by David Adams
Again?
The walk back to the interrogation room was a sombre one. Her burns were still fresh. Her body ached. What kind of tortures would the strange woman behind the speaker impose on her this time? What new pains could they inflict on her?
What had happened to the guard in the corridor?
She pulled open the door, her mind spinning endless possibilities, but the room wasn’t empty, as it usually was.
Sitting in the middle of the normally empty room was a small table with two chairs, both on the same side of the table. One chair was occupied by a short Toralii male with golden fur, his hands folded neatly in his lap. He wore a strange cap on his head that covered his ears; it was handwoven, evidenced by tiny imperfections. One ear was green, the other blue. He seemed smaller than others of his kind and weaker. There was something else, as well—a nervousness which seemed entirely unbecoming on the normally fierce, strong felineoids. His light-brown clothing was not a military uniform; it seemed to be comprised of thin layers of cloth overlayed and stitched together in a rustic, almost primitive fashion.
He smiled warmly at Liao, his whiskers twitching slightly, the tip of his tail sweeping across the ground. [“Good morning, Captain Liao.”]
Liao appraised him warily. “Who are you? Where is Commandant Yarri?”
[“My name is Kest of Serra,”] he said, whiskers twitching as he spoke. [“I’m a civilian consultant.”]
“Consultant?” Liao narrowed her eyes. “On what topic?”
Kest’s smile widened. [“Humanity. I am the adviser to the Toralii Alliance on the matters of your people.”] He gestured to the other side of the table. [“Take a seat, Captain Liao.”]
She did so, slowly and reluctantly.
[“I need your help, Captain Liao.”]
Her help? “Pardon?” she asked, unable to find a particularly eloquent response. “Me?”
[“That is correct.”] Kest shifted in his seat. [“As you are no doubt aware there was recently a… disturbance in this facility.”]
A Pacifier with its head burned off was a pretty big disturbance, but she kept the sarcastic answer firmly locked away in her mind. “I am aware, although I’m afraid I don’t know anything about it.”
Kest smiled slightly, seeming to deliberately hide his teeth with his gums. [“I did not expect that you would. The truth is, one of our prisoners escaped.”]
“All the Humans were with me,” Liao said. It was hard to find sympathy for her captors in that moment. Her only concern was making sure that any reprisals were not visited upon her and her people. “So it wasn’t one of us.”
Kest tilted his head. [“Not… all of the humans.”]
After a slight pause, she realized. “You mean Ben, of course.”
[“Of course.”]
Liao considered. “Keeping him alive was a mistake,” she said flatly, “and not just because he looks like a creepy copy of me. Ben is surprisingly resourceful, even if he’s stuck in a Human body now. If you want my suggestion—if you find him, put a bullet in him. Assuming that will even do the job at this point, given how heavily modified his body seems to be.”
Kest’s ears flicked forward. [“That is my opinion, as well, but not, in face, why I have bought you here.”]
“Why then?”
He smiled again, a soft, genuine smile. [“Like I said, I need your help.”]
“I see,” Liao said. She laid her left arm front of her, pointedly moving the stump of her right so that its ghost would be lying across it, were it to exist. “My answer to you is the same answer I gave Commandant Yarri. I will not help you against my own people.”
Kest raised his hands, shaking his head. [“No, no. Not like that. Ben’s escape has shown us that our methods not working and that we are spending a considerable amount of resources and time keeping you here, when it is of minimal benefit to us.”] He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. [“We are hoping that a change of methods will… assist us. I just want to understand you.”]
“That’s it?” Liao asked, painting every word with scepticism. “You just want to be our friends?”
Kest hesitated for a moment. [“I will confess, there is little altruism in this. I am here to help obtain your cooperation, directly, but a certain part of my job is dedicated to the acquisition of knowledge that you may consider military secrets.”]
The frankness of his words was almost refreshing. “Well, you can forget about getting anything like that from me.”
[“I’m sure,”] Kest said.
