Fallen Empire [03] Starseers by Lindsay Buroker

Author:Lindsay Buroker [Buroker, Lindsay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Science Fiction, Exploration, Galactic Empire, Military, Space Fleet, Space Opera, Metaphysical & Visionary, Space Exploration, General Fiction
Amazon: B01GIJSYAO
Published: 2016-06-01T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Alisa was not surprised that the theme of ice ceilings and floors continued in the basement dungeon where she and Leonidas were dropped off. They were deposited in adjoining cells with translucent forcefields on all sides acting as walls to separate them and keep them from escaping. The cells themselves were part of a block of similar cells in the center of a large room that was also used for storage. Casks of wine and beer and sake were stacked against a back wall. Alas, nobody saw fit to roll one into Alisa’s cell. She could have used a stiff drink.

Once the forcefields were up, the Starseers that had walked their prisoners down en masse all left. A camera on a wall near the bottom of the stairs was turned toward the cells. Alisa did not see any obvious way to escape unless she could dig a hole in the ice floor. Unfortunately, the Starseers had searched her and removed her weapons and multitool. Unless she could dig her way out with her teeth, the odds did not look good. They had also forced Leonidas out of his combat armor, leaving him in nothing more than the underwear and thin T-shirt he wore underneath.

Alisa smiled without humor, thinking of the times she had been imagining him scantily clad in order to distract the Starseers poking in her mind. This was not how she had envisioned seeing him. Blood crusted his face and the sides of his neck from where it had run out of his ears, nose, and mouth, and large bruises mottled the skin on his arms and legs, probably on his torso under his shirt too. Somehow, the Starseers had injured him badly, even with his armor covering him. Armor was designed to defeat weapons, not mental attacks.

She watched Leonidas through the forcefield, wishing she could offer him a hug. She also wanted to ask him what had happened, but he was still sitting on the floor where they had deposited him, his shoulders slumped, his chin to his chest. He looked like he wanted to curl onto his side and pass out. It was probably only the chill of the ice under his butt that kept him from pressing more skin against it. There were no carpets here in the basement to alleviate the cold, and there wasn’t any furniture in the cells, not even a pot for going to the bathroom. Not that Alisa would want to do that in front of Leonidas or the camera.

“Are you going to be all right?” Alisa asked softly.

She did not want to bother him, but she did want to know what had happened and if she should be yelling at that camera, pleading for Alejandro or some other doctor to be sent to attend to him. Wherever Alejandro was. The Starseers must have decided he was not enough of a threat that he needed to be locked up.

“You shouldn’t have been thrown in here with me,” he mumbled, his chin still to his chest.

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