"Where are the rest of the blasters?" Annika said, sidestepping the bodies.
She made eye contact with each of the triplets.
"In a safe," Anya recalled. "We distracted the guard and took these ones."
"It's probably locked by now," Skyla retorted. "It's in a white room."
"We can take you there," Rhea asserted.
Relda sniffed the air. The gap between Dialorian invasions had stretched on, and it had reached the point it felt eerie.
"Thank you, Triune," she uttered.
Not too far in the distance, the control center buzzed with activity. They paced. Indeterminate conversations filled the center.
"Show us the way," Relda instructed her granddaughters.
Anya tugged on a leg of Annika's jumpsuit.
"Do you want to use mine?" She offered.
Annika clasped the blaster and tucked it under her armpit.
"Let's go," Relda urged.
Annika peered into the chaos, examining each gap.
"Where is the one they took?" She demanded.
"You mean Kylen?" Rhea questioned.
"How'd you know about her?" Rhea whispered.
Annika gave a dismissive wave.
"Never mind," she said.
"Spread out. Don't draw attention to yourselves," Relda whispered.
Single file, they skirted the crowd. The control center ended at a sealed passageway. Relda had a fraction of a second to punch in the passcode before someone looked in her direction. She dashed into the passageway. She gestured back to her crew, and then farther on ahead. They powered toward her, keeping watch on the Dialorians.
For a moment, Relda navigated alone. Glass walls and doors encased this new passage. Tortured cries filled the air.
Straps held a violet-skinned young to an angled cot. Bolts of visible blue electricity zapped her and the cot. Relda pressed her hand against the glass, and she turned her head to her approaching crew. Annika emitted a sharp gasp as yet shock overcame the young.
"We have to do something," she whimpered.
"Who is it?" Anniston asked.
"That's Kylen," Skyla said, firing at a glaring security cam.