Chapter 11
1218 Words
11
The torture session ended.
Soft footsteps filled the air. A rusty metal chair pulled across a hard deck. Rampa sat next to Ryker while he focused on a tablet in his hands.
“Star Runner,” he said in a calm voice. “It’s time I inform you of a change in plan.”
She hesitated, wondering if this was another trick. Swallowing through her dry throat, she tried to speak.
“You would like to say something?” he asked. “I’ll allow it.”
“Why…why don’t you kill me?”
“Ah.” Rampa leaned back. “Have you ever wondered why the Empire is so great? Why it’s lasted as long as it has?”
She pursed her lips. I don’t care.
“I’m sure you have,” he continued. “Countless generations have existed under the Zahl Empire. A rare few have challenged our rule and found themselves asking, why we are so powerful? Why has our strength survived the test of time?”
He leaned closer. Reaching out, he rubbed his palm across the top of her head, moving down to her ear and coming to rest on her cheek. “It’s because we do not waste resources.”
She stared at him. “What?”
“You.”
“Me.”
“Yes, you.” He smiled. “You inquired as to why you haven’t been killed. You’re a Star Runner. That gives us three of your kind in this complex. Three Star Runners. We had others who were less talented. Some were sent to hard labor camps near the Frontier. Others were sent to factories near the central planets while those remaining were, well, disposed of. So three Star Runners are here—I see that as a good sign.”
Glancing at his tablet, Rampa remained silent for a minute as he seemed to review a series of statistics. Ryker gazed toward the ceiling.
Three Star Runners.
If she could escape, break free from this room, and link up with the others, they could find a way out of this place. They could steal a ship, get far enough away to activate the Lutimite Drive and escape.
She raised her head, peering past Rampa’s shoulder toward the hatch he’d left open.
It was possible she could find something to knock him out and flee down the corridor. No guards stood in the doorway, no laser beams prevented her from escaping. Rampa seemed to be alone.
Her heart sank. The dream of escape seemed impossible. She knew too little about this location. Was she even on a planet? She had seen nothing other than this room for months. She might be onboard a space station somewhere in the vastness of the Zahl Empire. It could even be a large capital ship. She cycled through memories of her captivity, searching for any sign she may have missed about her location.
Nothing came to mind.
“For the past week,” Rampa continued like a doctor observing a patient, “we’ve been monitoring the various forms of pain we’ve projected into your mind. I believe we have ascertained the proper forms to help us as we move toward our ultimate goal.”
Ryker chewed on her bottom lip, felt rough and dry skin under her tongue. “And what is your goal?”
He locked eyes with her and grinned. “You’re going to be the first of our new fighter pilots.”
Her lips curled back over her teeth. “I’ll never fly for you.”
“You will,” he said without hesitation. “I’ve explained to you the righteousness of the Zahl, how the evils of your Legion are preventing the full potential of this galaxy. We will show you and the rest of your people the light. Soon, you’ll want to help us.”
Ryker shook her head and looked away. “No.”
“Yes.” He held up his tablet displaying an image similar to an X-ray. “The pain simulations you’ve been receiving have been monitored for greatest effect. We now have an idea of what works best in curbing your general thoughts and ideas. This will prevent you from straying from the course we’ve set for you.”
Seething, she glared at him, the blood rushing through her ears drowning out his “presentation” of how he planned to test her further. She heard nothing of it. Instead, she imagined kicking him off his little stool and beating the life out of his smug face.
“Once this is complete,” he said, “you’ll fly a fighter for us and will lead our pilot program into a new era. Altered Star Runners are a great way to jumpstart this program. Once the Zahl annexes Legion territory, this will be a standard program for our forces when recruiting Star Runners into our ranks. I think you’ll be able to showcase the potential of this to our command.”
The corner of her lips arched in a half-grin. “You put me in a fighter. Do it today. I’ll show you potential. I’ll show you something unforgettable.”
Rampa clicked his tongue. “I’m sure you would like nothing more, but that’s why we must conduct surgery tomorrow so you can proceed with the rest of the program.”
Her stomach fluttered. “Surgery?”
“Were you not paying attention?” He stood. “Once you receive your implant, this will all go smoother.” He pointed to the translator in her ear. “You won’t need this anymore, either.”
“Why?”
“As well as making you easier to control, the implant will also alter the speech centers to allow you to translate easily and speak our language.” He smirked. “Can’t have you be a part of the Zahl Empire while you still speak your savage and uncivilized words. That is unacceptable.”
“You can’t do this.” She squirmed under the restraints, the thought of this man surgically implanting anything into her body making her nauseous.
“Don’t bother.” He turned around and marched out. “We will see you first thing in the morning.”
Five men and a woman, all dressed in black lab coats, loomed over her. They peered down with only their eyes visible behind plastic masks. Using a soft marker, one of the lab assistants drew on her exposed skull. Ryker couldn’t move.
“Bring it down,” one of the lab coat men announced.
Machinery growled to life, and all of the lab coats took one step back. Descending from the light like a enormous octopus, a robotic probe moved toward her, six small tentacles extending from the body. The limbs moved out like they prepared to strike, but halted. She gasped, sweat dripping down her face.
Closing her eyes, she listened as the people spoke about her as if she wasn’t in the room.
“Turn up the sedative.”
“But she needs to be conscious during the procedure.”
“She can’t be panicking like this. Look at those readings. Looks like she’s about to go into cardiac arrest.”
“Up her dose a bit.”
“And the sweat is going to foul up the sensors.”
“So?”
“We’ve two more of these to do today.”
“Come on, Cy. You forgot to take out the translator.”
One of them removed the device from Ryker’s ear. She only heard guttural vowels mixed with lyrical tones comprising the Zahlian language. She understood nothing.
A wave of chemicals surged into her bloodstream. The robot tightened its grip around her head. Her mind soared down a corridor for an instant, and then stopped.
She floated in an empty, black space. The robot sliced into her skull, probing around her brain like an insect burrowing into her body.
Hours passed, and she floated into nothingness. The scientists barked in Zahlian, ordering one another. She opened her eyes but saw nothing clearly. An energy beam screeched, and she smelled burning flesh.
The robotic tentacles released their grip, and the machine moved away from her, disappearing into the shadows. The lab coats leaned over her, their eyes wide behind their masks. They conversed and stared at her.
“…success.”
“…Know…time.”
“Impressed…job.”
She blinked, trying to understand why she could decipher some of the words they spoke. Rampa stepped between the scientists, slapping their arms and smiling.
Nodding in approval, he bent down and looked her in the eye. “Welcome to the new you.”
- Writer
