Planet Pagua of the Kira Star System
I followed Astra and Phillas down a long, winding tunnel. It was so humid that my chemise was sticking to my skin after only a few minutes, but I didn't mind. The smell of the soil was so strong that it made my eyes water, not because it was pungent, but because it reminded me of simpler times.
There I was with the first Utanian I had seen in decades, and Astra, Solano's former general. She was the only one who survived the war, that I knew of. They both glanced behind a few times, to see if I was behind them.
Where else would I go?
Soon it was so dark that all I could do was follow the squishy sounds of their footsteps over the muddy ground. None of them spoke, until I crashed into Astra when they both stopped.
"Hey! Watch your step!" she said.
"Sorry, but I can't see anything. Can you see anything?"
There was no reply. A sliding door opened to reveal a large atrium, with its walls covered by metallic panels. The lights were dim hololamps, but they almost blinded me after the twenty minute trek in the darkness. The place was empty save for a table and some scattered chairs.
"This is our temporary hideout. It used to be a command base for the Balians when they were digging up this area, but they abandoned it. We use it from time to time, but we can't stay in the same place for long," said Phillas, as he walked in and gestured for me to follow.
"Sit," said Astra, pulling out a chair from under the table. "We need to talk."
I walked in but I didn't sit down. I was tired of taking orders, tired of doing what everyone told me to do because I had no choice. I knew there was no use fighting with either of them. Phillas, after all, was Utanian. He wouldn't kill me, I hoped. Astra... I didn't know. If she still resented me because of Solano, she might be true to her word and execute me like she promised the Paguans who believed I had murdered their precious general.
"No. You sit, and you listen," I said, crossing my arms.
Astra opened her mouth to reply but Phillas answered first.
"We are all ears," he said, and sat down in the chair Astra had pulled out, and placed the mechanical wings Astra had been wearing on the table.
Astra was fuming, but she stood beside the chair and arched her eyebrows, inviting me to speak.
"Count Eu never wanted to conquer Pagua. He wanted to use its resources to build ships. The Balian Emperor's intentions are to migrate their entire population to Utania, of all the planets in the galaxy. They blame us for placing them in their freezing, harsh planet, and their justification is that if we placed them there, we should allow them to invade or "migrate" to Utania. I'm here as their hostage because they wanted me to negotiate with the Utanian emperor, or Empress Mara, if she's still our head of government."
Phillas merely nodded, and Astra's expression changed from vitriol to shock.
"Phillas, this changes everything."
"Wait..." he said. "Let her finish."
I wondered what it was that changed, but I needed to continue before they stopped me.
"I've been a prisoner in Balia for these last four years. They set up the former Paguan embassy as my jail, and filmed me, editing the footage to make it seem like I was vacationing there out of my own volition. I was not allowed to talk to anyone, to leave the embassy without supervision, or do anything but eat, sleep, and walk around their capital, Baliana. As you can see," I continued, and spread out my wings. "They sanded the tips of my wings when I arrived there, so I couldn't use them as a weapon."
Phillas brought a hand to cover his mouth, which had been agape with horror for a few seconds while he observed my wings. He was probably imagining the pain I must have felt.
"Regarding what happened four years ago, it was Count Eu who betrayed us. We had convened to exchange prisoners near the Yucollan forest. Solano refused to move this time. He said he wanted to face Count Eu in person, believing he would respect the conditions of the exchange. Instead, they brought lances, which were undetectable to our security. Then they pierced his body, shot him, and made me bury him with my own hands. I was captured, and now you know the rest," I said.
I suddenly felt very naked and exposed, but at the same time, a wave of relief flooded my heart. Finally, someone else knew the truth of what these last four years had been for me.
"I am very sorry you had to go through that," said Phillas. "I can't imagine the pain of the 'procedure' they did to you."
"Oh, and I don't know if you know," I said, holding up my left hand. "But this is fake skin. My hand was blown off in a battle near Tabuia a few years into the war."
Astra swallowed and grabbed her head with both of her hands, massaging her eyes. For the first time since I saw her again, I noticed the scars on her arms and her neck. She was skinnier than four years ago, her skin stretched out over her thin, wiry frame. There were expression lines on her face that weren't there before, and her once long and lush hair was short and messy. It could have been messed up from the flying, but I could tell it had been a long time since she had properly washed it.
Phillas wasn't looking much better. I had never spent much time with him aside from the time we were on the ship on our first journey from Utania to Pagua, when we had all been so hopeful of a future that never came true. But he also had a haggard, tired look on his face.
They're lives were probably harder or as hard as mine right now.
"Now, it's your turn," I said.