<< Back to Eps. 67-68 --- Continue to Eps. 71-72 >>
Episode 69: A Tempest in a Teapot
Nova fought to keep her breathing steady. Walking in the midst of the four men surrounding her felt so strange – alien even. She didn't know everything that was going on. The one named "Krypt" said that "Leader Desslok" had arranged her safe passage home. What did that mean? Was she being sent to Iscandar? And who was this "Leader Desslok" that she'd heard about twice now?
She looked around the dark corridors as they passed through them. They wove through cell block after cell block as the alarms continued blaring.
The men around her picked up the pace and she snatched up the skirt of her dress to keep from tripping on it as they hurried through the halls.
They rounded a corner and came face to face with a mass of men with olive green skin.
"Get back!" Stav exclaimed, immediately drawing his weapon and pushing Nova back around the corner. He was quickly followed by Krypt and his two men. "Cometines," Stav hissed, "That's what this is all about. A bunch of them have escaped."
"Cometines?" Nova asked, trying to pronounce the word the same way Stav had.
"The barbarians," Krypt put in, eyes narrowed, "We'll get you to the ship, even if we have to fight our way through that horde."
Nova nodded slowly, "Thank you." She wasn't sure if she should be afraid of these "Cometines" or not, but if they were trying to break out of the prison, they would most likely be fierce opponents.
"Give me a weapon," Nova held out her hand, motioning for Stav to hand her his other pistol.
"No!" Stav replied, startled at the request. "You must not fight, you could be wounded."
"Give it to me," Nova replied, more firmly this time, a bit amused at the horrified look she could see on Krypt's face just out of the corner of her eye.
"No,' Stav replied again.
Nova gave the young man an exasperated look, then proceeded to reach down and tie her dress up out of the way, then she unholstered Stav's other weapon and hefted it handily, earning a look of shock from the Galeran.
"I will not cower in the shadows when I could be fighting for my own freedom," Nova said, concentrating hard on structuring the long sentence.
The roar of the mob occupying the passageway ahead rolled over her and Stav, then the Galeran nodded, "Fine…"
Krypt started to protest, but just then a very angry looking Cometine barged around the corner, his weapon pointed directly at Krypt's head.
Nova reacted, shooting the attacker in the shoulder, knocking the man away from the group and sending him crashing into the far wall.
"Let's go!" Nova motioned for the four men to follow her as she whipped around the corner and bowled through a knot of prisoners blocking their way.
The group of Gamilons and Stav raced after her, fighting through the prisoners as they went, reforming their circle around Nova to create a shield against the Cometine onslaught.
"Where are the guards?" one of the Gamilons asked when they were nearly through the hostiles.
"Lockdown procedures initiated. All prison personnel, report to the designated safe zones," the prison computer's voice echoed through the passageway, "All prison personnel, report to the designated safe zones."
Krypt cursed, at the ethereal voice, then in horror looked at Nova and stuttered, "My profuse apologies, Princess, for my language. Please, forgive my words."
Nova nodded, "It is not I you offend, sir, but," Nova searched her brain for the name Starsha had used in reference to God, "Yahweh."
Krypt looked away. "We must get out of this area," the advisor said, instead of replying to Nova. "The last guard we saw said we should continue down this corridor until it opened up into the third guard barracks. From there, we can get further instructions."
Krypt set a fast pace, breaking into a run. The rest of the group followed him easily and Nova was surprised at the advisor's stamina. He didn't look like an athlete of any kind, but he kept up a good pace.
Nova said a quick prayer of thanks for all the running she'd been forced to do in her spare time to keep in shape during their voyage.
The group thundered down the hallway, looking everywhere for the entrance to the barracks they'd been promised were close by.
"This way!" Stav called, "I see it!"
Krypt and his men followed the Galeran without question and within half a minute they were all safely through the barracks door, just before it closed behind them with an ominous hiss, sealing them inside.
