The Interplanetary Police Headquarters on Sphitt went up through the clouds and pierced the sky. The building also had another part that the citizens of Hittara couldn’t see. Beneath the ground, hundreds of other floors awaited, all the way through the planet’s crust. Most of these were the prison and the interrogation chambers.

The heat from the planet's molten core infiltrated the walls, which the higher-ups appreciated. The increased temperature loosened the tongues of the prisoners, unsettling them during the questioning.

Shayla sat on a plain metal chair, her wrists bound behind her and her back straight. Because of the dazzling light coming from a crack in the wall, she couldn't see anything in the room. She was tired of answering all the questions they hurled at her.

The whooshing of a paper sliding across the table had a nice ring to it. Anything was better than the sound of the voice asking questions all the time. Her fingers touched the document and pulled it on a side so her eyes could read unburdened by that painful light.

As Shayla kept reading, she understood its significance. The paper had her confession. All she had to do was to sign it. But those weren’t her words. She hadn’t said half the things written there.

When she opened her lips to complain, the door opened. Two distinct pairs of footsteps approached. Someone tossed something on the table, but it wasn't on Shayla's side. She heard a pleasant masculine voice. "Grand Admiral Darren Kyel has signed this order. Please refrain from reading it aloud."

A moment of silence followed in which Shayla swallowed hard and took a deep breath, preparing for whatever would come after. A chair shrieked across the gleaming floor, and someone exited the room.

“Hi, Shayla!” The same melodious voice again.

She frowned at the blinding light.

“Oh, forgive me about that,” the man chirped as the source of that brightness shook and shifted toward the ceiling. “I hope it is better now.”

Her eyes needed some time to adapt to the dimmer light. Shayla's eyes were drawn to the man seated in front of her on the other side of the table, and she noticed the way he stared at her. His pupils were dilated, and his keen attention unnerved her. He appeared to want to reach out and touch her, but he carefully restrained himself. His eyes shifted lower, focusing on the plunging neckline of her filthy red gown.

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“Listen, pal! My eyes are up here.” She raised her tied hands at her eye level.

A lovely, caring smile spread across the man's face as his coal black gaze fell on hers. His face was beautiful, long and angular, with a strong jawline and high cheekbones. His hand snatched the confession from her grasp, crumpled it, and tossed it on the floor. His gaze had never left hers, so there was no way he could hit the trash.

“I am sorry,” he said with the same melodious voice and the smile still on his lips. “The Interplanetary Police likes to keep the underground levels in the stone age. Paper, pens, trash cans, no temperature control.”

Shayla let him babble as she took a look at the second person in the room. A woman stood motionless behind the man, her gaze piercing the wall behind Shayla and not moving an inch.

“Oh, don’t mind her,” the man chuckled. “She is a robot meant to react only when someone tells a lie. You can call her a lie detector. You see, we don’t need that confession from you anymore. We have more important matters to attend to. I want you to tell me all you know about Tejeda Hajar.”

Fear coursed in her veins but never made it to the surface. Her skin remained pale and matte, and her eyes stayed fixed. Beads of sweat kept rolling over her face, but that was the temperature and not her fear.

“What is your relationship with Major Tejeda Hajar?”

“There is none,” Shayla responded without hesitation.

The man turned to look at the woman dressed in yellow, but she didn’t move. He scratched his freshly shaven chin. "Interesting. What did you feel when you thought he was dead?"

Shayla’s lips became a straight line and her dark green gaze pierced the man in front of her. “Happy that he saved my life. Sad that he died. Angry because he didn’t let me help him. Is that enough for you?”

The man tilted his head and rested his cheek on the back of his left hand. “One more question, and you will be free to go. If Tejeda Hajar would want you on his crew as his second in command, what would you respond?”

A muscle on Shayla’s face twitched. A suspicion arose inside her mind and made the corner of her lip curl as her eyes narrowed. “I would say that he should ask me that himself.”

He pulled back his chair, rose on his feet, and walked up to her. After he freed her hands, he grabbed her wrist and kissed the back of her hand softly. "Shayla Bale, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Colonel Tejeda Hajar, the new and better version now at your disposal. I have come to set you free as I promised. Only one question remains unanswered. Do you want to be my second in command?"

Coal black eyes sparkling in the dim light. Dark green gaze excited and annoyed. Shayla’s lips moved. “Yes.”

Tejeda’s lips spread in a big smile. “Awesome! Oh, meet C1313, the first member of our crew. Now, off we go to pick up the rest!”

He went out the door, almost dancing above the white floor. Shayla shook her head, wondering why she said yes.