by Robin Roseau
And as part of my diplomatic training, there were additional lessons.
In short: I was not entirely defenseless, even with no weapon at hand. I had a body, and thanks to rejuvenation therapy and the body sculpting I always had done, it was a strong body, stronger than it looked.
I began to fight.
The two men had firm hold of me, but so far I had been complacent, and they perhaps thought I would remain so. I tightened my arms, at first moving in the direction they were forcing them anyway, to cross my wrists in front of me, but I did so quickly, pulling both men just slightly off balance. I then pulled backwards before kicking the back of the leg of the man on my right, just behind his nearest knee.
It wasn't designed to do any damage. I sought only to pull him further off balance. And I did. His knee crumpled, and he began to fall, twisting away from me as his far leg sought to support him. But his weight had been on the near leg. If he hadn't hold of my arm, he would certainly have fallen, but he clutched at me, trying to catch his balance.
But I twisted further, my own weight now on my right leg, and I snapped my left around, my toes striking him directly in the solar plexus. My kick caused him to gasp and drove the air from his lungs. He released his grip on my arm, doubling over as he continued his fall to the floor.
With his wind gone, I thought he was out of the fight, at least for as long as I expected this fight to last.
Sartine's uncle still had full possession of my left arm. So far, everything had happened so quickly, the rest were just beginning to react.
Sartine's uncle was a big man, and judging by his grip on my arm, very strong. I didn't mess around. I reached around with my right hand, jabbing my fingers into the crease where his neck meets his shoulder. I did it three times in rapid succession, jab-jab-jab, and he began to howl, dropping my arm to clutch at his neck. I followed up my attack with a kick, which struck him relatively harmlessly in the side. I tried for a second, more crippling kick, but he was drawing away from me, and my strike failed to land.
Sartine was now moving forward, and I would learn she knew how to fight. She was actually very good, very good. I didn't wait for her. I sent a flurry of kicks and punches towards her. She dodged or blocked all of them, returning the occasional attack. Then she overextended a punch, and I grabbed her arm and sent her flying over my hip.
The other man and woman hadn't wasted time. The man tried to grab me, but I caught his arm, twisted, and dislocated his shoulder.
Unlike Sartine, I didn't think he knew how to fight.
He howled, and I ignored him.
Instead, I snapped out a side kick, catching the woman firmly in the chest and sending her flying backwards into the door. I didn't have time to follow after her, as Sartine was back up, and her uncle was making moves to return to the fight. But then the woman opened the door and fled, improving my odds even further.
Sartine came after me, but when I spun to face her, she backed off, and my kick missed. She attempted her own throw, but I pulled away in time.
It seemed like it went on forever, but in a way, it was all a blur. Sartine and I fought. I was better than she was, but her uncle was a big man and not entirely incapable. I wasn't able to acquire sufficient advantage to disable either of them.
I tried to access my implant to summon help. As I've said, it's an automatic reaction. Reminded it was disabled, I issued the boot command, but it would take a minute.
I tried to hold on.
I did give another kick to the man on the floor; he had looked like he was getting his wind back.
"Stop that!" Sartine yelled.
I screamed at her, but I was so angry and scared, I had lost any ability to speak Talmonese, and my words were in English.
At least one man was out indefinitely; his shoulder was definitely disabled, and he was leaning against the wall, clearly in too much pain to assist Sartine. The other man was down for at least a while longer, and the woman had fled. The aunt hadn't even tried to help, but remained to the side, well clear of the action, and I left her alone.
At least they hadn't brought any weapons.
But then I made a mistake. While fending off the uncle, Sartain had a clear strike to my arm. She could have crippled me, at least until I could see a modern medic. Instead, she pulled her strike, and I pulled away from both of them, glancing rapidly back and forth between them.
Then I remembered. They weren't trying to hurt me; they were only trying to subdue me.
I wasn't hampered by similar compunctions.
"You're not taking me!" I screamed, the first words of Talmonese I'd spoken since they had invaded my home.
I checked the status of my implant. It was nearly available. I didn't need to beat them; I needed to hold on long enough to use my implant to summon more help.
There was no way I would allow these... these... these backwater locals to kidnap an imperial envoy!
Yeah, even then, that was the worst thought I had for them. As I said, I generally liked the Talmonese.
I glanced around. The man I'd hurt at first was pulling himself under control. If this didn't end soon, it would be back to three-to-one. The other man had his hood pulled back, his face a grimace, and I knew he wasn't a threat. Sartine's aunt was looking on carefully, but still she hadn't physically interfered.
Sartine and her uncle had me flanked. The uncle had me cut off from escape deeper into the house, and Sartine was between me and the front door.
And around us, there was the detritus of our fight. I kept a small table near the door. In warmer months, it held flowers. The vase I used was there, empty now, but it had fallen to the floor and shattered, and the table had been broken at some point during the fight.
Sartine caught me eying the furniture legs. They would make good weapons.
"Galatzi fight," she panted. "No weapons, Cecilia. It's the law."