The alarms stopped and the voice of the security system droned, "Lockdown procedures initiated. All prison personnel, report to the designated safe zones,"
"What's going on?" Dara asked Elisa, who was still staring at the unconscious man sprawled on the floor.
"Please present your hand and retinal pattern to the appropriate scanners," the A.I. droned again, but this time its voice echoed in the quiet room and Dara squelched the urge to find its vocal processor and ram a blade through it to shut it up.
"Come on, help me get him up here," she motioned for Elisa to grab the guard's other shoulder. "Once he's up all I need you to do is keep him from falling on me."
Elisa, shaken out of her daze, nodded and replied wide-eyed, "Alright…"
"That announcement can't be a good thing," Dara said. "What is the lockdown procedure?"
"They shut down the entire prison," Elisa replied as she helped Dara heft the man up off the floor and balance him in a semi-steady position so that Dara could peel his eyes open and press his hand against the door panel. "Sometimes it can take weeks for them to reopen it. I haven't experienced one, but I've heard stories."
Dara groaned, "That's the last thing we need – getting stuck inside a prison for weeks until the situation is defused." She grunted under the weight of the guard, but was rewarded with a blip of recognition when she managed to line up the man's eyes and hand properly.
The cell door hissed as it unsealed and Dara and Elisa very nearly dropped the guard when they saw Admiral Dietz get up off of the narrow bench he was perched on and stand to meet his two unlikely rescuers.
"Father," Dara threw her arms around the man as she imagined Melda would have if she'd been here, "I didn't know if I would see you again."
The Admiral hugged Dara back, "I don't know how many times when I was waiting here in this cell that the thought of you kept me from falling into despair."
"I'm just glad I found you," Dara replied, thankful when the Admiral let go of her and turned his attention back to the situation at hand.
"I don't know the layout of this prison," he said, looking at both exits to the solitary block a few times before pointing at one of them, "Is this the way out?"
"No," Dara shook her head, "That way. I looked at the prison schematics before I came to find you."
"Let's get moving," the Admiral admonished. Then he looked at Elisa and asked, "You're coming with us, aren't you?"
Elisa looked torn, and for a moment said nothing, then slowly replied, "I… will come with you."
"Great," Dara said, scooping up the fallen guard's weapons and handing one to Admiral Dietz and the other to Elisa. "We have a lot of ground to cover before they finish the lockdown process. Right now we're nearly at the back of the prison fortress. The only thing farther back is some kind of living quarters area."
"That's where the Princess was being kept," Elisa said.
"Princess? What princess?" Dietz asked.
"Princess Astra of Iscandar," Elisa answered, "Krypt, from the Leader's Council took her away just before we opened your cell."
"Took her away?" Dietz asked. "What do you mean?"
"He and three men were walking her out of the area. I don't know why," Elisa replied, looking around nervously.
"We'll have to answer that question after we get out of here," Dara broke in, "Come on, before we're stuck in here for who knows how long." She started towards the exit. Just before she reached the open archway she heard the telltale buzzing of a force-field coming online.
"Run!" Dara exclaimed, adrenaline starting to rush through her as she realized that they were about to be on the wrong side of a sealed-off door.
Dietz and Elisa followed Dara as they raced through the corridors, ducking through arch and door, expecting to be flung backward by an invisible barrier every time they went through.
Finally, they started to see the reason for the lockdown. At first, it was only two or three of them, but then a whole horde of Cometines swarmed the passage, rioting, and beating guards, and each other without mercy.
Dara flung herself into the fight, shooting at anything that got in her way. The Admiral was right behind her, firing off round after round of his own. Elisa stuck closely to the Admiral, trying to keep out of sight as well as she could. She fired a few shots, but didn't hit anything.
Elisa took a deep breath and forged on behind Dietz, hoping that they would make it through this nightmare alive.
They skirted past the last knot of insurgents only to come face to face with a giant Cometine with crooked teeth and a nasty scar over one eye.
