The Rylerran Gateway by Mark Ian Kendrick

Author:Mark Ian Kendrick [Kendrick, Mark Ian]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780595626779
Publisher: iUniverse
Published: 2008-09-29T07:00:00+00:00

Naylon and Tann had been led back to their quarters. The door was shut on them unceremoniously. Tann sat on one of the bunks, his eyes red, tears still welling up but not quite enough to run down his cheeks.

Naylon sat next to him in an attempt to calm the boy down. “The captain did all of that because of us.”

“How do you know?” Tann sniffled a couple of times, then wiped his eyes, already regaining his composure.

“We weren’t staked out there like that alien. We weren’t mistreated, just verbally abused. The captain needs us. He thinks we know something. I’m sure he’s going to take a completely different view of us when he decides to talk with us again.”

“Which will be when?”

“I can’t be sure, actually.”

Tann sighed, then took a deep breath; stood, then activated the view screen. An’Arka was standing tall, his arms still lashed and totally vulnerable. They both watched as the captain circled his prisoner, stop, gesticulate, point the stick at him, then wait. Naylon desperately wished there was a microphone pickup that accompanied the vid. Both of them watched this go on for several minutes, sure that at any moment the captain would jab the stick at the alien and kill him, apparently by electrocuting him. But that didn’t happen. He ceased his questions as his soldats re-emerged in the camera’s view with a container of something taken from the Telkan’s ship. All of them left the scene and headed back in.

“How long do you think they’ll leave him out there?” Tann asked Naylon as he told the display to de-energize.

Naylon shook his head. “I don’t think they take prisoners.” That much was evident since they weren’t in any sort of brig or formal lockup either.

Tann fell silent. He knew what that meant.

“Don’t try to feel sorry for it… er, him. This is their war. We can’t take sides,” Naylon tried to point out.

Naylon’s argument wasn’t having its intended effect. Tann felt panicked. “We have to escape,” he whispered. “We have to get back to that cavern. We still have those things that got us here.” His desire to never touch one again was gone.

“I know,” Naylon replied. “That option might take days though. We’d have to steal food and water. They might take off again, too. We have no idea where we might end up next. We’ll never be able to find our way back if we get too far from that river. Then there’s another problem. They clearly have biosensors. They could easily find us if we’re on foot. And who knows how many other Telkan patrols are nearby. We wouldn’t last long if we’re caught. After all, we’re ‘Terrans’ now. We’re the enemy.”

Tann put his head in his hands and rubbed his eyes, then his forehead. The fear and frustration in his quivering voice told Naylon Tann’s exact emotional state. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. I just wanna go home.”

Naylon hugged him. Hard. “I know,” he said. “I know.”

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