Oriole: Oriole made his way from the infirmary through the twisting passageways of the Soferian caves, his head throbbing to the beat of his heart. Another unsuccessful interrogation attempt with the twins. This round hadn't left them both unconscious, but they were seriously beat up. It was infuriating. They thought they had rights, for Kiret Luoya's sake! They obviously didn't know how many people in this colony would go out of their way to kill them.

Aurora especially annoyed him. He'd expected Alana to be resistant from the start. She just seemed like the most unlikeable, stubborn person he'd ever met. Aurora, on the other hand, had started out pliable and easy to get information from. That's how it seemed, at least. Neither of them had said a word through his entire interrogation. She had learned from her sister. Oriole was tempted to turn around right then and shoot them both. He'd get no complaints from his wife, who was sick of watching after them. But there was something that prevented him from killing Alana and Aurorahe just couldn't put his finger on what it was. The entire situation was so frustrating.

The Fire Soferian, in his aimless wonderings of the caves, finally found himself in the commons of the colony. About two dozen Soferian colonists milled around the space. It was the largest "room" in the whole network of caves that they all called home. The ceiling rose thirty meters above the floor, and at it's widest point it was twenty-five meters across. The area was brightly lit by glow rods painstakingly hung from the highest point of the domed room. At one end of the space was the "Cafe", as residents called it. It was hardly more than three bins on a rack filled with thick rolls of dough that served as the main "staple" of a diet in the colony.

Oriole crossed the room, picked up a roll, and plopped down on one of the stone benches scattered around the space. He took a bite of the bread and swallowed without tasting it, trying to figure out just whathe should do with the sisters. The Fire Soferian wasn't sure how long he had been sitting there, running circles in his mind, when another colonist collapsed onto the bench beside him. Giving the other a sideways glance, Oriole recognized the tall, skinny frame and shaggy black hair of Roen.

"Man, I am going to be so glad when Riari okays me for regular duty again. I won't be complaining about working in the fields for a very, very long while," he groaned, leaning his head against the cave wall and closing his eyes. Oriole turned back to his roll.

"Oh?" his tone was distant, but Roen didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah. I didn't know being injured meant I would have the most tiring job. I thought I was just supposed to take it easy, but noooooo," he lifted his head and glared at Oriole. "You know what job Riari assigned me? So I'm not, and I quote "dead weight in this colony"? She has me babysitting. Your daughter. How do you sleepat night?"

Oriole felt the corner of his mouth lift into a smile and took another bite. It really was cruel of his wife to put injured colonists on babysitting duty. Shilo, his five-year-old daughter, was such a handful many completely healthy Soferians couldn't deal with her.

"It's just motivation to get better," he said. Roen snorted.

"I think it's cruel and unusual punishment," He suddenly seemed to catch onto Oriole's weariness and gave the Fire Soferian a questioning look. "What is it?" Oriole rolled his eyes.

"Them," He didn't have to say anymore. Roen's eyes darkened; everyone know that "Them" was the twins, and "They" were greatly abhorred by the whole of the colony.

"Why don't you just kill Them already?" the Earth Soferian growled, "They are using up resources that wedesperately need! With this power shortage, and the monsoons coming up fast, They're going to end up killing us." Oriole nodded thoughtfully, the distant look in his eyes making a comeback.

"You know we can't do that, Roen. Our species is hanging by a thread as it is. We can't just kill two perfectly healthy"

Roen looked horrified by what Oriole was suggesting, even though he himself had entertained that line of thinking at one time. "That is the worst excuse I have ever heard. It doesn't matter how 'perfectly healthy' they are. Sure, it might work if our species was made up of unfeeling robots who didn't care about anything but survival! You have to know that they are no good for...breeding stock. At all. Ask any male. They'd sooner kill Them than bondwith Them!" he hissed. The colony leader winced. Yeah, he knew that. But it was the only "solid" excuse he could come up with to keep the twins alive. "Just shoot them, dammit!"