Dara looked up at him and recognized the man she'd handed the cell key off to hours ago when she'd let out his countrymen.
The light of recognition dawned in the brute's eyes and he stepped aside for Dara and her two friends to pass.
Dara gave the man a quick nod of thanks as she passed him. He didn't respond, only turned back towards the mayhem in the corridor.
"Lockdown procedures initiated. All prison personnel, report to the designated safe zones," the annoying voice of the prison computer droned again, but this time they all felt the urgency in the air thicken. This was most likely their last warning before the entire prison was cut off from the outside world.
"If you've been holding anything back, now's the time to use it," Dara called over her shoulder as she pushed herself into a full sprint, feeling the burn in her chest as she whisked by the door to the comm hub she'd found when she'd entered the fortress.
"Come on!" she encouraged, casting a glance back over her shoulder.
The old Admiral was keeping up decently, though Elisa was having trouble. Her dress kept getting tangled in her legs and she had to slow down to keep from falling.
Dara skidded to a halt and turned around, heading straight for Elisa.
"Stop," Dara instructed the other woman when she reached her; then she leaned down and tied the former councilor's skirt up so that it was shorter and no longer in the way. "Now, run like you mean it," Dara instructed, pointing down the hall, "We're almost back to the main gate."
Elisa nodded and took off, much faster now that she could run unhindered. Dara dashed after her and soon they'd caught up to Dietz.
The three rounded the last corner and came face to face with Warden Bozen himself.
"You don't understand," Krypt tried to explain to the senior officer, "We have to get out of here. Leader Desslok himself is expecting us."
"I don't care who's expecting you," the other man replied, "I couldn't open this door if I tried." He banged a fist on the solid metal barrier, "It's sealed. Only Bozen can deactivate the lockdown."
Krypt glared at the officer, "Well, be sure that I will note your inability to help us in my ship's log."
The officer raised an eyebrow at Krypt and said, "Do what you must, good Councilor, but I cannot change reality simply to suit your needs."
Krypt hissed as he turned and walked away from the man.
"Be prepared to leave as soon as we can find a way out of these barracks," Krypt instructed his men.
The group nodded and muttered agreement with their superior, then spread out around the crowded room to look for possible exits.
Nova's stomach started doing flips as she looked around, noting exactly how many guards were in this room alone – not to mention the other sections of the barracks. Most of them were Gamilon, but a few had skin similar to her own.
"They must be like Stav," she thought, "Or from somewhere like his home."
The men milled around, seeming bored. Some of them were on the alert, looking around the barracks with attentive eyes, waiting for the lockdown to be called off.
In a group of men this diverse, she noted that, even though most of them shared the same basic blue hue, there were variations ranging from a light blue to a deep royal, and even some who bordered on violet. Then there were the limited hair colors. Ninety five percent of the men in the room had hair in various shades of brown. One had what looked like frosted blonde highlights, and a few had dark black hair, but that was all.
She caught a section of her own hair and held it up to study it. The rich blonde was definitely nothing like any of the colors represented in the room.
Slowly, she stood up from the bench she'd been perched on. She heard Stav rise to follow her as she quietly stole through the barracks and into the next room over. She looked around again, seeing the exact same ratios she had in the previous room, though in this one there was one man sporting a green stripe down the back of his head and a couple of these men's heads were cleanly shaven.
She carefully whisked through, expecting to be able to walk into the next barracks section, but instead of an open archway, there was a closed door.
Nova studied the barrier, puzzled. The symbols next to this door were the same as the ones next to the second barracks entrance, except with one difference.
Curious, she studied the control panel next to the door. Seeing what she thought might be the "open" command, she tapped it. Nothing happened for a long moment and Nova thought she'd pushed the wrong button. She was just about to turn around and start back to where she'd been sitting when the door hissed open and a woman's voice said, "Come in."
Nova raised as eyebrow in curiosity when she heard the voice and stepped into the barracks, Stav right on her heels.
