the hall.
A guard skulked to Sam’s cell and tapped off the force field.
With an impatient gesture, the guard motioned for Sam to follow. Sam strode out
of his cell—off to meet his fate with squared shoulders, and she’d never see him
again. But he halted at the entrance to her cell and swiveled his head to look
at her. They locked gazes.
He flinched from the invisible current flowing from her cell’s
opening and the low lights glanced off his definitely hazel eyes. A prickle
walked down her spine and something welled up inside. Recognition. Maybe she’d
known him in a previous life... She shook her head, but the indistinct feeling
wouldn’t fade.
It broke when Sam jolted and followed the guard. Ridiculous. He
was an alien and therefore impossible to know in any life, least of all this one
since he’d be dead soon.
She’d never see him again or hear him talk with that accent
which should grate but didn’t.
Good.
All the aliens deserved to die. Aliens were hideous. Not
classically hideous, in the eight-arms-and-slime-covered sort of way, but in the
oppressive-and-terrifying way.
Sam just...wasn’t.
She jumped up and caught sight of his lean back disappearing
around the corner.
The aliens weren’t picky about whom they locked up, yet against
all odds, she’d found an ally on this frightening and baffling world. One who
had been wrongfully accused, like her. Well, she didn’t know for sure he’d been
framed, but it wouldn’t surprise her to learn the aliens threw people in jail
for fun. Regardless, he’d listened and seemed willing to try changing their
fate. Sad, really, to have more respect for the alien than her fellow
Earthlings.
And now he marched to his death. Melancholy settled in the back
of her throat and she swallowed. She wasn’t upset about Sam dying. She wasn’t,
even though she kind of liked him. It was grief over losing her only chance. Sam
represented a possible means of rescue, nothing more.
She retreated from the cell opening before the headache bloomed
into something unmanageable.
* * *
One practiced the speech
he’d prepared for his audience with the king as the lift ascended to Kir Barsha.
In contrast to the first time, four guards surrounded him and he had no
illusions about his precarious situation. When the Security workers had brought
the child, One requested a message be conveyed to
the king regarding an audience and thankfully, the king had agreed to see him
first this morning.
One looked forward to imparting
valuable information about the issues in the Penal system. The Ancestors would
favor him this time.
He barely noticed the lavish surroundings as he approached the
king’s throne. As before, the room buzzed with the court’s conversations. The
rest of the Telhada seemed to do little else but talk, while citizens performed
meaningful work in the city below.
“What is the nature of your request for an audience, ZXQ - One ?” The king smiled
jovially. The Festival of the Ancestors the king had attended the previous
evening must have been a holy and stirring event if he was in such good spirits. One intended to capitalize on the fortunate
timing.
“Your highness.” One bowed. “The
Security Division has issues of which you must be aware.”
High Priest UBA moved to the edge
of the dais with a swirl of his robes. “Do you dare come before the king with
accusations against the High Chairman of Security?”
The High Priest stared down at One .
Today, he wore the headdress of the Afterlife, with intertwined metal serpents
whose jeweled eyes glittered. One had not
contemplated conversing with him instead of the king, though in hindsight, he
should have. The king’s agenda he understood. UBA’s ,
he did not. Especially since UBA had been
instrumental in sending One to recycling.
Uncertainty made his position all the more precarious.
He laced his fingers together behind his back to hide sudden
trembling and spoke to the king. “Your highness, while
A guard skulked to Sam’s cell and tapped off the force field.
With an impatient gesture, the guard motioned for Sam to follow. Sam strode out
of his cell—off to meet his fate with squared shoulders, and she’d never see him
again. But he halted at the entrance to her cell and swiveled his head to look
at her. They locked gazes.
He flinched from the invisible current flowing from her cell’s
opening and the low lights glanced off his definitely hazel eyes. A prickle
walked down her spine and something welled up inside. Recognition. Maybe she’d
known him in a previous life... She shook her head, but the indistinct feeling
wouldn’t fade.
It broke when Sam jolted and followed the guard. Ridiculous. He
was an alien and therefore impossible to know in any life, least of all this one
since he’d be dead soon.
She’d never see him again or hear him talk with that accent
which should grate but didn’t.
Good.
All the aliens deserved to die. Aliens were hideous. Not
classically hideous, in the eight-arms-and-slime-covered sort of way, but in the
oppressive-and-terrifying way.
Sam just...wasn’t.
She jumped up and caught sight of his lean back disappearing
around the corner.
The aliens weren’t picky about whom they locked up, yet against
all odds, she’d found an ally on this frightening and baffling world. One who
had been wrongfully accused, like her. Well, she didn’t know for sure he’d been
framed, but it wouldn’t surprise her to learn the aliens threw people in jail
for fun. Regardless, he’d listened and seemed willing to try changing their
fate. Sad, really, to have more respect for the alien than her fellow
Earthlings.
And now he marched to his death. Melancholy settled in the back
of her throat and she swallowed. She wasn’t upset about Sam dying. She wasn’t,
even though she kind of liked him. It was grief over losing her only chance. Sam
represented a possible means of rescue, nothing more.
She retreated from the cell opening before the headache bloomed
into something unmanageable.
* * *
One practiced the speech
he’d prepared for his audience with the king as the lift ascended to Kir Barsha.
In contrast to the first time, four guards surrounded him and he had no
illusions about his precarious situation. When the Security workers had brought
the child, One requested a message be conveyed to
the king regarding an audience and thankfully, the king had agreed to see him
first this morning.
One looked forward to imparting
valuable information about the issues in the Penal system. The Ancestors would
favor him this time.
He barely noticed the lavish surroundings as he approached the
king’s throne. As before, the room buzzed with the court’s conversations. The
rest of the Telhada seemed to do little else but talk, while citizens performed
meaningful work in the city below.
“What is the nature of your request for an audience, ZXQ - One ?” The king smiled
jovially. The Festival of the Ancestors the king had attended the previous
evening must have been a holy and stirring event if he was in such good spirits. One intended to capitalize on the fortunate
timing.
“Your highness.” One bowed. “The
Security Division has issues of which you must be aware.”
High Priest UBA moved to the edge
of the dais with a swirl of his robes. “Do you dare come before the king with
accusations against the High Chairman of Security?”
The High Priest stared down at One .
Today, he wore the headdress of the Afterlife, with intertwined metal serpents
whose jeweled eyes glittered. One had not
contemplated conversing with him instead of the king, though in hindsight, he
should have. The king’s agenda he understood. UBA’s ,
he did not. Especially since UBA had been
instrumental in sending One to recycling.
Uncertainty made his position all the more precarious.
He laced his fingers together behind his back to hide sudden
trembling and spoke to the king. “Your highness, while
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