Sylvie rolled her eyes. "Never mind."
X was guiding them through a region of the sea that was darker than the rest. Only one lone light blinked in the distance. Another transport ship, far ahead of them?
"I can't believe you took me to meet your mother."
"Is it so odd?" he asked in a tone indicating that he knew it was odd.
"I don't see the point is all. How would a portion of your dead mother's preserved brain pattern know whether I was working for the enemy or not?"
"My mother's always been skilled at sizing people up. During her term as Supreme Regent, she became known as Kath'Thar the Observant." His eyes flashed over to hers. "I trust her opinion more than any others, living or dead."
"I don't mean to be rude, but your resting place of regents smacks of primitive spiritualism. You asking your dead mother about me, it's too much like Odysseus finding his own mother in the Underworld."
"Who's this Odysseus? A lover of yours?" His expression was neutral, but she saw spots of yellow appearing in his green skin.
"My point is, if your race is so advanced, why consult the equivalent of ancient oracles instead of basing all your decisions in scientific fact."
X took a breath. "My people have found one inescapable fact that serves to guide us: science can't explain everything."
Sylvie turned in her seat to face him, firing up her rebuttal, when out of the corner of her eye she noticed one of the guards rising from his seat. He held a braided portion, which had to have come from his uniform, taut in his hands.
"X, look out!" she yelled, but before the regent could defend himself, the guard had gotten the makeshift rope around his neck. The other guard stepped up beside his partner and worked on wrestling the regent's hands away from the rope around his throat.
Sylvie watched in horror as the guards dragged him out of his seat and onto the transport floor. Right now X was the only person on the planet who trusted her. She had to do something.
"Leave him alone!" she yelled, shoving against the guard who was trying to bind his hands with another length of braided seaweed.
The guard kicked her in the stomach and she tumbled backwards, her breath leaving her violently. X saw her fall and seemed to struggle harder, managing to get a couple fingers under the length of rope.
"Signal for help. On the console."
One of the guards punched him in the face hard. It jarred his hand loose, and his opponent went back to tightening the rope around his neck.
With both guards focused on the regent, she began crawling away from them toward the front console.
What sense did it make for the guards to turn on him now?
Sylvie stared at the many different buttons on the console, most of them in a language she had never encountered. A few of the buttons flickered as if trying to grab her attention.
How am I supposed to figure out how to send a message?
She turned back to ask for help, but as she watched, X's eyes drooped closed. He was losing consciousness.
Once they finish him, they'll come for you.
She was never going to figure out how to call for help in time. She would have to fight, but without a weapon she lacked any chance of winning against the large guards. Sylvie scanned the craft, looking for anything she might use. Nothing.
Dropping to her knees, she noticed a recessed panel under the console display. She stuck her hand in and pried the panel open. Sadly it wasn't a cache of powerful weapons. Wires and conduits ran back and forth, powering this and connecting that.
One of these wires might knock out the lights. Maybe I can find some means of hiding, or I can get the hatch open and swim out... or... or...
She had little faith in any of her options, but doing something was better than letting herself be taken. Maybe she would get lucky and just electrocute herself. She pulled on various wires, using all her weight to rip one out of the maze.
The first one she pulled out made red lights blaze along the hull.Nope. Let's try Door #2. Sylvie grabbed hold of the thickest cord she could find and yanked.
Nothing.
She pulled with everything she had and at last it burst loose. The red lights that had come on with the last wire started blinking. Nothing seemed affected.