The door shut right after they entered and she was surprised to find a group of women wearing the prison guard uniform. There were only ten women, and just as many bunks to accommodate them.
"Hello," Nova greeted cautiously.
"Welcome, sister," one of the women replied and stepped up to usher Nova farther into the room. "Please, sit." She gestured towards one of the bunks. "We are honored to see the Princess of Iscandar."
Nova took a seat on the offered bunk. "Thank you," she said as she looked at the women, noting the same things that she had with the men. Like their male counterparts, they too shared the same skin tone, but their hues varied. Their hair was more decorative and displayed more creativity than the men. The colors covered every part of the rainbow, with the exception of one color section – orange. There were no auburn or redheads anywhere to be seen. The closest thing she saw was deep red highlights, and those were represented by the youngest woman in the group, a spunky teen.
Nova's brow furrowed in puzzlement at the absence. Perhaps it was a cultural taboo or something she didn't understand. She quickly wiped the confused look off her face and smiled at the nearest guardswoman, hoping she hadn't caught the strange expression.
The woman nodded to Nova respectfully and asked, "Is there anything we can do for you, Princess?"
Nova thought about this question, then replied, "Is there no other way out of these barracks than the front entrance?"
At this the entire group began to laugh hysterically.
"My apologies, Princess," the woman who'd asked the question said, "But certainly you did not think that we would consent to being cornered in this end of the barracks without another way out."
"So there is one?" Nova asked.
"Of course there is," the woman replied, then motioned for the Earther to follow her. "Here," she stomped on a section of the floor and Nova heard the telltale echo of a hollow section hiding beneath it. "We often find our way out to other areas while the men hold their raucous celebrations. We don't much appreciate the repeated drunken solicitations, so we leave."
Nova nodded, not quite sure what to say to this revelation.
"My apologies for my crude words, Princess, but we live in a harsh world here." The woman pried up the floor section and gestured to the opening, "This will lead you wherever you need to go. It can even take you beyond the prison walls if you so desire."
Nova's face brightened. "The dock?" she asked.
"If you wish," the woman replied.
"Thank you," Nova turned to Stav, "Tell Krypt… quietly."
Stav nodded and started to go, but three women caught him before he'd taken two steps.
The woman talking with Nova stood up and stepped in front of Stav, pointing a serious finger in his face, "If you tell any of those animals in there our secret, you will never see the light of day again, and they will never find all the pieces of your body."
Stav's eyes widened in horror at this threat and he nodded quickly, too afraid of the stern woman to say anything.
"Let him go," the woman instructed, but if he comes back with anyone other than his companions, do not let them in."
Stav quickly made it back to the door, with not a few glances over his shoulder. He was let out quietly.
A few short minutes later he reappeared, this time with Krypt and the two attendants in tow.
The women asked Nova to identify all four men.
Nova studied the group and nodded. "They are the ones," she said.
The woman by the door unlocked it just long enough to admit the four. The door closed behind them with a hiss and a click and all the men looked around at the circle of woman staring at them with displeased looks on their faces.
"We can go now," Nova said to Krypt, indicating the hole in the floor. Then she looked at the woman who'd shown them this exit, "Will you lead us to the dock?"
The woman glared at Krypt and his entourage then growled, "Alright, but the men stay behind you and me." She said to Nova. "I want someone who'll watch my back standing up front with me."
"I will do that," Nova replied.
"Let's get going then. This lockdown could last for weeks and I don't relish being cooped up in here any longer than I have to be." The woman climbed down into the opening, followed by Nova. Stav led the Councilor and his group as they too descended into the darkness beneath the fortress of Leptopoda.
Episode 70: Departure
"What is the meaning of this?!" Bozen yowled at the group of guards protecting him. "Why are they here?!" he pointed animatedly at Dara, Dietz, and Elisa, almost like a spoiled child who hadn't gotten the gift he'd wanted; but all three escapees knew that Bozen wielded significantly more power than an unhappy three-year old.
