by Wayne Basta
The plan had made sense the night before. It was simple, straightforward and logical. Zeric liked simple plans. Less could go wrong. But that had been before, when he was relatively safe, in the basement of a group of people who were only sort of dangerous. Now, he sat in a cab driving toward a prison with a man who, at least on some level, probably wanted to kill him.
The cab came slowly to a stop at the outer fence of the prison. The walls of the building still lay about five hundred meters away across an open field. Lohcja, who had unexpectedly revealed that he was employed as a cab driver, leaned out of the window and spoke to the Terran manning the guard booth. They conversed for a moment, and then the guard directed Lohcja to move the vehicle to a parking area outside the fence.
Once they started moving again, Lohcja spoke to them. “He said no vehicles are allowed in. I’m to let you off here and wait while he shows you inside.”
“As we assumed,” Maarkean said. “Hopefully we’ll be back soon.”
“I’ll be here when you get out. Just try to make it within my lifetime; the meter’s not running,” Lohcja said with a widening of his mandibles that Zeric hoped was meant as a smile.
Zeric would have felt better if they had gotten the vehicle all the way to the front door, where they could have used it to get away more quickly. Climbing out of the cab, Zeric followed Maarkean back toward the guard’s booth. Still feeling jittery, he hoped Maarkean was prepared to do all the talking.
Once they stepped up to the window, the guard leaned down and said, “Nature of your visit?”
“We’re here to see some prisoners,” Maarkean answered, much more calmly than Zeric thought he could have.
“Names,” the guard said with a bored tone.
“Ours or theirs?” Maarkean asked.
“Both.”
“Maaron Ocaitvik and James Franklin,” Maarkean answered. “We’re here to see Saracasi Ocaitchi, Gu’od Dos’redna, and Gamaly Dos’redna.”
The guard typed all of this into his computer and then asked for their ID cards. Maarkean and Zeric handed them over. This was a risk, as Zeric would eventually be identified. Lahkaba apparently had some connections and had confirmed that no warrants had, as yet, been issued for either of them. The guard swiped the IDs and continued typing. “Nature of your relationship with the prisoners?”
Now came the tricky part.
“They tried to pirate our ship. We want to confront them.”
The guard looked at them appraisingly. “Understandable. If anyone did that to me, I’d love the opportunity to see them behind bars.”
Zeric realized he had been holding his breath, and released it.
The guard handed them two visitor badges and even smiled. “Follow the path to the building. Jimmy will meet you there and show you inside. Enjoy seeing justice in action.”
Zeric nodded to the guard as he took his badge. He tried to appear excited, but was sure he just looked sick. He hoped the guard took his nervousness as being about facing his attackers, and not about the fact that he was walking into a prison while being wanted for numerous crimes and hoping that his cheap fake ID was good enough to get him out again.
Once they were out of earshot of the guard, Maarkean said quietly, “You look as nervous as I feel.”
That got a laugh out of Zeric. The Braz appeared almost as calm as Gu’od usually did. Zeric knew that Braz simply were not as expressive as Terrans, but there was more to it than that. Maarkean was definitely someone he wanted on his side in a tense situation. The events of the previous evening had proven that.
Shrugging aside his nerves as best he could, Zeric began examining the prison structure. The wall was made of concrete and extended out for several hundred meters in either direction. It must have been several meters thick, since pairs of guards patrolled along the top. Evenly spaced along the wall were tower structures that housed more guards.
Attached to each of the towers were a giant spotlight and several pieces of equipment that he assumed was an array of sensors and cameras. Each guard along the wall and in the towers carried a stun baton and a rifle slung on his back. Zeric took a count of the guards that he could see, assumed a similar number on the three walls he couldn’t see, and added that to the number he had seen in the guardhouse at the front gate. That made at least twenty guards just on the prison’s perimeter.
When they reached the wall, a door opened, allowing a guard to step out. He smiled at them and gestured for them to come inside. Zeric took a deep breath as he followed, the sound of the door closing behind him ringing loud in his head. Up until now, there had been nothing stopping him from turning around and walking away, and only a flimsy chain-link fence and several guards between him and freedom. Once he was inside, though, he felt the weight of the walls and the heavy door blocking his way.
“I’m Jimmy,” the guard said. “We don’t get a lot of visitors here. Who wants to talk to an alien in a prison? But you guys got a great opportunity here.”
Zeric knew that the guard wasn’t being entirely truthful. According to Meyka, the families of those imprisoned here came all the time to try to see their loved ones, but were turned away. Braz and Terrans were permitted to enter, but few Braz and Terrans would admit to being friends of an alien imprisoned here. If everyone here was a serious criminal, he wondered why the guards weren’t curious as to why more victims didn’t come to face the prisoners.
“We’re thankful for it,” Maarkean said. “Glad we can see justice served to those scum.”
Internally, Zeric squirmed. Maarkean’s voice had been a little too honest when he said that. He supposed he couldn’t blame him too much. Gu’od and Gamaly had attacked him, and they were now in prison for it. Justice had been done there.
“We also want to see the Braz who lied to us and impersonated a member of our crew,” Zeric added.
