Part 12: Sins of the Past
The Argathin ship glided through space as calmly as ever. Alex stayed in her favorite seat by the window, with the crutches leaning against the side and Kira sitting in the chair beside her. She could see the Argathin home world by now through this window on the front of the space craft, a small bluish speck in the distance that looked rather like a marble, but would grow by the minute until it turned into an entire planet. They were almost there, and then the others would settle down... and Alex's mission would begin.
"Whew... is it getting cold in here to you?" Kira shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. Alex looked around, noticing it now that her friend had mentioned it.
"Yeah... maybe there's something wrong with the ship." Alex pushed herself to her feet and grabbed her crutches. Her leg was feeling better, she could stand on it now... but it still hurt to put a lot of weight on it, so she kept the crutches around.
"Let's go find the thermostat or something." Kira stood up beside her and turned to walk toward the small human habitat exit, past the rest of the people who'd come with them on this journey.
"Hey, wait for me!" Alex hurried after her, catching up just when Kira entered the hall outside. The lights were dark, leaving the hallways illuminated only by a soft blue glow from small tubes that ran along the ceiling. "Were we attacked and didn't know it...?" Alex asked in astonishment.
Kira gulped. "M... maybe..."
"Come on. We should make sure everything's okay." Alex turned to move down the hall. Kira followed behind her as she moved down the hall, peeking around corners to make sure the coast was clear. Suddenly one of the Argathins rounded a corner and almost ran right into her, its eyes going wide.
"Alex, what are you doing here?" He asked. He had a worried tone in his voice, but he didn't seem that worried about HER.
"What's going on here? Why is it so cold? Why are the lights off?" Alex demanded.
"Sssshhhhh!" The Argathin shushed her vigorously. "Please be silent!" It looked around quickly, then gave a beckoning gesture. "Come with me, we should confer with Commander Ay-Leex." It turned to lead Alex and Kira down the hall. The two humans exchanged a quick glance, then followed the little green alien down the hall toward the bridge.
Even the bridge was dark, with the only lights coming off of the strange looking control panels in front of the various aliens and the stars that shown through the front window. Ay-Leex turned in his captain's chair to look at them curiously. "Captain, she was wandering the halls again... with a friend this time." The Argathin who'd brought them stated.
"You should go back, we'll do everything we can to make sure you stay safe." Ay-Leex told her. On the screen behind him Alex could see the blue orb growing in size. They were so close... but something felt wrong.
"What's going on here? Your people DID send you to help us didn't they?" Alex asked. "It's almost like you're hiding..." Alex told them. None of the aliens around her spoke for several minutes. "You ARE... but why? What is going on here?"
"Well..." Ay-Leex began. Suddenly the golden vessel rocked through space, a massive explosion sending it hurtling end over end away from the blue marble of a planet. "We've been seen! Quick, weapo-" He didn't have time to continue before another explosion sent everyone on the bridge to the floor. "No, we have to activate the restriction field!" Ay-Leex shouted.
Kira helped Alex sit up painfully on her wounded leg, looking at the front window. A yellow light engulfed the front window, shining into the bridge, blindingly bright. Suddenly aliens started pouring through the window from the light, rolling on the ground and opening fire with some strange kind of rifle that fired bright red lasers.
The aliens they struck screamed for an instant, then collapsed to the ground limply. "Alex, we gotta get out of here!" Kira pulled Alex to her feet as a firefight ensued, trying to pull her back toward the exit. Suddenly however a beam struck Alex in the back. All of her muscles flared... then suddenly failed, sending her collapsing to the ground. She was still conscious, could still see, but she couldn't move.
"Alex!" Kira knelt down beside her before getting struck herself, collapsing to the floor. Alex stared at her helplessly, wanting to take the fear from her eyes but unable to do anything. Soon the gunfire subsided, and she felt a pair of little green hands grab her and pull her toward the front window. They passed right through it, and she suddenly found herself in a completely different ship.
