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Episode 67: Lost and Found
The scout ship cockpit was dark and solitary. Dara stretched her arms and yawned. She was almost to her destination, Leptopoda, the seventeenth prison world. She felt like she'd been stuck in this ship for weeks. At least she'd gotten familiar with piloting her "liberated" vessel.
As soon as her squadron had gotten far enough away for her to sneak back to the Cobel, she'd flown back with haste, hiding her plane onboard one of the other carriers and taking their last scout ship instead of the Cobel's. At least that way they would be less likely to miss her.
She checked the navigation computer. She was still a light-year or so away from Leptopoda. The rest of the trip would have to be travelled using the sub-light engines. She wasn't good enough with the calculations to make a micro warp, and if she went into warp this close to the planet she could slam right into it.
She wrinkled her nose at the thought of being squashed into the sands of Leptopoda.
She checked all the other systems, finding that everything was fully functional. She sighed and opened up some more of the documentation she'd found on Leptopoda. The place looked like a fortress. It had defensive towers all around the perimeter of the main holding area. The walls were so high that there was no way to get in or out except through the front gate, or by air.
She went to the next section, the warden's biography. She frowned as she read it. His picture was atrocious; then again, by the look of him, Dara doubted that he'd ever had a good picture in his life. The man's face was awful – cruel and merciless.
After the warden's information there was a section that went on about the prison's reputation for never having had a successful escape attempt. Apparently there had been several attempts over the years, and many prisoners had died as a result, but not one of them had ever made it offworld.
Dara sighed and thought, "No escapes… well, I suppose I'll see if I can break that streak." She continued down through the document, reading everything she could find about the layout of the prison. The information on that particular point was scarce. She could understand why. They wouldn't want just anyone to have access to that information. If it were public knowledge, anyone could just waltz in there and know exactly where everyone was kept.
"Getting Dietz out may be difficult, but it shouldn't be impossible. Now, getting in…" she bit her lip in concentration. She'd been thinking about how to get into Leptopoda's prison since she'd commandeered her ship. Thus far, nothing of use had come to her.
"Maybe I can land far enough away from the prison that I can go in on foot without being noticed," she thought, tapping her finger on the nearest thing she could find.
She continued reading and found a listing of all the prisoners housed on the planet – all except the ones in solitary cells. Those were glaringly absent. She examined the list carefully, noting that a healthy amount of the prisoners were Cometine. Maybe she could make use of them. At least she'd be able to talk to them in their own language. That might be a good way to earn their trust, and then their help.
The more she thought about that idea, the more she thought it could work. She could find a way to spring a few of them out of their cells and give them a chance to escape. They could release their fellow countrymen and attempt a breakout. While they did that she could search for Dietz without as much fear of being discovered.
She nodded absently as she thought about it. The hard part would be finding her way through the cells without being identified as an intruder by whatever guards might be there.
She bit her lip in concentration and continued reading through the material she'd brought. It was a long and rather uninteresting read, and more than once she found herself losing her concentration. She even nodded off once, but forced herself awake again.
Several hours later she could see Leptopoda off in the distance. Soon she would drop into orbit. After that… well, it would be an interesting ride.
Elisa and the server made their way down the lonely halls of the prison, passing through places Elisa didn't know existed.
"Why are you here?" the server asked, taking Elisa by surprise.
"Oh!" Elisa jumped a little at the sudden sound of the man's voice, "I – I need something to do, and I wanted to help," she replied carefully, then added, "The Princess is resting, and I have nothing to do back at her quarters."
"Oh, right," the man rolled his eyes as he kept walking, "Nothing to do for the Iscandarian, so you just run around wherever you please; must be nice being in the warden's good graces."
Elisa tried to protest, "I don't think that's –"
"I wouldn't talk too much while we're here," the server held up a hand to silence her, "This lot tends to get unruly if you socialize with them."
"Alright…" Elisa replied slowly as she peered around the server, looking into the solitary block. There were a couple of guards walking the area, but other than that, no one else was around.
The server motioned for her to follow him as he started with the first cell on the right side of the hall.
"Hand me one of those trays," the server pointed to the stack of meals on the cart, "Any of them will do. They're all the same."