“Of course,” the guard agreed. “Did they tell you what she did? I couldn’t imagine living with someone on a small ship and then learning what kind of traitor she was.”
Zeric almost said that they had not been told what she had done, which was true. He was quite curious what sort of crime would get a warrant sent out here all the way from the core worlds. A look at Maarkean’s face made him decide to say nothing. The man’s normally stoic expression had been replaced by a look of regret, and if Zeric was correct, guilt.
They walked the rest of the way in silence. The guard showed them to a room with a clear wall across the middle of it. They were left alone for a few minutes, and then a door on the other side was opened and two females were shown in.
Zeric was relieved to see Gamaly in relatively good condition, and he recognized the other as the woman he had shot on the ship, which must make her Maarkean’s sister. His momentary relief at seeing Gamaly was immediately replaced by fear. This was where things could go horribly, horribly wrong.
When Saracasi came in and saw Maarkean, her face showed her joy, even through the trademark Braz calm. It must have been a monumental effort for Maarkean’s face to remain cold and impassive. For the first time, he appeared to not know what to say. Zeric decided he’d better intervene before the wrong thing was said.
“It’s good to see you, Sarca. After all that time on the ship pretending to be someone you aren’t. Maaron and I were disappointed to learn the truth about you.”
Saracasi looked at him blankly. He realized that she didn’t know who he was, but he hoped that emphasizing their fake identities might clue her in. Maarkean was pretty perceptive, and he hoped it ran in the family.
Gamaly took the whole thing in stride. Considering that Zeric was not in there with her, she knew he had some trick. She remained quiet and merely looked at him, waiting to find out what her part was.
“Where is the other one you betrayed us to? We were told there were two.”
Gamaly’s face drooped slightly at his question, but she picked up on where he was going. “They took him away to solitary confinement.”
“Good,
he deserves to suffer,” Zeric said, trying to keep up the act. Inside, he cursed. Gu’od being in solitary made their job harder.
“I hope they are treating the rest of you traitors equally harshly. Guards patrolling and beating you regularly,” Maarkean finally said. He was trying to make his words as harsh as his expression, and was almost managing it.
“You’ll be saddened to know that they don’t beat us. We’re left pretty much alone in Building 15 on the west side. Just us and several dozen other low-life aliens,” Gamaly said, continuing the act. “We only deal with the few guards at meals and the ones on the walls. I should be able to slip past them when I decide to come after you. Just as soon as my partner is released from solitary.”
Good girl, Zeric thought. He had known Gu’od would have a complete floor plan memorized and an escape attempt planned, but he had been unsure about Gamaly. Her skills lay in negotiating good deals for their stolen goods and talking her way past problems. She was okay in a fight, but had always had Gu’od at her side. She appeared to have kept her wits about her enough to notice how well they were guarded. And her news was good – things were easier without a lot of guards on the inside.
For a Braz, Saracasi still looked confused and worried. She’d started fidgeting with her prison jumper. The worried expression ruined any attraction her relatively plain features would have held for him. In contrast, Zeric thought Gamaly looked as amazing as always, standing there defiantly and trying her best to look intimidating. Saracasi was clearly the wild card in this encounter, and that made Zeric nervous. If she was unsure what was really going on, she could give the whole thing away.
The door behind them opened, and Jimmy poked his head in. “Sorry, gentlemen, but that’s all the time we can give you.”
Zeric looked at Gamaly and gave her a small nod of support before saying, “I hope you all suffer in here for a long time.”
He turned toward the exit. He was surprised when Saracasi dropped to her knees and said, “Please, I was your shipmate. I didn’t do anything. They confused me with someone else and are now going to ship me back to Braz for execution.”
Maarkean stopped to speak on his way out, hiding the pain he must feel. “Good, I’m glad to hear that. As a traitor to the clan, you deserve what’s coming to you.”
Once outside the room, Jimmy led them back the way they had come in. Zeric tried to take the opportunity to learn more. “Is it true that they are not guarded all the time?”
Jimmy laughed. “No, we have eyes on all the prisoners at all times. But there are so many of them that we have to focus our attention on only those moving about for meals. I assure you the compound is quite secure. There is no chance they can get out of this building.”
When they stepped outside, Jimmy gestured across the field. “Even if they somehow got out of their cells, we call this stretch to the fence our kill zone. Nothing can move across that without us seeing it and getting it. We have sensors of all kinds, and the ground is even lined with mines. You’re perfectly safe with them inside… just stay on the path.”
Zeric nodded, trying to sound impressed. “That’s good to hear. No one can escape from here and live to tell the tale.”
“Absolutely. Hope you boys got what you came for.” Jimmy then nodded to them and closed the door to the prison.
Walking quietly away, Zeric considered what they had learned. He had been incredibly nervous going into the prison, even though it had merely been a reconnaissance mission. Now that he knew what they were up against, he wasn’t sure he felt any better.
Inside, the prisoners were mostly left alone. That was a major plus. Once they could get inside, the opposition would be light. But getting to the prison was going to be a problem.
