by L M Lacee
Sabrina sat beside Avana and Lukkas gave her a cup of coffee, she closed her eyes and just held the cup in both hands, smelling the aroma of fresh coffee. Two tears leaked past her lashes, Avana placed a hand on her shoulder and the tears stopped.
Peyton mind-sent to Melody. Is she well?
I suppose, she needs rest, and she only ate a little of the food. Mostly I think she needs off this horrible depressing rock. Also Peyton, you should know she is sister to Agnes Johnston!
Really? I haven’t thought of her for a while, is she a doctor too?
No, apparently she was the black sheep of the family. She was a pilot, small craft.
Huh! That is different alright. So did you tell her?
Why would I do that here, of all places?
Oh yeah right, bad timing sorry. Anyway, we will get... Huh! I was going to say Heather.
Yeah, not happening. I will talk to her on our way home.
No, leave it to me, this is mine to deal with.
If you are sure?
Melody sat in her chair as Peyton nodded in answer to her question and then said. ‘Rina, I would like to ask you a few questions, if that is okay?’
‘Sure.’
‘Then Sene Avana here will take you to the Warship overhead.’
‘Yeah she, Melody said we were leaving, like the big guy that brought me here said.’
‘Oh you are, my word on it.’
‘Melody said that too, that your word was golden. So okay.’
‘Alright, well I will try to be quick. So Rina how long have you been here, do you think?’
‘I would say around nine luneras, from what Melody said the lunera would be back on Earth. It is a guess, the book is in the office could tell you accurately, they compulsively record everything.’
She had still not looked at the people at the end of the table, her eyes remained steadfastly on her cup, Melody or Peyton, and when she looked at them, it was with desperation and a burning anger. Which Peyton knew nothing but time and maybe the healing touch of a mind healer would erase, until then she had information to pry gently from her.
Peyton nodded and Melody left with Avana and Lukkas to search for the office and then retrieve all the records. Governor Swent made to protest and a look from Peyton made him subside, especially when he saw her lift her finger, the table was still smoldering.
‘Okay Rina, while they look into that, tell me what you and the others did here, and if you could use English please?’
‘We died!’ She rasped out, emotion choking her as her expression became desperate, she took in a breath and let it go, slowly bringing herself under control once more, while Peyton waited. Rina got the feeling this small female would wait all day for her to tell her story. ‘I am sorry.’
Peyton assured her kindly in English. ‘Do not apologize, scream, rant, throw things, do whatever you have to. We will wait for you.’
Rina almost smiled, and let a sob escape instead, she took a sip of her coffee calming herself and almost moaned in delight at the taste. In control once more she nodded and said. ‘Okay, so what you want to know is the work we did, we used large grader like machines and pushed the sand down the holes to the caverns below and filled large floating containers. Then we stack the containers into caverns where they get stored until ships come and take them off world, we did every stage of that, they did nothing. We had to constantly strip the machines and clean them as well as replace any worn parts. We learned to drive the machines and how to repair them, we learned to do mechanics on the job to keep them operating.’
Peyton drummed her fingers against the table. ‘I see, so they used you to gather the green healing sand.’
Sabrina laughed. ‘Is that what they told you, healing?’ She shook her head tiredly and without realizing it reverted back to Coalition. ‘It does not heal, it kills by clogging the air ways and lungs and you smother to death. It is a horrific way to die.’ She shuddered at remembered images she could only see.
Peyton felt her terror and anger under all the other emotions and placed her hand on her arm calming her.
This seemed to be too much for the seething older female, she harshly denied Sabrina’s statement. ‘You lie, you all had breathers.’
‘Who is lying I wonder,’ Peyton suggested, ‘we already know your spouse cannot recognize the truth. What makes you think I will believe you can speak anything other than lies, Mistress.’
She did not retaliate but along with her spouse who said nothing, their eyes bled hatred at her and Sabrina, who in turn retaliated. ‘Only if the breathers worked, they clogged as well and there was never enough. One between three maybe four of us, we took it in turns to use them. They would never get anymore no matter how we begged.’