Elisa nodded and reached out slowly to pick up one of the trays. She handed it to the server who rapped on the cell door twice, then placed his hand over a panel on the right side of the door. The panel scanned his handprint and beeped, flickering green for a second before a small opening appeared in the door, just large enough to accommodate the meal tray. The server slid the tray into the opening and scanned his hand again, shutting the orifice.
They went on to the second cell, repeating the same process again. After about half a dozen cells, Elisa knew what to expect.
"Can… I give out the rest of them?" she asked hesitantly.
The server raised an eyebrow at her, but said, "Fine," and scanned his hand for the next prisoner, but let her put the tray in the slot.
They finished one side of the hall and switched to the other.
Elisa looked up to see the cell she was looking for.
The server opened the slot for her and she picked up a tray to give to the prisoner. She couldn't see much through the narrow opening. She could tell that there was a dim light on in the cell, but beyond that, there wasn't much she could make out. Then an idea came to her.
"Here's your food, sir," Elisa said loudly enough for whoever was inside the cell to hear. She set the tray in the slot. For a second it just sat there, then it slowly slid into the cell and she heard, ever so faintly, a reply.
"Thank you."
Elisa held in the excitement that flooded through her when she heard those words. She knew that voice. She had found Admiral Dietz.
"Hey, what did I say about socializing with the prisoners?" the server scolded.
"Sorry…" Elisa replied, "I… forgot"
The server rolled his eyes again and motioned for her follow him to the next cell. "No more talking," he instructed.
"Alright," she replied, too elated to care about the man's irritation.
She finished the rounds with the server in a daze, waited for fifteen minutes, and then started a second round to pick up the empty trays. When they returned to Dietz's cell Elisa watched as the tray came back out of the slot, but this time, she caught sight of one of the mans' hands as he pushed the tray towards her. Just before the hand disappeared, Elisa saw some of the many small scars on it.
Scars like those were from tannin* teeth. The Admiral had been one of the rakabim*, a group of tanninim riders who had aided Leader Desslok in his rise to power years ago. She remembered seeing the Admiral, just "Gul" then, riding alongside her husband as they pursued the enemy forces in many a battle.
Those had been good years, even though they'd been spent out in the wilderness, without all the comforts of home, they had been some of the most fulfilling years of her life. At least then she'd had her family with her.
She absently put her hand over her indiscernible bump and thought, "Now I only have you, little one…"
She took the tray from Dietz and placed it back on the cart, and then she finished the round with the server and went back to her quarters.
Once back in her room she checked her pager. The princess hadn't tried to call her even once during her absence. Elisa's face fell a little at this. She liked the Iscandari woman. It was nice to be able to meet one of them again. Her mother was of Iscandar and Elisa had always wanted to meet more of her mother's people, but over the years she had seen scarce few and met none.
Elisa sat on her bed and, feeling suddenly tired, she lay down and fell asleep.
Avatar's cabin was a bit colder than it usually was, but Derek didn't notice. He shut the door tightly behind him and turned to face the captain as he lay in bed, a pillow tucked under his head and upper back to prop him up.
"She's gone, captain," Derek cut right to the point. "It's been three days and no one has seen her."
"Have you checked the security video log yet?" Avatar asked quietly before picking up a glass of water and taking a sip.
"Sandor's doing that now," Derek replied, pulling out his comm unit for the hundredth time and checking to see if the science officer had sent him any messages. "How could she have just disappeared?"
"If there's something to find, Sandor's sure to find it," Avatar assured the young man, "We'll figure out where she is. Has anyone else gone missing since the Gamilon's attack?"
"No, just Nova," Derek replied, starting to pace from one end of the tiny room to the other. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and stared at the floor as he walked. "This is all my fault. I should have checked to make sure she made it to the med bay."
"Wildstar, stop," Avatar said quietly, but firmly, "You can't blame yourself for something you had no way of knowing about."
"But she – she –" Derek stopped in his tracks and the captain could see the young man's jaw tighten, "she's…"
The captain was just about to say something when Derek jumped, startled by the buzzing of his comm.