She didn’t like how friendly he was, but he seemed genuine. “Well, then I’m afraid I’m going to have to continue to waste your time here.”
He slowly pointed to the door. [“If you want to leave, the door is there. You are not obligated to speak with me, but I thought you might prefer something a little less painful than Commandant Yarri’s efforts.”]
The idea of being burned again was not appealing, but Liao was not about to give up any information she might have to this… adviser. She settled back into her seat. “Well, what do you want to talk about?”
Kest paused for a brief moment. [“What happened to your arm?”]
The heat of the torture session was too fresh, too vivid, for her to answer honestly. She sometimes felt it—especially with her prosthetic removed. The white-hot searing pain of her flesh melting. Of plasma slicing off her arm halfway between the elbow and the shoulder. Of hearing the surgeons telling her that they tried to save whatever they could…
“I ripped it off,” she said, holding the stump of her left arm out. “But I left the right-hand one there, just to remind my legs to never to fuck with me.”
Kest snorted playfully, his tail swaying. [“That is actually pretty funny.”]
Maybe. “It was lost in battle. During the bombardment of Velsharn. I was caught outside… plasma is hot. I lost the arm and a good part of my skin.”
[“I see. It is good you survived.”] A small amount of joy returned to his tone. [“Do you have any children?”]
Liao bristled firmly, straightening her back. A million thoughts flooded into her: visions of her daughter, Allison, hopefully being cared for by Olivia, hopefully happy. Hopefully a thousand light years away from her.
Her daughter would be two years old. Or close by. Two years… it seemed impossible that so much time had passed. It seemed like yesterday when she had arrived.
“Yes,” Liao said, bitterness that could not be suppressed creeping into her tone. “I have a daughter, on Velsharn. She is in the care of people I trust.”
[“Then we have something in common at least.”] Kest’s ears perked up, and he leaned forward, smiling gently. [“Can I ask her name?”]
No harm in that. “Allison Liao.”
[“She has her mother’s surname. My understanding is that is… not traditional amongst your people. What does the father think about that?”]
James had encouraged her to avoid hyphenation. He had insisted. Liao-Grégoire sounds stupid! he had insisted. And Grégoire-Liao is just as bad. The memory almost made her smile. Almost. “He’s fine with it. If she was a boy, he would have been Allison Grégoire. Or… Andrew Grégoire I suppose.”
Kest fiddled with the tunic covering his breast, opening a pocket. He withdrew a thin sliver of material with a picture printed on it. Two small Toralii faces were crammed into the shot as though it were not wide enough to contain their smiles. [“My own daughters,”] he explained. [“Xari and Velluma. Seven and nine years old, by your measurements of time. They are being primed for entry into the Eighth Telvan military academy.”]
Liao kept her eyes on him, idly tapping her foot against the deck.
[“Xari is a talented engineer. She will hopefully have her own ship one day. Velluma… she is a warrior’s warrior. Her skill with the plasma rifle is second to none, and she has taken the marksman’s badge twice in two years. I expect she will take it in her final year, as well.”]
Kest didn’t seem deterred by Liao’s si
lence, but he did put the picture away. [“Our records indicate that you are from a place called China.”] He leaned forward slightly. [“What can you tell me about it?”]
“It’s gone,” Liao said simply. “It’s a smoking ruin. Everyone there is dead. Those who didn’t burn to death in the initial bombardment choked on an atmosphere that burned away the oxygen to sustain them. Anyone who survived that died of thirst and hunger.”
He seemed to have genuinely forgotten Earth had been destroyed. [“I had no part in the attack,”] Kest said quietly. [“I do not condone the killing of civilians, regardless of species. I am sorry it had to come to that.”]
“Come to that?” Liao’s bitterness returned. “You make it sound as though the scourging of my home was some necessary, unavoidable consequence; some tragedy of nature. It was Toralii ships that sailed there, Toralii weapons that bombarded Earth’s surface, and Toralii prisons that keep me here.”