"Seize them!" Bozen ordered, shaking his still-pointing finger at the three.
"I don't think so," Dara growled under her breath as she braced herself for the three guard's advance. She stepped forward, separating herself from her two companions.
Instead of taking aim with her weapon she sheathed it. The odds were in the guards' favor. Even though Dietz was a formidable opponent, there was no way he could keep up with a man thirty years younger in a fight – at least, not in quarters as close as these.
The only reasons they'd gotten through the riot of prisoners were speed and surprise, as well as that bit of unexpected help, but this time… they had none of those luxuries.
Elisa wasn't going to win a bout with one of these men – there was no way.
When Dara put her weapon away, the guards' faces lightened and they started to advance more quickly, but the instant they saw her strike a defensive pose they all stopped, a look of reticence dawning in their faces.
With a confidence she did not feel, Dara stared down the men and motioned for them to come ahead.
When they did not resume their advance Bozen cursed at them and bellowed, "Take her!"
The three men slowly started towards Dara again.
She took a deep breath, waiting for them to come closer. They inched her way as her heart pounded with unspent adrenaline. She felt the vibrations of their footsteps through the floor and heard their uneven breathing.
Their eyes darted from her to Dietz and Elisa, then back to her. She could feel the air thicken as they closed the gap between them and her.
When the men were a mere four feet in front of her, Dara lunged forward and grabbed two of them by the side of the head, cracking their skulls together.
They fell, instantly out of the fight. With a move she'd seen her brother and several others execute countless times, she dropped and swept her leg solidly into the remaining guard's ankles, sending him sprawling.
She was instantly on him and delivered a knockout punch to the guard's stunned face.
Silence washed over the hall like an ocean wave sweeping through and leaving in its wake nothing but complete shock.
Dara got up and stepped confidently over the comatose men. She marched straight up to Bozen and stared into his ugly face. For added emphasis she drew her weapon again and pressed it into the portly Warden's gratuitous girth.
"We would like to leave now," She said evenly, making sure to never let her eyes waver from Bozen's.
The Warden nodded so quickly that the fat under his chin shook like an earthquake had comin through. Without daring to look away from Dara, the man stepped slowly backward and started to reach into the grey vest he wore.
"Careful," Dara hissed, pushing the barrel of her weapon up against Bozen's spleen. "Don't do anything stupid."
Bozen didn't say anything, but when he pulled out his hand, he was holding a green key card – unlike the grey ones she'd seen in the guards' possession.
When he slid it, the computer asked, "Do you wish to end the lockdown cycle?"
"No," Bozen replied, still staring at his captor. "Open the front gate."
"Duration of request?"
"Twenty seconds," Bozen replied evenly.
"Gate will open in five seconds and will remain open for twenty seconds," the computer droned.
"I suggest you leave quickly," Bozen whispered, "Once the gate closes again, it cannot be opened for another hour."
Without taking her eyes off Bozen, Dara motioned for her companions to come to the gate with her, "We've got twenty seconds to get out," she said to them. "Let's not waste any time. Once the gate opens, run, and get off the platform as soon as you clear the gate. I'll be right behind you."
The front gate crept open a few feet. Just as soon as Dietz and Elisa could fit into the opening they did as Dara said. An instant later, Dara followed them, keeping her weapon trained on Bozen for as long as she could, just in case he decided to fight back.
Halfway down the short entrance hall, Dara put her weapon away and sprinted for the exit, gladder than she'd ever been to see the light of a desert morning glowing ahead of her.
Nova followed the woman in front of her, straining her eyes as they forged on into the darkness beneath the fortress.
She could hear the footsteps of the men behind her as they crunched on the ground. She looked down, but couldn't see to tell what the floor was made of. By the sound of it, they were walking through some kind of gravel.
She reached out and touched the walls of the tunnel they were in. They were rough, unfinished, like they'd been dug out by unskilled hands.
