Slave Empire - Prophecy (7 page)

Rayne headed
across the city, unsure of where she was going. As she walked
through a building, a crash nearby made her jump and sprint out of
the nearest door, where she collided with someone. She recoiled,
preparing to flee, then recognised Rawn with a rush of relief and
joy.

He shouted in
delight and swept her into his arms, squeezing her until her ribs
creaked. She gasped and pounded on his back until he held her away
to study her.

"Thank God
you're all right. I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Me too! What
happened to you?"

Rawn laughed.
"What happened to me? I went to the grove to meet you, but you
never came! What happened to you?"

"I was
attacked..." She broke off as Rawn glanced around. "Let's get out
off the street, huh? We'll find a spot where we can talk. Do you
have any food? I'm starved."

She gave him a
food bar as they entered a building.

When the girl
bumped into a man, it surprised Tallyn. The spy-cam, following her,
did not spot the stranger until it exited the building behind her,
by which time she was already enfolded in the man's arms. Tallyn
opened his mouth to order his weapons' officer to protect her, then
shut it when it became apparent that they knew each other, and she
was pleased to meet him.

After the
previous incident, when the officer assigned to watch her had been
distracted and missed the store guards' chase, only returning to
the screen in time to see her stepping over four corpses, Tallyn
had taken to watching her himself. How she had killed the guards
remained a mystery, for she did not have a weapon, as far as he
knew. Yet she must have acquired one since her confrontation with
the mutants. How else had she killed the men?

He studied the
man and turned to his lieutenant. "Our girl's guardian? What do you
think?"

Marcon nodded.
"Looks like her brother, sir."

"Yes, he does,
doesn't he? I wonder if he is."

Tallyn
scrutinised the new man, who was another excellent specimen of
humanity with no signs of disease, but most importantly, someone
she knew. Now he knew that this was what he had been waiting for.
All his instincts told him that now it was time to bring her
aboard. He turned to Marcon.

"Deploy the
transfer Net. Put them straight into the isolation cell in sick
bay, full quarantine. Use a mild tranquilliser gas and start
decontamination. We don't want to give them too many shocks at
once."

Marcon nodded,
signalling to a crewman, who touched the crystals on his console.
The spy-cam’s screen went blank as the tiny floating camera was
recalled, and moments later the main screen filled with an image
from one of the ship's on-board cameras.

The energy
shell's golden glow faded as the Net dispersed to reveal two
confused humans in a pale room. They clung to each other with wide
eyes, then relaxed as the tranquilliser gas took effect.

Tallyn glanced
at Marcon. "We'll let them recover for a while, I think."

On his way to
his quarters, he wondered how they would react to their
translocation. The tranquilliser gas would calm the male's
aggression, so his primitive projectile weapon did not pose a
threat. Tallyn was more concerned that the transfer's shock would
make the girl overwrought.

Chapter Four

Rayne studied
the strange room, her heart thudding. She had flung herself at Rawn
when the golden light engulfed them, her skin prickling with static
power. The glow had faded to reveal the odd white room. Rawn had
held her with one arm while he drew his gun and glanced around,
then a wave of dizziness had washed over her, along with a slight
sensation of detachment. Several minutes had passed since then, and
Rawn studied the featureless walls with a scowl, hefting his
gun.

"Where are
we?" Rayne's whisper was a thread of sound in a pit of silence.

Rawn muttered,
"Out of the frying pan and in the fire."

"What?"

"I don't
know." He released her and went over to the nearest wall, running
his hand over its silky smooth surface. "This is weird."

Rayne sank to
the floor as shock drained the last of her energy and her stomach
knotted. After so much hardship and struggle, she had thought her
life was about to return to normal. The confusing and possibly
dangerous situation had ousted her joy at finding Rawn. She rubbed
hot tears from her stinging eyes as the possible ramifications of
this new and inexplicable predicament overwhelmed her. Rawn prowled
the room, testing the walls and finding them solid, apparently.

"I don't know
where we are, but this isn't the work of the autocrats," he
muttered. "They don't have this kind of technology."

