Chapter No.15

You, you went beyond
And you lost it all
Why did you go there?
From beyond
You saw it all
Why did you go there?

- System of a Down – Dreaming -

Angie was angry with herself. She had allowed herself to be captured along with two of her crew. She should have listened to Marty when he begged her not to go on a landing party.  She just knew that she was going to pay dearly for that mistake.

She, along with Lia and Tyler, found herself in a prison cell that was made entirely from metal. The Cyborgs had secured their wrists in manacles and had suspended them in this cell with their feet a few inches above the floor. They swung gently in an effort to maintain circulation in their hands and arms.

"This is not my idea of fun," Lia said. "I can barely feel my hands."

"I know," Angie said. "We are at their mercy."

"That's assuming that they have any mercy," Tyler said.

"Why are they doing this to us?" Lia asked.

"They think that we're spies," Angie said. "We were captured near their camp where they're killing Dragons. They probably think that we're Dragon sympathizers and we're trying to free them."

"That's ridiculous," Lia said. "The Dragons were our enemies. The only reason we joined with them is to fight these bastards"

"You know that and I know that, but we have to convince them that we are still enemies."

The cell door clanked open and a Cyborg entered. He circled around the three suspended humans before standing in front of them.

"Why were you on our base? Are you collaborating with the Dragons?"

"No," Angie said. "They are our enemy. We wanted to find out what was happening to them."

"We are exterminating them," the Cyborg said. "We will not tolerate biological units. You are an infection that must be removed."

"We are not an infection," Angie said.

"We consider you a waste of resources. You are inferior and of no value."

A female Cyborg entered and received an order from the Commander. After he left, she lowered the prisoners and removed the manacles from their wrists after which she led them to a waiting ship slightly larger than a 1000-class vessel. They were locked into a small cell. With no windows or instruments, they had no idea where they were being taken.

"They'll never find us now," Lia lamented.

"Don't give up hope," Angie said. "If I know Marty, he'll find us. He's stubborn."

Neither Lia nor Tyler shared her confidence.

***

Angie, Lia and Tyler emerged from the Cyborg ship onto an unknown planet. The vegetation had large blue and red leaves, but the sky was still blue and the air was fit to breath. Beyond the alien forest lay a camp, but it had a solid metal fence encircling it, shielding the inside from view. The three prisoners were marched through a strong metal gate into an internment facility. All of the barracks were made out of metal and looked like old-fashioned Quonset huts.

They were escorted to a barrack by three female Cyborgs.

"You will remain here," one of them said.

They entered to find a dozen humans dressed in orange plastic jump suits.

"What kind of uniforms are you wearing?" A woman asked. She was an African and in her early twenties.

"We're members of Space Command," Angie said.

"Space Command?" an Asian man said. "I am not familiar with that service."

Angie smiled. "It's new."

"Where are you from?" a second woman asked. She was a southern white judging by her drawl.

"I'm from Mexico," Angie said. "Lia here is from China and Tyler is British."

"We do not know where we are from," the Asian man said.

Angie, Lia and Tyler exchanged confused looks.

"You're from Earth, aren't you?" Angie said.

"We have heard of it, but we have never seen it."

"They were born in a Dragon camp," Angie said to Lia and Tyler. "Now, they're being held by the Cyborgs."

"When you say 'Dragon' are you refering to those ugly reptile things with tails?" a white male asked.

"Yes," Angie said. "Have you seen any?"

"Yes. They are in a compound about a mile or two from here."

"How many people are in this compound?" Angie asked.

"About a thousand," a red-headed Irish woman said. "It varies. More arrive every week."

"If that's the case, there should be thousands," Angie said.

"They take two or three of us away every day."

"Where do they take them?"

"To a large square metal building in the center of the compound. We never see them again."

"I have heard rumors that they are being executed," the African woman said.

"I have heard that they are trying to exterminate us," a man said.

"They must not be in a hurry," Lia quipped.

"I have heard that they use machines to kill people," a young Italian man said. "These machines have cutting blades."

"I heard that they are executing those creatures that you call Dragons," a woman said. "And, they are using machines that resemble big blenders."

"Has anyone tried to escape from here?" Angie asked.

"Yes," the Asian man said. "But they were captured and immediately taken to the execution place."

So much for that idea.

***

At dawn, whistles blew waking everyone. Inmates lined up outside their barracks to be inspected. After the counting and inspection of inmates, the Cyborg commander chose two people and the rest were dismissed. The two unfortunate individuals were taken to the execution building.

The inmates were fed only two times a day and the food tasted like cooked cardboard.

"If these Cyborgs are systematically killng both humans and Dragons they are commiting the crime of genocide," Tyler said.

"I think they are killing humans to deny Drgons their preferred food," Lia said.

"That doesn't make any sense," Angie said. "Why don't they stick all of them in a canyon and drop a bomb on them. It would be more efficient."

"The only conclusion is that they derive amusment from killing," Tyler said.

"That means that the method is a torture of some sort," Angie said. "The victim suffers for a prolonged time."

"I don't want to think about that," Lia said. "They may end up executing us."

"Hopefully, we'll be rescued before that happens," Angie said.

"Is there bathing facility here?" Tyler asked.

A young Asian girl chuckled. "If you wish to call it that. It's just an open shower outside the building. The water's cold, the soap's not very soapy and you need somebody to pump it by hand."

"Beats being sweaty," Angie said with a smile.

***

Angie slept like a soldier at the front: with one half of her brain alert. Tyler and Lia were sleeping like babies. Fortunately, neither snored. Sounds in the night can be frighening, so when Angie heard a distant scream, she sat up on her cot. The night air was muggy, forcing her to sleep in her underwear. She got up and went over to a small open window to get a breath of fresh air. The light of two moons made seeing possible, but she could see no activity.

That is until a dozen female Cyborgs passed by with two humans, a man and a woman, but they were not headed to the execution building. Angie decided to sneak out of the barrack and follow them. Taking cover where she could, Angie followed them to a long narrow metal building. She watched the female Cyborgs remove the jump suits from the two humans and open a door. The open door revealed bright light and allowed the sound of cries and screams of several people to escape. When the man and woman were pushed in, their screams were added to the din. The door closed to restore the peace of the night and the female Cyborgs opened small hatches so that they could see inside.

At first meal of a new day, Angie took the oppertunity to ask about what she had seen. "Okay, what goes on in that long narrow building out by fence?"

"Oh, you're referring to the place where they punish people for breaking their rules," a middle aged man said.

"How can I find out what they're doing to them?"

"You don't want to know."

"People who have been punished there say that it's like being in hell," a young African girl said. "You feel like you're being burnt, but there is no harm to your flesh."

"That sounds like Masai's pain stick," Angie said to Lia and Tyler.

"It isn't a stick. The whole room feels like it is on fire."

"The female Cyborgs must enjoy punishing people," Angie said." They watched through small openings."

"These Cyborgs are sadistic killers," Lia said. "They torture and kill people for amusement."

"At least the Dragons killed for a reason," Tyler said. "These Cyborgs kill for enjoyment. They have no right to exist."

"That's pretty harsh language coming from a diplomat," Angie said.

"That is because I seldom see a civilization based on genocide," Tyler said. "We saw it in Nazi Germany and the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia."

"We can only hope that it can be stopped," Angie said. "Just as it was stopped in Germany and Cambodia."

That was one hope that they could cling to.