"Did you make this yourselves?" Nova asked the guardswoman quietly.
"We did," she replied, "We try to add to them when we can. Nothing much else to do around here besides stare at the prisoners all day. Sometimes we have to break up a fight or confiscate a weapon someone managed to smuggle in, but other than that…" the woman sighed, "It gets pretty dull here."
"Do you ever leave?" Nova asked.
"Not really," came the reply, "Most of us don't have much family to speak of, at least none of us here on Leptopoda. Can't really say for the other prison worlds though."
Nova nodded, "I see."
Silence fell between the two as they kept walking, Nova peered back over her shoulder several times to make sure she could still see the glow of the light Krypt had taken out to see by.
They walked for over fifteen solid minutes, weaving their way through a labyrinth that Nova was quite sure she would never be able to traverse without a guide.
Finally, they came to an intersection, but instead of a blank wall, staring at the group was a ladder that jutted up into the ceiling.
"We're here," the guardswoman said, voice low. "This ladder leads up to a hidden exit just beneath the docks."
"Thank you," Nova said to the woman, "We could not have done this without you." She laid an appreciative hand on the woman's shoulder.
The guardswoman shrugged, "I wouldn't want to be stuck in here if I didn't have to be. You're not a prisoner, and you seem to want to leave, so I won't stand in your way." She turned and narrowed her eyes at Krypt, "But if you even mention any of this to Bozen, I will find you and make you wish you'd never come here in the first place."
Krypt swallowed hard and nodded.
Accepting the councilor's capitulation, the guardswoman started up the ladder. When she reached the top, she slowly slid back the door that led to the outside.
Dirt and sand fell through, drenching her, but the woman didn't flinch, instead she hopped up out of the hole and onto the ground above.
She reached down and motioned for Nova to follow her. The Earther started up the ladder, glad she'd already tied up her dress, otherwise she wouldn't have made it two steps up without getting it caught under the violet boots she had on.
"Wait," Stav stopped her, "I'll go next. If there's any trouble waiting for us, I don't want you to get hurt."
Nova looked back over her shoulder at the young man, "Thank you, but she would have told us if there was trouble," she struggled again to speak the complicated sentence, but made it through. "And I can take care of myself."
"I cannot allow you to go up first," Stav said again.
Nova turned and started up the ladder anyway, secretly smiling as she heard Stav's protests.
Nova quickly made it up to the surface. Once there she waved Krypt, Stav, and the other men up after her.
The sun hit her face, warming it. The wind had died down today, so sand wasn't blasting into her eyes this time. She looked around, noting that the dock really was quite close – a few feet away. This exit was positioned so that no one on the walkway, headed to a docked ship would see them.
Nova looked at the guardswoman, and with some surprise noted that the Gamilon was staring at her.
Nova started to pretend not to notice, but thought about what Starsha might do in a situation like this. She didn't know a lot of the particulars of Iscandar's relationship with Gamilon, or her people, but she knew that the queen would be cordial at the very least.
"Yes?" Nova asked the woman.
The Gamilon looked away quickly. "I am… sorry, Princess," she said, "I have never seen an Iscandarian before. You are… more beautiful than the stories say."
Nova stepped over to the other woman and, in a voice low enough for the men not to hear as they came out of the tunnel, she said, "I am just like you, my friend. And I thank you for your help this day."
Her words came out more formally than she'd intended, but their effect was the same. The woman looked at Nova with wide eyes, then clapped her on the back and smiled, "I thank you, Princess, for giving me something worthwhile to do. Maybe one day I'll see Iscandar for myself."
"Maybe so," Nova replied with a smile as the last man pulled himself up out of the hole.
"I must go," the guardswoman said, "There is a stairway leading up to the docking platform if you circle around that way," she pointed towards the section of the dock that jutted out into the desert. "Be careful of dry quicksand, other than that, you should be alright."
