“Attacks? Plural?” Stron asked.
Adryel waited, listening. Attacks? Something else had happened to them?
“We were attacked here, in the garden on the roof,” Janae said.
“Are you okay?” Adryel asked, stepping back into frame.
She waved her hand. “I’m fine. But this is getting very intense. Something needs to be done to get this under control.”
“Agreed,” Dhomhes said. “Now, finding out who to trust, that is the trick.”
“Yes, I agree,” Khalzin said.
“A lot of Kantenans do not want them here,” Stron said.
Khalzin sighed. “Obviously.”
“No, you do not understand. Much of the populace is against this, Khalzin,” Stron said. “It isn't just one group or one sect. This is everywhere.”
Janae's eyes got wide. “So will we be safe?”
“As safe as we can keep you,” Stron said.
Khalzin shook his head. “I don't understand why it could be such a deeply spread hate. How is that even possible? It hasn't been nearly long enough for such hatred to work its way through our people. It's not like this program was broadcast and made a hugely public incident.”
“Look at this,” Dhomhes said. “This is what I found.” He sent some files through the hologram, and Stron accessed them.
“It's a hit list,” Janae spoke the words they all realized. “Someone has put out a call for Kantenans to kill all of us.”
Adryel started fumbling through the files that had been sent.
The list was surprisingly detailed.
Especially the top of the list.
“Stars,” she whispered to herself. She pressed a button to share the files with the group. “It gets worse. Look who is number one on the list.”
Janae gasped, staring at the hologram image of herself.
It was a head shot of her.
Khalzin gritted his teeth. “I will kill whoever made that hit list.” He glanced at her. “I will make sure that you're safe. No matter what.”
She nodded and kept staring at the image. “I don't understand.”
“What?” Adryel asked.
“This image, I just can't put my finger on it. There's something wrong with it,” she said.
“Do you think it was faked?” Adryel asked.
Janae shook her head. “I think it is real, but I cannot figure out what bugs me. Something’s not right.”
“We need to focus on your safety right now. We can decode the hologram later,” Khalzin said. “What are our options?”
“Get you off the planet as fast as possible,” Stron said, glancing at Adryel. “There's no other option.”
Adryel nodded, because she knew he was right. Getting her out of here would protect everyone. Not like they had a ship, but surely the Kantenans had something. A mining ship or some such to get them out of here.
