“What about the ability to procreate?” Colonel Havlun asked. “That is the ultimate power which the makers will retrieve from you. It is not the destruction of your world. Even if your world gets consumed by the heat of the Sun, I am sure it will still survive. The only difference is, your world will now become like many of the desolate planets and asteroids that litter the universe which are made of mostly rock. They used to be as fertile and luxuriant as your world is until they destroyed themselves, too. Just like Nivrus is doing to itself.”
Kristen’s eyes widened in amazement. “You mean all these other planets were once as full of life as ours currently is?”
“Yes,” the colonel agreed. “Vegetation, water, and all. They all were. But for one thing or the other, they destroyed their world the way you have done to yourselves. You can say it is simply history repeating itself over and over again in different parts of the universe. It is sad to say that even my people were victims of the same history.”
“Your world too?” Kristen asked. “Yes, even the Gualdion Protectorate. We once had lush vegetation and water everywhere. It was as beautiful as your own world, maybe even more beautiful. But then there was a war, and this resulted in the complete annihilation of almost all forms of life and the resources for sustaining life. In time, our kind adapted to living in the new conditions in which they found themselves. Our bodies mutated and transformed into what you can now presently see us as.”
“Are you serious? You mean, you were not always like this?” “No, we were not always like this,” the colonel replied. “But that is only one side of the story. You see, what we have now become—our present form— was brought upon us by our greed, acrimony, and wickedness. What the makers did to us was to cancel our ability to procreate. I am sure you have noticed there are no menfolk in our Protectorate.”
“Yes,” Kristen replied. “Anatomically, I and my crew members assume you are all females.” “Exactly. You are very correct, Captain. We are all females. Do you know what happened to our men? Can you for a moment imagine what it takes us to procreate and continue the production of more of our kind?”
Kristen shook her head. “I cannot imagine, Colonel. But what happened to your men?” “After the war, just as our bodies were beginning to adapt to the new environment, legend has it the makers arrived on our world. The three of them. They went into the very bowels of the Gualdion Protectorate and removed the core. That effectively destroyed our planet’s ability to be able to support vegetation. They then destroyed every trace of males in our midst. That also ensured we were going to be forced into extinction. But we were able to survive.”
“How?” Kristen asked. “How were you able to survive without any men?” “We have been buying the Seeds of Life from the intergalactic black market. You see, they are quite expensive, but when you want to ensure the survival of your race, nothing can be too costly.”
“You buy the Seeds of Life?” Kristen repeated. “Yes, that is what we do. And we have been doing so for ages. It is simply the only way. When the makers destroyed our men, the only option we had available was to either accept our fate and simply die off or seek alternative measures. Going to beg the makers was simply out of it. I know because I cannot count how many missions we sent out to look for them, and hopefully plead with them to have mercy and restore our planet and our men. But it was not possible. We did not find any useful leads. Naturally, we became frustrated and desperate. We turned into pirates, scouring through galaxies in search for any means of sustaining our existence. That was when others began to fear us. It was the makers who made us who we are. We never wanted for any of this to become a part of us. But then, nature has a way of taking care of its own.”
“But can’t you continue to buy the Seeds since it is what you require to survive?” “It is expensive. Too expensive,” the colonel replied. “Our main resource is gold. In order to get one Seed, we need to come up with at least two tons of gold. One Seed is good enough to inseminate one woman. You can do the calculation and tell me what you think.”
“And I am sure it is only one offspring that will come from one seed,” Kristen stated. “Yes,” the colonel stated. “And that offspring is always going to be a female. Never a male. You can imagine what we have to go through as a race just to ensure that our kind does not go extinct.”
“I can imagine,” Kristen replied. “But how can we then be of assistance to you? You are way more advanced than us technologically and otherwise.”
“You are not rendering any assistance to us,” Colonel Havlun pointed out. “You are our prisoners and will always remain so. What I had said initially was that you were going to accompany us on our trip in search for the Seeds of Life, not to assist us. Prisoners of the Gualdion Protectorate cannot be of any assistance to us. They can only be used by us.”
“Okay, I understand,” Kristen replied. “But what about our own assignment? What will happen to our own mission?”
“Which mission? You are still thinking of your own mission while you are being held captive? You should be grateful you are still alive after all this time.”
“I am not saying I am not grateful,” Kristen pointed out. “Believe me, I and my crew members are delighted you have spared our lives. But we still want you to help us. Just look at us; our world is on the brink of collapse and extinction. You don’t expect us to be very dedicated and committed when our minds and thoughts will be at home.”
“You are right,” Colonel Havlun stated. She opened the holster on her hip and brought out the gun that was there. She pulled a knob on the handle and the muzzle started to glow. She pointed it directly at one of the engineers from the Atlantis.
Kristen and the rest of the crew members were alarmed at the sudden, brazen action of the colonel. “What are you doing?” Kristen demanded in fear. “I want to give you a motivation that will enable you to remain focused on the mission at hand,” Colonel Havlun replied.