Did she think I cared about the law? I began moving in that direction, but she interposed herself, holding out a hand. "You can't, Cecilia! Someone will get hurt."
I yelled at her in English, "Isn't that the idea?" But she launched an attack at me, and with her uncle's support, she was good enough to drive me away from the potential weapons. Then I saw the aunt dash forward and grab the table legs. I screamed as she opened the front door and threw them outside.
Together, they pushed me back, but we still had a standoff. They couldn't let me go deeper into the house; they didn't know what other weapons I might find, or a door I could hide behind. I had neither, but they didn't know that. But Sartine was good enough I couldn't drive them from the house. And so, we had a standoff.
My implant was almost live. But the man on the floor was on one knee now. He looked a little ill, but then he straightened, and I knew it was about to become three-to-one. I moved quickly in his direction, intending to take him out far more permanently, but the uncle charged me. It worked out poorly for both of us, but he managed to protect the weakened man, and then we separated again.
Then my implant pinged in my head. It was live!
I immediately access the communication subsystem.
And the damned implant crashed, driving a spike of pain through my brain. I clutched my head for a moment, but when the three of them began to advance on me, I straightened and sent an attack their way, backing quickly while I composed myself.
Shit, shit, shit!
The implant went into a death spiral; it had been doing that. I sent the hard shutdown command, and I felt it die. At least the pain ended, although the memory lingered.
Shit!
I had to end this. The younger man was going to be back to fighting strength soon, and if I had a standoff with two, I didn't think I was going to do well against three. I launched an attack at the uncle, but it was a feint, and instead I sent a strike for Sartine's face. She attempted a hasty parry, but it was late, and I caught her with a firm elbow against the side of her face. She fell back while throwing her own attacks back at me, but that was what I w
anted. I spun, lifting my leg, intending a major roundhouse kick against the previously injured man. He saw it coming and ducked underneath it, so instead of getting my foot against the side of his head, I instead lifted my knee and struck him that way instead.
"Cecilia!" Sartine yelled. I didn't understand the rest. I didn't particularly care.
They may have their rules, but I had my own.
The man spun from the impact then slumped to the floor. My knee didn't really care for the impact, either, but it was still working.
He was having a bad night. That would teach him.
I couldn't beat Sartine while her uncle was supporting her. I hadn't been giving him as much attention, as he was not the same quality of fighter, but he could take a lot more abuse than she could. I changed my strategy, and was just about to launch my own set of attacks against his joints when the doorbell rang and rang again.
Help had finally arrived!
I changed my route, heading towards the front door. Sartine cut me off, but her aunt headed for the door instead and flung it open.
Help had arrived, but it wasn't help for me. The woman who had fled had fled, all right, and then returned with help.
She was the first in the door followed by three men.
Six to one -- seven if the aunt helped -- and they weren't likely to underestimate my determination again.
It didn't last long after that. Sartine launched herself at me, not to damage or even subdue, but simply to keep me occupied. And she was good enough to do that. I stepped back from a wild roundhouse kick of her own right into the waiting set of strong uncle arms. He wrapped himself around me, not capturing my own arms, but holding me tightly. And then over the next second or two, more strong hands grabbed my flailing arms, and they bore me onto the floor, stomach first. I had my own wind knocked out of me, and I lay there gasping.
I didn't stop struggling, but by then, it was futile. The uncle pressed his full weight into my back, his arms still wrapped around me. Two more held my arms, and someone else sat on my legs, hugging them together tightly.
Then we all stayed there for a time, the uncle panting into my ear as I gasped for air. From somewhere above me, Sartine was also panting.
The aunt spoke, and I understood. "Tie her. I don't want to watch you do this again."
"Let her catch her wind," the uncle said, directly into my ear.
That would be a lot easier if he wasn't lying across me, but slowly I began to breath again, taking in deep sobs of air.
They didn't wait after that. My hands were forced past my head, pressed against the floor with my palms up and my wrists crossed. Then they lifted them slightly, and Sartine began to tie them that way.
"No!" I screamed in Talmonese, but then my screams devolved into English. They wouldn't understand the words, but I was sure they understood my tone.
I was livid and terrified at the same time.
They couldn't do this! I was an imperial envoy! Even on the most disrespectful planet, imperial envoys aren't treated like this, and these people had, up until tonight, been nothing but respectful.
Someone else tied my ankles firmly together, then my knees. Sartine spoke, and the uncle climbed from me, pulling me upwards then rolling me around so he was kneeling behind me, his arms still wrapped around me. Two of the men continued to hold my arms so they were lifted to the ceiling, wrists crossed and tied. Sartine sat down on my legs.
"You're not supposed to fight that hard," she said.
"Go to hell!" More English. I couldn't summon a single word of Talmonese right then.
There were several chuckles, which only inflamed me further. Then the woman said clearly, "You have your hands full, Sartine."
"She's worth it," Sartine replied.
Her words stilled me, and I closed my mouth. Sartine took that as acquiescence rather than the more accurate shock that it was. She took another rope and began tying it around my body in some sort of complicated harness.