"Wh..." Alex muttered softly as she began to recover. "What...?"
"Relax, human." One of the Argathins told her. "We're taking you to the Triforce Council. I apologize... this really has nothing to do with you." It tied her arms behind her back and shoved her onto one of the chairs. Alex watched as they carried the Argathins and humans alike from the other ship through the bridge into the back. They kept only Alex and Ay-Leex in the front.
"Where's... Kira...?" Alex asked weakly. Her muscles still barely worked.
"The other humans will be in holding pens, along with the traitors." The Argathin told her.
"Traitors?" Alex asked, but the Argathin had turned to tend to the others. Finally they finished bringing everybody aboard and the ship turned to cruise the rest of the way to their home world. Alex's eyes widened as they approached the atmosphere, the golden ship turning into a brilliant fireball until it made it through and plunged into the white clouds that reminded Alex of a time Earth once enjoyed.
"Whoooaaaaa..." Alex breathed as they broke through the layer of pure white clouds. A landscape of green and blue lay below them, a forest the likes of which had vanished off of Earth long ago. The water sparkled in the moonlight, and the wind blew through the forest serenely. It seemed to stretch on forever, but the ship flew over the forest until a glittering structure loomed over the horizon.
Its tip touched the clouds high overhead, and the sheer mass of it made Alex's mind balk. The outer wall seemed to extend for miles in both directions. She could only imagine how big it was, the wall in front of her extended as far as she could see in both horizontal and vertical directions. Reflective sheets of glass on the outside brilliantly reflected the light of the moon, creating pale haze over the landscape that was spectacular to behold.
"This place is... amazing..." Alex muttered in awe. None of the aliens around her answered as the wall swung inward, giving them an entrance into the center of the massive structure. They floated into an enormous hangar bay, where dozens of identical golden ships lined the walls. Their ship landed in a vacant space and the conquering aliens rounded them up and led them out of the ship.
Alex was left without her crutches, so she had to hobble along after them with pained steps since her hands were tied behind her back. Thankfully her captors seemed to realize she was injured, and didn't push her to go faster. Soon enough they entered a large chamber with a glass dome opening out into an even larger structure, through which Alex could see buildings hanging from a high ceiling, with platforms winding through them like spider-webs.
"Sir..." Ay-Leex bowed its head in respect. Alex forced her gaze away from the upside down buildings to look around the room she was in. A dozen Argathins sat behind benches high up on the wall around her, staring down at them with expressions of fear and anger all mixed together. One, who has a silver stripe wrapping around its head, spoke.
"Ay-Leex... you know what you've done." Its voice was surprisingly deep compared to the other Argathins Alex had met thus far.
"I had to do it regardless, Jay-Ri." Ay-Leex replied. "It was not right what we did... I had to try to preserve them."
"In preserving them, you've very well destroyed us all." Jay-Ri shot back. "You know that. The Zardexians won't stand for this!"
"Zardexians?" Alex asked. "I thought you guys defeated them? Drove them back? Why are you scared of them if you're as strong as they are?" The Argathins fell silent as all eyes turned to her. Jay-Ri got a sorrowful look in his eyes and shook his head.
"Human... we have never defeated the Zardexians." It told her.
"But... but Ay-Leex said... and then this world, there hasn't been a war here in at least a decade!" Alex replied. "Everything's too perfect to be routinely destroyed in a war around here." She pointed out. The aliens remained silent, staring at her with pitying and regretful expressions until finally Ay-Leex spoke beside her.
"Ten years ago, one of our ships was damaged in a fight with a Zardexian vessel. It got away, but crash-landed on Earth. When the council learned of this, they dispatched us to find and retrieve the crew." It trailed off for a moment before glaring at the aliens who sat surrounding them high up on the wall. "As we were held captive by GOOPER, we learned about humans, how they act, what they believe, how large and... nourishing they would be to the Zardexians." It stated. Alex's mouth hung open as she begun to see where he was going.