[“I understand. But Earth lives on in your memories.”]
“Poetic, but I’d rather have new memories of Earth.”
Kest seemed to appreciate that, dipping his head. [“I understand what you mean. Too long have I been kept from the world of my birth. I have my memories, but just as you do, I’d rather go back. Still… for now, at least… I am content with finding my home wherever I am.”]
That was entirely reasonable. She tilted her head. “How long has it been?”
[“Six years,”] Kest said, his smile wide. [“I’ve lived in space, with metal as a floor and roof, for six years, but it was not always so. I was born on Serra, a small little island with no major resources, well beyond the reach of the Toralii Alliance. We are a simple, primitive people… a water people. We worship the water gods. They are as much a part of me as my fur and my claws. The memories of home are as fresh as any I’ve ever had.”] He closed his eyes gently, his smile like a half-moon on his face. [“Oh, Liao, I can smell the salt water. I can taste the freshly cooked fish. It’s all as clear to me as this moment is right now.”]
“If you like it so much, why don’t you go back?”
[“Oh, I very much doubt your people would allow me to set foot on Velsharn ever again.”] He folded his hands, the tips of his claws poking out. [“Yes, Serra is on Velsharn. My people were evacuated after your ship attacked the colony there. The Telvan government could not know, of course, that no further attacks would be coming, and my people…well, we could not stand against your might, had your intentions proved to be violent.
[“They promised us we would be repatriated. Of course they did. But after you arrived, the whole planet was turned over to you and your people. A gift from the Telvan. But they didn’t ask the handful of us who had previously lived there what we thought or how we felt.”]
She felt a stab of guilt. In the mad panic to escape Earth, Liao had ordered the fleet to jump to a rendezvous, knowing the Beijing had, at best, one more jump left in him. Liao had picked the only place she knew would be safe: Velsharn. Of course the Telvan government would swoop in and take care of the survivors. Of course they would.
“Some Telvan returned to Velsharn. They live with us, in our cities and on their own communities and islands. We share this world with them. If you were from there, you could return.”
[“But we would live under Human rule. Under Human laws. We would be a part of your society, not our own.”]
“We could make an exception. This seems… solvable.”
Kest acknowledged the point with a dip of his head. [“Exceptions can be made, of course, and a world is large… but Humans covered Earth before it was destroyed, did they not? Every livable place had been settled. Every continent, island of any substantial size or with any useful resources, every little scrap of land used. Such is the nature of creatures—you and we both. We expand, and expand, and eventually, our two territories would share a border. It is my experience that when borders are pushed together, conflict arises. Perhaps that is why our government insisted that our people intermingle with yours, as one culture, one society, not two separate ones.”]
The history of humanity, especially when competing for resources such as land, was bleak and blood-splattered. Kest was right. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realise in finding a home for my people, that I would deprive you of yours.”
[“Such is always the way of things.”] Kest blinked rapidly, the Toralii equivalent of a shrug. [“We have accepted that aliens own our planet now.”]
“I’m still sorry.”
Kest nodded understandingly. [“For what it’s worth, I accept this.”] He paused, possibly for effect, possibly to consider some matter. [“Captain Liao, I would like to do you a favour.”]
She narrowed her eyes slightly. “You understand that I am wary of Toralii favours.”
[“Of course. I would be, too, in your position.”]
Nothing for it but to ask. “What is the favour?”
[“I would like to organise a force to Qadeem to retrieve the bodies of your dead and deliver them to your people, if possible, or bury them if such a thing is not agreeable to your forces.”]
The notion stirred many thoughts within her. Her Chief of Marines Yanmei Cheung had been blown to bits, the parts of her head scattered over the desert sands of an alien world. That was not a fitting end for someone who had been a loyal warrior. “After we were made prisoner, what did you do with the bodies?”
“They were left where they fell.”
That relieved her. There was a possibility her people recovered them. “Leave no man behind” counted for women, too. Would the Humans come for Cheung’s body?
