The creature must have been less than a meter tall and seemed humanoid at first glance. It was actually insectoid: this could be seen by its chitinous body, especially the lower part, composed of an oval abdomen quite distinct from the rest of the body. It also had two small wings on its back, which seemed too small to allow it to fly. The creature was a color that oscillated between brown and dark blue, with yellow stripes streaking its abdomen. Its face was disturbing because it was deeply human, in the sense of a human expression, despite other characteristics such as chitin, two antennae and two small mandibles at the corners of the mouth.
It was a Zcarbb! A Zcarbb princess!
There was always a small possibility that it was another species of insect, but few had so many characteristics in common with Zcarbbs…
As she approached, the creature turned in her direction, scanning the air without seeing her. It spoke in the administered language, with a slightly squeaky accent:
“Is there anyone there?”
It was impossible: there was no way it could have detected her approach. It left no trace, not even a scent or any movement of air.
Sava studied the creature. It was obviously young: maybe five years old? It didn’t seem particularly frightened, but it didn’t seem entirely comfortable either. Placing her hands on the glass and pressing her face against it, she tried to observe the hallway.
If the agent lowered part of her armor's protection so she could speak, the sensors in the room would pick up the sound of her voice. They would eventually start to worry about the creature's agitation anyway...
“Omega-pioutrerie!” Domeria cursed inwardly. “There’s no way I’m taking control of all the surveillance equipment in this room. The only way would be to stop time… ah… that’s an idea…”
Digging into her belt pockets, she pulled out a small object similar to a micro-bomb: a temporal grenade. This experimental weapon had been given to her by the Illegal Research Sub-Institution. Contrary to its name, this part of the Science Institution didn’t deal exclusively with illicit research, but also with all programs that had to be kept secret. The development of temporal weapons was one of them, knowledge of which was accessible to her alpha level.
Time was a constant: the past no longer existed and the future not yet. However, it had long been discovered that time did not pass at the same speed depending on where one was in the universe, apparently for no specific reason. Sava was ignorant of the details of this research and current knowledge, but she knew that weapons were being developed capable of freezing or accelerating selected areas. The rumor circulating among the members of the alpha level spoke of weapons capable of slowing down an entire planet or doing the opposite, although no tests had yet been confirmed... Some even spoke of affecting entire galaxies, but this was probably a simple exaggeration.
She considered the object in her hand. Throwing this weapon would accelerate local time and allow her to interrogate the creature before the pirates were aware of her presence. However, this action would pierce the stealth coating and render the invisibility functions inoperative. In addition, she would have to write a detailed report on the use of this grenade...
The administrative agent adjusted the device and threw it, thus piercing her suit. There was a small flash of light and that was it: she was the only one who knew exactly the area affected by the temporal acceleration. Without elements outside of it whose immobility would reveal its limits, it was impossible to realize that something had changed. It was disturbing.
The young creature jumped when the Ham appeared out of nowhere, but didn’t seem all that surprised. Its gaze became wary but it didn’t speak, its eyes filled with curiosity studying its vis-a-vis as she herself had done under cover of invisibility.
“Are you a Zcarbb?” the administrative agent asked.
The little creature nodded vigorously, with a gesture that was a bit forced: it was likely that it had no meaning in her own culture and that by exaggerating it she wanted to make sure she was understood. With a big smile revealing teeth composed of the same chitin as her body, although lighter, the little creature confirmed her answer orally:
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“Yes, I am Zcarbb. I want to get out of here. I want to eat.”
Sava frowned, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Why was a Zcarbb princess trapped here? She should be inside a hive, surrounded by a myriad of ferocious soldiers ready to slaughter anyone who approached… Even though the Zcarbbs were enemies, it was highly illegal to attack princesses without proper authorization. This was mainly because of the Zcarbb policy of “one planet for one princess,” which meant that the Zcarbbs would arbitrarily slaughter all the inhabitants of a random planet for each of their princesses who were murdered…
Horror flashed across the Ham’s features as an idea emerged: what if these pirates had been paid to cause trouble in this galaxy? What if, by kidnapping a princess, they had provoked the fury of the Zcarbbs, explaining the recent attacks that the news was talking about?