Derek pulled out the little device. "It's Sandor!" he exclaimed and immediately opened the message he had waiting.
The young man read the words on the screen. Avatar watched as the Wildstar's face changed from worried to wrathful. "They took her," Derek's eyes flared with fiery anger as he said those three words.
"The Gamilons?" Avatar asked.
"It has to be them." With three quick steps Derek was over by the captain's side holding out his communicator for the old man to see the video clip Sandor had sent him.
"I don't know any of those three crewmen," Derek pointed at a woman and two men as they cornered Nova in a hall not too far from the med bay entrance. The video changed from a view of the hall to one inside the third bridge.
"What're they doing…?" Derek muttered aloud as he squinted at the screen.
"They're cutting through the hull," the captain supplied, then pointed to the time index stamped in the upper right corner. "They came during the worst part of the battle, took her, and then left as quietly as they came. But what makes you so sure they're Gamilons? Their skin color is nothing like the one we've observed."
Derek restarted the video, this time with sound.
The captain nodded slowly as he listened, "It certainly sounds like their language."
Derek let the clip play all the way through again, then stopped it and put the device away. He slowly sank into a chair next to the captain's bed, looking utterly defeated.
"Where did they take her…?" the young man whispered, "Where is she now? And how do we get her back?"
The captain looked at Derek soberly and said, "I believe the more important question is, why did they take her? I would understand if they took a group of our people as hostages, but they would have given us their demands by now if that were the case. Why only her?"
Derek didn't answer; he just stared at the floor, his eyes clouding over with barely hidden panic, "I won't let them hurt her!" he exclaimed. "We have to get her back!"
"Wildstar," the captain reached out and, with a surprising amount of strength, grasped the young man's arm, "You must get this ship to Iscandar and then back to Earth. Nova knows that just as well as any of the rest of the crew. We can't go out of our way to look for her now. This battle here has put us farther behind schedule than we already are. To wait here any longer could mean that we don't make it back in time."
Derek froze in his chair, face turned away from the captain.
"I know she's come to mean a lot to you," Avatar said quietly, "but she understands how important it is that we make it home."
Wildstar nodded very slowly, his face still turned away.
"Wherever she is, I know she can take care of herself. You should know that by now too." The captain, let go of Derek's arm and gave the young man a fatherly pat on the shoulder. "Get this ship to Iscandar. If we find Miss Forrester along the way, do what you can to get her back, but until then… we must go on."
Derek eased out of his chair and stood up, shoving his hands back into his pockets. "Yeah… yeah, you're right…" he said as he stepped over to the window that wrapped around the front of the cabin. He looked up, into the clouds of Keshet. All around them floated the remnants of planes, from friend and foe alike. This rainbow had become a bloodied patch of ground.
They had all lost this battle, Earth and Gamilon alike had taken more damage than they'd anticipated and lost more than they'd ever dreamed they could lose in a single battle.
In the distance a few stars glittered with the promise of the end of this pastel arena. The ship had finally limped through it and was about to come out on the other side.
"I'll see what the status on the other engine is," Derek muttered as he turned away from the window and walked to the cabin door. "Orion's done a great job getting the engine crew organized enough to get the secondary engines on line this fast."
"He's the best there is," the captain agreed, "When the main engine's back online again, you'll know it."
Derek saluted the ailing captain and left the cabin.
Wildstar trudged down the corridor, heading for his quarters. He reached his door and stepped through it as it opened to him.
"Hey, Wildstar," Mark greeted, "I thought you'd be down in the engine room with Orion."
Derek nodded and muttered, "Yeah," before turning around and walking right back out the door.
He looked both ways down the hall and finally chose a direction.
He wove his way through the ship, looking for one place in particular. When he reached the observation bubble he was relieved to see that no one else was there. When the door hissed closed behind him, he reached out and locked it.
With slow steps he approached the railing. He remembered the last time he'd been here. Nova was with him. He reached out and touched the railing, remembering exactly where she'd stood as she looked back at him and pointed at the amazing things they'd seen from here while they'd traveled through the gates.
He pictured her happy, beautiful face, full of wonder and amazement at the sights floating by outside. Sadness washed over him as he realized that he might never see that face again.
