The officer seems to buy Knox’s story. He was always good at telling them, and today he was in fine form. Kat just stayed quiet and watched. She didn’t want to do anything that would tip anyone off.
The officer says, “Thank you Knox. Now release the cage and we will take her from here.”
Knox hits the controls for the metal clamps. They slide across the ground and back into the wall. “There you go. You wouldn’t believe my surprise when that woman showed up with her all cuffed up like that. I about had a heart attack.”
“Just get back to where ever your ilk calls home. We have no need for you here any longer.”
Knox nods, “Just doing my job that’s all Mr. Officer. I’ll get out of your hair once you leave my ship.”
The officer glares at Knox, and he glares back.
The officer says, “Its Captain Albright, not Mr. Officer.” Without taking his eyes off Knox Albright says, “All right men, take her to processing.”
The five men surrounding Kat hold out their hands. They each glow a faint green as her cage rises into the air. She falls over to her side as they walk her out since she isn’t able to keep herself upright thanks to the cuffs. They pass through a few sparsely lit hallways before entering a dull grey room. The room didn’t have much in it. In one corner of the room is two glass walls. It looked like a shower. There were seven shower heads in the tiny space, and Kat didn’t like the look of it. Next to that was a four set of polished silver locker cabinets. Two of the guards walk over to them as the cage sets down in place and the door opens. Albright walks inside, giving Kat a once over with his eyes.
He smiles at her, like a child predator looking at his next victim, pulling a small dagger out from behind his back. “We can do this the easy way, or the hard way.” He says putting the small blade up to her chin. “Which way do you want it?”
Kat says, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not going to fight or struggle, so what are you asking me?”
“A first timer. Don’t get many of those here. I’ll make this a memorable experience for you then.”
He walks behind her dragging the blade from her chin to the nape of her neck.
Albright says, “Don’t move, or do. It’ll be more fun for me if you do.”
A chill runs down her spine. He grabs her collar, and runs the blade down the back of her shirt, cutting it off her body. He does the same for her pants and underwear. She can hear his blade click back into the scabbard as he walks back in front of her. He reaches out and cups her breast squeezing them twice with a slimly smile on his face before ripping her necklace off her neck.
“The warden’s going to like you.” He turns to his men. “Get her cleaned and ready for departure and this necklace of her’s checked in as her only personal effect.”
Albright walks out of the cage, and the two men enter who were at the lockers. Grabbing her on each arm, they drag her out and toss her into the tiny shower. A foamy type liquid flows out of the nozzle in the ceiling. It smells like strong bleach. It was making her dizzy. The foam fills up to her neck before the water starts to spray out of the walls in high pressure blasts. The water hurts her skin and she goes up against the glass, trying to get as far from the spouts that she can get. Her dizziness is getting worse and feels close to passing out.
19
Kat wakes up inside a small chamber. The last thing she remembered was being naked inside a shower getting blasted by water. She wiggles around feeling stiff finding her whole body is strapped down. There are no windows, but there is a single orange led bulb above her head casting down a light into the cramped space. Her head is strapped down but she can see there is a cage around her over the straps.
Albright’s voice comes over a speaker. “Get ready for a wild ride, you’re about to be orbitally dropped in two minutes. Enjoy, and give my regards to the Warden when you get there.”
Kat says, “Wait. Isn’t there a different way to get to the planet?”
“Nothing to worry about, only one in a hundred don’t make it. We’ve only had seventy launches this month. You should be fine.”
Kat’s heart pounds like a jackhammer in her chest making her ears throb. She had never been through an orbital drop before, and never really wanted to. There were stories she’d heard about, people living though a bad drop. Broken limbs and years of recovery. Not that she really had to worry about her limbs.
An automated voice comes on, “Orbital drop in three… two… one…”
Kat thinks, I really wish it was Graven doing this right now instead of me.
She hears a loud click, and her body presses against the straps around her. The fall is rough, and it reminds her of her piloting exams. The pressure making it hard to breath, the tight quarters, the feeling she’s about to die. At this point in her life she almost wouldn’t be surprised to see General Ajax open the hatch and tell her she’s been in a simulator for the last few years. That isn’t in anyway possible, but it helps distract her from the fact she’s falling into a planet inside a modified metal coffin.
The automated voice says, “Slowing decent in three.”
Kat hears metal clang together, and is flung into the cage holding her in. The pressure against her lets up a little. She thinks, I must be getting close to landing. Another clang of metal, and the pressure gets worse. This wasn’t good. Kat prays she survives this fall. There is high probability all the metal wings that were slowing her fall just broke off and she’s now in a free fall.
She rocks against the straps and slams her face into the cage as the pod comes to a complete halt. Her face now pulsed with pain. It could have been worse, she thinks.
The automated voice says, “Landing complete, opening hatch.”
