Lucifer's Star by C. T. Phipps

Author:C. T. Phipps [Suttkus, C. T. Phipps, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: science fiction, space opera
Publisher: Crossroad Press
Published: 2018-08-01T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

The interior of the cell was disgusting and in dire need of cleaning. The walls covered in algae, a poorly-washed out collection of vomit, as well as urine, was gathered around the drain, and an ill-used toilet sat in the background. These cells were primarily used for drunk or rowdy crew members, but I saw blood had dried into the lining of the wall.

Several times, this section of the Melampus had been sealed off from the rest of the ship and much of the crew given shore leave. It made me wonder if torture had been done to her before and, if so, who had done it since Clarice wasn’t up to it.

In the center of the room was a chair that held the figure of the Chel woman, badly. It was made for a smaller human, but the wrists and ankle shackles fit on her nevertheless. She was wearing an orange jumpsuit which also fit her badly. There were no signs of her being beaten but a few signs of her being hit with stun blasts at close range, not just the ones Clarice had poured into her.

“Have you come to torture me?” The Chel woman said, her voice eerily musical and oddly echoing. A look into her eyes showed they were three times the size of a normal woman’s and completely blue.

“Perhaps,” I said.

“It is poor treatment for a prisoner of war,” the Chel woman said.

“The Chel have not signed any treaties with any government I could theoretically represent,” I said, walking up to her but out of range of being touched. “People do not treat prisoners of war with dignity because they feel it is a moral affront to do otherwise but because they do not want their own people to be tortured.”

“How effective is that?”

“Not very.”

The woman smiled, her teeth a collection of small fish-like ones. “I have seen into the mind of Clarice. Your name is Cassius and you are the Fire Count. Interesting to find you on board a Commonwealth ship.”

“Telepathy doesn’t exist,” I said. “No matter what your people claim.”

“No it doesn’t,” the woman said. “But the modifications we’ve made to our minds allow us to measure things like sweat, stance, pheromones, and voice to know about mood. The rest we learn simply by listening. We can share our thoughts better than read them, at least with the Unascended.”

“Unascended, what is that?”

“You would have to be Chel to know.”

“Who are the Chel anyway?” I asked, trying to keep her talking. “Your race refuses to speak with any of us, murders our forces, and tortures us when we violate your territory.”

“Perhaps that speaks more to you than it does us. As to who we choose to speak to, just because it is not you does not mean it is no one.”

I looked at her. “So who are the Chel?”

“A race like any other.”

“A race currently inside the Free Systems Alliance, aiding the Crius Reborn movement and other parties in trying to overthrow the Commonwealth.

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