They would be seen well before getting to the outer fence. And, if Jimmy was right, even if they could sneak up at night, they would have a whole array of sensors and guards with guns to get past. As they walked, Zeric looked over at Maarkean and was surprised to see him smiling. “What are you so happy about?”
“I know how we can get them out.”
During the walk back to Building 15, Saracasi thought about the meeting that had just occurred. It had been wonderful to see Maarkean again, but she did not quite understand what had happened. She was able to piece together that Maarkean was checking on her and that the Terran male knew Gamaly. Why he pretended that he had been part of her crew, she had no idea. Maybe it had been the only way to get him into the prison with Maarkean. It could also explain some of the charges against her.
She could not figure out what connection Gamaly had. Gamaly had played along with the whole thing as if it were natural and had revealed information about where they were located. Maarkean couldn’t possibly be planning to rescue her with the help of that Terran, could he?
She dismissed that thought. She knew her brother loved her; by taking her off Braz, he had set aside his life to save hers. But that had been a simple matter of taking her off the planet before the arrest warrant had even been issued. It pained her to admit it, but she wasn’t so sure he would have done it had the AIS already been coming for her.
When they were back in the barracks, Faide came up to them. He looked relieved when he saw them. “When they came and took the two of you, I was worried. What did they want?”
Startled out of her musing, Saracasi looked at the Notha’s anxious, furry face. “Worried? I thought you said they treated the inmates pretty reasonably as long as we behaved. What did you think they were going to do to us?”
Faide looked a little ashamed. “It is true that most of us are left alone. But, in the past, sometimes attractive females were taken away for… special interrogation sessions with the old commandant. We have been hoping that the new commandant is different.”
The admission shocked Saracasi enough that she momentarily forgot about what had just transpired. She had just begun to feel safe here.
“What?” This came out of Gamaly, and it startled Saracasi, since she had been about to say the same thing.
Nodding slowly, Faide said, “It is something we do not talk about. It didn’t happen very often, and we tried to forget about it.”
“You tell us this now? After we’re taken?” Gamaly said angrily, her antennae waving around wildly with her fury.
Faide looked apologetic. “We did not want to alarm you. I apologize for that.”
Not saying another word to Faide, Gamaly stormed off toward the small restroom in the back of the barracks. The Notha made no effort to stop her and turned his apologetic look to Saracasi, but she quickly followed Gamaly.
“That’s ridiculous,” Gamaly fumed, “hoping the guards weren’t taking us to be raped instead of warning us.”
“It wouldn’t have made a difference, though, would it?” Saracasi said. “I was worried enough about where we were going without that thought hanging over my head.”
Gamaly sighed and looked at the younger woman. “You’re probably right.”
“What I’m most concerned with is what really happened in that meeting with my brother,” Saracasi mused.
“That was your brother?” Gamaly asked, to which Saracasi gave a nod. A look of regret crossed Gamaly’s face. “We should talk about that. But not here.”
When the two entered the restroom, Gamaly leaned against the door so that no one else could enter. Saracasi turned to face her and was surprised at how apprehensive Gamaly looked. She had assumed the other woman was just as confused by what had happened as she had been, but now she had her doubts.
“All right, what was that whole meeting about?”
Gamaly shrugged. “I wish I knew exactly. I can only figure that Zeric and your brother are planning something. He must have been mistaken for someone else.”
She paused and took a deep breath. “After Faide’s speech when we first got here, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to share this, but now I think I probably should. Unlike most people, I’m not in here for the simple crime of not being Braz or Terran. I
was a ship thief, along with my husband and our partner, Zeric, the Terran we just met. He must have been mistaken for part of the ship’s crew when the Alliance seized us.”
The information slammed into place in Saracasi’s head. Gamaly was a ship thief and Maarkean was with her partner; that could not be a coincidence. Questions began spinning around in her head like a vortex. Was Maarkean forced by this Zeric to be there, or were they working together? What was Gamaly going to do to her now? Then another thought struck her. Gamaly did not appear to know whose ship she had attacked.
Saracasi said, “That was our ship you tried to steal.”
Gamaly’s antennae twitched and her eyes grew about as big as Saracasi was sure hers had been just a moment ago. The two women stared at each other as the true nature of their connection sank in. Suddenly, Saracasi felt nervous about being alone with Gamaly in this tiny room.
The silence between them stretched out uncomfortably. Saracasi wondered if Gamaly was just as worried about being alone in here with her. Then she dismissed that thought; she knew she was in no way a threat. Plus, Gamaly was married to a Ni’jar master; she surely knew some fighting skills.
“Well, now what?” Saracasi asked.
Chapter Five
When Saracasi and Gamaly finally left the restroom, there was a small line of impatient residents waiting to get inside. Saracasi smiled sheepishly and apologized quickly before making her way past them to her bunk. She was relieved to not find Chavatwor or Larin there, and she climbed quietly into her bed.
The day had been quite a wild ride. She was not sure what to make of it all.
When she and Gamaly had been called out of the building, she had not been sure what to expect. In hindsight, she was glad Faide had not mentioned the ‘special interrogations’ the former commandant had done. Had she known that, the entire journey to the meeting would have been pure terror.
