A beige-skinned creature stood at the hologram projector. She stared into nothing, not bothering to switch on the power. Her locks of hair were fine, and the color of fresh earth. Her garment had a tight fit at the top, and the skirt covered her ankles.
"Kiera," Maurian addressed the woman.
She looked in his direction and held her arm out. He pressed his lips against her hand, and then released it.
"What did you want, Maurian?" She questioned.
"The young," he said. "Where are they being taken?"
Relda and the crew clustered together. They concealed the young.
"The base," Kiera replied.
She accessed the hologram log and manipulated it to reveal an area labeled in Progor, "Holding unit for young pawns".
Daly and Darrion glanced down at Hunley and Brade, who peered between the clustered barricade.
"So that's where you're taking Kylen?" Orz questioned.
Kiera extinguished the hologram and said, "That's where we're taking all of them."
Maurian enabled the hologram again.
"Holding unit for young pawns", he read aloud.
He pointed to the area surrounding the unit.
"What is this?" He asked, taking a sideways glance at Kieran.
"The booby trapped area," she explained. "They're too... important to risk losing them."
Rhea shoved her way between the clones, Relda, Raylay, and Ty.
"Them?" She echoed. "You only have Kylen."
Hunley, Brade, and Sariah joined her. Skyla and Anya arrived. Together they stood. Behind them, Ozla tapped Annika's shoulder and tugged on the blaster.
"Take them away," Kiera ordered the guards.
Ozla steadied her blaster and stared down the front sight. In a fraction of a second, before Maurian and Orz could admit their betrayal of the Dialorians, Ozla squeezed the trigger.
Kiera emitted a scream, and then the scream faded to an eerie silence.