He felt something on his face and reached out to get rid of the irritant. When he realized that what he'd felt was a tear, he bowed his head and silently wept for the friend he'd lost to the void.
Dara carefully maneuvered her ship behind an outcropping of rocks. She got out and immediately wished she'd worn a helmet or something else to protect her eyes and face from the blinding sun and sweltering wind. She squinted into the distance and could barely make out the shape of the prison fortress, looming on the horizon.
She shielded her eyes from the sun with her hand and ducked back into the ship. The sand in her hair made her scalp itch like a hundred tiny bugs were crawling all over her head.
She quickly picked through what little she'd brought along and finally found what she was looking for – her flight helmet. She hadn't been using it while in the scout ship as it wasn't needed, but now, it could prove quite useful.
She donned the helmet and pulled the visor down, then stepped back out into the howling wasteland.
She sighed in relief as she looked at the sand dunes through her shaded eyes. She was hot, and getting hotter by the minute, but there was no going around that particular problem. Her flight suit was insulated and warded off some of the heat, but it wasn't built to take this much sun for hours on end.
She looked all around her, getting a feel for the area where her ship was, then she set off for the fortress.
The sand shifted around her boots, making walking treacherous and slow. Every time she thought she'd made some progress, she looked up and, with dismay, noted how far away the prison still was.
She pulled out her water and lifted her helmet visor to take a drink. When she did, hot desert air hit her in the face, making her grimace. She took a quick drink and put the water away again.
On and on she went until she noticed that her shadow was growing longer and the wind had died down just enough for her to see the prison more clearly.
She opened her visor just a little bit and noted that the temperature had dropped some since she'd started out. She looked up, trying to find Leptopoda's sun. She had no idea how long – or short – the days on this world were, but judging but the movement of the sun, she didn't have a lot of time before it set.
She'd read in her material that the temperature at night on this world could border on the unbearable. If a prisoner was stuck outside at night… they might as well have signed their death warrant.
Dara sighed and trudged on, hoping that she could at least make it to the fortress wall before the temperature became too cold to endure. She was glad now that she'd worn her flight suit. Even though it couldn't withstand the high temperatures extremely well, it could fend off the cold. Space could be chilling at times.
Dara turned on her helmet's HUD and started wading through the sand again, thinking about what she would do when she reached the fortress walls.
* tannin/tanninim – dragon(s)
* rakabim – dragon riders
Episode 68: Liberation
Krypt stood stock still on board the bridge of the destroyer he'd been given in the wake of Leader Desslok's order for him to find the whereabouts of the Princess Astra of Iscandar.
He stared out at the bridge crew as they all attended to their regular duties. He had tried to track down General Lysis, the one who'd received the order from Celestella, but thus far, all his calls had gone unanswered. The Generals' continued silence gave Krypt cause for concern and he'd reported the strange silence to the Leader.
Without much else to go on, Krypt started with the only places he knew to check, the prison worlds. He'd made his rounds, beginning with Meridian, the first world, and travelling all the way out to Arba, the sixteenth prison planet. His next stop was Leptopoda and he wasn't looking forward to it.
Bozen was far from the most pleasant of hosts, and Krypt always dreaded coming to his fortress nestled away in the sands of Leptopoda's deserts.
"We're making our approach, Sir," the XO informed Krypt.
"Just make sure to keep the engines running while we're there," the councilor instructed, "Once we're ready to leave, I want to be able to depart immediately."
"Yes, Sir," the XO nodded, "It will be done."
Krypt dismissed the second-in-command and grimaced as his ship settled down into its dock alongside the prison fortress.
All too soon they disembarked, and to Krypt's great chagrin, Bozen himself was there to meet them.
"Ah, the great councilman, former attaché to the Traitor." The bulbous warden gave Krypt a condescending grin, "I hear you've come to take something of mine."
"And what exactly have you heard?" Krypt asked, eyebrow raised as he walked past the warden, right into the Leptopoda fortress.
"I have heard through… unofficial channels that you are looking for the Iscandari Princess. Is this not true?" the warden smirked.