Air hisses as the door swings open toward the sky. Kat’s restraints unlatch and fall to her side and she’s able to push open the cage. Everything is so bright as her eyes adjust. Shielding them she tries to get her barring. A large yellowish structure is in the distance, and behind her is a single metal tower. The area around her is littered with divots in the ground. There were so many it would be a waste of time to count them all. This must have been the normal way they get prisoners to the planet surface. There should have been some kind of pamphlet explaining what was in store for them, but she guesses they take pleasure in the terror they cause.
In the distance there are mountains on all sides. She looks around for anything else and comes up empty. No trees, no animals, no humans. Nothing. Looking down she notices her cuffs are gone and she’s in a new outfit. It was a white jumpsuit, with a zipper in the back and the bold black number 1215.
Kat fiddles with the zipper when Albright’s voice comes over the speakers in the pod, “You might want to get moving. Once the second sun hits the ground it gets quite hot. I would hate to have the Warden’s new toy die on her before she get a chance to play with it.”
Kat turns her head over to the western horizon, and sees the sun starting to rise over the mountains. It had to be a least a mile or two before she could reach the structure. It would also take her a few minutes to get out of the landing zone so she could run at full speed. The tower was closer and she might be able to take shelter in that first and wait till suns-down.
Albright says, “Oh and I almost forgot to tell you, if you get too close to the tower you’ll be shot. Have a nice stay at the Ragnarok Resort and Spa, if there are any complaints about your service, please leave them in the I don’t give a shit box on the counter.”
Kat didn’t have a choice after hearing that and ran toward the large structure. Albright might have been a sleazy dick but he hadn’t lied to her yet. Plus she really didn’t want to test out the possibility of getting shot. Sure two-thirds of her body might be a mixture of metal and synthetic skin, but that doesn’t make bullets hurt less.
Whisper says, “You had better hurry, I’m not sure how either one of us would do in this heat once that second sun comes up.”
Kat says between breaths, “Yes
I know, that’s why I’m running. Or didn’t you notice?”
“I can’t really see from inside your body.”
“Oh yeah. I would have thought you’d already hooked up to my cybernetic eye?”
Whisper stays silent for a moment. “You constantly surprise me with your usefulness for an organic. I’m connected now, and can see where you’re going. You’d better watch out, you’re about to hit that rock.”
Kat rolls her eyes.
“I can see that.”
Kat huffs, not truly realizing that it would be noticeable. “Whatever, I see the rock.”
She trips over a small rock beneath her feet, almost falling to the ground.
Whisper says, “That was the one I was talking about.”
It takes fifteen minutes of running at full speed to get to the complex. She knew the structure was going to be large, just not quite as big as it really was. It looked like she could fit four warships inside and still have space left over. There were also no entrances within sight and the sun was already halfway past the mountain tops. She could already feel the heat, and doesn’t like where this is headed. It wasn’t a part of her plan to die from sun exposure. She needed a way in, even if it was only to get locked up.
Running her hands across the rough concrete doesn’t show her any edges, cracks or weak points. Banging her fists against the wall does little more that hurt her hands. She rubs them, knowing it was stupid, but there wasn’t much else to do. The first sun is almost right above her, and the second is now completely over the mountains. She can feel herself covered in sweat, and hates that feeling. There is no shade or wind. Which brings back her doubts about doing all of this in the first place. Was all of this really the best thing to do.
20
A part of the concrete wall slides into the ground a few feet away from her. Ten guards run out of the opening each with a glowing hand pointed at her followed by a woman in brown short skirt. The woman barks out orders to surround the new comer. The men’s hands flash light blue as rings around both Kat’s wrists and ankles appear. Kat feels her arms pull behind her waist and she can’t pull them back. The woman tells the men to step aside.
She walks up to Kat, her golden eyes looking her up and down. Reaching out she grabs her chest, thighs, and butt. Kat tries to keep her expression as neutral as possible, but can’t stop herself from squinting and flinching.
The woman says, “You’re Katrice Wylde correct?”
“I am, and you are?”
“I’m the Warden, Celeste Harriet, but you’re only to address me as Warden.”
“Alright Warden.”
Celeste squints, “You came here in a shuttle.”
“Is that a question?”
“No. Where is your ship?”
“Safe.”
Celeste nods. “How did you get captured?”
“Got drunk in a bar on Illusion. Not sure who got me. When I woke up I was in that shuttle already on the way here.” Kat says hoping the week of running though that lie in her head comes off as honest.
“You managed to take out three of our titan class warships, and slip past over two hundred ships to land on a restricted planet.”
“Again is that a question?”
“No. The question is how?”
“I just piloted, my ship did the rest.”
“Where is it?”
“Already told you, safe.”
Celeste nods. “All right, we can do this the hard way if you want. Men take her to basement floor twenty, and place her in solitary confinement.” She looks back to Kat, “You might be more talkative after a couple of days.”
That was something Kat couldn’t let happen. It would mean lost time and that was something that Hanna might not have, if she was still here in the first place. Kat says, “What!? No, that’s ok. I don’t like solitary. What do you want to know again.”
Celeste smiles, “I don’t repeat myself.”
“You want to know where my ship is?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know.”
“All right, men take her.”