"When we got back... the council decided to offer the Zardexians a deal. We would tell them about a planet with abundant food that could offer little resistance... we would even tell them how to infiltrate your world in order to expedite their takeover. In exchange for this easy feast... they would leave us alone. The Zardexians accepted..."
"You... you GAVE us to them..." Alex sputtered in shock, turning to look around at the council above her. "You... you used us like a piece of beef..."
"If we hadn't, our people would have been wiped out by now." Jay-Ri told her simply. "We had no other alternative."
"That's why we went to Earth, to try to save your species from our selfishness." Ay-Leex glared at the council gathered around them.
"And now that you have... you've broken the treaty we had with the Zardexians." Jay-Ri reminded it.
"They will come after us again, and this time there will be no dealing with them." A different Argathin stated.
"Perhaps there is a chance if we make sure they know that this was the action of a rogue, not us." Yet another member said.
"Turn them all over to the Zardexian command." A different member stated. "And hope that they forgive us."
"N... no!" Alex hobbled into the direct center of the room, looking around desperately. "Those people you're holding have nothing to do with this except being dragged into it by YOU!" Alex spat more venomously than she'd intended, but her words had a visible effect on the council. "Give them a chance to live! Outside of these walls, your forests are large and plentiful! We could build a village, live inside the forest like our ancestors did!"
"If the Zardexians find you..." Jay-Ri was cut off.
"You can deny knowing anything about us. We'll be living apart from you, hidden in the forest. Aside from this right now, you'll never know we were there. And we'll deny ever having seen you before." Alex stared at the council, who stared back contemplatively. "Please..." Alex dropped to her knees, taking a sharp breath when her wounded leg hit the floor. She looked up at Jay-Ri. "I'm begging you, give them a chance... you did what you did for your people... I understand that... but now give us a second chance. You owe it to us."
Jay-Ri looked around at the other council members, exchanging a glance with each one before looking down at Alex warmly. "Very well... we agree with your words. We will have our shuttles take you outside of the range of our sensors, and deposit you in the forest. We can give you only two days' supply of food... after that, you'll have to learn to survive on your own."
"Thank you." Alex bowed deeply, putting her head on the floor. "Thank you so much..." She sat up and tried to get to her feet, but it was impossible with a wounded leg and her hands tied behind her back. Suddenly two Argathins grabbed her elbows and helped lift her to her feet, then cut her arms loose of their bonds. Alex rubbed her wrists.
"Come with us, we'll take you to the shuttles." They told her. Alex turned to hobble after them, but stopped when she saw Ay-Leex watching her, still held tightly by the guards behind it. Alex blinked and turned back to the council.
"What about them?" Alex pointed to Ay-Leex. "They were just trying to do the right thing."
"We will deal with them." Jay-Ri replied simply, with a tone that left no room for contradiction. Alex gulped and looked back at Ay-Leex, who mouthed a quick 'good luck.' Alex mouthed back 'thank you' before the aliens who'd been guarding her grabbed her arms and pulled her toward the exit, careful not to make her go too fast on her wounded leg.
They led her through several hallways until they emerged into the hangar again. This time there was a row of sleek looking shuttles lined up in front of the hangar door, which Argathins were quickly loading big boxes into, probably food for the first few days of their new lives. It occurred to Alex that this would make the job Sam gave her a lot more difficult... but she'd jump that hurdle after she knew the other refugees were safe.
"Where are the others?" Alex asked.
"They are being brought up as we speak. No offense, but we want to get you out of here as soon as possible." One of her guards told her. Alex nodded and watched the aliens packing up the shuttles until a door at the far end of the hangar was pushed open. A small group of aliens led in the refugee humans, who were huddled close together nervously.
"Alex!" Kira's cry cut the air as she broke from the group, charging at Alex full speed.
"Kira, hey!" Alex wrapped her up in a tight hug when she reached her.
"I was so afraid... I thought they were going to kill us all... I thought they already killed you..." Kira sniffled.
