It was a visual recording from someone she assumed was the sender--just looking at the height differential from the others in the image, they were looking up at the person recording.So it must have been someone taller.And everyone knew the Rhimodians were quite a bit taller.
"It's his eye view," Eleanor said.
"Must be," Freya agreed."Where do you think this was taken?"
"Looks like a space station or some kind of spaceport," Eleanor said.
Caoimhe tapped the button to watch the recording.
The humanoid who looked at the speaker, he wasn't Terran.Instead, he had markings of a Lovian.From his dress and appearance, she guessed he was some kind of delivery pilot or smuggler.The clothing he wore looked official enough but not of any organization that she recognized.
"You think they are alive?"
"I know what I saw," the Lovian said."There were prisoners, being worked on, in the Terran Empire.And they were your people."
"That is not possible.We have no Rhimodians missing from battle."
"They were there," the Lovian said."And they had been there a while."
"How could you tell?"
"Their eyes," the speaker said."They no longer had any will to live.I've seen it before."
"Where?"
"In prisons.When prisoners are waiting to die, they have that look about them.When they are still fighting for a chance, they have a fire.Spark in them.Not when they're waiting to die."
The Rhimodian put his hand on the arm of the Lovian."Why do you tell me this?"
"Figured you might want to try and find your people."
"But why tell me this?"
"Because you're Tarnished.And I bet you'll do anything to get your shine back."
The recording ended.
"What does that mean?Tarnished?Shine?"Eleanor asked.
"Probably their culture," Freya said.
"They're cyborgs.They don't have culture," Eleanor replied.
"You never know what can develop among a people," Freya said.
Caoimhe glanced at the message.
There was one other piece of information at the bottom.
A tiny bit of additional text.
"Is this what I think it is?"Caoimhe asked, staring at the series of numbers."Is that coordinate locations?"
"Let's see."Freya started plugging the numbers into her own tablet.
Sure enough, in a moment, the numbers were plotted in space, showing, of all things, a trajectory in the Terran Empire.
"It's a course," Caoimhe said."Weaving through the Terran Empire.Can you get a visual of what it is?"