Kat gets dragged toward the building. She says, “No wait, I seriously don’t know. An A.I. runs the ship. When I didn’t come back she’s probably looking for me.”
Celeste hold up her hand, and Kat’s stops getting dragged in. “An A.I. you said. So you’re the one who took the plans for the Crucible.”
Kat can’t stop her face from making a surprised look, and Celeste flashes a smile.
Kat says, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m sure you don’t.” Celeste pauses for a moment. “Take her to the gen pop on sixteen instead. It’s starting to get hot out here and its almost time for my lunch.”
The men say nothing, only nod and take Kat into the structure. Her legs get swung out behind her and she is now hovering about three feet off the ground. Kat watches Celeste walk into a room and disappear close to the entrance. Trying to keep her barring she lifts her head to look forward. She is then immediately slapped in the back of the head with the butt of a blaster, and a friendly verbal reminder to keep her head down. From there Kat keeps her head down.
She’s lead into an elevator, and hears a keypad getting pressed, not knowing if it was actual keys or the sounds of keys being pressed. Magic can be used to mess with technology. At least that’s what she’s heard anyway. The elevator ride wasn’t long, but it was long enough. The way she was floating horizontally made her feel uneasy. There was no real way to defend herself, or even move. It was a position that she didn’t like. That and the fact that her butt was in the air didn’t sit well with her either.
Whisper says, “It’s ok Kat, I’m right here with you and there is nothing to be scared of.”
Kat looks at the other guards to see if they heard anything. Not one of them turn their heads toward her.
She asks inside her head, Can you hear me thinking?
“Of course I can. I’ve been able to do that for months.”
Not cool Whisper, even if it is rather handy right now.
“Yes, well, I preferred not to use this particular form of communication because you normally think of the most boring things. It was fun when you and Graven were in bed rooting around. It was as good as the novels I like to read.”
Stay out of my head in my private time.
“You’re no fun.”
Once we get out of this prison, I’ll give you something fun.
“Yes yes, threats to format me and such. Lets just keep your head cool and rescue Hanna. If you think of things too far ahead you might just overheat.”
Kat thinks of a few things that she would like to say then do to Whisper.
“Now that isn’t nice at all.”
Ugh… Now I can’t even have mean thoughts of disassembling you and melting down your parts for spare change without you knowing about it.
21
The elevator stops and Kat hovers closer to the floor and then back to where she was. The guards walk her a few feet into the new room where she can smell some kind of food, but doesn’t recognize it. She finally gets put back upright in the middle of what looks like a food court. The guards that led her in close their hands into fists, releasing the magic that was holding her in place. Kat moves and stretches her muscles uncontrollably, relieved not to have to be in that position anymore. She hears whistles and cat calls from every direction.
It was a cafeteria and it was meal time. Not quite sure if it was lunch, dinner, or breakfast, she didn’t care. She was hungry. The last time she had anything was when she left for Ragnarok, and doesn’t know how long it’s been since then. Celeste did say something about her lunch time, but that didn’t have anything to do with what time it really was. Kat finds where the line starts and heads in that direction as the line is already growing fast.
Three men walk up behind her, each were residence there. She could tell from their plain white clothing, each of which were numbered in bold 201, 202,
204. There was a glare in their eyes. It was like they saw her as a fresh piece of meat. They were all roughly the same size. Broad shoulders, thick necks, square chins. The middle one, 202, had a scar that went through his eye, but his eye color — which was brown — was still in tact. He seemed to be in charge of the bunch by the way he was ordering the other two around.
He stands close to Kat, her face came up to the middle of his chest, and he says, “Looks like we got ourselves a new face. So little lady, what’s your name?”
Kat didn’t really want to give them anything, let alone her name. She tries to ignore them and walk around to get to the food line.
202 side steps back into her path. He says, “Hey now, can’t you hear? I asked what’s your name.” He reaches up, placing his index finger on her chin, raising up Kat’s face to meet his.
Whisper says, “Kat, I am loading myself into the tips of your fingers. Just squeeze the guy’s arm and I will let out a jolt of electricity and knock him out. I only have two charges, so just be prepared.”
Kat thinks, Thanks Whisper. She then says, “You don’t get to know my name.”
She grips down on 202’s arm with her left hand, and Whisper sends out a jolt of electricity. He takes a step backward and a snarl comes across his face. The electricity swirls around his arm and into his hand. The bright blue and white streaks curl into a ball in the palm of his hand. He then crushes it as sparks fall to the ground.
He says, “You’re a feisty one. That would have been enough to knock out most of the scum in this place, but not me. I might not get to know your name, but you are going to be squealing mine. Brothers, grab her.”
201 and 204 step forward, with smirks on their faces, grab her arms and lift her into the air. Kat kicks and squirms, but can’t even get their grips to budge. She’s able to move her right arm and place it against the side of one of her captors. He looks down at her with a grin.
202 says running his fingers through Kat’s hair, “Don’t worry girly. Me and my brothers are going to treat you real nice like. Pretty soon you’ll start begging for us, am I right boys.”
Starship Magic 2: Imprisoned Page 8