"Hey, I'm fine. We'll all be fine." Alex assured her with a gentle smile. "There was just a little mixup... but everything will be fine now. They're going to give us a place to start our society over, and build a new one without all the stupidity, fear, and hatred."
"We're gonna have a new home?" Kira asked excitedly.
"Yes..." Alex smiled at her, then looked up when one of the Argathins approached them.
"We're departing." It told her. The other refugees were already being guided onto the small shuttles by the aliens. "You had best come along, time is of the essence."
"Of course. Come on Kira, our new lives await." Alex patted her young friend's shoulder and walked toward the nearest shuttle. They boarded and took a pair of seats near the back, watching the alien pull the back door closed before signaling to its companions to head out. The shuttles lifted off the ground and took off outside the hangar bay door they had come in just a short while ago. Twin suns were rising over two different horizons, a yellow one rising over the Eastern horizon, while a sharp red one was peeking its way over the Western horizon, bathing the land below them in a sea of color.
"So odd..." One of the other passengers commented about the suns. Alex agreed, but didn't particularly care. She was more concerned with matters of immediate survival than why two suns were rising in opposite directions.
The massive Argathin building faded beyond the horizon behind them as they streaked past the thick forest far below. Alex could see beautiful trickling streams now that they were closer to the ground, and she saw various strange looking birds flying above the tree line along with strange looking animals occasionally peering through the foliage.
The shuttles arced over the tree line toward a small clearing a long ways away from the huge building from before. It would take days to trek back on foot like Alex knew she would have to if she wanted to accomplish Sam's mission. Still, she made a mental note of the direction and the terrain. She would need that knowledge later.
The shuttles opened and let the humans spill out into the clearing as the aliens began to unload their food supplies. "What is this?" One of the refugees asked in surprise. "Is this all there is?"
"This isn't a home, they're abandoning us out here!" Another man shouted. Cries of anger and rebellion rose up, but Alex knew fighting would be extremely stupid. The Argathin technology wasn't on the level of the Zardexians, but it could still toast them all within seconds.
"Alex... what's going on?" Kira asked. Alex looked down at her, then around at the increasingly rowdy crowd. Suddenly she hobbled to one of the shuttled and pulled herself on top of it, having some trouble with her leg but standing on top nonetheless.
"Hey, listen to me!" Alex let out a piercing whistle that silenced the shouts of protest, at least temporarily. "No, there are no homes out here... due to circumstances beyond ANYONE'S control, they cannot give us any more aid than a few days' supply of food." Alex confirmed. The cries started again, but Alex raised her hands to silence them. "BUT... do you really think we need them?"
"We're people, not monkeys. We need food and shelter!" One of the refugees shouted. Several others let out cheers of agreement.
"And we'll have food, once we figure out how to catch it!" Alex replied swiftly. "We can't afford to start bickering and complaining now. We only have enough food for a few days, so we MUST start cooperating and learning how to catch our own food NOW! We don't know how cold it gets at night here, we need shelter NOW! But it's not going to be given to us anymore!"
Most of the gathered crowd still looked uneasy and put off. "Look, it's not going to be easy. It will be hard as Hell... but we've survived ten years of constant war, struggling for our lives again and again. We conquered the greatest empire ever to come from Earth, we're not small and helpless. The human spirit conquered the Reverend, and the human spirit can conquer any challenge this planet throws at us! Now come on, I'm willing to stand up and build a new society, start fresh without old biases or advantages! Who's with me!?" Alex howled.
The cry was almost instantaneous. Almost everyone let out a roar of approval, with those who hesitated joining in a moment later. Kira was right at the front of the pack, jumping up and down and whooping in approval. Alex made a mental note to thank Sam for showing her how to give an effective speech, but for now she had a lot more work to do. A society to help build, and a theft to plan... it was a lot to worry about. She just hoped Sam and Clover could keep themselves in one piece until she got back with the Argathin weapons.
