Chapter 18: Trapped Part 2

Kate recalled the whole scene in high definition between herself and the Trimadian leader.

From witnessing what she had seen with Sataal and his men, she too expected to be tortured and experimented on, or at least enslaved. But nothing like that followed. What did follow was nothing short of weird.

The enemy leader did not bother with any torture methods nor ask her anything, as he got all his information by using telepathy on her. She found she easily communicated back, which surprised and alarmed her. She knew full well he was in control.

She felt like she was an unwilling open book and he was leafing through her on This Is Your Life! Was it him or those gadgets connected to her, which she assumed recorded and monitored her.

Though he was assertive with her, he treated her well and reassured her that she would not receive any persecution if she behaved. He read from a computer screen beside her gurney, confirming she was a human from Graffa, also known as Earth, not a Cantal, but affiliated with them and recently part of a human galactic exploration team. Yeah, she could have told him that, if he had asked. To her it was no big deal; she was not giving out major secrets. She did not know any! However, it was the things he did not say that made her nervous. The unspoken words.

Lord Talokta had turned away from her, appearing to leave, when one of his warriors came rushing in and gave him a disc of some kind that he plugged into the computer. After a few moments, he turned to her grinning like the cat that had got the cream. He seemed very pleased over something. He did not say a word to her, but telepathically told her she had to go back to Earth and tell her Leaders that either they give the Trimadians what they want—Earth and its resources, or prepare for invasion. If the humans cooperated, lives would be spared. If not, the planet would be destroyed and all resources swallowed by the great and mighty Trimadians.

She sensed he was not telling her everything and had another motive. Similarly, there was something about him that she was drawn to, which terrified her. Maybe he was different from the other Trimadians. But this was her first encounter with this predatory race. She did not know Trimadians from squat!

The strange telepathic connection between them ended. Could this entity, that looked human, answer some of the questions that had been haunting her? Perhaps.

She had decided to keep this telepathic encounter out of her conversation with her fellow team members. She felt it was in her best interests for the moment, especially as she suspected during her encounter with this Lord Talokta she was not in full control of herself.

And now, one question stood out in full fluorescent illumination from all the hundreds of others haunting her. It had confronted her when she first saw that drawing in Pete’s book, but never acknowledged it. And now it rose once more.

Do I harbor the spirit of this Queen Leah?

Words she could not voice for fear of that single thread being cut causing her to plunge into the deep pool of insanity and never reach the shore again.

She fought to quell an onset of panic grow. She took some deliberate deep breaths to calm herself.

Now, what the hell had this Talokta character done to her? The desire to learn more about her gifts was now paramount. Deep inside she had her own agenda. Also, for the short time Kate had been away from the stones, she had missed them. Not like a junkie missing a hit, no, it was more like the connection between a mother missing her children. They were part of her and she needed them.

The revelation of the days of sitting at her PC at home doing her job was gone. That was a certainty. She was now on a personal mission to learn more about herself. But she was equally scared out of her wits for what she would find. It was a surety she was destined for more, as she had stated to herself many moons ago. But what? She did not know. She shivered inwardly. Had Talokta used some power of suggestion over her while communicating telepathically or was she acting on her own accord?

Am I in control?

Somehow, this mysterious Trimadian race was part of the puzzle. Though, according to her visions and historical discussions with Pete, the Trimadians were war mongers and had tried to conquer humanity; Queen Leah’s people six thousand years ago. Obviously they were going to try again. She could not shake an ominous feeling in her gut. He had also stated it was in her companion’s best interests to say nothing about the ultimatum she was to give to her bosses back on Earth. But that was pointless, she knew they would guess.

The other weird thing she could not explain was a feeling of belonging on this alien ship. Whether that feeling was real or relayed into her—she did not know.

The humming noise of the door opening up shook Kate out of her reverie. Pete’s prediction came true, and food was brought to them. Both Kate and Pete dug in heartedly. However, Tremaine looked at the food muttering it could be poisoned.

“Look, if they wanted to kill us, they could’ve done so ages ago,” reasoned Pete.

“As I said, forever the optimist,” Tremaine mumbled, biting delicately into food that looked like a mix of mashed dead bugs.

Sataal, Manutaai, and their followers were right next door to the OBF team, but each room was soundproofed, and they would never hear each other if they screamed blue murder.

Sataal was very weak from his brutal interrogation, and Manutaai was putting drops of water in his mouth, trying his best to feed him without him vomiting.

