Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Three

Back to the Beginning

Kaitlyn went with Makayla to work on the database. Tallie teamed up with Lauren. Her friend seemed a little fragile, and Tallie wanted to stay close to her. They both checked their weapons. Tallie was still carrying two of the silver canes they'd taken from the Siloth and her parent's laser. They all fit nicely in the belt she was wearing to hold up her long, flowing pants.

A glance at Lauren, confirmed that she carried not only the handgun she used on Earth, but also one of the Siloth canes. Their biggest security worry was if one of the Siloth had escaped notice and found the ship. Tallie was certain that even if they didn't plan on staying on the ship or trying to repair it, they would want supplies.

The Siloth ship was designed with several floors. Tallie tried to remember. She thought there were four or five. The bridge where Kaitlyn and Makayla were headed was at the top. The bottom floors were big cargo bays and storage rooms. It was also where they were held as captives.

The ship was huge. Several dozen times the size of Makayla's small ship. It was built for more than a hundred Siloth. Tallie remembered there had been a lot of empty rooms, and there were only thirty or forty of the red, four-armed aliens on board when they were held captive.

Both inside and out, the ship appeared to be made of dull black or dark gray metal. It wasn't shiny, and the metallic stuff was rarely covered, even in the halls and the rooms. She didn't remember seeing any other substance used for building material. There were just sweeping black hallways. It felt like a cave, even with the lights on. When the lights went out, it was horribly oppressive. She checked to make sure she had the flashlight Makayla gave her. And that it worked.

When the electricity worked, all the doors to the rooms the Siloth considered to be shared access... opened for them. The ceiling throughout the ship was made up of large dark gray pipes holding all the wires and things needed to run the ship. The space had been large enough for the women to crawl through—and they had. Those pipe ducts had eventually led to their freedom. Accessing them had allowed Randi and Rachael to sabotage the ship. Now, Randi and Rachael crawled up into the ceiling to get the elevator and the lights working. It only took a few minutes. Tallie remembered that when they forced the Siloth to land, they'd figured out how to disable those two things, making it more difficult for their captives to give chase once the women escaped.

Every floor had a circular main hall, with doors set at intervals on both sides of the hall. If you kept walking in one direction of the hall, you'd eventually end up back at the elevators. Tallie didn't want to be with the teams searching the cargo bays and their old cells. When they first escaped, they had crawled around in the ceiling of the spaceship and checked out most of those rooms. She believed the next floor up, is where the medical bay of the ship was located. She didn't want to go there either. She'd spent enough time on that floor.

In some ways, she felt as if they'd come back to the beginning. Only this time… they were in charge. They were alive… and most, if not all, of the Siloth were dead. Yay!

She looked at Lauren. "I say we skip the lower floors and see what is on the one right under the bridge. I bet the captain's quarters are there. Maybe the kitchen. It makes sense to me that the higher up we go, the more interesting the stuff."

Lauren grinned at her with brown eyes shining. "Oh, I like that idea. Let's go exploring."

They all had flashlights just in case the electrical fix didn't hold. With the light and her weapons, Tallie felt well prepared. She wasn't worried about stepping back on the ship.

"I hate this," Lauren commented when they were in the elevator. "I think I'd hate it more if we hadn't decided to reuse the ship for housing. Instead of seeing the place we were held captive, I'll be looking at the rooms and trying to figure out if there is enough closet space." She giggled nervously.

Tallie stood straighter. "Damn, Lauren. I'm glad you said that. I was telling myself that I wasn't worried about going back on this ship. But it was a big fat lie. You are right, I'll look at it as the perfect complex for those slaves we saved and try to imagine someone living in each one. That will help, thanks!"

Lauren nodded. "Think about those cages. They were all kept in on Dorvan. So many women, some crammed in together. Now, imagine if they were brought here… and told to choose their room. Their own private room where they can lock the door to the hall and shut the door to a bathroom that belongs to them. Some of those women have been held captive for decades… this will probably scare the shit out of them for a bit. Then they will come to crave that privacy."

The doors opened. Tallie had her weapon in hand when she looked through, and out, into the hall. The women eased away from the elevator, back-to-back. Both directions were clear.

She nodded at Lauren. "You keep your weapon out while I open each one of the doors. We can check what is behind each one and make sure no one is hiding in any of the rooms. Then we can start a search for the fun stuff."

Her friend grinned and nodded. "We are not too stupid to live like those idiot women in slasher flicks back home. God, Tallie. You sound just like Kaitlyn, Kayla, and me."

Tallie laughed. That was a compliment. Although she had no idea what a slasher flick was. The Earth women had tried to explain them before, and she'd just nodded. But Lauren was right. They were smart girls.

It didn't take long to move around the hall. They kept track as they went. Tallie thought they counted thirty bedroom/bathroom combos… some much bigger than others. And fifteen closet storage rooms that could be converted into more space for the "apartments" by removing a wall. They had almost made a full circle and come back to the elevator when they discovered the kitchen.

Both Tallie and Lauren stood at the doorway and stared at the big room.

Lauren said, "This is like the small eating area on Kayla's ship. You press a button and food will come out. Or something to drink. There are all these dispensers and micro-fabrication things. Probably ten times the number of devices compared to her smaller ship. So, there is probably a room behind that wall with all the food supplies. But this is like a big… cafeteria at home. Lots of tables and chairs. Some couches and lower tables. You could seat almost a hundred people in here. I'll bet this was their hangout space. A get food, talk, come up with nefarious deeds… type of place. Let's take a little break. I could use a drink and would love to sit down for a sec. Is that okay?" she looked at Tallie.

Tallie took a good look at Lauren. She was tired. You could see the strain in her face and around her eyes. Smiling, Tallie led her to one of the couches. "Sit here. I'll see if I can find some water or something. You would think there would be water tubes close by." She waited while Lauren sat and leaned her head back. Then she went looking for something for the pregnant woman to drink. Why hadn't they all taken water and snacks with them? This was a huge ship, and they'd already been searching for several hours. She might take her friend up to the cousins after their break. Lauren could help Makayla, and Kaitlyn could come down here. Or she'd leave the three pregnant women together and get another group to help her. That was a better idea.

She found boxes of the tubed water in a cabinet under the long counter, and turned triumphantly to Lauren, finding her friend curled up on the couch, fast asleep.