Star Runners: Scorpions

Chapter 9

9

Ryker’s ribs poked through pale skin. With each press of her fingertip, the surface would darken, leaving a fading red circle. The previous tormentor had left. Today, the procedure been fire blazing on her skin.

She stretched her thinning legs and stared into the buzzing, fluorescent light. The food they’d been bringing was nothing more than a yellow or orange paste like mashed-up corn mixed with milk. Following the screaming and shrieking which ravaged her throat, the mush helped soothe her vocal cords. She kept trying to harden her resolve and avoid making a sound during the torture.

But she always failed.

Why don’t they just kill me?

The thought came on a regular basis. The men never asked questions or did anything but hook her up to the devices. They didn’t ask about details of the Trident, details of her service, or schematics of the Parazonium-class carriers. She wasn’t even sure if they were certain she’d flown with the Legion.

Instead, they came in the room to torture her. One day, if she were lucky, they would end this hell.

And then there was the other lingering thought too horrific to dwell on. What if they were only using her as a lab rat, testing various torture methods to gauge the limits of the human mind?

Closing her eyes, she thought of her Star Runners on the Formidable. She saw Major Braddock’s face staring at her during the briefings. David “Bear” Keller popped in her mind, his goofy grin lighting up a room when he sat next to his new girlfriend, Brylee. And, of course, she thought of Austin.

But a haze had fallen over the memories, time blurring the sharp details as it tended to do. She needed to get out of here.

With her heart racing, she glanced around the room for inspiration. As she had countless times before, she found nothing but the drain looming at the chamber’s center.

She was never going to escape.

The hatch popped and opened, revealing the blond man in the black uniform who had welcomed her during her first session. With his hands clasped behind his back, he strolled inside. His eyes bore into hers as he walked.

He paused and sighed. Raising his hand, he snapped his fingers.

Two men, their heads shaved to the skin, hurried forward. One man carried a red coverall and the other, a large, clear water bottle. She recoiled against the wall, keeping her head down and bracing for the pain.

But there was nothing.

The men gently placed the coverall near her body and set water on the floor. They left, leaving her alone with the blond man. He stared at her for a long moment.

“Please,” he said, raising his hand toward the water, “dress and drink something. We have a great deal to talk about.”

Hesitating, she reached over to the bottle as if it would attack her. Then she jolted toward the cylinder, ripping off the top and thrusting the opening into her mouth. The water tasted pure, cold, and invigorating.

Pulling the bottle from her lips, she backed against the wall and looked at her captor. She had only seen him a few times since the first day. He had come with the other lab coat men but remained silent while he observed their movements. Sometime during her “session,” he would depart.

He folded his arms over his chest, tilting his head as he stared at her. Taking a deep breath, he lowered into a squat .

“Dress.”

Grabbing the simple red coverall, she pulled the cool fabric over her body. Each movement felt awkward; her starved muscles ached. The room swirled, her balance difficult to grasp. When she had buttoned the coveralls, she leaned against the wall and slid to sit.

“My name is Captain Rufino Rampa,” he said. “I am your host.”

She swallowed, relishing in the wetness on her lips for the first time in…weeks? Months?

Her mind wandered, the effects of today’s session lingering.

“You’ve been taken into the services of the Zahl Empire for the duration of your life, which is why you’re here. We have bestowed upon you a great honor. Where are you from? Why were you flying an unmarked enemy fighter?”

A hundred questions surged into her mind, but she struggled to pinpoint them. What was wrong with her? Weakness plagued her, and she wondered if she would be able to run if given the opportunity. She had no intention of answering his questions. What more could he do to her?

“Would you like to eat something other than protein paste?” he asked. “I can make that happen. Answer my questions.”

Her eyes moved back to him, her stomach rumbling with thoughts of real food.

“You like that idea, don’t you?” he asked, smiling. “Answer my questions.”

“I’m a pilot,” she said, her voice rough and raw.

“Yes.”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“And?”

“What do you mean?”

He sighed. “I really don’t feel like bringing in the device today. Tell me how you ended up in the Trident.”