TO BE CONTINUED
The Argathin ship glided through space as calmly as ever. Alex stayed in her favorite seat by the window, with the crutches leaning against the side and Kira sitting in the chair beside her. She could see the Argathin home world by now through this window on the front of the space craft, a small bluish speck in the distance that looked rather like a marble, but would grow by the minute until it turned into an entire planet. They were almost there, and then the others would settle down... and Alex's mission would begin.
"Whew... is it getting cold in here to you?" Kira shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. Alex looked around, noticing it now that her friend had mentioned it.
"Yeah... maybe there's something wrong with the ship." Alex pushed herself to her feet and grabbed her crutches. Her leg was feeling better, she could stand on it now... but it still hurt to put a lot of weight on it, so she kept the crutches around.
"Let's go find the thermostat or something." Kira stood up beside her and turned to walk toward the small human habitat exit, past the rest of the people who'd come with them on this journey.
"Hey, wait for me!" Alex hurried after her, catching up just when Kira entered the hall outside. The lights were dark, leaving the hallways illuminated only by a soft blue glow from small tubes that ran along the ceiling. "Were we attacked and didn't know it...?" Alex asked in astonishment.
Kira gulped. "M... maybe..."
"Come on. We should make sure everything's okay." Alex turned to move down the hall. Kira followed behind her as she moved down the hall, peeking around corners to make sure the coast was clear. Suddenly one of the Argathins rounded a corner and almost ran right into her, its eyes going wide.
"Alex, what are you doing here?" He asked. He had a worried tone in his voice, but he didn't seem that worried about HER.
"What's going on here? Why is it so cold? Why are the lights off?" Alex demanded.
"Sssshhhhh!" The Argathin shushed her vigorously. "Please be silent!" It looked around quickly, then gave a beckoning gesture. "Come with me, we should confer with Commander Ay-Leex." It turned to lead Alex and Kira down the hall. The two humans exchanged a quick glance, then followed the little green alien down the hall toward the bridge.
Even the bridge was dark, with the only lights coming off of the strange looking control panels in front of the various aliens and the stars that shown through the front window. Ay-Leex turned in his captain's chair to look at them curiously. "Captain, she was wandering the halls again... with a friend this time." The Argathin who'd brought them stated.
"You should go back, we'll do everything we can to make sure you stay safe." Ay-Leex told her. On the screen behind him Alex could see the blue orb growing in size. They were so close... but something felt wrong.
"What's going on here? Your people DID send you to help us didn't they?" Alex asked. "It's almost like you're hiding..." Alex told them. None of the aliens around her spoke for several minutes. "You ARE... but why? What is going on here?"
"Well..." Ay-Leex began. Suddenly the golden vessel rocked through space, a massive explosion sending it hurtling end over end away from the blue marble of a planet. "We've been seen! Quick, weapo-" He didn't have time to continue before another explosion sent everyone on the bridge to the floor. "No, we have to activate the restriction field!" Ay-Leex shouted.
Kira helped Alex sit up painfully on her wounded leg, looking at the front window. A yellow light engulfed the front window, shining into the bridge, blindingly bright. Suddenly aliens started pouring through the window from the light, rolling on the ground and opening fire with some strange kind of rifle that fired bright red lasers.
The aliens they struck screamed for an instant, then collapsed to the ground limply. "Alex, we gotta get out of here!" Kira pulled Alex to her feet as a firefight ensued, trying to pull her back toward the exit. Suddenly however a beam struck Alex in the back. All of her muscles flared... then suddenly failed, sending her collapsing to the ground. She was still conscious, could still see, but she couldn't move.
"Alex!" Kira knelt down beside her before getting struck herself, collapsing to the floor. Alex stared at her helplessly, wanting to take the fear from her eyes but unable to do anything. Soon the gunfire subsided, and she felt a pair of little green hands grab her and pull her toward the front window. They passed right through it, and she suddenly found herself in a completely different ship.
