Natsumi had been brought to a ship similar to the ones at the loading dock, only this one was much smaller. Looking closely Natsumi could see that instead of one door, this ship had three thick metal doors with several locks adorning them. Each door opened one after the other, making a click, click, whir, clunk whir, ka-chunk pattern of noises. One door opened upwards, another to the side, and the final one clanked down onto the ground. Natsumi had to think quickly, if she allowed them to get her into that ship there would be no escaping. She'd be brought to their frog planet and would more than likely never see her home, or earth again. Natsumi surveyed her new guards surrounding her. They seemed stronger than the last ones, however….. Natsumi searched for the weakest link in their group. She scanned each and every one of them, determined to find the chink in their armor.
She almost missed it but just as she was about to pass over one of the guards when she saw her point of attack. The second to last soldier, no matter how they tried to dress him up and make him look tough, a rookie would always be just that. An inexperienced, and easily overpowered rookie. Waiting for the right moment Natsumi placed one foot behind the other and stepped forward causing herself to trip. The rookie was the one to approach her, Natsumi smiled when he commanded her to stand back up.
"Yes, of course. Whatever you say." Natsumi began to stand, but just as she started to rise she jumped and punched the rookie's hover board creating a hole in it and sending the Keronian soldier crashing to the ground.
The other guards came rushing over to aid the rookie and restrain Natsumi, but she was upon them before they could react. Throwing her full weight at the second guard she knocked his hover board off balance. Natsumi grabbed the Keronian by the face and slammed his face into the ground. Quickly she whirled around and kicked two more keronians from their hover boards. She leapt at the final Keronian grabbing the handles of his hover board and flipping it as she flew overhead and smashing it as she landed back on the ground.
Natsumi turned around and was about to make a break for it when she found herself face-to-face with a Keronian bazooka. At the other end of the weapon was the same red frog that had stopped her from escaping before.
"Care to try that again Pekoponian? Only this time without a head." he spoke in a deep, threatening voice. Natsumi glared at him, she had been so absorbed in her plan of attack she had missed the red Keronian's approach.
"You again? Don't you stupid frogs know when to quit?" She hissed through her teeth.
"You're one to talk, Pekoponian. Three escape attempts in one day? You must be trying to get my attention. Well guess what, you've got it. From now on all day every day I Corporal Giroro will be keeping a watchful eye on you." he smiled maliciously. "I'm your new personal guard."
"You'd better stay on guard then you damned frog, because I swear I will never surrender to you!" Natsumi declared.
"You surrendered once, and you'll do it again Pekoponian female." He reminded her of her initial surrender back on earth.
Just then more guards and a medical team arrived, to provide aid and assistance. Natsumi was handcuffed with reinforced cuffs that connected by a chain to a thick metal collar that they clamped around her neck. The medical team bandaged and transported the injured soldiers away. The entire time that they were doing their jobs, taking care of the injured and restraining Natsumi she never once took her eyes away from Giroro's and he neither moved his eyes or lowered his weapon. They stood there staring, each daring the other to falter, to show any signs of weakness. Neither of them budged an inch.
When Natsumi was fully restrained she was taken to the ship and locked into a cell on the back of the ship. Giroro placed the key to the cell in his belt and sat in a chair facing Natsumi. The entire trip neither of them said a word, neither of them moved a muscle, and neither of them took their eyes off each other. As they traveled the silent battle raged on, a battle for freedom, a battle for dominance. Neither was willing to give an inch.
When they finally landed on planet Keron they took Natsumi from her cell and escorted her off the ship. When she set foot on Keronian soil for the first time she was greeted by a large force of heavily armed keronian soldiers. Giroro saluted the awaiting soldiers and they all mirrored him.
"At ease soldiers. Which one of you is in charge?" Giroro spoke to the soldiers. A grey Keronian stepped forward. "Tell me about the preparations that have been made for Dangerous Pekoponian Slave X814." Giroro commanded.
"Sir! We are to take the prisoner to the Solitary Holding Block in the Eastern wing Corporal Giroro sir!" The Keronian immediately responded. "Solitary Holding Block Zero." he specified.