"Then who? The
aliens?"

Rawn frowned
at her. "What aliens?"

Rayne told him
about the scarlet saucer, the white-clad man, and the two incidents
since then. It sounded bizarre even to her, but Rawn listened with
a wrinkled brow. When she finished, he remained tight-lipped,
unable to offer any explanation. Telling her tale made their
situation seem more threatening, and she wondered if whoever had
captured them was listening.

A tense hour
dragged by while they waited for something to happen. Rawn pacing
the room, then holstered his gun and sat beside her. They relaxed
as the vertigo lessened and fatigue set in. Rayne struggled to keep
her eyes open, although Rawn told her to sleep. She jerked into
nerve-jangling wakefulness when a soft hum and swish broke the
tomb-like silence. A section of seamless wall slid back to reveal
an alcove with a basin and toilet. After Rawn inspected it, Rayne
used it to refresh herself with cool water. As soon as Rawn had
used it, the door swished shut again. Moments later, a narrow beam
of purple light swept across the cell, making Rayne's skin crawl.
Rawn banged on the wall and swore at their unseen captors.

"Any more
stunts like that, and I'll shoot a hole in the wall," he
promised.

"I don't think
you can do much to them."

"We'll see
about that."

A few minutes
later, just as they relaxed again, another section of the wall slid
back to reveal two glasses of clear liquid. Rawn eyed the
beverages, lifted a glass and sniffed it.

"Smells like
water."

"We had water
from the basin," she pointed out. "Unless we weren't supposed to
drink that."

"But I think
we're supposed to drink this."

"Why?"

He shrugged.
"It's probably got medicine in it." He put the glass down.
"Whatever it is, I don't want it." He glared around at the walls.
"You hear me, you bastards out there? We won't co-operate until we
get an explanation. Show yourselves, you cowards! We're not
animals, so stop treating us like them!"

Rayne tugged
his arm. "Stop it! We don't want to make them mad."

"They're
making me mad."

"They might be
the ones who helped me."

"Well they're
not acting very bloody friendly now."

Another
strained silence fell as they waited for a response to Rawn's
outburst and their refusal to drink the water. Undoubtedly they
were being watched, and Rayne was sure it would only be a matter of
time before their captors were forced to communicate with them. The
response came sooner than she expected, in the form of a soft
masculine voice that spoke in oddly accented English.

"We apologise
for the quarantine's necessity. Unfortunately, if you wish to meet
us, you must drink the liquid in the glasses."

Rawn yelled
back, "Where are we? What do you want?"

"You are
aboard a space ship called Vengeance, and we wish you no harm," the
disembodied voice said.

"Why have you
kidnapped us?"

"That will be
explained once you have imbibed the medicine."

"What does it
do?" Rawn demanded.

"It is merely
to eradicate unwanted bacteria that could be harmful to our health.
Your world is, unfortunately, an unhealthy place. Once you have
drunk the medicine, you will be released after a set period of
time."

"And if we
refuse?"

"That is not
an option we are prepared to accept. Eventually you will become
thirsty and drink the medication. Obstinacy will merely prolong
your incarceration."

Rawn glared
around at the walls. "I could shoot my way out of here!"

"No. Any
attempt to use your weapon will be countered by an increase in
tranquilliser gas. I urge you to co-operate."

"I'll bet you
do!" Rawn shouted. "But why should I co-operate with you, huh?"

"Because you
wish to leave the room," the voice stated.

"But I don't
want to be bullied by the likes of you!"

Rayne gripped
his arm. "Stop it. Let's just drink the medicine. This is a
pointless argument."

"How do we
know it isn't poison?" he demanded.

"Why would
they bring us here to poison us? They could have killed us any
time."

"Maybe they
want to use us in some kind of experiment, like damned guinea
pigs."

She shook her
head. "I don't think so, but what choice do we have? Like he said,
they'll just keep us locked in here until we get so thirsty we
drink it. Let's rather do it now and get it over with. There's
really nothing else we can do."