"Wh..." Alex muttered softly as she began to recover. "What...?"
"Relax, human." One of the Argathins told her. "We're taking you to the Triforce Council. I apologize... this really has nothing to do with you." It tied her arms behind her back and shoved her onto one of the chairs. Alex watched as they carried the Argathins and humans alike from the other ship through the bridge into the back. They kept only Alex and Ay-Leex in the front.
"Where's... Kira...?" Alex asked weakly. Her muscles still barely worked.
"The other humans will be in holding pens, along with the traitors." The Argathin told her.
"Traitors?" Alex asked, but the Argathin had turned to tend to the others. Finally they finished bringing everybody aboard and the ship turned to cruise the rest of the way to their home world. Alex's eyes widened as they approached the atmosphere, the golden ship turning into a brilliant fireball until it made it through and plunged into the white clouds that reminded Alex of a time Earth once enjoyed.
"Whoooaaaaa..." Alex breathed as they broke through the layer of pure white clouds. A landscape of green and blue lay below them, a forest the likes of which had vanished off of Earth long ago. The water sparkled in the moonlight, and the wind blew through the forest serenely. It seemed to stretch on forever, but the ship flew over the forest until a glittering structure loomed over the horizon.
Its tip touched the clouds high overhead, and the sheer mass of it made Alex's mind balk. The outer wall seemed to extend for miles in both directions. She could only imagine how big it was, the wall in front of her extended as far as she could see in both horizontal and vertical directions. Reflective sheets of glass on the outside brilliantly reflected the light of the moon, creating pale haze over the landscape that was spectacular to behold.
"This place is... amazing..." Alex muttered in awe. None of the aliens around her answered as the wall swung inward, giving them an entrance into the center of the massive structure. They floated into an enormous hangar bay, where dozens of identical golden ships lined the walls. Their ship landed in a vacant space and the conquering aliens rounded them up and led them out of the ship.
Alex was left without her crutches, so she had to hobble along after them with pained steps since her hands were tied behind her back. Thankfully her captors seemed to realize she was injured, and didn't push her to go faster. Soon enough they entered a large chamber with a glass dome opening out into an even larger structure, through which Alex could see buildings hanging from a high ceiling, with platforms winding through them like spider-webs.
"Sir..." Ay-Leex bowed its head in respect. Alex forced her gaze away from the upside down buildings to look around the room she was in. A dozen Argathins sat behind benches high up on the wall around her, staring down at them with expressions of fear and anger all mixed together. One, who has a silver stripe wrapping around its head, spoke.
"Ay-Leex... you know what you've done." Its voice was surprisingly deep compared to the other Argathins Alex had met thus far.
"I had to do it regardless, Jay-Ri." Ay-Leex replied. "It was not right what we did... I had to try to preserve them."
"In preserving them, you've very well destroyed us all." Jay-Ri shot back. "You know that. The Zardexians won't stand for this!"
"Zardexians?" Alex asked. "I thought you guys defeated them? Drove them back? Why are you scared of them if you're as strong as they are?" The Argathins fell silent as all eyes turned to her. Jay-Ri got a sorrowful look in his eyes and shook his head.
"Human... we have never defeated the Zardexians." It told her.
"But... but Ay-Leex said... and then this world, there hasn't been a war here in at least a decade!" Alex replied. "Everything's too perfect to be routinely destroyed in a war around here." She pointed out. The aliens remained silent, staring at her with pitying and regretful expressions until finally Ay-Leex spoke beside her.
"Ten years ago, one of our ships was damaged in a fight with a Zardexian vessel. It got away, but crash-landed on Earth. When the council learned of this, they dispatched us to find and retrieve the crew." It trailed off for a moment before glaring at the aliens who sat surrounding them high up on the wall. "As we were held captive by GOOPER, we learned about humans, how they act, what they believe, how large and... nourishing they would be to the Zardexians." It stated. Alex's mouth hung open as she begun to see where he was going.