Peyton switched to English. ‘I believe you Rina. I really do and believe me I am going to make them pay!’
‘Yeah, he said that.’ She replied in English as she pointed over her shoulder to Sarn, he inclined his head toward her. Peyton smiled, her people were finding their faith in her, it warmed her heart, using English still she asked. ‘What can you tell me, that they do not want you too?’
Rina said. ‘Juary, the older spouse is the power here. Not him, he is the Governor, but he lost his mind when the world broke or so they tell everyone. She babies him, makes all the decisions. She took over and runs this place with an iron fist. They have underground gardens that produce all their food and large water storage and food caverns that are filled. The planet could survive without ever having the outside world know they exist but she likes the credits they receive for the sand. She and all the higher ranked females love going off world to some place called the Capital, where they spend up large. She has the upstairs packed with tech and furniture and things that are apparently worth loads of credits. Most of the houses are like that.’
‘How do you know?’
‘We rotate as cleaners for all the houses.’
Peyton looked at her. ‘Well what do they do?’
Rina grimaced as she moved a little. ‘Nothing absolutely nothing! Eat, have sex, lots of sex. They can only have kids every five yentas, if that.’
She pointed without looking to the taller of the youths. ‘He is their son, the other two boys are cousins they all live here, we think the cousins parents are dead or left the world for somewhere else. The three of them are psychopaths who love to play mind games. They would place us in the smaller tubes that the meteors bored into the planet and make us stay there, sometimes for days. When the sand almost smothered us, they would let us out, that was if we screamed or begged enough for their satisfaction. If they didn’t, when they left we would dig the women out, fuckers! I hate them so much. More than one of the women lost it because of those assholes and to top it all off, they want to breed us.’ She laughed bitterly. ‘That is if Mama would let them or she can get over her aversion to us and before you ask, the race is dying. We have a woman named Kelly Patterson she can speak and understand their language.’
‘That must have come in handy?’
‘It so did.’ She smirked. ‘They never guessed.’
‘More fool them.’ Peyton murmured while she thought on what Rina told her. ‘So Juary holds the world then?’ Thinking she was talking to her Rina answered. ‘She does, she controls the water, the food, the tech, everything. The people allow it, as long as she brings in slaves like us to do the dirty work and they can do what they want, when they want, it is alright with them.’
‘Do you know why they are dying?’
‘Kelly found out, apparently they are having a hard time getting pregnant, she thinks it has something to do with the meteors. Also there have been a high number of deaths, more than normal. We think it started about ten years ago. About three months ago, Juary took several males and females to see medical people at the Capital, it was all hush- hush. That was a fun week after she returned. I can tell you!’
‘I see and the sand?’
‘Yes the sand, it does not heal. They sell it al
l over the universe, to cosmetic companies for the removal of hair, feel my arm,’ She placed her arm under the table and Peyton ran her fingers over the bare smooth skin. ‘Amazing!’
Rina nodded. ‘I know, and that is just the sand, Lilly Adams is a chemist, she mixed it with some cream we stole, and it is incredible, it only takes a little of the sand to make it work and from what she overheard some females saying, for some races it is permanent. Trouble is, in its pure form like the stuff that we gather, it is harsh stripping the hair from your body. My cousin Lilly has no hair anywhere she is completely bald.’
Peyton said. ‘The chemist.’
She smiled a little as she agreed. ‘Yes, she is not the only one of course.’
‘Of course she would not be. I imagine it depends on how long you were here?’
‘Yes as far as we can tell. We learned to cover our hair with a net soaked in this gel like substance that we found in a lower cavern. It stopped the sand stripping the hair from us, but it was too late for Lilly and many of the others. Of course as soon as Mrs. Bitch over there.’ She pointed to Juary. ‘Realized what it could do she had us scooping and filling containers, so she could sell that as well. Can’t get enough credits that one, everything is about credits, apart from sex. It’s all they can think about or at least it’s all she can think about.’
Peyton gave her arm a pat. ‘Maybe we have something to deal with the hair loss. Don’t worry we will fix it.’