“No, wait!” Kristen begged. “Please, you don’t have to do that. We fully understand and are going to do your bidding. Just don’t kill anyone. Please.”
The colonel lowered her gun. “Okay then. I am sure you fully understand what is at stake here. You are my prisoners and I have the right to determine your fate. For now, your lives are in my hands. You will do as I say at any point. If I ever perceive any hint of rebel amongst any of you, I will not hesitate to destroy you.”
“I understand,” Kristen replied. “We all understand. We are going to do your bidding. Anything you say.” “For now, you are going to be taken back to your quarters. In three hours’ time we are going to depart for our first voyage. You may all go, except for these two,” Colonel Havlun stated.
Kristen watched as Mahmud and another male engineer were asked to step aside. She looked at the colonel.
“But you promised,” Kristen said. “Don’t worry about your crewmen. They are going to be safe.” The colonel paused and glanced at them. “As long as they behave and do as they are instructed.”
“But you said we are leaving in three hours’ time,” Kristen stated. “What do you need them for?” “That is my business, Captain. I assure you, they will be okay. Now follow the rest back to your compartments.”
Kristen looked at Mahmud and the other engineer. They were both white with fear. “I am sure you heard what the colonel has said. For your sakes as well as the rest of the crew, do not try anything stupid. Simply do as she says.”
Kristen saw Mahmud and the other engineer nod their heads repeatedly. But were they nodding or fidgeting out of fear of what was going to happen to them?
Kristen could not say for sure as she was led away to join the others.
“Where are they taking them?” Lynda asked as Kristen joined her crew members. “I really don’t know,” Kristen stated. “The colonel refused to tell me. She only promised they would be all right.”
“I hope they will be safe,” Lynda added.
“I hope so too,” Kristen added.
&nbs
p; “Isn’t it ironic?”
“What is?”
“Earlier on Mahmud had been actually looking forward to meeting these people. But when the opportunity eventually came, he was scared as hell. The poor fellow was virtually shivering like a leaf.”
“Lynda, that is your fellow crew member you are referring to,” Kristen pointed out. Lynda shrugged. “I am sorry, Captain. I don’t mean to sound sarcastic. I just don’t know what to think or say anymore. This whole mission sucks. I don’t really know what to wish for anymore. Whether to wish for going back home, or going along with our search, or staying on with these people and their own mission. It is all so crazy.”
“It will be fine,” Kristen replied.
Lynda looked at her with eyes filled with worry. “Do you think so?”
“I hope so, Lynda. I really hope so.”
They were all led to their various cells and locked up again. Inside, Kristen sat by the corner of the wall. She looked up at the ceiling. She then brought out the picture Director Edwards had given to each one of them.
Earth. Images of William, her fiancé, flashed through her mind. She could vividly picture his handsome face, smiling back at her as she left the house that fateful day on her way to NASA Mission Command. It was the last time they had seen each other before she had taken off for outer space.
She sighed heavily and raised her hand. Using the back of her wrist, she tried to wipe the tear that was falling from her eyes. The glass cover of her headgear prevented her from doing so. In her moment of grief, she had forgotten she was still wearing the space helmet.
Kristen blinked back the tears, in the hope they would stop falling.
Hope and salvation.
When are we going to get out of this situation? she was thinking.
***
“Do not try to be smart. Just lie down on the beds here,” the alien warrior demanded. Mahmud blinked. From the open field, both he and the other crew member had been led into a room and the door had been shut.
Altogether, there were five of them in the room. Apart from Mahmud and his colleague, three other alien warriors were there. The room was larger than the cells where they had been kept initially. There were two beds in it with what appeared to be white foam or mattresses.
Mahmud glanced at his colleague, who only looked dazed. They looked from the beds to the three warriors in front of them. They thought they knew what was about to happen.
“I’m sorry, but is this really the right time for this?” Mahmud asked. “I mean, considering all I and my colleague have been through, perhaps we need some time to think things over.”
Colonel Havlun stared at him. “Are you hesitating to carry out the instructions?” she asked. “Maybe you need to be persuaded to obey.”
Mahmud and his colleague saw Colonel Havlun reach for her belt. They did not need to be told what she was about to do. They immediately started to plead, but she still reached for her belt. Confused and frightened, they continued to beg and fell on their knees. By now she was holding her revolver and pointing it at both of them. The other warriors had also brought out their rifles and there were several muzzles pointing at Mahmud and his colleague.
They were on their knees with their hands up, pleading and urging the aliens not to shoot them. But in spite of their pleadings, Colonel Havlun and her soldiers just kept on pointing their guns at them.
Mahmud choked back tears. He was wondering why they had been separated from their other crew members. Was it so they could be executed in isolation?
It appeared so because right there in front of the two Atlantis shuttle crewmen were three armed alien female warriors who were pointing their guns at them.
“Is this enough persuasion for you?” the colonel asked. The crewmen did not need any further prompting. They quickly jumped on the beds and remained very still on them. They closed their eyes and began to imagine what was going to be the most frightful encounter of their entire lives. Or was it?