"You're too
damned fatalistic, Ray. I could shoot a hole -"

"No you
couldn't, and even if you did, what then? If we're aboard a space
ship, there's nowhere to run, is there?"

Rawn let the
gun drop to his side, his shoulders slumping. "Guess not, if that's
true. But I don't like this. It's all too damned neat and prepared,
as if it was planned. I feel like we're in a damned laboratory. And
I'll tell you this, if I start to feel sick, I will shoot my way
out of here and take a few of those bastards with me."

Rayne glanced
up at the walls. "Will the medicine make us sick?"

"No," the
voice replied. "Side effects should be minimal. At worst, some
cramps and diarrhoea may result."

Rayne picked
up a glass and drained it.

He watched
her. "What does it taste like?"

She shrugged.
"Water."

Rawn drank
his, and they settled down to wait again. This time they passed the
hours in silence, and Rayne dozed against Rawn's shoulder. They
jumped when a door slid open again, revealing a larger bathroom
with two shower cubicles. Two sets of grey one-piece clothing were
folded on a shelf next a pair of fluffy white towels. Rawn glanced
at his sister.

"I suppose the
inference is pretty obvious."

"We
smell."

"Undoubtedly,
but do they have to be so blatant?"

She smiled.
"Well, having cleaned out our insides, they have to do the outsides
too."

The soft male
voice spoke again. "You have already been externally
decontaminated. The cleaning facilities are for your comfort. We
have tried to simulate your method of washing. We hope you find the
facilities adequate."

Rayne gazed at
the showers. "It's been a long time since I had a shower,
especially a warm one."

Rawn frowned.
"Our method of washing? What kind of aliens are these?"

The voice
said, "We are what you would call humanoids, similar to you in many
respects, but we have various means of washing that would be
strange and possibly alarming to you."

"Us
primitives, you mean," Rawn snapped.

Rayne poked
him. "Will you quit arguing with him? I don't give a fig how they
wash. I want a shower."

"He sounds
like one of those damned fairy airline stewards. They always bugged
me."

"Well, I'm
going to have a shower."

He grabbed her
arm as she started towards the cubicles. "You seem to be very
damned trusting all of a sudden. What if this is just a way to
separate us?"

"We can shower
together, if you prefer, but I think they can do pretty much what
they like with us, and there's really nothing we could do to stop
them. They could have knocked us unconscious with their gas if they
chose, taken away your gun, stripped and tied us up, but they
haven't. If they're going to treat us well, then I, for one, am
going to co-operate. They're not autocrats, so let's see what they
want before judging them."

His eyes
narrowed. "You're being too calm about this."

"It must be
the tranquilliser they gave us. There's really no point in being
upset, is there?"

"Guess not,"
he muttered. "You shower first then. I'll stand guard."

"Okay." She
headed for the shower cubicles, shedding her clothes.

Tallyn
switched off the monitor and sat back, frowning. The girl was
perhaps a little more intelligent than her companion. By opting to
stand guard, the man had foiled his intention of removing the
weapon, but it was not a serious setback. It meant their first
encounter would require a stress screen between them to thwart any
attempt by the man to take a hostage, until he could be persuaded
to give up his weapon. He seemed hostile and potentially dangerous,
a trait common amongst human males. It meant Tallyn might have to
separate them, and possibly keep the man confined until he
co-operated. The first contact mediator was doing a good job. The
girl, at least, was responding well to his overtures. He switched
on the monitor again.

The girl was
in the shower still, and clouds of steam rolled from under the
frosted glass door. The man, Rawn, stood outside, his expression
bitterly truculent. After a few minutes, the girl emerged wrapped
in a towel, and donned the smaller of the two grey outfits, which
fitted her well. She rubbed her hair dry, then took the projectile
weapon from the man while he went to shower.

When she moved
into the main part of the cell, Tallyn decided it was time to act.
He jumped up and left the bridge to hurry along the corridor to the
hospital. He wanted to speak to the girl before the man re-emerged.
When he arrived in the spacious, clean room with its faint odour of
antiseptic, the mediator, Egan, rose and saluted. Two doctors, who
watched the humans over his shoulder, straightened.