and made her way to see the king.
Marsil fidgeted in the antechamber to Jeef's office. Normally she was admitted right away but today he kept her waiting. Nearly half an hour had passed since his secretary, Rilin, told her that the king was busy. Did Graaf report me? She didn't think that he would do something like that. He kissed me back, didn't he? That means he is interested in me too.
A few more minutes passed. She looked up at the sound of laughter as the door opened. Kis looked back at the king and blew him a kiss. Her hair was disheveled and the buttons of her blouse were in the wrong holes.
Rilin shrugged and an embarrassed smile as if to say, "Men, huh?"
Kis stopped when she noticed Marsil
but then smirked at her nook-mate. She walked up to Marsil and grabbed her arm. Marsil grimaced at the touch. She only smiled wider and dug her fingers into the older woman's arm. She leaned close and whispered to her, "Looks like you won't have control over my assignment much longer." She let go of Marsil's arm and sauntered away.
Marsil's eyes followed Kis out of the room. I didn't know the old man still had it in him. But Kis, really? This is probably her plan to try to put me in my place.
Rilin cleared her throat, shaking Marsil free of her thoughts. She looked up...Rilin met her eyes for a moment and then looked down. "Um, the king will see you now."
Marsil took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She entered as Rilin held the door for her. Her nostrils flared at the musky scent of the king's dalliance hit her. Jeef glanced at her as she entered then looked back down to his computer console. She waited to speak until her and Jeef were alone.
"I'm sure you can do better than my nook-mate," she spat.
He pushed the input device away as he looked at her. "Jealousy is unbecoming of you, Marsil."
"Jealous?" Marsil asked, shocked. "Of Kis? Of THAT? That's disgusting." Her breath came raged through clenched teeth. Her hands balled into fists. She forced her hands to relax.
Jeef grinned at her. The expression unsettled her. "No, there is someone else you'd like to do 'that' with, I'm sure."
His words unsettled her more. What does he know? "Whatever. But I won't be surprised if you catch the plague from her."
"Remember you are talking to the king," Jeef said in a low voice. They glared each other for a moment. Jeef shook his head. "I'm sure you are here for some other reason than to express your displeasure at my personal choices."
"Err, yes." Marsil swallowed. "We believe we've figured out why the humans are here."
Jeef sat up. "Really?"
"The Barakaaks lured them here by planting evidence of life where the humans would find it. Between this discovery and observing the humans actions, we believe this is a scientific mission, not a military one. There is no sign that the humans even know about the Barakaaks."
Once Upon a Saturn Moon Page 6