After an excruciatingly long wait, Bully climbs the ramp accompanied by a strange-looking figure. He’s here to inspectthe cargo along with a humanoid of another species. For a supposedly isolated solar system, protected from outside interference, our Mars is turning into quite the tourist destination lately. Between my proud Sadjim—and let’s be honest, I don’t regret that—and all these Penubians, and now this guy…
The newcomer, who I assume is General Nivek, has two arms, two legs, thick gray skin, and a head fused directly into his torso—no neck in sight. A horn protrudes from the center of his snout. I can’t see his eyes from here, but I guess I’ll be getting a closer look soon enough.
He points at a cage and nods. Two of Bully’s men rush to pull the Human woman from the cage and present her to Nivek.
To my immense surprise—and I’ll admit, a tiny flicker of dark satisfaction—I recognize Marjorie! Honestly, it doesn’t surprise me. Aren’t the Penubians all about squeezing the maximum profit out of every situation? After a detailed inspection, the General confirms the purchase. Marjorie is put back in her cube, and the inspection continues.
One of my fellow captives is rejected, and her cage is wheeled to the back. Salome is approved—her whole body trembling in disgust and fear. Then it’s my turn.
Franly unlocks my cube and helps me to my feet so he can present me to his buyer. A chill of horror runs through me when I meet that creature’s gaze. I’ve never seen anyone like him—his presence radiates cruelty in its most primal form. I’d be better off if I didn’t meet his standards. But fate is sealed when he nods. I’m returned to my cage with immense relief.
I can hear Bully and General Nivek talking, but I don’t understand a word. Too bad I don’t have Prax’s universal translator!
Once the selection is over, Bully turns to us for a final announcement.
“My guest and I will be dining at the Cydonia Palace tonight to celebrate our agreement. The Humans he’s chosen will be transferred to his ship tomorrow morning. The others will remain here for transport to the nearest slave market. Franly, Hank, Tommy, you’re coming with me to the Palace. I’m assigning four armed guards here. No one is to approach General Nivek’s compound further down in the clearing. He’s got his own security and won’t tolerate any threat to his ship or crew. I expect everyone to make this collaboration a success!”
The Penubians all nod in agreement, and the ones I know follow Bully out of the ship, leaving behind four unfamiliar lizard-men.
The rest of the evening is... strange. One by one, we’re taken to use the sanitary facilities—our cages don’t have any. I don’t know what they plan to do with the animals in captivity, but they’ll need to figure something out for long-distance travel. I doubt the slave market is just around the corner!
One chalky nutrition bar and a canteen of water—that’s our tragic dinner. I worry about my brother, Meg, and my little nephew. My only glimmer of hope is that Prax alerted his superior. If that person comes to investigate, maybe the colonists will be rescued. Too late to save me, probably, but I’ve made peace with that.
The night is especially hard—our captors left the audio on, so we all get to hear each other’s endless sobbing.
By morning, I watch with grim resignation the steady movement of cages going in and out of the ship, transferred to General Nivek’s. Is this really what a life amounts to? What gives anyone the right to ruin another living being’s existence just for personal gratification?
My cage is finally moved, just like the others, and set down in the frozen clearing by the Penubian guards. If Iunderstand correctly, trust isn’t exactly in abundance among these smugglers, because Nivek’s men—whose species I don’t even know—don’t let anyone else near their vessel. They inspect each cube like Bully might have hidden a bomb inside it.
Only Salome’s cage and mine remain. I take one last look at the beloved mountains where I spent so many joyful days. Life on Mars was tough, like it is for all colonists, but at least we lived in peace and relative harmony. I’ve lost Prax, and now I’m about to lose my family, my friends, my entire world. My stomach twists as the clock ticks and only my cage remains.
I close my eyes and try to calm my nerves.
“Hang in there, Neela, everything will work out—you’ll see!”
Oh, perfect. Now I’m hearing voices. From what I know, this kind of symptom can have several causes. The most common are psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression with psychotic features. As far as I know, I have no history of mental illness, and I’m definitely not bipolar. That leaves major depression—possibly triggered by the trauma of losing Prax so suddenly.
“To your right, about thirty feet away—there’s a bush. If you look closely, you’ll see me!”
My gut tells me that if these voices were a product of depression, they’d be saying things like “You didn’t deserve happiness,” or “You’d be better off ending your life than living without him.” But these words aren’t matching the pattern.
“Neela? Can you hear me? I can’t get any closer without being spotted. Not that I need to—my telepathy works across hundreds of yards. Come on, Neela, just turn your head and then try pushing your thoughts toward me—don’t say anything out loud.”
Slowly, I turn toward the bush on my right, scanning for… I don’t even know what… because by now, I’m pretty sure I’ve lost my mind.
Until I spot it—large golden eyes framed by a long snout that looks kind of like a little trunk. The creature isn’t anything I’ve seen before, not on Mars or in any Earth documentary. Its fur is dark, mud-colored, with a few lighter stripes like dotted lines accentuating its curves.
“Great, you see me—that means you heard me. Can you try answering?”he asks with a wink.
“Uh… hi!?” I say awkwardly, ready to diagnose myself as officially insane.
Ah, perfect, you did it! Bravo! I’m your liaison agent for this mission. By the way, my name’s Wingo!
Wow.
This place is crawling with weird creatures.
A liaison agent??