No: the enemy had massacred more than one planet, which would contradict their usual policy. It was impossible for hundreds of princesses to have been kidnapped at the same time, much less by a small band of pirates…
However, there was no guarantee that all the Zcarbbs would always react in the same way. Perhaps the alliance of colonies attacking this galaxy had decided to switch to “a hundred planets for one princess?
“Hey! Who are you? You don’t look like the other bad people.”
Sava, interrupted in her thoughts, stared at the little princess. She looked at her without animosity, but with a curiosity so deep that it bordered on a kind of aggression, as if she wanted to open her insides to find out more...
What to do? What was her duty as an administrative agent? Concretely, she was faced with a case of kidnapping. Her duty would therefore be to bring this little girl home and give the army the coordinates of the kidnappers. However, she was a Zcarbb: an enemy of all civilization. Logically, she should bring this one back to entrust her to the army and let the politicians decide her fate...
She bit her lip, faced with a dilemma. The dictator's words came back to her, accusing the Administration. Even if there was no proof that he was right, they insinuated themselves into her thoughts, tinging them with doubts. What if the politicians decided to entrust this child to the Sub-Institution of Illegal Research in order to study Zcarbb biology? Would they be willing to sacrifice a galaxy to the fury of the enemy to learn more about them? Maybe… And would she be willing to deliver this child into the hands of scientists? Even if she was a monster, she was still a person… But bringing her home would mean that she could later give birth to a colony, producing millions of Zcarbbs thirsty for conquest…
“I… My name is Sava… Sava Domeria. I am an alpha-level administrative agent.”
Why had she answered?
“Ah. Savasava-Domeria? Administrative agent? So, you’re a bad people too.”
“Huh? No, it’s Sava Domeria. And… I’m not a bad people.”
“Sava-Domeria. Okay. So, you're a good people? I'm hungry and I want to go home!”
The little princess looked at her with a mixture of severity, amusement and expectation. Was it a mask to hide her anxiety? No: she sincerely seemed as anxious and excited as the curious child she was...
“And what's your name?”
“I'm Ilenayana from the Ikomoro hive!”
The sounds produced by the names were curious and squeaky, but the universal translator managed to reproduce them audibly. The little girl beamed with pride as she pronounced her name and that of her hive. The names of the different hives were listed by the Administration, so with her alpha accreditation she could locate it once she returned to her ship. There was little chance that two hives with the same name would be in the same galaxy.
“Wait a Ten-Tik?[1]” she wondered. “Have I already made up my mind? To take this creature home? Why did I make that choice? Because she seems innocent, a mere child? Well, I have to bring her on board anyway, whatever I decide next… Yes, I’ll think about it later.”
Placing her hand on the glass door, invisible among the cell's components, she forced it open. Without much suspicion, the princess immediately came out and looked at Sava expectantly.
“So, it's true that you're a good people, Sava-Domeria? Carry me! I want to go home!”
She held out her arms and the Ham took her. She was surprisingly light.
“Well,” she said, “the return is not going to be easy. Hold on tight to me...”
It was necessary to take advantage of the end of the temporal suspension to launch a lightning attack. Without the invisibility film, she could once again use her software remotely. The temporal difference would give her software a clear advantage over the enemy's and she could probably cause a surge in their security system, forcing it to shut down. The pirates would be on alert but wouldn’t know where to look until the system powered up again…
She drew her weapon and calibrated it to “shock”, setting its power high enough to be able to damage the enemy defense systems… But it was better not to fight these people: there was always the possibility that their shooting software was faster than hers.
Leaving the room and passing the two guards, still trapped in their armor, she headed towards the empty corridors leading to the abandoned part of the station.
----------------------------------------
[1] You can translate it as “wait a minute”, although that's not the literal translation.