Goretta and Kei weren’t in the recovery room, nor were they in Kei’s original holding room. While TO thought that perhaps Kei had somehow got away from Goretta and the two larger civilians, Flit and Snout weren’t as worried.
“There’s another place they might be.” Flit said, “In fact, I’m sure they’re there.”
The four of them left the main area of the underground and headed away from the repaired hallways. The halls got narrower, the ceiling lower, and the turns they took seemed more confusing somehow. It was as though this area of the underground was designed to turn people around and get them lost. Eventually, they took a turn and entered a hallway with no small river running through it, and no hanging lights dangling from the ceiling. The only light came from small emergency lanterns on the floor and while it was perfectly comfortable for a Chilacians’ sensitive eyes, TO could only imagine it was far too dark for most of the others.
“This hall is so much narrower.” DH said as they drew closer to TO, slipping their hand into their mate’s.
“Is this a maintenance hallway?” TO asked, “The ceiling is lower, the hallway narrower… and why doesn’t this hallway have water running through the center like the others?”
“It used to be a prison or a jail or something like that.” Flit said, “The hallways are narrower so that people can block them off more easily.” There’s no water here because of that, and of course a river flowing through the center of the hall would give prisoners a place to hide.
Flit’s words were proven true shortly afterwards as they passed the first old cell. Well, Old wasn’t the right way to put it; it was archaic; a simple empty square room with bars running across the large opening. The bars were old and rusted in places, but they still seemed solid. Still, if TO could look past the old bars, they realized that the ancient old cells reminded them of the cells in the holding center, the biggest difference being the bars which in modern times were replaced by electromagnetic barriers.
They walked a little further down, and the sound of people talking just before them hit TO’s ears. It wasn’t Goretta and Kei though, TO knew that from the certain cadence of their voices. As they drew closer, they saw that one cell was now a makeshift security room; the bars were gone, and a simple table holding several mini projectors similar to what Flit and Snout had in their own room lined one wall. These projections didn’t show star charts, they showed video of a different cell further back. Inside, the broad Nagarajin woman who carried Kei away earlier leaned against the wall, watching the projection. There was a taser at her side; a larger civilian model which while less effective, slower, and which possessed a shorter range, would still be effective enough to stop an unarmored synth. She wasn’t alone in the small converted cell, Mira was there with her, sitting at the table and watching the video intently. She turned when she heard the others approaching and waved one of her narrow, clawed hands at TO.
“You’re back.” She said, “Good. What the abyssal shit happened?” She jerked her hand at the projection, “All I was told is that Kei tried to escape. Vik’s nowhere to be found, and all Tham told me when I asked how you all stopped Kei was that he ‘handled it.’” Her antenna twitched, her eyes narrowed, “I don’t like not knowing things, you know. That’s what I do: I know things. I stay quiet, and I listen, and I learn. I don’t enjoy being in the dark.”
Was she being serious, or was she putting on an act? Did she know about the failsafe, or had she been as clueless as the rest of them? She frowned as TO considered this, and tapped one one of her thin, spindly legs on the floor as she reclined back in the chair, watching TO.
“... So, whatever happened, it was bad, wasn’t it?” She asked.
“What?” TO felt their ears flick down in sudden panic, “Why do you -”
“Your ears.” She said, a smirk playing across her lips, “I’m not as good as Pearla with reading your ears, but you and I just spent three days together, and I’m very observant. I can tell when something’s bothering you”
If she didn’t know, she was a talented actor at least. TO juggled with the potential consequences of telling her what happened, and found none.
“Vik and Tham did something to our chips.” TO said. “Created a failsafe.”
“More specifically,” DH said as they stepped next to TO, “They added a program to our chips that would send a pulse through our heads.” They tapped at the base of their neck, “Some experimental medical technology that’s supposed to be used to put people under for surgery. It’s an alternative to chemical anesthesia, and they used it to knock us out.”
TO observed Mira, expecting her to look as indignant and angry as TO felt, or perhaps she’d give herself away now, and show that she knew all along. TO didn’t expect her to slam her claw-like hand on the table and shout, “That’s what it was!” Her small hand struck the table with more force than TO expected, and her shout was so sudden and forceful that the Nagarajin jolted and gave a yelp possessing a much higher pitch than TO expected from the large woman.
“What do you mean, ‘that’s what it was?’” Flit said as they took a step towards her, “You knew they did something?”