"Very good, lead the way soldier. Be on guard, there's a reason why this Pekoponian female has been deemed as dangerous." Giroro cautioned.
Giroro walked closest to Natsumi, and although she never took her attention off of him, her biggest threat, she observed each and every one of the guards. They were well armed, so acting was not the best plan at the moment, but she wouldn't pass up the chance to cause trouble. Each and everyone of these soldiers were experienced veterans, but all veterans sustained some form of trauma or injury, some were easier to exploit than others. Two of them had twitchy fingers, likely to react quickly and attack if she made and sudden moves. Three of them as well as Giroro sustained physical scars that did nothing to hinder their military performance. A few of the others shifted as they walked, revealing a discomfort caused by old wounds on their bodies.
Natsumi noticed that one of the wounded soldiers had a large scar on the side of his leg that caused a slight limp in his step. She resisted the urge to smile, having found her next target. She looked at Giroro and saw him looking up at her from the corner of his eye. She wasn't sure if he had seen her observing his fellow soldiers but she would wait a bit longer for the right moment to catch them off guard, ALL of them.
They traveled down several corridors, the ceiling was high and the hallways were narrow. Natsumi looked for any doors but could find none. Walking further they came to a large and noisy walls were lined with tons of jail cells that held all kinds of different aliens. Natsumi was amazed at how many different species were being held here.
"This is where we keep our slaves that have yet to be transported or used. You, however will be staying somewhere much more….. private." Giroro explained vaguely.
They led Natsumi all the way to the back of the room, where one of them opened a heavily locked door that lead to a winding downward staircase. Natsumi hesitated, if they took her too far down she would have a hard time finding her way back should she escape. One of the soldiers pushed his weapon against Natsumi's back.
"Keep moving!" he commanded. Natsumi moved to walk down the stairs, they traveled deep underground till they came to another long hallway. At the end of the hall way a security elevator was the only way of passage. Giroro took a cyber key out from his belt and placed it in the elevator keyhole. As the soldiers entered Natsumi took this as her last chance for freedom. She charged the Keronian with the leg scar knocking him to the ground causing him to drop his weapon. She kicked the gun towards two other Keronians, taking them by surprise. Giroro moved to react but she slammed him and another Keronian into the elevator. She tried to get up and escape the elevator, but before she could turn around Giroro shouted to another guard.
"Close the door!" one of the Keronians she missed rushed into the elevator and entered the security code to the elevator.
Before Natsumi could get to it, the door closed in front of her. She kicked it in frustration.
"Damn it!" she cursed loudly.
"That was a nice try, but there's no escaping Pekoponian." Giroro spoke from behind her. He stood up and dusted himself off. "We're almost at your cell in Solitary Holding Block Zero. Normal holding blocks were back there, and solitary was before the elevator. We're headed to the special holding cells where we keep the most dangerous prisoners. However there's only one cell, and that's where you'll be going." Giroro's face turned dark as he foretold Natsumi's inescapable fate.
When the elevator door opened they walked down a corridor that was lined with different rooms, marked as baths, bathrooms, medical, and storage. Finally at the end of the hall was a thick metal door. It took three Keronian guards to pull it open, inside the cell was a basic room with no windows and the walls were only a few feet wide. Natsumi was brought inside and her handcuffs were unhooked from each other. The Keronians took her handcuffs and turned them into shackles that connected to the walls via chains of light. Another chain extended from the collar around her neck and connected to the wall behind her. She had just enough chain length to sit on her knees, she knelt down her hand suspended in mid air and her long loose hair falling into her face..
The other Keronians left the cell, but Giroro remained. Taking the key and placing it in a small keyhole on the wall a door of metal bars separated him from Natsumi. He headed back down the hall and returned with a chair, closing the door behind him. He placed the chair facing Natsumi and sat in it and continued to watch her intently. He would take his job of guarding her very seriously, and should he ever slip up or let his guard down, she would be ready.
-To Be Continued…