"And if it is?" Krypt asked, stopping in the middle of the hall to stare at the foul man.
"Then…" Bozen rubbed his double chin absently for a moment, then continued, "I may be able to help you… for a price."
"And what will it cost me this time, Warden?" Krypt hissed so that the other two men accompanying him wouldn't hear this particular part of the conversation.
"Oh, just a good word," Bozen gave Krypt an innocent look, "If you would recommend me to the Leader for the opening in the advisory circle, I should be able to remember where the princess was taken."
"Advisor Celestella's position hasn't been filled because the Leader doesn't deem it necessary to fill it at this time," Krypt replied steadily.
"Nonetheless, I would appreciate your good favor in this regard," Bozen said.
"Very well," Krypt sighed, "I will mention it to the Leader."
"Ah, most agreeable of you, good Councilor," Bozen thumped Krypt's back, sharply and the Councilor thought he might have lost all the air in his lungs, but he recovered quickly enough for his group not to notice.
"This way," the warden motioned grandly for the councilor and his party to follow him farther into the cell blocks.
Dara let loose a healthy string of curses when she saw the destroyer dock at the fortress. Thankfully she had almost reached the outer wall when it happened, or else she might have been spotted.
She ran through the dunes as quickly as she could, crossing the distance between her and the wall in less than five minutes. She panted in relief as she reached the stone barrier.
The wind kicked up the sand around her and the moon rose above the fortress, glowing with soft light. It looked to be past midnight here, though what the routines were inside these walls, she didn't know.
Dara quietly crept along the wall towards the ship docks, hoping that there wasn't an outside guard patrol. The documentation on the prison hadn't mentioned one, but then again, it hadn't mentioned that there was a space dock this big either.
She looked around quickly for sentries, all the while feeling very glad that she'd worn her helmet. In case she was caught, maybe she could hold off on being identified long enough to escape.
She checked her HUD for any heat signatures. There were several moving towards the fortress – most likely whoever had just landed.
She sneaked around the underside of the landing platform and peered up, trying to see if anyone else was there. Seeing no one, she crept up beside the walkway that led from the launch pad up to the prison gate.
The front gate clicked closed just as she neared it.
She listened hard and could hear the guards inside talking with one another about something she didn't understand – probably regarding duty shifts or meal rotations.
She strained her ears and tried to pick out how many voices there were.
She could distinctly identify three different ones, but there could have been five or six, their voices were so similar. She wracked her brain, trying to figure out a way to get through the gate.
"What would draw them all out at once?" she thought, tapping her finger on her leg.
"Long live the Empire!" she shouted at the top of her lungs and in her best Cometine accent, and threw a nearby rock down the path to the docked ship, then she scurried under the platform and waited.
She was not disappointed when five guards stampeded out the front gate, bellowing at one another to catch the escaped prisoner.
Dara consulted her HUD and waited until all the heat signatures were well past her position. Once she knew they wouldn't see her, she darted up onto the walkway and through the still-open gate just before it clicked shut again.
Her HUD picked up a host of other heat signatures nearby and she dashed through the corridors, looking for a place to hide where she might not be spotted for a few minutes – somewhere she could think about the next step of her plan to release the Cometine prisoners.
She found an unlocked storage closet and ducked in, shutting and barring the door behind her. It was dark in the closet, but she didn't dare turn on a light for fear that it would be seen by some passerby.
Instead, she relied on her HUD to tell her when the hall was empty.
She didn't know where the Cometine prisoners were held, so that would be the first order of business – breaking into the prison computer and finding out where everyone was.
She wished again that her brother were with her to do this part. It was hard enough executing the rest of the plan, but with the hacking on top of it, this would be a challenging task.
Seeing that the hall was clear, Dara quickly unblocked the door and stepped out into the corridor.
She dashed down the hall a bit farther, but had to duck into a connecting passage when a set of guards appeared at the end of the hall.
She pressed her back up against the wall, hoping they hadn't seen her.
As they passed, she held in a sigh of relief.
She continued on down the hall until she came to what looked like one of the communication hubs for the prison.
She slipped inside and locked the door behind her.