“What would you want in exchange for this?” Liao asked.
[“Nothing.”] Kest looked at her with sincerity on his alien face. [“The Toralii Alliance has noted the lack of morale amongst the Human prisoners. The lack of compliance. They are at a loss as how to… motivate you to cooperate.”]
“We won’t be bought with favours.”
Kest waved his hand dismissively. [“This favour comes not from the Toralii Alliance, but from me. There is nothing you have to lose from accepting this deal, and it comes with no preconditions.”]
Something about it ate at her, but retrieval of the bodies would be important for morale, both within their prison and without. She considered for a length. “I’m sure they would appreciate that, but you must understand relations between our people and the Alliance are strained. Even opening up the dialogue is not going to be easy.”
[“Perhaps we can arrange for something more substantial than bodies.”] Kest’s tail swept across the deck. [“Our doctors have observed that Warrant Officer Trish Sanders’s collapse. It is fortunate that, as the lowest-ranking Human amongst your group, she possesses the least amount of useful intelligence. Perhaps we could arrange her return to your people. Such a thing could serve as a goodwill gesture, a… favour on top of a favour.”]
Sanders was useless to them except as a bargaining chip. In that regard, she was perfect—a living olive branch that the Toralii could extend for almost no cost, but one which was quite valuable to her people.
Dangerous thinking. Nothing came free. Kest obviously thought he could get something by offering this trade, but what? A cold, dispassionate comparison was difficult; even discounting all other factors, Sanders was young, healthy, and talented. With humanity on the precipice of extinction Liao needed to save everyone she could, but if whatever the Toralii were planning came to fruition, her people would no doubt lose more than they gained.
Was saving Sanders’s life worth the risk?
“My people will be wary,” Liao said. “The last time the Toralii Alliance tried to arrange a prisoner exchange, they lined the prisoners up and shot them.” The memories flashed back into her mind’s eye. “Forcing us to do the same to those we held.”
[“That is one of their usual tactics, to break the will of uncooperative species. I will ensure that the exchange takes place under the banner of the Telvan. They will honour the agreement.”]
<
br /> It was a risk. “I’ll have to speak to Sanders. She will need to agree to this.”
[“She is too unwell to agree to such a thing, but if you insist she must consent, then I will not press the matter. Still, I feel this is a mistake. I believe that the Toralii Alliance and the Telvan need to engage in dialogue with our enemies. It’s when the talking stops that the ground becomes fertile for fighting.”]
The surviving Humans would want the bodies of their fallen returned. The Americans, in particular, had a huge thing about it.
Agreeing to his exchange was putting trust in their captors, but what had they to lose? The Toralii had reached out to them, trying to improve their conditions, so maybe they should cooperate. “Make the arrangement. Get Sanders the help she needs.”
[“I will. But it would help my case if you gave me something to work with. Something I can show to my superiors that cooperation is the way forward with your people, rather than torture.”]
It was sorely tempting. “I cannot. I’m sorry. If that means that Sanders dies, then so be it.” Sanders had known what she was signing up for.
Kest ran his tongue over his sharp teeth then leaned forward. He seemed so sincere that Liao, for a brief second, almost considered changing her mind. Almost.
[“I will do my best.”]
Dining Hall
Zar’krun
A day later
With Sanders gone, there was just that little bit more space at the Humans’ table. The absence of a single person gave them all an inch or two more elbowroom, but unlike so many other losses that had been sent her way since she had taken command of the Beijing, Sanders’s was cause for celebration. She hadn’t died. She’d been sent home. She was free.
The Humans, especially O’Hill, laughed and shared whatever meagre supplies they had been storing for just such an occasion. Sunkret presented a tiny bottle of some kind of alcoholic contraband, which they shared. Morale had been lifted sky-high. Despite the threat of retribution, for the moment, the Humans had only one thing on their minds. One day, they too would be free. That thought made them celebrate even further.