She stared at the floor, her vision wavering. If she gave away any information about their mission to steal the Wraith, she could be sparking a galactic incident.

Wait, concentrate.

“I work for a smuggler,” she said. “I’m just a low-level pilot.”

“For who?”

“I freelanced with several Tyral Pirates in multiple sectors and quadrants.”

“Who sent you to the Nattalee System?”

“Where?”

He lowered his stare. “The world where you were recruited into Imperial service.”

“Oh,” she said, her mind racing, “a man named Rodon contracted me—”

“You lie,” he said, his lips curling over his teeth. “Rodon was killed in the Amade Cluster. Tell me another one and I leave.”

“I don’t remember his name.”

“You don’t remember the man who hired you?”

“No. I received the job from Chance.”

“Who?”

“A bookie. He helps freelancers like me get jobs.”

He stared at her, his hands resting on his knees. Either he believed her, or he had never heard of a bookie named Chance.

After a moment, Rampa’s expression softened. “Very well. Where did you learn to fly?”

She took a drink, stalling for time as she prepared her next lie. There wouldn’t be any consequence in providing some truth to her fiction. After all, a sprinkle of truth helped the lie go down. Someone had told her that once.

Squinting, she tried to maintain eye contact. “I was born on Lian and learned basic flight there.”

He murmured an affirmative and nodded. “Lian,” he whispered as if the name would conjure some memory for him. “Ravaged by war, is it not?”

“It is.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Haven’t been there in a while?”

“No.”

“I see.” He exhaled as he looked around. “Do you realize what could have prevented the years of conflict on your planet?”

She finished the water in her bottle. “No.”

“The Empire. You see, the galaxy is cold and dark and evil. The Zahl is the light. It always has been. We bring order to chaos, save humanity from themselves. As is the case on your planet, human nature will always prevail without the Empire. And human nature is self-destruction.”

She balled her hands into fists. “I thought the Empire conquered worlds to force them to their will.”

“Lies and fictions conjured from deranged minds spread by upstarts like the Legion.”

She shook her head. “But the Legion allows planets the freedom to live in their own way and evolve at their own pace.” She clenched her teeth, a fog drifting over her thoughts. “The Zahl conquer and never give worlds the chance.”

“Because the worlds will destroy themselves. We do not conquer. We save the people from themselves. These so-called dark worlds will not survive without our civilization. We must save the denizens of the galaxy from themselves. That is what you will come to understand.” He took a step toward her. “You know what I say is true. If the Empire expanded to Lian, the horrors you witnessed in your life would have never been allowed to occur. You would’ve known your parents, had the chance to live a life of prosperity and peace. Perhaps even married and had children. Because of Lian’s location inside the Legion and the planet’s ridiculous classification as a dark world, your planet was allowed to engage in generations of warfare. Millions have died. Entire generations wiped out.”

She looked away. “Lian was given free will, just like all the dark worlds. The Legion doesn’t impose itself on the people.”

The corner of Rampa’s mouth turned. “So your Legion is allowing the dark worlds to commit suicide. Do you not see that?”

“No.”

“How can your Legion permit the g******e of a hundred dark worlds?”

“I don’t believe that.”

“Are you fine serving a government that would stand by as a dark world burned in a nuclear h*******t? With the Legion’s policies, that could happen.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “The Legion would stop something like that if it could.”

“You’re wrong.” He squatted in front of her. “Do you want to spend your life as a pawn for a useless, inefficient, and destructive system like the Galactic Legion of Planets?”

She hurled the empty bottle to the ground. “You’re wrong about the Legion! We bring peace! We allow worlds the freedom to join when they choose to do so! We don’t conquer and kill like you do!”

Her voice echoed, fading into silence. Rampa’s bright blue eyes stared at her.

Finally, he nodded and stood.

“Knew you were a Star Runner,” he said, hissing like a snake. “Welcome to the Zahl Empire.”

He clicked his boots and spun around, marching toward the exit.

Pulling her knees toward her body, she stared at the deck with her mouth hanging open.

“Your stay is about to get much more interesting,” Rampa said without turning as he passed through the open hatch.