Mahmud was the first to open his eyes. He felt the metal clamps strap onto his wrists and ankles. He struggled to break loose by tugging at the restraints. From the corner of his eye, he could see his colleague also struggling with the metal clamps that had firmly been placed on him as well. Their efforts at freeing themselves were futile. The clamps were metallic. They had come out from underneath the bed and gripped them tightly.
They looked up at their alien abductors. They were now by one of the walls of the room. But for some reason, the wall was no longer a plain white wall as they remembered it had been when they first stepped into the room. Now it had some panels and screens on it. The aliens were typing on some screens which appeared to be touch screens. As they went about what they were doing, some lights appeared from the ceiling and the wall, further illuminating the room.
At that point, the ceiling opened and what appeared to be two large metallic arms came out. They were connected to two motorized metallic hands that were open.
Mahmud and his colleague watched in fear as the hands came closer to their faces.
“What are you doing? What are you doing?” Mahmud was shouting, still trying to struggle out of the bed. The colonel stepped forward. “I said I was not going to hurt you. Didn’t I? Just brace yourself and try not to flinch. The entire procedure will soon be over.”
And then the hands started emitting light beams on Mahmud’s face and moving slowly towards his feet, as if it was scanning his body. Surprisingly, Mahmud did not feel any pain at all. Or maybe the pain was not yet coming and would only occur later.
Mahmud stopped struggling and tried to understand what was going on. The other woman was busy working on the panels while the colonel and the other warrior continued to watch him and his colleague. Intermittently they would check the devices that were attached to their captives.
Mahmud glanced at his colleague. He appeared to be smiling.
Dude, are you seriously enjoying this? Mahmud was thinking. Or maybe he was dead!
Or perhaps he was trying to deaden the sensation of pain.
Mahmud tried to feel any sensation but he could not detect anything for a while. He flexed his right hand and discovered he could still move his fingers and palm.
The other female alien at the wall had now stopped what she was doing. But rather than join her colleagues by the bedside of their captives, she just stood there. Perhaps she was keeping watch over the systems and the controls that were controlling the hands, Mahmud was thinking.
He saw the colonel turn and nod at her. She turned and pressed part of the wide touch screen. Immediately, the ceiling opened again and two other arms appeared, but their edges had extremely thin and long needles. He glanced to his right and saw his colleague shaking in fear as the arm with the needle moved towards his chest and penetrated his space suit. Few seconds later, the other needle penetrated Mahmud's chest who screamed in pain.
A shadow came over Mahmud’s face. It was the colonel. Opening his mouth to speak was an immense struggle. And even after he was able to open his mouth, he found himself struggling even more to speak. But the words refused to come. His face was already wet because of the sweat that had broken out. He was struggling to breathe and felt dizzy.
“Extract the samples now,” he heard the colonel say before he passed out. The colonel looked at the eyes of her captive. They were closed and his body was still. She left Mahmud’s side and walked over to the other crew member. He was also still.
She looked up at the alien by the wall. “How did it go? Did we get any samples?” she asked.
“Yes, Colonel,” the woman replied. “The extraction was successful.”
“What about the subjects? Are they still alive,” Colonel Havlun asked.
The alien nodded. “Yes. Their pulses are weak but they will make it.” “Okay, that is good. Get the samples cultivated and analysed immediately. We need to determine how perfect they are for what we are about to do.”
The three female alien warriors then walked to the m
onitors and pressed some keys on the touch screen. As they did, the metal clamps on the wrists and ankles of the Atlantis crew members detached and slid out of sight. The metallic arms slid back into the ceiling.
While Colonel Havlun studied the data that was streaming on the screen, the other two warriors proceeded to check the pulses of their captives.
“Get some others to carry them out to their cells,” Colonel Havlun instructed. Two more alien warriors came into the room. They picked up the two men and carried them out.
CHAPTER FIVE
Kristen could not sleep. And neither could she relax. Colonel Havlun had said that in three hours’ time they were going to leave for their first mission. However, as she lay on the floor of her cell, the minutes just seemed to have stopped ticking and were dragging unnecessarily.
How long was it going to take before they would commence the mission? Kristen was thinking.
Perhaps on this planet, three hours meant something longer than three hours. And for a warrior who was bent on looking for some precious seeds, why did she need three hours before she would embark on her search?
Maybe they needed to also rest some more. Or maybe they needed to get their ships ready. Or maybe they needed to refuel. Or maybe they needed to contact others who were to accompany them on the trip.
Too many maybes.
She closed her eyes and tried to think of something else.
An image of Earth appeared in her mind. She tried to shake it off but it still remained with her.
Is it possible to shake away reality? she eventually asked herself. The mission at hand was already in jeopardy. The fate of their planet was resting on them. But what could they achieve now that they were held captive by an alien race of female warriors?
There were so many twists unfolding in what should have been a straightforward mission. They were simply to find another planet that would serve as a replacement for Earth. That was all that had been required.
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