“I suspected they did something.” She said, “They were being too...” She twirled her hand around in the air, peering upwards as though looking for the word, “I don’t know. Too careless, I thought.” She glanced at TO with an apologetic smile, “To careless with Kei, and with you at first. I mean, I didn’t know you then aside from the lot of you being synths, and you being afraid of bugs.” she shrugged, “So, yes, I thought that letting freshly captured synths we didn’t know out of secure rooms and getting them to help right away was a little… Ill advised. And I thought the same thing about Kei and your friend here. But Vik kept saying it was fine, and Tham…” she shrugged, “Well, he wasn’t okay with it, but it was far more at ease than I would have expected of him. I knew they had to have some kind of plan, but I didn’t know what.”
“If you thought something like that, why didn’t you tell us?” Flit snapped.
“Because I didn’t have proof?” She said with a shrug, “Because I could have been wrong. They were being careful, and while I suspected they did something, I had no idea what it might have been. Without more information, what was I supposed to tell you?” She frowned, “And even if I knew, why would I have told you? I mean, ok, maybe Flit and Snout, they’ve been around long enough and they’ve helped enough… and TO, sure, After the indebted center I’d tell you. But the rest of you? I hardly know you! Synths or no, why would I trust you?”
“I’ve been helping too.” DH muttered, crossing their arms as they looked away.
Mira sighed, “DH, don’t take it personally. I don’t dislike you; you seem fine, you like to help people, you’re clearly compassionate, and I’m glad Vik has a friend they can chat to about all their computer stuff.”
“Had.” DH spat.
Mira ignored DH’s addition. “But liking you and trusting you are two different things.”
“Well, now we need to figure out who we can trust.” Flit said, “This is a dangerous situation for us.”
“It’s dangerous for all of us.” Mira said. “Heck, it’s dangerous for the planet. If the synths come and kill us all-”
“We’re facing that same danger!” Flit snapped, “Death if they choose to just eliminate the population. If they come here and catch us…” they stopped, their ears dipping down as they glanced at Snout. “It’ll be worse.”
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“We’d be repurposed if caught.” Snout said, “Killed, and pulled apart for spare organs. They could choose to correct us if they’re short on basic, menial labor. They'd likely do that and leave us on the planet to clean up the corpses.”
“What about the exile thing?” TO asked, remembering what they had been told so long ago, “What about sending us off to explore uncharted space?”
“Perhaps for Avery, DH, and Kei.” Flit said, “They’ve not necessarily been caught doing anything so there’s a chance they’d be sent out on permanent solo expeditions. Of course, that’s providing they passed a careful interrogation. Either way, higher ups would consider them far too compromised to be put back into regular service.”
The color drained from DH’s face as their ears flicked down. TO took their hand and squeezed their fingers gently. A solo expedition? One that would last the rest of DH’s natural life? TO couldn’t let that happen.
“And as though that wasn’t bad enough,” Flit continued, “Now we also have to worry about our ‘allies’ putting an off switch in us! If they did that, what else might they have done? What else might other people have done? If Goretta helped, how can we possibly trust her to help with medical issues? Can we trust the medication she’s giving us? Can we trust her to help Snout with caring for the rest of us?”
“I trust her.” Snout muttered. “She’s done nothing but help me since I got here.”
“Hey, don’t get angry with me.” Mira said, “I had nothing to do with all this.”
“And how do we know that?” Flit hissed.
“You don’t.” She said, shrugging. “You only have my word for it. Maybe I can help though.” She turned to the screen, observing the scene before her. TO had paid little attention before, but now as they watched they could see Goretta standing before a closed cell. Inside, Kei sat on a simple mat, glowering out at her. Even in the poor quality video TO could see the quick repairs done to the cell, the repaired bars and the boxes at either end which likely sent a current through the sturdy metal.
“She’s trying to help them.” Mira said. “I don’t know how. I mean, she’s a neurologist, not a therapist.” She glanced back at TO, “And all of you need therapy but that’s besides the point. Keep quiet.” She pulled her communicator out of her pocket and pressed a button. A call rang through and a moment later TO saw Goretta take her own communicator out and step away from the cell. The projections had no sound, but Mira had put her communicator on speaker, so that they could all hear what was being said.
“How’s the interrogation going?” Mira asked as soon as Goretta answered.