The room was dark, deserted. Either this hub was no longer in use, or the operators had just stepped out for a late dinner. She was betting on the former as she fired up the main unit, cringing as it made several loud twitters and beeps during startup.
She glanced towards the door every few seconds to make sure no one was trying to gain access.
Even though the hub took a few minutes to get back online, no one tried the locked door.
Dara sighed quietly in relief. Perhaps no one would notice this out of the way nook until after she'd found what she was looking for and gotten back out.
As the main menu options appeared on the display, Dara looked quickly through them, seeing nothing she wanted. Then, down in the bottom corner she saw a tiny icon. She selected it and was rewarded with a secure login prompt. She groaned and started digging through her small bag to find something she could use to decrypt a password to the system.
A few seconds later she triumphantly pulled a cipher key out and plugged it into the hub.
The little program took longer than she liked to find a password the computer would accept and more than once she thought she heard voices or footsteps outside the door, but each time, they passed by instead of stopping.
Her heart started to beat faster as the security prompt disappeared, replaced by another menu with various options to choose from. She read through the entire listing before choosing the one she needed to see the most – the prison layout.
She stared at it intently for a long time – perhaps too long. She felt like every second she spent in here was another second closer to getting caught.
She found the main cell block area and traced a path from where she was to the prisoners. From there, she found a trail out to the solitary units, much farther inside the fortress than the ordinary criminals.
Taking one last look at the map, she closed it, took out her cipher key and powered down the hub, leaving no trace of her passing.
She tiptoed over to the door and listened for the sound of anyone coming.
Hearing nothing, she unlocked the door. It hissed open and she peeked out into the corridor. She looked both ways, then quietly crept out the door and further down the hall. She remembered guards' barracks close by and was careful to avoid them as well as she could. She sneaked through the passageway, trying not to think of the hundreds of things that could go wrong while she was in here.
A cadre of guards marched down the hall towards her and she ducked down another hall again, waiting until they passed. When they were gone she continued her journey to the cell-blocks.
Nearly an hour later, she made it to the entrance of the prison cells. Carefully, she looked down the winding corridor. It was dark at the moment – probably to allow the prisoners some kind of minimal sleep pattern. There were glowing blue lights mounted on the walls about ten feet apart, but they did little to provide proper light for her to see by.
Truthfully, the low light could serve her well if she played her hand correctly.
The first step was to find a place to wait where the guards wouldn't see her.
She looked around the cell-black entrance and saw a thick lip above the rows of cells. She rummaged through her bag again and withdrew a grappling hook. Tying it to a short rope, she flung it up towards the lip. She tugged on the rope and when she was sure it would hold, she climbed up and crouched on top of the ledge, staring down into the darkness, hoping that she would see the guards before they found out she was there.
Krypt followed Bozen down the dark hallways through a maze of corridors so thick he felt like he would suffocate in them. It was a wonder the guards didn't get lost in here.
Bozen waddled up to an unassuming door, guarded by a young Galeran. Other than the guard, this door looked much like all the others, except it was marked with a symbol Krypt had never seen used on Leptopoda before. It was a symbol long ago used to represent Iscandar – a blooming blue rose. He hadn't seen that symbol used since… well, he couldn't remember when he'd seen it last, but he knew it had been a very long time.
"What is your business with the Princess?" the Galeran asked, moving to stand between Bozen and the door.
"That is my concern, not yours, boy," Bozen hissed at the guard.
Krypt's eyes widened just a bit in surprise at the exchange. Was this Galeran not one of Bozen's men?
"If it involves the Princess, it is my concern," the Galeran stared down the warden, eyes fierce.
"Stand aside," Bozen shoved the young man away and placed his hand over the panel to the right of the door, letting the occupant know that he was there.
Moments later, the door opened and Bozen, Krypt, and his party were allowed entrance, but not before the Galeran slipped in ahead of them.
As soon as Krypt stepped foot inside the room he saw her. Bright blonde hair hung past her shoulders, highlighted by the deep purple gown she wore. Her hazel eyes were kind and thoughtful and she was a picture of beauty.
Krypt looked away when he realized he was staring. It was not proper to look at the Princess of Iscandar so intently and he chided himself for doing so.
