Emma

EMMA

There must have been some sort of gas in the transit pod. My head throbbed dully, and my mouth felt like it was stuffed full of cotton. I blinked several times trying to clear the fog from my brain and figure out where I was, but all I could make out was a dim overhead light and featureless metal walls surrounding me.

Fighting down panic, I took stock of my surroundings. The room was tiny, just a few paces across, and utterly devoid of features aside from a rickety cot along one wall and a basic toilet and sink in the corner. Thick metal comprised the walls on all sides, seamless except for the heavy locked door.

I racked my brain trying to figure out how I could have ended up here. The impersonators who arrested me had seemed experienced, their disguises and gear all convincing. This had to have been a carefully planned operation. And that meant whoever was behind it had extensive resources.

A creeping suspicion wormed its way into my mind, but I tried to ignore it, not wanting to consider the horrific implications. I needed to stay calm and focused if I was going to find a way out of this nightmare. There had to be something I could use, some weakness I could exploit. I just had to search every inch of this cell.

I checked under the cot's thin mattress, shoving the piece of furniture around, even inspected the exposed toilet pipes, but found absolutely nothing helpful. These walls were engineered to be escape-proof, even for someone as motivated as I was. Despair threatened to crush me as I realized I truly was trapped.

Fighting the panic rising in my chest, I forced myself to breathe deeply. What would Sherlock Holmes do in my situation?

Stay cool under pressure, keep observing and analyzing rationally.

What would Tazhr do?

Break things.

Between the two of them, there had to be a way.

Steeling myself, I resumed scouring every centimeter for anything overlooked.

Then I noticed the ventilation shaft.

Unlike in the pantry, this duct was located high on one wall, its opening covered by a rusty grill. It was small, but with some effort I might be able to fit inside. Hope flickered back to life, fueling my determination.

A shaft like that led me to Conii's office before. Surely it would lead me somewhere now.

And anywhere was better than here.

Grunting with effort, I dragged the cot directly beneath the duct. Climbing cautiously atop the rickety frame brought me just close enough to dislodge the cover and shove it to the side. A breath of fresher air from within tantalized me, but I would have to stretch and scramble to pull myself up into the claustrophobic passageway.

Taking a deep breath, I gathered my energy and leapt upward, managing to grab the edge of the opening on my tiptoes. I scrambled for purchase against the smooth sides, gradually hauling myself up as the cot creaked and wobbled below me.

Hell.

I wasn't going to be able to get out this way.

Could I at least get a message out?

Conii's compound was shielded from unauthorized communications, I knew. But this was someplace I'd never seen before.

Maybe from inside the vent, I'd get a signal, just enough for Taz to find me.

But just as I got my torso wedged into the vent, my sweaty hand lost its grip. I cried out as I felt myself slipping, my legs kicking wildly in midair. At the last second before tumbling off, I caught a glimpse of my percomm slipping loose from my pocket.

My desperate grab came too late. I could only watch helplessly as the percomm plummeted down into the shadows below the duct, out of my reach.

I heard the thumps and rattles as it ricocheted along the metal, getting farther and farther away.

A faint crack echoed up a few seconds later. My only means of communicating with the outside world was destroyed.

Forcing down the lump in my throat, I lowered myself shakily back to the cot then the floor. The brief hope of escape through the air duct was gone.

Pacing back and forth across the cell, I racked my brain for a new plan. There had to be some other way out of this nightmare, some detail I overlooked. I just needed to stay calm and focus. But visions of Conii kept intruding, taunting me.

How much did she know? Had one of her spies just reported that I was seen with Tazhr?

Was this just about my hanging out with the enemy?

Or did she know about my invasion of her office, the copying of her files?

I worked for her for too long to have any sort of optimism as to what she'd do to me in either case.

For a moment, all-consuming panic threatened to overwhelm me. I couldn't breathe, couldn't see a way out of this terrifying trap closing around me. Conii had eyes and ears everywhere on this station.

And who knew what cruel torments she devised to inflict on me even now? Alone and defenseless, I was utterly at her mercy. She could make my death as gruesome and prolonged as her sadistic mind desired. I curled into a ball on the cot, shuddering uncontrollably at imagined horrors.

Then Tazhr's face flashed into my memory, stern and strong, those mesmerizing golden eyes blazing. Somehow, I had to survive this ordeal long enough for Tazhr to find me. He would tear the whole station apart bolt by bolt if that was what it took. I believed that with unwavering certainty.

Gradually, my trembling stilled. A new sense of calm settled through me, the calm of resolution. I would not collapse or beg mercy from the likes of Conii. She wanted to see me broken? Well then, my defiance would deny her that petty satisfaction for as long as possible.

I envisioned Tazhr's approving rumble at my show of stubborn resolve. Let Conii posture and threaten all she wanted. She was vain enough that she would want me lucid to appreciate the full terror of my predicament.

That meant time—time for Tazhr to unravel this mystery and follow our bond to wherever I was hidden. Time for me to watch for any opening to aid our chances. I would be ready.

With newfound energy, I inspected every square centimeter once more, seeking weaknesses that might eventually prove useful. The walls were seamless, the door impregnable, but there had to be something I could exploit when the moment was right. I would bide my time and trust in Tazhr. His fierce spirit would guide me through this darkness.

Lost in my meticulous search, I didn't hear the heavy footsteps approaching until the door suddenly clanked open. I whirled around, pulse racing. Two hulking masked guards strode in, wordlessly grabbing me by the arms. My struggles were useless against their immense strength as they hauled me out into the stark corridor beyond.

Fear threatened to choke me as they dragged me through a maze of sterile hallways. But I forced it down, keeping my face emotionless. I would not let my dread show. The guards would only relish seeing their prisoner frightened and defeated. Holding tight to the thought of Tazhr, I kept my chin high.

After what felt like endless grim corridors, we stopped at a dead end.

One guard raised a sleek black device and held it to a panel set into the wall.

My eyes widened when it slid open to reveal Conii's office on the other side.

She watched me implacably as the guards forced me to my knees on the hard floor before her.

"Well, well. What have we here?" she purred in her deceptively musical voice. "An inquisitive little insect who believed herself clever enough to infiltrate my affairs."

Her cruel eyes bored into me, searching for a reaction. I stared straight back, refusing to be cowed. After an expectant pause, Conii smiled thinly, a predator bemused by its cornered prey's show of defiance.

"To think, I treated you well. Let you live here, eat under my own roof." I swallowed hard, but stayed silent. "Oh, it will be such a pleasure breaking that stubborn will of yours, my dear," she said softly. "We have so much quality time ahead of us now that your intimidating brute of a partner is out of the picture."

My blood turned to ice at the implication, but I kept my face carefully blank. She was baiting me, trying to provoke a response to satisfy her sadism. I couldn't let even a flicker of emotion show.

Laughing, Conii turned away, waving a hand at the guards. "Take her back to her cell. I just wanted to take a look at the first little human who was so foolish as to betray me. You'll be a lovely example to the rest of your kind."

No.

I wouldn't break.

There would be a way out of this.

But I couldn't think over the pounding of my blood in my ears.

Except…

That pounding came from somewhere else.