"What are you doing?" I managed to ask in Talmonese.
"Tying you," she said. "It must be done very precisely, so anyone who sees you will know you are my galatzi prisoner."
She took her time. I renewed my futile struggles, and finally she stilled. "Normally a galatzi prisoner stops fighting when the fight is over. You are going to ruin the knots."
Did she think I cared?
I continued to struggle, and when it was clear I wasn't going to stop, she went back to working on the complicated knots. Finally she was satisfied. Her aunt came over and inspected it. "Good," she said. "It will hold."
The men holding my hands carefully bent my arms until my bound wrists pressed against the back of my neck. Then Sartine, leaning against me and looking over my shoulder, used one more piece of rope to secure my wrists to the harness she had tied, pulling tightly. When she was done, she checked everything then leaned back to sit on my knees.
The way I was tied, my arms were beside my head, my elbows in the air. I pulled on the ropes, but everything was secure, and I couldn't reach a single knot. I squirmed around, hoping something would loosen, but she knew what she was doing. Sartine watched as I squirmed and struggled. I had only the slightest movement of my arms, and I knew I was to stay tied like this until they released me. I wasn't going to free myself. Finally I slumped.
That was when she caressed my cheek. I tried to bite her, but she snatched her hand back.
There were more chuckles, and I looked around with a glare.
Then I spoke carefully. "When the Empire finds out what you have done, they will destroy this planet."
Sartine's expression clouded for a moment, then cleared. She shook her head. "No, they won't."
"This is taking too long," the aunt said. "We need to go."
"They will!" I insisted.
"We'll discuss it later," Sartine said. "We'll have ample time during our trip."
"You can't do this!"
She smiled, then the aunt handed her several pieces of cloth. I stared at them in her hands.
"What are those for?"
"To-" and she used a word I didn't know. I told her that. She explained. "So you cannot speak. These go in your mouth, and then we tie it."
I learned the Talmonese expression to gag someone. I stared at them.
"Please don't, Sartine."
"We must," said the aunt. "It is required. Hurry, Sartine."
Sartine patted my cheek. This time I didn't bite her. Instead I clamped my mouth shut. She eyed me carefully.
"I will make a deal with you," she offered. "We are going to gag you." I shook my head. "We are. You will agree to cooperate. Or." She looked at her uncle, still holding me from behind me. "Show her."
Immediately one of his hands moved, and he covered my mouth, holding my mouth closed while he did it. And his hand was so big he could plug my nose at the same time. I immediately struggled against him, but he held me firmly, pulling my head backwards against his chest, and I couldn't free myself. He held me like that for perhaps five or ten seconds before releasing my mouth.
I breathed loudly, taking in the blessed air. I was on the edge of complete panic, and they only gave me a few seconds to try to calm down.
"If you agree to cooperate, my uncle does not need to do that again," Sartine said. "If you agree to cooperate, I will also take two minutes to bring some of your things with us. Perhaps you would like your own clothes."
I looked over my shoulder at the uncle. He wasn't watching me. I looked around at all of them, and I knew this was happening, no matter what I said. I turned back to Sartine. "You can't possibly intend to give me to your brother. He's a child."
"I don't," she said. "You are for the Indartha Vendart."
"If he touches me, it is rape." I used the English word. Sartine didn't know the word, of course. "It means when a man forces a woman."
She looked at me sadly. "Oh, Cecilia, no! It is not like that. No one will ever hurt you. I will explain more, but we must go. Will you cooperate?"
She clasped my chin. "Cecilia," she said. "Your vendart agreed to a galatzi trade. He has already taken my sister, and I cannot have her back. We are taking you in exchange. This is the Talmonese way, and you will not sway us. You want me. I want you." She caressed my cheek. "You will not sway us to change our mind. Uncle, if she argues again, make her sleep. Cecilia, will you cooperate, or do we make you sleep?"
She was mad. They were all mad. They had no idea what they were doing. I slumped and lowered my head. "You'll bring my things?"
"Yes, as much as fits in a pack."
"This one," said the woman, and I turned to see her holding a bag of some sort. It wasn't big, but it would hold what I needed.
"I'll cooperate," I said. "My tablet. It's in the charging station in the kitchen. Bring that, too."
She jumped from my legs and ran into the kitchen, returning a moment later. "These?" she asked.
"Yes, but you unplugged the cord. We need the cord."
"Cord?"
"You called it a leash."
"Right." She handed the tablet and charger to the woman, who lowered them carefully into the bag.
"Pack clothes around them!" I said, and she nodded.
In the meantime, Sartine ran back to the kitchen and returned with the cord. She showed it to me before putting it into the bag.
"You will lift the weights?"
"We need one more thing. In my bedroom is a closet." I used English. "Um. A door. With clothes."
She nodded.
"On the top..." another word I didn't know. "High, near the ceiling, it is blue. Flat. Twenty-five centimeters. After that, whatever clothes will fit."