"I'm putting them on a work detail," Oriole said, pretending like he hadn't heard a word Roen had said. The Earth Soferian looked at him like he'd suggested opening Sofera to the rest of the galaxy. Surely this wasn't the cautious leader who blew up every ship that entered orbit in case it was one the Imperial agents, returning after twenty years to see if they were successful in eliminating the Soferian race. But Oriole was one-hundred percent serious.

"Why?" At last Roen found his voice. The Fire Soferian finished off his roll and leaned back, staring at the ceiling.

"I can't explain it, Roen. But I can't kill Them. And I can't just let Them use up all our resources while they are recovering from the infirmary. They've got to do something. So we'll give Them the work no one else wants to do," he reasoned. Roen's eyes grew wider.

"You're not going to make them watch Shilo, are you?"

Oriole jerked his head toward the Earth Soferian and fixed him with a glare, close to throttling him, until he recognized the playful gleam in Roen's dark green eyes. Just like the man; easily fired up but always eager to turn a serious conversation into a joke. "Get back to work, Roen." he ordered. The other stood and mock saluted before trotting off to wherever he was scheduled next, leaving Oriole to wonder what exactly he'd be doing by allowing Alana and Aurora outside of the cave complex.

Wishing they hadn't squandered away the ale eight years ago, the colony leader got up and helped himself to another roll.

Starfire: Alana lay on her cot, one arm dangling over the side, the other pressing an ice pack to her nose. She was pretty sure Oriole had broken it. Again. Her head was throbbing and her broken ribs were on fire (they, too, had been re-broken), but other than that, she was in relatively good condition. Alana wasn't sure how well Aurora had fared, but it wasn't much better. Probably worse, considering her sister hadn't spoken a word.

Deep down, Alana was proud of Aurora. But she was too annoyed to show any gooshy feelings. Right now all she felt like doing was complaining. Which she did.

"My face hurts. My side hurts. My pride has sustained a mortal injury. I do believe I am going to kill Oriole," she grunted. Her voice sounded strange and nasally because of her broken nose. Damn that stupid, arrogant, son of a ―"

"Sit up." A rough hand forced Alana into a sitting position. Her whole body screamed, and Alana quickly rephrased her previous statement.

"I take it back my last statement. I will kill you first. ThenI'll murder Oriole. Maybe I'll make him watch you die. It's always more fun to make a person suffer before mercifully ending their life," she said to Riari. The other didn't answer, as usual. But her horrible bedside manner spoke volumes. "You and him are really made for each other. I'm sure that if you two weren't the last Soferians alive, you would have killed each other instead of getting married. Am I right?"

Riari's only response was an unnecessarily harsh tug as she replaced a bandage on Alana's temple.

"Of course, when you get right down to it, you are polar opposites! And opposites attract. Oriole is loud and obnoxious, and you are quiet and sadistic. Is that why you became a medic? You must enjoy causing people pain. We have something in common. OW!"

Alana sensed a wave of satisfaction roll off of Riari as she slapped a fresh ice pack on the Ice Soferian's nose. She walked away without a word.

Sighing loudly, Alana fell back onto her cot and ignored the white-hot pain that flared up in her head and abdomen.

"Y'know, Aurora? After the way we've been treated here, I really don't think being killed back on Coruscant would have been such a bad thing," she complained, turning her head to face her sister.

Aurora glared at Alana, even though she knew it didn't really do much good. "Speak for yourself. I'd much rather die sloooooowly, in pain,"she thought, sending the sarcastic words over to her sister.

When Oriole had realized that the Earth Soferian was not going to say a word, he'd punched her so hard that it sent her head snapping backward. Now the left side of her face was turning into one massive bruiseit was a wonder he hadn't broken her jaw. Talking obviously wasn't an option at this point.

Alana opened her mouth to answer (because, in that petty way of hers, she wanted Riari to hear at least one half of the sister's conversation), but at that moment, the topic of the sister's short conversation waltzed in to the infirmary. His usual aura of anger and self-righteousness had evaporated into an emotion Alana could only label as anxiety, though she was sure it went much deeper than that.

