As they progressed down the corridor, the little princess asked to be put down, then turned to “Sava-Domeria”, demanding that she carry her. Fearing to offend the queen by refusing, the agent lifted the little Zcarbb who, pleased, clung tightly to her left arm.

“It seems that my little Ilenayana likes you a lot,” the queen said with amusement, “that's a good thing. Perhaps you would like to stay here?”

“I... Thank you for the offer, but that won't be possible...”

“I expected it... In any case, my servants would look askance at the presence of a monster so close to their princess. I'm not sure I could trust you in the long term either: you are a creature of the Administration after all. As long as we haven't absorbed your ‘C’ sector, I suppose you won't be able to work for us... And I suppose that won't happen before a few centuries.”

And one could hope that it would never happen. The current Administration had many flaws, but it would probably lose what little humanity it had left if the Zcarbbs were running it.

“The creatures you define as pirates are in reality administrative agents, like you, assigned to this secret mission. We know this because we managed to capture some of them alive during the unfortunate confrontation… And we interrogated them.”

Stretching out one of her arms, the queen pointed to the walls of the corridor. Attached vertically against the metal walls were a dozen creatures of various races.

Sava blanched and roughly placed the princess on the ground, turning away just in time to avoid vomiting on her, making the contents of her stomach spill onto the nearest wall.

The Zcarbbs seemed surprised by this reaction, but they made no comment, a worker already arriving with some kind of vacuum cleaner to remove the dirt.

A terrible headache adding to her urge to vomit again, the agent tried to regain her composure and turned back to the corridor, her eyes trying to avoid looking at the prisoners. The queen began to speak again:

“So, I was saying that we interrogated them. Although they have advanced mental training and psychic barriers that can repel most uses of the psychic probe, natural methods work to obtain the truth. The trick is to keep the subjects alive.”

There were many rumors about the barbarity the Zcarbbs could display, but nothing could have prepared Sava for what she saw. It was more like dissection than torture, but the moaning forms of the prisoners proved by their death rattles that it was still possible to be alive in this state.

Even the little Zcarbb didn’t seem bothered by the sight, screaming to be pulled back into her arms. She complied mechanically. Holding the small form against her gave her a distraction from the horrors that met her eyes.

“You can ask them too,” the queen said, “to find out who they are and why they did this. They tend to lie, though, even in this state, and even when we use the psychic probe. However, promising them death if they talk seems to loosen their tongues.”

“No, really?!” Sava thought sarcastically. “How could anyone be so cruel? Even the tortures used illegally by the Intelligence Services must not be so barbaric: they must probably just use the psychic probe beyond the security threshold... which was already something.”

Hesitantly, not daring to look at anything other than the devices also hanging on the wall, the agent approached one of the unfortunates. The smell was unbearable and she barely resisted the urge to vomit. She closed her eyes, hoping to contain herself better this way, then asked her question:

“Excuse me… I’m… I’m an agent of the Administration and I’m investigating what happened… I… Is that so? Could you tell me what happened, please? I promise you that I’ll do whatever you want: I can try to get you released, or I can finish you off. Answer me, please…”

No: she just wanted to get out of here. Deep down, the truth didn’t matter at all anymore. She wanted to leave here, wallow on her couch, turn on stupid cartoons that she hadn’t watched since childhood and stuff herself with sweets without thinking about anything else…

In a hoarse but still audible voice, the tortured creature replied, filled with a vague hope that quickly disappeared:

“The Administration? No. It’s probably another illusion, huh? That damned creature again? I’ve already answered you. I’ve already… betrayed… Please, finish me off! Why are you letting me live? Finish me off…”

“I… Just tell the truth and… I swear, I’ll finish you off right now. Look: I have a blade of impure stabilizium: with a single gesture, I can… I can cut off your head, without any more suffering… Yuck… it’s… Urgg…”

“I… I’m the administrative agent Yole de Bartog in Qual, beta+ level. We are all beta+ level, except the leader who is alpha+. Mission, kidnap a princess from the leader of the Zcarbb alliance attacking the Utela galaxy. Mission successful. I think. The others escaped with the objective. We managed to penetrate this ship with the help of a Hogloo master geneticist named Zoghoze. Mission received from our superiors. Verified and confirmed, given in person… I don’t know anything more, nor do the others: kill us!”

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

And the prisoner began to repeat his injunctions with the little strength he had left. After wiping the traces of her second vomit from her mouth, Sava pulled her blade out of her gauntlet, ready to finish off the unfortunate man. She had never killed anyone but, under these conditions, she could not consider this as murder…

Nevertheless, before she could do anything, the victim's head detached itself, severed by a strange streak of dark energy. Turning towards the origin of this action, Sava discovered a curious character:

It was a woman, also a Ham but different: a sort of mutant. Her skin was grayish and her hair was replaced by swirls of the same dark energy that she had projected. These swirls were everywhere, lighter and floating above her skin or covering her clothes with a thick black layer, unless they were made of this mysterious material. She had a tail, something that Homs do not have normally, and two small horns similar to those of a goat pierced the top of her skull. Her eyes were red and her teeth were sharp…

At first, she thought she was in the presence of a chaotiune of the “Metamorph” type, but she immediately guessed that it was much worse…

“Exactly,” said a voice in his head, “I am a proud member of the valiant Azar clan… Ah, of course, my presence here is surprising, I understand you. After all, the Zcarbbs and the Chaotiuns hate each other because of the chaotic nature of the latter… But my clan is a clan of Homs: we know how to negotiate an agreement… After all, doesn’t the proverb say that the enemies of my enemy are my friends?”