With those final words she stepped back over to the tunnel exit and eased down into the dark hole, closing the door after her.
Dara heard the echo of the gate as it closed behind her. The vibration of it rumbled through her feet as she dashed down the walkway just far enough to find a good place to jump down to the sandy ground.
She landed with an "Umph" and immediately looked around for Elisa and Dietz. She saw them, just where she'd told them to be, hidden beneath the platform.
"Come on," she motioned for them to come out, "this way," she pointed out into the desert as she took her helmet from its seat on her back and pulled it on, making sure the visor was down to keep out the sand.
The soft glow of the morning sun shone just below the far horizon.
Elisa and Dietz stepped out of the shelter of the platform and followed Dara.
She waded through the sand, slowly leading her little party around the prison wall so that they would be out of sight when they set off into the desert.
Dietz kept up well, but Elisa stopped repeatedly, breathing hard every time she did.
"Only a little bit farther," Dara encouraged each time, "Then we'll start heading for the ship. It isn't far – only half a day's walk."
Elisa gave the other woman a weak smile and replied, "I can't… I have to slow down."
Something in the woman's face told Dara that there was more to this than Elisa was saying. It had been some time since she'd seen the General's wife, but Dara remembered well the time they'd all shared in the wilderness of Gamilon, before Desslok's reclamation of the throne.
She nodded and said, "Alright, we'll go when you're ready."
Elisa breathed hard and nodded back, leaning over with her hands on her knees as she proceeded to vomit into the shifting sands.
Dara looked away, wondering if her old friend was sick, or simply overwhelmed by the escape. Not much seemed to have changed about Elisa in the time Dara had been away. The woman had a few more worry lines in her face, her hair was longer and thicker than Dara remembered, and she'd gained a bit of weight…
Dara's eyes widened beneath her helmet as she realized what was going on. She was about to say something when she felt someone's hand on her shoulder.
"Wha?!" Dara jumped, startled.
"We can go now," Elisa said thinly, "I'll keep up as well as I can."
Dara turned and put an arm around the other woman, "Don't worry about it. We've got all the time we need to get back to my ship." She took out a full water bottle and handed it to Elisa, "You shouldn't let yourself get dehydrated, it isn't good for –" she stopped and cleared her throat, "for you," she finished, glad Elisa couldn't see her face under her visor. Even though it would have been Melda's face the woman saw, it would still have conveyed too much.
It was going to be hard not to mention Elisa's condition. If the woman hadn't mentioned it yet, it was likely that she wasn't going to bring it up – at least not right now.
"Thank you," Elisa accepted the water and took a few slow sips before sealing it back up and handing it to Dara again. "I'm alright."
"Okay," Dara let Elisa go again and started forward, beginning their trek through the dunes back to Dara's waiting scout ship.
The moment Nova stepped onto the Gamilon ship, everything started to become real. She was really leaving this place and being taken somewhere she'd never been one more time. She didn't even know where they were really going or how long it would take to get there.
She looked around as she boarded, fighting to keep her nerves in check. Everything was so foreign. Everywhere she looked she saw men and woman with blue skin – just like in the barracks back at the prison, but all of these people were clearly in military uniform, though some were dressed more formally than others. She assumed the better-dressed ones were the officers.
She was led through a series of halls and into an elevator which shot up through the levels of the ship more quickly than she was used to. Her stomach careened into her throat like a watermelon splatting on pavement.
Her head spun as she was ushered from the now-open elevator and onto what she could only surmise was the bridge. She could hear Stav's faithful footsteps as he stayed right behind her.
Everywhere she looked she saw men and women working, studying screens, or standing, prepared to do their captain's bidding.
The looks on their faces varied from bored to ecstatic.
Krypt escorted her to the end of some kind of raised platform that jutted out into the center of the bridge, leaving Stav standing with two other men near the back of the bridge. There was a clear railing wrapped around the edge of the platform so as to prevent anyone from falling off.
