3+
Suddenly, the expression on Marko's face changed from a smile to a look of fright, and his cheery wave turned into a frantic one. He opened his mouth, and his cry was faint as it came up from the foot of the hill. "Get down!"
Lakan saw it first. He dropped down and pulled me to the ground with him. A second later, and I would have been hit by a... my eyes widened as I watch the alien black and violet craft circle above the Lalitan village. We'd been taught to recognize the bold markings on the strange longboat and the black spikes that studded it over. More importantly, we were taught to match those markings with the ones on the skin and armor of its crew. The Scabrous craft turned one last time and headed for us again.
"Run!" Lakan shouted, pulling me to my feet. Before I could regain my balance, before I could collect my thoughts, he tightened his grip on my wrist and forced me to run madly after him. I wanted to say something, I know I did, but whatever it was, I can no longer remember. I wasn't even looking to see where we were going; my eyes were riveted to the craft behind us as it swooped lower, closer, faster.
Then I felt a large, coarse arm around my waist, and I was wrenched up and away from Lakan and the others. I remember looking down at him as the shadow of the craft passed over him. I remember how he tried to run faster, his hand in the air, and how Marko was not too far behind. I remember how my scream was cut short by a rough set of claws closing over my face.
I wanted to open my eyes, but my eyelids felt heavy. My entire body felt like lead, and I could barely move. I heard a strange, machine-like humming. I tried to lift my arm, but I couldn't get it off the floor. I'd been lying there long enough, though, to deduce that it was hard and wooden. Making my hand creep across the floor was excruciatingly slow, but eventually I closed my fingers on a rough and rusty metal bar. Slowly, voices around me became clearer, and I managed a squint.
The tongue was as rough and alien as my cage - for soon I realized it was a cage - but it seemed that there was someone interpreting for another, gentler party...
"He says Lalita stays free for you."
"What do you mean?" Upon this, my brain began to awaken, though I still couldn't move. I knew that voice.
"He says Lalita stays free if you stay here!"
"Are you saying - "
"Alliance royalty hostage gains great ransom for Scabrous!"
I realized we were moving. The humming came from a ship. And though I began to feel my limbs again, I was afraid. On the floor, through the bars of the cage, I could see the strange, bright yellow light on black armor and black hairy feet. They were clustered around the cage, and I couldn't see much through them. There were two figures on their knees and one standing up, obscured by all the black bodies. I couldn't make out their faces.
"The Alliance couldn't care less about Mirandus!" one of them cried. "You could kill us and nothing would happen; over half the Alliance doesn't even know we exist!"
The interpreter relayed this to the rest of the crew, and there was grumbling all around. Then there was a loud thump and a fierce call, and all were silent. I couldn't make sense of the deep rumbling and - if that's what they called it - speaking. Then, the interpreter replied.
"Even better, says the captain! Your planet make good base for Scabrous forces! We stay hidden, on planet over half the Alliance doesn't know is there!"
Amid the horrible laughter, a vision of Mirandus, a gleaming jewel of blue and green, turn into a hive filled with the menacing hum of black and violet spacecraft. I saw her people fighting back and dying. I saw Tita Felix, the Queen, her eyes filled with tears as the people of the palace made their last stand. I saw them enslaved, forced to aid the Scabrous in worming its way into the innermost strongholds of the Alliance.
"I won't do it!" Marko roared. "I will never take you there! I would rather die than give my planet to you filthy - " I shuddered at a sharp crack, when he suddenly cried out in pain.
The interpreter was moving through the crew, toward the two figures kneeling on the deck. "You will do it," he said, "for the sake of your godfather!" There was a sharp gasp, and my eyes widened in horror as I realized who it was. "For the sake of your cousin!" The interpreter was moving now, and I saw him stab Lakan in the shoulder. Unlike the man beside him, Lakan couldn't hold in his cry of pain.
"Or," said the interpreter, moving toward the cage. The hairy black posts parted, and I gasped as I saw that the legs were human. Before I could continue wondering at this, I threw myself backward against the opposite side of the cage, just as the interpreter thrust a long, snake-like blade through the bars. At the same time, they threw Marko down onto the deck and pinned him there, so he could see me.
"Or," said the interpreter, "for the sake of the woman you love."
From inside the cage, and from beneath the heavy boots of the Scabrous, our eyes widened in shock, as if we were seeing each other for the first time.
.Author's Note. I have taken really long to update this fic, I know... I was stuck as to how I'd get it to this point and at this chapter. Don't worry; it doesn't end here, and for those of you who've read and reviewed, thanks so much. :)
Also, I usually use an asterisk between equal signs to signal a break in the story, but for some reason, they don't show up; I reread the story and discovered how where a short pause should have been, the story flowed right into the next part right away. I also tried a plus sign in place of an asterisk, or just the equal signs, but lately it doesn't work. I don't understand why that happens, and I'm not sure if that matters much to you, but I just like the breaks and felt like explaining. Cheers.