Excitement started to jump into his throat as he realized that he could report good news back to Leader Desslok. Their search for Astra was over. Now, all he had to do was take her back to Gamilon.
"I'm sorry for the intrusion, my lady," the Galeran said, bowing to the Princess, "They wouldn't be dissuaded."
"It's alright, Stav," the Princess held up a reassuring hand to the young man, "Thank you."
"My lady," Krypt bowed to the Princess, "we are here to escort you to Leader Desslok himself. He has personally guaranteed your safe passage home."
When he said this, Krypt couldn't help but notice the flash of surprise that briefly crossed the Princess's face before disappearing again.
"Please, come with us," Krypt stepped aside and motioned for Princess Astra to join his party.
She looked reticent, which Krypt could understand. After all, she had never laid eyes on him or his men before and she had no reason to trust them, much less Bozen, who just stood back, watching the entire scene with an amused look on his face.
"We mean you no harm, my lady," Krypt reassured her. "We only wish to take you home."
The Princess stared into Krypt's eyes for a long time – so long in fact that the advisor thought she was peering into his very soul. It was an extremely uncomfortable feeling for him, but he endured it. It would be worth the Leader's praise to withstand such scrutiny for a short time.
Finally, the Princess nodded slowly and stepped towards Krypt, a soft smile spreading across her face.
"I will go with you," she said simply, and headed for the door without looking back, the Galeran right behind her.
Krypt quickly followed, catching up to her with ease.
"Our ship is docked, but ready to leave as soon as I give the order," the Advisor informed the Princess, "As soon as we are on board, we will be on our way."
Princess Astra looked over at him as he matched her pace and said, "Thank you."
"It is the least I can do, Princess. The Leader himself wished your safety. I am merely fulfilling his order to bring you safely to him."
The princess nodded, "I understand."
They came to a fork in the corridor and Krypt looked each way before turning around and straining his eyes in the dim light, trying to see where Bozen was.
Finally, he made out the round shape of the warden, very nearly rolling down the hall towards them. He was a ways back, not able to keep up with the Princess's brisk pace. Even his men were a bit behind. Only the guard the Princess had called "Stav" was still with them.
"I am sorry, my lady, but I do not remember the way from here. We must wait for the warden. He knows the way back to the main entrance." Krypt bowed his head as he spoke to the princess, but she stopped him.
"You do not have to bow to me," she said without much ceremony.
"I thank you, my lady, but it is proper to do so," Krypt replied.
The Princess opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by the shrill screech of alarms piercing the thick air.
Krypt whipped around to look for Bozen. The warden was moving faster than Krypt thought he was physically capable of.
"Get back to the Princess's quarters!" Bozen instructed as he barreled past Krypt, pointing back the way they'd come.
"No!" Krypt reached out and jerked Bozen to an awkward halt. "Tell us how to get back to the ship," he demanded, staring down the anxious warden in a show of boldness.
Bozen kept looking at his communicator every half second, but finally acquiesced, "Take the left corridor to checkpoint five. The guards there can tell you how to get back to the main gate."
"Thank you," Krypt hissed, then let go of the rotund warden.
Bozen scurried off, shouting orders into his communicator as he went.
Krypt motioned to his men, who had caught up to them by now, "Protect the princess at all costs," he instructed. "We must get back to the ship before whatever's going on escalates to the point of a lockdown. If it goes that far, we may never get out of here."
The men nodded and stood around the Princess protectively as they all turned left, cautiously forging ahead towards checkpoint five.
"The guard's down! Go!" Dara's voice rang through the cell block as she freed a number of Cometine prisoners, then handed the key card off to one of the men who looked like he might be able to lead the group to freedom – if they made it past the guards.
The big man growled as she gave him the card, but he took it without question and began freeing the rest of the prisoners on the block.
Dara slipped through the short corridor that separated the section she was in from the one next to it. Just as she did, a terrible screeching tore through the air and Dara threw her hands over her offended ears, wincing.
"Alarms," she chided herself for not thinking of that. "At least they don't know I'm here yet," she thought.