"Don't we at least get a full twenty-four hours before you return to beat the shit out of us again?" she said bitterly.

"Shut up, Alana," Oriole commanded, though his voice sounded more weary than authoritative. "I've got news for you both. Whether you take it as good or bad is up to you. I have decided to put you both on an outdoor work detail."

In the background, Alana heard Riari drop a large tray of something breakable. The sound of shattering glass echoed in the small cavern, but Oriole ignored the commotion.

"You will have a two-day rest period in new quarters that have been assigned for you. Each of you will be accompanied by a guard at all times. After your forty-eight hours is up, you will spend every hour of daylight in the grain fields on the south side of the mountain range. When you are not working, you will be locked up in your respective cells. All meals will be brought to you. If you leave your cell for any reason, there is not one Soferian in this entire complex who will hesitate to shoot you. They will be encouraged to do so. Any questions?"

"Golly gee, did you hear that, Aurora? We have jobs now! Will we be getting business cards?" Alana asked, eyes widening in mock excitement. Oriole's only answer was to step closer and punch her directly in her fractured ribs. The Ice Soferian gasped and she shut up immediately, mostly from her inability to breathe.

"Any other comments?" he asked, turning his attention to Aurora with a full intent to knock her out should she make any smart ass statements like her sister.

Aurora's steely gaze connected with Oriole's as he turned toward her. She raised one eyebrow at him, but said nothing, physically or telepathically. Aurora's meaning was clear: Oriole would have to do more than threaten her to scare her. However, her response gave no reason for Oriole to hit her again. Her facial expression turned into one of smug satisfaction.

Oriole wasn't impressed with Aurora's smug silence. "Have it your way," he grunted. Turning away from the twins, he called out into the corridor.

"Thane, Hadel!" Almost instantly, two rather beefy Soferians entered the infirmary. Oriole nodded towards the sisters. "Show them to their quarters. If they don't cooperate, feel free to use whatever violence necessary to get them there."

Alana, still trying to catch her breath, didn't put up much of a fight when she was jerked off the bed by one of the escorts and dragged out into the hall. And she was too distracted to try to map the caves she was being dragged through.

Aurora, on the other hand, managed to get onto her feet before her escort got to the side of her bed. His hand immediately circled around her upper arm, but she shrugged him off and walked ahead of him. No need to let the large Soferian drag her like a rag doll. That would be painful. And humiliating.

However, Aurora's guard was not so forgiving, and began to repeatedly prod her in the back with his blaster gun. Aurora's eyes narrowed as she seethed, but seeing as a harmful weapon in the hands of a very disgruntled Soferian was pointed in her back, she decided not to retaliate. Not that she had much choice.

Aurora was really beginning to hate Oriole. She had never hated anyone before, not even Soruto. No, the Sith, she feared above anything or anyone else. Other than losing her sister, of course. She did not hate Soruto. But Oriole….He spoke of honor, yet he mistreated and abused two helpless (much to the sisters' displeasure), already injured women. The Fire Soferian refused to listen to them when they told him how they had not chosen to leave Sofera, had not chosen the way their miserable lives had turned out. Aurora could not see how Oriole had even been chosen to lead the handful of Soferians remaining after the genocide that nearly wiped out their race.

Perhaps the remaining Soferians were all extremely aware of their constant danger and extremely untrusting because of it.

That was still not an excuse.

Aurora's guard stopped in front of two doors set close together. He opened one of the doors and pushed Aurora into the small cramped space that was to be her living area. As soon as she was inside the room, the door clanged shut, leaving Aurora in darkness. The Earth Soferian snorted in derision, and began feeling her way around the room. Her hand soon found a somewhat soft, flat, and lumpy object at knee height, and after further investigation, she found that it was a cot. Aurora gratefully laid down on the cot, happy to have somewhere to nurse her injuries in the darkness.

"So, what do you think of our pleasant accommodations, Alana?"she thought to her sister.