"When we got back... the council decided to offer the Zardexians a deal. We would tell them about a planet with abundant food that could offer little resistance... we would even tell them how to infiltrate your world in order to expedite their takeover. In exchange for this easy feast... they would leave us alone. The Zardexians accepted..."
"You... you GAVE us to them..." Alex sputtered in shock, turning to look around at the council above her. "You... you used us like a piece of beef..."
"If we hadn't, our people would have been wiped out by now." Jay-Ri told her simply. "We had no other alternative."
"That's why we went to Earth, to try to save your species from our selfishness." Ay-Leex glared at the council gathered around them.
"And now that you have... you've broken the treaty we had with the Zardexians." Jay-Ri reminded it.
"They will come after us again, and this time there will be no dealing with them." A different Argathin stated.
"Perhaps there is a chance if we make sure they know that this was the action of a rogue, not us." Yet another member said.
"Turn them all over to the Zardexian command." A different member stated. "And hope that they forgive us."
"N... no!" Alex hobbled into the direct center of the room, looking around desperately. "Those people you're holding have nothing to do with this except being dragged into it by YOU!" Alex spat more venomously than she'd intended, but her words had a visible effect on the council. "Give them a chance to live! Outside of these walls, your forests are large and plentiful! We could build a village, live inside the forest like our ancestors did!"
"If the Zardexians find you..." Jay-Ri was cut off.
"You can deny knowing anything about us. We'll be living apart from you, hidden in the forest. Aside from this right now, you'll never know we were there. And we'll deny ever having seen you before." Alex stared at the council, who stared back contemplatively. "Please..." Alex dropped to her knees, taking a sharp breath when her wounded leg hit the floor. She looked up at Jay-Ri. "I'm begging you, give them a chance... you did what you did for your people... I understand that... but now give us a second chance. You owe it to us."
Jay-Ri looked around at the other council members, exchanging a glance with each one before looking down at Alex warmly. "Very well... we agree with your words. We will have our shuttles take you outside of the range of our sensors, and deposit you in the forest. We can give you only two days' supply of food... after that, you'll have to learn to survive on your own."
"Thank you." Alex bowed deeply, putting her head on the floor. "Thank you so much..." She sat up and tried to get to her feet, but it was impossible with a wounded leg and her hands tied behind her back. Suddenly two Argathins grabbed her elbows and helped lift her to her feet, then cut her arms loose of their bonds. Alex rubbed her wrists.
"Come with us, we'll take you to the shuttles." They told her. Alex turned to hobble after them, but stopped when she saw Ay-Leex watching her, still held tightly by the guards behind it. Alex blinked and turned back to the council.
"What about them?" Alex pointed to Ay-Leex. "They were just trying to do the right thing."
"We will deal with them." Jay-Ri replied simply, with a tone that left no room for contradiction. Alex gulped and looked back at Ay-Leex, who mouthed a quick 'good luck.' Alex mouthed back 'thank you' before the aliens who'd been guarding her grabbed her arms and pulled her toward the exit, careful not to make her go too fast on her wounded leg.
They led her through several hallways until they emerged into the hangar again. This time there was a row of sleek looking shuttles lined up in front of the hangar door, which Argathins were quickly loading big boxes into, probably food for the first few days of their new lives. It occurred to Alex that this would make the job Sam gave her a lot more difficult... but she'd jump that hurdle after she knew the other refugees were safe.
"Where are the others?" Alex asked.
"They are being brought up as we speak. No offense, but we want to get you out of here as soon as possible." One of her guards told her. Alex nodded and watched the aliens packing up the shuttles until a door at the far end of the hangar was pushed open. A small group of aliens led in the refugee humans, who were huddled close together nervously.
"Alex!" Kira's cry cut the air as she broke from the group, charging at Alex full speed.
"Kira, hey!" Alex wrapped her up in a tight hug when she reached her.
"I was so afraid... I thought they were going to kill us all... I thought they already killed you..." Kira sniffled.