Rina said. ‘Okay, sure why not?’
To Peyton’s ears it was the sound of disbelief but all she said was. ‘Okay Rina, that is enough, just sit there and rest.’
Rina’s eyes closed as she mumbled. ‘Peyton, you only need a little of the sand or gel, they both will make you credits, the gel apparently has many uses. It is in large red containers in the mines.’
‘I am sure it will, thank you, just sleep now.’ Peyton touched her between the eyes causing her to fall asleep instantly. She caught her head in one hand and the cup in the other as a large Warrior walked in behind Avana, Peyton smiled. ‘Warrior Hue, how are you?’
‘I am well Star Daughter. Commander Hawk asked me to escort the Sene and Lady Sabrina to the Warship.’
‘Thank you, she is ready.’ Avana walked back in as Peyton said. ‘Avana tell the healer I placed her in sleep and that she prefers the name Rina. Her cousin Lilly will be looking for her as well.’
‘Yes, Star Daughter. We found the records and have sent them to Darby.’
‘Thank you Avana.’
Hue picked up Sabrina and he and Avana left with several Warriors escorting them. Leaving Lukkas, Kent and Sarn in the room with her. Melody walked in a few mins later. ‘Is she gone?’
‘Yes, just now with Avana.’
‘Okay, so are we going soon?’
‘Yes, shortly.’
‘Okay, because I hate this place, just saying.’ She told her in English as she slumped into her seat.
‘Got it.’
FORTY-SEVEN:
A few minutes later, the link on the table chirped. Melody answered it only to hear Engineer Londor’s voice. ‘Star Daughter this is Engineer Londor.’
‘Report please?’
‘We are halfway done, it is going faster than expected.’
‘Good.’ She switched to English. ‘Captain Karl, can we take the sand with us?’
He too changed to English. ‘Of course we can. I have found the caverns where the containers are stored. There are twenty-five caverns and Star Daughter I mean stacked with filled containers just waiting to be loaded.’
Peyton had no idea if that was a lot but from the sound of his voice she thought maybe it was. ‘You have seen them?’
‘I am standing looking at them now, very ingenious, inefficient containers but ingenious.’
‘Can you see that they are all loaded and also there should be some red containers, filled with a gel substance? We require that too, it is important.’
‘Very well Star Daughter.’ There was silence and she could hear him walking. ‘I see caverns filled with red containers.’
‘Good, I want as many as we can take of both, please.’
‘As you wish, Star Daughter.’
‘Captain be advised the sand removes hair permanently, be careful.’
‘All hair?’
‘Yes everywhere, per-man-en-tly!’
She heard running as he said. ‘Thank you for warning me.’
‘You are welcome, take care.’
Peyton shared a smile with Melody, then turned to the female called Juary. ‘So Commander Hawk has decided your spouse’s fate and truthfully I do not care. What to do with the rest of you is my concern.’
The female answered timidly. ‘I do not know what you mean?’
Peyton was neither fooled by the timid act or the scared expression on the females face. ‘Let me see if I can clarify this for you then. You run this world and you make all the decisions. The females brought to work the mines are here on your orders.’
Melody sat up straight and her eyes swung to the female, then narrowed in speculation. The female’s face was a deeper green now, Melody thought it could be anger although she acted like she had no idea what Peyton was saying.
‘It was you who made all the deals with the traders for the sand and gel. It is you who controls the food, water, gardens and shipments, and it was you who made the deal with Thanikis. You are very good but time for play acting is over, your world lives or dies on what you say now.’ Peyton explained as she watched the female.
‘I have no idea what you are saying. I know nothing, I am just a simple spouse. I look after my male and his house that is all.’ Her eyes pleaded with Peyton to believe her.
Peyton looked at the ceiling. ‘Really, that is the tale you are going with?’
The female nodded. ‘There is no more.’
‘Oh well, it seems you are saying I am wrong, lets test the theory.’ She nodded to Melody who tapped the link on the table once. ‘Commander Hawk, now please.’
‘As you will Commander.’