The men in the section she'd entered flew to their feet and began calling out to her, begging her to set them free from this wretched place. She did her best to tune out their cries for help as she waded through the room.
She passed through nearly a dozen blocks this way. Curiously enough, she saw no guards. Whatever sentries were here before were likely flooding towards the escapees, leaving her alone to find Dietz and get out.
She forged ahead, dodging the few guards she did find fairly easily. No one was looking for someone breaking in. They were more worried about the mob of angry Cometines trying to break out.
She'd just reached the solitary block and was about to walk in when she noticed someone standing in front of the cell in the far left corner.
She was about to whisk herself away into some shadow when the person turned to look her way.
Dara's eyes widened when she recognized the strange visitor.
"Elisa…?" she asked quietly.
The woman looked startled, but replied, "Yes…?"
Dara slowly pulled her helmet off and shook out her long red hair.
Elisa's brow furrowed, her face troubled, "I do not know you. How is it that you know who I am?"
Realization dawned on Dara as she remembered the mask that was now a part of her every-day world. She wrestled with the question of whether or not to reveal herself to her old friend, but something inside her told her to keep her identity to herself just a little longer.
"I am Melda – Melda Dietz," she said instead, "I remember you from the rakabim camps when my father was a rider in the Leader's army."
Elisa nodded, recognition dawning in her eyes, "Yes! Melda!" She motioned for Dara to come into the solitary block, "Get in here before anyone sees you. You must be here for your father."
"I am," Dara nodded, "When I found out he was here, I couldn't just let him die in a place like this."
Elisa nodded, "I found out only recently that he was here. I'm so glad you're still alright. I know he would want to see you."
"Melda?" Admiral Dietz's voice came through the solid door of his cell, albeit muffled, but still intelligible.
"Father," Dara said, still feeling awkward in this role, "We're getting you out of here, don't worry."
"It's about time," the Admiral replied, "I was wondering when I'd be able to see something other than dull green walls again."
"Just hold on a little longer, Father. We have to find a way to get this door unlocked." Dara said, looking all around the block for something that might suit her needs. She muttered under her breath when she saw nothing of use.
Just before she opened her mouth to say something else she heard the rattle of footsteps coming towards them.
"Get out of sight!" Dara hissed to Elisa and dragged her out of the light and into the dense shadows in the corner.
Just as the two women slid into the darkness, the strangest group came into view. Four men – three Gamilon, one Galeran – surrounded a beautiful woman wearing a long, violet gown that nearly trailed the floor.
Dara's eyes widened so much she thought she might never get them back into her head.
"Nova!" she very nearly blurted out, but just managed to catch herself in time. She recognized the woman from the Eratite ship instantly, but didn't understand why she was dressed this way and how she'd come to be here on Leptopoda instead of aboard her ship.
Elisa seemed equally as surprised and animatedly tapped Dara's shoulder, pointing to the man leading the group.
"That's Leader Desslok's advisor Krypt," Elisa whispered just before the group exited the solitary area. "Why's he taking the Princess?"
"The Princess?" Dara asked, then almost said, "But she says she isn't the Iscandar Princess," but in lieu of that, she replied, "I don't know, but we have to get Admir – Father – out before we do anything else."
"Alright," Elisa agreed, "But we must find out where the Princess is going and why."
"We will," Dara promised, "After we free Father."
They were about to leave their hiding place when a group of four guards slowly entered the area, weapons drawn, eyes on the alert.
"Great…" Dara thought, "This is the last thing I need right now."
She waited until the rearmost guard was just about to pass through the arching doorway not three feet from where she and Elisa hid.
Without warning, Dara leapt on the man, knocking him to the ground so fast he didn't even have time to call for his squad.
In instant later he was unconscious on the floor and Dara triumphantly held up a pristine key card.
She looked back over her shoulder, but none of the other guards seems to have noticed their comrade's disappearance.
"I think I found our ticket out," Dara announced quietly and stepped towards Admiral Dietz's cell.
She slid the card and was greeted by the droning voice of an A.I. "Please present your hand and retinal pattern to the appropriate scanners."
Dara looked from the cell door back to the unconscious guard.
"Great…" she thought again. "Just great…"