"Hey, I'm fine. We'll all be fine." Alex assured her with a gentle smile. "There was just a little mixup... but everything will be fine now. They're going to give us a place to start our society over, and build a new one without all the stupidity, fear, and hatred."
"We're gonna have a new home?" Kira asked excitedly.
"Yes..." Alex smiled at her, then looked up when one of the Argathins approached them.
"We're departing." It told her. The other refugees were already being guided onto the small shuttles by the aliens. "You had best come along, time is of the essence."
"Of course. Come on Kira, our new lives await." Alex patted her young friend's shoulder and walked toward the nearest shuttle. They boarded and took a pair of seats near the back, watching the alien pull the back door closed before signaling to its companions to head out. The shuttles lifted off the ground and took off outside the hangar bay door they had come in just a short while ago. Twin suns were rising over two different horizons, a yellow one rising over the Eastern horizon, while a sharp red one was peeking its way over the Western horizon, bathing the land below them in a sea of color.
"So odd..." One of the other passengers commented about the suns. Alex agreed, but didn't particularly care. She was more concerned with matters of immediate survival than why two suns were rising in opposite directions.
The massive Argathin building faded beyond the horizon behind them as they streaked past the thick forest far below. Alex could see beautiful trickling streams now that they were closer to the ground, and she saw various strange looking birds flying above the tree line along with strange looking animals occasionally peering through the foliage.
The shuttles arced over the tree line toward a small clearing a long ways away from the huge building from before. It would take days to trek back on foot like Alex knew she would have to if she wanted to accomplish Sam's mission. Still, she made a mental note of the direction and the terrain. She would need that knowledge later.
The shuttles opened and let the humans spill out into the clearing as the aliens began to unload their food supplies. "What is this?" One of the refugees asked in surprise. "Is this all there is?"
"This isn't a home, they're abandoning us out here!" Another man shouted. Cries of anger and rebellion rose up, but Alex knew fighting would be extremely stupid. The Argathin technology wasn't on the level of the Zardexians, but it could still toast them all within seconds.
"Alex... what's going on?" Kira asked. Alex looked down at her, then around at the increasingly rowdy crowd. Suddenly she hobbled to one of the shuttled and pulled herself on top of it, having some trouble with her leg but standing on top nonetheless.
"Hey, listen to me!" Alex let out a piercing whistle that silenced the shouts of protest, at least temporarily. "No, there are no homes out here... due to circumstances beyond ANYONE'S control, they cannot give us any more aid than a few days' supply of food." Alex confirmed. The cries started again, but Alex raised her hands to silence them. "BUT... do you really think we need them?"
"We're people, not monkeys. We need food and shelter!" One of the refugees shouted. Several others let out cheers of agreement.
"And we'll have food, once we figure out how to catch it!" Alex replied swiftly. "We can't afford to start bickering and complaining now. We only have enough food for a few days, so we MUST start cooperating and learning how to catch our own food NOW! We don't know how cold it gets at night here, we need shelter NOW! But it's not going to be given to us anymore!"
Most of the gathered crowd still looked uneasy and put off. "Look, it's not going to be easy. It will be hard as Hell... but we've survived ten years of constant war, struggling for our lives again and again. We conquered the greatest empire ever to come from Earth, we're not small and helpless. The human spirit conquered the Reverend, and the human spirit can conquer any challenge this planet throws at us! Now come on, I'm willing to stand up and build a new society, start fresh without old biases or advantages! Who's with me!?" Alex howled.
The cry was almost instantaneous. Almost everyone let out a roar of approval, with those who hesitated joining in a moment later. Kira was right at the front of the pack, jumping up and down and whooping in approval. Alex made a mental note to thank Sam for showing her how to give an effective speech, but for now she had a lot more work to do. A society to help build, and a theft to plan... it was a lot to worry about. She just hoped Sam and Clover could keep themselves in one piece until she got back with the Argathin weapons.
TO BE CONTINUED