A heavy sigh sounded from the communicator. “It’s not an interrogation.” Goretta said, “I’m trying to figure out their mental state. I just did a major operation on their brain, and I need to know that they’re thinking properly.”
DH opened their mouth to say something, but Mira saw them and held a finger up to her thin lips to quiet them.
“Alright, whatever you’re doing.” Mira said, “How’s it going?”
“Not great.” Goretta said, “They’re not talking to me at all. They were before, but now…”
That was interesting. TO knew why Kei wasn’t talking to her, of course. They weren’t supposed to say anything to the enemy if they got captured. However, despite that, and apparently despite looking for a chance to run, they had broken this rule before. How much had they talked? How friendly or antagonistic had they been? TO wanted to ask, but Mira clearly wanted them to stay silent.
“Well, I dunno.” Mira said, her tone far more casual than it had been before, “Maybe they’re angry at the chip thing.”
Even on the low-quality screen, TO could see Goretta’s brow furrow, her tentacles twist about her tightly, “Chip thing? What do you mean?”
“You know. The chip thing? I mean, I just found out about it myself. Apparently Vik and Tham put some kinda off switch in their chips. Something-something experimental medical knock-out tech. I dunno. You know I don’t know the specifics of that kind of stuff.”
On screen, Goretta’s tentacles twisted into tightly coiled spirals. When her voice sounded over the communicator it resonated with rage despite how calm, it seemed on the surface. “You mean to tell me that Vik and Tham, two people who have zero medical knowledge, put experimental medical technology on my patient without telling me?” She stepped further away from the bars. “You’re telling me they triggered an experimental pulse through the brain of a patient who has only recently received fairly intense brain surgery, and whose mind is still recovering and reprogramming itself?!”
“Oh…” Mira’s voice feigned concern, “I suppose you didn’t know then.”
On the screen, TO could see Goretta open and close her mouth several times before stopping, closing her eyes, and taking a deep breath. Her tentacles never unclenched through all this, and when she opened her eyes the black orbs seemed bigger than normal. She smiled as she spoke through the communicator but even to TO, the smile seemed wider than would be considered friendly. It felt predatory, as though she was showing her teeth to her next meal. “I’m gonna kill them.”
She closed her communicator and rushed off-screen.
“Well, there you go.” Mira said as she put her communicator away, “That should prove to you she at least didn’t know, and hopefully it proves to you I didn’t know, and that I want to help you.” She glanced up at TO, “Am I correct?”
TO could have hugged her. They hadn’t realized how worried they were that Mira was part of this, but now that they were satisfied that she wasn't they could feel the absence of their anxiety more than anything else. Their ears lifted as they said a quiet, “Yes.”
“Good.” Mira said, “Now, I’ll catch up with you all later, but for now I’m going to go with Goretta to have a chat with Vik and Tham. She’s not going to hurt them, but she is pissed, and she is going to tear a strip–figuratively–off both of them. It’ll be rather entertaining. She looked at the Nagarajin, "You're going to stay here?”
“They asked me to do security duty.” She said, “So, yes.”
“Great.” Mira said, then smiling she turned to the others, “Though, you lot might want to take off. Goretta’s angry, and while I didn’t tell her you weren’t here, I also didn’t tell her you were.” She grinned, “So, hurry off and keep me out of trouble.”
“Yes, let’s go.” Snout said, taking Flit’s arm and hurrying them away. TO, DH, and Avery followed the two, and when they were nearly at the end of the hallway Snout turned to Flit, “Do you trust her now?”
“I trust her more.” Flit muttered, rubbing the band on their hand.
“I trust her.” TO said. They glanced at DH, but their mate didn’t seem nearly as relieved. They seemed to stare out at nothing, their ears still low and back. TO squeezed DH’s hand, and while they squeezed back and flashed a quick smile at TO, the smile didn’t move their ears.
Of course that wouldn’t have cheered them. Mira wasn’t DH’s friend, and they weren’t as close to Goretta as they had been to Vik. The damage was already done for DH. Had Mira and Goretta been involved, it simply would have been another strike on their already wounded mate.
They recalled how DH had interrupted Mira, saying that they and Vik ‘had’ been friends. While their sudden quick friendship had sparked jealousy and worry in TO before, now it’s absence worried them. They wanted DH to be happy, and Vik’s actions, their duplicity, hurt DH deeply.
There was no fixing this, but if there was TO knew that they fix it in a heartbeat, just to see DH happy again.