Sava took a step back, all her attention focused on the newcomer. A terrorist from the Azar clan? With the Zcarbbs?

“Who are you and what are you doing here?”

The creature smiled and stepped forward abruptly, shaking Sava’s hand before she realized it and pulled it away:

“Oh, a real administrative agent, asking questions and snooping everywhere… Nice to meet you: I am your enemy, one of those who will one day destroy your sinister nation. My name is Revenge Darklight of Azar, a diplomat in the service of the glorious Azar clan. I am here to negotiate with the Zcarbbs.”

“You... your monster clan has really crossed all the red lines, huh? You are ready to sell everyone out for your quest for power?”

“Justice! Power is nice, but it comes naturally. We are only fighting to take back our galaxy: the Administration will pay for having betrayed and dispossessed us! Ah! Ah! Ah! You have no idea what will befall you... And even what your own superiors are ready to sacrifice for their selfish power...”

Sava glanced at the queen and saw that she was enjoying the exchange between the two Hams. For her, they must have been two non-Zcarbbs ready to jump at each other's throats: an interesting entertainment. Still clinging to her arm, the little Zcarbb seemed more wary of the diplomat and looked at her with a suspicious air.

The representative of the Azar clan changed mood as she spoke and she suddenly became cordial again. Advancing with a strange dancing gait, she pointed out the prisoners one by one, living and dead. She had a big smile and mocked Sava's sensitivity, but Sava noticed that her antagonist was also looking away to avoid staring at these non-dead...

“Hey! I... Yes, it bothers me too, so what? At least I can erase my own memories so as not to be haunted by them: it is one of the many great powers of our superior clan…”

“Was ‘superior’ a necessary clarification, or a simple reminder of a feeling of inferiority grossly compensated?”

“Hey! Okay, it seems that you are finding a verve for a debate… But I do not want to debate with someone like you.”

“What was your role here?”

“Assistance and advice, of course. The Zcarbbs are a little behind in development on the technology of the psychic probe. So, they really needed a specialist to interrogate these hounds of the administration. And also, psychic probes of a newer model... It's a shame that these agents were provided with such powerful psychic barriers: I couldn't stop the Zcarbbs from switching to their own method in order to obtain answers... As they say, the union of enemies creates a force that sweeps everything away. Without the combination of... well... can it still be called torture... as well as my psychic probes and small powers, we were able to break these people, until the truth...”

“Or implant your own manipulations in their thoughts.”

The terrorist stopped in mid-movement, balancing on one leg, looking worried. Then, she nodded:

“Ah yes, I could have done that... But what's the point when the truth is already so tasty?...”

The voice of the queen rang out abruptly as she interfered in the debate:

“She couldn't have fooled us. We know enough ways to prevent these deceptions of chaotiuns.”

Sava considered the possibilities: the queen was probably not lying because the Zcarbbs were not very good at formulating their lies in a credible way... in theory. But the Azar clan was not made up of common chaotiuns but of monsters who maintained a high intellectual level despite the abuse of Chaos energy: perhaps she exceeded the Zcarbbs' estimates...

“Well, isn't there only one way to find out?”

The agent glared at the monster. She hated the way these bad guys tended to interfere in other people's thoughts. If she had never faced members of Azar, she had often witnessed the problems caused by chaotiuns without control collars and had had to endure their annoying babbling in her head. At least her powerful psychic barriers kept them from poking around any further…

She swallowed as she thought of the pirates… or agents, who were hanging between life and death in this place. Turning to the queen, she bowed low. It wasn’t a Zcarbb custom, but she must have heard of it because she seemed flattered by the gesture.

“Your Majesty,” Domeria pleaded, “I would like to ask you to accept another of my requests, if you will.”

“In addition to withdrawing my forces? What do you want?”

“Now that your daughter, Ilenayana, is safe and sound, could you stop hounding these people? No matter how serious their crime, could you have mercy on them?”

“They say that most species in your Administration are endowed with a heightened sensitivity to the suffering of others... Given everything, I had observed, I thought until now that this theory was wrong... Okay.”

The queen made a gesture and her soldiers rushed forward, planting their weapons or sharpened paws in the bodies, finishing off the prisoners.

Breathing with difficulty, Sava looked away from the carnage. She thought she heard thanks from the victims, but she did not know if it was true or simply her imagination. Hoping that these horrors would not remain etched in her memory forever, she began to plan her next actions.