As she stood there, feeling more like a prized pony than a Princess, she felt the eyes of every inhabitant of the bridge on her all at once. When she looked at the men and women surrounding her again she saw now, instead of boredom, a mix of fascination and joy.
She didn't understand the reaction. It was almost like none of these people had ever seen an Iscandarian before. Then what the guardswoman had said earlier came back to her. She hadn't seen an Iscandarian before either… She would have thought on that longer, except she heard a man say to Krypt, "We're ready to depart, Sir."
"Very good. Prepare for launch," Krypt replied to the entire bridge, "We leave for Gamilon immediately."
Nova shut her eyes to keep them from betraying her surprise and shock at this announcement. She was going to Gamilon? Wasn't she supposed to be heading to Iscandar? To Astra's home?
Krypt's voice broke into her reeling thoughts, "This way, Princess," he motioned for her to come with him, "We have quarters prepared for you."
"Gamilon?" Nova asked quietly as Krypt accompanied her off the bridge once again.
"Of course," the Councilor replied, "Leader Desslok would not miss an opportunity to greet you upon your return to Sanzar."
"Of course…" Nova replied, unsure of the meaning of most of what Krypt had just said, but unwilling to tip her hand just yet. She didn't want them to discover that she wasn't really Astra unless there was no other option to take.
"Please, I am sure you will be most comfortable during our short journey," the Councilor assured her, "And your companion will be allowed to remain in an adjoining room if you so choose," he indicated Stav.
"Yes, that will be fine," Nova replied, strangely relieved at the Galeran's continued presence.
"Very well, it shall be as you wish, Princess," Krypt bowed his head to her and continued to lead her and Stav to their intended destination.
The quarters prepared for her were more exquisite than anything Nova had ever seen. They outshone even the most luxurious hotel or dwelling on Earth. Perhaps there was something akin to it once – when kings had ruled portions of the Earth, but not now…
She was relieved when Krypt bowed respectfully and stepped out of the room to show Stav to his own quarters.
She sighed heavily, and took a few steps further inside. She noted the dark green of the walls, just like the ship she'd come to Leptopoda in, but instead of the tiny cell she'd occupied, this room was at least ten times larger than her quarters onboard Argo.
She peered into the room and saw that there was a door leading to another room – probably a bedroom since she saw no place for her to sleep – unless this ship was significantly different than Leptopoda. She'd had a bed there, so it stood to reason that she would have one here too.
She slowly made her way to the door and opened it. Inside this room were a bed, and various other pieces of bedroom furniture that looked much different from what she was used to. Off to the right she noticed another door.
She approached it slowly and opened it. She was pleased to find that it was what looked like a bathing area. She examined the room, fiddling with various things to discover how to use them. Once she was done, she stepped back out and closed the door.
A familiar sensation began to flood through the ship and Nova felt her stomach doing flip-flops as the ship vibrated beneath her booted feet. They were leaving the prison world. She couldn't imagine what lay in store for her now.
It was like the entire world was collapsing on her again. In only a few weeks she'd gone from being the radar operator and part of the secondary nursing staff on board her own ship to being carted off to who knew where through a strange galaxy, mistaken for a foreign princess.
The situation would have been funny if it hadn't been so alien… She felt like one of the jungle cats from Bemera who'd been dumped in the middle of the ocean. One moment she felt like she might drown in this strange new world, then the next, she would catch a whiff of something familiar or see something that reminded her of the Argo or her friends there and she would find that tiny bit of strength that would allow her to go on.
"I don't understand any of this," she prayed silently as the ship launched, "I don't know where we're going, or why I'm here," she went over to the bed and slowly sat down on it. "Keep the ship safe, and bring everyone home…" she took a deep breath before finishing her sentence, "Including me."
With that short prayer came an assurance that whatever was ahead, she would come through it, even if the way was foreign, and the road marked in a strange language. There were things she could always count on to be certain, and those were the things she would think about until she saw her friends again.