Manutaai and some of the fitter men were discussing their situation at hand, and as Sataal was out of action, they had voted that Manutaai, being second in command, should assume leadership for now.

Sataal told his men that his captor, Lord Talokta, knew full well he was the traitor that Marone was looking for and threatened to hand him over if he did not tell him more about the rebel movement. Sataal knew Talokta and his methods very well and refused to show fear. He also knew Talokta would never hand him back to his old boss Marone. The Supreme Ruler would be rubbing his hands together.

He took the torture saying nothing, and finally fell unconscious.

Talk of escape arose: everything from overpowering the guards, feigning weakness from interrogation, and surprising them. All were discussed and dismissed. Manutaai suggested giving them what they came for—the surrender of the rebels, the precious mines, and new hosts. “We will tell the Trimadians exactly what they want to hear. By telling our people to surrender peacefully to the Trimadians, acknowledging that their way of life is the only way, but only if we can speak directly to our leaders. We can convince them that subjugation would be a better alternative than wiping out the population.

“There is no honor. That is not our way!” was the retort.

Manutaai lowered his voice as if the walls had ears. “At least this is a chance to allow time to get our forces together.” He looked at each of his men. “Extinction would mean no hope for the future.”

That statement stamped an eerie silence.

Sataal’s men knew they were going to be sacrificed or forced into slavery, but they had to give their families, their people a chance to act.

So this too was discussed and overall decided it was the best thing they could do under the circumstances. “They probably won’t agree,” said Manutaai. “As they know we are a proud, honorable, fight to the death people. But on the other hand, the Trimadians are extremely arrogant and egotistical. If the Trimadian leader knows he will quickly get all the crystals and everything he is after, plus millions of new recruits willing to be implanted quickly and quietly; this would indeed reflect favorably on him, and maybe further his promotional chances. I don’t know, but it is worth a shot.”

No one could think of anything else, and at this stage, they had nothing to lose.

Sataal was listening but still floated in and out of consciousness. He whispered, “They certainly will never let me go. They will always view me as a traitor and make an example of me. Good luck, my friend.” He lifted a weak arm and patted his friend on the shoulder.

“Freedom to the Cantals!”

Sataal remembered something about a very fetching Earth woman accompanying the OBF team. He had touched her hand and felt a surge of current flow into him causing excruciating pain. She collapsed, convulsing. Who was she and why did that happen? All Pete had said earlier was she had some telepathic abilities. He hoped his Graffite friends were alive. Though, the woman would not fare well with the Trimadians. Despite their short, rather electrifying encounter, there was something about her he could not put his finger on. But right now, there was a high chance he would be dead soon, and nothing then would matter.

Manutaai had requested an audience with Talokta and it was granted. Talokta agreed with what Manutaai had proposed, but whether it was for the reasons that Manutaai had suggested, he could not say. All Manutaai knew was they had to buy some time.

It turned out better for them than they realized, at least for now. Unknown to each other both Manutaai and Kate were to deliver total surrender to their respective leaders or accept the dire consequences. They must return in three days.

Kate remembered how Pete had leapt to his feet to stop the guards from taking her away again. Would she ever see them all alive again? And Pete—God! Would she ever see him again?

“Don’t forget!” he had shouted to her before the door had slid shut.

She had an overwhelming sensation that she had bitten off more than she could chew and it was churning in her stomach.

Man! This was her very first off world visit and it could end up being her last!

Kate and Manutaai were escorted separately by the Trimadian guards. Just as a sweetener, they were each told if they did not come back with favorable news, their colleagues would be executed, though Kate had suspected that was coming.

Manutaai was escorted to the outskirts of the Cantal city, Manooalta. Kate told her guard, with a slight air of smugness, she would have to wait for an indefinite time before her homebase would open the BSP to let her through. The guard shook his head and garbled something at her. She heard “Graffa” as he fiddled with a large silver ring on his finger. A laser type light shot out of the ring onto the BSP opening it. By Christ that scared her! What would stop them from walking right through! But Talokta had stated his terms, and she was not in any position to stop them regardless. She had been given back her personal coded I.D. device informing the base she was coming through.

The last thing she wanted was her beloved planet to be taken over by an enemy that was taunting her through disjointed visions.

Just as she stepped through, her consciousness spelled out the worst scenario. Just think, girl, you could be the one ultimately responsible for the destruction of Earth.