"At least we're away from Oriole, that son of bantha," Alana thought back.

"Very true,"Aurora replied thoughtfully. She grinned suddenly, a thought coming to her head. Alana was likely going to get very annoyed with her over the next few days, as Aurora attempted to entertain herself in the long hours they were surely going to spend in these caves.. "You know, orioles are a type of bird on Earth."The Earth Soferian sniggered. "I wonder if he has feathers."

Obviously, Aurora's exhaustion was making her slaphappy. The twins' situation seemed rather darkly humorous to her, and she soon found herself laughing so hard that tears began running down the sides of her face in salty streams.

"Get a hold of yourself, Aurora," Alana barked back at her sister, not in the mood for any humor, no matter howdark it was.

Aurora's laughter fizzled to a stop at Alana's comment. "Forgive me for attempting to attain at least one tiny bit of joy in my life!"she replied hotly, suddenly furious at Alana. Why, oh why, did Alana always have to shove her dark moods on her all the time? It wasn't as if she didn't already have enough of her own! Before the Ice Soferian could reply to Aurora's comment, she shoved a mental wall in place to shield her thoughts from her sister, and to stop Alana from being able to say anything. Yes, it was childish of her, but Aurora felt slightly gratified in doing so.

Of course, Aurora wasn't one to hold grudges. A few minutes later, as she began drifting off, she let the wall down. "Good night, Alana. Sleep well."With that, she succumbed to much-needed rest.

Roen: A lot had happened in the two days Oriole had given the sisters to recover. First off, the energy crisis grew even more dire. The source of the problem had yet to be identified, and in the meantime, thousands of watts were drained every day. All power was regulated to conserve as much as possible. This meant that the lamps that lit the caverns were extinguished and life on Sofera became very primitive. Everyday commodities suddenly became too wasteful of precious energy.

Second, the monsoon preseason had arrived. The days grew shorter, and soft showers soaked the ground at frequent but uneven intervals. The sun rarely peeked through the dark blanket of cloudsnight and day were often synonymous. Soferian colonists were working round the clock to prepare for the devastating storms that were mere weeks away.

And thirdly, Roen's arm had fully healed. Thank Kiret Luoya for accelerated healing; the man wasn't sure how much longer he could stand watching over Oriole's daughter and the other four children of the colony (Roen had never been much of a kid person). But finally the day arrived when Riari removed the stitches from his arm, freeing Roen to aid in the monsoon season preparations….and a few other things.

Of course, that's when Oriole hit him with the news.

"You want me to what?" Roen said, incredulous. The Fire Soferian sighed and dropped his arms from their crossed position over his chest.

"Unfortunately, Roen, you are the only free hand we have at the moment. There is no one else I can afford to assign—"

"Oriole, I'm sorry. You know I respect you, but this is crossing a line. Why don't we just shoot the prisoners? It would mean two less mouths to feed, two less Soferians to waste energy on. Your reluctance to execute Alana and Aurora is only adding an unnecessary burden to the already overwhelmed colony! We are on the brink of—"

"I know, Roen," Oriole interrupted, sounding tired. This last week seemed to have aged him years. "I know all of this. I don't know why, but for some reason I can't kill them. And besides, they could be a help to us. The monsoons are coming early and with our current workforce we won't be able to harvest the fields in time. Has it occurred to you that maybe Kiret Luoya sent us these two for a purpose?"

Roen was not sure how to respond to this. For a moment he just stood before Oriole, opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water. At last, he found his voice. "Are you suggesting these traitors are a godsend?"

Oriole managed a weary smile and clapped Roen on the shoulder. "You're catching on, comrade. You'll be escorting Alana and Aurora to the unfinished south field. Step to it." And with that, the Fire Soferian hurried off to do whatever business he had scheduled for himself. Roen watched him disappear into the inky blackness of the caves"

You're mad, Oriole…."


Due to my recent lack of updates, I have decided to jump the ball and upload three chapters this day. The third will be coming shortly. Also, to the readers who wish to see more of SG-1, all I can say is...patience.