She didn’t want to think about it, the person beneath the
uniform, now the only other person she knew who might
understand what it was like to lose everything. She fixed
her attention firmly back on her zapper.
When Pedro next spoke, his words stumbled out one
after the other. “Taz, there’s something else I should tell
you-”
“Ensign Taz! Come in, Ensign Taz!”
Taz snatched up her radio. “Taz here.”
“Diplomacy is a no-go. You’re clear to enter the complex
from your side. We’ve pinpointed the Commander’s
location and sent it to your scanner.”
Taz looked at Pedro, who gave her a thumbs up to
confirm this.
“The other team should meet you inside. This is all about
stealth. Make it clean. That means no open fire if you can
help it, got it, Ensign?”
Taz rolled her eyes at Tripp’s tone. “Yes, sir!”
“Make sure you bring our boy home, Ensign.”
For a moment, the Lieutenant-Commander sounded
almost human. “Will do,” she said, and turned to Pedro,
who looked disgruntled about something. “It’s time.”
Up had the satisfaction of disabling no less than three
robots before their counterparts were finally able to strap
him down to the unappealingly surgical table in the next
room. The walls and ceiling of the room were painted in
psychedelic colours and designs to match the striking
scenery outdoors: monstrous trees, towering beanstalks. He
continued to struggle, straining against the metal clasps as
two white-coated Graali doctors approached him with
needles in hand.
“I hope you enjoy your sleep, Commander,” said the
Graali Senator through the room’s glass window. “I think