There was an explosion, and the ground trembled making the house shake and everything inside rattle, the young screamed as the Governor stood and yelled. ‘What have you done?’
Peyton ignored him, her eyes on the watchful female. ‘Kent, if you will please.’
He pulled his blaster and shot the male dropping him to the floor where he lay unconscious, his body twitching in a crumpled heap. Melody pursed her lips then looked at Kent with a smirk as she said. ‘You better not have killed him. First Commander will be upset!’
‘I did not.’ Kent replied as he holstered his weapon.
‘No!’ Peyton whipped the females and young with that one word as they made to go to the twitching male. The younger female screamed at her. ‘What did you do?’ She dropped her head into her hands as she collapsed into her chair mumbling. ‘What did you do?’
‘Sit!’ Ordered Peyton and when they had retaken their seats, she demanded. ‘Once more, who are you Mistress?’
‘I am a simple spouse.’ The female answered her voice strained with tears, but she did not waver from her lie. Peyton shrugged her shoulders in disbelief and said into the open link. ‘Commander another!’
There was another explosion, and the house shook again. The female stared at Peyton as she started to glow and her eyes turned black filling with flames, her hair shone to an ice-white as she told the older female.
‘That is two houses gone, for every denial or half-truth you speak. I will have my Commander remove a house from your world. Now I ask again, who are you?’
Melody watched as the female placed her clasped hands on the table and straightened her shoulders probably becoming more of who she was in an unconscious decision to face Peyton with defiance.
Her voice strengthened as she demanded. ‘Have we not suffered already? Our world decimated and our population killed and now you come here to kill more of us. Why are you doing this?’
Peyton’
s expression did not change as she said. ‘Commander again!’
Another explosion was felt, and this time heard over the droning wind. The younger female and youths placed their hands over their faces as tears leaked from their eyes, the young girls curled on their seats sobbing.
Juary just looked at them without emotion and shook her head. ‘I am Juary Swent, first spouse to Gearmry Swent. Governor of Lowertt.’
‘Who rules this world Mistress?’ Peyton asked her with little expression in her voice or on her face.
Juary Swent remained silent as the wind banged hard against the house, making the others of her family tremble. Peyton nodded to Lukkas who flicked his fingers across his tablet. A holo appeared of the outside street where three houses had been and were now only piles of rubble sitting in blackened holes.
‘No... No!’ Screamed the youths as another house blew apart.
Peyton told her. ‘I and my people will continue until there are no houses left, trust me, we have the time, ammunition and most of all the will.’
‘Who are you to do such a monstrous thing?’ Juary Swent demanded in cold tones.
‘I am the Star Daughter, this is my justice.’
Finally Juary, the first spouse seemed to lose her composure as she stood and screamed. ‘Justice for what?’
Peyton pointed to her seat and said. ‘SIT!’
The force of the word sent the female back into her chair, shocked at the power that made her body vibrate she stared at Peyton with her mouth opened wide, as her eyes finally registered the changes in Peyton’s appearance.
Peyton stood. ‘Commander, please open a Holo comm` planet wide.’
Melody tapped quickly on the tablet Lukkas handed her, then she nodded as the comp said. Completed...
‘People of Lowertt. I am the Star Daughter. I have come to your world to deliver justice for your crimes, which are as follows. Firstly; For the Governor and his first spouse and all those who condemned Lewtoffa and millions of your people to death because of your greed and complacency. Secondly: This is for all the people of Lowertt who did not learn from the first lesson.’ Her voice rose a little as she told them. ‘You are still greedy, selfish over indulged…’ She drew a sharp breath in and released it, then calmly continued speaking, which the people in the room found more frightening than when she showed her emotions. ‘I find you all offensive, you have had a wonderful opportunity to help others and show the rest of the universe how to survive tragic loss. But all you have managed to do is squander this opportunity with petty power games and indulgences. I could be charitable and say it was because you never got over the loss of your world or people, but we all know that for the lie it is. You just did not try, you isolated yourselves and kept others who could have helped away, but at the same time demanded license to act anyway you wished. Sadly you allowed your tragedy to undermine who you were as a people.’
